A Wonderful Video That Makes You Think

Sluggy

Old Photos & Interesting Stuff

Trying to keep myself distracted from medical stuff and pain.  Here are some old/newish photos on my computer I wanted to use but had little to write about them but wanted to be able to get them off my machine.......

Saw these watering cans a few years ago at Ocean State Job Lot I think.

This was a cute ceramic tchotchke, a cat painted in the Day of the Dead style I spied at the Aldi in Ohio last month.

Saw this car about 3 years ago now in PA driving around with a "Joe and his Ho" bumper sticker.  Some things just make you laughed out loud and/or shake your head.

Matching Halloween dishware with "Witches be Crazy" written on them. *snort*

One day back in PA I walked out of the Rite-Aid and saw a cane sticking out of the trash barrel.  All I could think was that someone was healed while in RA(a la Ernest Angley) and ditched the cane on the way out. lolz

I doubt Teddy Roosevelt ever said the quote above but what the heck.....

Got a chocolate bar on sale at R-A a few years ago and the back flap claimed there was a "love poem" inside....

It was the lyrics to Stephen Foster's song "Beautiful Dreamer".

In PA Hubs and I went to the local  Salvation Army on a few occasions and of I waited in the car for him I would inevitable see a car nearby that looked like it belonged to a hoarder.  Cars so filled with junk and trash!

I bet these cars belonged to thrift store regulars......lol

After 9/11 happened, there was a mass exodus of Latinos from NYC into the little old coal community that was South of my town, as people looked to live in safer areas.

One good thing was this newbie to the area set up a taco truck and eventually bought an abandoned gas station across from that town's Rite-Aid and set up a permanent location for this Mexican food business.  He put a sign above up on the building "Mexican food so good Trump wants to build a wall around it!"  I loved seeing this every time I went to the R-A there!

Somebody messed with the R-A sign....."Did you get your F U Shot".

Sorry I'm all out of FUs......

Then there was what looked like the remains of a tin foil hat next to the R-A trash can beside the door.

And if you don't think our country is FU'd give a look at this meme......(we are again days away from a government shutdown due to those idiots in Washington).

May I remind y'all that our country has experienced 3000% inflation since the founding of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1913?  

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table.....the November 13th Edition

The "Well I No Longer Resemble the Michelin Man" Edition.....  

This is day 155 of the "diet".  Yay!  If you can call what went on lately as a "diet".  Down 51 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 59 lbs.).  

I have just lost the desire to eat lately and nothing sounds appetizing.  Even the night I had a small amount of ice cream(one I really like)it just didn't taste right to me.

I've had some very bad news last week so just getting out of bed lately is a monumental effort lately.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Yogurt w/Strawberries, Asian Chopped Salad, a piece of Lasagna

2. Monday--Leftover Brisket from freezer, Broccoli

3. Tuesday--Veggie Lasagna

4  Wednesday--Chicken Caesar Salad

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

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

1. Sunday--Yogurt w/Strawberries, Asian Chopped Salad, a piece of Lasagna

2. Monday--1/2 a Bagel Cream Cheese, Leftover Brisket from freezer, Broccoli

3. Tuesday--Drawing a Blank, might not have eaten

4  Wednesday--Yogurt Drink, a Whopper, an Apple

5. Thursday--a Turkey/Bacon Sandwich, a small bowl of ice cream(because I really don't care today)

6.  Friday--half a Bagel Cream Cheese, small Tossed Salad, Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

7. Saturday--2 Biscuits, Caesar Salad w/Chicken

(Hubs made a chicken stir-fry Thursday but I didn't have any of that.)

No going back to old habits and eating patterns for me!

What got taken out of the freezer last week...

*  Leftover Lasagna

*  Leftover Brisket

*  2 Pork Tenderloins

*  2 BSCBs

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

*  Nothing

Last week we spent $4.88 on grocery shopping for November.  

Grand Total shopping comes to $138.79 for November.   

There is 17 shopping day left in November.

I've earned $55.30 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $0 on Shopmium in November.

I've earned $0 on Alexa app in November.

I've earned $2.15 on Kroger Cash Back in November.

I've earned $18.12 on TaDa in November.

I've earned $5.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned 1,365 points from food shopping on Fetch in November.

I've earned 443 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.

