$20K Savings Challenge.....FEBRUARY Results for 2012

Ok, here is my February Savings Challenge Update post for 2012.
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 "unconscious" spending.

Just to update, My Savings Goal for the Year in 2012 is $20,000.  It's well below what I've saved in previous years I know.  But we also have a goal of paying for 4 home improvement projects at Chez Sluggy this year.  We plan on cash-flowing these projects with the additional money we save.

On to the February report.....

I have posted my FEBRUARY End of Month $20K $AVING$ 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 $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up February in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of February with?.......$1,889.15!

Income
We had $1,867.30 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $21.49 in Rebates applied against the food expenses & .36¢ in interest and  you get a total of $1,867.30.

Outgo
Traditionally February has been a very tight month for the money.  Besides the usual expenses we have  semi-annual car insurance payment in Feb.  Add in that February is usually the highest electric bill of the year and this makes for heavier expenses.  Most years if we do not go into the negative in February I am happy.  Having leftover cash this year is thrilling! 8-)

As for the expenses this February......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  While the electric bill was high(as our heat is electric and it IS Winter!), the mild temperatures in Jan./Feb. kept our bill over $100! lower than the previous year's bill.

*  The cash withdrawals were relatively low and I underspent on the food budget in February.

*  The credit card bill(which is paid in full each billing cycle)was under $700 this month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* Car insurance premium.  #2 Son just turned 16 in Feb.  I am dreading how much it goes up once he goes to get his Learner's Permit....bleh.

* I wrote a check for our state taxes as we always end up owing a bit on the state form.

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post, which is located HERE.  I underspent my food budget by about $93, as we ate down supplies from the freezer/stockpile last month and I stayed out of the grocery store for the most part.

YEAR-TO-DATE GRAND TOTAL.....
With 2 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2012 is $2,993.91.

We surpassed our monthly goal in Feb. so now we are only $339.43 behind for the year.

So how much did YOU save in February?  Did you spent all your income or did you put something aside?

Do you have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses?
Do you have debt?

Start living below your means NOW and put some money away for emergencies and/or start paying down your debt.
And once you get debt-free, continue to throw that debt repayment money into savings.  You won't believe how fast you can accumulate wealth once you have no debt!

It is NEVER too early or too late to SAVE SOMETHING.
And the amount you save is NEVER too small!
Anything you can spare will go a long way to make you more financially secure in this crazy unstable world we live in.

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 $20K, 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 February 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