Let me just stick my hand down that running disposal to grab some cash before it disappears…

Another month, another expense report.  This time it’s April.  Yawn.

Notes for April:

• I’m happy about the grocery bill.  I was at home for 3 weeks on vacation and ate nearly all meals in. 3x meals a day for 30 days minus the 4 times I ate out is at least 85 meals, making the average cost per feeding session a little under 3 dollars.  This included some pretty nice stuff — salmon, chicken and stuffing, lasagna with home-made sauce, scones and cakes for dessert, and lots and lots of coffee.
• I saw yet another concert.  This time it was Dream Theater, my all time favorite band.  Fun and worth it at $60.  Besides, I expect to continue to spend money on special events like this after I quit working, so it’s good that these items are appearing on my expense reports.
• House projects took 404.  This includes money for standard spring lawn-care (mulch, grass seed, etc) as well as two indoor projects — replacing door hardware (new hinges and handles on 21 doors plus repainting) and doing a new-tile project for a small bathroom.   The tile project unexpectedly ran $234 over (117 of which I’m accountable for)  because we encountered a plumbing issue that needed professional attention.  The bathroom where the tile was installed also got repainted.  The housing projects are part of our downsizing-the-home initiative and will help us sell fast and close to the top of market prices for same-class single family residences in our town.  Also this blog cost $13 on amazon web services.  It might be more accurate to list the blog under ‘entertainment’ but I’m not changing it right now.

Yearly Total

Net Worth Update

This is the first time I’ve hit 800K on the ‘ol net worth.  Markets have been a little more volatile of late.  I still expect a more lasting correction downward at some point.  The Schiller P/E is very high and signals that the US Market is probably overvalued.

Still, I don’t put much faith in my own throughts.  Research shows that what’s going on in my little human brain means nothing, and it’s impossible to time the market.

So I stick to my automatic investment plan and let it ride, because that’s what works.

Numbers crunched on 4.30.2014

Sticky notes on expense tracking

• The expenses listed represent half of our total household expenses.  I’m 50% of a DINK couple.  The same is true for net worth.  I only list my personal stash — my wife has her own and I’m not tracking it on this blog.  Yeah, we’re completely spoiled.
• You’ll notice that there is no mention of car insurance here.  I pay auto insurance once a year in May when my premium is set.  There’s a 10% discount for paying 12 months in advance, which is a pretty good return on investment.  It’s been coming out to about $60/mo lately pro-rated.
• Similarly, there’s also no mention of home insurance.  We pay the yearly premium annually in full every March.
• I’d love to cut cable but my wife really doesn’t want to.   We have a $150/mo cable/phone/isp package, so my share is $75.  It’s something I’ve agreed to live with because she gets a lot of value out of it and she’s pretty good overall.
• There are menus at the top of the blog (Finances->2014->Month) if you are interested in additional reports.
• I’ve also logged an account of my financial history