Food Spending 2022....the April Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2022.

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, Pet Food & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
*****************

MALACARI'S

OOP  $18.50

Ads/Gift Cards  $8.73

Value  $27.23

Savings  32.06%

SHURSAVE

OOP  $2.18

Ads/Gift Cards  $13.19

Value  $15,37

Savings  85.82%  

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $665.03

Value  $665.03
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $190.19

Qs/free Gift Cards  $275.57
Value  $465.76
Savings 59.17%

WEIS

OOP  $80.88

Qs/Sales  $28.28
Value  $109.16
Savings  25.91%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Shursave  at 85.82%, and Walmart at 59.17%.

The worst rate was at Weis(PMITA)Markets at  25.91%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in April.  

TOTAL Spent in April................$291.75

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$325.77

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$617.52

TOTAL Savings of .............................52.75%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for April w/R-A..............$291.75

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$990.80

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,282.55
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................77.25%

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....Not too bad on the spending front.  We ate well without spending a fortune and added to the toiletries stockpile in preparation for my sale.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 1.12% in April 2021 to 77.25% compared to the March's 76.13% savings average.  A higher savings rate is always good. 8-)

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,175.05 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,175.05

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$6,198.96

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$5,023.91

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................81.04%

The average per month amount spent is $293.76 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To May 2022.......With the inflationary costs now I'll still try to keep the spending at or under $350.00.  Eating more from what is here and less Ibotta shopping I am hoping. ;-)

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 2021....The March 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 March report---

I had 2 goals for March.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2021.

I can report that we finished up March in the red.
The amount we ended the month of March with?.....-$407.28

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in March---

* 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 $463.19

* A Stock Dividend of $18.27

* A Fed. Tax Refund of $248.00

Total "Income" for February.....$5,923.69

Expenses in March---

* Healthcare Premium for March was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in March were $2,471.73
* Variable Expenses in March came to $1,887.25
Total Expenses....$6,330.97

$5,923.69-$6,330.97= -$407.28

Slush into March of $46,972.38 in that Fund, add the negative $407.28 in March and this brings the Slush to $46,565.10 going into April 2021.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an subtraction of $407.28 for March.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet, water and cell phone were the same as in February.

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

*  The electric bill was $118.61 lower than in February.

*  The gas bill was $26.30 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Mastercard was higher by $14.60 than last month's bill. 

*  My Amazon c/c was $168.18 higher than in February.

The Food Budget costs for March 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 March---
It was a "meh" month as far as bills go.  Three irregular bills will do that to yah. lol  It's all ok though because we took that 401K withdrawal in February to cover these things, so no worries.

THOUGHTS going forward into April 2021----

We have no irregular bills in April so that's a good thing.  We have arrived at the "not much heat needed, no a/c needed part of the year" so electric should be lower.  Overall between electric and no irregular bills should mean lower costs overall for April unless something breaks(knock on wood it doesn't)this month.  I have a little trip at the end of the month once I get my second Covid shot + 2 weeks so that will mean a little extra $$ spent in April(gas, eating out, maybe a little shopping)but nothing the budget can't handle.

So how was your March financially?
  

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

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


Sluggy

Income & Spending Report.....the March 2020 Edition

*Kim over at Out My Window blog is having computer issues and can't get into her blog.  She is ok(and as far as I can tell hasn't killed her Hubby yet)just can't blog right now.*

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 March report---

I had 2 goals for March.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2020.

I can report that we finished up March in the black.
The amount we ended the month of March with?.....$1,494.29

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in March---

* 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 $452.37
* A small 401K withdrawal of $1,129.16(the Mar. part of the 1st quarter withdrawal)
Total "Income" for March....$7,634.08

Expenses in March---

* Healthcare Premium for March was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular Bills in March came to $2,416.19
* Variable Expenses in March came to $1,839.84
Total Expenses....$6,139.79

$7,634.08-$6,139.79=$1,492.29

Slush into March of $20,858.22 in that Fund to take into April with the $1494.29 overage brings Slush to $22,352.51. going into April
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,492.29 for March.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The electric bill was $52.94 lower than in February.
*  The WAM taken was the same as last month.
*  The main c/c bill was $70.17 less than in February.
*  The gas bill was $57.50 less than last month.
*  The water bill was $3.52 less than in February.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  We had a small $15.26 charge on my Amazon c/c.
*  We had a $100.96 Kohl's c/c payment due.  I had items to return(which would have lowered that bill)but since the brich and mortar stores are closed for the duration, I'll have a credit-around $25-with them once I can return those goods.
*  We had 3 irregular bills due in March-the annual sewage bill which I pay early/in full in March for a discount, the County tax bill which I also pay early/in full in March for a 5% discount, and our Long Term Care quarterly premiums.  That's $2,416.19 total in irregular bills paid in March. It is what it is......

