My Frugal Miser - December 2025 Income

December was another mediocre month for income.  I only worked one meeting along with three corporate parties.  One of my rental properties is still vacant.  I switched to a new management company and the house was re-listed for rent at the end of the month.  I received rent from the Birmingham condo and two distributions from Realty Mogul.

Open Door Capital continues to pay interest on the promissory note.

December Income: $9,409

$4,164 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$231 Amazon Deliveries

$2,738 Rental Income (Rental Expenses: $4,101)
$2,160 Interest Income

$115 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value: $35,977

My brokerage accounts were up significantly in December.  I had several PUT options and a short position against iRobot before the company declared bankruptcy.  Amazingly, I was able to add to my PUT options after the bankruptcy declaration for additional profit.  I also have some bets against AMC theaters which have increased in value.

My Frugal Miser - December 2025 Spending

December looks like I was a total glutton, but I brought forward some expenses for a reason:  I was really close to getting status on American Airlines, and prepaying some expenses before my December statement took me over the threshold.  Emboldened, I have decided to aim for Platinum before the February 28th cutoff.

These last couple of months I've been working strategically to obtain loyalty status.  Let's face it:  I travel for a living, and getting extra perks makes it less stressful.  By doing a little planning, I have locked in AAdvantage Gold Status (and I still have a couple months to try for Platinum!), Hilton Honors Diamond, and Marriott Bonvoy Platinum (unfortunately a downgrade from the current Titanium, but even getting Platinum required some effort this year).  

• I prepaid for $1,000 toward the water/trash bill.  
• I prepaid for 12 months of mobile phone service for both of us. 
• I paid property taxes on both rental properties using a credit card.
• I made a huge quarterly tax payment.  It's most likely more than my tax liability and I'll get any overpayment back as a refund.
• I bought a dozen air filters to take advantage of an AMEX Offer for $20 back on a Walmart purchase.
• I bought $3,000 in Amazon gift cards.

Fun (aka Personal Travel)

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  

• My AMEX card had an offer of $100 cash back if I spent $500 on Carnival Cruise, so I prepaid towards one of our 2026 cruises.
• I visited my mom twice in December.  Those hotel bills along with the rental car are categorized as "fun".
• I pay for two AMC A-List subscriptions each month.

December Expenses:  $24,321

$609 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$0 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$20 Clothing/ Personal Care

$1,330 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$932 Food

$818 Health and Dental

$3,220 Household/Home Repairs

$412 Unreimbursed Job Expense

($323) Reimbursed Job Expense income this month

$16 Interest Expense

$310 Miscellaneous (cat sitter, gifts)

$15,292 Taxes

$1,725 Utilities 

My Frugal Miser - How I'm Saving Money in 2026

So, the plan is to simplify life for 2026 and get back to being super-frugal. Here's what's happening:  I've Started Chopping Stuff:

• Credit Cards:
  • Kicked the Chase Southwest Airlines Premiere card to the curb (saving a hefty $229 annual fee).
  • The AMEX Business Gold Card is next, but I'm snagging the January and February $20 Grubhub credits first. That's a $375 annual fee gone!
  • Ditching the United Quest card because the annual fee is jumping to $350, and they stiffed me twice on a promised $40 rental car credit. Not cool—I'll use other cards with easier perks.
• Subscriptions/Services:
  • Canceled the security camera's online recording fee, which saves $4/month (the cameras still work, though).
  • Signed up for a free Amazon Prime trial and bailed before I had to pay the regular rate.
  • Switched internet from T-Mobile Home to Mint Mobile Minternet—same service, but I'm saving $20.

How I'm Saving Cash Every Day:

• Electricity: I'm using a smart meter to time the water heater to only turn on overnight when the electricity rate is low. It's working, and I make sure to turn it totally off when I'm out of town.
• Grocery Hunting: After the gym, I hit up the Walmart Market for those "yellow stickers" (discounted stuff). Mid-morning seems best for getting cheap meat, deli items, and produce. Last week's score? Twelve cans of refried beans for a quarter each!
• Tracking: Once December closes out, I'm going to compare this year's spending to last year's to find other places to cut back.

My Frugal Miser - Getting Simple for 2026

Life's gotten too complicated, so I'm simplifying things in late 2025 and 2026!

The big reasons for this are:

• My mom's dementia is making me realize I need to not over-complicate my own life.

• I almost got the power cut off at a rental property because I missed the first bill—too much going on!

• Too many accounts, subscriptions, and "irons in the fire" mean I'm missing important stuff.

What I've ditched so far:

• Canceled a $4/month subscription for security camera features I never use (the cameras still work, though).

• Got rid of the Southwest Airlines credit card. The annual fee is jumping from $149 to $229, and they're calling old benefits "new." No thanks!

What's next on the chopping block:

• Credit Cards: I spend way too much time debating which card to use. I'm focusing on canceling the ones with annual fees first.

• The AMEX Business Gold card is definitely going this time (I snagged a retention bonus earlier, but now I'm cutting ties for real).

• I'm still playing the "points" game, but I'll only sign up for new cards for the bonus and then cancel them once they've served their purpose.

• Real Estate Syndications in Personal Accounts: I got into these in 2019 to simplify things, and while they cut down on the hassle of owning rentals, the returns have been awful.

• I have 12 personal investments and 4 in my self-directed IRA.

• As the 12 personal ones mature, I'm moving the cash back to my brokerage account.

• Syndications in the IRA still make sense for tax reasons, but I need to get better at picking good deals.

I've got plenty to do, and I haven't even mentioned everything. Clutter-control is a big one that I'll have to talk about in a future post.