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Wednesday, May 6

My Frugal Miser - April 2026 Spending

In April I had a few large expenses, but my everyday spending was low.

  • I made a quarterly tax payment ($3,000)
  • I replaced all 4 tires on the Sportage ($1,000)
  • I paid 6 months of car insurance ($1,084)
I spent almost $400 on shopping.  One of my Monos suitcases cracked, and the company offered to replace it if I purchased the extended warranty.  I also bought a few shirts.  We have pre-event days at work where we dress casually, but it's expected we dress professionally, meaning no faded or stained clothing.

Fun (aka Personal Travel)

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  
  • We're taking two cruises this summer.  I prepaid the gratuities and purchased the "thermal suites" package on both, using a combination of onboard credits and cash.  I also booked our flights to San Francisco for the Alaska cruise.

April Expenses:  $7,716

$1,105 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)
$0 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$392 Shopping
$1,005 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)
$198 Food
$465 Health and Dental
$14 Household/Home Repairs
$1,206 Work Expenses
$7 Interest Expense
$0 Miscellaneous (cat sitter, gifts)
$3,187 Taxes
$137 Utilities 

Tuesday, May 5

My Frugal Miser - April 2026 Income

I worked Meetings & Events 18 days in April.  

Early in the month we traveled to Birmingham to check on the rental property.  Good news - after an agonizing 8 months vacant, my rental property is finally rented as of May 1st.  I'm charging $100 more per month than the last tenant, but that will never make up for the time it was empty.  Hopefully that extended vacancy was a one-time blip.

The condo tenant paid his rent and I received two distributions from Realty Mogul.

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

April Income: $11,526

$7,200 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$0 Amazon Deliveries
$2,206 Rental Income (Rental Expenses: $1,351)
$2,100 Interest Income
$0 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value: $1,995

Markets were way up in April.  My balances increased, but barely.  I have a few bets against companies in my accounts (specifically AMC Theaters and Microstrategy).  Those lost value in April, but only on paper.