Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The Apartment Hunt has Concluded

Well it was an anti-climatic apartment hunting trip.
A real mixed bag of highs and lows.

Let me "share" with y'all about just one place now.
We lovingly refer to it as the "shithole" apartment.

Would you allow your grown kid to live in a shithole? I'm sorry but that is the ONLY word I could use to describe this "apartment".
 

 Notice that eldest son has his shirt over his nose/mouth so he doesn't gag from the stench.  Too bad blogs don't have "smell-o-vision".....ok, maybe it IS a good thing on the other hand if you ever want to have an appetite to eat again.

The carpeting(if you can still call it that-and the linoleum in the combo kitchen/living room is so old and ripped up.   The window looked original to the building which had to date from the 1930's or 1940's.
 
The bathroom?....well I'll spare you those photos.
 
It looked like someone had been murdered in the larger of the two bedrooms.
They didn't even paint or clean the walls of the filth, graffiti and the feces smeared handprints. The "central air" turned out to be 1 antique window unit in the bedroom. 
 
This photo didn't come out to show you what was on the walls.
This was a ballpoint pen drawing of what looked like a giant turd.
 
 
Except for this newish stove/oven there was a 50 yr. old fridge.  The whole floor was slanted as the building was quite old and worn out and there was a grocery/convenience store under the apartment....and an equally ancient gas pump out front.
 
I thought I was going to have a lawsuit trying to get down the rickety stairs back down to ground level.
Well if I didn't trip on the missing linoleum times and rotted plywood underlayment of the "porch" first.
Hey, but there was a rain soaked old sofa on the patio area under the porch with a great view of the dumpster sitting next to the building.....


 
 
And they wanted $850 a mo. for the honor of living in this.....I wouldn't even live here if you paid ME $2000 a mo.!
 Heck I wouldn't even let their cat live here and you know how I feel about cats....lol

What planet is this guy living on?
Unfricking-believable.

 And what's even more alarming is that someone IS living in the identical unit next door!! It has to be a crack head NOT to be aware of the filth and smell.  But the crack head next door DOES have a satellite dish for his tv.   What is wrong with HIS priorities?   Live in a shithole but have 250 cable channels to dull the pain......lolz

And this bargain apartment isn't even NEAR civilization or an urban center with jobs/stores/services!

Eldest went back into the grocery store to thank the owner for showing us this disaster but said "no thanks".
To which the owner replied if he didn't like this one he had others.......wtf!?!?


We did find 2 other suitable living situations and eldest and his GF have decided on which one of those to go with so we'll be signed the lease and putting $ down later this morning.
And the other 2 apts. were clean, newly painted, with appliances that were from something post 1950, had a washer and dryer, attached to a complex with a pool, exercise/weight room, clubhouse, etc. and cost slightly more than what the slumlord was asking for the crime scene apartment.

All I can say is WOW......just wow.

Sluggy

Monday, July 13, 2015

This Week on the Dining Table


It's the "Using Up Leftovers" Edition-- I think the only "cooking" I did last week was making a big pot of clam chowder.  The rest was just reheating leftovers pretty much. 
 
Onward to the meal planning!
 
Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Picnic leftovers
2. Monday--leftover Salmon, stir-fry veggies
3. Tuesday--picnic leftovers
4. Wednesday--maybe Subway sammiches
5. Thursday--more picnic leftovers
6. Friday--smoked bbq chicken legs(in freezer), picnic sides
7. Saturday--either take-out or eating out(eldest comes home)
 
And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Picnic leftovers
2. Monday--Picnic leftovers
3. Tuesday--leftover Salmon and stir-fry veggies
4. Wednesday--Chinese buffet lunch, leftover dinner
5. Thursday--Clam Chowder me(leftover pasta Hubs)
6. Friday--smoked bbq chicken legs(in freezer), ribs, picnic sides
7. Saturday--pizza for lunch out, Chinese take-out(I had gyoza and a big salad)

Everything as planned except I made a pot of clam chowder on Thursday and we had Chinese buffett instead of Subway on Wednesday.
Pretty boring on the eating front.

As for my grocery spending last week.....
I don't have my tracking book with me right now but I spent $28 and change on groceries last week.  I ended up making 1 quick trip to Weis on Friday when I went out for an eye drop refill.

The food spending is up to about $126 for July and we are almost halfway through the month.

Leftovers going into this week--baked beans(lat picnic leftover)and clam chowder.
 
Here is this week's food plan--

1. Sunday--?
2. Monday--?
3. Tuesday--?
4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?
6, Friday--?
7. Saturday--?

This week I didn't plan anything yet.  Eldest son and I are in VA until Wed. apartment hunting so Hubs and College Boy will be fending for themselves.  Lots of stuff in the freezer and I think we have a frozen pizza out there too if they get desperate.
As for after we get home I have no clue yet.  I'll pull something out of my hat when we get home.
I did want to do a big roast turkey dinner at some point because we'll have enough people here to justify cooking one of the four large turkey breasts in the freezer.

