Income & Spending Report.....August 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 August report--
I have 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 apply toward irregular bills that are coming due in the next month.

I have to report that we finished up August in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of August with?.......$562.41

Income

The income in August was the monthly annuity payment and the July overage of $154.88.
We had $250.72 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.

Other monies received in August totaled $311.69.  This was interest made on non-retirement accounts and a blogging revenue check.

This brought us to our gain of $562.41
Since we have no debt, this will get put aside to apply to the irregular bill coming due in September--school taxes(these are a component of our property taxes).

Outgo

As for the 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 $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $11.98 less than in July.
*  The gas card bill was $49.63 lower than last month.
*  The cash withdrawals were $200 lower than in July.
*  The electric bill was $33.52 lower than last month's bill.  I guess the kids actually turned off the a/c when they weren't using it. lolz
*  The credit card bill was $1003.58 lower in August compared to July. (This doesn't count trip charges on the c/c as those are paid out of monies put away for the trip.)

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The medical bills were $6.40 higher this month over last month's bills.
*  Home insurance was due in August.  Nuff' said. 8-(
*  We had to pay the August health insurance premium of $1577.67(this use to come out of Hubs' paycheck automatically).  We hadn't set up using the health insurance account through his employer yet to pay this bill so it came out of our monthly income.  UPDATE-Papers are filed so we are waiting to receive reimbursement.  Since we paid the last 3 months of healthcare premiums out of our regular income, once the reimbursement check is received these funds will be added back to our "Other Income" category and used toward bills, both regular and irregular.

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

So we end August in the black with $562.41 to apply to the school/property taxes bill in September.

The school taxes bill amounts to $2012.31, so I just have to eek out another $1449.90 from our September annuity income to cover that along with all the regular monthly bills.

As we'll only have $1763.55 of our annuity to live on after paying the school taxes I'll have to pull money from regular savings to cover the healthcare premium of $1771.94 for September.  That bill would have swallowed what was left of our annuity check after paying the school taxes and left us in the hole to the tune of $8.39 AND WE'D STILL HAVE TO PAY ALL OUR REGULAR BILLS FOR SEPTEMBER STILL!
Ugh!!!
Luckily I have regular savings(in our checking account)and I don't have to dip into the online accounts earning a pittance of interest.

Hubs has been taking his time to do the paperwork to get reimbursed for our healthcare premiums from our RMSA account which has been annoying me.  Now that he's FINALLY gotten around to filing, he just told me that it may take two MONTHS for them to reimburse those premium expenses!
This means I'll have to yank another $1700+ out of savings for two more months before we get that money back!
Ugh ugh ugh!
I am so thankful we have saved so much over the last ten years or so out of our regular paychecks so I can not have to worry at nights over this snapfu and know we have enough cash to cover it all.

Enough of my ranting, let's move on.

FINAL THOUGHTS on August---Surprisingly our regular bills in August came in at under $800(not counting the portion of c/c bills for the road of course). But add in the homeowners annual insurance payment, the healthcare premium and a $55 store c/c bill(for clothing for me) and the bills topped $3K. Ugh.

THOUGHTS going forward into September of 2017----
September will be more than tight this year.  There is no way the annuity payment, a bit of interest and the August overage $ will cover all the bills AND the school taxes.
Sigh.
We have always covered any irregular bills with our extra monthly income(as we mostly seemed to live well below our means and had cash to spare each month).

Now that funds are tighter(much tighter until Oct.!)we need a new game plan in regard to those irregular bills.

I'll be setting up a sinking fund to cover these irregular costs for 2018, meaning I'll set aside a specific amount each month in 2018 so that when these irregulars come due I have cash enough in that account to pay them without dipping into regular savings.

There is one more big irregular bill in 2017 coming in November--the semi-annual car insurance premium of approx. $900.  I should be able to cover that with regular income this year but I think I'll begin the Sinking Fund in October of this year anyway and get a jump on the 2018 irregular expenses so we can cash flow all the irregulars in 2018.

The one good thing about September bills will be that all the Road Trip expenses put on the credit card(most were due on August's bill and some due on September's bill)will be paid out of our savings and NOT our September income.  We planned and saved for this trip so it won't impact our regular bills/income.

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!

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

Our Net Worth September 1st...Post Retirement

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

We went into retirement on July 1st with a shade under 1,350,000.00 in liquid assets in place.
It's taken a couple of months for finances to shake out, as it where, but we are finally on smooth waters and able to see what is ahead.

So what have we been up to since then with our money?

First thing is we took one of Hubs' retirement accounts and bought an annuity.
That took $443K of our assets and gives us a moderately sized passive income stream for as long as we live.  Hubs works in the financial industry so he got a special rate which made this option for where to put some of our money very attractive.

Our Net Worth will no longer be growing(at least the spending now will outpace the growing)so I have to stay on top of what we have and where it sits.

Here is where out money is allocated right now.....

* 2 different Checking Accounts-These will take a hit this month to pay for more College Boy tuition(plus more tuition in Dec. for his last semester)as well as pay off the last of the road trip bills.   We also need to keep funds in here until the second home gets sold as there may be costs to pay until we close on that house. At the first of the year we will reassess where to move any excess funds out of there depending on what's up with the second home.

* 1 small Savings Account(at CU to keep the CU Checking Account free)-Need to keep this open and keep at least $5 in that to remain a Credit Union member.

* Online Interest Bearing Accounts-A large portion of our non-retirement funds are there earning a bit of interest.

*  Certificate of Deposit(maturing Feb 2019)-We moved 2/3 of our non-retirement online interest bearing account funds into that to get a better rate and since we don't need to access that money for the next 1.5 years it was a no brainer.

* Savings Bonds-These are US Bonds we have as part of a Bond Program at Hubs work from the 1980's into the 2000's.  As they fully mature we are cashing them out(why let a bond sit after it's matured as it earns you nothing!)  We still need to figure out where to put this cashed out monies long term.

* an amount of Cash on Hand-Our emergency money for well, emergencies when you need cash. lolz

* the 401K Account-This is our big pile of assets, the retirement funds.  In a way I am reticent to tap this even after we can in October since it will continue to earn decent interest.  If we can pay bills from other accounts it keeps the money that IS earning something, earning it.

* the HSA Account-This is pre-tax accumulated monies to pay for medical co-pays.  So far we are handling co-pays with regular income(annuity payment).

* the RMSA Account-This is the fund to pay for healthcare premiums until we get to Medicare age.  We pay OOP from regular savings for premiums and then get reimbursed.  Hubs finally got around to submitting the forms for the first three premiums we have paid(July/Aug/Sept).  They say it can take up to TWO MONTHS to get this money reimbursed and back into your account!  This is why I got on him about getting this process going as soon as we returned from our road trip.  Just shy of $5K in reimbursements is nothing to sneeze at(or delay!).

We also have these non-liquid assets.....
* Blue Chip Stocks-Not a lot of them but it's something.  We took the bulk of our money out of the stock market about 5 years back since we were within retirement range and needed to lower our exposure to risk.  The stocks can be liquidated quickly if those funds are needed but will stay put for now.

* a Second Home-We are in the process of selling this house.  It is taking forever to get it repaired thus we need to keep money in our checking account for expenses here(plus paying to keep the electric and water on).
Once the house sells we will decide where to put those profits.  As the house is owned outright, everything after fees/taxes/costs will be profit.

So even with liquidating our second retirement monies account(to buy the annuity)our net work is still over 1 million dollars.  I don't know how to figure in the annuity payment to our net worth really, but it basically, for now, is enough for us to live on month to month without tapping into the other accounts(except for the tuition and road trip bills I talked about).  Perhaps we will hold off tapping the 401K, at least until 2018.  It might be fun(?)to see how long we can go without draining our retirement funds.  Maybe "fun" isn't the right word......"interesting" or "challenging".

Once 2018 happens and if we continue living off just an annuity for the entire year things will be super tight.  We shall see what 2018 brings though.

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?
Do you have a retirement plan in place?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The  "Back to Real Life" Edition--

We are getting back into a routine here, well, as much of a routine as you can have trying to adjust to having your Hubs underfoot All. Day. Long. ;-)
I have talked him into doing some decluttering and deep cleaning though which was thrilling. lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Chicken Pot Pie(Daughter cooking)

2. Monday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself

3. Tuesday--Leftovers or ?

4. Wednesday--Steak, Corn on Cob, Salad

5. Thursday--Breakfast for Dinner
6. Friday--No Clue
7. Saturday--No Clue

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Chicken Pot Pie(Daughter cooking)

2. Monday--Leftover Pot Pie

3. Tuesday--Subway Sandwiches using gift card

4. Wednesday--Steak, Corn Casserole, Salad

5. Thursday--Fried Catfish, Fried Potatoes
6. Friday--Ate out Chinese
7. Saturday--Hamburgers on Rolls, Macaroni/Veggie Salad

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 nights of leftovers and 1 nights of Eating Out.  The Daughter was going to make us dinner on Friday but the store was out of lobsters so we went out.

I made 1 trip to Weis Markets and 1 trip to the Shursave Market and $38.30 was spent last week, bringing food spending in August to a Grand Total of $333.94 for the month.
So nice to be $86.06 under my $420 goal for August groceries. 8-)))

My savings percentages last week and for the month to-date?   Last week's percentage is 46.45% and the monthly end up at 50.30%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).  With all trips added in it brought the August savings percentage up to 55.29%.

Leftovers going into this week........barbecue pork, roast chicken, ground beef.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Leftovers of Fend for Yourself(I had a pbj)

2. Monday--Pizza

3. Tuesday--Barbecue Pork Ring, Corn on Cob

4. Wednesday--Tacos

5. Thursday--Chicken Fajitas
6. Friday--Hot Dogs, Sugar Snap Peas
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers and 0 night of Take-Out/Eating-Out.
The leftover bbq will be a sandwiches ring, we have some leftover ground beef to make tacos, there is leftover roast chicken to make fajitas and I plan to buy 2 frozen pizzas today and there are hot dogs in the freezer.


What I need to buy for this menu? I plan to buy 2 pizzas today(part of a Mix and Match 6 items Deals and there is no room in the freezer so we'll eat that today along with a salad), as well as some corn.  We also need lettuce, OJ and milk.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy

To-Do List.....August Update

Let's take a look at how I did with my August To-Do List........


*  Pay Bills  DONE  Even though we were away when a few bills needed to be paid(or didn't have secure internet access to pay them online)everything got paid and on time.  I figured out what would come in while we were away and left the Daughter signed checks so she could pay those bills.  The sticky bill was College Boy's tuition.  There was a tight time frame when it had to be paid AND they don't let you pay via check/snail mail.  Luckily we were at Kim's house when that window opened up so I could do a bank transfer online there.

*  Enjoy my Trip  DONE  Let's just say I enjoyed the HELL out of my trip!!  There were a couple of bumpy "incidents" and one really bad day when I was sick but overall it was a fantastic trip. 8-)  And y'all will get a full report on it in the fullness of time.

*  Return from Trip(booooo!)  DONE(unfortunately)  We got home safe and sound on Aug. 15th.

*  Unpack from Trip DONE  Well the laundry part didn't take very long as we kept up on dirty laundry along the way(thanks to the B&B stay, Kim's house, one load at a motel in SD, and Sonya Ann's house).  I could have packed half as many clothes it turns out but going that long from home with changeable weather I didn't want to get caught short.  We really didn't bring much home in the way of souvenirs(ok, I got a load of t-shirts tho).  I bought very little alcohol(though Hubs bought TONS)and many "souvenirs" I bought were either food or Xmas gifts so those got put away easily.

*  Read 1, 2 Books  DONE  I took 4 books with me to read figuring I'd have plenty of time with all that riding in the car.  Well I didn't get nearly what I thought I'd get read because Hubs wanted to talk, or navigational help or the scenery was too nice not to watch. lolz
I also bought 3 books on the trip(I think it was 3?)(Hubs bought LOTS of books!!)and Kim gave me a book when we were leaving her house.  One of the books I bought at a thrift store I finished after the time we got home........

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  Highly recommend this one.  I never saw the film they made from it and I doubt it did the book justice.  I guess I'll have to see the movie now.

And this one.........

The Heart of Everything That Is-The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin  

I started this book two months ago and it took me forever to finish.  Not because it was boring or dull but it was so meaty it took a while to 'digest' it all.
It was so neat reading it after I had been out West where Red Cloud lived his life and saw his homeland with my own eyes.

The authors did a very good job of keeping the reader engaged in this book.  It's very factual and events were taken from primary and secondary sources from that time in history and not just heresy and a bunch of half truths some writers use as "source" material.
Since it was historical tome,  a biographical account of Red Cloud's life against the backdrop of how Native Americans were ultimately slaughtered by the Federal Government almost to extinction, you can predict the ending and the tone of this volume.  But if you enjoy historical works and you'd like a POV other than the official one taught in all the school history books(something we sure need more of nowadays)of what was happening in the Western part of this country during the mid to late 19th century, do give this book a try.


*  Repair LA House  IN PROGRESS  Oh gosh, where to begin.  We are STILL trying to get flooring replaced in the house in Louisiana.  We did get the tenants out of it the end of June. 