The Food Budget costs for March 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 March---
March is always a high bill month due to 3 irregular bills being due at the same time.  Between the $1K+ from the piece of quarterly 401K withdrawal we took in January, the Federal tax refund,a Dividend and my small blogging revenue check we more than covered the bills and had a fair amount of leftover income when March was over.
I am bummed that my non-retirement accounts too a big interest generated hit in March and April will be no better.
We did move some money in our 401K back into one stock went it tanked mid March and we have made $10K there. yay us!  Let's hope it doesn't tank again or even worse! lolz


THOUGHTS going forward into April 2020----

Well who the hell knows what April will throw  at us all, right? ;-)
It's all a crap shoot for all I know in April.  Let's see.....all of PA has a stay at home order so I can't go anywhere and as long as I stay off online shopping sites we can't spend any extra money.
The electric bill should continue to go down(yay!)in April as well as the grocery bill(or not).
There may be more take-out in April if it keeps me from harming someone I'm trapped in this house with....I'm just sayin'. lolz
We have no irregular bills in April. yay!  The only irregular bills this second quarter are car insurance in May and Long Term Care Premiums in June which we can easily handle with regular monthly income.
We do have to pay state taxes from our state return sometime this quarter(they extended the deadline like the Feds did for the Federal returns)but that's not a big burden($60 or so).
Hubs being retired means we haven't lost a job here with the economic turmoil of the pandemic though Ex-College Boy has until this is over.  I am just thankful he hadn't moved out into his own apartment before this all happened or his finances would be in worse shape.  My other two are still employed as is the son in-law.  I feel for those who's world has been turned upside down.....
While a $1,200 check from the Feds will be a small token of relief it isn't going to go far if you've lost a job for who knows how long.

Financially at least, Hubs and I are in a good place going into April. 8-)

So how was your March financially?
  

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

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


Sluggy

Income & Spending Report 2019........the October 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 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 2019.

I can report that we finished up October in the black.
The amount we ended the month of October with?.....$1,282.03

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $667.58
* $43 for car registration from Ex-College Boy that we paid
Total "Income" for October.....$5,781.49

Expenses in October---

* Healthcare Premium for October was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in October came to $2,650.79
Total Expenses....$4,499.46

$5781.49-$4499.46=$1282.03

Slush into October $16,214.40+ $1,282.03 addition=$17,496.43

The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,282.03 for October.

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 last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $15.38 lower than in September.
*  The electric bill was $8.09 lower than last month.
*  The WAM was the same as in September.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The gas card bill was $22.95 higher than last month.
*  The c/c bill was $598.25 higher than in September.
*  The Chase/Amazon c/c was $245.19 higher than last month's bill.
*  I had a $5.30 Kohl's charge bill in October.
*  We had $128.98 in various medical co-pays due last month which I didn't take out of HSA funds.
*  We spent $246.00 at the church auction in October.

The Food Budget costs for October 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 November 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in October.

FINAL THOUGHTS on October----
A nice quiet financial month mostly.  Yes, the credit card bill was higher than I like to see it but that was due to charges for the trip to Ocean City/Chesapeake/Fredericksburg and it was all planned for. 8-)

THOUGHTS going forward into November 2019----

We have 1 irregular bills due this month, the semi-annual car insurance premium.
There is Chester's neutering to pay for this month as well which is an out of the ordinary/a one time expense.
The credit card will be high again due to having to replace our water heater but I'll debit that amount from the Slush Fund anyway.
We should be a-ok financially in November.

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!


