Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Nov 1st Net Worth....Update Quickie


We are actually up almost $12k from October 1st's net worth overall(only liquid cash/investments/bonds, as I don't count housing or car values).  The retirement accounts were up $6K+ for November 1 from October's calculations and the cash reserve/non-retirement accounts were up $5K.

I didn't post the October 1st Net Worth...how did I forget that? lolz
We were almost $13K up in Oct. from Sept. net worth so this month is a bit lower but still, I'll take it!!! 8-)

We are up $90,426.96 from one year ago, in the November 1st of 2015's net worth snapshot.  Even with miserable interest rates and a lackluster stock showing lately, over the course of a year it still grows at a decent clip when you have a good chunk of money invested. ;-)  Even though we are mostly out of the stock market with our investments now since we are so close to retiring we still earn a nice hunk because of the size of the pot.

We are still in acquisition mode as Hubs still has a good income.  Unless something unfortuitious happens we should keep rolling along and tucking money away, even with our expanded living costs with 2 grown kids home fulltime, for at least another year+.  The plan is still for Hubs to retire once College Boy graduates college but the moving away piece of the puzzle won't be happening quite as soon as that since Daughter is still living here so she can finish school.

Some people wonder why I am so focused on saving so much money for our retirement.
We have no pensions(government or private company)coming to us from an employer is at the base of this thinking so we can't rely on that steady monthly income stream to help keep us afloat in our old ages.  We will receive SS however(unless it goes belly up or close enough to it that the Asshats in Washington start means testing who will get what they put into it-but that's another rant for another time).
The main reason being twofold--

1-Hubs will be retiring before the age when he can collect Social Security benefits and receive Medicare.  Since I am even younger, that means I will also be healthcare shopping(+ 9 extra months worth for me)on a Government Exchange(or whatever the system is that is in place at that date)once Hubs employer isn't extending their coverage to us, before I can receive either SS or Medicare too.  Hubs employer gives retirees a lump of cash to cover some medical once they retire but it's not even close to what health premiums and deductibles will cost for those 4-7 years we may need to "bridge" to SS and Medicare.  We also have an HSA which we haven't tapped yet and are also squirreling money away in for later use, once Hubs retires and our medical bills increase.

2-I have chronic illness and am a "frequent flyer" when it comes to health services.  Except for 1 short term issue, Hubs has no health problems(well, if you don't count that I am a pain in his ass).  He takes nor needs any medications.
Lucky duck! lolz  I will always need healthcare and I suspect the costs will just keep going up(Ya think??).  Sluggy is NOT a cheap date...... ;-)

My thinking is no matter how much you think you will need to live when you get old, it won't be enough.  At some point it's going to run out.
So save whatever more you can, when you can as long as it doesn't take away from your quality of life now.

So I just keep plugging along and updating "where the money stands" until something changes.

Did you increase your net worth last month?
Do you have a retirement plan in place?

Sluggy

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Another Weis Deal Before Thursday--Update

*UPDATE*
Hey there!  I forgot to add that I had a $1/2 Tai Pei singles coupon in the Weis Coupon Book to use as well, which I forgot.
So I took the Q back in with my receipt yesterday and got my $1 back.
That means I got all 6 items below for $3.36!


Here's another Mix & Match Pick 6/Get $3 Off Deal combination I got.

Surfing around online I happened upon an "ad" for BOGO Free Scotties Q so I clicked on it and printed off 2 of them.

Then I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets and bought this.......


4 x Scotties large 250 ct. box tissues on sale($1.99)=$7.96
2 x Tai Pei frozen single serve lunches on sale($2.49)=$4.98
SubTotal...$12.94

I used Coupons--
2 x Scotties BOGO Free(up to $1.79-so didn't take exactly half off)=$3.58
2 x Tai Pei $1/1 IPQ couponsdotcom=$2.00
1 x Tai Pei $1/2 Weis CouponBookQ=$1.00
Instant $3 Discount=$3.00
Coupon Total....$9.58

$12.94-$8.58=$3.36 OOP for all 6 items
Awesome!

Sluggy


Well That was a Bust

Jack-O-Lanterns set out and lit at dusk, porch light on and the candy was in the bowl and ready for the hoards of beggars for Halloween Night.

Heck I even had the company of 2 beasts while I attended the miniature people.............

My Daughter in a Gorilla Suit and the Granddog, the fearsome canine.

The night was a bust!
The weather was near perfect-no rain, no wind and temps in the high 40's.
5 of the 6 houses on our cul-de-sac had lights on to welcome the T-or-T'ers.  The Hermit's house across the street was dark and they hid.  I guess since his kid is beyond T-or-T'ing age they don't participate.  Heck even the childless couple our age who lives catty corner to us on the street in the house that's a mirror image to ours gives out snacks to the little goblins!

