The "Don't Get Wedded to Your Meal Plan" Edition.....
Sluggy
Just an average Gal, older mom, trying to live a simple life & what happens along the way.
The "Don't Get Wedded to Your Meal Plan" Edition.....
Sluggy
* A reminder that I don't publish comments that are unsigned. If you comment without a Google account at least put your name on the comment. And if you are a troll then just don't come here because YOUR comments will most definitely NOT be publish. 8-)
Here is how we did with the December To-Do List--
* Pay Bills--DONE All bills got paid and on time.
* Send a few Xmas cards to family--DONE Between moving, organizing and such there wasn't a lot of time to get Xmas cards out before leaving for the cruise. We got out about 10 cards total so if you got a card from me, consider yourself lucky. lolz
* Clean and Organize stuff in House--PASS/IN PROGRESS With how much needs to be done here(and the fact that I'm about as useful as a one legged woman on a kickboxing match right now). Our initial timeline has been extended out until the end of 2023(or maybe halfway into 2024. It has been slow going, partly due to having to replace items and not wanting to spend all willy-nilly(trying to cash flow without having to draw from 401K or non-retirement investments). Things are still slow going as we figure out where to put stuff we have and what to do with some spaces.
* Buy Stuff for House--IN PROGRESS Just going through receipts I still have we've spent $3,418.35 on house purchases since November. That's everything from a washer and dryer, a desk, a night stand, book shelves and storage shelving, a bed frame, parts the fridge needed to piddling little stuff like tools and hardware and light bulbs. Again we are going to need to spend much more to get this place whipped into shape but we are proceeding slowly with expenditures.
* Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie--DONE Something I do at least once a month and since I haven't bought one Sunday paper down here(thus not getting paper coupons)there is not much in my envie anymore. 8-(
* Edit More Photos--IN PROGRESS Have been working on the photos from our house hunting and a couple of local adventures and the Girls Trip to FL. Then we went on a cruise and now I have even MORE photos to edit. GAH! It never ends........
* Post about Old Trips--FAIL Nope didn't post anything since we weren't online/here from most of the month and when we got back I was hurt so yeah, that didn't happen.
* Work on Genealogy--FAIL I put more genealogy stuff on the back burner for December.
* Drive to Texas--DONE Hubs drove us to that god forsaken city. Not a fan of Dallas roads(lack of signs on said roads)and crazy drivers(well, those are in every city).
* Fly to MD--DONE The flight to DC wasn't bad.
* Fly to FL--DONE We left DC 2 days later at the crack of dark 0'thirty.
* Celebrate Christmas--DONE Well due to circumstances not under our control Christmas was an odd duck this year. We all made the best of it though.
* Go on Cruise and have an amazing time--DONE Except for one disappointment in Panama with the cruise excursion folks and the people who ran the excursion in Panama we had a mah-velous time dah-ling!
Welcome to Frugal Friday! There are a few Frugal wins this past week......
* We hit Walmart on Monday and I timed it just right as an employee was pricing clearance items that had been pushed to the back of the household shelves and hidden for months. Aerosol cans of Febreeze(.99¢ for double packs), Airwick warmers with 1 refill($1.50 each), Airwick essential oil warmers with 1 refill($3.50)and Airwick double packs of refills(.75¢ each).
I used 2 different Airwick digital coupons totaling $7.25 on these 2 items plus I had an Ibotta rebate on the Essential Mist unit for $5.50, so I spent $10.22 on all the clearance air freshener items and I got back $12.75 in rebates/coupons, helping to put $2.53 toward paying for groceries. Nice.
* I found money!
I found a penny in the backseat of Daughter's car on my birthday.
After the Medical appointment I found a penny at the Walmart we picked up 5 things in.
Then we had lunch out at a Piccadilly Cafeteria and I found another some what grody penny in the dining area.
Total Found in last Week.... .04¢
Total Found this Year........15¢
* Staying home and going through tubs and packing boxes here. Still setting things up, deciding on what we need to purchase and putting things away.
We finish hauling in all the toiletries from the "Bubba" garage and going through things. Most of what we are keeping to use is put away in the Master Bath and this is my nice neat stack of tubs to sell. I feel so accomplished now!lolThat's about all I've got for this past week.
Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods? Let's hear all about them!
Sluggy
The "Happy Birthday to Me!" Edition.....
Sluggy
Welcome to Frugal Friday! There are a few Frugal wins this past week......
* After my appointment at the Wound Center we hit Super 1 Foods because they had cantaloupe for $1.99 and Roma tomatoes for .77¢ lb. also picked up shredded carrots, hearts of Romaine and 3 bags of frozen veggies. I checked the clearance meats while I was there..........
