the may 2024 list

a so-so month, three new non-essentials, and a new cushion strategy

Landscape, (1829-1908), Carl Frederik Bartsch

This is the first monthly list that I am starting entirely from scratch, on May 28th at 11:44pm. It’s not that I’m losing motivation to write these—in fact, I’m actually quite excited because now that I’ve got my weekly postcards going, I am less inclined to post these insanely long lists (which I know some of you love, I’m sorry!) that may bore those who are just here for the numbers.

With that being said, there will be some changes to the lists due to the restructuring of this newsletter and allocating more content to my paid subscribers. The monthly lists will still contain my wheel of life, finances (of course), intentional buy update, and start/stop/continue’s. I will be removing the following sections: no spend favorites, high/low-lights, and media, as the aforementioned are all included in my report cards.

Aspects of my life I deem most important, assigned with a score out of 10—10 being the “best”, and 1 being the “worst”.

• PHYSICAL: 2/10. I’ve been trying to go on walks every time I’m in office, but I find myself only doing this on Thursdays when there are in-person team meetings. These make me so tired. Besides that, I haven’t done purposeful exercise. Maybe when I hang out with a friend, I’ll walk around the city, but I don’t count that as physical unless we intentionally go on a hike. Period this month was actually so painful, I couldn’t bear to be in sitting position on my first flow day.

• EMOTIONAL: 3/10. Struggled to manage my emotions. This ties into “relationship”.

• RELATIONSHIP: 5/10. Got into a few arguments, but also got back together after going on a 3-month break.

• FRIENDSHIPS: 9/10. Spent quality time with Bumble Beans and my friend from the AmeriCorps program. Been good at responding to messages (this is something I’ve struggled with for the longest time—I just suck at responding within the next 3 business days).

• CAREER/PROFESSIONAL: 10/10. Submitted my colon cancer paper (finally!), and received updates on two papers that got accepted for publication. Hopefully I’ll be receiving a citation soon so I can move these up into the published section of my CV.

• FINANCES: 1/10. Used up most of my cushion money to cover my necessary expenses, and added on another item to my non-essential list. Gah!

A solid 5.0 as this month’s rating, which is 0.3 less than last month’s. Something about this time of the year just doesn’t do it for me, you know? I’d like to get 50% of my areas to be greater than 7/10, but I only got 33% this month. I’d also like to avoid <2/10s, and two of my domains were scored in that range. Certaintly not a great month. Let’s pray for a better June!

A detailed overview of my income sources, mandatory expenses, non-essential expenses, and savings/investments. Screenshots are taken from YNAB, a budgeting tool that allows me to budget with the money I already have, instead of what I plan to make.

NET WORTH

My net worth includes the sum of my retirement accounts (current portfolio worth, not how much I’ve invested into it), brokerage account, and cash in my high yield savings/checking account. I do not include physical items as part of my net worth (e.g., luxury items, car).

My net worth was $129,953.42 at the end of May. This was a $5,413.43 increase from last month, which was $124,539.99.

INCOME

In May, my total income was $3,389.04.

• 9-5 Job ($2,867.39): For context, my gross yearly salary is $74,000, and I do academic research at a university. I am enrolled in my university’s free PPO health insurance plan, which is an insanely good health insurance plan to begin with (they also offer PPO plans that cost extra). Everything else is covered by the university (dental, vision, life/disability).

My employer paid benefits breakdown from my paycheck

• FB Marketplace ($303): I sold two furniture pieces this month. One was my coffee table that originally cost $700 and sold for $275. Another was an over-the-counter sink rank that Mr. Beans purchased on Amazon but we never ended up using. We sold that for $28!

• Ebay: ($58.01): I actually did not sell anything this month—these were funds from last month’s sales.

• Substack ($38.13): My highest paying month! Thank you to all my new paid subscribers—you all mean the world to me.

• Interest ($97.51): I use Wealthfront for my HYSA (high yield savings account), where I’m getting 5.50% APY.

• Reserach Study ($25): My first research study income!!! My friend forwarded me a recruitment flyer and I perfectly fit the eligibility criteria so I submitted my information and got accepted. The interview took 2 hours, so the compensation isn’t that great but truthfully it was such an enjoyable time since the interviewer was so nice that I think it was pretty worth it to me!

PERISHABLE EXPENSES

I recently made new categories for my expenses—hear me out—I like changing these up because it makes budgeting more fun, okay? “Perishable” expenses are those that will significantly impact my ability to live my life in any way shape of form. So yes, I will “perish” (and yes, I get that this is an overstatement but I am a dramatic woman) without budgeting for these expenses. These are ordered from first to last by importance. In May, I spent a total of $1,982.82 (58% of income).

• Rent (-$1425.25): I split rent with Mr. Beans each month. He pays $2,300, and I pay the remaining balance. Do note that he covers utilities, including electricity, water, trash, trash valet, parking, and any pesky fees that get added to our bill.

• Health (-$25.84): My anti-depressants for a 90-day supply cost this much after insurance!

