My Frugal Miser - April Expenses: $6,244

My April expenses were much higher than normal thanks to the one-time expense of converting my IRA to a Self-Directed IRA.  Since I plan to use the fund to buy rental houses, I categorized the $3,000 fee as a rental expense.   The only other out of the ordinary expense was the $360 I lost at a casino on one of my mystery shopping trips.  I should really stay away from casinos; they seem to be my one and only vice.




April Personal Expenses ($1,312)

$148 Auto ($148 fuel, $0 service)

$10 Bank Fees
$0 Clothing
$368 Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol)
$63 Food
$0 Gifts Given
$0 Home Repair

-$9 Household
$0 Homeowner's Association Dues

$139 Health and Dental Insurance
$0 Medical
$99 Miscellaneous
$383 Mortgage Interest (primary residence)
$0 Personal Care

$0 Subscriptions
$0 Taxes

$111 Utilities
$0 Vacation

April Business Expenses ($4,932)

$750 Mortgage Interest (rental properties)
$238 Interest on Debt (not including Mortgage Interest)
$3,944 Rental Properties - Maintenance and Repairs (includes a one-time expense in April)


Total April Expenses : $6,244


Notes

• If not for my gambling loss I would have spent less than $1,000 this month.  Even with that expense it was a frugal month.
• I spent $148 on gas.  The majority of my driving was to do mystery shops, including two out of state trips. I also made a few trips to my grandfather's house to cut the grass and tend to things there.  
• I was told the normal fee from Guidant Financial to do the IRA conversion (which is much more than just swapping funds from one account to another; it includes forming an LLC as well as two consultations with a lawyer) is $4,000 but they run an annual sale around tax time.  Normally I don't believe such nonsense but when I did some research online, most of the reviewers said they paid $4,000, so maybe I really did get a fair price.
• Utilities includes my unlimited smartphone plan with Republic Wireless, natural gas, electricity, water and sewer.
• I shopped so many restaurants and other food establishments that my spending in this category was only $63 in April.
• I returned a few things I bought prior to April.  This explains how Household expenses were a negative.

My Frugal Miser - April Income: $6,781

April was somewhat challenging, but mostly due to a one time expense I'll talk about tomorrow.  I earned more than I spent but was cash flow negative since I don't include principal payments in my expenses.  Tomorrow I will take a look at my spending, so today let's took a look at where the money came from.

April Income

$1,255 Mystery Shopping
$5,162 Rental Income

$365 Other Sources

$6,781 Total Income for April


Notes:

• I ran short of my mystery shopping goal of $1,500 in income.  I probably earned that much but because of some higher expenses that offset it, the amount I am reporting is less.
• Rental income was lower than normal because one tenant prepaid his April rent.  He says he is going to prepay his June rent with his May check so hopefully that will offset the rent I won't receive on the vacant townhouse.  Cash is super tight this month.
• Other Sources includes my 2011 federal tax refund, offset by a loan I made that should be repaid this month.

Omaha or Bust

Later this morning I'll be heading toward Omaha for the 2012 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders meeting featuring The Man, Warren Buffett.

Since my update last week I've managed to pick up even more mystery shops, and unless I lose it in one of the casinos over in Council Bluffs, my shop fees will just about cover the cost of this trip.

Imagine that:  7 days, 6 nights and 2,000 miles.  All expenses paid (including the requisite Buffett souvenirs I usually purchase), thanks to mystery shopping.

My Frugal Miser - May 2012 Goals

May is going to be a busy month.  Wednesday I leave for the Berkshire Hathaway meeting and I won't be back until the 8th.  Then I leave again on the 29th for a mystery shopping/conference working trip to the Orlando area.  Hopefully during that trip I can spend some time looking at houses in nearby Tampa/Clearwater.  Here's what I'd like to do this month:

Tangible Goals

• This month I will pay off the $3,000 expense to convert my IRA to a self-directed IRA.
• I will prepare my vacant rental home and identify the new tenant (signed lease).
• I will earn $1,000 from mystery shopping this month.

Not so Tangible Goals

• I was hoping to have the self-directed IRA setup by the end of April, but since that didn't happen I want to have things complete by the end of May.
• I also need to make progress on my grandfather's house.  All I did in April was keep the grass cut.
• I purchased a new domain name that will cater to landlords and I'd like to at least get started on it during the month of May.