Largest savings rate of any month to date! The F.I.R.E. is spreading and I am enjoying every minute of the journey. The continuous growth of my Instagram channel and seeing a few people here and there reading some of my articles is keeping me fired up and wanting to continue documenting my journey. In my last article, I detailed out how to calculate your savings rate. In this article I will detail out some details of my May Savings Rate.
So here is a breakdown of how I was able to save 85% of my take home pay!
Total Breakout of Expenses:
- Entertainment: $920
- Home/Utilities: $846
- Food: $95
- Total Expenses: $1,861
I haven’t been able to figure out sub bullet points in Wix yet (help if you know how to haha) so here is a little context for my expenses.
Major expenses in the Entertainment bucket:
- Purchased a 2 year website contract with Wix to get my blog up and going on the new platform, $324
- Took my roommates out golfing as a thank you for, $125
- Had a few nights out eating a drinking with friends accounting for $145
Major expenses in Home/Utilities:
- My AC unit went out and had to be serviced. When the summer time and humidity comes back around in Orlando, condensation builds up in the pipes and has to be cleaned out. I have had this happen a few times now so I went ahead and paid to have someone come out and service the unit twice a year for $205
- I also learned my AC unit was set, for some reason, to suck air from outside to cool off inside. I know, not good. Probably why my electric bill was $189 last in May!
I didn’t have many food expenses because I travel for work and when I am home I went out to eat with friends. I categorize those in the Entertainment bucket of my expenses.
Total Take Home Income:
- Rental Bedroom #1: $1,000
- Rental Bedroom #2: $1,000
- Rental Side Flex Room: $300
- W2 Income: $10,185
- Total: $12,485
Now time to calculate my Savings Rate for May!
Savings Rate = ($12,485 – $1,861) / $12,485 = 85%
There were two main things contributing to my huge Savings Rate in May.
- First, I was able to rent out the flex room in my home for an additional $300 last month to increase the income part of the equation!
- Secondly, I was able to rent out my second bedroom the entire month through Airbnb. This was a big win and I just got a tenant in the room for $1,100 per month for the summer. He is visiting for an internship so he will be staying at my place for 3 months
- I continue to be very money conscious and choose to not drink when I travel for work. Believe it or not, but this is one of the hardest temptations to prevent myself from doing. People don’t realize how easy it is to spend a lot of money on alcohol when you are on the road for work all the time.
Excited to continue to see if I can beat the 85% Savings Rate in June! Off to a little of a bumpy start as I went out to LA to watch the Champions League finals with a few friends. Will see if I can real it in and prevent myself from spending a lot the rest of the month!
