NOVEMBER To-Do List

What I planned to get done in November and what actually got done.......

*  Pay Bills--DONE  Always

*  Sign up for Medicare Medigag/Part D Plan--DONE  Got two plans though it required me to sign up for AARP(hate that group!)but those AARP branded plans through UnitedHealthcare were the best deal for my needs in this are.

*  Go to a ridiculous amount of DR appointments--DONE  Can't even remember how many now....Neurology, Sleep Medicine, Podiatrist....

*  Go to a ridiculous amount of PT sessions--DONE

*  Have an EMG/Nerve Conductive Study--DONE  Things didn't go well there and damn!  it hurt.  It was like being tasered but by medical people not the cops.  I failed the Nerve Conductive thing so they didn't bother doing the EMG.  good times.

*  Have Dishwasher Installed--FAIL  The handyman guy couldn't get to us in November to install it so it's been living in the ex-sewing room after Dixie decided to start ripping piece of the cardboard box it was in.

*  Clean and Organize Stuff in House--FAIL  Other than doing the bare minimum there has been no cleaning and organizing here.

*  Buy Stuff for the House--DONE  I am sure Hubs has been continuing his love affair with The Home Despot/Lowe's as he tinkers and replaces shit around here.

*  Have Fake Thanksgiving--DONE  Had fake Turkey Day with daughter and son in-law and their dog and cat.  We didn't get any leftovers to bring home.  I made yeast rolls and pumpkin pie as well as the raw turkey to contribute.

*  Do Something Fun--FAIL  I did nothing fun.  It's hard to have fun when you have no friends here.

*  Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie--DONE  I am discontinuing this item as I hardly have/get paper coupons anymore.  The world is quickly turning digital.

*  Edit More Photos--DONE  Got more photos edited.  Haven't even started on the British Isles cruise photos from May.  I am so far behind. ugh

*  Post About Old Trips--DONE  If I remember correctly I got one whole post up in November from an old trip(still working on the Western Road Trip of 2017).

*  Work on Genealogy--DONE  As it so happens the PT guy has a first name that is usually a surname so I asked him how he got that name.  His Great Grandmother was a Mason.  I've got a ton of Masons on my mother's ancestry side.  Then he said his mother had been born in Williamsburg, VA so you know I had to dig into that. lol

I worked on his tree and added to mine along the Mason line and so far the closest we are related is straight 18th cousins.  We share a common ancestor in John of Gaunt, "The King Maker"(1340-1399), the Duke of Lancaster and the third son of King Edward III.  John's son, Henry IV, eventually deposed Richard II and took the crown.  All English monarchs to this day are descended from John of Gaunt.  Not sure if we share the same 18th Great Grandmother yet, as John had three wives(mine is his third wife).

I found some old photos of his ancestors on Ancestry(2 and 3 x GGs who he knew nothing about)and made copies to give him, as well as a high school yearbook photo of him, which the receptionist posted on the wall at PT.  So I asked if I got a family discount there since we are cousins. (No.)

He is a 4th cousin 8 x removed of George Mason IV(the famous George Mason-GMU, writer of the Bill of Rights, etc.)  I am sure we are related closer than 18th cousins but real genealogy takes time to do properly.  I know one of the succeeding George Mason's sisters married a Stith(John Stith-my 9 x GG, son of Robert Stith and Mary Washington)which ties us in an ancestral knot together-Stith and Washington lines are related to me too.  So funny.

*  Move Video Files to New Computer--FAIL  Didn't even try.

*  Thanksgiving Alone--DONE  We sat home on Thanksgiving and grilled steaks in  the cast iron pan and made baked Sweet Potato Fries in the oven.  Go us.

That's all I got.

Sluggy

Income & Spending.....November 2023

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals, personal savings 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 November report--

I had 2 goals for November....

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 fund may be applied 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.  

 

I'm happy to report that we finished up November in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of November with?....$1,243.53

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3,672.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $953.52

Total "Income" for November....$7,276.18

Expenses in November---

*  Irregular bills in November were $1,450.94

*  Variable Expenses in November came to $3,410.52

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,171.19*

Total Expenses....$6,032.65

$7,276.18-$6,032.65=$1,243.53

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare, I include his Vision Care, and his Medicare supplement in this number with my Healthcare Premium.  His Part B comes directly out of his SS check before we get it.

Slush into November of $44,604.70 and the addition of $1,243.53 November's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $45,848.23

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,243.53

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, cell phone bill, Health Insurance premium, vision care, Hubs supplement plan and internet were the same as last month.

*  The electric bill went down by $5.92.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Mastercard c/c was $37.56 higher than in October.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $64.02 higher than last month.

*  The Aviator c/c was $1044.98 higher than in October.

*  We had 4 irregular bills in November--

*  The bill of $420.00 for yearly garbage pickup.

*  We had an irregular bill for $208.37 for a yearly vet visit.

*  Hubs had a car repair of $810.57(brakes and tires).

*  I had to join AARP to get the Medigap Supplement/Part D Plan I wanted so $12.00 paid for a year.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for NOVEMBER 2023---Even though we paid OOP less for groceries/HBA/paper products this month we also had more credit card charges for non-food/household stuff.  Interest earned was up in November which is good.

THOUGHTS going forward into DECEMBER 2023---Who the heck knows??  Long Term Care Premiums will be due in the irregular bill department, the dishwasher "may" be installed this month and the dogs are being groomer this month. I have to pay in full for the cruise we booked plus it's Christmas and my daughter's birthday this month so that will cost us.  And we are going to PA to see our youngest, with stops in MD, VA and maybe AL on what may be my Farewell Tour Road Trip which will put more mileage on the credit cards.  December will be a financial hit but we can afford it.

So how was your November financially?

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

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 down/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 all your excess monies after bills were paid 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 "Glad to Hear from JRE" Edition.....  

I'm happy reader JRE made a comment last week on how she is doing with her TKR post surgery.  I was just about to post something to ask her to give us an update.
I am now 7+ weeks out, still doing PT 3 days a week and am off the walker as of a week ago.  Because of my back/coccyx issues and some neurological issues(causing balance problems)it took me a bit longer to transition to a cane from that blasted walker(plus makes some balance type exercises more difficult).  Off the "good drugs" for a couple to 3 weeks now and just on OTC Tylenol plus Flexeril for my back.  Had the lower back MRI on Saturday at 8 am and waiting to hear something from the dr. on that and where we go from here.  Still no response from my neurologist.  It's been just shy of a month since I failed the EMG test they did.  NO surprise since it took a month of pestering him to get him to respond to me after the brain MRI I had back in August with any information a lay person could understand. sigh

This is day 176 of the new "diet".  Down 52 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 60 lbs.).  

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week.......

1. Sunday--Faux Thanksgiving at Daughter's House

2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--No  Clue

4  Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

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

1. Sunday--Faux Thanksgiving at Daughter's House

2. Monday--BBQ Brisket slice, Baked Sweet Potato

3. Tuesday--Meatloaf, Teriyaki Green Beans

4  Wednesday--Lunch out-Wendy's, no Dinner

5. Thursday--Bowl of Rice Chex, Leftover Meatloaf, Teriyaki Green Beans

6.  Friday--Yogurt w/Granola, big Zalad from Zaxby's, no dinner

7. Saturday--2 Chicken Pot Pies

No going back to old habits and eating patterns for me!

What got taken out of the freezer last week...

*  a Turkey

*  a Hunk of Brisket

*  2 lb. of Ground Beef

*  1 bag of Green Beans

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

*  sliced up Brisket after it was smoked

Last week we spent $157.53 on grocery shopping for November.  

Grand Total shopping comes to $306.08 for November.   

There are 27 shopping days left in December.

I've earned $209.16 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $19.49 on Shopmium in November.

I've earned $0 on Alexa app in November.

I've earned $24.05 on Kroger Cash Back in November.

I've earned $46.76 on TaDa in November.

I've earned $9.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $13.96 on Aisle.

I've earned 4,832 points from food shopping on Fetch in November.

I've earned 2,648 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.

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

That is $298.36 in rebates(not counting the Kroger Cash Back/Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $308.06 of grocery spending so in reality it's $7.72 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 55.97% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 64.41% spent.  Nice percentages since we used what was left on that travel stipend card last week.

Leftovers going into this week....a hunk of Meatloaf, 2 small pieces of pumpkin pie(Hubs is eating that), most of 2 pans of homemade rolls(will go into freezer)but no other turkey day leftovers as we didn't bring anything home with us from Daughter's house.

