Vacation Financial Post Mortem

I am such a nerd.....but y'all already knew that.
I did my Louisiana road trip Financial Post Mortem the other day.
I discovered that we spent a total of $2873.78 on that 12 day extravaganza. 8-0

* Gas came to $265.72  Once we got down South into more gas tax friendly states gas prices were excellent.  No complaints here. 8-)

* Lodging came to $911.74  That was 11 nights at various hotels.  The stay in LA was 6 nights in the same hotel, the one we stayed in on last year's trip.  I got a deal through Expedia and paid $68.20 a night(including all taxes)for a King Bed room in a nice hotel with indoor pool/hot tub, exwercise room and free hot breakfast.  3 of the other nights on the road were booked in advance and we got good rates at those as well($62, $84.59, $97.56).  The 2 hotels we didn't book ahead were outrageously expensive to me for what they were.  I hate not booking ahead but Hubs doesn't always want to be tied down to stopping at a particular place so I suffer. lolz

* Food came to $402.35(And that included treating Daughter to a meal 6 times as well.)  Eating didn't include much traditional fast food, so we ate well, and still didn't break the bank.  It helped the bottom line that we were treated to dinner three times along the way.  It wasn't planned but totally awesome and we appreciated it truly.
Last year's trip saw us spend $143.52 MORE on eating.

* Liquor(when bought to drink later or at home, and not at a restaurant)came to $303.66
This was almost totally Hubs purchases.  I spent a mere $32.93 on alcohol this trip.  8 bottle of beer, 2 bottles of vodka and 6 "Adult Slurpee" bags.  Hubs bought lots of beer and some pricey whiskey/whisky and bourbon.  It sure adds up. 8-(

* Entrance Fees for Sightseeing came to $74.95
This includes 3 sites/museums/gator park.  Other things we did/saw were without fees.

* "Souvenirs" came to $891.10
Before your eyes bug out of your head, know that we usually don't buy typical souvenirs.  A t-shirt, hat or bumper sticker now and again.  But I have also been known to buy food stuffs we can't get in PA, and unusual consumable items as well as souvenirs.  Most of the typical type souvenirs are bought to give as gifts too.

A usual souvenir that Hubs is known to buy are books......and books ain't cheap. ;-)
I also hit two fabric stores on this trip.....one was going out of business(so most was pretty cheap)and one was rayon batik fabric heaven(and that AIN'T cheap!).

* That leaves $24.26 I can't account for that was frittered away on this or that in cash that I don't have a receipt for.  A cup of coffee for Hub, a tea for me, or some other doodad on the road.

I can't seem to find a Total Spent for last year's road trip to Louisiana.  Maybe I didn't do one?  I can't recall.  I'll dig around when I find the time and look for that blog post so I can compare the two and either feel proud about this recent trip's spending or just go drink heavily if we spent way more this year.  ;-)

Do you keep track of your spending while on vacation?
How do you keep your costs down on trips?

Sluggy

As Ready As I'll Ever Be

Most of the tasks have been completed in preparation for the Great Moving Adventure of 2016.

Daughter's room is emptied and ready.........

All my "things" are out of the room and closet, leaving 2 dressers and the shelving attached to the wall.  Except for the basket of cough drops the rest of the things in there are Daughter's.
I vacuumed and shampooed the carpeting, cleaned the ceiling fan and Hubs put the window a/c unit in.  I didn't move the dressers and vacuum/poo under those.  If they want that done, they are welcomed to do that. lolz


In preparation for more bathroom use in the main bath I had Hubs dig our narrow bookcase out of the garage(where it was holding canned goods).
When all 3 kids were at home it lived in their bathroom for storage for all their personal toiletries so everything wasn't sitting along the tub or under the sink.  They use to just throw shit under the sink in the cabinet and it was a colossal mess!  The under sink area is reserved for cleaning supplies(kept in a plastic basket)and/or bulky items(like an electric razor, hair blower, etc.)  The medicine cabinet is for medicines only.

The bookcase could use a new coat of white paint but that's not happening now, but I did put vinyl shelf liner down on each shelf.
Each of the 3 of them get a personal shelf with the bottom shelf reserved for toiletries I found under the sink cabinet that were opened and not claimed.(I found SIX opened toothpaste tubes in this bathroom!)
If someone runs out of an item, they are to take something from that collection of opened items before opening a new one from the stockpile.

We also moved an over the door peg hangers unit to this bathroom's door to solve the towel hanging space issue, as there is only one towel bar in this room(besides the hand towel ring).

I suspect there will be more "Musical Chairs" moving things about the house once they get here and we set up a routine of sorts.

They have a large(I mean LARGE!)TV they are bringing which won't fit into their room.  Daughter wants to hang it on the wall in the den(and put our much smaller TV in their room I suppose).  This would mean we either have to get rid of or repurpose our TV cabinet in the den(as this new tv won't fit into it).  Plus the wall that would make the most sense to hang their TV has the a/c split unit on it so won't work, meaning the furniture arrangement currently in there won't work and everything has to be rearranged. sigh

And I still have to figure out how to handle the laundry room and laundry.  I am not doing Daughter and BF's clothes and will stop doing College Boy's as well this month.  The configuration in there won't work if 4 people are doing their own laundry(I do Hubs).  We only have room for two dirty clothes hampers in the laundry room(1 for whites/1 for colors)but we'll need at least 3-4 and at most 7-8 hampers for all the dirty things to keep the owners' clothing separated.  I hate the idea of keeping hampers of dirty things in a bedrooms(as the closets aren't spacious enough to keep them in there).
But we'll figure it out in time.

