Income & Spending 2021....the July 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 July 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 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 July in the red.
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....-$2,978.08

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* 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 $214.19

Total "Income" for July.....$5,408.42

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in July were $3,405.86(Clothing, Cruise, Airline Tickets)

* Variable Expenses in July came to $3,008.65
Total Expenses....$8,386.5

$5,408.42-$8,386.50= -$2978.08

Slush into July of $42,011.60 in that Fund, subtract the $2,978.08 in shortage and we get $39,033.52 going into August's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a reduction of $2,978.08 for July.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in June.

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

*  The electric bill was .25¢ lower than in June. lol

*  The gas bill was $32.66 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $6.48 higher than in June.
*  The cell phone bill was higher by $91.96 in July.  This is due to Hubs getting a new phone.

*  The MC c/c was $1,532.94 higher than in June.(Not much was charged to that card in June.)

*  My Amazon Visa was $2,730.89 higher this month(Alaskan cruise  and plane fare to Seattle x 2 anyone?)

*  I also paid for some clothes to the tune of $74.97 in July.

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 July---I knew July's financials wouldn't be pretty as the Slush Fund took a big hit what with taking the cruise/flight costs from that fund instead of withdrawing money earning "real" interest.  I am ok where we landed on spending in July.
 

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2021---Most of the vacation is paid for already but I suspect there will be incidental costs to cover still plus the dog boarding bill when we return.  Until the trip we are just going to concentrate on staying home, not spending money we don't have to, planning the next house project and using up some foodstuffs.

*Sluggy chants, "I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta.....". ;-)

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 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

Be Prepared for Unemployment.....Have a Plan to Reduce Spending

Do you see it?
Over there, in the corner.....that quite large pachyderm?
The elephant called Economic Recession.
Even when no one is talking about it, it's presence is always felt.  I see less people in the stores buying. More 'for sale' signs going up on people's houses and condos.   Fewer car lots still open.  Restaurants closing up.

In these uncertain economic times, it is wise to have a plan to reduce your expenses if income loss ever happens to you.
Unemployment percentages and lay-offs are at record highs for this generation.  While your job may be a sure thing today, no one knows what tomorrow may bring.  Don't be blindsided when and if a loss of employment and income happens to you!
This is especially important if your household runs on one income and not two.  If that one income leaves, you don't have the safety net of that second source of money.

Plan Ahead When Your Income is Good
Even before the thought of a job loss there are two things you should be working on well before you encounter an economic crisis--paying off/down debt and piling up cash.
If you have debt(anything except a mortgage)get serious on paying off that debt.  That's a good plan no matter the economy or your income!  The less bills you have sucking your limited income up in unemployment, the better.  And make sure you have a hefty Emergency Fund. This would be a pile of money in an account somewhere(heck, even in a coffee can buried in your backyard!)that you can use to cover expenses if you ever lose your source of income until you go back to work. 
When unemployment happens, the better shape your finances are in the better you can ride out the "laid-off storm". 

Have a Plan to Reduce Expenses
Beyond eliminating/reducing debt, make an emergency budget plan for your family.   When a job loss strikes, you need to take immediate steps to reduce your spending and preserve what money you have and make it last until the paychecks come rolling in again.

That point was brought home this week in my family.  Hubs came home with glum news that his company, which had let go a handful of employees last month, was about to announce a much larger round of lay-offs that would affect many areas of the business.

Hubs is fairly certain that he isn't at any risk of losing his job at this point.  But the facts are that A--many companies are "lay-off happy" lately,  and B--that he is nearing retirement age and C-- that he has a larger than some at his level salary due to his many years of service.
These 3 things may put him in the "firing squad's" crosshairs in the future.

So in my copious free time....lol....I sat down earlier this week and contemplated a "Lay-Off" Budget for my family...just in case it's ever needed.

While we are pretty frugal here already and have no debt currently and live on a budget, there are 'wants' we can cut and 'needs' we can reduce if we had to. 

Here is my list of what I'd change in my budget if a job loss happened tomorrow.

