Wages -So, my net pay has dropped by approximate $12.60 per paycheck due to my pension contribution rising a bit.

Transfer In - I estimated I would spend $300 on my trip with Mom to Manhattan, NV but transferred $259.98 because I thought that was what I had spent. I actually miscalculated (more on that further down).

Also, my son-in-law's birthday is in July. I always send my kids and their spouses $50 for their birthdays.

Other - I sold an unneeded item for $100. Yay!



I spent less cash than budgeted. Always nice.



My phone bill was a bit higher than expected, but otherwise no surprises here.



Two sinking fund deposits of $230 each happened in July.



Extra principal - I sent $783.04 to extra principal, less than planned.

Mom-Amazon - Items Mom wanted which I ordered for her. She will reimburse me (and has by now, just not during July).

Broad loan - A short-term loan to a friend. We call each other "Broad".

Mom-trip - Mom's share of expenses for our road trip. She will reimburse me (and has by now, just not during July).

Sheets - A new set of sheets for our bed.

Bra - A new bra. I did not pull money from my clothing sinking fund to reimburse myself, but I probably should have.

Meal-trip - A meal which I inadvertently did not add to the cost of the Manhattan trip. I did not pull money from my travel/vacation fund to reimburse myself, but I probably should have.

July ended with $1,083.57 in checking.



I wanted to end the month with $1,055.07 in checking. Apparently, I subtracted my life insurance premium twice when calculating how much extra principal I could send to my 5th wheel loan. I should have sent $28.50 more.

Lots of little math errors this month, I don't know what to tell you.

No surprises here. My take home pay was $0.07 more than expected. I planned to transfer $805.43 from sinking funds to pay my car and 5th wheel insurance and that was the only transfer which happened. Buffer is the beginning balance in checking, and my only other income was the expected $0.01 of interest on checking.



I did manage to trim my needed cash by $40.00. That is always nice when I can manage it as I send every spare penny to extra principal.



No surprises here either. I did come in under a bit on my phone bill, so that was nice.



I make 26 automatic transfers of $230.00 each to sinking funds per year, and 3 of them fell in the month of June. The only transfer out was for my car and 5th wheel insurance. Right now is the low point for that particular sinking fund; no more money will be needed from it for a full 6 months.



In June, $745.61 was sent off as extra principal to my 5th wheel loan.

I paid my car insurance (I pay it with my Citi DoubleCash MasterCard, then pay the charge before the month ends).

I bought some face masks on Amazon; I am now required to wear them to work. I spent $22.29.

I bought some sparkly flowers for Bella to wear on her collar. I spent $11.25.

My checking account balance ended the month with $1,407.58.



My target ending checking account balance was $1,407.58. That's my 1k buffer and $407.58 for my 5th wheel payment scheduled for 7/3/20.

May was a 3 paycheck month for me so I had a little extra income to work with. I planned that I would transfer in $50 from a sinking fund for a birthday gift. "Buffer" is the starting amount in checking and not much "other" income was expected.



3 paychecks means 3 cash withdrawals during the month. We have been buying groceries mainly in our little town, rather than driving down to a larger town with lower prices but more shoppers. SB and I agreed I would kick in an extra $100 for groceries. However, with gas prices low and not going anyplace but to work and back, I have been consistently spending less cash than budgeted.



I did finally get around to switching back to Ting. So far, all is going fine. I am hoping to enjoy a lower monthly phone expense.



Sinking fund deposits went exactly as planned. Spending from sinking funds included my great-grandniece's birthday gift (just a check for her savings account) and a vet bill for Bella. She had another ear infection. It's a good thing I started tucking a little bit away for her expenses, and now that fund is all but wiped out.



I had planned to send $2,392.57 of extra principal to the 5th wheel loan, and am pleased to report I managed to send $2,564.54.

I have a niece who is very active in cat rescue and she reported on Facebook that she could really use some food donations. So, I purchased $26.13 worth of cat food for her use. (She has a wish list on Amazon, which does make the process simple.)

The month ended with $1,637.60 in checking.



I had wanted to end the month with $1,637.58 in checking. That's my 1k buffer, a $230 sinking funds transfer scheduled for 6/2/20, and my monthly 5th wheel payment of $407.58 which happens automatically on 6/3/20.

