This Week on the Dining Table.....the April 14th Edition

"Crawfish Season is Here!"

Saw this at Walmart as part of a Coke display.   After Mardi Gras Season here comes Crawfish Season.  "Let the Good Times Boil" indeed.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Catfish, Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--Poultry Pot Pies, Salad

3. Tuesday--Lasagna Casserole, Carrots

4. Wednesday--Shrimp, Leftover Green Beans

5. Thursday--Chicken Parmesan, Veggie TBD

6. Friday--Salmon, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

7. Saturday--Steak, Salad

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Catfish, Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--Poultry Pot Pies, Salad

3. Tuesday--Lasagna Casserole, Carrots

4. Wednesday--Shrimp, Leftover Green Beans

5. Thursday--Chicken Parmesan, Caesar Salad

6. Friday--Salmon, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

7. Saturday--Steak, Spinach Soufle

Everything planned happened, even the potpies finally! lol

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

*  Catfish

*  Brussels Sprouts

*  Pot Pies

*  Ground Beef

*  Shrimp

*  Chicken Parmesan

*  Salmon

*  Steak

*  Spinach Soufle

Last week we spent $42.90 on groceries and the savings rate came in at 53.64%. Spending for the month is $64.66 and the savings rate is 46.51% for April before rebate monies are added in.

Rebates earned in April-

$64.41 on Ibotta

$0 on Checkout51

$0 on Aisle and Misc.

$64.41 total in $$

Total spent after rebates is $.25  I used some gift cards to pay so that is why my total is low. ;-)

7,785 Pts. on Fetch

0 Pts. on SwagBucks

176 Pts. on My Points

1638 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

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

Before AND after rebates we had a very low spend month for groceries at least for us.

Leftovers going into next week...Pork w/Stir-Fry Veggies, Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke.

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

1. Sunday--Frozen Meals, Salad

2. Monday--Pork Loin w/Stir-Fry Veggies

3. Tuesday--Pork Tenderloin, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Tempura Cod, leftover Shrimp, Roasted Broccoli

5. Thursday--Beef Roast, Carrots, Mushrooms

6. Friday--Meatballs and Sausage Sauce w/Pasta, Salad

7. Saturday--Chicken Dish TBD, leftover Veggies

Just trying to eat down what is here when I'm not getting great deals.  I chose my meals by cherry picking the deals and building meals around those items, combined with what is in my 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   

Food Spending....September 2024

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for September 2024.

I have posted September'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 September.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

ALDI  

OOP  $6.46

Sales  $1.52

Value  $7.98

Savings  19.05%

KROGER

OOP  $351.35

Qs/Gift Cards  $282.94

Value $634.29

Savings  44.61%

WALMART

OOP  $176.17

Qs/Gift Cards $74.34

Value  $250.52

Savings  29.68%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Kroger with a savings of 44.61%.  My worse rate was at Aldi with 19.05%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall though.

I shopped at 3 different stores in SEPTEMBER.  Luckily I did most of my grocery shopping at Kroger in September. ;-)

TOTAL Spent in September......$533.98

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$358.81

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$892.79

TOTAL Savings of........40.19%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

On the surface our spending was a little high but that doesn't figure in all the rebating cash I got back.  Even so, we had a goodly savings percentage over regular retail anyway.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went Down by 17.23% in September to 40.19% compared to August's 57.42% savings average.  A lot lower in September but still over 40%.  That's ok by me.

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

With 9 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $4,381.76 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  $10,665.24

2024 Total Saved   $5,330.53

2024 Yearly Total Spent  $5,334.71

2024 Yearly Savings Total of  49.98%

The average per month amount spent is $592.75 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, 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.  

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 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.

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 $2,182.71 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 9 month point in 2024 comes in at $3,152 or $350.22 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 OCTOBER 2024.....

I am trying to eat down freezer/pantry in October and it seems like most of my grocery spending has been for the Food Bank.  I hope to spend less in October than in September but time will tell.  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 September?

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

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

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

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

Sluggy

December Food Spending for 2023

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for December 2023.

