Income & Spending 2021....the April 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 April report---

I had 2 goals for April.......
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 2021.

I can report that we finished up April in the black.
The amount we ended the month of April with?.....$317.87

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in April---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $243.27

* Transfer from Hubs private account to cover part of state taxes $252.00

Total "Income" for April.....$5,689.50

Expenses in April---

* Healthcare Premium for April was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in April were $577.00
* Variable Expenses in April came to $2,822.64
Total Expenses....$5,371.63

$5,689.50-$5,371.63=$317.87

Slush into April of $46,565.10 in that Fund, add the $317.87 in overage and we get $46,882.97 going into May.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $317.87 for April.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet and cell phone were the same as in March.

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

*  The electric bill was $89.95 lower than in March.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The gas bill was $98.03 higher than in March.
*  The water bill was $3.74 higher than last month.
*  My Amazon c/c was $286.81 higher than in March.
*  The Mastercard was higher by $636.72 than last month's bill. 
*  We had to pay $577.00 to the state of PA for taxes in March. bleh.

The Food Budget costs for April 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 April---
Well we ended up with one irregular bill in April, Hubs filed the PA state taxes early.
Otherwise it was an ok month.  Any month I end up with more money than month is good. 8-)
I did spend a bit over on food than I wanted/planned to in April but it's all good.  I earned back $360.55 on Ibotta on the $426.43 I spent in April on food. (And that doesn't count the other 4 rebate apps I use so I almost got back all the food budget money I spent which gets addd back at the end of the year. 8-)))

THOUGHTS going forward into May 2021----

One irregular bill(semi-annual car insurance premium of $600+)in May and some bills on landscaping/gardening work will be coming in on the c/c and that's on top of the regular variable bills for the month.  And my vacation c/c bills...I don't even want to go LOOK at what those will be! lolz

So how was your April financially?
  

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

Shopping Last Weekend for Ibotta Rebates

 Well while I did no Ibotta shopping on vacation the day I came home I got a good Weekend Warrior rebate($5 for 18) and an extra Party Time rebate($5 for 5)that stacked.  Woohoo!  So out the door when my resolve to lay off Ibotta for May. lolz

All this earned me back $13.29 + $10 in bonuses so $23.29 on Ibotta.

I stopped at a Food Lion on my way home(we don't have those here)looking for 4 different Sweet Earth plant based meat offers that were free after rebates but they didn't have them so I snagged 2 bags of  Cheez-it popcorn, a free Rowdy energy drink, a small bag of Duke's mayo and 2 boxes of Dewey's lemon cookies.  Original price was $16.46, rebates for those 4 offers came to $8.73.

I stopped at a Rite-Aid also on the way home for the 4 Compeed items(BOGOF and working on a foot card Spend $30/Get $15 BC deal) and the Got2B hair styler on clearance for $1.62.  Total paid was $21.60 paid with Bonus Cash so no OOP.  Earned back $13.50 on Ibotta for those.  Also hit my R-A on Sunday for the 3 Polident pro-partial items(BOGO50%), paid Zero OOP and got back $4.50 on Ibotta.

Hubs and I hit Target on Saturday to spend down those free Target gift cards I have and to do the Beauty Spend $20/Get $5 Gift Card deal twice(plus pick up those gummy bears that were almost free after rebate and clearance price(and a half gallon of A2 milk(which satisfied 2 different rebates).  I got back $13.45 in Ibotta rebates and spent some gift cards.

Then on Sunday after hitting my R-A for the oral care items I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets and picked up the flat bread on the left side which was a freebie after Ibotta rebate of $3.69.

Total spent......$20.15
Total rebates...$23.29(not counting any Bonus Cash and Target gift cards these purchases partially earned me.

Not bad overall.
And I have not done any Ibotta shopping this week(my bonus is only $1 for 18 offers!! so not worth it)as I am still nursing my injured knee.  I may do the Weekend Warrior deals if the bonus is better and I can ambulate better too. ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

   The "What Day is it Again?" Edition.......

Saw this in our travels last week and it spoke to me. lolz  If it was only THAT easy, right?   I am still somewhat discombobulated. 

Onward to the meal planning!
Moving On-

This is what was planned.....

1. Sunday--No Clue

2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--No Clue

4. Wednesday--No Clue
5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

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

1. Sunday--Oriental Salad w/Chicken for Lunch, Pickety Bits for Dinner

2. Monday--Italian Wedding Soup, Popovers

3. Tuesday--Taco Tuesday

4. Wednesday--Shrimp in Wine Sauce w/Mishrooms and Pasta, Tossed Salad
5. Thursday--Chinese Take-Out

6.  Friday--Don't remember

7. Saturday--Don't remember

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked(mostly by someone other than me!)dinners, 0 nights of leftovers/planned overs or FFY and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out. I know Hubs threw something together on Fri. and Sat. but I can't remember for the life of me what it was.  I was just glad I didn't have to cook w/my hurty knee. ;-)

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

*  Nothing  I doubt Hubs even went to the grocery store.

