Thursday, March 24, 2011

Trip to Orleans, Bowflex Dumbells, Side Income

So I headed for a trip to New Orleans for a bachelor party a couple weeks ago.  I actually lost only $40 gambling, but spent around 1k on food, alcohol, and of course, the gentleman's clubs.  It was a lot of fun, but I was happy to head home after being there for nearly a week since a work related event happened right afterward.  I really don't ever take vacations so the financial hit wasn't too much of an issue, but I guess in my old age spending 1k just for some partying and some gluttony is sort of excessive.

I ordered some Bowflex dumbbells, the Selecttech 552 set, and am planning on doing some p90x when i get them.  I am trying to get back into shape, both by working on my bowflex machine (that I picked up in December) and also running.  I will be using the dumbbells to supplement that regime.

I am back to playing a little online poker for some side income, but the time constraints are weighing pretty heavy, since I work 10-12 hours a day, then I get home and try to eat and if I do exercise it leaves me very little time.  I want to get in at least 30 hours a month though which usually nets me at least $300.  It's not much but if you look at it as a percentage of disposable income it adds a significant amount in that regard.

I did do some budgeting and even with my 1k car payments a month, I am netting over $1500 to save every month.  With an extra 300 a month you can see that that is +20%. Once my car payment is over with, this number jumps to over $2500 a month.  I am hoping by that time I can move up in the poker limits and net around $500 a month which is again, still +20%.  It's sort of funny how you might think a hundred bucks here or there isn't a lot of money when you look at your budget as a whole, but if you think about it in terms of the percentage of extra income you can save every month, it gives more perspective.  If you can save +20% a month to retirement, that is 20% more money you'll have at retirement, or will allow you to retire earlier than you expected.

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