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).
****************

ALDI

OOP  $21.97

Sales  $9.01

Value  $30.98

Savings  29.08%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $35.97

Qs Saving $16.73

Value  $54.70

Savings   30.59%

KROGER

OOP  $104.79

Qs/Gift Cards $110.74(cashed in some KCB)

Value $215.53

Savings  51.38%

OCEAN STATE JOB LOT

OOP $21.64

Sales  $18.29

Value $39.93

Savings  45.81%

TRADER JOES

OOP  $7.47

Sales  $3.22

Value  $10.69

Savings  30.12%

WALMART

OOP  $139.64

Qs/Gift Cards $171.27

Value  $310.91

Savings  55.09%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Walmart with a savings of 55.09%.  My worse rate was at Aldi with 29.08%.  

I shopped at 6 different stores in DECEMBER.

TOTAL Spent in December......$331.48

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$331.26

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$662.74

TOTAL Savings of........49.98%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 14.43% in December to 49.98% compared to November's 64.41% 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)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 12 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $4,791.83 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$4,791.83

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$8,420.62

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$3,628.79

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................43.09%

The average per month amount spent is $399.32 in 2023 but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Coupons dotcom, Shopmium, 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.

At the end of 2023, I'd accumulated---

* $1,449.22 from Ibotta

* $195.84 from the old Coupons dotcom

* $183.49 from Shopmium

* $93.14 from TaDa

* $32.15 from Checkout 51

* $18.95 from Aisle

* $10.13 from Sampoll

* $2.18 from Inmar

* $29.74 from Alexa 

That's $1,985.10 in cash and $29.74 in Amazon gift cards.

(I also have $79.93 worth of points in SwagBucks I can't access so until I can get my hands on that I am not counting it.)

This doesn't count any Kroger Cash Back $$, Fetch or Shop Kick as I cash those points out for gift cards to the grocery store I use directly.

So my actual Grocery Spending ends up thusly---

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,806.73

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$8,420.62

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$5,613.89

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................66.67%

Now my monthly grocery spending comes to $233.90.

LOOKING AHEAD TO JANUARY 2024.....who knowns what inflation actually is for food as the Federal Government lies and rejiggers the numbers for the most basic needs of it's citizens-food and energy.  These are not included in their CPI.

I just know that if I am paying more for the same products(or companies are shrinking the sizes of their packaging)then yes, food and other consumables are costing more.  This is why I track our spending like I do, so we have a handle on where our money is going.  We are not the Federal Government and can't just print money when our supply runs short.

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 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 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....February 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 February report---

I had 2 goals for February......
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.

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 February in the Red.

The amount we ended the month of February with?...-$4,626.81

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in February---

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

*  SS income of $3879.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $174.04

*  Check payment from Checkout51 of $50.94

*  Medical refund of $40.00

Total "Income" for February....$7,379.79

Expenses in February---
* Irregular bills in February were $7,277.72

* Variable Expenses in February came to $2,457.89

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,270.99

Total Expenses....$12,006.60

$7,379.79-$12,006.60= -$4,626.81

Slush into February of $65,810.06 in that Fund, subtract shortfall of $4,626.81 in February and we get $61,183.25 into March 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $4,626.81.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

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

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $1,255.74 lower than in January.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $2.37 higher than last month.

*  The electric bill was $59.42 higher than in January.

*  My Amazon c/c was $131.47 higher than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $69.21 higher than in January.

*  We had irregular bills due in February too--

  *   I paid off the rest of the May/June cruise bill to NCL.

  *  Paid off the American airlines c/c for our checked bag fees for last year's cruise.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on February 2023---Other than the cruise payment it was an ok month financially.  All that 401K withdrawal in January(and that overage last month)went toward that cruise bill and was planned for.  Our regular bills($2,457.89)were slightly less than they were in January so that's a win.

THOUGHTS going forward into March 2023--

Still having limited mobility so we still need to unpack stuff. ugh.  This has got to be the slowest unpacking and setting up a household I've ever been a part of! lolz  I think the house insurance payments are all done for the year so that's one good thing.  But we are still nickel and dime spending on miscellaneous repairs on the house and haven't even addressed the big ticket items that need to be purchased./fixed.

So how was your February financially? 

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

It's Worse Than He Thought

So I've gotten a report back from Hubs on the road about his rescue mission.

