Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals, personal savings 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.
We went into retirement in June of 2017 with no debt, no mortgage nor a car payment.
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 have 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 fund may be applied 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 2024.
* I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones.
I'm happy to report that we finished up November in the black.
The amount extra we ended the month of November with?....$2,650.86
Income or Funds We Can Access
The "income" in November---
* Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11
* SS income of $3,828.70
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $970.48
Total "Income" for November....$7,329.29
Expenses in November---
* Irregular bills in November were $3,683.05
* Variable expenses in November came to $287.95
* Medical Premiums in November were $707.43
Total Expenses....$4,678.43
$7,329.29-$4,678.43=$2,650.86.
Slush Fund coming into November of $83,268.64 and the addition of $2,650.86 in November, our end of November 2024 Slush Fund comes to $85,919.50.
The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $2,650.86.
Outgo
As for the variable expenses this November, here are the good and bad side of things.....
Here are the GOOD THINGS
* The water bill is the same as the previous month.
* The WAM was the same as in October.
* The electric bill was $42.08 lower than the previous month
* The Hubs Amazon card was $191.81 less than in October.
HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The cellphone bill was $10.08 higher than in October.
* The My Amazon card was $35.59 higher than last month.
* Hubs Aviator card was $531.99 higher than in October.
* My Aviator card was $491.92 higher than last month.:
And we had some one off bills in November--
* We had additional Car Insurance due to the tune of $223.97 because the new car is newer than the old car we traded in.
* We had an AARP bill of $16.00. Because of my UnitedHealthcare medigap plan I am forced to have an AARP membership. 8-(
* We paid a Doctor copay out of the regular account for $20.00.
* We had a bill of $27.98 for the coat I bought.
The Food Budget costs for November are in another post HERE. Food costs are included in my credit card payments(mainly because I buy the food but sometimes these costs come out of our WAM cash too).
FINAL THOUGHTS for November 2024---We had a few extra bills in November, but nothing we couldn't handle. The extra monies was smaller than it could have been but we still had a surplus once the month was out.
GOING FORWARD INTO December 2024--I don't think I'll spend as much in December but the bill for the car is arriving in December. ouch
We will have the Long Term Care premiums due plus expenses for the Holidays too.
Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))
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 down/off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or retirement account?
Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid on a "want"?
If you post 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
