Income Total: $4973.30

     * $1200 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution  

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

     * $3514.00 Tax Refund

     * $34.30 Product Refund 

Total Spending: $1849.87

Total Savings: $3123.43 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending) 
 
Fixed Expenses: 
Verizon bundle (internet, cable): $160.43

Cell phone: $59.81
HVAC and water heater contract: $29.95 
Condo Fee (includes water and trash) $190.00 

Health Care: (includes health, dental, vision, prescription plans) $477.78 
 
Variables: 
Utilities: $116.47
Gasoline: $0
Groceries: $81.64
Health: $42.18 (co-pays, scripts refills, vitamins and personal health care items) 
Take Out and Dining Out: $0 

Household Shopping (anything other then food): $0

Personal shopping: $303.65

Gifts: $25

Dryer vent cleanout: $75

AAA Yearly renewal: $76

Haircut, tip and product: $76.96

Cash withdraw: $20

Tax prep fee: $115.00

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

Shopping was high, but these were all planned purchases. I was waiting to receive my tax refund to pay for them. The dryer vent clean out is required by the condo association for all owners once every 2 years. My grocery spending included a little stocking up. I think as long as I stay below $100 a month for groceries these days with such high prices I will be happy with that level of spending. If I see something on sale that I routinely use I stock up, so some months may be higher then others depending on sales.

I'm very happy to send a big chunk to savings.

I am so excited to have found a volunteer opportunity at the senior center! Twice a month I will be delivering free groceries to seniors in the community who are unable to pick them up themselves for the monthly food distribution. So far, I have 5 people lined up for the month of April. I call or text to let them know I am on my way, then when I arrive, place their food on their porch or right outside their door. For safety reasons we do not go into the house or apartment. They all live pretty close by so gas usage will be minimal.  

I went to the grocery store and was very happy to find that my Weis store was still running the points deal on ground meat. Buy the Weis brand 80/20 and use 100 club card points and the price is just .99 cents per pound up to 3 pounds. I picked up a 3.04 lb. pack and paid just $2.99. It was originally priced at $13.49, for a savings of $10.50.  

I also used another 100 points on an 18 count of large eggs. These were originally priced at $3.09, and I paid just .99 cents, for a savings of $2.10. 

I searched around for the best price I could find on fresh chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) and the lowest I could find was $2.99 a pound. I bought one family pack that was originally priced at $16.20, and paid $12.14, for a savings of $4.06. This will last me a while.  

I also picked up a head of lettuce on sale for $1. Regular price was $2.49 for a savings of $1.49, and a bag of fresh spinach for $2. Regular price was $2.50 so a savings of .50 cents. 

I also purchased butter, iced tea, taco seasoning, and one onion but these were not on sale.  

My total spending was $29.51 for this trip. Not too bad considering I bought chicken and ground meat. I should not have to go to the grocery store for the rest of the month.

I was also very happy to see that both my state and federal tax refunds were deposited into my account. This took only 2 weeks. Last year it took at least 4 months for me to receive my federal refund. I was expecting the same kind of delay this year, so this was a nice surprise. 

I have planned to do some spending with some of this. I need some things for the condo and some personal items I have been putting off buying. Today I ordered a rechargeable battery-operated lantern with a built-in phone charger, and a battery powered AM/FM NOAA radio. I want to be prepared in case of a prolonged power outage. I also need some new walking sneakers and want to get a few canned good racks for my pantry. There are a few other small things as well. I figure I will spend about $300 on everything I need. The rest of the refund will go to savings. 

I finally got a haircut yesterday and splurged on some hair products. After a nice tip I spent right around $75.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day if you celebrate!

My friend/CPA completed my taxes, and I will be receiving a total refund of $3514 (combined federal and state). I have decided to use some of the money to stock up on some food. I want to stock my freezer with some meat, more frozen veggies, and a few shelf stable items. The rest will go into savings. The price of food is just going to continue to rise, so stocking up now just makes sense to me.

The March senior center food distribution was last Friday and included a one lb. pack of ground meat and a bag of frozen fish fillets. I also received a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, and a variety of canned goods and dry goods. Thanks to this program my pantry is very well stocked with pasta, pasta sauces, soups, canned veggies, tuna, peanut butter, oatmeal, mac and cheese, and rice and beans. These are all items that I eat and will use. I am very, very grateful. 

I am so happy that my elderly neighbors finally agreed to register with the senior center for the food distribution! I took them with me on my last trip so they could see how it worked and be comfortable with it. Their daughter came for a visit this weekend (she lives about 3 hours' drive away). She is a single mom of 2 kids and works a lot and can’t get here to visit as often as she might like. I was invited over for dinner on Saturday, and she gave me a bunch of sweet potatoes and a few baking potatoes that she brought with her that she had too many of as a thank you to me for looking in on her parents. It was a very sweet gesture, and we had a really fun time. 

Last week I did a CVS deal on TP. I bought 3, 12 packs of Scott TP. They were priced at $9.99 each. I used a combination of coupons, CVS extra bucks earned on previous purchases and my $10 Carepass rewards for the month to pay for it. I paid a total of just .58 cents out of pocket for tax. And I earned another $5 of extra bucks to use on a future purchase. This was 100% savings!

The weather today will hit the upper 70’s with some rain on the way. Next week it’s supposed to get cold again with a chance of a mix of snow and rain. I will take these warmer days, so my heat doesn’t need to kick on. The price of utilities keeps going up along with gas prices. We are at $4 a gallon.  

My thoughts and prayers continue for the people of Ukraine.