2018 July To-Do List....Update

Let's see how we did on our July To-Do List...........

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid, nothing deferred and no interest paid.

*  Read 1, 2, 3 Books  2.5 DONE  I read 2 books last month and got halfway through #3.
First I read this.........

First in a series of Huguenot themed books called "Cousins of the Dove".  Part historical/part fiction this was an enjoyable read, especially to me given my Huguenot ancestry.
From Amazon's website...."France, 1685. Catherine Gillet knows her brother, Jules, wants to protect her from the sinister threats of the French crown. But Jules is involved in a potentially deadly enterprise, one connected with an encoded document. When his actions put the whole family at risk, will Catherine find a way to save them?

Virginia, present day. Renee Talbot, a direct descendant of Catherine's, is fascinated by the document that's been part of her family legacy for more than three centuries. Certain its pages hold hidden secrets, she takes a closer look—and makes a shocking discovery. But when memories of a childhood trauma are rekindled, she's forced to seek answers of a different kind. Inspired by the faith and bravery of Catherine, can Renee find the truth and face her deepest fears at last?

And I read this one..........

A series of short stories from one the more celebrated short story writers of our day.

A few were good a few were "WTF?" and a couple I couldn't get "into" them.  He knows his craft but some of his subject matter isn't my bag.

*  Organize the Garage  OFF THE LIST  I did some organizing/straightening in the garage but I am taking this off the list since we really can't do much until the Daughter moves out and takes all her stuff, some of which is stored out there, with her.

*  Order Birth Certificate  DONE   Ordered and it arrived quickly albeit somewhat crumpled.....

*  Get Photo Done  DONE  It took two attempts due to Rite-Aid not doing it correctly the first time(I did that refunded)but it got done.

*  Fill out Application  DONE

*  Apply for Passport  DONE  It took 10 days to receive my passport.

It was a LOT quicker than I was led to believe it would take.  My birth certificate on the other hand just arrived back on Monday Aug. 6th.  Almost 3 weeks after I handed it over at the PO.  I was starting to get concerned since the PO lady said that would take a week for the State Dept. to get it back to me. 8-(

*  Hold Giveaway  DONE  

*  Mail Giveaway  DONE  And it's been received by the happy winner. 8-))

*  Plan Possible 2018 Travel  WORKING ON IT  I am waiting to here back from my travel companions before I make any reservations as things/dates depend on their flights.

*  Work on 2018 Goals  PASS  Of my 10 Goals, 3 are done for the year(sell house, password book, cull stockpile), 4 are ongoing(weight, gardening, travel, selling stuff)and 3 haven't happened yet(genealogy, sewing, list of repairs on house).  Good progress and I'll take it. ;-)

We are making progress but not at a frantic pace.  It works for me.

Did you tackle anything in July?
Tell us all about it.

Sluggy

Grocery Shopping Last Week

I didn't do a whole lot of food shopping last week-a trip to the Shursave Market, the Restaurant supply store and Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!).
First the restaurant supply store.......

I got in on a "group buy".  Every so often they send out an email for a special deal.  The only catch is it's usually a large quantity of something.  This one was a deal on a 10 lb. box of breaded chicken tenders(not nuggets).  $9 for 10 lbs.
Being one of ex-college boy's favorite foods(and a "go to" if he needs a quick snack/meal)I jumped on this buy.
I also picked up some items we were out of--2 dozen eggs for $1.59 each(of course the Shursave started a .99¢ sale on eggs today!), 3 cukes for $1.99, a hunk of liverwurst for Hubs and a 2 lb. bag of shredded mozz for $3.99(at least half the price of reg. retail around here).
$20.68 OOP for this trip.

I picked up a few things at Shursave Market as well.  My local Shursave doesn't take IPQs so while I was at Maines there is a Shursave over there that DOES take them AND doubles them up to $1, so I bought this........

3 boxes of cereal on sale for $1.98 each, used 3 x .50¢ Qs that doubled to $1 so each box was .98¢.

I also happened upon 2 dairy instant discounts-4 packs of Oikos strawberry greek yogurt were on sale for $1.99 per pack and these ones had $1 off instant stickers on them making them .99¢ per pack. The sell by date was coming up quickly but I have found that yogurt keeps months past it's sell by date(ssshhhh, don't tell!).
Those tubs of French onion dip were $1.39 after .50¢ instant discount stickers and are good to have when folks here want something to dip their salty snack in.
I also bought 6 strip steaks at my local Shursave store last week as they were $4.99 per lb.
$33.87 OOP for both these Shursave trips.

