Frugal Friday.....the January 20th Edition

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!  There are a few Frugal wins this past week......

*   After my appointment at the Wound Center we hit Super 1 Foods because they had cantaloupe for $1.99 and Roma tomatoes for .77¢ lb. also picked up shredded carrots, hearts of Romaine and 3 bags of frozen veggies.  I checked the clearance meats while I was there..........

I found a marked down roast.  2.41 lbs. for $6.73 which is $2.79 a lb.  I can't even get Ground Beef for that price!

That store had Sanderson Farms BSCB for $1.99 lb. so I picked up 7 lbs. and prepped and into the freezer it went.
We also hit Shoppers Value Food for sour cream, sweet potatoes and a frozen chicken parm as those items were cheaper at this store than the other ones.

*  We hit Zaxby's for lunch after the medical appointment and shopping.  I got the Asian Zalad and I paid for both of our meals with some of my WAM.

*  I found money on Wednesday!
Out and about hitting 2 grocery stores and I found a nickel.

Total Found in last Week.... .05¢
Total Found this Year........11¢

*  I had a JCPenney's gift card I used back in November to replace my Dutch oven.  After the gift card the pot cost me under $5 in sales tax.  I applied for a rebate and this $20 gift card finally came this week.  Once my leg is better Hubs and I will venture there to spend it.

*  Staying home and going through tubs and packing boxes here.  Still setting things up, deciding on what we need to purchase and putting things away.

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

House Hunting Saga....Part 2

So our agent(the daughter of the agents we went to see houses in Texas with), is licensed in Louisiana so we began an earnest house hunt around where my daughter lives in LA.  

We calculated that without having the funds from selling our house in PA, we had about $200K in liquid savings to put toward a house down in Louisiana.  That amount would include any closing costs, etc. and we would NOT buy something that meant we needed a mortgage.(Haven't had one of those since the mid 2000's when we paid off that house in PA.)

So our agent took us around to houses on the market that met our general requirements.  They were all over the map in terms of size, condition of house, land size and price.  Plus this was mid September in Louisiana and only two of the houses were currently occupied so two houses meant we were sweating out asses off! 8-)

The first house we saw was out in the country in a town called Benton, a 35 min. drive from out daughter's house.  Nice area but in the middle of nowhere.  It was a manufactured home, older(20 years?)but had been maintained well.  They had a strange shed next to it and the carport they were disassembling and taking with them when they moved.  The house sat on 2 acres but it was situated at a strange angle on the land.  Part of the land was across a creek too with no access to it other than jumping there or building a small bridge(which we would have had to do).  The house was 1,800 sq, ft,, 23 years old and they had priced it at $185K.  Other than the land strangeness and no garage it was acceptable until....until we were walking around the property and we heard someone playing a drum set rather loudly in the middle of a work day.  Hubs didn't notice it at first(he's one of those folks who don't notice stuff sometimes. lol)until I brought it to his attention.  So we told the agent we'd keep it on the list as a possibility for now but we wanted to see other properties.
*  Later the agent let us know that the drummer was a neighbor young adult who was in a local band that played gigs and practiced in his parents barn or pole building near the house we were considering, according to the homeowner of the house we had been looking at.  That fact put a big NO on this house since we like the quietness of the area but having that sort of noise(pretty loud since it was at least 2 acres away)on a regular basis was a deal killer.  It looks like it sold 28 Nov.

The next property was in the same little town, 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths manufactured home, 1,760 sq. ft. and 16 years old, on 1.6 acres for an asking price of $199,900.  It was vacant and supposedly had been updated(new vinyl plank flooring, carpeting, new kitchen counters and paint throughout.  The layout was weird, the counters(which were formica not an upgrade)and stove in the kitchen seemed higher than normal(not good for a short person lol).  It also had a wood burning fireplace which strikes me as strange this far South. The best thing about this house was the 1,200 sq. ft. shop/garage that was included.  It had a high ceiling with 2 10 ft. rollup bay doors and electricity.  Obviously someone had run a repair shop out of it or such.

I found this penny in the shop/garage but this wasn't the house for us.  I think the shop was nicer than the house. :-)  This house sold Dec. 30th and from the photos still on the listing it looks like they did a bit more work to it.  https://www.zillow.com/homes/220-Cypress-Lake-Cir-Benton,-LA-71006_rb/109807057_zpid/?mmlb=g,29
I hope they carted off the burn pile outside the back door too that was there when we saw it.  We've found out that many homes here for sale have these piles of debris on the properties where folks burn their trash(and sometimes try to burn things you can't like plastic!lol)when they are not in the city proper and don't have city garbage pick-up service.

