Income & Spending 2020.....the August 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 August report---

I had 2 goals for August.......
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 August in the red.
The amount we ended the month of August with?.....-$725.44

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in August---

* 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 $507.66

Total "Income" for August.....$5613.66

Expenses in August---

* Healthcare Premium for August was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in August were $594.00
* Variable Expenses in August came to $3,861.34
Total Expenses....$6,339.10

$5613.66-$6339.10= -$725.44
Slush into August of $29,359.07 in that Fund, subtract the $725.44 shortfall brings the Slush to $28,633.63 going into September.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $2241.06 for August.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this August, 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 electric bill was $12.96 lower than in July.
* The Amazon c/c bill was $99.93 lower than last month.

* The gas c/c bill was $52.45 lower than in July.
*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $7.14 higher than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $2,275.34 higher than in July.  Half of that was the love seat we paid for(but still haven't gotten)the car registrations, the U-Haul charge to move Ex-CB out, I bought a lot of gift cards and my ancestry account charge technically hit this month on the c/c(though I put some WAM in last month to cover most of it).

*  We had an irregular bill due in August-the house insurance annual premium.

*  We had a kennel bill for boarding the dogs for 2 nights as no one was available here to dog sit while I was in Hershey having a medical procedure and Hubs had to take me there.

The Food Budget costs for August 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 August---
One small irregular bill last month so that was good but I did spend what I consider a lot at the grocery stores again, AND the credit card bill was quite high as there were some unusual expenses on that in August.  To add insult to injury all the banks I have investments with lowered their interest rates mid-July so we've seen less interest income coming in.  And with the state of the world lately I'd don't see that changing/reversing for some time to come. ugh.

We had slightly more expenses than income last month so we drew from our Slush Fund to cover that overage.  That pot of cash gives me peace of mind and let's me sleep at night. ;-)

THOUGHTS going forward into September 2020----

We have two irregular bills this month, the smallish long term care policy quarterly premiums and the school taxes on the house(about half of the total property taxes due yearly here in PA).  There will be a small 401K withdrawal to cover the school taxes this month.  The other irregular bill we can work into our regular income stream for September.

The electric bill and water bill should both be lower in September and I am hoping I can stay out of the grocery store too. ;-)

I am hoping for a lower expense month this month compared to August.

So how was your August financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in August?
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 August Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2020.

I have posted August'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 August.  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 at home this month). 
*****************

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $4.00
Value  $12.47
Savings  67.29%

CVS
OOP  $3.28

Qs/Ads/ECBucks $140.25
Value  $143.53
Savings  97.71%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $26.18

Qs/Ads  $40.30

Value  $66.48
Savings  60.62%

MALACARI'S

OOP  $16.95
Value  $34.11
Savings  50.31%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $53.78
Value  $96.00
Savings  43.98% 

RITE-AID *
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/GCard  $670.50
Value  $670.50
Savings  100%

SHARP SHOPPER

OOP  $55.52

Value  $97.71

Savings  43.18%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP   ($7.96) used free gift card
Value  $15.96
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $64.35
Value  $183.22
Savings  64.88%

WEIS
OOP  $241.89
Qs/Ads  $131.88
Value  $373.77
Savings  35.28%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Shursave at 100% and CVS at 97.71% .   My worst savings rate was at Weis with 35.28%.  Lots of great savings rates this month!

I shopped at 10 different stores in August.

I also earned $156.15 in cash rebates in August(Ibotta/SavingStar/Checkout51)which helps offset the spending once I cash those in at the end of 2020.

(Actually it was $15.10 more than that amount in August because Ibotta put $15.10 of my August earnings on September even though the rebates were earned in August? Weird.)

TOTAL Spent(without R-A)...................$483.94

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales................$567.31
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$1051.25

TOTAL Savings of ................................53.97%

Add in the Rite-Aid purchases and we get.........