I tried to tell Hubs it was going to be bad(Hey!, I've seen many episodes of the TV show "Hoarders")but he didn't believe me....or maybe didn't want to believe me.
Anyway, it was as bad as I thought.  Dust, dirt and filth everywhere.  Trash all over the floor and you couldn't help but walk on piles and/or open doors fully for all the junk.  I am kicking myself that I didn't insist he take face masks.
He said it was hard to breath in the house and he had to keep going outside to catch his breath.

She had 15 large Rubbermaid type plastic tubs packed and sitting on the front porch when he arrived that morning from the motel, all marked with a piece of paper that said, "S.A. #1", "S.A. #2", etc to #15.
He couldn't figure out what S.A. stood for.   Not "K" for kitchen stuff or "B.R" for bed room stuff, etc.
"S.A."?
It was STUFFED ANIMALS.

WTF???
The priority of things to bring with her across the country was 15 tubs of stuffed animals.
Not dishes.
Not flatware.
Not bed linens.
Not clothes.
Stuffed Animals.

15 tubs of those S.A. weren't going to fit in the cargo van along with 2 dressers, 2 bookcases, a cedar chest and 2 large wooden chairs plus a box of papers, clothes and whatever else was going.  So choices had to be made and only 7 tubs worth of S.A.s made the cut.  I doubt if her brother who is taking her in will let that many actually come into his trailer home.

When asked where she was going to put all those plush toys once she got to where they were going she said in her bedroom so they could "keep her company".  Her bedroom is a secondary bedroom in a single wide trailer to give you an idea of how small it is.  I don't think besides a bed, those 2 dressers, 2 bookcases and 2 chairs, much of anything else will fit in that bedroom.

Hubs had to keep redirecting her to stay on task and focus and she would wander off in the house and he'd have to go find her.  She was suppose to have everything she was taking packed but throughout the day she'd suddenly mention that "this or that" had to be gone through of packed up to go with her.

A neighbor came over for a brief chat and suggested to Hubs when the sister wasn't within earshot that the sister needs help(as in mental help).  When the neighbor left Hubs remarked that that it was nice of the neighbor to stop by and visit and the sister insisted that this neighbor is evil, a liar and tried to poison her dogs with weedkiller last Summer, etc.
Hubs mother, before we got her to a dr. and diagnosed officially had similar delusions and cognitive issues when she came down with Alzheimer's.  I hope to gosh it's not that but.......
The cognitive issues may help explain why she has been unable to get a job for the last 1.5 years(plus the age issue as she is one month away from being 61 but nobody will tell you you didn't get the job because you are old as that's against the law-even though it happens all the time).

Once Hubs drops her off she becomes his oldest brother's problem to deal with since none of his siblings(these two plus the other brother)could be bothered to help out for the last 7 years of her life that we dealt with their mother and her slow decline into dementia.  None of them couldn't even be bothered to visit her let alone handle any of the financial or day to day stuff.

So I sit here and pray Hubs gets through this and gets home safely......as I watch our credit card bill climb(currently at $1200+/-)with all the charges we are footing the bill for to deliver her across the country to somewhere she'll not be homeless.

This is what can happen when you make a lot of bad life choices.  She didn't get here overnight.  It started with no financial discipline over 40+ years.  Then making bad choices about who to associate with.  She continues to expect things "her way"(like insisting that the brother taking her in buy her a full sized bed which HE is paying for when she didn't need one that big nor will it fit in the bedroom)and refusing to apply for X job because that company doesn't meet her high moral standards.  People who are destitute and about to be homeless can't afford to have high moral standards really.

Not everyone can be a shining light for others to follow their example.  Some folks have to be the warning of what can happen if you aren't careful and prudent in life.
If you are a praying person, please say some for her.

Sluggy

September $20K Savings Challenge Update

In our family we save money. It is important to us to put money aside for "rainy days".  You know.....those unexpected days when things happen in your life that you can't plan on, but that DO happen and they cost you money you didn't know you'd need to pay out.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.
Once the automatic savings, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision payments are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2013 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am going to keep the Goal amount at $20,000 again this year.

On to the September report.....

I have posted my September End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up September in the black but just barely!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of September with?.......$40.12

Income
We had -9.51 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Yeah, not such a great month here.
 

Other monies received in September totaled $49.63.  This brought us back into the black and our gain to $40.12 for September.

 

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  Evidently I over paid the long distance phone last month so our bill was only .60¢ in Sept.

