My Savings Challenge...The Savings aren't Permanent for Another Year

I took on a Financial Savings Challenge at the behest of a member of the Compact Group back in Jan. of 2009.
I entitled that undertaking the $60K Savings Challenge.
Well, our name is NOT Rockefeller so we didn't even come close to saving $60K in '09. lol

We did however put away $23,997.24 for the year.....this amount is above and beyond any amount we put into retirement accounts for the year.  It's just a pile of money from the after tax/after retirement and insurance deductions paychecks we get that I manage to keep the family from frittering away on crap.
As you can see, I am getting darn good at keeping the family's sticky fingers off the money! ;-)

Going into 2010, I stepped down the savings goal to a more attainable $30K.
Throughout that year, I would on occasion use some of the 20009 Savings money toward big, not-everyday expenses we incurred in 2010 rather than using current income dollars.
Like buying a used car for cash.
Or buying a new refrigerator.
Or paying for the costs for 2 vacations we took that year.

We ended up using $12,991.45 in 2010 of that $23,997.24 we saved in 2009.
So in reality we actually permanently saved $11,005.79 in 2009.

In 2010 we saved $35,770.18 and we'll be using some of this amount when out of the ordinary large expenses come up in 2011.
We haven't used any of this amount for 'big hairy goals' in 2011 yet.
But we are planning on using some of that money soon for house repairs.

When 2011 is over, I'll be able to calculate how much of the actual $35+K we saved in 2010 that
we'll be able to tuck away permanently.
Well, permanently until some big expensive emergency comes along....and eventually they always do!

So the amount I save each year on the Savings Challenge isn't permanently saved until a full year after it ends.
I use the previous year's savings amount as a short term goal emergency fund.
And when that following year is over I dump whatever is left into a slot marked 'permanently savings'.
At least, that's how I organize it in my head. ;-)

Next Sunday Hubs and I will be having a financial meeting.  Among the discussions will be how much/what kind of home repairs we'll be having done this year.  I'm hoping that list won't eat away at that $35+K we saved from 2010 too badly.

Do you have a savings goal each year? 
Do you keep any money you save for the year into a separate account?

Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge....December 2010 Total and END of YEAR TOTALS

I have posted my DECEMBER End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up December in the black yet again!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of December with was.......$3,787.26.

Income
We had $3,595.01 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $175.25 of Rebates applied to the food expenses, along with $17.00 in rolled Coins and you have a deposit of $3,787.26 toward the Savings Challenge!

Our monthly target is an average of $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal. We passed the $30K yearly target mark in November.

Outgo
As for the expenses in December.....there were a few large bills.  The credit card bill(which is paid off each month)was over $1100(had to replace my computer's hard drive among other things) and 2 car repairs cost us over $1500 as well. There were also some smaller non-regular or quarterly bills, like paying for the replacement retainer for Daughter's ortho and the sewage bill.  Then both the water bill and the electric bill came in VERY high this month...ouch.
It's a good thing there was an extra paycheck this month because otherwise we would have barely had anything to throw into the Savings Challenge pot after paying the bills.

The good news with December is that nothing I bought for the Holidays was put on a credit card.   Hubs did put his gift to me on the card and we have some Dining Out on it(Daughter's Bday, Steakhouse with #1 Son home from school and Christmas Eve eating out tradition at the local Chinese Restaurant). Add in the usual gasoline purchases and such and we still will have a substantial CC bill but nothing swollen beyond being able to pay it all in January.
No interest, no payments being dragged out until June or worse.....yay!

The Food Budget costs for December are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in December was kept low due to the large rebate amount received that month.


YEAR-END GRAND TOTAL.....
With December's addition we ended the $30K Savings Challenge with a Total of $34,019.88 saved for the Year!
I am so happy with how much we've been able to save in 2010.  This is $10,000+ more than we saved in 2009!

It was a great year!  I think the key to staying on course and having a good result was to keep track month-by-month and doing it publically.  If I had no one holding me accountable how easy would it have been to have just stopped putting the money away when things got too hard?  Yep, it would have been very easy to let it go and go on spending sprees for junk we didn't need. 

