2021 Food Spending Report.....the January Edition

 Onward to January's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2021.

I have posted January'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 January.  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(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 24.
*****************

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $6.49
Value  $26.94
Savings  75.91%

CVS

OOP  $4.86
Qs/Ads/ECBs  $83.81

Value  $88.67

Savings 94.52%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $4.56

Qs/Ads  $30.20

Value  $34.76

Savings  86.88%

MALACARI'S
OOP  $5.95
Value  $948
Savings  37.24%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $5.06
Value  $9.84
Savings  48.57 %

OCEAN STATE

OOP  $0.00(used free gift card

Value  $13.99

Savings  100%

P and R DISCOUNTS
OOP  $47.44
Value  $116.06
Savings   59.12%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $1074.81
Value  $1074.81
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $120.26
Value  $294.31
Savings  59.14%

WEIS

OOP  $87.14

Qs/Sales  $96.37
Value  $183.51
Savings  52.51%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Ocean State at 100% and CVS at 94.52%.   My worst savings rate was at Malacari's with 37.24%.
I shopped at 10 different stores in January.  

TOTAL Spent.........................................$295.22

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.................$482.34

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$777.56

TOTAL Savings of ................................62.03%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for January w/R-A........$295.22
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales w/R-A....................$1557.15
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$1852.37
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items.....................84.06%

This closes out the January food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into January wanting to eat down the pantry/freezers a bit and not spend a bunch of $$ on food shopping.  I did still stock up on good deals that I found them.  We ended the month of January at  $104.78 UNDER my usual Food/Toiletries/HBA/Paper Goods monthly budget. 

I also had a very big month of cash rebates, which was just $49.69 Less than what I actually spent on groceries. (This doesn't count any ShopKicks, Fetch, Checkout51 or Swagbucks rebates I did.) I am happy with that.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 8.68% in January 2021 to 84.06% compared to the December's 75.38% savings average mostly due to a LOT of Rite-Aid shopping.  Usually I don't do so much R-A buying in January.


With 1 month accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $295.22 on food/toiletries in 2021.

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$295.22

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items....$1852.37

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$1557.15

2020 Yearly Savings Total............84.06%

The average per month amount spent is $295.22 in 2021 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD To February 2021...........

We have had some very bad Winter weather already and more is on the horizon for this weekend into next week.  February is generally our worst Winter weather month so other than spending/rolling my Bonus Cash at R-A I don't plan on hitting Walmart which is my main Ibotta store much in February.

Weis(PMITA)Markets hasn't been good for Ibotta lately so yeah.
We'll probably double down on eating from what we have at home in February and try to keep the spending to a minimum except for needs.

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 January?

*  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

Happy Groundhog Day Granny!

Happy Groundhog Day Everyone!

If my paternal Grandmother was still alive she'd be 112 years old today.

Here she is with my oldest brother when he was a couple weeks old in December of 1951.  This is one of the oldest photos of  have a her and she is 42 year old in it.  

I sure wish I had some photos of her when she was younger.  She must have been a "looker" then to have attracted her first husband, my paternal Grandfather.

My Paternal Grandfather from sometime during the 1930's in his NY National Guard uniform.

And my grandfather in 1926 after he ran away from home from New Windsor, NY, lied about his age(he was 16 years old)and joined the Marines.  He was stationed at the St. Helena training station in the Berkley Section of Norfolk, Virginia.  After his two year hitch(when he was thrown out when they discovered he lied about his real age)my Grandfather traveled to the Boston area where he met Granny in 1928.

Granny on the back left in this photo in 1961at one of my brother's 1st Communion.

Born in Cambridge Massachusetts to Irish immigrants, she survived the Spanish flu Pandemic as a child, World War I, was a flapper in the 1920's outside of Boston and then in Manhattan, married for the first time in 1928(and she didn't invite her own father to the wedding), had my father in 1931, then my only aunt in 1934.  

Her husband went out for a pack of cigarettes in 1941 and never returned leaving her destitute with a 10 year old and a 6 year old to support and raise in Brooklyn, NY.

