May 2016 Road Trip.....Part 1 PA to TN

I am finally getting around to posting about my road trip from last year.
You know, the one we have taken for the last three years to Louisiana to see our daughter.

Shortly before we left on this trip last year it was decided that the daughter was moving back in with us to Pennsyltucky to go back to school to finish her degree.
And bringing along her boy friend as an added bonus.
And a big dog too.

So this trip was not so much a pleasure vacation trip but a "WTF!? We need to buy her house and then DO something with it" trip.
It's a long complicated story but basically we went to Louisiana to buy daughter's house from her and then rent it out to the BF's parents.  This was the short term solution which is coming to an end and either they will buy the house from us in the near future or they will move out and we will put the house on the market and sell it, hopefully before this year is out.

This was far from a fun part of our lives and we will be glad when this house is done and off our hands but we tried to have some fun along the way on this road trip of 2016.

Let's get to the photos of what happened, shall we?

We left on a Monday after having retrieved College Boy from school on the previous day for his Summer break.
So we headed on out early that morning down the Devil's Parkway(aka I-81)

Somewhere near Winchester Virginia along I-81 we stopped for a potty break at the rest stop.
I saw a first for me, a child friendly toilet.......

That thing practically sat on the floor! lol
I didn't attempt to use that one as I'd have had problems getting up from it. I moved on to the next regular size toilet stall.

Outside they had this love sculpture so I just had to pose and have Hubs take a photo.

At lunch time we were actually nearby a place I had been wanting to eat at for years during our travels but we never timed it right to be passing at meal time.

This place is a legend as far as dive eateries go and has been around since 1959.  It's Berky's restaurant at the Lee-Hi Truck Stop outside of Lexington, VA.
They are suppose to have an awesome buffet there.

Let me say that I was disappointed in the buffet as much of it was over processed(breaded and fried meats)or canned veggies.  Kind of ordinary and I won't make a plan to stop there again on purpose and be really hungry.  8-(

At a little after 2 pm a little ways further South on the interstate the temp on the car's dashboard read 77F degrees!
Kind of warm for early May in the mountains of Western Virginia even.

We hit Tennessee about 5ish and drove a bit further until we got past Knoxville and onto I-75 heading South. We stopped for the night about 6 pm in Lenoir City, Tennessee at a Holiday Inn Express. It cost a bit much for a Holiday Inn I thought($141 a night!)but there weren't many choices at this exit. At least they had an indoor pool so we got a swim in(which was much needed after 10 hours in the car)and there was a "free" hot breakfast the next morning.

We hit a Bob's Big Boy restaurant next door for a light dinner.  Besides the menu items and the buffet they also had a "light" buffet price which including all the non-meat choices for a lower price than the regular price.

I started out with a bowl of really thick soup, a salad and unsweetened iced tea.

I also got a plate of various veggies and some cornbread afterwards.  That was plenty for me.

After dinner and a swim we settled down for the the evening with a little tv watching before bed.  I noticed that the curtains didn't fully close on the window(and we were on the ground floor)so I utilized a traveling hack Hubs came up with in a hotel room on our previous road trip to Lousiana.

Wooden pants hangers in your rooms closet make awesome curtain closers. ;-)

Day One of the Great Road Trip of 2016 was in the books.

Sluggy

Ain't Nobody Got Time For This!

While most of my days are low-key and move rather slowly(just like me)today is going to be a ball buster.

The plan for Friday was to do my usual stuff and then pack a bag, jump into the car and drive to College Boy's school, stay over, then pack his stuff into said car and drive him home for a school break.

But then this happened last night..........

As of just now, 6+ inches and it's still snowing lightly.
So now I have to get the driveway cleared in addition to everything else so I don't have time for a "real" post.

I'll check in online before I leave....IF I leave.....but I gotta go take care of this mess plus everything else in my day.
Ugh.

Life....it happens!

Sluggy

Borderline Cheapskate or Something Else?