*Cable TV--Since we have a bundled service that includes high-speed internet too, we would shop around to either unbundle and drop cable altogether or reduce the cable component to bare bones.  We could realize a small savings doing this.  While not a 'need', Internet is the one thing that would go as a last resort, but for now it would stay.
Potential savings of $50 a month.

*Telephones--We don't pay for our kids cell phones and never have.  If they want one, they find the money through work or allowance to pay for it so we can't save anything there.  But we do have 2 pay-as-you-go cell phones between Hubs and myself, as well as a landline.  We would drop the landline as I have a long distance pay-per-month plan on my cell.  With #1 son away at school, some form of long distance service is a need.  Dropping the landline would save us approx. $30 a month.

*Eating Out--This would be stopped immediately....ALL OF IT!  While we would probably save $200 a month here(between the dinners out, the fast food for #2 son, and the hot school lunches) we would probably spend more on groceries to make up for it so I'm saying a savings of approx. $150 per month.

*Entertainment--This item could also be eliminated from our budget.  We can find free things to do to amuse ourselves if there is a personal financial crisis. Savings of approx. $25 a month.  Yes, we are TOTAL Party Animals anyway, huh?! lolol

*Groceries & Toiletries--While I spend basically zero on toiletries now anyway, I could cut some fat from the food budget.  I'd plan more meatless meals and try to reduce grocery expenses by using cheaper ingredients, much to the chagrin of Hubs.  Daughter gets free food at her current job so those nights would help because I don't have to feed her. If the cost cutting had to be extended for a long period of time, I'd expand the size of the garden next Spring, in order to grow more of our own produce, which would bring down grocery costs over the course of the year.  Short term, we could cut to a $150 a month food budget for a reduction of $50 to $100 a month as I spend $250 now.

*Laundry--Once I run out of almost free detergent, I'd make my own to save money. I'd wash only in cold water(I do use warm water some loads now).  I'd figure out a way to string clotheslines somewhere in the house or garage to dry clothes in the winter so no using the dryer at all.  Not sure how much that would save but it would be something.
Potential savings of  $15 a month.

*Water Usage--I'd set a stricter limit of the teens shower lengths.  Maybe a timer with a loud bell to get them out of the shower faster.  If this period stretched into next year, we'd not open the pool, as it is a water hog.
We would also utilize rain barrels(if we could source them for cheap)to water the garden next year.
 Potential savings of $10 a month.

*Electricity--We would eat down the freezer and then unplug it and make due without stockpiling the bulk of our frozen foods.  We would still have the small freezer compartment over the fridge and the makeshift root cellar in the garage(during cold weather).  Light bulbs would be replaced with lower wattage models.  Some bulbs would be removed if the area only needs 'mood' lighting and not task lighting.  I'd get all up in the teens faces more when they leave on lights and the tv when they leave a room......the teens would add that I couldn't possibly get more up in their faces about this. ;-)
Potential savings of $8 a month.

*Heating/Cooling--By far the largest component of our Electric bill.  Turning down the thermostats another degree or two in the cold weather and make everyone bundle up more.  I'd also add insulation by jerry-rigging heavy drapes or quilts over the back windows in the house.  The back of the house gets the evening sun only so they are pretty useless for passive solar efforts, so I'd cover them with padded fabric to retain heat.  Any of those rooms that I need sunlight in during the day for illumination, I'd made the drape removable.  In terms of cooling/air conditioning, we only have window a/c units now and I don't find we need the a/c very often.  I attempt now to keep the units off and utilize the ceiling fans as much as possible in the hot weather.  The a/c would be used for emergencies only.
Summer months savings of $15 a month, Winter months savings of $50 a month.

*Home/Car Insurance--We would revisit our policies and see if there was a way to cut the premiums down without putting anything at risk with this coverage.  The car insurance on the car for the teens use would either be discontinued(and they would drive my car when needed)or they would be asked to help pay for that part of the insurance from their part time jobs.
Potential savings of $80 a month.

Miscellaneous Expenses--Mostly this includes things Hubs spends on with the cash he withdraws every month(except what he spends on eating out and gasoline)...food at work(which he would no longer need to spend), dry cleaning(which he would no longer need to spend), coffee on the way to work(ditto), other incidentals and WAM(walking around money).  It's hard to know for sure but I think this could be a $100 a month savings if he didn't need to spend for these items.

