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 Report.....the September Edition

*I know I am way late with this but things like moving, living in one room and out of  suitcase and then traveling to Alabama and Florida will take up all your time and energy.  Plus the numbers are so so ugly this month.  You have been warned. 8-) *

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 September report---

I had 2 goals for September.......
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 September in the red.

The amount we ended the month of September with?...-$1,645.88

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in September---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $129.81

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.37

*  SS of $3,570.00

Total "Income" for September....$8,668.99

Expenses in September---

* Irregular bills in September were $4,494.98

* Variable Expenses in September came to $3,593.76

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$10,314.87

$8,668.99-$10,314.87=-$1,645.88

Slush into September of $48,886.01 in that Fund, subtract $1,645.88 and we get $47,240.13 going into October's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $1,645.88.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

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

*  The internet bill was $36.70 lower than in August as we were only in PA for 12 days in September.

*  The electric bill was just .23¢ higher in September but I'm calling this even.

*  We got a small refund from our garbage service in PA as we paid in full for all of 2022.

*  The gas card bill didn't get forwarded to LA so that will appear in October's numbers.

HERE are the BAD THINGS(so many bad things...)

*  The Mastercard was $851.91 higher in September(gee I wonder why?  Oh yeah, moving...).

*  My Amazon c/c was $93.49 higher last month(again, moving).

*  Hubs had an Amazon c/c bill in September too.

*  We had LOTS of irregular bills due in September--

  *  School Taxes(if we sell the PA house before the end of Dec. 2023 we'll get a prorated refund on that)

  *  Moving expenses for disposing of chemicals in PA, renting a dumpster, hiring an electrician to take care of a few items in PA and hiring cleaners to spiffy up the PA house.

  *  We also paid $400 here in LA for an inspection on a house we were buying.

(The BIG moving expenses of the POD rental and move will be in October's bills.  Can't wait....not!)

The Food Budget costs for August are in another post, which I'll post soon with a link here.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on September 2022---If you didn't know, Moving is EXPEN$IVE!  And moving halfway across the country is even more expensive!!  We donated lots of items we didn't feel the need to hang onto plus trashed lots of items as they weren't worth carting 1,341 miles or donating.  Our moving and storage fees are going to HUGE with what we did keep/move.  The costs we paid in September associated with moving were more than our regular living costs we usually incur each month so that's what ate up any excess income funds.

THOUGHTS going forward into October 2022--With the POD expenses, an airline flight, a moving truck rental and gas expenses and a round trip bus ticket to Alabama plus paying cash for a house this will be a great financial month(*insert eye roll here*).  I so want to go back to bed for the rest of October and hide from the numbers.  I feel like Richard IIIrd except I'd want "a tourniquet, a tourniquet  for the hemorrhaging". 8-((

So how was your September 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 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  

Income & Spending Report....March 2022

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, 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 March report---

I had 2 goals for March.......
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 2021.

I can report that we finished up March in the black.
The amount we ended the month of March with?....$1,251.07

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in March---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,229.07(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $174.56

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$2,051.69

* RMSA account to pay for health premiums totaling $2,226.13

*  Stock Dividend of $18.48

*  Cash in Pts. on M/C of $189.73

*  Cash in Pts. on Visa of $268.01

*  Cash in Pts. on NCL Visa of $287.87

*  Fed. Tax Refund of $1,842.00

Total "Income" for March.....$10,287.54

Expenses in March---

* Irregular bills in March were $1,384.55

* Variable Expenses in March came to $5,425.79

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$9,036.47

$10,287.54-$9,036.47=$1,251.07

Slush into March of $40,810.91 in that Fund, add $1,251.07 and we get $42,061.98 going into April's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,251.07

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The Internet, water, cell phone and WAM was the same as last month.

*  The electric bill was $77.23 less than February's bill.

*  The gas c/c was $64.64 less than in February(because we didn't use Sunoco gas much).

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Mastercard was up by $2,550.03 from February.

*  The Amazon card was higher by $186.28 this month.

Irregular bills were paid too.

