Per usual, I’m several months behind on these financial update posts. Digging through The Spreadsheets a few months back, I came up with a relatively quiet month of activity. How did our finances shake out? Read on for my June 2024 financial update!
In our inaugural blog post, I briefly introduced you to our goal of achieving financial independence (“FI”) by the age of 35 and shared that we are already over halfway to our target net worth of $1,250,000! Since that time, our net worth has climbed to reach that goal…so we increased it to $1,875,000. Here’s last month’s update in case you missed it, and here’s how we fared last year in total.
This post is the latest in a regular series of monthly financial updates to track our progress to FI and beyond. Bear with me – I’m a little obsessed with spreadsheets and track every penny we make and spend in excruciating detail. I’ll do my best to summarize that activity in a way that gives enough insight into our financial maneuverings without boring you to tears.
Net Worth
Here’s where our net worth ended up through June 2024:
| | BALANCE | CHANGE FROM PRIOR MONTH |
| ASSETS | | |
| Cash, Checking, Savings | $72,718 | ($203) |
| Investments | $1,592,043 | $60,837 |
| LIABILITIES | | |
| Credit Cards | ($5,711) | $4,069 |
| Car Loan | ($25,700) | $301 |
| Misc. Other Debts | ($80) | $0 |
| NET WORTH | $1,633,270 | $65,004 |
The S&P 500 climbed yet again in June, propelling our net worth upward.
Let’s check out each individual category:
Cash, Checking, Savings
This consists mostly of our emergency fund held in a high-yield online savings account at Ally Bank. The rest is held in a “big bank” for depositing our paychecks and paying bills. Now that we’ve re-entered the workforce, our goal is to continue socking away as much as possible (within reason) and building our savings back up to about two years of living expenses.
Investments
Most of our investments track the S&P 500 or a similar index. We contributed $14,400 of our own in June in addition to $51,200 in market gains. With our cash buffer and regular paychecks, there’s no need to actually sell any investments any time soon, giving the market time to climb. The only real reason for me to track market performance is for these monthly updates.
Credit Cards
Just the balance on our various credit cards (we use these extensively to fund our travel hacking exploits) as of the end of the month. We pay these off on time and in full each month, so the change in this balance will usually manifest itself in the expenses below.
Car Loan
We were hoping to run our 2009 Toyota RAV-4 into the ground someday in the distant future, but that day came sooner than expected. So in January 2023 we purchased a shiny new Subaru Forester and *gasp* financed it all. The plan is to pay off the loan in full before leaving the workforce again, whenever that may be.
Misc. Other Debts
Usually just my administrative accounting of who owes what for various fantasy sports leagues. Fantasy baseball season is upon us so some of the league fees have rolled in.
Expenses
Here’s a look at our expenses for the month of June:
| EXPENSES | Budget | Actual | (Over)/Under |
| Home (mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, etc.) | $2,124.42 | $2,008.16 | $116.26 |
| Utilities | $136.67 | $140.56 | ($3.89) |
| Automotive | $790.80 | $846.65 | ($55.85) |
| Groceries | $500.00 | $337.41 | $162.59 |
| Dining Out | $150.00 | $319.69 | ($169.69) |
| Health & Beauty | $487.33 | $513.62 | ($26.29) |
| Cell Phones | $41.67 | ($515.12) | $556.79 |
| Travel & Entertainment | $1,174.67 | $140.17 | $1,034.50 |
| Pets | $154.17 | $335.74 | ($181.57) |
| Merchandise | $175.11 | ($1,064.09) | $1,239.20 |
| Other Expenses | $515.17 | $591.84 | ($76.67) |
| Total Expenses | $6,250.00 | $3,654.63 | $2,595.37 |
A relatively quiet spending month in June, which has been a rarity for us lately.
Let’s take a look at individual categories:
Home Expenses & Utilities
A full month of rent and utilities. Utilities included internet, electricity, water/sewer, and trash.
Automotive
The budget includes our $471 monthly loan payment in addition to conservative estimates for insurance, gas, and maintenance.
In addition to the loan payment, June included just a bit of gas and a car wash.
Groceries & Dining Out
We upped the grocery budget for 2024 in order to encourage ourselves to buy healthier ingredients without worrying too much about the price. A grocery run at the end of May resulted in less to buy in June.
We have also informally upped the dining out budget, as we want to continue to explore new restaurants in the area. The decreased spending on groceries was offset by higher spending on dining out this month.
Health & Beauty
This category includes all health and beauty related spending: gym memberships, beauty products, wellness treatments, etc. It does not include our monthly insurance premiums – I account for the cost of health insurance in our budget when paying out of our own pocket but that cost is absorbed by our paychecks while working.
Nothing really notable or unexpected this month.
Cell Phones
As I’ve explained previously, we both have cell phone plans through Mint Mobile that provide unlimited talk, text, and a certain amount of 4G LTE data. My plan is about $15 per month for 5GB, while Mrs. FIby35 recently upgraded to the unlimited data plan at $25 per month. Still fantastically affordable. Additionally, Mrs. FIby35’s employer reimburses her bill. Her annual renewal was done in May and reimbursed in June.
We love Mint Mobile and highly recommend their services for a much more affordable option than some of the big names out there. I’d be thrilled if you used this referral link and signed up with them. Mr. Rebates is also running a $5 cash back deal that you could use to stack your savings. Rakuten is offering $5 cash back as well if that’s more your style.
Travel & Entertainment
Very minimal activity this month since the only travel activity was driving from Florida up to Wisconsin to visit family for a few weeks.
Pets
Our pup required an emergency trip to the vet this month. He seems fine now, but these episodes have been happening on occasion and will be monitored closely going forward.
Merchandise
Much of what was purchased in May was returned in June.
Other Expenses
Mrs. FIby35 had some more work expenses that will be reimbursed in July.
Conclusion
After a busy few months of Spring, June slowed down considerably for us as we escaped from the climbing Florida heat. While our spending was down, the market was up – sounds like a winning combination!
How was your month, financially or otherwise? Leave a comment below!
