2016 $38K Savings Challenge......October Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.

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, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings or these other categories.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums 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, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into an interest bearing Savings Challenge account.

For 2016 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount to $38,000 this year, $8K more than my goal for last year.

On to the October report.....

I have posted my October End of Month $38K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

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 $3,166.66.

I have to report that we finished up October with a yummy amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of October with?.......$4,449.89

Income

We had $4298.78 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.

Other monies received in October totaled $151.11.  This was solely interest made on non-retirement accounts.

This brought us to our gain of $4449.89
Since we have no debt, this goes into savings.

Outgo

As for the expenses this October, 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 $1 or so).
*  The credit card bill was down $50.77 from September's amount.
*  The water bill was $17.18 less than last month.
*  The electric bill was down $42.90 from September's total.
*  The gas bill was $57.29 lower than last month(more purchases for gas put on the c/c rather than the gas card.)
*  Cash withdrawals were $700 lower(due to using the c/c for most if not all grocery spending + Hubs took less cash in October).

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The direct medical spending was up again $190.09 from September's costs plus we still have an $800+ bill not received yet for Daughter's August procedure. gulp
*  We had a $275 non-recurring bill for attending a local Church's auction.  Not really a bad thing as we go each year and bid on local services/goods we would used anyway and pay less than retail for them.  We get a deal, the church gets some funds raised....win/win!  And we did spend $45 less at the auction this year compared to last year.

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

With 10 month accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2016 is $33,247.21.

FINAL THOUGHTS on October---
I was able to tuck away about $1K more than I had projected in October.  Mostly that was due to the car insurance payment moving from October to November, so really, we still have that expense, it just gets dumped into the next month so no gain or loss really.
Medical co-pays were the only category that we spent more in, compared to September(and it was under a $200 increase)so that's good.

Compared to Octoberber 2015 we put $1,972.44 LESS into savings this October.  This can mostly be explained away because of car insurance premiums, $500 more spending on the c/c and medical co-pays of over $800 last October compared to October 2016.
.
We have $33,247.21 saved so far in 2016, and we have only $4,752.71 left to save over the next 2 months at this point to reach our goal of $38K saved.  That averages out to $2,376.40 a month for the rest of the year.  This means for the rest of the year I need to average $790.26 per month LESS than our monthly savings target goal of $3,166.66.  But even with that, this will still be a tight race to get to $38K this year.  We have higher everything bills now with 2 extra adults in the house + more medical co-pays plus can I mention that Christmas is coming!?!?

Only 2 months left in the year to get to my savings goal.  We are quickly running out of time in 2016.


THOUGHTS going forward into November----

Semi-annual car insurance comes due in November.  The electric bill will rise as we will see the heat being turned up in November.  More medical co-pays will be due(including Daughter's $800+ one from August)in November so that will increase outlays this month.  But want based purchases should stay steady/low and we have no trips planned this month which always derails our spending.  We have some "already accounted for in the finances" gift cards/certs for eating out so not much spending on that category for November.  Gas charges will be up as we need to retrieve and return College Boy for the Thanksgiving holiday this month but that expense shouldn't top $50 for gas.

Besides the electric bill and medical payments it should be a fairly regular/low expenditure month for us....if I can keep the food spending down.

However....since I need to keep part of what I save in December out of my Savings Challenge to cover when the High Deductible Medical Plan deductibles kick back in on January 1st(and the cost of the first $3K in medical bills fall on us totally before we see any sort of benefit),
I need to aggressively save more in November than the $2,376.40 I "need" to save in each of the next two months, because in December I probably won't be able to save the other $2,376.40 I need to meet the 2016 Goal.  (Plus there will be increased holiday spending on at least gifts in December.)
So I am getting into Savings Ninja Mode for November.  Or I at least hope to. ;-)

So how was your October financially?
  

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

As we go forward into the last half of 2016 why not make this year the one were you clean up your finances and pay off your debts.
Plan to set something aside if you don't already now or increase what you bank 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

$28K Savings Challenge.....October Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.

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, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings or these other categories.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums 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, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into an interest bearing Savings Challenge account. 

For 2015 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $28,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the October report.....

I have posted my October End of Month $28K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

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 $2,333.33.

I have to report that we finished up October with a HUGE amount leftover.
The extra amount we ended the month of October with?.......$6422.33

Income

We had $5,548.51 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.

Other monies received in October totaled $873.82.  This included interest made on non-retirement accounts, a bonus Hubs received and a rebate check.

This brought us to our gain of $6,422.33
Since we have no debt, this goes into savings.

Outgo

As for the expenses this October, 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.
*  The cash withdrawals were the same amount as in September.
*  The water bill was down .42¢.
*  The electric bill was only up $7.26 from last month and that's even with putting the heat on now and again in Oct. so I call this a win!
*  The gas card bill was down $96.30.(More gas was put on the regular c/c.)

HERE are the BAD THINGS(and the not so bad)
.
*  The credit card bill was up $430.67 from September's bill(but we did go on vacation so not so bad).
*  There was an irregular bill expense--the car insurance paid(6 months worth).
*  Medical bill payments were up $786.10 from September's bills(foot expenses and cataract surgery co-pays.)
*  We spent $320 cash on "fun" at the Church auction.

The Food Budget costs for October are in another post, which is located  HERE.  I spend well under my $300 budgeted amount(on this report grocery money comes out of "Cash")on that expense.

