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

Income & Spending 2020....the December 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 December report---

I had 2 goals for December.......
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 December in the black.
The amount we ended the month of December with?.....$1,942.36

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

* 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 $430.32

* Dividend income of $18.27

* Grocery Rebates for the year of $1,473.27

* Deposit from my WAM to cover a gift to someone

Total "Income" for December.....$7127.86

Expenses in December---

* Healthcare Premium for December was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in December were $555.41
* Variable Expenses in December came to $2,746.33
Total Expenses....$5185.50

$7127.86-$5185.50=$1942.36
Slush into December of $32,365.78 in that Fund, add the $1,942.36 December overage and this brings the Slush to $34,308.14 going into January 2021.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,942.36 for December.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

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

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

*  The Mastercard bill was $946.00 lower than in November

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* The water bill was $1.22 higher than November's bill.

* The electric bill was $89.17 higher than last month's bill. This one will continue to rise as Winter deepens.

* The gas bill was $14.19 higher than in November.

*  My Amazon card was $330.23 higher than last month.  Our Mastercard was compromised so I had to put food shopping on the Amazon c/c.

* There was an irregular bill due in December, the long term care quarterly premiums which came to $555.41.

* We had $250 in spending on cash gifts for Christmas and Birthday for my Daughter.  It doesn't make sense to mail her "things" as the postage is so high to LA from PA so I just mail her a check for both and she's happy to get what she wants herself.

* We also had a kennel bill for $60 to board our dogs for 2 days so we could visit our son in NJ.  He and his GF have 2 cats so we can't take the dogs with us obviously as it would lead to mayhem. lol

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on December---
It was a good month overall financially.  Adding all those small economies pots of money back into the checking account to cover a large chunk of food spending gave us a much bigger overage last month to add to the Slush Fund, otherwise it would have been around a $500 addition to that Fund which still in my book would have been fine and dandy.

THOUGHTS going forward into January 2021----Hubs and I have yet to sit down and talk finances and the game plan for 2021.  Obviously extensive travel is off the table until the world stabilizes from this pandemic.  Vaccines are coming which will raise herd immunity but who knows when that will be achieved.  Maybe another short trip to NJ in the next 3 months but otherwise, I'm not seeing any travel.

We'll pay the garbage fees in a lump sum for the year in January to reap the discount there.  Our health insurance deductible has reset for 2021 so there will be $4K in spending on medical necessities(OVs, meds, etc.)up front, then normal co-pays by March(or earlier unfortunately).  March sees three different irregular bills due-long term care quarterly premiums, the real estate taxes and the annual sewage bill so we can't get complacent with frivolous spending early in 2021.  More later after we set the budgets at Chez Sluggy for the year.

The Slush Fund grew by $15,869.51 in 2020.  That Fund started the year at $18,438.63 and ended 2020 at $34,306.14.  Now we just have to decided which home improvement/repair project to spend that on-the main bath redo or new windows on the front of the house.  Both need doing.

So how was your December financially?
  

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

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


Sluggy

Income & Spending Report 2019....the September Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

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

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

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

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" at the top of the blog.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the September report---

I had 2 goals for Septmber.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2019.

I can report that we finished up September in the black.
The amount we ended the month of September with?.....$2,246.26

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in September---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $618.74
* Two dividend checks totaling $109.27
Total "Income" for September.....$5,798.92

Expenses in September---

* Healthcare Premium for September was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in September came to $1703.99
Total Expenses....$3,552.66

$5,798.74-$3,552.66=$2,246.26

Slush into September $17,998.65+ $2,246.26 addition=$20,244.91

This would be great news except..........

We also had more expenses we planned to be paid out of the Slush Fund instead of regular "income" in September--The Annual School taxes(half of our yearly property taxes in PA), the two new mattresses and adjustable bed frame from Wayfair, and our Long Term Care quarterly premiums. These four bills came to $4,030.51 and were taken out of the Slush Fund.

$20,244.91 after overage of "income" applied-$4030.51=$16,214.40 in the Slush Fund going into October.
So the Slush Fund went down by $1,784.25 after all income overage added and then $4030.51 in extra bills were subtracted from it.

The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a reduction of $1,784.25 for September.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The electric bill was $15.02 lower than last month.
*  The c/c bill was $1,381.267 lower than in August.
*  The gas card bill was $101.61 lower than last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in August.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $4.59 higher than last month.
*  The WAM was $39.50 higher than in August(to cover cash taken for farm produce and a vet charge Hubs covered with his WAM).
*  The Chase/Amazon c/c was $25.84 higher than last month's bill.
*  I had a $23.71 Kohl's charge bill.
*  Hubs  had a $12.15 Discover card bill.
*  There was $87.50 in vet charges(a year's worth of heartworm meds, and a test).