So how was your December financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge...November 2010 Totals

I have posted my NOVEMBER End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up November in the black....with a nice healthy addition!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of November with was.......$3,984.99.

Income
We had $3,954.49 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $3 of Rebates applied to the food expenses, along with $27.50 in rolled Coins and you have a deposit of $3,984.99 toward the Savings Challenge!

Our monthly target is an average of $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal.

Outgo
As for the expenses in November.....it was pretty much a 'normal bills' type month.   The credit card bill(which is paid off each month)was under $450.  There was a vet bill for the beagle this month and some smallish school related bills that are out of the ordinary but otherwise, it was a low spending month here.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in November was right on target, unlike October's out of control spending....egads, that was bad.lol

Looking Ahead to December....

As like most people who celebrate a Holiday in December, we will have some larger than normal expenses this month.
Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice....no matter which you celebrate, the extra spending will raise your monthly costs this month....unless your surname is Scrooge.
Since I operate on a budget for Christmas, our spending is planned & budgeted for months ahead so we have no surprises coming up with the cash to cover those expenses.
You know December is coming every year.....so make sure you figure how to pay for things in advance of it's arrival.  It just makes prudent financial sense, right?

The problem for us this December is the unexpected expenses that are coming up.  My car needed repair work done on it last month and the bill will be coming in sometime this month.  That will be in the neighborhood of $600.  Plus Daughter destroyed her orthodontic mouth guard and we need to pay $300+ this month for the new one that was made.  To add to the spending rampage, my computer died a few days ago and can't be fixed.  Since the monitor, etc. are fine still, we had to buy a new processor to the tune of $400(including back-up storage).  Then my machine was not compatible with my ancient printer so we purchased a new laser printer at a bargain price.  Not only was the price good but this printer will continue to save us money since the cartridges for it last a whole lot longer than the ones for inkjet printers....but I digress.
So just those 4 items will result in over $1400 in unexpected/not planned spending in December.
Even with those expenses, we should still be able to eek out a small savings for the Challenge in December though because of that 2nd extra paycheck for the year.  December has 3 pay periods for us since Hubs is paid on a biweekly schedule, so an extra paycheck this month....yippee!
And it's a very good month to have an extra paycheck coming in if I do say so myself!lol

I am just glad at this point that we have an ample income and can cover all our bills, no matter if they are expected or not....plus, we have enough to put some money away!
It's a very good feeling knowing you are solvent and living well below your means, especially in this economy.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $30,232.62 in Savings. 
With one month of savings to go, we have hit our goal of $30 Thousand Saved in November!
I am thrilled to pieces!!
Even though we reached our goal early I will still keep tracking our progress to see how far over our goal we can reach in December.

So how was your November financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge OCTOBER 2010 Totals.....

I have posted my OCTOBER End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up October in the black....with another healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of October with was.......$3,326.27.

Income
We had $3,253.45 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $72.82 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,326.27 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.  Keep in mind that we are able to save so much of our income because of 2 things--we have low living expenses(no mortgage payment)and we are not in a personal debt hole with monthly payments sucking up any money we have leftover after paying bills.  Once you pay off your house you free up a big chunk of money each month to put other places in your life.  The average monthly mortgage payment in the US is $1,500.  Over the course of a year, that's $18,000 you are paying out and alot of that is interest on your loan.   Getting a mortgage does take monetary sacrifice and it's not fun, but when you get that house loan paid off, your financial life gets so much better! ;-)

Outgo
As for the expenses in October.....it was pretty much a 'normal bills' type month.  Since the vacation money came out of the Savings Challenge 2009 monies set aside and not from the monthly income, we had just a few unusual/non-repeating bills....a college application fee for Daughter, a charity cash donation, a couple of prescriptions refill copays and my driver's license renewal fee.  The credit card bill other than the trip costs put on it was under $800.  Generally we put gas and eating out on the credit card, along with miscellaneous costs, like house repair or kid shoe/clothing purchases. 

The Food Budget costs for October are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in October was way over budget, proving that even if you are frugal or try your hardest to be, sometimes you can/will bust things wide open anyway.lol

Looking Ahead to November....

