Income & Spending 2021....The October 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 October report---

I had 2 goals for October.......
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 October in the black.
The amount we ended the month of October with?....$349.68

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

* 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 $173.90

* Money moved to pay for Cruise of $4281.98

* Blogging Revenue of $109.06

Total "Income" for October.....$7,787.18

Expenses in October---

* Healthcare Premium for October was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in October were $2,950

* Variable Expenses in October came to $4,487.50
Total Expenses....$9,409.49

$9,759.17-$9,409.49=$349.68

Slush into September of $37,977.07 in that Fund, add in $349.68 and we get $38,326.75 going into October's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $349.68.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in September.

*  The WAM was $52 less than was taken last month.

*  The Water bill was $6.44 lower than in September.

*  The cell phone bill was $11.75 lower than last month.

*  The Amazon c/c was $489.76 lower than in September.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $4.36 higher than in September.

*  The gas bill went up by $69.64 from last month.

*  The MC c/c was $1,484.29 higher than September.

*  We paid for the powder room renovation so $2,950.00 in irregular bills.

The Food Budget costs for October 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 October---It was a good month as we were able to cover the bathroom reno without dipping into savings.  I did have to take money out of one of the non-retirement accounts to pay for the December cruise but that's what the account is for...to use for fun things. ;-)
 

THOUGHTS going forward into November 2021---One irregular bill in November, the semi-annual car insurance.  Not a very large bill and it's doable.  We are not hosting Turkey day so that will bring some food costs down but the gas bill will be higher due to two trips to New Jersey(bridal shower and Thanksgiving invite).  Plus a shower gift will come out of November's income but won't break the bank.

So how was your October financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in October?
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 2021............the October Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2021.

I have posted October'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 October.  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. 
*****************

BREAD OUTLET

OOP  $4.00

Value  $12.07

Savings  66.86%

CVS

OOP  $0.64

Value  $14.57

Savings 95.60%

LIDL

OOP  $1.58

Value  $4.98

Savings  68.27%

MALACARI'S Produce

OOP  $29.86

Value  $44..37

Savings  32.70%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $469.74

Value  $469.74
Savings  100%

OCEAN STATE

OOP  $139.52

Value  $215.63

Savings  35.30%(Plus $55.80 in free gift cards to use later)

OLLIE'S

OOP  $12.56

Value  $20.12

Savings  37.57%

WALMART
OOP  $33.17

Qs/free Gift Cards  $54.59
Value  $87.76
Savings  62.20%

WEIS

OOP  $100.93

Qs/Sales  $83.38
Value  $184.31
Savings  45.24%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, CVS at 95.60% and Lidl at 68.27%.

The worst rate was at Malacari's at 32.70%. 
I shopped at 9 different stores in October.  

TOTAL Spent in October.................$322.26

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$261.55

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$583.81

TOTAL Savings of .............................44.80%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for October w/R-A..............$322.26

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$733.29
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,053.55
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................69.41%

This closes out the October food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I was having a very low spending month due to Ibotta not giving me any Bonuses(see how little I spent at Walmart? lol)but then Ocean State ran a Spend at least $30 and get 40% back on what you spent in free gift cards Deal. Sigh but not really sighing because this will lower my canned goods purchases for the future. ;-)

I also "spent" about half of what I usually do at Rite-Aid in October.  Not much Bonus Cash left and the deals were pretty slim there.  I still didn't have an under $300 food month in October but it was close. 8-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 6.42% in October 2021 to 69.41% compared to the September's 75.83% savings average.  Still a great savings rate!

With 10 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $3,272.53 on food/toiletries in 2021.

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$3,272.53

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$16,439.36

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$13,166.83

2020 Yearly Savings Total.............................80.09%

The average per month amount spent is $327.25 in 2021 so far.

My Ibotta rebate, Coupons dotcom, Checkout51 and Aisle totals for the year so far through September comes to $2,375.24 once I cash out.  Put that next to a full spending of $3,272.53 for the year so far and I've "actually" spent only $897.29 on food/toiletries for the year or an average of $89.73 per month.  Plus I've been able to donate to the food bank and share my haul bounty with others.

I love that I can do that!

LOOKING AHEAD To November 2021.......We won't be hosting Turkey Day Dinner but I have most things to still make some Thanksgiving dishes for us to enjoy afterwards.  I found 3 turkey breasts in the chest freezer when I organized it so one of those will get used.  We are already 1/3 of the way through the month and soups/stews/casseroles will be making appearances on the dinner table again and those are food stretcher meals and leave a bevy of leftovers.  I have my doubts but if butter and not as much if sugar go on Holiday sale I'll load up on those in November, hopefully a year's worth if the prices are great(but we aren't that optimistic).  I don't do much baking for the Holidays but butter is usually at rock bottom this time of year and we are coffee/tea drinkers so some rock bottom sugar would be a bonus.  I should definitely be able to keep the food tally under $300 for November, even with stocking up on butter and other staples on special.

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 October?

*  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

This Week on the Dining Table

  The "Organize the Chest Freezer" Edition...

While I was visiting Sissie in October our chest freezer died at home.  Hubs sent me a text, "Mr. freezer, he dead.".  Hubs got a new one that same day and saved most of the frozen assets(not the ice cream *sniff*)but he had just thrown everything in the new machine.  Last week, when I finally had to turn to the freezer to grab dinner I couldn't find anything I wanted!!

So I spent most of a day last week gloved up, hauling everything out into coolers and organized the whole blasted contents into the new freezer.  It was odious work, dare I say cringe-worthy, but it's done now and I know where everything is.  And I realized I have THREE count 'em three! turkey breasts in there(2 reg./1 smoked)so I am not worrying about trying to obtain a bird from the supermarket free/cheap turkey schemes for Thanksgiving.  It's a good thing as I have under $100 worth of points at Weis(PMITA)Markets right now and you need $400 worth to get a free bird. ;-)

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--free take-out Pizza

2. Monday--Steak, Baked Potato, Salad

3. Tuesday--?  working the election

4. Wednesday--Leftover Pork Stir-fry w/noodles
5. Thursday--Pecan crusted Salmon, leftover root veggies, au gratin Taters

6.  Friday--Apricot glazed Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Taters

7. Saturday--Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato wedges

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

1. Sunday--free take-out Pizza

2. Monday--Steak, Baked Potato, Salad

3. Tuesday--Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

4. Wednesday--Leftover Pork Stir-fry w/noodles
5. Thursday--Subway sandwiches

6.  Friday--Mexican out

7. Saturday--Mushroom and Beef Stroganoff, Noodles

I knew Tuesday would be a crapshoot for dinner(we worked the election)but Thursday I wasn't up to fix dinner with my Humira shot.

Sissie came Friday so we went out for dinner and nobody wanted a veggie Saturday night with dinner so there's that.  We tried a new Aldi dip "Dirty Martini" with bagel chips before dinner instead.  Yummy!

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

* 1 single plant-based Burrito

* 1 bag of Veggies

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

*   4 petite steaks

I spent $66.99 on food/toiletries/HBA last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $66.99 for November.

I would have spent less but Ibotta gave me a Bonus finally so I picked up most of the Free Thanksgiving items at Walmart but I had to get a few more items to hit the Bonus so the trip wasn't free after rebates.  Plus Sissie took me to Aldi's looking for something her store was out of and they had the Christmas Spekulatius(German spice almond cookies)so I bought 3 boxes for the Holidays. 8-)

There are 22 shopping days left in November.

I've earned $24.88 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $4.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $5.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in November.

I've earned $0 from Aisle.

I've earned 2,123 points from shopping on Fetch in November which equals $2.12.

I earned 800 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November which equals $3.20.

I've earned 212 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in November which equals $2.12.

That's $33.88 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $66.99 in grocery spending so in reality it's $33.11 spent after the 4 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 34.02%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 34.02%(w/out R-A).  Pretty blah savings rate last week but that's ok.

Leftovers going into this week....some root veggie strips, pork stir fry w/noodles, stroganoff, egg noodles.

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

1. Sunday--leftover Pork Stir-Fry w/noodles

2. Monday--leftover Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Salad

3. Tuesday--Halushki using leftover egg noodles

4. Wednesday--Pecan crusted Salmon, au gratin Taters, leftover root veggies w/added sweet potato
5. Thursday--? Hub is cooking

6.  Friday--Apricot glazed Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Taters

7. Saturday--Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato wedges

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Just a small head of cabbage.  I didn't do the Weekend Ibotta Bonus and haven't gotten a Midweek Bonus yet so there may be little food shopping this week other than that cabbage and a bottle of milk.

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 November 5th Edition

 November is here and Fall is fading away into Winter here.  My flowers died last night as we had our first frost off the season.  If I had grown collards this year it would be the day to start harvesting them.

Here are my frugal wins for this past week.....

*  Had to return to the dentist for an old filling repair.  That wasn't so frugal but I came away with these....

Free Samples.
And these......

A stack of dental coupons.

*  Last Friday I hit up a CVS for .14¢ toilet paper and found 10........

I am not counting those in my food spending because I paid for them with some WAM and they were bought specifically to give away to the food bank.
The 2 tubes of toothpaste were free after digital coupon and the lip balm was .64¢ OOP after $5Q and a few cents of rewards on my account.

* I also hit up Weis(PMITA)Markets the same day and the best deal were these.....

4 bags of Hall's cough drops.  They were 50% off/discontinued so $1.14 each.  I had 4 x $1.50/1 printable Qs from coupons dotcom AND I submitted to Checkout51 for 4 x $1 rebate so I got paid $5.44 to bring those home. 8-)))

*  Here's my loot from Rite-Aid for the week........1 transaction I used a $6/$30 coupon......

10 x battery packs

2 x Nivea men's body wash

2 x Vitamin Water drinks

1 x small candy bar(not pictured)

2 x Talenti gelato(not pictured)

6 x Colgate toothbrushes

$105.06+ tax paid for with Bonus Cash

$109 earned in new BC.  All free even though the Talenti wasn't free after BC.

The RA batteries, Colgate optic white toothbrushes and Talenti/Magnum ice cream BC deals were glitching and giving back double making most of them free.

Gelato for me and more toothbrushes for the food bank!

*  Speaking of R-A.......

Two of these $6 when you spend $30 coupons arrived in the mail this week which are good through 11/30/21.  The same purchase based Qs have been printing at the end of receipts this week too. 8-)

*  I found money!

I ran into R-A after the polls closed on Tuesday for the Talenti and found 3 pennies too....1 by each register and the third by the pharmacy.

This big boy was found at R-A too on Wednesday under the candy rack by the register.

Thursday I found this gem of course, at Rite-Aid too near the front of the store.

And a quick run into Weis also on Thursday had me finding this penny in the foyer where they keep the shopping cart.

Total Found This Week...... .39¢

Total Found This Year.......$19.27

We're heading toward 20 Bucks found!

*  And everyone will be happy to know that as soon as October ended, I started getting Ibotta Bonuses again(as did the YouTuber who also had this happen to them).  So weird but I am glad to have them back.  Ibotta is doing the "free Thanksgiving" promo again this year.  If you buy select items you get a full refund on them! Items for making classic Turkey Day dishes like mashed potatoes, french fried onions, mushroom soup, gravy mix, cranberry sauce, stuffing, etc.  Except in order to get the free turkey deal you either have to sign up as a new member OR if you are already a member you have to have someone sign up under your referral code(and then both of you get the turkey deal).

If anyone is inclined my referral code is MKAAXA.  I would appreciate it. 8-)

That's about it from me.

What frugal goodness happened to y'all this past week?

Let's hear all about it!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Day After Halloween" Edition...

This made me giggle.

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--Rotisserie Chicken, au Gratin Taters, Corn

2. Monday--Leftover Rigatoni and Meat Sauce, Salad

3. Tuesday--Steak, Baked Potatoes, more Salad or ?

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Green Beans, leftover au Gratin Taters
5. Thursday--TV dinners

6.  Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

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

1. Sunday--Rotisserie Chicken, au Gratin Taters, Corn

2. Monday--Leftover Rigatoni and Meat Sauce, Salad

3. Tuesday--Chicken Parm, Green Beans, leftover au Gratin Taters

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself
5. Thursday--Chinese take-out(I had hot and sour soup)

6.  Friday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Root Veggies

7. Saturday--Pork Teriyaki Stir-fry

I was doing well with a low spend October until Ocean State decided to hold that 40% back in gift cards on what you spent last week.  But that will be a future win when I cash in the gift cards.  And I still managed to stay well under $400 for the month anyway.

go me. ;-)

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

* 4 TV dinners

*  a vegan Pot Pie

*  5 lbs. boneless Chicken Breast

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

*   2 Pork Tenderloins

*  bag of Root Veggie strips(no potato)

*  Chicken Patties

*  Green Beans

*  Marinated Pork Loin

*  Bag of stir-fry veggies

I spent $200.64 on food/toiletries/HBA last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $322.26 for October.

There are 0 shopping days left in October.

I've earned $80.85 on Ibotta in October.

I've earned $3.64 on Checkout51 in October.

I've earned $5.25 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in October.

I've earned $4.00 from Aisle.

I've earned $3.27 from an ice cream offer.

I've earned 1544 points from shopping on Fetch in October which equals $1.54.

I earned 1875 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in October which equals $7.50.

I've earned  9008 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in October which equals $9.00.

That's $97.01 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $322.26 in grocery spending so in reality it's $225.25 spent after the 4 rebate apps(+the ice cream offer)I count until I cash out on the other three apps and cash in the $161.25 in Crazy Deal gift cards from OSJL. 8-)))

My savings percentage for the last week was 40.31%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for October comes in at 44.80%(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....1 Pork Tender loin, some root veggie strips.

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

1. Sunday--free take-out Pizza

2. Monday--Steak, Baked Potato, Salad

3. Tuesday--?  working the election

4. Wednesday--Leftover Pork Stir-fry w/noodles
5. Thursday--Pecan crusted Salmon, leftover root veggies, au gratin Taters

6.  Friday--Apricot glazed Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Taters

7. Saturday--Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato wedges

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  I've got everything except for Tuesday.  I don't plan on going to the grocery store 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