To-Do List Outcome.....November Update

Here's my November To-Do List and what got done and what didn't.......

* Pay Bills  DONE  Always first on my list of things to get done. All paid early or on time.

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE  I read two of the books in the "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency" Series.  

They are a quick read but fun so I may hunt for some more in the Series at the Library next year.
And I also got halfway through this one before November ended.

As I am a history nut, this one is riveting!

*  Puppy to Vet for Shots   DONE

And he was NOT too happy about that!  Poor little guy yelped something awful. This mommy thinks it's because they wouldn't let me go back and hold him for the shot. 8-(

*  Get Giveaway Boxes Ready  DONE  

I gathered a bunch of my mostly Rite-Aid freebies and 6 mailing boxes and made up Giveaway Boxes for the next 6 months.  They are ready to go one per month at least until May 2018 as long as the little bit of blog revenue continues to roll in so I can afford to mail them all.  ;-)

*  Sell Stuff  DONE  While I wasn't able to sell anything on the local tag sale site I did get 8 things listed on eBay in November and sold $207.99 worth of goods.  

*  Make Motel Reservations  DONE  I made advance motel reservations for Hubs "rescue" mission using certain loyalty cards we have for two different chains to save a few dollars and earn some points toward future rewards.

*  Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  And I have it on good authority that the chocolates were the first things to be removed and "disposed" of. lolz

*  Declutter  DONE  Unpacking my dishware from the garage led to more decluttering of said dishware, which led to other things leaving the house as well.

*  Load to Sallie's  DONE  

Just some of what got carted off.  

A total of 24 more items left Chez Sluggy.

*  Clean Bathrooms  DONE  And just in the nick of time before Thanksgiving company arrived.

*  Change out Wardrobe  DONE...sort of  I got the Winter stuff out but there are some not-Winter stuff I didn't put away yet.  I'm calling this mostly done.

*  Unpack Dishes in Garage  DONE

Dishes are now residing in the Dining Room in the buffet.

*  Move Dishes in Kitchen  DONE  As part of the organizing dishes the ones hiding in the cabinets over the stove were moved to the new Buffet.  I put some items for the kids and things I can't display but want to keep in those inaccessible cabinets over the stove.

*  Get Blood Work Done  DONE  I got stuck and all the tests came back with good results. Yay me!

*  Pick-up College Boy  DONE

*  Turkey Day!  DONE  And it was yummy.

*  Take College Boy back  DONE 

And we got to see him again this past weekend.


*  Put Furniture together  DONE

With much gnashing of teeth and choice words it got done.  I am under pain of death orders NEVER to order furniture that has to be put together again. lolz

So we  basically got everything done that was on my list-a rare occurrence indeed!
Onward and upward to December's To-Do List.

What did you get done in November?


Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "The Relief That It's Over" Edition--

After Hubs got home late Friday night, he returned the cargo van Saturday morning, and then we drove up to school to see College Boy's Senior Recital.
I'll share photos of that in the coming weeks.  Here's a shot of College Boy afterwards, when we took him out to dinner.  He was just so glad that recital pressure was off and 1 more week of classes and just 2 finals and his semester(and basically his college career)is over.  This semester has kicked his ass he says.  There was some partying done on Saturday night after we left I hear tell.  But by Sunday afternoon he was feeling nostalgic for being in school and said he'd miss most of it. lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Beef/Broccoli/Mushroom Stir-Fry, Jasmine Rice

2. Monday--Leftover Chicken Thighs, leftover Thanksgiving sides, Stuffed Mushrooms

3. Tuesday--French Bread Pizza, Salad

4. Wednesday--Chinese Take-out

5. Thursday--?
6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Beef/Broccoli/Mushroom Stir-Fry, Jasmine Rice

2. Monday--Leftover Chicken Thighs, leftover Thanksgiving sides

3. Tuesday--Primo Hoagies for 2(Daughter paid)

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself

5. Thursday--Leftover Stir-Fry, Rice
6. Friday--Chinese Take-Out for 2(I paid)
7. Saturday--Eating Out after recital(3 at Perkins)

Daughter wasn't feeling French Bread pizza so we shoved that loaf into the freezer to use another week.  She was feeling Chinese(isn't she always?)and take-out Subs so I little variation from the plan.

Last week saw 1 night of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 2 nights of take-out and 1 night of Eating out.
Weis was the only store I shopped at last week and the bill came to $49.85.  That brings December's food spending to $49.85.  There are 27 more days in my shopping month.

