Income & Spending Report 2022.....the June 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 June report---

I had 2 goals for June.......
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 June in the Red.

The amount we ended the month of June with?...-$3,538.09

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in June---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $160.97

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.36

*  SS of $2,432.00

*  Dividend of $18.48

*  Cash Deposit of $360.00(Hubs sold a gun and put some $$ into the household funds)

Total "Income" for June.....$7,940.62

Expenses in June---

* Irregular bills in June were $5,333.82

* Variable Expenses in June came to $3,918.76

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$11,478.71

$7,940.62-$11,478.71= -$3,538.09

Slush into June of $44,108.86 in that Fund, subtract $3,538.09 and we get $40,570.77 going into July's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $3,538.09

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The Internet, cell phone and WAM was the same as last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill went up by $5.17 compared to last month.

*  The electric bill was $2.75 more than in May.

*  The gas bill was $48.55 last month.

*  The Mastercard bill was $147.51 higher in May.

*  The Amazon card bill was $296.18 last month.

*  We had 5 irregular bills due in June--

  *  The quarterly LTC premiums were due for $2,226.13

  *  The doggies had vet visits and shots for $218.00  

  *  A/C repair for $2,962.00

  *  6 Window replacements came to $3500.00

  *  A month of storage for $95.40

The a/c and windows are non recurring bills.

The storage is a short term bill for now.

The Food Budget costs for June 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 June 2022---It was a high spending month what with the $6,557.40 in home repairs and moving costs.   We were able to cover all but $3,538.09 of these abnormally high bills in June with our regular income streams.  The rest of the overage in spending came out of the Slush Fund which is why we have one. ;-)

The interest income on  the non-retirement funds was very low in June which wasn't expected.  Though the water, electric and gas were higher in June it was all small amounts.  The c/c bills were higher in June due mostly to Hubs purchasing painting supplies.

THOUGHTS going forward into July 2022--The only irregular bills due in July are the short term storage bill and my Ancestry membership renews in July.  We also have decided to take another quarterly 401K withdrawal in the 3rd quarter which nets us an additional $1,733.36 each of the next 3 months in 2022.  We should be well below our income this coming month.

So how was your June financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in June?
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 2021....The January 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 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 2021.

I can report that we finished up January in the black.
The amount we ended the month of January with?.....$337.34

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

* 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 $450.45

Total "Income" for January.....$5644.68

Expenses in January---

* Healthcare Premium for January was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in January were $406.00
* Variable Expenses in January came to $2929.35
Total Expenses....$5,307.34

$5,644.68-$5,307.34=$337.34
Slush into January of $34,308.14 in that Fund, add the $337.34 January overage and this brings the Slush to $34,645.48 going into February 2021.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $337.34 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

*  Internet and cell phone were the same as in December.

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

*  The Mastercard bill was $542.98 lower than in December

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* The water bill was $4.18 higher than December's bill.

* The electric bill was $93.78 higher than last month's bill. This one will continue to rise as Winter deepens.

* The gas bill was $31.54 higher than in December.

*  My Amazon card was $917.51 higher than last month.  Our Mastercard was compromised so I had to put food shopping on the Amazon c/c as well as some Xmas spending.

*  Hubs got his own Amazon c/c what with our Mastercard info being stolen.  He used it to the tune of $326.07 in January.

*  We had 2 irregular bills due-the yearly garbage bill and my eye exam and glasses paid for.

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---
It was a good month overall financially.  Not much leftover once every bills was paid but there was some income not spent.  I'll take this as a win since the monthly health insurance premium went up in 2021 by $88.23.

THOUGHTS going forward into February 2021----Hubs and I have yet to sit down and talk finances and the game plan for 2021.  We just haven't taken the time to do it in January so February it will be.  We are still working on satisfying our yearly insurance premium deductible(even with 3 dr. visits for  me and 1 for Hubs in January and an expensive specialty drug refill)so the HSA is taking a big hit right now.  There are no irregular bills in February but three in March(and one of those in big-property taxes)so we'll try to keep the February spending low.  Even so we may take a 401K withdraw in March after we sit down and go over the numbers.

Hubs has started the agony of doing the taxes too so we'll see who owes whom soon(we'll probably owe the state and the Feds will probably owe us as usual).

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

Income & Spending 2020.....the November 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 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 2020.

I can report that we finished up November in the black.
The amount we ended the month of November with?.....$187.70

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

* 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 $433.06

* Deposit for Booze I bought for someone on our trip  $35.00

Total "Income" for November.....$5539.41

Expenses in November---

* Healthcare Premium for November was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in November were $520.43
* Variable Expenses in October came to $2947.52
Total Expenses....$5351.71

$5539.41-$5351.71=$187.70
Slush into November of $32,178.08 in that Fund, add the $187.70 November overage and this brings the Slush to $32,365.78 going into November.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $187.70 for November.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet and cell phone were the same as last month.

