$20K Savings Challenge....FEBRUARY Update

In our family we save money.
It is important to us to put money aside for "rainy days".  You know.....those unexpected days when things happen in your life that you can't plan on, but that DO happen and they cost you money you didn't know you'd need to pay out.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.
Once the automatic savings, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision payments are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2013 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am going to keep the Goal amount at $20,000 again this year.

On to the February report.....

I have posted my FEBRUARY End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up February in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of January with?.......$1,375.97

Income
We had $1267.88 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted. 

Add in a per diem check for mileage for some business traveling, some bank interest and some rebate checks, and we get another $108.09.  This brought our gain to $1,375.97 for February.

*Hubs did get a Bonus for the year in Feb.  I don't count that because this money is earmarked to go right into the College Account for the kids' educational expenses.  Yes, we could have gone and blown that money on a very nice trip, a new car, a full bathroom and kitchen remodel, or many other ways.

But since we are out of debt, have no mortgage and fund our retirement account, we feel it's better spent on funding the college costs.  We have taken yearly bonuses for many years and tucked them aside for college money for the kids.  With what we have now, we are just about $10K short of having enough to fully pay the last kid to go to college(a state school).  If next year Hubs receive 1 more bonus, even a small one, we will have finished funding college the year BEFORE the last kid here needs to enroll.  I never thought all those years ago we'd be able to have the money ready and waiting BEFORE the last one got to college!  That gives me greater satisfaction than any new car smell ever could. ;-)

Outgo

As for the expenses this February, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The credit card bill was $385 lower.

* The "cash" withdrawals were $100 lower.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill(which includes heating)went up by $99.  Feb. is our most expensive month for electric.

*  The semi-annual car insurance bill was due this month.

*  The dental bills were high due to my tooth problem and a dentist bill I paid for Hubs work in Dec.

The Food Budget costs for FEBRUARY are in another post, which is located HERE

We managed to stay within our $400 food budget in February.

The 2013 TOTAL so far.....
With 2 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2013 stands at $4,137.03.

We just missed our $1,666.67 target goal for the month, but not by much.  Considering the high electric bill every Feb. and the car insurance and unexpected dental bills, I'd call Feb. a WIN for us on the money front.

Looking ahead for March......
 

*  We have the Municipal taxes due this month.

*  The electric bill should start going down this month(thankfully!).

*  I'll pay the yearly sewage bill in one lump payment instead of quarterly.  It will save us about $10 a month this way and I have the cash aside for it so why not? ;-)

*  Medical bills will be a little higher since we are working on paying the deductibles to our limit, so the co-pays aren't kicking in yet til we get those paid off.
*  I was looking at the credit card bill to be about half of what it was in February until Hubs tv died last weekend.  There went $400 on the credit card and the bill is hovering at $900 now between that purchase, the $50 I spent on new nightgowns for myself and $100 of spending for #2 Son's birthday last month.

Between all this and cash withdrawals Hubs makes, we'll be lucky to hit $1,666.67 in savings after all is paid in March.

So how was your February financially?

Are you still paying off debt from last Christmas you put on credit?
Did you spend less than the income you made in February?
Did you received any "extra" or unexpected money in February and what did you do with it?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
Did you pay off any debt or put extra toward your mortgage principle?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out your progress too and celebrate with you!

Sluggy

FEBRUARY 2013 Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2013.

I have posted February's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2013 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

OLLIE'S

OOP  $20.57

Value  $42.09

Savings   51.13%

RITE-AID

OOP  $0.00

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $97.63

Value  $97.63

Savings   100%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $138.50

Qs/Ads  $84.61

Value  $223.11

Savings  38%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $204.23

Qs/Ads  $112.20

Value  $316.43

Savings  35.46%

I am no longer adding my rebates received into my food budget directly. I will use them on food on occasion and will note that when used.  I will keep track of rebates/gift cards/certs received here as before however.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN February.....$16.99

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES....$15.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$16.99

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Zero

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 100%,  Ollie's at 51.13% and Shursave affiliate market at 38%.  l only shopped at 4 different stores this past month. 8-)

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$363.30

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$315.96

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$679.26

TOTAL Savings of...................................46.52%

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into February with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I have $36.70 leftover in my February food envelope. 

I didn't count the number of Qs that were redeemed in Feb. but I do know it was quite low.   The little I bought at Rite-Aid for no money greatly affected my savings rate this month. 

Looking ahead to March---We'll stick to our $400 food budget again this month.  It seems to be working for us at this amount. 

