Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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.
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 March report---
I had 2 goals for March.......
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 2021.
I can report that we finished up March in the red.
The amount we ended the month of March with?.....-$407.28
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in March---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $463.19
* A Stock Dividend of $18.27
* A Fed. Tax Refund of $248.00
Total "Income" for February.....$5,923.69
Expenses in March---
* Healthcare Premium for March was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in March were $2,471.73
* Variable Expenses in March came to $1,887.25
Total Expenses....$6,330.97
$5,923.69-$6,330.97= -$407.28
Slush into March of $46,972.38 in that Fund, add the negative $407.28 in March and this brings the Slush to $46,565.10 going into April 2021.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an subtraction of $407.28 for March.
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this March, here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* Internet, water and cell phone were the same as in February.
* The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.
* The electric bill was $118.61 lower than in February.
* The gas bill was $26.30 lower than last month.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The Mastercard was higher by $14.60 than last month's bill.
* My Amazon c/c was $168.18 higher than in February.
The Food Budget costs for March 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 March---
It was a "meh" month as far as bills go. Three irregular bills will do that to yah. lol It's all ok though because we took that 401K withdrawal in February to cover these things, so no worries.
THOUGHTS going forward into April 2021----
We have no irregular bills in April so that's a good thing. We have arrived at the "not much heat needed, no a/c needed part of the year" so electric should be lower. Overall between electric and no irregular bills should mean lower costs overall for April unless something breaks(knock on wood it doesn't)this month. I have a little trip at the end of the month once I get my second Covid shot + 2 weeks so that will mean a little extra $$ spent in April(gas, eating out, maybe a little shopping)but nothing the budget can't handle.
So how was your March financially?
Did you spend less than the income you had in March?
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
