To-Do List.....December Update

Let's take a look at how I did crossing off the To-Do List in December.

Have Car Tuned Up  PASS!  Got it done the first week in December.  Everything on the car was AOK. 8-)

Clean out Basement  PASS!  We got decomposing cardboard boxes cleaned out and old junk that needed throwing away tossed.  We also removed old wooden pallets that were down there when we moved in and Hubs cleaned up some mold on the floor/walls.
Now I just need to decide what to do with all my ceramic molds down there and all my bisqueware still unpainted from when I had my ceramic studio.

Pick up College Boy  PASS!  Got him early December.  The weather was good so no worries getting this done safely.

Put up Xmas Lights(outside)  PASS!  Hubs got it all up while the weather was unseasonably warm.

Put up Xmas Tree & Decorate  PASS!  Tree went up and we slowly decorated it and the house(what little I do)after College Boy came home.

Mail Daughter's Bday Gift  PASS!  Mailed and received well before the birthday.

Write Xmas Cards  PASS! Done in plenty of time to.....

Mail Xmas Cards  PASS!  Mailed out and they all arrived as far as I know well before Dec. 25th.

Finish Xmas Shopping  PASS!  Except for Hubs it was all done long ago.  He waits until the last minute to give me his wishlist but it was all stuff I could run out locally and get without going to a big box store or the mall so it's all good.  8-)

Wrap Xmas Presents  PASS!  Done well ahead of Dec. 25th.

Mail out Xmas Presents  PASS!  Only a couple of things needed to be mailed and went out 2 weeks before Xmas.  Daughter's Xmas presents were mailed earlier in the month when I sent her birthday presents.....about the only advantage of having a Dec. birthday is combined shipping costs. lolz

Have a December Giveaway  PASS!  Yep.

Pick a Giveaway Winner  PASS!  Yep again.

Mail out Giveaway Box  PASS!  Mailed out the day after winner contacted me and received well before the end of December.

Bike 45 Miles  PASS!  Even with being away for a week at the end of December I got in a few miles past my goal........

Pay Bills  PASS!  All paid and on time as per usual.....

Gather Salvation Army Donations #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6  PASS!  I was on a roll in December and made 6 trips with no longer needed items to charity.

A sampling of what left the house in December...........

Take in Salvation Army Donations #1-#6  PASS!  6 Loads gathered AND taken up within a day or two of getting the loads gathered.
Even with this flurry of donations we might not have enough deductions to itemize this year on our tax return, when added to our cash donations and taxes paid, etc.  Oh well....that's not the main reason to donate but it would be nice to see a financial benefit too.

Take Xmas Trip  PASS!  It was a quick trip to see family in Virginia.  A bit of a ride but worth it and the weather cooperated until the last hour driving home.

                          Hubs snuck a photo of me stirring fudge.

Bake Xmas Goodies  PASS!  I don't usually bake many Xmas goodies but I do make a few....mostly pies and a couple of kinds of cookies and my bourbon fudge.
This year since we were going to be leaving 2 days after Xmas and I wasn't about to drag pies, cookies and fudge along for the ride, I only made 1 type of cookie and that was mostly for College Boy as it's his favorite cookie.  I did also make the fudge for gift giving but I bought desserts for Xmas dinner instead of making pies.  There were modest amounts of treats and I think I struck the proper balance on that this Season.

Inventory Stockpile  FAIL!  Yep, 1 big old red fail this month.  There was a lot of food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods coming in this month but with all the other demands on my time I barely got things put away let alone inventoried.  Oh well......this gives me something to do in January, right?  Not like I have much on my plate this month--just TAXES and FAFSA and all that entails.  yuck.  8-(

So we got through December with practically everything on my list taken care of.
Now THAT'S the way I like to end the year!  8-)))

Off I go to write up the January To-Do List.....ok, maybe that can wait until tomorrow since I have some shopping to do today.

How did you do with your To-Do List for December?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "The Holidays are Over and It's Time to Get Back to It" Edition--

I saw this on Facebook somewhere and it so describes me. lolz
Unfortunately it's time to get back into "real life" and that means cooking from scratch and meal planning around here.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week.......

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

A whole lot of ?s as we were not home so there was no plan.

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Roast Chicken, Collards at brother's house
2. Monday--Barbecue Dinner Out
3. Tuesday--Taco Salad at brother's house
4. Wednesday--Chili's Out(I had a burger and salad)
5. Thursday--Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner at son's apt.
6. Friday--Late Lunch at a Diner out(I had liver w/onions, mashed pots, broccoli and salad)
7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had 2 dinner rolls with prime rib on them)

We ate 10 meals out(3 dinners, 5 lunches, 2 breakfasts)and had cooked at home meals(just not our home most days)7 times.

