This Week on the Dining Table

The "Two Down, One to Go" Edition--

Since Ex-College Boy didn't want to walk at his graduation ceremony we had to wait a bit for his diploma to arrive.
I finally got a photo of him with it.
Two kids are college graduates now(one of them has his Masters as well), we've just got to get the daughter through by next Spring and then get her and ex-CB outta my house! lolz
Yay!

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Fend for Yourself

2. Monday--Burgers, Hot Dogs, Roasted Veggies

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Green Beans

5. Thursday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself

6. Friday--Marinated Beef w/Broccoli, Rice

7. Saturday--Chicken Fajitas, Refried Beans

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Fend for Yourself

2. Monday--Burgers, Hot Dogs, Roasted Veggies

3. Tuesday--Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Green Beans, Rutabaga

4. Wednesday--Chinese Take-Out

5. Thursday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself

6. Friday--Fajitas(used leftover turkey meat)

7. Saturday--More Leftovers

Everything but the Beef w/Broccoli got made/eaten.  With the leftovers and the Take-Out(and those leftovers some of us had)we didn't need one of my meals so that moves to next week.

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  

A trip to Maines for a 5 lb. block of Cooper cheese, a hunk of ground beef and lots of fresh veggies($57.53), using a rain check or two that were expiring at the Shursave market($18.92) and some stocking up on pantry deals at Weis($39.53)brought the weekly food spending to $115.98.

I've got $284.02 left in the food budget for June and 27 days left in my shopping month.  

My savings percentages last week was 54.08%(without Rite-Aid trips)and June's monthly savings total so far is at 54.08%.

Leftovers going into this week.......garlic bread, stuffing, rice, mashed taters, rutabaga, hot dogs.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Asparagus

2. Monday--Marinated Beef w/Broccoli, Rice

3. Tuesday--Tacos

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

5. Thursday--Stuffed Shells, Salad

6. Friday--Fish?

7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 1 night of leftovers/FFY and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Lettuce, milk and maybe more hamburger rolls.

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

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?

Sluggy

2018 Income & Spending Report.....May 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 them.

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

On to the May 2018 report--

I had 2 goals for May......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush 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 May in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of May with?.......$2903.35

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in May---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* One third of 401K withdrawal balance(after funding Sinking Fund)for May of $1255.65 #
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $333.00

Total "Income" for May......$6620.29

# We made a 2nd quarter 401K withdrawal in April of $6K.  After withholding for taxes due we got $5170.70 net.  $1383.24 of that gets put into the Sinking Fund to cover irregular bills coming due this quarter(long term care insurance due in April, car insurance due in May). $3766.95 is the balance of the 2nd quarter 401K withdrawal.  This got divided by 3 and gives us $1255.65 extra in April to add to the income for the month(May and June will also get $1255.65)for general expenses.


Expenses in May---

* Healthcare Premium for May was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in May came to $3716.94.
* 6 mos. car insurance came to $911.74.(paid for from Sinking Fund)##


## 6 mo. car insurance premium expenses are due in May.  The carryover in the Sinking Fund coming into May was $1989.49.  $911.74 in car insurance paid leaves us $1077.75 in the Sinking Fund going into June.


We went into May with $10,362.43 in the Slush Fund.
Add in May's overage of $2903.35 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $13,265.78 going into June.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this May, 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 $1 or so).
*  The electric bill was $101.14 lower than last month.
*  The credit card bill was $842.76 lower than in April.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were the same as last month.
*  The LA house electric bill wasn't paid in May. The amount of that bill will be deducted from the refund of our deposit with the electric co-op there(that refund should arrive later in June).
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in April.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The water bill was $6.12 higher than April.
*  The gas card charges were $41.46 higher than last month.
*  The medical payments were $64.92 higher than in April(a dentist bill).
*  Semi-annual car insurance was due this month. This irregular bills is paid out of the Sinking Fund account.
*  We had a private c/c bill of $110.44 due in May(clothing).
*  Hubs used his Discover card and the bill was $38.14.