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

1. Sunday--Beer Bratwurst on Roll, Zero Sugar Baked Beans

2. Monday--Veggie Lasagna

3. Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

4  Wednesday--1/2 Tuna Sub, Salmon, Spinach Soufflè

5. Thursday--1/2 Tuna Sub, small bit of Ice Cream

6.  Friday--leftovers

7. Saturday--No Clue

No menu planning for me now, mostly things Hubs can do.  The meals may not happen on the days noted but they will happen this coming week.  I have earned the right not to, in my mind at this point.  I am giving up control of meals to Hubs.  I will put in requests now and then.

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?  

I may post sporadically after this one or I might not, depending on drugs and stuff. 

Sluggy  

Just a Little Bit.....

Well we started the process of dragging all the Christmas tubs out of the closet in the guest room this past week.

After going through the tub with the boxes of Xmas cards in it here is what I found........

 This above are FOUR stacks of boxes of Christmas cards, TWENTY FOUR BOXES(not all of them full)of unused Xmas cards.

I blame Rite-Aid....well I can't blame them since we moved but before then, since I was always in that store after Christmas poking through all the discounted Xmas merchandise, and the boxes of cards always seemed to be in great supply once things got discounted to 90% off(and I'd conveniently forget that I already had many, many boxes of unused cards at home in my stash, I'd pick up a few more boxes for 10¢ on the dollar.  sigh
I am sure my kids won't be fighting over who gets what is left once I die.  More like they'll fight over who has to take them so they can pitch them in the garbage once I am gone. lol

Hi, I'm Sluggy and I am a Christmas Card Hoarder.  If there were support groups for such people, this is what I'd said at the meeting. 8-)

It's too bad sending physical Christmas cards are going out of style.  This younger generation(pick whichever one you want)isn't into writing in a physical card and mailing it when they can email, text or call.  More's the pity....

Sluggy

The November Food Spending of 2023

Onward to November's Food Spending Report.....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for November 2023.

I have posted November'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 November.  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).
****************

KROGER

OOP  $84.31

Qs/Gift Cards $336.92

Value $421.23

Savings  79.98%

OLLIE'S

OOP $9.76

Value $15.98

Savings  38.92%

SUPER 1 FOODS

OOP  $4.88

Value  $7.77

Savings  37.00%

WALMART

OOP  $207.13

Qs/Gift Cards $207.86

Value  $414.99

Savings  50.09%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Walmart with a savings of 50.09%.  My worse rate was at Super 1 Foods with 37.00%.  

I shopped at 4 different stores in NOVEMBER.

TOTAL Spent in November......$306.08

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$553.89

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$859.97

TOTAL Savings of........64.41%

This closes out the NOVEMBER food/toiletries/etc. spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....The leftover travel stipend  monies helped pay for some food after we got home.  I also made strategic purchases with rebates as is my want.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 26.62% in November to 64.41% compared to October's 37.79% savings average.  The big factor is such a great difference in the savings rate came from that leftover stipend money from the trip to Ohio and catching some good deals.  Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people)I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 11 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $4,460.35 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$4,460.35

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$7,757.88

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$3,297.53

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................42.51%

The average per month amount spent is $405.49 in 2023 at this point.

LOOKING AHEAD TO DECEMBER......December will be a crapshoot.  We have plans to travel to see family for part of the month so there should be less food spending than usual.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Coupons dotcom, Shopmium, Checkout 51 and other miscellaneous rebates sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gives me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that.

At the end of the third quarter of the year, I'd accumulated--$962.99 in Ibotta(most in my bank account as I don't like to leave Ibotta monies on the platform), $309.40 in Paypal from Shopmium ,Coupons dotcom as well as an odd rebate or two from another source, $43.35 in Kroger Cash Back I haven't spent, $36.78 in Shop Kick, $62.20 in Swag Bucks to redeem, $16.75 on Alexa for Amazon gift cards and some points on Fetch that aren't even worth considering at this point.  Without counting the Fetch that's $1,431.47 in cash or scrip total to put toward the grocery spending in 2023 which lowers my OOP on food spending to $2,342.73 give or take at that point.  I'll add in what rebates where earned in the fourth quarter too once 2023 is in the books. 8-)

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in November?

*  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 versus 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