September 2008 – Income, Net Worth, Cash Back Review

This was an ok month for me. It was the first time I’ve really tracked my spending since last spring. I wasn’t sure if I could stick to my budget facing inflated prices. One interesting thing I noticed was that it wasn’t too hard to stick to my tight spending restrictions for groceries and gas, but I have totally left other spending categories out of my budget. Donations, computer security, and auto related expenses to name a few. I’ve read different opinions on how to handle irregular expenses in a budget, but I haven’t really tried them before. I usually just take that money from my debt reduction funds as the needs come up. It would be nice to have a rough annual estimate and treat it like a regular monthly expense into a savings account until I need it. That would definitely make it easier to make realistic financial goals. More on that later… now for the monthly review…

September Challenge

Goal: $400 $650 Additional Income
Actual: $549.51

I set the bar a little higher this month in a last ditch effort to meet my year end debt reduction goals. I didn’t quite meet the new $650 goal, but I did go above and beyond my typical $400 so it was definitely worth trying! If you’re always meeting your goals, you’re not setting them high enough, right? I’m going to keep this high goal with the understanding that my career comes first. I may not be able to meet this goal, but it will serve as a little extra motivation :)

Here’s the complete list:

Money Makin’ (Extra Income)
$430.31 Tutor.com
$3.73 ING Interest
$4.00 Affiliate Links
$57.07 Inbox Dollars
$20.00 Chase Cashback
$5.00 School Supplies Rebate
$9.40 Prosper Loans
$20.00 Discover Cashback

September Net Worth

Net Worth: ($35,802)
Increased: 17.67%

Talk about a boost. The 401(k) contribution from my employer overshadows the losses from health care expenses and car depreciation. Last month I had all but given up on meeting my year end goal of cutting my net debt in half… now it doesn’t look to far off. I feel a little bit guilty about counting my total 401(k) balance rather than only whats vested. What do you think about that? Do you could retirement savings before its fully vested?

September Cash Back

Chase: 1.8%
CitiCard: 1.6%
Discover: 9.2%
Average Cash Back Rate: 2.4%

Not really sure why the Discover cashback reward was so high, but I’ll take it. September was the last month for me to get 5% back on Gas from Discover’s Get More. October through December categories include Groceries, Restaurants, and Movies. I usually don’t find it hard to juggle these three cards, but I’ve really going to have to make a conscious effort to remember it this time. Discover – Grocery. Chase – Gas. Ok, got it. In other news, I’m finally going to be getting my dividends dollars check after passing $50 this month. That should help with the October Challenge :)

Hope you enjoyed the review, come back and join me again next month!