2019 Christmas Budget/Spending Autopsy

Ok, so calling this an Autopsy is not very festive or cheerful.
So call it "The Post Where I Talk About What I Was Going to Spend for Christmas and What I Actually Spent for Christmas".
Whatever works for you.....

I budgeted $850 for Christmas spending in 2019 back aft4r Christmas of 2018.  Except for what Hubs spends on gifts for me, this is our entire spending budget for Christmas(except for food for Christmas meals-which is accounted for in the food budget). 
But as 2019 rolled out I re-figured that budget since I knew  we weren't traveling and I didn't plan on giving cash gifts to family this year.  Both of those items would bring down the Holiday spending quite a bit so I went back mid-year and reduced the Christmas Budget to $700.

Last year I budgeted $850 and we spent $845.03.  Pretty close to my target and I knew 2019 would be even lower.

The traveling to Louisiana was happening in January 2020 for my Daughter's wedding so doesn't figure into the Christmas totals/budget.

I have been tracking our Christmas spending since 2010--
2010.........$1000 planned/$881.64 spent
2011.........$1300 planned/$851.32 spent
2012.........$1000 planned/$1020.48 spent
2013.........$1650 planned/$2164.77 spent

2014.........$1900 planned/$1742.87 spent
2015.........$1800 planned/$1583.94 spent

2016.........$1600 planned/$793.72 spent
2017...........$850 planned/$845.62 spent

2018...........$850 planned/$845.03 spent

How do I arrive at a budget for Christmas?  Nowadays I look at what we spent the previous years(because I have a full accounting for the last 9 years or so on the blog)and see where we did well and where we did "not-so-well" with budgeting and add in any unusual things we plan to do and after some papers are balled up and thrown away and there is one sheet left with lots of writing on it(as well as writing scratched out on it), we have a plan and a budget. lolz

No, really.....I look at possible spending categories and what I think we will use in each one.

I generally use c/c points to get gift cards for free(to either give as presents or use to buy the presents to give)plus I buy a bit here and there during the year when a deal presents itself and those items are cash flowed from our regular monthly income.  I have been known to reserve some blogging revenue(what I don't spend on shipping costs for giveaways I hold)and then there is always all that stuff I bring home from Rite-Aid. *wink*
I generally don't set money aside each month throughout the year(like a Christmas club account or actual money in an envelope earmarked for Christmas spending)since we had a large cushion of cash in our checking and savings accounts and I can just pull from those sources when I need money to spend on Christmas stuff.  Since Hubs retired mid-2017 I have to budget for Xmas better though.

But if you don't have extra cash lying around it is a good idea to take funds during the year and earmark them for the Holidays.
There are many ways to save ahead for Christmas.....make regular deposits to a dedicated account or a Christmas club at a bank, use a one-time windfall like a bonus or a tax refund, etc........so use whatever works for your situation.

The only unacceptable plan is to GO INTO DEBT for Christmas!
Better to not spend on Christmas than to endure the grief/angst/anguish/stress by going into debt buying crap at Christmas you can't afford and having to pay off the bills incurred sometime in 2020, or 2021 or beyond.

So we went into the Holidays with $700.00 budgeted to spend.

Here is where the funds were allocated.......

Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $40.00
Gifts for immediate family(includes any cash gifts)  $550.00

Gifts for extended family & friends  $50.00

Electricity for lights   $10.00

A Christmas eve meal and show or movie   $50.00
Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze)   $0.00
Charity  $0.00

And here is where the money actually went.....

Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $62.73

Gifts for immediate family  $385.55

Gifts for extended family & friends  $76.40

Electricity for lights  $10.00

A Christmas eve meal and show or movie  $43.03

Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze)  $0.00

Charity  $0.00

TOTAL SPENT...$577.71

Here are the Spending Details....

$62.73 *Shipping/Mailing Holiday Cards & Gifts----$22.73 over budget

We sent out 21 cards(1 was put into a package and not mailed separately in envelopes) and mailed 1 package to my Daughter and her Fiance and 2 packages to 2 friends.  Stamps cost $11 and the cards I had already from previous Christmases.  The postage for three packages(1 to LA, 1 to AZ, 1 to NE)came to $51.73 for shipping. ouch.

$385.55  *Gifts for family---- $164.45 under budget

Last year I spent $640.46 on gifts for family so I spent $254.91 less this year on the family's gifts.  Family included 5 people--Hubs, 3 kids, eldest's GF and daughter's fiance(and their dog).  I gave no cash gifts this year which brought the spending on gifts down a lot.

$76.40  *Gifts for extended family & friends---OVER budgeted amount by $26.40

I bought for more folks this year but didn't spend an exorbitant amount on anyone, plus added a person so I was just a little over on everyone.

$10.00  *Electricity for Lights----ON Budget

We used the larger tree(equals more lights)but there were less lights on the outside of the house which evened out the electric spending.

$43.03  *A Christmas eve meal and show or movie----UNDER budget by $6.97

Ex-CB was working so it was just Hubs and I Xmas eve so we didn't do our Chinese dinner out tradition.  We did go out to the Chinese Buffet lunch the day after Xmas and paid for the 4 of us(Ex-CB had to work).

$0.00  *Charity----NO Cash Spending on Charity this Holiday Season. I gave to the local food bank at least 4 times during 2019.  I do plan to send a check to my old friend's widow to help with funeral costs/medical bills(Tom died Dec. 29th)but that will happen in January.

$0.00  *Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze, cash incidentals)----NO Spending We didn't travel this year again as the Eldest came home for Christmas with his GF in tow.

All totaled, this year I budgeted $700.00 and we spent $577.71, so $122.29 under budget overall.

Thoughts for 2020--

I think I'll keep our budget at $700 for next Christmas.  We aren't hurting for money but we are on a fixed income with Hubs retired now.  Plus all of our kids are 23 or older(and 1 is established in a career and 2 gainfully employed now)so I don't feel the need to spend so much on them as when they were younger.

For our income and our needs, I think this is just the right amount to splash out on Christmas celebrating.

Unless our plans change and we travel for the Holidays or someone gets pregnant(not me!lol)$700 seems a good target amount for spending.

If you kept track of your spending for Christmas, how did you do?
Did you spend more. less or right about what you planned on spending?
Did you have any money epiphanies when you look back at the Holiday plan?
Do you see anything you'll change about your spending for Christmas 2020?

Leave a comment and let us know how you did and what you learned about yourself & money this year!

Sluggy

2019 To-Do List.....December Update

Here's how I did getting stuff done in December.......

*  Pay Bills  DONE
All paid on time or early.  Now we have the added joy in January of doing the books for 2019 now that the financial year is complete.
Good times.....

*  Read 1, 2 Books  DONE
First I read this one......

"Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee" by Charles J. Shields
This is an updated version(added to since Nelle Harper Lee's death in 2016).
Anyone who loves Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" really needs to read this book.  Though not written with any input from the persons detailed in the book, the author gives us a very personal and detailed account of Harper Lee's life and personae. 
5 thumbs up!

Then I read this one.......

"A Gushing Fountain" by Martin Walser
Written by one of the best post war German writers(and just recently translated into English a few years ago), this semi-autobiographical work is well worth the time invested to read it.  It is multi-layered and deep and can be slow going.
On the surface it's about the life in a small rural provincial town in German in the early 1930's through WWII as experienced by a young boy/young man.  It's a coming of age story, it's a family dynamics story, set against a Germany heading into it's Third Reich government phase and all the sordid outcomes that brought about within Germany and beyond.
I saw many reviews of this book that basically said this book was so lame and boring.  I just don't think any of them got the point of this book.
If you are a fan of history and especially of the WWII era, this book will give you much to chew on and think about beyond the surface tale of a young boy coming of age.
Another 5 thumbs up but be prepared for a long slog through it or having to reread chapters(or the whole book as you'll get more out of it if you do that).

*  Hold Giveaways  DONE
I did two giveaways in December.

*  Mail Giveaways  DONE  All mailed and received(at least I think both were received because Jennifer didn't let me know if she got hers yet).

*  Do Christmas Cards  DONE  I mailed 20 cards and put 1 card inside a box I mailed, so 21 cards mailed.  I think I forgot a few folks unfortunately. 8-(

*  Decorate for Christmas  DONE

Other than putting up the tree and decorating it, wrapping pine garland on the stair bannister and setting out the Nativity creche that was all the decorating I did this year.

*  Wrap Christmas Gifts  DONE  Everything got wrapped.

*  Work on Christmas Gifts  DONE  I didn't have much to work on this year which was a good thing what with the wedding stuff coming up a week after Xmas ended.

*  Dr. Appointment  DONE  Got my bloodwork and OV taken care of.  Everything was fine and we are staying the course on the treatment I have going now.

*  Get Flu Shot  DONE  While I was at the doctor's office I remembered to ask for my flu shot.  Hey, that's an accomplishment for me....ask me how many times I went to the bank before I remembered to ask for more coin rolls to roll my change! lolz

*  Redo Address Book  IN PROGRESS  It's not finished but it'd mostly done.  I used the sending out Christmas cards to take the time to transfer addresses into the new book.  I still need to go through the old address book and make sure I didn't miss anyone before I pitch that one out.  I haven't updated my address book in 20 years or so and there were lots of changes of address plus many persons in that book that are no longer alive.  sigh.

*  Hang Curtains in Hubs' Room  DONE
I don't have a photo of this(as it's really nothing exciting to look at)but I got it finished.  Hubs waited until the last minute to put the rod up too.  Eldest son was sleeping in that room over Xmas and it gets the morning sun bad(or good if you like bright light in your eyes first thing in the morning)so this needed to be finished before the 25th.  I had to nag at him to hang the rod plus I just couldn't put the curtains on the rod and be done with it....the curtains had to be hemmed up so they didn't hang over the electric baseboard heater and I didn't know how short to hem them until I could see/measure the length from the rod. ugh.  men.

*  Cook for Christmas  DONE
I cooked and did as much prep and pie work as I could the day/night before.  Eldest son's GF doesn't eat Beef(except for tacos and burgers)and we were having a Beef Roast so I had to additional chore of making a Lasagna too.  fun times.
But it all got done and went well.

*  Hem Dress for Wedding  DONE
As soon as Xmas company was gone I went up and tried the dress on and with Hub's assistance pinning it, I set to hemming my dress.  It was a fairly easy chore and sent fast but it got put off too long due to so many other things on my plate in December.

Everything got accomplished(or in the case of the Address Book got a good start)in December.

I didn't put much on my To-Do List so I didn't get stressed out over the Holidays.  Maybe I am growing wiser in my old age? lol  I could have loaded the list up with so much more but I knew it would all be there in 2020 waiting for me and just the important/timely stuff went on the December To-Do List.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" Edition................

Traveling means you get to eat at places you've never been before.  This was one yummy pizza Hubs and I shared for lunch in Alabama at "The Mellow Mushroom".  I've heard of this regional restaurant chain before because a blogger I use to read(she closed her blog up a couple of years ago), who was vegan and lived near Knoxville TN, use to eat at one there with her hubby quite a bit and liked it.

This pizza was good, even though my Daughter who lives in Louisiana doesn't think there are ANY good pizza places in the South. lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-two weeks worth!

This is what was planned for the Week of Dec. 29th

1. Sunday--Leftovers
2. Monday--Leftovers
3. Tuesday--?

4. Wednesday--Lasagna(I'm not making it tho)

5. Thursday--?

6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--Wedding Food

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftovers
2. Monday--Leftovers
3. Tuesday--Subway Sandwich(Chicken Teriyaki for me)

4. Wednesday--Yummy Lasagna, Salad, Rolls

5. Thursday--Assorted Seafood Dinner Out, Swamp Soup?!

6. Friday--Cheeseburger, Shrimp Soup
7. Saturday--Wedding Food(Chicken, Green Beans, Mashed Taters, Soup, Cake)

There was NO PLAN for the Week of Jan. 5th(this past week)and here is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Chicken, Collards, Green Beans, Rolls and I can't remember what else(Anne outdid herself!)
2. Monday--Cheese Crackers and Applesauce in the hotel room
3. Tuesday--Arby's Beef/Cheddar Sandwich(leftover from lunch on the road)

