Income & Spending....the September Edition

 

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 September report--

I have 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 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 2025.

*  I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones.

I have to report that we finished up September in the Black.

The amount extra we ended the month of September with?....$1,799.70

Income or Fund in September We Can Access

The "income" in September---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $4,104.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,022.58

*  Stock Dividend of $20.79

*  eBay Profit of $1,163.88

Total "Income" for September....$8,456.96

*  Irregular bills in September were $2,847.30

*  Variable expenses in September came to $3,139.25

*  Medical Premiums in August were $670.71

Total Expenses....$6,657.26

$8,456.96-$6,657.26=$1,799.70

Slush Fund coming into September of $81,984.50 and the addition of $1,799.70 in September, the end of September 2025 Slush Fund comes to $83,784.49

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $1,799.70

Outgo

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

Here are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM was the same as last month.

*  There was no Mastercard bill in September.

*  The electric bill was $2.13 less than last month.

*  Hubs Aviator card was $997.71 less than in August.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $26.28 more than last month.

*  My Aviator card was $350.12 more than in August.

*  The gas bill was $2.62 more than last month.

*  The gas c/c was $40.98 more than in August.

*  We had Long Term Care premiums due last month.

*  I had $57.10 due in co-pays in September.

*  Hubs had a $157.55 doctor bill due in September.

*  We now have a storage bill of $74.20 each month until we move.

The Food Budget costs for September are in another post HERE. Food costs are included in my credit card payments(mainly because I buy the food but sometimes these costs come out of our WAM cash too).

Final Thoughts for September--We had LTC premiums. and some dr. co-pays. Plus that storage bill now each month until we move out of here.  These one-offs(and the storage bill)are ugly but we'll survive. ;-)

Looking ahead to October--I've got TKR surgery on the horizon.  That's what I'm focused on for now. 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 down/off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid on a "want"?

If you post 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