Income & Spending 2021.....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 2021.

I can report that we finished up August in the Black(for a change).
The amount we ended the month of August with?....$36.38

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 $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $436.44

Total "Income" for August.....$5,630.67

Expenses in August---

* Healthcare Premium for August was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in August were $1,173.00(house insurance, trip cash, Oldest birthday check)

* Variable Expenses in August came to $2,449.30
Total Expenses....$5,594.29

$5,630.67-$5,594.29=$36.38

Slush into August of $39,033.52 in that Fund, add the $36.38 in overage and we get $39,069.90 going into September's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $36.38. rah.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in July.

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

*  The electric bill was $3.79 lower than in July.

*  The cell phone went down by $82.25 from last month.

*  The water bill was $5.15 lower than in July.

*  The MC c/c was $1,032.10 lower than last month.

*  My Amazon Visa was $2,716.60 lower than July.(Cruise related stuff all paid for in July.)

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The gas bill was $46.78 higher than last month.(Trip to MD accounts for most of that gas. Gas has been crazy expensive for here.)

*  3 irregular bills were due in August--annual home insurance, a birthday check for our oldest son and extra $$$ was taken for the trip to Alaska.

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---The only variable bill that went up rather than down in August was gas for the cars.  I'd call that a win.
 

THOUGHTS going forward into September 2021---Well the gas costs will be high again as I have a trip down to see my brother and his wife and a side trip on the way home to see my Sissie. ;-)  Groceries shouldn't be too high as I won't be here to shop and Hubs won't. lolz  I paid ahead on my Amazon card so all the crap I bought in Alaska and barely fit in my luggage home won't be haunting my credit card....just half of it.

We have 2 big irregular bills coming due in September--Long Term Care premiums and our School taxes(which of course, went up again).  There will be a money meeting later this money to see whether to tap the 401K or just withdraw for these from the non-retirement savings.  More in the next monthly report on that.

We also made a big money decision which kicked in during August but I'll talk about that another time as it really won't affect our income/spending until Hubs Medicare kicks in about 20 months from now.  This matter will get it's own blog post in time.

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

This Week on the Dining Table

   The "I Have to Cook Again, Blahs!" Edition...

One of the best things about the weeklong cruise was NOT having to meal plan or cook anything.  It was lovely.  The only effort was deciding where to eat and picking out what to eat. lol

I had this sort of breakfast a few times-scrambled eggs(not from powdered!)a piece of bread w/orange marmalade, thin crisp bacon and cantaloupe(2 pieces).  I have to say they had some of the best fruit on this cruise, especially the 'loupe.

Now it's back to real life dang it! ;-)

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Nothing

2. Monday--Nothing

3. Tuesday--Nothing

4. Wednesday--Nothing
5. Thursday--Nothing

6.  Friday--Nothing

7. Saturday--Nothing

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

1. Sunday--Whatever you could scrounge up.

2. Monday--Kielbasa sandwiches, some frozen veggies(don't remember what)

3. Tuesday--Domino's Pizza, Watermelon

4. Wednesday--FFY(I had a PBJ sammie)
5. Thursday--Chinese Take-out and Watermelon

6.  Friday--Steak, COC, Caesar Salad(I just had the COC)

7. Saturday--BLTs, Watermelon

We got home at 1:03am EDST on Sunday morning from the airport.  It took me 3 days to adjust to the time zone change and to get my brain working on a meal plan again. ugh.  We had no fresh produce except for a plethora of tomatoes in the garden and 1 sad cucumber.  In order to have BLTs I had to get to the grocery store for bread.  Unfortunately I found much more food to buy besides bread. lol

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

* 1 pack of chicken/apple sausage

* 1 Cab Round Steak

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

* 1 lb. of Pepper Bacon

* 2 Steaks

*  1 pack of Kielbasa

I spent $1232.82 on food/toiletries/HBA last week at Walmart.  This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $122.82 for September so far. 

There are 24 shopping days left in September.

I've earned $50.37 on Ibotta in September.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in September.

I've earned $3.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in September.

I've earned $3.50 from Aisle.

I've earned 7740 points from shopping on Fetch in September which equals $7.74.

I've earned 6,025 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in September which equals $24.10.

I've earned 12,367 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in September which equals $12.36.

That's $56.87 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $122.82 in grocery spending so in reality it's $65.95 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count until I cash out on the other three apps. 8-)))

My savings percentage for last week was 38.26(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for September and the monthly savings total for September comes in at 38.26%.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....nothing.  Oh gosh, I have to cook a LOT! lolz

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

1. Sunday--Spaghetti w/Chicken Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself or Take-out Subs

3. Tuesday--Lobster, COC

4. Wednesday--Cook-out Foods
5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Green Beans

6.  Friday--BLTs

7. Saturday--Leftovers or FFY

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Lobster obviously.  And I'll need to either make bread or hit the bread store and buy corn on cob.  Might hit a produce stand too depending on if I have the energy to make and can my pepper relish this week.

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

 

Food Spending 2021....The August Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2021.

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(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 25. 
*****************

CVS

OOP  $1.58

Value  $6.49

Savings 75.65%

OCEAN STATE JOB LOT

OOP  $25.36

Value  $46.46

Savings  75.42%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $574.24
Value  $574.24
Savings  100%

OLLIES

OOP  $2.31

Value  $7.98

Savings  71.05%

TARGET

OOP  $0.00

Value  $38.52

Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $41.35

Qs/free Gift Cards  $156.07
Value  $197.42
Savings  79.05%

WEIS

OOP  $108.67

Qs/Sales  $67.84
Value  $176.51
Savings  38.43%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Target at 100% and Walmart at 79.05%.

The worst rate was at Weis at 38.43%.
I shopped at 7 different stores in August.  That's what happens when you go on vacation and don't food shop for 10 days at the end of the month.  Plus my beloved Discount Grocery Outlet closed down as they lost their wholesale supplier. *sad face*

TOTAL Spent in August..................$179.27

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$294.11

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.,,.$473.38

TOTAL Savings of .............................62.13%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for August w/R-A..............$179.27

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$851.12
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,030.39
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................82.60%

This closes out the August food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into August knowing I'd spend less since we weren't here part of the month.  Then my discount grocer closed up shop too so I had less incentive to food shop.  But Ibotta kept me in the stores because of bonuses, moneymakers and freebies but it was a VERY cheap spending month(on food/toiletries-don't even go there with the cruise spending! lol).

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 4.78% in August 2021 to 82.60% compared to the July's 77.82% savings average.  Nice.

With 8 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $2,604.33 on food/toiletries in 2021.

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,604.33

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$13,954.43

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$11,350.10

2020 Yearly Savings Total.............................81.34%

The average per month amount spent is $325.54 in 2021 so far.

My Ibotta rebate total for the year so far through August is $1,886.83.  Put that next to a full spending of $2,604.33 for the year so far and I've "actually" spent only $717.50 on food/toiletries for the year or an average of $89.69 per month.  Plus I've been able to donate to the food bank and share my haul bounty with others.

I think that is awesome. 8-)))

LOOKING AHEAD To September 2021...........I've got a small trip planned to go see my brother so I won't be home for part of the month, meaning Hubs is in charge of any food procurement(which he won't do mostly)so he'll be eating what is here. rah.  Not being home I'll have no idea what he is eating or spending(the down side). ;-)  On the Up side I won't be cooking much. 8-)))

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?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  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

Frugal Friday.....the September 3rd Edition

 Well, Well, Well.  It's back to real life and Frugal Friday again if I want to be or not. lol

Some frugal stuff from the past week....

*  Didn't do but 1 grocery shop all of this past week and that was at Weis(PMITA)Markets. I did however go to Rite-Aid as well but we all know by now that I don't spend money there. ;-)

*  Sat my butt home recuperating from the cruise and trying to take the weight I gained on said cruise off.  Only 2 more lbs. to go. rah.

*  Hubs and I took part in Trivia and other Games on the ship and won assorted tchotchkes/prizes.  More details on that as I blog about the cruise.8-)

*  I found money!

All this was found on the cruise ship on Friday.

All this was found in the airport in Seattle on Saturday.

This dime was found under a freestanding shelving thingy near the register at my Rite-Aid on Tuesday.

And this quarter was found in my Rite-Aid on Thursday under the candy rack by the register counter.

Money Found This Week........$1.32
Money Found This Year.........$14.99

*  Due to the inaugural Alaska cruise of 2021 and the bonehead things that happened and the uproar it all caused, we got free shuttles into and back in one port and free tram rides at another port.  So we saved $16 on shuttles and I don't know how much on the tram(maybe another $8 each?).

That's about all I can think about now.  My brain is still fried. 

What frugal things happened in your life this past week?

Tell us all about your wins!

Sluggy

For Kim....

 Don't feel badly Kim.  It seems you are NOT the first nor the only person who this happened to......

*snort*

Snarky Sluggy