• Groceries (-$152.33): I did a number of essential Sprouts runs, and I stuck to what I needed instead of giving into my silly little desires (potato chips and vegan ice cream). However, I did go a bit crazy during a Trader Joe’s run, and may have purchased one too many Organic Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls…

• Gas (-$50): Drove back home one weekend so gas was needed. This filled up 80% of my tank.

• Therapy (-$330): I was supposed to have 3 sessions this month, but I ended up cancelling one of them. Truthfully, I only budget for 2 sessions per month so it works out better for me.

PRIVILEGED EXPENSES

These are items I consider as those who have privilege being able to afford them. They benefit my life significantly, but not to the point where I would perish if I didn’t have them. These are ordered from first to last by importance. In May, I spent a total of $414.73 (12% of income).

• Spotify (-$16.99): I get charged $16.99 per month, but because everyone on my family plan paid me a year in advance, it slowly takes from this little sinking fund. The amount of money in the green highlight is how much I have left in the fund. I contribute $2.83 per month since that’s my share.

The Spotify category from YNAB

• Maintenance (-$100.14). Had to restock on Chlorox toilet wand refills, alcohol wipes, flushable wipes, cleaning wipes, and packing tape.

• Sunsama (-$20): I know I was supposed to try using Notion last month to replace this, but that didn’t happen. I really do like this app because it’s just convenient.

• Dates with Mr. Beans (-$162.60). Boy does it feel good to finally include this back into the budget. I covered around 50% of expenses so if you want to gauge our “total” spend, multiply the number by two. High spend month, but it’s okay! We wanted to celebrate a little!

• Social (-$115): I’m surprised at how low this spend was compared to last month. I’m hoping that one day, I’ll be able to consistently spend under $100 for this but it is a work in progress.. I had two hangouts this month, and one of them was with Bumble Beans (we tend to buy a lot of food when we’re together).

FUTURE

Contributions to my Roth IRA and Emergency Fund are taken from my net monthly pay. I saved/contributed a total of $2467.60. I only display my net, not gross income, so the amount in Pre-Tax Investments do not make up any part of the Income amount.

• Roth IRA ($0). I didn’t technically contribute any money this month because I’ve been a bit tight on cash, as I want there to be enough to spend for my upcoming trip with Bumble Beans and my medical expenses. However, the transaction I initiated last month for $600 hit my account this month. I accounted for it in last month’s list, which is why I won’t account for it in this month.

• Emergency Fund (+$35): With my goal being $35K, this month’s contribution was a flop. I wish I could have contributed more, but I simply didn’t have the means to.

• Pre-Tax Investments (+$2,432.60): This is not part of the Income total; therefore, I haven’t assigned a percentage next to the total amount.

  • 401K Match (+$453.64): My employer gives me a 8% match.

  • 401K Contributions (+$396.92): This is the amount I contribute.

  • 403B Contributions (+$1,582.04): I’ve assigned 30% of my pre-tax paychecks to be allocated to this.

RICH LIFE

The rich life expenses are the ones that just add a bit of flair, some exuberance, some pizzaz, you know? They are nice to have, but by no means necessary. These are ordered from first to last by importance. In May, I spent a total of $2,032.75.

• Home Decor (-$85): This was a last minute add to the budget after Mr. Beans and I had a discussion about financial expectations in regards to furnishing our apartment. The coffee table was $30, and 3 plants + 2 planters were $55.

• Intentional Buy (-$14.96): This included the shipping cost to send off 1) a Christy Dawn dress as a trade for a babaà cardigan no18 ($6.83), and 2) a Christy Dawn dress for a pair of Runaway Bicycle Mici Trousers ($5.13). I also purchased Sleepy Tofu’s “Sleepy Tofu” font for $3.

• Gifts (-$51.35): Contributed some money for a team gift for my favorite coworker who’s leaving for Korea soon (so sad!!!), got Bumble Beans a bánh mì because she broke up with her boyfriend, and covered lunch for me and Mama Beans.

• Travel (-$1,881.44): This included my flight tickets to Hawaii ($636.41) + travel insurance ($41.37), split an upgrade to aisle seating for Bumble Beans ($26), my 2 swimsuits from September The Line ($312.80), and our Airbnb ($864.86).

• Music ($0). I actually have $400 in this sinking fund and I’m so tempted to move this to travel, but I know I’m going to regret it if in the near future, I want to go to a concert.

THE CUSHION

I’ve decided to implement a new strategy when it comes to my cushion budget. Every month, I’ll have at least $150 set aside for my cushion. Once I start to go over the allotted amount in a certain category, I will take from cushion and add more money to the category that requires it. This means that the cushion category is a placeholder for extra cash that will help me fund expenses that need funding. I will not be categorizing any expense as “Cushion”. At the same time, I won’t be tracking the amount of money from the cushion budget, because that’s not relevant to me and my needs when analyzing my finances.

If you are interested in figuring out how much cushion money goes to each category, I would recommend assigning the transaction as “Cushion”, and when you do your monthly round up, manually calculate those transactions based on the actual category of the expenses.

