My Frugal Miser - October 2025 Income

October was a decent month, but slower than I would have liked.  I worked consistently until the last week of the month.  I spent that week doing more repairs on the vacant rental property in Birmingham and visiting my mom in Virginia.  Her health is declining so I plan to visit more often in the future.  

Rental income continues to be affected by the vacant house in Birmingham.  My property manager finally got it listed at the end of the month.  I received one distribution from Realty Mogul and my condo tenant paid rent.

Open Door Capital continues to pay interest on the promissory note.

October Income: $9,136

$5,412 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$247 Amazon Deliveries

$1,284 Rental Income (Rental Expenses: $2,196)
$2,177 Interest Income

$17 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value: $2,530

My brokerage accounts were up in October.

My Frugal Miser - October 2025 Expenses

Two low-spending months in a row!  October was made easier by the income in the fun account, so my spending is deceptively low.  

• I paid for 6 months of car insurance and the annual AAA dues.  I rented a car when I visited my mom in Virginia.
• I took advantage of the 4Q benefit from my Platinum AMEX by buying more pants from Lululemon.  I also bought two pair of pants on eBay.  I've lost weight and needed clothes that fit!
• In Personal Care, I booked massages (2 for each of us) during our two-day visit to Cabo on our upcoming cruise.
• House Expenses were higher.  The dryer vent compartment shredded into multiple pieces.  The good news is that I was able to repair it myself after watching a couple of YouTube videos, but the parts weren't cheap.  I also bought a lot of cleaning supplies and a new vacuum.

Fun

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  

• Someone shared a code for our upcoming cruise to get a big discount on WiFi and unlimited drinks.  I've never splurged on these before, but the excitement of this secret code compelled me to do it.  This is definitely not the frugal me, but as the Chumba deposits kept rolling in I decided to spend a little.
• I received three deposits from Chumba Casino.
• I pay for two AMC A-List subscriptions each month.

October Expenses:  $919

$1,585 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$0 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$602 Clothing/ Personal Care

($2,151) Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets) income this month

$60 Food

$187 Health and Dental

$431 Household/Home Repairs

$12 Unreimbursed Job Expense

($232) Reimbursed Job Expense income this month

$0 Interest Expense

$68 Miscellaneous (cat sitter, gifts)

$216 Taxes

$141 Utilities 

My Frugal Miser - September 2025 Income

September was a rock solid month.  In addition to being paid for meeting work I did in August, I was paid for two of the three meetings I worked in September.

Rental income took a hit.  My 16 year tenant for the Alabama house moved out at the end of August.  No rent, plus I spent a significant amount rehabbing the house.  My condo tenant prepaid for September.  I did receive one small distribution from Realty Mogul.  

Open Door Capital continues to pay interest on the promissory note.

Between meeting work and spending two weeks in Birmingham working on the vacant house, there was little time for Amazon routes.

September Income: $12,520

$9,091 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$398 Amazon Deliveries

$734 Rental Income (Rental Expenses: $5,959)
$2,247 Interest Income

$51 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value: $5,601

My brokerage accounts were up in September.

My Frugal Miser - September 2025 Expenses

 It feels good to be a little more frugal!  There's still room for improvement.  Some of my spending...

• I had to have a dental implant removed.
• I took advantage of a new benefit from my Platinum AMEX by buying some pants from Lululemon.

Fun

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  

• I bought each of us a Frontier Go Wild pass and paid for an Elite Gold Status Match.  We plan to take full advantage of this incredible unlimited flying offer.
• Those passes were slightly offset by sweepstakes income from Chumba.
• I pay for two AMC A-List subscriptions each month.

September Expenses:  $1,535

$121 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$0 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$166 Clothing/ Personal Care

$653 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$255 Food

$576 Health and Dental

$110 Household/Home Repairs

$7 Unreimbursed Job Expense

($946) Reimbursed Job Expense income this month

$0 Interest Expense

$65 Miscellaneous (cat sitter, gifts)

$366 Taxes

$162 Utilities