 

And here is the run down of my Food & Toiletries Spending for 2013 so far--

2013 Total Saved $769.55

2013 Yearly Total Value of Items  $1,423.09

2013 Yearly Total Spent $653.54

2013 Yearly Savings Total of 54.08%

How much did you spend on food in February?
 

Sluggy

February's To-Do List Final Tally

Here is my final report on my February Goals from my To-Do List....

Make new Price Book--DONE!

Clean out InkFrog files & Close Account--Not Done...still re-evaluating whether I want to do this or not.

Scan 1 scrapbook of photos--In Progress and about halway through this scrapbook.  I need to ramp this up or I'll never get all these books of photos digitized.

Read L. Seabrook Book--DONE!  It's a great book for History buffs interested in the Southern view on things.

Read RG Williams Book--In Progress  This book is slow going and a little "dry".

Do Taxes--DONE!  Thank you God!!  Now Hubs has to do the local taxes.

Do FAFSA--DONE!  Only had to do 1 this year.

Declutter and Make 1 Load for SA--DONE and it's been taken to the Salvation Army.  I have begun another load too.

List items on local Tag Sale site--Not Done.  The local site isn't worth even posting things on.  The local economy is so bad nothing put on there is selling unless it's a necessity, like a car or a space heater, etc.  I'll take a FAIL and take this one off my agenda.

Dental Appt.--Done....sort of.  I go back in 1 week and will either get relief or have this tooth pulled.

I had a good month overall, since I got all the paperwork and the Price Book done, did some decluttering and read 1 book.  Other than taxes, my February wasn't very aggressive or chocked full of goals, was it?

I am off to figure out what goals I want to set for March.
How did you do in Feb. on your list of things to do?

Sluggy
 

2 Quickies

I forgot to post a tiny trip to Rite-Aid a week or so ago.....

2 x Dove Men's Body Wash $2.50(Raincheck)=$5.00
I used 2 x $2/1 ManuQs to bring my cost down to $1.00 for both of these bad boys.
I paid with a $1 + Up Rewards.

This Trip......
Value of items bought....$12.58
 +Ups Used.....$0
 +Ups Received....$0

**GRAND TOTALS FOR FEBRUARY**

Out Of Pocket....$0.00  cash
Value of items bought.....$97.63
Savings Rate of  100%
Rebates due......$0.00

+Ups at beginning of month...$20.00+
+Ups used....$28.00+
+Ups received...$17.00+
Gave my Daughter all my +Ups to use....
+Ups currently...$0+   

Just 3 little trips to Rite-Aid this month.
My $9 in +Ups were expiring on Thursday so I gave them to my daughter to use, meaning I have Zero +Ups now.
I'll be taking a break from Rite-Aid for a couple months, unless something incredible pops up that I really really need.


The other thing is that I cobbled together a load of goodies to take to the Salvation Army 2 weekends ago.
Here is the Porn.....

Not a huge load but some choice bits, some of which you can't really see in the photos.  Trust me, I made a written list and they are there.....lol

My tooth hurts worse than BEFORE the dentist worked on it last Wednesday!
I'll be calling them tomorrow morning.  If I can't get some relief I may just have the tooth pulled before the appointment on the 13th.  I have a feeling that's where we are heading anyway, so why spend more cash on a tooth they aren't going to be able to save?
Ugh!

I'll be back when I feel more human.....
Until then I'll be throwing crap into boxes to haul out of here to charity.  That's about all I am good for when I am feeling this way.

Sluggy

Is It Safe?

If you are a movie buff you may get where this post is heading, due to the title I gave it.
If not, read on.....

I have my dentist appointment yesterday morning.
The result today is that I am not in as much pain and I have to go back in 2 weeks to have the root canal procedure finished, then another appointment with my regular dentist for a permanent filling put on the tooth.

The reason the procedure couldn't be finished in one day is because though I attempted to alert the dentist to the anomalies in my mouth, she didn't take my words seriously.  After all, I am just a dumb patient and I don't have a dental degree, right?

I told her about the tooth.....well the space beside the tooth she was going to work on, the space which once held a tooth......a tooth upon which a root canal was attempted and failed, due to the way in which my tooth's nerves were inaccessible.  That tooth had 3 nerves, one of which was inordinately thin and twisted in such a way that it couldn't be killed.  In the end, the dentist killed and filled 2 of the nerves and then encased the tooth in filling material so that the live nerve was protected.  I got about 5 years more before that conglomeration wore off and I ended up having the tooth pulled.

The new dentist "poo-pooed" what I had to say and set to work.  The first root, then the second root done, no problem.
Well no problem except for when she went into a nerve that wasn't deadened yet and I about levitated to the ceiling!!!
Then she went digging for #3.
And things came to a standstill.
She couldn't find the root.
She stopped 2 times during the procedure to take just another x-ray.
She finally found it and then kept having to change the size of her tool or whatever they use to get into the nerve.....each one being a smaller number than the last.  She started with a 6 and we were down to a 2 when she stopped the appointment and sent me on my way, still without accessing that last nerve.

I had been in the chair for over an hour and 15 min.
The novacaine was wearing off.
And she had another patient waiting to be seen......who probably had better roots than me too. lol

So I traded my throbbing tooth pain for soreness and pain in my mouth and gums and pain in my head, neck, shoulders and back muscles from all the clenching and stiffening my body went through during the procedure.

Then I got to reading the paper they gave me AFTER I had the work done and not BEFORE.....the one that tells me all the crap that could go wrong and how the root canal comes with no guarantee that the tooth can be saved, yadda, yadda, yadda......
Add in that they were drilling into a tooth with a crown and they make no guarantees that they won't screw up the crown(meaning it will break and I'll need a new one for another $900, of which insurance pays $400).

Whether they finish this root canal or not, I am out just shy of $1000 for it(before we get some $ back with our insurance).

The little voice in my head keeps telling me I should have just had that tooth pulled because that's where this is heading anyway.

I just wish it was over.....






Sluggy

A Whole Lotta Nothing Good this Week

One more day until I get my tooth fixed folks!
The last 2+ weeks have not been great here and I apologize that the blog content has suffered.  It's hard to get motivated to do anything when you feel like crap.

My dentist appt. is tomorrow and now I can't find the appt. card with the guy's name and location on it or the x-ray my dentist gave me to take to him.
Just great.

I am just a mess lately.....what can I say?

My To-Do List for February has suffered as well.  I've gotten Jack Shit done.  It's hard to focus when you have a mouth full of hurt and have been on painkillers most days.  Heck, I can't even focus long enough to read a chapter in my current book.
I've been lucky to remember to pay the bills this month!
Oh, wait!!  I forgot one......  Hopefully I'll remember to pay it after I get this posted. lol

The one good thing about hurting is that I haven't felt like going anywhere or spending any money(besides the grocery store).

I usually do the state and federal taxes, but this year I handed them over to Hubs to work on since the Vicodin clouds my mind and in my drug induced state I might claim the entire population of the state of Rhode Island as dependents or something.
Mostly I wanted him to handle the Education Credit stuff this year since it became MORE complicated than in years past, due to the fact that we took distributions from ESAs for 2 of the kids.
The whole thing is a witches brew of taxable and non-taxable with inscrutable rules and formulas. 
So in my lucid moments between pills I've been checking on his work and he made 2 big goofs(not claiming something and claiming way too much for something else) that I am glad I caught. 
I ended up being hands-on with the return anyway. sigh
I've got it all filled out except for the supporting charitable deductions "in kind" list.  I'll be finishing it this weekend after the mouth is happier.
I just want it done and I want my dining room table back!!! lol

I got the FAFSA done too.  Only 1 child to fill it out for this year since #1 son is graduating in the Spring...yay!
I don't know why I fill this out anyway since Daughter will be going to a community college and she won't get any aid(not that she needs it anyway), but fill it out I do.



The marching band trip missing check debacle......the second missing check has turned up.  Both checks have been cashed according to my bank account.  #2 Son still needs to make sure they were both cashed by the band group.  So we have overpaid for this band trip.  Lovely.  I'll have to make sure once they figure out the final payment(which should be less than what I paid x 2), that I get any excess funds back.

#2 Son is in mourning today.  Seems the meeting about who gets accepted into the Young Scholar/College Program at the high school was yesterday.  They go by class ranking and he missed the cutoff by 9 spaces.  And his girlfriend got in.
And he needs 2 wisdom teeth extracted plus we think he has strep throat.
So there is no joy in Mudville today.....

Oh and I fired our family doctor today.  Yes, the idiots who took over his office and management of his practice drove me to it.  I told the little 20 year old college student receptionist bitch today what I thought of them all.
Not returning phone calls......not telling patients that the dr.  is sick and won't be in.....not telling patients that the dr. has NO ONE currently covering for him when he's sick and you need to go to Urgent Care until you actually talk to a live person on the phone, which you can't do for 4 days since they never returned my calls until this afternoon.
I am over this quack and his office of quackers!

