The Great Road Trip of 2017......Part Thirty One/Day Twenty Two

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

We headed out from the hotel in Wisconsin bright and early, only stopping for gas.

I saw these bags of rock salt at the gas station.  Funny how it's out in early August?

Went into the convenience store and found a couple more of those weird Snickers bars......

Then we passed "The Cheese Hut"(in Wisconsin of all places!lol).  Went in and they had fresh cheese curds(you haven't had a good cheese curd if it doesn't squeak when you bite it)and I picked up a nice aged cheddar too.

Me with my cheesy loot.

They also sold Gas, Beer and Sandwiches......

A sign on the highway for Baraboo.  Do you know that this city was the original Winter Headquarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus?  They now have a Circus Museum there and hold Circuses(is that a word?...it looks funny).

I always chuckle when I see the name of that Casino.  It reminds me of what happened in college when you drank too much. lol

"Drive Like A Boss".  Yeah, you tell em man!

And then we hit Illinois.  Not my favorite place by any means.  But it was then where my cousin(and then, fellow blogger)Sonya Ann lived so we made a stop to see her, on purpose, even though it meant staying in Illinois. ;-)

We got to her house and found she was nursing a baby squirrel(like feeding it with an eye dropper, etc.) that either fell out of a tree and/or was abandoned by it's mother.  I don't recall now.

That night we just chilled with Sonya Ann and her then hubby(aka The Asshole).

The next morning Sonya and I drove to the local Goodwill to do some shopping/browsing.

Saw these auto dealer workers along the way, on strike. 

I could have gotten a great deal on this recording of the music from a Waltz and Polka Mass.

Oh well.....

A card game called "Senior Moments".  Hmm.

Another game called "Men are Pigs".  The cover art on the box was disturbing.

A mug with a purple "Leave Me A Loan" monster on it from a local credit union.

I should have scooped up these rainbow string lights but didn't as there was nowhere to test them.

Saw Cousin George in the Goodwill.  Hey George!

Saw this very bad parking job on the way out of the store.  I think they got two tires in the actual parking spot. lolz  I see people here in Louisiana park in the crosshatching ALL THE TIME.  Not only are they possibly physically handicapped but mentally as well. ;-)

An actual photo of one of Sonya's cats, Harry.  He was a sweetie but usually hid when we were there so this is a rare picture of him.

Sonya gave me some homemade jams.  Yum.

When "The Asshole" got home from work we all went over the border to Wisconsin for dinner at a retro-type diner.

Sonya next to "The Asshole".  I cut him out of the photo. ;-)

Lots of memorabilia on the walls.  And check out this cool 1950's/1960's boomerang tabletop on all the tables.

The plates of food were ginormous!  I think I had a garden salad, liver(sorry Anne!)with onions, mashed taters and some steamed veggies.  Hubs had a meatloaf special which was more gravy than anything else. lol

I forced Sonya to have her picture taken.  We have both lost weight since this photo. 8-)

The next day we took a field trip to Woodman's, a big ass grocery store with an almost as big liquor store.  Hubs walking toward his Valhalla. lolz

Funny name for a Rye Whiskey....Yippee Ki-Yay.  And look, what a deal!  Buy TWELVE bottles and it will only cost you $56.40 per bottle.  Yikes!

Some beer or liquor have funny names......."Drunken Sailor" an Irish Whisky.  What do you do with a drunken sailor?

Then there's a Japanese Whisky from the House of Suntory.

This makes me laugh and think of the scene from "Lost in Translation" when the Bill Murray plays a has-been actor character who is hired in Japan to shoot a commercial for Suntory.....

                                

Hellboy Hell Water??  Man that looks scary!

How about some "Punk Ass Cat" IPA beer?

Or let's get "Scurvy"?  Umm, no thanks.....

Wicked Bad Ass beer.  What's with all the bad ass alcohol??

                                     

Weekend @ Louie's beer. lol

Justin Blabaer liquor??

WTF.

"The Asshole" had to go to the ER for some reason(he tried to lance a boil in his throat or something)so Hubs and I were on our own for dinner so we went to Culver's.

I got a "concrete" and a salad.  After dinner we went back to their house and chilled until they got back from the ER.

The next evening we met Asshole's parents at Portillo's for dinner.  I don't get why they all rave about this place but it's ok.

I'm always happy to spend time with Sonya but this was an awkward visit due to personal issues.  But if I am near where she is I'm glad to see her.  I wish she lived nearer.

FYI-that baby squirrel didn't make it. 8-(

The next morning we headed out to another destination.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table.....the April 8th Edition

The "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Meal Plan" Edition.....

I've been to Iowa(and Indiana)and this is just a bit of an exaggeration when it comes to a pork tenderloin sandwich.

Dang, you could feed a family of 6 on that thing!  lolz

This is day 302 of the new "way of eating".  Down 59 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 67 lbs.).  