*  The food/toiletries bill was about $84 less than my $400 budgeted amount.

* Cash withdrawals were $70 less than in August.

 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  The annual school taxes were due which ate up almost an entire paycheck.

*  The electric bill started going up, this month by only $7 but the trend will continue as the weather gets cooler.

*  Credit card bill was $700 higher than last month's bill which included the payment for the dog's surgery and a $600 car repair.

 

The Food Budget costs for September are in another post, which is located HERE.

We came in under budget by about $84 last month but with the taxes due that wasn't enough to give us more than $40 leftover at the end of the month.

The 2013 TOTAL so far.....
With 9 months behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2013 stands at $16,302.96.  Only $3,697.04 left to save and 3 months left to accomplish this.

That comes out to $1232.35 per month for the next 3 months to reach the goal.  It is going to be tight to get us to that goal but it's doable.  Especially since we still have a 3rd paycheck month left this year.  8-))
 

Looking ahead for October......
 

*  The heat will get turned on sometime in October so electric usage will increase.

*  No big annual or semi-annual bills come due in October(the next one is in February)so we can save a bit of money this month.

 

*  We have another short getaway trip this month, so those costs will come out of October's pay.  I usually take trip costs out of the last year's savings challenge pot, but with all the remodeling/heating and a/c costs and summer road trip costs so far in 2013, the 2012 savings have been depleted.  So all Oct. trip costs will be paid for out of this October's pay.

 

So how was your September financially?  It wasn't a great month for us.  If not for the dividend checks with received from some investments, we would have had to dip into our savings to cover our expenses in September.
  

Did you put ordinary living expenses on a credit card last month and not pay it off in full when due?
Did you spend less than the income you had in September?
Did you received any "extra" or unexpected money in September, a dividend or bonus at work, and what did you do with those funds?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out your progress too and celebrate with you!

Sluggy

How My Savings Challenge Works & Why We Save This $

Today I'm going to revisit my Savings Challenge and how I put money away each month for this.

I talked, in detail, specifically about this, way back in June of 2011.  If you'd prefer to read that again, go HERE.
So I'll go over this for everyone who hasn't been reading since that time.

Every year, since 2009, I have tried to keep a close eye on both the monies coming in and where the monies is going out.  You really can't have an accurate accounting of the finances if you don't know how much comes in AND how much goes out and where it goes.  Not keeping an eye on one or the other end of things is like only doing half the job.

I am old school.  I don't use a software program to track my income and spending. 
I could use one but I just find having to plug numbers into a program tedious.  I know it would save me having to calculate everything in my head but I enjoy using my brain where the math is concerned.  And being a woman of a certain age, my brain can use a little more exercise anyway. 8-)

I use a sheet of paper each month instead.

I make 2 columns on the paper.....
On the left side I list all the categories of spending for the month--water bill, electric bill, cable bill, credit card bill, music lessons bill, phone bill, medical bills, prescription costs and cash withdrawals are my usual items.  Months were I have those items that don't occur every month like car insurance, taxes, house insurance, garbage and sewage bills, I just add those to the list if needed.
On the right side I list all the categories of income for the month--paychecks, rebates, stock dividends, tax refunds, per diem reimbursements, side hustle monies(like selling something or blog revenue), etc.  Of course paychecks are listed each month and the other categories are listed as needed on the income side of things each month.

I don't have a food bill category since I use cash for groceries, so the grocery expenses are in the cash withdrawals(and on rare occasions in the credit card charges bill).  I do detail & track the grocery/toiletries spending separately in my notebook so I know how much of my cash withdrawals go toward groceries.

Back to the monthly tracking of income and outgo......
Once all the bills/expense items are paid and marked on the sheet I add them up.
Then I add up all the income for the month and subtract the total expenses, which gives me either a positive or negative amount, meaning I have either some excess money at the end of the month or I am in the red at month's end.

As for our paycheck amounts--Hubs has insurance premiums(health, dental, life and long term care), all taxes, withholding and retirement funding taken out of his pay automatically.  It's easier that way.  So whatever shows up in the bank account in the paycheck direct deposit is ALL fair game for me to spend or not to spend however I/we see fit.  I know those categories are taken out and put where they need to be before I even get my hands on the pay.  It helps me sleep at night.  8-)

So we just pay the bills as they come in each month and then if we have money left over at month's end, I sweep it into an ING(now Capital One)fund called Savings Challenge.  If we have a bad financial month where we need more funds than the paycheck provides to pay everything off that month, I can transfer a portion of what has been saved for the year back into the checking account.

Besides the paychecks coming in, we do keep a small cushion of money in that checking account for peace of mind and as a first line of defense against surprise expenses and so that the bank doesn't charge us a fee to have a checking account.

So I try to save what I can each year out of the incoming cash.
At the end of the year I throw that amount saved for the year into an account to sit.
The following year, if we have expenses that our regular income each month can't cover, we take money from the previous year's surplus to cover that.
When that year is over, and we are done having to possibly cover extra expenses incurred, then that amount saved in the previous year gets moved into a permanent savings vehicle or account.

Does that make sense to anyone? ;-)

For example--
In 2009 we saved $23,865.36.
That amount got thrown into the ING account over the course of 2009.
In 2010 we incurred some "above the usual" expenses that the regular paychecks didn't cover......a car purchase at $10,600, a new fridge purchase at $773.81 and 3 trips for a total of $2087.00.  We used $13,460.81 of that $23,865.36 we saved in 2009 to cover these 2010 incurred expenses.
This meant that at the end of 2010, when all expenses were paid out for that year that we still had $10,404.55 of what we saved in 2009 to now throw into a permanent savings fund.

While we were paying for these irregular/unusual expenses in 2010 with the 2009 savings, we were still saving a piece of our income from 2010 and putting that into a new Savings Challenge fund.

In 2010 we saved a whooping $34,019.88 from all our income sources.
In 2011, while we were saving money each month, we also used $427.81 of what we had saved in 2010 to pay on irregular/unusual expenses in 2011.
So at the end of 2011, when we were ready to throw whatever was left of the monies saved in 2010 into a permanent savings fund, we had $31,834.15 left of that initial $34,019.88.

In 2011 we saved $34,461.31 from all our income sources.
In 2012, while we were saving money each month, we also used $2,627.16 of what we had saved in 2011 to pay on irregular/unusual expenses in 2012.
So at the end of 2012, when we were ready to throw whatever was left on the monies saved in 2011 into a permanent savings fund, we had $31, 834.15 left of that initial $34,461.31.

In 2012 we saved $28,907.08 from all our income sources.
In 2013(so far), while we were saving money each month, we also used $25,574.22 of what we had saved in 2012 to pay on irregular/unusual expenses in 2013.
At this point we will only have $3,332.86 left of what we saved in 2012 to throw into a permanent savings fund come the end of 2013.
2013 has been a very expensive year at Chez Sluggy, but having put all this money away year after year, we've had enough to cover all our spending.

I know I could just dip into the current year's savings challenge amount instead of raiding the previous year's account when unusual expenses come up, but I like being able to see the pile of money get higher and higher without dipping into it.  There is a sort of "snowballing" effect when you aren't making withdrawals.....it makes it easier to not spend money emotionally when you see the cash adding up sitting in an account and not being tapped.
Or maybe that's just me.  ;-)

At this point in the journey of all the money we have "permanently" saved from 2009 until 2011(since I don't touch the savings amounts once the following year's spending is over)comes to $75,830.77.

Yes, we could have just upped our lifestyle over the last few years and spent what I've managed to tuck away into this fund.  Not buying used cars instead of new, going on expensive vacations, spending more on all those variable categories in our budget could have raised our lifestyle but I doubt that it would have discernibly made us happier as people.

The fact is the percentage of Hubs salary we actually live on each year is fine by us.  We are happy in our life as it is, and don't hunger after more, better or newer things.  More things and more money after a certain point doesn't make your life any better.  It just brings with it a whole other set of problems.

Being responsible type folks at our core(see "old fuddy duddies"), we thought it was a better plan to put this money away for when the day comes that we can't generate income.

This savings challenge fund is only to be touched in dire emergencies(like a job loss), as it's planned to be additional retirement savings for Hubs and I.

