My Favorite Time of Year and October 2022 Financial Results

Welcome to Rich Frugal Life’s October 2022 financial results!

Before we get into the numbers, here’s a little bit about what we were up to last month.

Fall is finally here!

October is my favorite month. It always has been and probably always will be.

Growing up in New England, the arrival of October meant crisp mornings, colorful leaves, pumpkin patches, fresh apple cider and warm cider donuts (yum!). Fall is when New England looks like a postcard. It’s also the time of year when I feel the most nostalgic for my childhood home.

Fall in Arizona starts much later. However, when the cooler weather finally arrives you’ll see Arizonans back outdoors in droves. The break in temperatures is truly appreciated after months of brutal summer heat. By the end of October, we can finally enjoy being out in nature again. We can also leave the windows open and actually grow things in the garden.

It’s not the same as my childhood, but it’s still my favorite time of year.

San Diego Vacation

We took a three-night and four-day road trip to San Diego this month during our daughter’s Fall Break. The total costs for this vacation are reflected in our October spending under the ‘Travel’ category.

Highlights of our trip included visiting the San Diego Zoo and the gorgeous coastline views while hiking in Torrey Pines State Reserve.

I started writing more about the trip here, but the word count quickly got out of hand, so I moved the discussion to its own post (published last week). You can read more about everything we did and get a break out of how we spent $1,285 on our San Diego vacation HERE.

Backyard renovation progress

Our backyard renovation is still in process… I promise to finally provide updated pictures and costs next month.

Without further ado, here are our October 2022 financial results, with all the juicy details of this month’s spending, passive income, savings rate, and investments.

Why share the details of our spending and finances?

Because I’m nosey and enjoy reading about other people’s spending habits and net worth.  Maybe you do, too.

Everyone’s financial situation is unique.  However, I believe there is value in sharing information to provide context and normalize the discussion of money.

Seeing other people happily embrace simpler lives gave us the confidence to begin our own journey to financial independence and a lifestyle we believe will be healthier, happier, and more fulfilling.  I’m just trying to pay it forward.  Sharing our finances each month also helps us stay accountable.

Other information useful in reading our monthly financial results

Did we just buy a money pit?

We bought a complete fixer upper in late 2018… with a toddler.  When we moved across the country for Mr. RFL’s job, housing costs were much higher than we were used to.  So, we decided to just go for it when we found a great deal on a fixer upper.

We’ve been working on projects ever since, trying to do as much as we can ourselves to learn some new skills and save money.  Since the costs of a whole home renovation are significant and non-recurring, we don’t include them in our monthly expense budget.  However, we do share renovation costs each month for full transparency.  

How we define an “expense”

The table below shows all expenses for the month, excluding renovation costs.  Principal payments on debt are not included.  As a former accountant, I don’t view principal payments as “expenses,” since they directly reduce debt and increase net worth.  We don’t anticipate having any debt in retirement. 

October 2022 Financial Results

Investments

As mentioned in our recent net worth update, I will no longer be sharing our total investment balance or net worth going forward.

We’ve already surpassed our financial independence goal, so that information is no longer necessary for someone to understand where we are along our FIRE journey.

However, I will still be regularly sharing updates on our investing strategy, portfolio allocation, and other investing information that I believe might be helpful.

During October, we made a net investment of $5,200 to our Financial Independence (“FI”) portfolio. This number includes employer matches but does not include reinvested dividends.   

Although we’ve invested the majority of our excess earnings so far in 2022, we’ll need to funnel any excess cash into our Donor-advised Fund for the rest of the year in order to reach our charitable giving goal.

Here’s a break-out of how that money was invested:

Regularly tracking our investments and net worth has been a big factor in our financial success.

You can easily track your investments and net worth, as well as plan for retirement, for FREE with Personal Capital (affiliate link).

Debt

We currently have $171,600 in debt, the majority of which relates to our mortgage.

Because our mortgage has a fixed interest rate of 2.5%, which is what our high-yield savings account pays, we don’t plan on making additional principal payments anymore. 

Savings Rate

Our after-tax savings rate this month was 74.5%.

Not too bad, considering that this month included all the costs for our vacation to San Diego.

We calculate our savings rate after taxes, as we believe this allows us to best understand our true living expenses. It also allows for better compare our expenses and savings rates over a period of time. Although we currently pay a lot in taxes, we expect this number to be much lower in early retirement.

October 2022 Financial Results: Monthly spending

Ok, full disclosure time! The table below shows our expenses for the month, along with some additional thoughts (or excuses).

*Does not include monthly spending for home renovation of $348, or charitable contributions made, which we don’t share publicly or treat as “expenses” (to encourage more giving).

Housing-Related – $755

Housing-related costs include mortgage interest paid, and a monthly allocation for property taxes, insurance, and HOA dues. 

Insurance – $474

This category includes our premiums for auto, term life, personal liability, and health insurance.