With just these items, we could potentially reduce our expenses between an additional $528 to $613 per month!

With the small amount of money we spend compared to many people I know, I am floored at how much I could still pull out of the budget if I had to!  Yes, doing some of it would inconvenience us and would impact the lifestyle we are used to, but I feel all of this is still highly do-able and wouldn't cause undue strain on anyone in our family.
The teens would probably disagree vehemently with me though.... ;-)

So this Emergency Budget would be my first step if Hubs ever comes home with 'the bad news'.   I feel a sense of relief just having something written up.  I know what to do now instead of panicking!

Have you thought about making an Emergency Spending Plan with your partner?
I highly recommend having some idea of how to proceed, in writing, if the unemployment blues land on your doorstep.  Having a plan beforehand is key to surviving periods of economic distress.

Sluggy

JULY Budget Results....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2010.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom information.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(between 5 & 2 at home this month) & 3 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $16.00
Value $62.94
Savings  74.58%

BIG LOTS
OOP $31.04
Value $52.66
Savings  41.06%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $61.25
Qs/Ads $37.81
Value $99.06
Savings  38.17%

FAMILY DOLLAR
OOP $21.19
Qs/Ads $11.19
Value $32.38
Savings  34.84%

FARM MARKET

OOP  $12.55
Value  $21.89(compared to same items' prices at grocery store)
Savings  42.64%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $6.95
Qs/Ads $16.93
Value  $23.88
Savings  70.90%

RITE AID
OOP $23.51 (whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads $412.55
Value $436.06
Savings 94.41% before gift cards/ 100% savings after gift cards

WALMART("that" store)
OOP $8.96
Qs/Ads $5.00
Value $13.96
Savings  35.82%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $126.39
Qs/Ads $127.74
Value $254.13
Savings  50.26%

I don't track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN JULY

Kraft(2 different rebates)...$30.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$58.98
Subtotal........$94.98

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
MyBlogSpark Cheerios Giveaway $25 Visa Gift Card
Rite-Aid $35 in Gift Cards($25+$5 bonus Skin Care & $5?-can't remember for what)
Rite-Aid RX Transfer $25 Gift Card

Subtotal....$85.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$179.98

FREE ITEMS

Vocalpoint Crystal Lite Samples
DiGiorgno Pizza
Huggies Diapers Pack

COUPONS

$2/1 Bounty Towels
$2/1 Crystal Light (multiple)

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Bakery Outlet at 74.58% and Price Chopper at 70.90%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$294.04
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$724,25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1018.29
TOTAL Savings of..........71.13%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$94.98
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$199.06
TOTAL Savings of..................................80.45%

This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I stayed under my $200 budgeted amount for JULY by .94¢! after rebates were applied.  It was an expensive month as I bought alot of meat in July for stocking up purposes.

What's ahead for August 2010.....

I am setting the August 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget at $300.
Why?
Because we have 4 at home now and all 5 family members by the latter part of the month.
Because there may be a family picnic lurking at the end of the month which will add to the food expenses.
Because I plan on packing the freezer with farm bought bulk buys of some veggies for the winter and this month is when things will be ready for harvesting and purchasing.

As always, any rebates received this month will be added to the food budget spending.  I have few outstanding rebates at the moment so there will be little extra cash to cover food expenses in this way for August.

With half of the year behind us, we have averaged $170.35 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens.

How did you do in July with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

January BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2010.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home-all 5 home for 2/3 of this month + an extra relative for 1 week)& 3 dogs. No kids under 13.

BIG LOTS
OOP $20.60
Qs/Ads $9.90
Value $30.50
Savings 32.50%

CARONE'S(local Independent Grocery that doesn't take IP Qs)
OOP $8.82
Qs/Ads $0
Value $8.82
Savings   0%

CVS
OOP $1.98
Qs/Ads $150.31
Value $152.29
Savings 98.70%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $12.89
Ads/Sales $23.61
Value $36.50
Savings  64.70%

RITE AID
OOP $135.42 before rebates
Qs/Ads $188.91
Value $1324.33
Savings 89.78%

WALGREENS
OOP $23.75
Qs/Ads $16.99
Value $40.74
Savings  41.70%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $182.21
Qs/Ads $333.06
Value $515.27
Savings  64.64%

I've don't track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN JANUARY

Ducolax.....$5.00

Pinecone Research....$6.00
Raisin Bran Extra(Kellogg's)...$4.39
Rite-Aid SCR........$40.78
Subtotal........$56.17

FREE ITEMS

Stacy's Chips
International Delights Creamer

COUPONS

None Received 8-(

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Nothing this Month.

