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

2018 Income & Spending Report.....August Update

Now that we are living on an annuity(like a pension) and 401K$ withdrawals(retirement savings), 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.

But this money leftover at the end of each month, at least for now(as we find our new financial "normal")won't be saved toward a yearly Savings Challenge.  This leftover cash will go into a "Slush Fund" for now to be used if we have any emergencies come up during the year.  If we still have Slush Funds at the end of the year we'll decide then what to do with those funds.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018" at the top of the blog.

  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 2018 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 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 2018.

I have to report that we finished up August in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of August with?.......$2445.91

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* One third of 401K withdrawal balance(after funding Sinking Fund)for August of $615.69 #
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $384.51

Total "Income" for August......$6031.84

# We made a 3rd quarter 401K withdrawal in July of $6K.  After withholding for taxes due we got $5147.07 net.  $3300.00 of that gets put into the Sinking Fund to cover irregular bills coming due this quarter(house insurance in Aug., LTC insurance and school taxes in Sept). $1847.07 is the balance of the 3rd quarter 401K withdrawal.  This got divided by 3 and gives us $615.69 extra in July to add to the income for the month(Aug. and Sept. also got $615.69)for general expenses.


Expenses in August---

* Healthcare Premium for August was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in August came to $1772.45


Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into August was $3857.48.  The homeowner's insurance was due and paid-$648.00   The Sinking Fund goes into September at $3209.48.


We went into August with $19,805.85 in the Slush Fund.
Add in August's overage of $2445.91 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $22,251.76 going into September.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as in July.(Within $1 or so).
*  The electric bill was $26.02 lower than last month.
*  The gas card bill was $18.26 lower than July.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were the same as last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in June.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The water bill was $2.29 higher than last month.
*  The c/c bill was up $307.97 higher than in July.
*  There was a $147.29 private charge card bill.

The Food Budget costs for August are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are covered in the credit card payment(sometimes our WAM cash too).

So we end August in the black with $2445.91 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into September standing at $3209.48

FINAL THOUGHTS on August---
It was a good month in terms of low spending/bills.  We didn't really ''do" anything special this month other than eating lunch out a few times and didn't buy many "wants"(Hubs did buy a few books and I bought some underwear/clothing) so there were few bills beyond the usual and necessary.

THOUGHTS going forward into September 2018----This month there are two irregular bills due(school taxes and long term care insurance premiums).
The WAM withdrawal will be the same in September, $200.
I don't foresee any extraordinary bills other than the c/c bill will be higher.  Trips expenses will be mostly on the October  credit card bill.

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 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!

Make this year was the one were you clean up your finances and pay off your debts.
Plan to set something aside if you didn't already or increase what you have banked now for your future self.
Or pay extra on the principle of your mortgage if your house isn't already paid off.

Live below your means and keep some change for a rainy day....because no matter how sunny it is in your life now, dark clouds come along and you'll be glad you have that umbrella to keep you dry.

Sluggy

$20K Savings Challenge.....August Update

In our family we save money. It is important to us to put money aside for "rainy days".  You know.....those unexpected days when things happen in your life that you can't plan on, but that DO happen and they cost you money you didn't know you'd need to pay out.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.
Once the automatic savings, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision payments are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2013 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am going to keep the Goal amount at $20,000 again this year.

On to the August report.....

I have posted my August End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up August in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of August with?.......$263.62

Income
We had $182.41 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
 

Other monies received in August was some bank account interest totaling $81.21.  This brought our gain to $263.62 for August.

 

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  The water bill went down by almost HALF because we shut down the pool.

*  The food/toiletries bill was approx. $8 less than my budgeted $400 each month.

*  Electricity bill was about $20 lower than July's bill.

*  No quarterly garbage bill this month.

*  No doctor co-pays this month....woohoo!

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  The cash withdrawals were $340 higher due to vacation spending.
*  The music lessons bill was $30 higher.

*  Semi-annual car insurance bill was due.

*  School photos for #2 Son paid for.
*  Wisdom teeth removal bill.

*  Wedding present check to sister in-law came out of monthly income.

*  Credit card bill was $1300 higher than last month's bill.

 

Credit card had a $500 car repair on it from July plus $350 in dna testing costs(3 tests for 3 different people) plus my yearly subscription to Ancestry dotcom was due(ouch).  I spent $80 on some new clothing which is also on that month's bill.  The other $400 or so was usual gas and eating out spending.

The Food Budget costs for August are in another post, which is located HERE.

We came in under budget by $8.14 last month.

The 2013 TOTAL so far.....
With 8 months behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2013 stands at $16,262.84.  Only $3,818.37 left to save and 4 months left to accomplish this.

That comes out to $934.29 per month for the next 4 months to reach the goal.
 

Looking ahead for September......
 

*  The credit card bill will be large again, due to miscellaneous vacation spending.  The gas/tolls/car rental/meals/lodging costs will be paid for out of savings from our vacation fund.  But the other spending/shopping will be coming out of regular income from this month. 

*  Now that the semi-annual car insurance is paid, September has me paying the yearly school taxes bill.  I pay it early to get the 2% discount.  It's not much of a savings but it's something.
  

*  The weekly music lessons are going up as we are going from a 45 min. lesson to a 1 hour lesson this month.  This adds $10 per lesson onto that bill, so most months it will increase that bill from $120 to $160 per month.  This bill will continue for another year, until #2 Son leaves for college.

 

*  Hopefully the temperatures in September will be moderate so we won't need to run the a/c(WHEN it gets fixed!argh) or the heat, bringing our electricity costs down for the month.

 

*  We have another long weekend trip the end of September, so whatever we pay cash for, those costs will come out of Sept's. pay.  If we put charges on the credit card instead, the October spending will be higher.   It's either pay the charges with September's money or pay it later with October's income.

Decisions, decisions....lol  In the end, as long as we have the cash to cover the costs(and we do), it's all good.

 

So how was your August financially?  It wasn't a great month for us.  While we had enough income in August to cover all our costs, we spent ALOT of money(for us)and ended up with only a couple hundred dollars leftover after paying all the bills.
  

Did you put ordinary living expenses on a credit card last month and not pay it off in full when due?
Did you spend less than the income you had in July?
Did you received any "extra" or unexpected money in July like a tax refund, a dividend or bonus at work, and what did you do with those funds?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out your progress too and celebrate with you!

Sluggy