2020 To-Do Lists.........January Edition

Here's how the January To-Do List turned out...........


JANUARY

* Pay Bills  DONE  It's always done early or on time each month..

*  Read 1,2 Books  DONE 
I read this one........

"Tethered Citizens:Time to Repeal the Welfare State"
by Sheldon Richman

I am going to use an excerpt from an Amazon buyer's review here as it sums up my feelings so well about this book.
By A. Locke.....
"'Tethered Citizens' is truly an eye-opener.  Sheldon Richman illustrates persuasively and with much historical evidence why our welfare system fails and why it will always fail.  He shows that in fact our welfare system, which many believe helps the poor and uneducated, in fact tethers and enslaves them to the state.  He proves convincingly that welfarism does not work no matter where it has been implemented and in what fashion.  He also shows how the idea and methods used to implement welfare are inherently wrong and inhumane.
I especially enjoyed Mr. Richman's detailed historical examples which help to brilliantly illustrate and prove the point he is making.  Not only does it show the blunder that is the welfare state, it also proves that it is a blunder created not by one of the two major parties, but equally by both......"

I was given a stack of this book by one of the Porcfest speakers, Jacob Hornberger, when I attended his lecture last June, with an eye to distribute it among my readers who wished to read it.
If anyone would like a free copy of this book, email me.  I'll send them via media mail until I run out.  Just pass it along after you read it if you want or keep your copy.

And this one...........

"The White Princess" by Philippa Gregory

At Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor(later King Henry VII of England)defeats King Richard III of England. One is affiliated with the House of Lancaster, one is of the Houses of York and these and additional cousins have been battling over the crown of England, also known as the War of the Roses(Lancastrian sides' emblem was a red rose, Yorkist sides' emblem was a white rose-thus the name given to their ongoing struggle over who ruled England in that time).

In order to unite the country Henry Tudor must take as his bride Elizabeth of York, reported to have been Richard III's lover before his death in battle, and the oldest sister of the 2 Princes(Edward and Richard)who were locked up and purported to have been murdered by Richard III.
But even after wedding Elizabeth of the enemy's camp, Henry VII can't unite England, due to the unknown nature of whether the 2 princes are dead or merely in hiding.  The House of York supporters plot to put a York on the throne and it drives everything Henry VII does as king. (Spoiler Alert-Henry VII was NOT a popular king. lol)
Elizabeth is torn between her familial ties(she was also the daughter of King Edward IV-my 1st cousin, 18 x removed)and her new role as a Tudor Queen and her children, including the future King of England.

I enjoy reading these English historical fiction books by Philippa Gregory and this one didn't disappoint either.  After all, the subject of this one, the White Princess aka Elizabeth of York is my 2nd cousin, 17 x removed.  Her husband, Henry VII is also my 3rd cousin, 17 x removed.
They were the parents on good ol' Henry VIII whom everyone is familiar with(as well as his 6 wives). 8-)))
These Gregory books are an easy and enjoyable way to expand your historical knowledge of the ruling class of distant English history.  They are part history and part filling in all the details of all those interpersonal relationships/emotions that are lost to history but are plausible, the fiction part.

*  Hold Giveaways  DONE

2 Giveaways were held.

* Mail Giveaways  DONE
Both were mailed, one on Friday and the other on Saturday.  Still waiting to hear from Wendy if she got her box a ok.

*  Go to Louisiana  DONE
We drove to LA for the wedding.  Between the cost of flying and getting to the airport and driving and those costs it was a lot cheaper to drive there.

*  Wedding  DONE

It was a lovely evening and my daughter glowed.  More on the wedding and our trip another time.

*  Come back from Louisiana  DONE
We had some fun both on the way to and on the way home but of course there was a clusterfu**k on the last leg of the journey since of course this is how my life goes. lolz  More on that later too.

*  Put Christmas Away  DONE
It took about a week to get it all put away once we got home so mid January before this got accomplished.  But then again, we were in no hurry.

*  Declutter Linen Closet  DONE
With Hubs and Ex-CB shoving stuff in there all willy-nilly the linen closet had become unmanageable.  So I tackled that mess.
Before......

After.....