*  Long Term Care premiums were due

*  We had to kennel the dogs for half a month in March for $600.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on March 2022---We got out with our asses intact and did much better than I predicted.  The Federal tax refund and using c/c points to throw back onto the c/c payments helped a good bit along with not having to pay the real estate taxes until April(usually they are due annually in  March but COVID gave us an extra almost month long extension)so I'll pay the taxes this month as soon as the April 401K withdrawal hits the account.  Otherwise, March would have been a financial fail.

THOUGHTS going forward into April 2022--Besides the real estate taxes being due, we will have a good bit of c/c bills coming due in April from this trip as well, so April might see us in the red for next month.

So how was your March financially? 

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

Income & Spending Report 2022........the January Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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 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 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 2021.

I can report that we finished up January in the black.
The amount we ended the month of January with?....$1,590.18

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,229.07(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $204.10

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal of $2,051.69

* RMSA account to pay for health premiums totaling $2,226.13(yeah, they went up again!)

Total "Income" for January.....$7,710.99

Expenses in January---

* Irregular bills in January were $425.40

* Variable Expenses in January came to $5,695.41

Total Expenses....$6,120.81

$7,710.99-$6,120.81=$1,590.18

Slush into January of $37,456.18 in that Fund, add $1590.18 and we get $39,046.36 going into February 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,590.18

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM was $150 lower than was taken last month.

*  The Amazon c/c was $309.79 less than in December.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The internet bill went up by $3 per month this year.

*  The water bill went up $6.65 in January.

*  The electric bill was $77.07 higher than in December.(Winter, huh!)

*  The gas bill was up $38.54 from last month.

*  The cell phone bill is now $53.60 per month more(until this new phone is paid off).

*  The M/C bill was up $614.70 from December's bill.

*  We had Two Irregular bills in January-

  *  We paid the annual garbage bill in January.

  *  I had a dentist bill of $95.40 this month.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on January 2022---Well we knew the cell bill, the internet costs and the healthcare premiums would be higher in 2022.  Internet was three whole dollars higher so no biggie.

We sat down and talked money after which we have decided to take quarterly regular draws from the 401K of $6K per quarter this year.  Between the real estate taxes in March, the school taxes coming up in September and paying for the Wedding rehearsal that's a lot of big irregular bills coming down the pike, two of which get paid with the firsst quarters withdrawal.  Things should loosen up financial once we get past March.

The RMSA which covers the healthcare premiums will run out mid-May but that's a whole other issue I'm not addressing today.

 

THOUGHTS going forward into February 2022---The wedding is a little over a week away.  Pray that there are no blizzards here in the Mid-Atlantic the weekend after Super Bowl!  Other than bleeding money for this wedding we will be all good financially until March.

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 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 

Income & Spending 2021....The October Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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 October report---

I had 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 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 2021.

I can report that we finished up October in the black.
The amount we ended the month of October with?....$349.68

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $173.90

* Money moved to pay for Cruise of $4281.98

* Blogging Revenue of $109.06

Total "Income" for October.....$7,787.18

Expenses in October---

* Healthcare Premium for October was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in October were $2,950

* Variable Expenses in October came to $4,487.50
Total Expenses....$9,409.49

$9,759.17-$9,409.49=$349.68

Slush into September of $37,977.07 in that Fund, add in $349.68 and we get $38,326.75 going into October's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $349.68.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in September.

*  The WAM was $52 less than was taken last month.

*  The Water bill was $6.44 lower than in September.

*  The cell phone bill was $11.75 lower than last month.

*  The Amazon c/c was $489.76 lower than in September.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $4.36 higher than in September.

*  The gas bill went up by $69.64 from last month.

*  The MC c/c was $1,484.29 higher than September.

*  We paid for the powder room renovation so $2,950.00 in irregular bills.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on October---It was a good month as we were able to cover the bathroom reno without dipping into savings.  I did have to take money out of one of the non-retirement accounts to pay for the December cruise but that's what the account is for...to use for fun things. ;-)
 

THOUGHTS going forward into November 2021---One irregular bill in November, the semi-annual car insurance.  Not a very large bill and it's doable.  We are not hosting Turkey day so that will bring some food costs down but the gas bill will be higher due to two trips to New Jersey(bridal shower and Thanksgiving invite).  Plus a shower gift will come out of November's income but won't break the bank.

So how was your October financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in October?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

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


Sluggy

Food Spending 2021......The September Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2021.

