Food Spending....the November 2024 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for November 2024.

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

BROOKSHIRE'S 

OOP  $1.47

Sales  $2.02

Value  $3.49

Savings  57.88%

BROOKSHIRE'S

OOP  $21.40

Sales  $12.23

Value  $33.63

Savings  36.37%

KROGER

OOP  $174.24

Qs/Gift Cards  $207.90

Value $382.14

Savings  54.40%

SUPER 1 FOOD

OOP  $15.86

Value  $19.00

Savings  16.53%

WALMART

OOP  $189.02

Qs/Gift Cards $88.54

Value  $277.56

Savings  31.90%

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

I shopped at 5 different stores in NOVEMBER.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2024 Yearly Total Value of Items  $12,533.45

2024 Total Saved   $6,146.78

2024 Yearly Total Spent  $6,146.78

2024 Yearly Savings Total of  49.04%

The average per month amount spent is $558.80 in 2024 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

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

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

Because I don't like to let money sit in these rebate accounts and Paypal, I send $$ to my bank account throughout the year.  So far I have sent $4,202.65 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 11 month point in 2024 comes in at $1,944.13 or $176.74 per month.

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

LOOKING AHEAD TO DECEMBER 2024.....

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

Gone are the days of a $350 grocery budget.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sluggy

 

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 May 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 May report--

I had 2 goals for May....

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 May in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of May with?....$1,465.66

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in May---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,012.32

Total "Income" for April....$7,371.13

Expenses in May---

*  Irregular bills in May were $3,251.00

*  Variable Expenses in May came to $1,947.04

*  Medical Premiums in May were $707.43

Total Expenses....$5,905.47

$7,371.13-$5,905.47=$1,465.66

Slush Fund coming into May of $61,222.22 and the addition of $1,465.66 in May, our end of May 2024 Slush fund comes to $62,687.88

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,465.66.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill was the same as in April.

*  The WAM was $200 less than last month.(We took out $300 more for the cruise.)

*  The electric bill went down in May by $89.09

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $55.00 lower than last month.

*  The Mastercard was $1,517.03 less than in April.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $649.19 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  We had 2 irregular bills in May--

*  We paid the yearly car insurance bill of $1,805.00.  It went up quite a bit from last year. 8-(

*  We paid the State Taxes of $1,446.00.

*  My Amazon C/C was $313.87 higher than last month.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for May 2024---We stayed within our means for the month.  Even with two large irregular bills we came out ahead.  It was a month.

 GOING FORWARD INTO JUNE 2024--The only irregular bill due in June is the Long Term Care Premiums.  And of course, Hubs premium went up since he had a birthday since the last LTC bill. ugh  Not much going on here in June other than the usual and hoping that sensor in my car stays off and we don't have to have it replaced.  And the dogs aren't due for a grooming again until July.  And I'm trying to use up some freezer and pantry staples instead of buying more at the grocery store. hahaha  We should be under our means again for June unless something untoward happens.

Go.

Us.

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

So how was your May financially?

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

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 a retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid 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.....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).
****************

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%

********************
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....the April 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 April report--

I had 2 goals for April....

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 April in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of April with?....$5,916.83

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in April---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $680.88

*  Quarterly 401K Withdrawal of $6,215.06

*  Blog Revenue of $125.13

Total "Income" for April....$13,379.88

Expenses in April---

*  Irregular bills in April were $2,786.00

*  Variable Expenses in April came to $3,969.62

*  Medical Premiums in April were $707.43

Total Expenses....$7,463.05

$13,379.88-$7,463.05=$5,916.83

Slush Fund coming into April of $55,305.39 and the addition of $5,916.83 in April, our end of April 2024 Slush fund comes to $61,222.22

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $5,916.83

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill and the cell phone bill(.08¢ lower)were all the same as in March.

*  The electric bill went down in April by $44.61

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $389.11 lower than last month.

*  My Amazon c/c bill was $0.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $191.24 lower than in March.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  We had 2 irregular bills in April--

*  We had tree removal for $400.

*  We paid the Federal Taxes of $2,386.00(Will be adjusting our withholding so this isn't so bad next year.)

*  The WAM was $200 more in April due to taking a little extra $$ on our cruise.

*  The Mastercard was $1,844.79 higher than in March. Most of that was dog boarding we paid upfront while we were on the cruise.

