Every quarter I like to do some reflecting on the previous quarter on how things went. I think it’s important to have a posture of some reflecting and expressing gratitude. 2020 was a crazy year and although things aren’t completely back to normal, I am thankful that the end does appear to be in sight! Let me share how the first quarter of 2021 has been going for me!

Income

We all have bills and things we like to spend our money on, and I’m thankful to have a steady income through my regular work that allows me to have money to spend. The big news at work for me was that I got a promotion back in February! I’ve been at my current company for about 2.5 years and in February, received a promotion to the “Senior” version of my role. It feels great to feel appreciated and valued at work; especially in the form of a promotion and the accompanying raise that came along with it! 

Whenever I get a raise, I like to put some of it towards saving/investing and then the rest towards my monthly spending. An extra takeout, coffee, or social event (as those become a thing again) is always nice! I talk a lot about enjoying what we have, no matter how much we have, as well as celebrating the victories; both big and small. With additional income coming in via the raise, I plan to use part of it to continue improving my financial situation and enjoying some of it!

It’s important for young professionals to have multiple sources of income, whether through passive investments or active side hustles. For Mrs. Money and I, we continue to be landlords and it’s continued to be a good experience for us! We try to best great landlords, and our tenants have returned the favor of being great tenants! I do continue making a little through this site, and after cutting out on some more expensive annual credit cards, I’ve been able to put more of that money from the site into fun little things for us – like takeout or those $5 lattes I’ve been buying! The other big update is that I’ve started writing on Medium.com, and have earned a grand total of $0.20 across 3 articles! One of my most popular ones is on “what I’ve learned about startups from selling software”. It was a fun one to write! 

Expenses

I love reflecting back on my spending during 2020, and unfortunately coming to the realization that my spending didn’t decrease during the shelter-at-home timeframe of the early pandemic. Funny how money finds a way to be spent no matter what the circumstances! Mrs. Money and I continue to try to balance controlling our expenses while still maintaining a good quality of life. We are trying to focus on accumulating ‘less stuff’ and try to spend our money in things that will either last, or create great memories. 

In some good news, Mrs. Money and I recently welcomed our 2^nd child; Segundo MoneyFinance into our family and we’re super thrilled and excited! Along with that though will come more expenses but thankfully we had planned on our expenses going up and with a raise, we feel confident in our ability to provide! I did chuckle when I got the raise and made the joke that the raise is basically coming into my bank account and going back out with the new baby! 

Saving/Investing

I feel like the winter months from November – January are always just an expensive time of the year, with the holidays, gifts, travel, donations, and other general expenses that come due at the end or beginning of the year. As such, I felt like I wasn’t able to save as much as I would have liked during that time frame. However, with that raise and getting over the winter spending hump, I do feel like we’re able to get back to saving/investing more! I try to focus on saving/investing whatever I can – even $50, $100 or $200 can go a long way over a long period of time! 

One big increase for me is my contribution to my employee stock purchase program (ESPP) at work. In previous years I was contributing 10%, then 12%, but now I’ve moved it up to the max of 15% of my salary. It’s definitely a lot coming out each month but the stock is a great deal through the program and I’m bullish on my employer in the long run! 

I did also get into cryptocurrency this quarter, in mid-January. After being a naysayer for many years and famously writing in 2014 that I felt it was overpriced at $250/coin and that it would probably be $0 sometime soon, I’m now a believer! I will say I only have a few hundred in and am cautiously approaching it, which I think is wise with a new asset/investment/currency like cryptocurrencies. 

Giving

Giving continues to remain an important part of our lives and our financial planning. I am a huge believer in giving back – both of your time and resources and am thankful that we’re in a position to be able to do so. We continue giving to our local church as well as other community groups that are making a difference! 

Overall

I’m so thankful and feel so blessed for our current situation, and I know that we’ve worked hard, said ‘no’ to a lot of expenses in the past and remained financially frugal, but it does feel good to a) be making progress, even if it’s small and b) be able to celebrate the small victories! We’re also just so excited to have welcomed our 2^nd into the world and our family, and I’m very thankful for a generous paternity leave policy through work! 

Blog 

Starting in 2021, I’ve tried to refocus the blog on providing quality financial articles that young professionals find helpful! I’ve done a few posts on getting back to the basics, my thoughts on life insurance, and having my money work for me. 

The most popular posts have been one from a good friend and frequent contributor to the blog, Adam, on his experience with stock options, how to spend a bonus and also one on my big credit card problem (that’s not being in debt). 

I continue enjoying writing articles and sharing them with my readers! Thanks for the continued support!