Thursday, December 6, 2018

To-Do List.....November Edition

Let's check out how our November To-Do List turned out......


NOVEMBER

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything paid off this month that was due.  Top of the list, Always!

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE

First off I read this one..........


Magruder's Cruiosity Cabinet by H.P. Wood

This story revolves around an abandoned English girl involved with a disgruntled menage of circus freaks during a plague outbreak in turn-of-the-20th century Coney Island.
How could this not be enjoyable, right?? lolz

It held my attention from the first page to the end. A GREAT light escapist read!  It had everything--action, very interesting characters, suspense, fantasy, drama, pathos, comedy.

I also read.............

"9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America...and four who tried to save her"  by Brion McClanahan

Keep in mind that this author is a conservative as far as "politics" go.  I think every American should pick this book up and give it a read with an open mind.  He's not just some political hack talking through his hat here.  
He challenges the current though of most Americans on what makes a President "Great".  Using the Constitution as a yardstick many(if not all)of the POTUS that folks look up to as the Great Ones are not. 
 They are men who have expanded the role of the POTUS to something it was NOT meant to be and have grown government to the epic proportions it has amassed today.  It all began to go wrong back during George Washington's second term according to Mr. McClanahan--from the rise of political parties to populism to imperialistic Presidents.
The author has a small section on 4 of the Presidents who tried to get our system back on track, though none of these 4 are more current than the 30th POTUS.

This book will challenge most peoples thoughts on the true role of POTUS and how the 9 talked about have taken us from the Founding Fathers and our Republic to the sad state of affairs this country is currently experiencing.


* List items on eBay  FAIL  I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on eBay this month.  Too much going on I guess.  I will try to sell a few things on our local FB site in December.

* Get out/Wash Holiday Dishes  DONE  Washed and used and have been put away again.

* Make Turkey Day menu  DONE  The menu turned out to be turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, Lula rolls, cranberry "glop", as well as whole berry sauce, green bean casserole, honey glazed carrots, pumpkin pie w/whipped cream.  Nom Nom Nom

* finish Turkey Day shopping  DONE  Got all the food bought plus some extra cheap items with my Weis Points....a turkey breast, a ham and a huge Stouffer's lasagna(now all residing in the freezer).

* Cook Thanksgiving Meal  DONE  And everyone ate well.


The nephew even brought flowers and wine for dinner! 



* Hold Giveaways  DONE

Giveaway #1


Giveaway #2


* Mail Giveaways  DONE  Both were mailed and received and I thank both Janet and Angie for letting me know their boxes of goodies arrived safely.  8-)))

* Clean the House for Company  DONE  Most of what needed doing got done.  Hubs even scrubbed the kitchen floor for me, on his hands and knees(which is something I can no longer do).

* Put together Food Bank Donation  DONE


* Take Food Bank Donation to FB  DONE   Mid month Hubs helped me take a car load of toiletries, laundry detergent and dog/cat food up to the local food bank at a church in town.

* Buy and Hang Bathroom Blinds  DONE  This is something Hubs got a bee in his bonnet about in November, though we've needed new blinds on the master bath window since we had the room redone 2 years ago.  ;-)  He finally went up to Lowe's and bought blinds and put them up.

* Buy and Hang Kitchen Blinds  DONE  While Hubs was buying blinds I suggested we replace the old blind in the kitchen window too.  We've had the same ratty old bamboo shade on the window since moving here over 18 years ago.  It was beginning to show it's age and get moldy(bleck!)so it had to go!


We got white faux woods blinds and they are much better than what they replaced!

* Arrange Secret Santa Exchange  DONE  While Elder son was home for 2 days we did the drawing of names.  I nagged the 4 of them to get their wish lists to me and send a master list to everyone by email this past Sunday.  Now it's outta my hands!lolz

* Fix Doorbells  DONE  Another long deferred home repair.  Our doorbells haven't worked for 10 years or so.  While Hubs was up at Lowe's he picked up parts to replace both doorbells.
It was a small and quick fix and had I know it was so easy I would have handled that long before now!

* Finish Saving Seeds  DONE sort of......


I got the bulk of the Morning Glory seed pods picked, dried, crumbled so I can blow off the hulls and clean seeds saved.
But with all the rain and then a foot of snow early in mid-November a still have a big clump of vines/pods on the deck table to pick through but with the weather that isn't going to happen until early Spring.
I still got quite a bit of seed saved anyway.

