My Frugal Miser - February 2022 Expenses

February was quite reasonable when you compare spending to income.

• Spending on my car was low.  There was no maintenance, and because I was out of town for work, I spent less on gas.
• I paid the annual fee for my Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
• Food was also low.  In addition to being reimbursed for or provided food when we work meetings, we have started eating more "regular" food (versus low-carb), which is less expensive.

Fun

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

• I received the refund for taxes and fees for the canceled New Orleans cruise.  We decided to work a meeting in Boston instead.
• Our Australian cruise was canceled, but I am still waiting for the refund.  Carnival is taking its time to process it.
• I booked and paid for an Alaskan cruise.  Alaskan cruises generally cost more than Caribbean cruises, but I was offered a decent price.  I paid $350/each for a balcony stateroom plus taxes/fees for a 7 night cruise at the end of May.  One of the days includes crossing through some glaciers, and I thought it was a no-brainer to have a balcony where we could marvel at the sites.  It worked out to under $200/day.  Not bad considering a hotel room alone would cost more than that, while a cruise includes our food, entertainment, and drinks in the casino.
• I decided to splurge on our flights to Seattle for the cruise.  I used points to book first class seats on the way, and took advantage of my annual travel credit on my Capital One Venture X card by booking first class seats back on American Airlines.  I was pleasantly surprised by how little the difference between first class and economy were and took advantage of what I thought was a mispriced ticket.  The difference between economy and first class was less than $200/ticket.  For that, checked bags, meals and alcohol are included - not to mention better seats and no one in the middle seat, because there isn't one!

February Expenses:  $3,686

$150 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$550 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$78 Clothing/ Personal Care
$2,013 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$372 Food

$143 Health and Dental

$1,214 Household/Home Repairs

$75 Unreimbursed Job Expense

($1,358) Reimbursed Job Expense (income - my provided per diems were much more than I spent)

$0 Interest Expense

$407 Miscellaneous

$82 Taxes

$39 Utilities 

My Frugal Miser - February 2022 Income

February was one of the best months ever in terms of income.

I worked 5 meetings jobs.  Two of those were single day gigs and another, a 7-11 Grand Opening Event, was two days.  The 7-11 was a brand ambassador job, but I include that income in the meeting jobs category.  I also received the cancelation fees from two February meetings.  Both paid 50% of the amount I would have earned.  This was a nice double-dipping opportunity since I was able to do other work in their place.

Since I was mostly working meetings, I didn't have a lot of time for Amazon routes.  I still managed to make over $600 from the 4 days I worked.

The Airbnb was booked every single day.

Rental income was solid.  All three tenants paid rent, plus I received two dividends from apartments I own through Realty Mogul.

February Income: $15,983

$0 Mystery Shopping/ Merchandising
$7,607 Meeting Jobs
$14 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$623 Amazon Deliveries
$3,930 Rental Income (Rental Expenses:  $715)
$3,754 Airbnb Income (Airbnb Expenses:  $791)
$8 Interest Income

$47 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value:  ($1,927)

My investments were down, but continue to outperform the S&P 500.  It was another down month for stocks, but I still think the market is overvalued.

My Frugal Miser - January 2022 Expenses

    January wasn't a bad month.  I would love to get my monthly spending under $2,000 excluding the monthly contribution I make towards home improvements/repairs, but I'm not too disappointed with my spending last month.

• Auto expenses were unusually low.  There was no maintenance or other expenses besides gas.  I worked several meetings so I didn't put many miles on my car.
• I paid three bank fees for credit cards.  The value of the cards exceeds the annual fee I pay.
• Food was about average, which is to say it was expensive.  We are still mostly sticking to a low-carb diet.  Junk food is a lot less expensive than the healthier stuff we eat.

Fun

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

• I received the AMEX Fine Hotels $200 rebate from our December stay in Atlanta.
• Our Australian cruise was canceled, and I canceled our February cruise out of New Orleans because we took a meeting job instead.  I opted for a refund, but it hasn't posted yet.

January Expenses:  $4,064

$125 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$719 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$0 Clothing/ Personal Care
$1,281 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$618 Food

$53 Health and Dental

$1,116 Household/Home Repairs

$379 Unreimbursed Job Expense

($455) Reimbursed Job Expense (income)

$0 Interest Expense

$6 Miscellaneous

$100 Taxes

$123 Utilities 

My Frugal Miser - January 2022 Income

 In January I worked 4 meeting jobs - one in Dallas, two in Orlando and one in Tampa.  I also had two meetings cancel, which just shows how uncertain the live events industry remains.  For those two meetings I should receive a 50% cancel fee in February, plus I haven't received half the pay from the Dallas meeting yet.

I only worked a few Amazon routes since I was doing meetings most of the month.

The Airbnb had a record month thanks to a large cancelation.  A snowbird canceled his 28 night booking, and I received the entire amount based on the cancelation terms.  The guest never asked me for a refund which was surprising.  There were a total of 5 vacant days in January.

Rental income was okay.  The tenant in my Birmingham condo did not pay January rent until February 1st.  I did receive a dividend from one of the Realty Mogul investments.  Expenses were high due to another slab leak at my largest property.  I found out the plumbing used in that house is part of a class action lawsuit and filed a claim for my losses.  Since 2016 I have had 3 leaks and may even qualify for a whole house replumb.  

Other income included a $50 gift for my birthday and $100 cashback from redeeming credit card points.

January Income: $13,761

$0 Mystery Shopping/ Merchandising
$3,730 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$390 Amazon Deliveries
$3,108 Rental Income (Rental Expenses:  $6,362)
$6,374 Airbnb Income (Airbnb Expenses:  $687)
$9 Interest Income

$150 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value:  ($10,877)

My investments were down, but all my brokerage accounts outperformed the S&P 500.  It was a rough month for stocks, but I still think the market is generally overvalued.