Income & Spending....the November 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 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

Food Spending....the November 2024 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for November 2024.

I have posted November'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 Octohyhhber.  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).
****************

BROOKSHIRE'S 

OOP  $1.47

Sales  $2.02

Value  $3.49

Savings  57.88%

BROOKSHIRE'S

OOP  $21.40

Sales  $12.23

Value  $33.63

Savings  36.37%

KROGER

OOP  $174.24

Qs/Gift Cards  $207.90

Value $382.14

Savings  54.40%

SUPER 1 FOOD

OOP  $15.86

Value  $19.00

Savings  16.53%

WALMART

OOP  $189.02

Qs/Gift Cards $88.54

Value  $277.56

Savings  31.90%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Brookshire's with a savings of 57.88%.  My worse rate was at Super 1 Food with 16.53%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall though.

I shopped at 5 different stores in NOVEMBER.  

TOTAL Spent in November......$401.99

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$301.58

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$703.57

TOTAL Savings of........41.19%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....Nice job this month.  Spent a lot but got some good deals and lots of savings.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 3.14% in November to 41.19% compared to October's 44.33% savings average.  

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 11 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $5,984.68 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.  Food prices have gotten to the ridiculous level, haven't they?

2024 Yearly Total Value of Items  $12,533.45

2024 Total Saved   $6,146.78

2024 Yearly Total Spent  $6,146.78

2024 Yearly Savings Total of  49.04%

The average per month amount spent is $558.80 in 2024 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 $4,202.65 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 11 month point in 2024 comes in at $1,944.13 or $176.74 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 Alexa, ShopKick or Fetch, which all comes out in gift cards or Amazon credit.

LOOKING AHEAD TO DECEMBER 2024.....

After we went through and organized the freezer, I am trying to eat down freezer/pantry in December  Inflation is still crazy high so spending is more than I'd like it to be.

Gone are the days of a $350 grocery budget.

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 November?

*  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

 

This Week on the Dining Table.....Dec.9th to Dec. 15th

The "Not Feeling Inspired" Edition.........

I just didn't care about  meal planning this past week.  I am trying to come out of my funk.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here is what was planned for last week.....

1. Sunday--nothing

2. Monday--nothing

3. Tuesday--nothing

4. Wednesday--nothing

5. Thursday--nothing

6. Friday--nothing

7. Saturday--nothing

I did not plan a menu last week.  I had the black dog hanging over my head all week.

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--don't remember

2. Monday--don't remember

3. Tuesday--ditto

4. Wednesday--ditto

5. Thursday--ditto

6. Friday--Chicken Strips, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

7. Saturday--Catfish, Teriyaki Green Beans

I didn't keep up with it but we ate.

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

*  a couple of tv dinners

*  Chicken Strips

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  3 tv dinners

                   

Last week we spent $116.25 grocery shopping and only $44.30 the week previous.

Total shopping comes to $401.99 for November.  There are 0 shopping days left in November.

Total shopping comes to $116.25 for December.

There are 22 shopping days left in December.

Rebate monies earned in November.....

I've earned $294.63 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $31.91 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $97.27 on Aisle, etc. in November. 

I've earned $15.58 on TaDa in November.

I've earned 35,652 points on Fetch from food shopping in November.

I've earned 15,074 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.($60.29)

I've earned 20,460 points on My Points in November.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

I've earned 1,412 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.($14.12)

That is $423.81 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa/The Insiders were I earn gift cards)on $401.99 of grocery spending so in reality it's negative $21.82 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending(but I do count any rebates on those items) so it's a win/win--the food bank gets a large donation of goods and I get a lower grocery bill.

My savings percentage for the last week of November was 32.16% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 41.19% spent.

Rebate monies earned in December.....

I've earned $17.71 on Ibotta in December.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in December.

I've earned $0 on Aisle, etc. in December. 

I've earned $0 on TaDa in December.

I've earned 1,785 points on Fetch from food shopping in December.

I've earned 11,901 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in December.($47.60)

I've earned 428 points on My Points in December.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

I've earned 340 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in December.($3.40)

That is $17.71 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa/The Insiders were I earn gift cards)on $116.25 of grocery spending so in reality it's $98.54 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending(but I do count any rebates on those items) so it's a win/win--the food bank gets a large donation of goods and I get a lower grocery bill.