* Purge Inserts  DONE  

You can see I only have about 10 inserts now.  I'll go through them again in December to get ready for the January inserts which are usually copious and thick at the beginning of the new year.

* Clean my Desk (EEK!)  FAIL
What.
A. 
Mess.
It's been a min-mess for months.  So many things going on where I need paperwork handy.  I'll get a few paper issues dealt with and filed away in December so the condition can be upgraded to "Fair" on this patient. lolz

* Host Eldest and GF for 2 Days  DONE


Son's GF had to work on Thanksgiving Day(Thank you Mount Vernon!)so son took off a coule days of work and they came to visit us the weekend before Thanksgiving and then to GF's parent's house in NJ for 2 days and then back to VA.  A quick visit but it was enjoyable.
I have to say that this GF is a much better fit for our son.  ;-)

* Go Through Xmas Gift Box  FAIL
With everything going on here and company before Thanksgiving I really didn't have the room or brain cells to pull out the Xmas gift box yet and contemplate all that entails. I pretty much know what has been bought this year and hiding in that box so this didn't put me behind of Xmas shopping to let that box stay put for a couple extra weeks.
The box is, as of this writing, in the dining room awaiting sorting and wrapping of it's contents.  


The only think I wish I gotten to that I didn't was to launch a few eBay listings. A little extra cash coming from selling items would have been nice but not at the expense of trying to do too much and stress myself out so I have made peace with my list and what got done/didn't get done.

Did you have a To-Do List in November?
Tell us how you did knocking off the items on your list! 8-)
Sluggy

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

2018 Income & Spending Report......the November Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity(like a pension) and 401K$ withdrawals(retirement savings), 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.  This leftover cash will go into a "Slush Fund" for now to be used if we have any emergencies come up during the year.  If we still have Slush Funds at the end of the year we'll decide then what to do with those funds.

I have set up a page to track the Slush Fund.  Click on the tab marked "Slush Fund 2018" at the top of the blog.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)


On to the November 2018 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 tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2018.

I have to report that we finished up November in the black.
The extra amount we ended the month of November with?.......$260.35

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3218.16(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1813.48
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $381.61

Total "Income" for November......$5413.25


Expenses in November---

* Healthcare Premium for November was $1813.48.(paid with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in November came to $3339.42
Total Expenses....$5152.90

Sinking Fund--The balance in the Sinking Fund coming into November was $468.37. No irregular bills were paid out of the Sinking Fund goes into December at $468.37.  We instead paid for the semi-annual car insurance bill due in November from the monthly income and did not take a  quarterly 401K withdrawal to cover it.


We went into October with $24,402.59 in the Slush Fund.
Add in November's overage of $260.35 to the Slush Fund and it stands at $24,662.94 going into December.


Outgo
As for the variable 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 in September.(Within $1 or so).
*  The water bill was $4.49 lower than last month.
*  The c/c bill was up $445.56 than in October.
*  The electric bill was $70.99 lower than last month.
*  The health insurance premium was the same as in October.
*  The cash WAM withdrawals was the same amount as last month.
.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The gas card bill was $38.10 higher than last month
*  There was a $89.88 charge card bill on my Visa card this month.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are covered in the credit card payment(sometimes our WAM cash too).

So we end November in the black with $260.35 in new general overage to add to the Slush Fund.
The Sinking Fund goes into December standing at $468.37.

FINAL THOUGHTS on November---
No quarterly 401K withdrawal meant November was going to be tight since we were going to pay the car insurance out of reg. income instead of the Sinking Fund. No other big bills except the credit card bill.  Seeing as the food spending is put on the c/c, as well as the cell phone bill, that accounts for  almost $600 of the c/c bill for November.  Thinking of it that way makes it feel like less of a large bill.


THOUGHTS going forward into December 2018----
December.......let's see what's coming up.
Normal WAM withdrawal this month.
Normal or lower than normal food spending planned.
The credit card will be high next month....read "Christmas" costs and I went a little nuts buying discounted gift cards to use in 2019. ;-)

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!

Make this year was the one were you clean up your finances and pay off your debts.
Plan to set something aside if you didn't already or increase what you have banked now for your future self.
Or pay 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

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

December Giveaway Time!!!


It's December and this is the Sixteenth Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for the year.

The Holiday Box of Goodies is a little special I think.  ;-)

Here are the goodies the winner will receive.......


