Rite-Aid Trip #1 This Week

Went to Rite-Aid on Monday.
I have a $2 +Up Reward to use and here is what I bought......

1 x Anacin on sale=$4.99
2 x Gerber Applesauce Rain Check=FREE
1 x Nature Made Melatonin Melts Rain Check=$1.99
1 x Cella cherry 20% wellness discount=.26¢ *not pictured*
SubTotal....$7.24

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Anacin IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Nature Made item IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Nature Made supplements VideoValues Q=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$5.00

$7.24-$5.00=$2.24-$2 +Up Rewards=.24¢ + .02¢ tax=.26¢ OOP

I received a $4 +Up Reward back for buying the Anacin.

$20.69 worth of merchandise for .26¢ out of pocket.
Nice.

Don't get all worried that I am pregnant(because I bought baby food).  I use applesauce in place of oil in my baking and this baby food applesauce will do the trick just as well as regular applesauce.  8-)
They had Gerber 2nd Foods on sale for 2/$3 with a $3 +Up Reward when you buy 2 Deal a couple weeks ago.  Of course they were out so I got rain checks for both our accounts/cards and as they get it back on the shelves the next couple months, I'll go in and redeem those rain checks.

The Melatonin Melts were a Deal a couple of weeks back as well.....on sale for $5.99 and you got a $4 +Up Rewards when you bought it.  So the rain check makes it a sale price of $1.99.  I had $3 in coupons to stack on this so it was better than free and the overage went toward the $3.99 I owed on the Anacin after my $2/1 Q for that.

I'll be back tomorrow probably with what I got with my $4 +Up Reward I earned for this transaction.  I still have to figure out how to spend it.  ;-)

Sluggy

Wanderlust is Hitting Me Again!

We'll be hitting the road later this month for a road trip.
The purpose is to go visit my daughter as we haven't seen her since she moved to Louisiana last May.
I am looking forward to that.
But we have a whole lot of miles and states to get through before we get to Louisiana.

Our last road trip back last August, we planned out to the nth degree.
This time we are playing it more by ear.
Other than the basics of a loose route and the hotel where we will be staying once we get to LA, everything else is up in the air. 
This is called being spontaneous or "freestyling" and you know what?.....it's scaring the hell out of me! lolz

I am a planner, a chart maker and list keeper.
We have so many days to get to LA by a certain date and then so many days to get home.
We also have a few things we want to do/see along the way, but other than that, everything else is up in the air.....from what roads we travel, to what we see/do(or don't see/don't do), where we eat, stop and sleep.

Hubs elected to receive a GPS for his 30 year anniversary gift at work, so we'll have that for help.  We will go armed with a map, a list of ideas/places to visit along the way and mapquest-ed directions/addresses and phone numbers.  Night's lodgings will be located using a feature on the GPS for such or using booklets or signs on the Interstate or personal recommendations.

I fear we'll pay too much for lodgings this way(just dropping in last minute and hoping the motel/hotel is under booked and practically giving away rooms for the night is NOT my idea!)but I am going to go with it.

I didn't buy any restaurant dotcom eatery certificates to bring the meal prices down, but we won't be locked into getting to/eating at a specific destination either.
Though I do have some gift cards(for eateries I already had)so I'll bring those for "just in case" situations.  But I do prefer to eat local food, not in a chain.

And we are renting a car like we did last August so there is no added wear and tear on our already beleaguered vehicles.

While I have ideas on a few excursions we are open to other ideas. 

So if you are on our way(between northeastern PA and northwestern LA)and either are up to a visit or giving us a place to sleep for a night, or have some ideas of places/things to see/experience along that route, or words of advise/wisdom, drop me a note either on the blog or privately and I'll take all under advisement.

Since we WILL be nearby to New Orleans, we'd like to experience that city, but we won't be stopping there this trip.  We looked at going but it's just not do-able this time.
Heck, if we retire to LA it will be just down the road anyway and we'll have many opportunities to go there then.

Heck, if we are swinging by your town, maybe you'll be granted an audience with Sluggy and I can bring you your own personal Bloggerpalooza II goody bag.....won't that be a treat?! ;-)

Sluggy

Have I Mentioned How Much I Hate Cars Lately?

First let me state for the record......March kicked my ass.

Except for a few days away in Delaware, it was a sucky month, both financially and personally.
Lots of bills....too many for my taste.
If not for a nice tax refund we would have been into the negative money in March after paying all the bills.

The health is ok but I am not making enough progress on my goals of dropping weight and getting more fit.  It's difficult to see results when you can't exercise much due to breathing issues.

Can't get motivated to do what needs to be done to this house or the many projects I have to do.
I am about at the point where I just want everything that isn't getting completed GONE from the house.  I feel a big donation to Sallie's bubbling up to the surface.... ;-)
At this rate, by the time 4 years from now gets here, I won't have anything to throw away or even MOVE when we leave this house. lolz

My newly fixed, floored, painted and crown molding-ed living room still has no furniture in it.  But the dog enjoys the rug in there to sun herself on nice days.
I'm so glad we had that work done.....for the dog's pleasure. ha!

I guess I am just feeling frustrated and ready for some warmer weather.  Remind me I said that when I am sweltering a few months from now... ;-)

Back to the bills.....
I just tallied up what we've spent on the SUCK HOLE that are cars in just the first 3 months of
this year.