By 8 pm we had 17 kids stop by to beg.  And I am not counting the two cute little brothers who came back to the house AGAIN on their way out of the cul-de-sac because I had Zombie Sour Patch Kids and they wanted some more. lolz



At 8 pm, after all but one other house on our street had shut down for the night I took the candy bowl inside.  It was too cold to remain outside with so little traffic and I could just hop back to the door if the doorbell rang.
I had 5 more show up(older teens)between 8-9 pm, which is when I turned the lights off.

22 kids!

It's never been this low a number.  I guess our part of the development has has all the children age out for this sort of activity.  Houses don't resell very often here, people tend to buy here and stay forever, or at least until they no longer need the good school district. ;-)
Come to think of it, I can only count 3 houses in my immediate area of the neighborhood where T-or-T aged kids reside.
I figure the bulk of the kids now reside in the newer development that was hooked onto the back end of ours.  It's kind of a long walk from back there to us near the front of where the residential area connects to the secondary roads through town.

Usually we get at least 100 kids.
Nada.  And there were no "little" kids(toddlers with parents or very young school age tikes). For me, those are the most fun to interact with.  The youngest kids were the twin brothers who came back for more....I'm guessing they were about 7 years old.

Now the question remains.............


What am I going to do with all this??? lolz

I can pilfer the mini Butterfinger bars but I don't like the rest(ok, maybe a Baby Ruth or two also).
Daughter & the BF will suck down the Sour Patch Kids and Airheads and some of the chocolate no doubt.
I guess there is always putting some in a candy dish for Thanksgiving guests to nosh on and use some of the chocolate bars for holiday baking.  Pouring a lot of it into various Christmas stockings in another month+ is a solution as well.

Yikes!
I totally forgot that once Halloween is over we begin the short frenzied panic to Christmas!!
* Sluggy plugs her ears and sings and hums to avoid thinking/talking about the Christmas Rush.*

So how did your Halloween go off?
Are you stuck with a metric shit ton of candy to use up?

Sluggy



Monday, October 31, 2016

Jump on These Weis Markets Deals!

This week Weis(PMITA)Markets has extended their "Fabulous Friday" one day sale from Friday to today, Monday.  4 Days of some great deals made even better if you have the Weis Fall/Winter Coupon Book that was available in their stores.


I also picked up a few deals in their regular sales ad too below.
The regular sale you can do through Wednesday evening but the Fab Friday Deals you need to get done today.
That's why I am posting this today.

Let's take a look at what Sluggy snagged for a great price........


They are doing the "Mix & Match" 6 items/Get Instant $3 Off" Deal again this week.  Every week the items that qualify change.

* In the photo above I bought for this Deal--
1 Hungry Jack Pancake Mix(on sale for $1.99)
1 Hungry Jack Syrup(on sale for $1.99)
2 Pepperidge Farms Swirl Bread(on sale for $2.99)
1 Price's Pimento Spread(on sale for $4.50)
1 Country Crock margarine(on sale for $2.99)
SubTotal for sale prices=$17.45

Coupons I had that apply to these items.........
1 x $1.25/2 IPQ wyb both HJ mix and syrup=$1.25
2 x $2.50/2 IPQ wyb both 8 O'Clock Coffee and PF Swirl Bread=$5.00
1 x $1/1 IPQ Country Crock 45 oz size=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$7.25

$17.45-$7.25=$10.20-Instant $3 off=$7.20 for these 6 items

* Also bought were 6 bags of 8 O'Clock Coffee on sale for BOGO this week.
6 bags @ $5.49=$32.94-BOGO=$16.47

Besides the $2.50/wyb this coffee and BF swirl bread Qs, I had 4 x $1/1 8 O'Clock Coffee Qs.
At Weis even when an item is on sale as a BOGO you can use a Q on the item that you are getting for free!
So 6 bags(even though I only paid for 3 of them)could use 6 Qs.

$16.47-$4 off in 8 O'Clock Coffee IPQs=$12.47 OOP for all 6 bags.

* I bought 2 jars of Pace Salsa(the large jars-24 oz?)on sale this week for $3 each making 2 jars $6.00 on sale.
I combined a Weis Q Book coupon for $1/2 Pace Salsa(24 oz. size)with 2 x .50¢/1 IPQ(which each double at Weis to $1 off).  This gave me $3 off the salsa so it was $1.50 a jar or half price.

