Frugal Friday....The December 4th Edition

Here's a short list of frugal happenings around Chez Sluggy this past week.

*  All the Black Friday weekend shopping was reported on in a previous post so I won't go over all that again.  Let's just say during those 3 days I spent an actual $9.82 out of pocket and brought home a ton of stuff-needs, wants, stuff for gifts and stuff for giveaway boxes as well!

*  A surprise gift arrived in the mail from a blogger/blog reader this past week.........

No one ever sends me gifties(well except for dog butt magnets lol)so thank you reader(you know who you are)!

*  I have hardly left the house since Saturday.  And when you don't leave the house for most of the week you don't spend money, right?  That's frugal. ;-)

*  I found money!

The only change I found were 2 pennies at Weis(PMITA)on Friday when I ran in there for a couple one day only specials.
I can't believe during all my Rite-Aid trips last week I didn't spy a single dropped coin!

Total Found $ This Week.... .02¢
Total Found $ So Far This Year....$52.55

* Speaking of Rite-Aid(lol)I did do 2 shops online with them this past week.  Remember that Spend $50/Get $15 Bonus Cash Deal from last week?  Well they are doing it with online orders this week!
I was hoping the packages would arrive before today so I could show what I got but they haven't so that will happen on the next Frugal Friday report(I hope).  Needless to say I only spent Bonus Cash on these transactions. ;-)

*  My Amazon Chase credit card was due to the tune of  $390.86 last week.  I saw I had accrued $53.62 worth of points on that account.  So I used them to pay down the balance meaning I only had to pay $337.24 to bring my balance to zero.

*  We hit the P and R Outlet a few days before Thanksgiving(I forgot to list this in last week's wins). If you remember, this store puts out food that is short dated for free near the registers if you buy anything in their store.  

Hubs and I picked up 2 containers of Half Sour Pickles(too garlicky for me as it turns out), 2 bags of Banana Chips and a 12 pack of individual aseptic milk boxes.  All were free!

That's about it from here this past week..........

What frugaliciousness did you have happen in your life this week?
Tell us all about it!

Sluggy

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

I had 2 goals for November.......
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 November in the black.
The amount we ended the month of November with?.....$187.70

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

* 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 $433.06

* Deposit for Booze I bought for someone on our trip  $35.00

Total "Income" for November.....$5539.41

Expenses in November---

* Healthcare Premium for November was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in November were $520.43
* Variable Expenses in October came to $2947.52
Total Expenses....$5351.71

$5539.41-$5351.71=$187.70
Slush into November of $32,178.08 in that Fund, add the $187.70 November overage and this brings the Slush to $32,365.78 going into November.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $187.70 for November.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet and cell phone were the same as last month.

*  There was no gas bill(these stations were too high in price).

*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.

*  The water bill was $1.22 lower than October's bill.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $25.18 higher than last month's bill. This one will continue to rise as Winter sets in.

*  The credit card bill was $1204.06 higher than in October.  This was mostly due to some big purchases by Hubs and the bill's from our October trip were on this statement.

*  We had a $390.86 bill from my Amazon card.  I don't use it much and I did help to lower that bill which I'll explain in tomorrow's Frugal Friday post. ;-)

*  There was an irregular bill due in November, the semi-annual car insurance premium of $520.43.

The Food Budget costs for November 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 November---
It was a good month overall financially.  No unusually high normal bills other than the c/c due to our trip but we knew that was coming. Any month we don't spend more on outgo than comes in is a good month with the monies.  Some large bills were due so not much overage to carry forward into the Slush Fund in November, but some months are like that.

THOUGHTS going forward into December 2020----Most of my Christmas shopping is done already so not much more will go on the credit card for December(besides food spending for the month).  My big expense this December will be the cost to mail/ship gifts.  I've got 7 packages(not counting Giveaway boxes)to ship to what seems like every state in the country this year! lol  Lots of $$ going to the USPS this year.....

We've got 2 irregular bills due in December-the Long Term Care Insurance premiums but that's it for non-usual bills this month.

Then we get to sit down and "Monday Morning Quarterback" the 2020 finances and plan out our 2021 spending.

So how was your November financially?
  

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

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2020.

