Jumping Off The Cliff

What the world thinks I am doing........

What my friends think I am doing......

What I am actually doing.....

The BIG NEWS here at Chez Sluggy is that Hubs has decided to retire from his job effective June 30th.
Hubs turned 59 earlier this week and his goal was to retire before 60.

I had to wait until he actually told his bosses he was leaving to let the "cat out of the bag" on my blog however.
And you know, since I've known the definite date for over a month now, that has been killing me.  ;-)

So this changes everything here at Chez Sluggy.
Well not everything.
But everything concerning money, day-to-day living, money, shopping, money, our relationship and money.
Did I mention it changes our money situation yet?!?  ;-)

July 1st I stop expanding our Net Worth and transition into depleting it.
**Gulp!!!**

I have been counting down the paychecks left until Hubs leaves work and then paychecks are no more(that count is currently 7 left).  Thinking about it in terms of paychecks just makes it seem even scarier.  8-O

7 more paychecks and then there is no more pay coming in.
Now that doesn't mean we have no money coming in, just no paychecks.

Our "paychecks" will now start coming out of all that money we've put aside for this time in our lives over the last 33 years.

Hubs company is top notch when it comes to taking care of your employees in my book.  Not only did he make a good salary over the years but we got good medical bennies(though we paid A LOT for them out of his pay)and the company matched a part of every dollar we put away for retirement.

Now that he's retiring, they even have a dedicated retirement counselor to help guide him through separating from the job and filling out all the paperwork and setting up all the support systems we'll be needing.

He had his first session with the counselor earlier this week and we found out two very good pieces of information--A)The retiree medical savings account the company funded is larger than we had anticipated(if you have a spouse/domestic partner you get another 50% of whatever if in the account) and B)Hubs company does have a health plan for retirees(meaning we don't have to worry about having to navigate the ACA-or whatever is out there in it's place-for healthcare until Medicare kicks in).

His counselor was impressed at how much planning we had already put into place over the last few years.  We know our basic numbers on all our accounts and know pretty much what we will do with them and when.
The only real big unknown is how much he government will tax what we withdraw, which affects how much of our own money we actually get to live off of or just how much we need to withdraw each year.

I have heard/read that the transitioning period from working life to retired life is a stress all onto itself.

So we are into this period and yes, it's stressful.  But I guess any period where you are letting go of one way of thinking and living and stepping into what for you is the unknown can't help but be nerve wracking!

But beside stressful, in other ways it is exciting and rife with possibilities.


So, here goes nothing, or should I say, everything.........

Sluggy

March To-Do List.....Update

Let's see how I did with my To-Do List for March.

March To-Do List

 * Pay Bills DONE  Everything paid and on time.

 * Read 1 Book  DONE

Other than him being Miley Cyrus' father and having that monster song hit in the 1980's I knew nothing about Billy Ray Cyrus.  The book was a quick, easy read and told in his own, down-to-earth words.  It's worth taking up if you enjoy finding out about what a "star" is like underneath. -2 stars

I also started this book last month.......

A biography of Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux.  So far it's great!

 * Go to Dr. Appt.  DONE  And I am doing well.

 * Go to Dentist Appt.  DONE  Have to go back for a second appointment as an old filling was disintegrating and it needs redoing.  Then we wait for the bills to come in. bleh.

 * Get CB from school  DONE  And it was a wild ride the last 8 miles but we lived to tell the tale. ;-)

 * Do CB's taxes w/Him  DONE  I use to do College Boy's taxes for him but now that he is 21 I sat down and made him "do" them with my assistance.   I hope he can figure it out next year as I am getting too old to do this shit anymore. ;-)

 * Work on Genealogy  DONE  I did a fair amount of digging in March and unearthed a few more ancestral cousins, two of them most people will recognize. 8-)

 * Clean Desk Area  PASS  Well I didn't get to my actual desk but I did do the bookshelves next to my desk where most of my crap is stored(files, gift card box, books, recipe file, medicine, coupon inserts, address book, stamps, staple, etc.)  All four shelves got de-cluttered and better organized.  Now I just have to de-clutter the desk....it's not a big desk and most of it is taken up by my laptop, printer and a box of tissues but it's amazing how much little crap I can pile on it as well. lolz

 * Work on Medical Files DONE  I pulled out all the EOBs and matched them up with medical invoices and proof of payments.  Since I am a frequent flyer, Daughter has lots of visits and with Hubs two current medical issues(leg and eye)we get lots of communications from both medical billers and our insurance company.  If I don't stay on top of it, it would turn into a massive clusterf**k in no time!
I got all the paid bills/EOBs stapled, arranged in chronological order and put back into the file turned facing the back of the folder.  Anything pending or still not billed/EOB-ed stays right side up and goes on my master list of what isn't paid but EOB-ed.  The file is getting so thick already that I realized I really should make it a two folder system now-1 for paid bills and 1 for pending.
Oh, I am a genius, aren't I?! 8-)))

 * Make sure Hubs mails Taxes  DONE....Finally!  I have learned I REALLY like to be in control of stuff like this and not rely on someone else to do it.  Not only did it worry at me since he doesn't seem to have the same rate of "wanting to get this completed" as I do, but OMFG!, he spent a TON of money on software to do them!  Like TWO different versions of software to do them AND two more payments to the software people to FILE the crap!  We are in the hole $200+/- just doing the taxes, let alone what we owed on two different state returns.  At least A-we got a federal refund to counterbalance the owing thing and B-We can take the cost of doing our taxes off next year's return.
But next year's(2017)looks like it will be another PITA complicated filing(due to one issue we had this year plus TWO more complications next year!)so if we are going to spend so much to do taxes I am taking them to a tax accountant if I can't talk my brother into doing them for me(he's a retired CPA).
And Hubs' procrastination?!?  I don't even want to talk about that....... 8-(

 * 1st Load to Salvation Army for 2017  FAIL  Well I have crap to take in all over the house basically.  Nothing got scooped into bags/boxes and taken up actually due to weather/Hubs working from home so nobody went out that way(he usually drops stuff off on the way home from work). 
I am debating whether I should even catalog what we donate this year.  I ALWAYS write down every specific thing we take in on a paper and they sign and date it so when tax time comes I make sure we get every last deduction for donations we have coming to us.
But last year I didn't have enough itemized deductions to make it worthwhile to file a Schedule A and just took the standard deduction amount.  And that's even with donating a CAR for gosh sakes! lol
It really irked me since we don't have mortgage interest to deduct that we didn't even make the Standard Deduction ceiling but then again, I'd much rather NOT pay a mortgage every year.  8-)))
Hmmm, get a mortgage deduction vs. keeping all that money people pay to interest on their houses?
I think I'll keep my money and suffer..... ;-)

So this item is just a matter of getting the stuff out of the house and up to Sallie's.  It will get done in April no doubt!


So what did you get done in March?

Sluggy

Grocery Deals & Rite-Aid This Week

I went to the town West of here to grocery shop this week.  The Shursave market in town here doesn't accept internet printed coupons so I have to shop at the Shursave market West of us to use IPQs.  Plus they also have a Weis(PMITA)Markets in that town.

The Shursave market shop looked like this........

2 x reduced mushroom packages $2 reg. retail @.99¢=$1.98
1/2 lb.+/- of ham deli meat @$4.99 lb.=$2.67
4 x Kellogg's cereals $1.88 each wyb4=$7.52
SubTotal....$12.17

I used these IPQs.....
1 x .40¢/1(doubled)Raisin Bran IPQ=.80¢
1 x .40¢/1(doubled)Frosted Flakes IPQ=.80¢
1 x .50¢/1(doubled)Corn Flakes IPQ=$1.00
1 x .50¢/1(doubled)Rice Krispies IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total......$3.60

$12.17-3.60=$8.57 OOP
The cereal came out to 98¢ per box after sale/coupons.

Then I hit Weis for 7 more boxes of cereal......

2 x Lucky Charms $1.47 wyb4 GM cereals=$2.94
2 x Cheerios $1.47 wyb4 GM cereals=$2.94
3 x select Kellogg's cereals $1.99 wyb3=$5.97
SubTotal.....$11.85

Coupons Used
2 x Lucky Charms $1/1 IPQ=$2.00
2 x Cheerios $1/1 IPQ=$2.00
1 x Frosted Flakes .40¢/1(doubled)IPQ=.80¢
1 x Apple Jacks .70¢/1(doubled)IPQ=$1.00
1 x Corn Pops .70¢/1(doubled)IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$6.80

$11.85-$6.80=$5.05 OOP for all 7 boxes.
Plus there is a $1/2 rebate on select GM cereals on Savingstar dotcom so after that comes in the 7 boxes will cost me $4.05

As I only eat Raisin Bran and Cheerios of that above what the kids don't want(or the nephew)will go to the Food Bank.

Then I hit the mother lode of discounted meats at Weis in this town.
If only I had had more room in the chest freezer I'd have bought more.

Altogether I got-
9.32 lb. pork shoulder picnic
7 lb. whole chickens
3.52 lb ground lamb
5.76 lb. boneless/skinless chicken breast

30.46 lbs. of assorted meats for $27.65 or an average price of .90¢ a lb!

The b/s chicken $1.23 lb.  Marked down to $1.98 lb. but the packages each had $2 instant discount stickers on them.

 The ground lamb $1.98 lb.

The pork shoulder was marked down to .98¢ lb.

The whole chickens .59¢ lb.

They also have pork butt $1.28 lb. and ground beef $1.69 lb.(but it was 73% lean so I wasn't interested in that).
I could have scoffed up 20 more pork butts, 12 rolls of ground beef, and 11 more packages of chicken or lamb or whole chickens, plus chicken leg quarter packs equally as cheap if I had freezer space.
But I didn't so I left most of it for others to find.

In the meat group shot there are also two packages of Oscar Meyer deli meats. These are regularly $4.50 per package but were on sale for $3 yesterday.  These two packs had $2 instant discount stickers on them so they each cost me $1.

Some whack biscuits(on sale and I had Qs), 50% off Bakery items(muffins and bagels)and 2 boxes of decaffeinated tea bags and 3 8-packs of Powerade for Daughter(on sale for $3.99 and I got $3 off for "spending" $15 on Coke/Nabisco items-based on regular shelf price-so the drinks were $8.97 for all) brought this shop to $59.23.
I used the $6.48 left on one of my Weis gift cards(which were paid for in 2016)so I am OOP $52.75 for everything I bought at Weis Markets.
My savings percentage on both of these shops came to 60.88%.

Meanwhile at Rite-Aid.....

The town also has a Rite-Aid where the prices aren't jacked up higher like in my Rite-Aid so I did the nail polish Sally Hansen Deal on two of our cards.......

4 x SA nail color BOGO50%($2.99/$1.49)=$8.97 + .53¢ tax=$9.50
Paid for with Plenti points.
Earned $10 in new Plenti points($5 for every 2 bottles bought)so a .50¢ moneymaker.

I did that deal on two of my cards.

I also popped into my Rite-Aid on the way home to see what first Wednesday(Wellness Wednesday)samples they were giving out............

Saline wipes and pain patches I took home.

And after seeing what the 1 day only coupons were I decided to buy this.........

4 x Russell Stoveer sugar-free candies reg. $2.79/$2.23 with 20% Wellness discount=$8.92
I used 4 x $2/1 RS sugar-free candies 1 Day Wellness Wednesday Qs=$8.00 making each bag .23¢.
So I spent down my Plenti points .92¢ to get 4 bags of candies.
I am such a spendthrift, aren't I? lolz

Unfortunately they were out of the thin mints variety(my fav)but I got some other kinds to try.

I spent $61.32 on everything pictured above(plus more).
Regular retail value on everything I bought was $191.82.
Not a bad day's worth of shopping, huh?

