Cash Received - $2964
- $1052 in Garage Sale Revenue (Amazon, Ebay, AbundaTrade)
- $240 in Services Revenue (Coaching, Bodywork, etc)
- $500 in Personal Loan (paid for March rent)
- $603 in Gift Money (Mom paid for my March auto loan)
- $15 in Other Income (Referral bonuses, Surveys, etc)
- $554 in Misc (Security Deposit refunded from prior apartment)
- $989 in Auto (Loan, Insurance, Gas)
- $12 credit in Internet
- $65 in Mobile Phone
- $155 in Groceries
- $90 in Misc Cash Spending (Coffee, work breakfasts, etc)
- $11 in Home
- $103 in Misc (Computer repair)
- $63 in Bank Fees
- $635 Repay Personal Loan
- $17 in Business Cards (accrued in January)
- $95 in Business Other (eBook)
- $222 in Courses (Deposit for a class I committed to a year ago)
- $52 in Business Fees (YL Distributor Fee)
Notes:
I continue to sell off items I no longer want or need (this site IS Clutter2Cash, after all) and this was a good month. I found AbundaTrade and sold them every CD of mine that they'd accept and netted about $250 for doing so.
People were incredibly generous with me this month, and I'm very grateful. I moved in with my girlfriend as of the 1st, and she loaned me March rent money. My mother paid my backlogged auto loan payment and then some. Friends treated me to meals when I was traveling in Boston for a class that was a year in the making...I am incredibly blessed.
Auto expenses look high due to paying February, March and a $5 late fee in order to bring my account into good standing. Now I can register my car in New Mexico.
My cash spending is made up of frequent $2 daily coffee runs and an average of a couple of $8 "work breakfasts" at a local cafe where I can get online and get business related work done and be out of the house. I also had a few (very few) misc expenses while traveling. I might want to look at making my own coffee, but right now I'm benefiting from my mini-routine as is.
I had nearly $200 in unexpected expenses this month between a hard drive failure (no, I didn't have a backup...and yes, I know better) and some money transfer mistimings resulting in TWO $29 bank fees and an additional $5 bank fee. I found out this is a "courtesy pay" fee...my credit union charges me $29 essentially for non-sufficient funds, but covers overdrafts up to $400. They also charge $5 per day for each day my account has a negative balance. Ouch. I need to be more careful about scheduled payments and moving money in via PayPal and Amazon distributions...sometimes they are fast, but not always.
I repaid another short term personal loan to my girlfriend who had loaned me February rent against my security deposit returned to me in the first few days of March. I had a dispute with my ex-landlady as I feel she illegally deducted from my deposit, and I haven't had success getting the tenant board to return my calls, so it "feels" like a loss of about $80.
Business expenses could have been reigned in...I was committed to paying the $222 (which is a deposit, I still owe $666) since March of last year, but other than the business cards, the other expenses could have waited. I was disappointed in the eBook I purchased, and I signed up to become a Young Living Essential Oil distributor (through my bodywork business).
Summary
On paper, I "gained" over $400...which feels good because I at least know I spent less than came in. However, my daily flow is such that I paid rent and utilities on the first, paid another $100 loan off, and will use the $150 or so remaining in my account to register my car. And my car loan payment is due Monday...and that's $441...I'm already "behind". So daily cash flow is still an issue. In April, I will focus on ramping up my service income (my main business) and will continue to clean out the corner of the living room via Ebay, Amazon, consignment and other brick and mortar venues.
Whether you are paying down debt or socking away savings...How did YOU do in March?
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