Hubs is Such a Card!

Hubs is one to always give me cards on Holidays....Christmas, my birthday, Easter, Valentine's Day, etc.

Well with having to run me to the dentist, doctor's offices and the grocery store so much as I can't drive right now plus running the many errands he's having to do, I figured no card today on V-Day.

Well I was wrong.

I got up and found this on top of my laptop this morning.....

Under the sticky note was this.........

Well it's a card....a baseball card!  Hubs has been getting his man cave room in order and I suppose he found some of his old baseball cards among the shit he moved here and the rest is history. lol

Have a Happy Valentine's Day no matter what form it takes. ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Better Than Smek" Edition.....

There was an Ibotta rebate on this new product at Walmart last week when we were there so I thought I'd try it.  I got a laugh when I took the lid off and saw the inner lid.......

I'll save you having to look up what smek means in Swedish....it's sex. lol

Mmm the ice cream is not even close to being that good. ;-)

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Cheeseburger, leftover Cabbage

2. Monday--Teriyaki Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry, Rice

3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself

4. Wednesday--Rigatoni w/Mushroom and Meat

5. Thursday--Something frozen

6.  Friday--Pizza, Salad

7. Saturday--BBQ Chicken, Veggies TBD

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

1. Sunday--Cheeseburger, leftover Cabbage

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

3. Tuesday--Chicken Tenders, Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

4. Wednesday--Rigatoni w/Mushrooms and Meat, Cherries

5. Thursday--FFY(I don't remember what I had)

6.  Friday--Subway subs for Linner(no dinner)

7. Saturday--Leftover Rigatoni

The Pizza got moved to this Sunday and the BBQ Chicken didn't happen.  BBQ chicken is not a fav so may not happen for awhile. 8-)

I can count on Hubs to make short order on the Rigatoni leftovers however. lol

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

*  1 Pizza 

*  1 bag of Chicken Tenders

*  1 bag of Pot Stickers

*  1 bag of Ravioli

*  1 pint of Ice Cream

*  1 almost quart of Ice Cream

*  1 package of Liver

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

*  2 containers of Ground Beef

*  1 bag of Teriyaki Chicken

*  2 bags of Stir-Fry Veggies

*  1/3 of bag of Chicken Tenders

Last week we picked up stuff at Kroger and Walmart and spent a total of $160.11

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $305.54 for February so far.

There are 15 shopping days left in February.

I've earned $112.60 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $7.00 on Coupons dotcom in February.

I've earned 3,146 points from shopping on Fetch in February.

I earned 30 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in February.

That's $119.60 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $305.54

 in grocery spending so in reality it's $185.94 in food spending after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 25.89% and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 28.55% so far.  

Not a good week for savings but ok for here and what I've got to work with.

Leftovers going into this week.....Rigatoni and Mushroom/Meat Sauce.

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

1. Sunday--Pizza and Salad

2. Monday--Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself

4. Wednesday--Maybe a Linner Zalad at Zaxby's?

5. Thursday--Something frozen

6.  Friday--Tempura Shrimp, Cole Slaw

7. Saturday--Liver and Onions, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Veggies

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? A head of cabbage to make slaw and maybe some Salad Greens.  Not a very inspiring plan, just easy basic stuff mostly that I can delegate prep to Hubs(except Friday and Saturday)so I can stay off the leg.

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 February 10th Edition

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are a few Frugal win this past week......

*   I had Hubs pick up these Rind dried fruit snacks...........

There was a BOGO offer on them at Kroger on Ibotta and then an Aisle texting app rebate offer(yes Aisle is back in a way-less rebates).  I submitted for both so Free!  I believe this deal is still available if you haven't done it yet.

*  The freebies/moneymakers or almost freebies from last week's grocery trips other than the Rind products---

  *  2 Core protein bars for only .18¢ each
  *  3 travel size Old Spice body wash bottles for moneynakers
  *  Bic Easy Rinse razor for free

*  I found money!
Yes I did.

On the 3rd at Walmart I found a dime at the pharmacy counter and a penny at the checkout machine.  

At Kroger on the 6th, I saw a penny under a self-checkout machine we were not at and didn't get a break in the action on that machine to scoot over there and get it. 8-(

On the 7th Hubs and I got salads at Zaxby's.  When the employee at the drive-thru handed the receipt out the window to Hubs it blew away.  So Hubs got out of the car to retrieve it and picked up another dime and penny on the ground there.  Since I should have rightfully scooped up that change if I wasn't injured he left the change on my side of the bed for me to find. lolz

We had been looking for our coin roll wrappers since moving and Hubs found them yesterday and threw this on my desk.  He had taken the wrappers and the change out of his change cup from his dresser and put it all into a baggie and threw it into a moving box.  He finally opened that box yesterday as he was squaring up his man cave.  Of course this was a couple of days AFTER he went to the bank and asked for coin wrappers meaning we are now swimming in coin wrappers. lol 

He said I could have the change but I am not including it in my found change total.