My savings percentage for the last week was 45.49% and the monthly savings total for December comes in at 45.49% spent.

Leftovers going into this week.....not much of anything.  Hubs ate the Turkey day food or put some turkey into the freezer.  I cooked up a package of asparagus & 3 lbs. of green beans I got on Friday.

Here is this week's food plan.....

1. Sunday--Pizza, Salad

2. Monday--Smoke Sausage, Kraut, Baked Beans

3. Tuesday--Pasta and Meatballs, Caesar Salad

4. Wednesday--don't sure, maybe soup with Asparagus in it

5. Thursday--Hamburgers, leftover Green Beans

6. Friday--something from freezer or leftovers

7. Saturday--something from freezer or leftovers

I am just not into cooking this week.  I am burnt out.  We've got a couple of tv dinners we can use if need be.  I've got some bagged salads too and tons of proteins and bagged veggies in the freezer.

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

To-Do List....The Last Five Months 2024

 JULY/AUG./SEPT./OCT./NOV. TO-DO LIST

I am just getting to the last 5 months of To-Do lists.

How I did the last 5 months....

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid on time even though I was in Virginia for half the month in July and when I was incapacitated in Sept.

*  Fly to Virginia  DONE  It was a nerve racking flight but I got there safe and sound(can you guess I don't like flying?)  And Hubs drove up to pick me up in August and bring me home.

*  Have Brain surgery  DONE  Little did I know that the side effects would throw me for a loop and cause a chain reaction of other conditions that went on for another 4 months before I began to feel like myself again.  Would I do it again?  The jury is still out on that.

*  Have YAG Laser Procedure on Right Eye  DONE  I had that procedure done before I left for Virginia.  I have no plans to go back to that eye doctor other than a yearly diabetic eye test.

*  Have New Skirting put on House  DONE  The workmen finally had a slot open up to do this in July, again before I left for Virginia.

Before shot the naked house after they removed the old broken skirting.

After shot with new skirting on the other side of the front of the house.
There were matching rose bushes in the front, one of each end of the house.  Problem was the rose bush growing on the side of the porch where the stairs were was rooted 
BEHIND the old skirting, and growing from under the house.  So Hubs had to cut down and dig that bushes stump out.  Who plants a rose bush under their house??lolz

*  Have Interior Work Done on House  FAIL  Other than the kitchen counter tops and molding work we haven't had time or energy to tackle some little jobs inside the house.  It's mostly painting and some molding repair work which we'll job out to local handyman operations

*  Hem Pants  FAIL  I haven't done any sewing since the surgery.  I bought some new pants while in Virginia but I either haven't hemmed them or one kind doesn't need hemming.

*  Move  PASS  We have decided where we are moving to, have gotten a realtor to sell this place and are working on our timeline.  I no longer will have to live 7 miles from a daughter who wants nothing to do with her loving parents after she asked us to move down here at her behest even though we had misgivings about living here.  Children can be heartless.  We have been nothing but supportive to this child her entire life and gave her a large amount of money to buy a house and this is how she pays us back, by turning her back on us?  I can't wait to get out of this place!

*  Contact Lawyer about Will Changes  FAIL  Just didn't have enough time to do this before I left for Virginia.  Since returning and after my hospitalization and rehab we have met with the lawyer in November and he is having papers drawn up with the changes we asked for which we'll sign this week.

*  Read/Finish One Book  DONE  I finished "Varina" by Charles Frazier.  He also wrote "Cold Mountain" which was made into a film of that name.

*  Buy Stuff for House(Always)  Done  I guess all the various bits and pieces Hubs buys at the Big Box Home Improvement Stores, plus the new Skirting and Rails goes under this item.

*  Start PT for Back  Done  My PT was interrupted by a hospitalization and the rehab clinic, then wound care for a place on my calf(if you have Home Health you can't do outpatient PT until that's over with).  I did finally had the PT, for my back plus my hip and thigh, but more than that, my Radiofrequency Ablation(RFA)did more good for my back/hip/thigh than PT.  I still do home exercises though.

*   Take Items to Food Bank  DONE

This was the July donation before I left town.  I found cans of baby formula in the  Kroger clearance area that were long dated so picked those up.

When I was finally released from the rehab hospital I was able to gather all this to take in for September.

Here is the October donation.  It was a good month.