It is above and beyond what we are saving automatically from each paycheck for retirement income.
Once we retire (and Social Security kicks in), we'll have SS, our Cash Balance account(or something similar to a CBP), our Personal Employee Savings Plan account(like a 401K), any cash on hand or in checking accounts as well as this Savings Challenge fund to draw from until the day we kick the proverbial bucket.
This Savings Challenge money is the 4th leg of our retirement stool.  I figure a 4 legged stool is a mite better than a 3 legged stool any day. ;-)

Sluggy

 

FEBRUARY 2013 Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2013.

I have posted February's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2013 and updated the Yearly Totals.
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 Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

OLLIE'S

OOP  $20.57

Value  $42.09

Savings   51.13%

RITE-AID

OOP  $0.00

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $97.63

Value  $97.63

Savings   100%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $138.50

Qs/Ads  $84.61

Value  $223.11

Savings  38%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $204.23

Qs/Ads  $112.20

Value  $316.43

Savings  35.46%

I am no longer adding my rebates received into my food budget directly. I will use them on food on occasion and will note that when used.  I will keep track of rebates/gift cards/certs received here as before however.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN February.....$16.99

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES....$15.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$16.99

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Zero

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 100%,  Ollie's at 51.13% and Shursave affiliate market at 38%.  l only shopped at 4 different stores this past month. 8-)

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$363.30

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$315.96

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$679.26

TOTAL Savings of...................................46.52%

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into February with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I have $36.70 leftover in my February food envelope. 

I didn't count the number of Qs that were redeemed in Feb. but I do know it was quite low.   The little I bought at Rite-Aid for no money greatly affected my savings rate this month. 

Looking ahead to March---We'll stick to our $400 food budget again this month.  It seems to be working for us at this amount. 

 

And here is the run down of my Food & Toiletries Spending for 2013 so far--

2013 Total Saved $769.55

2013 Yearly Total Value of Items  $1,423.09

2013 Yearly Total Spent $653.54

2013 Yearly Savings Total of 54.08%

How much did you spend on food in February?
 

Sluggy

$20K Savings Challenge....JANUARY Update

In our family we save money.
It is important to us to put money aside for "rainy days".  You know.....those unexpected days when things happen in your life that you can't plan on, but that DO happen and they cost you money you didn't know you'd need to pay out.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.
Once the automatic savings, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision payments are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2013 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am going to keep the Goal amount at $20,000 again this year.

On to the January report.....

I have posted my JANUARY End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up January in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of January with?.......$2,761.06

Income
We had $2,579.14 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted. 

Add in a per diem check for mileage for some business traveling and some bank interest and we get another $181.92.  This brought our gain to $2,761.06 for January.

Outgo

As for the expenses this January, most of them were on the bad side, rather than the good side....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The medical bills were $192 lower.

*  The credit card bill was $98 lower.

*  There were no Xmas spending or car repairs/maintenance bills.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The cable bill  monthly price went up in 2013 by $4 a mo.

*  The cash withdrawals were $100 higher.

*  The water bill went up $4+.

*  The electric bill went up by $43.

*  The quarterly garbage bill is due in January.

 

The Food Budget costs for JANUARY are in another post, which is located HERE

We managed to stay well within our $400 food budget in January.

The 2013 TOTAL so far.....
With 1 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2013 stands at $2,761.06.

We surpassed our monthly goal by $1,000 in January!  This extra will be a very good thing later in the year, during some of our more financially challenging months, when we can't hit our target goal.

Looking ahead for February......

February is always a challenging money month for us, because our semi-annual car insurance premium is due, as well as our county taxes for the year.  I also have an unexpected dental bill to pay in February.

In addition, the electric/heating bill will be the highest one of the year this month.

I am hoping to keep the variable bills(food, credit card, Hubs cash withdrawals)wrangled in February to compensate.  And I will hope that none of the cars needs anything other than gas until March.

So how was your January financially?

Did you put the Holiday spending on credit, and do you have Christmas debt to pay now?
Did you spend less than the income you made in January?
Did you stay within your budget or not?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out your progress too and celebrate with you!

Sluggy

And Speaking of Cars......

We are witnessing some extended family stuff involving cars and making unwise choices with money lately here, so I thought some recent mail I received was very apropos to what is going on.

I think the synchronicity of the Universe had something to do with me getting this mail at this very moment. ;-)

Sometimes I just have to laugh at stuff though.
Like the other day.
I got some junk mail.....you know, that stuff companies send you to try to get you to buy something they are selling.

Obviously whomever sold them MY name from some big database of suckers potential customers is actually clueless as to how futile and wasteful this attempt at selling me is!

Here's what showed up in my mailbox....in all it's full color, luxurious papery booklet goodness, enclosed in elaborate plastic packaging(which I did not photo before throwing out)........

And just in case you didn't catch the brand in that photo.....

These hunks of metal start at $41,300.
Like I would ever spent that kind of money on a car!
Not in this lifetime and not while I have my faculties about me.

Why?
Because a new car loses 20% of it's value by the end of the first year so I'd be out $8,260 after 1 year of ownership.
You can get a real nice used car for what this rust bucket car depreciates in 1 year.

Not only that but you are looking at a car payment in the neighborhood of $900+ a month if you have to finance it.

I guess Hubs and I are on some list somewhere of people who have cash so that is why we get offers for luxury cars, country clubs, cruises, platinum level credit cards, all kinds of vacation/resort packages/clubs, jewelers, designer this and that, etc.
And do you know why we have money?
Because we don't spend it on crap like this! lol

Yes, I choose to be inspired Infiniti....inspired NOT to waste money on stuff that doesn't matter.

Sluggy

$20K Savings Challenge Report for JULY 2012

Ok, here is my JULY Savings Challenge Update post for 2012.

This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against "unconscious" spending.

Just to update, My Savings Goal for the Year in 2012 is $20,000.  It's well below what I've saved in previous years I know.  But we also have a goal of paying for 4 home improvement projects at Chez Sluggy this year.  We plan on cash-flowing these projects with the additional money we save and/or our income tax refund. 
Our background info--We are a family of 5(kids are 21-16)with one living away from home.  We have 2 dogs. We own 3 cars at present and live in/own free & clear a 4 bedroom house in a small town.

On to the July report.....

I have posted my JULY End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up July in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of July with?.......$1641.83.

Income
We had $1639.44 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $2.39 in interest income(HAHAHAHAHA!) and  you get a total of $1641.83.

Outgo
The usual along with a couple of large irregular bills......1 expected and 1 out of the ordinary.

As for the expenses this July......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

* The water bill decreased by $30+.

* The electric bill decreased by $21+.

* The credit card bill decreased by $702.
* The cash withdrawals went down $1170.....even with that they were high!

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  Home owner's insurance was due, but expected. $596.

*  Bill came in for the Minivan from last month's repairs. $1496.68.

The Food Budget costs for JULY are in another post, which is located HERE.

YEAR-TO-DATE GRAND TOTAL.....
With 7 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2012 is $15,613.23.

We missed our monthly goal in July by $24.84. Since June's savings but us ahead for the year, I am not sweating a shortfall of $25 in July.

With 7 months done, we should be at $11,666.69  saved for the year, so we are $3946.54 ahead for the year as of now!

In the next 2 months we have largish irregular expenses coming due.
August is semi-annual car insurance at about $1500.
September is school taxes about another $1950.

They are irregular because they don't come every month....like the water or electric bill.  But two things about irregular bills--
1.They are usually for large amounts(due to the fact that they don't come round every month).
2. You KNOW THEY ARE COMING!  Yep, every year....so don't stick your head in the sand and ignore them.  Plan for them. Set a 12th of their amount aside each month so that when the due date rolls around, you have the money saved up to pay them in full.

We may actually get a break with our car insurance.  #1 Son is buying himself a car.  Since it will be in his name, he will need to have his own insurance policy, therefore we can have him taken off of our policy.  We tired to tell him that with our driving records, ages and the fact we get multiple discounts on our coverage, he's better off putting the car in our name and staying on our policy, and just paying us the extra it costs us to cover him and his car.

But 21 year old men want to feel virile and independent I guess, and paying through the nose for their own policy must be a testosterone inducing manly thing.  

But what do I know....... ;-)

At this point, I need to come up with $4386.77 for the rest of the year to make my $20K goal.  This breaks down to $877.35 per month for the next 5 months.


As for a look ahead at AUGUST.....
* Car insurance due.
* No celebrations here, no parties, just Boring McBorington at Chez Sluggy.

So how was your July financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
How much did you save in July?

 Even if it doesn't look like a lot of money, figure out what percentage of your income you saved.  You might feel that it's a more substantial amount in those terms!

We saved 28.74% of our take home income in July.  My goal is to shoot for 50% each month. If we hadn't had that car repair bill, we could have achieved saving 55% of the take-home income. 
Dang that car repair bill! lol

Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.
Did you have debt you were able to pay on?
Did you pay off a car, a house or a credit card?
Did something financial blow up on you last month?
What are you doing financially to change your life?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!

Sluggy

$32K Savings Challenge......NOVEMBER 2011 Results

Ok, here is my Savings Challenge Update post.
This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against so much spending.

Some day I'd like to spread all the cash I've saved out on the bed and lay on it.  This puppy has the right idea.....
  

On to the November report.....

I have posted my NOVEMBER End of Month $32K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $2,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up November in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of November with?.......$3,686.66!

Income
We had $3681.89 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $3.00 in Rebates(LOL) applied against the food expenses, $1.77 in Interest on the Checking Account toward the Savings Challenge & you get a total of $3686.66.

Our monthly target is an average of $2,666.67 to reach our Year End Goal.
This month we blew that goal out of the water! 8-)

Outgo
As for the expenses in November......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

* The electric bill went up only $67.....that's good seeing as the heat was on!

* The food spending was almost on budget at $263.10
* The credit card bill was $1000+ BUT....almost half of that was money we spent on our mini vacation to Delaware, so we are pulling money out of what we saved in the Savings Challenge last year to pay that part of the bill.
* There were no car repair bills or taxes due this month...yay!!
* I opened my eBay Store up temporarily for the holidays to bring in a little coin, though I am not counting this income as part of the Savings Challenge because it will be spent....but it's STILL a good thing!lol

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* The water bill went up $10.
* Had $154 in unexpected medical associated bills to pay. (A dr. bill from this past summer when Daughter went and saw a dr. not in our plan so insurance won't pay any of it and #2 son lost his retainer so we had to pay for a replacement.)
*  Still a LARGE amount of cash withdrawals.  I went through Hubs receipts last month and there was no unusual spending...except he spends a lot on food and coffee during the day at work  I have nagged, pestered, whined, cajoled, bribed, offered sex all to get him to take his lunch and coffee.  Nothing convinces him.  I'm done trying.   ;-)
*  December means Christmas gift spending so the C/C bill will be high.  It's already at $500+ going into Xmas shopping season.  Add in the $200 in home improvement gift cards I put on the c/c last weekend.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  We kept almost to the food budget amount so I am calling this good considering the month included the big TURKEY DAY meal.

What's ahead for December.......
* There are the usual suspects: electricity, water, phone, cable, credit card bill, food cash, etc.
*  The electric bill will increase as Dec. is colder than Nov.

* Though Christmas is coming up I still plan to stay on budget with food for December.
* The credit card will be high.  With Christmas that's a given since I don't carry large amounts of cash on me when out holiday shopping.  But we don't buy more on the card than we can pay off each month.

YEAR-TO-DATE TOTAL.....
With 11 months behind us, our Savings total to-date for 2011 is $30,105.95.
We are $1,894.05 away from reaching our final goal for the year. Unless there is some catastrophe that wipes out our money in December we WILL hit our goal of $32K saved in 2011!

To add to my confidence that we will succeed is the fact that we will get THREE Paychecks in December because of when the paydays fall.  This means an extra whole paycheck in December...woot!!!  We will have enough if something bad happens to the budget and can still Live Christmas Large and tie it up with a red bow! 8-))))

So how are your savings growing so far this year?
Do you have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses!  You really should, you know.
With the current financial climate in this country, you should try to put away into savings as much as you can each month or be throwing savings at your debt if you still have that.

So come along and Challenge Yourself to Save Money each Month Toward a Realistic for YOU Savings Goal or Debt Goal!

Not everyone can shoot for $32K, I fully get that!
But everyone can shoot for some number, right!?

Find a money goal that works for you and put that number out there for everyone to see.  Put it into paying down your debt, put it into savings, invest it or put it toward the principle in your home mortgage....just get busy and do this!

It will help keep you accountable to your goal if other eyes are on you.
Put it out there online and let us all stalk your money too. ;-)

So how was your November financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?

Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!

Sluggy