Income & Spending Report.....October Update

* As Hubs retired effective July 1, I am no longer doing my 2017 Savings Challenge.
We ended that on June 30th.  The goal was $17.5K saved for the half of 2017 that Hubs was working.
We actually saved $21,100.42 all totaled, so $3600.42 over goal!

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$(no 401K$ until October)I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.
But this money leftover at the end of each month, at least for now(as we find our new financial "normal")won't be saved toward a yearly Savings Challenge.

The issue now is to cover all the bills with just the annuity payment each month plus some liquid savings(checking account cash)until October.
October is when Hubs turns 59.5 and then we can access the 401K retirement savings.  Until then things will be tight here at Chez Sluggy, so all the leftover monthly cash will get tucked aside to pay irregular bills that will be popping up in August and September.

Got it?
OK, let's move on.

Though nothing will be put toward it the rest of 2017(probably), the 2017 $17.5K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals are still available
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

On to the October report--
I had 2 goals for October......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to apply toward irregular bills that are coming due in subsequent months.

I have to report that we finished up October in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of October with?.......$3454.25

Income

The income in October was the monthly annuity payment and the September overage of $3145.15(this was mostly a healthcare premium account reimbursement).

Other monies received in October totaled $306.73.  This was interest made on non-retirement accounts.

This brought us to our gain of $3454.25.  If you deduct the overage from previous months that carried over into October, this means we spent $309.10 LESS than what we brought in IN October(annuity and interest earned on non-retirement accounts).

Since we have no debt, this will get put aside to apply to the irregular bills coming due in November(car insurance)and then rolled over into 2018 to pay either $3K HDHP costs or property taxes that are due near the beginning of the year.

Outgo

As for the expenses this October, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $14.16 lower than in September.
*  The gas card bill was $39.55 lower than last month.
*  The electric bill was $18.90 lower than last month's bill.
*  The credit card bill was $277.50 lower in October compared to September.
*  The medical bills were $7.30 lower this month over last month's bills.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The cash withdrawals were $145.00 higher than in September due to puppy expenses.
*  Long Term Care Premiums were due(quarterly bill).
*  Garbage fee(irregular bill)was paid in October(I try to pay this quarterly as well).
*  We had to pay the October health insurance premium of $1646.04.
*  I paid a store card bill for clothing of $50.35(paid in full).

The Food Budget costs for October are in another post, which is located HERE.

So we end October in the black with $3454.25 to apply to the semi-annual car insurance bill due in November and other irregular bills going into 2018.


FINAL THOUGHTS on October---It was a pretty good month financially.  Most of our regular bills were all a little bit lower than in September(We still had to use a bit of a/c in September.)  But with the turning on of the heat in November the electric bill will be on it's yearly climb into the much higher $$$s.  It's just a fact of living in the Northern part of the country during the Winter.

I started the Sinking Fund in October to help cover those irregular bills that come due throughout the year.  This is giving me a lot of peace of mind knowing I have a little pile of cash growing over to the side to apply to those irregular/quarterly/semi-annual/annual expenses that will come no matter what.
Serenity does indeed have a price.  ;-)

THOUGHTS going forward into November of 2017----

Electric usage(and thus costs)will rise this month, and a few medical co-pays will crop up due to my HS infection and dr. visits.  I also have blood work due so another medical bill(which probably won't come due until December however).  The credit card bill may be a tad higher due to buying a piece of furniture that is needed.
Food spending shouldn't be over $400(even though it's Turkey Day this month).
Most of the usual bills will be about what October's levels were.

So how was your October financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in October?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

I hope this year was the one were you cleaned up your finances and paid off your debts.
That you planned to set something aside if you didn't already or increased what you banked now for your future self.
Or paid extra on the principle of your mortgage if your house isn't already paid off.

Live below your means and keep some change for a rainy day....because no matter how sunny it is in your life now, dark clouds come along and you'll be glad you have that umbrella to keep you dry.

Sluggy