My Frugal Miser - June 2021 Expenses

Even though I splurged on a completely unnecessary and totally frivolous experience, expenses were lower than income in June.  

• I am contributing $1,050/month to a dedicated account for household spending now that we no longer have a mortgage to pay.  This will only be spent on improving the house.  Soon we will be adding a concrete patio and sidewalk.  After that I will get estimates on remodeling a bedroom to turn it into a master suite.
• Ever since we began the keto lifestyle our spending on food has been much higher.  Hopefully the weight loss means I am healthier and will benefit from lower healthcare costs in the future.
• I won 2 HealthyWage challenges.  The prize money offsets the Health & Dental category.  I've been having major lower back pain and visited the doctor for help.  The co-pay and a prescription, along with a physical therapy consultation, added a nominal amount to the category.

Fun

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

• Now that we've moved, Regal has the closest theater to our home.  With movies returning, we signed up for Regal Unlimited.  I prepaid for a year at the monthly rate of $18.  This is a few dollars cheaper than AMC A-List and I know we will get our money's worth since going to the movies is a big part of our entertainment.
• After a hugely successful week selling put options on AMC, I decided to take a week of profits and splurge - seriously splurge - on tickets to Music Midtown in Atlanta.  I used to go to the festival years ago, and when I saw my favorite musician was playing, along with several others I would enjoy seeing, I decided to pull the trigger on "Super VIP" tickets.  As I get older, my tolerance for crowds, heat and gross restrooms has gone down.  These tickets give us a private air-conditioned lounge with unlimited free food and drinks, private viewing area, and our own restrooms, as well as golf cart transportation between stages.  I feel like we will be spoiled by the experience.
• We visited our friend for a day in Boca Raton.  She just finished a 12 week round of chemo and we went to see her just before her last treatment.  

June Expenses:  $5,970

$400 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$250 Bank Fees (annual fee on United Quest card)
$0 Clothing/ Personal Care
$3,104 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$621 Food

($166) Health and Dental income this month

$1,058 Household/Home Repairs

$0 Unreimbursed Job Expense

$19 Reimbursed Job Expense

$0 Interest Expense

$73 Miscellaneous

$366 Taxes

$245 Utilities 

My Frugal Miser - June 2021 Income

June was yet another strong month for income.

The Airbnb was booked 29 days.  I blocked one day because we were working in Orlando and don't have a cleaner for when we are away.  July is already fully booked with the exception of one day plus 3 days I have blocked due to our work schedule.

Rent was paid on two of my three Birmingham rentals.  The tenant at the condo did not pay rent.  This has been an ongoing issue that I will need to address once the eviction moratorium has been lifted.  I haven't decided whether I will evict the tenant or simply be more aggressive with collection.  For now, I am taking advantage of having a tenant in place by having some repairs/improvements done.  It's always beneficial having a tenant in place to allow contractors access to the home and to report back to me on their work.

I did a small amount of rideshare.  Lyft offered a $200 bonus for completing 20 rides one week.  Without the bonus it would be hard to justify doing it.  I did 4 meeting jobs:  3 small jobs and one multi-day.

June Income: $10,512

$0 Mystery Shopping/ Merchandising
$1,236 Meeting Jobs
$318 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$922 Amazon Deliveries
$2425 Rental Income (Rental Expenses:  $1,103)
$3,729 Airbnb Income (Airbnb Expenses:  $1,019)
$10 Interest Income

$1,872 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value:  $2,574

My investment accounts were up slightly.  I sold a very small portion of my Vereit stock.  The shares fell almost $2/share in June, resulting in a $6,000 paper loss on the remaining shares I have.  I was able to offset that by selling more put options on AMC.  Thus far this has been an easy way to generate cash with relatively low risk.  The strategy is similar to an insurance company collecting a premium on a policy.  I offer someone the ability to sell AMC stock at deeply out of the money prices, and do so on short-dated options.  For example, when AMC was selling for $58/share, I offered a put expiring in one week that could only be exercised if the shares fell below $30/share.  Sure, it's possible for the stock to lose almost half its value in one week.  Just not terribly likely.