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Archive for May, 2021

May 2021 Saving/Spending

May 31st, 2021 at 02:19 pm

Income Total$1837.47

     * $1500 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  

     * $225 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal

     * $112.47 Cashback Credit Card Rewards

      

Total Spending: $1535.93

Total Savings$301.54 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending) 
 
Fixed Expenses: 
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): $174.84

Cell phone: $60.05
HVAC and water heater contract: $29.95 
Condo Fee (includes water) $190.00 

Health Care: (includes health, dental, vision, prescription plans) $476.37 
 
Variables: 
Utilities: $70.53
Gasoline: $0
Groceries: $303.20 (see note below)
Health: $61.67 (co-pays, scripts refillsvitamins and personal health care items) 
Take Out food: $8.56

Shopping (on-line): $68.00

Personal: $44.76

CVS yearly Carepass renewal: $48.00 (see note below)

 

* Condo is paid in full 
* Car is paid in full (2017 Camry) 
* No other debt  

 

*Groceries were high due to having family over for dinner twice, and having friends over for brunch once. I also shopped on 5/30 and most of these groceries will be consumed in June, but I counted it in the month I made the purchase. It gets too complicated to take out grocery costs that are for entertaining, because I always have leftovers, and I use some things I already have on hand, like spices etc. I am just so happy to be able to entertain friends and family again!

 

* CVS Carepass Renewal: Once a year I pay $48 for a yearly renewal. For this, I get $10 a month in CVS Extra Care bucks every month automatically sent to my CVS member card, worth $120 dollars a year to spend on anything I want at CVS, free shipping on CVS brand purchases and a 20% discount on any CVS brand purchase. So I net $72 ($120 - $48) in free stuff every year just from the Extra Bucks. I have also started back up on my CVS couponing again, now that products I use are back in stock and on sale (paper and cleaning products).

Gasoline and Food Prices

May 13th, 2021 at 06:22 pm

I took a planned trip to the grocery store yesterday. The gas station that I always go to is in the same shopping center. I did not need to get gas, but observed fairly long lines. I live in Maryland, and we have been moderately effected by this ransomware attack on Colonial.  My opinion is that people panicking and hoarding gas made this whole thing much worse. Similar to the panic buying of toilet paper and other products we witnessed at the beginning of the pandemic. Hopefully, now that the pipeline is functioning again, the availability of gas will get back to normal. 

The average price of gas today in Maryland is $3.01, one week ago it was $2.84, and one month ago it was $2.76. Gas prices always increase in summer, so it will be interesting to see how high they go this summer. From what I have been reading, there seem to be multiple factors in play that are effecting prices. 

On the usual grocery products I purchase, I have not really been seeing any significant increases yet. With that said, I do not usually buy any red meat, other then the occasional pack of ground meat. I did notice that the price of a box of pre-made frozen hamburgers that I would occasionally buy jumped from $10.99 a box to $13.99 a box. And out of curiosity I noticed that the price of bacon seemed really high at $7.99  for a one pound package. I haven't purchased or consumed bacon in a very long time so I don't really know if this is normal or not. The pre-made rotisserie chicken that I usually buy was the same price as always, and Aldi had a sale on the Fresh Family Pack of split chicken breasts for .99 cents a pound. Nothing else that I bought had jumped up in price, fresh veggies, butter, canned soup, canned chicken, mayo, canned black beans, bread, ice cream etc. I think the price of eggs may have gone up a bit, but I didn't need any so don't really know for sure. 

How are prices looking in your area? I know prices are different depending on brand, organic, gluten free, the store and geographic location. I keep reading and seeing people comment on various blogs and facebook pages that food prices are seriously increasing, but I am just not seeing it yet. At least, not on what I usually buy.

At almost mid-month, my finances are right on track for the month of May. 

This weekend I will be spending the day on Saturday with my best friend. We will be hitting up some fresh farm stands and a few antique and thrift stores that have re-opened. We will have lunch somewhere and just have a long, fun day out. On Sunday I will be going to my brother's for a family cookout. My SIL has been in the hospital (to be released on friday) and we will be celebrating her return home. This was not a Covid illness. It feels great to be getting back to normal, now that we are all fully vaccinated. The infection rate in Maryland is now below 3% and many restrictions are being lifted, other then the indoor mask mandate which remains in place for now.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

April 2021 Savings/Spending

May 1st, 2021 at 04:05 pm

Income Total$1700

     * $1500 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  

     * $200 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal

      

Total Spending: $1576.18

Total Savings$123.82 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending) 
 
Fixed Expenses: 
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): $159.08

Cell phone: $60.05
HVAC and water heater contract: $29.95 
Condo Fee (includes water) $190.00 

Health Care: (includes health, dental, vision, prescription plans) $476.37 
 
Variables: 
Utilities: $88.09
Gasoline: $30.91
Groceries: $181.47
Health: $78.56 (co-pays, scripts refillsvitamins and personal health care items) 
Take Out food: $36.70

Shopping (on-line): $0

Car registration renewal: $135.00

Tax prep payment: $110.00 (My CPA friend prepares my taxes each year)

 

* Condo is paid in full 
* Car is paid in full (2017 Camry) 
* No other debt  

 

A pretty unremarkable month for finances, spending was low and I am very happy with my grocery spending for April.