As I mentioned in my May 2013 net worth post, I spent too much and, as a result, did not save enough in May 2013. The result would have been a lot worse but for the fact that I actually received cash this month for 'group expenditure' items which have to be paid off next month. Much like March 2013, this month really bites however I am also going to have a bad result next month which I will discuss further below.
The major movements in my 3 accounts are listed below:
| Item | May 2013 | Target | Over/(Under) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share Investments | +$1,563 | +$2,000 | -$437 |
| Offset Acct. | +$1,945 | +$3,500 | -$1,555 |
| Personal expenditure | +$4,312 | +$2,200 | +$2,112 |
The major movements in my 3 accounts are listed below:
- Share investments
- This month I did not actively transfer any funds into my share investment account however I did actually put more money into the market
- I normally have a certain amount that sits in my share trading account and I count this as money invested in shares
- This month I did not transfer any funds into this account however made 2 purchases of shares - one of a resources index fund per my post on a buying opportunity at the start of the month and the second a purchase of shares in an Australian share index fund at the end of the month
- I also continued to contribute to my employee share investment plan
- This month also saw some DRP shares come on which helped increase my share holdings for the month
- With all these affects I was only slightly below my target investment level
- Home Loan Offset account
- This month had several countervailing factors affecting this account
- I could not save as much because of my personal expenditure which ran much higher than expected (see below)
- The decrease in home loan interest rates meant that my interest cost decreased materially
- I had several utilities bills (water, rates etc) fall duet his month. These fall due on a quarterly basis and are fairly stable but
- Cumulatively I under-invested by about $2,000 for the month
- Personal expenditure
- I am still having trouble getting this account under control - what seems to happen is that I will have a very bad month and then will try and control my expenditure and then have a good month which will go bad
- Last month I had quite a bad month and so had to pay back a rather large credit card bill however this month I had several expenses I had not foreseen which also affected my personal account including
- An $800 maintenance bill for my car
- Going on 2 weekend trips and booking an short overseas holiday with my new girlfriend
On a cumulative basis my performance from the start of 2013 can be seen below:
| Item | Jan 13 - May 13 | Target | Over/(Under) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share Investments | +$6,637 | +$10,000 | -$3,363 |
| Offset Acct. | +$8,189 | +$17,500 | -$9,011 |
| Personal expenditure | +$22,137 | +$11,000 | +$11,137 |
My personal expenditure is still a major negative drag on my investment accounts which I am looking to remedy. I broke it down last month and although I allow myself $2,200 in personal expenditure for the month about half of this (~$1,100) goes out before I even think about it for things like rent, gym membership and charitable donations. I think it should be possible to survive on $1,100 a month on non essentials but the last few months have seen me run at approximately double to triple this. I am going to continue to try and bring it down.
My credit card bill for June is huge and that alone has busted through my personal expenditure target. However I have been trying to save more so hopefully July will result in a better outcome. At June I will do a 6 month evaluation of how I have been going.
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