 Since we aren't in the area there to deal with arranging for the work to get done we thought we'd work through Lowe's since we have them here and in LA.  Well, it's just been a cluster f*ck from beginning to end!  It's like the Lowe's down there doesn't want the money/business or something....one problem after another.  It's such a long saga that I can't even begin to recount it.  We had hoped to get these repairs done while on the road but we are still dealing with them but hope to wind this torturous episode up in October.

We've dealt with Lowe's in PA(they did our master bathroom renovation)but this one in LA?  Good gosh!!  They are just reinforcing our opinion of businesses and people in the state of Louisiana and how the whole state has this "Let the good times roll, let's not worry about getting stuff done" attitude that is famous in the party town of New Orleans.  My Daughter lived in LA for 3+ years, we have made extended trips to LA and it's just a whole cultural attitude that is ingrained in the way of life there.  It's fine if you are on vacation or not trying to get something accomplished(heck I grew up in the South and I know all about the whole different business climate down there)but LA is just a whole other ball of wax!
I am sorry if this offends anyone from Louisiana but it's just how Sluggy, who has lived in and visited various other regions of the country sees it.  You folks are in a class all on your own there.  We've met some awesome people there and I'd love to party with ya'll but on a day-to-day basis?, no thanks.

*  Can Veggies/Make Pickles  IN PROGRESS  We came home to  a bumper crop of cukes in the garden....I don't think the kids picked a single ONE while we were gone! lolz  So I've been making pickles until they are coming out of my ears!  We've sliced and eaten them fresh too in vinegar and/or in salads.
As for the canning......we tried to get tomatoes a couple of weeks back but the mater crop up here has been slow getting ripened and is weeks behind this year.  I have all my jars and bands prepped and purchased new lids this past week.  Tuesday is D-Day for picking tomatoes at the farm field if the rain holds off.  By next weekend I hope to be fully stocked on canned tomatoes of various forms.

*  Inventory Fridge/Freezer  DONE  I jumped right on this chore the week we got home.  As Daughter really hadn't done any meal planning beyond the day we arrived home(plus having tv dinners for a couple of days after that)I really needed to see what she had used up and what was left.  Daughter did a good job of using what was here, mostly because she has an aversion to grocery stores and shopping.  I knew she'd keep under whatever I left her in cash to spend on groceries while we were gone as long as she didn't spend it all to get take-out pizza and Chinese food. lolz


So that's it for my short August To-Do List.  No fails this month but then again, it was a light-ish
chore list.

Did you get things done in August?  Is there anything you need to work on in September that you are dreading?  I have a few things in that realm for my September list. ;-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the September 1st Edition

Welcome to September everyone!
A new month and the end of Summer(though technically there are 21 more days until the Autumnal Equinox).
I feel like August dragged on forever, don't you?  We've only been home from our road trip since August 15th but it seems like August was 60 days long to me. lolz
Enough of this chit chat, let's get on to what we're here for-the Frugal wins of the week.

* I picked up a box of Puffs tissue and got paid .20¢(after tax)to bring it home.

*  We did a whole lot of staying home last week.  We did some cleaning and small home projects and read mostly.  The laundry was done during the off-peak hours so we saved on electricity costs too.  Staying home=not spending money!

*  I signed up for e-coupons at my local Shursave market(they don't take IPQs there, just insert or emailed "glossy" Qs).  They had 2 items that were free after e-Qs last week but when I went to get them Saturday the items were out of stock so I got rain checks.  This week they had 2 items(1 free and 1 for .99¢ after e-Q)so I clipped those Qs and picked up the items plus the 2 rain check items, paying .99¢ for all this........

*  We got Subway one night for dinner last week.  I combined a Q(Any price 3 subs for $17)and a gift card to buy them.  Using the Q meant less money used from my gift card.

*  While at the Shursave market I also bought this.....

6 packages of Crystal Farms cheese(sliced and bar).  It was on sale for $1.88 a 7-8 oz. package this week.  Anything under $2 for 8 oz. is my "buy price" so it was a good deal on sale.
But what made this better was that I had 3 x $1/2 Crystal Farms products ManuQs(which Shursave would take).  You'll remember the free coupon inserts I got at the motel in Fargo ND I mentioned 2 FFs ago?

These are were the Qs came from and I got them for free too. 8-)))
So $1.38 per package of cheese after sale AND Qs was even nicer.

*  I earned enough in hotel points on the road trip to get two $50 gift cards for free.  They arrived last week........

$50 for Lowe's and $50 for Amazon.  A few more nights in motels this year and I'll have enough points for another $50 gift card.

That's about it for us last week.
What frugal things happened in your world?

Sluggy