$24K Savings Challenge....February Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.
Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2014 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $24,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the February report.....

I have posted my February End of Month $24K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $2,000.

I have to report that we finished up February with a nice hunk of cash but not the target amount.
The extra cash amount we ended the month of February with?.......$1,359.15.

Income
We had $856.52 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
 

Other monies received in February totaled $502.63.  This included interest made on accounts, blog revenue and our son began paying his own portion on the car insurance. 8-))

This brought us to our gain of $1,359.15 for February.
Since we have no debt anymore, this goes into savings.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  Water and Phone were the same as January's totals.

*  I spent under $400 for food/toiletries in February.
*  The credit card bill was $1100 less than January's bill.
*  The Cash withdrawals were $98.50 less than in January.
*  The music lessons were $40 less(1 less lesson this month.)
*  No expensive car repairs in February.(Just a small one.)
*  Eldest son started paying his portion of the car insurance bill.

 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  The electric bill was $62.09 MORE than January's bill.  March's bill should be less.

*  The semi-annual car insurance was due and paid in February.
*  There are 5 Mondays in March so we need to pay for an extra music lesson this month.
 

 

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

The 2014 GRAND TOTAL.....
With 2 months accounted for, our Savings Grand Total for 2014 is $1,564.47. 
Far short at this point of the $2,000 I need to put back each month.
February is historically a lean month for savings in our house because of car insurance being due this month.

In other financial news--Hubs received a nice sized bonus this month for his work last year.  I used part of it to finish funding #2 Son's college fund but have not "officially" accounted for the rest of the money yet.....meaning it's part of our Net Worth statement but no decision has been made about whether any of it will be put into this Savings Challenge.  We still have to decide where to put the rest of the funds.  I know some of it will go toward purchasing a car to replace the one Hubs now drives.  Perhaps I'll be able to put what's left toward the Savings Challenge but it's too soon to know.
 

 

Looking ahead for March......

*  I will continue to do this Savings Challenge and report in each month on how it is going.

*  We have yearly municipal taxes due this month. (They aren't actually DUE until 30 June but if I pay them before 30 April we get a discount on the rate.)  I usually pay it in April but I may pay it in March instead, just to get it outta the way.  ;-)

*  I am going on a quick trip to Delaware this month so lodging, gas & food expenses will happen.

*  No extra/3rd paychecks this month so no extra income in March.

*  And the annual Sewage payment is due. It is billed quarterly but if I pay it in full before 31 March I get a 3% discount and this is what I generally do so there's another irregular expense for March.

*  With 2 annual bills being paid in March and no extra paycheck in the month(that won't happen until May and again in October) we won't see much extra savings going toward this Challenge.  Perhaps our savings rate will pick up in April....
 

 

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

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

Sluggy

Net Worth March 1st

Thanks in large part to Hub's bonus, our net worth increased $31,479.11 from February 1st. 
Of course this accounts for a decrease of $1,735.18 from January 1st to February 1st(temporary setback), so really it's an $29,743.93 increase since January 1st.

We don't include the college funds or the value of our home in our net worth calculations, mainly because the college monies aren't going to be spent on our retirement and the home is not a liquid asset since we have to have somewhere to live.

Retirement funds are up $8759.72 since January 1st as well.  Not increasing very much since we moved them out of  riskier/volatile funds, as we are too close to retirement to chance losing money.
Otherwise we'd be seeing better gains here.

With only a few years until retirement we are closing in on the 1 million $ mark proving once again, it pays to not spend all your money on the here and now.
Plus it pays to have a really healthy income as well and a wife who sees value in saving money whenever/wherever possible, even when spending on "life". ;-)

So don't forget to FEED YOUR PIG each and every month.
Don't let her/him waste away from financial malnutrition.

For help and guidance on how to save, check this site out HERE.

 

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "When Is Asparagus Too Much Asparagus?!" Edition.......

 

We went to the restaurant supply store on Saturday.  They had asparagus for $1.49 lb. so I loaded up with 4 lbs.  Don't worry NONE of this will go to waste in my house as I am an asparagus addict!

 

The Sunday paper had an ad that the asparagus there was now .99¢ lb.

Figures, right? lolz

 

 

And here is what was planned last week---

 

Sunday--Leftovers(I had a big plate of Asparagus.)
Monday--Chicken Risotto, Asparagus
Tuesday--Birthday Dinner Out
Wednesday--Roast Turkey, Carrots, Potatoes of some sort
Thursday--Dinner Out(last of gift card & coupon)
Friday--Beef Roast and some sort of fresh veggie I buy this week
Saturday--Leftovers

 

And here is what actually happened---

 

Sunday--Leftovers(I had a big plate of Asparagus.)
Monday--Chicken Risotto, Asparagus
Tuesday--Leftovers(I had Rigatoni and Asparagus.)
Wednesday--Roast Turkey, Asparagus, Au Gratin Taters
Thursday--Leftovers of Fend for Yourself(I had a homemade burger and a large salad.)
Friday--#2 Son for free b-day burger Out(I had a chicken sammie.)
Saturday--Official B-day dinner Out(Thai food, mine had chicken in it.)

I finally made the Risotto....boy my arm is sore from all that stirring.lol

Only made 2 meals last week.  We never got to Bob Evans to use that last dinner Q but we still managed to eat out 2 nights.

 

I spent a total of $42.59 on groceries last week, including the .01¢ I spent at Rite-Aid.  

 

I spent $4.09 on head of lettuce($1.49) and a bottle of dressing($2.59) at the local independent grocer-I found a bottle of that same dressing in the stockpile later. ugh

 

I spent $38.49 at Weis(PMITA)Markets on.....a 4+lb. turkey breast, 2 lbs. asparagus, 1/2 gal. milk, 2 jars of Duke mayo(rock bottom price $2.50), cauliflower($2.50), 2 pints grape tomatoes, 2 bags of salad(50% off), 1 pkg. ham lunchmeat(.89¢ after $3 instant discount sticker), 3 lb. ground beef(marked down to $2.99lb.), 1lb. organic stew beef($2.35 after $3 instant discount sticker).

 

Food spending for February totaled $398.42 when all was tallied up last month.
  

We had food waste last week....a handful of grape tomatoes I didn't eat in time.

 

Going into the new week here are the leftovers we have.....everything is gone except for some slices off that turkey breast, which will keep in lunch sandwiches for a few days, and a pint of grape tomatoes, the organic stew beef(in the freezer)and the cauliflower(and the mayo is in the stockpile).

 

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Beef Roast, Yellow Squash Casserole
Monday--Broiled Teriyaki Salmon(freezer), Asparagus, Roasted Potatoes with Onions
Tuesday--Slices off Leftover Roast, Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots
Wednesday--Lasagna(from freezer), Brussel Sprouts
Thursday--Either Roast Beef Hash or French Dip Sammies from leftover Roast, and leftover Veg
Friday--Breakfast for dinner
Saturday--Chicken & Pot Pie Noodles

That makes 4 new meals and 3 leftover, from the freezer or planned over meals.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......squash, asparagus, beef roast, eggs, rolls, carrots, onions(I am out of the 50lb. bag I got in September at the farm stand).   Most of this I picked up on Saturday(first day of new grocery spending month), so only thing left to buy is rolls.  I might attempt baking my own rolls and not go to the grocery store this week. at. all.

Nothing much in the sales ads I want or need but I do like going on Wednesday to check out the marked downs in produce and meats so I am torn.  What would you do?

 

 What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

 

Sluggy

So Excited!

I got up this morning and was perusing the local Sunday paper when my eye spotted something on the Classifieds/Real Estate section.

You see, I have always had this dream of taking an old building and turning it into a home.
At first, this dream revolved around taking an old barn and restoring it/converting it into a house.

And then, since we live in an area without many old barns, the dream changed into taking an industrial space(old factory, school building, etc.)and turning that into a home.

But old industrial spaces are mostly much too large to do this with and necessitate turning into multiple units of housing, like condos or apartments.  Since I don't have the resources(either financial or construction skills)that idea quickly faded from becoming a reality.
Since the last 10 years or so around here, as the population  has decreased, the Catholic church in this area has been closing and consolidating parishes and church buildings and then putting said real estate up on the market for sale.
So the dream changed to buying an old church property and making it into a home.

This morning the stars may have aligned on this dream.

Hubs and I are within 4 years of his retiring and 4 months within having to remain living in this school district anymore.
We preferably wish to retire to someplace warmer but the place I found may work anyway.

I found a property for sale.
This one.....

It isn't brick but it's smaller and in fairly good shape.
It's in a small community, on the main road and not one of the large cities around here.
But it's accessible to the larger cities.
And even better, this also comes with the church......

It's the old rectory, a 2 story home with a garage behind.  You can see the side of the church building to the right in the photo.  There are mature trees and bushes and a small garden area between the rectory and the church.
The size of the land these buildings sit on  looks to be multiple city lots...3 or 4 lots.

It's the price of this property that had my juices flowing.
It's being offered for $49,000 for all.

The real estate tax information is not available, since this is a religious property and wasn't taxed by the state/municipality but similar homes for sale in this area have estimates of $1,200 a year.  I am figuring double that since this listing contains 2 buildings.

The church obviously will need remodeling/renovating to turn it into a home space.
The rectory house will need extensive renovation as it has been basically gutted from what I read.
While it's not going to be cheap(hell ya I can do this on the frugal side though!lol), it's sort of like getting a "new" house, except that the outside structure is already in place and old.  I can get the kitchen the way I want it and lay out the interior space/rooms as I want in the church.

The initial plan is to remain living here(it's only 11.5 miles away), renovate the church building, then move in and then have the last of the work done here and sell our current home.
Once we move to the church, Hubs can still commute to work from there.  It would add an additional 10-15 minutes on his commute but doable for the 4 years he has left to work.

Once we move and sell, we can work on getting the rectory house livable/renovated.  After that, we can either sell or rent it out.  Since the property is zoned R2, we also have the choice of turning the rectory house into a duplex and renting or selling it as that type of housing situation.
After we sell or rent the rectory house it will help us recoup any money we invested into the reno and help pay the taxes.  Eventually when we recoup the money invested we can have an income stream in retirement from it.  8-)

As for Winters living in this church, once Hubs retires, we will buy a used RV and spend the ugly months of ice, snow and cold in parts South of here, either visiting our children or bopping around to wherever we feel like going.

I am trying not to get all excited but it's hard not to!
I've already contacted the agent and am working on going to have an "in person" look around and ask a billion questions about this property and snap my own photos.
After that and having a discussion with Hubs on this I'll call a construction type person for a consult and some advise on whether this is a plan I can green light or not and proceed to talk money with the realtor.
We would be paying cash for this of course..... ;-)

One step at a time, trying not to get my hopes too high at this point, but thinking this might be the way we need to head on down the road to retirement.


So what do y'all think of this?

Sluggy



 

Food & Toiletries Spending......February Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2014.

I have posted February's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2014 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly 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 Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(3 at home this month)& 1 dog. No kids under 17.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $10.78
Value  $25.74
Savings   58.12%

DOLLAR STORE
OOP  $17.00
Value  $40.16
Savings    57.67%
 

RITE-AID
OOP  $51.23
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $243.44
Value  $294.67
Savings  82.61%
 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $125.98

Qs/Ads  $118.54

Value  $244.52

Savings  48.48%

WALMART
OOP  $23.46
Qs/Ads  $20.32
Value  $43.78
Savings  46.41%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $168.08

Qs/Ads  $115.39

Value  $283.47

Savings  40.70%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 82.61%, the Bakery Outlet at 58.12%, and the Dollar Store at 57.67%.  My WORST savings rate was 40.70% at Weis so I think I did exceptionally well in February on the value of what I got!  Obviously I'm not counting the Turkey Hill Convenience store where Hubs picked up a 1/2 gallon of milk and my savings rate was 0%. ;-)
I shopped at 6 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$398.43

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$535.81

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$934.23

TOTAL Savings of...................................57.35%

Even without counting the Rite-Aid shopping, my savings rate would be 45.71%.

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into February wanting to cut my food/toiletries budget by $100, to $300 budgeted for ALL purchases.  I failed BUT I did stay under my usual $400 Food Budget.
Yay me.  ;-)


LOOKING AHEAD TO MARCH......

I'm going to try to do this $300 food spending budget one more time in March.
If I can't then I'll stop trying.

I tallied up our Eating Out spending for February and it came in at $94.44.
We had Chinese take-out once, Burger King once, I took #2 Son out for his free birthday burger and spent $24.82 on 2 drinks, my chicken burger and the tip, and $35.85 was spent on dinner for Hubs & #2 Son at Perkins on the audition trip to Mansfield. 
Of course we ate at Bob Evans twice too but we used gift cards to cover those meals.


Without the Rite-Aid totals added in, my February Savings Rate is 43%.  Achieving a savings rate in the 40's is what I shoot for, with or without shopping at Rite-Aid.
 

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

Total spend on food/toiletries so far this year.....$695.80

The average monthly food/toiletries spending this year so far is $347.90.

 

How much did you spend on food/toiletries in February?
Do you track your yearly food spending?
 

Sluggy