*I know I am way late with this but things like moving, living in one room and out of suitcase and then traveling to Alabama and Florida will take up all your time and energy. Plus the numbers are so so ugly this month. You have been warned. 8-) *
Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, 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 2022.
This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun. So far, so good.;-)
I can report that we finished up September in the red.
The amount we ended the month of September with?...-$1,645.88
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in September---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $129.81
* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.37
* SS of $3,570.00
Total "Income" for September....$8,668.99
Expenses in September---
* Irregular bills in September were $4,494.98
* Variable Expenses in September came to $3,593.76
* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13
Total Expenses....$10,314.87
$8,668.99-$10,314.87=-$1,645.88
Slush into September of $48,886.01 in that Fund, subtract $1,645.88 and we get $47,240.13 going into October's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $1,645.88.
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this September here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* The cell phone, WAM, storage bill, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.
* The internet bill was $36.70 lower than in August as we were only in PA for 12 days in September.
* The electric bill was just .23¢ higher in September but I'm calling this even.
* We got a small refund from our garbage service in PA as we paid in full for all of 2022.
* The gas card bill didn't get forwarded to LA so that will appear in October's numbers.
HERE are the BAD THINGS(so many bad things...)
* The Mastercard was $851.91 higher in September(gee I wonder why? Oh yeah, moving...).
* My Amazon c/c was $93.49 higher last month(again, moving).
* Hubs had an Amazon c/c bill in September too.
* We had LOTS of irregular bills due in September--
* School Taxes(if we sell the PA house before the end of Dec. 2023 we'll get a prorated refund on that)
* Moving expenses for disposing of chemicals in PA, renting a dumpster, hiring an electrician to take care of a few items in PA and hiring cleaners to spiffy up the PA house.
* We also paid $400 here in LA for an inspection on a house we were buying.
(The BIG moving expenses of the POD rental and move will be in October's bills. Can't wait....not!)
The Food Budget costs for August are in another post, which I'll post soon with a link here. Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).
FINAL THOUGHTS on September 2022---If you didn't know, Moving is EXPEN$IVE! And moving halfway across the country is even more expensive!! We donated lots of items we didn't feel the need to hang onto plus trashed lots of items as they weren't worth carting 1,341 miles or donating. Our moving and storage fees are going to HUGE with what we did keep/move. The costs we paid in September associated with moving were more than our regular living costs we usually incur each month so that's what ate up any excess income funds.
THOUGHTS going forward into October 2022--With the POD expenses, an airline flight, a moving truck rental and gas expenses and a round trip bus ticket to Alabama plus paying cash for a house this will be a great financial month(*insert eye roll here*). I so want to go back to bed for the rest of October and hide from the numbers. I feel like Richard IIIrd except I'd want "a tourniquet, a tourniquet for the hemorrhaging". 8-((
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