Wow....I can't believe we are already into November!
Looking at last November as a guideline, I see no out-of-the-ordinary expenses.
It's just the usual monthlies plus some small Marching Band related expenses.  The credit card bill so far is looking lowish(it closes for this upcoming statement this week)which is always a good thing.  3 items will be costing us more this month....The gas expenses will be going up this month as Hubs is taking Daughter to visit one of the 3 schools that has accepted her for next fall, so there is a road trip in our future.    The electric bill will be increasing in Nov. due to the cold weather setting in. Finally, one of the dogs is having a flare up of her chronic back problem now so we'll have some vet bills in November.  But none of these things looks like it will wreck havoc with the budget thankfully.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $26,247.63 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $22,500 saved.  Currently, we are only $3,752.37 from the yearly goal!  Unless something catastrophic happens, we will reach $30K.  That makes me pretty darn excited....8-))

So how was your October financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge SEPTEMBER 2010 Totals.....Not as Good but Still Saving this Month

I have posted my SEPTEMBER End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up September in the black....with an addition to the total!

The extra cash we were able to save in September was.......$1,165.79.

Income
We had $1,036.29 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $129.50 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $1,165.79 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month was less than half of what we need each month to stay on track.

Outgo
As for the expenses in September....we had a rather large Vet bill this month(due to our doggie that passed away earlier this month)and we had School Taxes due(our property taxes are divided up into school taxes and local/municipal taxes).  Add in the usual bills plus a fairly large credit card bill(which is paid off every month)and we didn't have as much leftover to put aside this month.  But having a couple of months where we had lower expenses let us save extra before now so we aren't losing any ground in Sept.

The Food Budget costs for September are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in September was over my $250 target but the rebates we received in September helped to cover that excess amount spent and lowered the OOP to $137.67.

Looking Ahead to October....

Looking at last October as a guideline, there is only the quarterly garbage bill coming due.  In fact, we have NO unusual non-monthly bills except this one for the remainder of the year!

Plus there is one of those 2 extra bi-weekly paychecks coming before the year is out.
Now if we can just keep some restraint with the money during the Holidays and not go hog wild with the eating out & the "Gift Bacchanalia" that this Season encourages, we'll be doing well.

On the other hand, October will see the beginning of Heating Season here however, so our electric bill will be going up. 8-(


YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $24,087.15 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $22,500 saved.  Currently, we have $5,912.85 to go with just 3 months left in the year.  I can't wait to get to that financial finish line!

So how was your September financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge AUGUST 2010 Totals.....Full Steam Ahead!

I have posted my AUGUST End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up August in the black....with another healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of August with was.......$3,138.45.

Income
We had $3,132.45 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in a whole $6.00 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,138.45 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.

Outgo
As for the expenses in August.....it was pretty much a 'normal bills' type month.  Since the vacation money came out of the vacation funds set aside and not from the monthly income, we had just a few unusual/non-repeating bills. 

The Food Budget costs for August are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in August was about $17 less than I had budgeted for so we are right on target there.

Looking Ahead to September....

Looking at last September as a guideline,the only non-monthly bills I see are the quarterly sewage fee and the school taxes, which is a big one! 8-(  And it looks like at this point we will be purchasing a new refrigerator....which will cost a pretty penny!
Otherwise, it's just the usual monthlies plus some smaller school related fees(photos, club fees, band stuff, etc.).   No other big expenditures and no heating bill in September so it's usually a fairly good month to stash some cash away for us. 8-))

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $22,921.36 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $20,000 saved.  Currently, we are an entire month's worth of savings ahead of schedule.  It would be so awesome to finish the year with more than $30K saved!  I don't want to get my hopes up but I can dream. ;-)

So how was your August financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge JULY 2010 Totals.....Xtra Paycheck Time!

I have posted my JULY End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up July in the black....with a healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of June with was.......$3,161.44.

Income
We had $3,066.46 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $94.98 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,161.44 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.

Outgo
As for the expenses in July.....it was our most expensive month so far this year!

While this month saw the water bill drop to almost half and a nice decrease in the electric bill there were many 'out of the ordinary/non-repeating' bills this month.