* I also bought 3 bottles of Weis brand ketchup which was .73¢ off per bottle on sale($.77)=$2.31

Total OOP so far is $24.98 for all.



* This Seviroli brand Ravioli is part of the 4 Day Fab Friday sale and 1/2 off through today, so $1.50 per bag=$12 reg. price-$6=$6.00 or $1.50 per bag on sale.

There is a Q in the Weis Q Book for $1/2 Seviroli Ravioli or Tortellini.
Since there is a limit of 1 of each Weis Q Book Q per transaction I had Hubs(since he was already with me)buy 2 of the bags and use a Q too.
$6.00-$2.00 in Qs=$4.00 OOP Total or $1 per bag.


* Another Fab Friday item are 12 packs of Lipton Iced Tea for half price or $5.99 for 2(reg. price $5.99 each).
There is also a Q in the Weis Q Book for $2/2 packs of this item!
So for every 2 packs you buy your cost after sale is $5.99 and after $2/2 Q it's $3.99 for 2 packs, so $2.00 per 12-pack.
Again, only 1 of this Q can be used per transaction so either bring someone along to buy 2 more packs or go to the self-checkout so you can separate your transactions.


Add this additional $12(tea)and $4(ravioli)OOP to the $24.98 above and my grand total for everything pictured in this post was $40.98 OOP.
Regular retail on all this was $91.25.
That's a 55% savings rate for all.

Now excuse me while I hike back up to get more cheap iced tea(the diet peach is awesome!)and more coffee(since I found more coffee IPQs I can print!)

Sluggy


This Week on the Dining Table



The "I Broke Down and Bought Halloween Candy for the Trick or Treaters" Edition--


After telling Hubs over and over that "No, we are not giving out candy this Halloween", I broke down and bought candy.
Went to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Friday and they had all their H'ween candy 50% off already.
Not only that, 2 of the bags had $2 off Peelie Qs on them so I paid LESS than 1/2 price for all this.  300 pieces total(giving out 2 pieces per kid)should see us through until we switch the lights off at 9pm.
I got a mix of chocolate and non-chocolate types.  Anything left over can get put into my Christmas stash for stocking fillers.....that is, if the family members don't pilfer the leftovers before I get them spirited away.  ;-)


Moving on......
Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Cheese Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread
2. Monday--Leftovers
3. Tuesday--Shrimp Scampi w/Fettucine, Green Beans
4. Wednesday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Roasted Potatoes and Acorn Squash
5. Thursday--Chicken something, TBD
6. Friday--Pork Barbecue on Rolls, Cole Slaw
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Cheese Lasagna, Salad
2. Monday--Leftovers
3. Tuesday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Potato Salad
4. Wednesday--Shrimp Scampi with Linguine, Spinach Salad
5. Thursday--Leftovers(I had some Lasagna and Cucumbers in Vinegar)
6. Friday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Spinach Salad, Au Gratin Taters
7. Saturday--Pizza, Caesar Salad

7 meals cooked at home, 2 of them a night of leftovers, and 0 nights of Take-Out.
Alll but 2 meals didn't happen, the Barbecue and the Chicken Something.  Pork Tenderloin Sammies and Pizza happened instead.  The Roasted Veggies w/the Kielbasa morphed into Potato Salad instead and Roasted Veggies move to this week. Bags of Spinach were on sale BOGO so that meant 2 Spinach Salads last week(can you tell Daughter and I LOVE Spinach Salad?lol).


As for the grocery spending.....2 trips to Weis and 2 trips to the Shursave market and a forgotten trip to the Bread Outlet from last week, brought my weekly spending to $134.76 and my October food spending Grand Total to $516.39.

My try at a $400-$500 month total didn't happen.
Oh well.  Got deals that will mean less spending on some future date.

I have been doing well however in my savings percentages in October.  This week the savings rate was "only" 42%, a bit lower than expected but still good.

Leftovers going into this week........ 1 crab cake, chili, cornbread, kielbasa, pizza, lasagna,1 pork tenderloin piece, and a small amount of au gratin taters.
Some of this will be eaten for lunches and some for dinner on Leftover Days.

Here is this week's "food plan".

1. Sunday--Pork Barbecue on Rolls, Cole Slaw
2. Monday--Crockpot Salisbury Steak with Mushroom/Onion Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
3. Tuesday--Leftovers
4. Wednesday--Baked Chicken Thighs, Roasted Potatoes and Acorn Squash
5. Thursday--Clam Corn Chowder, TBA
6. Friday--Teriyaki Flank Steak with Stir-Fry Veggies(leftover taters for BF)
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 0 nights of Take-Out and 2 nights of Leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu? Nothing as I have all the ingredients already.

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