She moved to Norfolk Virginia in the late 1940s after World War II, found a new husband and married him in North Carolina in 1949 at 40 years old.  He was 7 years older than her and worked for a tug boat company in Norfolk. My Step Grandfather Dave, died of a heart attack on board a ship waiting to pass through the Suez Canal in 1966 after 17 years of marriage, leaving Granny a widow at the age of 57.

Christmas in 1962 with Granny at our house in Norfolk,

Granny soldiered on, selling their brick home in Virginia Beach and moving across the street from my family and then into a duplex down the street from us at the end of the street in the Portlock section of South Norfolk(now Chesapeake), VA.   

Granny and my Step Grandfather with us kids in 1960 in front of their home across the street from us in another section of Portlock, South Norfolk.

Granny eventually moved back to Massachusetts to be near her daughter(my Aunt)and my Aunt's children, 2 of whom were younger than me and my older brothers.  She got a job working for Wang Laboratories one of the early computer labs, making word processor parts in Tewksbury MA.  We didn't see her often after she moved, only for special occasions like when my brother's graduated from High School.  The last time I saw Granny was in 1979 when I worked in Summer Stock in Maine, my Aunt picked me up at a bus station in Boston and took me to her apartment for a visit before she drove me onward to my destination in Maine.

Granny retired in the 1970's and died the Fall after I graduated from college in 1981 at the age of 72.  I so grateful I was home from college and was living in Virginia Beach with my mom so I got to attend the funeral.  Granny is buried in Virginia Beach, VA next to her husband Dave Paul and most every trip back to the area I pay a visit to them both at the cemetery.

She taught me what it was to be a strong woman, who didn't take crap from anyone.  No nonsense and she spoke her mind without much of a filter(so that's where I get THAT from!). lol  One of her favorite sayings(one of the few that I can repeat here since she swore like a sailor at times)was she would ask you, "Have you got a hat?  Her reply was always, Then go shit in it!"

She loved her kids and grandkids(and you knew it)but she wasn't much for coddling any of us because she knew life was hard and you had to be tough to survive.

She loved her Pall Mall cigarettes, her Pepsi Cola(never Coke!), Mrs. Fanning's Bread and Butter Pickles with her sandwich at lunch, Coffee, JFK(she had a Kennedy ashtray and a JFK commemorative trash can), and playing Bingo almost every night of the week when I was very small at various venues-- Catholic, Jewish, Protestant or Non-Denominational, it didn't matter your religious affiliation when it came to Bingo.  She babysat me often so I learned my numbers and alphabet in part from those evenings in the bingo hall with her.  

Thanks Granny for having a positive influence on my life!
Happy Birthday!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "There Will Be NO Shopping Until Further Notice" Edition....

This is just the first "dusting" of snow we have gottten here at Chez Sluggy.
It's snowed off and on since Sunday and this is suppose to continue until late Tuesday.  We are in the small area that is predicted to receive 18+ inches so yay for that. lol  Obviously there will be no grocery or drugstore shopping until we dig out in mid February.  Kidding, we should be able to drive by Thursday.
Are you suppose to get a good amount of snow where you are?

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

1. Sunday--Fend for Yourself

2. Monday--Chicken Fajitas

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts

4. Wednesday--BBQ pork sammiches, Veggie TBD
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks or Leftovers

6.  Friday--Homemade Manicotti(if I feel ambitious), Salad

7. Saturday--Leftovers

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

1. Sunday--Fend for Yourself(Don't remember what I had)

2. Monday--Chicken Fajitas

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts

4. Wednesday--BBQ pork sammiches, Cole Slaw
5. Thursday-Leftovers

6.  Friday--Homemade Manicotti, Leftover Brussels Sprouts, Garlic Bread

7. Saturday--Lunch out, No Dinner

Last week saw 4 night of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/planned overs or no dinner, FFY, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out(but 1 lunch out).

We pretty much followed the plan. Go. Us.

I forgot I had a free birthday burger from Red Robin so we had to go out for lunch on Saturday(ahead of the big storm)to use that chit before it expired.  They served us each two side salads with the meal(don't know why)so we were too full for dinner on Saturday.  I think Hubs ate something small that night and I just had a cup of hot tea.