Out-of-the-ordinary expenses in July...
Yet another car repair at $277.30.
A deposit for camp for next year for $50.00.
Dog licenses were due at $18.00.
That June Food Stamp Challange Food Bank donation for $100.00.
House insurance at $609.00.
And the whopper.....car insurance semi-annual payment of $1,482.63.
UGH!
That's $2,536.93 in out of the ordinary expenses.

The credit card bill(paid off each month)was $624.36, which was less than half of the previous month's total.

Even though July was a bad month for bills and spending, the thing that salvaged our goal this month was that extra paycheck that came this month.  If you gets paid on a biweekly basis, you know all about those 2 extra paychecks a year that sneak into 2 of your pay months.  This year for us it's July and December.  Did I mention that I love July and December?lol

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in July was .94¢  under the budgeted $200.00 amount and our Savings percentage was 80.45% which is right about average for us this year so far.

Looking Ahead to August....
Well the first week of August wasn't very frugal as we were on vacation.lol
Most of the costs for the trip were budgeted for & taken out of monies we saved in last year's Savings Challenge.  No funds were taken out of this year's income to pay for this trip.  And for heaven's sake, we didn't take out a loan or use a credit card to finance this trip....but of course, you probably figure that already.  ;-)
There were some items I bought while on vacation that will come out of the food budget for August.  I'll explain fully in a later post.

August is college tuition time but that comes out of the college money account we have funded over the years.
It's still a heart stopper of a bill, even if you have the funds set aside to pay it....

Looking at last August as a guideline, I don't see any unusual or reoccurring large bills coming due this month.   We will have a large credit card bill to pay fully in August(from charges for the vacation trip)but that has been budgeted for & that part of the bill will be funded from sources besides the monthly income.  The only unusual charges will be for any of the various repairs/upgrades we need to do on the home and possibly for the purchase of a new freezer.

But I am determined to get through August frugally and meet our monthly goal of $2,500 saved this month.
It's going to be a challenge this month so cross your fingers I meet that goal!

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $19,782.91 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $17,500 saved. With the extra paycheck in July we are looking good for meeting our Savings Challenge for the year!

So how was your July financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge JUNE 2010 Totals.....Treading Water this Month!

I have posted my JUNE End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up June in the black....just BARELY!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of June with was.......$547.73.

Income
We had $260.53 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in some rolled coins amounting to $10.50, $44.00 in Rebates &, along with a $276.70 business expense voucher for Hubs and you have a deposit of $547.73 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, we are waaaaay short again this month.

Outgo
As for the expenses in June.....it was our most expensive month so far this year!

The water bill almost doubled(extra showers/laundry/dishes for extra people here + the pool) and the electric bill went up about $12(extra hot June=a/c on a few days).

 The credit card bill(paid off each month)was over $1700. 
$750 of that was a car repair & car related expenses(besides gas). 
$200 of the $1700 was pool chemicals & $120 for assorted teens' clothing needs. 
$70 went for Hubs internet chess club dues.  
The rest was gas and some eating out charges and was within our normal range of expenses.

Out-of-the-ordinary expenses in June besides the CC Bill ones.....
There were people Dr. visits and follow-up dog Dr. visits for assorted people and dogs here, respectively.
There was another car repair to the tune of $775+. 
And then there was the camp payment for #2 son....2 weeks of fun doesn't come cheap at $945.
So basically we had $2600+/- in out-of-the-ordinary expenses this month.


The Food Budget costs for June are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in June was $77.26 under the budgeted $250.00 amount and our Savings percentage was 89.30% which is awesome.

Looking Ahead to July....
I'll only be feeding 3 people for most of this month & the garden should start producing, so I am hoping for lower food spending.
The Credit Card bill is at $400 for the next statement period with 9 days left until it closes.  I'm hoping we can keep it around $500 and only put some gas purchases on it.
We'll try to lower the electric usage.  I don't have high hopes for containing the water costs since the pool is in operation.

I am determined to get through July frugally(barely some financial emergency)with only 1 child at home and to meet our monthly goal of $2,500 saved this month.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $16,621.47 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average.  With our expensive June, we are now just barely ahead of schedule at this point in the year.

So how was your June financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge APRIL 2010 Totals.....Happy Dance!

I have posted my APRIL End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

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

The extra cash amount we ended the month of April with was.......$6,366.78.

Income
We had $2,290.77 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in a gas voucher of $26.68 for some business traveling he paid OOP for in April, a hefty $159.33 in Rebates & our big fat Income Tax Refund of $3,890.00 which we received in April and you have a nice deposit of $6,366.78 toward the Savings Challenge!
The nice thing is that even if you take off the Tax Refund, we have $2,476.78 leftover to put toward savings.  That is just $24+/- short of the $2,500 estimate we need to save each month to reach a $30K Savings Goal for the Year!  So even without the tax refund, we are right on track.

Outgo
As for the expenses in April.....

The electric bill went down another $80 in April so that number is NOT causing me dread when I peek inside the envelope each month when it arrives.

 The credit card bill was down below $350, which is always a welcomed sight.

Out-of-the-ordinary expenses in April....our municipal/local tax bill was due(over $1K), the car needed it's yearly inspection and #2 son snookered me into buying candles(I need another candle like I need leprosy!) for the Marching Band fundraiser.  It was NOT a very bad month for extra expenses, which really helped boost the amount we could throw into savings this month.

The Food Budget costs for April are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in April was under the budgeted $250.00 even without throwing the rebate money that came in last month at this expense.  After the rebate money we only spent $38.86 on food/toiletries and our Savings percentage was a whopping 92.40%!

Looking Ahead to May....
#1 son aka the 'eating machine' comes home from college & we have a week long visit from a relative in May, so the food spending will no doubt go up.
The Credit Card bill as of May 3rd is already over $1,000 for May(due to 2 large purchases by DH).
The water bill will increase some as DH opens the pool for the season later this month.
We will have some bills for doctor's visits & prescription drugs as well and a $1,000 expenditure for #2 son's summer camp stay which needs to be paid this month. 


On the bright side, we have potential for some addition income in May as I plan on taking the extras in my stockpile to sell at the flea market.  Wish me luck on that! ;-)

I am hoping to be able to meet our monthly goal of $2,500 saved in May.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $14,890.50 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average.  We are almost 2 months ahead of our target as the 4th month savings total goal was $10,000!  We are 1/3rd of the way through the year now and our savings should be at $10,000.  It's actually almost at $15,000, which is the savings goal for the end of June(or halfway through the year)! 8-))

While I am thrilled beyond words! to be this far ahead of our projected goal, the doomsday naysayer in me is just waiting for the other financial shoe to drop.  There must certainly be economic disaster around the next bend or some GOTCHA expense lying in wait to blow our goals out of the water.
I am trying to remain cheerfully optimistic that this pile of savings is NOT a mirage. ;-)

So how was your April financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge MARCH 2010 Totals.....GangBuster Month!

I have posted my MARCH End of Month 30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

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

The amount we ended the month of March with was.......$3,673.47

Income
Besides Hubby salary we had a hefty amount in Rebates and some rolled Coins under the Income Heading. Add in a quarterly stock dividend check, a dental insurance reimbursement for #2 son's dental surgery in Feb. and a partial car insurance reimbursement when we took the old car we got rid of off the policy and the income side looks quite healthy!


Outgo
As for the expenses in March.....

The electric bill went down around $100 from last month.  Even though the heating bills should keep going down now until late Fall, I really need to get cracking on finding the new heating system for the house.

 The credit card bill was half of what it was last month, mostly because of less eating out. The previous month had a lot more birthday eating out.  We did have a small bill for #1 son's schooling, a driver's license renewal and an unexpected small furniture purchase(a new file cabinet) this month along with usual gasoline purchases that are put on the card and paid off each month.

We had a few out-of-the-ordinary expenses in March...some additional car insurance due to the car we bought so for a short time we had FOUR cars on the insurance**YIKES!**, a few doctor's visits, quarterly garbage and sewage bills, state tax bill & school related expenses for #2 son.  
All totaled, the out-of-the-ordinary expenses came to about $850.

The Food Budget costs for March are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in March was under the budgeted $250(due to the rebate money that came in last month)and our Savings percentage was a whopping 94.89%!

Looking Ahead to April....
The cc bill is on track to being under $500 this month again, which is always good. ;-)
I am also expecting our federal tax refund to hit the account in April.
On the not-so-good side of things, we have a local tax bill that is due by the end of this month.
The good thing is that the tax refund is larger than the local tax bill so that's good news!

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $8,523.72 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average.  We are ahead of our target as the 1st quarter savings total goal is $7,500!

So how was your March financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?  Let us know!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge FEBRUARY 2010 Totals....a Great Month!

I have posted my FEBRUARY End of Month 30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

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

The amount we ended the month of February with was.......$4,094.60

Income
Besides Hubby salary we had a hefty amount in Rebates and some rolled Coins under the Income Heading. Hubby also got a Bonus check from work...yay!
Not sure where the Bonus $ will end up but I'm putting it into the Savings Challenge for now. Without it, we are at $966.20 in savings for Feb.

Outgo
As for the expenses in February.....

The electric bill was $399.10, just a few dollars more than January's bill. Since Feb. is the most expensive month here for heating, I am good with that number.

 The credit card bill seemed also a bit high(over $1K) but was paid off(like every month)so no interest charges at least.  On second thought, the cc bill wasn't too bad, since hubby didn't make as many Cash Withdrawals this month.  He used the cc more for gas and such instead of cash.  When you combine the cash withdrawals and the cc charges this month against those charges combined in previous months, they average about the same per month.

We had some large out-of-the-ordinary expenses in Feb. 
The car insurance is due then, so that was almost $1300.
The other BIG expense was our part of #2 son's dental extractions, $475.00, after the insurance paid their part.

All other regular bills...Cable, Internet, Phone, etc. are the same each month. 

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in February was under the budgeted $250(due to the rebate money that came in last month)and our Savings percentage was a whopping 91.12%!

Looking Ahead to March....
The cc bill is on track to being under $500 this month, which is always good. ;-)
There are three non-monthly charges this month--the quarterly sewage bill(not very much), the County/Municipal Tax Bill and our State Tax Bill.
One tax bill is over $1K, one is under $100, so that's approx. $1200 in extra expenses for March.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $4,850.25 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average.  We are almost on target after 2 months....Jan. was dismal but Feb. was great due to the bonus.  I'm looking to only put away $1400 in March due to the Tax bills since it's a high bill month.

So how was your February financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?  Let us know!


Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge JANUARY 2010 Totals....a Slow Start

I have posted my JANUARY End of Month 30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

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

The amount we ended the month of January with was.......$755.65

Income
Besides Hubby salary we had a small amount in Rebates and some rolled Coins under the Income Heading.

Outgo
As for the expenses in January.....
The electric bill doubled!  This was not unexpected as our electric rates increased 30% on the 1st plus January was colder than December so more energy was used.
The water bill jumped $15 from last month. Extra showers and laundry to do with extra people in the house in Jan.
All other regular bills...Cable, Internet, Phone, etc. are the same each month. 

The Food Budget costs for January are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in January was high but compared to the value of the items bought we still saved just over 84%. 

Jan. and Feb. are heavy expense months for us, as some quarterly and semi-annual bills come due.
The credit card bill,which is paid off EVERY MONTH,($643.14)wasn't too bad considering it's mostly gas purchases, 1 grocery store purchase and some Birthday/Relative visiting eating out.

The out-of-the-ordinary expenses in January halved our savings for the month.
It was a bad month for this family's teeth.
3 Wisdom Teeth, 4 Regular Teeth and a set of Braces later, we saw a big chunks of cash leave our account.  We do have dental insurance(thankfully!)so these expenses won't be as bad as they could have been.  The braces are paid for, out of savings we put aside for this expense a couple of years ago but the 7 teeth that were pulled WERE paid for out of our Jan. income.  At the moment that expense stands at $1,780.  We have to pay for these services but get reimbursed with our dental benefit later.  I am still waiting on one of the reimbursements. This payment will go into the income column and be applied against the expenses in February.

So how was your January financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?  Let us know!


Sluggy