Financial Review: May 2019
PURPOSE
In support of my 2019 Goals, I plan and track my income, savings & spending in a monthly budget.
In addition to my annual goal, I also compete (with myself) to have the highest possible monthly savings rate—I aim for 70%. Savings rate is often considered a benchmark for financial health and a brag worthy metric.
DEFINITIONS
Savings rate calculations can be open to interpretation, so here are the definitions I’m working with:
Savings = anything that increases my net worth:
401k contributions
Roth IRA contributions
principle payments on a loan
savings account contributions
Income = take home pay + 401k contributions
Savings Rate = Savings / Income
THE NUMBERS
SAVINGS RATE: MAY 2019
SAVINGS BY TYPE: MAY 2019
INSIGHTS
I had surgery on 4/18/19, so the month of May saw financial irregularities related to recovery:
Lyft & Uber rides to and from work
reduced income from taking time off of my part time job
increased food spending because I brought less food home from my part time job
Even though I took time off from my part time job, I still managed to bring home nearly $8k because May was a 3 paycheck month—I got paid on the 3rd, 17th and 31st.
The stock market declined in May, so while I contributed $500 to my Roth IRA, the value of my portfolio only increased by $14. Not to worry, I was able to make my final contributions of the month during this “sale”. In other words, I was able to pick up more shares this month than last month even though I contributed the same dollar amount. As the price per share increases over time, I’ll see the value of my portfolio increase. And while I don’t actively partake in market timing, I did enjoy May’s dip.