My savings percentages last week was 51.79% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 51.79%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week.......Thanksgiving side dishes(Mashed Taters, Stuffing, Carrots)and 4 rolls.  The rest of the stuffing is going into the freezer for later and we'll incorporate the other side dishes into this week's menu.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Fresh Mushroom Soup, French Bread

2. Monday--Mushroom Stroganof, over Leftover Mashed Taters, Asparagus

3. Tuesday--Sloppy Joe, Rolls, Carrots

4. Wednesday--Tacos

5. Thursday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Caesar Salad
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers, 0 nights of Take-out.  I went to Maines Restaurant Supply on Sunday(bill goes on next Monday's grocery spending)and they had a shopping cart of 12 oz. packages of whole mushrooms for .50¢ each.  I guess they overestimated the demand for Thanksgiving. lolz   So I bought 5 more boxes to go with the 1 I had leftover still from Turkey Day so the front end of this week will be heavy with mushroom dishes w/out meat.  ;-)

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is some iceberg lettuce and milk.  We are also out of cream cheese and I plan on picking up a few loss leaders this week(besides the Maines trip).

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

Income & Spending Report.....November Update

* As Hubs retired effective July 1, I am no longer doing my 2017 Savings Challenge.
We ended that on June 30th.  The goal was $17.5K saved for the half of 2017 that Hubs was working.
We actually saved $21,100.42 all totaled, so $3600.42 over goal!

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$(no 401K$ until October)I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.
But this money leftover at the end of each month, at least for now(as we find our new financial "normal")won't be saved toward a yearly Savings Challenge.

The issue now is to cover all the bills with just the annuity payment each month plus some liquid savings(checking account cash)until October.
October is when Hubs turns 59.5 and then we can access the 401K retirement savings.  Until then things will be tight here at Chez Sluggy, so all the leftover monthly cash will get tucked aside to pay irregular bills that will be popping up for the rest of the year.

Got it?
OK, let's move on.

Though nothing will be put toward it the rest of 2017(probably), the 2017 $17.5K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals are still available
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

On to the November report--
I had 2 goals for November......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to apply toward irregular bills that are coming due in subsequent months.

I have to report that we finished up November in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of November with?.......$4007.15

Income

The income in November was the monthly annuity payment,the healthcare account reimbursement and the October overage of $3454.25 that carried over.  I also had interest on non-retirement accounts and a blogging revenue check in November and brought us to $8855.11 of total income.  Expenses(including funding the Sinking Fund)came to $4847.96.

This brought us to our gain of $4007.15  If you deduct the overage from previous months that carried over into November and the Healthcare payment and reimbursement from the euqation, this means we spent $97.11 LESS than what we brought in in November for the annuity payment only.  So far we are doing ok without accessing the 401K account.

Since we have no debt, this November overage will get put aside to apply to the irregular bills coming due in December(of which there are none due that month)and then rolled over into 2018 to pay either $3K HDHP costs or property taxes that are due near the beginning of the year.  Plus we have to take a chunk out of this overage to pay for the "rescue mission" costs.

Outgo

As for the expenses this November, 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 gas card bill was $12.54 lower than last month.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals were $165.00 lower than in October(extra WAM was taken out in October but I don't recall why/what for).
*  After paying the semi-annual car insurance the Sinking Fund carries over at $366.74 into December.

HERE are the BAD THING

*  The water bill was $5.44 higher than in September.
*  The electric bill was $53.67 higher than last month's bill.
*  The credit card bill was $757.10 more than October's bill(mostly furniture purchase).
*  The car insurance was due(paid for out of the Sinking Fund).
*  A dental bill was due and paid in November.
*  We had to pay the November health insurance premium of $1771.94.

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

So we end November in the black with $4007.15 to apply to irregular bills going into 2018.
Plus the Sinking Fund goes into December standing at $366.74.

FINAL THOUGHTS on November---It was a pretty good month financially, even with buying the buffet......until Hubs had to go on his "rescue mission" to IL.  This will impact our December bills as the charges were put on the credit card.  Just a few extra bills in November so we didn't have to dip into the 401K yet.


THOUGHTS going forward into December of 2017----

Electric usage(and thus costs)will rise this month.
Food spending shouldn't be over $400(even though it's Christmas this month).
Most of the usual bills will be about what November's levels were.
But the credit card bill will be higher than usual, not because of Christmas spending but because of the "rescue" mission we bankrolled.  Thankfully we are not traveling anywhere for Christmas which would have added charges to the c/c.
We are just trying to hold a line on the bills and not have to access the 401K account until 2018.

So how was your November financially?
  

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

Net Worth......December 1st Update

We have gone from acquisition mode with money into spend-down mode since we are now officially retired here at Chez Sluggy.

Our Net Worth will no longer be growing(well that's what I thought going into this phase)so I have to stay on top of what we have and where it sits.
I shared where we keep out money and why in the first Post-Retirement Net Worth post HERE.

So here is how the money did in November......

* Checking Account #1 Went down by $2081.35(life is expensive sometimes)
* Checking Account #2  Went up $86.87(monthly interest & blogging revenue)
* Savings Account  Went down $1.00(monthly fee)
* Online Accounts  Went down $620.22(monthly interest was a lot less than the withdrawals to buy gift cards)
* Certificate of Deposit  Went up $253.69(interest)
* US Savings Bonds  Went up $5.00(interest)
* Cash on Hand  Went up $87
* 401K Account  Went up $2,146.27(monthly interest) We didn't have to tap it in November so it just grew. 8-)
* HSA Account  Stayed the same.  Again we didn't have to tap this account for medical expenses.
* RMSA Account  Went down $1342.46.  The interest earned on this account offset the healthcare premium reimbursement amount by $429.48 so it didn't go down as much as it might have.

