Meal Plan Monday......the October 13th Edition

The last flowering plant out front before we got frost.  Bonus points, it's purple!

Onward to the meal planning!  Here is what was planned for the last week.....

Here is what was planned for the this week.....

1. Sunday--Chicken Marsala, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--Pork Tenderloin, Yellow Squash

3. Tuesday--Sausages, Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Pork Stir Fry w/Veggies

5. Thursday--leftover Chicken Marsala, Caesar 

6. Friday--Schnitzel, leftover Cabbage

7. Saturday--Hawaiian Chicken, Veggie TBD

And here's what happened....

1. Sunday--Chicken Marsala, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--Pork Tenderloin, Yellow Squash

3. Tuesday--Sausages, Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Pork Stir Fry w/Veggies

5. Thursday--leftover Chicken Marsala, Green Beans

6. Friday--Schnitzel, leftover Cabbage and Squash

7. Saturday--Hawaiian Chicken, Baked Sweet Potatoes

We shopped at Walmart.

What got taken out of the freezer.......

*  Sausages

*  Chicken Breast

*  Pork Tenderloin

*  Stir-Fry Veggies

*  Schnitzel

The last week we spent a whopping $99.25 and the savings for the month of October is $174.52 and the savings rate is 63.75% before rebate monies are added in.

 

Rebates earned in October--

$183.35 on Ibotta(I cashed out $100 on Ibotta)

$5.60 on Checkout51

$5.00 on Aisle and Misc.

$193.95 total in $$

Total spent after rebates is -$94.70

for October. 

 6,841 Pts. on Fetch 

1,724 Pts. on Swag Bucks

0 Pts. on MyPoints

1,900 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

(I don't count these until I cash out for a gift card or cash.)

Before AND after rebates we had a slightly low spend month for groceries, so far, at least for us.

Leftovers going into next week....stir-fry pork and veggies, romaine lettuce.

Here is what is planned for the this week.....

1. Sunday--Salmon, leftover Green Beans

2. Monday--Caesar Salad w/Chicken

3. Tuesday--?

4. Wednesday--Hospital

5. Thursday--? (Protein shakes for me)

6. Friday--"   "

7. Saturday--"   "

This is a weird food week for us, a lot of fend for yourself as I am on a liquid diet for part of the week.

This will be my last post for awhile as I am having surgery on Wednesday.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week.

Sluggy   

Frugal Friday....the October 10th Edition

 Not too much frugal going on here.

*  When to the last Physical Therapy appointment this week.

*  I sold 3 items on eBay last week.  Go me! 8-)))

*  I earned 1,900 Shop Kicks.

*  I earned $66.00 on Ibotta.

*  Ibotta is having something called a "Daily Cash Drop".  If you buy Cocoa-Cola products you are put into a pool to win a cash prize.  I won $10 this week, credited to my account.

*  I earned 4,841 points on Fetch.

*  We got a storage unit and are moving more things into it in prep for when we move back to the area we had our house in.  While not frugal now it will be when it comes time to move.

*  I used Walmart gift cards earned on Ibotta to pay for a trip to Walmart on 10/07/25, causing me $3.65 in actual spending instead of over $100. 8-))

*  I found money!  Finally found a coin.  And it's a good one.

Found Money The Past Week.....25¢

Grand Total Found in 2025....$6.84

That's all I got.

What frugal things did you do this past week?

Sluggy

Income & Spending....the September Edition

 

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 September report--

I have 2 goals for September.....

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 2025.

*  I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones.

I have to report that we finished up September in the Black.

The amount extra we ended the month of September with?....$1,799.70

Income or Fund in September We Can Access

The "income" in September---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $4,104.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,022.58

*  Stock Dividend of $20.79

*  eBay Profit of $1,163.88

Total "Income" for September....$8,456.96

*  Irregular bills in September were $2,847.30

*  Variable expenses in September came to $3,139.25

*  Medical Premiums in August were $670.71

Total Expenses....$6,657.26

$8,456.96-$6,657.26=$1,799.70

Slush Fund coming into September of $81,984.50 and the addition of $1,799.70 in September, the end of September 2025 Slush Fund comes to $83,784.49

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $1,799.70

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this September, here are the good and bad side of things.....

Here are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM was the same as last month.

*  There was no Mastercard bill in September.

*  The electric bill was $2.13 less than last month.

*  Hubs Aviator card was $997.71 less than in August.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $26.28 more than last month.

*  My Aviator card was $350.12 more than in August.

*  The gas bill was $2.62 more than last month.

*  The gas c/c was $40.98 more than in August.

*  We had Long Term Care premiums due last month.

*  I had $57.10 due in co-pays in September.

*  Hubs had a $157.55 doctor bill due in September.

*  We now have a storage bill of $74.20 each month until we move.

The Food Budget costs for September 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 September--We had LTC premiums. and some dr. co-pays. Plus that storage bill now each month until we move out of here.  These one-offs(and the storage bill)are ugly but we'll survive. ;-)

Looking ahead to October--I've got TKR surgery on the horizon.  That's what I'm focused on for now. 8-/

So how was your September financially?

