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 November report---
I had 2 goals for November.......
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 November in the red.
The amount we ended the month of November with?....-$2,631.87
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in November---
* 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 $169.22
* Cash put into bank to cover some groceries of $50.00
Total "Income" for November.....$5,413.45
Expenses in November---
* Healthcare Premium for November was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in November were $2,711.29
* Variable Expenses in November came to $3,362.04
Total Expenses....$8,045.32
$5,413.45-$8,045.32= -$2,631.87
Slush into November of $37,977.07 in that Fund, subtract $2,631.87and we get $35,694.88 going into December's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $2,631.87. 8-(
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this November here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* Internet was the same as in October.
* The WAM was $52 less than was taken last month.
* The Water bill was $3.93 lower than in October.
* The cell phone bill was the same as last month.
* The MC c/c was $2,091.28 lower than October.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The electric bill was $74.65 higher than in October.
* The gas bill went up by $3.88 from last month.
* The WAM was $52.00 higher than in October(but back to the usual $300 total).
* The Amazon c/c was $839.22 higher than last month.
* We had Four Irregular bills in October-0
* We paid for the kitchen tile renovation so $1,875.00 in irregular bills.
* A yearly Vet visit for Chester at $93.00.
* Semi-annual car insurance of $551.56.
* Hubs put $191.73 charges on his Visa card that weren't personal items.
The Food Budget costs for November 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 November---Not the best of months but I'm ok with it. We had pulled money out of the 401K for the cruise in December and also throw some cash into the HSA for next year but we forgot to take any out for the kitchen tile work which accounted for a good portion of our monthly deficit. I used some of my accumulated WAM to cover the Bridal Shower gift to try to put a Band-aid on the money hemorrhage this month. A little bit of bad planning on our part but nothing that led to a catastrophe in our finances.
THOUGHTS going forward into December 2021---The c/c should be about the same amount as last month. Lots of Xmas type charges and mailing a box to my daughter in Louisiana was NOT cheap(I told her next year it's a check in an envelope instead lol). The Amazon c/c will be high due to buying gift cards at Rite-Aid last month for places we'll frequent and to get some extra Bonus Cash to roll at R-A during the Black Friday sale. We'll also have Long Term Care premiums due this month but that's it for the irregular bills. December bills will be what they will be...not low and not outrageously high so I am good with it all.
So how was your November financially?
Did you spend less than the income you had in November?
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
