Random Money Stuff

Just a bunch of financial things without enough for a whole post......

*  April 1st Net Worth is DOWN $3842.66 from March 1st's Net Worth.  This is mainly due to A-less than stellar stock market gains and B-we bought a car for cash.

*  Comparing our net worth(I don't count the house)with 2014 April 1st's figures we are UP $89,985.59 from this same time last year.  Two thirds of that gain is because of the retirement accounts.

*  Though we are doing well saving, personally I am still not happy with our savings rate.  Working off of straight income from Hubs, last year we saved 29+% of our net income.  So far in 2015 the savings rate is 28+%.

Who are these people who say they save 70% of their income?!?  How is this possible without either sleeping in a tent and eating Alpo.....no, not even Alpo as that's pricey.....Gravy Train!?

Where can I find someone to pay me for just being an awesome human being? ;-)

*  It looks like we will spend every nickel of Hubs bonus this year.  Between the new to-us car, having the bathroom work done and various trips we are taking this year that need funding, the bonus monies will be tapped out.  Last year by comparison we banked almost half of the bonus. 
I suppose 2015 is not a great bonus year but at least he got a bonus so I should be grateful.....and I AM!

*  I have saved $25.50 in change so far in 2015 in my Sealed Pot Challenge.  Pitiful.....

I also have received $19 in rebates and 4 Vouchers for 12-packs of Coke in the mail.  I don't hardly even drink Coke anymore!  I'd love to see more food/toiletries rebates come down the pike but since the recession "ended" 4 years ago companies just aren't putting rebating opportunities out there. sigh

*  Hubs has now decided that he will retire in 3 years and not 2 years.  This makes things a bit easier since College Boy will graduate in 3 years as well.  He still needs medical insurance until he graduates and finds a j-o-b and I don't believe Hubs retiree medical can cover him once Hubs retires.

While having Hubs retire is a good thing it still scares me.  I know we will be fine financially but retirement will be a big change financially and in other ways too.  It's something we've been working toward for so long I am having anxiety at it really being almost here.

I must say, if you/your spouse has a good paying job and has finally worked their way up the pay ladder it's kinda hard to let go of those nice regular paychecks even if you know you have enough(or will have enough)to live on after the salary ends.  8-)


Sluggy
 

$24K Savings Challenge.....March 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.

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 a Savings Challenge. 

For 2014 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $24,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the March report.....

I have posted my March End of Month $24K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $2,000.

I have to report that we finished up March with a larger than targeted amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of March with?.......$3,192.73.

Income
We had -$738.52 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Bad bad month for bills....between unexpected car repairs, yearly bills being paid in this month and a "higher than I like to see" credit card bill, the income outpaced the bills. 
 

Other monies received in March totaled $3,931.25.  This included interest made on accounts, stock dividends, a per diem from Hub's work and a federal tax refund.  Most of this was the tax refund.

This brought us to our gain of $3,192.73
Since we have no debt anymore, this goes into savings.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  The electric bill went down almost $100 from Feb's bill.

*  I spent under $345 for food/toiletries in March.

 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  Another unexpected car repair bill over $1K. ugh
*  2 extra flute lessons in March.

*  The yearly local taxes are due end of April but I paid them in March.
*  The c/c bill was $300 more than Feb's bill.
*  $310 MORE in cash withdrawals.
*  Sewage bill was paid for the whole year this month.
*  The local taxes were paid for the year this month.
 

 

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

The 2014 GRAND TOTAL.....
With 3 months accounted for, our Savings Grand Total for 2014 is $4,757.20
$1,242.80 short at this point of the $6,000.00 I should have put aside after 3 months.
 

 

Looking ahead for April......

*  I will continue to do this Savings Challenge and report in each month on how it is going.

*  I have a road trip to go visit my daughter scheduled this month so lodging, gas & food expenses will happen.

*  The electric bill should continue to go down as the weather warms and we turn down/off the heat.
 

 

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?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings in an emergency fund or a retirement account?

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

Sluggy

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

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

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

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

On to the August report.....

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

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

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

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

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

 

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

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

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

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

*  No quarterly garbage bill this month.

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

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

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

*  Semi-annual car insurance bill was due.

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

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

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

 

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

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

We came in under budget by $8.14 last month.

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

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

Looking ahead for September......
 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

Sluggy

The $20K Savings Challenge of 2013....April Update

$20K Savings Challenge.......April Update

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

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

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

On to the April report.....

I have posted my April End of Month $20K $AVING$ 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 $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up April in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of April with?.......$3,108.15

Income
We had $1497.65 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted. 