Total Found in last Week.... .21¢
Total Found this Year....... .36  ¢

*  On Thursday we got a $40 refund check from Hubs eye doctor in PA as they overcharged us for something.  That puppy is going right into the bank though Hubs thinks he should buy beer with it.  Not on my watch darling as you just bought two bottles of wine. ;-)

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   

"Gee Toto, I Don't Think We're in Pennsylvania Anymore"

This is just a post about weird to me stuff in Louisiana.  If you've lived here or grown up here these things won't seem odd to you I reckon.

I bet most Walmart frozen food sections don't include these items......

Boudin balls, Shrimp or Crawfish Étouffée or Fettucine and Gumbo.

**The nurse at the wound care place says this is the best place for Bouudin Balls......HERE.

And if you want your own raw ingredients to cook go to Bergeron's for your boudin and Cajun meats....HERE or at their other locations across the river.

Mardi Gras isn't just a day, it's a season......

You can't escape the purple green and gold no matter where you go!   Not that I mind purple and green....

Here's the string of beads I got on my birthday from the hardware store that's Mardi Gras Central in these parts......

For those who asked, a proper King Cake is more pastry than cake.  It's a filled oval pastry or Danish(fillings vary but most have cream cheese and cinnamon at least),topped with icing and colored sugar.  If you like sweets(Kim, you listening?)you will gain 50 pounds eating here during the Mardi Gras Season. lolz

You can get a very good King Cake shipped from where we bought ours.  They are expensive and cost about the same to 2 day air it to you as you pay for the cake.  Their website is HERE.

Did I mention that they have drive-thru Daquiri stores here?  You can get a King Cake Daquiri just in season however so get down here soon!

Another local pizza chain is called Johnny's Pizza House HERE.  I have only ever had their Muffuletta sandwich, which is very good even though it's not served on proper muffuletta bread.   They have a pizza called "Sweep the Kitchen" which has all kinds of toppings(the reference is to what a pizza kitchen looks like with bits and pieces on it at the end of the night...not a very appetizing picture if you ask me).

During Mardi Gras they run a Kajun Krewe "Sweep the Swamp" promotion and they send our flyers and coupons........

Here's what's on a Sweep the Swamp pizza--Shrimp, Crawfish, Taste of Crab, Cajun Spices, Andouille Sausage, Onions, Bell Peppers, Jalapenos and Mozzarella Cheese.

Umm, no thanks.

And the last odd thing(for now)is you can't find frozen ravioli very much down here.  All we've been able to find is the Great Value brand at only ONE Walmart so far.  Up in PA you could find at least 5 brands in any grocery store you walked into....Celentano, Rosina's, Buitoni, etc.  Here?  It's like nobody ever heard of ravioli.  To busy eating étouffée and boudin I suppose.

Sluggy

Income & Spending 2023........the January 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 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 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 January in the black

The amount we ended the month of January with?...$6,253.85

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

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

*  SS income of $3879

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $144.96

*  Paypal payment from rebates/coupons of $443.46

*  Ibotta payment from rebates of $552.39

*  PA car insurance refund of $533.76

*  401K quarterly withdraw of $5,200.13

Total "Income" for January....$13,989.51

Expenses in January---
* Irregular bills in January were $1,964.28

* Variable Expenses in January came to $3,500.39

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,270.99

Total Expenses....$7,735.66

$13,989.51-$7,735.66=$6,253.85

Slush into January of $59,556.21 in that Fund, add overage of $6,253.85 in January and we get $65,810.06 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 January here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone and internet were the same as last month.

*  The water bill was $2.66 lower than in December

*  The electric bill was $9.19 lower than last month.

*  The WAM was $200.00 lower than in December.

*  The Mastercard was $1,487.71 lower than last month.

*  My Amazon c/c was $92.09 lower than in December.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The health insurance premium went up by $44.86 in 2023.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was higher by $119.29 from December's bill.

*  We had irregular bills due in January too--

  *   I paid $1,709.55 on the Norwegian Cruise c/c-I only put cruise charges on this one.  I prepaid out gratuity charges in December for the 2023 cruise before those charges went up among other charges.

  *  Our LA property tax bill for 2022 was due in the amount of $94.11.  

  *  We had to make a first payment for Hubs Medi Gap monthly bill of $94.11.  Those don't kick in every month until he turns 65 in April.

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 January 2023---It was a great month financially!  Only the healthcare premium and Hubs Amazon c/c bill were higher among all the bills.  The best is the Homestead Exemption on our Louisiana Property tax bill.  PA had an exemption(it was a whole $40 or so a year)and we were paying right around $5K per year for taxes.  Generally the first $75K value of your property in LA is exempt from taxing if you occupy it.  Plus Hubs turns 65 this year so he can apply for a property tax freeze at whatever the amount we pay in 2023 is for the remainder of our time here.  Sweet!

THOUGHTS going forward into February 2023--

Well we had a large overage amount for January due to that quarterly 401K withdrawal.  But all of it will be applied to the next cruise which I paid off in February.  Not going anywhere this month(except to medical and dental appointments)so the bills should be stable at January's level.  The only exception is having to purchase stuff for the house(like bookshelves, a bed frame, curtains, etc.)  I may have to break down and replace items we can't find from the move that are still missing(lids for the cookware, my food processor and my pasta machine).  I wouldn't hate anyone who wanted to send me gift cards to replace those items. hehehe

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