Income & Spending....the May 2024 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 May report--

I had 2 goals for May....

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 May in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of May with?....$1,465.66

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in May---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,012.32

Total "Income" for April....$7,371.13

Expenses in May---

*  Irregular bills in May were $3,251.00

*  Variable Expenses in May came to $1,947.04

*  Medical Premiums in May were $707.43

Total Expenses....$5,905.47

$7,371.13-$5,905.47=$1,465.66

Slush Fund coming into May of $61,222.22 and the addition of $1,465.66 in May, our end of May 2024 Slush fund comes to $62,687.88

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,465.66.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill was the same as in April.

*  The WAM was $200 less than last month.(We took out $300 more for the cruise.)

*  The electric bill went down in May by $89.09

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $55.00 lower than last month.

*  The Mastercard was $1,517.03 less than in April.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $649.19 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  We had 2 irregular bills in May--

*  We paid the yearly car insurance bill of $1,805.00.  It went up quite a bit from last year. 8-(

*  We paid the State Taxes of $1,446.00.

*  My Amazon C/C was $313.87 higher than last month.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for May 2024---We stayed within our means for the month.  Even with two large irregular bills we came out ahead.  It was a month.

 GOING FORWARD INTO JUNE 2024--The only irregular bill due in June is the Long Term Care Premiums.  And of course, Hubs premium went up since he had a birthday since the last LTC bill. ugh  Not much going on here in June other than the usual and hoping that sensor in my car stays off and we don't have to have it replaced.  And the dogs aren't due for a grooming again until July.  And I'm trying to use up some freezer and pantry staples instead of buying more at the grocery store. hahaha  We should be under our means again for June unless something untoward happens.

Go.

Us.

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

So how was your May financially?

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

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

To-Do List....June Update

So another month done and dusted.  Let's see how the JUNE To-Do List turned out, shall we?

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything paid early or on time as always.

* Read 1, 2, 3 Books  FAIL  I went to VA with high hopes on getting lots of reading done.  What I did get done was lots of napping instead. lolz  I got halfway through a book at home but didn't take it with me.  I started another book on the way down at my son's place but promptly left it there so another book begun(barely)but not finished.  
Oh and I made two trips to Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)-one trip with son and another trip with brother and sis in-law, and besides a few pantry goods to bring home guess what I mostly bought at those two Ollie's?

If you guessed MORE BOOKS you'd be correct! ;-) That's my cart with the 5 or so I picked up in Va. Beach.
But!  I did get one book completely read in June.

"Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain Without Turning Into One" by Karen Duffy
If you are a wise-ass, have a sarcastic gene and especially if you are a fellow chronic pain sufferer, I implore you to find this book and read it!  The book is enlightening and uplifting and a reminder that you can thrive even if you are among the 1 in 3 Americans who suffers from some form of chronic pain.
I felt like she was speaking directly to me.  5 Thumbs Up!!!!!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

It took awhile to get in touch with the winner as she just had surgery and is enduring a tough recuperation period.
Please send out good thoughts out to Lisa B. if you would as she gets over this time.
I hope the package lifted her spirits a bit too. ;-)

* Mail Giveaway  DONE
Mailed and received quickly.

* 2 Doctor Appointments  DONE
Got a semi-annual check-up with one doc which went well and all blood work came back good.
Had a check-up and TB test with my dermo doc to see how the Humira was working or not.  She is recommending a Laser Excision Surgery on one spot of my HS that the Humira is not helping.  She gave me the paperwork/info on what that surgery will entail and I should be scheduled for surgery later this month.  Oh goody. 8-(

* Change out Clothing for Summer  DONE
I finally got around to changing the wardrobe for warm weather out before I left town.

* Pack for Trip  DONE
I sort of killed two birds with one stone by packing for the trip while changing out my clothes for Summer.  It was far easier since I was already reorganizing clothes in the closet.

* Sew Masks for Folks  DONE
Eldest had told me that VA had recently gone to face masks in public mode before I left home.  I had sent him a mask I made back in March(along with tp as he couldn't find any at his stores back then)so I spent some time a few days before leaving making more fabric masks-2 for Hubs, 1 more to bring to Eldest son and 3 masks for my Brother and Sis in-law as well as another mask for myself in a lighter colored fabric.  My  brother never leaves his property but my sis in-law is a realtor so she's been spending for disposable masks as she doesn't sew.  Having 2 so she can wash and change it out daily will help her and her wallet. ;-)
Some where along the way I lost the new mask I made for myself so I need to make another one soon. 8-(

* Deal with "Stuff" in VA  PASS
Well we've done some stuff and gotten the ball rolling but there are more hoops to jump through.  Decisions have been made and more are to come.  That's about all I can say for now on this.  We are waiting on some blocks to fall into place and the lawyer to return from vacation now so we are in "wait" mode for now.

* Visit my Son  DONE
I stopped for 2 days on the way down and 1 night on the way home.
He's leaving where he taught for the last 5 years and relocating to NJ so we had a lot to talk about.
Atlas, the cat was always nearby to comfort him. lolz

* Visit my Brother/Sister in-Law  DONE

Besides a quick trip to Ollie's my brother didn't go anywhere.  But we did get visits from the neighbors and their dogs while I was down there.  That's Harper and Truman and their humans visiting in the photo above.  We also got a visit from Petey on another day and his human.
Sis in-law and I, on the other hand, hit various Rite-Aids, Kroger, Aldi, Lidl, Cracker Barrel, Walmart and an Estate Sale while I was.  We bonded and laughed a lot.

* Plan Goals for 2020  PASS  Hubs and I have hashed out a few goals and made some decisions about our living arrangements going forward.  There is still a lot to do and it feels overwhelming at times so I'll be biting off a bit at a time for now.  Mostly, the Goal for 2020 is now to survive it! 8-)))

* Arrange for Painter  FAIL  This was on Hubs list of stuff to do while I was gone.  He got a list of painters at the hardware store then the store owner told him, "frankly, I wouldn't recommend any of these guys to paint inside your house". lolz  I am thinking once we contact a realtor about selling our house they might have better sources.  So this search for a painter is ongoing.

* Have Money Meeting w/Hubs  PASS  We had a half-assed financial meeting.  Half-assed as some financial things were up in the air and I was gone half of the month.  July's money meeting should be more productive but we did make a few money decisions in June so I am giving us a pass. ;-)


Did you have a To-Do List in June?
Tell us how you did with it.


Sluggy

Income & Spending Report 2019.....the November Edition

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

Two changes we implemented for 2019 at our financial meeting in Jan.--

* Hubs wants to take $150 per person WAM(aka Walking Around Money)in 2019.  I found last year's $100 per month adequate but Hubs chafed at that little so we are upping it this year to $150 per person per month.
                                                                                                                                         
*As for our 2018 Slush Fund, this is how we are going to handle it in 2019......
We won't be taking a quarterly 401K withdrawal in 2019 until we "need" to, instead of taking one each quarter as we had planned back in 2017 when Hubs retired.  Why pull 401K monies out when they are earning more than our other regular bank funds?  Use those instead for now!

Since the Slush Fund ended 2018 with $23,164.17 in it and the Sinking Fund ended 2018 with $468.37 in it, we are, for now at least, not taking any more 401K withdrawals and using what is in the Sinking Fund and/or Slush Fund to cover all irregular bills that come up in 2019 plus a few projects around the house.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" at the top of the blog.

  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 November report---

I had 2 goals for November.......
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 2019.

I can report that we finished up November in the black.
The amount we ended the month of November with?.....$1087.56

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $635.84
* Blogging Revenue of $133.73
Total "Income" for November.....$5916.91

Expenses in November---

* Healthcare Premium for November was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in November came to $2980.68
Total Expenses....$4829.95

$5916.91-$4829.35=$1087.56

Slush into November $17,496.43+ $1,087.56 addition=$18,583.99

Then the hot water heater died in November so we had to take $1076..00 out of the Slush Fund to pay for that.....
$18,583.99-$1076.00=$17,507.99 in the Slush Fund heading into December.

The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $11.56 for November.
That's how much overage in November we had after paying for the water heater, $11.56.
So basically November was a wash in terms of putting any money aside.  I am glad we didn't have to touch savings. ;-)

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $15.38 lower than in September.
*  The WAM was the same as in October.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as last month.
*  The Amazon and M/C bills were less than October's bills($41.64 and $79.99 less respectively)

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $74.83 higher than October.  It's that time of year folks. ;-)
*  The gas card bill was $23.88 higher than last month.
*  The water bill was $5.80 higher than in October.
*  The semi-annual car insurance was due to the tune of $717.28.**
*  There was a vet bill for Chester's neutering of $477.28

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located .  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

**The Sinking Fund was emptied in November of it's $468.37 to put toward the car insurance.  Using that we only had to use $248.95 of income to cover this irregular bill. 8-)

FINAL THOUGHTS on November----

It was pretty uneventful financially.  Except for paying for a broken water heat, the car insurance premium(which we knew was happening)and paying for Chester's surgery things were monetarily boring which is how I like it. ;-)


THOUGHTS going forward into December 2019----

The only irregular bill due in December are the Long Term Care premiums.
There is Xmas spending on the credit card coming up in December(amazingly Xmas comes every year!!), the electric bill will continue to rise with Winter here.
There will be some medical bills coming due as well in December for appointments in November.

