After last month’s move and subsequent spending free-for-all, October was a bit more under control from a life perspective. We’ve settled into apartment living about as much as can be expected after almost a year and a half on the lam. Have our finances settled down after September’s whirlwind? Read on below for my October 2023 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 our goal…so we increased it even more. 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 October 2023:
| | BALANCE | CHANGE FROM PRIOR MONTH |
| ASSETS | | |
| Cash, Checking, Savings | $61,977 | ($6,063) |
| Investments | $1,151,865 | ($19,733) |
| LIABILITIES | | |
| Credit Cards | ($4,575) | $7,375 |
| Car Loan | ($28,023) | $297 |
| Misc. Other Debts | $0 | $160 |
| NET WORTH | $1,181,244 | ($17,964) |
Another dip in net worth this month as the stock market shed a few more points. At least we paid off our exorbitant credit card bills from the previous month.
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 and Series I savings bonds. The rest is held in a “big bank” for depositing our paychecks(!) and paying bills. After the sale of our home in May 2022, we decided to keep about 2 years worth of living expenses in some form of savings. We had been spending out of that balance instead of selling investments for the past year and a half. Now that I’ve re-entered the workforce, my paycheck is enough to cover our expenses.
In September we began redeeming some of our I-bonds. Since interest rates were at or below what we can now earn in savings, we cashed out the original $10,000 we each purchased last May. Per the terms of the Treasury, we forfeited the most recent 3 months of interest to do so, but still earned about $1,700 along the way. Unfortunately, redeeming the remaining I-bonds will have to wait until at least the one-year mark in January.
We also received $350 each in bank bonuses for simply opening Capital One 360 Checking Accounts and transferring some money there. The promo listed no length of time required to keep funds in the account, so we already transferred most of it back to our regular checking.
Investments
Most of our investments track the S&P 500, which dropped a bit more in October. With our cash buffer and regular paycheck, 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. In January we purchased a shiny new Subaru Forester and *gasp* financed it all, with payments beginning in March. The plan is to likely pay off the loan in full during our next stage of employment 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. Payouts occurred at the conclusion of fantasy baseball season in October.
Expenses
Here’s a look at our expenses for the month of October:
| EXPENSES | Budget | Actual | (Over)/Under |
| Home (mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, etc.) | $1,128.25 | $0.00 | $1,128.25 |
| Utilities | $0.00 | $65.27 | ($65.27) |
| Automotive | $449.75 | $614.52 | ($164.77) |
| Groceries | $308.33 | $657.87 | ($349.54) |
| Dining Out | $135.42 | $269.68 | ($134.26) |
| Health & Beauty | $568.33 | $1,082.93 | ($514.60) |
| Cell Phones | $33.33 | $0.00 | $33.33 |
| Travel & Entertainment | $1,235.00 | $100.93 | $1,134.07 |
| Pets | $87.50 | $0.00 | $87.50 |
| Merchandise | $135.67 | $574.75 | ($439.08) |
| Other Expenses | $293.42 | $385.63 | ($92.21) |
| Total Expenses | $4,375.00 | $3,751.58 | $623.42 |
At first glance, October spending looks pretty well under control coming in $600 under budget. But when you peek under the hood, you’ll notice we managed to spend $3,750 without a rent payment. Not ideal.
Let’s take a look at individual categories:
Home Expenses & Utilities
We’re back to having our own place of residence! After the flurry of start-up costs in September, we took advantage of a promo for 6 weeks of free rent. That covers all of October and half of November. The only home-related expenses this month were internet ($55) and a new account fee ($10) with the local utility provider.
Automotive
Payments on our new car began in March to the tune of $471/month. Our insurance coverage limits are also slightly higher now to accommodate the umbrella policy purchased in September.
I budgeted conservatively for insurance this year and also had a pretty good chunk budgeted for maintenance. But with the new car, most of that budgeted maintenance will be shifted to paying the loan instead. All in all, the new car shouldn’t cost us much more out of pocket this year than the old one would have. October included more gas than usual, as we explored a bit of the area with guests visiting for a good chunk of the month.
Groceries & Dining Out
Groceries and dining out doubled the budget this month as a result of hosting guests. We had a great time with each of them and ate some delicious meals together. We’ll see if these costs come back under control next month.
Health & Beauty
This category no longer includes our monthly health insurance premium, as we joined my new employer’s insurance plan starting in September. I account for the cost of health insurance in our budget when paying out of our own pocket; that cost just gets absorbed by my paycheck while working.
The main culprit here is some dental work after not having visited the dentist in about a year and a half. We’ve taken steps to hopefully keep these costs to a minimum in the future.
Cell Phones
As I’ve explained previously, we both have cell phone plans through Mint Mobile that only cost about $15 each per month for unlimited talk, text, and 5GB of 4G LTE data (an increase from 4GB after they were bought out by T-Mobile).
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. Right now, you can sign up for 3 months of service just to try it out before committing to a full year. All of their plans are just $15 a month right now! Mr. Rebates is also running a $5 cash back deal that you could use to stack your savings, and Rakuten is offering $5 cash back as well if that’s more your style.
Travel & Entertainment
This month actually included a trip to Las Vegas to see the Packers take on the Raiders. Flights and hotels were paid for on points (of course), and the big expenses were paid in previous months. Unfortunately, the Packers lost but we still had an awesome time. I was reimbursed by friends for some shared costs, hence the low number here.
Pets
Not a penny spent this month – at least one of us can keep their spending under control. But with Black Friday right around the corner, his spending spree will come in due time.
Merchandise
Just some odds and ends here as we settled into our apartment. There are still some returns pending that should clear in November.
Mrs. FIby35 also revamped some of her wardrobe in anticipation of a *GASP* new job.
Other Expenses
Most of this is for plane tickets for an in-person job interview in November, which Mrs. FIby35 crushed. Welcome back to the World of Employment! It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Though it will be nice to have a second paycheck start rolling in later this year to pad our investments and fund our future adventures.
Conclusion
Overall, October was a bit more spendy than I would like but it was worth it. We got to spend quality time with friends and family both here in our new home and in Las Vegas. Though our freedom to pack up and go anywhere at any time is greatly reduced these days, we’ve still planned a few long weekends away in December to help soothe our wanderlust.
Mrs. FIby35’s new job (and practicing a new financial mindset) will allow us to comfortably spend more in 2024 than we ever have, which is exciting and daunting at the same time. We’ve already discussed a big trip or two, though the timeline isn’t the same as our previous year of travels thanks to limited PTO.
Nobody is more interested than I am to see how it all plays out.
Any big plans for 2024, financially or otherwise? Leave a comment below!
