Income & Spending 2021....The October 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 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 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 October in the black.
The amount we ended the month of October with?....$349.68

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

* 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 $173.90

* Money moved to pay for Cruise of $4281.98

* Blogging Revenue of $109.06

Total "Income" for October.....$7,787.18

Expenses in October---

* Healthcare Premium for October was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in October were $2,950

* Variable Expenses in October came to $4,487.50
Total Expenses....$9,409.49

$9,759.17-$9,409.49=$349.68

Slush into September of $37,977.07 in that Fund, add in $349.68 and we get $38,326.75 going into October's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $349.68.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in September.

*  The WAM was $52 less than was taken last month.

*  The Water bill was $6.44 lower than in September.

*  The cell phone bill was $11.75 lower than last month.

*  The Amazon c/c was $489.76 lower than in September.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $4.36 higher than in September.

*  The gas bill went up by $69.64 from last month.

*  The MC c/c was $1,484.29 higher than September.

*  We paid for the powder room renovation so $2,950.00 in irregular bills.

The Food Budget costs for October 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 October---It was a good month as we were able to cover the bathroom reno without dipping into savings.  I did have to take money out of one of the non-retirement accounts to pay for the December cruise but that's what the account is for...to use for fun things. ;-)
 

THOUGHTS going forward into November 2021---One irregular bill in November, the semi-annual car insurance.  Not a very large bill and it's doable.  We are not hosting Turkey day so that will bring some food costs down but the gas bill will be higher due to two trips to New Jersey(bridal shower and Thanksgiving invite).  Plus a shower gift will come out of November's income but won't break the bank.

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!


Sluggy