The Krazy Coupon Lady website had this article about someone who considers themselves a Cheapskate and the 20 bullet points/examples that prove it.
I got to tell you that this person isn't Borderline Cheap.  Some of what they do is down right unethical if not illegal.

Go HERE to read the article yourself.

Here are the 20 bullet points and my thoughts--

1. I dumpster dive for coupons. As long as the dumpster isn't signed No Trespassing or padlocked I don't see a problem with this.

2. I break off broccoli stems to reduce weight.  Tough one-if they are advertising "crowns" and there are large stems still attached I might be tempted.  But then again, stems are edible and taste the same and can be cut up small and/or put into soup.

3. I split the cost of wi-fi with my neighbor.  Not sure on the legality of this but if your neighbor and you agree to this, go for it.

4. I only go to Costco for the free samples.  While not illegal it is smarmy if you ONLY go there for samples.  And really, how sad is your life if you do this. lolz

5. I rub myself with magazines.  Ok, no problem with this, I say go for it!  Except it's not something I'd do personally as I don't like being drenched in fragrance.  Heavy scents give me breathing problems.

6. I ask for ugly produce for the "chickens".  If you do not have chickens or are not going to give foods given to you under false pretenses you have ethical problems.  This is lying plain and simple.

7. I pull Catalinas out of the wastebasket at the self-checkout. This is a brilliant hack and if I think to try it I will peruse the self-checkout wastebasket.

8. I always reuse my Ziploc bags.  Why not reuse something you had to buy if it's feasible and you didn't contaminate the bag with raw meat.  All for it.  Or better yet, find a non-disposable alternative to plastic bags, like reusable glass containers.

9. I find other customers' receipts in parking lots and shopping carts and use them to redeem rebate app offers.  You might think that why not? since the item was purchased, if the buyer isn't going to avail themselves of the rebate, you should and you aren't stealing from the company really.  This smacks of unethical though in my head.

10. I only go to the movies if I have a free pass.  Only going when you have free tickets?  Knock yourself out.  As long as you don't cheat or steal to get that free pass.

11. I use free gym membership trials to stay fit.  Again, like the Costco samples question, you are setting forth from the start to "use" a free offer with no intent to buy.  Smarmy.

12. I ask other customers to use my loyalty card. First off, I am not so bold that I would ask a stranger to use my loyalty card just to get points for myself for some future reward.  But if I was in line behind someone and they were purchasing items that would be cheaper for them if they had a card then I will offer my card for use.  Maybe it comes down to your intent when you do this.....or maybe it's wrong no matter the circumstances.

13. I water down my husband's body wash.  I would do this in a heartbeat, especially with College Boy(who has been known to use half a bottle of shampoo to wash his hair once).  No problem stretching out product as long as it still gets the job it's suppose to do done.  Good hack.

14. I furnish my home for free.  Again, I have no problem hauling used items home if they are free for the taking.  Why spend money when you don't need to?

15. I hide products so I can run home and get my coupons.  Not very sportsman-like of you but not illegal.  A bit self-centered and unethical.  Why did you not have your coupons with you, hmm?  And think of the extra time people working there will have to put in putting your hidden things back in the proper place if you don't come back and purchase them?  This costs the store/employer wages in the end.

16. When at the movies, I grab popcorn bags out of the trash to get free refills. BIG PROBLEM with this one!  Free refills are for the folks who purchased the food.  You did not.  Even if the purchaser does not avail themselves of refills, you don't have a right to trash dive and get their refills.  Period.

17. Or I just bring my own snacks from home.  This is a bit unethical.  You risk getting kicked out of the movie if caught.  And secondly, the movie house makes NO profit on the film ticket sales.  That purchase barely covers the cost of rental to them from the film company of the movie.  Their profits come solely from the snack bar purchases.  Personally, I think this is a terrible system and the cost of food at the movies is ridiculously high.
If you are this tight just don't buy food when you attend the movies.  

