Income & Spending 2023........the January Edition

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 January report---

I had 2 goals for January......
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 January in the black

The amount we ended the month of January with?...$6,253.85

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3879

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $144.96

*  Paypal payment from rebates/coupons of $443.46

*  Ibotta payment from rebates of $552.39

*  PA car insurance refund of $533.76

*  401K quarterly withdraw of $5,200.13

Total "Income" for January....$13,989.51

Expenses in January---
* Irregular bills in January were $1,964.28

* Variable Expenses in January came to $3,500.39

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,270.99

Total Expenses....$7,735.66

$13,989.51-$7,735.66=$6,253.85

Slush into January of $59,556.21 in that Fund, add overage of $6,253.85 in January and we get $65,810.06 into January's 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $1,962.08

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone and internet were the same as last month.

*  The water bill was $2.66 lower than in December

*  The electric bill was $9.19 lower than last month.

*  The WAM was $200.00 lower than in December.

*  The Mastercard was $1,487.71 lower than last month.

*  My Amazon c/c was $92.09 lower than in December.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The health insurance premium went up by $44.86 in 2023.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was higher by $119.29 from December's bill.

*  We had irregular bills due in January too--

  *   I paid $1,709.55 on the Norwegian Cruise c/c-I only put cruise charges on this one.  I prepaid out gratuity charges in December for the 2023 cruise before those charges went up among other charges.

  *  Our LA property tax bill for 2022 was due in the amount of $94.11.  

  *  We had to make a first payment for Hubs Medi Gap monthly bill of $94.11.  Those don't kick in every month until he turns 65 in April.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on January 2023---It was a great month financially!  Only the healthcare premium and Hubs Amazon c/c bill were higher among all the bills.  The best is the Homestead Exemption on our Louisiana Property tax bill.  PA had an exemption(it was a whole $40 or so a year)and we were paying right around $5K per year for taxes.  Generally the first $75K value of your property in LA is exempt from taxing if you occupy it.  Plus Hubs turns 65 this year so he can apply for a property tax freeze at whatever the amount we pay in 2023 is for the remainder of our time here.  Sweet!

THOUGHTS going forward into February 2023--

Well we had a large overage amount for January due to that quarterly 401K withdrawal.  But all of it will be applied to the next cruise which I paid off in February.  Not going anywhere this month(except to medical and dental appointments)so the bills should be stable at January's level.  The only exception is having to purchase stuff for the house(like bookshelves, a bed frame, curtains, etc.)  I may have to break down and replace items we can't find from the move that are still missing(lids for the cookware, my food processor and my pasta machine).  I wouldn't hate anyone who wanted to send me gift cards to replace those items. hehehe

So how was your January financially? 

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