This is the second article in my monthly short series in which I report my financial details. This income report goes along with the balance sheet recently posted.
September was more of a typical month than the past few. I had fewer out of the ordinary expenses, but I’ll get to that in a little bit. First, here are the numbers. Click on the thumbnail to see the full report.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
* The report is made with Intuit Quicken and Microsoft Excel. Here’s an income and expense report Excel template.
Explanation and Details.
While it looks like my salary decreased this month, it’s actually August that was out of the ordinary due to the calendar. I received two paychecks in September, but two years out of the month, I receive three paychecks. August was one of those months. This is my income from my day job.
My side business income continued to increase in September. Soon, I will start developing a plan for leaving the corporate world and working full time for myself. This goal is still far away; even though my side business income is providing me with more funds than my day job, I won’t leave the corporate world until I’m sure that my side business has a strong possibility for long-term growth and the ability to cover health insurance and other benefits.
The approximately $200 in “other income” came from cash back rebates from my credit card and the realized gain came from selling my second quarter ESPP shares. The program allows me to buy company stock at a 15% discount from the stock price at the beginning or end of the previous quarter.
The expense for gasoline was much lower this month, which takes me a little bit by surprise. Less driving and lower gas prices must have contributed to that decrease.
My entertainment expense grew this month thanks to my purchase of an Xbox 360 and a few games. The games look very nice on my new television. I haven’t determined how often I must play in order to make the purchase worthwhile, but I’ve been having fun playing golf and baseball from my couch. I’ve never been one to spend a lot of time playing video games since the my original Nintendo Entertainment System became obsolete, but I enjoy spending a few minutes here and there “improving my hand-eye coordination.”
In the cable television category, I actually had a “contra-expense” thanks to a refund from Comcast for canceling my service from the old apartment in the middle of the month. The $50 refund was credited against this month’s $38 payment for the last few months.
My power expense was zero because the bill wasn’t deducted from my account until Monday. I account for these expenses on the date they are paid because it’s easier than managing accruals and bills in Quicken.
All in all, I’m very happy with my progress this month. My expectations for October are high. Total expense should be the lowest in several months, but my business income may not be as high as recent trends suggest. I still need to buy tickets for a round trip flight to California for Thanksgiving, but I don’t foresee any other large expenses.
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