Frugal Friday.....the January 12th Edition

There are a few Frugal wins these past couple of weeks so here goes....

*  Had the first doctor appointment on Medicare with my Medigap policy this past week.  I was all prepared to have to fork over a co-pay but asked the receptionist before I left and she said, "Nope, you don't have a co-pay."  Sweet!

*  Grocery shopping this past week for 2024....I already posted my Monday haul at Walmart.  

I'll say we were a little 'shop happy' this first full week of January--picking up all the deep discounted Christmas stuff and replenishing our pantry.  My weekly grocery total will be large on Monday's post. 8-(

Here are some additional items I bought at Kroger last Friday......

Splenda was BOGO and had a $2.50 Ibotta on each box so $4.99 for both. (I wish that insert coupon had come out BEFORE I did this deal as it would have been even less $$!)

The chocolate(and butterscotch)chips were in a shopping cart at the front of the store and were all marked $1.00 a bag!  I showed remarkable restraint by only bringing 4 bags home. 8-)

There was also shopping at Home Goods last week....

We have been in need of a TP holder in the Master Bath since moving here.  As my right shoulder has issues(and has for over a decade now)having the tp roll in use on the toilet tank lid behind the seat was getting to me so we sprang the $14.99 on this holder of Home Goods.

Found this 2 pack of dish drying mats also at Home Goods on clearance.  We needed this so it came home with us.  Hubs also picked up some clearance jams there for his morning toast.

*  And the best shopping news....seems our town finally got an Aldi!  Shreeeee!  Seems it's near the Ollie's on the other side of town and it opened the end of November and my daughter never told me!! tsk tsk  There will be shopping there in my future........8-)

Then we went nearby and hit up World Market for some Christmas clearance.  At 60% off I got that rainbow Xmas tree, 2 holiday packs of assorted peppercorns(this was cheaper than one of their regular bag sof peppercorns!), a package of Pistachio Nougat candy(from Italy), 2 containers of tea(3 London icon containers and a big tin commemorating Queen Elizabeth 2).  I also found these dark chocolate bars filled with creamy Guinness ganache(love me some Guinness!).

We also hit a Walmart on that side of town and found some nice clearance finds at 90% off!  I can't show you more than this photo since some of it is destined for Christmas gifties for family and friends for this coming Xmas. ;-)

* We hit the Bread Outlet this week while we were over there.  We were down to 2 slices of bread in the freezer so we brought 4 packs of bread items and resisted all the cakes, pies and donut type items they have. rah.  I'd much rather spend $1.60 per loaf than $4.49 per loaf which is the regular price for these items at Kroger.  I just wish they were an outlet for Arnold's bread items instead. oh well......

I hit up a discount grocery store on Thursday and scored a few markdowns--a can of tomato sauce for .50¢, a bottle of Kraft dressing and a bag of Cole Slaw mix(not pictured) both for $1.25 and 2 bags of doggy treats, each at $1.25(Great deal on the doggy treats as those go for lots more at SRP.  They had 5 shopping carts of marked downs but we didn't need any more Cheerios or Oatmeal packs and the rest were really smushed up canned goods or Holiday candies.

*  I had Hubs use my Kroger points to bring filling his car's gas tank up down by $1.00 per gallon.

*  I received this in the mail......

A new Ollie's discount card to use before Feb. 19th.  I'll be starting a list to use that before it expires.

*  I also received a refund from the office of that horrible dermatologist I saw back in August.  I don't recall if I explained that dreadful situation but the front office insisted I had a $50 copay before this dermatologist would see me, even though I did NOT have a co-pay with my then insurance.  I figured I'd not see this refund check until well after the first quarter of 2024, even after calling and explaining and then sending a letter with documentation to their billing department in December.  You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw that check arrive!

Now we get to jump through hoops on our end to get that refund put back into our HSA account which is still in a bank in PA. ugh.

I found Money!

On that moneymaker Walmart trip on Monday evening I found these 3 pennies as I was leaving the store, strewn past the checkout registers between them and the customer service desk.

The next day Hubs and I hit a different Walmart to check if they had any Christmas clearance left and to pick up one freebie.  I spied this Quarter as we approached the self-checkout machines.

