Sluggy
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
2013 Finances Review....Cars are Money Suckholes!
January is the month where I pull out all the receipts, paid bills and such from the year just ended and start going over and analyzing all the data.
I have started the Christmas 2013 Spending Autopsy(will post that later this weekend probably) and the Yearly Spending category totals to see where we need to do better in the coming year.
One of first categories was Car Spending.....Sonya Ann, you may want to cover your eyes while I talk about this one. ;-)
It was NOT a great year at Chez Sluggy for spending in the car category.....
Between a totaled car, buying another "new to us" used car, a rebuilt motor, expensive repair bills(four of them above $400 a pop-one was over $900!) and regular oil changes, parts replacements, we spent $7,186.86 on our "fleet" of automobiles.
Car insurance brought that total up to $10,267.00.
And that doesn't include any GAS purchased to fuel said cars.
bleh.
At least I take consolation in the fact that we got off rather cheaply with the totaled car and having to replace said car.
With what insurance gave us for the totaled one and what the new used car that replaced it cost us, we were only out $1363.42(plus new registration/tags). Plus our insurance only went up just short of $69 per 6 months with that claim.
But I was sad to see that totaled car go, as it was a great deal and in really good shape, well....before it got hit, it was. lol
The car Hubs bought to replace it has been bad news. It did fine for a few months but then it developed 2 leaks, one in the oil something or other and another in the transmission. One is repairable and the other isn't, as it would cost more than what the car is worth.
Ugh.
So Hubs is having to be vigilant about checking his fluid levels every week and carrying bottles of fluids in the trunk to top off levels or risk having something or other run dry and kill the car.
Don't you love my use of all these fancy technical mechanical auto terms? 8-))
Basically the replacement car has turned into a PITA car and he is making plans on how to get rid of it. He wants to trade it in and get something else but once the dealer finds out what a fine driving machine*cough* this is, who in their right mind would want to take it?
I said we are probably better off just leaving the keys in the thing with a big sign on it "STEAL ME, PLEASE!" and then report it stolen.
To bad we don't live in a flood prone area, like someone I knew in my 20's who lived at the beach and had a POS old VOLVO. It had been flooded during a hurricane so it started only running when it felt like it, which turned out to be every 3rd Tuesday and alternate weekends from 11am to 3:15pm.
She got a phone call in the middle of the night a few months after the hurricane that her car was sitting in the middle of a major highway about 5 miles from her house, abandoned.
Seems someone had stolen her car that evening after she went to bed(who in their right mind, would want to steal an old, rusted Volvo station wagon?!?) but it stopped running 5 miles away and the thieves had just left it there at an intersection and fled.
True story.
But I digress....
If #2 Son goes away to college in the Fall we only need an extra car for 7 more months so Hubs may just limp along with this PITA car until then and then get rid of it, instead of replacing it soon.
I just don't know but personally I am not in a big hurry to throw more money into cars at this point.
As long as it is safe to drive if these issues are kept on top of, I say keep it on the road and keep the money in our pockets.
The fact is all of our cars are now becoming senior citizens of the car world. My van, which was bought new, has barely 90K miles on it, but turned 10 years old last March. I don't drive it much as I don't need to haul lots of kids anymore and I never go anywhere, so it should make it through 2014 without a lot of spending on repairs now that we had the rack & pinion work done. I might need new tires but that's about it. If it comes down to it, Hubs can use it for commuting, though it doesn't get great gas mileage.
Should cars start to fall apart again!, we have options before we dig into our savings for expensive repairs. #2 Son no longer has a part time job or extensive band commitments and I don't need a car to commute to a job, so between the three of us, one job and three cars(that all have issues of some kind), we should be able to limp along until at least the Summer.
The goal is to get to where we only need 1 car but that won't happen for at least a few years yet.
As far as car spending in 2014, I hope to keep it below $8K including insurance this year.
So how was 2013 for you and your vehicles?
Did you spend a little or a lot on cars last year?
(I expect Sonya Ann to leave me a long comment/rant on this post! lolz)
Sluggy
I have started the Christmas 2013 Spending Autopsy(will post that later this weekend probably) and the Yearly Spending category totals to see where we need to do better in the coming year.
