Income & Spending.....the June Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals, personal savings 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.

We went into retirement in June of 2017 with no debt, no mortgage nor a car payment.

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 have 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 fund may be applied 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 2024.

*  I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones.

I'm happy to report that we finished up June in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of June with?....$2,579.89

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in June---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,078.07

*  Savings Bonds Cash out & NCL Refund of $635.23

*  Stock Dividend of $19.95

Total "Income" for June....$8,092.06

Expenses in June---

*  Irregular bills in June were $3,570.72

*  Variable expenses in June came to $1,234.02

*  Medical Premiums in June were $707.43

Total Expenses....$5,512.17

$8,092.06-$5,512.17=$2,579.89

Slush Fund coming into June of $62,687.88 and the addition of $2,579.89 in June, our end of June 2024 Slush fund comes to $65,267.77

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $2,579.89.

Outgo

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

Here are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cellphone bill was $173.86 less than in May.(Remember we were in Europe last month so cell usage was higher there.)
*  The WAM was the same as the previous month.
*  My Amazon card was $69.46 less than in May.
*  The Joint Mastercard was $32.64 less than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Water bill was $1.25 more than May.
*  The electric bill was $71.09 more than the previous month(hello, 90F and 100F days).
*  Hubs Amazon bill was $38.13 more than in May.
*  The Aviator M/C bill was $595.64 more than the previous month(most probably charges from the cruise ports and my car work).
*  We had 3 irregular bills in June--
  *  The BOA c/c was $250.(It's our deposit for the Alaska cruise.)
  *  We had to buy house skirting to replace what this manufactured home came with.  $2,177.55 and that's just the materials, not the labor. ugh
  *  The Quarterly Long Term Care Premiums came to $1,143.17  ouch

The Food Budget costs for June are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payments(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS for June 2024---We stayed within our means for the month.  Even with three irregular bills(one small/two LARGE!)we came out ahead.  Two large irregular bills added up to $3,320.72.  blech  WE had to have 1 tire sensor replaced on my car which is on one of the credit cards.  Overall it was a good money month.

GOING FORWARD INTO JULY 2024--

We have a big irregular bill due, the payment for the cruise.  And Hubs may have the dogs groomed while I am in Virginia which comes to about $120.  And the handyman may be installing the new  house skirting.

Luckily we have a Quarterly 401K withdrawal hitting our bank account in July and that will cover the cost of the cruise, the skirting andmaybe a bit more. rah.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

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 down/off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid on a "want"?

If you post 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

Food Spending.....the April Report

Onward to April's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2023.

I have posted April's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in April.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

CVS

OOP  $1.99

Value  $27.86

Savings  92.85%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $27.30

Value  $37.65

Savings  27.49%

KROGER

OOP  $314.76

Qs/Ads  $258.69

Value  $573.45

Savings  45.11%

SHOPPER VALUE

OOP  $62.16

Qs/Ads  $81.89

Value  $19.73

Savings  24.10%

WALMART

OOP  $146.32

Qs/free Gift Cards $38.21
Value  $184.53
Savings 20.71%

*********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at CVS at 92.85% and Kroger at 45.11% .  My worse rate was at Walmart at 20.71%.  Too bad that is the closest store to me.

I shopped at 5 different stores in April.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in April................$552.53

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$492.27

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,044.80

TOTAL Savings of ............................47.12%

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....another less than stellar month for food spending.  We spent more in April than in March. Lots of cherry picking deals for the freezer but prices still on the rise so YIKES! it was a lot of money spent.  We won't have a garden this year(not enough time to get one prepped and planted with us starting here from scratch)so I'll have to find a/some farm stands around where the prices aren't "artisanal-ly" priced.  As our first year here somethings come with a steep learning curve. 

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 12.22% in April 2023 to 47.12% compared to the March's 34.90% savings average.  Even still, spending was up but we got more bang for our buck in April.

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,882.46 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,882.46

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,080.74

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,198.28

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................38.90%

The average per month amount spent is $470.62 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to May 2023....We are going on a cruise this month so we'll be eating down any refrigerated items like dairy(which can't go in the freezer)and fresh produce.  We won't be buying food unless a screaming deal or a necessity before the trip and nothing during the trip.  I am hoping this reigns in the food spending.  No clue how much will be spent but it sure as heck had better not be $470.62! lolz

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in April?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

Income & Spending Report....the October Report

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 October 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 2022.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up October in the black.

The amount we ended the month of October with?...$23,094.84

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $110.83

*  Quarterly stock dividend check of $18.48

*  A Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$5,200.51

*  A big 401K withdrawal to cover moving expenses=$20,000.51

*  SS of $3,570.00

*  Garbage service refund from PA $30.00

*  C.C credits on m/c statement of $37.75

*  C/C credits on visa staatement of $5.76

Total "Income" for October....$32,209.27

Expenses in October---
* Irregular bills in October were $170.00

* Variable Expenses in October came to $6,718.30

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$9,114.43

$32,209.27-$9,114.43=$23,094.84

Slush into October of $47,240.13 in that Fund, add October's overage of $23,094.84 and we get $70,334.97 going into October's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $23,094.84.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, WAM,  storage bill, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.