It's more organized now, stuff taken out and other stuff put in and more stuff moved around to make better sense.

*  Declutter Pantry  FAIL
I didn't get around to this item so it goes on February's To-Do List.

*  Clean House  PASS  
While I didn't get a deep clean accomplished between  putting Xmas boxes away, cleaning the living areas and a bit of garage reorganizing most of the house saw a good deal of cleaning.

*  Prefill Giveaway Boxes  DONE
I couldn't finish cleaning the living and dining rooms until I finished this item since filling them meant spreading toiletries and candy all over two rooms. lolz

But it's done now and I have 7 giveaway boxes ready to deploy when needed.
Added bonus(ie-cleaning....all the giveaway items left after filling these 7 boxes fit into 4 Rubbermaid tubs and are neatly stacked away.

*  Clean my Desk Area  FAIL
Again, parts got straightened up but it's still a mess.  I may need a better system and just less stuff kept there.
And I didn't take a picture of this mess. lolz

*  Celebrate my Birthday YAY!  DONE

It was a nice low key celebration....a cake, a steak dinner out and a matinee discount movie.  That was plenty for me though. 8-)

*  Have Dixie Fixed  FAIL
Well this didn't get accomplished due to not being able to book an appointment with the vet until February.  It's scheduled and getting done in February though.

*  Have a Financial Meeting  DONE
We got the meeting about our finances finally done right before the month ended.  With so much going on in January I didn't get the 2019 calculations finished until mid to late month, then we both needed time to sit down separately once I had all the numbers written out to ponder areas we needed to take action in.
But it's done and at any time in 2020, if we feel the need to reevaluate and change course that will happen too.

*  Plan Goals for 2020  IN PROGRESS
I am still working on what Big Goals need accomplishing in 2020.  Mostly these would be home repairs/improvements to get the house ready for market, any big trips/vacations, and some projects I need to progress on....more of those later in another post.

So it was a pretty good month with many things accomplished.
Three fails but one is not my fault. lolz

Onward and upward to February!  I still have some items to add to my To-Do List for this month.

Do you keep a To-Do List?
How did you do knocking items off your list in January?

Sluggy

2020 Income & Spending Report...........the January Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, 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.

  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 January report---

I had 2 goals for January.......
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 2020.

I can report that we finished up January in the black(barely).
The amount we ended the month of January with?.....$100.85

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $584.25
* Loan to EX-CB repaid of $337.50
* A small 401K withdrawal of $1000.00
Total "Income" for January....$7027.75

Expenses in January---

* Healthcare Premium for January was $1883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in January came to $4735.14
* Irregular Expenses(yearly garbage fee)came to $308.00.
Total Expenses....$6926.90

$7027.75-$6926.90=$100.85

Slush into January $18,438.63 left in the Slush Fund to take into February with that $100.85 overage brings  Slush to $18,539.48.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $100.85 for January.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this January,  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 $2 or so).
*  The water bill was $2.66 lower than in December.
*   The Amazon c/c was $667.23 lower than last month.
*  Medical co-pays were $15.62 less than in December.
* The Kohl's charge was $3.13 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $45.01 higher than in December(as predicted).
*  There were $75.46 more in gas bill charges than last month.
*  There was $350 more in WAM withdrawals(that was cash spent on the wedding trip to LA).
*  The main c/c bill was $1125.63 higher than in December.
*  The Healthcare Premium went up $35.09 per month for 2020.
*  There was an irregular bill due-the annual Garbage Service bill(but I get a month free if I pay for the year up front.).
*  We also had a Discover card charge($125.51).
*  We wrote Daughter and her new husband a wedding gift check in January and another check to my brother's wife to help pay for her mom's funeral in late January.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on January---

We knew January would be a high bill month.  Between some Xmas charges that didn't come through until the January billing cycle, the annual garbage fee and Daughter getting married this month(and the subsequent road trip to Louisiana for the wedding and the spending for that trip)we were aware it wouldn't be pretty financially.  But looking back, it could have been a lot worse on the old wallet.