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

* I think Hubs used a couple of boxes of frozen veggies and maybe some burritos?

We spent $31.67 on food/toiletries/HBA last week at Weis and the Produce Market.  I also stopped at Food Lion on the way home on Thursday but I can't find that receipt right now(desk=disaster!)plus there was a WTF? trip to Target where I spent $6.03 on the c/c(used all my Target gift cards and the cashier forgot to take coupons off and then charged me for a "phantom" package of steak(more on that later)so I'll add all those expenditures to next week's total. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $31.67 for May so far.   

There are 20 shopping days left in May.

I've earned $50.97 on Ibotta in May.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in May.

I've earned $0.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in May.

I've earned 0 points from shopping on Fetch in May.

I've earned 350 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in May which equals $1.40.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in May which equals $0.

I've earned $18.87 in Target gift cards.

My savings percentage for last week was 44.81%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for April and the monthly savings total for April comes in at 44.81%.(w/out R-A).  

Leftovers going into this week--nothing.  Hubs ate everything while I was gone.

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

1. Sunday--Fried Chicken, Tater Salad, Sugar Snap Peas

2. Monday--Manicotti, leftover SSP

3. Tuesday--Leftover Fried Chicken, Tater Salad, Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Green Beans
5. Thursday--Steak, Baked Potato, Veggie TBD

6.  Friday--Salmon, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Mushrooms, maybe a fresh veggie or two depending on what vegetable matter is left 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

Frugal Friday.....the May 7th Edition on May 10th

 I am still trying to get up to speed and back to blogging after my fun week away so here is the FF post for last Friday, enjoy!

While Vacations aren't necessarily frugal we had a couple of wins the past week......

* We stopped at Aldi on the way to the beach house and Kim's Sissie used $50 in Aldi gift cards(some unknown person had gifted her lol)to stock up on some food provisions for the stay at said beach house.  I think I made up the difference since we went WILD and the bill was a tad more than the gift cards.

*  During out round robin of shopping we made it to the Vera Bradley outlet on Sunday and neither Kim or Sissie would let me pay for my purchases there, gifting me with belated Xmas presents.  Then Sissie paid for a top I wanted to buy at Talbot's.  They were both very good to me and I sure did appreciate it!
And yes, your girl is no longer a Talbot's virgin.  I even have my very own Talbot's reward card now....lolz......

*  We had free use of an awesome beach house because Sissie "knows a guy".  Of course, I had a mishap with a plunger and ended up having to replace it but it's a story we will treasure. lol  Free beach house vacation versus the cost of a plunger?  I'll take that deal any day!

* Once we got back to Sissie's house we hit Mickey D's twice a day for Diet Cokes for "you know who".  On Tuesday it was free McFlurry Day if you have their app so I paid for "you know who's" Diet Coke on my mobile app but I got a free McFlurry for my efforts......

I sure needed it after being drug through a third outlet mall as well as all the little gift shops down the shore with only 1 day off from shopping. lolz

* On the way down for the vacation I stopped in lower PA and filled my car with cheaper gas.  Cheaper gas, especially lately is better than a poke in the eye with a stick, right? ;-)

* I found money!

Upon arriving at Sissie's house there was a small container of chocolate on my bed with this on top of it....

Technically it was Thursday night but too late to go onto last week's Frugal Friday.  When Kim found out what Sissie had done(giving me a head start on the Great Change Hunt)she threw down the gauntlet and the game was on!

But then when we stopped at Aldi before getting to the beach house I noticed that one of the carts chains(right in the middle of the line of carts)was hanging down and not inserted into the cart in front of it.  This meant there was a quarter to be had so while Kim marched ahead of the three of us looking for change on the floor I went over to the line of carts, plugged the thingamibob to eject the abandoned quarter and took it.

When Sissie told Kim I was now up by .50¢ she got madder than a wet hen! ;-)

On Tuesday when leaving that particular outlet mall I went into the Bath and Body Works store while Sissie had a rest on the veranda and Kim when into the Ann Taylor store.

Found a dime in there by the register area.

Then while getting out of Sissie's car when Kim drove us to Home Goods I spied this on the floor......

A nice forlorn shiny penny.  He came home with me too. 8-)))

Total Money Found This Week..... .61¢

Total Money Found This Year.....$3.39

That's all I gots for the week.

I hope everyone had a frugal week last week.

Sluggy

Note to Self: Twins Are Tiring...But Fun!

 

 I may be back tomorrow or Sunday......or Monday.

I had jolly good fun down with Kim and her Sissie.....and Sissie's Hubs..and the fur babies.  But I am plum worn out!  Who knew eating and shopping, and more eating and shopping and running to Mickey D's every 4 hours could be so HARD on a body? 8-))  Plus I screwed up my knee so I am NOT leaving the second floor of the house today.even though it is killing me not to be able to go chase the Ibotta freebies this weekend. argh!  Damn you knee....

I also have unpacking and getting back to RL to do so y'all may not hear from me for a little while.
Be well, be kind and have a good weekend.  And tell me what you're doing while I hobble around and do laundry and lay in my bed.

Sluggy