I have posted November'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 November.  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, sometimes feeding 3). 
*****************

ALDI

OOP  $46.71

Value  $73.51

Savings 36.46%

CVS
OOP  $8.96

Qs/Ads/ECBucks $223.93
Value  $232.89
Savings  96.15%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $5.97
Value  $31.97
Savings  81.33%

OLLIE'S

OOP  $9.13

Value  $20.27
Savings  54.96% 

PandR OUTLET

OOP  $7.54

Value  $13.25

Savings  43.09%

RITE-AID *
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/GCardS $1492.66
Value  $1492.66
Savings  100%

SCHIFF'S
OOP   $15.48
Value  $39.70
Savings  60.01%

WALMART
OOP  $53.17
Value  $91.30
Savings 41.76%

WEIS
OOP  $238.37
Qs/Ads  $225.36
Value  $463.73
Savings  48.60%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, CVS at 96.15% and Schiff's at 60.01% .  

I shopped at 9 different stores in November. 

I also earned $173.50 in cash rebates in November(Ibotta/Coupons dotcom app)which helps offset the spending once I cash all the rebates in at the end of 2020 and add them into my totals.

TOTAL Spent(without R-A)...................$385.33

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales................$578.59
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$963.92

TOTAL Savings of ................................60.02%

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

TOTAL Spent........................................$385.33

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales................$2071.25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$2456.58

TOTAL Savings of ................................84.31%

This closes out the November food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....Thanksgiving was an intimate affair this year of only 4 people. I picked up a few seasonal deals and I did my usual Rite-Aid pillaging for the 3 day Black Friday sale.  Plus found some good deals at other stores throughout the month of November.  It was a good November in terms of food spending.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by an amazing 16.84% in November 2020 to 84.31% compared to the October 2020 rate of 67.47% savings average.  Rite-Aid Black Friday sales do that to my November totals every year. 8-)))

With 11 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $4,239.97 on food/toiletries in 2020.

I had wanted to stay under $4K in food spending in 2020.  Higher prices due to Covid derailed me for a bit but once I add in all my rebates/refunds/post coupon/found money pots into the grocery spending category I will most assuredly be back under $4K spent on food for the year as I have well over $1K in rebates right now to dump back into the grocery fund and I have 1 more month to do better too. ;-)

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent.....................$4,239.97

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$14,114.06

2020 Grand Total Saved.................................$9874.09

2020 Yearly Savings Total............69.96%

The average per month amount spent is $385.45 at this point in 2020 which went down .01¢ from October's average.  As long as I'm around $400 per month with 3(now 2 but we feed EX-CB sometimes and his roommate too)people in the house, it's all good.  

LOOKING AHEAD To December 2020..........The big unknown is who will be here for Christmas due to Covid.  More folks means more food spending in general since some who may be coming have food allergies and/or preferences so in order to accommodate everyone I may need to spend a little more....if they come.  I've got turkey breasts and hams in the chest freezer so unless I splash out on a beef roast there aren't any large food purchases for Xmas that I can foresee.

Overall I don't plan to spend more than my usual $400 food budget in December and perhaps I can reign that amount in a bit as well.  Time will tell.

As far as normal meals, Hubs and I are going to use up some more frozen assets this month so maybe I won't need to buy very much at the grocery stores?  Sluggy plans and G** laughs!

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 November?  Are you happy with that amount and did you get good value for your money?

*  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

Prelude to Black Friday Rite-Aid Haul & the Report on 3 Days of Black Friday Hauls

So I had a $5 when you spend $25 coupon for Rite-Aid that expired on Wednesday.

I was lukewarm about using it as I was saving all my Bonus Cash for the Black Friday sales, but then I hit the clearance shelf at my R-A on Tuesday and found a cool mist Vicks Humidifier/Vaporizer for 75% off.  My store must have found this one back in the storage recently because these went on clearance months ago and I never saw one on clearance back then in my store.

With that $7.49 price I only needed to find $17.51 more to use that $5/$25 q.  Here is what I did on Hubs' card.....

1 x Humidifier 75% off=$7.49
3 x Pringles Wavy on clearance .49¢=$1.47
2 x Colgate optic white toothpaste 20% Wellness disc.=$6.38
1 x Oral-B twin pack toothbrush on sale=$6.99
1 x Visine 20% Wellness disc.=$4.79
SubTotal.....$27.12

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$25 R-A Q=$5.00
2 x $3/1 In-Ad R-A Colgate Q=$6.00
1 x $2/1 In-Ad R-A Visine Q=$2.00
Coupon Total....$13.00

$27.12-$13.00=$14.12+.37¢ sales tax=$14.49 paid for with a R-A gift card.
I didn't earn any Bonus Cash on this transaction but that's ok as I am pleased as punch to get that humidifier so cheaply!  Ex-College Boy will love those Pringles and the rest of this transaction(oral care and Visine)go into the toiletries stockpile for later.

I also earned $3 in cash rebates on the Coupons dotcom app($1/3 Pringles Wavy, $2/1 multi-pack of Oral-B toothbrushes)and $3.60 in Ibotta rebates(.10¢ any item, $2 Colgate, $1.50 Visine)so $14.49 spent but $6.60 back in rebates. 