All in all, a good month financially.

Other income included:

$2,045.55 - refund from Citibank from our cancelled Princess cruise. I owed about half of it to my mom. (We do a full reconciliation after a trip. Sometimes I pay initially for her share of things, sometimes she pays for mine. Also, the refund was less than the credits from Princess because I had other charges on the card which do not come out of vacation money.)

$1,200.00 - stimulus

$396.28 - redeemed credit card rewards

$200.00 - short-term loan repayment

$0.02 - checking account interest



You sure don't spend much cash when you are self-isolating.



Mostly as expected. I have not yet looked into switching my own line back to Ting.



Sinking funds were deposited as planned. My total vacation costs ended up being less than I had withdrawn, so the excess of $409.55 went back to travel/vacation. There are no vacations on my horizon at the moment.

The only withdrawal in April was $481 for 5th wheel registration.



Other expenditures for the month. Here is the repayment to my mom as well as a payment to Capital One Savor card for vacation expenses. The rewards have already been redeemed, so I will cancel this card now. (I opened it for the $300 bonus and I am not interested in paying the $95 annual fee for this card.)

The $2 bank fee is for a non-Wells Fargo ATM. I normally get reimbursed for these, but my qualifying balance slipped below 250k so I did not. It was worth it, though. I like to use the ATM at the only bank in my tiny town. Especially right now, since we are all trying to avoid encountering other people.

Ending balance in checking is $2,428.82.



My target ending balance for checking is $1,407.58. The excess will go to extra principal on the 5th wheel loan in May. (In fact, it already has).

Wages - as expected.

Transfer in - money in from sinking funds (see below).

Buffer - beginning checking account balance.

Other - income tax refunds, a cash birthday gift, CC rewards, and checking account interest.



Managed to spend a bit less than budgeted. It's a wash, though. (See Wal-mart item under "other").



Now that Ting is offering service on Verizon's network, I am looking forward to shaving a bit of money from my phone bill. I will be looking into that this month.



Deposits went mostly as expected. I think I have sufficient money now for my dental expense. I have an appointment this Thursday and will know more then.

Money that went out:

Car Ins & Reg - CR-V registration

Car R & M - a minor tune-up

Clothing - replaced my jacket which got too close to a space heater and melted a bit. Also, a new bathing suit, cover up, and casual dress for the cruise. All items purchased on Amazon.

travel/vacation - paid for cruise fare for self and daughter, air fare for self. Remaining balance plus $300 Capital One Savor sign-up bonus will need to cover gratuity, excursions, and 1 night lodging in a motel. It should be enough.



These items were mostly paid with sinking funds, so discussed above. Those which weren't:

Bella vet - transferring money from the appropriate sinking fund would have wiped it out. Instead, I just let it go.

electric toothbrush - recommended by dental hygienist.

Wal-Mart - a mixed bag of household and personal items. Normally I would pay cash for these items, but I just used a CC as it was simpler at the time.



And that is it. Not a bad month all in all, and I am hopeful that I am now ready to apply extra funds to the 5th wheel loan.

Income mostly went as expected; I transferred in money from my car replacement sinking fund which was unplanned at the time I made January's budget.



I spent a little less than planned on gas and personal.



My mom's cell phone bill was quite low in January. Other than that, nothing unexpected here.



For January, I am showing car replacement and dental as two separate funds. In reality, it is the same account which has been re-purposed.



Aha! Here we have a bit of unplanned spending. A dinner out, some items from the pharmacy, a concert ticket (for tonight!) and a new thermostat for the 5th wheel.

The middle box in the yellow line says that January ended with $1,413.60 in checking.



The target amount for checking at the end of the month was $1,407.58.

Let's take a look at how I did in December.



This is the money I had available for the month.

Wages - my take home pay was $0.50 more than expected.

Transfers In - higher than expected. This will happen any time there is a sinking fund expense I did not know about at the time I did my monthly budget.

Buffer - starting balance in checking on 12/1/19.

Other - I have a $200 loan out to a friend which I had expected to be paid in full in December. With my approval, only $60 was repaid; the remaining $140 is to be repaid in January. I received $37 in secret shop fees, and $0.01 of interest on checking.



