My 2022 Financial Recap

2022 was an interesting year. I changed careers (and took some time off in between), Cassie launched a new part of her business, both of us lost our grandmothers, we spent more time with friends and family, and I felt like we oscillated between finding a good rhythm and blowing it up. 

This year feels simultaneously like we slowed down the pace, and like the entire year has been a bit of a blur. I’m not quite sure what that means, but I do feel like I should probably spend some time processing it all since it was a year of some pretty big transitions. 

One of the positive things we did this year was finally fully join our finances. We finished up the process when we got back from our trip to Ecuador in September. It seemed like the right time with my career shift and Cassie still building her business, plus it would simplify things for us day to day. Our finances were already fairly joined, but we finally took care of the few things we hadn’t yet done and actually started using our joint YNAB budget exclusively. 

Moving forward this means I’ll have a clearer picture of what our household expenses are – which will make long term planning a lot easier. However, since we made these changes part way through the year, it means it’s a bit more complicated to do the typical end of year recap that I usually do with all of the detailed numbers. 

Because of this, I’ll just go over some highlights, and next year you can expect a full recap of our household expenses.

My Income: $68,205

Even though I took three months “off work” I still had my highest earning year to date. This was thanks to still working as a part time consultant for my previous employer and to making more in my new role. 

My income listed here is after tax, but does include dividends, selling a few things online, dog sitting and my half of the rental income. We keep the rent low, because we know there isn’t nearly enough affordable housing where we live, so that money is really just enough to cover that half of the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance on the property.

My top 10 expenses

These expenses are just my half (unless otherwise noted), since we only joined our finances near the end of the year.

1. Sabbatical Travel – $9,124

You can read more about what I did here and here! This includes flights and other transportation costs, accommodations, all my food and drinks during this time, activities, supplies I bought for the trip as well as paying for a portion of my youngest brothers trip to Peru and both Cassie and I’s costs for the Ecuador trip.

2. Rental Costs- $6,402

Since we live in a duplex this includes half of the interest on the mortgage loan, as well as half of the property taxes, insurance, and any repairs. This year we had some electrical work to replace the weather head, a roof patch, and some small things around the house. We also get the kids gift cards on their birthdays.

3. Mortgage interest, property taxes, home insurance – $3,835

My half of our half of the mortgage interest, property taxes, and home insurance. Unfortunately, our property taxes and insurance are both going up a good chunk next year. I also never include the principal portion of our loan as an expense since it’s adding to our equity.

4. Groceries – $3,018

Self-explanatory. Less than last year at least!

5. Student Loans – $2,369

I’ve still been making payments even though they are frozen. Hoping the $10,000 gets forgiven in the new year and I’ll pay the rest off quickly once we’re done saving up for our next down payment.

6. Friend’s Wedding – $2,082

My best friend/cousin got married this year and I was the Maid of Honor. This includes flights for the bachelorette weekend, flights for the wedding, a suit, gifts, and other expenses.

7. Fun Money – $1,939

Concert tickets, drink tabs, new board games, tickets to plays, etc.

8. Vet Bills – $1,867

Carob had a health scare this year so a large chunk of this is related to those vet bills. Could have been a lot worse — thank you, pet insurance!

9. Dining Out – $1,449

Self-explanatory. Slightly less than last year!

10. Auto Maintenance – $1,382

New battery for my car, 4 new tires, oil changes, and a few other small things here and there.

Joint Net Worth: $210,642

For the first time, I calculated our end-of-year net worth using both of our assets and debts. This includes a conservative estimate of our home’s value as well as the home loan, student loans, investment accounts, checking and savings accounts, and any balances on our credit cards as of Dec. 31.

Given the 20% drop in the stock market, I’ll happily take it.

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I’m excited that now our finances are fully joined I’ll have a much more solid idea of our household spending and savings rate going forward — and to be able to share that with you next year!