Month end: January 2012
A little late, but here is a recap of the first month of the year of the apocalyptic prophesy: 11 more months to go…tick…tock…tick…tock… live for the moment!!
Total passive income was $2,102.21, and my total expenses were $4,209.23. Very close to 50%!.
As with every month, here is the breakdown:
Passive income:
| Vehicle | Amount |
|---|---|
| Covered calls | $1,939.23 |
| Dividends | $242.25 |
| Interest | $-79.27 |
| TOTAL: | $2,102.21 |
Expenses:
| Expense | Amount |
|---|---|
| Food & Dining | $879.76 |
| Rent | $750.00 |
| Bank fees | $487.25 |
| Travel | $421.11 |
| Clothing | $417.06 |
| Cell phone & utilities | $365.85 |
| Public transit & taxi | $359.18 |
| Health & fitness | $127.40 |
| Personal care | $92.88 |
| Disability insurance | $80.40 |
| Entertainment | $72.90 |
| Business services | $60.14 |
| Other | $51.40 |
| TOTAL | $4,209.23 |
I believe this is an all-time low for expenses, since I began tracking them publicly on this site. And much of these expenses are carry-overs from the holiday season; credit card charges that posted after the new year.
At the same time, passive income was strongly positive. Typically, my quarter looks like this:
- First month of quarter: Light dividends, decent covered call opportunity
- Second month of quarter: Strong dividends, decent covered call opportunity
- Third month of quarter: Very light on both dividends and covered call opportunities
So, for this first month of the quarter, covered call totals were above average. I have one HUGE position, for which I sold a covered call at a potential cash-out price. And, I have another position for which I sold a less aggressive, “want to keep it” covered call.
Going back to expenses, this is getting close to what my monthly would look like with a (relatively considering NYC) modest lifestyle. I could probably knock off at least $500, due to carryover from December (whose extravagance can be summed up by saying there was a possible relationship I was pursuing that didn’t work out, to extreme frustration of my wallet). My NYC goal is under $3,000 per month. Knowing, that if I wanted to move upstate, or to Iowa, or to Buenos Aires, or to Bali, I could easily reduce expenses to $1,000-$2,000 per month (while living very well). In such a situation, this month would be a net positive in terms of passive income! I’m salivating.