$24K Challenge.....May 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 May report.....

I have posted my May 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 May with a greater than needed amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of  May with?.......$3,299.61.

Income
We had $3217.59 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
 

Other monies received in May totaled $78.52.  This included interest made on accounts and a per diem from Hub's work.

This brought us to our gain of $3299.61.
Since we have no debt anymore, this goes into savings.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  The electric bill went down $ 151.72, almost half of what it was in April.
*  The water bill went down $4 and change.
*  The cash withdrawals were $900 less than last month.
*  Private music lessons were $40 less in May(fewer lessons).
*  May was an extra paycheck month which helped our bottom line greatly!
 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  The c/c bill was $1886.33 more than April's bill.  Most of this was vacation spending from April
*  The food bill went up $54.06 from April's food spending and April's spending was too high.

 

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

The 2014 GRAND TOTAL.....
With 5 months accounted for, our Savings Grand Total for 2014 is $9,370.21
That's only $629.79 short at this point of the $10,000.00 I should have put aside after 5 months.
The extra paycheck in May almost got me caught up on where I need to be at this point and I am less behind than I was last month.

Yay!
  

 

Looking ahead for June......

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

*  The furniture purchases in May and accompanying Hubs to his conference in DC expenses will be due on the credit card bill in June.

*  Back to 2 paychecks this month.

*  The graduation party for #2 Son and #1 Son is visiting in June so expenses will be going up.
 

*  The food budget will be full blown out of control this month with all the family coming and the party.  I'll keep all my receipts and when it's all over I'll tally it up.  I'm not going to torture myself and look at them until the month is over. lolz
  

 

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?
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

April Louisiana Road Trip.....Day 6 & 7.....a Quick One

Saturday of our trip to Louisiana started off with a trip to the grocery store, since we were supplying breakfast for Daughter, her BF and ourselves at BF's parent's house.

               I don't think we are in PA anymore.....

Once inside the grocery store I saw many freestanding shelving units like this.....

Filled with Louisiana sauces and mixes and crawfish boil concoctions and hot pickles and peppers, etc.
"Slap Yo Mama" brand seems to be a popular one down here....lolz

Daughter fixed breakfast and then Hubs, Daughter, her BF and I were off to see that new foreclosure listing with Realtor #1.

And the kids fell head over heels for it.
We did go to the property that Hubs and I had picked out, out of all the ones we had seen so far afterwards, but Daughter had made up her mind and the new foreclosure was to be "the one" to buy.

So we got all the information about how to submit the offer and Daughter made plans to go to the real estate office on Monday to "do the deed".

Then we four went off to the brewery in Shreveport......

Great Raft Brewing
They opened last October and it's the first brewery in Shreveport since Prohibition.

They named their brewery for a natural phenomenon, a huge logjam or "raft" that occurred in Louisiana on the Red and Atchafalaya Rivers.

 By the 1830's it extended 160 miles and impeded travel, business as well as settlement west of the city that became known as Shreveport.

Henry Mille Shreve, a steamboat builder and river boat captain, made it his job to start clearing the raft and by 1838 the Red River was navigable in large part due to his efforts.  The town of Shreveport was named after him in thanks.

See?  I bet you didn't know you'd actually learn something reading this blog! 8-)

 Daughter and Hubs having a pint.  I had a small glass of the "Reasonably Corrupt".

 

Daughter and her BF

 

 

If you are ever in the Shreveport area stop by this place on a Weekend for a glass, a free tour, or a growler fill.

After some adult beverages it was time for a late lunch.  Daughter took us to a Shreveport landmark--Strawn's Eat Shop.
They've been around since 1944 and are known far and wide for their "ice box pies".

Of course, I neglected to get a picture of a pie...lolz.....but I did take a shot of my lunch.....

 A Spinach, Feta Cheese and fresh Strawberry Salad.
Mmmmmmm!

 Here's Hubs double cheeseburger and "fries".  Looks more like large hash brownie-type potatoes to me.

And a shot of Daughter stuffing her face.  Oh, she'll love me for posting this one....lolz

Of course I had pie too.  I had to settle for a piece of Butterscotch with real homemade whipped cream since they were out of  the Strawberry, which they are known for.  It was mighty good even if it wasn't Strawberry.


On Sunday we all assembled at the BF's parent's house and the Daughter cooked Easter dinner with a little assistance from her mom, me.  ;-)

She invited some people from her work who otherwise would have been alone that day and it was a jolly good time.
After the work friends left we sat down and went over financial stuff and how this buying the house deal was going to work.
Ah numbers and personal finances.....I was in my element. lolz

We got back to the motel late into the evening and packed up.
Monday morning we were heading back home to Pennsylvania, by way of Alabama first.

Sluggy
 

This Week on the Dining Table

The  "I've Been Home 2 Days and I am Tired of Cooking Again" Edition.......
 

 

What I had in my hand in DC from 5 to 6 every day. 

 

I could get use to having a complimentary "Wine Happy Hour" every day from 5pm to 6pm and then go eat in a restaurant.


Here is what was planned last week--

I didn't have a plan.
We just played it by ear and used up stuff we had already.
Then I bought some things for #2 Son to eat while we were away.
Because of this I had food waste today.....the kid didn't eat the leftover asparagus while we were gone so it got pitched.

 

As for the food spending update......I have spent $524.63 on groceries in May.  I spent $191 and change on Saturday to get us to that total for May, but most of what I bought Saturday will be used for June's meals.

For the Summer I am changing up how I meal plan.
I will come up with meals but I am not going to assign each to a specific day.  Since I never know who is going to be home on a certain night to eat, I never know how much if anything will be left, meaning if leftovers will happen.  And some things I only make when #2 Son isn't home since he doesn't like/eat them and I never know when he is going to be eating at home these days.
Add in that I never know what bread products #2 Son will be bringing home from his job so I need to be flexible to plan those into the menu.

 

Here is my list of meals so far for June.----

1.  Sloppy Joes, Rolls, Veggie
2.  Taco Salad
3.  Barbecue Chicken, Potato Salad
4.  Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Veggie
5.  Chicken Parmesan, Salad, Pasta or Bread
6.  Chicken and Mushroom Risotto, Veggie
7.  Broiled Salmon, Veggie, Coleslaw
8.  French Bread Pizza, Salad
9.  Ginger Garlic Shrimp Stir-fry(leftover)
10.  Breakfast for Dinner
11.  Scallops and Shrimp en Croute, Veggie
12.  Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw or Veggie
13.  Hot Sausage and Spaghetti, Veggie
14.  London Broil, Fettuccine w/Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas
15.  Pizza, Salad

 

What I need to purchase for these meals?.......lettuce, cabbage, pastry shells, Parmigiano cheese, and milk.  I have everything else here already.  Between these 15 and leftovers from some of them, this list should get us through the month(besides when company is here this month).

I made the barbecue chicken last night and the sloppy joe is happening tonight(have ground beef that needs to be used or frozen).  Tomorrow will probably be the chicken parmesan(have fresh chicken to use or freeze) and the French bread pizza(using bread from #2 Son's job)on Wednesday.
That's as far as I am going to plan for the week.  ;-)

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?
Do you make a menu and how flexible is your plan?

 

Sluggy

Food & Toiletries Spending.....May Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2014.

I have posted May'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 May.  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 18.
******************

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $21.16
Qs/Ads  $12.71
Value  $33.87
Savings  37.52%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $117.76
Qs/Ads  $43.05
Value  $160.81
Savings  26.77%

 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $147.43

Qs/Ads  $93.93

Value  $241.36

Savings  38.91%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $238.28

Qs/Ads  $159.57

Value  $160.81

Savings  40.10%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Weis at 40.10%,  the Local Grocer at 38.91% and the Dollar General at 37.52%.  My WORST savings rate was at Maine Source at 26.77%.
I shopped at 4 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$524.63

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$309.26

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$833.89

TOTAL Savings of...................................37.08%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into May wanting to trim the spending to around $300.
Not.
Even.
Close.
LOLZ

Actually though I spent $333.20 for May through the 30th when we got home.  If I had waited until Sunday the 1st of June to do grocery shopping, instead of going out on Saturday the 31st of May, I would have been close.

Technically everything I bought on Saturday was for eating in June so the last $191.43 I spent in May should go on my June spending sheet, right?  8-)

I'll leave it on May's and try to stay under $400 for the rest of June.



LOOKING AHEAD TO JUNE......

Well we have a graduation party to throw and then #1 Son and his GF are coming to visit for a week at the end of June. 
So much for staying under $300 this month! lolz

 

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.....$2,036.09
The average monthly food/toiletries spending this year so far is $407.22.
We are over $400 per month average now.  I will get it back under $400 as soon as possible.

 

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

Sluggy

June is Here!

We escaped from DC and made it home.  We left at about 5:30pm on a Friday and hit no rush hour tie ups....imagine that!!! lolz

Got in before 10pm and that was with an hour long stop for dinner at an IHOP in Latham, MD.
I fell into bed and have been nursing my knee and sore feet all weekend.  All that walking in DC about did me in. ;-)

Yesterday was all about shopping and the yard........I went to 3 stores procuring food provisions.
Saturday was the last day to qualify for a $10 in free meat deal at the local market so I had to get a second $10 of meat in before it ended.
I also hit the restaurant supply store for meat, cheese, produce and a stock up on paper plates for the Summer weather and the party later this month.  Got some plastic platters so I can do a veggie crudité and a fruit plate for the party.  $117 later I left that store.... 8-(
Hit up Dollar General(the Sad Store)also for soda for the party.

I made Ginger Garlic Shrimp stir fry for dinner last night and used up 2 partial bags of wild and long grain rice.

Hubs dug up a shrubbery and worked on the bed we are making on the South side of the house.  There is also mulch to be spread.  We'll get that done next weekend.

Today the weather has been beautiful as well.  I got all caught up on my bookwork this morning, June 1st Net Worth calculations and my May Spending report, as well as my Grocery Spending for May.
Then I did some cooking and prep for dinner, and when Hubs finished moving the lawn, he helped me get out "Precious" and I officially kicked-off the 2014 Grilling Season.....

A few hours in Precious and we'll have some smoked chicken thighs ready for the barbecue sauce.

Off to put my feet up for a bit, open a cold one and relax.....

Sluggy