Income & Spending....the November 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 November report--

I have 2 goals for November.....

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 November in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of November with?....$2,650.86

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $970.48

Total "Income" for November....$7,329.29

Expenses in November---

*  Irregular bills in November were $3,683.05

*  Variable expenses in November came to $287.95

*  Medical Premiums in November were $707.43

Total Expenses....$4,678.43

$7,329.29-$4,678.43=$2,650.86.

Slush Fund coming into November of $83,268.64 and the addition of $2,650.86 in November, our end of November 2024 Slush Fund comes to $85,919.50.

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $2,650.86.

Outgo

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

Here are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill is the same as the previous month.
*  The WAM was the same as in October.
*  The electric bill was $42.08 lower than the previous month
*  The Hubs Amazon card was $191.81 less than in October.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The cellphone bill was $10.08 higher than in October.
*  The My Amazon card was $35.59 higher than last month.
*  Hubs Aviator card was $531.99 higher than in October.
*  My Aviator card was $491.92 higher than last month.:
And we had some one off bills in November--
*  We had additional Car Insurance due to the tune of $223.97 because the new car is newer than the old car we traded in.
*  We had an AARP bill of $16.00.  Because of my UnitedHealthcare medigap plan I am forced to have an AARP membership. 8-(
*  We paid a Doctor copay out of the regular account for $20.00.
*  We had a bill of $27.98 for the coat I bought.

The Food Budget costs for November 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 November 2024---We had a few extra bills in November, but nothing we couldn't handle.  The extra monies was smaller than it could have been but we still had a surplus once the month was out.

GOING FORWARD INTO December 2024--I don't think I'll spend as much in December but the bill for the car is arriving in December. ouch
We will have the Long Term Care premiums due plus expenses for the Holidays too.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your November financially?

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

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

Income & Spending....the October 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 lto 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 October report--

I have 2 goals for October.....

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 October in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of October with?....$11,826.72

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,446.90

*  Quarterly 401K Withdrawal of $6,215.06

*  Refund from Insurance of $2,900(I'll count what the cruise company refunded when it arrives)

Total "Income" for October....$16,983.25

Expenses in October---

*  Irregular bills in October were $1,957.87

*  Variable expenses in October came to $2,491.23

*  Medical Premiums in October were $707.43

Total Expenses....$5,156.53

$16,983.25-$5,156.53=$11,826.72.

Slush Fund coming into October of $71,441.92 and the addition of $11,826.72 in October, our end of October 2024 Slush Fund comes to $83,268.64.

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $11,826.72

Outgo

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

Here are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill is the same as the previous month.
*  The WAM was the same as in September.
*  The electric bill was $61.52 lower than the previous month
*  The Joint Mastercard was $64.24 less than in September.
*  Hubs Aviator card was $780.06 less than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The cellphone bill was .04¢ higher than in September.
*  The My Amazon card was $19.04 higher than last month.
*  Hubs Amazon card was $120.08 higher than in September.
*  My Aviator card was $4.99 higher than last month.
*  We had House Insurance due to the tune of $1,260.23.
*  We had a Vet Bill due in the amount of $355.00.
*  We paid a Doctor copay out of the regular account for $20.00.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for October 2024---Financially it was an exceptionally good month.  The 401K quarterly withdrawal and getting most of our money back that we paid on that cruise we couldn't take(I'll count the last bit when it hits the bank account.).  We did take a $22K+ hit with having to buy a car but we knew that inevitable as Hubs car was on it's last legs and that gets accounted for in November.

GOING FORWARD INTO November 2024--Bills will be coming in for the car and some c/c bills and we won't have a 401K withdrawal to balance that out.  Hopefully we'll receive the rest of the cruise  refund this month. We will mostly likely run a deficit in November but that's ok.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your October 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

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

Income & Spending for July 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 July report---On to the June report---

I had 2 goals for July....

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 July in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of July with?....$6,367.06

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3879.00

*  Quarterly 401K withdrawal of $5,200.13

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $823.76

Total "Income" for July....$12,346.55

Expenses in July---

*  Irregular bills in July were $229.73

*  Variable Expenses in July came to $4,672.73

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,077.08*

Total Expenses....$5,979.49

$12,346.55-$5,979.49=$6,367.06

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare I include his dental coverage in the HI Premium for me and his Medicare supplement comes out of our checking account.

Slush into July of $61,547.79 addition into August's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $67,914.85

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $6,367.06 .

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance premium and internet were the same(the water within $1.97)as last month.

