This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "I Got To See This Guy" Edition.......

Hubs and I were up to College Boy's school to see him perform and take him out for dinner this past weekend.
It was nice.
Other than the profusion of hair he looks good and is feeling happier and doing better than he has in awhile now.
My "baby" turns 21 in 4 months.....how did this happen?? ;-)

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Chicken and Dumplings

2. Monday--Sausage Sandwiches w/Onions, Roasted Cauliflower w/Garlic

3. Tuesday--Leftovers(Rigatoni), Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Mac & Cheese w/Ham,

5. Thursday--Caesar Salad w/Chicken Strips, Baked Potato

6. Friday--Fend for Yourself/Leftovers

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself(Out of Town)

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Chicken and Dumplings with Carrots

2. Monday--Sausage Sandwiches w/Onions(Kids got Chinese Take-Out)

3. Tuesday--Leftovers(Rigatoni), Leftover Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Chicken w/Mushroom Rice Casserole, Brussels Sprouts

5. Thursday--Mac & Cheese w/Ham, Leftover Broccoli

6. Friday--Barbecue Beef on Rolls, Cole Slaw

7. Saturday--Caesar Salad w/Chicken Strips, Baked Potato

6/7 meals cooked at home, 1 of them a night of leftovers, 0 nights Eating Out and 0/1 nights of Take-Out.

As for the grocery spending.....2 trips to Weis, 1 trip to the Shursave market, 1 trip to Target(for freebies) and 1 trip to Maine Source(restaurant supply)store brought my weekly spending to $171.33 and my October food spending Subtotal to $236.04 with 14 days left in the month.

My try at a $300 monthly food spending doesn't look likely for October at this point.  I am thinking $400 a month($100 per adult)is about as low as I am going to be able to go for now.
I wanted to eat down the reserves in October but the free turkey incentives have appeared and the Holiday specials have started as well.  You know.....the cheap butter and baking goods deals as well as the "spend $X get a free turkey for Thanksgiving" deals.
sigh.

I have been doing well however in my savings percentages in October.  Since I buy practically everything on sale price(and use a coupon if available)or buy food at non-traditional sources that home cooks don't frequent, I am saving over buying at regular retail prices.  Last week's shopping netted me a 53.54% savings rate and to date I have a 53.03% rate for the month.(These rates don't take into consideration what I bring home for free from Rite-Aid either.) 8-))

Leftovers going into this week........rigatoni in sauce, small container of flavored noodles, 2 pieces of chicken w/mushroom risotta, mac & cheese w/ham, bbq beef and 1 crab cake.

Here is this week's "food plan".

1. Sunday--Fend for Yourself or Leftovers
2. Monday--Pizza, Salad
3. Tuesday--Chili, Cornbread, Collards
4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--Cheese Lasagna, Salad
6. Friday--Fish, Roasted Cauliflower Acorn Squash and Potatoes
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 3 new meals cooked and 0 nights of Take-Out(but frozen pizzas one night)and 2 nights of Leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu? Salad Greens basically and 2 frozen pizzas.  I won't have time to do the pizzas from scratch today if our plans for the day pan out.

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

Last Chance for the Giveaway

Today is the last chance to get an entry in for the October Boring Blog Box Giveaway.

Go HERE to enter.
Entry closes at 11:59pm Eastern Time, October 16th, Sunday evening.

The winner will be revealed sometime on Monday, October 17th.

Sluggy

I am Not Hopeful

Not hopeful on many things lately, including where our country is heading if either Trump or Clinton are elected(combined with the current collection of chuckle heads in the Congress), but that's NOT what this post is about.

It's about my Savings Challenge Goal for 2016.

I doubt that I will actually hit my targeted amount of $38K.

I am at $28,797.32 saved with three more months to go.  That means I need to stash away $9,202.68 before we ring in 2017 to hit my goal.
That comes out to $3,067.56 each month of the next three months.

We've got 6 paychecks to receive here until the year ends.

Besides the regular bills, we have 2 irregular bills coming due out of those paychecks as well-- a quarterly garbage bill for $84 due this month and a semi-annual $950.33 car insurance bill due in November.  Plus there is the financial mayhem of the Holidays.....well not really mayhem for us as I save and buy for Christmas during the year and don't put it on credit so there is no January financial hangover.

But still, holiday spending puts a dent into what we have left to save.  ;-)

I just don't see, with our increased spending in electricity, water, food and in medical co-pays since June, how we are going to save $9K+ out of those 6 paychecks.