* I also, at another store, spied a penny at a different self-checkout register but someone walked up to it before I could hobble over there and get it.  I told the gentleman about the bounty that lay under his machine so he could grab it before leaving his register.  Because I am nice like that sometimes. 8-)

Total Found in last Week.... .28¢
Grand Total Found this Year........28¢

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy   

INCOME & SPENDING...DECEMBER 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.
We went into retirement in June of 2017 with no debt, no mortgage, nor a car payment.

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 December report--

I had 2 goals for December....

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 do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones

 

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

The amount extra we ended the month of December with?....$1,847.63

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

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

*  SS income of $3,672.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $985.66

*  Stock Dividend of $19.95

Total "Income" for December....$7,328.270

Expenses in December---

*  Irregular bills in December were $1,608.86

*  Variable Expenses in December came to $4,057.97

Total Expenses....$5,480.64

$7,328.27-$5,480.64=$1,847.64

 Slush Fund coming into December of $45,848.23 and the addition of $1,847.63 in December, our end of December 2023 Slush fund comes to $47, 695.86. (This isn't counting the $35K I siphoned off to invest into a high rate CD in October.)

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,847.64

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

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

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $172.10 lower than in November.

*  The Aviator c/c was $1,247.61 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill went up by $119.00(it's Winter, duh!)in December

*  My Amazon c/c was $465.36 higher than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $228.17 higher than in November.

*  We had 4 irregular bills in December--

*  The bill of $784.55 for quarterly LTC premiums.

*  We had an irregular bill for $160.22 for property taxes.

*  We paid $170.00 to have the dishwasher installed.

*  We took $480.00 in cash for our December trip.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for DECEMBER 2023---December was a moderatly heavy expense month(Daughter's birthday, CHRISTMAS, irregular bills, etc.)but we knew we'd take a hit in the financial realm and were prepared for it.  Also most of the trip spending for December won't hit until the January(as it was put on credit cards that we pay off each month in full)so we've got that to look forward to. rah.  January may be a worse financial month than December turned out to be.

I am just happy to see we didn't go into the red in December. 8-))

THOUGHTS going forward into JANUARY 2024---Well the healthcare premiums get turned on it's ear in January as I go onto Medicare like Hubs.  Yay.  No more $1K+ a month for private insurance for me(only Hubs vision benefit of $15.91-which he keeps for life)but now we have 2 x Medicare Part B premiums, 2 x Part D drug supplement premiums and 2 x Medigap supplement premiums.  All that still ends up costing a bit less than what we paid before I hit Medicare age. go us. 

There will be higher than normal credit card bills(trip-gas, hotels, food), Christmas bills(some paid in December thankfully), I bought new clothes and supplements on the trip, heating bill will be higher(it's Winter, duh!) and I have a big payment due in January for the cruise for this April.  We will have a quarterly 401K withdrawal hitting our account in January which will pay for the cruise balance(I used about $500 worth of c/c points to put toward that which helped lower that bill).  In the end, January bills may end up putting us in the red for the month but we can handle it.

In 2023 the "Perfect Storm" of bills put us in the red for only two months-February and June(for a total of -$10,005.79, while we came out ahead the other 10 months for a total of $33,146.26 for 2023.  Subtracting those 2 months when we went negative we had a yearly gain of $23,140.47 overall.*

* While we had a gain of $23,140.47 some of those funds aren't "liquid", as in CD interest and Bond interest.  We'll realize those funds once these investing instruments mature.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your December financially?

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

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

A Great Grocery Trip!

 I had a fabulous shopping trip on Monday evening at Walmart.

Here's what I bought--

6 x Cesar dog food trays
2 x Mr. Clean Magic Eraser packs
1 x 6 pack of Glucerna Protein Shakes
1 x 2 pack Venus ladies' razors
3 x Finish Ultimate dish tabs 11 ct.
2 x Kinder single packs of sauce
1 x All sensitive Laundry soap
1 x Colgate Pro Plaque toothpaste
2 x Fiji Water bottles
1 x Penetrex pain cream
1 x Colgate Optic White toothpaste

Total OOP was $65.55 after using a $25 gift card earned from Shop Kick.

Here's what I earned back in rebates--

* $41.59 from Ibotta
* $15.50 from Shopmium
* $5.00 from Checkout 51
* $5.00 worth of points on Fetch
* $12.84 from Glucerna(a full manufacturer's rebate)
So after $79.93 in rebates this trip was a $14.38 moneymaker.  So everything for free plus another $14.38 in my pocket to spend on whatever we need.

And it's all products we use/can use(though I may give away toothpaste as I seem to always get that free and end up with a ton).lol

8-)))

#the couponing life

Sluggy

December Food Spending for 2023

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for December 2023.

I have posted December'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 December.  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).
****************

ALDI

OOP  $21.97

Sales  $9.01

Value  $30.98

Savings  29.08%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $35.97

Qs Saving $16.73

Value  $54.70

Savings   30.59%

KROGER

OOP  $104.79

Qs/Gift Cards $110.74(cashed in some KCB)

Value $215.53

Savings  51.38%

OCEAN STATE JOB LOT

OOP $21.64

Sales  $18.29

Value $39.93

Savings  45.81%

TRADER JOES

OOP  $7.47

Sales  $3.22

Value  $10.69

Savings  30.12%

WALMART

OOP  $139.64

Qs/Gift Cards $171.27

Value  $310.91

Savings  55.09%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Walmart with a savings of 55.09%.  My worse rate was at Aldi with 29.08%.  

I shopped at 6 different stores in DECEMBER.

TOTAL Spent in December......$331.48

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$331.26

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$662.74

TOTAL Savings of........49.98%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 14.43% in December to 49.98% compared to November's 64.41% savings average.  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 12 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $4,791.83 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$4,791.83

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$8,420.62

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$3,628.79

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................43.09%

The average per month amount spent is $399.32 in 2023 but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

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 2023, I'd accumulated---

* $1,449.22 from Ibotta

* $195.84 from the old Coupons dotcom

* $183.49 from Shopmium

* $93.14 from TaDa

* $32.15 from Checkout 51

* $18.95 from Aisle

* $10.13 from Sampoll

* $2.18 from Inmar

* $29.74 from Alexa 

That's $1,985.10 in cash and $29.74 in Amazon gift cards.

(I also have $79.93 worth of points in SwagBucks I can't access so until I can get my hands on that I am not counting it.)

This doesn't count any Kroger Cash Back $$, Fetch or Shop Kick as I cash those points out for gift cards to the grocery store I use directly.

So my actual Grocery Spending ends up thusly---

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,806.73

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$8,420.62

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$5,613.89

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................66.67%

Now my monthly grocery spending comes to $233.90.

LOOKING AHEAD TO JANUARY 2024.....who knowns what inflation actually is for food as the Federal Government lies and rejiggers the numbers for the most basic needs of it's citizens-food and energy.  These are not included in their CPI.

I just know that if I am paying more for the same products(or companies are shrinking the sizes of their packaging)then yes, food and other consumables are costing more.  This is why I track our spending like I do, so we have a handle on where our money is going.  We are not the Federal Government and can't just print money when our supply runs short.

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 December?

*  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

This Week on the Dining Table

The "What Day?/What Month?/What Year is it?" Edition.....  

Before we left on this whirlwind 3K+ trip I had to try on clothes in my closet to see what now fit or not.  Basically since the TKR surgery in October I've been wearing t-shirts and the 5 pair of smaller pants I picked up at Walmart for the last 2 months of 2023, as I only went to dr. appointments, physical therapy and grocery shopping.  Didn't need to be a fashion plate nor did I need cold weather clothing(PA got 6 inches of snow yesterday where youngest lives and where we spent some time).

I had picked up this pair of trousers at a Talbot's Outlet on one of our girl's trips in the past 3 years(can't recall which).  I tried them on(they were tight when I bought them back then)to see if they fit properly now.  Well, I could have smuggled both of our dogs on the trip with us in those pants with me! lol    Anybody need a pair of nice, expensive pants that never were worn?? 8-)

I am still trying to settle down into our usual mundane routine here after being home since Wednesday night. 

