June 1st Net Worth

Net Worth calculations have been done for June 1st.
I don't share the actual amount here but I do track it's movement up or down.

The non-retirement monies are up $3,158.98 and the retirement monies are up $6,181.04 from May1st for a grand total gain of $9,109.54 in savings.

We are up a total of  $114,661.50 from a year ago, June 1st 2014.
And that gain is with a very conservative "almost ready to retire and start spending the money" investment mix.

Yay....go us!

I love how, even though we aren't "in the market" any longer, since we have such a nice amount of $ saved, that even just compounding interest gives the accounts a nice boost.  8-))

How is your Net Worth doing?
Did your savings go up last month?



Sluggy

Grocery Shopping-Vlog Edition

I went grocery shopping Friday.
Look at what I got/what I paid HERE.

I saved 50+% and only used 1 coupons.  8-)

Sluggy
 

Who Wants to Cook? Not I!

If you read my every Monday post this week you know I was going into the week without a meal plan fleshed out.
That is so NOT my usual modus operandi! 

But coming back from a 2 week vacation on Sunday afternoon, I just didn't "get it together" before Monday rolled around.
And add in that I still don't want to cook! lolz

Here's how the meal plan is playing out this week.

Sunday--Pizza take-out
Monday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(had balls in the freezer)
Tuesday--Smoke Sausage with Grilled Onions on rolls, mixed veggies(had sausage in the freezer)
Wednesday--Broiled Salmon, Pan Haggerty...thanks to Gill at That British Woman for the idea!(Had salmon in freezer and taters to use up in the pantry)
Thursday--take-out Chinese(no ideas, no energy to cook after a day of weeding)
Friday--Chicken something(TBD), Cauliflower Soup(got a head of cauliflower to use up, cook some of that chicken I bought on Wed.)
I've got 10lbs. of raw chicken breast I need to do something with.....any ideas?
Saturday--BLT sammiches,unless Hubs has a better idea(I bought tomatoes on Wed. too and have bacon in the fridge.)

I must confess I am having a hard time getting back into cooking mode after this trip. 8-(

What are some quick and easy(and relatively healthy)things you whip up when you don't feel like cooking a big production of a meal?
I need ideas people!!

Sluggy

May Goal List Results

Here's a run down on how I did on the May Goals--

* Clean House  Didn't happen
No motivation to do this.  I've been in vacation mode for too long plus my eyes are such(with only 1 cataract removed)that it's hard to see sometimes and/or to walk around without falling down.  Bending over and working would not have helped me stay upright.

* Get rx refills before trip  DONE
This is always a hassle, the timing of when meds need refilling/when insurance will cover the costs.  Not fun to run out of an rx when 1000 miles away from home and trying to transfer them to a local pharmacy......it eats into your day when you should be having fun!

* Bike 50 miles  Partially DONE

Well I got to 38 miles before we left for vacation on May 17th.  16 days working out so 2.375 miles per day.  There was no biking while away but I did swim 9 of the 15 days we were away so that's something.  It's been rough getting back into a routine on the bike but I have.  I'll be keeping my 50 miles of biking for June I think.

* Use Hand Weights 12 days Didn't happen
Still working(now reworking since vacation)on getting the biking to become a habit.  The hand weights can wait a bit longer.

* Pay the Bills  DONE
Two bills weren't paid as they weren't due while we were gone but they are paid now and on time.

* Lay in food for College Boy  DONE
I beat the heck outta the food budget before we left, but laying in provisions got done.  Funny thing is, he ate hardly anything I bought him.....except for Doritos.  lol

* Pack for trip  DONE
I usually wait until the last night to pack for trips but since Hubs was away on business until the evening BEFORE we left I got my tail in gear and got my packing done.  Of course I WAS still up the night before hemming a pair of pants I wanted to take on this trip.....it's always something with me. ;-)

* Cut out 2 Tops and Sew Them  Didn't happen
I got a pattern partially finished but didn't actually cut or sew anything yet.  It was going to be too warm in Louisiana anyway to wear anything but dresses.

* Gather info for College Boy  DONE

* Have FUN on trip  DONE
I always have fun on trips one way or another so yeah, I achieved this goal in spades! 8-)

* Write a letter  Didn't happen

* Apply for Passport  Didn't happen
I DID fill out the paperwork....just didn't submit it yet.

I'm still trying to get back into Non-vacation mode here so give me a few days to work on my June Goals List.

Do you make monthly goals?
How did you do on them in May?

Sluggy

$28K Savings Challenge......May Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings or these other categories.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into an interest bearing Savings Challenge account. 

For 2015 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $28,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the May report.....

I have posted my May End of Month $28K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $2,333.33.

I have to report that we finished up May with a goodly amount of leftover cash.
The extra amount we ended the month of May with?.......$2,388.78

Income

We had $2,230.85 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
 

Other monies received in May totaled $157.93.  This included interest made on non-retirement accounts and a per diem from Hub's work.

This brought us to our gain of $2,388.78
Since we have no debt, this goes into savings.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  Phone charges, internet and  were approximately the same as last month.
*  Electric bill went down $122.62 from April's bill mainly because we turned off the heat.
*  Water bill went down by $10.23 from April's bill.
*  Gas card went down $139.00 from April's bill.
*  The credit card bill went down $366.73 from April's amount.
 

HERE are the BAD THINGS
.
*  Cash withdrawals went up by $910.00 mostly due to vacation spending.
*  We had a $737.55 semi-annual car insurance bill due in May.
*  The c/c charge for the new freezer was paid.  Glad it was bought and now it's paid for. 8-)

 

The Food Budget costs for May are in another post, which is located HERE.  I was surprised the May food spending wasn't worse than it turned out to be.
 

The 2015 TOTAL.....
With 5 months accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2015 is $17,427.99.
That averages $3,485.60 a month put into savings so far.  With this much saved already we only need to put away $1,510.29 each of the next 7 months to reach the $28K goal for the year and that's highly doable for us.  ;-)

THOUGHTS going forward into June----

No irregular bills coming in June, which is good.
But on the bad side of things, I am figuring our "nut" this month will be about $4,000+ considering our credit card bill for the trip will come in at around $3K.  Ouch.
There may be very little left over cash in June to put into savings.

With 5 months behind us we have $17427.99 down and $10,572.01 left to save in 2015.  That means we are over HALWAY to our yearly goal!

Besides that $10572.01 I need to save out of the income this year to meet my Savings Challenge goal, I also have to find the cash to redo a bathroom this year.  The bathroom redo is our big home project this year and we have yet to begin it.  bleh.

Luckily we still have a chunk of Hubs bonus left, even after paying cash for his car.  I am hoping that leftover chunk covers the bathroom project fully.
If not, I may have to scale down my Savings Challenge goal as the bathroom needs doing and soon!
If you have ever shared a bathroom with a teenage boy, you KNOW what I mean....... ;-)
 

 

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!

Sluggy