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

2019 Income & Spending Report......the March 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 March report---This won't be pretty, like me. lolz

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

I can report that we finished up March in the RED. *whomp whomp*
The amount we ended the month of March with?.....-$2,845.44

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in March---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67 *
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $517.13
* Dividend income of $108.22
* Deposit into checking for M/C of $127.00
* Federal tax return of $1465.00
Total "Income" for March....$7,284.18


Expenses in March---this where it gets ugly. 8-(

* Healthcare Premium for March was $1,819.54(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in March came to $3,164.37
* Irregular Expenses in March came to $5,145.71
Total Expenses....$10,129.62

** The folks holding our retirement medical reimbursement account screwed up reimbursement and shorted us a bit a couple of months ago and are still figuring this out.

Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into March at $468.37. Nothing was paid from this fund so it goes into April at $468.37.


We went into March with $23,518.82 in the Slush Fund.
Deduct March's shortfall of $2,845.44 and the Slush Fund goes into April at $20,673.38.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as in February.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $10.25 lower than last month.
*  The electric bill was $109.10 lower than last month.
*  The health insurance premium was $29.13 less than in February.
*  The c/c bill was $529.27 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* There was $22.80 in charges on the gas card(last month nothing was put on it.)
*  Cash withdrawals were more-WAM was the same amount but I gave the kids cash for watching Chester while we were gone and some food money they spent on take-out, so $135 more used in March.
*  Hubs had $2152.50 doctor bill(haven't met the deductible yet).
*  I had $66.05 in charges on my Amazon card.
*  I had a $206.43 Kohl's bill-bought under garments, a comforter, etc.
*  I had a $35.27 fat lady clothing company bill.
*  We paid a combined $312.00 to PA and LA-2018 state taxes.
*  County/municipal taxes for 2019 of $1,371.85 were due.
*  Annual sewage bill of $446.20 was due.
*  Long Term Care quarterly premiums of $555.41 were due.

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

It was the perfect storm of bills in March.......3 irregular bills plus a large medical bill as we hadn't met the healthcare deductible yet came to almost $5K alone.  And then there was the MASSIVE credit card statement...over $500 for vacation related charges(more coming on April's statement!eek), an EZ Pass reload of $35, $100 for June event tickets bought, Hubs spent $87 on chess equipment, $104 Birthday meal for ex-college boy, $76 spent online at JCPenney's clearance sale(I got almost ALL my 2019 Xmas shopping done there!), $137 in CBD oil for my pain management, plus the usual food spending and cellphone bill.
*sigh*

So we end March in the red with a shortfall of $2845.44, which was pulled from the Slush Fund overage, leaving the Slush Fund at $20,673.38 heading into April.
The Sinking Fund goes into April 2019 standing at $468.37 with no deposits made into it in March.

FINAL THOUGHTS on March---
I wasn't mentally prepared for it to be so much money leaking out in one month.
bleh.  I knew it would be ugly but still.........
Thankfully we had that large pile of extra cash saved up from last year so no worries.
April is time to pick myself up and soldier on financially.

THOUGHTS going forward into April 2019----
No irregular bills in April thank goodness.  Only another LTC premium and semi-annual car insurance the 2nd quarterly of the year so we should be able to sock away a bit of cash in the next 3 months plus not have to pull cash from last year's Slush Fund either.  That would be nice. 8-)
I will remain vigilant about meaningless spending in April. ;-)

So how was your March financially?
  

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

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


Sluggy

2018 Income & Spending Report......September 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 September 2018 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 2018.

I have to report that we finished up September in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of September with?.......$1,748.61

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in September---

* 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 September of $615.69 #
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $380.82
* A $34.99 refund on a Woman Within order
* Two stock dividends totaling $99.12

Total "Income" for September......$6,162.26

# 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 September---

* Healthcare Premium for September was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in September came to $2600.17

Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into September was $3209.48.  The school taxes were due and paid-$2220.84-as well as the Long Term Care policy premiums were due and paid-$520.27, so outgo of $2741.11. The Sinking Fund goes into October at $468.37.


We went into September with $22,251.76 in the Slush Fund.
Add in September's overage of $1748.61 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $24,000.37 going into October.

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 in August.(Within $1 or so).
*  The electric bill was $13.72 lower than last month.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were the same as last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in August.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $4.55 higher than last month.
*  The c/c bill was up $937.82 higher than in August.
*  The gas card bill was $33.39 higher than last month.
*  There was a $13.12 charge card bill on Hubs' Discover.