4. Wednesday--Salmon, Broccoli

5. Thursday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice w/Quinoa

6. Friday--Beef Stew, Leftovers Xmas Roll
7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/ffy, and 1 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out. 
We just ate fast food or snacks on the way home after we left Anne's house as we didn't want to stop for proper meals, trying to beat a snowstorm home. bleh.
Thursday and Friday I used the leftover Xmas Roast making half of it into Stroganoff and the other half into Stew.  I finished off a bag of potatoes and almost finished a 10 lb. bag of rainbow carrots as well in the Stew, plus the last of a tub of sour cream in the Stroganoff.
Can't let all those leftovers Ex-College Boy didn't eat while we were gone go to waste, right?

What got put into the freezer last week.....

* 2 packs of Pork Chops
* 3 lbs. of Ground Turkey
* 3 lbs. of Ground Beef

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
*  Didn't need to take anything out of the freezer as I was using up stuff in the fridge 3 of the 4 days we were actually home last week. ;-)

1 small trip to Weis($36.38) and 2 jars of Blue Plate mayo bought in LA($6.15) brought the weekly spending to $42.53 and my January spending on food to $42.53.

My savings percentage last week was 47.73%(without Rite-Aid trips)and January's monthly savings total comes in at 47.73%(w/out R-A).  

I have 18 more food shopping/spending days in January.

Leftovers going into this week.....Beef Stroganoff, Beef Stew, Rice w/Quinoa.

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

1. Sunday--Meatloaf, Baked Sweet Potato Fries
2. Monday--Chicken Parm, Sugar Snap Peas or Tossed Salad, (Pasta for Hubs too)
3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Sloppy Joe on Rolls, Corn

6. Friday--Chicken Broccoli Casserole
7. Saturday--Leftovers

What needs buying for this menu?  We need hamburger rolls so I'll hit the Bread Outlet this week.
We'll be settling back into being home and cooking again(sigh).....sometimes not having to cook is lovely, isn't it?

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

What Sluggy Got For Christmas

I know, I know.  You've all been wondering what Santa brought me for Christmas and holding your breath in antici............pation(thank you Rocky Horror for that!)to see the goodies he left me under the tree.

We are pretty low key when it comes to gifting here.  No new cars with big bows, expensive jewelry, trips to exotic lands are found in our stockings.  But if that's your thing and you can afford it without going into debt, have at it!  8-)))

So without further ado, here are Sluggy's goodies........

My brother and sister in-law sent me this heated wrap.  I have gotten where I dislike the extreme cold in Winter here so it will be used.
Bonus-It's PURPLE!

Sonya sent me this framed artwork.  I need to figure out where to hang it now...somewhere I can see it often and think of her. ;-)

Back in October when Kim, Sissie and I had out girls weekend in Ocean City I had brought their Xmas presents(because I am too cheap to mail them in Dec. since I was seeing them in Oct. lol).
Well, when we hit the outlet malls down in Rehoboth they each surprised me in the Vera Bradley outlet and bought me all this--a large travel duffel bag(which got christened going to the wedding in Louisiana)a Hipster purse(because well, I am just so "hip"-or is that hippy?)and a new coordinating wallet.  The pattern of the duffel and purse is called "Batik Leaves" and it's dreamy and purple.  And the discounted prices at the outlet were really low and I LOVE it all!

Eldest son's GF's parents sent this gift basket to us when they showed up for Xmas..........

Since they were heading back there for NYE party I gave the GF a box of Russell Stover's Truffles to give them too.

A reader sent me a set of cool potholders/hotpads.

We had met in person on that Road Trip in the Summer of 2017 and had reconnected via email right before Xmas and she sent me these.  I know her mom quilts and stuff so I don't know who made them, G. or her mom.  But I love the combo of the purple and grey prints especially.
And I promise G. I WILL email you as soon as life settles down a bit here!! ;-)

I picked up this Instant Pot for our kitchen to replace my workhorse crock pot that has decided that the only setting it has now are Off and HIGH. lolz  It gave me $15 in Kohl's cash that I then used to cover some of the cost of the new sweaters/pullovers Hubs needed to replace his shabby/need to be thrown out ones.