One of first categories was Car Spending.....Sonya Ann, you may want to cover your eyes while I talk about this one. ;-)
It was NOT a great year at Chez Sluggy for spending in the car category.....
Between a totaled car, buying another "new to us" used car, a rebuilt motor, expensive repair bills(four of them above $400 a pop-one was over $900!) and regular oil changes, parts replacements, we spent $7,186.86 on our "fleet" of automobiles.
Car insurance brought that total up to $10,267.00.
And that doesn't include any GAS purchased to fuel said cars.
bleh.
At least I take consolation in the fact that we got off rather cheaply with the totaled car and having to replace said car.
With what insurance gave us for the totaled one and what the new used car that replaced it cost us, we were only out $1363.42(plus new registration/tags). Plus our insurance only went up just short of $69 per 6 months with that claim.
But I was sad to see that totaled car go, as it was a great deal and in really good shape, well....before it got hit, it was. lol
The car Hubs bought to replace it has been bad news. It did fine for a few months but then it developed 2 leaks, one in the oil something or other and another in the transmission. One is repairable and the other isn't, as it would cost more than what the car is worth.
Ugh.
So Hubs is having to be vigilant about checking his fluid levels every week and carrying bottles of fluids in the trunk to top off levels or risk having something or other run dry and kill the car.
Don't you love my use of all these fancy technical mechanical auto terms? 8-))
Basically the replacement car has turned into a PITA car and he is making plans on how to get rid of it. He wants to trade it in and get something else but once the dealer finds out what a fine driving machine*cough* this is, who in their right mind would want to take it?
I said we are probably better off just leaving the keys in the thing with a big sign on it "STEAL ME, PLEASE!" and then report it stolen.
To bad we don't live in a flood prone area, like someone I knew in my 20's who lived at the beach and had a POS old VOLVO. It had been flooded during a hurricane so it started only running when it felt like it, which turned out to be every 3rd Tuesday and alternate weekends from 11am to 3:15pm.
She got a phone call in the middle of the night a few months after the hurricane that her car was sitting in the middle of a major highway about 5 miles from her house, abandoned.
Seems someone had stolen her car that evening after she went to bed(who in their right mind, would want to steal an old, rusted Volvo station wagon?!?) but it stopped running 5 miles away and the thieves had just left it there at an intersection and fled.
True story.
But I digress....
If #2 Son goes away to college in the Fall we only need an extra car for 7 more months so Hubs may just limp along with this PITA car until then and then get rid of it, instead of replacing it soon.
I just don't know but personally I am not in a big hurry to throw more money into cars at this point.
As long as it is safe to drive if these issues are kept on top of, I say keep it on the road and keep the money in our pockets.
The fact is all of our cars are now becoming senior citizens of the car world. My van, which was bought new, has barely 90K miles on it, but turned 10 years old last March. I don't drive it much as I don't need to haul lots of kids anymore and I never go anywhere, so it should make it through 2014 without a lot of spending on repairs now that we had the rack & pinion work done. I might need new tires but that's about it. If it comes down to it, Hubs can use it for commuting, though it doesn't get great gas mileage.
Should cars start to fall apart again!, we have options before we dig into our savings for expensive repairs. #2 Son no longer has a part time job or extensive band commitments and I don't need a car to commute to a job, so between the three of us, one job and three cars(that all have issues of some kind), we should be able to limp along until at least the Summer.
The goal is to get to where we only need 1 car but that won't happen for at least a few years yet.
As far as car spending in 2014, I hope to keep it below $8K including insurance this year.
So how was 2013 for you and your vehicles?
Did you spend a little or a lot on cars last year?
(I expect Sonya Ann to leave me a long comment/rant on this post! lolz)
Sluggy
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Using Up the +Ups
I went to Rite-Aid to use up the last of my +Up Rewards this week......