Add in a per diem expense reimbursement check and our federal tax refund and we get another $1,610.50.  This brought our gain to $3108.15 for April.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  The long distance phone bill was $4.04 lower.

*  The cash withdrawals were $225 less than in March.

* The electric bill was $54.53 lower than March.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  The water bill was $4.05 higher than March.

*  The credit card bill went up $892.261(but was still paid off at month's end.)

*  The music lessons were $60 more.
*  The doctor bills were up $185.30 from last month.
*  We had an additional prorated bill for $200.01 for car insurance since #2 Son has his license now.  I'm not complaining though as it was suppose to be $400, but with taking Daughter off(sort of)the increase was less than expected.

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

We overshot the food budget by $35.49 last month.

The 2013 TOTAL so far.....
With 4 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2013 stands at $8,597.78.  Only $11,402.22 left to save and 8 months left to accomplish this.

 

Looking ahead for May......

*  We don't have any quarterly or yearly bills due this month. Yay us! ;-)
 

*  Due to my visit to the ER and hospital stay and all the new doctor appointments and tests, we will have bills starting to roll in this month, so I can't even hazard a guess if we'll be able to make our monthly savings target of $1666.67 in May.  We shall see in the fullness of time.

*  Gas and eating out spending will be higher this month due to a trip to see our oldest son graduate from college.  sniff, sniff

So how was your April financially?
 

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

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

Sluggy

$20K Savings Challenge....AUGUST Update

Ok, here is my AUGUST Savings Challenge Update post for 2012.

This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against "unconscious" spending.

Just to update, My Savings Goal for the Year in 2012 is $20,000.  It's well below what I've saved in previous years I know.  But we also have a goal of paying for 4 home improvement projects at Chez Sluggy this year.  We plan on cash-flowing these projects with the additional money we save and/or our income tax refund.
Our background info--We are a family of 5(kids are 21-16)with one living away from home.  We have 2 dogs. We own 4 cars at present and live in/own free & clear a 4 bedroom house in a small town.

On to the August report.....

I have posted my AUGUST End of Month $20K $AVING$ 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 $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up August in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of August with?.......$756.06.
So much for making our targeted amount this month. 8-(

Income
We had $753.77 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $2.29 in interest income(Are you serious?  Really!) and  you get a total of $756.06.

Outgo
The usual along with 1 large irregular bill which was expected and planned for.

As for the expenses this August......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

* The water bill decreased by $30+.

* The electric bill decreased by $21+.

* The credit card bill decreased by $702.
* The cash withdrawals went down $1170.....even with that they were high!

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  Semi-Annual Car Insurance was due at a cost of $1590.11.

*  Lots of little medical co-pays and prescription co-pays that added up to real money!
*  Lots of cash withdrawals(always a bad thing cuz Hubs doesn't track where this money goes). the cash taken was LESS than last month but it was still waaaay too much money so it goes under Bad Things.lol
*  Extra gas expenditures due to cross state pick-ups from camp.
*  Marching Band is back, which means $20 here, $30 there on a consistent basis. Also going hand in hand is....
*  Private music lessons cranking up again for #2 Son.  $120 a month.

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

YEAR-TO-DATE GRAND TOTAL.....
With 8 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2012 is at  $16,369.29.

We missed our monthly goal in August by $910.61.
Luckily due to having a few months where we saved more than the average, this month, where we didn't even save HALF of what we need to this month,  won't put us behind.

With 8 months done, we should be at $13,333.36  saved for the year, so we are $3K+ a little bit ahead for the year as of now!

In the next month we have another large irregular expense coming due.
September is school taxes at a yearly outlay of  $1950.

They are irregular because they don't come every month....like the water or electric bill.

But we know they are out there....lurking and ready to topple your budget.  So we calculate what 1/12th is for that bill and then every month set that amount aside and "hide it from the budget".  When the bill comes due in a year, the money is there to pay it.  It wasn't left in the general money fund(checking account)to mingle with the dollars that aren't earmarked for a specific purpose. 
Bill money has a funny way of doing that.......pretending it's really Not-Bill money or even Fun money and hiding in plain sight with the non-committed dollars in your account.

