What's Been Happening Around Here Lately

I had an appointment with our dr. on the 14th of April to get a neurology consult and to let her know what is going on with my possible knee replacement plus she wanted fasting blood work done.  So Hubs and I show up and the office staff was pretty nonchalant about telling us they had canceled our appointments. Huh?
Plus they never texted us beforehand about the cancellation.  Hubs was madder at the office person than a wet hen and we stormed off(well Hubs stormed out and I hobbled behind him).  We come to find out later that our dr. had Covid.   I'll just say that this medical clinic office staff is a freaking disaster(the doctors there are independent from the clinic)so even though I like my dr. I may be forced to find a new healthcare provider.  I NEED a neurologist consult a year ago(took 6 months in PA to get an appt. with one there but we moved 2 months before it was to happen)so I am still waiting for testing and a diagnosis about what I have.  It could just be Essential Tremors(which are quite common)but since we have neurological issues on my paternal side(father had MS, my cousin(my father's sister's daughter)died from ALS 2 years ago in June I really am afraid of what they may uncover and I want to know yesterday what is going on. sigh
I'm also late for mammo, pap, sleep medicine appts. and need those done.

So on Wednesday Hubs gets a letter from said clinic to confirm his appointment for May XX-which HE NEVER MADE!  So I texted our NP to ask WTF is going on??  She was on her way back from her clinic day in another town and we talked a long time about this clinic.  Hubs got on the line and told her he is going to find a new heath care provider because he can't stand their incompetence anymore(even though we both love our NP)and he was very few issues so moving to a new dr. isn't a big deal for him.
Then my NP and I discussed moving ahead with my health care needs.  I'll be taking Hubs supposed May XX appointment(after double checking this coming week in person at the clinic that it's an actual appt.)   Getting health care down here has been just short of a nightmare!

After Hubs cooled off we headed up to CVS for Covid booster shots I had booked.  My last booster was September the week before we headed down here but it was right before they had Omicron protection and Omicron is the big threat now in Europe and as we will be in London and then doing excursions all over the UK on the cruise I thought it best to get a current booster especially with my suppressed immune system.

While sitting in the shot area in that CVS I saw something shoved behind their machine where you can check your blood pressure.  I used my cane to dig it out.......

It was 2 cans of chicken noodle soup.
WTF?

After we got our shots we went down to the place we get catfish dinners and ate an early dinner.  After we got back in the car to come home I got this text on my phone........"CVS vaccine: Due to unforseen circumstance we've had to cancel your appointments  We apologize and encourage you to reschedule(then a link to do such).  1.5 hours AFTER we got our shots. lol  Does anything work correctly anymore??

Last trip to Walmart we wheeled by this end cap display and I about had a full blown PTSD episode....

Folding hard plastic step stools.  Barely a month past my 3 month wound care ordeal. *shudder*

If you don't live somewhere there is a high water table then this will be something different that you've not seen........

a lump of mud in your yard.  Usually crayfish live in brooks and streams but down here when you have a yard that resembles a bayou(that's Louisiana speak for a swamp)like this.........

You find mudbugs(Louisiana speak for crayfish or crawfish)take up residence in your yard.  Heck there is a house we pass when leaving to get out to the major highway and for the last 4 months it's been basically a trailer sitting in a pond.  Now their yard where the pond use to be is filled with mudbug burrows/holes.  The guy who lives there cut his grass and now the towers are shorter but still there.

They even hold a major festival "Mudbug Madness" here and the minor league hockey team is called the Mudbugs.

We will miss the Festival this year however.  Nothing nastier than sitting by a trashcan filled with mudbug shells and leavings on a hot day. lol

I have been plagued by skin tags since a young age.  I paid to have a dermatalogist freeze them off once back in PA.  Then I found the "tie a thread around the base and choke off the blood supply method" and used that.

I have since getting here found that you can put tea tree oil on them and they fall off in a day or two.  I should have put this in my Fugal Friday post since I had a bottle(gotten for free at Rite-Aid!)so I used it.

We were behind this pick-up truck in late March.........

The name of the person(which I removed mostly)is the same name as my oldest son's father in-law.  I sent son this picture and said it made me think of his father in-law(it's funny as hell if you know him as he is so the opposite of this saying and this vehicle).

Dumbasses strike again!  I noticed as I posted on FF that the "change the  air filter" light in our fridge was on.  As part of tracking down the replacement filter I opened up both fridge and freeer compartments to find any parts number on it and found this.....

An accordion pleated charcoal impregnated filter.  After a bit more research these filters come in a paperboard/thin cardboard holder with a perforated opening you remove to expose the filter.  One is suppose to slide the holder with the FILTER STILL INSIDE into the compartment to change the air filter.  This house is only 5 years old and the original owners only lived here max of 2 yearrs before moving and renting it out for the last 3 years they owned it so I know it was changed at least once(and probably only once, probably when the owners lived here)because it would have come with the fridge/freezer in the holder.

