April To-Do List Outcome

 Let's see what got done and what didn't in April at Chez Sluggy........

APRIL 

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything was paid on time or early.

*  Go to 1 Dr. Appointment  DONE  Well "WE" were there but the doctor was not due to catching Covid. lol

*  Do and File Taxes x 1  DONE  Hubs did them and we sent them off with what we owed the state of Louisiana.

*  Clean and Organize Stuff in House  PASS  This is still a work in progress.  We still have tubs in the garage to move and sort through.  I have given up hope of ever seeing my kitchen cookware lids, my pasta roller, my food processor, the cord and pedal to my serger and the base to my iron again. sigh.  I have almost got my sewing room and supplies finished being set up(aside from the serger and iron stuff that's MIA).  The wall of closets in the master bath is done.

Basically this is our linen closet.

The top shelf/doors are for miscellaneous items like Bi-Pap supplies, heating pad, etc.

There is no place in the guest bath for towels. washcloths, etc. except under the vanity/sink so it's all got to go in here unless we have company and need something else in that bathroom that needs using.  Man, do I miss my huge upstairs hallway linen closet in PA!

We do have these 6 shelves surrounding the ginormous bathtub.  So far I've but hair products and body wash on these(and my stock of Q-Tips on one of what are empty in these photos after I took these pictures).

I've got a basket of dental stuff in the photo above which won't fit on one of those shelves so I need to find a home for that too.

We also have a long vanity cabinet with 6 drawers and open areas on each end of it.  Hubs and I each have personal stuff in the open area under our respective sinks and we have divvied up the drawers with stuff in use as well as medicines(allergy, cold, etc.)  The bottom drawer is still kind of empty so again, organizing all this is a work in progress.

*  Buy Stuff for House  PASS This item will remain on my list for some time to come as we need to replace so much to make this place livable to our specifications.  Moving is hard and expensive as I've said so many times before.

*  Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie  DONE  As I have printed so few coupons out this job has become pretty much a non-job. lol

*  Edit More Photos  PASS  It seems I am always editing photos. lol  As the trip is coming up I also need to finish taking old photos off my phone and upload them to my computer that no longer need to be there(I'm looking at you Dec. Cruise and Xmas!).

*  Post about Old Trips  PASS  I worked on a trip post but didn't get it to the point of publishing. sigh

*  Work on Genealogy  DONE  One of my favorite hobbies so I work on this whenever I get the time to.

*  Prioritize Repairs/Improvements  PASS  We've got a list together but as other things pop-up items are getting either bumped up or down(or added)to the list.

*  Organize Clothes  PASS  Still a Work In Progress.  We have gone from "Winter" to "Spring" here.  My Winter clothing never got taken out of the packing cubes where I keep out of season clothing because it's not PA(snow and temps of Zero F anymore).  I need to keep the Winter clothing though for traveling to other climes but unless we are going somewhere cold they will stay in the cube.(Same with coats-they stay in the back of the closet.)  As I lose more weight I am having to shed some too big clothing and did order some smaller size items.  I  still have some shelves I need to organize still in the closet.

*  Find a New Bank  DONE  We set up an account at a credit union and once the transfer of funds into it have cleared we'll cash/deposit that Savings Bond.

*  Cash Savings Bond  FAIL  See above.  But we are making progress on this one. 8-)

Of course this isn't a complete list as the normal "day to day" stuff  isn't on here.  
These are just the projects and setting up housekeeping here things. 
As for outside, I am not ready to do a garden as the yard is a mess and needs so much to get it to the point of having/making a gardening space.  By the time we get back from the trip it will officially be "Hell's Front Porch" weather and I've got surgery to get so the garden is a non-issue this year.

Things are slowly getting to where they need to be but I am impatient.  

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the May 5th Edition

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week......

*  Only minimal grocery shopping this week so a frugal win.

*  We had to return 2 of the 3 bathroom vanity lights we had bought(long story)and I purchased 2 other lights at Home Despot.  I bought them online and went through Ibotta and once approved I'll get a whole .60¢ in rebate monies. ;-)

*  Went back to our new credit union to finally deposit that Savings Bond and get our debit cards(their machine that makes them wasn't working when we went in to set up the account before).

Besides the debit card I walked out with this free pen.  woohoo! hahaha

*  We went to a new trivia night at an Italian place.  We didn't win a prize but I brought this home..........

New plastic drinkware that my unsweet iced tea was served in. lol

*  I found money!  

Found a penny in the parking lot next to the car when I went to have labs done at the doctor.

I cleaned out my car on Wednesday and found this.  Ok, so it was probably mine to begin with but I'm counting it!lol

And found another penny next to the car in the parking lot of Home Despot on Thursday....

Total Found in last Week.... .37¢
Total Found this Year.......$2.04

That's all for this past week.

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

Sluggy   

Income & Spending.....The April 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 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 2023.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up April in the black.

The amount we ended the month of April with?...$3,276.04

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in April---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3879.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $377.41

*  Quarterly 401K withdrawal of $5,200.13(after tax withholding)

*  Venmo payment for a rebate deal $3.88

Total "Income" for April....$12,696.23

Expenses in April---
* Irregular bills in April were $2424.64

* Variable Expenses in April came to $5,800.73

* Health insurance premiums totaling $1,194.82*

Total Expenses....$9,420.19

$12,696.23-$9,420.19=$3,276.04

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare I include his supplement payment in variable/regular monthly expenses instead of the Health insurance premium.

Slush into April of $62,789.60 in that Fund, add the overage of $3,276.04 in April and we get $66,065.64 into May's 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $3,276.04.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, WAM, the water bill and internet were the same as last month.

* The Health Insurance Premium went down by $1,076.17 from March,

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  My Amazon c/c was $401.95 higher than last month

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $2,703.81 higher than in March.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $350.41 higher than last month.

*  We had irregular bills due in April too--

  *   LA 2022 state taxes paid $784.00

  *  BOA c/c trip charges of $814.60

  *  My car had two faulty tire sensors replaced for $162.14

  *  We had plumbing work done at a cost of $663.90 ouch

The Food Budget costs for April are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on April 2023---Regular and Irregular bills with both higher than in March.  The one bright spot was our health insurance premium was cut in half since Hubs is on Medicare now.  The plumber was costly but a necessary expense. We knew going into April the last of the cruise costs were due and the LA state taxes as well.  The car problem was an unforeseen expense.  The higher Mastercard bill was mostly a new toilet(see plumber hiring above).  I put those discounted gift cards bought before Easter on my Amazon c/c accounting for some of that increase in spending.  But the Mama Jama expense was on Hubs Amazon c/c-buying a riding lawn mower!

THOUGHTS going forward into May 2023--We've got car insurance(we'll pay it annually going forward)which is our only irregular bill for May.  We'll have more cruise/London expenses, and Hubs will most likely want to take more WAM in May for the trip so we can get British pounds and Euros for the places where we'll need them.  In addition since Hubs is now on Medicare our monthly Annuity payment will be reduced going forward.  This was a "front loaded" annuity-more of a payment until you hit Medicare/65 and then just over $500 less per month after then.  Even with that while I am still on private insurance we are still better off financially with those changes.

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    

What's on the Dining Table

The "What In The Pan Fried Hell?" Edition.....

We were in a random Walmart and I saw these Mr. Beast Chocolate bars.  Mr. Beast, for those of you living under a rock, is a multimillionaire YouTuber.  He had a Willy Wonka type Golden Ticket game when he first came out with these candy bars through his company Feastables.  You had the chance to win prizes if you found a sticker with a code on the backside of your bars' wrapper.

Before you get excited, the game is over.  Has anyone actually tried his chocolate? LMK what you think of it.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned.......

1. Sunday--Lasagna, Spinach soufflé

2. Monday--Burger at Trivia

3. Tuesday--Chicken Teriyaki w/Veggies Stir-fry

4. Wednesday--Leftover Meatloaf, Veggie TBD

5. Thursday--Leftovers or FFY

6.  Friday--Salmon, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, a Green Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--No Clue yet

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

1. Sunday--Lasagna, Spinach soufflé

2. Monday--Burger at Trivia

3. Tuesday--Chicken Teriyaki w/Veggies Stir-fry, Rice

4. Wednesday--Leftover Meatloaf, Broccoli

5. Thursday--got a Tuna Sub/ate half for lunch/half for dinner

6.  Friday--Broiled Salmon, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, Collard Greens

7. Saturday--FFY(I had a bowl of Cheerios to use up milk before it went bad)

The leftovers were thin on the ground here so Subway to the rescue on Thursday. lol

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

* Nothing

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

*  Spinach Soufflé

*  Mozzarella Cheese

*  Chicken

*  2 bags of Stir-Fry Veggies

*  1 bag of Broccoli

*  2 pieces of Salmon(1 wild Sock-eye)

*  2 bags of Collards

Last week we spent $0 on grocery shopping

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $552.53 for April.  For us this is high but we cherry picked some deals, had to restock some staples and we bought some meat we weren't expecting to because it was a really good price and as soon as we procure a grill we'll be glad we spent on those items.  I am ok with it as I can put all my rebates I earned toward my grocery spending.

There are 0 shopping days left in April.

I've earned $135.56 on Ibotta in April.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in April.

I've earned $26.50 on Coupons dotcom in April.

I've earned $13.00 on Shopmium in April.

I've earned $17.50 on Kroger Cash Back in April.

I've earned 9,263 points from food shopping on Fetch.

I've earned 11,465 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in April.

I've earned 341 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in March.

That's $192.56 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $557.94 of grocery spending so in reality it's $365.38 in food spending after the 5 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 0% and the monthly savings total for April comes in at 47.12% so far. 

Leftovers going into this week...nothing.  

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

1. Sunday--Catfish, Cole Slaw

2. Monday--Hubs Pizza in Freezer, Salad/Me Salad

3. Tuesday--Steak, Yellow Squash or ?

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie

5. Thursday--New Trivia spot night so not sure what we'll eat

6.  Friday--Zaxby Salad

7. Saturday--Kielbasi with Onions, Sautéed Cabbage

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Nothing.  

There will be some grocery shopping I guarantee that. ;-)

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? 

Sluggy 

Food Spending.....the April Report

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2023.

I have posted April'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 April.  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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

CVS

OOP  $1.99

Value  $27.86

Savings  92.85%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $27.30

Value  $37.65

Savings  27.49%

KROGER

OOP  $314.76

Qs/Ads  $258.69

Value  $573.45

Savings  45.11%

SHOPPER VALUE

OOP  $62.16

Qs/Ads  $81.89

Value  $19.73

Savings  24.10%

WALMART

OOP  $146.32

Qs/free Gift Cards $38.21
Value  $184.53
Savings 20.71%

*********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at CVS at 92.85% and Kroger at 45.11% .  My worse rate was at Walmart at 20.71%.  Too bad that is the closest store to me.

I shopped at 5 different stores in April.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in April................$552.53

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$492.27

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,044.80

TOTAL Savings of ............................47.12%

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....another less than stellar month for food spending.  We spent more in April than in March. Lots of cherry picking deals for the freezer but prices still on the rise so YIKES! it was a lot of money spent.  We won't have a garden this year(not enough time to get one prepped and planted with us starting here from scratch)so I'll have to find a/some farm stands around where the prices aren't "artisanal-ly" priced.  As our first year here somethings come with a steep learning curve. 

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 12.22% in April 2023 to 47.12% compared to the March's 34.90% savings average.  Even still, spending was up but we got more bang for our buck in April.

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,882.46 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,882.46

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,080.74

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,198.28

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................38.90%

The average per month amount spent is $470.62 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to May 2023....We are going on a cruise this month so we'll be eating down any refrigerated items like dairy(which can't go in the freezer)and fresh produce.  We won't be buying food unless a screaming deal or a necessity before the trip and nothing during the trip.  I am hoping this reigns in the food spending.  No clue how much will be spent but it sure as heck had better not be $470.62! lolz

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 April?

*  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