What I Did on My Summer Vacation.....Part One

*This is the first in a series of posts about our summer vacation saga.  WARNING-Lengthy rambling ahead!*

I made my first trip to Maine in the summer of 1980.
It wasn't for pleasure but for work.
I had been accepted as an intern for the summer season at the Brunswick Music Festival Theater, located on the campus of Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine.

 *The Picard Theater building from the back.*
It's now called the Maine State Music Theater.  Here's their Website.

I spent the bulk of my 1st summer in Maine in the windowless basement of the college's theater building constructing costumes, wardrobing shows and doing a bit of acting..not all at the same time obviously.
At night I'd dragged my exhausted sleep-deprived carcass the 4 blocks to the wretched old beer soaked carpeted frat house where us interns were housed.  I shared a 3 room shotgun suite there with a dancer gal from NYC called Betsy and a native Mainer college student named Brenda.

Brenda and I became good friends.
And Brenda had a car.
Brenda showed me around that part of Maine on our few and far between days off and on a student's cash strapped budget.

We hit the touristy places, but more importantly I got to see the places off the beaten path too, where the tourists don't go.  And I hung out with Brenda's family too.
And yes, I made a few trips to FatBoys....

Ah, the menu hasn't changed since 1980. Literally, it's the same SIGN!....Fat Boy Burgers anyone?

This place is/was across the road from the local Air Force base runway.  Legend has it that Bill Clinton would jet up in AF1 and have some grunt run over to FatBoys for a sack of burgers every now and again, but I digress....

Over the past 30 yrs.....good gawd!?!?....has it been that long?....I've kept in touch with Brenda.  And I've visited with her sporadically over the years though she's never taken me up on my offers to stay with us here in Pennsyltucky.  I guess coal slags, strip mines and underground mine fires aren't her thing.

And after Hubs and I married, I dragged him to Maine on numerous vacation trips.
The 1st time, he will tell you, stands out in his memory because I left him to wander the streets of Brunswick Maine for an entire day alone.
Why?
Because we visited the theater where I had worked and the Costume Designer I had worked for years before was employed that summer again, and was struggling to get the costumes ready in time for opening night of Evita.  They needed extra help, so I was talked into spending one day of my vacation sewing costumes for the show in that windowless basement room again.
Of course, this time, I was free to leave at the end of the day and didn't have to collapse in the frat house, and I earned a nice little paycheck for the day's work, along with a pair of balcony seat tickets to the opening night of the show. ;-)


In spite of that trip, I dare to venture that Maine has become a place near and heart to Hubs heart as well.

For the first time since we had kids, we were able to take a week ALONE so we headed back to Maine last week.

First off, let me state that we don't vacation like typical tourists in Maine.
We don't stay where they stay.
We don't do what they do.
We don't even get to Maine like they do.

You won't find us driving up I-95 through Portsmouth, NH over the bridge to Kittery ME.
Nah, nah, nah!
Now we sneak into Maine through the local backroads across NH.
That way we avoid the parking lot of I-95 and the Mass Turnpike in the summer, especially on weekends.


Two years ago, we traveled to Maine along with #2 son.  We also took the BIL and the nephew just for fun.  We rented  a couple of RVs set up in a campground outside of Bangor Maine.

Bangor Maine is not listed in many people's book as a tourist destination.....unless you are stalking Stephen King....

*#2 son and nephew pose with Stephen's batty gates.*


Or you have a Paul Bunyan fetish....

*#2 son and nephew w/the World's Largest Statue of Paul Bunyan.*


So why stay in Bangor?
Well, 3 reasons.
1-It's not crowded with tourists.....heck, it's not crowded with ANYBODY!  Sluggy does not like crowds.
2-It's only a short drive away from the coast and on the Penobscot River so you are close and accessible to lots of local fresh seafood.
3-It's cheap.  And even better, an RV set up in a campground is a very frugal alternative to a motel room and alot easier to find available at the last minute("last minute" meaning 2 months before you plan on visiting).

Unless you are in one of the larger cities or one of the real bigtime touristy hot spots in Maine, there are not alot of chain motels/hotels.  Most of the places in Maine have small or family owned motels, b&bs, housekeeping cottages or campgrounds.  There are a ton of them but they book up fast and often the same people come back every year for YEARS so rooms never actually come available as visitors rebook for the next year as soon as they arrive for the current year.
There are also people who rent out their homes or own guest houses to rent to the vacationers but usually these are NOT a frugal option, often going for $900-$3,000 a WEEK.  Plus you have to stay a week in the same spot and we like to move around a bit.


So we booked 4 nights in the RV in that campground outside of Bangor.
Not only is it a fair price for lodging that could accommodate 4 people, but you have the woods right outside your door so your He-Man can satiate his primal need to burn stuff....

*Hubs communing with nature and enjoying his campfire.*

To Be Continued.....

Sluggy 

$30K Savings Challenge JULY 2010 Totals.....Xtra Paycheck Time!

I have posted my JULY End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up July in the black....with a healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of June with was.......$3,161.44.

Income
We had $3,066.46 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $94.98 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,161.44 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.

Outgo
As for the expenses in July.....it was our most expensive month so far this year!

While this month saw the water bill drop to almost half and a nice decrease in the electric bill there were many 'out of the ordinary/non-repeating' bills this month.

Out-of-the-ordinary expenses in July...
Yet another car repair at $277.30.
A deposit for camp for next year for $50.00.
Dog licenses were due at $18.00.
That June Food Stamp Challange Food Bank donation for $100.00.
House insurance at $609.00.
And the whopper.....car insurance semi-annual payment of $1,482.63.
UGH!
That's $2,536.93 in out of the ordinary expenses.

The credit card bill(paid off each month)was $624.36, which was less than half of the previous month's total.

Even though July was a bad month for bills and spending, the thing that salvaged our goal this month was that extra paycheck that came this month.  If you gets paid on a biweekly basis, you know all about those 2 extra paychecks a year that sneak into 2 of your pay months.  This year for us it's July and December.  Did I mention that I love July and December?lol

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in July was .94¢  under the budgeted $200.00 amount and our Savings percentage was 80.45% which is right about average for us this year so far.

Looking Ahead to August....
Well the first week of August wasn't very frugal as we were on vacation.lol
Most of the costs for the trip were budgeted for & taken out of monies we saved in last year's Savings Challenge.  No funds were taken out of this year's income to pay for this trip.  And for heaven's sake, we didn't take out a loan or use a credit card to finance this trip....but of course, you probably figure that already.  ;-)
There were some items I bought while on vacation that will come out of the food budget for August.  I'll explain fully in a later post.

August is college tuition time but that comes out of the college money account we have funded over the years.
It's still a heart stopper of a bill, even if you have the funds set aside to pay it....

Looking at last August as a guideline, I don't see any unusual or reoccurring large bills coming due this month.   We will have a large credit card bill to pay fully in August(from charges for the vacation trip)but that has been budgeted for & that part of the bill will be funded from sources besides the monthly income.  The only unusual charges will be for any of the various repairs/upgrades we need to do on the home and possibly for the purchase of a new freezer.

But I am determined to get through August frugally and meet our monthly goal of $2,500 saved this month.
It's going to be a challenge this month so cross your fingers I meet that goal!

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $19,782.91 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $17,500 saved. With the extra paycheck in July we are looking good for meeting our Savings Challenge for the year!