*  There was no gas bill(these stations were too high in price).

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

*  The water bill was $1.22 lower than October's bill.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $25.18 higher than last month's bill. This one will continue to rise as Winter sets in.

*  The credit card bill was $1204.06 higher than in October.  This was mostly due to some big purchases by Hubs and the bill's from our October trip were on this statement.

*  We had a $390.86 bill from my Amazon card.  I don't use it much and I did help to lower that bill which I'll explain in tomorrow's Frugal Friday post. ;-)

*  There was an irregular bill due in November, the semi-annual car insurance premium of $520.43.

The Food Budget costs for November 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 November---
It was a good month overall financially.  No unusually high normal bills other than the c/c due to our trip but we knew that was coming. Any month we don't spend more on outgo than comes in is a good month with the monies.  Some large bills were due so not much overage to carry forward into the Slush Fund in November, but some months are like that.

THOUGHTS going forward into December 2020----Most of my Christmas shopping is done already so not much more will go on the credit card for December(besides food spending for the month).  My big expense this December will be the cost to mail/ship gifts.  I've got 7 packages(not counting Giveaway boxes)to ship to what seems like every state in the country this year! lol  Lots of $$ going to the USPS this year.....

We've got 2 irregular bills due in December-the Long Term Care Insurance premiums but that's it for non-usual bills this month.

Then we get to sit down and "Monday Morning Quarterback" the 2020 finances and plan out our 2021 spending.

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 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

2018 Income & Spending Report.....May 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.

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

  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 May 2018 report--

I had 2 goals for May......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2018.

I have to report that we finished up May in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of May with?.......$2903.35

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in May---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* One third of 401K withdrawal balance(after funding Sinking Fund)for May of $1255.65 #
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $333.00

Total "Income" for May......$6620.29

# We made a 2nd quarter 401K withdrawal in April of $6K.  After withholding for taxes due we got $5170.70 net.  $1383.24 of that gets put into the Sinking Fund to cover irregular bills coming due this quarter(long term care insurance due in April, car insurance due in May). $3766.95 is the balance of the 2nd quarter 401K withdrawal.  This got divided by 3 and gives us $1255.65 extra in April to add to the income for the month(May and June will also get $1255.65)for general expenses.


Expenses in May---

* Healthcare Premium for May was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in May came to $3716.94.
* 6 mos. car insurance came to $911.74.(paid for from Sinking Fund)##


## 6 mo. car insurance premium expenses are due in May.  The carryover in the Sinking Fund coming into May was $1989.49.  $911.74 in car insurance paid leaves us $1077.75 in the Sinking Fund going into June.


We went into May with $10,362.43 in the Slush Fund.
Add in May's overage of $2903.35 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $13,265.78 going into June.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this May, 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 electric bill was $101.14 lower than last month.
*  The credit card bill was $842.76 lower than in April.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were the same as last month.
*  The LA house electric bill wasn't paid in May. The amount of that bill will be deducted from the refund of our deposit with the electric co-op there(that refund should arrive later in June).
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in April.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The water bill was $6.12 higher than April.
*  The gas card charges were $41.46 higher than last month.
*  The medical payments were $64.92 higher than in April(a dentist bill).
*  Semi-annual car insurance was due this month. This irregular bills is paid out of the Sinking Fund account.
*  We had a private c/c bill of $110.44 due in May(clothing).
*  Hubs used his Discover card and the bill was $38.14.

The Food Budget costs for May 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 May in the black with $2903.35 in new general overage so once it goes into the Slush Fund that Fund goes into June standing at $13,265.78. ($10,362.43+ $2,903.35=$13,265.78).
The Sinking Fund goes into June standing at $1,077.75

FINAL THOUGHTS on May---
While we did have a dentist bill due in May, that $200+ in charges turned out to be just $94.60 because the dentist wrote off a good piece of what our insurance didn't pay. 8-)
I was glad to see that the credit card bill was over $800 less compared to April.  The lower I can get it the better.  The credit card bill is a lot of miscellaneous spending here.  Besides the food spending which is how we almost always pay for groceries/toiletry spending, we had Chester's meds, a trip to Lowe's for some house stuff, gasoline purchases, a $100 Amazon bill(reloaded that account with funds and paid for it on our c/c), a 3 month phone service card for me, eating out spending, Hubs bought some home brewing supplies and $47.70 to Fedex as we had to pay to overnight papers for the LA house sale(which in hindsight was money wasted as we didn't have to overnight them because the freaking realtors delayed the closing! grrrr).

THOUGHTS going forward into June 2018----This month there is 1 irregular bills due, Long Term Care Insurance Premiums, so that will come out of the $1077.75 balance in the Sinking Fund.
Depending on the weather, electricity usage may stay about the same or go up a bit if the a/c is needed in June.  There are no big excursions planned for June so gas usage won't go up but the price per gallon has risen so our costs on that item may be higher.  Our eldest son may make a trip here for a few days once school is over(he teaches)so there may be beer outings or such.  He is a big spender when someone else is paying. lolz
The WAM withdrawal will be the same in June, $200.
I am going to make more of an effort in June to sell some things around the house by utilizing the FB yard sale group I am on since I really don't have enough to declutter/sell to have a physical yard sale.

Once June is done and dusted Hubs and I will probably sit down for a mid-year review of the finances and especially revisit the 401K withdrawals as we don't seem to really need them at this point since we do end up with extra money left at the end of each month.  But that's a discussion for another time.   ;-)

So how was your May financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in May?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

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

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

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

Sluggy

Income & Spending Report.....March 2018

Now that we are living on an annuity(like a pension) and 401K$ withdrawals(retirement savings), I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.
But this money leftover at the end of each month, at least for now(as we find our new financial "normal")won't be saved toward a yearly Savings Challenge.

The issue now is to cover all the bills with these two sources of income and not have to dip into the regular savings(that I built over the last 10 years)to pay our month to month expenses.

Since I got another nasty anonymous comment and another comment about how my accounting sucks and about how I am misleading people since I refer to the overage I carry over from month to month as "income"(and no, I don't believe anybody thinks this is true income but I do have to account for it, don't I?)I will handle it differently going forward.

And no, I am not trying to fool myself or anyone else with my monthly spending reports.   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 March 2018 report--

I had 2 goals for March......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2018.

I have to report that we finished up March in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of March with?.......$1,778.19

Income

The income in March---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3173.13(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* One third of 401K withdrawal balance for Feb. of $851.11 ##
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $311.79
* Stock dividends of $98.07

Total Income for March......$6,247.58

## The balance of the 401K withdrawal($2553.31)got divided by 3 and gives us $851.10 in January to add to the income for the month(Feb. and Mar. will also get $851.10/$851.11 respectively)for general expenses.


Expenses in March---
* Healthcare Premium for March was $1813.48.
* Variable Expenses in March came to $2655.91.

Total Expenses for March......$4,469.39

$6,247.58-$4,469.39=$1,778.19 overage for March.

* Two Irregular expenses were due and paid-the Real Estate taxes and an Annual Sewage bill totaling $1802.53.  These were paid out of the Sinking Fund which was $2858.76.  SF fund remaining carries over into April in the amount of $1056.23 and there will be a deposit into it in April as well when we take the 2nd quarter 401K withdrawal.

The monthly overage will now be referred to as our "Slush Fund".  I call it that above in my 2 goals I try to reach each month.
Think of it as a Short Term Savings we can draw on if our bills are high in any given month and the Annuity/401K draw/Interest/Dividends/Other Side Hustle Monies don't cover all the bills.

We went into March with $6422.92 in the Slush Fund.
Add in March's overage of $1,778.19 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $8,201.11 going into April.

Outgo

As for the expenses this March, 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 water bill was $14.66 lower the February.
*  The electric bill was $27.94 lower than last month.
*  The medical payments were $161.37 lower than in February.
*  The LA house electric bill was $7.91 lower than last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in February.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The gas card charges were $57.62 higher than last month due to Hubs trip to LA.
*  The credit card bill was $236.05 higher than in February.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals was $190 higher than last month due to Hubs trip to LA.
*  The long distance phone bill was $1.80 higher than in February.
*  Annual real estate taxes and sewage bill was due this month.  Thes two irregular bills were paid out of the Sinking Fund account.

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

So we end March in the black with $1778.19 in new general overage so once it goes into the Slush Fund that Fund goes into April standing at $8,201.11. ($6422.92+$1778.19=$8,201.11).
The Sinking Fund goes into April standing at $1,056.23.

FINAL THOUGHTS on March---No big charges I didn't know where coming in March and the "usual suspects" aka the variable bills were pretty low.

What I consider our "income" was the annuity and the partial 401k withdrawal of $851.11, and any interest/dividends/extra side hustle monies, so $4434.10 "income" for March.  The Mar. variable bills(without the Healthcare premium which is covered fully by the RMSA refund)were $2655.91 so we had $1778.19 leftover from "income" when the month was over.  If we can cover the bills(variable and irregular)each month with "income" leftover, this overage( Slush Fund)will continue to grow into the succeeding months.

THOUGHTS going forward into April 2018----This month there are two irregular bills due-our long term care quarterly premiums and these will be paid out of the Sinking Fund balance.  Electric should continue to go down.  The credit card bill will continue to be high(around $1500).  Once we get Hubs eye dr. charges figured out(they insist on him paying when he goes even though the EOBs they submit to our insurance vary a LOT(on the low side)from what they charge him....it is a nightmare!)the month should be a good and ho-hum one for us.  IF this house sale goes through in April all the better!!  And we should come out on the other side of the tax season in the black with a refund so two things to look forward to resolving in our favor in April. 8-))

So how was your March financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in March?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

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

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

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

Sluggy