Frugal Friday....the Dec. 27th edition on Saturday Night

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

*  I love going to Kroger here as they usually have marked down salad kits and a small container of tuna salad.  I got 3 this week in Virginia but not too many to use up before we left town.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We ate everything in the fridge or put it into the freezer before we left.

* Did 3 Flavorwiki taste testings and earned $4.28 over and above the cost of the items.  Plus we got to keep the items.

*  Traveling is not frugal, but I used hotel points for free or cheaper lodging, then stayed with family in Virginia.

*  We bought gas at Kroger, using my points.

*  We used gift cards when we had to dine out when traveling.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv or socializing with family.

*  I found money!  

We stopped at the Bu-cee's in South Carolina on our trip to Virginia and found a dime on the floor.

On the 26th we made a pilgrimage to Trader Joe's and found a penny in the back seat of the car.

Inside Trader Joe's I found a dime under one of the checkout counters.

Then my sister in-law found another penny while doing laundry.

Total Found last week..... .22¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.94 & 5.30 Euros  I may hit $10 found before the year is out at this point. 6 more cents to go!

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy

Merry Christmas to All!

 

Here's my Buc-ee's ornament on my Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  He never made it onto our small tree last year so he made his debut this year.

While everyone has a wonderful Christmas Holiday with what and whomever fills you with joy please at least say a prayer or keep in mind the folks in Western North Carolina who are still suffering from the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene that hit their area back in October.  I personally know that area and how cold those mountains get in the Winter and most of the people who live there are suffering greatly and will continue to go through a traumatic time as the season progresses.

If I lived closer I'd be taking all these toiletries and foodstuffs I get for cheap or free to them instead of the food bank here in Louisiana.

Nick Johnson, a youtuber who has documented this disaster and the government's lack of help, has two videos out recently.

Maybe think about donating to some organization or person on these videos inside of buying another Christmas present for a family member.  I'll be donating.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday...the Dec.20th Edition

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

*  I love going to Kroger here as they usually have marked down salad kits.  I got a couple this week but not too many to use up before we leave town.

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

* Did 3 Flavorwiki taste testings and earned $13.53 over and above the cost of the items.

*  I sold some gift sets this week locally on FB.  These are gifts I no longer need for people no longer in my life.  I plan to sell as much as I can before we move.  I have toiletries to unload after Christmas.  The less we have to cart out of here the better. 8-)  

$62 made so far.

Anything we can't sell I'll donate to the food bank.

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

*  I found money!  

I went to Walmart and Dollar General on the 14th and  thought I had found 2 pennies and the former and 1 penny at the latter.  But once I got home and went to clean them I saw that all three had another penny stuck to them! lol  So I ended up with 6 cents total.

Then I found myself back at DG on Tuesday.  There was a dime in the parking lot behind my car and when I went back out to my car I noticed a penny next to my car.

Total Found last week..... .17¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.72 & 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   

Don't Go Into Debt and More Christmas Songs!

Here's a SNL skit from years ago.  It is pertinent this time of year....

I am reminded of this skit because there is a credit union here that is pushing a product--a Holiday Loan.  It's a personal loan of $1,000 to buy holiday joy.  The terms are 12 monthly payments to repay this with a 12% interest rate.  Wow, not a good deal!

If you have kids and don't have money for Santa gifts then find a local organization like Toys for Tots or a Salvation Giving Tree to get them a gift for Christmas.  Then find a local food bank to get the fixings for a Christmas meal.  Nobody needs to know you got things from charities if you need to use them and you can have a good Christmas without going into debt!!

You don't need to go into debt for Christmas.  Gifts can be handmade, if you have a crafting or baking skill, you don't have to buy buy, buy!  Our economy will survive without you spending money you don't have on things you don't need. 8-)

Here's another campy Holiday song I have to listen to every Christmas.  Especially living down here in the swamp, it's timely.

Sluggy

Christmas Time is Near!

 Let's get into the Holiday Spirit, shall we?

This video and song have become a favorite tradition here on the blog.

Enjoy! 

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table....Dec. 16th to Dec.. 22nd

The "Misnamed Squash" Edition.........

I actually laid eyes on what they call Calabaza Squash while in Texas last week.  Like I explained in a previous post, Calabaza is a type if pumpkin, Calabacitas is a lighter skinned Mexican Zucchini.  You would think a huge corporation like Kroger would known the difference and get it right.  But then again....8-))

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Pizza, Salad

2. Monday--Smoke Sausage, Kraut, Zero Sugar 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

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Pizza, Salad

2. Monday--Smoke Sausage, Kraut, Baked Beans, Sweet Potato Fries

3. Tuesday--Pasta and Meatballs, Caesar Salad

4. Wednesday--homemade soup w/Turkey and Asparagus for Hubs, I didn't eat-still full from Texas Brisket out for lunch

5. Thursday--TV Dinners, leftover Green Beans

6. Friday--Don't remember it was that good ;-)

7. Saturday--I had leftover Sweet Potato Fries

Plus we had lots of leftover Green Beans last week to eat through with more to eat this week(that's what happens when you buy/cook 3 lbs. of them). 8-))

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

*  Pizza

*  Smoke Sausage

*  Meatballs

*  2 TV Dinners

*  2 Chicken Biscuits(breakfast)

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

*  Nothing  

                   

Last week we spent $88.99 grocery shopping.

There are 15 shopping days left in December.

Rebate monies earned in December.....

I've earned $128.10 on Ibotta in December.

I've earned $7.50 on Checkout51 in December.

I've earned $15.50 on Aisle, etc. in December. 

I've earned $0 on TaDa in December.

I've earned 1,960 points on Fetch from food shopping in December.

I've earned 17,925 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in December.($71.70)

I've earned 865 points on My Points in December.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

I've earned 1,883 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in December.($18.83)

That is $151.10 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa were I earn gift cards or send $$ to my Paypal account and cuont it at the end of the year)on $205.24 of grocery spending so in reality it's $54.14 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 64.17% and the monthly savings total for December comes in at 55.54% spent.

Leftovers going into next week.....Brussels Sprouts, Spinach, Chicken Salad, more Green Beans.

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

1. Sunday--Cod, Squash and Onions

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers(bun optional), Leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Whatever needs using up(soup, squash, green beans, etc.)

4. Wednesday--Whatever else needs using up

5. Thursday--?

6. Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

Nothing even approaching a gourmet meals this week.  Just using up bits and bobs in the fridge that will go bad before we return with some fill-ins from 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 

Takes a Slime Bag to Know a Slime Bag

 Go read my post HERE from 2009.

When I heard that among the 1,500 people President Biden granted clemency to it just made my blood boil that these two despicable judges were among that number that were released from their sentences.  I know for a fact that one of these corrupt judges never admitted they did anything wrong and has ruined many a young person's life.  One young person he sentenced ended up committing suicide!  Where is his justice?

My older two kids were in the same grade and school with a few of these young victims.
It figures that someone who pardons his own son of offences he has been convicted off would let these slimey corrupt judges go free too!

I am so done with NON COMPOS MENTIS Joe Biden.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the Dec. 13th Edition

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

*  I love going to Kroger here as they usually have marked down salad kits.  These were between $1 something and just north of $2 each.  Remember that chopped salads are mostly cabbage not lettuce so they last a lot longer than lettuce ones.  I don't think I've ever bought a reduced price salad kit that went bad before we ate it.

I love the Dole Hummus Crunch ones especially.

*  We went out to lunch on Thursday to Texas.

They have the best sliced Brisket and the prices aren't bad either.

*  While in Texas we hit Kroger and I scored some marked down yogurt.........

I got 10 marked down yogurts please had a digital coupon for $2 off 10 cups.  Nice.

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

*   I put my Pfaltzgraf Christmas Dishes up on Facebook to sell locally.

I really don't need a service for 8 plus accessory pieces anymore.  Even though nobody wants fine china anymore, Holiday themed sets are still valuable.  If I don't sell it here, because this area is so poor, we'll take it with us to an area with people of more means.

My son is going to take the fine china that my grandmother bought me after I was born. 8-)

*   I found a great deal at Aldi last Friday.

They had 1lb. bags of fresh green beans for .49¢  per bag!

So I bought 3 bags and we've been eating a LOT of green beans this past week. lol

* I went to Kroger on Saturday for their $6 Candle Sale.

I love a good candle so I bought all of these for me!  The Gingerbread Cookie ones smell especially nice. ;-)

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

*  It was time again to buy 2 Rock Star energy drinks.

I got them at Kroger on sale for $2 each and received $5.50 back($5 from Rock Star and another .50¢ from Ibotta), making these a $1.50 moneymaker.

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

*  Just a tale of caution, especially at this time of year.  If you use credit cards be sure to check your charges if not daily, at least weekly.  I do this and I am glad I do because I found a charge on one card for a Bulking Solution supposedly bought online that I did not purchase and on another card there was a charge for puppy socializing classes x 3 and another charge by the same person for a Feline Cafe Lounge experience, both were in Maryland.  A call to the credit card company and those charges were reported as fraudulent and the account was shut down and a new card is in route.  Scammers try to use your card at the Holidays, thinking since you are buying lots of stuff/gifts, hoping you won't notice and they will get away with their fraud.

*  I found money!  

I found a single penny last Friday at Aldi.

Total Found last week..... .01¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.55 & 5.30 Euros  I may hit $10 found before the year is out at this point if I can find .45¢ before the month is out.

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy   

WTF?

 Ya got to love Sen. Kennedy.....

Sluggy

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