THOUGHTS going forward into February 2020----

We don't see much out of the ordinary spending coming around the bend this month.  There is a birthday(Ex-CB)but I've already got his gifts tucked away(and paid for)so that just means a Birthday Eating out bill this month.  Hubs and I don't "do" Valentine's Day so that's not a blip on our financial radar.  Electric bill will continue to rise(Hello! It's Winter here. lol)

I'd like to keep discretionary spending low in February and tuck as much as we can back for March bills, as we have 3 Irregular bills due then--Long Term Care Premiums, the Annual Sewage bill and Real Estate(County)Taxes.  Last year that all totaled $2665.94 and I don't know how much any of these will go up for 2020 yet.  Ah, the thrill of the unknown. lolz
So anything I can keep from spending in February helps me out to keep our head above water in March.

But we always have the Slush Fund to fall back on if needed.  That has been such a comfort to me and will continue to see us through rough financial months. 8-)

So how was your January financially?
  

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


Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "WTF?!" Edition................

I've never been much for sweet and crunchy snacks(like kettle corn, etc.)so when I saw these at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)I had to take a photo.  My nephew is a BIG FAN of Autumn and anything Pumpkin/Pumpkin Spice scented/flavored.  I'll have to see what he thinks of this specific one.
Anybody out there ever seen/tried these?  Herr's a regional snack brand around here so I don't know if folks in other parts of the country have Herr's brand where they live.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

This is what was planned for last week.......

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

1. Sunday--Pizza
2. Monday--Haddock, Fries, Coleslaw
3. Tuesday--Chicken Caesar Salad

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Butternut Squash Ravioli, Salad

6. Friday--Chicken Broccoli Casserole
7. Saturday--Pork Chops, Green Beans(Hubs is cooking)

And this is what actually happened--

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

1. Sunday--Pizza
2. Monday--Butternut Squash Ravioli in Alfredo Sauce, Tossed Salad
3. Tuesday--Leftovers(Chicken and Dumplings)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers(Pizza, Salad)

5. Thursday--Haddock, Fries, Cole Slaw

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Cole Slaw

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out. 

The Chicken Caesar Salad, Casserole and Pork Chops didn't happen.  We had so much Cole Slaw leftover after the Fish meal that I defrosted some smoke pork for BBQ instead of making one of those meals.  Then we had so much leftover Pizza, Ravioli, Chicken and Dumplings that we had two additional leftover nights.  

What got put into the freezer last week....
* Nothing

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
*  3 bags of Squash Ravioli
*  1 pack of Haddock
*  1 bag of Smoked Pork

A whole chicken I bought at Wegman's last week that I forgot about($6.87)my January Grand Total spending on food to $149.73.
Other than the freebie at Weis I didn't do any more grocery shopping in Jan. I did spend a total of $37.12 at Malacari's produce and Ollie's over the weekend which starts off February's tally for food spending.

My savings percentage last week was 47.60%(without Rite-Aid trips)and January's monthly savings total comes in at 57.86%(w/out R-A).  The February savings percentage is 42.90% so far(w/out R-A).

I have 26 more food shopping/spending days in February.

Leftovers going into this week.....Taco Meat, Chicken and Dumplings, Baked Beans and Cole Slaw.

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

1. Sunday--Fajitas
2. Monday--Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes
3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie

5. Thursday--FFY

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--?  maybe Take-Out? Who Knows?

What needs buying for this menu?  Cabbage  I've got a corned beef and ground beef and chicken strips already for those 3 meals.  I'm going to try to stay home this week mostly as I already hit the Bread Outlet and Price Chopper this past weekend(which counts on this week's shopping).

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?  Weis(PMITA)Markets has been pretty "eh" the last few weeks other than finding instant discount stickers on meat items(and I've only bought a few of those).

Sluggy

The 2020 Financial Meeting at Chez Sluggy

So Hubs and I finally got a chance to sit down and go over the finances to see how 2019 panned out and what's coming for 2020.

If you've been reading here awhile, you know that Hubs retired mid year in 2017 and turned 59.50 years old in Oct. of that year.  We didn't begin taking any 401K withdrawals until 2018, and we took 3 quarterly withdrawals that calendar year(no withdrawal in the 4th quarter)of $6K each.