Won't be loosing any weight in the coming weeks but hope to maintain.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

1. Sunday--Roast Turkey w/Gravy, Stuffing, Asparagus, Deviled Eggs, Grilled Pineapple

2. Monday--Salad or Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Wild Rice Soup w/Mushrooms and Asparagus, Garlic Bread

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Whatever needs using up

7. Saturday--No Clue

And here's what actually happened......

1. Sunday--Roast Turkey w/Gravy, Stuffing, Asparagus, Deviled Eggs, Grilled Pineapple

2. Monday--Salad or Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Steak, leftover Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--More Leftovers

7. Saturday--Leftover Steak, Asparagus, Sweet Potato

What got taken out of the freezer last week...

*  1 Turkey

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  1 pack of Burritos(hub's)

Last week we spent $370.66 on grocery shopping for April. (Don't be hating, there were some super good deals last week!)

Total shopping comes to 370.66 for April.   

There are 22 shopping days left in April.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $147.58 on Ibotta in April.

I've earned $20.50 on Shopmium in April.

I've earned $32.50 on Alexa app in April.

I've earned $8.50 on Kroger Cash Back in April.

I've earned $33.43 on TaDa in April.

I've earned $1.50 on Checkout51 in April.

I've earned $5.00 on Aisle, etc.

I've earned 23,382 points on Fetch from food shopping in April.

I've earned 7,336 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in April.($29.34)

I've earned 2,641 Points on My Points in April.($16.63)

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in April.

That is $262.48 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch)on $370.66 of grocery spending so in reality it's $108.18 in food spending after the rebate apps I count.  Some of what I spent was for Food Bank donations(I didn't start separating those items spent on from our personal use items yet.)

My savings percentage for the last week was 38.06% and the monthly savings total for April comes in at 38.06% spent so far. 

Leftovers going into this week...not a blessed thing.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Twisted Root Burger

2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--No Clue

4. Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6. Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

No Clue this week except to say I'll be having many Coke Zeros, drinks with tiny umbrellas in them, bourbon and good, dark beer(hopefully).

As for meals, it's anybody's guess. ;-)

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy     

Income & Spending......the March Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals, personal savings 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.

We went into retirement in June of 2017 with no debt, no mortgage, nor a car payment.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the March report--

I had 2 goals for March....

The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.

The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fund may be applied toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2024. 

*  I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones.

 

I'm happy to report that we finished up March in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of March with?....$3,069.80

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in March---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $983.98

*  Stock Dividend of $19.95

Total "Income" for March....$7,441.29

Expenses in March---

*  Irregular bills in March were $1,279.32

*  Variable Expenses in March came to $4,263.74

*  Medical Premiums in March were $698.02

Total Expenses....$4,371.49

$7,441.29-$4,371.49=$3069.80

Slush Fund coming into March of $52,235.59 and the addition of $3,069.80 in March, our end of March 2024 Slush fund comes to $55,305.39

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $3,069.80

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this March here are the good and the bad side of things.....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill, the cell phone bill and WAM were all the same as in February.

*  The electric bill went down in March by $149.03

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $1,092.77 lower than last month.

*  My Amazon c/c bill was $0.

*  The Mastercard was $210.65 lower than in February.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $238.88 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  We had 3 irregular bills in March--

*  The Kohl's c/c was $127.64(a one off).

*  The quarterly Long Term Care premiums of $784.55 were due.

*  Chester had a vet visit for $188.87.

The Food Budget costs for March are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payments(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS for MARCH 2024---This month turned out a bit better than expected, even with the high grocery spending.  Didn't go anywhere but doctors and grocery stores and didn't do anything that cost additional money.

THOUGHS GOING FORWARD INTO APRIL 2024--Well, we have to pay a couple thousand dollars of Federal Income Taxes this month. ick.  I'd rather do that than give the government an interest free loan of our money for a year though. ;-)

But on the other hand we have the quarterly 401K withdrawal this month which more than balances the taxes out.(State taxes are due in May, but even with that we are good.)  Food & toiletry spending will be much less this month.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your March financially?

Did you spend less than the income you had in March?

Did you stay within your budget or not?

What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?

Did you pay down/off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?

Or did you blow all your excess monies after bills were paid on a "want"?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

Sluggy

Cajuns in the Louisiana Swamps

 Here's another Peter Santenello Video from Louisiana, among the Cajun people.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the April 5th Edition Happy Birthday Hubs!!!

There are very few Frugal wins this week but here goes....

* I already posted about the rebating I did earlier this week but I did some more rebating on Thursday.........

Walmart Haul

4 x Fabuloso

3 x Palmolive

2 x Werther's Caramel Popcorn

1 x Swiffer Duster Kit

1 x Hellman's Mayo

1 x The Good Bean RTE

1 x Dove Deodorant

1 x 12 ct. Cesar dog food

4 x Mateo taco seasoning

1 x Gum dental picks

8 x Clorox Wipes

1 x Gillette razor 1 ct.

