To-Do List.....April Outcome

Another month in the books so let's see what go accomplished or not..............

* Pay Bills  DONE  Always first thing, then we move on.

* Read 1, 2, 3 Books  PASS 
Since I read a record 4 books last month I hope to read 3 in April what with Coronavirus and all but I only finished off 2(though I got about 1/3 of the way through #3).

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

"Everything All At Once:How to Think Like A Science Guy, Solve Any Problem and Make A Better World" by Bill Nye

I have always felt a connection to Bill Nye-first my kids loved his "Science Guy" shows on TV-especially my daughter who grew up to be a scientist and second because his mother went to my college alma mater(and was recruited from there to work in a secret code breaking department during WWII-the Dean of my college, Dorothy Stimson happened to be a cousin of Henry Stimson, whom FDR brought back into government as his Secretary of War once WWII broke out, so with all the men off fighting Henry asked his cousin if any of the ladies attending her school would be smart enough to help out behind the scenes and Bill's mom, Jacqueline Jenkins, was one of those selected).  And who doesn't love a man in a bow tie? lolz

Anyway, this book took a long time to slog through.  Basically it's a book on how to think like a nerd.  Be forewarned going in that Mr. Nye is passionate about two things-space and climate change, so much of it involves those subjects.  There are some interesting biographical tidbits and peeks at his early career that I found lovely.
After I got through with this book I decided that Mr. Nye is an odd duck overall but I am glad I read his book.
3 Thumps Up

Then I read this one........

"Beethoven's Skull; Dark, Strange and Fascinating Tales From the World of Classical Music and Beyond" by Tim Rayborn

I needed a "light" read after Nye's book and this didn't disappoint.  If you like the macabre and strange read this book.  It's all about the strange tales of famous(and not so famous)musicians/composers in history from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
Who knew that Anton Bruckner had an unhealthy obsession with dead bodies?
Or that Arnold Schoenberg suffered from Triskaidekaphobia(fear of the number 13)?
I even found one of my direct ancestors in this book!(Of course I did, I am related to everyone. lol)-William IX, the Duke of Aquataine, my 27x Great Grandfather.  He was a Troubadour, one of the first of the Middle Ages who's musical works survive into today.  

This author has written a book in a similar vein about theatre called "Skakespeare's Ear" which I'll have to find and read as well, because....theatre!
4 Thumbs Up

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

I actually held Two Giveaways in April........

* Mail Giveaway  All mailed and received.

* Clean the Masterbedroom  DONE
Hubs helped me do a thorough Spring cleaning in our bedroom the last week of April.

* Clean the Masterbath  DONE as well.  Well except the bath as Hubs has to do that one.

* Make Face Masks  DONE  I made about 16 masks(maybe a few more)I didn't keep records of them all.  In PA we were required to don them early on, especially if you worked at a drug or grocery store.

I made a few for friends at Rite-Aid before corporate got them PPE.
A couple of them were fighting over this one above. lolz

I made myself some masks..........

I made one for Ex-College Boy and when I sent Eldest son toilet paper in March I threw in a mask as I figured he'd need one eventually down in VA.

I sent this lot to Daughter in LA, both elastic looped over the ears small ones and larger tie behind the head ones for work(these cover more area with less gaps).

I didn't make tons for donation as just making these many killed my hands(I had medical issues with my hands).  If I get a "good hand day" I'll make more.

* Take Load to Food Bank  DONE  The Food Bank finally called me back and they were at least at the beginning of April still accepting food donations and not just money so Hubs took what I had gathered  up...........

All that baby food I got back in February.

And then stuff I bought(or got for Free on Freebie Friday until they stopped doing that until further notice)for donation and foods I gleaned from the stockpile.

* List Items on eBay  FAIL I figured with this pandemic folks wouldn't be buying stuff on eBay much unless you had TP or hand sanitizer for sale or other essentials so I didn't bother to put anything up there.  The bouts of anxiety last month didn't help either.  When I didn't  have a pressing task I was pretty much paralyzed and didn't get much done other than what HAD to be done.
sigh.

* Hem Hubs' Shirts  DONE  After trying on a shit ton of shirts it was determined that only 2 needed to bee taken up.  In between mask sewing, when I had to change to a color of thread that matched the shirts in question, I worked on those shirts.  Done and Hubs is pleased which is what this was all about.  Though there was a time or two I just wanted to hack him up with my scissors.......*shhh, don't tell him.