October was a fairly expensive month for us, but not the most expensive for 2015.  6 months of car insurance payments, high medical bill co-pays due this month and our annual fundraiser attendance boosted our bills total for October.
Our "regular" bills, outside of these other bills, for October came to $2266.85.

The 2015 TOTAL.....
With 10 months accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2015 is $34,089.76.
That savings amount averages $3,408.97 a month put into savings so far. 
We have surpassed our $28K Savings Goal by $6,089.76 at this point in the year.
And there are two more months left to save some more!
Woohoo!!!


Final thoughts on October---
More monthly bills were down rather than up except for the credit card and we had an extra paycheck this month.
3 irregular bills put a kybosh on socking even more money away this month.
But even so we put a LOT of money away in October!

THOUGHTS going forward into November----
No irregular bills this month, except for if any medical charges come through from either the foot episode or the cataract surgery ongoing saga. 8-(
I have under $200 in store card charges(clothing for College Boy and some Xmas presents)due this month.
No extra paychecks or much "other income" expected in November so it should be a boring, middle to low outgo and income month for us.

With 10 months behind us we have surpassed our savings goal in 2015.
Even so, I am NOT letting up on socking cash away for the last 2 months of the year.  If everything goes as planned and if the bills for these 2 months in 2015 follow along with what we saw in these same months in 2014, I could be looking at putting away another $5K before the year is out.  That would put our total saved in 2015 at just over $39,000, a full $11,000 more than I set out to save.
This would be amazing to me but only time and our spending will tell if we get to this stretch goal or not.

So how was your October financially?
  

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

$32K Savings Challenge......OCTOBER 2011 Results

Ok, here is my Savings Challenge Update post.
This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.
And I am still loving this photo from previous month's Savings Challenge posts.
Like everyone, I LOVE a special on crap.....but how do you ascertain if crap is fresh?
Does fresh crap smell.....fresh?

The theme this month is when it finally looks like you can save a boatload of money,  Lightning strikes....literally!, and costs you some of your traction.

On to the October report.....

I have posted my OCTOBER End of Month $32K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right 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 $2,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up October in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of October with?.......$2,882.92!

Income
We had $2788.98 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $3.00 in Rebates(LOL) applied against the food expenses, $1.94 in Interest on the Checking Account toward the Savings Challenge & the $89 I made selling some dolls, you get a total of $2882.92.

Our monthly target is an average of $2,666.67 to reach our Year End Goal.
We finally had a month where we matched or surpassed that goal!

Outgo
As for the expenses in October......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

* The electric bill went down $40.

* The water bill went down $20.
* There were no car repair bills or taxes due this month...finally!!
* I sold some dolls laying around the house....booyah!

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* The credit card bill was over $1500 again!
* The food spending was over $600.  It's usually around $250 a month.
* The WAM & cash withdrawals were very high. Hubs did agree to save his receipts so once I get those I can analyze where some of his money went.  Stay tuned.....

* The lightning strike the end of Sept. took out the following: my computer, my printer, #2 son's tv, the garage door opener, the router, the modem and at least 1 electrical outlet upstairs.  So far we've spent $1433.66 on replacing/repairing items.  After our policy deductible of $500, the insurance company refuses to pay an additional $328.44 on the $1433.66 we've had to spend, so we are out of pocket $828.44 for this event.  Some of this spending went on the credit card and will show up on next month's bill.

The insurance goons have been real buttholes.

This is the first claim we have EVER made on our homeowner's policy which we have had with this same company since 1986.  

1 claim in 25 years.

Wanna bet our rates go up next year?

The Food Budget costs for October are in another post, which is located HERE. Once I applied my rebate check total of $3.00, I was still over $600 in food spending for the month.  I sucked at being frugal on food this month.  But I still have over a 79% savings rate on food for the year so I only suck a little.lol

What's ahead for November.......
* There are the usual suspects: electricity, water, phone, cable, credit card bill, food cash, etc.

*Though the big Thanksgiving meal is coming up I still plan to stay on budget with food for November.
* The credit card is hovering at just under $1K yet again, with 9 more days until the billing cycle closes.  We just can't seem to get it down under $500 per month, can we?
* Hubs commuting car needs a tune-up and oil change.  Every time we take it in, this always costs more than just those things so I am steeling for a car repair bill.

YEAR-TO-DATE TOTAL.....
With 10 months behind us, our Savings total to-date for 2011 is $26,419.29.
We are $247.31 off in our monthly average to reaching our final goal at this point in the year. We should have $26,666.66 heading into November so we are just a little behind and the goal is still within reach!

So how are your savings growing so far this year?
Do you have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses!  You really should, you know.
With the current financial climate in this country, you should try to put away into savings as much as you can each month or be throwing savings at your debt if you have some.

So come along and Challenge Yourself to Save Money each Month Toward a Realistic for YOU Savings Goal!

Not everyone can shoot for $32K, I fully get that!
But everyone can shoot for some number, right!?

Find a money goal that works for you and put that number out there for everyone to see.  Put it into paying down your debt, put it into savings, invest it or put it toward the principle in your home mortgage....just get busy and do this!

It will help keep you accountable to your goal if other eyes are on you.
Ooo, that sounded kind of creepy didn't it? ;-)

So how was your October financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?

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