1 x pack of Burritos *not pictured*

Total after using a free $25 Gift Card and 1 x $3 Q=$57.28

Kroger Haul

4 x Annie's Mac Cheese clearance=$4.28

2 x Gatorlyte Hydration packets clearance=$7.52

1 x Bachan's Japanese bbq sauce=$8.99

2 x Gatorade Zero tablets clearance=$6.12

3 x Propel Zero tablets clearance=$9.18

4 x Verb Caffeinated bars=$3.75

3 x Cover Girl eyebrow pencils=$6.47

1 x One Touch test strips clearance=$15.48

Total=$61.79

Total Spent for all=$119.07

All Rebates gotten or pending(Alexa, KCB)=$125.75

If all the rebates come through this all is a $6.68 Moneymaker. 8-)

*  I also found some dog treats on clearance........

3 x Dentalife treats on clearance $4.00 each

1 x Ginormous Beggin' Strips on clearance $10.50

Nice.

I also found a 30ct. Claritin in the clearance bin at Kroger for $8.50.  This is regularly $19.99 so I picked it up even though I had no coupons or rebates on it.  Allergy meds for less than half price?  Yes, please!

*  I waited until we had a full load for the dishwasher and the washing machine.  I hung out a few larger items(comforter, sheets, etc.)instead of putting them through the dryer.

*  I had purchased an 8 oz. bag of what I thought was Cashews at Kroger a few weeks ago(they were in the clearance bin).  When I opened them more than half the bag contained Almonds(turns out, though it was labeled "Cashew Crave Mix" the primary ingredient was Almonds, not Cashews).  Now I like Almonds but really, I thought this marketing/labeling was a tad deceptive.  So I found the company's email and told them I wasn't happy with this product, etc.(In a nice tone mind you.)  I got a response quickly and the CS person offered to send me any product they make for free because of my dissatisfaction with what I bought.  So I went on their website and found something else to try and they are sending it to me. The company is family run and located in Texas outside of San Antonio.  I'll let y'all know all about them once the new product arrives and I've tried it.  Hopefully I'll be a fan then.

*  I had some Rxs filled and since I am in the Medicare Part D "Catastrophic Phase"(don't ask if you aren't on Medicare lol)ALL my drugs are free and have been since early March.

(Let's not talk about how much the premium for my Part D is each month.) ;-)

*  We've been eating down the Easter dinner leftovers(plus a few other things).  Need to clear out the fridge before the cruise, so I haven't been buying any fresh produce this past week or any real groceries(maybe some rebating freebie here and there but it's either frozen or shelf stable).

*  The only eating out this week was yesterday to Observe Hubs Birthday.  We opted to do lunch on a Thursday instead of dinner on a Friday(tonight)to avoid all the weekend dining out folks.  While I didn't have any discounts or coupons to use for this Hubs enjoyed himself and I didn't even bitch that he had a beer at the restaurant(when he has plenty of beer at home). lol

A neon sign in Logan's.  I am so tired of "GO" being spelled in the French "GEAUX" everywhere down here. lolz  But the sign combining Geaux and Dos Equis beer was clever. ;-)

*  Oh, I lied.  We did get Whoppers on Whopper Wednesday at BK.  I had enough "crowns"(points)on my account to get a free Whopper and since it was WWed. there was a special of $3 for any Whopper so I used almost all of an old gift card to get Hubs one too.  Nothing spend OOP.

*  I bought Hubs 2 items at Dollar General last Saturday for his birthday(plus the greeting card)and used a $5 off $25 purchase digital Q(I bought some other things too that we needed to get to that $25.  I also purchased him 6 bottles of a wine he likes at Kroger.  The wine was on sale and if you buy at least 6 bottles you get an additional 10% off your purchase.  That's a win-win in my book! 8-)))

I also gave Hubs this Butler's Irish Whiskey Dark Chocolate bar I bought in Ireland last May.  I was hoarding saving it for myself but he is a Whiskey loving guy so I let it go.

His last gift arrived late in the day..........

*  I found money!

I went to our Bougie Dollar General on Saturday to pick up a few things.  I found 4 pennies in the parking lot behind my car.  Then I found another penny in the store on the floor.

I found a penny in the pocket of my coat on Sunday.

I was in our local Walmart on Monday.  I found two pennies in the course of walking around the store.

Then I found a penny by the clearance rack in Kroger.  Score! 8-)

Then I found another penny walking out of a different Kroger on Thursday.

Lately I've been finding pennies everywhere I go.  I think it's a sign from my mom....or people around here just not valuing pennies.  If that's the case, it's really says something about our society.....

Total Found in last Week.... .10¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$2.79

That's all I got.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy