It's Coming Along

So this Mega Summer Road Trip is coming along....at least the planning of it is. ;-)
We are up to Day 15 and everything that needs planning(route, stops, hotels)is done.  Now I need to work on the return trip.  I sure wish I had the whole thing nailed down though at this point.

I do need a few suggestions.....

* Does anyone have any recommendations for a good bbq place around Kansas City MO or heading North into Omaha, NE?  That's the stretch of road we'll be on and it will be lunch to dinner time and we can't leave that part of the world without trying authentic KC BBQ, right?  8-)

* Has anyone toured the big touristy sites in WY/SD Badlands?  We are headed through there(Custer Battlefield, Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Mt., Thermopolis Hot Springs)and need recommendations on where/location to stay.  Does it make sense to stay at a central spot for a few days and drive to each thing/area to tourist?  Or do 1 night stays and hop from site to site?  And how many days do we need to actual see/do these sites?  I realize distance between locales out West are longer than out East so I am trying to limit how much driving we do in a day.

* Anybody have any ideas on what to see/do in North Dakota?  Nothing springs to my mind except one quick thing we want to see in Fargo.

That's about it for now.

I AM getting a complex though.

First blogger Tanner visited me a few years ago(plus we had dinner with her on 2 of our OC excursons)and then she disappears off the face of the earth.
Then Judy(who's various blogs come and go)decides to end all contact with me.
Now another ex-blogger who I was still in contact with on F/B has given me the cold shoulder.  After I knew our route this Summer I contacted her on Facebook and suggested a meet-up if she was available.  I didn't hear back for a week or so, so I went to send her another message.  She has suddenly quit Facebook and taken her profile down(or blocked me from seeing it, if you can do that).  Really?  If you didn't want to see me, just say so.

Am I really that awful or annoying a person?  *Don't answer that Kim......* ;-)
What am I doing to drive everyone away?

Anyway, that sure made me feel like shit for awhile and I really didn't feel like going on this trip anymore.
But I'm over that now.  I can't wait! to get in a car and drive 6 thousand miles with Hubs. *snort*
I think this trip will convince him to go back to work and not be home with me 24/7.....hehehehe

And at the risk of offending and driving away more readers I'll ask again if anybody out there wants to meet-up on our drive out to Idaho(going through PA/Western MD/WV/Northern KY/tiny piece of Southern IN/Southern IL/MO/NE/Northern CO/Southern WY/ Northern UT/most of ID/MT-that's it so far).  If so drop me an email privately and I'll see if we can fit that into the itinerary.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll have a spare box of Giveaway goodies in my car to bestow onto you?  ;-)

Ok, I am off to finish packing for the Virginia trip and doing a little shopping before I leave.
What are you up to today?

Sluggy

What I'm Doing This Week

Other than working on genealogy, some cleaning of the house, planning the Mega Road Trip and a trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets, I've been preparing for the trip to Virginia.

My car is cleaned out and I have started loading provisions to take to VA.

I am bringing two bags of drinks with me, mostly bottled tea and G2 Gatorades.  I suspect it will be a tad warm down there(and my brother is known for being stingy with the a/c)so I need to stay hydrated.  These drinks were bought on sale and if I just go down and buy there who knows if I'll get them as cheaply?
I am also bringing a supply of cocktails.....just throw the bag into the freezer until frozen, tear open and pour into a glass and enjoy the frosty goodness.....Mmmmmm!  It's a vacation so why shouldn't I imbibe?

I've got the Xmas presents that didn't make it to VA at Christmas(due to Hubs accident and not being able to go for the Holidays)all packed........

In addition I am taking down some stockpile items....toiletries, laundry detergent, etc. for Brother and Sister in-law, and an old friend who is low income whom I will be seeing.  My eldest son has requested jars of my homemade Pepper Relish as well.

I'll do the clothes packing tomorrow and my toiletries and other accouterments for the trip on Saturday after we take the Granddog to the vet.

The only shopping so far this week has been a small trip to Weis.  I used the rest of a gift card bought last year so my total shop was the $2.89 that went over what was left on the gift card.  Nice.
I stumbled onto one Deal.....

This awesome local PA brand of Pepper Bacon which goes for $6 a package reg. retail was on sale for 2 for $7 this past week(ended yesterday).  These packages which expire(if not frozen)on May 22 had $1 off Meat Discount Stickers on them, so they cost $2.50 per package after sale/discount.  At that price I HAD TO buy them! ;-)

I need to go back Friday to redeem some rain checks I am holding(as they expire while I am gone)or direct Hubs/Daughter to use them or extend them while I am away.  I don't have confidence they'll do either so I'll try to take care of this before I leave.

Ok, got to get back at things here.

Here's hoping your day is going well and you are being productive too.

Sluggy

Giveaway Time!....May's Goodies

This is the fourth Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for the year.
Come on and enter.
Somebody has to win and it might just be YOU!

This is probably the last giveaway box I can put chocolate in until September due to the hot weather so last chance for free chocolate until Fall.

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

1 x Colgate toothpaste
1 x Reach toothbrush(w/battery power)
1 x Jergen's sun glow lotion
1 x Gillette men's stick deodorant
1 x Pantene shampoo(w/bonus sample)
1 x Dove men's spray deodorant
1 x sample of Dove body wash
5 x Sinful nail polish(Fiji, Dream On, Dancing Nails Treasure Chest, This Is It)
2 x Nivea hand cream tins
2 x Cover Girl eye shadow(forever fig and purple pop)
1 x Maybelline Colorosensational lip gloss(raspberry sorbet)
1 x Revlon nail clippers
1 x sample of Tums
1 x hotel Shower Cap
1 x hotel bottle Shampoo
1 x hotel bottle Conditioner
1 x hotel bottle Lotion
5 x Hershey Dark Chocolate squares w/cranberries, blueberries and almonds
4 x Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate quares(Sea Salt, Cabernet Matinee, 2 w/ Sea Salt and Caramel)

*Ignore the eye drops in the photo.  I discovered that this sample had expired so I removed it but I don't want to have to take new photos.*

Over $60 in regular retail of goodies.

Closeup shots of the goodies up for grabs......

There is a little more room in the box so I'll pick up something while I'm in VA to tuck into this one too, or barring not finding anything while I am away, I'll pick something out of my stash at home to add.(More chocolate?)

I'll leave this giveaway open until Wednesday, May 24th, at 11:59pm Eastern Time, so that gives everyone a full 2 week to enter this one.  On May 25th I'll mark all the valid entries and use Random dotorg to pick a number and that corresponding person's entry wins.

*Please note the rules*
I'll post the name/Id of the winner on this blog and that person has 48 hours from then to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page).
If I am not contacted via email I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supply with their entry and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

I am limiting this giveaway to ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.  You get one golden ticket this time.  No daily entries, no bonus entries.  This changes the playing field a bit.

Tell me in your comment, what here is the thing here you most would like to win, OR what you want me to add to the box to get it filled.

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.
As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten to high I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US, sorry.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies, I pay for it all(cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE 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 a hold of you. 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.

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

The Money Going Into Retirement

If you've been reading here for awhile you may remember the post I did back in September 20115 about our big Retirement Meeting.

Since Hubs is leaving work on June 30th(7.5 weeks and counting!)I wanted to see/update what funds we will have to support us at that date into our "Golden Years".

Let me also preface this accounting by saying we have a paid for house and two paid for cars so none of this money needs to be spent on either in retirement(at least not for cars for awhile).


* Pension account--Approx. $443,240 will be in that account on June 30th.  We ares buying an annuity with this money which will give us an income of $41,004 per year.  If Hubs dies I get 75% of that amount, or $30,756 per year. Once we've passed the 10.8 year mark we'll be paid on the company's dime as that is how long that pile of money would have lasted if we had just drawn down on it at a rate of $41,004 per year(ok, maybe a little longer due to interest accumulating).

* Retirement Savings--$500,000.  We will drawn down monthly on this until we hit full Social Security.  At that point we will stop and still have $385,000 in this account.  Due to it still growing while drawing out of the account we'll still have 77% of what we started with in there at the retirement date when we stop drawing from that fund in 2024.

* Cash & Regular Savings--All together this comes to $368,000 now so will be a tad more by June 30th but a chunk will be used to pay College Boy's tuition next semester so we'll have about $360K.

* HSA account--When Hubs leaves June 30th there will be $12,923.83 in that account.

* RMSA account--This is the retiree medical savings account with which we can pay for retiree health insurance until we hit Medicare age.  It will have approx. $99,000 in it.

* Personal Day Payout-Hubs will have personal days he can cash out when he leaves.  At his pay rate that means another $4,500 in cash.

* Stock-Hubs has a moderate amount of company stock he earned when his firm went public in 2001.  He will cash it out which means about $9,000 more in our accounts.

* Add in to this mix that we still have a home and property in Louisiana we will be selling sometime this year(I hope).  We hope to clear a few dollars after that sale but at this point we don't know how much this sale will add to our coffers.



So the plan is that we'll have annuity income starting in July of $41K yr. and will tap some of our 401K$ until Hubs hits full SS age.
Between the annuity and 401K withdrawals or SS we'll have $70K yr. to live on pre-tax.
In addition to those income streams we will still have over $350K of regular savings + $385K left in retirement savings).
Once I hit full SS age the annuity/SS mix increases to $82,836 yr.(+ what's still in the nest egg accounts).

Last year we spent just under $46K total of our take-home income to "live".  That's paying for everything except-term life insurance payments, healthcare insurance payments and long term care insurance payments which all came out of the paycheck before we got it.

After figuring that last year we paid $8K OOP for healthcare co-pays + a $3K high deductible OOP before benefits kicked in, $11K of that $46K was medical spending. 8-(  We actually spent $35K for living expenses in 2016(outside of medical things).

Once retired the life insurance payments go away(unless we elect to keep life insurance on Hubs....doesn't make much sense though as it was kept on him as he was the breadwinner, but once he retires we aren't "protecting" potential income).

The health insurance payments/premiums once retired will come out of the RMSA account and it should just about cover that expense until we hit 65.(If it doesn't, and who can know right now with the ACA upheaval, we can always take some of our non-retirement account funds or some retirement account funds to cover the extra...plus we have the HSA with almost $13K in it as of June 30th.)

The only one of these three medical expenses we need to cover in retirement out of our two income streams is the long term care premiums.  Currently long term care premiums come to just under $1800 a year so this expense can be absorbed into our $70K year annuity/retirement account draw down income easily.  We know full well that long term care premiums will rise as we age though so we'll be sure to be cognizant of that expense rising over the years and make adjustments in how our financial resources are divided up so we can still cover this expense.

So add $1800 to the $46K we spent to live in 2016 and we are around $48K in yearly expenses that need to come out of our potential $70K retirement income starting July 1st.

Once we take out withholding/taxes on that $70K yearly income we will actually have $60K+/- a year net income to live off of.  Of course for 2017 this won't apply as we will have Hubs working income for half the year and living off of asset income the other half so our "income" and tax bracket will be much higher.  The first 6 months of retirement will be different financially from the rest of the years ahead when we are retired.

Once we get into 2018, if we keep our spending at where it is now, pre-retirement, we will have a nice cushion each year for any unforeseen expenses leftover from our income stream.  This doesn't count the Personal and Non-retirement Savings/Cash pot, the potential Stock Sale revenue, the cash out of Personal Days when Hubs leaves and the proceeds from the sale of the house in Louisiana which will mean additional infusions of cash into the non-retirement kitty.

I really don't see us reducing our living expenses short term due to College Boy still being on the "family payroll" for another year and Daughter living at home until she finishes her degree.  While Daughter's expense on us is not large(we feed her and she doesn't kick in for rent or utilities while in school)her being here still costs us a bit in higher electric and food bills.  She pays her own car insurance, car gas and maintenance, cell phone bill, dog expenses, clothing expenses, etc. and any extras she wants, she pays for(liquor, vape, nights out).
Come to think of it, outside of college expenses we really don't spend money on College Boy either.....maybe some clothes now and then but that's it.

Ok, this has become very long and tedious and I'll bring it to an end.

If you see anything I have missed do let me know but overall, I think we are going into retirement in a strong financial shape.  8-)
*Sluggy pats herself on the back.....


Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The  "Well We Won't Try THAT Again!" Edition--

Hubs and I decided to go out to lunch on Sunday to Bob Evans around 1pm.  The place was bonkers crowded!  There was a 30 min. wait for a table which I have never seen there.  Then we tried Denny's and it was the same story!  We tried to think if we had ever tried to eat out on a Sunday afternoon before here......and I guess we haven't since moving here in 2000.  Evidently, the entire population of Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding areas eats out on Sunday!  Well everyone but us. lolz
Don't attempt to eat out on Sundays around here......duly noted.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Primo Hoagies(take-out)

2. Monday--Tacos, Salads or Burritos(using leftover filling+)

3. Tuesday--Pinto Beans w/Ham, Cornbread

4. Wednesday--Grilled Chicken Thighs, leftover Mac/Cheese, Salad

5. Thursday--Pork Chops, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Veggies
6. Friday--Leftovers or homemade Pizza
7. Saturday--Dinner Out(using a gift certificate)

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Primo Hoagies(take-out)

2. Monday--Tacos, Salads or Burritos(using leftover filling+)

3. Tuesday--Chicken Parm, Penne Pasta, Tossed Salad

4. Wednesday--Grilled Chicken Thighs, leftover Mac/Cheese, Asparagus

5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Swiss/Mushroom Burgers, Mac Salad
7. Saturday--Homemade Pizza

Last week saw 7 nights of dinners....1 night of take-out, 2 nights of Leftovers and 4 nights of cooking new meals.  The beans and pork chops didn't happen and move to this week.

One trip to Weis(which was "free" as I used a gift card paid for last year), 1 trip to Shursave Market and 1 trip to the Bread Outlet put a dent in the food budget of $43.97.   This brought my May food spending total to $43.97.  There are 23 days left in the month.  

I got a 9+ lb. spiral sliced ham for .99¢ lb. at Shursave as they were on clearance(leftovers from Easter stock I assume).  I put that into the freezer so Hubs and Daughter can eat off of it when I am on my trip later this month.  Hopefully this will help keep them from getting take-out every night.  ;-)

My savings percentages last week was 71.18%. 

Leftovers going into this week....... Ham bone, 3 Rolls, Taco filling, small amount of Mac & Cheese, 3 Chicken thighs, 2 Chicken Parm pieces and Pizza slices.

Here is this week's "food plan"....
* Denotes "complicated" meals

1. Sunday--Pinto Beans w/Ham, Cornbread

2. Monday--Flounder, Fried Potatoes, Yellow Squash and Onions

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Pork Chops, Garlic Mashed Taters, Stir-Fry Veggies

5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Meatloaf, Veggie TBD
7. Saturday--maybe Chinese Take-Out

This week will see 4 new meals cooked, 1 night of Take-Out/Eating-Out and 2 nights of Leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu? Some fresh produce and milk but that's about it.  I haven't even looked at the sales ads for this week so not sure what I want to pick up otherwise.  I do need to use my rain checks as they will expire while I am out of town.

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