On the bright side I'll be using my "small economies" cash to cover the food bill this month.
If we can have bills and income balance about even and not have to pull cash from the Slush Fund in December I'll be a very happy camper.

So how was your November financially?
  

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

The To-Do List.......October Update

Let's take a look at how the October To-Do List turned out.........

* Pay Bills  DONE  Always the top of the list, always my priority.

* Read 1,2 Books  PASS  I didn't get the 2nd book finished before October was over(and traveling got in the way of getting #2 finished)so I get a Pass.

I read this book..........

"Letters to America" by Tom Blair

An interesting and highly readable book.  Mr. Blair has written a collection of stories about everyday Americans, from the 1600's immigrants to Virginia, to the 1990's which was the actual authors life story.(None of the other stories are of real people, but anonymous ictitious  people who lived through certain times and struggles in our country's history.)
Some of the stories didn't seem fully fleshed out (the young girl who worked in a sewing factory at the turn of the 20th century and the Jewish youth with an Uncle named Mordecai)and some just went on and on and on(you can tell that Mr. Blair is an aircraft/aeronautics and WWII fan).
Could have been better but the good parts were excellent and worth the read.


* Purge Inserts and Q Envie  DONE  If I don't do this one it makes like difficult as far as shopping goes so I do it monthly.

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  Mailed and received

* Make Tomato Sauce for Freezer  DONE  Well I made the sauce but I didn't freeze it.  We used it up in October.

* House Train Puppy  IN PROGRESS  Still working on this one.  A bit of a setback due to Dixie going into heat.  Not fun.

* List Items on eBay  DONE  I got about 5 more items listed and 3 items sold n October.  Nothing to write home about but I'll take it.

* Put Garden to Bed  DONE  Hubs did this mostly while I was in Ocean City.

* Work on Christmas Gifts  IN PROGRESS  I got Kim, her Sissie's, my brother and sister in-law's gifts wrapped and packed up.  Everything was delivered to the recipients in October.  I've got the rest of the folks I buy for to wrap up but that can wait until after Thanksgiving.

* Pack for Oct. Trip  DONE  I packed it all up and filled my car.

* Go on Oct. Trip  DONE  

Craziness in OC

And warehouse stores in VA

* Have FUN!  DONE  Fun was had and merriment ensued............
It was a good month.

Onward and upward to November!


Sluggy

To-Do List....August Update

I know it's a bit late but here's our August To-Do List and how it all went down last month.....

* Pay Bills  DONE  First thing every month....pay ALL the bills in full.

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE
In August I read this book...........

"The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy" by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko.

Actually we found in when Hubs cleared out his bookshelves so I read this years ago already but I am counting it again anyway.
The data is dated in this edition now and it's not a how-to become wealthy anyway.  It just proves that if someone appears to be a millionaire(ie, big house, expensive car, fashionable clothing, etc.)it doesn't necessarily mean they are.  Most millionaire(not billionaires)can be ordinary working stiffs who live below their means, invest their money and grow it and not show off by living a fancy lifestyle.
It's an interesting read and the stuff about second generation wealth, EOC(Economic Outpatient Care), UAW vs. PAW, are spot on.
And then I read this book.........

"The Real Custer: Fron Boy General to Tragic Hero" by James S. Robbins

So many myths surround Custer but this book gives the true facts of his life an even handed treatment.  I wasn't a fan of Custer going into this tome and I'll say my opinion of him didn't change much.  In my opinion, between taking risks with his battalion at the Little Big Horn, his life long treatment/opinion of the Natives, and his playing politics, he got what he deserved.  The only career he was suited for was as a soldier but he thought he knew better than his superiors and chafed at the glacier slowness of the military structure and it's dependence on government's machinations.  If he hadn't had a widow who spent the rest of her life tirelessly  promoting and shaping Custer's legacy, George Armstrong Custer would have been forgotten long ago.
An interesting read no matter what your opinion of the man is.