TOTAL Spent........................................$483.94

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales................$1237.81
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$1721.75

TOTAL Savings of ................................71.89%

This closes out the August food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....I wanted to stay much lower with the grocery spending but worries about Fall shut downs and shortages had me buying a lot of long term storage foods and refilling the freezer.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 2.64% in August 2020 to 71.89% compared to the July 2020 rate of 69.25% savings average.  

With 8 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $3152.03 on food/toiletries in 2020.

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....................$3152.03

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$9410.78

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$6258.75

2020 Yearly Savings Total............66.51%

The average per month amount spent is $394.00 at this point in 2020 which went up some from July's average.  As long as I'm around $400 per month with 3(now 2)people in the house, it's all good.  While it's just Hubs and I now I will also be supplementing Ex-College Boy's food needs for awhile.

LOOKING AHEAD To September 2020.............

I am determined to have a lower food spending month in September as we were over my $400 budget in the last TWO months!  Between going to the store too much and the rising cost of groceries I don't know if I can do a $200 spending month(which would be half of my usual budget)but I'll try to keep it down.

Sluggy plans, the gods laugh. ;-)

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 August?

*  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

This Week on the Dining Table

The "funny package of M and M's" Edition...........

A Rite-Aid(not my town's) earlier this month the cashier made a BIG mistake.  She put my $1.28 left on a R-A gift card I was using to partially pay with into the register as $128.00. Yikes!  So while they called for the manager and then 3 employees conferred on how to handle the situation I snapped a photo of this funny package of M and M's from the candy rack while I waited.  Maybe I should have bought 3 of these and handed them to those employees when I left as none of them had a clue about what they were doing. LOLZ

I know, I know.....that's mean and they were doing the best they knew how.  

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--Sloppy Joes, Strawberries
2. Monday--TV dinners
3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--TV dinners
5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Anniversary Dinner out or more Lobster from PC?
7. Saturday--Grilled Salmon and whatever fresh produce I can find

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Sloppy Joes, Strawberries
2. Monday--Leftover Beef Pie
3. Tuesday--Chicken Pot Pie

4. Wednesday--Lasagna Hamburger Helper, Almost New Pickles
5. Thursday--Grilled Salmon, Salad

6. Friday--Pizza
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.  We didn't eat any of the tv dinners, just the pot pies so we'll be adding those in this week's plan.

We got Domino's for our Anniversary since neither of us wanted to cook or go out anywhere that was open.  How sad is that?lolz

I see lobsters are at the same price this week at Price Chopper so maybe??

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 4 boxes of frozen veg

* 3 bags of frozen veg

* 2 bags of shredded cheese

Most of what I stocked up on was canned goods last week.

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 3 Chicken Pot Pies

* a Hunk of Salmon

We spent $129.30 last week bringing our food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods to $483.94 for August.  Well at least it's under $500. sigh.

I've earned $157.75 on Ibotta in August so far.

I've earned $11.25 on SavingStar in August so far but am closing in on a $5 wys $25 GM cereal rebate there as well.

I've earned $1.25 on Checkout51 too.

I've also gotten free bananas in August(after the Paypal deposit for buying them.

My savings percentage for last week was 52.88%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 53.97% so far.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week......Meatloaf, Hamburger Helper, Sloppy Joe meat.  As soon as room opens up in the freezer(tonight)I'll slice and bag the rest of Hubs' meatloaf up and throw it in there as he's tired of eating it for now.

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

1. Sunday--Steak, Spinach Salad
2. Monday--Crab Ravioli w/Cream Sauce, Tossed Salad
3. Tuesday--Leftovers(prolly Sloppy Joes), Sweet Potato Fries

4. Wednesday--TV dinners
5. Thursday--Brats on Buns, Carrots

6. Friday--TV dinners
7. Saturday--maybe Chinese take-out or Lobsters

What needs buying for this menu?  

Don't need a thing for this menu after last week's grocery spending extravaganza. ;-)

I started out wanting to do a lower spend month and to eat down the pantry but then I started getting worried and seeing alarms being sounded about food shortages/Covid up swings this Fall so I replaced food we ate in August so that blew a low spend month. ugh.

