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This was an interesting month.The stock markets seem to have regained their confidence this month and have rewarded investors accordingly. In January alone, the total US market returned about 8.7%, and the non-US market returned about 7.5%. Meanwhile, between October and December of last year, the total US market declined by 14.8% and the non-US market declined 12.6%. I believe that the last 4 months present a teachable moment for many novice (and/or not-so-novice) investors....

Here’s my final expense report for 2018. Highlights include a weekend trip to New York to visit family, and holiday gift shopping.After looking at my year as a whole, I decided to adjust how I account for my business spending. Previously, I had been recording all business expenses under its own category, but lumping in business income with the rest of my income. This had an effect of making my expenses look higher than they actually were, since the business expenses weren’t being negated by the income it brought it....

CategoryNov-18CommentsRent$768.75$750 for rent, paid via PlastiqInternet$55.92Internet is kind of expensive.Cell Phone$0.00Nothing this month.Natural Gas$19.59Little below average.Electricity$21.64Below average for the month.Water$35.25Slightly above averageGroceries$106.39Less this month, due to travel.Car Insurance$0.00I pay every 6 months in April and October. Gasoline$50.81Less this month, due to travel.Car Expenses$1,104.55Did a bunch of maintenance since my car recently passed 100k miles. Not too bad considering all that was done.Health$38.34Heavily subsidized, high-deductible health plans through my work. Includes health and dental....

Well, October was an interesting month.The markets panicked a bit this month, dropping about 7.4% in the US and 8.5% internationally. The headlines tell me that this was the biggest monthly drop in 7 years. But honestly, I wasn’t paying that much attention while it was happening. These things happen from time to time, and it’s part of the deal with owning stocks: higher risk in exchange for the potential of higher returns....

Another month has come and gone.This month I have tried to refocus myself towards being more productive with how I use my time and how I organize my tasks. I noticed that I go through this kind of phase about once a year, but I want to do better at holding myself accountable and forming better habits in order to reach my goals.One of the things that I noticed is that I am very good at maintaining my financial habits without too much thought or effort....

CategoryJul-18CommentsRent$768.75$750 for rent, paid via PlastiqInternet$55.92Internet is kind of expensive.Cell Phone$0.00Already paid for 1 year of service through MintSIM. = $15.51 / month!Natural Gas$19.72Little below average.Electricity$24.79Below average. I switched providers recently because they offered a low intro rate. Will cancel in a month or two when the rate changes again.Water$35.25Below averageGroceries$124.21Below average, due to work travelCar Insurance$0.00I pay every 6 months in April and October. Gasoline$95.55Above average, due to work travelCar Expenses$0....

CategoryMay-18CommentsRent$750.00$750 for rent. No Plastiq fees this month thanks to referral.Internet$55.92Internet is kind of expensive.Cell Phone$0.00Already paid for 1 year of service through MintSIM. = $15.51 / month!Natural Gas$52.46Paying for this month and last month.Electricity$21.29Below average. I switched providers recently because they offered a low intro rate. Will cancel in a month or two when the rate changes again.Water$34.01Slightly below average this month.Groceries$141.28Below average. I did some travelling this month, so less groceries at home....

Please excuse the somewhat late posting, as I’m on vacation.This month was another somewhat high spending month, as I traveled once for family and once for personal vacation. My policy is to record all of my expenses incurred while traveling (including food) under “travel” rather than where they might otherwise be recorded if I incurred them while at home, so that I can better understand the financial impact of my trips and budget for them in the long-term....