April - May Expenses

The months keep rolling on and the temperature keeps rising.  I really enjoy this time of year in Japan.  It’s right before the rainy season hits in which, next to winter, is my least favorite time.  But for a brief period it’s warm enough to bike in just shorts and a t-shirt, stay out enjoying the company of friends till all hours, and basically hit the out doors any time.  Picnics and days at the beach (as well as the end of the first term of school and summer break) are just over the hill.

Of course I still have a job which means I only really get to enjoy about 7 or 8 days max of this fine fine weather.  The other days are spent in a suit and tie in a classroom.  I don’t mind teaching, it’s a challenging, and very rewarding field.  Sure I get upset at students, and not every less plan I make is a winner.  But, it sure beats the nine to five in other fields. 

Alas teaching is still mandatory.  I must teach in order to live.  I’m aiming to one day have everything in my life be about choices.  One day I can choose to get up and go teach while the next day maybe enjoy one of those picnics or days at the beach.  In order to achieve this level of freedom I have to be careful with my money and that is why I track my expenses every month, down to my very last yen.  I do this myself in an excel workbook of my own design.  Let’s see how I did:

INCOME

Paycheck:  ¥299,484

Gympact:  ¥1,000

TOTAL:  ¥300,484

Income fell this month.  I didn’t do any work at my part time job during the March to April pay period.  I was on vacation and also preparing for the new school year that began in April.  It’s too bad that I couldn’t get any extra work in but at the same time I didn’t want to push myself beyond what I know I can handle.  In addition my job forgot to add my raise onto my paycheck (it was added to the next paycheck) and the transportation expense I thought I was going to receive is now being split up monthly so I’ll be seeing that next month.

EXPENSES

Rent:  ¥50,100

Eating Out:  ¥28,963

Groceries:  ¥15,784

Transportation:  ¥3,730

Bills:  ¥7,905

Entertainment:  ¥300

Alcohol:  ¥3,993

Bike:  ¥14,847

Travel:  ¥30,440

School Supplies:  ¥520

Fees:  ¥1,944

TOTAL:  ¥158,526

SAVINGS RATE:  47.34%

Expenses were certainly higher this month.  I paid off my credit card which included my bullet train ticket to Hiroshima in March for the bike trip I took with my GF.  It also included some bike tools like a large torque wrench, some players, and bits.  I’m happy to report there has been little to no activity on the CC lately so the coming months will be quite nice.

My savings rate for this month was 47.34% and here are the savings rates for the year.

March  42.85%

February  65.43%

January  47.36%

My average savings rate for the year is 51.88%.  This is below my target goal of 55%.  Due to the setback in receiving my raise and the extra expenses this month I once against missed my target goal.  The high savings rate for February is helping to keep my average up.  I’ve been busy at work so I haven’t been going out lately which means I see higher rates going forward for the rest of the year.  August in particular will be a good month as I get six weeks paid vacation during which time I can still work at other jobs. 

How's everybody else doing?