*  My Amazon c/c went down by $52.60 in July.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The cell phone was the same as in June except we had to add an international plan on one phone for the cruise to the UK and it hit on the July bill so that bill was up by $87.37.  This isn't a normal bill for cell service for us.

*  Electric bill was up by $99.39 last month.  I'll take that as a win since we've been running triple digit temps all month.  Heating seems to have been much more costly up in PA compared to what we pay down here for A/C.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $1,047.34 higher than in June.  See cruise above. ;-)

*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $300.16 more than last month.

*  The American Airlines c/c was used in July(Hubs made a trip to PA to see his dying brother)so that was $1,208.88.

*  Chester needed shots this past month so this bill was $99.73 higher than their vet visits in June.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on JULY 2023---Like the food bill for July, there weren't many wins last month in bills overall.  Lots of c/c bills came due from the time in London and the cruise plus an unplanned emergency trip to PA for Hubs.  But we have enough socked away to cover everything without having to carry a balance and pay interest on a c/c.  Even if we hadn't had that 401K quarterly withdrawal we STILL would have been in the black after paying all the bills so that's a "good" thing.

THOUGHTS going forward into AUGUST 2023---The only irregular bills are going to be 2 dental cleanings.  We no longer have dental insurance so we'll be cash customers for that.

Can't really think of much we've put on credit cards except food and home repair stuff for the house so far in August and the end of July after those c/c statements cut.  The other irregular bill is for 2 dresses I ordered from the fat lady store as I had a free shipping code and a $10 reward certificate.  I don't have a black dress and when the nephew finally plans a memorial service for Hub's brother, if I am in any shape to fly there and we can go, I'll need something other than a purple or a lime green dress to wear.8-)

So how was your JULY financially?

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

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

Income & Spending 2022...the November Edition

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 November report---

I had 2 goals for November.......
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 2022.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up November in the red.

The amount we ended the month of November with?...-$8,816.68

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3570.00
*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $104.30

*  Storage deposit refund from PA $25.00

*  C/C credits on m/c statement of $76.04

Total "Income" for November....$6,986.15

Expenses in November---
* Irregular bills in November were $1,661.66

* Variable Expenses in November came to $11,915.04

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$15,802.83

$6,986.15-$15,802.83=-$8,816.68

Slush into November of $70.334.97 in that Fund, subtract November's shortfall of $8,816.68 and we get $61,518.29 going into December's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $8,816.68.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, WAM,  as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.

*  There was no water bill in November.  It will be due in December.

*  The gas cc bill was $90.48 lower than in October.

*  We got a small deposit refund from the storage in PA,

HERE are the BAD THINGS(so many bad things...)

*  The Mastercard was $3,550.74 higher in November.

*  My Amazon c/c was $210.30 higher last month(mostly groceries).

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $1,528.44 higher in November than in October.

*  We had many irregular bills due in November too--

  *  2 Vet bills for the dogs(1 for well check and shots, then Dixie got sick so another visit and meds.)

  *  Had to pay for an HVAC guy to put a dryer vent in.

  *  6 months of car insurance.  I think we'll change companies in the new year as the rate seems high.

  *  We paid the garbage service in advance for a full year and this is higher here than in PA.

  *  I had a small balance on a c/c I don't use much and don't remember what I bought. lol

  *  Car inspections once we registered the vehicles them in LA.

  *  New LA driver's licenses were bought and paid for as well.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on November 2022---

November was another very expensive month.  Lots of bills from the move came due and were paid as well as having to purchase needed stuff like a bed, chairs, storage units, etc.  While our PA house sold on November 29th we have some residual utilities to pay there and theses will carry over into December bills.  I think November saw the last of the "move" bills.  After the house sale check arrives we can set up a bank account nearby which will make paying bills easier than it's been so far and we can close the PA account down and have those funds transferred here.  It will be nice to have our money settled down and consolidated again.  8-)))

THOUGHTS going forward into December 2022--Won't be around to spend much here but we'll be spending elsewhere in December.  There will continue to be small charges here and there as we fix things, remove and improve things, replace things that didn't come or make it to LA.  There will be an irregular bill as Long Term Care comes due in December and we'll be making the third house insurance payment(this is so weird here--you pay it over the first 5 months of your policy and then you are done for the year?).

So how was your November 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 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!

Sluggy  

Income & Spending Report.....the August Edition

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 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 2022.

I can report that we finished up August in the Black.