What I need to buy for this menu?.....again, no clue yet.
 
What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?    

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy

Saturday, July 11, 2015

It's The Little Things Sometimes

I've gotten joy out of doing some little things around here lately.....

*  We use to have large world maps on the laundry room door in our upstairs hallway.  Since the kids are grown the maps were tossed but the foam sticky pads holding them onto the door are still affixed to said door.
I took my trusty bottle of Goo Gone and a Q-tip to those foam pads last week and now the door is again a thing of beauty.

*  I won this wall art at the local church auction last Oct. and have been waiting for Hubs to actually hang it on the wall in the dining room.  After 8 MONTHS I got tired of waiting so I hung it myself......

It only took 5 minutes.

*  I made breakfast smoothies a couple of times lately.
I took some frozen peach slices, a cup of peach yogurt, a blueberry/carrot/kale fruit mix-in cup(gotten for free at Weis in May)and a couple of ice cubes.


That gave me 2 days worth of fruit smoothies.
Nice and tasty and cool start to a hot Summer day.......



*  I purged a bunch of papers by putting my yearly household expense sheets onto my computer.  5 years of monthly reports. bleh.  I then copied all that info onto a flash drive too and happily threw out a stack of paper!   This wasn't such a little things since it took days to finish but I feel much lighter and more organized for it.

*  While we keep getting rain nearly every day for months now, the sun has come out enough to help my pitiful little garden grow a bit.


I've got tomatoes, pole beans, collards and yellow squash planted in this patch.


The "regular" tomatoes are finally setting buds on the plants and I've even got 1 tiny mater in this blurry shot.....



*  I did all the financial data for the last 6 months for my Etsy store.  After fees, shipping and the cost of the fabric when I purchased it, I have netted $37.66 in income there.  I sold 14 pieces of fabric this year through June.
I have also sold 2 more pieces just this week.  I am not going to get rich but at least I am making a little something on stuff I can't use and it's going to a good home where it will be appreciated.

*  We only ate out(or got take-out)3 times in June.....Subway x1, Chinese take-out x 1 and a day out at a local brewery for Father's Day.  $79.71 spent in total on Eating Out Food.

*  Our credit card bill just cut and it's $377.69 for July.  MUUUUUCH better than the $3K+ bill in June from our May road trip to Louisiana.  I'll have a nice big hunk of $$$ to put into savings at the end of July into my Savings Challenge unless something terribly expen$ive comes up before July is over.

*  After my 1 Day Post-Op appointment at the eye doc College Boy drove me to the Dollar Tree so I could pick up some "cheater" glasses.  I need these now to see paperwork, etc.
Me in my fashionably green frames.........



I just wish everyone could be as gorgeous as me. *snort*

*  Being able to pay the monthly garbage bill for the full year at one time and not have it cramp my finances.  Call me a nerd but it's one less thing to worry/bother/deal with later on this year.

*  Having the humidity break from all this intermittent rain since May and being able to open the window and feel a breeze in the house. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

*  I got my "sealed pot" of coins out to count and roll 'em up.......


$54 so far this year.

*  I purged the stack of coupon inserts before June ended too.....




What little things you can appreciate that are going on in your world lately?

Sluggy
 

Friday, July 10, 2015

The Yearly Savings Challenge & How It Has Helped Me Save $

Ok, so I've talked before about how I utilize the Savings Challenge monies I tuck away each year.

I save and save in one year and then, in the following year, if we have any bills/costs not covered by our regular yearly income, we use that previous year's savings to apply toward the following year's costs.  At the end of the following year, anything left in the previous years Savings Challenge gets put into an investment account and becomes "permanent savings".

Basically we use last year's savings as our emergency fund to pay for any current year's costs we can't cover with the current year's regular pay.

I've been doing this since 2009 and it seems to be working out quite well for us.

In 2009 we saved $23,865.36.
In 2010 we spent $13,460.81 of that 2009 money on various expenses(a used car purchase, a new fridge and a couple of vacations).
At the end of 2010 we had $10,404.55 leftover of the 2009 money and it got tucked away to permanent savings.

In 2010 we saved $34,019.88.
In 2011 we spent only $427.81 of that 2010 money toward a quick trip to OC.
At the end 2011 we had $33,592.07 leftover of the 2010 money and it got added to the 2009 "leftovers" for a grand total of $43,996.62 tucked away to permanent savings.

In 2011 we saved $34,461.31.
In 2012 we spent $2,627.16 of that 2011 money toward a used car purchase and 2 mini-vacation trips.
At the end of 2012 we had $31,834.15 leftover of the 2011 money and it got added to the 2009 & 2010 "leftovers" for a grand total of $75,830.77 tucked away to permanent savings.

