As I mentioned last week, I am once again a little behind schedule on this post but here is my analysis of my monthly income and expenses for March 2019. As per usual, below I have listed a running three month look for comparative purposes. Since I missed this update for February, the three-month look reflects that.
First, here are the numbers:
| Category: | Dec 2018 | Jan 2019 | March 2019 |
| Total Monthly Gross Pay: | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Taxes Withheld: | 15.96% | 23.02% | 23.02% |
| Other Withholdings: | 3.82% | 4.85% | 4.85% |
| 401K Withholdings: | 0% | 12% | 12% |
| Diverted to Investments Account: | 27.14% | 36.2% | 7.4% |
| Diverted to Savings Account: | 24.34% | 0% | 22.52% |
The numbers that jump off the page at me start with percentage diverted to Investments. This figure has dropped dramatically since January and I think that this may just be a timing thing. The final pay period of the month of March fell at the very end of the month so the automatic diversion of funds to my investment account occurred after the turn of the calendar. This should be picked up in next month’s review. Additionally, I was able to divert a sizable percentage to Savings account. At this time of year, I pilfered my savings account to invest in our ROTH IRA accounts. This money was paid out of savings accounts / emergency fund money and I was able to divert $3500 later in the month back into my savings account to begin to replenish the emergency fund.
I am beginning to investigate whether I can increase my 401K contribution percentage as well as increasing the amount that I divert automatically to my taxable investment account. Those decisions will be put on hold until I can fully replenish my emergency savings. Working in consulting can cause period of risk between projects where my income may not be very secure so the impetus to have a strong emergency fund is always there. My goal is to have this account cover at least 5 months of spending. Once I have this account fully replenished, I will strongly consider upping my bi-weekly contributions to Vanguard from $550 to $600. Additionally, I will consider upping my 401K Contribution percentage from 12% to 13%. Once those changes happen, I will report that in a future post.