Thursday, July 7, 2011

$32K Savings Challenge for 2011.....June Totals or the Treading Water Edition



I have posted my JUNE End of Month $32K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals really each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $2,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up June in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of June with.......$316.92.

Income
We had $267.96 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $48.96 of Rebates applied against the food expenses and you have a deposit of $316.92  toward the Savings Challenge!

Our monthly target is an average of $2,666.67 to reach our Year End Goal.  Do I have to even say we came in well under that amount for June?lol
As I look back over the past 2 years of doing Savings Challenges, I see that June is typically a very expensive month for us.  In 2010 we only saved $547.73 in June.  So our pitiful savings this month are nothing out of the ordinary for us.

Outgo
As for the expenses in June....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* We paid the Sewage bill for the year, so no quarterly payment this month.
* The electric and credit card bills were not higher than last month.



HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The water bill was doubled from last month(we opened the pool).
* We paid cash for camp.
* The WAM money was much higher than usual.
* We had a kennel bill for boarding the dogs.
* We had an electrician bill for running a line to the pool.
* We had a washing machine repair bill.


The Food Budget costs for June are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in June was more than $147 over budget or $98 when you take off my rebate check total which I use toward the food bill.

What's ahead for July.......
There are the usual suspects: electricity, water, phone, cable, credit card bill, food cash, etc.
No non-monthly bills this month.
Plus this month will see 3 paychecks....yay! 8-)
So If I can keep the food spending on budget, we should be able to put away a good sized amount into savings this month and make up for June's lackluster showing.

YEAR-TO-DATE TOTAL.....
With 6 months behind us, our Savings total to-date for 2011 is $15,250.91.


And if you need to start putting money into savings......What's that you say?  You don't have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses!!??....consider playing along in 2011 with me and Challenging Yourself to Save Money each Month Toward a Realistic for YOU Savings Goal!
Not everyone can shoot for $32K, I fully get that!
But everyone can shoot for some number, right!?

Find a money goal that works for you and put that number out there for everyone to see.  It will help keep you accountable to your goal if other eyes are on you.
Ooo, that sounded kind of creepy didn't it? ;-)

So how was your June financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?

Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!

Sluggy

5 comments:

  1. In June, we spent more on groceries/HBA/pets than I like, so we are scaling back this month. Despite my trip to the casino and some repairs to Bob's car, we still managed to put $500 in savings. So, I am happy!

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  2. thank you for stopping by this week; I am honored so !

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  3. We're definitely treading water over here too... It seems like ANY time we have a few extra bucks, something jumps up to grab it. And I'm not just talking kids. The car needs breaks, or a window is busted.... dang. When do I get to go to the shallow end of the pool?

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  4. Our June was stupid expensive too. And it looks like McVal summed it up perfect. We seem to keep getting hit with one thing after another. Our savings has just about been depleted in the last year so back to pinching pennies.

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  5. "Every budget you make, every slip you make, I'll be watching you." Remember Sting's stalker song?

    You can lower the pool filling cost. I have heard of two ways. You get a separate meter for the pool and there is no sewer/sanitation charge. Or, the water company will turn off the meter or monitor it while the pool fills. Have you checked into this?

    I am trying to keep head above water with a $200 car repair this month (boot and axle part), another repair $400 scheduled next month (rack and pinion where rack needs replacing), periodontist visit this month, and several surgeries pending. But, I did put back $20 that I will not touch. It's not much.

    There is cash for milk and produce and maybe a really good stockup bargain this next week--$15-$20 is all I will spend for a total.I just decided to quit drinking so much milk a few moments ago, so that will help. Everything but the phone bill is paid and gasoline bought.

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