1 x Northern TP w/RAIN CHECK=$5.37
2 x Finish Dishwasher Tabs on sale $3.99=$7.98
2 x Dark Chocolate covered Cherries 75% off=$1.24(for 2)
2 x Wrigley's Gum Tin 75% off=$2.48 *1 not pictured*
Subtotal.....$17.07
Coupons Used
2 x $2.15/1 MQ Finish Dishwasher Tabs=$4.30
1 x .75/1 IPQ Northern TP=$.75
1 x $1/1 Load2Card came off, NO CLUE what it was for!=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$6.05
$17.07-$6.05=$11.02
I used my $10 in +Up Rewards and paid $1.02 OOP.
I go no new +Ups back.......sniff, sniff
So.....unless a really stupendous deal comes up in the next few months, I won't be spending any more money for awhile at Rite-Aid.
Dishwasher tabs and TP were needs......the chocolate covered cherries not so much. But who can resist dark chocolate covered ones! lol
The gum tins were bought ahead for stocking stuffers for next Christmas. I would NEVER shell out $4.99 for 3 packs of gum, unless it was 75% off or more. And gum, unlike chocolate or some candies will keep until next December. I have now bought 8 gifts for next Christmas and spent a total of $21.07 for all. All items were on deep discount, at least 40% off, plus I used +Ups and Kohl's cash on 5 of them and on the online purchase I used a coupon code which paid for the shipping on 4 items plus gave an additional 10% off on my order(of items 40-70% off retail).
There are no toiletries we are out of or we need to stock up on at this point. Thanks to buying those Home Improvement gift cards in Nov/Dec. at Rite-Aid and the +Ups they generated, we are loaded up on toilet paper for at least 6 months and shave cream/shampoo/toothpaste/toothbrushes for at least the next year.
Did you do any Rite-Aid shopping this week? Did you find any great deals?
Sluggy
1 x Northern TP w/RAIN CHECK=$5.37
2 x Finish Dishwasher Tabs on sale $3.99=$7.98
2 x Dark Chocolate covered Cherries 75% off=$1.24(for 2)
2 x Wrigley's Gum Tin 75% off=$2.48 *1 not pictured*
Subtotal.....$17.07
Coupons Used
2 x $2.15/1 MQ Finish Dishwasher Tabs=$4.30
1 x .75/1 IPQ Northern TP=$.75
1 x $1/1 Load2Card came off, NO CLUE what it was for!=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$6.05
$17.07-$6.05=$11.02
I used my $10 in +Up Rewards and paid $1.02 OOP.
I go no new +Ups back.......sniff, sniff
So.....unless a really stupendous deal comes up in the next few months, I won't be spending any more money for awhile at Rite-Aid.
Dishwasher tabs and TP were needs......the chocolate covered cherries not so much. But who can resist dark chocolate covered ones! lol
The gum tins were bought ahead for stocking stuffers for next Christmas. I would NEVER shell out $4.99 for 3 packs of gum, unless it was 75% off or more. And gum, unlike chocolate or some candies will keep until next December. I have now bought 8 gifts for next Christmas and spent a total of $21.07 for all. All items were on deep discount, at least 40% off, plus I used +Ups and Kohl's cash on 5 of them and on the online purchase I used a coupon code which paid for the shipping on 4 items plus gave an additional 10% off on my order(of items 40-70% off retail).
There are no toiletries we are out of or we need to stock up on at this point. Thanks to buying those Home Improvement gift cards in Nov/Dec. at Rite-Aid and the +Ups they generated, we are loaded up on toilet paper for at least 6 months and shave cream/shampoo/toothpaste/toothbrushes for at least the next year.
Did you do any Rite-Aid shopping this week? Did you find any great deals?
Sluggy
The Resolution We Can't Keep In This Country....Non-Consumption REDUX
My January 2013 Rant........dragging it out of the closet for another airing in 2014.
$12 A Day's post HERE reminded me to share this again.
Still timely advise and something to get you thinking.
Is this the year you break the cycle?
Enjoy.
***********************
When we start a new calendar year, we tend to want to start fresh in all areas of our lives.
One of the prominent thoughts at the new year is to get organized or get MORE organized.
Being organized is ALWAYS a worthwhile goal, isn't it?
This is when we see stores haul out big displays and sales on Storage Containers and Organizational Systems of all kinds: from filing systems for the paper in our lives, to the clothes in our closets, to the foodstuffs in our cabinets, to ?. Every area of our homes is ripe for storage improvement.
