$32K Savings Challenge......NOVEMBER 2011 Results

Ok, here is my Savings Challenge Update post.
This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against so much spending.

Some day I'd like to spread all the cash I've saved out on the bed and lay on it.  This puppy has the right idea.....
  

On to the November report.....

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

I have 2 goals 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 November in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of November with?.......$3,686.66!

Income
We had $3681.89 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $3.00 in Rebates(LOL) applied against the food expenses, $1.77 in Interest on the Checking Account toward the Savings Challenge & you get a total of $3686.66.

Our monthly target is an average of $2,666.67 to reach our Year End Goal.
This month we blew that goal out of the water! 8-)

Outgo
As for the expenses in November......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

* The electric bill went up only $67.....that's good seeing as the heat was on!

* The food spending was almost on budget at $263.10
* The credit card bill was $1000+ BUT....almost half of that was money we spent on our mini vacation to Delaware, so we are pulling money out of what we saved in the Savings Challenge last year to pay that part of the bill.
* There were no car repair bills or taxes due this month...yay!!
* I opened my eBay Store up temporarily for the holidays to bring in a little coin, though I am not counting this income as part of the Savings Challenge because it will be spent....but it's STILL a good thing!lol

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* The water bill went up $10.
* Had $154 in unexpected medical associated bills to pay. (A dr. bill from this past summer when Daughter went and saw a dr. not in our plan so insurance won't pay any of it and #2 son lost his retainer so we had to pay for a replacement.)
*  Still a LARGE amount of cash withdrawals.  I went through Hubs receipts last month and there was no unusual spending...except he spends a lot on food and coffee during the day at work  I have nagged, pestered, whined, cajoled, bribed, offered sex all to get him to take his lunch and coffee.  Nothing convinces him.  I'm done trying.   ;-)
*  December means Christmas gift spending so the C/C bill will be high.  It's already at $500+ going into Xmas shopping season.  Add in the $200 in home improvement gift cards I put on the c/c last weekend.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  We kept almost to the food budget amount so I am calling this good considering the month included the big TURKEY DAY meal.

What's ahead for December.......
* There are the usual suspects: electricity, water, phone, cable, credit card bill, food cash, etc.
*  The electric bill will increase as Dec. is colder than Nov.

* Though Christmas is coming up I still plan to stay on budget with food for December.
* The credit card will be high.  With Christmas that's a given since I don't carry large amounts of cash on me when out holiday shopping.  But we don't buy more on the card than we can pay off each month.

YEAR-TO-DATE TOTAL.....
With 11 months behind us, our Savings total to-date for 2011 is $30,105.95.
We are $1,894.05 away from reaching our final goal for the year. Unless there is some catastrophe that wipes out our money in December we WILL hit our goal of $32K saved in 2011!

To add to my confidence that we will succeed is the fact that we will get THREE Paychecks in December because of when the paydays fall.  This means an extra whole paycheck in December...woot!!!  We will have enough if something bad happens to the budget and can still Live Christmas Large and tie it up with a red bow! 8-))))

So how are your savings growing so far this year?
Do you have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses!  You really should, you know.
With the current financial climate in this country, you should try to put away into savings as much as you can each month or be throwing savings at your debt if you still have that.

So come along and Challenge Yourself to Save Money each Month Toward a Realistic for YOU Savings Goal or Debt 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.  Put it into paying down your debt, put it into savings, invest it or put it toward the principle in your home mortgage....just get busy and do this!

It will help keep you accountable to your goal if other eyes are on you.
Put it out there online and let us all stalk your money too. ;-)

So how was your November 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