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

* 6 lbs. of frozen veggies

* 3 lbs. of BSC Breasts

* 1 bag of French fries

* 1 bag of mixed root veggie fries

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

*  Salmon fillets

* 1/3 bag of Brussels Sprouts

*  a bag of barbecued/smoked pork

*  3/4 lb. Chicken Tenders(used most for the Fajitas but a little to make Chicken Salad for 2 lunch sandwiches)

We spent $90.97 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week.  $61.76 at Walmart, $1.69 at Weis, and $27.52 at the Discount Grocery Outlet. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $295.22 for January.

There are 0 shopping days left in January.  Onward to the 28 shopping days in February(which because of the storm will be more like 24 shopping days. 8-)

I've earned $245.53 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $11.00 on Checkout51 in January.

I've earned $2.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in January.

I've earned 663 points from shopping on Fetch in January.

I've earned 2676 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in January.

I've earned 1200 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in January.

My savings percentage for last week was 55.54%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for January and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 62.03%.(w/out R-A). That's a really high savings rate even for me. 8-)

Leftovers going into this week--taco filling, cole slaw, 3 manicotti, garlic bread, bbq enough for 2 sandwiches, fajita filling for 1.  No food waste again last week.  But few leftovers means lots of cooking this week.

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

1. Sunday--Chicken w/BBQ sauce, leftover Brussels Sprouts or Broccoli in cheese sauce

2. Monday--Leftovers-various

3. Tuesday--Corn Chowder, Cornbread

4. Wednesday--Ham slices and Veggies TBD
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks or Leftovers

6.  Friday--More Leftovers

7. Saturday--No Clue yet

What needs buying for this menu?  Well can't get to the store so I hope everything needed is here. lol If not, the plan will need to adjust/change.  A big snowstorm is one way to keep me from buying more groceries, right? ;-)

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?  Not such great deals here unless I go to the discount food outlet.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the January 29th Edition on Saturday

I'm a day off this week but here's the Frugal Report I usually do on Friday with all the frugalness from the past week here around Chez Sluggy......

*  I hit a few Rite-Aid stores this week to grow my Bonus Cash a little bit.......

This trip on Monday netted me an additional $1 in BC after rolling the other $5 I already had.

 

On Thursday I hit a few other R-As and maxed out the stationery deal on each card.  I earned $4 for every two rulers I bought and they cost .74¢ + tax each so $1.56 for each pair and and $2.44 extra back in BC beyond what they cost.  But I got 1 bottle of body wash in one transaction w/2 rulers and in another I bought 3 clearance Nivea men's items($1.99 each)spending down that card's BC by $3.90 after earning the $4 BC for the rulers.

But there was method to my madness here since I earned $7.50 cash rebates on the Nivea items on Ibotta so really just converting some Bonus Cash to actual cash(plus more cash back than I spent in BC).  I grew that $3.90 in BC by $3.60 to $7.50 cash. 

Go. Me.

*  While I was across the street at R-A I hit up the discount grocery outlet too....

2 bags of baby carrots for .10¢ a bag.  

A bottle of lime juice for .59¢.

2 cans of water chestnuts for .79¢ each.

2 cartons of OJ for .99¢ each.

1 carton of nut juice for Hubs for $1.99

4.04 lbs. of BSCBreast for .99¢ per lb.

2 loaves of PF raisin bread for .99¢ each. *not pictured*

2 x 2lb. bags of frozen Brussels sprouts and stir-fry Veggies for $2.39 a bag. *not pictured*

2 x 1lb. bags of frozen Broccoli and Green Beans for $1.29 a bag. *not pictured*

1 package of napkins for $1.79. *not pictured*

I also grabbed 2 freebies-a package of organic wraps and a bag of ranch flavored popcorn for Ex-CB.

I may have forgotten a thing or two but this trip cost me $27.52 w/sales tax.

I'd call that a successful shopping trip, especially the chicken. ;-)

*  I found money!

I tagged along with Hubs last Saturday on a trip to Walmart and  found this penny at the self-checkout .

Then passing the Amazon lockers still in Walmart I spied this nickel underneath one....