And the retailers stand at the ready with shiny new stuff for us to buy to make our lives more contained and organized.
It's true that in order to live a life that's streamlined and functioning well, we need to stay on top of everything in our lives, especially our "stuff". But do we need to pull out the credit card or bank card or money envelope every January to buy something to achieve a functioning home?
The retailers will tell you YES you DO!
I say not necessarily.
Personally I feel that we don't have an organizing problem in this country, we have a "stuff" problem.
Now think about this......
How many people start out the new year buying containers, spending more money, and either abandon the plan to organize or find that just buying pretty containers and dumping your things in them is not a real organizational plan.
How many do this and by the time next January rolls around, the plan is forgotten and they are again, seduced by all those pretty containers enough to part with more of their money and start the cycle of buying containers all over again?
Do you realize that a fair percentage of people who are clinically referred to as hoarders follow this pattern of wanting to organize their things, purchasing containers/systems, and never do the emotional/physical work to change their habits and organize? The containers just add to the clutter of their stash and every time they return to this phase of the cycle, more containers are added to the chaos.
Most new year attempts at getting our "stuff" organized are much like those new year resolutions we all make and promptly break or forget by February. They seem like a good idea at the time, but the follow-through is just not there.
And if after all this organizing and storing away we still can't fit all the "stuff" into our abodes, there are always garages and storage sheds we can buy, build and utilize.
And if that isn't enough extra space, there is a whole industry that is growing at an alarmingly fast clip that would love to rent you space for all that stuff you have that you don't need access to as often. Yes, I am talking about the Storage Facility business.....a Billion Dollar industry that has grown up around our inability to throw things away.
Our homes in the US now are on average double the size of the homes our grand and great grandparents lived their lives in.....and usually with fewer PEOPLE living in these homes to boot.
We have double the space for the stuff in our lives than they did, yet we still can't organize it all in such a way to fit into the space we have allocated for it.
We have more clothing & shoes, we have more furniture, we have more kitchen gadgets, we have more dishware, we have more food, we have more cars and related equipment. And let's not forget all the electronic toys they never had, and all the hobby stuffs and sports stuffs.
And then there are the collections of every type, shape and size. Most Americans collect something and a large percentage of those who collect have MORE THAN ONE COLLECTION of stuff. And if you are stuck in a perpetual cycle of buying containers every year to corral your stuff, those containers ARE a collection themselves!
If you can no longer use a room in your house or apartment for it's intended purpose because your "stuff" has taken over that room, you may have a problem.
Sure, if your collecting brings you joy and you have the extra space for it, that is great!
But if your things are taking over the space in your home AND taking the place of people in your life and costing you money that you can't afford to be spending on it, perhaps it's time to take a good hard look at your life and the choices you are making.
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more room in your home?
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more time because you would have to organize and clean less?
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more money in your pocket to spend on needs and not be stressing out at the end of each month that your income would last?
If you bought less "stuff", could you spend that money on the people in your life instead?(And I don't mean buying THEM stuff instead.)
Make 2014 the year you break the cycle of spending on things that are NOT needs, and on this perpetual cycle of cluttering and decluttering.
Make every purchase you make an INTENTIONAL, well thought-out one that fills a need!
What do you think readers?
Sluggy
$12 A Day's post HERE reminded me to share this again.
Still timely advise and something to get you thinking.
Is this the year you break the cycle?
Enjoy.
***********************
When we start a new calendar year, we tend to want to start fresh in all areas of our lives.
One of the prominent thoughts at the new year is to get organized or get MORE organized.
Being organized is ALWAYS a worthwhile goal, isn't it?
This is when we see stores haul out big displays and sales on Storage Containers and Organizational Systems of all kinds: from filing systems for the paper in our lives, to the clothes in our closets, to the foodstuffs in our cabinets, to ?. Every area of our homes is ripe for storage improvement.
And the retailers stand at the ready with shiny new stuff for us to buy to make our lives more contained and organized.
It's true that in order to live a life that's streamlined and functioning well, we need to stay on top of everything in our lives, especially our "stuff". But do we need to pull out the credit card or bank card or money envelope every January to buy something to achieve a functioning home?
The retailers will tell you YES you DO!
I say not necessarily.
Personally I feel that we don't have an organizing problem in this country, we have a "stuff" problem.
Now think about this......
How many people start out the new year buying containers, spending more money, and either abandon the plan to organize or find that just buying pretty containers and dumping your things in them is not a real organizational plan.
How many do this and by the time next January rolls around, the plan is forgotten and they are again, seduced by all those pretty containers enough to part with more of their money and start the cycle of buying containers all over again?
Do you realize that a fair percentage of people who are clinically referred to as hoarders follow this pattern of wanting to organize their things, purchasing containers/systems, and never do the emotional/physical work to change their habits and organize? The containers just add to the clutter of their stash and every time they return to this phase of the cycle, more containers are added to the chaos.
Most new year attempts at getting our "stuff" organized are much like those new year resolutions we all make and promptly break or forget by February. They seem like a good idea at the time, but the follow-through is just not there.
And if after all this organizing and storing away we still can't fit all the "stuff" into our abodes, there are always garages and storage sheds we can buy, build and utilize.
And if that isn't enough extra space, there is a whole industry that is growing at an alarmingly fast clip that would love to rent you space for all that stuff you have that you don't need access to as often. Yes, I am talking about the Storage Facility business.....a Billion Dollar industry that has grown up around our inability to throw things away.
Our homes in the US now are on average double the size of the homes our grand and great grandparents lived their lives in.....and usually with fewer PEOPLE living in these homes to boot.
We have double the space for the stuff in our lives than they did, yet we still can't organize it all in such a way to fit into the space we have allocated for it.
We have more clothing & shoes, we have more furniture, we have more kitchen gadgets, we have more dishware, we have more food, we have more cars and related equipment. And let's not forget all the electronic toys they never had, and all the hobby stuffs and sports stuffs.
And then there are the collections of every type, shape and size. Most Americans collect something and a large percentage of those who collect have MORE THAN ONE COLLECTION of stuff. And if you are stuck in a perpetual cycle of buying containers every year to corral your stuff, those containers ARE a collection themselves!
If you can no longer use a room in your house or apartment for it's intended purpose because your "stuff" has taken over that room, you may have a problem.
Sure, if your collecting brings you joy and you have the extra space for it, that is great!
But if your things are taking over the space in your home AND taking the place of people in your life and costing you money that you can't afford to be spending on it, perhaps it's time to take a good hard look at your life and the choices you are making.
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more room in your home?
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more time because you would have to organize and clean less?
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more money in your pocket to spend on needs and not be stressing out at the end of each month that your income would last?
If you bought less "stuff", could you spend that money on the people in your life instead?(And I don't mean buying THEM stuff instead.)
Make 2014 the year you break the cycle of spending on things that are NOT needs, and on this perpetual cycle of cluttering and decluttering.
Make every purchase you make an INTENTIONAL, well thought-out one that fills a need!
What do you think readers?
Sluggy
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Summer Road Trip of 2013....Day Five
Check out Day Four of the Road Trip HERE if you didn't catch it before or if you forgot it. Just so you know there will be a quiz when I am done. 8-)
*********************
So Day Five of the Great Summer Road Trip of 2013 had arrived and we had a wedding to attend.
This was the whole impetus behind our trip, what the trip was built around......getting to Southern Illinois to see Hubs sister get remarried.
But the wedding wasn't until late afternoon so we had almost a full day to kill first.
So we backtracked down the Interstate to do a little shopping in town near Arcola called Tuscola.
We found a discount store called Shopko and picked up some deals--
S/S dress shirts for $5.99 for Hubs' work
Bags of smoking wood chips on clearance for $2.99 each
A fine mesh rack/basket for cooking fish/vegs on the grill on clearance $4.49
A pair of yoga pants, a top and a sleep shirt for me at a combined cost of $25.37
Let me just say that those aren't the deals I went there to pick up. You see, I did a search online and found that this chain, Shopko, carries Sprecher's Hard Root Beer.....you know, that crazy good stuff I found at the liquor store in Sonya's home town and ONLY bought 1 four pack of it. ARGH!!!