I didn't set foot in Weis(PMITA)Markets last week which is highly unusual!  There ads have been very small(really, a 2 page ad!!)and not much that's worth stocking up on, let alone buying any loss leaders.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Well I Did It Again!" Edition--

I messed up my ankle again. ugh.  Seems this happens every year or so, I overdo and then can't walk for a few days.  Hopefully it isn't the return of my nemesis, Mr. Blood Clot.   I am confined to the upstairs for at least today so the meal plan may veer waaay off since Hubs will have to be cooking(or, as is his wont, when faced with cooking, ordering in).
sigh to both the painful ankle and the ordering in......

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Lemon Pepper Chicken and Zuke, Rice

3. Tuesday--Grilled Steak, Grilled Zuke and Squash

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie

5. Thursday--Pork Ragu over Pasta, Salad

6. Friday--Tacos
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Grilled Steak, leftover Squash Casserole

3. Tuesday--Lemon Pepper Chicken and Zuke, Rice

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie

5. Thursday--Chinese take-out

6. Friday--Pork Ragu over Pasta, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of Take-Out or Eating Out.  We took the opportunity of the Daughter being out of town and Ex-College Boy at work to get Chinese take-out on Thursday night, so Tacos didn't happen.  They get moved to this week's menu.

We had some food waste this past week.  Mostly it's due to the Daughter going rouge and making food and then not finishing it.....do I count this as mine?

Trips to the Restaurant supply, Ollie's and the Shursave Markete brought the weekly food spending to $60.44 and the monthly total to $60.44.
I have 25 days left in my shopping month for August and have $340 left in the food budget to spend this month.

My savings percentage last week was 52.56%(without Rite-Aid trips)and August's monthly savings total comes to 52.56% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......1 helping of Zucchini Risotto, lots of Pork Ragu w/pasta and Zucchini, Chicken and Rice.

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

1. Sunday--Hot Dogs on Rolls, leftover Macaroni Salad(Hubs can handle this)

2. Monday--Pizza, Fried Zucchini(If I can get ex-College Boy to make the zuke)

3. Tuesday--Tacos or Taco Salad(Hubs can handle this)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers, Squash and Onions(Hubs can handle this, at least the leftovers part)

5. Thursday--Chicken and Dumplings(If I am well enough to traipse downstairs)

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--?

This week will see 3-4 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY, 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out and 1 night of ?

What needs buying for this menu?  Only the pizza if Hubs opts out of cooking tonight.
Yeah, this is a half-assed plan due to circumstances beyond my control. ;-)

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?  I haven't even looked at the ads for this week and may not be in a condition to shop anyway.  Oh well....life is like that.

Sluggy

2018 Income & Spending Report.....July Update

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 July 2018 report--

I had 2 goals for July......
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 July in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of July with?.......$2795.65

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* 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 July of $615.69 #
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $372.92
* Blogging revenue check of $116.10
* LA house water deposit refund $34.90

Total "Income" for July......$6171.25

# We made a 3rd quarter 401K withdrawal in July of $6K.  After withholding for taxes due we got $5147.07 net.  $3300.00 of that gets put into the Sinking Fund to cover irregular bills coming due this quarter(house insurance in Aug., LTC insurance and school taxes in Sept). $1847.07 is the balance of the 3rd quarter 401K withdrawal.  This got divided by 3 and gives us $615.69 extra in July to add to the income for the month(Aug. and Sept. also got $615.69)for general expenses.


Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in July came to $1562.12


Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into July was $557.48.  The addition of $3300.00 in July from the 401K withdrawal gives us a balance of $3857.48. No irregular bills were due in July so the Sinking Fund goes into August at $3857.48.


We went into July with $17,010.20 in the Slush Fund.
Add in July's overage of $2795.65 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $19,805.85 going into August..

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this July, 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 June(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $25.62 lower than last month.
*  The credit card bill was $775.73 lower than June.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were the same as last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in June.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The electric bill was $10.26 higher than last month.
*  The gas card charges were $46.26 higher than in June.
*  We had a dental bill of $30.60
*  We had a Discover card bill of $11.43(Hubs' extra card)
*  The Passport cost me $160.

The Food Budget costs for July 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 July in the black with $2795.65 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into August standing at $3857.48

FINAL THOUGHTS on July---
It was a very good month in terms of low spending/bills and a couple of extra revenue streams(blogging, utility deposit).

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2018----This month there is one irregular bills due(house insurance at $648).
The WAM withdrawal will be the same in August, $200.
I don't foresee any extraordinary bills other than the c/c bill is a little higher due to some irregular charges(yearly Ancestry account fee, my car was serviced, fees for birth certificate, $300 in eating out and beer purchases while Eldest son was here, adding up to the tune of $600+).

So how was your July financially?
  

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

Rite-Aid Porn This Week...Extra Qs Coming Off!n UPDATED

This week at Rite-Aid I did the Cover Girl deal-Spend $10/Get $5 in Bonus Cash-to roll some BC on my 3 cards.

