February 2023 numbers

Hi everyone

It's been a busy day. We were expecting a winter storm mid afternoon, but schools weren't closed. I made a big pot of taco meat and refried beans before DS left for school. Then made burritos for dinner & the freezer. I also froze the leftover taco meat to be used for nachos or quesadillas. I just wanted to get things done in case DS came home early (which didn't happen). Thankfully, the snow started just before he got home. I was worried about the kids & bus drivers on the road, if the weather turned bad early. 

Groceries/HBA/Cleaning

CVS : $6.24

Wags : $149.56

RA : $12.05

Aldi : $40.77

Kroger : $40.13

Meijer : $65.85

Sams : $170.00

Walmart : $47.87

Produce market : $55.72

Total OOP : $588.19

Earnings 

$12.45 Ibotta 

$7.00 KC

Total earned : $19.45

My earned drugstore rewards are not included in this amount.I count them when I spend it. 

What was it I said about having a $250 grocery budget for the month? I feel like crying. Everything has gone up in price. Even Aldi has become pricey. I mainly buy bread & blueberries there. Look at how much that cost me. Crazy. 

Well, Wags totally broke the budget. I spent almost as much at Wags as I did at Sams. Sams is my 'go to' store, so this speaks volumes. I can't be mad at Wags. They had a lot of double & triple dip boosters (some were MMs). However, you have to spend OOP on those deals. That is what broke the bank for me. I now have almost $250 in rewards to use. My plan is to spend down those points and not worry about boosters too much this month. I can't keep bleeding money like this. Something's got to give. 

MONEY EARNED (SIDE HUSTLE)

GCs Earned $0

Personal items (things we've had listed for the past 2 years) : $108.49

Drugstore items sold : $62.56

Total earnings : $171.05

Those drugstore sales helped offset my high Wags OOP for the month. Let's hope the drugstore sales continue to be good/decent.

YTD Earnings 

GCs (point earning sites) : $10

Ibotta : $53.49

Personal items : $226.49

Drugstore items : $62.56

Total Earnings (excl Ibotta) : $299.05

YTD EXPENSES (Clothing/shoes/accessories, Christmas gifts)

OOP : $58.36

Christmas gifts : $0

Gift cards : $100.00 

Total OOP $158.36

The OOP is for the huge Kohls sale. I used the $100 gcs (purchased last month) and paid the $58 OOP. Those items have been listed for sale. I'm not adding DS's items since he now gets SS. 

I bought the Macy's gc at RA and earned $16 BC. Free money? Yes, please.

YTD OOP (clothing/shoes/accessories, Christmas gifts) : $412.24

YTD side hustle income (personal, drugstore) $276.36

YTD Balance ($135.88)

You will notice that I'm still in the hole. That's because the listed items first need to sell. I also still have some discounted gcs that I need to use to purchase more items for resale. 

Small bills savings

$1 Bills - 120.00+ 43 (Feb) = $163.00

$5 Bills - $240 + $30 (Feb) = $270.00

$10 Bills - $100 +20 (Feb) = $120.00

Total YTD savings : $553.00 

I'm getting close to my $1000 budget, because I still have the $200 Target gcs. That's at least some good news. 

I also received my $77 Rakuten check that I used to purchase another gc. More on that in another post. 

I really don't know what to budget for this month. I've already spent $180 at Sams for March. $51 was for DS yogurt (it cost $34-51 per month). Yes, it's pricey, but food is the one thing that I absolutely will not skimp on. I can cut corners on all other categories, but I refuse to do that with food. I'm picky about what goes into our bodies. My goal is to just come in under $500. Heck, I'd be happy to come in under $400, but let's be realistic here. At this point, $400 is a stretch. No expensive Wags trips. This is a tough one, but I can do it.

I really need to make a list of all my rewards and gcs, so I can use those to keep my March budget low. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm