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
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.
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
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.
* 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 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?
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