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$56.17
This was a very light month for Rebates.....

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from CVS at 98.70%, Rite-Aid at 89.70%, and the Entenmann's Outlet at 64.70%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$385.67
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1722.78
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2108.45
TOTAL Savings of..........81.70%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$56.17
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$329.50
TOTAL Savings of..................................84.37%

This closes out the January spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With the extra mouths to feed in January coupled with the dirth of Rebates coming in during the month, the Food Spending was high for me and I waaaaay overshot my $200 goal. I see now that it was unrealistically low.  

What's ahead for February 2010.....

The February 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget is set at $250 cash out of pocket.  Any rebates received this month will offset this OOP spending.  I sent away for $65.38 in Rebates in January and am still waiting on $26 in Rebates from December, so hopefully some of those will come in this month and augment my food budget.
If I don't spend all the money in the budget in February(HAHA), I'll carry over whatever is leftover into February's food budget.  I've already spent $90+ at Price Chopper on Catalina Deals last week and I'm going to be doing some Catalina Deals this week at Weis so I'm crossing my fingers that some rebates come in. 

How did you do in January with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

Has your Money lasted longer than January has?

Dave agrees with me(LOL)that a Budget is a neccesity to WIN WITH MONEY!




Give him a listen.....and then start telling your money what to do.
I do.
And most times the money listens to me!
Unlike my kids.....


Sluggy

How to Make a Budget 101

**Disclaimer**
I am NOT a financial expert, nor do I play one on the internet.  This post is merely my own personal experience and thoughts on Budgeting.   If you have serious concerns or problems with your money, it may behoove you to seek the advise of a trained professional financial counselor.

So, are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck?
Tired of running out of money before the month is over?
Do you make a decent salary but you never seem to have enough to pay all your bills or have any left at the end of the month?

Then maybe you need to put yourself or your family on a B-U-D-G-E-T!
Many people see the word BUDGET and start shaking and sweating.
They have been led to believe that a budget is an evil thing.
It is something to FEAR!!
Some think that being on a budget is like a diet....neither of them let you have any F-U-N.
But that couldn't be further from the truth!

A budget is simply a plan you write down for your money to follow.
If you have a clear plan for your money then you don't have to worry where it goes because you KNOW where it's going, because you are PURPOSEFULLY telling it where to go.
When was the last time it was a GOOD THING to tell someone where to go?teehee

But where to start?
How do you go about making a budget?
You can buy books, or better yet borrow budgeting books from your local library.
You can pay a large sum of cash to go to seminars or hire a professional money person to assist you in coming up with a budget.
It doesn't matter HOW you go about it, you just need to STOP procrastinating or ignoring your finances and  MAKE A BUDGET.....NOW!

Don't be intimidated, just jump right in.
The only mistake is NOT doing anything.
If you make a blunder, that's fine.  Just learn from it and make a new budget next month and so on until, through trial and error, you come up with a Budget that works for you!


Here's a pretty simplistic way that I went about setting my first budget. 

I use 1 month as the defining format as most bills are due monthly, so my Budget is a Monthly Budget.

First thing is, you need to write down how much money you have to live on each month.
You can't possibly Live Within Your Means if you don't know what "Within Your Means" is!

Add in all income for the month--your total net income from paychecks in a month, any child support(if you can count on that)and/or alimony per month, monthly pension monies, government payments(like SSI), any side jobs/weekend jobs and hobbies that bring in income, etc.

Now, once you have a total of what cash you have coming into your home each month you know how much you have to live on.
For now, don't count any other savings or checking account money other than this month's income.

Let's say You have a monthly income of $2,500 after taxes.  That's your net income.
Remember that....gross income=before taxes.....net income=after taxes.

