So…what happened this month? Here’s a list of random things.
The world is straight up awful this year and I really don’t know what to say about it. That’s why this report is out so late in the month of September. I just…don’t really know what was good about August?
- Things continued to get very bad in the world.
- The US had days with >50,000 new cases per day of Covid-19.
- Police continued to brutalize protestors on the streets of my own city and dozens of others around the world when they exercised their free speech right to protest police brutality against black people. Several nights in a row law enforcement teargassed people in their own houses in residential neighborhoods just a few miles from me.
- Trump said he was going to shut down Tiktok.
- I worked on launching a new line of products.
- Skating rinks were still shut down locally.
- Got sick for 2 days, thought I had Covid-19.
- I started a training plan to get back to running 10 miles, and stuck to it. I don’t really like running, but it is effective and free cardio and having a workout plan is better than doing nothing.
- I worked on a to-be-revealed video project with a big media organization that required a 2-day shoot.
- I did 5 livestreams over on youtube!
August 2020 Post-Tax Income: $3,235.18
Only 2 jobs now!
- Day Job: $2,945.00
- Bank account interest: $.09
- Oh My Dollar (full income/expenses report below): $290.00
Full August 2020 Spending Report
Total Spent: $1,632.73
58% of total annual budget at 66% of the way through the year.
Household & Insurance – $704.42
- Rent: $615
- Water, Commons, Garbage, Sewer: $32.50
- Trash: $7.50
- Electricity: $41.75 (high due to window AC)
- Household Items (detergent, TP, toothpaste, razors, etc): $3.99
- Internet at Home: $0 This is now paid for by SSO’s employer due to being remote employee, was $20 per month.
Charitable – $10.00 (2%)
I am donating through OMD (below).
Organizations I am supporting: The Numberz, XRAY.FM and Mutual Aid for Immigrant and Refugee Students at Reynolds HS.
Basic Food – $169.18
- Basic Groceries: $128.02
- Treats (non-essential snacks): $22.19
- Coffee/Tea For Home: $18.97
Travel – $0 (lol)
Health – $386.94 ***Why this is cheap
- Health Insurance Premium: $204.00
- Over the Counter: $3.99
- Optometry: $178.95 (1 year of contacts + eye exam)
Figure Skating $0
The rink is closed again as case numbers rise in Oregon.
Year to date, my marginal cost of skating is $10.21 per hour.
Looking Good – $34.04
- Hair: $34.04
Extra Food + Drink – $0
Flotsam: $54.32
- Spending Money: $6.98
- Gifts: $19.30
- Fitness: $11.04 (resistance bands for training since weights will never exist again)
- Costumes: $17.00
Savings
I am incredibly close to my goal of saving $20,000 for the year of 2020.
I do not qualify for my employer-sponsored Simple IRA until Jan 2021, so for now I am saving in a traditional IRA – particularly because I expect to have a high tax burden this year (due to my highest ever income and having to repay ).
I have also begun saving cash towards the possible goal of paying for a master’s degree in cash in 2021-2022. There is nothing certain about that plan, but the worst case scenario is that I save cash and I have more cash saved and can always invest it instead if the masters doesn’t happen. Not really terrible, all things considered.
Retirement savings: $400
Cash savings: $1,588.67
Savings rate: 59.8% of Post-Tax Income
YTD Total Savings: $18,444.84/$20,000
(92% Total of goal at 66% of the way through the year)
OMD Business Income + Expenses Report
My purrsonal finance society members have been keeping the business afloat for now, with book sales, speaking income, and advertising all down. But it’s going okay. I’ve been able to donate still a chunk of change each month and keep paying operating expenses and this month I even managed to pay myself a bit.
I am looking at doing some small product launches in the fall, and that means I need to save cash to be able to buy inventory. I’m leaving a lot of money in the business right now to prep for that.
This is cash-based accounting, not accrual, so this only accounts for income received this month, not invoices billed.