The Food Budget costs for September 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 September in the black with $1748.61 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into October standing at $468.37.

FINAL THOUGHTS on September---
It was a fair month in terms of low spending/bills.  We spent some money on eating out and I paid some charges for our Fall trip on this CC bill cycle.

THOUGHTS going forward into October 2018----This month there are no irregular bills due.
The WAM withdrawal will be the same in October, $200.  The c/c will be pretty high due to the trip.  There are no irregular bills due this month.
We only have car insurance semi-annual payment in November and the quarterly Long Term Care premiums in December which combined comes to approx. $1600.  Instead of making a 4th quarter 401K withdrawal in October we'll probably just cash flow these two bills when they come up, taking some money out of the Slush Fund balance to cover them.

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!

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.....August 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 August 2018 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 2018.

I have to report that we finished up August in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of August with?.......$2445.91

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

* 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 August of $615.69 #
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $384.51

Total "Income" for August......$6031.84

# 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 August---

* Healthcare Premium for August was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in August came to $1772.45


Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into August was $3857.48.  The homeowner's insurance was due and paid-$648.00   The Sinking Fund goes into September at $3209.48.


We went into August with $19,805.85 in the Slush Fund.
Add in August's overage of $2445.91 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $22,251.76 going into September.

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 in July.(Within $1 or so).
*  The electric bill was $26.02 lower than last month.
*  The gas card bill was $18.26 lower than July.
*  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 water bill was $2.29 higher than last month.
*  The c/c bill was up $307.97 higher than in July.
*  There was a $147.29 private charge card bill.

The Food Budget costs for August 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 August in the black with $2445.91 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into September standing at $3209.48

FINAL THOUGHTS on August---
It was a good month in terms of low spending/bills.  We didn't really ''do" anything special this month other than eating lunch out a few times and didn't buy many "wants"(Hubs did buy a few books and I bought some underwear/clothing) so there were few bills beyond the usual and necessary.

THOUGHTS going forward into September 2018----This month there are two irregular bills due(school taxes and long term care insurance premiums).
The WAM withdrawal will be the same in September, $200.
I don't foresee any extraordinary bills other than the c/c bill will be higher.  Trips expenses will be mostly on the October  credit card bill.

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!

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

Income & Spending Report....February 2018

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

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

Got it?
OK, let's move on.

On to the February 2018 report--

I had 2 goals for February......
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 February in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of February with?.......$9281.68

Income

The income in February---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3173.13(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* January overage of $4604.28 that carried over into Feb. 2018
* One third of 401K withdrawal balance for Feb. of $851.10 ##
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $327.54

Total Income for February......$10,769.53

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


Expenses in February---
* Healthcare Premium for February was $1813.48.
* Variable Expenses in February came to $2533.13.
* No Irregular expenses were due or paid.

Total Expenses for February......$4346.61

$10769.53-$4346.61=$6422.92 overage for February.
Add in the Sinking Fund(carryover from Jan. since no irregular bills were paid out of it)of $2858.76 which leaves us with $9281.68 total to carry over into March.

Outgo

As for the expenses this February, 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 $83.90 lower than January(thank goodness!)
*  The gas card charges were $35.51 lower than last month.
*  The credit card bill was $1122.22 lower than in January.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals was $50 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The water bill was $6.70 higher than in January.
*  The LA house electric bill was $30.41 higher than last month.
*  The medical payments were $365.79 more than in January.
*  $150.76 was due on two store charge cards.  Not bad or an unmanageable amount as these were much needed items(clothing)and priced right.

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

So we end February in the black with $6422.92 in general overage.
The Sinking Fund goes into March standing at $2858.76.
Added together that gives us a cushion of $9281.68 for March.

FINAL THOUGHTS on February---No big charges I didn't know where coming in February and the "usual suspects" aka the variable bills were pretty low.
What I consider our "income" was the annuity and the partial 401k withdrawal of $851.10, so $4024.23 "income" for Februrary.  The Feb. bills(without the Healthcare premium which is covered fully by the RMSA refund)were $2533.13 so we had $1491.10 leftover from "income" when the month was over.  If we can cover the bills(variable and irregular)each month with "income" leftover, our overage will continue to grow into the succeeding month.