*  There was no internet bill in October.  We used Daughter's service gratis. 8-)

*  We got a small refund from our garbage service in PA as we paid in full for all of 2022.

HERE are the BAD THINGS(so many bad things...)

*  The Mastercard was $3,306.18 higher in October(gee I wonder why?  Oh yeah, moving...).

*  My Amazon c/c was $290.71 higher last month(again, moving).

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $142.59 in October.

*  The September gas card bill that didn't get forwarded got paid this month.

*  We had an irregular bills due in October too--

  *  We had to pay a deposit to turn on water at the LA house.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on October 2022---

October was a very expensive month.  Lots of bills from the move came due and were paid.  While our PA house is still under contract we have utilities to pay there.  This is the last month I'll pay the storage bill in PA.  We had our quarterly 401K withdrawal in October but instead of reporting 1/3 of that each month I am just going to report the whole thing in October.  We also made a one time withdrawal from the 401K to help with moving and setting up a new household costs.  I am ok with yanking that much out of the 401K since it is larger than I thought it would be at this point in our retirement as we didn't tap into it for years when we first retired as Hubs had planned/wanted to. We had a large overage due to that which will be whittled down in the next few months as we purchase items for the new house(blinds, curtains, bathroom hardware, kitchen utensils, furniture, fenced in yard, a riding mower, etc. )

THOUGHTS going forward into November 2022--I am optimistic that costs will settle down going forward.  While expenditures still need to be made we'll be spacing them out and prioritizing them.  The PA house costs will be going away(utilities, storage fee).  Plus we'll be getting refunds on some house items we prepaid for the year(house insurance, property and school taxes)which will be a nice little chunk of cash back into our bank account.  And the profits from the check we get once the house is sold will replenish all those pots of funds that aren't 401K monies that I pillaged to purchase this LA house before the old PA house sold.

So how was your October 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  

Food Spending 2022....the March Report

  Onward to March's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MARCH 2022.

I have posted March's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in March.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
*****************

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $25.77

Value  $71.76

Savings  64.09%

LIQUIDATOR

OOP  $37.47

Value  $73.47

Savings  49.00%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $465.88

Value  $465.88
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $157.36

Qs/free Gift Cards  $209.35
Value  $366.74
Savings 57.08%

WEIS

OOP  $21.70

Qs/Sales  $15.48
Value  $37.18
Savings  41.64%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Dollar General  at 64.09%, and Walmart at 57.08%.

The worst rate was at Weis(PMITA)Markets at  41.64%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in March.  

TOTAL Spent in February................$242.30

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$306.85

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$549.15

TOTAL Savings of .............................55.88%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for February w/R-A..............$242.30

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$772.73
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,015.03
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................76.13%

This closes out the March food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....As predicted grocery pending was lower(since we were only home half of the month). Duh.  Don't ask about our food spending on the trip. Ouch!  Big cities out West=high spending for restaurant food.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 7.88% in March 2021 to 76.13% compared to the February's 84.01% savings average.  I'm ok with that.

With 3 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $883.30 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$883.30

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$4,916.41

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$4,033.11

2021 Yearly Savings Total.............................82.03%

The average per month amount spent is $294.43 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To April 2022.......Now that we are home I hope to be eating down what we have at home.  I am sure groceries will be bought but who knows how much. ;-)  With the inflationary costs now I'll still try to keep the spending at or under $400.00.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in March?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

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

I had 2 goals for September.......
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 September in the black.
The amount we ended the month of September with?.....$1,408.76

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in September---

* 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 $459.94

* Stock Divident of $18.27

*401K Withdrawal of $2556.20(net)

* Blogging revenue check of $128.07

Total "Income" for September.....$8270.48

Expenses in September---

* Healthcare Premium for September was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in September were $2981.44
* Variable Expenses in September came to $1996.52
Total Expenses....$6861.72

$8270.48-$6861.72=$1408.76
Slush into September of $28,633.63 in that Fund, add the $1408.76 September overage brings the Slush to $30,042.39 going into October.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,408.76 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

*  Internet were the same as last month.

*  The water bill was $21.41 lower than in August.

*  The electric bill was $30.51 less than last month.
*  The cell phone bill was $4.99 lower than in August.

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

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Amazon c/c bill was $113.85 higher than last month.(It was $0 in August.)

*  The gas c/c bill(Sunoco) was $14.10 higher than in August.  Sunoco is generally higher than other gas stations' prices(even after a .05¢ gal. discount)so we use it sporadically.

*  I had to pay the lawyer in Virginia $250 last month.

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).