18. I only buy clearance meat.  Best hack ever!  I personally mostly only buy discount sticker meats and/or meats on sale at the very least.  This goes for fresh produce and fresh baked goods as well.  It's a great way to lower your food bill.  If you have a freezer it's a great way to eat well for a lot less money.

19. I rarely pay attention to the best by dates on my food.  A good hack but one which you have to be careful about.  There are "best by", "sell by", "use by" and "expiration" dates and depending on the type of item and the store you frequent they can mean vastly different things.
You really need to read up and know your foods.  Many "best by", etc. dates are put on items by the manufacturer so they can sell more goods.  Really!  The faster they make you think you have to use up something or trash it, the faster they can make you buy another.  This means more sales over time and more profits for the company.
Go HERE for a handy guide to how long you can safely store different kinds of foods.
Remember that once frozen the clock stops on fresh foods rate of decay.  I "heart" freezers.  ;-)

20. I buy my bread at the dollar store.  Another good solid hack.  If you have a dollar store that carries fresh bread/baked goods it just makes sense to buy your loaves there.  As long as it's a brand/type/quality that you prefer to use.  It's the same as going to a company's Bread Outlet like I do buy bread.  Day old bread is fine.  And bread can be handily frozen too if you can't use it up before it gets hard/mold/etc.

So would you/do you follow any of these suggestions to save money?
Do you feel any of the above 20 items are good practices or not-so-good?
Do you have any other hacks you partake in that make you a cheapskate?

Sluggy

Another Celebrity Cousin.....And More

We no longer have cable tv but I was able to watch the first episode of the new season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" US Version yesterday as it was on You Tube already.

I really prefer the way the UK and AUS versions of this show are handled but I'll watch any country's version and relish it since I am such a genealogy hound. 8-)

Anyway, they had as their guest/victim Courteney Cox the actress.  I confess that I have never watched an episode of "Friends" in my life, nor will I, on purpose, here on out.

But even so, it turns out we are cousins.  Probably quite distant cousins....something like 15th cousins 2 x removed.
I know of our kinship because we share a common ancestors in King Edward I of England aka Edward Longshanks and Eleanor of Castile.  They two are my 22nd Great Grands and Courteney's 20th Great Grands.

I haven't tried to graft all her ancestors down to her onto my family tree yet but I do know from the tv show that she has an English immigrant ancestor who landed in the Virginia colony(hence her deep roots in that state)in the first decades after Jamestown was founded in 1607.
This ancestor was Thomas Lygon or Ligon and through this line she is descended from Edward I and Eleanor of Castile's daughter, Joan of Acre, while my direct line descends down through Joan's brother, the odious King Edward II or Edward of Caernarfon, who was deposed, when his wife, Isabella of France took up with Roger de Mortimer and seized power.  But that's another story sort of.

Edward II was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle(by another of Courteney's direct ancestors, Thomas de Barkeley, on her Despenser line)and killed there.
Eleanor and Edward II's son, Edward III, eventually seized the crown back and had Roger de Mortimer put to death and his mother Eleanor exiled.

Oh, such a lovely nest of incestuous of love/hate in English royal lines!  ;-)

So this was an interesting episode(and a good English history lesson)but they totally ignored one of Courteney's very interesting ancestors also up her mother's family tree(as were her Despenser and Edward Longshanks lines).

Courteney's mother(through her paternal line)is a direct descendant of John Basse, an immigrant ancestor who came to Virginia in 1622 as a 6 year old boy with his family. His family arrived just in time in Virginia for the Massacre of 1622.  The story goes that John was not killed(though his two older brothers were)but captured and taken away.  John wrote of this time, of eluding his captors at some point and being found in the woods by some Nansemond Indians who took him in, adopting him into their tribe.
John Basse grew into adulthood among the Nansemond and eventually married a Nansemond woman, Keziah Elizabeth.  It is said that Keziah Elizabeth was the daughter of Nansemond Chief Robin and granddaughter of Nansemond Great Chief Peter.