So how was your July financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

JULY Budget Results....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2010.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom information.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(between 5 & 2 at home this month) & 3 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $16.00
Value $62.94
Savings  74.58%

BIG LOTS
OOP $31.04
Value $52.66
Savings  41.06%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $61.25
Qs/Ads $37.81
Value $99.06
Savings  38.17%

FAMILY DOLLAR
OOP $21.19
Qs/Ads $11.19
Value $32.38
Savings  34.84%

FARM MARKET

OOP  $12.55
Value  $21.89(compared to same items' prices at grocery store)
Savings  42.64%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $6.95
Qs/Ads $16.93
Value  $23.88
Savings  70.90%

RITE AID
OOP $23.51 (whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads $412.55
Value $436.06
Savings 94.41% before gift cards/ 100% savings after gift cards

WALMART("that" store)
OOP $8.96
Qs/Ads $5.00
Value $13.96
Savings  35.82%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $126.39
Qs/Ads $127.74
Value $254.13
Savings  50.26%

I don't track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN JULY

Kraft(2 different rebates)...$30.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$58.98
Subtotal........$94.98

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
MyBlogSpark Cheerios Giveaway $25 Visa Gift Card
Rite-Aid $35 in Gift Cards($25+$5 bonus Skin Care & $5?-can't remember for what)
Rite-Aid RX Transfer $25 Gift Card

Subtotal....$85.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$179.98

FREE ITEMS

Vocalpoint Crystal Lite Samples
DiGiorgno Pizza
Huggies Diapers Pack

COUPONS

$2/1 Bounty Towels
$2/1 Crystal Light (multiple)

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Bakery Outlet at 74.58% and Price Chopper at 70.90%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$294.04
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$724,25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1018.29
TOTAL Savings of..........71.13%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$94.98
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$199.06
TOTAL Savings of..................................80.45%

This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I stayed under my $200 budgeted amount for JULY by .94¢! after rebates were applied.  It was an expensive month as I bought alot of meat in July for stocking up purposes.

What's ahead for August 2010.....

I am setting the August 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget at $300.
Why?
Because we have 4 at home now and all 5 family members by the latter part of the month.
Because there may be a family picnic lurking at the end of the month which will add to the food expenses.
Because I plan on packing the freezer with farm bought bulk buys of some veggies for the winter and this month is when things will be ready for harvesting and purchasing.

As always, any rebates received this month will be added to the food budget spending.  I have few outstanding rebates at the moment so there will be little extra cash to cover food expenses in this way for August.

With half of the year behind us, we have averaged $170.35 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens.

How did you do in July with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

I'm Back....From the Sea(Food)!

       Photo courtesy of LOL Dogs(http://ihasahotdog.com/)

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."

"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?

-excerpt from "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll


Yep!
Like the Walrus & The Carpenter and the pup above, I eated it......I eated allll over Maine and I eated it ALL....but it was NO Hot Dog!lol

Not quite Oysters tho.....
But....
It was clams....

and scallops....

and clams....

and haddock....

and clams.....

and lobster....

and clams....

and shrimp....

and did I mention CLAMS yet?

And not those nasty rubber band tasting/texturing clam strips you get frozen in the grocery store.

It was whole, full bellied Ipswich clams!
Mmmmmmm......


Oh and then there was the excitement on the trip home....
and then the *fun bonus* after I got home later that night, which stretched into even *MORE FUN* for the next 2 days.
I will spare you the lovely pictures of the Fun Bonus Times later in the week(when I get around to recounting the trip and it's aftermath).

So I'm back online and slowly getting up to speed and getting laundry done and my bad self's head back in the game called REAL LIFE.
And I'm doing it kicking and screaming in protest the entire way!!!
Ayuh....

So bear with me as I move rather slowly with new posts and tying up old business from last month, and most importantly as I catch up with all my online friends' blogs and lives.

It was so nice to get away but it's always nice to come home....
Stay tuned for more. ;-)

"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"


"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.


"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

Sluggy

Swimming with the Loons

Hello from an undisclosed location!.....the photo & the post title should give you some hints. ;-)

I bet ya'll had thought I had fallen off the face of the Earth.
Nope.

I am alive and well somewhere near the location of the photo above.

I finally got internet access for awhile and thought I'd check in.

I still have seafood to eat and Rite-Aids to pillage but should be home and back online by Saturday.
So keep on keepin' on being frugal and I'll be seeing ya'll soon.

Sluggy