* Plan/Goals for 2020  PASS  Well unless you've been sleeping for the last 8 weeks you know why this hasn't been finished.  We did work on it some but with not knowing when it will be safe for us to travel a component of our Plans for 2020 can't be scheduled.....the component related to us moving.  
Once Ex-College Boy is back to work he will be moving out(not right away but sometime later this year)so we can begin repairs/renovations on that bedroom and the main bathroom which gets us closer to the finish line with having the house ready to list.  So there's something.
I am so tired of this stay at home order and I want to travel.  I keep threatening to drive to Kim's Sissie's house since it's pretty close and I wouldn't have to stop to pee anywhere or get gas.  lolz  I could stand to stare at her four walls for awhile rather than my own for a bit. lolz

I am hatching a plan to go see Sonya Ann this coming Winter too.....unless she moves to somewhere cold(but that ain't happening if I know her). ;-)

Eldest may be moving sometime this Summer and starting a new job in the Fall but with the global pandemic that's all up in the air still too.

While we sit here contemplating our navels we've been talking about where to move.  Besides the probability of back down to Virginia or one of the tax-friendly states I've identified there is also maybe staying in PA, but further South in the state and not here.  Not living on a mountain in PA means less snow than here and I am sure we can find someplace closer to Maryland but in PA that has less expensive housing.
I don't know and it's all still up in the air for us.

So what did you get knocked off your To-Do list in April?

Sluggy

Tired of the Trolls and Their Crap!

I just get so tired of trolly comments left on my blog sometimes.  Well except that unhinged person who keeps telling us boomers we should all DIE now!.....that one is HIL-arious!!

These annoying anonymous comments are usually about what we eat(judge much?!)and in extension troll me about my weight.
I don't see other overweight frugal bloggers getting the same level of these nasty comments.  I guess I am "special".
Yay me!!

Yes I am fat by any medical standards and I know that, so stop telling me my life is being lived all wrong unless you have the magic bullet that will make me healthy and thin.

I have complex medical issues(which give me constant chronic pain) and food allergies(since I was 10 days old)and issues surrounding exercising(that you will never understand)but I am doing the best I can as are most people who don't live up to your standards(because I bet none of us can live up to you and your standards oh perfect one).
How much I weigh is none of your god damned business anyway!

You don't KNOW me because of this blog you read even though you think you do.
You're not here to see what I actually put in my mouth, are you?

You were not elected the food police were you??  If you were please produce a copy of your license to be on that elite squad.
What gives you the right to tell me what I should and should not be eating? 

Just because I make a menu for our family of 3 that includes items you feel I shouldn't be eating, maybe I am NOT eating those items?   Maybe I cook them for the other folks eating here?

And if you actually READ these menu plans you will see that I DO eat vegetables, grilled/smoked fish and meats and SALADS and here's a newsflash just for you--my favorite salad dressing is olive oil and a nice balsamic vinegar not blue cheese dressing or something mayonnaise-y like ranch.

I suspect this is the same person who has made multiple deleted comments about how I should not be eating mayo, sour cream, etc. who thinks no one should use those items(or any fats for that matter)and that the video I posted about a Georgia Cracker Salad was nasty.  Yah, I thought that salad was nasty too but didn't feel the need to tell the world it was like you did two times!  Oh sorry, I deleted all those comments because you left them under Anonymous.  Sucks to be perfect you, doesn't it?

Hey, you are welcomed to your own opinions but you are NOT the judge of any person in this world on what they like/what they eat and we all, the rest of the eating world, don't give rat's add what YOU think of us!

So go back into your sad little corner of the world and eat your kale and other weeds(unseasoned and undressed of course)and your only grilled fake or real meat products.
You are a sad person who must have a miserable life if you can only get your jollies oppressing fat people, one of the last "groups" that it seems acceptable to torment now that any racial group, sexual orientation, etc. are off the table.

So dear actual readers, how do I solve this conundrum?  If I go the route of making the blog private that shuts off not only the trolls but any real reader who isn't here already.  If I go the "You have to have a Google account" to comment then all my lovely non-Google account readers(who btw leave their names in their anonymous comments)can't comment.
If I do nothing I still have to see these crappy worthless comments, these holy than thou trolls leave before I send them off to Spamland.

Maybe I'll just stop talking about what we eat(menus)and what I spend at the grocery stores?
I am all ears(to real readers, not the trolls)................

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "A Lot of Food Shopping Happened This Past Week" Edition................

No photos because I shared a lot of them on Frugal Friday.

Then we hit 3 stores on Thursday/Friday and those totals will go on May's books because I closed out April before then.

sigh.

All this low food spending is getting wiped out in May.

It is what it is..........

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

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

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Salad
2. Monday--BBQ Sandwiches, Cole Slaw
3. Tuesday--Shrimp Scampi, Salad

4. Wednesday--Tuna Noodle Casserole

5. Thursday--Beef Pie

6. Friday--FFY or Take-Out
7. Saturday--Leftovers or FFY

And this is what really happened........