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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 25. 
*****************

ALDI 

OOP  $21.80

Value  $39.56

Savings  44.89%

CVS

OOP  $0.00

Value  $4.99

Savings 100%

HARRIS TEETER

OOP  $3.00

Value  $3.99

Savings  24.81%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $761.21

Value  $761.21
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE

OOP  $3.80

Value  $3.80

Savings  00%

TARGET

OOP  $11.81

Value  $26.57

Savings  55.55%

WALMART
OOP  $266.24

Qs/free Gift Cards  $242.94
Value  $509.18
Savings  47.71%

WEIS

OOP  $39.29

Qs/Sales  $42.79
Value  $82.08
Savings  52.13%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, CVS at 100% and Target at 55.55%.

The worst rate was at Shursave at 00%. (Guess which store Hubs shopped at? lol)
I shopped at 8 different stores in September.  

TOTAL Spent in September.................$345.94

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$324.63

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$670.57

TOTAL Savings of .............................48.38%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for September w/R-A..............$345.94

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$1,085.44
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,431.38
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................75.83%

This closes out the September food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

While I was away and not cooking for half+ of the month, I was shopping when I came across good deals so the food spending didn't cease when I went on my trip.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 6.77% in September 2021 to 75.83% compared to the August's 82.60% savings average.  Still a great savings rate!

With 9 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $2,950.27 on food/toiletries in 2021.

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,950.27

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$15,385.81

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$12,435.54

2020 Yearly Savings Total.............................80.82%

The average per month amount spent is $327.81 in 2021 so far.

My Ibotta rebate, Coupons dotcom and Checkout51 totals for the year so far through September comes to $2,319.03 once I cash out.  Put that next to a full spending of $2,950.27 for the year so far and I've "actually" spent only $631.24 on food/toiletries for the year or an average of $70.14 per month.  Plus I've been able to donate to the food bank and share my haul bounty with others.

I think that is awesome. 8-)))

LOOKING AHEAD To October 2021.........Nothing special going on this month in terms of food and spending.  While I was gone our chest freezer died.  Hubs sprang into action and saved all but the ice cream 8-(((, bought a new freezer, got it home and got the food back into it's new cold home.  I'm looking to eat down the frozen stuff and the old dogs in the pantry so October will be a lower spend month.  Not putting a firm number on the spending but I'll be happy with anything under $300.

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

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

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

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

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

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


Sluggy

The Food Spending.......May 2021 Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2021.

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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 25. (I don't count all the "freebies" I get at the Discount Outlet in my totals either.)
*****************

BREAD OUTLET

OOP  $4.00

Value  $12.07

Savings 66.86%

FOOD LION

OOP  $27.28

Value  $37.15

Savings  26.57%

MALACARI'S

OOP  $10.22

Value  $16.20

Savings  36.91%

OCEAN STATE JOB LOT
OOP  $7.47
Value  $16.50
Savings  54.73%

P and R DISCOUNTS
OOP  $30.41
Value  $61.72
Savings  50.72%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $1739.49
Value  $1739.49
Savings  100%

TARGET

OOP  $6.07

Value  $102.11

Savings  94.09%

WALMART
OOP  $173.50
Value  $372.15
Savings  53.51%

WEIS

OOP  $98.42

Qs/Sales  $67.68
Value  $166.10
Savings  40.75%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Target at 94.09% and The Bread Outlet at 66.86%.

The worst rate was at Food Lion at 26.57%  
I shopped at 9 different stores in May.

TOTAL Spent in May.........................$357.33

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards......$426.67

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$784.00

TOTAL Savings of ...............................54.52%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for May w/R-A...............$357.33
TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$2,165.16
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$2,522.49
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................85.83%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into May wanting to stay under $300 on spending but I didn't quite get there(over by $57.33).  If you count the Ibotta and Coupons dotcom rebates received in May, my "real" spending was only $172.15.  Either way you look at it I am happy with the results.

I also wanted to cut back on the rebating but as you can see that didn't happen. ;-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by .67% in May 2021 to 85.83% compared to the April's 86.50% savings average.  So about the same really.

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $1,628.78 on food/toiletries in 2021.

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,608.27

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$10,445.07

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$8,836.80

2020 Yearly Savings Total.............................84.60%

The average per month amount spent is $321.65 in 2021 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD To June 2021...........