Now, on a different sheet of paper start listing your bills.
There is a definite order in which you should pay your bills.

**I know some people tithe to their church or other religious group.  I am not addressing this issue here.  If you tithe, be sure to allocate the proper percentage of your income first, if you follow the "First Fruits" concept.

I see 3 Levels of Spending in a Budget.
*Primary Needs
*Secondary Needs
*Wants

*Primary Needs
1. In a perfect world and especially if you don't have any of your income going directly into savings BEFORE you get your check, take the 1st 10% of your income and and designate this your Payment to Self.
Before you pay ANY other bills, pay yourself!
If you make $2,500 net, pay yourself $250.  Put that first $250 into your savings or in a coffee can in your closet, I don't care right now where.  Just put it aside and DO NOT SPEND IT on monthly bills!

2. Next list what you pay for shelter(rent or mortgage-mortgage includes any taxes, PMI, etc.). Let's say you rent and that costs you $900 month.

3. Next list what you pay for utilities(electric, heat, gas, water, sewage).  This one is harder to figure as it can vary from month to month or from season to season.  If you can gather your utility bills from last year, find the average monthly amount you paid for last year, then add 5% to that to allow for any rise in the cost of these bills, because we all know, the cost of everything keeps going up.  Let's say you have heating/cooling/electric/water/sewage bills that average out to $240 a month.

Let's add up what you have spent so far of your $2,500 income.
$250, $900, $240=$1390
You have $1,110 left to spend.

4. Next list what you spend on food per month.
Another one that can vary.  Let's say you think you can feed your family for $250 a month. (Don't forget to include the money you spend at lunch when working and the money your kids spend at school if they don't bring their lunches too!)

That $250 leaves you with $860 remaining in your monthly income.

*Secondary Needs
After you pay yourself, your housing, utilities and food, you can allocate the rest of your income into any other Secondary Needs.  You can rank these other Spending Needs according to how important you feel it is to fund them.
Examples are....
*Insurance(health, medical, dental, home or renter's, car)
*Telephone
*Transportation(either bus/train/subway passes, car payments/car fees/car costs such as gas/maintenance, taxi costs, any other costs that are required to transport you to your job or out for pleasure)
*Medical/Dental/Pharmaceutical/Vision Co-Pays
*Credit Card Payments....hopefully you don't have any of these!And if you do, hopefully you are paying MORE than the minimum payment amount on them.

Let's say you need $400 to fund these categories per month.
This leaves you with $460 of your monthly income left to spend/save.

*Wants Spending
Once you have all your NEEDS met, then you can budget for your WANTS.
Wants would include, but are not limited to....
*Cable(tv, internet, etc.)
*Entertainment(such as eating out or take-out--unless you put that under your Food Budget, movies and concerts--don't forget to figure in the food or souvenirs, bowling, drinks out with friends, taking kids to an event that charges money and magazine and dvd subscriptions.  Note that I did NOT include shopping as entertainment. ;-)
*Clothing
*Home Decor
*Charitable giving--this is not a physical "need" but a spiritual one and not a want really but it's a good use of extra money.
*Gifts
*Any other thing you want to spend money on that is NOT a need.

Between the cable bill, Netflix, and buying clothing, let's say you requires $250 a month for the Want Categories of Spending.

After allocating money into all your categories, you end up with $210 Leftover at the end of each month's income.

Having a bit leftover is a good thing.
Why?
In case something unexpected happens one month, you have a small emergency cushion.
And you all know that emergencies WILL happen.

So take that leftover $210 and stash it into a safe place, like a bank account or your wall safe.  You want it safe but you also need it to be relatively liquid.  Don't stick this leftover cash into a bond or cd or the stock market where you can't pull it out if needed quickly without having to pay interest penalties.  Once you have built up a sizable emergency fund, then you can stash any leftover funds each month into something that bears some decent interest.

Once you have the Budget written down and set, your work isn't done yet.
Oh NO!
Go get a notebook.
Here's mine.  It cost me .10¢ on sale.  You can get a fancy smancy one if you want to spend a lot....but make sure you add that cost to your budget under a WANTS Category.....you don't NEED fancy....