* Purge Inserts and Q Envie  DONE  I try to do this every month.  As I get less Sunday inserts than in years gone by it's not as bad a chore as it was.

* Hold Giveaway DONE

* Hold 2nd Giveaway  DONE  I gave away two sets of these items.

* Mail Giveaway & 2nd Giveaways DONE

* Get Carpet Done in Hubs' Room  DONE

Gratefully Hubs found a carpet in stock that he liked so it wasn't long before they had it pulled and ready to install.

* Go Through Xmas Stash  DONE

This is the photo of my whole Xmas stockpile for 2019.  I've got a list of everything in these tubs/boxes and to whom the gifts are for.  Mostly my shopping is done.  I have also decided after this Xmas we are cutting down severely on gifting.  Going forward, as a rule, cash will be given to the adult kids and I'll still send my brother and his wife presents but that's it.  It will be easier that way(and cheaper too)and I won't have to shop for Xmas year round.

* Cut Dog's Hair  DONE
Chester got a hair cut and shampoo last month before his flea treatment(cologne).

* House Train Puppy  IN PROGRESS
We are still working on the house training with Dixie.  They said a Cavalier could take 4 months to fully potty train.  She's getting it but it's taking time mainly because she is such a ditz. lolz

* Move More $ Into a CD  FAIL
Just didn't do anything with any of the extra monies in the checking account. blah  Maybe in September?

* Continue to Clean out Garage  DONE

The shot down one side with a clear pathway after Daughter moved out and all her stuff left the garage........

And the front of the garage before the stockpile sale happened.  Look at all that floor space!!!

* Organize my Stuff  IN PROGRESS
Getting the last of my sewing stuff out of the master bedroom and into my she shed room.  I'll do a reveal when it's finished in September.

* Start Processing Tomatoes  IN PROGRESS  

I started in with processing tomatoes in August and this will continue into September.

* Get Ready for a Stockpile Sale in Sept.  IN PROGRESS

Here are all the tubs and bags of stuff to sell that I gathered in August.  As of this writing the sale is over, yeah!!! Stay tuned for September's update)or the September giveaway winner announcement) for the final tally of what sold.

I am overall pleased with the progress we've made getting stuff done in August.
Here's hoping September is equally productive.  

Did you get stuff off your To-Do List in August?
Tell us all about it!


Sluggy

Income & Spending Report.....the July Edition

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

Two changes we implemented for 2019 at our financial meeting in Jan.--

* Hubs wants to take $150 per person WAM(aka Walking Around Money)in 2019.  I found last year's $100 per month adequate but Hubs chafed at that little so we are upping it this year to $150 per person per month.
                                                                                                                                                 
*As for our 2018 Slush Fund, this is how we are going to handle it in 2019......
We won't be taking a quarterly 401K withdrawal in 2019 until we "need" to, instead of taking one each quarter as we had planned back in 2017 when Hubs retired.  Why pull 401K monies out when they are earning more than our other regular bank funds?  Use those instead for now!

Since the Slush Fund ended 2018 with $23,164.17 in it and the Sinking Fund ended 2018 with $468.37 in it, we are, for now at least, not taking any more 401K withdrawals and using what is in the Sinking Fund and/or Slush Fund to cover all irregular bills that come up in 2019 plus a few projects around the house.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018-2019" at the top of the blog.

  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 July report---

I had 2 goals for July......
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 2019.

I can report that we finished up July in the RED!
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....-$483.46

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1848.67
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $599.43
* Blog Revenue of $103.08
Total "Income" for July.....$5773.42

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,848.67(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in July came to $4408.21
Total Expenses....$6256.88

We also had an expense we planned to be paid out of the Slush Fund instead of regular "income" in July--the carpet and installation in the bedroom(aka the sewing room). That was one of the big expenses/improvements we are paying for in 2019.  This cost $555.09 out of the Slush Fund.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $16.92 lower than June.
*  The electric bill was $48.15 lower than last month(still no a/c used).
*  The WAM was the same as in June.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as last month.
*  The Chase c/c was $40.59 lower than June's bill.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $37.26 higher than last month(a/c turned on now).
*  The gas card bill was $54.52 more than in June.
*  The c/c bill was $2,573.49 higher than last month.
*  We had $43.79 in medical charges I paid out of income instead of HSA funds.
*  There were $79.39 in vet charges in July.

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

So we end July "income" in the red taking $483.46 out of the Slush Fund.
After subtracting the $555.09 for the carpeting as well, we had $1038.55 in charges beyond our income for July, which leave the July Slush Fund ending at $19,971.81 going into August.

