Food Spending.....the April Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for April 2025.

I have posted April'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 April.  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).
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KROGER

OOP  $48.86

Qs/Gift Cards  $42.64

Value $91.50

Savings  46.60%

WALMART

OOP  $45.74

Qs/Gift Cards $42.71

Value  $88.46

Savings  48.29%

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My best Store Savings Total was at Walmart  with a savings of 48.29% with a similar amount of the grocery dollars were spent at Kroger with a savings rate of 46.60%. Not a bad savings rate average overall though and we spent less than $100 for the month.

I shopped at 2 different stores in APRIL.  

TOTAL Spent in April....$95.60

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$84.33

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$179.93

TOTAL Savings of........46.87%

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

pril

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....A

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 2.79% in April  to 46.87% compared to March's 49.66% savings average.  Still over 40% savings so I am good with that.

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 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,156.03 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2025.

2025 Yearly Total Value of Items  $2,110.98

2025 Total Saved   $954.95

2025 Yearly Total Spent  $1,156.03

2025 Yearly Savings Total of  45.24%

The average per month amount spent is $289.01 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 $652.30 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 4 month point in 2025 comes in at $503.73 or $125.94 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 MAY 2025....

As we are moving to a new area it will take me some time to get back into my frugal, money saving groove.  There are multiple grocery store and I need to find the best(lowest priced)one for our needs.

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 April?

*  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

  

Income & Spending....the December 2024 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 December report--

I have 2 goals for December.....

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 December in the red.

The amount extra we ended the month of December with?....-$11,710.75

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,469.90

* Medical refund check  $20.00

* Stock Dividend  $29.79  

*Rebating Cash   $548.50

Total "Income" for December....$8,427.00

Expenses in December---

*  Irregular bills in December were $643.81

*  Variable expenses in December came to $10,354.51

*  Medical Premiums in December were $707.43

Total Expenses....$11,705.75

$8,427.00-11,705.75=-$3,278.75.

Slush Fund coming into December of $85,919.50 and the subtraction of $11,705.75 in December, our end of December 2024 Slush Fund comes to $74,213.75. 

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows a subtraction of $11,705.75.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this December, 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 December.
*  Mastercard bill was $210.86 lower
*  My Amazon bill was $37.81 less than in December.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $98.48 higher than the previous month.
*  Hubs aviator c/c was $14,698.32 higher in December.
*  My aviator c/c was $605.46 than the previous month,

And we had some one off bills in December--

Insurance Co-Pay x 3 $60.00
Kohl's  $14.84
Lowes  $21.83
Dr. OV  $20.00
Ortho Dr.  $40.00
Attorney Fees  $250.00
Wound Care Co-Pays  $37.14
Xmas Gift  $200.00

The Food Budget costs for December 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 December 2024---We paid for the new to us car(it's a 2023), but the Long Term care insurance Premiums didn't arrive so those get moved to January.  We traveled to see family but we saved where we could(used gift cards for most meals out, used gas points at Kroger, used c/c points toward hotel rooms, etc.)

GOING FORWARD INTO January 2025--I don't know what the new year will bring.  No big new car purchases I know that! lol  We will have a 401K withdrawal in January which will give us a cushion.

Here's hoping 2025 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your December financially?

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

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

Income & Spending....the October 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 lto 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 October report--

I have 2 goals for October.....

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 October in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of October with?....$11,826.72

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,446.90

*  Quarterly 401K Withdrawal of $6,215.06

*  Refund from Insurance of $2,900(I'll count what the cruise company refunded when it arrives)

Total "Income" for October....$16,983.25

Expenses in October---

*  Irregular bills in October were $1,957.87

*  Variable expenses in October came to $2,491.23

*  Medical Premiums in October were $707.43

Total Expenses....$5,156.53

$16,983.25-$5,156.53=$11,826.72.

Slush Fund coming into October of $71,441.92 and the addition of $11,826.72 in October, our end of October 2024 Slush Fund comes to $83,268.64.

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $11,826.72

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this October, 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 September.
*  The electric bill was $61.52 lower than the previous month
*  The Joint Mastercard was $64.24 less than in September.
*  Hubs Aviator card was $780.06 less than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The cellphone bill was .04¢ higher than in September.
*  The My Amazon card was $19.04 higher than last month.
*  Hubs Amazon card was $120.08 higher than in September.
*  My Aviator card was $4.99 higher than last month.
*  We had House Insurance due to the tune of $1,260.23.
*  We had a Vet Bill due in the amount of $355.00.
*  We paid a Doctor copay out of the regular account for $20.00.

