Income & Spending 2020....the September Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the September report---

I had 2 goals for September.......
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 tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2020.

I can report that we finished up September in the black.
The amount we ended the month of September with?.....$1,408.76

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in September---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $459.94

* Stock Divident of $18.27

*401K Withdrawal of $2556.20(net)

* Blogging revenue check of $128.07

Total "Income" for September.....$8270.48

Expenses in September---

* Healthcare Premium for September was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in September were $2981.44
* Variable Expenses in September came to $1996.52
Total Expenses....$6861.72

$8270.48-$6861.72=$1408.76
Slush into September of $28,633.63 in that Fund, add the $1408.76 September overage brings the Slush to $30,042.39 going into October.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,408.76 for September.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet were the same as last month.

*  The water bill was $21.41 lower than in August.

*  The electric bill was $30.51 less than last month.
*  The cell phone bill was $4.99 lower than in August.

*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Amazon c/c bill was $113.85 higher than last month.(It was $0 in August.)

*  The gas c/c bill(Sunoco) was $14.10 higher than in August.  Sunoco is generally higher than other gas stations' prices(even after a .05¢ gal. discount)so we use it sporadically.

*  I had to pay the lawyer in Virginia $250 last month.

The Food Budget costs for September are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on September---
It was a good month overall financially. Regular variable bills were quite low. Two irregular bills were due(one small, one large)in September and we withdrew $3K from the 401K monies to cover the larger of the two bills.  Turns out we only needed about half of what we withdrew to cover the school taxes but it's all good.  The "leftover monies" just go into the checking account and will absorb any excess bills in the coming months.  If we don't need to draw from those leftover funds Oct. through Dec. then it will go into paying toward our high deductible plan health insurance costs which resets on Jan. 1.

THOUGHTS going forward into October 2020----

No irregular bills are due in October. rah.  

The electric bill will start it's seasonal rise as the heat gets turned on for Fall/Winter which is expected.  We have company coming for a few nights and a short trip later in Oct.  The trip will mean some lodging costs, take-out and kennel fees for the doggies.  So a few extra bills in October but nothing that will seriously impact our budget for the month.

So how was your September financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in September?
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!


Sluggy