Now every time you spend money this month, tuck the receipt or the stub from a paid bill or the invoice into the back of that notebook.  
At the end of the month, take all those receipts out and write the amounts into your notebook.

I write on each line--the date the money was paid, then where or what was paid, then list the amount.
(IE: 1/12/10   Water Co.   $60.24)

Start with #1-the payment to yourself.
Then write in #2-the rent/mortgage payment.
Then #3-the utility payments.
Next is #4-all the food receipts.
Continue listing, in the order you Ranked your Spending Categories, all your receipts....Primary Needs, Secondary Needs then Wants.
Then add up all your spending for the month.

If you stayed within your Budget framework, congratulations!
You have a good working Budget.
If your spending exceeded your Budget, go check each category and see where your Budget wasn't accurate.
As long as you are NOT spending more than you make, you are still in good shape.  Your spending may just need to be adjusted in some categories.  See which one(s) you need more cash for and which ones you had budgeted for more than you spent and move the income allocation around.

If you ended up spending more than you had coming in for the month, you need to closely examine what you are spending on and cut however much you are overspending.
And since you wrote down EVERYTHING you spent this month, it is easy to see where your money went!

My suggestion when looking for places to cut spending is to examine the WANTS categories first.
After that, look to your variable spending categories, like Food, Entertainment, Gifts, Donations to Charity, etc.  Next try to see if some creditors will give you a special rate or deal.  Call the utility companies and see if there is a special package or bundle rate, call the credit card company and see if they will lower your interest rate or transfer your balance to a new account that offers 0% interest for a limited time, etc.  It can't hurt to ask and you just might get them to give you a lower price!

If you don't have enough money to live within your means you have 3 options.....
*Increase your Income
OR
*Cut your spending
OR
*A combination of both

DO NOT put living expenses on a credit card if you run out of money!
This will only put you into debt or put you into MORE debt.
And it will KEEP you in DEBT!!
You need to bring more money in somehow &/or spend less.

Good luck on Finding the Budget that works for you!

Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge NOVEMBER Totals.....More Great Progress!

I have posted my NOVEMBER End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right(near the bottom) for the specific numbers.

We had another Excellent month growing our Savings in November!

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

The amount we ended the month of November with was......sit down for this......$3,189.49!
Woot!


The electric bill went up less than $20 from Oct.'s bill.  Not bad considering that the heat was on fulltime this month while Oct's bill saw the heat just being put on occasionally. 

The water bill went down again in Nov. another $3.  I guess the kids are getting a couple more wears of out their clothes before putting them into the hamper.lol
All other regular bills...Cable, Internet, Phone, etc. are the same each month.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in November was low after rebate income was figured in and compared to the value of the items bought we saved over 93%.

So, what did I do right in November to come out of it with over $3K extra?

First, we have no mortgage payment or car payments.  Those are the 2 big Bugaboos that suck down your income.  Having bought a modest house and having paid if off asap combined with paying cash for cars(which means we always buy cars we can AFFORD and don't finance), means we have been able to cut our living expenses dramatically.  It didn't happen over night though and there were many years of living well below our means and socking every penny into savings.  But knowing that those lean years wouldn't last forever and that there was a shining Goal of being debt-free at the end of it all made it so worth it.

Secondly, we had no other large bills....taxes, sewage, insurance, etc. this month.  These are paid quarterly or semi-annually and not due in November.

Thirdly, we stayed out of restaurants and I didn't do as much running around in the car, saving gas and shopping expenditures.  That was reflected in the lower credit card bill in November.  The cc bill(which is paid off every month-NO BALANCE)went from $845.49 in October to $536.51 in November. While not a big difference, there was less gas needed for the car since I didn't travel far last month(except to Acme)& we didn't dine out much. 

We are Eleven Months into this $AVING$ Challenge, and we have a Savings Total of $21,760.57 for the year.

What's ahead for December....
Looking at my check register from last December I see that we have some quarterly bills coming due this month.  Nothing large but they add up before you know it.