I found a marked down roast. 2.41 lbs. for $6.73 which is $2.79 a lb. I can't even get Ground Beef for that price!
* We hit Zaxby's for lunch after the medical appointment and shopping. I got the Asian Zalad and I paid for both of our meals with some of my WAM.
* I found money on Wednesday!
Out and about hitting 2 grocery stores and I found a nickel.
Total Found in last Week.... .05¢
Total Found this Year........11¢
* I had a JCPenney's gift card I used back in November to replace my Dutch oven. After the gift card the pot cost me under $5 in sales tax. I applied for a rebate and this $20 gift card finally came this week. Once my leg is better Hubs and I will venture there to spend it.
* Staying home and going through tubs and packing boxes here. Still setting things up, deciding on what we need to purchase and putting things away.
That's about all I've got for this past week.
Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods? Let's hear all about them!
Sluggy
So our agent(the daughter of the agents we went to see houses in Texas with), is licensed in Louisiana so we began an earnest house hunt around where my daughter lives in LA.
We calculated that without having the funds from selling our house in PA, we had about $200K in liquid savings to put toward a house down in Louisiana. That amount would include any closing costs, etc. and we would NOT buy something that meant we needed a mortgage.(Haven't had one of those since the mid 2000's when we paid off that house in PA.)
So our agent took us around to houses on the market that met our general requirements. They were all over the map in terms of size, condition of house, land size and price. Plus this was mid September in Louisiana and only two of the houses were currently occupied so two houses meant we were sweating out asses off! 8-)
The first house we saw was out in the country in a town called Benton, a 35 min. drive from out daughter's house. Nice area but in the middle of nowhere. It was a manufactured home, older(20 years?)but had been maintained well. They had a strange shed next to it and the carport they were disassembling and taking with them when they moved. The house sat on 2 acres but it was situated at a strange angle on the land. Part of the land was across a creek too with no access to it other than jumping there or building a small bridge(which we would have had to do). The house was 1,800 sq, ft,, 23 years old and they had priced it at $185K. Other than the land strangeness and no garage it was acceptable until....until we were walking around the property and we heard someone playing a drum set rather loudly in the middle of a work day. Hubs didn't notice it at first(he's one of those folks who don't notice stuff sometimes. lol)until I brought it to his attention. So we told the agent we'd keep it on the list as a possibility for now but we wanted to see other properties.
* Later the agent let us know that the drummer was a neighbor young adult who was in a local band that played gigs and practiced in his parents barn or pole building near the house we were considering, according to the homeowner of the house we had been looking at. That fact put a big NO on this house since we like the quietness of the area but having that sort of noise(pretty loud since it was at least 2 acres away)on a regular basis was a deal killer. It looks like it sold 28 Nov.
The next property was in the same little town, 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths manufactured home, 1,760 sq. ft. and 16 years old, on 1.6 acres for an asking price of $199,900. It was vacant and supposedly had been updated(new vinyl plank flooring, carpeting, new kitchen counters and paint throughout. The layout was weird, the counters(which were formica not an upgrade)and stove in the kitchen seemed higher than normal(not good for a short person lol). It also had a wood burning fireplace which strikes me as strange this far South. The best thing about this house was the 1,200 sq. ft. shop/garage that was included. It had a high ceiling with 2 10 ft. rollup bay doors and electricity. Obviously someone had run a repair shop out of it or such.
I found this penny in the shop/garage but this wasn't the house for us. I think the shop was nicer than the house. :-) This house sold Dec. 30th and from the photos still on the listing it looks like they did a bit more work to it. https://www.zillow.com/homes/220-Cypress-Lake-Cir-Benton,-LA-71006_rb/109807057_zpid/?mmlb=g,29
I hope they carted off the burn pile outside the back door too that was there when we saw it. We've found out that many homes here for sale have these piles of debris on the properties where folks burn their trash(and sometimes try to burn things you can't like plastic!lol)when they are not in the city proper and don't have city garbage pick-up service.
The last house we saw that day was a possibility but with issues. It was a MCM home(stick built in 1955). It was a lot closer to daughter's house plus near shopping north of town. Sq. Footage of 2,132 but on not quite .50 of an acre. The house was a dream! with all the mid-century modern charm and was well maintained. It had 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths a large backyard flagstone patio/veranda that the house wrapped around and lots of windows. A small living room and a large den which you could have done a lot with. The asking price was $185K. I fell in love with this one except for the lack of property. You could reach out and touch the house next door in the backyard. It was in an older subdivision. The backyard slopped downward and had 2 sheds on it and a few very tall dead trees at the back of the property. It would have cost a lot to have those trees taken down. This is tornado country and those trees were a hazard waiting to happen. I was so torn on this one. It was on the market because the husband was stationed at the local Air Force base and was being transferred out of the area so they were looking for a quick sale.