*  Hubs Medigap Supplement went up by $9.41 per month as he had a birthday in April.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for APRIL 2024---This month turned out a bit better than expected, even with paying Federal Taxes, dog boarding, etc.  Food spending was about half of what it was last month since we were not home and food shopping for about half the month.  The quarterly 401K withdrawal also was a bonus this month to keep us in the black.

THOUGHS GOING FORWARD INTO MAY 2024--That 401K$ quarterly withdrawal will come in handy in May what with State Taxes due and c/c spending on the Cruise will come due.

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

So how was your April financially?

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

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 a retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid 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

April Food Spending 2024

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for April 2024.

I have posted April'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 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).
****************

CVS

OOP  $.15

Sales  $13.03

Value  $13.18

Savings  98.84%

KROGER

OOP  $254.38

Qs/Gift Cards $271.51

Value $525.89

Savings  51.63%

SHOPPERS VALU

OOP $11.32

Sales  $10.24

Value $21.56

Savings  47.50%

WALMART

OOP  $272.70

Qs/Gift Cards $149.73

Value  $422.43

Savings  35.44%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at CVS with a savings of 98.84%.  My worse rate was at Walmart with 35.44%.  Not a bad savings rate overall.

I shopped at 4 different stores in APRIL.

TOTAL Spent in April......$538.55

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$444.51

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$983.06

TOTAL Savings of........45.22%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 3.85% in April to 45.22% compared to March's 49.07% savings average.  A substantial decrease in savings rate but still over 45%

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 $2,227.39 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.

2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,765.94

2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$5,356.50

2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$2,590.56

2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................48.36%

The average per month amount spent is $691.85 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 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 MAY 2024.....

.

I am going to attempt to not grocery shop in May*gasp*.  I know I won't spend anything.  I have an impossible Ibotta Big Bonus($35 for 95 items!!!)so I really have no motivation to rebate this month(unless there are things for the food bank and I don't count those items in my grocery budget any longer). I have a packed freezer(and thankfully it was packed when the power went out, which helped keep the temperature down, but we did lose some ice cream *RIP*)plus lot of canned/boxes goods so the only thing I'll try to spend on this month is fresh produce.

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....February 2024

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 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 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 February in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of February with?....$1,131.53

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in February---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $729.37

Total "Income" for February....$7,372.61

Expenses in February---

*  Irregular bills in February were $1,279.32

*  Variable Expenses in February came to $4,263.74

*  Medical Premiums in February were $698.02

Total Expenses....$6,241.08

$7,372.61-$6,241.08=$1,131.53

 Slush Fund coming into February of $51,104.06 and the addition of $1,131.53 in February, our end of February 2024 Slush fund comes to $52,235.59

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,131.53

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill, the cell phone bill were all the same as in January.

*  We didn't take any WAM last month(used leftover trip money in December for WAM).

*  The electric bill went down in February by $61.96.

*  My Amazon c/c bill was $643.15 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $1,453.23 higher than last month.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $148.67 higher than last month.

*  We had 2 irregular bills in February--

*  The TJMAXX c/c was $50.14(that's a one off)

*  The BOA c/c went down in February by $3,09.65.  We paid for the cruise in January and the Shore Excursions in February.  There should be no charges in March. Yay!

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for FEBRUARY 2024---This month turned out a bit better than expected, even with the high grocery spending.  Didn't go anywhere but doctors and grocery stores and didn't do anything that cost additional money(except a couple of times eating out).

THOUGHS GOING FORWARD INTO MARCH 2024--Other than doctor appointments and grocery shopping, there is nothing going on in March that will cost money.  The electric bill should go down again in March.  The water, cell and WAM should remain the same as before.  The credit cards are the wild cards in March.  We will have the Long Term Care premiums come in March and will pay those irregular bills.

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

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 down/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 all your excess monies after bills were paid 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

February Food Spending....2024

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for February 2024.

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, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

ALDI

OOP  $47.59

Sales  $27.74

Value  $75.33

Savings  36.82%

CVS

OOP  $1.29

Saving $14.67

Value  $15.96

Savings   91.92%

KROGER

OOP  $267.42

Qs/Gift Cards $245.26

Value $512.68

Savings  47.84%

OLLIE'S

OOP $32.78

Sales  $30.59

Value $63.37

Savings  48.37%

WALMART

OOP  $310.50

Qs/Gift Cards $147.73

Value  $458.23

Savings  32.24%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at CVS with a savings of 91.92%.  My worse rate was at Walmart with 32.24%.  

I shopped at 5 different stores in FEBRUARY.