There's a store here called Southeastern Salvage so we decided to check it out as mentioned  in a previous post for things like lights, ceiling fans, etc.  You know replacements for non-functioning or missing parts in this house.  They also carry an oddball assortment of "art".  Here are things I found instersting, weird and/or funny..........

Doesn't everyone want a giant purple gator picture in their living room??

 

Younger son had a fascination and love of all things VW when he was little.  I think the VW bus bar with the VW painting hanging over it would make a statement in his house!

I was amazed(or was it amused)to see this wall art of Virginia.  They also had 2 marble chacuterie boards there-one in the shape of Texas and the other in the shape of Virginia.  VA is nowhere near Lousisiana!lol

Of course I had to get a photo of this sign.......dark beer is the only beer worth drinking if you want a beer IMHO..........

This reminded me of the portrait of Bill Murray at "The Southern General"  restaurant on St. Johns Island, SC.  

   Here's my shot of that painting with Hubs trying to replicate the pose. lol

                                                       

Some cool deep sea diving helmets.........

Me playing the Wicked Witch of the West with the hourglass.............

Nah, I think Margaret Hamilton did it better..........but maybe if I had the green body paint?

An interesting Steam Punky looking wine cabinet.

And to end this too long nonsense post here is the trailer from a movie I'd like to see once it's released in June.....

I love me some Dame Maggie Smith. 8-)

Sluggy

Income & Spending 2022....the December Edition

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-)

On to the December report---

I had 2 goals for December.......
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 fun may be to apply 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 2022.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up December in the red.

The amount we ended the month of December with?...-$1,962.08

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3570.00
*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $124.38

*  Stock Dividend of $19.11

*  Pa House insurance refund $438.86

*  Rakuten rebate of $14.28

*  Hospital in PA refund of .27¢ lol

Total "Income" for December....$7,402.71

Expenses in December---
* Irregular bills in December were $2,044.03

* Variable Expenses in December came to $5,094.63

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$9,364.79

$7,402.71-$9,364.79=-$1,962.08

Slush into December of $61,518.29 in that Fund, subtract December's shortfall of $1,962.08 and we get $59,556.21 into January's 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $1,962.08

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.

*  The Mastercard was $6,362.35 lower than in November(all moving expenses are now paid for).

*  My Amazon c/c was $389.94 lower than las month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $223.84 lower than in November.

*  We received a quarterly stock dividend check of $19.11

*  We got a check for $438.86 which was for our PA house insurance balance.

*  I received a Rakuten check for $14.28 for rebates on online purchases for the new house.

*  I got a .27¢ refund for overpayment on a medical bill in 2022. rah

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill at the new house was $174.23 higher than in November.  November's bill was only a partial month one plus LA had some unusually cold days/nights in December so our daughter came over and jacked up the heat while we were away so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

*  We took an extra $200 in WAM in December due to the trip/cruise.

*  We had irregular bills due in December too--

  *  The Long Term Care premiums were due.

  *  6 months of car insurance was paid in December

  *  The last water and electric bills for the house in PA were due last month.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on December 2022---Not an awful month for bills but not great since we spent more than we brought in.  The fix this house/replace furniture bills continue.  While the utilities here are comparable to PA, the house and car insurance are egregiously high!  I had no idea how high they'd be.  Well having a manufactured home in the South, home insurance is understandably higher since this area is more prone to weather issues than PA(other than Winter storm related there)but car insurance?  This area is far less crowded with highways/vehicles than where we left in PA.  Does this say something about the quality of drivers here or what?  Hmmm

THOUGHTS going forward into January 2023--

Well, who the heck knows what 2023 will bring at this point?!?

Our Annuity is taking a monthly hit until April since the private health insurance premium rose again.  Once Hubs goes on Medicare our premium goes down abut $800 per month(until I hit 65 next January).

Also our Annuity is front loaded so once Hubs hits 65 that goes down too.  go us.

The bad news is once he hits Medicare my dental coverage goes away from his employer.  Great.  I can't wait to see how much my drugs will be once I hit Mediare. *sluggy rolls her eyes*

Our Social Security payments go up a little bit in January due to the inflation index but it's not like that will cover all the extra spending anyone needs to do on everyday necessities.

Plus we have yet to get our Louisiana Property tax bill for 2022 since we bought so late in the year.  It has to be an improvement over what we were paying in PA, where we got NO services but still paid through the nose.  We get NO services here but at least we(hopefully)won't be paying for that whole lot of nothing. ;-)

We do have a quarterly 401K withdrawal hitting the account later in January which will help a lot so there is our bright spot for January.

Financially I am so not looking forward to seeing how all these changes to our bottom line play out in 2023.  Whatever it turns out to be we'll deal with it and move on.

So how was your December financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in December?
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 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 it 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   

This Was Too Good Not to Share

It would be hilarious if it wasn't so close to the truth.
I feel for all those Millennials out there in the coming years.....

 

Sluggy