I did a Quarter 1 review two months ago where I went through every item I purchased from January through March, and updated, amended, or removed my rules. Now, onto a better and more intentional Quarter 2!

THIS MONTH’S INTENTIONS

I wanted to get back on track with my purchasing progress totals, and even after adding one item to this list, I am still on track! Woo! There are still a lot of “am I categorizing these items incorrectly”, but I’m going to justify each item that I was on the fence about below.

ITEMS AND THEIR JUSTIFICATIONS AS ESSENTIAL

1. September The Line Swimwear: I purchased two swimsuits for my upcoming trip to Hawaii. I own zero swimsuits, and I’ve just read online and also heard from a few of you that buying used swimwear is… icky? And after thinking about it… it is kind of like buying used underwear, since I was planning on buying a one piece, not a two piece. At least for a two piece, I could justify buying the top part secondhand. Anyway, I do think that swimwear is useful to own, and it says a lot considering I own none since I haven’t swam or travelled to a place that required me to wear a swimsuit. I also purchased two because I wanted them to alternate drying in between days, as I know how disgusting I feel whenever I wear moist swimwear that hasn’t been fully dried the next day. Agh!

Purchases made from September The Line

2. Plants: Mr. Beans and I did a complete overhaul of our apartment inventory and sold a ton of pieces that weren’t working for us. I’ve also decided to consider all items that get categorized as “Home Decor” in my budget as essential. However, these items have to equally benefit Mr. Beans and me—they are either shared pieces of furniture, or decor that is placed in the living room, not in our respective rooms. If they were items for myself only, then it would be considered a non-essential.

3. Coffee table: Similar justification as above, except I personally deem a coffee table to be even more of a necessity than plants since we love watching movies while eating.

The bottom line is, things that are shared with me and Mr. Beans, me and my parents, me and a friend — they’re all considered essential, because while I don’t think money is a necessity to have a strong and fulfilling relationship with someone, it definitely does add to the experience, whether it be exploring new places together, having a good conversation over a good meal, or sipping on tea while spilling tea.

NEW ITEMS PURCHASED THIS MONTH

1. Shipping for Lucky Sweater ($6.83): I feel like I’ve talked on and on about this on Instagram and also on Substack, so I won’t bore you with the details. Ultimately, I did a poll on Instagram and the majority of you all said to categorize this as a non-essential, so I did. Mr. Beans also agreed with this decision.

2. Shipping for Lucky Sweater ($5.13): I know, I know. I should’ve stopped at my first Lucky Sweater trade for this month but I couldn’t help myself, okay? I traded another Christy Dawn dress for a pair of cotton trousers—from the photo listing, Mr. Beans said I made the worst mistake ever, and that he hated it. We’ll see how they are… updates in the next report card!

3. Sleepy Tofu’s “Sleepy Tofu” Font ($3.00): Ah, I caved. You all probably know if you’ve been following me for a while how sick I get of aesthetics, and sometimes, a little too quickly. I have always been this type of person, and it is annoying but it does help motivate myself to make better content for you all, since motivation = higher quality content. But also, it is nice to support a fellow AANHPI creator on here—

   rae ☕️
   ’s designs, artwork, and filmography are so cute.

This section contains things I’d like to start incorporating into my routine, things I need to stop doing because they are detrimental to my health or wellness in some sort of way, and things I’d like to keep up with throughout the next month.

START walking to local grocery stores or the post office to save gas. I recently walked to Target, and the round trip took 40 minutes! I want to do this with stores that are close to me because not only is it good for my health but also it saves me gas and the annoying drive up and down my apartment complex’s parking garage.

STOP doomscrolling on my Instagram explore page. I will admit, I discovered a bunch of new artists through my explore page, but I’ve also been subject to brain rot, as short-form content is destroying my attention span. Luckily, Jomo has helped a lot with limiting my Instagram usage, and I’ve been trying to spend more time reading articles on Substack or Aeon.

CONTINUE supporting local artists by visiting pop-up fairs or markets. This has been my source of joy this past month, being able to go to these events for however long, and explore! Meander around, touch nice fabrics, examine the artistry on furniture pieces, and marvel at what people have to offer. Even if I don’t end up buying anything at these events, I get to show up, express an interest, and discover a brand I maybe wouldn’t have ever discovered if it weren’t for attending this event. When I went to the Maum Market, I didn’t realize so many AANHPI women founded soap or candle brands existed! And they all smelled phenomenal.

Thank you for tuning into another one of my monthly lists! These lists are curated with love and intention, and I hope this was as enjoyable for you as it is for me to write them. Here is a quick recap of May’s posts if you missed any of them:

1. report card 1: introducing a new series

2. a guide to higher education: master’s level

3. report card 2: mr. beans and i are back together!

4. a culturally sensitive guide to honoring AANHPI month

5. report card 3: coping with financial anxiety

6. how to support a musical artist without destroying your budget

7. report card 4: are billionaires still human?

If you got to the bottom of this post, I am so grateful for you. Here’s my weekly virtual hug to you, and I hope to see you again next week.

Where to find me: Instagram | Goodreads | Letterboxd | Notion Templates | Wealthfront