First on my card.........

2 x CG mascara BOGO50%=$11.53
2 x CG eye shadow BOGO50%=$9.43
SubTotal......$20.96

Coupons Used
4 x $3/1 CG item IPQ=$12.00

$20.96-$12.00=$8.96+.42¢ tax=$9.38 paid with Bonus Cash
I earned $10 in new Bonus Cash(2 x $5 wys $10 on CG)so a .62¢ moneymaker.

Secondly on my son's card........

2 x CG eyeliner pencil BOGO50%=$10.48
2 x CG concealer BOGO50%=$10.18
SubTotal....$20.66

Coupons Used
4 x $3/1 CG item IPQ=$12.00

$20.66-$12.00=$8.66+.40¢ tax=$9.06 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned $10 in new Bonus Cash(2 x $5 wys $10 on CG)so a .94¢ moneymaker.

On Wellness Wednesday I got these free samples.......

Not much today, some Post-It note samples and a $1 off Q(I got two of these)and some samples of dry mouth lozenges.  Sometimes with some of the meds I am on I get the dreaded dry mouth.  I'll give these a try for free.

I also bought all this on Wednesday using the one day WWQs.......

1 x Lipton tea bags 20% Wellness disc=$3.59
1 x Orgain protein shakes 20% Wellness disc=$7.99
1 x AdvilPM 20% Wellness disc=$4.79
2 x Sugar-free candy bags 20% Wellness disc($2.15 ea)=$4.30
SubTotal......$20.67

Coupons Used
(Some of the WW 1 Day Qs can now be loaded to your card-L2CQs. At least for now if you load to WW 1 DayQs the register also let's you use a clipped from the pamphlet in the store Q too giving you double savings!)
1 x $2/1 Lipton WWpamphletQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Orgain shakes WWpamphletQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Orgain WWL2CQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 AdvilPM WWpamphletQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 AdvilPM WWL2CQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Advil L2CQ=$1.00
2 x $1.50/1 Sugar-Free candies WWpamphletQ=$3.00
Coupon Total.......$14.00

$20.67-$14.00=$6.67
I paid with a Rite-Aid gift card(paid for last year)and ex-College Boy will reimburse me $3.99 for the Orgain shakes as he requested them for work so I am "down" $2.68.

I had a regular Advil $1 L2CQ that came off as well as the other two $2 Qs I used so the AdvilPM was a .22¢ moneymaker after all three of those Qs. lolz

Then on Friday I maxed out the Cover Girl deal on daughter's card too......

1 x CG concealer=$6.79 BOGO50%(reg. price)
2 x CG eye palettes=$9.43 BOGO50%(1 50%, 1 reg. price)
1 x CG eyebrow pencil=$2.39 BOGO50%(50% )
1 x CG eyebrow pencil(20% disc.)=$3.83
SubTotal.......$22.44

Coupons Used
5 x $3/1 Cover Girl item IPQ=$15.00

$22.44-$15.00=$7.44 BUT.....
a $4 L2CQ also came off(I think it was $4/2 CG?)and the cashier had to push through the last of my $3 Qs(these often beep so I didn't think anything of it unlike I looked at the receipt later).

So I got an additional $4 off so $22.44-$19.00=$3.44 +.16¢ tax=$3.60 paid with BC.
I earned back $10 in new BC making this a $6.40 moneymaker.

Then since I had enough BC left on daughter's card I also bought some Clairol hair dye that is on sale through Saturday.......

2 x Clairol hair dye(1 reg./1 root touch-up)on sale but 20% Wellness disc lower-$6.79=$13.58

I used a $6/2 Clairol dye manuQ=$6.00
Then a $2/1 Clairol dye L2CQ also came off for $8.00 in Qs.
$13.58-$8.00=$5.58 +.34¢ tax=$5.92 paid for with BC

I earned back $4.00 in new BC.
I also got $4.00 in cash rebates on Ibotta.  Too bad I didn't buy this earlier in the week and earn the $1 bonus on Ibotta for buying 2 different varieties of Clairol hair dye products.
Even with "just $4 back" and the $4 earned in new Bonus Cash it was a $2.08 moneymaker.  8-)))
**UPDATE**  It turns out I DID get the Ibotta $1 Bonus on the Clairol.   Woohoo!!  That turns this into a $3.08 moneymaker.

Now I'm not saying that if you have the Clairol $2/1 L2CQ and the various Cover Girl L2CQs on your Wellness account that they WILL come off even if you use paper Qs for those items, but you never knew. ;-)  I thought I'd mention it before the sale week ends if anybody wanted to try it at Rite-Aid.

Sluggy