August 31st, 2023 at 05:39 pm
$1000 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution
$300 Swagbucks and My Points earnings (cash out to PayPal)
$53.66 Credit Card Cash Back Rewards
Total Spending: $1282.67
Total Savings: $70.99
Fixed Expenses:
Verizon (cable): $104.72
Verizon Mobile: $76.46
HVAC and water heater contract: $29.95
Condo Fee $190.00
Health Care: (includes health, dental, vision, prescription plans) $479.50
* My internet bill is now covered through the ACP program
Variables:
Utilities: $131.56
Gasoline: $ 0
Groceries: $189.55
Health: $80.93 (Doctor visit co-pays and scripts)
Shopping: $0
Take-Out: $0
* Condo is paid in full
* Car is paid in full (2017 Camry)
* No other debt
I had a great earnings month through Swagbucks and My Points. I am fully focusing again on earning as much as possible every month. My grocery bill was high, due to buying higher quality foods (lots of organic). I was able to send a small amount to savings! First time in a long time.
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August 15th, 2023 at 01:28 pm
It's already been a spendy month. Last week I had a tooth extracted and bone grafting done to prepare for an eventual implant. Everything went well and I'm healing nicely. But, even with dental insurance this is very expensive. So far I am $626.80 out of pocket with more to come. This will be paid from my emergency/savings fund.
I also went to an orthopedic doctor last week for an evaluation and treatment of my elbow. I've been having a lot of pain in it for a few months and an MRI confirmed a partial tendon tear and inflammation. After resting it, icing it, and taking prescription strength anti-inflammatory meds which didn't really help all that much, he gave me a cortisone injection. This did the trick and it's now almost pain free. My health insurance covered all of this except for a $20 co-pay.
I am already at $107.45 spending on groceries for the month. I have changed my grocery shopping approach and am now buying the best quality foods I can afford for those things that I eat most often. Eggs are a good example. I have them for breakfast almost every day. I had been buying the 18 count large store brand eggs that i could get for just .89 cents with my store discount points. But, the quality has really gone downhill. They are really small (more like a small/medium size) the shells are really thin and the color is very pale. The taste was very bland. So, I spent the money and bought a dozen organic, free range, all the best healthy things eggs for $6.49 a dozen! It hurt my heart to spend that much. But what a difference. I don't think I can now ever go back to the cheap ones. So, I am eating a few less eggs and a bit more of the Bob's Red Mill organic oatmeal with unsweetened almond milk that I really like.
But, it has to be a balance. I can't afford to buy the best quality of everything. I eat a LOT of veggies, but I can't afford to buy organic everything. So I'm working on where the affordable medium is. It really is a struggle with prices still so high.
Not much else happening, having a quiet week while I heal from the procedures.
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