We do have ALOT of out of the ordinary expenses for December....
an additional amount toward car insurance(daughter has been added as a licensed driver)
a vet bill for a very sick dog
clothes for 2 of the kids
possible holiday travel expenses(gas, hotels, eating, kennel boarding-budgeting at least $800)
oral surgery bill for daughter(insurance covers some of this)
orthodontist bill for son(we pay upfront for the discount and insurance covers some)
holiday gifts (mostly for our 3 kids, we are considering not exchanging gifts with the adults this year)

Besides hubby's paychecks, I've opened up my eBay store this month(though it's been slow selling so far), and I am waiting on over $200 in rebates, so we have a good potential on the income side.

Income up, expenses way up.....we'll be lucky to NOT go negative in December.
I am hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.  If we have any money leftover at the end of December I will count myself extremely lucky!

Be sure and check out how others are doing with their finances this month at Money Saving Mom.

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!

And what are your plans for your money in 2010?  It's time to start thinking about how to get a fresh start to Financial Freedom next year!


Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge JULY Totals...Gaining some Ground!

I have posted my JULY End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I am once again able to say that we finished up JULY in THE BLACK!
The Savings for July was just under $2,700.

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just over $2K this month. We had some big unusual purchases like 4 pairs of eyeglasses for assorted family members & the new stove. Those alone accounted for over half of the bill. UGH. Add in hotel bills & gasoline expenses from the Bermuda Triangle trip(Eastern PA to VA to Western PA to home) and that's the bulk of the cc bill. It's a good thing July had 3 paychecks in it. ;-)

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but I am still sitting out on eBay for now.

On the recurring utilities front, we saw a $19.43 reduction in the cost of the electric bill from June. The unseasonably cool summer so far here is responsible for this. The water bill increased by $6.64 from June's total. Hubby continued dealing with pool problems in July, where he's had to partially empty and refill the pool so usage was up more than the month before. I hope the August bill will decrease since the hole has been patched finally!

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located Here. Food/Toiletries spending in July was my lowest monthly total for the year. I was $20 above my goal of $500 for the month so I'll stick with that budget amount for August as well. I dare not say I won't add to the stockpile, because we all know I WILL anyway!lol The garden has just started yielding produce which will help keep me out of the grocery store's fresh veggie section for another month or so.

We are Seven Months into this $AVING$ Challenge, and we have a Savings Total of $14,846.16 for the year.
Shall I mention that I should have $35K at this point since that's 7 months worth of $60K?
Naaaah, let's not go there.lolol

What's ahead for August.....I'll try to keep the stockpiling to a minimum, despite KMart holding ANOTHER Double Coupon Event.....oy! They sabotage me every month it seems!lolol I may have another Garage Sale(if the heat doesn't get too unbearable)or find a Flea Market to set up at(if the cost of the space isn't too high). Or maybe I'll wait until early Sept. to do that. At any rate, I see another Yard sale or something similar in my future. ;-)
I will also be ramping up my eBay Store later this month or early in Sept. It just depends on when I see selling prices picking up for what I have to offer.

In terms of cash outlays in August, it could be another expensive month with the back-to-school costs(shoes for the kids, school fees, etc.)The school supplies like paper and pencils, etc. are pretty much taken care of already, thanks to Staples, WAGS and CVS. But we have an incoming College Freshman so there are travel expenses and major outlays of money involved here(laptop computer, dorm stuff still to be determined, & the killer-College Textbooks!!). I'll be looking for ways to reduce these costs were I can in the few short weeks I have to procure these items.

I'm hoping to NOT loose ground on the Savings Challenge front and would be thrilled to sock away another $1K in August. Cross your fingers we can achieve this goal! 8-))

Check out Money Saving Mom's Blog May Financial Update Post to see how others are saving money and living more frugally Here.

Sluggy

MARCH MADNESS...NOT the Basketball Kind

Ok, here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MARCH 2009.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in March.
Grab a cup of something, this could take awhile.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.
We are a family of 5. No kids under 13.

CARONE'S

OOP $83.82
Qs/Ads $62.75
Value $146.57
Savings 42.82%

CVS

OOP $19.27
Qs/Ads $330.84

Value $350.11
Savings 94.50%

KMART

OOP $45.06

Qs/Ads $146.55

Value $191.61

Savings 76.48%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP $67.97

Qs/Ads $216.61

Value $284.58

Savings 76.12%

REDNER'S

OOP $30.64

Qs/Ads $15.99

Value $46.63

Savings 34.30%

RITE AID

OOP $20.82

Qs/Ads $77.25

Value $98.07

Savings 78.78%

TARGET

OOP $25.48

Qs/Ads $63.92

Value $89.40

Savings 71.50%

WALGREEN'S

OOP $136.72

Qs/Ads $628.34

Value $765.06

Savings 82.13%

WALMART

OOP $78.37

Qs/Ads $42.45

Value $120.82

Savings 35.13%

WEIS

OOP $306.60

Qs/Ads $335.75

Value $642.35

Savings 52.27%

TOTAL Out of Pocket.............................$855.39

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings....$1940.45

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2795.84

TOTAL Savings % for MARCH......................69.415%

I've decided NOT to track CVS ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons". Rebates will also show up in the Monthly Totals when spent, but I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.

REBATES RECV'D. IN MARCH

Gravy Train.......2x $1 Qs

Suave.................Free Item Q

CVS/Hershey....$5 Gift Card

Rite-Aid............$40.98

Samy..................$7.99

Dr. Pepper.........Free Item Q

Duncan Hines....$2.25

Walgreen's........$56.07 Gift Card

TOTAL Value.....$118.88

$855.39 is fairly good for the month. Way over my Low Spend Goal for March of $250.00 but I've already justified that.

Damn you to hell Heinz, Hormel & Kraft! lolol

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 78.78%, Walgreen's at 82.13% & CVS at an amazing 94.50%!

This closes out the March spending.

Onward to April and let's see if I can keep it under $500 for Out of Pocket this month & break 70% in Savings.

Sluggy

$60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE-March Update

I have posted my March End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals already. I know it's not April yet(1.5 days to go) but I'm trying to be on top of things so cut me some slack, ok?
If I happen to spend any money between now and April, I'll shake down #1 son for some cash since he has a real job. All those months of puking up everything I ate and carrying his lardass fetus around should be good for a 20 spot, right?lolol

Down to business.....
After the disasterous February Total(negative gain), I am happy to report that we finished March in THE BLACK!
Yah!!!
We lowered our MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!) to under $1K(last month it was over $2.3K). Usually when the MC bill goes down, hubby's Cash Withdrawals go up. We did Not see an increase in Cash Withdrawals this time.
We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but you will notice there is NO eBay income for March. I have been so preoccupied with getting a food/toiletries stockpile up and organized, along with other stuff related to the kids that I let my eBay store sit vacant for almost the entire month. I am kicking myself because of the waste of money paying a store fee to eBay & an auction managemnt/photo storage fee to InkFrog for the month for NOTHING. But I find it difficult to keep myself on task w/eBay lately, since the sales when I was keeping up with it this winter were so disappointing. The economic crunch is hitting even eBay shoppers and the sellers there are feeling it. It figures in a recession-like economy I would see a large falling off of sales, since I don't sell 'needs' type items.
Back on point....
A large part of the glorious NET GAIN for March you see is the Income Tax Refund we received last week. Without that added into our Income column, we still eeked out a Gain for March of about $1K.
This $AVING$ CHALLENGE is 'my thing'.
Only 1/2 the refund is mine technically.
Hubby needs to be consulted about any potential plans for his part of that money. For now, I'm leaving it all in the $aving$ Column. I'll update after a final decision on the refund.

I was happy to see that we could still $ave this month, even though we had approx. $1400 in unusual expenses-Municipal taxes, state taxes due & Dental bills out of the ordinary.

Next month I am looking for the electric bill to decrease(less heating costs)& I'm going to look into lowering the cable costs and consolidating phone services.
I'm still spending too much on the food/household budget. I'll be updating those costs for March in an upcoming post.

It's the End of the 1st Quarter of 2009. So far we have a Savings Total of $7409.53 for the year. If we keep this up, we'll be able to $ave ALMOST $30K this year! It's not $60K like I had planned, but I'll consider it a very good result.
March had a positive outcome & I'm planning some changes to give us a better gain in April.....unless MURPHY shows up on the doorstep while my back is turned!

Sluggy