Cooler weather in the air, vacations and pool days slowing down, more football on – it must mean that Fall is upon us! Each quarter I do like to hit pause on my articles to do a more reflective post, reflecting on how my own financial state has fared and talk about what I’ve been up to! Here’s my personal financial update for Fall 2019. 

Income

I’m coming up on my first full year (currently at 11 months) of my current job. Changing jobs is never an easy decision (unless your job really sucks) and I remember this time last year going through the final interview process and really considering carefully if I’d like to make a change. Looking back it was 100% the right decision and I’ve not looked back once. My current job (solution engineer in software sales), has provided me with incredible opportunities, more financial compensation and more career development/advancement options. I think that’s really what’s important in a job – improving your options. As young professionals, I think it’s important to have as much upward mobility in terms of promotions and raises as you can. Leverage your skills and experience in your current job to always be developing your career! 

Income wise, I’ve done well this year, thanks to the raise I received from changing jobs. I received another quarterly bonus this quarter, and although less than expected, very appreciated. I don’t personally budget or plan for the bonus, my monthly budget is based off my regular paychecks. So, with a bonus like this one, I put about half of it aside for upcoming travel (got a trip set for the Cayman Islands this fall) and then the other half to savings. I’m always looking to increase my savings/investing account balances. 

Mrs. Money Finance’s annual raise went into effect, and although nothing huge, still very appreciated. I’m a big believer in incremental growth, and so a small raise each year works well! We increased her retirement contribution amount (currently at 14%…hope to increase to 15% soon).

Other than that, we kept up our normal saving/investing plan. I’m contributing 9% to my retirement account (I get a 6% match to bring me to the target of 15%), 8% to the Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Although I have a goal of putting a little extra money in my regular investment account. I’ve not done a great job of that as of late. My LendingClub account sits just under 5%, and I’ve been letting that money sit there and work for me. Finally, our experience as a landlord continues to go well (knock on wood), and we’ve been able to cover the mortgage plus a little extra! 

Expenses

Our overall spending has definitely increased with the arrival of BabyMoneyFinance. We’re starting to have to buy actual baby food as BMF starts to eat more solids instead of just milk. We’re trying to be healthy and as such, purchase more organic and natural type baby foods. Diapers are still a constant, 6-10 each day! Thank goodness for Costco and their affordable diapers. As much as we try to plan for expenses, there are always little things that pop up and I’d recommend adding a line item for “unknown baby expenses” in your budget if you’re planning for a little one. Thankfully no major expenses for us, although we may be replacing a HVAC unit ($2,500ish) in the next month or two before it gets too cold. We have known that this was coming and budgeted for it. 

Overall we are OK with our spending levels. I try to automate my savings as much as possible, which gives me comfort that we are still saving/investing and growing our overall net-worth. 

Giving 

My giving has remained consistent, both to my local church and other charities that I support. I imagine I’ll see an increase in giving next quarter, as the end of the year normally brings more giving. It’s truly a blessing to be able to give back and I enjoy doing so! 

Overall

Having a baby really changes your life, of course all for the better, but it definitely changes things. We still occasionally go out to dinner, it’s jut at 6pm instead of 7:30pm. We have hired a babysitter once or twice, as getting time with just the two of us is important. We have implemented a babysitter swap with other couples that have kids to trade off which has been working out well. Overall I’m pleased – we are making progress in growing our income, investments and savings while still really enjoying our lives! 

Blog 

The overall site continues to do well, and I still enjoy maintaining it. I’ve dabbled with Facebook ads here and there with some success. I’ve not done as good of a job networking with other bloggers and sharing guest posts. I am trying to re-think my strategy on my personal financial guides as I think there’s great value there and hope to figure out a way to make them more enticing. I have continued to work with sponsored posts (always called out as such at the end of the article) which is nice to help pay for the hosting fees. My mission remains the same – to provide young professionals with modern, relevant and easy to understand financial articles! A couple of our more popular posts this quarter: The importance of spending money, Planning Maternity Leave, and Ladies: It’s time to Own your Financial Future.

Appreciate the continued support of the blog! Happy Fall!