FINAL THOUGHTS on September---
It was a good month overall financially. Regular variable bills were quite low. Two irregular bills were due(one small, one large)in September and we withdrew $3K from the 401K monies to cover the larger of the two bills.  Turns out we only needed about half of what we withdrew to cover the school taxes but it's all good.  The "leftover monies" just go into the checking account and will absorb any excess bills in the coming months.  If we don't need to draw from those leftover funds Oct. through Dec. then it will go into paying toward our high deductible plan health insurance costs which resets on Jan. 1.

THOUGHTS going forward into October 2020----

No irregular bills are due in October. rah.  

The electric bill will start it's seasonal rise as the heat gets turned on for Fall/Winter which is expected.  We have company coming for a few nights and a short trip later in Oct.  The trip will mean some lodging costs, take-out and kennel fees for the doggies.  So a few extra bills in October but nothing that will seriously impact our budget for the month.

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 & Spending Report.....the July 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 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 2019.

I can report that we finished up July in the RED!
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....-$483.46

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $599.43
* Blog Revenue of $103.08
Total "Income" for July.....$5773.42

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in July came to $4408.21
Total Expenses....$6256.88

We also had an expense we planned to be paid out of the Slush Fund instead of regular "income" in July--the carpet and installation in the bedroom(aka the sewing room). That was one of the big expenses/improvements we are paying for in 2019.  This cost $555.09 out of the Slush Fund.

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 last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $16.92 lower than June.
*  The electric bill was $48.15 lower than last month(still no a/c used).
*  The WAM was the same as in June.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as last month.
*  The Chase c/c was $40.59 lower than June's bill.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $37.26 higher than last month(a/c turned on now).
*  The gas card bill was $54.52 more than in June.
*  The c/c bill was $2,573.49 higher than last month.
*  We had $43.79 in medical charges I paid out of income instead of HSA funds.
*  There were $79.39 in vet charges 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).

So we end July "income" in the red taking $483.46 out of the Slush Fund.
After subtracting the $555.09 for the carpeting as well, we had $1038.55 in charges beyond our income for July, which leave the July Slush Fund ending at $19,971.81 going into August.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on July----

Lots of "out of the ordinary" expenses put on the credit card(over $2500 worth) and the carpet installation had us OOP over $3K extra and put us over budget in July.
Luckily we could tap the Slush Fund for that overage. ;-)


THOUGHTS going forward into August 2019----
We have one irregular bill due in August, the house insurance.  This bill actually went DOWN $71 from 2018's homeowner's insurance bill. *gasp* A yearly bill that goes down??  Where is Alan Funt and his Candid Camera? lolz

Electric will be higher due to more a/c usage.

The credit card bill will be another whopper.....$700 in car maintenance/repair(Hubs car), $134 in take-out and amusement park charges while eldest son and GF were here, and my $200 yearly Ancestry subscription renewed, along with all those grocery store purchases in July that will hit in August when the c/c is due. Oh and Hubs bought an expensive gun plus accessories that go along with that purchase and this will all be on the August c/c bill.
It won't be pretty. 8-(

But no worries here on going over the "income".  We have all that overage 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.

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

Net Worth.....February 1st Update

We have gone from acquisition mode with money into spend-down mode since we are now officially retired here at Chez Sluggy.

Our Net Worth will no longer be growing so I have to stay on top of what we have and where it sits.
I shared where we keep out money and why in the first Post-Retirement Net Worth post HERE.

So here is how the money did in January......

* Checking Account #1 Went up by $5863.09(mostly this was a 401K withdrawal-see accompanying 401K account lose below)
* Checking Account #2  Went up $156.66(blog revenue and Ibotta deposit and interest)
* Savings Account  Went down $1(monthly fee)
* Online Accounts  Went up $80.36(monthly interest)
* Certificate of Deposit  Went up $254.32(monthly interest)
* US Savings Bonds  Went up $22.06(interest)
* Cash on Hand  Went up $38.21(some refunds/post coupons)
* 401K Account  Went down $3925.88(monthly interest earned offset a $6K withdrawal)
* HSA Account  Went down $115.94(We've been using the account in Jan. to pay some deductibles.)
* RMSA Account  Went down $1519.66  (The interest earned on this account offset the healthcare premium reimbursement amount by $293.82 so it didn't go down by the full withdrawal amount of $1813.48.)

Overall we are $2147.78 down from January's Net Worth.  Between the interest on all accounts and income received, weighed against our spending last month,  our holdings sank very little.  It was a good month overall. 8-)

I calculated the eBay sales I had in November and December where I can add that profit to our Net Worth but I forgot to do this(it's still sitting in the Paypal account)so I'll add it into the March Net Worth Update as I'll transfer the $ this month.

I am by no means a financial expert but I'll readily share what worked for us on our financial journey if you have questions.

Did you increase your net worth last month?
Or are you in asset spend down mode(retirement)?
Do you have a retirement plan in place?

Sluggy