Health insurance premiums are withheld from Mr. RFL’s paycheck, but all our other insurance plans are paid annually or biannually.  We allocate an amount for auto insurance each month since the cost is high, but other insurance premiums are included here only when they’re actually paid.

This month we also paid the annual premium on my small term life insurance policy.

Food – $632

After spending over $1,000 last month, we were able to keep spending in this category under budget for October.

Although we dined out for most meals during our vacation in San Diego, these costs go to the ‘Travel’ budget. Other than that, Mr. RFL and I had one lunch date this month and we got takeout from a local restaurant twice.  

Household Consumables – $48

This category includes most of the non-food consumables used in our household, such as toilet paper, shampoo, skincare, laundry detergent, cleaning products, etc. 

A third of this month’s spending went to tape. Our kindergartener uses a ridiculous amount of the stuff, so it was time to start buying it in bulk at Costco.

Utilities – $347

Utilities includes electric, water, gas, and security. 

We’re finally cooling down in Arizona, which means the start of the cheap time of year for utilities. Yay!

Air conditioning is a necessity in the summer here, but we rarely need to use our heat in the winter.

Fees – $95

We paid $95 for the annual fee on our American Express Blue Cash Preferred card this month.

Although I’m typically not a fan of cards with annual fees, I absolutely love this card!

It pays 6% cash back on purchases made at grocery stores, up to $6,000 each year. This includes food, as well as any household consumables, alcohol, or gift cards we buy at grocery stores. Our grocery store chain has a great “fuel points” program which makes buying gift cards there an even better deal. 

The card also pays 6% back on streaming, 3% back on gas and transit, and now offers a credit on Disney bundles (up to $84 per year) and Equinox (up to $120 per year).

Every year, before the annual fee is charged, I do a full nerdy analysis of our cash back cards to make sure the benefits are still outweighing the costs based on our spending habits. This includes comparing this card to Amex’s no-fee version of the card. So far, it’s always been well worth the fee.

Note: The credit card link above is my referral link. If you apply using my link, you’ll receive a $250 cash bonus after spending $3,000 within the first 6-months (this offer may change in the future so check the link). I’ll also receive a $75 credit to my account, at no extra cost to you, so thank you for your support!

Alcohol – $141

Purchased a nice bottle of bourbon and 11 bottles of wine at the grocery store during a big sale.

Travel – $1,285

For more details of what we did and how we spent this money on our road trip to San Diego, check out this post.

Entertainment & Learning – $12

This category is for television, streaming music, books, games, concerts, and other family activities.

Clothes – $49

I bought another new pair of sandals from Amazon this month (affiliate link). But in all fairness, two pairs of my old sandals officially bit the dust this month. That’s a net decrease, folks.

I also bought some leggings from Costco.

Child Care – $176

We prepaid for a few days a week of after-school care for the month of November.

Kid Activities & Other Purchases – $49

This month we bought the kiddo some winter PJ’s, a wig for Halloween, and a couple books from the school’s book fair.

Furniture, Tools & Other Home Purchases – $357

This month we bought a bunch of patio furniture covers (affiliate link) to protect the outdoor furniture purchased last month from the Arizona sun. The sun here destroys pretty much EVERYTHING it touches within months.

We also bought Mr. RFL a new electronic toothbrush. Well technically we bought two new electronic toothbrushes. Surprisingly, it was cheaper to buy the two-pack on sale from Costco than to buy a single toothbrush elsewhere.

Finally, I added a few more Stasher bags to my collection (affiliate link). I’m digging them.

October 2022 Financial Results: Other Income

While the majority of our income still comes from W-2 wages and related employee benefits (i.e. 401k match), we’re continuing to build our passive and other income streams.

The total non-employer related income earned this month was $1,087.

Interest & Dividends

We earned $954 in interest and dividends this month.

Not as high as last month, but not too shabby either!

Cash Back Rewards

We received $133 in cash back rewards this month.

We strategize the timing of expenses and charge everything we can in order to maximize credit card rewards. However, we always pay the full balance due each month.

That’s it for our October 2022 financial results. How’d your month go?

Sharing is caring! If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it on social media. This helps the blog continue to grow and reach a larger audience. Thank you for your support!

Disclaimers:

The content included in this blog reflects the author’s opinions and personal experiences, which may be different than your own. This blog is not a replacement for, nor is it intended to represent, financial or investing advice.

This post may include affiliate or referral links (blogging isn’t cheap). You can show your support for this blog by using one of my referral links or by making any purchase on Amazon a link on this blog (excluding gift cards). Using one of these links to make a purchase or open a new account may provide a small commission or referral fee to us (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!!

Rich Frugal Life is a member of affiliate programs for Amazon, Personal Capital, and other vendors. Personal Capital Advisors Corporation compensates Rich Frugal Life for new leads (Rich Frugal Life is not an investment client of PCAC).

Please refer to our disclosure and privacy policy for further details.