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

That is $80.57 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $138.79 of grocery spending so in reality it's $58.22 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was  91.62% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 55.77% spent.  

Leftovers going into this week....don't know, don't care.  I suppose the stir-fry thing Hubs made is still in the fridge and 1 slice of pizza.

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

1. Sunday--Beefaroni

2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--No  Clue

4  Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

No menu planning for me now, mostly things Hubs can do.  I have earned the right not to in my mind at this point.  I am giving up control of meals to Hubs.  I will put in requests now and then.

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?  

I may post sporadically after this one or I might not, depending on drugs and stuff. 

Sluggy 

Income & Spending for October 2023

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 October report--

I had 2 goals for October....

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 fund may be applied 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 2023.  

 

I'm happy to report that we finished up October in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of October with?....$6,653.23

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,608.66(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3878.950

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $842.25

*  401K Quarterly withdrawal of $5,200.13

Total "Income" for October....$12,365.04

Expenses in October---

*  Irregular bills in October were $2,746.91

*  Variable Expenses in October came to $1,793.71

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,171.19*

Total Expenses....$5,711.81

$12,365.04-$5,711.81=$6,653.23

* Now that Hubs is on Medicare, I include his Vision Care, and his Medicare supplement in this number with my Healthcare Premium.  His Part B comes directly out of his SS check before we get it.

Slush into October of $72,951.47(take $35,000 out which we moved into a CD leaves $37,951.47) and the addition of $6,653.23 October's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $44,604.70

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $6,653.23.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance premium, vision care, Hubs supplement plan and internet were the same as last month.

*  There were no charges on my Bank of America or Amazon c/cs in October.

*  The electric bill was $89.76 less than in September.

*  The cell phone bill was .78 lower this month.  

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Mastercard c/c was $37.56 higher than in September.

*  The Aviator c/c was $1044.98 higher than in September.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $64.02 higher than last month.

*  We had an irregular bill of $1,173.63 for a year of homeowner's insurance.

*  We had irregular bills for $1,448.65 for work done in the kitchen.

*  I paid 2 small medical bills out of reg. checking instead of the HSA totaling $124.63.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for OCTOBER 2023---Not a bad month considering the 401K withdrawal got dumped into our checking account this month.   Even though we had a few irregular bills the 401K funds more than covered those.  I'm calling October all good.

THOUGHTS going forward into NOVEMBER 2023---We have the yearly garbage disposal bill, a vet bill for the dogs and Hubs car needs work this month.  That's about all the big bills coming due in November other than credit cards bills.

So how was your October financially?

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

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 down/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 all your excess monies after bills were paid 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 November 10th Edition

There are very few(if any)Frugal wins this past week so here goes....

*  I went to PT 3 x this past week.  Man, does that wear me out and I usually need a nap in the afternoon.  Good thing I've hit all my deductibles and co-pays so I'm not shelling out cash for this service.

*  Grocery shopping this past week--

Picked up a few things but not enough to hit the Mashed Potato Ibotta Bonus.  I can't count on getting a ride-on cart at the store so I have to send Hubs while I am in PT.  I had unlocked the Turkey sides items so I had him pick those up....

Used the stipend card so paid 0 OOP and got back $6.40 in rebates(also got a .25¢ any grocery receipt rebate).

I also picked up this......

2 Vitafusion Multivitamins.  $5.00 from Ibotta and another $5 from TaDa so they cost me .98¢ each.
I had Hubs runs into Super 1 Foods for a few produce deals and I waited in the car.  Fun times.

*  I had 2 doctor appointments so far this week.  One was terrible and the other was ok.  At least I didn't have any co-pays or deductibles.  go me.

*  I found money!

On the 3rd after walking around the massive Kroger I spied a penny in front of the pharmacy window, when I went to sit down to rest.

Went to Walmart and got a ride-on cart on the 5th.
On the way out after parking the vehicle I found a penny in the corner by the entrance.

Then I spied a piece of a dime poking out from the metal detector thingies.
Out in the foyer I found a nickel by the vending machines.

Total Found in last Week.... .17¢
Total Found this Year.......$3.45

That's all I got.

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

Blogging will be taking a backseat to getting me healed so there might not be many posts here for the foreseeable future.8-)

Sluggy