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

The Sinking Fund goes into October 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in September.

FINAL THOUGHTS on September----

Though we had a couple thousand bucks in income overage last month, we also had four large of "out of the ordinary" expenses in September(all 4 planned)which gave a "hit" to the Slush Fund.
It's all good though as the Slush Fund is for using for these extras and irregular bills.

THOUGHTS going forward into October 2019----

We have no irregular bills due this month.

Hopefully the electric will be low due to not needing much heat yet(but I won't be home and Hubs will jack the heat up too high  I can guarantee that! lolz).

The credit card bill will be higher again in October.....there will be trip charges--motel stay, extra gas, food out, etc

But no worries here on going over the "income".  We have over $16K in overage left from last year when we were withdrawing from the 401K so we just use that overage to absorb extra costs until that is gone and then we'll sit down and re-evaluate the spending, probably at the end of 2019 if any monies are left in the Slush Fund by then.

So how was your September financially?
  

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

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


Sluggy

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

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

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

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

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

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" at the top of the blog.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the August report---

I had 2 goals for August......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2019.

I can report that we finished up August in the black.
The amount we ended the month of August with?.....$286.13

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $601.16
Total "Income" for August.....$5672.07

Expenses in August---

* Healthcare Premium for August was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in August came to $3537.27
Total Expenses....$5,385.94

$5672.07-$5,385.94=$286.13

Slush into August $19,971.81+ $286.13=$20,257.94

We also had more expenses we planned to be paid out of the Slush Fund instead of regular "income" in August--the carpet and installation in the second bedroom(aka the Hubs' room), a chunk of $$ Hubs' wanted to spend on "his fun" and a large ER bill. The carpeting was one of the big expenses/improvements we are paying for in 2019 from Slush Fund monies but the other two expenses we decided to take from the Slush Fund too.  These three bills cost $2,259.29 out of the Slush Fund.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The electric bill was .23¢ lower than last month.
*  The c/c bill was $1,314.67 lower than in July.
*  The WAM was the same as in July.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as last month.
*  The Chase/Amazon c/c was $112.08 lower than July's bill.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $17.20 higher than last month.
*  The gas card bill was $20.67 more than in July.
*  Had a $44.98 on store card paid for new "drawers".
*  Annual House Insurance was paid this month out of reg. income.

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

So we end August "income" in the black with $286.13.

Then we deducted $524.37 for the carpeting, $749.45 for the ER bill and $985.47 for Hubs' "fun" purchases equaling $2,259.29 from the Slush Fund.

We added $286.13 to the Slush from August income overage and then deducted $2,259.29 from the Slush which leaves the August Slush Fund ending at $17,998.65 going into September.

The Sinking Fund goes into September 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in July.

FINAL THOUGHTS on August----

Though we had a couple hundred bucks in income overage last month, we also had three large of "out of the ordinary" expenses in August(1 planned, 2 not).
Luckily we could tap the Slush Fund for those expenses as $286.13 overage in income didn't go far to cover that $2,259.29 in expenses.  ;-)


THOUGHTS going forward into September 2019----

We have 2 irregular bills due this month; long term care and the annual school tax(which is a property tax).  Both of these will be drawn from the Slush Fund as planned.

Electric will be lower due to less a/c usage and not needing heat yet.

The credit card bill will be higher again in Sept.....besides the usual stuff we put on the card(and pay off each month), we bought a new mattress, adjustable base for it, and a twin mattress for the daybed in Hubs' room.  I shopped around, got free shipping and used a discount code but this still comes in at $1108.23 total and will be on the September c/c billing cycle.  Might be able to fully cover this on regular "income", might not.  It all depends on how the monthly bills play out in September(and if Hubs goes rogue again spending money for his fun lol).

But no worries here on going over the "income".  We have almost $18K in overage left from last year when we were withdrawing from the 401K so we just use that overage to absorb extra costs until that is gone and then we'll sit down and re-evaluate the spending, probably at the end of 2019 if any monies are left in the Slush Fund by then.

So how was your August financially?
  

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

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


Sluggy

Income & Sending Report.....the June Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

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

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

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

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" at the top of the blog.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the 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 2019.