And looking at all these photos I just realized that I still have my Xmas tablecloth on my kitchen table.
;-)

Sluggy

Net Worth.....April 1st Update

We are up almost $29k from the March 1st net worth overall(only liquid cash/investments/bonds, as I don't count housing or car values).  The retirement accounts were up almost $6K for April 1st 2017 from the March 1st 2017 calculations and the cash reserve/non-retirement accounts were up almost $23K.
Most of that cash reserve/non-retirement accounts earnings was Hubs' 2016 work bonus check(plus what I squirreled away into savings from the regular paycheck).

We are up $93,862.55 from one year ago, from the April 1st of 2016's net worth snapshot.  I am glad to see that interest rates have inched up something like a quarter of a percent. Whoopie! lolz
I know those of you paying off debt dread interest rates going up but those of us trying to grow our savings and are too close to retirement age(or retired)to risk a lot of it in the stock market so we hunger for interest rates to climb.  They have been artificially depressed for soooo many years by those in charge and our federal government that it's almost impossible for regular people who are saving to get ahead of the inflation rate.  This is a travesty!
But I digress.....

We are still in acquisition mode and Hubs still has a good income.  We continue to live well below our means and sock away as much cash as we can for retirement.  Luckily in March we didn't have any big money emergencies as I try to be proactive in looking ahead for problems to avoid them.

Life happens and is expensive so save as much as you can for those rainy days no matter your age or how close/far away you are from retirement.

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

Sluggy

2017 Savings Challenge....March 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 every day 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 March report.....

I have posted my March 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 March with a surprisingly to me large amount.
The extra amount we ended the month of March with?.......$4434.04

Income

We had $4188.14 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.

Other monies received in March totaled $245.90.  This was interest made on non-retirement accounts and quarterly dividends.

This brought us to our gain of $4,434.04
Since we have no debt, this all goes into savings.

Outgo

As for the expenses this March, 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 $22.88 lower than last month's bill.
*  The credit card bill was $61.60 lower in March.  $920.73 of this bill was medical charges.
*  We had NO gas card bill in March.  That doesn't mean we didn't have gas charges but we just put them all on the credit card instead.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  There were two medical co-pays I couldn't pay on the credit card totaling $59.85.
*  The electric bill was $25.30 higher in March.  Not too bad and I'll take it.
*  The cash withdrawals were $350 higher than in February.  Mostly due to Hubs going back to work in the office, buying stuff again while he is away from home.
*  We had 2 irregular annual bills due in March-annual sewage bill and half of our property taxes.
*  I also had $196.89 in Kohl's charges which I paid in March(partly paid ahead).

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

With 3 months accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2017 is $10,134.58.

FINAL THOUGHTS on March---

I forgot we had an extra paycheck in March so that was a happy surprise, even though the first paycheck in March was still a lower disability paycheck.  We were able to save a large sum this month.
Compared to March 2016 we saved $513.45 LESS to put into savings this March.  Last March we also had a tax refund included in the savings total that month so without that, we'd be about $1200 more put into savings this March.

THOUGHTS going forward into April of 2017----
I pulled a "Doh!" moment in February when I set aside $500 of what was saved that month to pay medical charges that I thought would come due in March instead of letting that $500 go with all the other cash we saved in February into the Savings Challenge.  I totally forgot that March was a three paycheck month and we'd have an entire extra paycheck to put toward medical bills(that satisfied our high deductible)then.
Doh!
So those medical bills still have not arrived so I now have $500 from Feb. set aside plus $769.61 left from what I set aside in Dec. from that month's Saving Challenge total(to put toward the high deductible), making the kitty $1269.61 to put toward these medical charges when they finally arrive.  I am guessing this will happen in April.
These bills total $1579.76 so I just need to come up with the remainder of $310.15 out of the income in April to pay these in full and that is very doable.
There are no other big irregular bills due in April so bring it on! 8-)


Three months into the year and we have put $10,134.58 into savings.
There is $24,865.42 left to hit our $35K Saving Challenge target for the year.  This averages out to $2,762.82 per month for the next 9 months.

So how was your March financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in March?
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