The Bass family line of Virginia who claim Nansemond Indian ancestry, alive today are all descended from John and Keziah Basse.
The Nansemond were part of the Powhatan confederation of Native Indians and were found in what is the Norfolk, VA metro area today.  Once the English arrived in Jamestown this tribe was forced to migrate west into what is now the Suffolk, VA area, adjacent to Norfolk.

The Nansemond are one of the small tribes that gained Virginia state recognition in 1984 and are currently working on establishing a reservation and museum in that area of Virginia.

So this is the long way of saying that Courteney Cox has native ancestry as well.

There was another large massacre in the Jamestown area in 1644, which I'll talk about at a later date.  This era of Courteney's Lygon/Ligon ancestors and ancestors, who married into my line, lives intertwined again during this time in Jamestown.
Funny how we always call bloodshed of Europeans "massacres" but when Europeans likewise wiped out native groups in large numbers it isn't called the same?

Sluggy

2017 Savings Challenge......February 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 savings 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 2017 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.
I have decided to lower the goal amount to save for the year to $35K.
I barely made my $38K goal in 2016, what with our added expenses, so I think it's wise to back down the goal a bit again this year so I am not so stressed through out the year worrying about making the number.

We will have higher medical expenses this year and although the BF doesn't live here anymore the Daughter does still, so some everyday bills will be higher than when it was just Hubs and I(and College Boy here during school breaks).

If I do better than I think I will and save OVER my goal that's great too. 8-)

On to the February report.....

I have posted my Febuary End of Month $35K $AVING$ 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 $2,9916.66.

I have to report that we finished up February with a surprisingly to me large amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of February with?.......$2200.49

Income

We had $2054.29 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.

Other monies received in February totaled $146.20.  This was interest made on non-retirement accounts.

This brought us to our gain of $2200.49
Since we have no debt, this all goes into savings, BUT this month I am holding back $500 to put toward March medical bills, so only $1700.49 of that gain will go toward the Savings Challenge for February.

Outgo

As for the expenses this February, 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(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $9.08 lower than last month's bill.
*  The electric bill was $102.77 less than in January.  All this weirdly warm weather has paid off here.
*  Cash withdrawals were the same as last month.  With Hubs still working from home, he doesn't go out much or have much opportunity to spend cash on coffee and such.  Now and again, he gets a sandwich out or takes me to Bob Evans for lunch with this $ but that's about it.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The credit card bill was $798.09 higher in February.  $920.73 of this bill was medical charges.
*  The gas card bill was $69.52 higher than January's bill.
*  There was a Kohl's charge bill of $4.70 after I used a gift card to purchase supportive shoes for Hubs to walk in as he recovers from his injury.
*  We had 1 irregular bills due in February-3 months of garbage disposal service.

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post, which is located HERE.

With 2 months accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2017 is $5700.54.

FINAL THOUGHTS on February---

I knew February would be a bit lackluster since we were still operating with a partial disability pay situation this month.  Plus I needed to hold back some excess income to use in March to put toward medical bills that would arrive then.
Compared to February 2016 we saved $305.08 LESS to put into savings this February. It would have been about the same amount as last February if I didn't reserve that $500 to use in March.

THOUGHTS going forward into March of 2017----

Now that Hubs is back on regular pay rates we should make better progress with our savings goals.
Well except for March being one of our irregular bills/property tax months AND all those medical bills that I expect to arrive this month.

Two months into the year and there is $29,299.46 left to hit our $35K Saving Challenge target for the year.  This averages out to $2,929.95 per month for the next 10 months.

So how was your February financially?
  

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

I hope this year was the one were you cleaned up your finances and paid off your debts.
That you planned to set something aside if you didn't already or increased what you banked now for your future self.
Or paid extra on the principle of your mortgage if your house isn't already paid off.

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