TOTAL Spent in February......$659.58

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$647.16

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,306.74

TOTAL Savings of........49.41%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....Well so much for closing the purse strings in February. lol  Inflation is real folks and hits everyone at the grocery store(as well as in utility bills and at the gas pump).  Our government just ignores all these high prices and doesn't even include them in the Consumer Price Index.  Well what the hell DO they include because last time I looked most folks need to eat, pay for heat and/or ac and need cars to get to work!  *Getting off my soap box now.*

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 3.39% in February to 49.41% compared to January's 52.80% savings average.  Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people-because I don't have to). I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 2 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,312.52 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.

2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,312.52

2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$2,690.09

2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,377.57

2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................51.21%

The average per month amount spent is $656.26 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 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 MARCH 2024.....

Who the hell knows where prices will be in a month!  I have no crystal ball and the government just keeps printing money willy-nilly which makes our dollars stretch even less further.

I'll keep an eye on what we spend, rebate and coupon like a mad woman when I have to step foot in a grocery store and shop from my pantry when I can.

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 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 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....January 2024

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 January report--

I had 2 goals for January....

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 January in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of January with?....$3,424.39

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $987.68

*  Quarterly 401K Withdrawal of $5,200.13(after texes)

Total "Income" for January....$12,625.17

Expenses in January---

*  Irregular bills in January were $5,837.18

*  Variable Expenses in January came to $3,363.60

Total Expenses....$9,200.78

$12,625.17-$9,200.78=$3,424.39

 Slush Fund coming into January of $47,679.67 and the addition of $3,424.39 in January, our end of January 2024 Slush fund comes to $51,104.06. 

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $3,424.39

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill, internet were the same as last month.

*  The WAM was $300 lower since we didn't take any in January.  We used leftover cash we had taken out in December for the Holiday trip.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $509.33 lower than in December.

*  The Health Insurance premiums(Medicare, supplements and Part D plans, as well as Hubs vision care), are now $379.06 lower than we I was on private health insurance and Hubs was on Medicare. Plus we no longer have those high deductibles for my private insurance coverage. yay! 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill went up by $173.12(it's Winter, duh!)in January.

*  My Amazon c/c was $42.22 higher than last month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $50.49 higher than in December.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $494.38 higher than last month.

*  We had 4 irregular bills in January--

*  A small bill for Roaman's

*  A much bill to Talbot's(both for new clothes)

*  I bought Supplements

*  We needed Toner(stocking up)for the new printer we had to buy

*  A small Sunoco gas card bill

*  We had a Vet Bill for Chester

*  Paid for the Cruise(ouch)

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for JANUARY 2024---Well the healthcare premiums got tunred on it's ear in January as I went onto Medicare like Hubs.  Yay.  No more $1K+ a month for private insurance for me(only Hubs' vision benefit costing $15.91 per month, which he keeps for life).  Now we have 2 x Medicare Part B premiums, 2 x Medigap supplement premiums and 2 x Part D drug supplement premiums.  All those still end up costing a bit less than what we paid before I hit Medicare age.   Go us.  

THOUGHS GOING FORWARD INTO FEBRUARY 2024--

More credit card charges for the trip from the Holidays will roll in, heating bill will be higher(it's Winter, duh! and it's unseasonaly cold in Louisiana now) and I have a modest payment due in February for the shore excursions for this April. I'll use c/c points again toward the excursions bill as I paid the cruise off in January

I am going to try to keep the purse strings closed in February on food/toiletries and any other miscellaneous spending.  Let's hope the power and water don't go off anymore, which will mean more spending.

I've got 3 medical appointments the first week of February, the Painful doc later in February and more Neurologic testing come March as well as a Painful doc follow-up that month.  Not sure yet how much OOP that will entail.

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

So how was your January financially?

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

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 a retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid 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

INCOME & SPENDING...DECEMBER 2023

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 had 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 2023. 

*  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 black.

The amount extra we ended the month of December with?....$1,847.63

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3,672.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $985.66

*  Stock Dividend of $19.95

Total "Income" for December....$7,328.270

Expenses in December---

*  Irregular bills in December were $1,608.86

*  Variable Expenses in December came to $4,057.97

Total Expenses....$5,480.64

$7,328.27-$5,480.64=$1,847.64

 Slush Fund coming into December of $45,848.23 and the addition of $1,847.63 in December, our end of December 2023 Slush fund comes to $47, 695.86. (This isn't counting the $35K I siphoned off to invest into a high rate CD in October.)

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,847.64

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance premium, vision care, Hubs supplement plan and internet were the same as last month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $172.10 lower than in November.

*  The Aviator c/c was $1,247.61 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill went up by $119.00(it's Winter, duh!)in December

*  My Amazon c/c was $465.36 higher than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $228.17 higher than in November.

*  We had 4 irregular bills in December--

*  The bill of $784.55 for quarterly LTC premiums.

*  We had an irregular bill for $160.22 for property taxes.

*  We paid $170.00 to have the dishwasher installed.

*  We took $480.00 in cash for our December trip.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for DECEMBER 2023---December was a moderatly heavy expense month(Daughter's birthday, CHRISTMAS, irregular bills, etc.)but we knew we'd take a hit in the financial realm and were prepared for it.  Also most of the trip spending for December won't hit until the January(as it was put on credit cards that we pay off each month in full)so we've got that to look forward to. rah.  January may be a worse financial month than December turned out to be.

I am just happy to see we didn't go into the red in December. 8-))

THOUGHTS going forward into JANUARY 2024---Well the healthcare premiums get turned on it's ear in January as I go onto Medicare like Hubs.  Yay.  No more $1K+ a month for private insurance for me(only Hubs vision benefit of $15.91-which he keeps for life)but now we have 2 x Medicare Part B premiums, 2 x Part D drug supplement premiums and 2 x Medigap supplement premiums.  All that still ends up costing a bit less than what we paid before I hit Medicare age. go us. 

There will be higher than normal credit card bills(trip-gas, hotels, food), Christmas bills(some paid in December thankfully), I bought new clothes and supplements on the trip, heating bill will be higher(it's Winter, duh!) and I have a big payment due in January for the cruise for this April.  We will have a quarterly 401K withdrawal hitting our account in January which will pay for the cruise balance(I used about $500 worth of c/c points to put toward that which helped lower that bill).  In the end, January bills may end up putting us in the red for the month but we can handle it.

In 2023 the "Perfect Storm" of bills put us in the red for only two months-February and June(for a total of -$10,005.79, while we came out ahead the other 10 months for a total of $33,146.26 for 2023.  Subtracting those 2 months when we went negative we had a yearly gain of $23,140.47 overall.*

* While we had a gain of $23,140.47 some of those funds aren't "liquid", as in CD interest and Bond interest.  We'll realize those funds once these investing instruments mature.

Here's hoping 2024 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 a retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid 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

Income & Spending.....November 2023

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.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the November report--

I had 2 goals for November....

The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.

The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fund may be applied toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2023.  

 

I'm happy to report that we finished up November in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of November with?....$1,243.53

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3,672.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $953.52

Total "Income" for November....$7,276.18

Expenses in November---

*  Irregular bills in November were $1,450.94

*  Variable Expenses in November came to $3,410.52

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,171.19*

Total Expenses....$6,032.65

$7,276.18-$6,032.65=$1,243.53

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare, I include his Vision Care, and his Medicare supplement in this number with my Healthcare Premium.  His Part B comes directly out of his SS check before we get it.

Slush into November of $44,604.70 and the addition of $1,243.53 November's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $45,848.23

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,243.53

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, cell phone bill, Health Insurance premium, vision care, Hubs supplement plan and internet were the same as last month.

*  The electric bill went down by $5.92.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Mastercard c/c was $37.56 higher than in October.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $64.02 higher than last month.

*  The Aviator c/c was $1044.98 higher than in October.

*  We had 4 irregular bills in November--

*  The bill of $420.00 for yearly garbage pickup.

*  We had an irregular bill for $208.37 for a yearly vet visit.

*  Hubs had a car repair of $810.57(brakes and tires).

*  I had to join AARP to get the Medigap Supplement/Part D Plan I wanted so $12.00 paid for a year.

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 NOVEMBER 2023---Even though we paid OOP less for groceries/HBA/paper products this month we also had more credit card charges for non-food/household stuff.  Interest earned was up in November which is good.

THOUGHTS going forward into DECEMBER 2023---Who the heck knows??  Long Term Care Premiums will be due in the irregular bill department, the dishwasher "may" be installed this month and the dogs are being groomer this month. I have to pay in full for the cruise we booked plus it's Christmas and my daughter's birthday this month so that will cost us.  And we are going to PA to see our youngest, with stops in MD, VA and maybe AL on what may be my Farewell Tour Road Trip which will put more mileage on the credit cards.  December will be a financial hit but we can afford it.

So how was your November financially?

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

Did you stay within your budget or not?

What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?

Did you pay down/off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid 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