So good it took me three photos to get it all in.

The next  two photos were a donation earlier in November.

And here is the donation we made in late November.  This will be the last of the year.  I think I did right by this food bank.

*  Start New Food Bank Donation Box   DONE  As noted above as we took a donation in we started filling up the Rubbermaid tubs with more stuff for the food bank.  Since I( won't be sending anything to the food bank until 2025 now, presently I am only gathering items with long shelf life/use by dates.

*  Edit More Photos  DONE  While I fell behind this Summer/Fall on the photo editing I have been working at this as time permits.  I still have quite the backlog of photos though to edit.

*  Post About Old Trips  FAIL  I haven't had the time or energy to post trips.  I have trips going back to 2021 to still talk about.  Because of the medical fall out from side effects from that Focused Ultrasound Procedure we missed a planned cruise in September.  That was a big disappointment but I'm getting used to disappoint at this point in my life.  Luckily we bought the trip insurance so we got most of our money back.  Taking trips are my happy place so I really need to get back into posting about that and getting healthy enough to enjoy more adventures. 8-)

*  Work on Genealogy  PASS  I've done some genealogical work.  Mostly for cousins and folks who contacted me on Find A Grave and Ancestry needing source material or questions answered.

*  Edit Fabric Photos for Listings  PASS  Well I got about 2 dozen lengths of fabric photographed, measured and weighed and 8 of them listed with no action.  I really need to put this sort of item on Etsy but they require you to pay for a store on there and with what we have going on and now our trip to Virginia for Christmas that just doesn't make financial sense until January.  So I'll spend more time photographing,  measuring and weighing more fabrics so I can hit the ground running in Januay.

As you can see, this year has been a real hodge podge of a little bit of good and a lot more bad.  I hope 2025 is a lot nicer to us! 8-)))

Sluggyu

Frugal Friday....the Dec. 6th Edition

Here are our frugal wins for this past week......

*  I used some Paypal monies to pay for a Kohl's pick-up order.  The Paypal monies used were earned doing a grocery survey.

*  Kohl's sent me a $5 coupon to get me into the store to spend money.  The Kohl's store here is small and never has anything I want/need.

So when we went in there to pick-up an online order I saw this dark chocolate bar for $4.99 so got it for free with that $5 in scrip. 8-)

*  I hit my $5 Weekend Warrior Bonuses on Ibotta and I used a free $20 gift card at Walmart to purchase items we needed to get to my Bonus target.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We ate everything or put it into the freezer.

*  I joined FlavorWiki this week.  It's sort of like The Insiders where you buy and test products then give your feedback.  Then they reimburse your purchase plus some extra cash for your time and effort.   It's sort of a pain though so I might not be doing it for long.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv or playing with the dogs.

*  I found money!  

We were in a Walmart in the next town over and I kept finding pennies throughout the store.

In our local Walmart the next day, I found two pennies near the change machine and then another penny outside in the parking lot.

The next day when we went to Kohl's to pick up my order and spend that $5 scrip they sent me I found a dime on the sidewalk as we left the store.

Total Found last week..... .18¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.54 & 5.30 Euros  I may hit $10 found before the year is out at this point.

That's all I got.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

Decisions, Decisions

I am still mulling over what to do with the blog.

FYI-one can not block a commenter on a blog like is possible on other platforms.  The only safeguard is to moderate comments but then, the blog owner has to see horrible and/or unsuitable comments before sending them to the spam folder.  And that's not something I want to see any longer.  It's bad for one's mental health.

I could make the blog private, by invitation only.  In that way only invited persons can see the blog and possibly comment on it.

I prefer to be transparent so this choice rubs me the wrong way, but if push comes to shove I may need to go that route.

My only other choice is to move the blog to another platform(which I don't want to do as I feel we have a supportive little online community here-let me know if I'm wrong on that score)or shut it down.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?  Is my content still relevant to anyone?  I know my heart hasn't been in this venture much since relocating to this state and all the turmoil we've suffered since the move and being basically physically alone and far from any family or friends who care about us.  

I am hoping I'll find my MoJo and enjoy doing this again at some point....mostly probably after we resettle in another area not so foreign and hostile with too many bad memories tied to it.

I've had this blog since January 2009(and another blog briefly before that).  I must say it's a hard habit to give up.

Sluggy