Mr. Smith and I have a dream of achieving financial independence (FI). We’ve been on this path for quite some time. Most months, I report the percentages that we spent in each category, our savings rate for the month, and our progress towards our FI number.
You might wonder why I’m reporting percentages and not the actual numbers. Personally, I think that percentages make a lot more intuitive sense for most people. For example, we often see general financial rules expressed as percentages such as the rule that your housing expenses should be no more than 30 percent of your gross income.
I use Mint to generate the spending report and figure out our current net worth. It’s not perfect, but as Mr. Smith likes to say, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
Without further ado, here’s where we ended up at the end of June 2020.
food and dining expenses
Our food and dining expenses made up 18 percent of our income and 20 percent of our spending.
June was our most expensive month of 2020, but we’re still on track to spend much less overall than we did in 2019. This month’s food expenses included our weekly food box delivery of eggs, bread, and produce and our weekly Whole Foods delivery. We also replenished our honey supply and refilled the wine cabinet.
We had a lot to celebate in June. At the beginning of the month, we finalized the adoption and had a few select friends over for brunch. Then, in the span of a week, we had Justin’s birthday, our wedding anniversary, and Father’s day. To cap off the month, LP had his first birthday.
health and fitness
Health and fitness made up 9 percent of our income and 10 percent of our spending.
I’m actually pretty honked off about this category being in our top three because it represents the screwed up nature of our health care system. Back in February, I went to see Justin’s dentist office to have a cleaning and then some work done. It turns out that the dentist I saw — at the same practice — doesn’t participate in our dental plan. Of course, this makes absolutely zero sense that one doctor would be covered and another wouldn’t be at the same office. Nonetheless, we paid the bill and are now looking for a new dentist.
I’m just over having to micromanage our insurance to make sure that things are covered correctly. Thankfully, our division of household labor is such that once I identify a problem, I hand it over to Justin to resolve. It makes things a little bit better.
bills and utilities
Bills and utilities made up 4 percent of our income and 5 percent of our spending. As usual, you know it was sort of a boring month money-wise when this category is in our top three. It includes water, electricity, internet, and our cell phone service. Justin’s work reimburses us for our internet since he’s 100% remote even during the non-pandemic times.
the actual percentages
This month was very typical for us with regards to income. Since the adoption has been finalized with the courts (woot!), we received our last social security check for LP. Once I get the paperwork in the mail, I’ll work on getting things like his social security card updated with his correct name and his new birth certificate. That’s the long way of saying that the “kids” category will probably show up in the top three a lot more often going forward.
As usual, our home expenses were the largest piece of the pie. This includes our mortgage, extra principle payments, HOA dues, and home supplies.
progress to fi
As of this month, we are 44 percent of the way to our fi number. This is one percent higher than last month. Our assets have bounced back to where they were pre-COVID. We’re going to continue keeping an eye on the situation, but, as I’ve said before, we’re long-term investors. Since we don’t plan on using this money for many years yet, we plan to ride out the market and continue with our investment strategy.
How did your month go? Were you able to achieve your financial goals?
Smith Happens 