Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Benefit of Many Small Things

The Prof and I make decent money for two individuals in their late 20s (especially since one is a Teacher).  Obviously, we aren't satisfied with our current status and dream of the days when money is no object and expensive dinners out are normalcy.  We're not spoiled or rotten, but we appreciate and enjoy modern luxuries.  We work hard and sometimes we deserve the good things in life.

For the most part, we save the Prof's paychecks.  Her earnings do not come into play when paying off house, utilities, and my student loans.  Depending on the month, I rarely use it to pay off the credit card.  We do use her earnings to help pay down the Kitchen Renovation, but I view that as an investment, and not a straight expenditure (Yea, its debt, but reasonable and appreciable).

I've already noted that June is a 3 paycheck month for me!  Hooray!  Extra MOOLAH!

However, as I was reviewing our Mint account to see the student loan balance (I love seeing it go down right after a payment), I noticed something unusual about our income.  It was substantially higher this month considering we still had 2 paychecks yet to receive.  After some quick investigating, I noticed several NEW income streams this month:

My Side Hustle:  I've made an extra $300 working with kids and being outside.

Ebay:  The Prof sold a few nice handbags last month and the money was finally transferred into our account this month.

Rewards:  I received compensation for all the referral business that I brought to the bank.  Not a great deal, but another $250!

All in all, it was almost an extra $1,000 dollars that I was not expecting and had not budgeted for!  Those small little items can really add up and help reinforce the idea that Side Hustling pays off!  It's awesome to see the Mint Cash balance go up and the Loan & Credit Card balances go down!  That's the ideal scenario for Personal Finance.

The best part about all those extra items - that caused very little disruption to our daily lives.  The Side Hustle is the only major change and that's only a couple hours on Sunday morning.  The rest was just doing my job and selling old stuff!  Incredibly easy!

I've discussed it before - but it's been a very good month.  I'm so happy to have a wife who understands  the idea of sacrifice now (while in grad school) in order to achieve the small little things later in life!!

No comments:

Post a Comment