Did you spend less than the income you had in September?

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

Meal Plan Monday.....the October 6th Edition

 

Guess where I am in this photo?  The hat, gloves and coat should give it away as it was June.

Onward to the meal planning!  Here is what was planned for the last week.....

Here is what was planned for the this week.....

1. Sunday--leftover Cheddar Broccoli Soup

2. Monday--Roast Beef and Provolone Subs

3. Tuesday--Chicken w/Artichoke filling, Caesar Salad

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin w/Stir-Fry

5. Thursday--Schnitzel(guess who went to Aldi?lol)Green Beans or Cabbage

6. Friday--Leftover Pork Tenderloin, Yellow Squash

7. Saturday--maybe Chicken Marsala for company

And here's what happened....

1. Sunday--leftover Cheddar Broccoli Soup

2. Monday--Roast Beef and Provolone Subs

3. Tuesday--Chicken w/Artichoke filling, Caesar Salad

4. Wednesday--Leftover Cheddar Broccoli Soup

5. Thursday--Green Beans & ?

6. Friday--Chik fil a

7. Saturday--Fend for yourself(I had more green beans and 2 slices of turkey lunchmeat)

We shopped at Aldi and Redner's.  Never did get around to Shoprite for Broccoli and Salmon loss leaders. 8-(

What got taken out of the freezer.......

*  Chicken w/Artichoke filling

The last week we spent a whopping $166.80 and the savings for the month of September is $235.24 and the savings rate is 30.20% before rebate monies are added in.

 

Rebates earned in September--

$144.31 on Ibotta

$2.80 on Checkout51

$23.86 on Aisle and Misc.

$170.97 total in $$

Total spent after rebates is $372.76

for September. 

5,134 Pts. on Fetch 

1,706 Pts. on Swag Bucks

880 Pts. on MyPoints

6,129 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

(I don't count these until I cash out for a gift card or cash.)

Before AND after rebates we had a slightly low spend month for groceries, so far, at least for us.

Leftovers going into next week... cuke, romaine, tomatoes and a whole lot of nothing. lol

Here is what is planned for the this week.....

1. Sunday--Chicken Marsala, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--Pork Tenderloin, Yellow Squash

3. Tuesday--Sausages, Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Pork Stir Fry w/Veggies

5. Thursday--leftover Chicken Marsala, Caesar Salad

6. Friday--Schnitzel, leftover Cabbage

7. Saturday--Hawaiian Chicken, Veg TBD

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week.

Sluggy   

Food Spending....the September Edition

Onward to September's Food Spending Report....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for September 2025.

I have posted September's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located  and have updated the Totals there. 
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in September.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
***************

ALDI

OOP  $50.2

Value $74.76

Savings  24.74%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $38.80

Value  $69.25

Savings  43.97%

REDNER'S

OOP  $83.68

Value  $103.49

Savings  41.00%

SCHIFF'S

OOP $70.73

Value  $89.68

Savings  19.15%

SHOPRITE

OOP  $35.39

Value $48.50

Savings  27.04%

WALMART

OOP  $178.90

Value  $276.94

Savings  35.40%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Dollar General with a savings of 43.97% and at Redner's with a savings rate of 41.00%. Not a bad savings rate average overall though.

I shopped at 6 different stores in SEPTEMBER.

TOTAL Spent in September....$543.73

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$235.24

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$778.97

TOTAL Savings of........30.20%

This closes out the September food/toiletries/etc. spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

The Monthly food spending savings percentage was 30.20% . No where near my 40% average which I prefer but there were reasons(mostly specialty products to make Keto compliant items).

Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people-because I don't have to). I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 9 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $3,765.69 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2025.

2025 Yearly Total Value of Items  $5,403.09

2025 Total Saved   $1,637.40

2025 Yearly Total Spent  $3,765.69

2025 Yearly Savings Total of  30.30%

The average per month amount spent is $418.41 in 2025 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Shopmium, TaDa, Checkout 51, Swag Bucks, My Points and other miscellaneous rebates-Aisle, Tremendous, Sampoll  etc. and have it sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  I don't add in all the cashed out savings until the end of the year,

The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger Cash Back), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gave me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that and it's defunct now so I won't worry about that bit.

Because I don't like to let money sit in these rebate accounts and Paypal, I send $$ to my bank account throughout the year.  So far I have sent $798.61 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank(and used some of my Ibotta $$ to buy gift cards so $ is going back into the food purchases).  If you add in all that my food spending at the 9 month point in 2025 comes in at $2,967.08 or $329.68 per month.

Besides all I sent to my bank account I have more $ sitting in these various rebating programs as well as in Paypal.  This is not counting ShopKick or Fetch, which all comes out in gift cards.

LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER 2025....

It's difficult right now with my health issues to go to the store so I am having to rely on Hubs to do much of the shopping,  Plus we don't have room to stock up much.  Sigh  What's a frugalista to do?? ;-)

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in September?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just keep your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons versus buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

*  Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?

Sluggy