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Scampi
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Breakfast for Dinner

* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

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

Year Three in Retirement.....An Update

 Has it been three Years already since Hubs retired?

And I haven't killed him yet?! lolz

Here are where the finances stand compared to when he retired July 31st 2017.  First the bad news.....

* The RMSA Account has $59,206.06 less in it than when he retired.  This is the monies his company set aside to pay for medical insurance premiums until he/we reach Medicare age(65).  As you know medical insurance(good medical insurance that actually pays for anything)is expensive.

In 2017 our monthly premiums were $1,771.94.

In 2018 our monthly premiums were $1,814.38

In 2019 our monthly premiums were $ 1,848.67

In 2020 our monthly premiums were $1,883.76.

Even after a "decent"(hahaha)interest rate paid on this account's balance we have approximately 25 months worth of premiums left(depending of course on how much rates go up each year).  The RMSA money is slated to be depleted by September 2022.  That leaves 7 months of premiums to pay OOP for Hubs until he hits Medicare and 16 months of premiums to pay OOP for me until I hit that magic age of 65.  rah.  Premiums to cover just me that last 9 months should be a bit lower than the premiums that will cover both of us the first 7 months before Hubs hits 65.  

After the RMSA funds are gone we will be eligible for ACA plans with subsidies.  Not sure how I feel about the coverage those plans provide but it will be what it will be.  If we don't qualify for subsidies for insurance coverage(I doubt our income will be too high to qualify but who knows if there will even be subsidies then!)then we will pay what we have to pay.  It's important to have so we'll work it into the budget.

*  The HSA Account, which we have been tapping the last three years for drug and visit co-pays has $1,476.16 more in it than the balance when he retired three years ago.  Before you say, "you go girl!" about that, this amount is after we pumped $6,600 into it at the end of 2019 from our 401K(for the tax benefit partly)so really it's down $5,123.84 from July 2017.

And now for the good news......

*  The 401K has $42,901.79 more in it than it had in July 2017.  And that's with having withdrawn $18K during 2018 and $12K in early 2020($30K total withdrawn in 3 years).  Hubs had planned on withdrawing $36K per year but we just didn't need that much with our frugal lifestyle.  The $42K+ growth is due to interest earned(and stock gains) on all that money.  I loves me some compounding interest!! ;-)

*  Our other non-401K savings are $57,627.84 more than we had in July 2017.  Mostly that's Hubs' last paycheck in 2017, CD interest, Savings Bonds matured and cashed out, plus a few small tax refunds and a bit of income in the form of eBay sales and blogging revenue.  This non-401K savings will be taking a small hit soon as we are paying off Ex-CB's small student loan shortly.  We gifted the other 2 kids a hunk of money in the last few years(Daughter used hers to help pay to go back to college and Eldest used his to pay off his car)and now that Ex-CB has proved he is financially responsible he'll be getting his gift too and the Bank of Mom and Dad is officially closing it's doors. ;-)

Comparing each of the last three "years" figures.....

Total Income
2017-2018  $60,979.52    
2018-2019  $52,946.63
2019-2020  $57,728.43($6,600 of this is in the HSA)

Total Bills Paid
2017-2018  $37,799.73     
2018-2019  $49,189.94
2019-2020  $45,504.12

Leftover Funds
2017-2018  $23,179.79   
2018-2019   $3,756.69
2019-2020  $12,224.31($6,600 of this is in the HSA)

Three years into Retirement and financially things are looking pretty good.
I am off now to go work on organizing stuff and do some sewing after lunch.  Then a few more episodes of "Weeds" tonight.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the August 28th Edition

 Not much to report in with this past week but here goes.......

* I went to Rite-Aid on Sunday and bought this.........

(Plus another drink not pictured.) This lot cost me .05¢ in Bonus Cash.

* I hit CVS early in the week for all this.........

Besides all those ECBS this all cost me $2.32 OOP in cash.

