More Unconventional Xmas Tunes

 Enjoy!

Sluggy

Time for Christmas Tunes!

This is a perennial favorite song at Christmas time around here(in the vein of Anne in the Kitchen's musical fare for today).

Enjoy!

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the December 8th Edition

There are very few Frugal wins this past week so here goes....

*  I went to PT 3x this past week.   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 for December--didn't do any I can think of.

*  I found money!

On Saturday, I found a penny inside of Walmart and one in the parking lot.  Guess which is which?

Stopped into Dollar General Market on Wednesday for some gift card presents and found this shiny guy at the register.

Total Found in last Week.... .03¢
Total Found this Year.......$3.50

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   

NOVEMBER To-Do List

What I planned to get done in November and what actually got done.......

*  Pay Bills--DONE  Always

*  Sign up for Medicare Medigag/Part D Plan--DONE  Got two plans though it required me to sign up for AARP(hate that group!)but those AARP branded plans through UnitedHealthcare were the best deal for my needs in this are.

*  Go to a ridiculous amount of DR appointments--DONE  Can't even remember how many now....Neurology, Sleep Medicine, Podiatrist....

*  Go to a ridiculous amount of PT sessions--DONE

*  Have an EMG/Nerve Conductive Study--DONE  Things didn't go well there and damn!  it hurt.  It was like being tasered but by medical people not the cops.  I failed the Nerve Conductive thing so they didn't bother doing the EMG.  good times.

*  Have Dishwasher Installed--FAIL  The handyman guy couldn't get to us in November to install it so it's been living in the ex-sewing room after Dixie decided to start ripping piece of the cardboard box it was in.

*  Clean and Organize Stuff in House--FAIL  Other than doing the bare minimum there has been no cleaning and organizing here.

*  Buy Stuff for the House--DONE  I am sure Hubs has been continuing his love affair with The Home Despot/Lowe's as he tinkers and replaces shit around here.

*  Have Fake Thanksgiving--DONE  Had fake Turkey Day with daughter and son in-law and their dog and cat.  We didn't get any leftovers to bring home.  I made yeast rolls and pumpkin pie as well as the raw turkey to contribute.

*  Do Something Fun--FAIL  I did nothing fun.  It's hard to have fun when you have no friends here.

*  Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie--DONE  I am discontinuing this item as I hardly have/get paper coupons anymore.  The world is quickly turning digital.

*  Edit More Photos--DONE  Got more photos edited.  Haven't even started on the British Isles cruise photos from May.  I am so far behind. ugh

*  Post About Old Trips--DONE  If I remember correctly I got one whole post up in November from an old trip(still working on the Western Road Trip of 2017).

*  Work on Genealogy--DONE  As it so happens the PT guy has a first name that is usually a surname so I asked him how he got that name.  His Great Grandmother was a Mason.  I've got a ton of Masons on my mother's ancestry side.  Then he said his mother had been born in Williamsburg, VA so you know I had to dig into that. lol

I worked on his tree and added to mine along the Mason line and so far the closest we are related is straight 18th cousins.  We share a common ancestor in John of Gaunt, "The King Maker"(1340-1399), the Duke of Lancaster and the third son of King Edward III.  John's son, Henry IV, eventually deposed Richard II and took the crown.  All English monarchs to this day are descended from John of Gaunt.  Not sure if we share the same 18th Great Grandmother yet, as John had three wives(mine is his third wife).

I found some old photos of his ancestors on Ancestry(2 and 3 x GGs who he knew nothing about)and made copies to give him, as well as a high school yearbook photo of him, which the receptionist posted on the wall at PT.  So I asked if I got a family discount there since we are cousins. (No.)

He is a 4th cousin 8 x removed of George Mason IV(the famous George Mason-GMU, writer of the Bill of Rights, etc.)  I am sure we are related closer than 18th cousins but real genealogy takes time to do properly.  I know one of the succeeding George Mason's sisters married a Stith(John Stith-my 9 x GG, son of Robert Stith and Mary Washington)which ties us in an ancestral knot together-Stith and Washington lines are related to me too.  So funny.

*  Move Video Files to New Computer--FAIL  Didn't even try.

*  Thanksgiving Alone--DONE  We sat home on Thanksgiving and grilled steaks in  the cast iron pan and made baked Sweet Potato Fries in the oven.  Go us.

That's all I got.

Sluggy

Income & Spending.....November 2023

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals, personal savings 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 November report--

I had 2 goals for November....

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 November in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of November with?....$1,243.53

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

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

*  SS income of $3,672.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $953.52

Total "Income" for November....$7,276.18

Expenses in November---

*  Irregular bills in November were $1,450.94

*  Variable Expenses in November came to $3,410.52

*  Health insurance premiums totaling $1,171.19*

Total Expenses....$6,032.65

$7,276.18-$6,032.65=$1,243.53

* 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 November of $44,604.70 and the addition of $1,243.53 November's 2023 Slush Fund comes to $45,848.23

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,243.53

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

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

*  The electric bill went down by $5.92.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

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

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

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

*  We had 4 irregular bills in November--

*  The bill of $420.00 for yearly garbage pickup.

*  We had an irregular bill for $208.37 for a yearly vet visit.

*  Hubs had a car repair of $810.57(brakes and tires).

*  I had to join AARP to get the Medigap Supplement/Part D Plan I wanted so $12.00 paid for a year.

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 NOVEMBER 2023---Even though we paid OOP less for groceries/HBA/paper products this month we also had more credit card charges for non-food/household stuff.  Interest earned was up in November which is good.

THOUGHTS going forward into DECEMBER 2023---Who the heck knows??  Long Term Care Premiums will be due in the irregular bill department, the dishwasher "may" be installed this month and the dogs are being groomer this month. I have to pay in full for the cruise we booked plus it's Christmas and my daughter's birthday this month so that will cost us.  And we are going to PA to see our youngest, with stops in MD, VA and maybe AL on what may be my Farewell Tour Road Trip which will put more mileage on the credit cards.  December will be a financial hit but we can afford it.

So how was your November financially?

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

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