The Food Budget costs for October are in another post HERE  Food costs are included in the credit card payments(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS for October 2024---Financially it was an exceptionally good month.  The 401K quarterly withdrawal and getting most of our money back that we paid on that cruise we couldn't take(I'll count the last bit when it hits the bank account.).  We did take a $22K+ hit with having to buy a car but we knew that inevitable as Hubs car was on it's last legs and that gets accounted for in November.

GOING FORWARD INTO November 2024--Bills will be coming in for the car and some c/c bills and we won't have a 401K withdrawal to balance that out.  Hopefully we'll receive the rest of the cruise  refund this month. We will mostly likely run a deficit in November but that's ok.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your October 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

Income & Spending.....the June 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 June report--

I have 2 goals for June.....

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 June in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of June with?....$2,579.89

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in June---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,078.07

*  Savings Bonds Cash out & NCL Refund of $635.23

*  Stock Dividend of $19.95

Total "Income" for June....$8,092.06

Expenses in June---

*  Irregular bills in June were $3,570.72

*  Variable expenses in June came to $1,234.02

*  Medical Premiums in June were $707.43

Total Expenses....$5,512.17

$8,092.06-$5,512.17=$2,579.89

Slush Fund coming into June of $62,687.88 and the addition of $2,579.89 in June, our end of June 2024 Slush fund comes to $65,267.77

The Slush Fund, on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog), shows an addition of $2,579.89.

Outgo

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

Here are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cellphone bill was $173.86 less than in May.(Remember we were in Europe last month so cell usage was higher there.)
*  The WAM was the same as the previous month.
*  My Amazon card was $69.46 less than in May.
*  The Joint Mastercard was $32.64 less than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Water bill was $1.25 more than May.
*  The electric bill was $71.09 more than the previous month(hello, 90F and 100F days).
*  Hubs Amazon bill was $38.13 more than in May.
*  The Aviator M/C bill was $595.64 more than the previous month(most probably charges from the cruise ports and my car work).
*  We had 3 irregular bills in June--
  *  The BOA c/c was $250.(It's our deposit for the Alaska cruise.)
  *  We had to buy house skirting to replace what this manufactured home came with.  $2,177.55 and that's just the materials, not the labor. ugh
  *  The Quarterly Long Term Care Premiums came to $1,143.17  ouch

The Food Budget costs for June are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payments(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS for June 2024---We stayed within our means for the month.  Even with three irregular bills(one small/two LARGE!)we came out ahead.  Two large irregular bills added up to $3,320.72.  blech  WE had to have 1 tire sensor replaced on my car which is on one of the credit cards.  Overall it was a good money month.

GOING FORWARD INTO JULY 2024--

We have a big irregular bill due, the payment for the cruise.  And Hubs may have the dogs groomed while I am in Virginia which comes to about $120.  And the handyman may be installing the new  house skirting.

Luckily we have a Quarterly 401K withdrawal hitting our bank account in July and that will cover the cost of the cruise, the skirting andmaybe a bit more. rah.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your June financially?

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

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 May 2024 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for May 2024.

I have posted May's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there. 
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in May.  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).
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ALDI

OOP  $41.74

Sales  $23.64

Value  $65.38

Savings  36.16%

CVS

OOP  $.98

Sales/Free CVS Script  $13.00

Value  $13.98

Savings  92.99%

KROGER

OOP  $388.87

Qs/Gift Cards $702.55

Value $1,091.42

Savings  64.37%

WALMART

OOP  $84.85

Qs/Gift Cards $46.12

Value  $130.97

Savings  35.21%

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My best Store Savings Total was at CVS with a savings of 92.99%.  My worse rate was at Walmart with 35.21%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall.

I shopped at 4 different stores in MAY(if you can call what I did at CVS shopping lol).

TOTAL Spent in May......$516.44

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$785.31

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,301.75

TOTAL Savings of........60.33%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

Well so much for my Grand Plan to NOT Grocery shop in May. lolol  Sluggy plans and the shopping gods laugh, right?  I did do well with my clearance finds and deals however in May.  I got a lot of meat/seafood and fresh produce clearance deals in May.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP! by 15.11% in May to 60.33% compared to April's 45.22% savings average.  A substantial increase in savings rate and well over 40% which is what I like to see. 8-)

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 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $3,282.38 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.  Food prices have gotten to the ridiculous level, haven't they?