The 3 food items on the right in the photo were from Eldest son, Biscuit mix from Byrd Mill(owned by Patrick Henry's father back in the day), a small can of pistachios and Virginia country ham slices, local to him stuff I can't get up here in Yankee land with ease.
The 2 gift cards were from Hubs-1 to Ocean State Job Lot(which I'll prolly spend on food items or dog treats)and a gift card to Amazon.
The other items on the left in the photo were stocking stuffers--a charging cord to keep in my car, a small scented candle, car air fresheners(is he trying to tell me something?!lol), 2 pencil sharpeners so I don't have to climb stairs to use the electric one and a bag of Fritos(which was odd).
He also gave me a fridge magnet of a ruby coated Cavalier King Charles Spaniel(which is the color Dixie is).
Hubs also bought me this.....

A Cavalier calendar.  Now that Hubs Sicilian calendar blogger Treaders sent him last year is finished we needed a 2020 one so in honor of the newest member of the family we are back to puppies.

But the best thing I got(and asked specifically for from Hubs)was this...........

A fellow blogger I read, Gill up in Canada got one of these car decals this past year and I just loved it!!!
I get so many people remarking on my passenger when I drive around town. lolz

I hear what with Andrew's hi-jinx and Harry and Megan wanting to step down from duties that there might be an opening soon and since the Queen is a distant cousin of mine(18th 1 x removed), well....if called to serve, how can I refuse?!?!

The least I can do for now is chauffeur her around the Colonies when she is in town. *snort*

All in all it was a good Christmas between having family here and my gifties.

Sluggy

2019 Income & Spending....the December Report

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 December report---

I had 2 goals for December.......
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 December in the black.
The amount we ended the month of December with?.....$930.64

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $756.81
* Dividend income of $109.27
Total "Income" for December.....$5936.99

Expenses in December---

* Healthcare Premium for December was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in December came to $2602.27
* Irregular Expenses(Long Term Care Insurance Premiums)$555.41
Total Expenses....$5006.35

$5936.99-$5006.35=$930.64

Slush into December $17,507.99 + $930.64 addition=$18,438.63 left in the Slush Fund to take into 2020.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $930.64 for December.

We started 2019 with $23,164.17 in Slush Funds.
We ended 2019 with $18,438.63 in Slush Funds which means we spent $4,725.54 MORE than what we had coming in strictly as "income" in 2019(Income being, RMSA monies, Annuity funds, Dividends and Interest income, Blogging revenue, Federal Tax Refund).
* I don't include as income any Sales made(eBay or local)or no Poll Worker pay. The Sales ARE included as income we report to the IRS of course.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this December,  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 $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $4.63 lower than in November.
*   The electric bill was $100.03 lower than last month.
*  The WAM was the same as in November.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as last month.
*  There was no Gas card bill(all gas was put on Mastercard)
*  The M/C bill was $422.08 less than November's bill.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Amazon card bill was $571.79 higher than in November.
*  There were $73.65 in medical co-pays this month.
*  There was a $77.05 Kohl's bill in December.
*  There was an irregular bill due-Long Term Care Premiums of $555.41 due in December.

The Food Budget costs for December are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on December----

December was financially predictable.  There was Xmas spending on 2 credit cards, there was an irregular bill due and under $100 in medical co-pays from November OVs.
Surprisingly the electric bill was LOWER than in November!  That almost never happens as we have electric heat but hey!, I'll take it! lolz
We didn't have to pull any cash from the Slush Fund in December for any emergencies.


THOUGHTS going forward into January 2020----
Hubs and I will sit down in the coming week to go over the 2019 budget and all the numbers.
There will be some tweaking of the budget for 2020 and looking at the good and bad of our finances.
We'll be running the expected expenses for the coming year at that point and will come up with what income we'll have available for 2020 to live our best life.
More to come on the report of the Budget Meeting later this month.

So how was your December financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in December?
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