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 June report---
I had 2 goals for June......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund. This slush 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 June in the BLACK!
The amount we ended the month of June with?.....$1733.94
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in June---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $579.33
* Stock Dividends of $109.27
* Medical payment refund of $443.36
Total "Income" for June....$6202.87
Expenses in June---
* Healthcare Premium for June was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in June came to $2064.85
* Irregular Expenses in June came to $555.41(long term care insurance premiums)
Total Expenses....$4447.93
We also had an expense we paid out of the Slush Fund instead of regular "income" in June--We had 4 trees taken down on our property. That was one of the big expenses/improvements we are paying for in 2019. This cost $2,600.00 out of the Slush Fund.
Outgo
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 June report---
I had 2 goals for June......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund. This slush 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 June in the BLACK!
The amount we ended the month of June with?.....$1733.94
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in June---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $579.33
* Stock Dividends of $109.27
* Medical payment refund of $443.36
Total "Income" for June....$6202.87
Expenses in June---
* Healthcare Premium for June was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in June came to $2064.85
* Irregular Expenses in June came to $555.41(long term care insurance premiums)
Total Expenses....$4447.93
We also had an expense we paid out of the Slush Fund instead of regular "income" in June--We had 4 trees taken down on our property. That was one of the big expenses/improvements we are paying for in 2019. This cost $2,600.00 out of the Slush Fund.
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this June, here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
* The c/c bill was $44.04 less than in May.
* The electric bill was $48.15 lower than last month(still no a/c used).
* The gas card bill was $23.70 less than May.
* The WAM/cash withdrawals were the same as last month.
* The health insurance premium was the same as in May.
* The c/c bill was $44.04 less than in May.
* The electric bill was $48.15 lower than last month(still no a/c used).
* The gas card bill was $23.70 less than May.
* The WAM/cash withdrawals were the same as last month.
* The health insurance premium was the same as in May.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The water bill was $2.28 higher than in May.
* I had $169.86 in charges on my Amazon card(grad dinner).
* There was a $21.00 charge for Chester to get a shot before boarding.
* The "Doggie Spa" charged $189.00 for Chester's stay there.
* We had $555.41 in LTC premiums due(irregular bill).
* I paid $79.60 to the Dentist for Hubs fillings in June.
* The water bill was $2.28 higher than in May.
* I had $169.86 in charges on my Amazon card(grad dinner).
* There was a $21.00 charge for Chester to get a shot before boarding.
* The "Doggie Spa" charged $189.00 for Chester's stay there.
* We had $555.41 in LTC premiums due(irregular bill).
* I paid $79.60 to the Dentist for Hubs fillings in June.
The Food Budget costs for June are in another post, which is located HERE. Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).
So we end June "income" in the black with $1733.94 leftover putting the Slush Fund at $23,610.36.
After subtracting the $2,600 for the tree removal the June Slush Fund stands at $21,010.36.
So you could look at June as either in the black or in the red really, depending on if you are a glass half full or glass half empty type person. lolz
We had extra leftover after paying all the bills but the tree project cost us $866.06 MORE than the leftover "income" which lowered the Slush Fund in June.
The Sinking Fund goes into July 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in June.
FINAL THOUGHTS on June---
It was a good spending month We did have some unusual and/or irregular bills in June--mainly the Long Term Care quarterly premiums, a dental bill, the cost to board Chester for 6 days, a shot for Chester and taking a little extra cash for our trip.
The kicker was the tree removal. Had we had to take that $2,600 out of the regular "income" in June we'd have been in the red for the month. Luckily we could tap the Slush Fund for that. ;-)
Regular expenses + tree removal was $866.06 MORE than our June income. No matter how you look at it, the Slush Fund went down by $866.06 in June but we go into July with still over $21K in that Fund.
THOUGHTS going forward into July 2019----
We have no irregular bills this month but the credit card bill is going to be B-I-G, as in buy a tv(Daughter took her tv), take a vacation, do maintenance on Hubs' car, make a charitable donation, buy groceries, eat out BIG. lolz
We may get a small blogging revenue check(after paying shipping for giveaways I keep a little of that)which will help the bottom line.
I think we'll end up being in the red when all is said and done in July. It's just a matter of how much in the hole we'll be and how much we'll have to pull from the Slush Fund to cover all the expenses.
After subtracting the $2,600 for the tree removal the June Slush Fund stands at $21,010.36.
So you could look at June as either in the black or in the red really, depending on if you are a glass half full or glass half empty type person. lolz
We had extra leftover after paying all the bills but the tree project cost us $866.06 MORE than the leftover "income" which lowered the Slush Fund in June.
The Sinking Fund goes into July 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in June.
FINAL THOUGHTS on June---
It was a good spending month We did have some unusual and/or irregular bills in June--mainly the Long Term Care quarterly premiums, a dental bill, the cost to board Chester for 6 days, a shot for Chester and taking a little extra cash for our trip.
The kicker was the tree removal. Had we had to take that $2,600 out of the regular "income" in June we'd have been in the red for the month. Luckily we could tap the Slush Fund for that. ;-)
Regular expenses + tree removal was $866.06 MORE than our June income. No matter how you look at it, the Slush Fund went down by $866.06 in June but we go into July with still over $21K in that Fund.
THOUGHTS going forward into July 2019----
We have no irregular bills this month but the credit card bill is going to be B-I-G, as in buy a tv(Daughter took her tv), take a vacation, do maintenance on Hubs' car, make a charitable donation, buy groceries, eat out BIG. lolz
We may get a small blogging revenue check(after paying shipping for giveaways I keep a little of that)which will help the bottom line.
I think we'll end up being in the red when all is said and done in July. It's just a matter of how much in the hole we'll be and how much we'll have to pull from the Slush Fund to cover all the expenses.
So how was your June financially?
Did you spend less than the income you had in June?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay 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?
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
Sluggy
