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 July report---
I had 2 goals for July.......
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 July in the Black.
The amount we ended the month of July with?...$4,562.34
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in July---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $168.52
* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.38
* SS of $3,570.00
* Moved $3,665.96 from non-retirement acct. for cruise(not really 'income' but it paid one bill-the cruise bill)
* $180.00 cashing in c/c points
Total "Income" for July...$12,553.67
Expenses in July---
* Irregular bills in July were $3,807.49
* Variable Expenses in July came to $1,957.71
* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13
Total Expenses....$7,991.33
$12,553.67-$7,991.33=$4,562.34
Slush into July of $40,570.77 in that Fund, add $4,562.34 and we get $45,133.11 going into August's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $4,562.34
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this July here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* The Internet, cell phone and WAM, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.
* The Amazon c/c bill was $73.42 lower than in June.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The water bill went up by $3.12 compared to last month.
* The electric bill was $19.52 more than in June as a/c is needed more.
* The gas bill was $5.35 last month.
* The Mastercard bill was $211.45 higher in June.
* We had 4 irregular bills due in June--
* a bill for $1.09 at Kohl's
* Hubs' Amazon c/c was $140.44
* Paid the Cruise in December off
* A month of storage for $95.40
The Food Budget costs for July 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 July 2022---It was a pretty low spend month aside from paying off the cruise. Most every regular bill was up but only slightly.
The interest income on the non-retirement funds was a little higher in July which was better.
With now my SS check coming in monthly and 1/3 of the 104K quarterly withdrawal added to the income each month, unless we have out of the ordinary expenses we should be well under our means in spending.
THOUGHTS going forward into August 2022--Having said all that, well, we are moving very soon. Moving expenses will have to covered in Aug. and Sept. With that coming down the pike I'm not even going to guess on what the bills will end up being the next couple of months. We've got a decent sized Slush Fund to cover almost anything. We also have liquid savings we can dip into as needed.
Pray for us. ;-)
So how was your July financially?
Did you spend less than the income you had in June?
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