Gross Receipts + Sales: $1,554.70
- Amazon Book + Kindle Sales (net after fees): $8.49
- Shopify/Direct to Consumer Book Sales: $153.67
- Radio Ads: $12.40
- Wholesale (Buyolympia): $175.70
- Speaking: $500
- Patreon Memberships: $704.43
Total Expenses: $1,110.74
Charity: $100.00
Equipment: $223.00 (headphones)
Operating Expenses: $450.23
- Convertkit: $49
- Professional Books/Resources: $73.47
- Exist.io $6.00
- Meals: $36.10
- Mailgun: $8.15
- Backblaze : $6.00
- Storage: $6.97
- Hosting + Servers: $164.40 (Linode and Dreamhost – annual renewal)
- Media Subscriptions: $5
- TeuxDeux: $12.99
- Adobe Creative Cloud: $29.99
Cost of Goods Sold: $337.51
- New Secret Product Samples: $135.43
- Packaging: $37.00
- Shopify Monthly Fee: $29.00
- Stickers: $9.00
- Shipping Supplies: $29.98
- Shipping: $97.10
Net Income: $443.96
- Tax Savings: $110 (25% of net income)
- Lily’s Salary: $375
Don’t think so negatively.
I recently visited your website and discovered a wealth of helpful information, particularly on this blog page. Many people have commented on your articles.
honestly amazed you saved almost 60% of your income in a month like that. goals.
missing the rink too 💔 fingers crossed it opens again soon!
that $3.99 toothpaste hit different when you’re tracking every dollar 😂
starting a 10 mile plan even when you don’t like running?? mad respect 👏
“will this year just calm down” is the mood of the entire planet.
that expense breakdown is so satisfying, lowkey wanna spreadsheet my whole life now.
omg what’s the secret product 👀 excited for your fall launch!!
also on team “save now, figure out grad school later” lol—makes total sense.
I have also begun saving cash towards the possible goal of paying for a master’s degree in cash in 2021-2022.
Great analysis on the 2020 August report! Wondering if things will calm down this year too? For more insights on market-trends, check out (example.com).
Wow, what a month! It’s cool to see how detailed you are with your finances. It’s wild to think about everything that happened in August 2020; it feels like ages ago. Hope things are going better now!
What a month! Your attention to detail with your finances is impressive. It seems like eons ago when you consider all that occurred in August 2020. I hope that now things are going better!
Wow, August 2020 was a lot! Even though the world was a mess, it’s cool to see Lillian focusing on personal goals like running and launching new products. That savings rate is impressive! #savings
Wow, it seems like August was all about dodging curveballs! Between pandemic blues and the chaos in the streets, I guess at least you kept your financial ducks in a row. Kudos for making it work, despite the world going bonkers!
Tough month, but you’re crushing it with savings and transparency. Love your hustle with OMD and running goals—hang in there, Lillian! Great report.
Wow, this month sounds like a rollercoaster of chaos! With everything going down, I’d say running is the least of your worries—sprinting away from the news headlines is more like it, right? 😂
“The world is straight up awful this year…” – preach! My brain feels the same way, sometimes struggling to string together a coherent sentence that doesn’t sound like a news bot. If your personal report feels too stiff, an ai sentence rewriter can help it sound less like a dire press release and more like, well, you!
This “random things” list is a wild ride, almost as unpredictable as trying to tell if an email from “a big media organization” is human or AI-generated! With all the chaos, it’s nice to have something reliable. An ai detector can certainly help you sort out the real from the, ahem, algorithmically enhanced content out there.
I know this is an older post, but I just discovered your blog and have been really enjoying reading through your archives. Your writing style is so inspiring! It’s actually motivated me to finally start my own little blog to document my thoughts and hobbies. The hardest part was the very first step: choosing a name for it. I was totally stuck until a friend recommended a site called Best Name Generators. It was a lifesaver for brainstorming creative blog name ideas. Anyway, just wanted to say hello and thank you for the inspiration!
I know this is an older post, but I just discovered your blog and have been really enjoying reading through your archives. Your writing style is so inspiring! It’s actually motivated me to finally start my own little blog to document my thoughts and hobbies. The hardest part was the very first step: choosing a name for it. I was totally stuck until a friend recommended a site called Best Name Generators. It was a lifesaver for brainstorming creative blog name ideas. Anyway, just wanted to say hello and thank you for the inspiration!
Wow, it’s like 2020 is on a never-ending rollercoaster of chaos, huh? But hey, at least there’s always creative ways to express ourselves, like with some funky fonts—check it out here: フォント変換ツール – 無料で使える可愛い・明朝体・筆記体などの文字変換.
Wow, with this year making 2020 look like a walk in the park, I’m just waiting for someone to declare it an extreme sport! Who knew running away from big problems could actually help us get fit? 😂
Wow, 2020 really came in like a wrecking ball, huh? But kudos for sticking to that running plan—who knew the secret to sanity was just putting one foot in front of the other, right?
Wow, sounds like August was a real rollercoaster—minus the fun parts, right? I mean, who knew running 10 miles sounds more appealing than some of the chaos going on? 😂