The amount we ended the month of August with?...$3,752.90

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $156.86

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.38

*  SS of $3,570.00

Total "Income" for August...$8,696.05

Expenses in August---

* Irregular bills in August were $607.00

* Variable Expenses in August came to $2,110.02

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$4,943.15

$8,696.05-$4,943.15=$3,752.90

Slush into August of $45,133.11 in that Fund, add $3,752.90 and we get $48,886.01 going into September's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The Internet, cell phone, WAM,  storage bill, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.

*  The electric bill was $7.03 lower than in July as we had a few days where we didn't need he a/c.

*  The Amazon c/c bill was $174.30 lower than last month as we didn't put as much on the c/c.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill went up by $1.31 compared to last month.

*  The gas bill was $77.58 higher last month.

*  The Mastercard bill was $254.75  higher in July.

*  We had 1 irregular bills due in July--

  *  The yearly house insurance premium was due.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on August 2022---Total of all bills was well under our income for the month.  Regular bills were a mixed bag of some higher, some lower.  It was a good month for the money. 8-)

THOUGHTS going forward into September 2022--This is moving month.  Lots of bills will happen due to the move(gas to drive to LA, the cost of the dumpster and the cost of the POD to move out stuff to LA) and the regular bills(utilities mostly will go down and then go away-only to be replaced with new bills once we are in LA).  Health insurance, cell phone, storage and WAM will remain the same for at least September.  We also have to pay the real estate taxes in September(we pay it in full to get the discount but if the house sells before next September(God willing!)we'll be getting a pro-rated refund.  We also contacted our garbage hauler(as we pay for the year in January)and will be getting a pro-rated refund on that bill as well.

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!

Sluggy  

Food Spending 2022....the May Report

 Onward to May's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2022.

I have posted May's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in May.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
*****************

MALACARI'S

OOP  $72.37

Value  $107.95

Savings  32.96%

OCEAN STATE

OOP  $10.99

Value  $29.34

Savings  62.54%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $722.42

Value  $722.42
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $129.46

Qs/free Gift Cards  $102.72
Value  $232.18
Savings 44.24%

WEIS

OOP  $44.76

Qs/Sales  $54.21
Value  $98.97
Savings  45.72%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Ocean State at 62.54%, and Weis at 45.72%.

The worst rate was at Malacari's at 32.96%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in May.

TOTAL Spent in May................$257.58

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$169.32

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$426.90

TOTAL Savings of .............................39.66%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for May w/R-A..............$257.58

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$891.74

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,149.32
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................77.59%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....As planned I stayed well un $350 for the month.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by .34% in May 2021 to 77.59% compared to the April's 77.25% savings average.  A higher savings rate is always good. 8-)

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,175.05 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,432.63

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$7,348.28

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$5,915.65

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................80.50%

The average per month amount spent is $286.53 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To June 2022.......With the inflationary costs now I'll still try to keep the spending at or under $350.00.  Eating more from what is here and less Ibotta shopping I am hoping. ;-)

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in May?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

Income & Spending 2021.....the August Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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 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 2021.

I can report that we finished up August in the Black(for a change).
The amount we ended the month of August with?....$36.38

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $436.44

Total "Income" for August.....$5,630.67

Expenses in August---

* Healthcare Premium for August was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in August were $1,173.00(house insurance, trip cash, Oldest birthday check)

* Variable Expenses in August came to $2,449.30
Total Expenses....$5,594.29

$5,630.67-$5,594.29=$36.38

Slush into August of $39,033.52 in that Fund, add the $36.38 in overage and we get $39,069.90 going into September's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $36.38. rah.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in July.

*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.

*  The electric bill was $3.79 lower than in July.

*  The cell phone went down by $82.25 from last month.

*  The water bill was $5.15 lower than in July.

*  The MC c/c was $1,032.10 lower than last month.

*  My Amazon Visa was $2,716.60 lower than July.(Cruise related stuff all paid for in July.)

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The gas bill was $46.78 higher than last month.(Trip to MD accounts for most of that gas. Gas has been crazy expensive for here.)

*  3 irregular bills were due in August--annual home insurance, a birthday check for our oldest son and extra $$$ was taken for the trip to Alaska.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on August---The only variable bill that went up rather than down in August was gas for the cars.  I'd call that a win.
 

THOUGHTS going forward into September 2021---Well the gas costs will be high again as I have a trip down to see my brother and his wife and a side trip on the way home to see my Sissie. ;-)  Groceries shouldn't be too high as I won't be here to shop and Hubs won't. lolz  I paid ahead on my Amazon card so all the crap I bought in Alaska and barely fit in my luggage home won't be haunting my credit card....just half of it.