In 2012 we saved $28,907.08.
In 2013 we spent 23,611.66 of that 2012 money toward a rebuilt car engine, home renovations/repairs and supplies, a road trip to the Midwest and a new/replacement HVAC system for our house(the last item accounted for about half of all that spending).
At the end of 2013 we had $5,295.42 leftover of the 2012 money and it got added to the 2009-2011 "leftovers" for a grand total of $81,126.19 tucked away to permanent savings.

In 2013 we saved $24,033.60.
In 2014 we spent ZERO of that 2013 money.  Up until 2014 any bonuses Hubs received at work were directly dumped into our kid's college funds account.  The 2013 Bonus was when we finished funding the college account, so we could apply the 2014 Bonus toward expenses we couldn't cover with the regular income in 2014.  This meant the 2013 Savings Challenge monies didn't have to be touched as long as the 2014 Bonus could cover any out of the ordinary expenses that year.
At the end of 2014 we had the whole $24,033.60 leftover of the 2013 money and it got added to the 2009-2012 "leftovers" for a grand total of $105,159.79 tucked away to permanent savings.

In 2014 we saved $46, 193.93(a chunk of which was leftover Bonus money we didn't spend in 2014 since we had finished funding the college account).

Hubs got a Bonus this year and after buying a new used car we still have approx. $14K left to cover a bathroom redo in 2015.  If we don't need to touch the 2014 savings in 2015, at the end of 2015 we could have tucked away to permanent savings(when added to the 2009-2013 "leftovers") an incredible $151,353.72.

If we keep trending along this path, by the time Hubs retires in 2+ years(and if he receives a Bonus in the next 2 years similar to what he received in 2015)we could have an additional  $211K saved for retirement in addition to everything we have been putting away all these years into the actual retirement accounts.

If you had asked me when I started this scheme in 2009 if I'd be able to save this kind of cash I would have laughed in your face.

This just proves that by putting small amounts of money away, over time, you can achieve a financial goal.
I know many are not in the position to save tens of thousands of cash a year but you CAN save something no matter how much your income is a year.
The point is to JUST START TODAY!

Put away something every month.
Don't live TO your means, live a bit BELOW your means.
Save what you can and on a regular basis, every month.

Sluggy

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Ocean City October 2014 Vacation....Part 3

On Wednesday, our last day in Ocean City, we slept in.  Hubs went out and got us some Fractured Prune donuts to eat in the room.  This is a tradition to get FP donuts once during our OC trips.

Around noon we went out to see a movie called "The Trip to Italy".
Man, what a plodding, slow British "dramedy".  I like Steve Coogan but this one was a dud.
Can I have that 2 hours of my life back please? lolz

Then we drove around a bit shopping(didn't buy anything)and then went fruitcake hunting at Rose's.  Still too early for Christmas fruitcakes to be put on the shelves there that year.

We had an early dinner at J/R's the Place for Ribs.  It's been here for ages and we've been here before though I am not a fan and don't know what any one sees in the place but Hubs wanted to go.


We got a Combo Dinner for 2(some special they offered for $39.99)of ribs and chicken(I think).  Their ribs are nothing compared to what I had in Memphis on our May trip this year nor are they as good as what I can make myself on the smoker!

After dinner we hit the 45th St. TapHouse......



It is located on the bayside, right on the water a few doors down from the actual brewery and their restaurant.

A bit chilly to sit outside there at night but I wandered out to take in the view anyway at dusk.....



Hubs got a flight of Assawoman Bay Brewing beers they carry on tap at 45th St. Tap House.....


I didn't feel like drinking(crazy, right?)so I just snapped photos of the décor and browsed the gift shop....

Ok, Hubs talked me into this dark brew......



I guess he liked the brews here because he wanted a memorial photo standing in front of the place......


Then it was back to the room to pack up and enjoy more brews on the balcony....



We left OC late Thursday morning and headed back north along the coast to Rehoboth.....


One day we'll stop at one of these beach access areas here along the coast below Rehoboth but not today.

We made another stop at one of the big liquor stores in Rehoboth for some provisions to take home.

Ron Burgundy Scotchy Scotch?.....I don't think so! lolz


By this time it was the lunch hour so we stopped for an early repast before the long journey home since we hadn't had any breakfast......


I had wanted to take Hubs here for a few years and finally did.  The man loves him some Italian food!
I forgot to get a t-shirt that they sell here that says, "I've been touched." lolz

Hubs got a calamari appetizer.....


And I got a shrimp bisque zuppa....


If that wasn't enough I then ate a veal parm sub......


It was half price sandwich day....yes!

I think this one was called the "Da Vinci".....

Touch of Italy isn't cheap so I am glad we got lunch instead of dinner and that the sammiches were half off that day.....a win/win!
Not cheap but it was very authentic and good.

After lunch we got into the car with full bellies and headed north.


Just a sign along the route home before we hit Wilmington area.

And that was the end of our last hurrah of the traveling season in 2014 here at Chez Sluggy.

I hope y'all enjoyed the trip.  ;-)

Sluggy