After seeing how much leftover cash we had in the checking account when 2018 was over we decided to stop taking 401K monies in 2019.  We figured with our built up Slush Fund(the bulk of which was most of that 401K money we took and didn't spend in 2018)would cover any income shortfalls we might have in 2019.

To recap, 2019 income consisted of a monthly annuity payment, actual interest earned and charged to us for the calendar year of 2019**, a small bit of dividend income, my equally small blogging revenue and any eBay sales.  Also included in income was a small amount of company stock Hubs cashed in for his personal use in 2019.(Not counted as income here was RMSA withdrawal that covered the health insurance premiums and HSA deposits-of which there were none.)
Total income was $45,803.38 in 2019.

**Though I calculated interest earned each month, the 2 CDs we have don't actually pay out interest monthly but once the CDs are matured/cashed in. It's easier to calculate monthly but as far as tax purposes go, much of the interest earned on non-retirement accounts in 2019 won't be taxed until 2020 when the CDs mature.

Then we added up ALL our spending(again, not counting the monthly Healthcare Premiums or HSA spending). Every other penny we spent was included.
Total spending was $52,013.92 in 2019.

That means we had to pull $6,210.54 to cover expenses beyond our "income" and this mostly came out of the Slush Fund(plus our Federal Tax Refund for 2018).

Seems our spending in 2019 went down just over $10K from what we spent in 2018 so things are heading in the right direction on outgo.

And our income in 2019 went down almost $20K from 2018's level.  That is mostly accounted for with the $18K in 401K withdrawals we made in 2018 but did not take in 2019.
We figured that while $18K dumped into the budget in 2018 was too much, not taking any withdrawals in 2019 was not enough.

So we need to refigure what we need to do for 2020 in regard to the 401K.

Plus Hubs doesn't want to live so "close to the bone" like we've been doing and I agree with him to a degree.  We had planned originally to take $36K in 2018 out of the 401K($9K each quarter)but I talked him down to $24K in withdrawals and we ended up only actually taking $18K, which was half of what he wanted to withdraw.  I just didn't think at that point in our retirement that we "needed" to take $36K out and mostly I was right, as we took half of that out when all was said and done and we still had plenty of leftover funds in the checking account at the end of 2018.

But it's time for me to loosen up the reigns on spending a bit at this point.
Again, once you've been in a "save save save" mindset for 30+ years it's difficult to mentally and emotionally reverse direction and not worry about every nickel and dime going out.
But I am trying.... ;-)

Given our stats, we are doing well..........
We've got a guaranteed income for life(the monthly annuity payment), social security will happen in 5 years when Hubs hits full SS age(another 9 months later I'll hit mine), we've got over $500K in a 401K, I've got about $400K squirreled away in non-retirement accounts plus a paid for house.
We can afford to spend more. 8-))

The good news is that by just leaving the 401K funds alone and intact to sit and compound for 1.3 years we've got $26K more than expected in there now.....Woot!

The two additional changes to our finances in 2020 we talked about..........

*  Hubs sold the rest of our stock(all but my personal small holdings I inherited from my mother)in January 2020.  The price was right so he pulled the trigger on it.  Not only will we no longer reap dividends anymore for it(only came to about $300 per year)but we have to figure out how this will influence our tax rate in 2020(obviously our taxes will go up and we may get hit with capital gains tax what with the stock gain and planned 401K withdrawals).

*  With so little being withheld on our annuity and possible capital gains income threshold being reached with the stock income it now makes sense for us to dump additional monies into our HSA for the tax advantages and to keep our tax liability lower come April 15th(and offset that stock sale too).  Since Hubs retired in 2017 we haven't made any contributions to the HSA.  Medical expense are rising as we age and we will just need to pay for more and more medical charges going forward.(And our high deductible topped $4K in 2020 before we reap any health insurance benefit. ugh)
So instead of just tapping our HSA for Rxs it makes sense to tap it for all medical bills-bloodwork, office visits, procedures, etc.

So with these 3 issues(401K withdrawals, stock income, HSA)here is the current plan for 2020.......