I can report that we finished up June in the BLACK!
The amount we ended the month of June with?.....$1733.94

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in June---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $579.33
* Stock Dividends of $109.27
* Medical payment refund of $443.36
Total "Income" for June....$6202.87

Expenses in June---

* Healthcare Premium for June was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in June came to $2064.85
* Irregular Expenses in June came to $555.41(long term care insurance premiums)
Total Expenses....$4447.93

We also had an expense we paid out of the Slush Fund instead of regular "income" in June--We had 4 trees taken down on our property.  That was one of the big expenses/improvements we are paying for in 2019.  This cost $2,600.00 out of the Slush Fund.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
* The c/c bill was $44.04 less than in May.
*  The electric bill was $48.15 lower than last month(still no a/c used).
*  The gas card bill was $23.70 less than May.
*  The WAM/cash withdrawals were the same as last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in May.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $2.28 higher than in May.
*  I had $169.86 in charges on my Amazon card(grad dinner).
*  There was a $21.00 charge for Chester to get a shot before boarding.
*  The "Doggie Spa" charged $189.00 for Chester's stay there.
*  We had $555.41 in LTC premiums due(irregular bill).
*  I paid $79.60 to the Dentist for Hubs fillings in June.

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).

So we end June "income" in the black with $1733.94 leftover putting the Slush Fund at $23,610.36.
After subtracting the $2,600 for the tree removal the June Slush Fund stands at $21,010.36.

So you could look at June as either in the black or in the red really, depending on if you are a glass half full or glass half empty type person. lolz
We had extra leftover after paying all the bills but the tree project cost us $866.06 MORE than the leftover "income" which lowered the Slush Fund in June.

The Sinking Fund goes into July 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in June.

FINAL THOUGHTS on June---
It was a good spending month  We did have some unusual and/or irregular bills in June--mainly the Long Term Care quarterly premiums, a dental bill, the cost to board Chester for 6 days, a shot for Chester and taking a little extra cash for our trip.

The kicker was the tree removal.  Had we had to take that $2,600 out of the regular "income" in June we'd have been in the red for the month. Luckily we could tap the Slush Fund for that. ;-)
Regular expenses + tree removal was $866.06 MORE than our June income.  No matter how you look at it, the Slush Fund went down by $866.06 in June but we go into July with still over $21K in that Fund.

THOUGHTS going forward into July 2019----
We have no irregular bills this month but the credit card bill is going to be B-I-G, as in buy a tv(Daughter took her tv), take a vacation, do maintenance on Hubs' car, make a charitable donation, buy groceries, eat out BIG. lolz
We may get a small blogging revenue check(after paying shipping for giveaways I keep a little of that)which will help the bottom line.
I think we'll end up being in the red when all is said and done in July.  It's just a matter of how much in the hole we'll be and how much we'll have to pull from the Slush Fund to cover all the expenses.

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

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

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

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

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

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

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" at the top of the blog.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the April report---

I had 2 goals for April......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2019.

I can report that we finished up April in the BLACK!
The amount we ended the month of April with?.....$414.19

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in April---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $573.85
* Blogging Revenue of $100.51
* Deposit into checking for M/C charges reimbursed of $100.82
Total "Income" for April....$5846.07


Expenses in April---

* Healthcare Premium for April was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in April came to $2611.31
* Irregular Expenses in April came to $971.90
Total Expenses....$5431.88

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as in March.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $7.83 lower than last month.
* The c/c bill was $286.76 less than in March.
*  The electric bill was $87.60 lower than last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in March.
*  The WAM/cash withdrawals were $185 lower than the previous month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* There was a $14.21 higher charge on the gasoline credit card.
*  Hubs had $641.16 doctor bill(we have now met the deductible for 2019).
*  I had $223.07 in charges on my Amazon card.
*  I had a $31.67 fat lady clothing company bill.
*  I had a $76.00 dental bill for a filling repair.

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

So we end April in the black with a $414.19.  Added to the Slush Fund going into April at $20,673.38 makes it go into May at $21,087.57.

The Sinking Fund goes into May 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in April.

FINAL THOUGHTS on April---
It was a good, lower spending month.  We mostly sat home and didn't spend out of the ordinary this month.  No irregular bills were due.  We finally hit our healthcare deductible OOP so lower medical charges going forward.