We have 2 big irregular bills coming due in September--Long Term Care premiums and our School taxes(which of course, went up again).  There will be a money meeting later this money to see whether to tap the 401K or just withdraw for these from the non-retirement savings.  More in the next monthly report on that.

We also made a big money decision which kicked in during August but I'll talk about that another time as it really won't affect our income/spending until Hubs Medicare kicks in about 20 months from now.  This matter will get it's own blog post in time.

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!


Sluggy

Income & Spending 2020....the September Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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 September report---

I had 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 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 2020.

I can report that we finished up September in the black.
The amount we ended the month of September with?.....$1,408.76

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in September---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $459.94

* Stock Divident of $18.27

*401K Withdrawal of $2556.20(net)

* Blogging revenue check of $128.07

Total "Income" for September.....$8270.48

Expenses in September---

* Healthcare Premium for September was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in September were $2981.44
* Variable Expenses in September came to $1996.52
Total Expenses....$6861.72

$8270.48-$6861.72=$1408.76
Slush into September of $28,633.63 in that Fund, add the $1408.76 September overage brings the Slush to $30,042.39 going into October.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,408.76 for September.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet were the same as last month.

*  The water bill was $21.41 lower than in August.

*  The electric bill was $30.51 less than last month.
*  The cell phone bill was $4.99 lower than in August.

*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Amazon c/c bill was $113.85 higher than last month.(It was $0 in August.)

*  The gas c/c bill(Sunoco) was $14.10 higher than in August.  Sunoco is generally higher than other gas stations' prices(even after a .05¢ gal. discount)so we use it sporadically.

*  I had to pay the lawyer in Virginia $250 last month.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on September---
It was a good month overall financially. Regular variable bills were quite low. Two irregular bills were due(one small, one large)in September and we withdrew $3K from the 401K monies to cover the larger of the two bills.  Turns out we only needed about half of what we withdrew to cover the school taxes but it's all good.  The "leftover monies" just go into the checking account and will absorb any excess bills in the coming months.  If we don't need to draw from those leftover funds Oct. through Dec. then it will go into paying toward our high deductible plan health insurance costs which resets on Jan. 1.

THOUGHTS going forward into October 2020----

No irregular bills are due in October. rah.  

The electric bill will start it's seasonal rise as the heat gets turned on for Fall/Winter which is expected.  We have company coming for a few nights and a short trip later in Oct.  The trip will mean some lodging costs, take-out and kennel fees for the doggies.  So a few extra bills in October but nothing that will seriously impact our budget for the month.

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 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!


Sluggy

2020 Income & Spending Report...........the January Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, 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 January report---

I had 2 goals for January.......
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 2020.

I can report that we finished up January in the black(barely).
The amount we ended the month of January with?.....$100.85

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $584.25
* Loan to EX-CB repaid of $337.50
* A small 401K withdrawal of $1000.00
Total "Income" for January....$7027.75

Expenses in January---

* Healthcare Premium for January was $1883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in January came to $4735.14
* Irregular Expenses(yearly garbage fee)came to $308.00.
Total Expenses....$6926.90

$7027.75-$6926.90=$100.85

Slush into January $18,438.63 left in the Slush Fund to take into February with that $100.85 overage brings  Slush to $18,539.48.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $100.85 for January.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $2.66 lower than in December.
*   The Amazon c/c was $667.23 lower than last month.
*  Medical co-pays were $15.62 less than in December.
* The Kohl's charge was $3.13 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $45.01 higher than in December(as predicted).
*  There were $75.46 more in gas bill charges than last month.
*  There was $350 more in WAM withdrawals(that was cash spent on the wedding trip to LA).
*  The main c/c bill was $1125.63 higher than in December.
*  The Healthcare Premium went up $35.09 per month for 2020.
*  There was an irregular bill due-the annual Garbage Service bill(but I get a month free if I pay for the year up front.).
*  We also had a Discover card charge($125.51).
*  We wrote Daughter and her new husband a wedding gift check in January and another check to my brother's wife to help pay for her mom's funeral in late January.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on January---

We knew January would be a high bill month.  Between some Xmas charges that didn't come through until the January billing cycle, the annual garbage fee and Daughter getting married this month(and the subsequent road trip to Louisiana for the wedding and the spending for that trip)we were aware it wouldn't be pretty financially.  But looking back, it could have been a lot worse on the old wallet.