I still have piles/tubs of crap to go through and figure out what to do with in the living/dining room.
We aren't out of the weeds by any means but I'm ready as I'll ever be at this point.

Let the games begin! 8-O

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Things Are Looking Up for College Boy" Edition......

Ok, so this is an old photo but I haven't taken any of him recently as he hasn't been here much except to sleep and eat.
He's been working at a restaurant job he really doesn't care for(he worked here last Summer).  They have him washing dishes.  They pay him more than minimum wage but it's dirty work and it's quiet a distance from our home so he's been putting in applications for a different job and hasn't gotten any nibbles in the past month.
But over the weekend, he got phone calls back from 2 different companies and they are both in town here.  He goes in this week to check the positions out and see what they have to offer in terms of hours and pay.
Wish him luck!

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Beef Pie(using up leftover ground beef)
2. Monday--Hot dogs, Burgers, Corn, Beans
3. Tuesday--Tempura Zuchinni and Shrimp
4. Wednesday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Veg
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Salmon, Squash Casserole
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Beef Pie(using up leftover ground beef)
2. Monday--Hot dogs, Burgers, Corn, Baked Beans
3. Tuesday--Tempura Zuchinni and Shrimp
4. Wednesday--Leftovers(We had the Beef Pie)
5. Thursday--Leftovers(We had the Stuffed Shells/Meatballs)
6. Friday--Salmon, Squash Casserole
7. Saturday--Leftovers

7 meals cooked at home, 4 new dishes cooked and 3 nights of leftovers.  Most of what I planned got made but sometimes on different nights.  The Stroganoff didn't happen and moves to next week.

As for my grocery spending..... I spent a total of $114.82 on three trips to the store last week.

I have spent $114.82 for June and have $285.18 left of my $400 food budget.

Leftovers going into this week......

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

1. Sunday--Chines Take-Out(I was just too wiped out to cook.)
2. Monday--Leftover Chinese Take-Out or Fend for Yourself
3. Tuesday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Spinach Soufle or Salad
4. Wednesday--Broccoli Soup, Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--Leftover Stroganoff, Salad or Veg.
6. Friday--Chicken Fried Steak(I'll have something else), Collards, Cornbread
7. Saturday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself

This week will see 3 new meals cooked and 2 meal of leftovers or "Whatever You Can Find" and 2 meals of Eating-Out(or Eating-Out Leftovers).
Daughter & BF arrive Thursday so I not cooking a lot this week as I have more reorganizing to do.

What I need to buy for this menu.....I already have the items to make the 3 dishes I am cooking this week.
We'll need milk and canned soup(for the BF)but other than that I am holding off on buying much until after they get here.

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

June 1 Net Worth

We are actually down $43,575.04 from last month's net worth overall(only liquid cash/investments, as I don't count housing or car values).  While the retirement accounts were up over $6K for June 1, we are down overall due to purchasing a house last month, so less money in liquid assets. If you count the value of the house in net worth we are up $10,065.27 from May 1.

We are up $74,214.73 from one year ago, the June 1st of 2015 net worth snapshot.  Large sums of money generate goodly amounts even with a stagnant interest rate.
Curses on the FED though as we could really be earning much more if it didn't artificially keep the rates in the basement. sigh.

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

Sluggy

June's Boring Blog Box Giveaway

Ok Folks, here is the fourth  Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for 2016.

Here is what you can win if your entry is picked.......

1 x CeraVe Lotion
1 x Stopain Topical Pain Reliever
1 x Nivea Body Wash
1 x Pantene Shampoo(w/sample conditioner)
1 x Olay In-Shower Lotion
1 x Colgate Mouth Wash
1 x Ace Heating Pad(disposable)
1 x Colgate Toothpaste
1 x Summer's Eve Wipes
1 x AlevePM
1 x Rite-Aid Toothbrush
1 x Chloraseptic Cough Drops
1 x Advil Sample
1 x ExoDerm Sample
9 x Lindor Truffles


Over $60 in regular retail of toiletries(and chocolate).

Here are close-up photos of the potential winnings.............

I'll leave this giveaway open until Monday, June 13th, at 11:59pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time, so that gives everyone a full wek to enter this one.  On the 14th I'll put all the valid entries into a container and draw out a name and that person wins.


You may get ONE ENTRY EVERY DAY by leaving a comment on this blog post until the Giveaway ends.
Tell me what here is the thing you most want to win in your comment or tell me whatever you feel like telling me in your comment.  8-)

You can also get 3 BONUS ENTRIES by posting this Giveaway on your own Blog OR if you are a Follower of this blog.  Please leave 3 separate entries for these bonus entries with either a link to your blog post where you talk about the giveaway OR the name you follow under so I can verify your entries.

  Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.
I sent the last box to Canada and I found that the rates have gone way up since the last time I mailed anything to Canada!
Ouch.  As I can't afford to spent $25 to ship a prize anymore I have to keep these giveaways to US readers only now.  Sorry but that's how it has to be. 8-(


***NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.  If you're not a registered Blogger User with your contact information on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get ahold of you if you win. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one with those Google Circles nonsense I CAN NOT CONTACT YOU as Google Circles doesn't show your contact info.  I again had to disqualify some entrants in the last giveaway because their profile is linked through Google and not Blogger.  Please check your profile!  And if you ARE entering through a Blogger profile PLEASE have contact info(email addy)in that profile.  If I can't access your email addy I can't contact you so email me your email addy or add your email address to your User Profile.  If you have sent me your email addy privately for a previous giveaway I still have it on file so no need to resend it for this giveaway.

If I can't contact you then you can't win.  I have had to disqualify more readers than I care to due to this issue and I sure don't want it to happen again.  Thanks!

So let's get this started!

Sluggy