Again, I am going to attempt to cut back on the rebating. (Sluggy plans, God laughs!)  I'll give it my best effort this month.  There are no "food holidays" for us in June and we are well stocked except for fresh produce so we shall see if I can succeed in my plan.  The vegetable plants are in but it will be at least mid July before anything produces.

I am not giving myself a price limit for June but there is always that $400 mark in the back of my mind yelling at me. 8-)

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

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

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

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

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

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


Sluggy

Income & Spending 2020.....the June Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

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

On to the June report---

I had 2 goals for June.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2020.

I can report that we finished up June in the black.
The amount we ended the month of June with?.....$1,273.10

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in June---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $490.14
* Dividend income of $18.27
Total "Income" for June.....$5614.41

Expenses in June---

* Healthcare Premium for June was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in June were $555.41
* Variable Expenses in June came to $1902.14
Total Expenses....$4341.31

$5614.41-$4341.31=$1273.10
Slush into June of $25,844.91 in that Fund, add  the $1273.10 overage brings Slush to $27,118.01 going into July.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1273.10 for June.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were the same as last month.
*  The water bill was exactly the same as in May.
*  The electric bill was $58.06 less than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $21.91 lower than in May.
*  The gas bill was $0.00 so $8.82 less than last month.
*  The WAM was the same amount taken in May.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Long Term quarterly premiums were due.  The only irregular bills due this month.
*  Both dogs needed vet visits/shots so that was $131 paid we didn't plan for.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on June---
Another boring financial month for the win! lol
Even though I was in VA for half the month I didn't break the bank down there.
Two good news items-Ex-CB went back to work the last of June and his plan to move out are moving forward.  He should be fully moved into his apartment by August 1.(yay!!!)
Looking back at 2019 our savings in June, July, August and September was in the RED so I much prefer 2020's "in the black' numbers.

THOUGHTS going forward into July 2020----
July is another no irregular bills due month so that's a plus.  I don't plan to grocery shop much in July except our eldest son will be here staying with us for two weeks or so before his new apartment in NJ is ready so yeah, take back what I just said about not grocery shopping much this month. ;-)
No plans to go anywhere in July except to the bank to cash out of fully matured Savings Bond.
July is "steady as she goes Cap'n!" as they say in all those bad seafaring classic movies.

So how was your June financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in June?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

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


Sluggy

Food Spending 2020.....The June Report

Onward to Junes's food spending report.......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JUNE 2020.

I have posted June's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in June.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(3 at home this month). No "kids" under 24.
*****************

CARONE'S/SHURSAVE
OOP  $26.02
Value  $27.22
Savings   .41%

KROGER
OOP  $30.34
Value  $57.87
Savings  49.57%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $17.55
Value  $60.44
Savings  70.96%

PandR DISCOUNTS

OOP  $15.57
Value  $39.32
Savings  60.40% 

RITE-AID *
OOP  $59.60
Qs/Ads/BC/GCard  $442.55
Value  $502.15
Savings  98.73%

SHARP SHOPPER
OOP   $174.36
Value  $389.31
Savings  55.21%

WALMART
OOP  $9.82
Value  $12.75
Savings  23.00%

WEIS
OOP  $72.29
Qs/Ads  $51.85
Value  $124.14
Savings  41.77%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 98.73%, Ollie's at 70.96% P and R Discounts at 560.40% .   My worst savings rate was at Carone's with .41%. But then again, Carone's was Hubs' shopping and not mine. lol  MY worst rate was Walmart at 23.00%

I shopped at 8 different stores in June.

I also earned $92.42 in cash rebates in June which helps offset the spending once I cash those in at the end of 2020.

TOTAL Spent........................................$405.55

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales................$807.65
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$1213.20

TOTAL Savings of ................................66.57%


This closes out the June food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I did stay under the $500 budget I set for myself in June so that's positive.  I hit lots of food 75% clearance(and some OTC meds too)at lots of Rite-Aid both in PA and VA near my brother's house which stocked me up for not much money so that's a plus too.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 16.70% in June 2020 to 66.57% compared to the May 2020 rate of 49.87% savings average.  A very significant jump down in savings rate.  I'm all good with that!