Let's Go Brandon!!!

2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$3,282.38

2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$6,658.25

2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$3,375.87

2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................50.70%

The average per month amount spent is $656.48 in 2024 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

Just a rough off-hand calculation of all the rebates I've gotten for the year is $1,876.40.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Shopmium, TaDa, Checkout 51 and other miscellaneous rebates 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.  The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gives 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.

LOOKING AHEAD TO JUNE 2024.....The deals seem to be slowing down so I'll try to concentrate on using up what's in the freezer.  If Kroger ever fixes my KCB account that will free up some script that should be in there to pay for about $70 worth of groceries.  It's ridiculous that a major food corporation won't fix an obviously broken system and hold it's customers funds due them as hostage.  If this keeps up, I'll be carting lots of items back to them(may need a truck)since I have every receipt from when I bought this stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to shoot for $400 as a budget this month.  Can't grow anything here to supplement the food budget, except wasps, weeds, and mudbugs so it's pointless to try to garden...the ground goes from too wet and boggy to everything planted dies in the extreme heat and turns into crispy vegetation.

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 May?

*  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

Income & Spending for June 2023

**Thanks to whomever pointed out my income numbers were incorrect.  The annuity should be higher before I deduct for the Health Insurance Premium and Hubs Dental coverage(which both come out of the annuity payment).  Math is hard when you have a neurological issue and can hardly write/type, which at the moment I am struggling with.

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals 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.

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 June report---

I had 2 goals for June....
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 fun may be to apply 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 2023.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up June in the red.

The amount extra we ended the month of June with?...-$5,379.98

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in June---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3879.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $610.21

*  Stock Dividend of $19.11

*  Exchange of Currency $67.10

Total "Income" for June....$7,811.23

Expenses in June---
* Irregular bills in June were $10,032.68

* Variable Expenses in June came to $2,081.45

* Health insurance premiums totaling $1,077.08*

Total Expenses....$13,191.21

$7,811.23-$13,191.21=-$5,379.98

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare I include his dental coverage  in the HI Premium for me and his Medicare supplement comes out of our checking account.

Slush into May of $66,927.64 in that Fund, add the deficit  of $5,370.98 in June and we get $61,547.79 going into June's 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $7,249.21.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance Premium and internet were the same as last month.

* My Amazon c/c bill went down $441.13 in May.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $595.50 lower than last month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill went down $350.56 in June,

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  Electric bill went up $35.91 from last month.

*  My Amazon c/c bill was$342.99 higher in June.

*  We had a Lowe's c/c bill of $101.28

*  We had irregular bills due in June too--

  *   2 Long Term Care Premiums totaling $784.55

  *  We paid cash for a car port and installation at $1,975.99   

  *  A small bill of $89.20 for needed clothing.

  *  Both dogs had shots for $130.00

  *  We paid $7,853.68 to Ex-College Man so the balance of a gift given to each of our children.

The Food Budget costs for June are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on JUNE 2023--JUNE WA S WHOPPER of a spendy month.  Had we not paid that last child's gift it wouldn't have been so bad.  We budgeted and knew that quarterly LT Care payments would be due and the car port needed to be purchased asap.  When the sun is so near to the earth down here and you have no ''real" garage to park your cars in and a lot without many trees, well OLD SOL can wreak havoc on your car. 8-))  The vet visit was a requirement and I had a little bit to pay on that clothing bill that didn't hit that store c/c last billing cycle.

Going into JUNE I knew we'd be in the red this month.

THOUGHTS going forward into July 2023--Without that child gift the only big bill will be Hubs Amazon bill which has many charges from London on it(tickets to sites, some souvenirs, a bit of food)  The Mastercard is mostly normal stuff on it except that hotel bill for the power outage which will account for 1/3 of the total.  My Amazon c/c will be teeny tiny for a change. lol  But predict a higher energy bill as "hell's front porch" weather has hit here big time!  Not too worried about spending for July unless another emergency trip to PA becomes necessary.

So how was your JUNE financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in June?
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 off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted 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 2022........the December & Year End Reports

Onward to December's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for DECEMBER 2022.