This is the cash I withdraw each payday to cover groceries, gas, personal (hair cuts, meals out, anything I decide I want) and miscellaneous needs (shampoo, hygiene products, vitamins, etc.). If I have at least $20 left in a category, I reduce the next withdrawal by $20. As you can see, I was able to spend less than budgeted in both personal and miscellaneous.



These are my regular monthly bills. Very few surprises here. The phone category is both my monthly Verizon prepaid bill which is fixed at $52.75 and my mom's monthly Ting bill which is variable. Mom's bill was $17.35 this month.



Sinking funds. Deposits mostly went as planned, with the exception of a $1 deposit to open Bella's sinking fund. The bi-weekly transfers happen every other Tuesday. Because of the way the days fell in December, there were 3 transfers this month.

Withdrawals from car ins & reg include $947.26 to pay my 6 month premium due 12/4/19, and $188.64 which I had determined was in excess of what is needed (went to debt repayment).

Withdrawals from gifts/xmas included 1 birthday gift and 3 Xmas gifts.

Withdrawals from travel/vacation to cover half of the gas cost for towing our travel trailer to my mom's at Thanksgiving and my niece's at Christmas. SB pays the other half.



This section is everything not included above; some items were budgeted some items were not.

Movies - over Thanksgiving weekend, my son and daughter-in-law and SB and I went to see a movie (Knives Out). When we decided to go, I bought the tickets online with my credit card (since I paid the charge in December, this item has ended up in December's budget). I entered the wrong amount ($41.80 instead of $47.80) but I just left it that way. My daughter-in-law Zelled me the money for their 2 tickets, and SB just gave me cash for his.

Bella flowers - These are large fabric flowers which attach to her collar and look so cute. I bought them on Amazon. There are a dozen in assorted colors and are washable. This is definitely just a want!

Bella vet - a visit to the vet regarding her re-occurring ear infection. We still had the eardrops left over from when they were prescribed 2 months prior so were charged only for the office visit.

McAfee - anti-virus software for 1 year for my laptop. I bought this on Black Friday and got a great deal. (with credit card, paid for in December).

ins-6 mo - 6 month insurance premium for my CR-V (daily driver) and 5th wheel. Sinking Fund transfer paid for this.

Gifts - Xmas and birthday gifts. Sinking Fund transfer paid for this.

Playing w FIRE - a documentary I have been waiting to see, purchased on Amazon.

fuel-trailer trips - My half of the fuel to haul our travel trailer over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sinking Fund transfer paid for this.

medical - out-of-pocket medical expense. My HCRA was depleted for 2019. I am very conservative with funding it, as any amount over $500 is forfeit at the end of the calendar year.

meal out - An unbudgeted (and quite naughty) meal out which went on my credit card. The rule is any meals out should come from my personal cash, so this should not have happened.

extra principal - extra principal to my 5th wheel loan.

Grand Total - perhaps I should re-name this. It is a net total; what is actually left in checking at the end of the month.



This area is just for me to calculate what I want to have left in checking, so I know to the penny how much I can send off to debt. I like to keep a buffer of 1k in checking. Additionally, since my pay dates vary, I need to think about what will happen before my first paycheck of the new month. My first paycheck in January will be on the 10th, but I have an automatic loan payment coming out on the 3rd. I am expecting to be repaid $140 this coming Friday, so can reduce my required balance accordingly.

As you can see from above, my target is $1267.58 but I have only $1266.79. I am short by $0.79. This shortage won't cause a problem, but I will be a bit more careful next month. I do like to hit my target to the penny.

Here is a new spreadsheet I have been working on. As you can see, it is a bit more detailed than the one I have used in the past. It is basically showing a summary of every transaction in my checking account for the month of November 2019.

So it begins with an area labeled "Income" and colored yellow. "Income" is a bit too narrow of a description, as it also includes money transferred in from other accounts as well the beginning balance of my checking account, labeled "Buffer". So a more accurate description would be "money I had to work with this month".

The second area is labeled "Cash" and is colored green. This is the cash I withdraw on paydays.

The third area is labeled "Fixed Expenses", is colored purple, and includes the monthly bills I am currently paying.



The fourth area is labeled "Sinking Funds" and is pinkish-red. This shows the money being tucked away into sinking funds. The area extends to the right to show a summary of the transactions in the particular sinking fund and its balance.

The fifth area labeled "Other" and colored blue is for transactions not included elsewhere. The yellow line on the bottom is a grand total.



And then the last section labeled "Checking" and colored green is the amount I need to leave in checking at the end of the month. Everything left in checking above that amount can be thrown at my current goal, which at this time is debt.



I'm liking this spreadsheet. It is pulling all of my current, relevant info together in one place.

For me, this was the deciding factor in how big a priority paying off the 5th wheel loan needs to be.

If I were to retire NOW, I calculate that I could draw $1,456 per month from my nest egg. Here is how that budget would look:



Everything I need, but not much fun. Without the 5th wheel loan payment, I could increase those sinking fund contributions and have more discretionary dollars. In short, my financial situation would be greatly improved.

Plus, I intend to cancel my life insurance policy once the 5th wheel loan is paid in full, freeing up a few dollars there as well. No one depends on my income any longer. However, in the event of my death, I would want SB to be able to have the 5th wheel free and clear. My children are both self-supporting and will inherit my investment and bank accounts.

So, I am happy with this plan. It makes sense to me.

I have been mulling over how I want to prioritize paying down my 5th wheel loan. Do I not fund my Roth? Do I cut my sinking funds? Do I cut my 457 plan contribution?

I have decided the answers are yes, yes, and no.

I calculate that in 24 months or sooner, I can get the balance down to where I can pay in full from savings. This is what I am going to do.

I have cut both my travel sinking fund and car replacement sinking fund contributions to $0. I have trimmed both my car r&m and car ins/reg sinking fund contributions slightly, but they should still be adequate. This brings my bi-weekly transfer to sinking funds from $380 to $230.

I will not fund my Roth IRA for now. I will leave my 457 plan contribution where it is, 10% of gross.

(I will still take the Panama Canal cruise with my mother. She is looking forward to it and I am not going to take that away from her. She is turning 87 next month, so who knows how much longer she will be able to travel. Currently, there is almost 4k in my travel sinking fund which will more than cover it.)

24 months from now, the 5th wheel loan balance should be under $16,962.08, the current balance in emergency fund + car replacement fund. At that point, I will use as much of them as needed to pay the loan in full. (But not sooner, as I don't want to be without them PLUS still have a loan payment to make). At that point, I will turn my focus to re-building savings.

Last night I thought, hey, why not check the shopper job boards and see if there are any secret shops around here I can do? (At one time, I did a fair amount of secret shopping, but it had been years since I had last done a shop). So I looked, and I found one for a bank just a few blocks from my workplace. I did the shop right after work tonight, submitted my report when I got home, and voila, I am expecting $20.

Here is my budget for November, a 3 paycheck month. Looking forward to a productive month:

I love how simple my budget has gotten! If I can stick to it, I will reach my goals.

I did (mostly) receive the past due rent. The money orders for March were dated March 1 and totalled $1215. So apparently, the tenant purchased the money orders, put them someplace, then thought he had mailed them. All of the info regarding what MoneyGram had told him was obviously fabricated. When I received them, I texted him to let him know I had received them then asked where he had found them. No response. No explanation as to why they were $35 short.

Yesterday I received June rent in full, but no additional $35.

Regarding paying for the cruise, I did lower my 457 plan contribution from 15% to 3%. I also changed my withholding from single 0 to single 1. The net result to my paycheck is an additional $214.02 per. All of this will go towards the cruise.

At the end of May, I had $630.80 saved. I have already purchased my daughter and son-in-law's airfare, and I have already paid $800 towards the cruise. So I still need to pay $4,370, which means I need to save $3,739.20 more.

My Mom and nephew came up here the Friday before Mother's Day and stayed (at the bed and breakfast in town) until Sunday afternoon. We had such a good time.

My birth mother is coming for a visit towards the end of July. She has a camper van so will stay right on the property with us. I will take some time off while she is here. I'm really looking forward to that.

My former father-in-law died about a month ago. I went down to the viewing (not the service) and did get to speak a bit with my former mother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. The financial situation former m-i-l finds herself now in is not good. Various family members and friends helped contribute towards the modest yet tasteful final expenses. (F-i-l and m-i-l did have some money set aside for this, but it was not enough) I helped a little, as he was my children's grandfather. Despite the circumstances, it was nice to see all of them.

So I've been thinking about how exactly I am going to pay for that planned family cruise. I loathe the debt I am already carrying and am uninterested in carrying more.

After a great deal of consideration, I have decided to cut my 457 plan contributions from 15% to 3%. I will bank the extra take home pay and should have enough by January to pay in full. I need 7k to cover 5 fares, port taxes, gratuities, and air fare for 2. I have $1,356.25 in my travel/vacation fund right now, with 9 more $150 deposits budgeted for this year. That's $2700, I need another $4,300. I calculate I will take home an additional $2,808 this year from reducing 457 contributions. That still leaves $1500. I do have those 2 extra paycheck months. I think I can do it.

I think my retirement plans can withstand the hit. I am on track to surpass my minimum nest egg goal. This trip is very important to me. I will fill out the paperwork tomorrow and expect to see the extra take home pay beginning in May.

I have received one month's rent; we will see if the second month comes through or not.

I don't know why I didn't line up the dollar amounts. That would have been a lot better; oh well.

Finally tallied up March. Of course, I knew it was bad, having received no rent. The shortfall came from WF savings and checking buffer.

I took some of my overtime in pay and some in my comp time bank.

I did not need to pay AmEx anything after all; I had transferred the entire balance (I had remembered transferring balance - $100).

Unbudgeted includes a tank of gas for a trip to see my mom, one night hotel stay when a plumbing problem made sleeping in the travel trailer not such a good option, stocking up on a hair product I use called "silk drops", tax prep fee for my son and d-i-l (I just paid it, didnt even tell them), and some medical supplies from the pharmacy.

My car registration was due ($275) but I dont count that as it was paid from a sinking fund.

March budget is ready to go.

I applied and was approved for a new BofA MasterCard. The terms are 0% for 15 months, no balance transfer fee. I requested that $9300 of my existing $9400 AmEx balance be transferred. That leaves me with $100 to pay to AmEx in March, and then the minimum payment to the new MasterCard. I budgeted $100, but of course it might be more.

If the time comes I can no longer keep this debt at 0%, I will take a Heloc draw and finance it that way. Meanwhile, it is (oh so) slowly decreasing.

Nothing newsy here. SB and I continue to live our quiet little life in the woods; I continue to commute to the big town with 11k people and be gainfully employed.

Heres how it went in February.



Income - In addition to my one-time bonus, I received my federal and state income tax refunds. I filed with 1040.com this year.

Unbudgeted spending was mostly misc household items and medical supplies I picked up at Rite Aid (125.96). I bought two tickets for a community theater production (36.00), had to pay for a lost Netflix disc (15.02), paid to file my state tax return (4.95), and used up 2.76 of a 54.00 annual renewal for Allstate Motor Club. (I no longer need it).

So, all in all, not too bad. Im making progress towards my goal of building up my savings.

Here is how my January budget plan shook out:



My comments:

Wages - I worked some OT. I took some as pay and banked some in my Comp Time hours.

Repay NB - I was asked and chose to agree to a 2 week extension. Instead of two $200 repayments, I received one. The other should be arriving any day. I am not worried about this.

Groceries - We were eating down our pantry and so spent less than usual. It's really best to not stock up when you have very limited space, a lesson we are still learning.

Unbudgeted spending: An area which continues to be a struggle for me. $141.59. This included several meals out and a $24.99 purchase on Google Play - season 9 of Sister Wives, my guilty pleasure. It also includes $36 at a drug store for medical type supplies.

I did manage to sock $540.72 aeay in savings, in addition to sinking funds.

All in all, I'm pleased with the month.

As I have mentioned, I have become enamored with fancypants planners. I've even taken to watching YouTube channels about "planning". Videos depicting laying out a week or a budget or what-have-you are called plan with me videos.

I have no interest in starting a YouTube channel, but I thought I might give plan with me blog posts a try. How is the picture quality? Can you read it?



And please don't get too excited about my "leftover" money; it's only that high because I am expecting a short-term $400 loan to be repaid.

Edit: I don't like it. I will try to get a better picture. Tomorrow.

Update: that's better.

Wages - both of my paychecks were for 10 days (rather than 11) in April.

Other Income - included a work bonus, my side gig, and some credit card rewards.

Cash Allowance - I gave myself an extra $100 to cover expenses for our weekend in Bodega Bay.

Everything else:

dining out 376.63 (!!)
gifts 200.00
clothing(me) 167.97
CVS 84.61
hair cut 20.00
Rx 15.78
Pokemon Go 9.99
movie 9.25
Allergy Dr. 6.05
Etsy 4.50
Kiva 3.75
J 2.99

Better late than never, right?



Utilities are low because...I neglected to pay my electric bill. I just forgot. Never before in my 30+ years of adulthood have I "just forgot" to pay a utility bill. My goodness. I looked at it a dozen times or so, there on my list of bills to pay, not highlighted, and it never clicked that "Oh, I need to PAY this".

Savings did not happen, but I also paid for my root canal and plane ticket (see below) without pulling from savings.

Everything else this month:

Balance of new roof and gutters - 9,550.00
dentist (root canal) - 550.00
airline ticket - 291.20
dining out - 182.83
gift cards - 60.00
clothes - 57.13
Plum Paper Planner - 52.89
oil change - 44.27
OTC allergy - 16.74
purse insert - 6.99
Pokemon Go - 4.99

My new roof and rain gutters are installed and look great. I am very pleased with the quality. Now there is just the small matter of paying for them. I did pull $700 from GS Savings to throw at the Heloc debt. Only 9.4k to go.

The airline ticket is for the trip Mom and I are making next weekend to Spokane to visit my cousin and his wife.

The dining out and gift card expenses are related to birthdays. I have a lot of friend birthdays in March.

I must now confess that I bought myself a fancypants planner! And...I just love it. It is nothing but an indulgence. The paper is creamy smooth, the colors are lovely, it has tabbed sections for each month. I have a place to track my bills, my debt progress, my savings progress, etc., all on beautiful paper which I can touch.

And for the first time I spent real dollars to play a virtual game. I have been playing Pokemon Go enthusiastically since last July. The game has a built in limit of how many pokemon you can have at any one time. With the release of Gen 2 pokemon, I was bumping the limit. I had to pay real money to increase my "storage" limit. Otherwise, I was in grave danger of not being able to catch 'em all.

Wages - The second pay period of the month had only 9 work days, which made for a little pay check.

Other Income - My state and federal income tax refunds, as well as a bit of CC rewards.

Everything Else -
dining out 212.31
clothes and purse - 194.84
medical co-pay 60.00
annual road service club - 43.50
Rx co-pays 40.72
books 37.74
CVS - allergy pills, hygiene products 32.79
etsy 12.70

Here is my January budget report. I paid my January mortgage payment in December. In January, I paid the balance on my Citi Double Cash Card from December's statement. It was not due until 1/8, so that worked out OK.

Everything Else this month was:

wall repair 1260
mattress 135
American Heart Assn 100
CVS medical supplies 47.62
library 33
movie tickets 16
pizza 15.56
Rx co-pay 10
Walgreen's 5.35

The repair to my leaking wall was pricey.

SB and I bought a new mattress and split the cost. It's the first piece of furniture we have co-purchased. It is one of those which gets delivered in a box and you unfold it. It is surprisingly comfortable. SB chose it. I think we will be getting a topper of some kind too.

The American Heart Association donation is in memory of my cousin once removed who died last September. Several of his immediate family and good friends have formed a team and are doing a 5k walk.

The library fine is for a book J's dog ate! Bad dog.

The movie tickets were a splurge. SB's favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride. It's one of my favorites, too. Our local indie movie house is showing it on Valentine's Day.

