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 February 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 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 February in the Red.
The amount we ended the month of February with?...-$4,626.81
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in February---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* SS income of $3879.00
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $174.04
* Check payment from Checkout51 of $50.94
* Medical refund of $40.00
Total "Income" for February....$7,379.79
Expenses in February---
* Irregular bills in February were $7,277.72
* Variable Expenses in February came to $2,457.89
* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,270.99
Total Expenses....$12,006.60
$7,379.79-$12,006.60= -$4,626.81
Slush into February of $65,810.06 in that Fund, subtract shortfall of $4,626.81 in February and we get $61,183.25 into March 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $4,626.81.
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this February here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* The cell phone, WAM, Health Premium and internet were the same as last month.
* Hubs Amazon c/c was $1,255.74 lower than in January.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The water bill was $2.37 higher than last month.
* The electric bill was $59.42 higher than in January.
* My Amazon c/c was $131.47 higher than last month.
* The Mastercard c/c was $69.21 higher than in January.
* We had irregular bills due in February too--
* I paid off the rest of the May/June cruise bill to NCL.
* Paid off the American airlines c/c for our checked bag fees for last year's cruise.
The Food Budget costs for February are in another post
HERE. Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).
FINAL THOUGHTS on February 2023---Other than the cruise payment it was an ok month financially. All that 401K withdrawal in January(and that overage last month)went toward that cruise bill and was planned for. Our regular bills($2,457.89)were slightly less than they were in January so that's a win.
THOUGHTS going forward into March 2023--
Still having limited mobility so we still need to unpack stuff. ugh. This has got to be the slowest unpacking and setting up a household I've ever been a part of! lolz I think the house insurance payments are all done for the year so that's one good thing. But we are still nickel and dime spending on miscellaneous repairs on the house and haven't even addressed the big ticket items that need to be purchased./fixed.
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!
Sluggy