1 x Gardenia Moisturizing Body Bar
3 x Hotel lotion/shampoo samples
1 x 13 oz. size jar of Nutella spread
1 x Dial hand soap pump
1 x Udderly Smooth hand cream
1 x Glade candle
2 x Crest gum detox toothpaste samples
1 x $10 Regal Entertainment movies gift card
1 x Lindt White Chocolate Peppermint bar
1 x Belgian Dark Chocolate w/Sea Sale bar
1 x Teddy Bear Christmas Ornament
1 x Papparazzi necklace w/earrings(purple stones)
1 x Lily of the Valley French milled soap
1 x Lavender French milled soap
11 x samples(Band-Aid, I-Caps vitamins, Saline Soothers, Synodrin pain cream, Make-up remover, Olay creams(2), Max Freeze topical cream, Gold Bond cream, Kirkland green tea(2))
PLUS.........
The winner can take their pick of one of these music CD sets as well---Xmas Smooth Jazz, Xmas Strings or Xmas Guitar music.

Close up shots of the goodies..........








There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY for this Giveaway.  Come back every day and enter though!

Tell me what Christmas means to you(or Hanukkah or Winter Solstice or Kwanzaa or Festivus if that's how you roll instead).  What's your favorite Holiday tradition?  What do you need to make/eat for your Holiday to be complete?  Or tell us something you've done for others this year.

I'll leave this giveaway open until Tuesday, December 11th at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. On December 12th I'll mark all 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 on Dec. 12th and that person has 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

If I am not contacted via email, I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supplied with their entry(or gave me to add to the Giveaway Data Base)and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreigh countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the 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 am still having to disqualify entries due to this issue and I sure don't like doing that.  Thanks!

So let's get the Holiday Giveaway started.....Good Luck to all!


Sluggy

A Rite-Aid Hack You May Like & some R-A Porn

I wanted to get this posted before Wellness Wednesday(tomorrow is the first Wednesday in December remember!)in case someone out there wanted to try this hack and had a bunch of Bonus Cash they wanted to convert to a gift card.
It's a well known fact you can't pay for a gift card purchase with Bonus Cash.....or can you??

Last week I bought this on my son's card during the Friday/Saturday Friends and Family 30% Off Days.
Remember that I had $.29 tracking toward a second $50 "Beauty" spending needed to earn a $10 R-A gift card on this account and $11.66 tracking for the Spend $20 on certain PandG/Get $6 BC..........


6 x Head and Shoulders shampoo 30% discount($5.24 ea)=$31.44
4 x Herbal Essence BioRenew shampoo/conditioner 30% discount($5.10 ea.)=$20.40
1 x Kohl's gift card=$25.00
SubTotal......$76.84($51.84 of that for shampoo/conditioner)

Coupons Used
3 x $5/2 Head and Shoulders ManuQ=$15.00
2 x $5/2 Herbal Essence ManuQ=$10.00
Coupon Total.....$25.00

$76.84-$25.00=$51.84 paid for with Bonus Cash

I earned back $23 in new Bonus Cash(3 x $6 wys $20, $5wyb Kohl's gift card).
I earned the second $10 R-A Beauty gift card on this account.
I also earned back $2 in cash rebates on Ibotta($1 wyb2 HE shampoo, $1 wyb2 HE conditioner).

So I spent $31.84 of BC on 10 shampoos/conditioners and earned back $18 BC, $10 R-A gift card and a $2 cash rebate.

I also used Bonus Cash to buy a $25 gift card AND since the Kohl's card was giving $5 BC last week I also got that $5 BC as well. 8-)

**So here's the work around for using BC to buy gift cards.........

You can buy gift cards in the amount of or less than the total of the coupons you use in a transaction.  As long as the amount of the gift card is equal to or less than the total value of your coupons the register won't "see" the gift card and will let your Bonus Cash cover that cost.

I had $25 in Qs and I bought a $25 gift card.


So I did it again in another transaction on another card having too many BC.
This transaction I only had $24 in coupons so I bought a $20 Subway card and it worked again!

I bought 9 x Pantene, 1 x Hydralyte, 1 x Olay Total Effects cleanser,  1 x Carmex lip balm, and 1 x $20 Subway GC in one transaction.