Plus there is the issue of keeping part of December's savings liquid in our account to use in January when the high deductibles of our medical plan kick in for the new year before we see any reductions in what we are required to pay for prescriptions, DMEs, tests and office visits.
Oh goody......

It's just doubtful if I am going to make my goal.

Yes, it's still AWESOME that I have saved $28K so far and anything more I can stash away into savings will be great.
But I so had wanted to make that $38K goal, especially since this will be the first year since I started doing these Savings Challenges that I won't reach the year's mark. sigh.

But it's all good.  A few thousand saved more or less won't change the big financial picture and I am grateful for what I've been able to put away.
After all, every little bit helps! 8-)

Sluggy

Medical WTF

I had heard that healthcare costs can vary depending on what region of the country you are in but this point was driven home lately at Chez Sluggy.

Daughter had a procedure performed locally through the pain clinic at the hospital here in late August.  This is the same procedure she had done in Louisiana when she lived there earlier in the year.
The "procedure" is a couple of injections into the back.

I am having a difficult time understanding the charges and amount that were billed for the most recent procedure given that they are so much higher than the charges when she had this done in Shreveport on two different occasions.

For example, the doctor's fees in LA came to $1,422.00.  After discounts and what our health plan paid(plus deductible we have met for the year), our co-insurance cost came to $20.23.

The doctor's fees in August in PA came to $3,878.00.  After discounts and what our health plan paid(plus deductible we have met for the year), our co-insurance cost came to $193.90.

??

But the LARGER problem is the discrepancy in the EOBs received from the facility/corp. in PA compared to what the facility/corp. in LA charged.

The LA bill came to $3,037.46 for supplies(ivs/drugs/etc.)and use of the operating and recovery rooms.  Our responsibility was $124.98.

The PA bill came to $16,420.56 for supplies/ivs/drugs/etc.)and use of the operating and recovery rooms.  Our responsibility was $893.28.
WTF?!?

How can there be a $13 THOUSAND DOLLAR difference in basically the same supplies and way in which the facility's rooms were used for the same procedure?!?

The biggest discrepancy seems to be what Geisinger in PA charged for use of the facilities(operating and recovery room)use versus what the Spine Institute in LA charged for the same items.
LA charges were $2,721.08.
PA charges were $16,224.00.

Again I say WTF?!
How can they get away with charging $13,502.92 MORE for the same exact type of rooms used in the same exact way?!?!

So by using Geisinger here we pay $1,087.18 out of pocket while we were paying $145.21 out of pocket in LA.

This is just not right.
And of course Geisinger has a monopoly on healthcare services in this region of PA and I am going to have a hard time finding a doctor/facility to do these for her that isn't connected to them and at a "normal" cost.

Just so disgusted by this.

Sluggy

Rite-Aid This Week

I went up to Rite-Aid on Tuesday for this week's moneymakers......

Two identical transactions, one on each Wellness card--

2 x Cover Girl eyebrow pencils BOGO50% sale=$5.98
2 x Cover Girl eye shadow BOGO50% sale=$5.08
SubTotal.....$11.06 + .12¢ tax=$11.18

Coupons Used
1 x $3/1 Cover Girl product IPQ=$3.00
3 x $2/1 Cover Girl product IPQ=$6.00
Coupon Total......$9.00

$11.18-$9.00=$2.18
I paid with Plenti Points and earned back $4.00 in new Plenti Points(2 x $2.00 in PPs wyb 2 Cover Girl), making each transaction a $1.82 "moneymaker".

Rinse and repeat.

Luckily I had 2 prints of the $3/1 Cover Girl IPQ(coupons dotcom)before the site pulled it.  Then they reset that Q to a $2/1 Cover Girl one and I could print 6 more of those(using 3 computers-2 prints per computer).

If I had used both $3/1 Qs in the same transaction my total after sale/Qs would have been under $2 and I wouldn't have been able to use Plenti points on that transaction so this is why I split the Qs up the way I did.

Since I don't use make-up all these items go into/were bought specifically for my giveaway box goodies and will be showing up in some of my upcoming Giveaways.

Just trying to "grow" my Plenti Points in preparation for all those Black Friday R-A Deals where what you spend, you get back in equivalent points(=free stuff!).

What did you find for free/cheap at the drugstores lately?


Sluggy