Everything else this month included:
vacation rental 493.71
clothes 379.69
eating out 70.50
MrsM180 bday 66.57
Google Play 46.98
pedicure 33.00
Kiva 28.75
concert ticket 15.00
CVS (non-grocery) 13.59
movies 13.49

Income - one additional day's pay

Savings - fell short of my goal

Utilities - paid J's cell bill twice

Groceries - so close

Gasoline - buying gas for just me now; J is buying his own

Everything Else - This month I spent $340 at the dentist. A visit each for J and I, plus I had two cavities so I got two fillings. I paid the GP another $100 for J's office visit. His medical card was expired, even though he is still covered. I will submit a claim for partial reimbursement.

I have to say, I think it is going very well using cash for groceries, gas, and my personal allowance. Categorizing my credit card transactions is a snap, even if I am using more than one rewards card.



I had a 10 work-day paycheck, so that left my income a little light. I also enjoyed a raise in July, so that helped.

I expect to go a little over on the mortgage, because I round up to enjoy having an even balance.

As I noted earlier, savings was anemic in July.

Did great on utilities. I am expecting my natural gas bill to drop soon, maybe one more month of paying $68. I currently have a credit balance. I am on balanced bill pay, so I have to keep paying $68 until they recalculate.

Have been doing great on groceries, which is all thanks to SB. He takes the time to visit different stores on his way home from work. He will stop at a grocery outlet and see what they have for cheap, then cook meals around that. He does an awesome job. He does most of the cooking, too. I really can't complain.

Everything else this month included my new phone (184.43), a trip to the dentist for J (85.00) as well as miscellaneous household. The phone was just a want, but everything else was necessary.

And now for the exciting news...J has started another part-time job! He is keeping his first one. This one will give him about 25 hours per week. He is very happy about the job. He will earn enough money to start saving for some things he wants as well as take over more of his own expenses. I'm so glad for him. MrsM180 helped him get his foot in the door. I always enjoy catching one of my kids being nice to the other.

And I won't lie, I'm excited about the positive impact to my own budget. I want to reach my goals.

Bill Fixers was able to reduce my internet bill by $13.96 per month. Not much, but something. I have to pay them half of it, so I am ahead $6.98 per month.

In other budget news, I cancelled my gym membership. A payment was due in July, and that is that. So, there is another $19.99 per month ahead.

I have added dvd service to my Netflix, and will probably keep that for a few months. Our list of movies we wanted to see which are disc only grew to the point it made sense to restart that service. I got the first month free, but afterwards will pay $12 per month.

So as you know, I recently switched to cash only for groceries, gas, and personal spending. Since I had previously used rewards cards for those things, in July I had to pay some of June's charges, plus pay as I go for July. (For budgeting purposes, I count spending when I make a charge, not when I pay it.) As it turns out, I am also parting with the cash for two electric bill payments in July*, which is further impeding my cash flow. It is a temporary bottleneck and will ease next month. However, July's savings account deposits are very anemic.

* My electric company bills me around the 5th or so, and I need to pay by the 20th or so. Usually, I use my Citi DoubleCash MasterCard to pay the electric company. The Citi billing cycle cuts off around the 6th of the month, so I typically charge the electric bill on the 10th. When I get paid on the 15th, I pay the charges which appear on Citi's statement from the 6th. In practice, I don't part with the cash for June's electric bill until July 15th. Which I have just done.

In the pursuit of credit card rewards, I have recently applied for and received the new Ally Visa. The sign-up offer is to spend $500 in the first 3 months and receive a $100 bonus. Since my electric bill is $252 per month, I decided to use it twice to pay my electric bill, thus I don't need to bother with it further. So, I used it this past July 10 to pay July's electric bill. And then the statement cycle closed, and I need to pay by August 12th. A bit inconvenient as that's 3 days before payday. So, I just paid it tonight. That $252 is coming out of my planned savings account transfer.

I will use the Ally card for August's electric bill and pay that in August too.

In September, I will go back to using Citi DoubleCash and won't need to pay that statement charge until October, thus picking up a bit of extra cash flow to throw into savings.

So there you have it. Other than that, just plugging along as usual here at Chez Petunia.

This month is a bit different in that I have credit card charges for gasoline and groceries, plus I withdrew cash at the end of the month for 2 weeks of gasoline and groceries.

Withdrawing cash for my personal allowance is not new, but I did decide to increase it beyond what I had originally budgeted.