Updates as of 4/9/2020
I have wonderful news! I finally received my partial refund from Walt Disney World of $1,268.34, for the unused resort nights, park tickets and dining plan. That refund changed my savings rate from -36% to -15%, which I'm ok with!
March Total Expenses: $6,818.85
Daily Average: $6,818.85 / 31 days = $219.964 / day
Weekly Average: $219.96 x 7 days = $1,539.72 / week
As mentioned below in my original post, this was my first month to have a negative spending rate, which means that I spent more money than I earned for the month. The reason this occurred was two-fold:
1) I had planned an expensive vacation for March
2) I was expecting a client payment to post by the end of March and it did not.
The good news is, my April income will be higher than expected and my expenses will be lower than planned due to the stay-at-home and curfew orders across the country.
Original Post on 4/1/2020
Where am I?
March 1 - 10: Cotacahi, Ecuador
March 10 - 15: Orlando, Florida
March 15 - 31: Placencia, Belize
Estimated Expenses & Goals I expected this month to be the most expensive of my year, but it came out to be more than I had hoped. I anticipated March to have a total expenditure of $6,000 to $6,500 and unfortunately I blew past that range. Total bummer!!
First of all, I had a vacation planned in Orlando, Florida that was suppose to occur from March 10 - 18 but I had to leave very early in the morning on March 15 due to the COVID-19 issues. I had spent $3,505.25 to stay at Port Orleans Riverside and this packaged included the Quick Service Meal Plan and a 7-day Park Hopper Pass. I am waiting patiently to receive a refund for half of the hotel stay, unused dinning plan and hopefully, for 3 days of unused tickets. Best case scenario, I recoup about half of my expenses for that vacation package.
Secondly, I got screwed over by the owners of the first place I was staying at when I got to Belize. Originally, I was suppose to stay at a place from March 18 - April 7, but as travel plans changed I was there from March 15 - 21. I had paid $1308 for the original 2.5 weeks, only ended up staying 1-week, and the owner refuses to reimburse me any of my rent. I'm not going to expand further on this situation but yes, I am furious. And since I left that place early, that means I'm at my second location early too, and technically paying rent in two places at the same time. Yes, this situation sucks. However, I've moved on emotionally because I have a fully funded emergency fund and a contingency plan.
March 1 - 31, 2020 Expenses: $8,088.19
Cigna Global Health Insurance $248.00
Eating Out $134.10 Groceries $356.88
Data & Streaming $ 179.45
Cell Phone $ 48.81
Transportation $ 19.00
Alcoholic Drinks $209.09
Coffee $ 24.50
Entertainment $218.68
Shopping $126.67
Gifts & Donations $ 1.00
Lodging $5,418.17
Daily Average: $8,088.19 / 31 days = $260.91 / day
Weekly Average: $260.91 x 7 days = $1,826.37 / week
Savings Rate
I had a negative savings rate for March of -33%...waaa, waaa, waa. I was expecting a large payment by a client to post to my account before the end of the month, and had that payment hit my account, I would have had around a 56% savings rate.
Upsides to Look Forward too
I will receive a refund from Walt Disney World and at that time I will rework my numbers.
April will be a very high earning month and should be an extremely low spending month. I actually think April will be a "no-spend" month since I have already bought a months worth of food and I can't go anywhere since everything is shut down and stay-at-home orders are in play.
What have I learned?
Saving is still fun! Although I did not save this month, I truly look forward to the remaining 9 months of savings opportunities.
I am grateful for my passion for personal finance. Especially with the crazy times with the Coronavirus, I do have a level of financial freedom since I have zero debt and positive net worth. This allows me to sleep really well at night (along with my good health).
I love Placencia, Belize. Although I did not get to explore the village much before everything went into lock-down mode, I love my little slice of the peninsula and I'm thankful to be in a safe place with ample supplies.
April Goals
'No spend April' will be the name of the game. Besides rent, health insurance, and my cell phone plan, I should not have to buy anything else. I already have an abundance of food that I think will last me the month. Guess I'll find out soon enough!
Questions? Suggestions?
Use the comment sections below, or send me a message.
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