As for my grocery spending last week......no trips for food as we were on vacation but I did pick up a few things at 2 different Walmarts to bring home(Chinese veggies, G2 Gatorade, tea), so I have spent $19.01 of the January food budget so far this month.

Leftovers going into this week......Prime Rib Roast leftovers and Rolls.  These are the leftovers College Boy didn't eat while we were gone......what is wrong with that boy??, not eating prime rib! lolz

Here is this week's "food plan"--

1. Sunday--Chicken Parmesan, Brussels Sprouts
2. Monday--Steak Sandwiches(using leftover Prime Rib)
3. Tuesday--Haddock Loins(fish), Mixed Veggies, Cole Slaw
4. Wednesday--Beef Stew w/Beer(using leftover Prime Rib)
5. Thursday--Lasagna, Salad
6. Friday--Fried Shrimp, Cole Slaw, Steak Fries, Corn
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 2 meal of leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu?
Carrots, Salad Greens, Cabbage.  I bought cottage cheese a few weeks ago for a lasagna and I have shrimp, fish, chicken and shredded mozzarella in the freezer.  I'll use up some "long in the tooth" potatoes with the steak fries and in the stew.
We also need milk.
$12 should cover what is needed.

I haven't even looked at the grocery store ads yet this week.

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 last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?

Sluggy

$28K Savings Challenge.....December & Year End 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 or these other categories.

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 an interest bearing Savings Challenge account.

For 2015 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $28,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the December report.....

I have posted my December End of Month $28K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

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 $2,333.33.

I have to report that we finished up December with a goodly amount leftover.
The extra amount we ended the month of December with?.......$3,323.77

Income

We had $2860.71 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.

Other monies received in December totaled $463.06.  This included interest made on non-retirement accounts, quarterly dividend checks. a per diem and cashing out my SavingStar rebate for the year.

This brought us to our gain of $3323.77
Since we have no debt, this goes into savings.

Outgo

As for the expenses this December, 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.
*  The electric bill was only up $41.46 from last month.  With electric heat this is an amazing total for heat and lights, etc. for December in northern, mountainous PA. We have never had a December electric bill here under $200 before!  Between the record high temperatures and my diligence at turning down/off electrical drawing appliances take the credit for this win.
*  The credit card was down $38.19 from November's bill.

HERE are the BAD THINGS(and the not so bad)
.
*  The water bill was up $13.60 from last month.  The 5 days College Boy was home last month explain this easily. lolz
*  The gas card bill went up $32.58 from last month.  Not so bad as this means Hubs but more gas purchases on the credit card instead this month.  It has to come out of one or the other, right? ;-)
*  Medical payments were up $468.77 from November.  This was due to finally getting the invoice for the first cataract surgery charges.  The eye surgeries are all paid off now, rah!
*  The cash withdrawn was up $600 from November.  Having to take cash on our trip and a little more Holiday spending by Hubs can explain this one.  ;-)
*  There was a Kohl's bill to pay as well as birthday and Christmas monies we paid out to our kids.

The Food Budget costs for December are in another post, which is located HERE .  I stayed under my  December $350 budgeted amount(on this report grocery money comes out of "Cash")on that expense only due to cashing out on my Saving Star Rebates for the year.

December was a fairly expensive month for us, especially since we didn't have a large "regular" irregular bill to pay this month(insurances, taxes, sewer, etc.)  Just an increased electricity bill with having the heat on, a large medical bill total and some extra cash spending and traveling for the Holidays.

The 2015 TOTAL.....
With 12 months accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2015 is $41,775.56.
Except--Since we have our high medical deductible kicking in on Jan. 1st I will only be putting $1,548.21 of what was saved in December into the Savings Challenge.  This will give me an even $40K saved in 2015.
The other $1,775.56 is going to roll over and remain in our checking account to help offset medical charges for the beginning of the year before we satisfy a $3K deductible amount.  It doesn't cover the full deductible figure but it does go a little more than halfway to reaching the HMD.

That full year $40K savings amount averages to $3333.34 a month put into savings for 2015. Some months was much more than that and some months were much less.

We have well surpassed our $28K Savings Goal by $12K+ in 2015.  I am very happy with this final count.

Final thoughts on December---
Even with increased Holiday spending and such we saved a goodly amount this month.

