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 August report---
I had 2 goals for August.......
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 August in the Black.
The amount we ended the month of August with?...$3,752.90
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in August---
* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $156.86
* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.38
* SS of $3,570.00
Total "Income" for August...$8,696.05
Expenses in August---
* Irregular bills in August were $607.00
* Variable Expenses in August came to $2,110.02
* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13
Total Expenses....$4,943.15
$8,696.05-$4,943.15=$3,752.90
Slush into August of $45,133.11 in that Fund, add $3,752.90 and we get $48,886.01 going into September's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this August here are the good and the bad side of things....
HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* The Internet, cell phone, WAM, storage bill, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.
* The electric bill was $7.03 lower than in July as we had a few days where we didn't need he a/c.
* The Amazon c/c bill was $174.30 lower than last month as we didn't put as much on the c/c.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The water bill went up by $1.31 compared to last month.
* The gas bill was $77.58 higher last month.
* The Mastercard bill was $254.75 higher in July.
* We had 1 irregular bills due in July--
* The yearly house insurance premium was due.
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 August 2022---Total of all bills was well under our income for the month. Regular bills were a mixed bag of some higher, some lower. It was a good month for the money. 8-)
THOUGHTS going forward into September 2022--This is moving month. Lots of bills will happen due to the move(gas to drive to LA, the cost of the dumpster and the cost of the POD to move out stuff to LA) and the regular bills(utilities mostly will go down and then go away-only to be replaced with new bills once we are in LA). Health insurance, cell phone, storage and WAM will remain the same for at least September. We also have to pay the real estate taxes in September(we pay it in full to get the discount but if the house sells before next September(God willing!)we'll be getting a pro-rated refund. We also contacted our garbage hauler(as we pay for the year in January)and will be getting a pro-rated refund on that bill as well.
So how was your August financially?
Did you spend less than the income you had in August?
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