These two pennies were found in Rite-Aid in two different spots in the front of the store on Monday.....

And this dime and penny was found on the floor at the checkout at P and R Outlet on Thursday.....

Total Found This Week....  .19¢

Total Found in 2021....  .38¢ This past week I doubled my finds for the year...woohoo!

*  I still had 25 rebates to do on Ibotta by Sunday night to earn the $10 Cold Hard Cash Bonus and I didn't think I could put together a deal that would get me there that wasn't a high spend because I'd have to do most if not all of those 25 rebates at Walmart.

So having a free day on Friday I gathered up my coupons and ideas and went to Walmart to see what I could do........

After Q and rebate the Kettle Chips were $3.96 for 2 bags.

After Q and rebate the Scottie tissues were .47¢ for 2 boxes.

After rebate the Breakstone cottage cheese was $2.64.

After rebate the Ritz toasted chips were $2.38 for 2 bags.

After rebate the Kraft shredded cheese was $2.38.

After rebate the Kraft singles cheese was $2.48.

After rebate the Ocean Spray juice boxes was .73¢.

After Q and rebate the Splenda was $1.98.

After Q and rebate the 6 soups were $5.09 total.

After rebate the Minute Rice was .98¢.

After Q and rebate the Bella dog food was .21¢ for all 4.

After rebate the Good Thins crackers were $2.56 for both boxes.

After rebate the 2 cans of Swanson broth were .52¢ for both.

After rebate the Philly cream cheese was $1.71.

After rebate the Siggi's yogurt was .98¢.

After rebate the Ore-Ida fries were $2.08. *not pictured*

After rebate the Mixed root veggie fries were FREE. *not pictured*

After Q and rebate the Poise pads were a .32¢ Moneymaker.

After Qs and rebate the Rolaids were a .32¢ Moneymaker.

After rebate the Coke w/coffee was a .10¢ Moneymaker(qualified for 2 rebates).

After Q and rebate the Rimmel face powder was a .28¢ Moneymaker.

After Q and rebate the Rimmel eye shadow was a $1.53 Moneymaker.

After Q and rebate the Rimmel lip gloss was .37¢.

After Q and rebate the Listerine ready tabs were .97¢.

After rebate the Alka-Seltzer gum was $2.24.

After rebate the 2 Listerine flossers were a .06¢ Moneymaker.

After rebate the clearance Almay eye shadow palettes were a $2 Moneymaker.

If the store had another $2 marked down eye shadow it would have been a $3 Moneymaker but I'm happy with what I found.

In total I spent $84.65 including tax.

I used a free $25 gift card earned from ShopKicks so I paid $59.65 OOP for everything above.

Now for the rebates...

I earned $52.99 on regular rebates. 

I earned that $10 Cold Hard Cash for doing 25+ rebates in this time frame.

I earned a .50¢ Perfect Pairings Bonus for buying the Tomato Soup(4 cans)and the Kraft Singles.

I earned a .75¢ Kraft Game Day Bonus for buying the Philly cream cheese, the Kraft shredded cheese and the Ore-Ida fries.

I earned a .50¢ Listerine Bonus.

I earned the $1 January Level 2 Bonus as well.

Total rebates earned came to $65.74.

I could have bought 3 less items than I did(sort of lost track on how many I had because I needed so many! lol).  I probably wouldn't have bought the yogurt, the Kettle chips and the cottage cheese if I had it to do over again but they are things we use so not a big deal.  That would have brought my OOP to $52.07 and made my Rebates total $63.74 so a bigger Moneymaker but I have no time machine to go back to yesterday and redo this transaction. lol

Oh I also got 110 Shop Kicks, 139 Points on Fetch and $1 on Checkout51 so a buck and a bit more earned back on other rebate apps too.

*  Our fridge has been having problems.  Hubs decided with encouragement from me to replace the freezer door gasket as it was split and coming off.

We searched online for the replacement piece and got one for around $50(don't recall right now the exact cost).

We watched some YouTube tutorials about how to replace a worn out gasket(trust me, if we could do it, it's an easy fix!lol)and voila!, the freeze is good as new now.