So short of driving back to Sonya's house to fill our trunk with cases of that shit, I decided to see if I could pick it up somewhere else and the internet lied to me and said Shopko had it.
Well, actually the internet said the chain carries it but this particular Shopko did not.
Sigh......
So I bought wood chips and clothes instead and whimpered softly all the way back to the hotel.
Then we went across the street to the Outlets and hit the Vanity Fair store.
There is a VF store about an hour from us in PA but we don't get down there much anymore.
We took the opportunity to hit this one up because it was like, right there! We left with 2 pair of jeans for Hubs, 2 pair of shorts for #2 Son and 2 pair of pants and some "underthings" for me.
Stuff we needed to replace that were wearing out so why not buy it on our vacation when the opportunity presented itself? ;-)
On the way back to the interstate I spied this Denny's....
It was built to resemble an old fashioned diner. I saw quite a few of these in this retro-style later on during this road trip. It was fun because I had never seen a Denny's that looked like this before. Evidently, I need to get out of the northeast more often. lolz
Then we headed back to the town we were staying in, but first a stop for lunch in town at the original Burger King restaurant.
Yes, I am the crazy lady standing out in the parking lot pointing at the sign.....
As Bette Davis was want to say in some old film, "What. a. Dump!"
I don't think the décor has changed(except for the addition of many framed newspaper clippings and photos)since the Hoots family bought the Frigid Queen ice cream shop in 1952 and expanded/built the burger joint next door, naming it the Burger King in 1957. In 1959 they registered the name BURGER KING in the state of Illinois which proved to be a great move once the Burger chain of the same name started putting up their joints in the 1960's.
The Hootses sued and won. That burger chain of the same name are not allowed to throw up one of their shacks within 20 miles of the original Burger King joint in Mattoon Illinois.
The menu here is a bit more expansive than that chain place(I got a BLT). It's priced about the same as that big chain and tastes about on par with it as well.
The food isn't something to go out of your way for but it was nice to be there to say I've "been there, done that".
After lunch it was back to the hotel to change for the main activity of the day, the wedding.
The ceremony was not in town but in another town about 45 minutes away at the Best Wedding Chapel in Shelbyville, Illinois.
It's a private company that does weddings run by a guy with the last name of Best. You may have seen these folks on the CMT channel if you watch that sort of station. They were a part of an episode of "Trick my Truck"(like MTV's old "Pimp My Ride" show) where the show did over a vintage fire truck into a mobile wedding chapel truck.....
So it was a glorious day weather wise.
The venue was an old Catholic church, built in the 1870's and now a private wedding chapel.
The groom with Hubs and Brother Darrell, the officiant.
Inside the Chapel.
Hubs and I with the happy couple.
We were the only ones from my sister in-law's side of the family who made it to the wedding.
Then we had the long trek back to the reception venue, which was in the town where the sister in-law & her new Hubs live.
But first a few shots of the historic courthouse in Shelbyville, which was across the street. It was completed in 1882.
Then a close up on the statue to the left of the stairs.....
Gah!
Of course......Anthony Thornton with Abraham Lincoln debating some issue of the day.
And the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, erected in 1907, opposite the courthouse, dedicated to our fighting men.....
Lincoln practiced law in this town so blah blah blah....go figure.
A damned Yankee invader on the monument......
Then it was back in the car and the drive back to Mattoon.....
We were getting mighty hungry by now but resisted the urge to stop here on the way back......
And then, near the turn off for the famous 2 Story Outhouse(read about it HERE ) which we didn't have enough time to go see, I spotted this signage.....
A little closer......
So that's where Illinois hides their gays! *groan* bad joke but I couldn't resist.... ;-)
Finally we got almost to the reception hall and then we hit this.....
A good old freight train going through town! Love these small towns.....
After sitting for pretty near 20 minutes the train cleared the intersection and we got to the reception about 10 minutes late.
It was a nice little buffet style dinner.
But the best part were the cupcakes.....
Then we packed up the gifts and took the new Mrs. & Mr. back to their house.....
And we bid adieu to the Newlyweds.
Here's to many happy years ahead!
Part 6 coming soon.....
Sluggy
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