The toothbrushes tracked toward a PandG Spend $30/Get $10 BC Deal too so I spent accordingly to reach $30 to get that BC deal too during the BF sales.

I forgot to use a $1/1 Visine hangtag ManuQ I had so I'll be going back today to do a post coupon and get $1 cash back for it.  After that this transaction will have cost me $6.89.....less than the clearance price of the humidifier.  I'll take it.

As for Rite-Aid Black Friday shopping this year....it was insane!  True there were very few freebies(things that earned you back equivalent funds in Bonus Cash)but instead of a "Spend $40 on stuff in the BF ad/Get $10 back in Bonus Cash" coupon of 2019, there was a "Spend $50 on anything in the store/Get $15 back in Bonus Cash" coupon.  And this was on top of anything that already gave you Bonus Cash in that purchase.
Plus there was a stacking weekly/monthly Deal on the Zim's Max Freeze pain relief.  During the BF sale it was $8 and gave back $7 in BC(limit 2)plus there was a $5 monthly deal on 1(limit 4)so if you bought 2 you paid $16 but you got back $24 in BC(and it tracked toward your spend $50/Get $15 BC too.  The Compeed was a great deal on Thursday(especially if you had the ManuQs-I did not-and there were Ibotta rebates).  Also the almost or free Colgate toothpaste had Ibotta rebates which made them large moneymakers until Ibotta pulled those rebates as well. 

Then me and a bunch of people who are die-hard Rite-Aid fans figured out that there were TWO different Spend $50/Get $15 in BC coupons-one in the weekly ad and one in the Black Friday ad and they had different bar codes so you could use one Q on a transaction of $50 and then use the other one on another transaction. So there was double opportunity to get free BC this year. 8-)))

On Thursday I ran up to Rite-Aid early in the morning to do the Home Despot gift card deal on each card....Spend $100 Get $20 in Bonus Cash.  I do this gift card every BF sale because we spend $$ at HD on house stuff anyway so why not get the deal and have basically free Bonus Cash to play with?

I also did 2 transactions on Thursday, spent at least $50-one on my card and one on Hubs' card and used a $50/Get $15 Coupon on each transaction.

Back again on Friday and/or Saturday after the $20 from the Home Despot gift cards kicked into the accounts and did another transaction on each card, using the BF ad Spend $50/Get $15 Qs.

Here is everything I got on my card during those 3 days of the BF sale.........

I used a total of $121.11 in Bonus Cash for all this.
I earned a total of $104 back in new Bonus Cash, a $5 Catalina for buying the 7th Gen laundry detergent and $8.65 in Ibotta rebates($5 Compeed, $2 Colgate, $1.55 cereal, .10¢ any item).
After all was said and done I was "down" $3.46 for these transactions.

And here is everything purchased with Hubs' card.........

I used a total of $95 in Bonus Cash for all this.
I earned a total of $100 back in new Bonus Cash, a $5 Catalina for buying the 7th Gen laundry detergent and $5.50 in Ibotta rebates($2 on each Listerine item, $3 on each Purex item and a .50¢ Listerine Bonus).
After all was said and done I was "up" $15.50 for these transactions.

I ended up finishing up the Spend $30/Get $10 BC PandG Deal on Hubs' card(the Tide, Pantene and multi pack Oral-B toothbrushes above).   I hit 3 different Rite-Aids over the course of the 3 days in order to finish up/find what I wanted.  I had to go to a bigger store to find the coffee Monster drinks for Ex-CB and to find another set of Conair/Scunci freebies and Baby Ruth candy bars.  My store had very few of these things and started Thursday with no Baby Ruth bars but the bigger store was still loaded with much more on Friday.

On Saturday I went to CVS after debating on whether to go or not during the BF sale there.  I didn't have any ECBs expiring until 12/11 but what the heck. ;-)

We get take-out from Applebee's as it's one of the few restaurants still open here so I did the gift card deal(would spend cash there anyway so why not earn $25 in ECBs to get some stuff?).

I wasn't there to get any gift sets or other giftie deals, I wanted to get the freebies after ECBs and practical stuff for us.