1. Sunday-Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese
2. Shrimp Scampi, Salad
3. Tuesday--Chicken Parm, Leftover Broccoli

4. Wednesday--TV dinners

5. Thursday--Beef Pie

6. Friday--BBQ Sandwiches, Cole Slaw
7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out

Last week saw 5-6 nights of home cooked dinners(depending if you consider TV dinners home cooking lol),  1 night of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out(Chinese).
Pretty much what was planned was served except the Tuna Casserole and Take-Out took the place of Leftovers on Sat.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 4 bags of petite steaks
* 5 tv dinners

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 2 containers of breaded chicken patties
* 2 lbs. of raw shrimp
* 1 quart of smoked pork
* 1.25 lb. ground beef
* 3 tv dinners

3 trips, 1 each to Ollie's, Malacari's produce and Ocean State,had me spending $73.47 this past week and brings my April Total spending on food to $297.45.  After this past weekend food shopping May's totals will be bad, very bad. 8-(

I am at $0.00 earned in Ibotta rebates in May.

My savings percentage last week was 42.21%(without Rite-Aid trips)for April and the  monthly savings total comes in at 39.59%(w/out R-A).  

I have 27 more food shopping/spending days in May.

Leftovers going into this week........2 small baked taters, squash casserole, pierogies, au gratin potatoes, cauliflower, beef pie, a little bit of bbq and shrimp scampi.

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

1. Sunday--Cheeseburgers, leftover Veggies
2. Monday--TV dinners
3. Tuesday--leftover Ham Steaks, Asparagus, leftover au gratin Taters reworked

4. Wednesday--Halushki

5. Thursday--Assorted leftovers

6. Friday--Quiche, Salad
7. Saturday--?

What needs buying for this menu?
Don't know, don't care right now.
It's a half-assed menu because I am not feeling like making one. 8-P

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's here...........
*Shrimp Tempura
*Roasted Chicken
*Kielbasa sandwiches
*Tuna Casserole
*Hot Dogs, Beans
*Chicken and Dumplings
*Shrimp Ravioli
*Breakfast for Dinner
*Spaghetti and Meatballs
*Goulash over Noodles
*Quiche
I can also make.......
*Halushki-large amount of cabbage leftover from making Cole Slaw
*Stuffed Shells(found in freezer)

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

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

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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 April report---

I had 2 goals for April.......
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 April in the black.
The amount we ended the month of April with?.....$1,685.86

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in April---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $793.14
* Refund from landline/credit finally! of $10.82
Total "Income" for April.....$5,909.96

Expenses in April---

* Healthcare Premium for April was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular Bills in April came to $61.00(State Tax Bill)
* Variable Expenses in April came to $2,279.34
Total Expenses....$4,224.10

$5,909.96-$4,224.10=$1,685.86
Slush into April of $22,352.51 in that Fund to take into May with the $1685.86 overage brings Slush to $24,038.37. going into May.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,685.86 for April

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this April, 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.
*  The electric bill was $18.99 lower than in March.
*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.
*  The gas bill was $5.18 less than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Amazon c/c bill was $23.37 higher than in March.
*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $190.89 higher than last month. $350 of that bill was car registration and car repairs.
*  We took an additional $200 out in cash to pay for take-out at the lone Chinese restaurant still open in our town as they don't take c/c.
*  We paid $61.00 in state taxes owed to PA(an irregular bill).
*  I bought $134.92 in clothing in April.  Was going to take that out off my accumulated WAM but Hubs says we don't pay for our clothing out of WAM so I didn't and it goes on the balance sheet here. lolz

The Food Budget costs for April 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 April---
April was a quiet and boring financial month.
We don't have jobs to lose and our annuity is a guaranteed source of income so we don't have financial woes from this pandemic and we know we are blessed AND lucky.


THOUGHTS going forward into May 2020----
More stay at home orders here in PA so we sit here making no travel plans for 2020 so I can take care of life/money issues elsewhere and make plans to relocate.

Financially, we have one irregular bill due--semi-annual car insurance in May.  The electric bill should continue to go down as the weather gets warmer.  All other bills should be about the same.

We'll have to pay Ex-College Boy's portion of the car insurance until he gets some $$ flowing in.  He is broke after being without work for 6 weeks and is waiting on his first unemployment check still(applied in mid March), no clue on where or when his Stimulus Check will arrive(might be July before he sees it?!)and his Federal tax refund is also MIA so we'll be fronting him the car insurance cost until he gets something because we have the funds to help him short term.  Before all this started he had money saved to move out into his own place this Summer but that's all gone now with having to pay other bills along with having no paychecks/employment.
Our car insurance Pandemic discount won't show up until November either.   yay.

So we just "keep on keeping on" here, as the saying goes.

So how was your April financially?
  

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

Frugal Friday.....the May 1st Edition

Well I did go out this week grocery shopping on Wednesday to Weis(PMITA)Markets and then to Rite-Aid, then after I posted my food spending totals on Thursday we went out to PandR discounts and Maines the restaurant supply store(so I'll put those 2 shops into May's total).

So let's see what was frugal(or approaching frugal)this past week..........

*  I went to Weis this week after 5 weeks of avoiding it like the plague(pun intended).  Here are the best deals I got there........

The OEP items were "Buy 4 boxed or canned items/Get a free bag of cheese". The 4 items were $5 total so $5 for all 5 items.  The cheese is almost $3 a bag here if bought alone so I'm ok with this deals.
The organic Francesco Rinald sauce was on clearance $1.50 per jar.  I redeemed a .50¢/2 Ibotta rebate so 2 jars cost me $2.50 total.
I had a coupon for .75¢/1 Domino golden sugar that doubled to $1.50 off so it cost $1.19 OOP.
I bought lots more including 5 tv dinners and a bag of croutons which were part of a Mix and Match Buy/Get $3 Back Deal.  I got a piece of Salmon(it was $1 more per lb. than last month), my Stress Rx tea was on sale 2/$5, 2 lbs. of butter for $2.50 each, etc.

*  I finished my Allegra SavingStar Deal at Rite-Aid this week..........

Earned $21 between Ibotta and SavingStar and paid with BC so Zero OOP on this.

*   I found money!

Rite-Aid was a jackpot for me this week!

This penny was found in the parking lot, worse for the wear but still spendable.

These 3 pennies where found by the  registers.

And this slightly out of focus dime was found in the greeting card aisle(which I detoured down to avoid other customers).  Lucky me!

Found Money This Week...... .14¢
Found Money This Year so far....$45.05

I also found this penny..............

I thought it was a fifth penny for the day but when I dug it out from behind the floor mat it was one of those souvenir "squashed" pennies.  This one is from Ohio and has the state bird, a cardinal, on it.

I laughed at this because I sort of collect these!

Here's the one I "squashed" from Buc-ee's in Alabama Lorraine took us to in January.

Here's the one from the amusement park we took eldest and his GF to last Summer-that's the ride we all went on.

Here's the Mad Elf penny from when Hubs and I went to Troegs Brewing last Spring after my medical appointment at Hershey Medical.

And here's the penny I squashed when we went to see "Carhenge" in the Summer of 2017.
(This reminds me I STILL have to recount our 2017 Summer Road Trip for the blog.)

*  I found a few deals yesterday at the restaurant supply store and the discount food store.......

Liquid whole eggs for .50¢ a quart and 4.5 lbs. of sour cream for $3.99 at the restaurant supply.
The asparagus was $1.29 at the discounters.  Now I have to find containers to put the sour cream in and ways to use it up! lol

We went to the restaurant supply to see if they had any more of those small steaks I got earlier in April.  Something they called "Coulotte" Sirloin steaks........

They had 3 packages left so I bought them all as these are the most tender steaks we've ever had.  The price wasn't bad either at $5.99 lb.
I've repackaged them and we have 4 meals for the 3 of us out of this buy.  I also had 1 small piece left I can make a steak sandwich out of for a lunch for myself. ;-)

I found a loaf of PF oatmeal bread at the food discounters for $1.29.  My discount bread store is still closed so after this is gone I am going to have to pay full price at the grocery store for bread. *sob*

*  I earned $6.50 in Ibotta this week.(2 x $2 Allegra at R-A and .50¢ at Weis(PMITA)Markets.

*  I got a freebie at the food discounters.............

3 bags of Garden of Eatin' grain-free tortilla chips.  Only 2 are pictured because Hubs opened/ate most of the third bag before I got around to taking this photo this morning.

The store was giving these out to anyone who bought anything in the store.  The cashier said we could have as many as we wanted because they had pallets of it in the back(and the sell by date was past).  They aren't bad(aren't good either)but will be nice with a dip like hummus. ;-)

*  There has been no take-out this week so far.  We tried on Thursday to use a gift card and get take-out at Applebee's(they make a good Asian salad w/chicken)but we decided against it finally and just came home and had leftover Shrimp Scampi.
I think there will be some Chinese take-out this weekend however(if I have anything to do about it-and I will! lol).

That's about it from here.................

What wins did y'all have this week?


Sluggy