With 6 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $2176.07 on food/toiletries in 2019.

Going into 2020 before the pandemic blew the wind out of my sails I wanted to stay at or under $4K for the yearly food spending.  At this point I don't think that will happen but we'll keep plugging along anyway.


2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1770.52

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$4875.66

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$3105.14

2020 Yearly Savings Total............63.69%

The average per month amount spent is $354.10 at this point in 2020 which went up some from April's average.  As long as I'm around $400 per month it's all good.

LOOKING AHEAD To July 2020.............

July will be eating down the freezers and buying fresh produce as it comes into season mostly.  If I hit on deals we can use/need I'll pick that up too but I hope to stay under $300 this month.  Sluggy plans and God laughs. lol

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?

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

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

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


Sluggy

Income & Spending Report 2019.....the November Edition

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

Two changes we implemented for 2019 at our financial meeting in Jan.--

* Hubs wants to take $150 per person WAM(aka Walking Around Money)in 2019.  I found last year's $100 per month adequate but Hubs chafed at that little so we are upping it this year to $150 per person per month.
                                                                                                                                         
*As for our 2018 Slush Fund, this is how we are going to handle it in 2019......
We won't be taking a quarterly 401K withdrawal in 2019 until we "need" to, instead of taking one each quarter as we had planned back in 2017 when Hubs retired.  Why pull 401K monies out when they are earning more than our other regular bank funds?  Use those instead for now!

Since the Slush Fund ended 2018 with $23,164.17 in it and the Sinking Fund ended 2018 with $468.37 in it, we are, for now at least, not taking any more 401K withdrawals and using what is in the Sinking Fund and/or Slush Fund to cover all irregular bills that come up in 2019 plus a few projects around the house.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" at the top of the blog.

  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 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 2019.

I can report that we finished up November in the black.
The amount we ended the month of November with?.....$1087.56

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $635.84
* Blogging Revenue of $133.73
Total "Income" for November.....$5916.91

Expenses in November---

* Healthcare Premium for November was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in November came to $2980.68
Total Expenses....$4829.95

$5916.91-$4829.35=$1087.56

Slush into November $17,496.43+ $1,087.56 addition=$18,583.99

Then the hot water heater died in November so we had to take $1076..00 out of the Slush Fund to pay for that.....
$18,583.99-$1076.00=$17,507.99 in the Slush Fund heading into December.

The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $11.56 for November.
That's how much overage in November we had after paying for the water heater, $11.56.
So basically November was a wash in terms of putting any money aside.  I am glad we didn't have to touch savings. ;-)

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $15.38 lower than in September.
*  The WAM was the same as in October.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as last month.
*  The Amazon and M/C bills were less than October's bills($41.64 and $79.99 less respectively)

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $74.83 higher than October.  It's that time of year folks. ;-)
*  The gas card bill was $23.88 higher than last month.
*  The water bill was $5.80 higher than in October.
*  The semi-annual car insurance was due to the tune of $717.28.**
*  There was a vet bill for Chester's neutering of $477.28

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

**The Sinking Fund was emptied in November of it's $468.37 to put toward the car insurance.  Using that we only had to use $248.95 of income to cover this irregular bill. 8-)

FINAL THOUGHTS on November----

It was pretty uneventful financially.  Except for paying for a broken water heat, the car insurance premium(which we knew was happening)and paying for Chester's surgery things were monetarily boring which is how I like it. ;-)


THOUGHTS going forward into December 2019----

The only irregular bill due in December are the Long Term Care premiums.
There is Xmas spending on the credit card coming up in December(amazingly Xmas comes every year!!), the electric bill will continue to rise with Winter here.
There will be some medical bills coming due as well in December for appointments in November.

On the bright side I'll be using my "small economies" cash to cover the food bill this month.
If we can have bills and income balance about even and not have to pull cash from the Slush Fund in December I'll be a very happy camper.

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 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

2018 Income & Spending Report.....the December Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity(like a pension) and 401K$ withdrawals(retirement savings), 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.

But this money leftover at the end of each month, at least for now(as we find our new financial "normal")won't be saved toward a yearly Savings Challenge.  This leftover cash will go into a "Slush Fund" for now to be used if we have any emergencies come up during the year.  If we still have Slush Funds at the end of the year we'll decide then what to do with those funds.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018" at the top of the blog.

  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 2018 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 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 2018.

I have to report that we finished up December in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of December with?.......-$1498.77

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* Dividend income of $99.12
* Refunds/Rebates of $754.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $377.86

Total "Income" for December......$6263.38


Expenses in December---

* Healthcare Premium for December was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in December came to $5948.67
Total Expenses....$7762.15

Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into December was $468.37. Nothing was paid from this fund so it goes into 2019 at $468.37


We went into November with $24,662,94 in the Slush Fund.
Add in December's overage of -$1498.77 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $23,164.17 going into January 2019.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges, internet and water bill were approximately the same as in November.(Within $1 or so).
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in November.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals was the same amount as last month.
.

HERE are the BAD THINGS-lots of bad. lolz

*  The c/c bill was $1299.506 higher than in November.
*  The electric bill was up $144.36 from than last month.
*  We paid Long Term Care premiums in December out of reg. income.
*  The gas card bill was $33.71 higher than in November.
*  I had to pay for my drivere's license renewal in December.
*  There was $996.47 in charges on my Visa card this month.
*  Hubs had a $29.84 in charges on his Discover card.
*  There was $22.28 in medical copays that didn't get put on the HSA account.
*  I spent $270 on discounted Target gift cards in December.
*  Besides stuff bought on the credit cards for Christmas I took $150 in cash out of the bank for Christmas giving.

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

So we end December in the red with -$1498.77 in overage to subtract from the Slush Fund, leaving it at $23,164.17 heading in 2019.
The Sinking Fund goes into 2019 standing at $468.37.

FINAL THOUGHTS on December---
No quarterly 3rd quarter 401K withdrawal meant December was going to be tight since we paid the Long Term Care premiums out of reg. income instead of the Sinking Fund. Lots of big bills, mostly related to Christmas spending and buying a LOT of gift cards for use during 2019.  Some unplanned bills too(car inspection, car maintenance/repair, driver's license renewal, etc)and that sure added up.
I won't say December wasn't expensive because it was!!

Still, I am glad we didn't take a 401K withdrawal as that $ is making more where it is and we could pull from the Slush Fund which isn't somewhere earning a lot right now.  I really wanted to see if we could forestall a quarterly withdrawal in 2018 and survive.....and we did! ;-)


THOUGHTS going forward into January 2019----
January.......let's see what's coming up.

Normal WAM withdrawal this month(so far).
Normal or lower than normal food spending planned.
The credit card should be around $1K of usual charges in Jan. as there are no Xmas bills coming due on it.(Yay!)

Hubs and I need to sit down and run the numbers in January and see what we need to change in our budget for 2019: if we take more or less WAM this year, when to time the 401K withdrawals and how much, what to do with that $23K Slush Fund and what to do with a CD we have maturing the end of Feb....that sort of thing.

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 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!

Make this year was the one were you clean up your finances and pay off your debts.
Plan to set something aside if you didn't already or increase what you have banked now for your future self.
Or pay extra on the principle of your mortgage if your house isn't already paid off.

Live below your means and keep some change for a rainy day....because no matter how sunny it is in your life now, dark clouds come along and you'll be glad you have that umbrella to keep you dry.

Sluggy

2018 Income & Spending Report......the November Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity(like a pension) and 401K$ withdrawals(retirement savings), 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.

But this money leftover at the end of each month, at least for now(as we find our new financial "normal")won't be saved toward a yearly Savings Challenge.  This leftover cash will go into a "Slush Fund" for now to be used if we have any emergencies come up during the year.  If we still have Slush Funds at the end of the year we'll decide then what to do with those funds.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018" at the top of the blog.

  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 2018 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 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 2018.

I have to report that we finished up November in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of November with?.......$260.35

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $381.61

Total "Income" for November......$5413.25


Expenses in November---

* Healthcare Premium for November was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in November came to $3339.42
Total Expenses....$5152.90

Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into November was $468.37. No irregular bills were paid out of the Sinking Fund goes into December at $468.37.  We instead paid for the semi-annual car insurance bill due in November from the monthly income and did not take a  quarterly 401K withdrawal to cover it.


We went into October with $24,402.59 in the Slush Fund.
Add in November's overage of $260.35 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $24,662.94 going into December.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as in September.(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $4.49 lower than last month.
*  The c/c bill was up $445.56 than in October.
*  The electric bill was $70.99 lower than last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in October.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals was the same amount as last month.
.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The gas card bill was $38.10 higher than last month
*  There was a $89.88 charge card bill on my Visa card this month.

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

So we end November in the black with $260.35 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into December standing at $468.37.

FINAL THOUGHTS on November---
No quarterly 401K withdrawal meant November was going to be tight since we were going to pay the car insurance out of reg. income instead of the Sinking Fund. No other big bills except the credit card bill.  Seeing as the food spending is put on the c/c, as well as the cell phone bill, that accounts for  almost $600 of the c/c bill for November.  Thinking of it that way makes it feel like less of a large bill.


THOUGHTS going forward into December 2018----
December.......let's see what's coming up.
Normal WAM withdrawal this month.
Normal or lower than normal food spending planned.
The credit card will be high next month....read "Christmas" costs and I went a little nuts buying discounted gift cards to use in 2019. ;-)

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 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!

Make this year was the one were you clean up your finances and pay off your debts.
Plan to set something aside if you didn't already or increase what you have banked now for your future self.
Or pay extra on the principle of your mortgage if your house isn't already paid off.

Live below your means and keep some change for a rainy day....because no matter how sunny it is in your life now, dark clouds come along and you'll be glad you have that umbrella to keep you dry.

Sluggy

Rejiggering the Budget & Spending in Retirement-2018

We had our budget meeting for 2018.  That's our discussion on how much money we'd have for 2018 and where we are going to spend that money.

Just to recap, our income is derived from an annuity payment each month, and once we access it, our 401K account.  We also have additional regular savings that I've socked away since 2009 which we can access if needed(but I hope we don't need it this year).
We have a RMSA to reimburse for healthcare premiums in 2018 and I'll be starting to use our HSA account starting in 2018 for medical co-pays/payments.
So this discussion is just about how/where to spend the annuity income and how much 401K cash we need to withdraw in 2018.

First thing was to figure out how much money we spent in 2017.  This will help us figure out what we'll need to spend in 2018.  Using that as a base we can add/subtract due to changes we want to make in 2018.
After tallying it all up I found that we actually spent just shy of $60K last year.  That's a lot of money!  Some of that spending won't be happening going forward, like College Boy's tuition and living expenses at the apartment up at college.  And hopefully all the expenses associated with the Louisiana house will be going away this year too.  Other expenses we stopped paying in 2017 once Hubs retired were commuting costs, dry cleaning costs, and other costs associated with him working.  If the stars all align I believe we'll have expenses about $10K less than what we spent in 2017.

Last year we had a foot in both the regular income world and the retired income world so it was a hard year to balance spending.  This year it's Retirement 24/7 at Chez Sluggy. ;-)

Going forward our annuity comes to just over $38K per year net.  I don't know with the new tax legislation if the tax withholding will change so I'll go with what we've been getting so far.

First order of business was to figure out how much we actually "need" to withdraw from the 401K to supplement the annuity income in 2018.  We were able to hold off withdrawing from the 401K the last Quarter of 2017 but that won't cut it going forward as Hubs wants to spend more on "fun" in 2018.

* Hubs' plan going into retirement was that he wanted to withdraw $36K a year from the 401K($9K per quarter).  Even at this rate, once we stop needing to withdraw the 401K $ to live on in 7+ years, when Hubs hits full Social Security age, we'll have over 75% of what we had when he retired in that account. So it's in no danger of being depleted withdrawing at that rate.
$36K after tax withholding would be $30,600 net.
$38K+$30,600 is $68,600 net income a year.

Now I know if we take out that much Hubs will set about spending that much! lol  I really don't think, at least for now, we need to withdraw $9K every quarter to supplement the annuity and live a comfortable life.
Call me the "stick in the mud" in this relationship but starting in 2019, for the following 4 years and 3 months(4 years and 11 months for me)we are on our own with regard to healthcare insurance and who even knows what health insurance will look like/cost after 2018.  Yes we have a medical savings account but there isn't enough in there to pay for almost 5 more years on insurance premiums out of pocket.  I am staying cautious when it comes to spending money on "fun".  I pointed out to Hubs that we already spent over $8K in discretionary or fun in 2017 so we really don't need to withdraw lots more $ for that purpose.   ;-)

Withdrawing $6K a quarter gives us $20,613.24 per year after tax withholding which bumps our income up to $58,690.80 net per year.
It's about $1500 less per year than what we spent in all of 2017.  I'd like to try to keep the withdrawals to this amount per quarter, at least for now.

* Next order of business was the "Walking Around Money" or WAM.
Since retiring we've been allotting $100 each per month for each of us.
In the last 6 months I've found I can stay under $100 per month easy.  Hubs?....not so much.
He doesn't feel comfortable getting down to his last dollar.  He had a "situation" where he went out for Chinese take-out at the other place in our town because our usual place decided to close on Mondays(and it was a Monday).  This other place only takes cash or local checks, no credit cards.  We didn't think about that when he went and of course, being the end of the month, he didn't have enough cash to pay.  Ever since that incident he's been antsy about running out of cash.

Now I don't think it's "fair" that he gets more WAM than me to throw about anyway he wants and he doesn't think it's "fair" that he can't spend what he wants on what he wants.  It's the old "I work hard so I deserve it" gambit, right?

I asked him to make a list of things he might want to buy in 2018 and we can set this much aside for him to blow.  But he refuses to be pinned down or give me any inkling on what he WANTS to spend on in 2018.  This makes me nervous since I am sure between buying coffee drinks, trips to McDonald's, books at retail price, alcohol, spending money on chess(software and entering tournaments)and on his new beer brewing hobby(the equipment can be pricey!)during all this free time he now has, he could blow through his WAM plus another $10K in short order and have no clue he's blown through that much.

We came to a compromise on the WAM--we still only get $100 per month each BUT he gets an extra $50 in January ONLY.  He's going to keep that $50 as an emergency WAM back-up amount so "if" he runs out of WAM before the month is over he won't "feel" broke. lolz  I just keeping wondering how long until he spends that extra $50 and wants it replaced?...Hmmm.....

* Then it was on to the Sinking Fund to pay irregular bills out of.  Hubs didn't like the idea of pulling $650(or more if costs go up on those bills)off the top of the annuity payment each month.  I went through the IBs(irregular bills)per quarter and showed him how much we need each quarter to pay those in full. 
1st Quarter-$2558.51(Garbage, Sewage, R/E Taxes, LTC(Long Term Care Policy))
2nd Quarter-$1383.24(Car Insurance, LTC)
3rd Quarter-$3220.29(House Insurance, School Taxes, LTC)
4th Quarter-$1383.24(Car Insurance, LTC)

So I am taking the corresponding amounts in Jan., Apr., Jul. and Oct. off the top of the 401K withdrawals in each of these months to cover the IBs and putting it into a designated account out of which the IBs will be paid.
I really don't see what difference it makes if I take it out of the 401K withdrawals or $650 out of the monthly annuity payment but if doing it this way makes Hubs happy, I'm good with it.  8-)

For the 1st quarter after deducting the $ for the IBs into the Sinking Fund, we have $2,594.80 left in the 401K withdrawal to add to our income this quarter, or $86493 each month to add to the annuity income for Jan., Feb. and Mar. 
For the 2nd and 4th Quarters we'll have $3770.07 left in the 401K withdrawals to add to our income, or $1256.69 each month as the IBs aren't so much in those quarters.
For the 3rd Quarter we'll only have $1933.02 left in the 401K withdrawal to add to our income, or $644.34 each month.

So after taking the IBs dedicated amounts off the top of the 401K withdrawals here is what our net "income" will look like per month--
Jan. $4038.06
Feb. $4038.06
Mar. $4038.06
Apr. $4429.82
May $4429.82
Jun. $4429.82
Jul.  $3817.47
Aug. $3817.47
Sep. $3817.47
Oct. $4429.82
Nov. $4429.82
Dec. $4429.82
$50,145.51 Total for 2018 to pay all the variable bills per year.
(Plus $8,545.29 tucked away to pay the IBs for the year.)

So this is the financial game plan heading into 2018.

Questions?
Comments?


Sluggy