The Food Budget costs for May 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 May in the black with $2903.35 in new general overage so once it goes into the Slush Fund that Fund goes into June standing at $13,265.78. ($10,362.43+ $2,903.35=$13,265.78).
The Sinking Fund goes into June standing at $1,077.75

FINAL THOUGHTS on May---
While we did have a dentist bill due in May, that $200+ in charges turned out to be just $94.60 because the dentist wrote off a good piece of what our insurance didn't pay. 8-)
I was glad to see that the credit card bill was over $800 less compared to April.  The lower I can get it the better.  The credit card bill is a lot of miscellaneous spending here.  Besides the food spending which is how we almost always pay for groceries/toiletry spending, we had Chester's meds, a trip to Lowe's for some house stuff, gasoline purchases, a $100 Amazon bill(reloaded that account with funds and paid for it on our c/c), a 3 month phone service card for me, eating out spending, Hubs bought some home brewing supplies and $47.70 to Fedex as we had to pay to overnight papers for the LA house sale(which in hindsight was money wasted as we didn't have to overnight them because the freaking realtors delayed the closing! grrrr).

THOUGHTS going forward into June 2018----This month there is 1 irregular bills due, Long Term Care Insurance Premiums, so that will come out of the $1077.75 balance in the Sinking Fund.
Depending on the weather, electricity usage may stay about the same or go up a bit if the a/c is needed in June.  There are no big excursions planned for June so gas usage won't go up but the price per gallon has risen so our costs on that item may be higher.  Our eldest son may make a trip here for a few days once school is over(he teaches)so there may be beer outings or such.  He is a big spender when someone else is paying. lolz
The WAM withdrawal will be the same in June, $200.
I am going to make more of an effort in June to sell some things around the house by utilizing the FB yard sale group I am on since I really don't have enough to declutter/sell to have a physical yard sale.

Once June is done and dusted Hubs and I will probably sit down for a mid-year review of the finances and especially revisit the 401K withdrawals as we don't seem to really need them at this point since we do end up with extra money left at the end of each month.  But that's a discussion for another time.   ;-)

So how was your May financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in May?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay 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

Best Grocery Deals Last Week

Here are the best deals I found at the grocery outlets this week......

 I bought 2 shelf stable milk cartons, 2 ice cream cartons and 2 8 oz. blocks of cheese as part of the Mix and Match Buy 6/Get $3 off deal.
I also had a $1/2 Cabot IPQ so after sale prices, $3 and $1 Q off all 6 came to $9.94 or $1.65 per item.

The Eight O'Clock K-Cups were on clearance($6.29 down to $3.29).  I had printed off $1.50/1 Qs early in May for these so paid $1.79 per box.

The Ragu finally went on sale at Weis on Thursday and that was the last day my 7 x .75¢/2 Qs were valid.  These double at Weis to $1.50/2 so .92¢ per jar with the sale price.  They double up to 4 of the same Q per transaction so I purchased these 14 jars in two transactions.

I also have 2 x .75¢/1 Kozy Shack pudding Qs expiring on Thursday.  The individual cup packages were on sale for $3 at Weis so after doubled Qs I paid $1.50 per package.  Hubs can eat these while his sore from surgery windpipe recovers.

I also bought Ex-College Boy 6 Gatorade bottles.  They are .77¢ per bottle this week plus I had a B5G1Free CatalinaQ for this that printed off a couple of weeks ago at the register and it took $1 off not .77¢ off so all 6 bottles cost me $3.62 or .60¢ each.  Another CatalinaQ printed off so when I went back for the last 6 jars of Ragu I picked up 6 more Gatorade.  No photo of those Gatorade though.

Sluggy

Rite-Aid This Week

I did a little Rite-Aid shopping this week...this was 3 separate transactions on 2 different card....

4 x Daylogic razors on sale $5=$20(2 x bought on 2 diff. cards)
2 x CG eye shadow on sale BOGO50%=$9.43
1 x CG eyebrow pencils 20% Wellness disc.(since I didn't buy 2 items)=$3.83
SubTotal......$33.26

Coupons Used
1 x $3/2 CG items CatalinaQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 CG item IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$5.00

$33.26-$5=$28.26 + .60¢ tax=$28.86 paid for with Bonus Cash
I earned back $25 in new BC(4 x $5 razors, $5 wys $10 CG).  Depending on your states sales tax(if there is any)the razors are free or almost.

I went back on Friday to pick up Daughter's Rx and bought this lot......I had $3.26 tracking toward another CG BC Deal......

1 x CoverGirl lip pencil clearance=$2.07
1 x CG face powder clearance=$2.62
2 x CG lipstick clearance=$4.38
SubTotal.......$9.07

Coupons Used
2 x CG $3/2 CatalinaQ=$6.00

$9.07-$6.00=$3.07+.20¢ tax=$3.27 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $5 Bonus Cash as I hit $10 spent on CG($9.07+$3.26 tracking from before).
Supposedly the clearance Cover Girl isn't included in the Spend $10/Get $5 Deal.....but it was!
I bought 2 items separately to make sure they would qualify and then bought the other two when they did.
And 3 more $3/2 CG Catalinas came out of the machine(1 Cat on the first transaction and 2 Cats on the second transaction).  And FINALLY the new computer scanner got fixed a couple of days ago they said at my store so that these CatalinaQs didn't beep!!  Didn't matter what CG product you bought, these Cats would beep.....

$32.13 spent in BC for all this together, $30 in new BC earned back so it all "cost" me $2.13 in BC.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......June 1st Edition

Let's see what frugal wins we had this past week at Chez Sluggy......

* Hubs went to Weis last Friday and picked up the Friday Freebie as it was something we can use.......

Free Hot Sauce.  That bottle won't last long in this house. lolz

*  Since Hubs out patient surgery was delayed 1.5 hours on Wednesday they gave me 2 x $8 vouchers that can be used in the hospital cafeteria and/or the gift shop.  I used one to get a free lunch while Hubs got cut up. lolz
Then I found a Vera Bradley wallet on 75% clearance while browsing the gift shop.....

After 75% off it was $14.31 w/tax.
I used the second $8 voucher on this purchase so I spent $6.31 OOP for this!  This will be sold or given as a Xmas gift so either way it's put into the WIN column.  8-)

*  I also scored something else at Weis for the Xmas box AND something for the pantry stockpile......

2 x 12 packs of K-cups.  The French Vanilla is discontinued at my store so was marked $3.29(reg. $6.29) and I had 2 x $1.50/1 Qs for this brand so they cost me $1.79 per box.  I know a few folks on my Xmas list who would love these(ssshhhh, don't tell!). ;-)

And I had 7 Ragu Qs expiring on Thursday for .75¢/2 jars of sauce that doubled to $1.50/2 jars.  Ragu went on sale starting on Thursday at Weis so I stocked the pantry with ready made sauce for $12.84 for 14 jars after sale/Qs so .92¢ a jar.  I usually make my own sauce but sometimes you need ready made and I can't make sauce for that price anyway. ;-)

*  I also got almost free razors this week at Rite-Aid.......

$5 each and gave back $5 in Bonus Cash so the tax spent down my BC on this by .60¢ for 4 razors.

*  I made $1.50 on Ibotta and .75¢ on SavingStar cash back last week.

*  While at Weis(PMITA)Markets the cashier shorted me on one of my Ragu coupons.  Weis policy is double fully any Q up to .99¢/4 like Qs per order(unless it states on the Q not to double it).  I had 7 Qs so I purposely went through the register twice so I could double all 7 of these Qs.
 A couple of the Qs didn't scan for some reason(they were valid and I had bought the proper products to use them on)so she had to manually put the Qs through.  They were for the same amount/same products but she didn't double the second Q.  She was too busy wanting to chat to pay attention to what she was doing.

I thought about just letting it go and not making a fuss but then I thought, "Damn it!  It's MY money and I should fight for it back!"  I know it was only .75¢ but over time if they keep shorting me that adds up and it could pay a bill or something. If I got shorted this amount every month, that's $9 a year, every week, that's $39 in a year.  That's REAL $$!
 I was in the right so I went to the Customer Service desk and got my .75¢ back.  It only took a minute out of my day.  You can imagine how many customers don't try to right this sort of wrong and let it go.....it's just like rolling down your car window and throwing money out the window.
Now imagine how many more folks don't even pay attention and know that the store cheated them!

Any time you are out in the marketplace and are spending your hard earned $, Pay. Attention!!!


What frugalness did you experience this week?

Sluggy