This Week on the Dining Table

The "Sisyphean" Edition....

Lately I've felt like Sisyphus when it comes to repetitive every day tasks.  Hubs handles the dishes but I do all the cooking, buying, planning, shopping.  Oh what I'd give to just have to do the dishes. lolz

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Cookout foods

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Subs?

4. Wednesday--Orange "Chicken" Stir-Fry w/Veggies and Noodles

5. Thursday--Hubs cooking?

6.  Friday--Homemade Flatbread Pizzas, Salad

7. Saturday--Leftovers

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

1. Sunday--Ribs, Dogs, Cheeseburgers, Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad, Cuke and Tomato Salad, Rice Krispy Treats

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Subway Subs

4. Wednesday--Tossed Salad, Homemade Flatbread Pizza

5. Thursday--Meatloaf, Yellow Squash

6.  Friday--Orange "Chicken" Stir-Fry w/Veggies and Noodles

7. Saturday--Leftovers

3 meals I planned to cook did happen last week along with a 4th meal that wasn't planned.  go me.  1 night of take-out and 2 nights of leftovers.  I served "chicken" last week(chicken shaped plant based "meat")and I didn't tell Hubs otherwise.  He's a big carnivore and he didn't notice so that's a win! lol

The cookout needs were a budget buster for May but I still managed to stay under $300 for the month.  I'd have rather been at $200 but it is what it is and it's done.

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

*  Leftover Hot Dogs

*  Leftover Burger Patties

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

*  Hot Dogs

*  Hamburgers

*  Meatloaf

* "Chicken" Nuggets

*  Pork Ribs                                                                        

I spent $3.85 on food/toiletries/HBA this last week(after using $10 in free gift cards).  

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $3.85 for June.  

There are 24 shopping days left in June.

I've earned $3.00 on Ibotta in June.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in June.

I've earned $0 on Coupons dotcom in June.

I've earned 591 points from shopping on Fetch in June.

I earned 2 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in June. 

I've earned 0 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in June.

That's $3.00 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $3.85 in grocery spending so in reality it's $.85 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 78.88% (without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for June comes in at 78.88% so far(w/out R-A).  

Leftovers going into this week....macaroni salad, meatloaf, squash, the stir-fry dish and baked beans.

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

1. Sunday--Nuggets, baked Sweet Potato Fries, Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself

3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Pork BBQ Sandwiches, Cole Slaw

5. Thursday--Tacos

6.  Friday--Take-out

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Mushrooms, Lettuce, Cabbage.

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 deals on food at your stores this week?   Gas hit $5 gallon here last week and I just dread going to the grocery store lately as the prices are increasing every week if not daily!  It's madness I tell you.

Sluggy

Income & Spending Report 2022....the May Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, 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 May report---

I had 2 goals for May.......
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 2022.

I can report that we finished up May in the Black.

The amount we ended the month of May with?...$2,663.84

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in May---

* Monthly annuity payment of $1,009.68(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $887.15

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$1,733.37

* RMSA account to pay for health premiums totaling $547.49

*  Blog Revenue of $106.07

*  SS of $2,432.00

Total "Income" for May.....$6,715.76

Expenses in May---

* Irregular bills in May were $642.03

* Variable Expenses in May came to $1,183.76

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$4,051.92

$6,715.76-$4,051.92=$2,663.84

Slush into May of $41,445.02 in that Fund, add $2,663.84 and we get $44,108.86 going into June's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $2,663.84.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The Internet, cell phone and WAM was the same as last month(WAM at $10 less actually).

*  The electric bill was $73.28 less than April's bill.

*  The gas c/c was $0.00(because we didn't use Sunoco gas at all but used other stations and put on m/c instead).

*  The Mastercard was $336.24 lower than March's bill.

*  The Amazon card was lower by $83.34 this month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill went up by $5.17 compared to last month.

*  Semi-annual car insurance was due in the amount of $524.81

*  I paid $117.22 for a storage unit(1 month + security deposit)

The Food Budget costs for May 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 May 2022---It was a bang up month financially.  Spending was down. rah.  This was the last month with any money in the Medical Retirement Account.  It is now empty and we'll be using most of Hubs SS payment to cover healthcare premiums for the remainder of the year.  I also have the SS payments he received up until May tucked away in a savings account for emergencies.

Semi-annual car insurance was paid/due in May as was the storage rent as we need that to clean/empty the house and get it ready for showings.

THOUGHTS going forward into June 2022--The only irregular bills due in June are the Long Term Care premiums and another month of storage rent so that's not bad.  The dogs are due for annual checkups so that's a third irregular bill coming due. Will try to keep the variable bills low in June and hope the weather stays cooler so the a/c won't be needed too much.  

So how was your May financially? 

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

Frugal Friday.....the June 3rd Edition

So here are the VERY few frugal-ish things that happened here at Chez Sluggy this past week.......

*  I ended May with $257.58 in food/toiletries/paper goods spending.  Take away the $128.82 in rebates($120.07 I earned on Ibotta, $6.00 earned on Checkout51 and $2.75 earned on Coupons dotcom)and I spent $128.76 when all was said and done.  The rebates halved my grocery spending for the month.  I consider that a win! 8-)

*  I reported on that mangled Rite-Aid transaction earlier in the week.

I much prefer $15 in cash to $15 in Bonus Cash anyway so I am calling this a win. 8-)

*  The only take-out this past week was on Tuesday.  We got Subway.  I used a gift card I had here to pay so no OOP on eating out this week.

*  Hosted a Memorial weekend cookout for 8.  Did it on the cheap(of course!)by shopping my pantry, shopping discount stores and preparing all the dishes instead of buying convenience foods for those.  Spent about $100 on everything but we had lots of leftover foods for meals this past week. rah.

*   I didn't find any money!  I got skunked this past week in the money finding department.  That's the first time this year.  sigh  Didn't go many places so that cut down on my chances of finding change.

Total Found in last Week...... .00¢
Total Found This Year......$12.92

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

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

And have a good weekend!  

Sluggy  

Food Spending 2022....the May Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2022.

I have posted May'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 May.  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, Pet Food & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
*****************

MALACARI'S

OOP  $72.37

Value  $107.95

Savings  32.96%

OCEAN STATE

OOP  $10.99

Value  $29.34

Savings  62.54%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $722.42

Value  $722.42
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $129.46

Qs/free Gift Cards  $102.72
Value  $232.18
Savings 44.24%

WEIS

OOP  $44.76

Qs/Sales  $54.21
Value  $98.97
Savings  45.72%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Ocean State at 62.54%, and Weis at 45.72%.

The worst rate was at Malacari's at 32.96%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in May.

TOTAL Spent in May................$257.58

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$169.32

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$426.90

TOTAL Savings of .............................39.66%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for May w/R-A..............$257.58

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$891.74

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,149.32
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................77.59%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....As planned I stayed well un $350 for the month.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by .34% in May 2021 to 77.59% compared to the April's 77.25% savings average.  A higher savings rate is always good. 8-)

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,175.05 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,432.63

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$7,348.28

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$5,915.65

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................80.50%

The average per month amount spent is $286.53 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To June 2022.......With the inflationary costs now I'll still try to keep the spending at or under $350.00.  Eating more from what is here and less Ibotta shopping I am hoping. ;-)

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 May?

*  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

Rite-Aid Snafu

**Still waiting on Gerry T. to contact me about the Giveaway!**

I went to Rite-Aid on Monday to pick up an Rx and order more Rxs.

While I was there I thought I'd try to do a Spend $60/Get $15 BC Deal but man, did it go wrong!

Here is what I bought.......

2 x Defy Downy
1 x large Tide Pods container
2 x Tide Sensitive Liquid
2 x Tide Pods
1 x Covergirl concealer
1 x Covergirl concealer
1 x Covergirl eyebrow pencil
1 x Baby Ruth candy bar

All of the Tide/Downy items were on clearance for 50% off.
I had all but the candy bar and the flaky cashier started ringing it all up.  The coupons I had printed from PandG website weren't behaving so she had the manager take over mid-transaction.
Before she left I had asked her if she rang up both the Tide pod bags as she was ringing those in when she called the manager over and she said yes she had gotten them both.

The manager got the coupons to work and when I looked at my receipt when it was all done I saw that I hadn't gotten the $15BC wyspend $60, only the $10 BC for the Covergirl items because I HAD over $60 in items before tax and coupons.

So I took the receipt over to the register, got out my calculator and double checked my pre-Q total on the receipt.  It added up to $59.91.  Now I KNOW it was over $60 before tax when I got up to the register.  I didn't double check that both Tide pod bags were on the receipt as I was in a dither by this point.  I grabbed that candy bar and told the manager we'd have to return and re-ring it all so the $15 BC would attach.  He didn't look thrilled to do all that so he had me buy the candy bar and then he "post couponed" me $15 in cash instead.

And looking back now the flaky cashier had NOT rang both the Tide pod bags up and that's why I was short and why some of the Tide coupons weren't attaching. ugh.  I guess I'll have to return one of the Tide pod bags since I didn't pay for it.

I paid $28.36 including tax in Bonus Cash for my transactions and I earned $10 in new BC, $15 for the BC that didn't attach from the Spend $60/Get $15 BC Q and $6.10 in other BC for completing the Tide Bonus Cash Challenge this account had for May(for a total of $31.10 earned)so it was still a $2.74 moneymaker.

Not exactly how it should have worked but in the end it came out a ok. 8-)  Gotta love a store and manager that know you and will just give you cash instead of jumping back through all those hoops to make the transaction right.

Sluggy