After 50 You Just Stop Caring....

I think some of my readers, those like me, of "a certain age", will enjoy and can relate to this comedienne.

Have a listen and a chuckle.....

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

  The "So Busy It's Overwhelming" Edition...

Less than 1 week to the wedding.  I have to rehem my dress, find my mother's broach to wear, go over to Jersey Wednesday to help with stuff and practice dancing with my son(had to even teach him the box step).  All the while planning a trip in March to Lousiana to see my DD and SIL then flying to Phoenix and more traveling.

Just breath Sluggy, breath....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned......

1. Sunday--Bought a bucket of KFC while out

2. Monday--Leftover KFC

3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms, Veggie TBD, Mashed Potatoes

4. Wednesday--Leftovers or Copycat Bob Evans Salad
5. Thursday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

6.  Friday--Homemade flatbread Pizza, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Bought a bucket of KFC while out

2. Monday--Leftover KFC

3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms, Green Beans, Garlic Mashed Potatoes

4. Wednesday--Leftovers or Copycat Bob Evans Salad
5. Thursday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

6.  Friday--Fend for Yourself

7. Saturday--Healthy Choice Turkey TV Dinner

The Squash Ravioli finally happened so the flatbread pizza moves to this week.  I had getting long in the tooth mushrooms so that prompted the Chicken Marsala meal this past week.  I used the last of the Bob Evans dressing on a salad this past Wednesday(but didn't top it with grilled chicken strips).  The beginning of the week was heavy on chicken so this week I'll concentrate on other proteins.

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

*  a box of Super Pretzel

*  a package of gyoza dumplings

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

*  a package of Chicken Breast

*  a package of Green Beans

*  a package of Butternut Squash Ravioli

I spent $45.95 on food/toiletries/HBA the last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $74.95 for February.  

There are 14 shopping days left in February.  

I've earned $126.65 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $10.13 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $8.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.

I've earned 5,341 points($5.34) from shopping on Fetch in February.

I earned 905 Kicks($3.62)from food shopping on Shop Kick in February. 

I've earned 943SB($9.43) from food shopping on Swag Bucks in February.

I've earned $0 from food shopping on Tada in February.

That's $144.78 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $74.95 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$69.83 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count(plus a $1.50 rebate sent to my Paypal account).

rah...

My savings percentage for the last week was 52.81%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 59.73% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....Chicken Marsala, Green Beans.

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

1. Sunday--Homemade Flatbread Pizza plus whatever crap Hubs eats watching Super Bowl

2. Monday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Tacos, Spanish Rice

4. Wednesday--Whatever I take out of the freezer.
5. Thursday--Ditto

6.  Friday--Ditto

7. Saturday--Ditto

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Hopefully nothing.  I have smithfield ham pieces in the fridge I want to make collards with but I am want to find fresh collards up here in February. sigh.

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

  

Finishing Two Ibotta Bonuses on Friday

I had Two Ibotta Bonuses-the end of the Super Bowl Bonus for $10(needed 8 more rebates)and a $5 Weekend Warrior Bonus where I needed to do 10 Rebates.

I finished both off at Walmart on Friday.........

1 x Back to the Roots potting soil....$5.98

1 x Lysol toilet bowl cleaner...$1.47

1 x GMills oatmeal packets......$2.98

1 x Mtn. Dew Spark.......$1.98

2 x Cheribundi cherry juice.....$11.16

1 x Coke mocha coffee drink......$1.88

1 x VeggieCraft cauliflower pasta......$2.98

1 x Schick Bamboo razor pack......$5.97

1 x Lipton iced tea bags pack.......$1.96

SubTotal.........$36.36

I used a $1/1 Lipton IPQ so $35.36+.46¢ tax=$35.82

I used $30 in free gift cards($25 Swag Bucks/$5 Shop Kick)so I spent $6.82 OOP on all this.

Then I earned $23.61 back in regular Ibotta rebates.  The bamboo razors and the Lysol double dipped for 2 different rebates giving me 11 rebates instead of 9.

Plus I reached both Bonuses totaling $15 more giving me a return on my $6.82 spent of $38.61 in cash rebates.  A $31.79 moneymaker.

Additionally I earned $5.05 back on Fetch($2 on the potting soil, $1.50 on the Mtn. Dew, $1.50 on the pasta, .57¢ more on the Mtn, Dew/Lysol/Lipton)and I have tracking toward another $2 on Mtn. Dew and $5 tracking on $50 Back to the Roots purchases(which I probably won't get done).