The Sinking Fund goes into August 2019 standing at $468.37 since nothing was paid out of it in July.

FINAL THOUGHTS on July----

Lots of "out of the ordinary" expenses put on the credit card(over $2500 worth) and the carpet installation had us OOP over $3K extra and put us over budget in July.
Luckily we could tap the Slush Fund for that overage. ;-)


THOUGHTS going forward into August 2019----
We have one irregular bill due in August, the house insurance.  This bill actually went DOWN $71 from 2018's homeowner's insurance bill. *gasp* A yearly bill that goes down??  Where is Alan Funt and his Candid Camera? lolz

Electric will be higher due to more a/c usage.

The credit card bill will be another whopper.....$700 in car maintenance/repair(Hubs car), $134 in take-out and amusement park charges while eldest son and GF were here, and my $200 yearly Ancestry subscription renewed, along with all those grocery store purchases in July that will hit in August when the c/c is due. Oh and Hubs bought an expensive gun plus accessories that go along with that purchase and this will all be on the August c/c bill.
It won't be pretty. 8-(

But no worries here on going over the "income".  We have all that overage from last year when we were withdrawing from the 401K so we just use that overage to absorb extra costs until that is gone and then we'll sit down and re-evaluate the spending.

So how was your July financially?
  

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

The To-Do List....the June Edition

Let's take a look at what got accomplished(or didn't)in June.......

To-Do List for June

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid on time or early including credit cards so no interest charged or paid.

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE
I read this.............

"To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee

I hadn't read this since high school so it was worth picking it up again and reading it for "fun" this time.
I got a lot more of the subtext this go around.  Comparing  it to the 1962 movie starring Gregory Peck that was in my head was a challenge.  The book is so much more nuanced and delves deeper into characters other than the few leads.
If you know anything about Nelle Harper Lee's life you know that much of what is in this novel is autobiographical.
A classic novel is always worth a leisurely read.

And this one......

"Muskets and Applejack: Spirits, Soldiers and the Civil War" by Mark Will-Weber

This is a strange little book which explores a small corner of American history from a whisky soaked perspective.  As one reviewer on Amazon wrote, "....Spoiler Alert-nearly everyone drank and behaved badly."  I think that summed up this book perfectly! lolz
Spirits fueled the men who fought this war from the Generals on down to the lowly foot soldier.  It on one hand helped and on the other hand hindered each sides campaign against the enemy.  
There are many first hand accounts written by folks who lived through(or not)and saw the effects of alcohol on the war years about beyond.  After reading these journal entries how anybody stayed upright enough to wage war is beyond me.   Maybe applejack(and the sobering up time it took)is why it went 5 long years to finish this bloody shoot fest?
And another Spoiler Alert--troops from Louisiana were obviously the champion Wallpaperers and best friends of John Barleycorn!

An interesting, light read.....easy to pick up and put down, reading in fits and starts, which is how my June went. ;-)


* Get Chester's Shot  DONE  Chester needed a shot for Bordetella(Kennel Cough)before he could go to the doggie spa.

* Change out Clothes for Summer  DONE  I finally got all my clothes gone through and changed over for the hot weather.  Some clothing got thrown out, some packed off to Salvation Army and a pile was made of items that needed to be hemmed/fixed/taken in.  Of course I haven't gotten to any of the mending/fixing pile as the house is still in chaos with the bedroom redo.

* Have Trees Taken Down  DONE  Another item on our home projects was having 4 trees removed.  The bank account is very sad but I am glad to mark this project off the list.

We had 4 trees total cut down-2 on the side yard by the road and 2 in the backyard.  3 of them were to open up the yard, to get more light.  The monster tree above was a worry to me.  So tall and massive and not very deep roots.  With all the excessive rain and windstorms we'd gotten the last few years I'm amazed it hasn't fallen yet and taken out half our house(because it's so tall it could if it fell just right).  This was something that we needed to do in order to sell the house eventually(and for my peace of mind). 
It was interesting to watch(free entertainment! lol)the whole process and the massive combination saw and crane gizmo they used on the monster tree was way cool!
I can post some more photos and video if anyone is interested.....

* Repair Bedroom Walls/Ceiling  DONE  
Ex-College Boy and I got the bedroom repaired and painted early on in the month.  It has been sitting since then awaiting new carpeting being put in by the carpet folks.  Hurry up and wait.........sigh.