If you don't separate that irregular bill money, it's sooo easy to spend it on something else, possibly a non-necessity like eating out or a fancy coffee drink or going bowling on the weekend because you "deserve" some fun, or another shirt your kid really doesn't need because they have 38 more in their closet.
Even if you have to put that irregular bill money as a wad of singles into a coffee can and hide it in your shed or put it into a Tupperware into your deep freezer to keep from spending it on crap, DO IT!  You'll be glad you did when that irregular bill payment rolls around again....
****************
At this point, I need to come up with $3,630.71 for the rest of the year to make my $20K goal.  This breaks down to $907.68  per month for the next 4 months.  Unless something untoward happens we should be able to meet this goal.

As for a look ahead at SEPTEMBER.......

*  There is that School Taxes Bill. (Another irregular bill I've been saving every month for.) 

So how was your August financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
How much did you save in August?  Did you use it to pay down debt or build your Emergency Fund?

Even if what you are able to save each month doesn't look like a lot of money, figure out what percentage of your income you saved.  You might feel that it's a more substantial amount in those terms!

We saved 12.71% of our take home income in August.  My goal is to shoot for 50% each month.
Our heavy expenses in August had us fall short of my goal.

Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.
Did you have debt you were able to pay on?
Did you pay off a car, a house or a credit card?
Did something financial blow up on you last month?
What are you doing financially to change your life?

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

$20K Savings Challenge Report for JULY 2012

Ok, here is my JULY Savings Challenge Update post for 2012.

This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against "unconscious" spending.

Just to update, My Savings Goal for the Year in 2012 is $20,000.  It's well below what I've saved in previous years I know.  But we also have a goal of paying for 4 home improvement projects at Chez Sluggy this year.  We plan on cash-flowing these projects with the additional money we save and/or our income tax refund. 
Our background info--We are a family of 5(kids are 21-16)with one living away from home.  We have 2 dogs. We own 3 cars at present and live in/own free & clear a 4 bedroom house in a small town.

On to the July report.....

I have posted my JULY End of Month $20K $AVING$ 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 $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up July in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of July with?.......$1641.83.

Income
We had $1639.44 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $2.39 in interest income(HAHAHAHAHA!) and  you get a total of $1641.83.

Outgo
The usual along with a couple of large irregular bills......1 expected and 1 out of the ordinary.

As for the expenses this July......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

* The water bill decreased by $30+.

* The electric bill decreased by $21+.

* The credit card bill decreased by $702.
* The cash withdrawals went down $1170.....even with that they were high!

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  Home owner's insurance was due, but expected. $596.

*  Bill came in for the Minivan from last month's repairs. $1496.68.

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

YEAR-TO-DATE GRAND TOTAL.....
With 7 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2012 is $15,613.23.

We missed our monthly goal in July by $24.84. Since June's savings but us ahead for the year, I am not sweating a shortfall of $25 in July.

With 7 months done, we should be at $11,666.69  saved for the year, so we are $3946.54 ahead for the year as of now!

In the next 2 months we have largish irregular expenses coming due.
August is semi-annual car insurance at about $1500.
September is school taxes about another $1950.

They are irregular because they don't come every month....like the water or electric bill.  But two things about irregular bills--
1.They are usually for large amounts(due to the fact that they don't come round every month).
2. You KNOW THEY ARE COMING!  Yep, every year....so don't stick your head in the sand and ignore them.  Plan for them. Set a 12th of their amount aside each month so that when the due date rolls around, you have the money saved up to pay them in full.

We may actually get a break with our car insurance.  #1 Son is buying himself a car.  Since it will be in his name, he will need to have his own insurance policy, therefore we can have him taken off of our policy.  We tired to tell him that with our driving records, ages and the fact we get multiple discounts on our coverage, he's better off putting the car in our name and staying on our policy, and just paying us the extra it costs us to cover him and his car.

But 21 year old men want to feel virile and independent I guess, and paying through the nose for their own policy must be a testosterone inducing manly thing.  

But what do I know....... ;-)

At this point, I need to come up with $4386.77 for the rest of the year to make my $20K goal.  This breaks down to $877.35 per month for the next 5 months.


As for a look ahead at AUGUST.....
* Car insurance due.
* No celebrations here, no parties, just Boring McBorington at Chez Sluggy.

So how was your July financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
How much did you save in July?

 Even if it doesn't look like a lot of money, figure out what percentage of your income you saved.  You might feel that it's a more substantial amount in those terms!

We saved 28.74% of our take home income in July.  My goal is to shoot for 50% each month. If we hadn't had that car repair bill, we could have achieved saving 55% of the take-home income. 
Dang that car repair bill! lol

Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.
Did you have debt you were able to pay on?
Did you pay off a car, a house or a credit card?
Did something financial blow up on you last month?
What are you doing financially to change your life?

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