This is day 211 of the new "diet".  Down 59 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 67 lbs.).  

I did eat stuff on the trip I try to stay away from(sweets and carbs)but considering I didn't gain an ounce once I got home and back on a scale I'd say eating-wise, things went pretty well.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--No Clue

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 over the course of the trip that I remember(when I mention Iced Tea that means I had that for Breakfast).......

12/20 Wed.--KFC take-out in Hotel room(blech)2 pieces chicken, cole slaw, green beans, half a biscuit

12/21  Thur.--Chinese Buffet near Hotel(I had unusual self-restraint)

12/22  Fri.-- Hotel Oatmeal, Applebee's Asian Chicken Salad

12/23  Sat.--Hotel soft yellow omelet thing(no flavor),1 cheese cube and a cracker at Youngest's House, Fish and Chips w/Cole Slaw(ate half)and a Guinness Stout at restaurant

12/24  Sun.--Ate leftover Fish and Chips for Breakfast, Chicken w/Cashews at Chinese Restaurant

12/25 Mon.--Jelly Toast at Hotel, Stuffed Shells, Clams Casino at son's finacè's parents house

12/26 Tues.--Hotel Oatmeal, a few olives for a snack at Sissie's house, and I know she fed me dinner but can't for the life of me remember what it was besides she "forced" me to eat a piece of her homemade Pistachio Baklava(so good!)

12/27 Wed.--Iced Tea, Shrimp and Other things I can't remember for dinner

12/28 Thurs.--Iced Tea, Rueben Sandwich out for lunch, leftover Prime Rib made into Stew

12/29 Fri.--Pork Chop, some side dish at Brother's house

12/30 Sat.--Raid the Fridge Day and I can't remember what I ate

12/31 Sun.--Ham Biscuit slider, a Cheeseburger Happy Meal with Apple Slices, Champagne with Strawberry at midnight

1/01 Mon.--another Ham Biscuit slider, Black Eyed Pea, Collards, Prime Rib

1/02 Tues.--Iced Tea, Turkey w/Gravy, Salad, Green Beans at IHOP

1/03 Wed.--Jelly Toast at motel, Arby's Beef and Cheddar at a truck stop(then we got home)

1/04 Thur.--Iced Tea, Catfish Dinner w/Cole Slaw, Green Beans(half)

1/05 Fri.--Iced Tea, leftover Catfish meal, Sm. Apple Walnut Salad

1/06 Sat.--Iced Tea, Teriyaki Green Beans, Cheeseburger(no bun)

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

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

* 1 lb. Ground Beef

I really only "cooked" 1 meal last week.

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

* 2 lb. Ground Beef

* 10 Lean Cuisine/Stauffer's dinners

* 2 bags of Frozen Veggies

* 2 lb. Shrimp

Last week we spent $190.62 on grocery shopping for January.  We hadn't grocery shopped for over 2 weeks so needed to do some stocking up.

Total shopping comes to $190.62 for January.   

There are 23 shopping days left in January.

I've earned $55.60 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $14.00 on Shopmium in January.

I've earned $1.00 on Alexa app in January.

I've earned $1.20 on Kroger Cash Back in January.

I've earned $19.05 on TaDa in January.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in January

I've earned $0 on Aisle.

I've earned 304 points from food shopping on Fetch in January.

I've earned 320 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in January

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

That is $89.65 in rebates(not counting the Kroger Cash Back/Shop Kick/Fetch)on $190.62 of grocery spending so in reality it's $100.97 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 38.95% and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 38.95% spent. 

Leftovers going into this week....Green Beans.

Here is this week's "food plan".....I am trying to get back into the groove here, it ain't easy......

1. Sunday--Caesar Salad, Chicken Strips

2. Monday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Lean Cuisine tv dinner

4  Wednesday--Chicken Sandwich, Stir-Fry Veggies

5. Thursday--Lean Cuisine tv dinner

6.  Friday--Shrimp Scampi, something veggie?

7. Saturday--Stauffer's Cheddar Broccoli Bake

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