Monthly Expenses Report: March 2021 Plus Rent Increased!

This is my monthly expenses report: March 2021 plus my rent increased. I have some unfortunate news to report. The board that governs my apartment building decided to raise the monthly rent (aka “maintenance fees”). They did this last year when they raised rents by 10%. Again, this year they decided to raise rents another 10%. But to make matters worse, they decided to add an additional “assessment fee” for everyone in the building for the next 6 months. The fee comes to an additional $106 added to my rent each month for the next 6 months. Effectively, they raised my cost of housing (and everyone else in the building) by 40% over the last 18 months.

The board probably couldn’t have picked a worse time to raise rents and fees on residents, especially by that much. But then again, the people who manage the building aren’t exactly the brightest bulbs in the bunch. I will still be able to save over 50% of my paycheck each month, but looking ahead, there will be a bit more of a squeeze during the Summer time when my electric bills are higher and the month my home insurance bill is due. This really sucks. But, in any case, here are my March 2021 expenses.

• Rent**: $721.91
• Utilities: $56.73
• Internet: $79.99
• Cell Phone: $35.00
• Netflix: $13.99
• Food & Supplies: $315.41
• Miscellaneous: $45.00

All in all, my expenses for March 2021 totaled $1,254.03

**Please note that I use the word “rent”, however, I own a Co-op apartment which means I pay what is called monthly “maintenance fees” (everyone in the building pays to cover the operating expenses of the building). If you don’t know what a Co-op is, Investopedia has a good article describing this type of apartment dwelling. To keep things simple, I will just refer to it as “rent”.

As you can see, my rent is much higher now than previous months. Granted, this is New York City and that is still considered an extremely low housing cost compared to everywhere else in the city.

So, what is the battle plan going forward? The battle plan is preparation, planning, and patience.

Firstly, to prepare for the Summer increase in electric bills, I am saving up now. As you can see, I have been cutting some costs. I got rid of Netflix to save $14 per month and I have been more prudent with supplies and food. That money will be saved for Summer expenses. In addition, I have about $60-80 worth of coins I can cash in for additional funds.

Secondly, it is a game of waiting. The assessment fee will be gone in 5 months and my rent will be reduced by $106 per month. In addition, another thing in motion during this time is a potential pay raise at work coming my way. The potential pay raise likely happening sometime in the next 3 months (though it could be delayed until the end of the year). In any case, once the pay raise does kick in, the raise would supersede the rent increase. It is a matter of patience.

One of the major lessons I have learned in life is that when you know a storm is coming, you prepare for it. This is especially true in personal finance which requires a certain degree of planning ahead. If there is an expense coming up on the horizon that you know is coming, save up for it ahead of time. Sometimes you don’t know when the storm is coming, but that is what an emergency fund is for; the unexpected.

But now let’s compare my month expenses to my dividend income. I will compare my expenses to my March dividends and my average yearly dividend income going forward. As of this post, my portfolio is set to generate $11,178 in dividend income over the next 12 months.

• March 2021 dividend income: $1,372.12 = 109% of my expenses covered last month.
• Yearly dividend income average: $931 per month = 74% of my expenses covered last month.

Awesome! My dividend income from March 2021 actually covers more than my expenses for that month. There is a taste of financial freedom! Thus, this concludes my monthly expenses report: March 2021 plus rent increased. I am getting closer to covering all my expenses. Financial independence is obtainable in the next few years, but I won’t stop there at the bare minimal. I will continue to build my dividend dynasty!

So, how about the rest of you? Do you track your monthly expenses? Also, how close are you to covering expenses via passive income? Let me know in the comments below!