Income: $7,643.01
Expenses: $4034.92
Savings: $3608.09
Updates to our income report
From last month’s January Income Report to this month, a lot has happened, some have been good and some have not been so good. For our income sources, my job has stayed the same and I’m anticipating a lot of closes to come through in the next few days/weeks to be reflected in April. time will tell but the best you can do is the best you can do. My wife recently got a nice pay raise that we’re hoping will provide a lot of cushion for us. It came at the perfect time because she can then work slightly less, spend more time with our baby, and get paid slightly more. Nothing groundbreaking there but it was nice to hear how she has increased her hourly rate. Our original situation was to have her grandma leave and go back home on March 1. More on that later.
Our business income through Airbnb brought in $930.73. We recently renovated the unit so prices have gone up since we realized we were way under market value based on what competitors are doing with the same if not fewer amenities. All other business income from book royalties, affiliate income, advertising, and small business income categories totaled $637.61 The fun thing is with the exception of Airbnb all of that income is derived from one quite small sports brand that is really niche. So once this blog starts to get more recognition, We praying that a little more income will follow as a result. God willing but the main thing anyway is to just provide as much help and inspire a lot of people that there are many ways to financial freedom and our documentation is proof that it’s possible. While we don’t have any outstanding jobs, we know investing and patience. More on that later.
Updates to our expenses
We ended up spending over $20,000 this month. I’m not including the $16,000 project because it was saved up long ago through our automated bank accounts. Our paychecks and Airbnb help pay for major renovations and buying other investments with the sole purpose of equity appreciation. These bigger expenses are covered under our savings habits. We take out at minimum 20% of our paychecks to cover the cost of any remodeling expense. With that in mind, we are planning to raise that amount as our income continues to grow.
Since my wife’s grandma is staying with us, we are spending around $80/m more on groceries. Our original target was $350/m for 2 but now it’s around $430. It’s not too bad considering it’s 3 adults. Not to mention it’s really nice never having to worry about what we can eat in the fridge because we often have multiple options to choose from. Apart from our fixed expenses, our biggest purchase as mentioned was our renovation which was covered through our automated bank accounts.
Thanks to Rami Sethi and his book “I Will Teach You To Be Rich.”
He has taught us the importance of automation so now 95% of all of our investments, savings, and payments are done in the background. The best part is We’re earning credit card points, our credit is increasing, and we have peace of mind knowing we’re taking care of future us.
Changes in mindsets
Moving to Ecuador has become even more of a focal point for us going into 2022. The reason being is;
#1 Healthcare costs. It’s less than $200/m for a family plan with an extremely low deductible and amazing low-cost coverage in Ecuador. Compared to my employer-covered insurance of $600/m for a family plan with a $1,500 deductible and still really good coverage, Ecuador wins by a mile.
#2 being quality of life. Everything there is non-GMO, organically sourced, very little to no additives that can be harmful. Also, everything is within walking distance of what we’d need. It seems like America is known for having extremely far apart locations so it takes you 30 minutes by car to see different things. While this might not be the same for you, that’s what we’ve noticed. After looking into Ecuador, the weather, mixed with the outdoor lifestyle it brings and convenience of locations, it is the best of all worlds.
#3 biggest reason for us is the cost of living. Again, we spend on average $4,500 to $5,000 a month in expenses for what I would consider pretty solid. That does include the mortgage but even then, we’re spending around $3,100/month just to live here and we’re fairly frugal. We cook at home 95% of the month, no cable, cars are paid off, I’ve asked for the lowest cost car insurance we can get, there’s not much cutting of expenses left to do.
Now compare that to Ecuador, you can absolutely live an amazing life for $2,500 or less with $2,000+ being on the high side. That’s if we wanted an upscale place to live for $1,000/m, private fitness, maid services, etc. Even then, it’s fair to say your dollar goes 2X as far there. Also, what’s nice is our mortgage will be covered because we plan to rent out our home in America.
Worst case scenario we make $300/M or more by renting the whole home out. Best case, we rent out the Garage Apartment for $1,050-$1,250, and our home pulls in an additional $300 in cash flow after all bills are paid. Our home would be expected to pull in $1,500 on the higher end of the spectrum. Time will tell with this one though.
Another avenue we’re heavily exploring is which investment we’d like to pursue in Ecuador. Since your dollar goes 2X as far, we’d want to invest in some properties that are more cost-effective and be able to buy 2 income streams for the same price as one in America. While the cash flow per home/investment would understandably be lower, the volume is much higher and would provide more comfort knowing I have 20 cheap investments bringing income instead of 10 more costly investments.
What lies ahead?
My wife’s grandma was originally planning on going back to Russia March 1 but there’s a war going on between Ukraine and Russia. All flights are canceled in or out of there indefinitely. There’s no way in or out of the Russian borders so she’ll have to continue living with us until further notice. Payment providers have also shut off her credit/debit cards so we’ll have to cover her. On the flip side, she’s able to stay at home with our daughter longer which is fantastic. My wife and I can continue working to save a little more money for various things. We’re highly blessed and everyone is safe in my wife’s country.
Other than that, we’ll continue trusting the process and keep doing our best each day. My sports brand is continuing to grow as well as my skills at my sales job. Since the renovations are done, next time we refinance, we should be able to pull out a large sum of cash to then invest in another property in the future. The plan as of now on my side is to develop a product to help out my audience. While getting funding for it has its challenges, I welcome them with open arms.
I know it will be a success but I’m needing a Kickstarter campaign to have proof of concept on the idea before the launch.
The other idea we have is to Buy either a storage unit building or a mobile home park. Whichever one we can get for a lower investment we’ll take because both are great investments from a maintenance and cash flow perspective.
Ideally, if we could get some storage units, we could put away some of our belongings while we move to Ecuador and not have to worry about paying rent on it. All of that is still in the works but we’re extremely grateful and hopeful for the future!
Until next time,
- Eric