* Paint 1, 2 Bedrooms  PARTIALLY DONE  We got 1 of the Bedrooms painted, ceiling and walls.  Can't really do the second bedroom until we can empty it and we can't do that until the carpet gets replaced in the first bedroom(and it's STILL not in at the store yet, let alone on the schedule for installing ugh!). 
Here's a piece of what Dan's room looks like until we can move all my crap out of there........

* Take Chester to Doggie Resort  DONE  Chester went to stay HERE while we were away.  I think he had a better time than us! lolz  


* Clean Out Closets  DONE 
 I had a burst of energy one day and got lots of closets cleaned out and organized, my bedroom closet, the foyer closet and the linen closet.

*  Clean Out Fridges/Pantry  DONE

The fridges still need a good washing down inside but I got them cleaned out/organized.  I also got the pantry in the kitchen cleared out.

I found TWELVE open boxes of crackers in there!  TWELVE and many were duplicates of the same crackers.  Heck, I didn't even know we had TWELVE boxes of crackers!!  
After consolidating, and repurposing some(crumbs for breading)we have a more manageable amount(and certain people here have been warned under penalty of death NOT to open another box of crackers until the open boxes are gone).

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  And it was received and enjoyed by the winner. 8-)

* Pack for Trip  DONE  I got to break out my new fancy shmancy lime green suitcase.

* Go on Trip  DONE

This trip was so out of my comfort zone and Hubs and I didn't know a soul going in.  But we had a good time.  I'll blog about this trip soon.

* Use Ollie's & CVS Chits  DONE

All this was free from CVS and I earned $5 more in Extra Care Bucks before going on our trip.

I rolled some Bonus Cash before we left and again while on the trip as we passed by some Rite-Aids in Maine and New Hampshire.

I also used my 15% Ollie's discount before we went away.  I hit some 50%, 60% and 75% off food stuffs and used the 15% off on other things like bird suet for Hubs' feeders and potting soil.

* Continue to Clean Out Garage  PARTIALLY DONE

After 3 weeks worth of crap from Daughter moving out leaving the porch and garage we again had a clear passage through the garage on both sides of my food storage shelves.  
I wish I could say that I've made more headway in there but it's been too hot since getting back from NH to spend much time out there.  Maybe I'll take this item off the To-Do List until September when it cools off.

* Move More $ Into a CD  MAYBE DONE  I didn't get this goal finished in May before the month ended so it straddled both months.  The money is now moved.

* Sell More Locally  PARTIALLY DONE  Well I listed some things when we got back from NH but I didn't actually sell them yet. lolz  I tried.....  I am putting this item on hold until after garage sale season and it's pointless to try now.

* List Items on eBay  FAIL  I didn't even get one thing listed on eBay as there is just too much still going on here to concentrate on that.  Fall is the high season for eBay so I'll wait until September to list there.

* Gardening  I know I didn't put this as an item on the To-Do List for June but we did have some growth even with our wet/cool month...........

Other than the broccoli and cauliflower the plants didn't seem to visibly grow much in June.

But the lettuce seeds I sowed mid month in June popped up quicker than they usually do and are making strides.
We should be in salad material by mid July.

That's about it for my June report.
Did you accomplish anything in June?


Sluggy

To-Do List...........June Update

The To-Do List update for June....let's see how it all shook out!


* Pay bills  DONE  Everything got paid on time, no interest or fees assessed or paid.

*  Read 1, 2 Books  DONE

My Brother's Crown by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould.
I picked this one up because of the Huguenot emblem on the cover....had no clue if it would be good or not.
It's one of a series of books by these two authors all about women from one fictional family, a Huguenot family from France that immigrated to Colonial America.  It jumped from a story line in present day Virginia to 1600's France and a story line of the present day person's ancestor.  It was well done and flowed well, very readable.
Not too heavy on the history but I still enjoyed it.
If you have Huguenot ancestry you might want to give this a go.

Then I read.......

"The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry.  This was a historical account of the Spanish Flu Pandemic that swept the world between 1918 and 1920.
As the generations that actually experienced this world changing pandemic have died off, the horror of this time in our history has faded from our collective memory.  Just to refresh the scope of this disease, the Spanish Flu killed more people in 20 weeks than AIDS has killed in 20 years and killed more people in a year than Bubonic plagues during the Middle Ages killed in a century.
Choked full of detailed medical history, important researchers and leaders in the field of American medicine, as well as timelines, how authorities greatly mishandled the outbreak(from the government to the military to the news media) and the first hand accounts of victims and others from that time.  This book gives one a real sense of just how devastating this influenza outbreak was everywhere in the world and how it's consequences affect our lives today.
The influenza affected the waging of World War I all the way to the terms of surrender and our then current POTUS and his life and term in office.
Any history fans out there need to pick this one up and give it a go!

