Income & Spending 2021....the July 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 July report---

I had 2 goals for July.......
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 2021.

I can report that we finished up July in the red.
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....-$2,978.08

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $214.19

Total "Income" for July.....$5,408.42

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in July were $3,405.86(Clothing, Cruise, Airline Tickets)

* Variable Expenses in July came to $3,008.65
Total Expenses....$8,386.5

$5,408.42-$8,386.50= -$2978.08

Slush into July of $42,011.60 in that Fund, subtract the $2,978.08 in shortage and we get $39,033.52 going into August's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a reduction of $2,978.08 for July.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in June.

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

*  The electric bill was .25¢ lower than in June. lol

*  The gas bill was $32.66 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $6.48 higher than in June.
*  The cell phone bill was higher by $91.96 in July.  This is due to Hubs getting a new phone.

*  The MC c/c was $1,532.94 higher than in June.(Not much was charged to that card in June.)

*  My Amazon Visa was $2,730.89 higher this month(Alaskan cruise  and plane fare to Seattle x 2 anyone?)

*  I also paid for some clothes to the tune of $74.97 in July.

The Food Budget costs for July 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 July---I knew July's financials wouldn't be pretty as the Slush Fund took a big hit what with taking the cruise/flight costs from that fund instead of withdrawing money earning "real" interest.  I am ok where we landed on spending in July.
 

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2021---Most of the vacation is paid for already but I suspect there will be incidental costs to cover still plus the dog boarding bill when we return.  Until the trip we are just going to concentrate on staying home, not spending money we don't have to, planning the next house project and using up some foodstuffs.

*Sluggy chants, "I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta.....". ;-)

So how was your July financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in July?
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