The Colgate, cleansing wipes and CVS Acetaminophen were free after ECBs.
Unfortunately I didn't have that BOGO or B1G2F Babo TP CRT so that cost me $7.99 for both packs after ECBs and BOGO sale but that's ok by me.
The razor was .99¢, the toothbrush was an .81¢ moneymaker, the Joah cosmetic items were $2.98 for both, and the Eucerin was $8.98 for both after all Qs, CRTs and ECBs earned back.  There was also .31¢ off (40% off of one item)but I can't tell which one from my receipt. lol

I rolled $46 in ECBs and earned back $43.19 in new ECBs including a $3 Beauty Buck(plus I have an older $5 ECB left)so I didn't spend my ECBs down at all in the end darn it!  CVS has me in their snare.....argh

I spent $3.85 OOP also on all this(not including the gift card)besides all the Extra Care Buck action.

Then on the way home from CVS I stopped into Dollar General to see what deal I could make up using the $5 off $25 Saturday Q.......

I had a $3/2 Vaseline IPQ and 2 x $2/1 DentaLife dog treats ManQs but otherwise all the other Qs used were DG digital ones.

I spent $5.97(.22¢ was sales tax)OOP for everything, a savings of $26 according to my receipt.  rah.

Not a bad haul to finish off all the Black Friday weekend shopping madness. 8-)

Did you get any good shopping deals during the Black Friday weekend?

Tell us all about it!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Time to Wrap Up the Month" Edition.....

No photos this week.  I didn't even take a single one on Thanksgiving.  So not like me.

The last day of November is here.  That flew by!

I feel very much behind the 8 ball here between having to mail out giveaway boxes, blog about all the Black Friday shopping I did(mostly at Rite-Aid), do the end of month bookwork and financial stuff, put all the Rite-Aid haul away, put Thanksgiving stuff away(the little I have)and drag out the festive for Christmas.  So much to do before Dec. 25th gets here that I am stressing out over it!

But enough of that.....

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

This is what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Teriyaki Salmon w/Rice, Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
2. Monday--Baked Pork Chop, Corn Casserole, Broccoli
3. Tuesday--Pork and Veggies Stir-Fry, Rice

4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--Roasted Turkey Breast, Stuffing, Taters, Rutabaga, Green Beans, Gravy, Cranberry Glop, Rolls, Pie

6. Friday--leftovers

7. Saturday--maybe Take-Out? 

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

1. Sunday--Teriyaki Salmon w/Rice, Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
2. Monday--Baked Pork Chop, Corn Casserole, Broccoli
3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself

4. Wednesday--TV Dinners
5. Thursday--Roasted Turkey Breast, Stuffing, Taters, Rutabaga, Green Beans, Gravy, Cranberry Glop, Rolls, Pie

6. Friday--leftovers

7. Saturday--free Lasagna from Weis, Crudités

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 4 nights of leftovers/FFY/TV Dinners, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.  

I couldn't locate the pork loin for the stir-fry dish(buried in the freezer somewhere)and after cooking stuff ahead on Wednesday we just did TV dinners that night.  Even though I made way less this year since we only had 4 people for Turkey day(and we packed quite a bit off with Ex-CB and roommate) there are still abundant leftovers, which we whittled away at on Friday and Sunday.  I'll rework what's left into new dishes this week or see if Ex-CB wants more leftovers. (I KNOW he'll take me up on more pumpkin pie! lol)

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  6 x 1 lbs. of butter

*  1 large frozen lasagna

*  1 turkey breast

*  2 pints of ice cream

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  1 turkey breast

*  3 bags of green beans

*  1 hunk of salmon

*  2 pork chops

*  1/4 bag of broccoli

We spent $141.82 last week(lots of small trips to Weis, Aldi, Schiff's restaurant supply, P and R grocery outlet, Dollar General and a $3.85 OOP trip to CVS), bringing our food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods Grand Total to $385.33 for November.  Even with that high spending week last week I still stayed under my $400 food budget for the month.  yay!

There are 0 shopping days left in November.  

I've earned $163.50 on Ibotta in November. 

I've earned $1.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $10.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in November.

I've earned 13,292 points from shopping on Fetch in November.

I've earned 510 points from food shopping on ShopKick in November.

I've earned 500 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in November.

My savings percentage for last week was 60.38%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for November and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 60.02%.(w/out R-A). I think the CVS trip and the Dollar General trip both helped to boost my savings rate last week.

Leftovers going into this week.....turkey day foods, a little taco filling, half a pan of lasagna.

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

1. Sunday--Leftover Thanksgiving foods
2. Monday--Butternut Squash Ravioli, Salad
3. Tuesday--Taco Salad

4. Wednesday--Turkey Casserole, Brussels Sprouts
5. Thursday--Domino's pizza or Hubs cooks

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--more Leftovers or Turkey soup?

What needs buying for this menu? I think I have everything here so no food purchases required for this menu.  The menu may deviate later in the week, depending on how tired we are of Thanksgiving sides. ;-)

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