THOUGHTS going forward into February 2020----

We don't see much out of the ordinary spending coming around the bend this month.  There is a birthday(Ex-CB)but I've already got his gifts tucked away(and paid for)so that just means a Birthday Eating out bill this month.  Hubs and I don't "do" Valentine's Day so that's not a blip on our financial radar.  Electric bill will continue to rise(Hello! It's Winter here. lol)

I'd like to keep discretionary spending low in February and tuck as much as we can back for March bills, as we have 3 Irregular bills due then--Long Term Care Premiums, the Annual Sewage bill and Real Estate(County)Taxes.  Last year that all totaled $2665.94 and I don't know how much any of these will go up for 2020 yet.  Ah, the thrill of the unknown. lolz
So anything I can keep from spending in February helps me out to keep our head above water in March.

But we always have the Slush Fund to fall back on if needed.  That has been such a comfort to me and will continue to see us through rough financial months. 8-)

So how was your January financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in January?
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!


Sluggy

2019 Income & Spending Report......the January Edition

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.

Two changes we implemented for 2019 at your financial meeting in Jan--

* Hubs wants to take $150 per person WAM(aka Walking Around Money)in 2019.  I found last year's $100 per month adequate but Hubs chafed at that little so we are upping it this year to $150 per person per month.
                                                                                                                                                             
*As for our 2018 Slush Fund, this is how we are going to handle it in 2019......
We won't be taking a quarterly 401K withdrawal in 2019 until we "need" to, instead of taking one each quarter as we had planned back in 2017 when Hubs retired.

Since the Slush Fund ended 2018 with $23,164.17 in it and the Sinking Fund ended 2018 with $468.37 in it, we are for now at least not take any more 401K withdrawals and use what is in the Sinking Fund and/or Slush Fund to cover all irregular bills that come up in 2019.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" 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 January report---

I had 2 goals for January.....
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 2019.

I can report that we finished up January in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of January with?.....$409.77

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1833.50
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $386.58
* Blog revenue of $161.02(3 months worth)
* Withdrawal from my Paypal account of $233.72.
Total "Income" for January....$5,832.98


Expenses in January---

* Healthcare Premium for January was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)**
* Variable Expenses in January came to $3,574.54
Total Expenses....$5,42321

** The folks holding our retirement medical reimbursement account screwed up and didn't reimburse the bit for the dental payment we made, thus we paid $1848.67 but only got $1833.50 back.  the shortfall will be accounted for when it finally comes in.

Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into January at $468.37. Nothing was paid from this fund so it goes into February at $468.37.


We went into January with $23,164.17 in the Slush Fund.
Add in January's overage of $409.77 and the Slush Fund goes into February at $23,573.94.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this January, 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 December.(Within $2 or so).
*  The gas card bill was $89.71 than last month(mostly these charges went on the MasterCard rather than the gas card so not necessarily lower).
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in December.
*  The c/c bill was $877.01 lower than last month.
*  I paid for a whole year of garbage removal in January for a 1 month discount over the regular yearly price.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was up $18.96 from than last month.
*  The water bill was $4.56 higher than in January.
*  The WAM withdrawal was $100 higher than last month.(Agreed upon change.)
*  Hubs had $82.04 in charges on his Discover card in January.
*  I had $134.60 in charges on my Amazon card(mostly my Prime renewal).
*  I had $20 in charges on my fat lady clothing charge card.

The Food Budget costs for January 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 January in the black with $409.77 in overage, leaving the Slush Fund at $23,573.94 heading into February.
The Sinking Fund goes into February 2019 standing at $468.37 with no deposits made into it in Jan.

FINAL THOUGHTS on January---
Not a bad month really.  Food spending a bit higher than I wanted it.  We paid an annual irregular bill out of reg. income and not the Sinking Fund and still have just over $400 extra money to carry into February.  The only troubling item is the RMSA account folks shorted us on our premium reimbursement.  I hope that doesn't take forever to straighten out(and doesn't happen again!).  If it does it's only $15.17 and not the end of the world but it does screw with my accounting. ;-)

THOUGHTS going forward into February 2019----
February.......let's see what's coming up.
NO irregular bills in February(but March we've got over $2600 worth).
The credit card bill is going to be high for Feb. mostly due to getting new tires and sensors on my car,  paying for new glasses,  my car was due for an oil change(synthetic oil=$$$), there is Birthday meal spending and Hubs spent $200 on two subscriptions on this statement coming up.  We are almost up to $2K in charges and the statement doesn't close for another 6 days.....I think I need to keep Hubs home this week so he can't spend anything. lolz
I don't see anything unusual outside of these items.
Everything else will be normal spending(well, the electric bill will be seasonally high(hello Polar Vortex!).

So how was your January financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in January?
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!


Sluggy