My monthly spending and budget report is what keeps me focused. It came very late again this month. We were away on a small holiday. I must say, we are blessed to have opportunities to travel like we do as a family. How nice is it that after all that I have to come and account to myself in this space. This tracking of my income and spending alone has made me much better at taking care of my personal finances. Being conscious of my spending proved to be healthier
than I ever imagined. I still hate drawing a budget but I am very aware of where my money comes from and where it goes.I think I will fall in love with budgeting at some point.
My online income was down by 33%. I was expecting the worst, which helped. Low expectations are really great in disappointment management. All I want in 2012 is to double my tiny online income. I am not quite in the league of people who live off of their online businesses. I just keep doing this at a slow pace to keep my mind active. The income also helps.
Remember in October I had an extra 54% left over at the end of it all, then November saw me 15% in deficit. I dipped in my savings. In December, despite the holiday, I am back up. I have a challenge on the real estate assets. I have a very late rental payment, which I will do a post about, shortly. That unit will be vacant in March if I fail to get a tenant. Scary thought but that's how the real estate income goes. If you have one unit, a tenant default means zero income. It actually puts you on the negative because you pay for the property itself and then for its maintenance.
My December 2011 monthly spending and budget report:
| INCOME | % OF TOTAL | NOTES |
| Real Estate | 56% | Our mortgages is set on some 3 tier interest rates. We have gone past tier 1 and 2 and we are now on 3 where the rates are the lowest. January is my first low mortgage payment. |
| Hubby Allowance | 36% | |
| Once off | 0% | |
| Online | 8% | December is always bad in my online business. Its my dry month. January will be great, I know. |
| Dividends | 0% | This is not monthly YET. 2012 will be spent growing this. |
| ITEM | %OF INCOME | NOTES |
| Real Estate | 26.1% | 1 mortgage, gas & taxes/rates. |
| RA & Unit Trusts | 7.5% | Fixed |
| Loan to Business | 0% | |
| Internet/ Phones | 1% | I keep this very low. |
| Consumer | 26.5% | Groceries and all that jazz. |
| Withdrawals&Fees | 11.4% | This was a cash month. I withdrew cash twice. |
| Giving | 8.5% | Back down. |
| To Invest | 19% | so proud of me! |
Remember in October I had an extra 54% left over at the end of it all, then November saw me 15% in deficit. I dipped in my savings. In December, despite the holiday, I am back up. I have a challenge on the real estate assets. I have a very late rental payment, which I will do a post about, shortly. That unit will be vacant in March if I fail to get a tenant. Scary thought but that's how the real estate income goes. If you have one unit, a tenant default means zero income. It actually puts you on the negative because you pay for the property itself and then for its maintenance.