The last house we saw that day was a possibility but with issues.  It was a MCM home(stick built in 1955).  It was a lot closer to daughter's house plus near shopping north of town.  Sq. Footage of 2,132 but on not quite .50 of an acre.  The house was a dream! with all the mid-century modern charm and was well maintained.  It had 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths a large backyard flagstone patio/veranda that the house wrapped around and lots of windows.  A small living room and a large den which you could have done a lot with.  The asking price was $185K.  I fell in love with this one except for the lack of property.  You could reach out and touch the house next door in the backyard.  It was in an older subdivision.  The backyard slopped downward and had 2 sheds on it and a few very tall dead trees at the back of the property.  It would have cost a lot to have those trees taken down.  This is tornado country and those trees were a hazard waiting to happen.  I was so torn on this one.  It was on the market because the husband was stationed at the local Air Force base and was being transferred out of the area  so they were looking for a quick sale.

Here is the listing for when those owners had bought this house with photos.......

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/767-Livingston-Ave-Shreveport-LA-71107/51381697_zpid/?

This house was definitely on the list even without the land we wanted.

The last house we saw that day was nearby, another stick built one from 1990.  It was 1,663 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms//2 baths on over 1 acre.  The listing said it had a new roof and new water heater, both in the last 2 years and the home needed updating and had appraised  $50K higher than the asking price of $195K.

As we approached the house I noticed it sat in a depression(a low spot)on the land.  There was a house near the driveway on the right of the house so the house wasn't anywhere near the middle of the lot.  The large front yard slopped down from the road and the house was vacant.  There was at least one pecan tree on the lot as I saw this walking up to the front door.....

A pecan tree on the property was a plus in my book.  But that didn't make up for the house.  There was a notice from the sewage/water company that the utilities should NOT be turned on as the people who owned the house has NOT paid their utility bills for gosh knows how long!  Once we got into the house you could see it hadn't been updated inside since the 1970's(avocado appliances much?!)and the place smelled of must and mold.  It was a hard NO!  Nonetheless it still sold 18 Nov. I suppose they cleaned it up and paid their utility bills to get this one sold.  Goodbye pecan tree.............sigh.

That was our first day of looking.  More to follow........

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "I Know You're in There!" Edition.....

If you've ever lived or been in a manufactured home you'll notice that there is a rather large gap under the doors, between the bottom of the doors and the floor.  This is for air circulation purposes, especially when the a/c is on.

I snapped this picture of Chester's nose the other day.  He can wedge his nose under the door so every time I go into a room and shut the door I get to look at this. lol

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned.......

1. Sunday--Chicken and Dumplings w/Carrots

2. Monday--Salad, Spaghetti and Meatballs

3. Tuesday--Chicken Parm, leftover Collards

4. Wednesday--Teriyaki Chicken w/Stir-Fry Veggies, Rice

5. Thursday--Salmon, Veggie TBD

6.  Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Chicken and Dumplings w/Carrots

2. Monday--Salad, Spaghetti and Meatballs

3. Tuesday--Chicken Parm, leftover Collards

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself, ate out Lunch

5. Thursday--Chicken Salad Sandwiches using leftover chicken

6.  Friday--Salmon, Shells and Cheese, Spinach Souffle

7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had meatballs and pasta, Salad)

Not able to stand much and cook here yet.  Everything happened except the Teriyaki Chicken stir-fry dish.

I've still got some chicken pieces left.  I'll probably put them in the freezer for chicken enchiladas at some time in the future.

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  1 bag of Chicken Tenderloins

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  1 whole Chicken

*  1 bag of Meatballs

*  1 bag of Salmon

*  1 Spinach Souffle               

Hubs & I hit Walmart and Kroger for various items to the tune of $187.32 last week.  We needed fresh produce and milks, I stocked up on a few loss leaders and we got some "wants".

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $280.75 for January.  

There are 15 shopping days left in January.

I've earned $69.54 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $1.82 on Checkout51 in January.

I've earned $9.50 on Coupons dotcom in January.

I've earned 1,424 points from shopping on Fetch in January.

I earned 1,160 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in January.

I've earned 624 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in January.

That's $80.86 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $280.75

 in grocery spending so in reality it's $199.89 in food spending after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 32.04% and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 32.78% so far.  

Leftovers going into this week.....Chicken and Dumplings, Spaghetti and Meatballs.  Hubs will finish these for lunches.

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

1. Sunday--leftover Chicken and Dumplings

2. Monday--Teriyaki Chicken w/Stir-Fry Veggies, Rice

3. Tuesday--Beef Pie

4. Wednesday--Leftovers or ?

5. Thursday--Catfish, oven Steak Fries, Slaw

6.  Friday--Shrimp Scampi w/Linguine, Salad

7. Saturday--It's my Birthday!! so ?

I am still not suppose to walk a lot.

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  All I need is slaw mix which I'll have Hubs pick up when he goes out later in the week.

The ads starting Tuesday aren't very thrilling so other than produce/salad/fruit we may skip this week mostly.

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 deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy 

Frugal Friday....the January 13th Edition

 Frugal wins are few and far between lately......

*  I left the house for the 3rd time this year on Wednesday when we went to the wound care specialist.  They had a machine that basically power washed my wound.  I told them we could have just seet me on the hood of our car and run me through the car wash down the street for a lot less money! lol Nothing about that medical appointment was frugal but I did get good care and you can't put a price on health.

*  At Walmart after the medical appointment I picked up 1 roll of Xmas wrapping paper at 90% off.  Being housebound I've missed out on all the after Xmas sales.  I gave away all my Xmas supplies before we left PA except for my container of gift tags nd some Xmas cards so I needed the paper for .49¢. 8-)

*  The only take-out this week was on Wednesday. We celebrated my ambulatory state by going to a Chinese restaurant near Walmart for lunch.  A worthwhile expense.

*  I found money on Wednesday!
Since we were out and needed to pick up Rxs and I had the all clear to do some walking we went to Walmart.  We were checking out next to a couple who stank of weed.  I heard them drop some change(I have bat hearing when it comes to coins. lol)and after they left I figured they were too high to care about picking up the change they dropped so when we were finished at our self-checkout register I snagged some coinage!

Hubs picked another penny on the other side of their register(which I pointed out to him)but he won't give it to me so I can only count the 2 coins I picked up. 8-(

Total Found in last Week.... .06¢
Total Found this Year........06¢

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy  

Income & Spending 2022....the December Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, 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 December report---

I had 2 goals for December.......
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 2022.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up December in the red.

The amount we ended the month of December with?...-$1,962.08

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3570.00
*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $124.38

*  Stock Dividend of $19.11

*  Pa House insurance refund $438.86

*  Rakuten rebate of $14.28

*  Hospital in PA refund of .27¢ lol

Total "Income" for December....$7,402.71

Expenses in December---
* Irregular bills in December were $2,044.03

* Variable Expenses in December came to $5,094.63

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$9,364.79

$7,402.71-$9,364.79=-$1,962.08

Slush into December of $61,518.29 in that Fund, subtract December's shortfall of $1,962.08 and we get $59,556.21 into January's 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $1,962.08

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this December here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.

*  The Mastercard was $6,362.35 lower than in November(all moving expenses are now paid for).

*  My Amazon c/c was $389.94 lower than las month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $223.84 lower than in November.

*  We received a quarterly stock dividend check of $19.11

*  We got a check for $438.86 which was for our PA house insurance balance.

*  I received a Rakuten check for $14.28 for rebates on online purchases for the new house.

*  I got a .27¢ refund for overpayment on a medical bill in 2022. rah

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill at the new house was $174.23 higher than in November.  November's bill was only a partial month one plus LA had some unusually cold days/nights in December so our daughter came over and jacked up the heat while we were away so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

*  We took an extra $200 in WAM in December due to the trip/cruise.

*  We had irregular bills due in December too--

  *  The Long Term Care premiums were due.

  *  6 months of car insurance was paid in December

  *  The last water and electric bills for the house in PA were due last month.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on December 2022---Not an awful month for bills but not great since we spent more than we brought in.  The fix this house/replace furniture bills continue.  While the utilities here are comparable to PA, the house and car insurance are egregiously high!  I had no idea how high they'd be.  Well having a manufactured home in the South, home insurance is understandably higher since this area is more prone to weather issues than PA(other than Winter storm related there)but car insurance?  This area is far less crowded with highways/vehicles than where we left in PA.  Does this say something about the quality of drivers here or what?  Hmmm

THOUGHTS going forward into January 2023--

Well, who the heck knows what 2023 will bring at this point?!?

Our Annuity is taking a monthly hit until April since the private health insurance premium rose again.  Once Hubs goes on Medicare our premium goes down abut $800 per month(until I hit 65 next January).

Also our Annuity is front loaded so once Hubs hits 65 that goes down too.  go us.

The bad news is once he hits Medicare my dental coverage goes away from his employer.  Great.  I can't wait to see how much my drugs will be once I hit Mediare. *sluggy rolls her eyes*

Our Social Security payments go up a little bit in January due to the inflation index but it's not like that will cover all the extra spending anyone needs to do on everyday necessities.

Plus we have yet to get our Louisiana Property tax bill for 2022 since we bought so late in the year.  It has to be an improvement over what we were paying in PA, where we got NO services but still paid through the nose.  We get NO services here but at least we(hopefully)won't be paying for that whole lot of nothing. ;-)

We do have a quarterly 401K withdrawal hitting the account later in January which will help a lot so there is our bright spot for January.

Financially I am so not looking forward to seeing how all these changes to our bottom line play out in 2023.  Whatever it turns out to be we'll deal with it and move on.

So how was your December financially? 

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