THOUGHTS going forward into March 2018----This month has 2 different irregular bills due; Real Estate taxes and the annual Sewage bill but we have enough in the Sinking Fund to cover those fully(plus a little leftover too).  As for variable bills-The credit card bill will be higher than I like due to Hubs trip to LA to take care of some house business there and Medical bills will be lower I'd like to say but we have some pending bills still to work off the deductible....after March this line item should settle down a lot.  If the weather stays milder(knock on wood!)the electric bill will see a reprieve. Unless Murphy happens we should be able to stay under our $4024.24 "income" for March on the bills.

Financially boring months are great. ;-)

So how was your February financially?
  

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

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

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

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

Sluggy

Income & Spending Report.....October Update

* As Hubs retired effective July 1, I am no longer doing my 2017 Savings Challenge.
We ended that on June 30th.  The goal was $17.5K saved for the half of 2017 that Hubs was working.
We actually saved $21,100.42 all totaled, so $3600.42 over goal!

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$(no 401K$ until October)I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.
But this money leftover at the end of each month, at least for now(as we find our new financial "normal")won't be saved toward a yearly Savings Challenge.

The issue now is to cover all the bills with just the annuity payment each month plus some liquid savings(checking account cash)until October.
October is when Hubs turns 59.5 and then we can access the 401K retirement savings.  Until then things will be tight here at Chez Sluggy, so all the leftover monthly cash will get tucked aside to pay irregular bills that will be popping up in August and September.

Got it?
OK, let's move on.

Though nothing will be put toward it the rest of 2017(probably), the 2017 $17.5K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals are still available
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

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 apply toward irregular bills that are coming due in subsequent months.

I have to report that we finished up October in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of October with?.......$3454.25

Income

The income in October was the monthly annuity payment and the September overage of $3145.15(this was mostly a healthcare premium account reimbursement).

Other monies received in October totaled $306.73.  This was interest made on non-retirement accounts.

This brought us to our gain of $3454.25.  If you deduct the overage from previous months that carried over into October, this means we spent $309.10 LESS than what we brought in IN October(annuity and interest earned on non-retirement accounts).

Since we have no debt, this will get put aside to apply to the irregular bills coming due in November(car insurance)and then rolled over into 2018 to pay either $3K HDHP costs or property taxes that are due near the beginning of the year.

Outgo

As for the 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 last month(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $14.16 lower than in September.
*  The gas card bill was $39.55 lower than last month.
*  The electric bill was $18.90 lower than last month's bill.
*  The credit card bill was $277.50 lower in October compared to September.
*  The medical bills were $7.30 lower this month over last month's bills.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The cash withdrawals were $145.00 higher than in September due to puppy expenses.
*  Long Term Care Premiums were due(quarterly bill).
*  Garbage fee(irregular bill)was paid in October(I try to pay this quarterly as well).
*  We had to pay the October health insurance premium of $1646.04.
*  I paid a store card bill for clothing of $50.35(paid in full).

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

So we end October in the black with $3454.25 to apply to the semi-annual car insurance bill due in November and other irregular bills going into 2018.


FINAL THOUGHTS on October---It was a pretty good month financially.  Most of our regular bills were all a little bit lower than in September(We still had to use a bit of a/c in September.)  But with the turning on of the heat in November the electric bill will be on it's yearly climb into the much higher $$$s.  It's just a fact of living in the Northern part of the country during the Winter.

I started the Sinking Fund in October to help cover those irregular bills that come due throughout the year.  This is giving me a lot of peace of mind knowing I have a little pile of cash growing over to the side to apply to those irregular/quarterly/semi-annual/annual expenses that will come no matter what.
Serenity does indeed have a price.  ;-)

THOUGHTS going forward into November of 2017----

Electric usage(and thus costs)will rise this month, and a few medical co-pays will crop up due to my HS infection and dr. visits.  I also have blood work due so another medical bill(which probably won't come due until December however).  The credit card bill may be a tad higher due to buying a piece of furniture that is needed.
Food spending shouldn't be over $400(even though it's Turkey Day this month).
Most of the usual bills will be about what October's levels were.

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!

I hope this year was the one were you cleaned up your finances and paid off your debts.
That you planned to set something aside if you didn't already or increased what you banked now for your future self.
Or paid 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