THOUGHTS going forward into May 2019----
May should be pretty low in the spending department too.
Electric will be lower as the heat is off.
No more big eye doc bills for the rest of 2019.
The c/c bill should be much lower than in April.
The only "ugly" bill is the semi-annual car insurance bill is due in May and Ex-College Boy pays his cut which is about 1/3 of that bill.
The daughter graduates and moves out so electric/water/food consumption will go down going forward.
We still have not needed to make a 401K withdrawal in 2019 to this point.  We still have a nice cushion of Slush Funding so 401K can sit and make us interest. 8-)))

So how was your April financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in April?
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.....the October 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 those funds.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018" at the top of the blog.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the October 2018 report--

I had 2 goals for October......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush 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 October in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of October with?.......$402.22

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $377.04
* Blogging Revenue of $113.20

Total "Income" for October......$5521.88


Expenses in October---

* Healthcare Premium for October was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in October came to $3306.18
Total Expenses....$5119.66

Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into October was $468.37. No irregular bills were due or paid so the Sinking Fund goes into November at $468.37.


We went into October with $24,000.37 in the Slush Fund.
Add in October's overage of $402.22 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $24,402.59 going into November.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as in September.(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $2.35 lower than last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in September.
*  The gas card bill was $22.88 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $157.27  higher than last month. !!!  It turns out that the Aug. and Sept. electric bills were estimated as they didn't come out and read our meter.  Both months should have been higher than what we paid thus the October bill was double what we usually pay. ugh.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were $80 higher than last month(due to the trip to Maine spending)
*  The c/c bill was up $142.81 higher than in September.
*  There was a $89.88 charge card bill on my Visa card this month.
*  We spent $150.00 at the church auction in September.
*  Chester was due for rabies and an annual check-up so there was a $100 vet bill this month.

The Food Budget costs for October 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 October in the black with $402.22 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into November standing at $468.37.

FINAL THOUGHTS on October---
I knew going in that October would be a tight month--no 401K withdrawal, trip bills made the credit card high plus we took a bit more WAM out($80)than usual.  Then we had a vet bill for an appt. that I forgot was coming up in Oct. and a secondary c/c bill.  Add in the electric bill was double due to a correction. bleh.  Had we not had interest and a blogging revenue check come in we would have been $88.02 in deficit in October and would have had to pull money from the Slush Fund.  I don't like being so close to the monthly financial edge if avoidable.

THOUGHTS going forward into November 2018----
November.......let's see what's coming up.
Normal WAM withdrawal this month.
Normal food spending planned.
The credit card will be high but not as high as in October(The bill runs mid-month to mid-month so a few NC trip charges will be on it.).
Semi-annual car insurance will be due from the Sinking Fund and there isn't enough in it to pay it fully so we'll pull from Slush Fund or any general Overage in November to cover most of it.
No unusual financial stuff in November.....steady as she goes.

So how was your October financially?
  

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

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

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

2018 Income & Spending Report.....July Update

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 those funds.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018" at the top of the blog.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the July 2018 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 2018.

I have to report that we finished up July in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of July with?.......$2795.65

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* 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 July of $615.69 #
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $372.92
* Blogging revenue check of $116.10
* LA house water deposit refund $34.90

Total "Income" for July......$6171.25

# We made a 3rd quarter 401K withdrawal in July of $6K.  After withholding for taxes due we got $5147.07 net.  $3300.00 of that gets put into the Sinking Fund to cover irregular bills coming due this quarter(house insurance in Aug., LTC insurance and school taxes in Sept). $1847.07 is the balance of the 3rd quarter 401K withdrawal.  This got divided by 3 and gives us $615.69 extra in July to add to the income for the month(Aug. and Sept. also got $615.69)for general expenses.


Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in July came to $1562.12


Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into July was $557.48.  The addition of $3300.00 in July from the 401K withdrawal gives us a balance of $3857.48. No irregular bills were due in July so the Sinking Fund goes into August at $3857.48.


We went into July with $17,010.20 in the Slush Fund.
Add in July's overage of $2795.65 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $19,805.85 going into August..

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as in June(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $25.62 lower than last month.
*  The credit card bill was $775.73 lower than June.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were the same as last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in June.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The electric bill was $10.26 higher than last month.
*  The gas card charges were $46.26 higher than in June.
*  We had a dental bill of $30.60
*  We had a Discover card bill of $11.43(Hubs' extra card)
*  The Passport cost me $160.

The Food Budget costs for July 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 July in the black with $2795.65 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into August standing at $3857.48

FINAL THOUGHTS on July---
It was a very good month in terms of low spending/bills and a couple of extra revenue streams(blogging, utility deposit).

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2018----This month there is one irregular bills due(house insurance at $648).
The WAM withdrawal will be the same in August, $200.
I don't foresee any extraordinary bills other than the c/c bill is a little higher due to some irregular charges(yearly Ancestry account fee, my car was serviced, fees for birth certificate, $300 in eating out and beer purchases while Eldest son was here, adding up to the tune of $600+).

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!

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

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