I don't foresee anymore Ibotta rebates/grocery shopping being done this month.  This is the week before the wedding and the following week I'll be bedridden by all accounts if this mother/son wedding dance happens. lolz

I did go into Weis(PMITA)Markets this past week and noticed they are no longer putting clearance stickers on short sell by date meats.  Either everything is being snatched up the day it's put out or they are just not having any "long in the tooth" meats due to shortages and demand. Hmmmm.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the February 11th Edition

 

So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

*   No food waste so far. ;-)  We've got lots of leftovers this week to use up or repurpose.

*  We hit Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap)on Saturday because I had a 15% coupon and bought this food...

*  I bought these items at Weis on Wednesday that qualified for Ibotta rebates.......

*  While at Walmart on Sunday I bought 2 boxes of clearance corn muffin mix for .25¢ each....

When I got home I realized they were out of date.  That's why so cheap.  But corn mix lasts well past the sell by date so no worries. 8-)

* I bought all this stuff on a trip to Walmart on Sunday and Rite-Aid on Saturday....

Spent no OOP and earned back $27.70 back in reg. rebates and bonuses.

*  I did about 4 Rite-Aid transactions this week utilizing BC, Catalinas and coupons but don't have any photos of it all yet.  It was a very small haul and some of it was today so won't appear until next week's FF post.

*  I got $10 back in on a R-A return.  The other half $9.48 was suppose to be credited back in Bonus Cash. 

 Two days later I had to call Customer Service as it was still not back on my account.  Crossing my fingers it's back by Monday so I don't have to call them again ugh!

*   I found money!

A penny wedged beside the self-checkout machine at Walmart on Sunday.

Then  a dime under the counter at KFC.  And when I went to get in the car out in their parking lot another penny was laying there.

Then on a quick trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets I found this penny under the CS desk as I walked by..........

Then this nickel in the foyer when I returned my cart.

\

Total Found in last Week...... .18¢
Total Found This Year......$2.06

Finally broke $2 almost midway through February. rah.

That's about all I've got for this week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

And have a good weekend and stay warm!  

Sluggy  

Income & Spending Report 2022........the January 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 January report---

I had 2 goals for January.......
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 January in the black.
The amount we ended the month of January with?....$1,590.18

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,229.07(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $204.10

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal of $2,051.69

* RMSA account to pay for health premiums totaling $2,226.13(yeah, they went up again!)

Total "Income" for January.....$7,710.99

Expenses in January---

* Irregular bills in January were $425.40

* Variable Expenses in January came to $5,695.41

Total Expenses....$6,120.81

$7,710.99-$6,120.81=$1,590.18

Slush into January of $37,456.18 in that Fund, add $1590.18 and we get $39,046.36 going into February 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,590.18

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM was $150 lower than was taken last month.

*  The Amazon c/c was $309.79 less than in December.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The internet bill went up by $3 per month this year.

*  The water bill went up $6.65 in January.

*  The electric bill was $77.07 higher than in December.(Winter, huh!)

*  The gas bill was up $38.54 from last month.

*  The cell phone bill is now $53.60 per month more(until this new phone is paid off).

*  The M/C bill was up $614.70 from December's bill.

*  We had Two Irregular bills in January-

  *  We paid the annual garbage bill in January.

  *  I had a dentist bill of $95.40 this month.

The Food Budget costs for January 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 January 2022---Well we knew the cell bill, the internet costs and the healthcare premiums would be higher in 2022.  Internet was three whole dollars higher so no biggie.

We sat down and talked money after which we have decided to take quarterly regular draws from the 401K of $6K per quarter this year.  Between the real estate taxes in March, the school taxes coming up in September and paying for the Wedding rehearsal that's a lot of big irregular bills coming down the pike, two of which get paid with the firsst quarters withdrawal.  Things should loosen up financial once we get past March.

The RMSA which covers the healthcare premiums will run out mid-May but that's a whole other issue I'm not addressing today.

 

THOUGHTS going forward into February 2022---The wedding is a little over a week away.  Pray that there are no blizzards here in the Mid-Atlantic the weekend after Super Bowl!  Other than bleeding money for this wedding we will be all good financially until March.

So how was your January financially? 

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