$32.37 after $24 in Qs and sales tax(not counting the $20 GC cost)and I earned back $15 in BC--$10 BC(P&G Spend $30/Get $10 Deal)and $5 BC on the Hydralyte.
I earned another $10 R-A GC for the Beauty Deal.
I also earned $4 cash back on Ibotta for buying the Olay cleanser($3)and Carmex($1), so $29 back in BC/GC/Cash on a $32.37 spend and had almost enough for another $10 wyb $30 P&G Deal.

And I converted $20 in expiring BC into a Subway gift card.



I bought 2 more Olay cleansers(before this transaction)in two separate transactions and then another Hydralyte, 2 x Pantene on clearance for $2.49(also counted toward the P&G Deal) and 3 x Neutrogena lip balms in another transaction.
Those 3 transactions cost $22.93 in BC and earned me $15 in new Bonus Cash($5 Hydralyte, $10 wys $30 P&G).
I also earned $20 in cash back on Ibotta(well it's $17 right now).

Since I purchased the 3 Olays separately(so I got 30% off each and not the BOGO50% price)I am hoping that $3 Olay Total Effects Ibotta rebate comes back to my list twice.....It's come back once and I have applied and received a second of that $3 Olay rebate so far.


This item qualifies for the $4 Ibotta Neutrogena facial moisturizer rebate, up to 3 x per receipt(if it's available to you).  It's a nice little moneymaker as this item only costs between $3.49 and $3.99(before Wellness disc.)at Rite-Aid....if you can find it.

I nice way to convert BC back to cash and the Gift Card hack is a nice way to use expiring BC too.

Tomorrow is Wellness Wednesday and if your store puts out the paper R-A one day Q for this event AND you clip the same Qs to your L2C account you can potentially use A LOT of Qs so it's a good day to convert BC to gift cards.
Now I don't know if this hack will work w/L2CQ or a mix of both paper and L2CQs so maybe just use enough of the paper One Day Qs to test it.  You could get to $20+ in Qs just using the paper ones and then if you buy a gift card that is also giving back Bonus Cash this week, that's even better!

I am getting giddy just thinking about the Deals I can get on Wednesday at Rite-Aid! 8-)))

If anyone tries this gift card hack be sure and let us all know how it went.



Sluggy

Monday, December 3, 2018

This Week on the Dining Table

The Funniest Fortune Cookie EVER!"" Edition.........


Even better than the typo on the menu at the Hibachi restaurant from last year that served "Red Snapple" on a bed of rice. Mmmm......I didn't know that Snapple was a fish. lolz


Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself
2. Monday--Hoagies
3. Tuesday--Seafood Buffet
4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs
5. Thursday--Chicken Tenders, Taters, Veggie TBD
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Breakfast for Dinner(tentatively)

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself
2. Monday--Hoagies
3. Tuesday--Leftovers
4. Wednesday--Turkey Casserole
5. Thursday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Tossed Salad
6. Friday--Strip Steak, Baked Taters, Brussels Sprouts
7. Saturday--Marinated Pork Loin, Sugar Snap Peas, Teriyaki Rice

Sometimes the plan happens and sometimes I go rogue if I find a great deal or just aren't feeling what I had planned.
I did use up some Turkey Day leftovers making a casserole w/turkey, stuffing, carrots and Campbell's soup.  We aren't much of a turkey soup family here so this worked to use up stuff.
The Seafood Buffet didn't happen because I couldn't find the fish in the freezer and it's too cold out in the garage to dig around much.  When it turns up it will get used. ;-)

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of Eating Out/Take-Out. Primo Hoagies had a Cyber Monday special so we indulged.

 A couple of grocery trips.....1 to the Bread Outlet($10.16), a couple of veggies at Shursave($1.98)and a small Weis shop($22.17)brought the weekly food spending to $40.31 and brought the December monthly total to $40.31 so far.

I have 28 days left in my shopping month for December.
December already?!
Seriously......

My savings percentage last week was 65.25%(without Rite-Aid trips)and December's monthly savings total comes to 65.25%(w/out R-A)so far.  The percentage is so high because there was very little grocery store shopping and a good sized Bread Outlet shop.

Leftovers going into this week.....rolls, Hawaiian rolls, some spaghetti and meatballs in sauce.

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

1. Sunday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice
2. Monday--Spaghetti, Meatballs in sauce, Salad?
3. Tuesday--Bratwurst on rolls, Potato Salad, Spinach
4. Wednesday--Beef Pie
5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself or maybe Tacos?

This week will see 5-6 new meals cooked, 1-2 nights of leftovers/FFY, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Green Beans and if I can find a bag of Salad

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