* I sold some fancy shampoo on eBay(2 different listings)last weekend and shipped it out on Monday.  Of course it was set to arrive to the buyer in AL right during Hurricane Laura. lolz  The buyer paid me before I could send an invoice with lower postage for the combined shipping so I will refund part of what she paid for shipping when she lets me know the package arrived safely.  

I accepted a bid on them that was lower than I had them listed for because A-everybody needs a break nowadays and B-I wanted this stuff gone and C-since I technically didn't pay any $$ for them, I'm happy with whatever cash I get. ;-)

* The Coupons dotcom app has an offer for free bananas until 8/31, up to $1.50 worth.  When we hit Walmart Thursday I picked up $1.32 worth of bananas(the sign was wrong with a higher price or I'd have gotten an actual $1.50 worth).  Receipt submitted and approved and I should have that $1.32 in my Paypal account any time now.

*  I thought I was going to get "Found Change Skunked" this past week.  I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets, CVS, Walmart and Rite-Aid this week and found nada change.  So I made Hubs swing into R-A after our outing on Thursday so I could pick up next week's flyer and while I listened to my R-A friend's tale of woe(before I told her of my "didn't find any change this week" tale of woe), at the register I looked down to find this..........

A nice shiny dime!
So much for getting skunked this past week! ;-)

Total Change found this week. .10¢
Total Change found this year....$47.72

* While at Walmart I picked up this stuff to finish off my $5 The Climb Ibotta Bonus.....

2 x Delmonte fruit cup packs
1 x Keebler cookies
1 x Kraft boxed mac and cheese
1 x pack of hard boiled eggs
1 x Perfect Bar
2 x Mead folders

Paid $11.17(w/.12¢ tax on folders) after $1.75 in coupons off on the fruit and cookies.
Earned $10.19 in Ibotta rebates on all this(including a .50¢ Del Monte Bonus and the $5 the Climb Bonus).
I am up to $126.25 earned on Ibotta in August.

* I also earned $1 on SavingStar for buying Domino sugar at Weis last Friday.

* After Walmart Hubs and I went to Red Robin for another Anniversary Week Lunch and used my last gift card for there.  Lunch cost me $7.20 OOP(including the $6 tip I left the waitress).

*  I also placed an online Rite-Aid order on my other card on Monday and it arrived on Thursday......

4 x Zim's Max Freeze=$20.96
4 x Sally Hansen hard as nails=$9.96
4 x Duracell batteries=$8.76
Subtotal...$40.68

Since my total was over $34.99 the shipping was free.
I had a coupon code to save $10 if I spent $40 making my total $30.68+.52¢ tax=$31.20.
I paid with Bonus Cash and earned back $40 in new BC, growing my BC $8.80 on this transaction.

I placed another online order on my account(same items except only 2 Max Freeze since I already bought 2 in the store this week so wouldn't get $5 BC but on 2 more, so I added 2 x Compeed items).
After $10 Coupon Code it was $35.68 so I used $34.80 in BC and .88¢ cash from my Paypal account I'll get back $34 in new BC and will submit the Compeed to Ibotta for another $10 in cash rebates.  Converting $10 of BC into cash on that deal.
Not too shabby either. ;-)

*  The garden is winding down a bit now but we are still getting a couple of tomatoes every day or two.  Hubs harvested some jalapeno peppers he planted too.  The collards are coming along and will be ready to pick after the first frost. Not many of the roma type tomato plants have done much and the squirrels and chipmunks have taken a liking to the fruits that are there. 
I do still have at last count FOUR acorn squash, one on each of FOUR plants that were suppose to be crookneck yellow squash plants! 
Anybody have god recipes for acorn squash? ;-)

That's about it from me today.  I've got to finish up putting away the toiletries stash in the guest bedroom and finish filling giveaway boxes this weekend so I'd best get off here soon.

Today is also me and Hubs' 38th Wedding Anniversary so there may be Take-out or Lobsters in my dinner plans tonight.   Yah for not cooking!  8-)))

Remember to keep it real and keep it frugal.

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?

Sluggy