Overall we are $1771.94 down from October's Net Worth.  Between the interest on all accounts and income received, weighed against our spending last month,  our holdings sank by the amount of our healthcare premium in November.
Decreasing our wealth holdings is the norm in full retirement but we didn't lose much ground last month so I'll take that as a win.

I am by no means a financial expert but I'll readily share what worked for us on our financial journey if you have questions.

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

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....December 1st Edition

Let's see what frugal wins we had this past week.

* I received a $5 rebate check for buying some vitamins in October.

This was part of those Huggies diapers/TRU gift card Deals.  This $5 cash back puts me at $2.49 in PPs spent down total for a ton of suff I got and once I sell all those packs of diapers I'll be at least $77.51 CASH in the black plus have all that stuff I bought as part of that Diaper Deal back in October.

* Remember the coffee grinder I wanted to buy on Amazon for Hubs for Xmas?  Well I got this........

An Amazon Prime Visa card.  It came with a $70 Amazon credit and there is no annual fee to have the card.  I applied said credit toward the purchase of the coffee grinder (since I was going to buy it on Amazon anyway)so with tax(free shipping)the grinder will only cost me $14.76 OOP.

Before anyone says it's a bad idea to get a credit card just for a free credit on it(which ordinarily I'd agree with you on that but).....1-I have been considering getting a second credit card for awhile now since we only have one card now and we've had an issue in the past with that card company freezing our card when we were on vacation(not fun).  A back-up card, since we will be traveling some in retirement, is a wise move. And 2-I am someone who can tuck a credit card away and NOT USE IT.  Getting into credit card debt is not something that will happen to me after 30+ years of handling credit responsibly.  ;-)

* I got a baker's dozen of Panera bagels this week and it didn't cost me anything.  I used a free with credit card points gift card to pay and I still have $36.02 left on that gift card.

* Remember this coupon Weis sent me?...........

I used that 10% off when you buy a Mastercard or Visa debit gift card Weis(PMITA)Markets this week before it expired and purchased a $100 Mastercard debit gift card.

I paid $95.95 for that $100 M/C with the $5.95 "fee" Visa/Mastercard charges for them so once I use the $100 on that card I'll have saved $4.05(Value of card-Cost of card+Activation Fee)total.   Not a big "win" but $4.05 free is $4.05 free.

I also earned 20 Weis Points for "spending" $100 at Weis.

Weis has a similar Xmas Deal, a free ham/turkey/large lasagna/etc. for 50 Points, like they had at Thanksgiving.
So I just need 30 more points to earn a meat or lasagna freebie for Xmas.
I may transfer 3 rxs to the Weis pharmacy that need refilling this month before the Free Meat promo ends.  Each rx will earn me another 10 Points so I don't technically have to spend any money at Weis to get the free ham.
Or if I use the whole $100 on that card at Weis I can potentially earn another 20 in Points toward the free meat deal.
Any way this works out for me it will be Sweet!

*  I got all this at Rite-Aid during the 4 Day sale........

$65.67 in Plenti Points were spent and $61.00 in new Plenti Points were earned so I "spent down" my PPS by $4.67 and in return brought all this home--
* 4 shave creams
* 1 lotion
* 5 baby wipes packs
* 10 lip balms
* 2 Tummy Zen
* 4 Hydralyte tablet packs
* 18 candy bars

Not bad for $4.67 in Plenti Points.
Lots of stocking and giveaway box stuffers! 8-)))

* While I don't "do" Black Friday(other than Rite-Aid)I did go online Saturday night and purchase a few things from Kohl's(3 shirts and a sweater)and that all qualified for free shipping.  Besides the sale prices on the items, I used 2 different discounts totaling $23.40 off, my $8 anniversary credit and earned $15 back in Kohl's cash.  I also earned $2.70 from the cash back site I went to the site through.
I am not one to advocate shopping until you drop, but sometimes you have to buy things.  So why not squeeze every discount out when you open your wallet?  ;-)

*  And just so you don't think my life is a perpetual frugal love fest here, check this out..........

These are teeny tiny Yankee Candle brand candles.  They were a "door buster" item I got at Boscov's(a local/regional department store)the weekend before Thanksgiving when Hubs and I went there to get some flannel sheets that were a good buy.  With any purchase you were "allowed" to buy up to 2 of these candles for $1.99 each.  The photo in the ad was quite deceptive and made these look like larger Yankee Candles.  Plus they had them hidden behind the register counter so you couldn't smell/inspect them beforehand.
Nope, they are tiny. lolz
I thought I was getting a "deal".
Ummm, no!  But they do smell nice.....


So what frugal wins did y'all have this past week?
Tell us all about them.

And remember.............

Sluggy