I have posted December's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in December.  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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

SUPER 1 FOODS 

OOP  $91.04

Qs/Ads  $54.75

Value  $145.79

Savings  37.55%

WALMART
OOP  $97.47

Qs/free Gift Cards  $88.49
Value  $185.96
Savings 47.58%

*********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were Walmart at 47.58%, and at Super 1 Foods at 37.55%.

I only shopped at 2 different stores in December.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in December................$188.51

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$143.24

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$331.75

TOTAL Savings of ............................43.18%

This closes out the December food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....not much spent in December as we were gone most of the month so not much grocery shopping here.  I did hit up a couple of stock-up deals before we left town which accounted for most of the December spending.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 4.26% in December 2022 to 43.18% compared to the November's 38.92% savings average which is a tad better.  A savings perceentage in the 40's is nothing to sneeze at. ;-)

With 12 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $3,629.94 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2022 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$3,629.94

2022 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$12,976.28

2022 Grand Total Saved...............................$9,346.34

2022 Yearly Savings Total..............................72.03%

The average per month amount spent is $302.50 in 2022.

Now when you add back all the rebate and refund cash I received from all my grocery shopping(not counting Fetch, Shop Kick or SwagBucks since I cash those out into gift cards and count that when spent)I had these additional funds to put toward the grocery bills.........

* Ibotta  ........$1,552.69

* Checkout 51....$50.94

* Paypal ..........$476.71

TOTAL......$2,080.34

So take $3,629.94 and subtract the addition of $2,080.34 in rebates/refunds back into my budget and my grocery spending for 2022 becomes $1,549.60 for the year or $129.14 per month.

That's a super low amount spend for the year/month for a family of 2!

LOOKING AHEAD to January 2023...

I am still adjusting to a new state/home/slate of grocery stores here in our part of Louisiana.  We are adjusting/fine tuning what we eat as well.

There is a learning curve for sure plus inflated prices on just about every grocery item is not going away so I'm trying to get use to things being the way they are now for the foreseeable future.  Plus I am still mourning the loss of my Rite-Aid. sniff, sniff  Life will go on and I'll see my way to a new way to grocery shop.  I'll still do all the things I used to do in PA-- keep a price book, shop loss leaders, stock up on great deals as they come along(IF they come along), utilize coupons and grocery apps to get a better deal on stuff we use, think outside of the box on how to save money on groceries, garden, etc.

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 vs. 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

Food Spending 2022....the August Report

Onward to August's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2022.

I have posted August's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in August.  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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

FARM STAND

OOP  $1.00

Value  $3.54

Savings  71.75%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $453.01

Value  $453.01
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE
OOP  $1.99

Value  $1.99

Savings 00%

WALMART
OOP  $18.93

Qs/free Gift Cards  $23.36
Value  $42.29
Savings 55.24%

WEIS

OOP  $24.03

Qs/Sales  $3.11
Value  $27.14
Savings  11.46%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Farm Stand at 71.75% and Walmart at 55.24%.

The worst rate was at Shursave at 00%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in August

TOTAL Spent in August................$45.95

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$29.01

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$74.96

TOTAL Savings of .............................38.70%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for August w/R-A..............$45.95

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$482.02

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$527.97
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................91.30%

This closes out the August food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....I only bought items that were absolutely needed to make meals for things that I didn't have on hand.  That means not buying on sale price for most everything bought which means my savings rate went into the toilet in August.  It is what it is.  I am grateful that my well stocked pantry/freezer meant keeping my OOP spending to under $50 for the month.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 43.87% in August 2022 to 38.70% compared to the July's 82.57% savings average.  Thank goodness for all that free stuff I got from Rite-Aid to boost my monthly overall savings rate! 8-)

With 8 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,826.77 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,826.77

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$9,964.60

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$8,138.13

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................81.67%

The average per month amount spent is $228.35 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To September 2022.......We are here 11 more days then gone so the only food spending will be for the bare necessities.  There will increased eating out as a result, especially after we leave for Louisiana.  No clue where the spending will end up when September is over.

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 vs. 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

Income & Spending Report 2022......the July Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals 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.

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 July report---

I had 2 goals for July.......
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 fun may be to apply 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 2022.

I can report that we finished up July in the Black.

The amount we ended the month of July with?...$4,562.34

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $168.52

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.38

*  SS of $3,570.00

*  Moved $3,665.96 from non-retirement acct. for cruise(not really 'income' but it paid one bill-the cruise bill)

*  $180.00 cashing in c/c points

Total "Income" for July...$12,553.67

Expenses in July---

* Irregular bills in July were $3,807.49

* Variable Expenses in July came to $1,957.71

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$7,991.33

$12,553.67-$7,991.33=$4,562.34

Slush into July of $40,570.77 in that Fund, add $4,562.34 and we get $45,133.11 going into August's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $4,562.34

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The Internet, cell phone and WAM, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.

*  The Amazon c/c bill was $73.42 lower than in June.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill went up by $3.12 compared to last month.

*  The electric bill was $19.52 more than in June as a/c is needed more.

*  The gas bill was $5.35 last month.

*  The Mastercard bill was $211.45 higher in June.

*  We had 4 irregular bills due in June--

  *  a bill for $1.09 at Kohl's

  *  Hubs' Amazon c/c was $140.44

  *  Paid the Cruise in December off

  *  A month of storage for $95.40

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on July 2022---It was a pretty low spend month aside from paying off the cruise.  Most every regular bill was up but only slightly.

The interest income on  the non-retirement funds was a little higher in July which was better. 

With now my SS check coming in monthly and 1/3 of the 104K quarterly withdrawal added to the income each month, unless we have out of the ordinary expenses we should be well under our means in spending.

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2022--Having said all that, well, we are moving very soon.  Moving expenses will have to covered in Aug. and Sept.  With that coming down the pike I'm not even going to guess on what the bills will end up being the next couple of months.  We've got a decent sized Slush Fund to cover almost anything.  We also have liquid savings we can dip into as needed.

Pray for us. ;-)

So how was your July financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in June?
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 off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted 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 2022.......the July Report

 Onward to July's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2022.

I have posted July's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
****************

ALDI

OOP  $24.02

Value  $43.33

Savings  44.56%

MALACARI

OOP  $21.16

Value  $30.51

Savings  30.65%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $769.49

Value  $769.49
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE
OOP  $4.99

Value  $5.99

Savings 16.69%

WALMART
OOP  $56.75

Qs/free Gift Cards  $76.69
Value  $133.44
Savings 57.47%

WEIS

OOP  $92.68

Qs/Sales  $69.85
Value  $162.53
Savings  42.98%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Walmart at 57.47%, and Weis at 42.98%.

The worst rate was at Shursave at 16.69%.  
I shopped at 6 different stores in June.

TOTAL Spent in July................$199.60

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$176.20

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$375.80

TOTAL Savings of .............................46.89%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for July w/R-A..............$199.60

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$945.69

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,145.29
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................82.57%

This closes out the July food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....kept it just barely under $200, which was what I was shooting for. Ate a lot out of the chest freezer.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 3.27% in July 2022 to 82.57% compared to the June's 85.84% savings average.  

With 7 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,581.22 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,780.82

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$9,436.63

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$7,655.81

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................81.13%

The average per month amount spent is $254.40 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To August 2022.......Just trying to get by.  Eating more from the freezer and filling in fesh goods as needed.  No set spending limit but $200 again sounds good. lolz

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 vs. 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

Food Spending.....the 2022 June Report

 Onward to June's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JUNE 2022.

I have posted June's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in June.  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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
****************

ALDI

OOP  $18.24

Value  $25.85

Savings  29.44%

OLLIE'S

OOP  $29.53

Value  $55.94

Savings  47.21%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $802.44

Value  $802.44
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $28.28

Qs/free Gift Cards  $33.57
Value  $61.75
Savings 54.36%

WEIS

OOP  $72.63

Qs/Sales  $30.58
Value  $103.21
Savings  29.63%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Walmart at 54.36%, and Ollie's at 47.21%.

The worst rate was at Weis at 29.63%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in June.

TOTAL Spent in June................$148.59

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$98.30

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$246.89

TOTAL Savings of .............................40.05%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for June w/R-A..............$148.59

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$900.74

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,049.33
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................85.84%

This closes out the June food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....As planned I stayed well un $350 for the month....heck, I stayed under $200!  Lots of eating from the freezer will do that for ya. ;-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 8.25% in June 2022 to 85.84% compared to the May's 77.59% savings average.  

With 6 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,581.22 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,581.22

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$8,291.34

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$6,710.17

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................80.93%

The average per month amount spent is $263.54 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To July 2022.......We'll continue to eat down from the freezer.  Not much left in the pantry so I know I'm making inroads there.  We'll be buying fresh produce/dairy as needed.  I've got to ramp up the eating down as we are shooting to put the house on the market later this month.

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 vs. 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

Stacking Ibotta Bonuses & Other Rebate Apps

 I needed 7 offers to finish the $10 Sunflower Bonus and I got a $5 Weekend Bonus on 15 offers(I had bought a Genexa and a SinusCalm items at Rite-Aid on Thursday(clearance priced at $2.99 and $2.75)as part of a Spend $50/Get $10 off coupon Deal and spent Zero OOP(used Bonus Cash)so I only needed 13 more offers for the Weekend Warrior Bonus and had $4.50 worth of rebates already.

So I went to Walmart and bought this.........

1 x Daisy cottage cheese=$3.12
1 x OS cranberries=$2.08
1 x Dave's Killer Bread=$4.64
1 x Barilla pasta=$1.28
1 x Breakstone cottage cheeses doubles=$1.06
1 x Helluva onion dip=$1.98
1 x Sheila's Brownie Brittle=$2.88
1 x Softsoap hand soap=$1.98
1 x Rimmel mascara=$3.97
1 x Rimmel face powder=$3.97
1 x Revlon lipstick=$4.97
2 x Greek Gods qt. yogurt=$8.96*only 1 in photo*
2 x Degree stick men's deo=$8.54
1 x Degree stick women's deo=$4.27
1 x Finish dishwasher cleaner=$3.77
2 x Bertolli marinara sauce=$5.96
2 x Werther's sugar-free caramel packs=$2.96
1 x Breyer's cookies and cream ice cream=$3.88*not in photo*
1 x Klondike cookies and cream ice cream bars=$3.27*not in photo*

Subtotal....$73.54

Coupons Used came to $10.78(really was $10.50 but I had .28 overage for an AirWick plug in Q I used but wasn't a rebate/app deal so not pictured here).

$73.54-$10.78=$62.75
I used a $25 free gift card earned from ShopKick bringing the total to $37.76+$1.64 tax=$39.40 OOP.

I earned back $36.50 on Ibotta, $8.78 back on ShopKick, $1.46 on Fetch, $9.10 on Swag Bucks, $3.30 on Checkout51.
This meant $39.80 back on Ibotta and Checkout51 for spending $39.40 OOP.  Plus another $19.34 back on the 3 apps I get the free gift cards from.  A .40¢ or a $19.74 moneymaker depending on how you look at it.
And that's not counting the $4.50 in Ibotta rebates earned on Thursday. 8-)))

I tried to just buy things we needed/would use(well I didn't need onion dip or brownie brittle and the Breyer's ice cream is for Ex-College Boy as it's his favorite flavor).  The few toiletries I got will go into Giveaway boxes or be used as gifts(Christmas is coming in 15 weeks!).

It was a strong rebating weekend for me.
How did y'all do?

Sluggy

2021 Food Spending Report....the February Edition

 Onward to February's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2021.

I have posted February's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February.  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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 25. (I don't count all the "freebies" I get at the Discount Outlet in my totals either.)
*****************

AMAZON

OOP  $0.00

Value  $65.02

Savings 100%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $4.00
Value  $12.27
Savings  67.40%

CVS

OOP  $2.30
Qs/Ads/ECBs  $22.85

Value  $25.15

Savings 90.85%

MALACARI'S
OOP  $21.09
Value  $33.89
Savings  37.77%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $4.12
Value  $8.25
Savings 50.06 %

P and R DISCOUNTS
OOP  $44.05
Value  $95.77
Savings   54.00%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $893.36
Value  $893.36
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $28.30
Value  $114.10
Savings  72.20%

WEIS

OOP  $108.11

Qs/Sales  $51.41
Value  $159.52
Savings  32.23%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Amazon at 100% and CVS at 90.85%.   My worst savings rate was at Weis with 32.23%.
I shopped at 9 different stores in February(and one of those was online).  

TOTAL Spent in February......................$211.97

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.................$302.00

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$513.97

TOTAL Savings of ................................58.76%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for February w/R-A........$211.97
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales w/R-A.................$1195.36
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1407.33
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items...................84.94%

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into February wanting to have a lower spending month and I did. ;-)  Most of my lack of more spending was due to a lack of good sales and then bad weather for most of the month so I wasn't going to stores.  I still got some good deals and kept the OOP fairly low considering.  We ate more from the freezer/pantry than we did in January which is a very good thing.  The freezer is getting less full by the week now and it's noticeable.

Even with this low of a spending month we still had things to give to our youngest son and for donating to the local food bank.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by .88% in February 2021 to 84.94% compared to the January's 84.06% savings average.  I'll take an almost full percentage point rise any day! lol

With 2 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $507.19 on food/toiletries in 2021.

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$507.19

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items....$3259.70

2020 Grand Total Saved..............................$2752.51

2020 Yearly Savings Total............84.44%

The average per month amount spent is $253.6 in 2021 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD To March 2021...........

Well I really haven't thought about March yet.  Still recovering from February. lolz  I guess we'll continue to try to eat from the pantry/freezer.  For us that means only buying something if I run out and need it, buying fresh produce and dairy as needed and buying if I find a stellar deal on items we use(not including Rite-Aid where I buy "the deals aka the freebies or almost freebies" and pass on what we can't/don't use to the Food Bank, Ex-College Boy and into Giveaways).

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 vs. 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

Frugal Friday 2021....the January 15th Edition

 Here's what passed for frugal last week around Chez Sluggy.........

* I finally! returned some clothes I got on clearance last January for Ex-College Boy to give him for Christmas in 2020.  Seems when he moved out in July he found a bunch of never worn clothes similar to these in the disaster that was his bedroom so he no longer needed these items.  I wanted to make sure he didn't need the clothes so I waited until Christmas was over and I ALWAYS keep receipts. lol

Just short of $49 in shopping credit back to spend on ME! ;-)

*  My CBD oil order finally arrived safely.  I ordered this back in early December.  According to the UPS tracking it made it to the NEPA distribution center here and then UPS sent it back to the company!  I got an email that it was delivered right after Xmas so went outside to find it....nope nothing there.  So I expanded the details and Shannon from the loading dock  received the package.  Hmm, no Shannon's here and we don't have a loading dock so it seems UPS sent the package back to the company in IL. lolz

Long story longer, said company reshipped it and UPS decided to actually deliver it to me this go 'round.  The company is still waiting on an explanation why they did that other thing last time.

I'm just happy it arrived NOT broken(glass bottles were not packed well).  I got a great deal on this lot-buy 1 bottle and get 5 free plus free shipping.  go. me.

* I found money!

I found 3 pennies at Dollar General last Saturday.  Two near the register and another on the sidewalk outside the building as I was walking in.

Then I found this dime at Rite-Aid.  It was in the sliding door entrance track just waiting for me to cross the threshold and pick him up!

Found Money This Week.... .13¢

Found Money This Year...... .17¢

* I found an on sale Larabar at R-A on Tuesday with a peelie coupon........

Paid .49¢ in Bonus Cash and the Coupons dotcom app sent me $2.29 to my Paypal account for buying it. ;-)

*  I finished the Ibotta $10 Bonus this week between offers at CVS, Rite-Aid and Walmart(plus shops last week at Weis and Rite-Aid)......

I also earned $ on ShopKick, Checkout51 and Fetch Rewards for some of this, stacking various rebate offers.  I used $30 in free gift cards at Walmart to bring the total OOP at all stores down to $45.79 and earned $108.39 back in cash rebates.

*  I also got a refund one one R-A transaction because my 20% Wellness Discount didn't come off of the regular priced items..........

This money went into my Refund/Post Coupon envelope and basically converted $7.73 of Bonus Cash into real cash.

*  We got Stromboli from a local pizza joint last Friday as Ex-CB came over. I made a Caesar Salad to go with it. Finished using a gift card for that joint so only had to pay OOP for a little more than half of the cost of the Strombolis.  It was a lot of food and we've had the leftovers twice for lunches this week(plus sent some home with Ex-CB).  

We also got lunch out at Applebee's on Tuesday and used a $25 gift card so only $12.63 OOP including the tip.  Gotta keep on top of these gift cards!

* On the "Use Down the Pantry/Freezer" Front.......

This is an old popcorn barrel I washed to reuse to store dry goods.  I filled it 3/4 full last year with a bulk elbow pasta buy at one of the Amish grocery outlets around here for very little money.  We've been working our way through this dried pasta supply all of 2020.  I made macaroni salad yesterday in prep for tonight's dinner.  I think one more dish of mac and cheese, American Chop Suey or a soup with noodles with finish this off.  rah.

That's about it from my part of the world.

What's going on frugal-wise in your corner of the world?

Sluggy