*  Clean Laundry Room  DONE  Our laundry room was in need of a good cleaning, including the machines.  The pan under the washer was removed and scrubbed down(and then promptly broken but fixable)and the dryer was disconnected and the hose and back of the machine were cleaned out.
The pan being broken happened because Hubs didn't reconnect the water hose tightly enough and a week later we found that the leaking hose started to over run the pan with water which meant moving everything AGAIN to dry it all out and during this transfer period it got cracked on one corner.  Luckily there was no floor(or ceiling on the first floor)damage since we found the problem quickly and some duct tape fixed the pan edge.
After all the extended work we had to do cleaning and moving stuff times 2 I am calling this a....

 *  Do 1 Home Improvement Project  DONE  The floor has never looked so clean in the Laundry Room after two scrubbing downs. lolz  Hubs even removed the louvered vent where the dryer hose attaches and I scrubbed that.  Other than some paint the laundry room is in ship-shape shape now.

 * Organize Garage  FAIL  It's been too hot and Hubs hasn't cooperated  when it wasn't too hot to go through stuff.  I have been picking up in there and moving stuff around a little and tidying a bit but no major clean out yet.  I did get Hubs to dig out the old a/c unit to give to his brother and the nephew as they have no air in their apt. and we had a week long of 90+F heat wave.  It's an even bigger mess at the moment and I am hoping I can get Hubs to help me this weekend(the weather is suppose to be less humid and cooler)to go through and put some of it right.
The garage can only get so clean until next Spring when Daughter moves out and takes all her stuff stored in there(plus the stuff stored IN the house).  I guess I need to be less critical and don't expect too much until that happens. ;-)

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

*  Mail Giveaway  DONE  Mailed and received.

* Purge Coupon Inserts   DONE

Went through all the inserts, clipped a few Qs that weren't expired yet that I might use before they did and put back about 10 whole inserts on my bookshelf.
It feels so good to purge papers sometimes.  8-)))

*  Plan possible 2018 Travel  DONE...sort of
We've got a possible plan....nothing wild or crazy or long and nothing happening until September.  Still working on some Winter plans too and lots of details need to be fleshed out still.

* Work on 2018 Goals   PASS  some of the big yearly goals have been worked on or finished, some have not.  Here they are.....

  *  Sewing--NOT DONE  Other than hemming and mending I've done nothing yet on this one. I'll try to dig out and decide on which fabrics to use in July for the table runner I want to make.

  *  Dropping some weight--NOT DONE  Well I have lose some weight but it was weight I put back on this Winter.  Winter and being sick for 2 months is not conducive to weight loss I have decided. lolz

  *  Culling more of my toiletries stockpile--SOME DONE  Until this week, I had been scaling back on the freebies from Rite-Aid but having to roll Bonus Cash within 2 months is crappy. 8-P
I did make a Food Bank donation already this year(Was it March? I don't think I wrote about it when I did it.).
I'll be giving the Brother In-Law and Nephew some stuff in July which will jump start the purge again.  And once we go traveling I'll be giving stuff away too so I see more toiletries flowing out of here.

  *  Make a new Password/Log in Book and new Address Book  DONE AND NOT DONE.

  Password Book done.
  Address Book not yet.  I still need to buy an Address Book.

  *  Deal with the house in Louisiana.  DONE!!!

  Goodbye house!

  * Sell more stuff.

   Done and done.

    I should start ramping up some more eBay stuff in the next 2 months since we aren't leaving      town until September.

  * Start putting together a punch list of things to address in the house here in preparation for         putting in on the market--NOT DONE
     We will sit down and put a preliminary list together in July, along       with a timeline and           how to handle paying for it all.

  * Put my genealogy stuff in a software program--NOT DONE Still looking for which software        I want to use.  Will make this a priority to get done by January 2019.

  * Gardening and travel--DONE  Gardening got done in May.  Travel is still up in the air                 though we do have a soft plan now.

Looking at the Yearly Goals list we still have plenty to finish there along with smaller monthly goals I have planned.

June was productive overall and we'll head into July with good intentions on getting lots accomplished.

How was your June in terms of getting to chores and plans?
Any successes or epic fails?

