Thinking About What Tomorrow Holds

After some friends(and blog friends/readers)experienced having their spouses die I have spent some time thinking about what my life will/would be like if Hubs were to predecease me.  I know I have more health conditions than him but you never know who will go first(for want of a better expression).

I do know I could muddle along with keeping up the house and could ask my son in-law to fix anything I am incapable of doing myself(which is a lot).  But this house sits on 5+ acres and I'd have to resort to paying someone to keep it up(grass cutting, tree trimming, weeding, etc.)Not that I am adverse to paying for yard work but do I really want to worry about all this land needing upkeep.

I would only have my 2 dogs to keep me company if Hubs passes and once the dogs die I can't see myself living here all by myself and would need one of my kids to take me in most probably, if they would have me.

All this sort of thinking was so far off my radar until Kim's hubby died on Christmas.  Now living after Hubs death is about all I can think about.  Gosh, I am old and feel like I am running out of time. ;-)  And all this is inevitable unless Hubs outlives me(which is highly possible).

I don't mean to sound so morbid but this is where my mind goes to lately.

I saw this Youtube piece recently too that has me thinking...

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Spring Has Sprung" Edition.....

On the way to my wound care appointment last Wednesday I noticed massive amounts of Wisteria vines had bloomed everywhere.  Much prettier than the massive pollen dump I've been seeing the last few weeks.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Cheese Ravioli, Salad

2. Monday--Chicken Enchiladas

3. Tuesday--Shrimp Alfredo, Creamed Spinach

4. Wednesday--Lunch out after dr. appt.

5. Thursday--Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry w/Veggies, Rice

6.  Friday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Sweet Potato Wedges

7. Saturday--Chicken Tenders, Veggies TBD

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

1. Sunday--Cheese Ravioli, Salad

2. Monday--Chicken Enchiladas(I just had Spanish rice as I don't care for Enchiladas.)

3. Tuesday--Shrimp and Primavera Alfredo Fettuccine

4. Wednesday--Lunch out after dr. appt.

5. Thursday--Leftovers(I has sweet potato fries)

6.  Friday--Corned Beef, Cabbage, Baked Tater

7. Saturday--Leftover Fettuccine

Friday changed as I didn't realize it was St. Patrick's Day when I made the menu last week.  And we were out of fettuccine noodles so that dish was made with linguine.

Thursday, Friday and Saturdays planned meals didn't happen(again).

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

*  1 box of Beer Battered Fish

*  a pan of Chicken Enchiladas

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

*  1/2 bag of Ravioli

*  1 large Chicken Breast

*  1 bag of Shrimp

*  1 bag of CA Medley veggies

Last week Hubs picked up 2 items at Walmart, picked up Zero sugar Soda at Dollar General and we both hit Kroger on Wednesday and spent a total of $103.33.  

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $347.77 for March so far.

There are 11 shopping days left in March.

I've earned $69.46 on Ibotta in March.

I've earned $2.96 on Checkout51 in March.

I've earned $28.50 on Coupons dotcom in March.

I've earned 29,073 points from shopping on Fetch in March.

I earned 691 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in March.

I've earned 517 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in March.

That's $100.92 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $347.77 in grocery spending so in reality it's $246.85 in food spending after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 41.09% and the monthly savings total for March comes in at 35.77% so far.  

Leftovers going into this week.....some cabbage, corned beef, broccoli. 

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

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Roasted Asparagus

2. Monday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zucchini in Tomato Sauce, Rice

3. Tuesday--Tacos or Taco Salad

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

5. Thursday--Dental Work so ??

6.  Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Nothing. Kroger had asparagus and zucchini on sale so I crafted those meals around the fresh produce.  The Taco will use cooked ground beef sitting in the fridge.  Lots of dental work on Thursday(yay me!)so I'll probably be relegated to Jello for dinner and Hubs will have to fend for himself.  If the leftover don't hold out for Fri. and Sat. maybe a Zalad from Zaxby's will be in my future on one of those evenings. 8-)

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 

Oh Goody Medicare Time!

Our finances are going to be changing next month as Hubs turns 65 and goes on Medicare.

The good thing is our monthly health insurance premium gets cut in half as I am the only one who will be covered under that policy so it will be a $1061.00 outlay instead of $2270.99 per month(that's over $27K per year to just have medical coverage....using it is even more $$$).  Hubs Medicare will cost $164.90 for Part B and $94.11 for the supplement he chose so his part goes from $1061.00 to $258.90.

That $2270.99 healthcare premium includes vision for Hubs and dental care for both of us.  The dental care goes away when Hubs turn 65 in April.  He can get dental as there are plans for 65+ year olds but I am SOOL until next year when I turn 65 unless I can find a policy that isn't ridiculously expensive to cover me for 8 months.  So  I am getting everything taken care of before April ends.  I'll probably need a cleaning come Fall and our dentist charges under $100 if you have to pay cash and don't have coverage so I'll be vigilant about flossing and brushing from now on(as we all should be). ;-)  And hoping nothing bad/expensive pops up before January 2024.

$2270.99 in healthcare premiums in 2023 versus $1320.01 starting next month, a savings of $950.98 monthly.

But along with this good news, there is not so good news...Hubs monthly  annuity payment goes down.  His annuity was front loaded, meaning we received larger payments until he hit 65 yr. old(sort of to offset what we had to pay out of pocket in healthcare premiums), then the monthly payment goes down by $553.96 per month.  Between the two changes(healthcare payments going down and annuity payments going down)we are in more the black by almost $400 per month still so it's not all bad news.

It might take a few months to see where the budget lands as all this changes.

Then in the Fall(October or so)I get to do the Medicare supplement decision dance.  I can't wait.**see Sluggy roll her eyes.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the March 17th Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

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

*  We went to trivia on Monday and we won 2nd place!

Next time drinks at Trivia are free!

*  I don't "do" Ibotta all the time now(I just don't go to the store enough to do all the weekly, weekend and big bonuses).  But I do a few now and again.  On Wednesday my big wins at Kroger were these.....

There was an 80¢ off digital Kroger Q on the Ragu making it $1.39 OOP, the Chili was $1.29 after Kroger Q x5 plus a .50¢ Ibotta rebate making it .79¢ per can(got 5 of those for Hubs), the Kraft salad dressing was $1.29 w/Kroger Q and the Heinz ketchup was $1.79 after a $2.50 Ibotta rebate(limt 2).

I also picked up .99¢ lb. aparagus, $1.19 lb. zucchini and a 1/2 price corned beef which I am cooking tonight.

*  I've cobbled together a pantry in the laundry/utility room using metal wire rack shelving.  The only problem is cans and bottles fall over if not placed just right on the shelves.  Instead of spending $$ for plastic liners they sell for these I cut out cardboard from some of these boxes we used in the move and made liners out of that.

 I found money!

Hubs went to Walmart on Monday and found this penny.

I found this nickel at Kroger on the side of the self-checkout machine.  I also spied a penny at a different machine but someone was using it so I couldn't pick that coin up. 8-(

Total Found in last Week.... .06¢
Total Found this Year....... .66¢ 

That's all for this past week.  

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

Sluggy   

It's Gonna Be A.....

 My son and daughter in-law had a gender reveal on Sunday morning(our time).

We joined in via Zoom and saw that we are going to grandparents to a.....

Baby GIRL!

Mimi Sluggy