January month end check in

I apologize for the lack of posts. January was a very busy month for me. 

Boy was this an expensive month. I didn't plan to spend so much. The biggest expense was undies for DS. I decided to check around since things are so scarce these days. Let me tell ya, I had a hard time finding the brand and style that he likes. When I did find it, it was at full price of $42! No way am I paying that much for 3 pairs of underwear. Even Macy's didn't include it in their sales this time. I know that it's because supply is low. Everyone's now charging exorbitant prices, because people have fewer options to choose from.

After lots of searching, I finally found the cotton ones (we only wear cotton) online. BUT, I had to spend $89 for free shipping. Ugh, I hate paying shipping. It's crazy, because as a reseller I charge customers shipping....lol

So I headed out - first to Marshalls. No underwear to be found. This is unheard of. Then I headed to Burlington. I didn't find the brand that I wanted, but I found similar ones and they were cotton. Plus they cost much less too - $7-20 per 3pk. I can live with that. I grabbed a few packages. Since I was already there, I decided to check for t-shirts for him too. Got a few of those, so I'm very happy. I also found 3 items on clearance that I want to resell. 

The next day, I decided to go back online and just order the ones I saw. I figured I might as well stock up, because it's gonna be a while before manufacturing gets back to normal, with the whole world still suffering from Covid. So I got more undies, some sleep boxers and added a clearance item to get to the free shipping amount. DS is now set for at least 2 years. However, I'm still gonna keep an eye out for a good deal on his favorites - just in case. 

Now you'll notice that I add a few extras to avoid paying shipping, but it also helps recoup some of the money spent. Yes, it's a bit of work but it helps save us some money in the end. 

When I checked our spare closet (prior to going shopping) to see if there's still any stockpiled undies left, I found some t-shirts that I bought for my nephews about 2 years ago. I found 4 shirts, so DS will get that for summer too. He & one of my nephews are the same age & size, so that was an easy fix.

I also did some gift shopping for the littles (great nephews/nieces) at Belk. I found some super cute things. Thanks to Linda for mentioning this store in her posts. We don't have it here, so I've never heard of it before. When I shopped through Rakuten, it took me to a Belk page that showed Buy $100 GC save $20 instantly. I needed no second invitation. I love deals like this. $20 free money - yes please!...lol

Well I got 6 people checked off my list and spent $89.17  OOP (including gc purchase). There are 2 items that I will resell (had to reach amount for free shipping twice). 

I also bought a new vacuum. This was on my list of household items. As much as I liked the stick vacuum at first, I ended up hating it. Our house gets a lot of dust so I vacuum daily. That stick vacuum doesn't have attachments, which I hated because I like to do a proper vacuum - floors, couch, baseboards etc. I used my Kohls gcs to pay for the vacuum, so only $0.30 OOP. However, I earned $2.03 through Rakuten and $5 Y2Y reward.

I'm now done shopping for a while. I'm over shopping and searching for deals. I really don't wanna spend anymore and we don't need anything (personal), except for a few more household items.  Now onto the numbers.

Grocery shopping (includes HBA and cleaning products) : $363.18

Clothing OOP : $197.82 earned $3.14 Rakuten

Vacuum : OOP $0.30 Earned $2.03 Rakuten

Gifts : $89.17 Earned $2.23 Rakuten

MONEY EARNED

Earned $25 GC. 

Earnings are always slow at the beginning of the year. I also found a $25 Kohls gc, when I cleaned out  my mail trays in my office.

Ibotta : I didn't cash out for any gcs this month

Personal items (things we've had listed for the past 2 years) : $42.89

2021 Closet cleanout : $15.42

Big goal : $136.24

Drugstore items : $26.21

Total earnings (excluding gc) : $220.76

I pulled & listed 35 items (already sold one) from my closet and 3 from DS's. I was on a roll...lol. Once I set my mind to something, I go all in. I still have a few more items I want to pull, but there's no rush. I'm already more than halfway to my listing goal, so I figure I can just do whatever I can find every month.

Big goal

I might have mentioned this before. I have a huge goal in mind, so I have to earn and save a bundle. Last year I decided to turn some of my earned gcs into cash. I would redeem for $25 Walmart, take $25 from the grocery budget, then use the gc for Sams purchases. Then I used the $25 at the thrift store to buy items to resell (not for business). Then Covid hit, thrift stores closed and yard sales were few & far between. Not to mention, gc earnings were down. I did  a bit more shopping once our state opened up again. I managed to buy and list around 50 items for the year. Some of which have and are now selling. So I'm back on that bandwagon again and going all in. Also, any rewards that I earn (Kohls cash, Y2Y, Rakuten, CC points, freebie coupons etc) will be used towards the big goal. 

I was gonna save my Rakuten for Christmas, but have changed my mind. Any money earned from personal & drugstore items will go towards Christmas, since we don't need any more clothing for the year. I might just stock up on some winter clearance for DS, but DH & I don't need anything. 

So that's my crazy January. I still need sports bras, but I haven't found anything suitable yet.