Sluggy

Friday at Chez Sluggy

Sorry for the radio silence yesterday on the blog.
It was my birthday.
I'd like to say that I was too busy partying and carousing with friends to write yesterday.
But the reality was quite different and I was holding a little pity party for myself.

Some folks on Facebook did send me some Happy Birthday messages which I appreciated.
But I am so bad about remembering other people's birthdays I am not surprised, nor should I be, that most folks don't make a fuse for mine.
Plus not having any friends in "real life" living around here doesn't help.

So I just got wild and crazy yesterday and went up to Rite-Aid and picked up a prescription, bought some air fresheners(will be a .30¢ moneymaker after Saving Star Rebate(lolz), then I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets and spent 33.43, saving 58% over regular retail.  I then got some soup for lunch at the Chinese restaurant and laid down and took a nap.

Hubs took me out for a Birthday dinner at a local steak place that evening and I splurged and got a flight of Long Island Iced Teas......

What's with that face I am making? lolz
And I don't even remember actually eating dinner after drinking those little tiny drinks.
I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking.....

This weekend Hubs will get a cake and sing to me, after I stuff cotton balls in my ears of course......yah, he can't sing.  ;-)

As of now it looks like the Jonas Snowmageddon will miss us mostly.  Only 2-5 inches of snow in these parts on Saturday.  We can do that standing on our heads!  Eldest says they are predicting 2 feet+ down in F'burg and they called school off for Friday on Thursday.  Scuttlebutt by other teachers in his building is that school will be out for all of next week there too if they get as much as what they think is coming.

As for the good "deals" I picked up at Weis yesterday........

4 cans of Pillsbury Grands! biscuits after sale/Qs were .50¢ each.  At this price I don't mind using some of them to make dumplings for chicken 'n dumplings next week because they are as cheap as the store brand whack biscuits I use for this dish usually.
 
4 packs of chewing gum for free after sale/Qs.

2 jars of peanut butter for $1 each after sale/Qs.

6 boxes of whole grain Barilla spaghetti for .55¢ each after sale/Qs. (These are headed to the food bank.)

1.04 lb. of steak for $2.67 after sale/instant $2 off sticker.

1 bottle of ketchup for .79¢ after sale/Q.

4 cans of Hormel chili for .75¢ a can after sale/Qs.

1 bag of fresh spinach $1.24 after 50% off sticker.

4 bags of Oreos(for CB)$1.99 bag after sale/Qs (I'll also get a $2 rebate from Checkout51 for buying these so they'll turn out to be $1.49 a bag in the end.)

College Boy likes Golden Oreos but I just had to get a bag of this one I haven't seen before, Cinnamon Bun.  I may have to actually try one of these before he gets home for break as I love anything Cinnamon......lolz

I'll be going back to Rite-Aid today to do some deals on my Plenti card(I already did some deals on Eldest son's card last Sunday).  I have $5.94 spending tracking toward #1 $30 Bonus Plenti points Reward from those air fresheners I bought Thursday.  I couldn't finish off the deal I wanted to do yesterday because they were out of some of the products so I have reformulated a plan and will go back later today to "work it".  After all is said and done I'll spend $43.96 in Plenti points, get back $40 in new Plenti points AND qualify for $15 in cash Rebates so another moneymaking opportunity!  8-)

Eating out this month...We have only gone out twice--for my birthday dinner last night and for breakfast on Monday(Hubs was home and I had a dr. appointment so he came with me and we hit Denny's for some eggs) and my take-out Birthday soup.  We have spent $75.99 on only 2 meals out/1 take-out meal.  I don't foresee anymore eating out this month so we will stay under $100 on that tally.

All the bills for the month are in and paid for January.  It's only been about a week since the credit card bill cut and we already have $500+ more on that one which will be due in February.  Half of that is for 1 drug refill(medical high deductible)so it's really not so bad.  We had a car that needed it's yearly inspection, another car needed an oil change/etc., CB needed a black shirt for symphonic band performances, we spent $75 at Lowe's and another $75 on CB's books for the semester and then CB's new glasses didn't come in until after he went back to school so I had to mail them to him yesterday so postage was put on the credit card.
The costs of just living your life do add up, don't they?  8-)))

I tried to work on a Giveaway to post yesterday but didn't get very far with it and certainly didn't get it all sorted so I could post it.  Maybe this weekend I'll finish that up and it will go "live" as they say.

Not much else new going on here that I can talk about yet.  I'll have something to share after next Tuesday so stay tuned..........

What's going on in your world?

Sluggy