If nothing else, I can say that I’ve been spending less than I earn for some time now, even if in some cases that’s only due to luck or extra side income. I saved $1,815 from being spent this month. Here are the details.
First of all, my salary looks low compared to the other three months listed in the table (April 2004, April 2005, and March 2006). In those three months, I happened to have three paychecks in all cases. While my base salary is higher now, I only received two paychecks and barely any overtime this month. In fact, the overtime situation is making me nervous. I’ve always relied on money from overtime, and there may not be as much in my new job. On the other hand, less time commuting and less time in the office mean more time for other things.
What you see in my charity category is a one-time contribution to one organization as well as a quarterly payment to another. While I don’t give a lot of money to non-profit organizations, I give a large amount of time. Even still, I’m approximately quadrupling my charitable contributions in 2006 compared to last year.
My lower tax expense relates to my lower salary income. The negative expense in subscriptions is due to a refund that is slightly higher than the original expense. Everything else seems to be relatively straightforward.
Published or updated May 3, 2006. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