THOUGHTS going forward into 2016----

Even though some of the invoiced medical charges I put money aside for in previous months of 2015 haven't arrived so they can be paid, I have still deducted those bills from our monthly income.  Once they come in(now in 2016)they won't affect our savings/spending monies set aside to be disbursed and we can start the new year with a clean spreadsheet as it were.  ;-)

I will of course continue to save part of our monthly income and bank it-part to spend on those large irregular bills that come in during the year and part to tuck away for additional funds to augment our retirement savings.
Still mulling over how much to make the Savings Goal for 2016.  Perhaps $35K......maybe less.  I need to get out my spreadsheets and study the last few years of spending, the potential income for 2016 vs. potential 2016 bills to see where the spending may land this year.

So how was your December financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in December?
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!

Are you happy with how you managed your money in 2015?  Or do you need to do a better job of juggling all the commitments to your income in 2016?

As we go forward into 2016 why not make this new year the one were you clean up your finances and pay off your debts.
Plan to set something aside if you don't already now or increase what you bank now for your future self.
Live below your means and keep some change for a rainy day....because no matter how sunny it is in your life now, dark clouds come along and you'll be glad you have that umbrella to keep you dry.

Sluggy

January 1st 2016 Net Worth Snapshot

We are $8,363.21 up from last month's net worth(only liquid cash/investments, as I don't count housing or car values).  Over $3K of that if due to savings put away in December from our household accounts.  The other almost $5K is from our retirement/investment account gains.

We are also $126,000+  up from one year ago, the January 1st of 2015 net worth snapshot.

Once Hubs retires I will miss these little monthly look backs, when we move from acquisition mode with money to spend-down mode. ;-)


Sluggy

Happy New Year Y'all!

Sorry I went MIA on the blog yesterday.
But it is hard to write when you are traveling in a car most of the day.
Here's a recap of what was going on in my world the last 2 days--

The partying began on December 31st at lunchtime.......

Let's play "Where's Waldo?"(but substitute Waldo for the Craft Beer) among the family members in this photo at lunchtime . lolz

This place had an entire large menu just for their beer offerings....geez!

Oh, appetizers happened here, yes sirree they did!
Pretzels as big as your head and homemade Pimento Cheese with pickles and baguette.

There may have been a Revolutionary War era hospital on this site(and the sign looked about that old too!)but the current site tends to mental health alcoholic and physical hunger needs now.

It was back to the hotel for a quick nap and then some of us had a swim before heading out for dinner at our son's apartment.

We hung out afterwards, watched a movie nibbled on snacks and started the imbibing while waiting for son's GF to get off work and join the party.

As we rang in the New Year of 2016 this is what was going on around me........

Rockin' in the New Year with tv.
Half of these celebrities I don't even know who they are.
I am officially an old geezer now......

But I do still know how to drink! ;-)

Lilly the grandkitty was not amused by the human hijinks in the wee hours of the morning.

After going back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep and breakfast we packed up and left for home.

But not before stopping along the way at a Walmart to stretch the legs and have a "look/see".  This cute Thomas the Tank Engine bank tempted me into picking it up for a 2016 Xmas giftie until I remembered that my son is not 3 years old anymore but 24+.
Oops.....

And then awhile later we were crossing into PA.  A quick very late lunch/early dinner in Carlisle and then only a few more hours until we would be home.

And then the skies opened up and it started snowing!
Flurries at first but as we crossed that invisible "snow line" that exists once you get far enough North  in PA, it looked dubious whether we'd be able to get home before being inundated with that evil white stuff.

We hit some bad snow squalls and the snow was covering the ground next to the highway and then swirling on the roadway.  The temperature was bouncing around like a ball on a roulette wheel from below to above freezing and we went in and out of snow, sleet and ice ball range, leaving the road wet and possibly slick with black ice.  And all that was within the last hour of the drive.

But in the end we persevered and pulled into our driveway around 5 pm or 2 hours past when we expected to get home.

A quick unloading of the car and then we handed College Boy his gifts from his brother and his Aunt and Uncle.

Gift cards all round.  Love the "Man Card" design one. lolz

So now, on January 2nd,  I have laundry to tackle, meals to plan and cook(maybe we'll get some take-out this weekend as I ease back into "real life"), 2015 goals as well as December/monthly ones to recap, a Savings Challenge to close out and then to formulate what the heck will be in store for us here at Chez Sluggy in 2016.
And there is always another trip to Rite-Aid to pull off before this day is out....... 8-)

So please bear with me as I dig out and get back into my domestic groove again.

Let's look forward to a year of many possibilities for us all, where the good largely outweighs the bad in our lives.
Here's to us all!!!

Sluggy