$5,076.35

And that's just repairs; not gas, insurance and the usual monies we have to sink into them.

I just wish you could fix everything car related with duct tape.  My life would be so much more pleasant and richer!

So hating what it costs to remain mobile in this society of ours......

Hubs has decided to just limp along with his vehicle(aka the Death Trap)until August.
When #2 Son leaves for college the Death Trap gets donated(somewhere they will take it!lol)and he'll start driving the 3rd car(that use to be his car before he bought the DT)again.
Then we have to decide what to do with my minivan......the one that needs bodywork or won't pass inspection this time again next year, but doesn't even have 100K miles on it yet.

Maybe we will become a 1 car family by then?
We had planned on downsizing to 2 cars this year, then 1 car once he retired in 4 years time.
Maybe we'll get down to 1 car sooner than we planned.

Lord knows I'll enjoy NOT spending all that cash on the beastly things!

Sluggy

 

$24K Savings Challenge.....March Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.
Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into a Savings Challenge. 

For 2014 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $24,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the March report.....

I have posted my March End of Month $24K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $2,000.

I have to report that we finished up March with a larger than targeted amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of March with?.......$3,192.73.

Income
We had -$738.52 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Bad bad month for bills....between unexpected car repairs, yearly bills being paid in this month and a "higher than I like to see" credit card bill, the income outpaced the bills. 
 

Other monies received in March totaled $3,931.25.  This included interest made on accounts, stock dividends, a per diem from Hub's work and a federal tax refund.  Most of this was the tax refund.

This brought us to our gain of $3,192.73
Since we have no debt anymore, this goes into savings.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  The electric bill went down almost $100 from Feb's bill.

*  I spent under $345 for food/toiletries in March.

 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

 

*  Another unexpected car repair bill over $1K. ugh
*  2 extra flute lessons in March.

*  The yearly local taxes are due end of April but I paid them in March.
*  The c/c bill was $300 more than Feb's bill.
*  $310 MORE in cash withdrawals.
*  Sewage bill was paid for the whole year this month.
*  The local taxes were paid for the year this month.
 

 

The Food Budget costs for March are in another post, which is located HERE.

The 2014 GRAND TOTAL.....
With 3 months accounted for, our Savings Grand Total for 2014 is $4,757.20
$1,242.80 short at this point of the $6,000.00 I should have put aside after 3 months.
 

 

Looking ahead for April......

*  I will continue to do this Savings Challenge and report in each month on how it is going.

*  I have a road trip to go visit my daughter scheduled this month so lodging, gas & food expenses will happen.

*  The electric bill should continue to go down as the weather warms and we turn down/off the heat.
 

 

So how was your March financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in March?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings in an emergency fund or a retirement account?

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

Sluggy

The "New" Plan

As some of you may know, Hubs and I are going on a road trip this month, with the destination point being the town where my daughter now lives.
I haven't seen her since she moved there last May, so it's been almost a year since she's been gone and we've seen her.

I miss her.
I can bet you that after 2 days being around her, I'll take that statement back. lol

Anyway, we are looking forward to visiting her and seeing a part of the country that, at least my Hubs, has never been to before.

The daughter's living situation is tenuous at this point.  She's been living with her boyfriend and his parents since May.
That situation has been "going downhill" for months now.  Nothing dangerous or bad but she and the BF want to move out as soon as they are able.  They are in their 20's now and want to get out on their own.

So here comes another one of my hair brained ideas....uh oh.....!LOLZ

Hubs and I are still up in the air in terms of what part of the country we are going to retire to, but he IS retiring in 4 years and Hubs wants to move away from the "snow belt" and I want to be near wherever my kids end up living, so we have come up with an idea.

I have contacted a realtor and while we are down in Louisiana we are going to be looking at property there.

The plan now is to find something inexpensive, a foreclosure, etc., we can buy soon,  that the daughter and BF can live in for the next few years, until Hubs retires.  At that point they can make arrangements to buy the house from us or they can move out and we'll move in and renovate or have a new home built on the property.

The housing market down there is still quite depressed and there are many many foreclosures and folks desperate to sell.
I want to find something we can pay cash for(since we won't be selling our house up in PA yet)and the kids can do any fix-up work to get it livable(on our dime).  In exchange for free rent, they take care of the place.  They will be responsible for the taxes and utilities.

We are thinking about properties with at least 2 acres outside of the cities there.  Most of these would be mobile home situations.  As long as the trailer is in good enough condition, these would be the cheapest option and the most attractive for our needs.
Once Hubs retires and we move down there, we'd move the trailer(or haul it off depending on condition)and have a new house built on the property for us(after selling the house in PA since we'd use those funds to pay for the new house).

I figure, Hubs will enjoy the weather there(thank goodness for A/C for me!lol), we will enjoy the laidback lifestyle down there, plus we'll be close by to where my daughter lives.  She plans on having kids so this is important that we be close by.  My oldest is also planning on relocating to the South at some point so we'll also be closer to him and his GF.  It's too soon to guess where #2 Son will end up as an adult so we can't even make a plan taking him into consideration.

So we'll see what develops from this trip.

Sluggy