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Writer's pictureChristina Gawlik

October 2020

Updated: Nov 1, 2020

Where am I?

Placencia, Belize


In October, I settled into my long term rental and have made it feel like home. And with that, I blew through my budget. Best part of financial independence is being able to say, oh well!


Estimated Expenses & Goals My goal was to spend $2,250 USD in September and I came in a little over par.

Let's look at the numbers:


Total Expenses: $4,377.23 USD


Largest Expense - Lodging: Rent and electricity.


2nd Largest Expense - Clothing & Shopping: I've decided to place a few more online orders and use the shipping broker to get clothes and home goods sent down to Belize. This is where my budget was absolutely blown out of the water. Oh well!

Savings Rate

This month was AMAZING! I am proud to to have an 89% savings rate. Woot, woot!


What do I do with my savings?

I bought more QQQ, VTI, Apple and Amazon.


What have I learned?

  1. My 30K annual budget was too low for my lifestyle as I have spent almost that amount by the end of October. That's ok, though! I've readjusted my annual budget to 35K this year, and next year my goal will be 36K. It's perfectly find to learn and re-evaluate. Thankfully my company is still doing really well, and I will still be able to keep an average annual savings rate of 75%.

  2. The international airport reopened on October 1st, which brought many mixed feelings. However, I have made some wonderful new friends and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

  3. I've become the "organizer" of trips among my friends by putting together a birthday mini-golf event for a friend, and a day out at Laughing Bird Caye. In November, some of us are going to King Lewey's Island, Silk Caye, Raye Caye, and my first staycation inland at a resort in San Ignacio. I'm looking forward to all the experiences.



November Goals

My hope for November is to spend around $2,250. I am done buying clothes and home goods for a long time, so I shouldn't have a problem staying within budget. However, some of the restaurant/bars are trying to reopen the first week of November, so that could mean eating out a lot more with my friends. Guess I'll have to see how that will impact my food spending!


Questions? Suggestions?

Use the comment sections below, or send me a message.


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