Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, 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 May report---
I had 2 goals for May.......
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 2022.
I can report that we finished up May in the Black.
The amount we ended the month of May with?...$2,663.84
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in May---
* Monthly annuity payment of $1,009.68(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $887.15
* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.37
* RMSA account to pay for health premiums totaling $547.49
* Blog Revenue of $106.07
* SS of $2,432.00
Total "Income" for May.....$6,715.76
Expenses in May---
* Irregular bills in May were $642.03
* Variable Expenses in May came to $1,183.76
* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13
Total Expenses....$4,051.92
$6,715.76-$4,051.92=$2,663.84
Slush into May of $41,445.02 in that Fund, add $2,663.84 and we get $44,108.86 going into June's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $2,663.84.
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this May here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* The Internet, cell phone and WAM was the same as last month(WAM at $10 less actually).
* The electric bill was $73.28 less than April's bill.
* The gas c/c was $0.00(because we didn't use Sunoco gas at all but used other stations and put on m/c instead).
* The Mastercard was $336.24 lower than March's bill.
* The Amazon card was lower by $83.34 this month.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The water bill went up by $5.17 compared to last month.
* Semi-annual car insurance was due in the amount of $524.81
* I paid $117.22 for a storage unit(1 month + security deposit)
The Food Budget costs for May 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 May 2022---It was a bang up month financially. Spending was down. rah. This was the last month with any money in the Medical Retirement Account. It is now empty and we'll be using most of Hubs SS payment to cover healthcare premiums for the remainder of the year. I also have the SS payments he received up until May tucked away in a savings account for emergencies.
Semi-annual car insurance was paid/due in May as was the storage rent as we need that to clean/empty the house and get it ready for showings.
THOUGHTS going forward into June 2022--The only irregular bills due in June are the Long Term Care premiums and another month of storage rent so that's not bad. The dogs are due for annual checkups so that's a third irregular bill coming due. Will try to keep the variable bills low in June and hope the weather stays cooler so the a/c won't be needed too much.
So how was your May financially?
Did you spend less than the income you had in May?
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