* The first Quarter of 2020 we are taking $12K(gross)withdrawal from the 401K.  This will net us $9600 after taxes are withheld.
$6600K(net) of that will get put into the HSA for 2019 tax purposes(can do this retroactively until 4/15/20).
$3K(net)of that will get put into the budget spread evenly over the first quarter-so $1K for each of Jan/Feb/Mar).
*  The third Quarter of 2020 we will take another $12K(gross)withdrawal from the 401K.
$6600(net) will be put into the HSA for 2020 tax purposes.
$3K(net) will be applied to the monthly budget-$1K for each of July/Aug/Sept.
*  As for the second and fourth quarter we will withdraw $3K(net)in each of these 6 months and will apply $1K to each month's budget OR we may just take $3K for the second quarter and nothing in the fourth quarter depending on how finances pan out in 2020.  After the third quarter(and that 401K withdrawal)we'll sit down and see where the finances stand at that point and if we "need" to make the fourth 401K withdrawal for 2020.

So basically over the course of the year we will withdraw about $26K from our 401K with only $12K(or less)going into our spending budget. It is more than we withdrew back in 2018 but about half of it will be to beef up the HSA for medical spending, which also lowers our taxable income and it earns almost as much in interest as if it was left in the 401K.  The other $12K will mean an extra $1K per month income in 2020 for our budget/spending.

*  Another point we talked over and decided to make a change is on phone service.  We currently have 3 phone bills each month-a cell phone, a landline and long distance service on the landline.  Our cell network is terrible some places so Hubs has refused to ditch the landline and that long distance service on it.  So we are shopping around for a new cell phone plan/provider.  I am hoping we can keep the new cell bill at the same rate as we pay for the combined 3 phone bills we have now.

*  We have more home repair/improvement plans in 2020(to get the house ready to sell in the near future)and we are earmarking the Slush Funds left to cover those costs.  The house projects are part of the 2020 Goals so I won't go into those on this post.

Ok, I guess I have rambled on enough now on our finances.
But like everything else in life, things change, and we will most certainly be revisiting where we stand later in the year.

So do y'all sit down and go over your finances on a regular basis?
Any good or bad surprises lately with your money?


Sluggy

Food Spending Report.......The January 2020 Edition

Onward to January's food spending report.......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2020..

I have posted January's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(3 at home this month). No "kids" under 23.
*****************

ALDI'S
OOP  $22.96
Value  $47.21
Savings  51.37%

BIG LOTS

OOP  $25.66

Value  $86.63

Savings 70.38%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $6.67
Value  $24.14
Savings  72.37%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/GCard  $357.08
Value  $357.08
Savings  100%

TARGET
OOP  $15.40
Value  $27.40
Savings  43.80%

WALMART
OOP  $6.15
Value  $9.00
Savings  31.66%

WEGMAN'S
OOP  $6.87
Value  $13.11
Savings  47.60%

WEIS
OOP  $66.02
Qs/Ads  $
Value  $147.84
Savings  55.34%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bread Outlet at 72.37% and Big Lots 70.38%.   My worst savings rate was at Walmart with 31.66%.
I shopped at 8 different stores in January.

TOTAL Spent.........................................$149.73

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.................$205.60

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$355.33

TOTAL Savings of ................................57.86%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for January w/R-A........$149.73
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales w/R-A....................$562.68
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$712.41
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items.....................78.98%

This closes out the January food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I did well in spending below my usual $400 per month on food/toiletries.  I would have liked to have stayed under $100 but I'll take under $150. 8-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 5.26% in January 2020 to 78.98% compared to the December 2019 rate of 73.72% savings average.   The fact that a larger percentage of my spending was at Rite-Aid(where I don't actually spend money)vs. grocery/other stores in January gave us such a larger savings percentage from December.

With 1 month accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $149.73 on food/toiletries in 2019.


2019 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$149.73

2019 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items....$712.41

2019 Grand Total Saved...............................$562.68

2019 Yearly Savings Total............78.98%

The average per month amount spent is $149.73 in 2020.

LOOKING AHEAD To February 2020.............I am going to try to keep the grocery spending low again in February but on the other hand, there will be little Rite-Aid shopping to boost my savings percentage this month as I spend down the Bonus Cash.
I am shooting for a $200 spend this month and a savings percentage in the 40-50% range. 

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in January?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy