June’s bills in July and then some.
Guess what bills we received this week? All the bills I was expecting to see in June! On the bright side, I knew they were coming. There always seems to be someone wanting our money. Helps that they weren’t a big surprise. Even better, is that we have a plan. As to what we received and what we are going to do about it, keep reading!
Our auto insurance which we pay semi-annually came in at a whopping $877. We have two vehicles covered on this insurance for the Summer months so I figured it would be higher.
A dental bill from a visit of two months ago came in at $85. I can submit it for reimbursement from our HSA. Hubs still needs a crown (estimate of $400+ after insurance), but hopefully, that should be it for dental bills this year.
$533 annual insurance bill for our RV. This bill isn’t due until mid-August. We have money in our sinking fund to take care of this.
On Monday we had a repair for our pickup at a smidge over $1300. This one had us borrowing from our emergency fund. The truck still needs a sensor replaced, but that can wait for a few weeks.
Thankfully we have three checks coming in this week that will cover these bills and also get us back on track with our emergency fund. This payday cycle we don’t have a lot of other bills, so that helps as well. Depending on how much we do bring home this week, I’m also hoping to hold back some for August’s mortgage payment. With our income being irregular, I still worry far too much about not having enough to cover our expenses. Like Kim over at Out My Window, getting ahead of our bills is something we need to work on doing. I’ll be giving some thought to the math behind it later this week.
I hope everyone had a fun, safe holiday yesterday. Hubs and I did some kayaking and then went and saw a fantastic fireworks display. It was a fun, frugal way to spend a day.
Today for me it is partially back to business. Most of the employees are off this week, but I still have things to tend to in anticipation of a busy week to come. Mail will also again be delivered. I’m praying nothing out of the ordinary shows up!
Have you tried Progressive for an RV insurance quote? If you combine it (home yada, yada) you may be pleasantly surprised.
OUCH! On that truck repair.
We have (and several others) but Foremost remains our cheapest option. Yes, that repair hurt but still cheaper than buying another truck. Hoping that sensor thing it still needs doesn’t set us back too far.
Do you use any software to help you keep track of your finances or your budget? We use YNAB, which stands for You Need a Budget, and it is seriously a game-changer (though the older version, not the new one, it’s still basically the same). It takes all the work out of figuring things out and really helps get you on track for living on last month’s income, which is really the best way to reduce money stress, especially with variable income. If you haven’t already checked them out, go to their website and just take a look around: https://www.youneedabudget.com/
They have a bunch of tutorials and also they have the option to try a free trial for 34 days (so you can do a full month cycle with it).
Jena recently posted…July 2017 Financial Update
I have tried YNAB, albeit several years ago. I liked the idea behind it but was terrible at keeping up with entering our numbers! This year I’ve been using a Meade Organizer and love the simplicity of good old fashioned pen and paper. My biggest challenge remains our variable expenses.
Isn’t great when you have a plan? And better yet, can stick to it? Good job! By the end of the year, I will be at the position where I will have a months worth of bills at the beginning of the month. It just takes time.
Rhitter94 recently posted…On Developing the Ability to Know When to Say YES or NO
Yes, having a plan is an awesome feeling! I hope we can succeed getting a month ahead with our bills as well. It does take time!
I plan and plan and then God laughs and I plan some more.
Lol! At least you keep planning, Kim!
I hate car repairs, always so expensive! It always seems to me that there is such a demand for my little paychecks!
Isn’t that the truth! We really need to have a maintenance fund established. These demands on our money are never ending!
What you are doing is working, so just keep at it! For working with variable income and handling variable expenses, I really like Mary Hunt’s method of budgeting (pen and paper works for her method). Check out the Cheapskate Monthly Money Makeover.
I read one of Mary Hunt’s book years ago. I’ll have to take another look at her material. I primarily use pen and paper (using a Mead Organizher-not a typo!), and it has been working out quite well. Our variable income is one of our biggest challenges.