Ok, It's time for more drugs.....
I'll be back later if I can remember where my computer desk is. ;-)

Sluggy




 

Meal Planning March Week 1 & Food Spending Feb. Week 4

And here is what actually got served last week......

Sunday-Chicken Parmesan al fresco, Spinach Salad, Lemon Cake

Monday--Pizza, Clementines

Tuesday--Pulled Pork on rolls, Coleslaw

Wednesday--Leftovers

Thursday--Kielbasa, Beans, Coleslaw

Friday--Clam Chowder, Fish fillets, Coleslaw

Saturday--Leftovers

I served everything planned,except the Stuffed Shells, which move to this week.

The food spending last week?

I spent $58.85 in 2 trips to the local Shursave affiliated grocer.

Of that amount, $25.84 was spent on food consumed last week and the other $33.01 was spent on stocking up on deals like butter, local honey, microwaveable lunches and pre-made meatballs for the freezer as I may be laid up a couple days after my dentist appt. on Wednesday.   The meatballs give Hubs another option if I am not cooking.

I've spent $338.46 and I am left at this point with $61.54 in my food budget for 3 more days.

As for leftovers rolling into this week--Pulled Pork sammies, Coleslaw and Clam Chowder.

***********************

Here is what is getting served this week.....

Sunday-Subway Sammies

Monday--Hamburgers, Clementines, Fries

Tuesday--Stuffed Shells, Roasted Cauliflower, Garlic Bread

Wednesday--Leftover Pulled Pork sammies, Coleslaw

Thursday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Asparagus

Friday--Beef Pie w/Cornbread Topping

Saturday--Sweet Potatoes and Leftovers

Wednesday I am serving leftovers and Thursday I have a prepped casserole on deck.  I won't feel like cooking and these are things Hubs can "cook".  If I am still not up to snuff on Friday Hubs can choose to make the Beef Pie or just go get some take-out or have leftovers, as I might still be eating just soup.

Needed at the store to serve the meals I am making this week?  

Asparagus, Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower.  We also need eggs, milk, fresh fruit and OJ. 

Other than that I don't know what I'll be buying yet.  With $60+ left for 3 days I'll be staying under budget going into March 1st and a new $400 for groceries.

A few words about where my Menu is headed......

I am trying to change up my menus and what we eat in general here.  With the kids' schedules I never know how many are going to be eating dinner at home each night.  This makes it near impossible to get my meal sizes right and we either end up with not enough on the table or having way too many leftovers.

I have also cut way back on the dishes I serve that call for cheese, rice and noodles.  Believe me, if I could, I'd cut out pasta totally!  But having a Hubs who was raised in an ethnic Italian household, he would divorce me if I tried. lol

I've also been trying to find better ways to prepare foods we like by changing or taking out simple carb components. We are "de-whiting" our diet, meaning changing or eliminating the white carbohydrate foods like refined sugar, white rice, white flour, white noodles, white breads.There is nothing scientific to the way we are proceeding, it's more of a learn as we go process.

In order to get more veggies into our meal times I have begun changing how/what I serve.  I am moving away from the traditional 1 meat, 1 starch, 1 vegetable dinner plate scenario toward a 1 meat, 1 vegetable plate, with other vegetable based side dishes also served.  And sometimes the meat is also missing from the dinner plate.

We are working on finding more exciting ways to prepare veggies too, that don't include frying, battering, breading, or covering with cheese.

It isn't easy doing this, since all 4 of us at home enjoy/thrive on different foods and different percentages of each type of food.  I am not a pasta lover but Hubs is.  Hubs is not a raw food or salad eater and I could eat this way every day.   Hubs insists on meat...not protein, MEAT, so we are working on better ways to prepare it.  If you feel the need to share your Tofu recipes, just keep moving.  Tofu and being Vegan isn't happening here. ;-)

#2 Son eats veggies but his repertoire is limited and most veggies he wants cooked in meat products, plus he likes all that processed stuff.  Daughter eats everything but she loves comfort foods which include all those white foods I am trying to limit.

We are making baby steps toward a new way of eating for us.  Some weeks we do better than others but overall we are making progress.  This week won't see any progress due to my tooth emergency. 

What's on your menu for the week?  

Any good deals at the grocers this week?
Did you have any food waste this week?

Sluggy