Update on 2011 Goals

Even with a struggling restaurant I have made some progress on my 2011 goals.

Debt

I owed $21,839 for my credit card debt at the end of November, 2010 (just before we signed a lease on the restaurant site). Today I owe $18,265.

Car loan

I've also made some small extra payments on my Pontiac G5 loan. At the end of November my balance was $13,415. Today I owe $11,158.

My monthly car payment is $375. I am almost back to having just one outstanding credit card balance, and the minimum payment on it is just over $300. Combined, that's about $700 per month I am paying to service those two debts alone. How liberating it will be when I don't have to worry about those payments anymore!

My original goal was to pay off my car by the end of 2010. Then I changed it to paying it off by the end of April this year. Now it looks like I should just make that goal to pay it off as fast as I can. I don't see it happening by the end of next month!

My Frugal Miser - February Expenses: $2,817

My expenses for February were reasonable. Even though I'm not earning much from the restaurant, I am spending less because I am always there. This means I am rapidly paying off debt. Refreshing!





February Expenses

$704 Auto ($52 for fuel, $652 for 6 months of insurance)
$0 Clothing
$71 Food (we ate out for our anniversary and my sweet tooth tricked me into visiting a bakery)
$10 Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol)
$0 Gifts Given

$0 Household (supplies, annual fire dues)
$100 Health Insurance
$134 Medical
$160 Interest on Debt (not including Mortgage Interest)
$0 Miscellaneous
$422 Mortgage Interest (primary residence)
$802 Mortgage Interest (rental properties)
$14 Personal Care

$0 Subscriptions
$113 Taxes
$286 Utilities
$0 Vacation

Total February Expenses : $2,817

Notes

• For the second month my food budget benefited from me working in a restaurant. I also received $170 in free gas from 17 mystery shops I did, which drastically reduced the amount I had to spend on gas.
• None of my other expenses were out of the ordinary in February.

My Frugal Miser - February Income: $6,785

February was okay. At first I wasn't going to pay myself a salary until the restaurant's economics improved but I backed off that just a little. Still, I only paid myself about $2.50 an hour so it's well below minimum wage. Mostly a way to cover my commuting expenses.

February Income
$642 Mystery Shopping*
$3,916 Rental Income

$1,000 Salary
$1,228 Other Sources
$6,785 Total Income for February
*I did very little mystery shopping in February; this represents payments made for work done in the past.

Notes:

• The category "Other Sources" includes non-recurring (or semi-recurring) income since I always seem to have a little something that doesn't fall into the other buckets.

Vehicles and the True Cost of Ownership: How Much is My Car Really Costing Me?

I drove fewer miles in my Pontiac G5 last month. I used the Corolla for a week, plus I don't really go anywhere except to and from work.

I determined that each mile I drive costs me $.0867 in depreciation. In February I drove 1,603 miles. My vehicle depreciation expense was $138.98.

Mystery shopping definitely consumed some miles! In February the only shopping I did was 17 gas station shops that provided $10 free gas at each location.