Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals, personal savings 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.
We went into retirement in June of 2017 with no debt, no mortgage, nor a car payment.
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 May report--
I had 2 goals for May....
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 2024.
* I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones.
I'm happy to report that we finished up May in the black.
The amount extra we ended the month of May with?....$1,465.66
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in May---
* Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11
* SS income of $3,828.70
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,012.32
Total "Income" for April....$7,371.13
Expenses in May---
* Irregular bills in May were $3,251.00
* Variable Expenses in May came to $1,947.04
* Medical Premiums in May were $707.43
Total Expenses....$5,905.47
$7,371.13-$5,905.47=$1,465.66
Slush Fund coming into May of $61,222.22 and the addition of $1,465.66 in May, our end of May 2024 Slush fund comes to $62,687.88
The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,465.66.
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this May here are the good and the bad side of things.....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* The water bill was the same as in April.
* The WAM was $200 less than last month.(We took out $300 more for the cruise.)
* The electric bill went down in May by $89.09
* Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $55.00 lower than last month.
* The Mastercard was $1,517.03 less than in April.
* The American Airlines c/c was $649.19 lower than last month.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* We had 2 irregular bills in May--
* We paid the yearly car insurance bill of $1,805.00. It went up quite a bit from last year. 8-(
* We paid the State Taxes of $1,446.00.
* My Amazon C/C was $313.87 higher than last month.
The Food Budget costs for May are in another post HERE. Food costs are included in the credit card payments(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).
FINAL THOUGHTS for May 2024---We stayed within our means for the month. Even with two large irregular bills we came out ahead. It was a month.
GOING FORWARD INTO JUNE 2024--The only irregular bill due in June is the Long Term Care Premiums. And of course, Hubs premium went up since he had a birthday since the last LTC bill. ugh Not much going on here in June other than the usual and hoping that sensor in my car stays off and we don't have to have it replaced. And the dogs aren't due for a grooming again until July. And I'm trying to use up some freezer and pantry staples instead of buying more at the grocery store. hahaha We should be under our means again for June unless something untoward happens.
Go.
Us.
Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))
So how was your May financially?
Did you spend less than the income you had in May?
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
I spent to fly my daughter and her family to Atlanta, paid for the rental, and paid for her hotel. Worth every penny for my grandbabies to get to see their uncle graduate! I also paid for zoo, meals, etc. I stayed in a hotel to be near them although J only live under a couple of hours away from where the graduation took place. I consider that my vacation for the year and I am just thankful they all made it here and back safely, especially since the kids had been really sick a few days before the trip. I also paid $1500 total to get middle son new tires and to have repairs done to his 2007 car. Still cheaper than a new car. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI should make it clear they flew to Atlanta and then drove in rental car two hours to graduation city and vice versa on way back. I know what ai meant in my own little head but I doubt others knew what I meant… lol. I live about two hours in opposite direction from graduation city so we were meeting there.Also my graduating youngest son lives there l.
DeleteI confuse folks all the time because I have four kids and three are sons. Cindy in the South