Here is the listing for when those owners had bought this house with photos.......
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/767-Livingston-Ave-Shreveport-LA-71107/51381697_zpid/?
This house was definitely on the list even without the land we wanted.
The last house we saw that day was nearby, another stick built one from 1990. It was 1,663 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms//2 baths on over 1 acre. The listing said it had a new roof and new water heater, both in the last 2 years and the home needed updating and had appraised $50K higher than the asking price of $195K.
As we approached the house I noticed it sat in a depression(a low spot)on the land. There was a house near the driveway on the right of the house so the house wasn't anywhere near the middle of the lot. The large front yard slopped down from the road and the house was vacant. There was at least one pecan tree on the lot as I saw this walking up to the front door.....
The "I Know You're in There!" Edition.....
Sluggy
Frugal wins are few and far between lately......
* I left the house for the 3rd time this year on Wednesday when we went to the wound care specialist. They had a machine that basically power washed my wound. I told them we could have just seet me on the hood of our car and run me through the car wash down the street for a lot less money! lol Nothing about that medical appointment was frugal but I did get good care and you can't put a price on health.
* At Walmart after the medical appointment I picked up 1 roll of Xmas wrapping paper at 90% off. Being housebound I've missed out on all the after Xmas sales. I gave away all my Xmas supplies before we left PA except for my container of gift tags nd some Xmas cards so I needed the paper for .49¢. 8-)
* The only take-out this week was on Wednesday. We celebrated my ambulatory state by going to a Chinese restaurant near Walmart for lunch. A worthwhile expense.
* I found money on Wednesday!
Since we were out and needed to pick up Rxs and I had the all clear to do some walking we went to Walmart. We were checking out next to a couple who stank of weed. I heard them drop some change(I have bat hearing when it comes to coins. lol)and after they left I figured they were too high to care about picking up the change they dropped so when we were finished at our self-checkout register I snagged some coinage!
Hubs picked another penny on the other side of their register(which I pointed out to him)but he won't give it to me so I can only count the 2 coins I picked up. 8-(
Total Found in last Week.... .06¢
Total Found this Year........06¢
That's about all I've got for this past week.
Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods? Let's hear all about them!
Sluggy
Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.
I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out. 8-)Sluggy
The "Doing Some Stocking Up by Proxy" Edition.....
Sluggy
Here is the evil stool(or a close cousin of it from online)that attacked my shin.........
It's hard plastic and the corner is what sliced me open.
And no before anyone insinuates it, I am not too heavy to use it(I weigh far less than what it is rated for and it did not collapse in teh accident and now is in better shape than I am.lol)and I can't help being vertically challenged and having the need to use a stool.
Avoid them at all costs.
Dolphins too, avoid close contact with dolphins! But that's a story for another day.
Sluggy
Frugal wins are few and far between lately......
My leg looking much better!* I got my stitches out on Tuesday. That's the only time I've left the house since New Years Eve when we went to daughter's house. Stitches came out and steri-strips went on and she pressed a bunch of blood blisters and cleaned it up real good. I am still on restriction walking around much and another course of antibiotics as well as two different ointments, one of which is a medical grade honey to seal the wound and keep the area free of possible infection. My leg is taking it's sweet time to heal and the doc wants me to see a Wound Care Specialist but they never contacted me so I know what I'll be doing next week. 8-(
* We've had some take-out since I am not up to cooking/standing most days. That's an expense I don't like and an incentive for me to get better soon. Hubs tries to cook but it's not his "thing". We are getting by with simple meals and me sending him to the grocery store for provisions.
* Hubs goes on Medicare in a few months time when he turns 65. He talked with one of those folks his old job hired to help people run the obstacle course of which plans to pick. When all is said and done after he goes on Medicare our healthcare premiums will go down by about $800 a month. I'll take that as a win. 8-)))
* I found NO money this past week! I didn't go anywhere this past week so..... My change finding is off to a roaring stop in 2023. If anyone wants to send me their loose change I won't object. hehehe
Total Found in last Week.... .00¢
Total Found This Year.....00¢
* Not going anywhere means I can't spend money so that's a win! 8-)
That's about all I've got for this past week.
Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods? Let's hear all about them!
Sluggy
Onward to December's Food Spending report......
The "Here's Hoping for a Great New Year in 2023!" Edition.....
Sluggy