I would much rather pay $50+/- than replace the whole fridge/freezer so it's a money win in my book! 8-)))

That's about all from here.

Stay frugal and let us know what wins y'all had this past week!

Sluggy

4 Months of To-Do Lists....EEK! Sort of Long

I just noticed that I have neglected to post my monthly TO-DO List outcomes for the last FOUR  MONTHS!

Geez....how did THAT happen!!
Well that's easy to explain actually...well at least some of it.
Right before September List was suppose to be written I had an emergency gall bladder surgery.
Then in early November after I recovered other stuff was going on and I didn't get October's list done.
Early December and well, the Holidays, enough said so there went November's list. lolz
It's time for December's list(well I am kind of late in January with that one)and I am trying to get back on track.

So let's combine the lists from September to December and try to briefly as possible go through them all.

The item I always have at the top of the Month is "Pay Bills" and that's always accomplished so I am leaving that one off since y'all know it was done each month.

FOUR MONTH OF TO-DO LISTS

*  Read Books-Here's what I read the last 4 months--I really fell down on this goal the last quarter of 2020.

In September I read--

"Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin" by Jill Lepore

I got this one at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)and now I know WHY it was there.  The book was fine if a little thin because of the subject matter.  Written by a Harvard professor(la de da!)it was basically a biography of Jane Franklin, the younger sister of Benjamin Franklin.  It was interesting but so little information jhas survived the last 200 years concerning Jane's life that there wasn't much to work with here.  The author expanded by including a lot of information on Ben Franklin and their "close" relationship as brother and sister.  Funny thing is that when Benjamin Franklin wrote his memoirs he never mentioned Jane at all.  Hmmm.is that telling as to Ben's sense of self-importance or that he though no one reading his memoirs down the ages would be interested in what his sister, being a mere woman, thought of the world or her life?  You be the judge.

The odd thing that really distracted from my enjoyment of this book was this....

On random pages at random places in the story, there was no print on the page!

Then I'd turn the page and the book was fine....

And then a few pages further there's be more blank pages!  This kept happening aboout the 1/3 of the book and man, was it ever aggravating!  I persevered however and eventually the misprints stopped and I was still able to follow the thread of the book.  I hate to say it but I threw that book in the trash(the only reason I'd EVER throw a book out)when I was done though I would liked to have had this one remain in my book collection. 8-(

In November I read--

"Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth and the Summer Before the Dark" by Volker Weidermann

I did a little background reading on these two German authors before attempting this book because I know so few German writers(other than Goethe and Thomas Mann).  This was an interesting read as it explored the time right before Hitler came to full power and the troubles that some German authors who "weren't on board" with the Nazi agenda had....the political upheaval in their lives and families, the publishers who were forbidden from printing these writer's works, their emotional, mental and physical struggles to survive from this loss of income and some in their circle of friends being unable to return to German for fear of the consequences if they had gone abroad.  Ostend is a tiny seaside town in Belgium that was a favorite of a certain circle of German friends and writers and this book retells of their last Summer of glory at the sea before the Darkness fell over Europe.  Full of sadness and melancholy but a moving story.

I know I read more than TWO books the last 4 months but I didn't keep them(donated those books as they were "meh").  Perhaps I didn't finish a book in October due to surgery/not feeling up to reading much/or the short trip that month.  These other tomes must not have been very memorable as I can't recall any of them.  I did start two other books but have yet to finish them, but when I do, I'll report in. ;-)

* Hold Giveaways  DONE  Luckily I had Giveaway Boxes pre-filled and ready to go for the reat of the year by September or I may not have had anything to giveaway in October and maybe in November.  

Here's what was given away...5 boxes of goodies in total . 

September

October

November #1

November #2

December

*  Mail Giveaways  DONE  Everything was mailed out promptly.

*  Change out Wardrobe  I wanted to get this done in October after out short trip to MD(as it would still be warm down there).  Then we had a spell of warm for the season weather in November so I waited until early December to change out my clothing for the Winter season.  It just didn't make sense to do this chore earlier this year.  Blame it on being 2020....that works for me! lol

*  Dentist Appointment  Had my Dentist appointment for a cleaning in September.  No x-rays or new cavities so it was free.  This was my only Dentist appointment for the year as the Dentist was closed until August.  I hate that we paid for dental insurance that was suppose to pay for 2 6 month cleanings but only got to get 1.  I think we are due a partial refund on those premiums.  Of course if we had had a dental emergency I think the dentist would have seen us so I guess I am not too upset over being charge for a whole year of service. ;-)

*  Doctor Appointments  Oh boy, did we EVER have LOTS of Doctor appointments during this time due to the surgery!  A regular checkup in September then an ER visit, a surgery and a whole slew on appointments(4 in total)coming off the surgery situation plus 2 regular appointments with specialists I see.  We are all systems go by this point! 8-)

*  Stuff to Salvation Army  I believe we made three trips to Sallie's over the course of 4 months.  Of course the months I planned this to happen, it didn't.  Should have been 2 trips but Hubs forgot some things he shoved in his car's trunk and had to make a quick trip back later in Deecember.  We got rid of about 3 boxes of items we don't need/don't use.  The point is that the chore did get taken care of but it took longer than expected.

*  Go through bags of Clothing Ex-CB left  This one happened in September.   A few items I pulled out that were new with tags went back to Kohl's after Christmas and I got store credit.  A few other items I put aside to sell on eBay(Levi's mostly).  Everything else went into the Sallie's donation box which didn't leave when planned(see item above)but it was all donated before 2020 was over.

*  Continue to Deal w/VA stuff  DONE  This item has continued to drag on and on.  Partly due to the lawyer we were using and partly due to issues my brother has letting go of things.  I can't go into this further but once this pandemic let's us travel again I hope to make some headway as there is stuff I had to be in VA to do in person.

*  Work on Details of Winter Trip  This Winter Trip ultimately was put on hold until 2022.  I'd love to go sooner but traveling for now is on hold and IF things open up by August/September I don't think I want to be in the American Southwest during that time of year so we'll hold off until Winter 2022 on that particular trip.  I'd like to go to LA to see my daughter as we haven't seen her in a year now, since the wedding.

*  Move $-matured CD  We had a CD mature in September.  Looking around at the current rates at that time our best move was to just roll it over where it was sitting into a new CD.

*  Cash in 3 Savings Bonds  DONE  Three Savings Bonds matured so we cashed them in during September.

*  Take 401K Withdrawal  DONE  We also took a small 401K withdrawal in September to cover 1 of 3 irregular bills that came due-Long Term Care premiums, yearly School Taxes and Legal Fees concerning my VA issue.  The withdrawal was just to cover the school taxes.

OCTOBER saw these items added........

*  List Things on eBay FAIL  I don't feel so bad about this item on the list.  It stayed on the To-Do  List until December but I never did get around to listing anything on eBay.  Looking back at the clusterf**k the mail was last Fall I am GLAD I never put anything up on eBay to sell!  I found out yesterday that one of my Christmas Cards I sent out for Anne's Card swap arrived on 1/25!  44 days to  go barely 170 miles to MD via mail.  Heck I got a card from someone in Canada well before Xmas!  I am so glad to fail this year listing on eBay. lolz

*  Make More Masks  DONE  Part were done in Oct. and part in Nov.  I've got 5 more masks finished.  I hope to not have to make more but we'll see. 

*  Go on Trip  DONE  We had scheduled a quick trip to the beach and I was healed up well enough to still go mid to late October.  We researched and kept an eye on infection rates in the area and how the hotel was handling protocols(no housekeeping service unless you requested it so we didn't, sanitation stations all over the hotel and I stayed out of the pool).  Mostly we did outdoor activities away from other people and ate in the room or in almost vacant restaurants.  There was one outing to the outlets to two stores and they were only allowing X number of folks inside at a time.  We didn't pick up any infections and I really needed to get away for my mental health.

*  Stuff to Food Bank  FAIL  This didn't happen in October.

*  Invest Savings Bond $$  FAIL  Another one that didn't happen in October.

NOVEMBER saw these items added......

* Have Company  DONE  The only company we had at Thanksgiving was Ex-College Boy and his roommate(whom we call #3 Son).  They are in our 'bubble'.  It was a small enjoyable gathering and we sent them both home with lots of food.  I did make too many pumpkin pies but we thought Older son and his GF would be here but due to job restrictions they were unable to travel out of state.

* Plan & Cook for Turkey Day  DONE  We had only 4 people for dinner so other than the pie situation a lot less food was prepared and it was still plenty to too much.  Lots of leftovers were eaten the rest of November.

* Roll/Spend ECBs  DONE  I had something like $30+ in ECBs and I did get to CVS and roll/spend them down a bit during the Black Friday weekend.

* Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  DONE  Ditto for the Black Friday deals at Rite-Aid.

These are just some of what was hauled home from Rite-Aid on Black Friday Weekend.

* Drag Out Xmas Gifts  DONE  Gifts I've been collecting throughout the year were stored away until November in the Guest Room/Toiletries Stockpile Room closet.  Two tubs worth by Christmas and I wrote out a list as I went through them with whom got what and noted any "holes" in gifting that still needed to be filled.

* Get Kids' Xmas Lists  DONE  You'd think I was asking them to give me the contents of their ban accounts instead of a list of what they want me to GIVE them! lolz

* Stuff to Food Bank  FAIL  Another month I didn't get this done due to not being able to contact the person at the Church were they collect/give out the food.  I just kept trying to connect with the person and it wasn't happening.

* Invest Savings Bond $$  DONE  Finally got this money transfer to a higher interest bearing account in late November.  It was only just over $2K but hey!, money is money and better it be in there than sitting not earning anything. ;-)

DECEMBER saw these items added to the To-Do List...

* Have Company? DONE  While Older son and GF couldn't come for Christmas(again GF's work restrictions)we did have Ex-CB, #3 Son and the Brother in-law and Nephew over.  It's was a good day overall.

* Plan & Cook for Christmas  DONE  I got everything done and on time.  I cooked ahead a few things so I wasn't so rushed and tired on Xmas.  We had everyone over for dinner later than usual so we had some time to relax with the dogs in the morning and not stress about getting stuff ready for company.

* Make a few Christmas Treats  DONE  Gosh help us, NO pumpkin pies this holiday. lol

I made 2 pecan pies(1 to take to Older son as it's his most fav), peanut butter cookies(Ex-CB's fav)and Mexican wedding cookies.  I also bought a small peppermint chocolate cheesecake at the discount grocer for cheap(which nobody really liked lol).

* Roll/Spend ECBs  DONE I stayed on top of my CVS game(what little game I had lol).

* Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  DONE  Roll/Spend Down massive amounts of BC at Rite-Aid happened in December too.

* Finish Christmas Shopping  DONE  There wasn't much to buy after I hauled home my Black Friday drugstore loot. lol  Just a gift card or two.

* Wrap Christmas Gifts  DONE  Some got wrapped at the last minute(as is always the case)but they all got wrapped and the ones for my R-A pals got delivered Xmas eve as well as 3 Pizzas.

Here's an out of focus photo of our little tree with gifts wrapped underneath for family that was coming for Christmas.

Hubs and I ended up driving to Jersey the weekend after Xmas to visit with Older son and his GF for the day and took their presents to them then.  I figured if I had also mailed their packages they might still be waiting for them to arrive given the terrible mail situation in December. lol

* Mail Christmas Packages  DONE  I mailed out 6 packages but whether they arrived before Xmas was another matter not in my hands. lolz  Most of them ended up traveling through the "7th Circle of Postal Hell" aka as the Philly Mail Distribution Hub so I am grateful everything got to it's destination eventually.

* Stuff to Food Bank  DONE  I finally got all the donations up to the Food Bank.  I also made a large donation to the local AmLegion Hall for their overseas troops care packages.  It's no fun to be away from home especially at the Holidays.

* Collapse  DONE  More of a partial collapse really.  Glad all the hullabaloo was over and we had nothing on the agenda between Xmas and the New Year.  Hubs and I just relaxed and didn't worry about getting much done going into 2021.

So now I and y'all are all caught up with my To-Do Lists.

rah.

I don't have to worry about doing one now for another 4 Days! lolz

Sluggy