Income & Spending for August 2023

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 August report--

I had 2 goals for August....

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 fund may be applied 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 2023.  

 

I'm happy to report that we finished up August in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of August with?....$2,882.00

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3878.950

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $832.92

*  Rakuten Check of $4.57

Total "Income" for August....$7,325.05

Expenses in August---

*  Irregular bills in August were $172.91

*  Variable Expenses in August came to $2,934.05

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,336.09*

Total Expenses....$4,443.05

$7,325.05-$4,443.05=$2,882.00

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare, I include his Vision Care, his Part B and his Medicare supplement in this number with my Healthcare Premium.  His Part B comes directly out of his SS check.

Slush into August of $67,914.85 and the addition of $2,882.00, September's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $70,796.85

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $2,882.00.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance premium, vision care, Hubs supplement plan and internet were the same as last month.

*  The electric bill was $25.02 lower than in July.

*  The cellphone bill was $105.27 lower than last month.

*  There were no charges on either of our Amazon c/c's in August.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $200.61 less than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Aviator c/c was $46.37 higher than in July.

*  We had an irregular bill for some clothing totaling $87.91.

*  We had another irregular bill for a handyman of $85.00.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for August 2023---August bills were lowkey and overall about $2K lower than July's bills.  The cellphone was a lot lower than in July due to paying for international service in June on the cruise for one of our phones.  That bill was due in July.  We won't have a $100+ savings on that bill going forward, one month to the next.  

THOUGHTS going forward into SEPTEMBER 2023---No irregular bills are due in September, so far.  There will be no vet bills unless one of the dogs comes down with something.  If the handyman gets back to us this month to install the countertop and sink, we'll have expenses there, but no clue yet on when the handyman will get to it and what it will cost.  

Otherwise, it's same old/same old here for September.

So how was your August financially?

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

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 down/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 all your excess monies after bills were paid 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