Last month I told you that we were going to be a little tight during the month of May because we were kicking up our contributions to our HSA. We have a lot of medical bills comingin and we need the money in the HSA to pay them.
As it turns out, because HSA contributions are pre-tax, our $600 contribution translated only to $400 cut on my husband’s paycheck. Since I also froze our contributions to cash savings last month, we were only “short” $300 every paycheck. Thanks to our stockpile and general cut back on shopping, our grocery spending was $200 for the month. I spent $40 at Walgreens and CVS so we will call that toiletries. I know it seems a bit high but it includes medicine we needed and bought at Walgreens and a lot of household items at both stores. Eating out was only $150 for the month. I am amazed, these are amazing numbers for us.
It was a good thing we were able to cut back on household spending because we made two big purchases during the month of May. The first one was the laptop I am using to write this entry. The second was my husband’s early Father’s day present of golf clubs. They were both paid with a credit card that has since been paid off. The month of May came with challenges that we were able to manage. It was a mixed month of cutting back spending while indulging on a couple of big purchases.
What is ahead?
- We have decided to keep our increased contribution to the HSA account for one more paycheck. Our contribution to cash saving restarts this month, so this time we will be short $400.
- Rework budget: I feel there is a lot of room for savings in our budget but I have abandoned it for the last 8 weeks so I haven’t had a chance to maximize this opportunity.
- We are going on vacation at the end of the month, we already have the money we will be spending, so keeping within that amount is key.
That’s my May financial update. Not too bad not not stellar either.
