The Great Road Trip of 2017.....Part Twenty Five/Day Nineteen

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  

Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 

Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

We passed this sign for the "Vore Buffalo Jump".  A Buffalo Jump is how Native Peoples killed buffalo so they had food, clothing and tools(nothing on a buffalo was wasted and the buffalo sustained Western peoples for centuries).  They would find a herd near a cliff and cause them to stampede toward that cliff and they would just go over it and fall to their deaths.  An easy way to cause buffalo to die rather than the rifles and bullets that the Whie man brought with him to the West.

More information on this sight HERE.

Oh look!  More logging trucks.....a very common sight on the highways out this way.

Welcome to South Dakota!

The first Rest Area we hit in SD had this sculpture of the frame work of a Native American teepee.

We got off here to go to the old Western Town of Deadwood.

 Stopped for gas at the "Double Barrel" as in gun.  Nice name for a gas station selling liquor and having a casino inside, right? lol

I went inside the convenience store and they had all these gimmicky wine bottles.  3 varieties of wine with Mt. Rushmore on the labels, a bottle of Cab Sav with the infamous Full Throttle label featuring a skull and "Tickle Me" which was a Rhubarb Wine featuring a cherubic young boy on the label.  None of these left with me.

Then there was a standup display of Sturgis Pins & Patches for only $7 each.  Okaaaay.

Looking back I should have picked up a pin featuring crossed 6 shooters. lol

Then there was a selection of Pickled Quail Eggs for a steal t $14.59 a jar, with either Mt. Rushmore or South Dakota written on the label along with stallions and buffalo.  I took a hard pass on those.....lol

I also found more of those Snickers "special" candy bars.  Klutz was a good one I hadn't seen before and I found KIM'S candy bar too! hehehe

A "Space Cadet" squared.

Back to the liquor.....I found this "Ultra premium South Dakota Select Club" amusing.  At the bottom of the label, which is quite attractive, it reads, "Blended Canadian Whisky, Product of Canada".  Last I was told SD is not in Canada, nor is Mount Rushmore.

Then my heart skipped a beat when I saw this on the liquor shelf.....a Red Table Wine featuring the likeness of Calamity Jane(or rather Martha Jane Canary)on the label.

Though I didn't pick this up here, I did purchase a bottle at another location along the way where it was not so expensive. ;-)

Then it was back on the road into Deadwood.

We went around a bend in the road toward town and happened upon a herd, or rather a gang of elk right next to the road, bedded down.

Headed toward Deadwood and away from Sturgis.

Passing by Cadillac Jacks Gaming Resort.

Motorcycles galore parked here and a banner to spice up your breakfast with a Bloody Mary.  Ummm, no thanks.

Once in town we headed into the residential and wound our way toward the Mt. Moriah Cemetery because I am weird like that and like old historical cemeteries.

                                         

Hubs and I posing in front of signs for Mt. Moriah's two most famous "residents".

Wild Bill Hickok(James Butler Hickok).

Folks who visit Wild Bill regularly leave tributes......his "dead man's hand" of poker cards, bottles of whiskey and beer.  He was known to have red hair, just like me(thought mine turned brown as I got older so I dye it).

You can read more about this interesting fellow HERE if you are so inclined.

Buried next to Hickok, at her dying request, is Calamity Jane(Martha Jane Burke neè Canary).

It is said Wild Bill Hickok had no use for Jane in life so the men in charge of her burial did lay her to rest, next to him as the ultimate joke on Hickok.

More on Calamity Jane HERE.

This was an interesting headstone....."Potato Creek Johnny" aka John Perrett.  He is purported to have found one of the world's gold nuggets during the Black Hills gold rush.

You can read more HERE.

Joseph and  Dora Amy Du Fran's headstones.  Dora is the famous(or rather infamous one)of this pair.  She was one of the Madam's of Deadwood(employing Calamity Jane for a time), running a brothel.  Dora is said to have termed the phrase "cat house".  Her pet parrot "Fred" was also buried with her.

Alice Cary Swanstrom(neè Boyle)and her three children are buried here.  The children all died young, only one making it to 18 years old.

An interesting grave stone of a child praying.

In 1893 a section of the cemetery was sectioned off for burials of Deadwood's Jewish citizens, which was referred to as "Hebrew Hill".  There were quite a few Jewish movers an shakers in those early days of Deadwood.  Each person of Jewish descent was buried facing East to Jerusalem.

Ok, now tell me this grave markers isn't the most phallic thing you've ever seen? lol

It was a scorching hot day when we were in Deadwood but Mt. Moriah was shaded quite well so much cooler than downtown.  The cemetery was built on a hillside so quite the walking workout.

Back in town we went by the "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" luxury suites.  If those walls could talk!

Going down Main St. in Deadwood, SD

There were old fashioned wooden boardwalks(sidewalks down Main St.)

And more motorcycles than you could shake a stick at and all those bikers swarming in and out of every establishment.

We found out later that when we arrived in Sundance(Devil's Tower area)and in Deadwood it was amidst "Bike Week" in Sturgis SD nearby.  We had no clue.  If you are heading to this area be sure to check when this event is happening so you can avoid it.  There was nowhere to park so we couldn't get out of the car and walk around!

We had to settle for driving through town very slowly and taking as much of this sight in as we could.

But I did get to do something I had planned to do, given that at this time(2017)HBO had a hit series called "Deadwood" that took place here back in it's heyday.  The one thing about that series was that about every fifth word any character in the series spoke was the F-word.

I just had to make this short video, while sitting in the car driving through Deadwood, of my version of this show.

(If you don't like hearing the F-word, don't click on it.)lol

Miss Kitty's Mercantile, Restaurant and Casino.  The home of some very raunchy mechanical bull riding as well.

Saloons and restaurants as far as the eye can see.

A bike called "Boss Hoss" and not "Boss Hogg".

Another storefront where you could see "the Trail of Jack McCall" at the Wild Bill Theater.  I suppose it is a retelling of the trial of the man who shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back while he was playing poker in a nearby saloon.

We headed out of the mayhem that was Downtown Deadwood into the nearby town of Lead, SD.  It was a center of mining back then.

We didn't get a chance to visit the black Hills Mining Museum there before heading back out onto the Highway.

More adventures to come.

Sluggy

Income & Spending....January 2024

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.

We went into retirement in June of 2017 with no debt, no mortgage, nor a car payment.

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 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 2024. 

*  I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones

 

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

The amount extra we ended the month of January with?....$3,424.39

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in January---

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

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $987.68

*  Quarterly 401K Withdrawal of $5,200.13(after texes)

Total "Income" for January....$12,625.17

Expenses in January---

*  Irregular bills in January were $5,837.18

*  Variable Expenses in January came to $3,363.60

Total Expenses....$9,200.78

$12,625.17-$9,200.78=$3,424.39

 Slush Fund coming into January of $47,679.67 and the addition of $3,424.39 in January, our end of January 2024 Slush fund comes to $51,104.06. 

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $3,424.39

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill, internet were the same as last month.

*  The WAM was $300 lower since we didn't take any in January.  We used leftover cash we had taken out in December for the Holiday trip.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $509.33 lower than in December.

*  The Health Insurance premiums(Medicare, supplements and Part D plans, as well as Hubs vision care), are now $379.06 lower than we I was on private health insurance and Hubs was on Medicare. Plus we no longer have those high deductibles for my private insurance coverage. yay! 

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill went up by $173.12(it's Winter, duh!)in January.

*  My Amazon c/c was $42.22 higher than last month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $50.49 higher than in December.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $494.38 higher than last month.

*  We had 4 irregular bills in January--

*  A small bill for Roaman's

*  A much bill to Talbot's(both for new clothes)

*  I bought Supplements

*  We needed Toner(stocking up)for the new printer we had to buy

*  A small Sunoco gas card bill

*  We had a Vet Bill for Chester

*  Paid for the Cruise(ouch)

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for JANUARY 2024---Well the healthcare premiums got tunred on it's ear in January as I went onto Medicare like Hubs.  Yay.  No more $1K+ a month for private insurance for me(only Hubs' vision benefit costing $15.91 per month, which he keeps for life).  Now we have 2 x Medicare Part B premiums, 2 x Medigap supplement premiums and 2 x Part D drug supplement premiums.  All those still end up costing a bit less than what we paid before I hit Medicare age.   Go us.  

THOUGHS GOING FORWARD INTO FEBRUARY 2024--

More credit card charges for the trip from the Holidays will roll in, heating bill will be higher(it's Winter, duh! and it's unseasonaly cold in Louisiana now) and I have a modest payment due in February for the shore excursions for this April. I'll use c/c points again toward the excursions bill as I paid the cruise off in January

I am going to try to keep the purse strings closed in February on food/toiletries and any other miscellaneous spending.  Let's hope the power and water don't go off anymore, which will mean more spending.

I've got 3 medical appointments the first week of February, the Painful doc later in February and more Neurologic testing come March as well as a Painful doc follow-up that month.  Not sure yet how much OOP that will entail.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

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 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

This Week on the Dining Table.....February 5th Edition

The "I am Losing Weight Too Fast!!" Edition.....  

Leaving my Neurology appointment at check out I glanced down at the After Visit Summary they give you and saw that I had dropped a substantial amount of weight since walking into the clinic! lolz
Yeah, I haven't seen 108 lbs. since I was 13 years old. ;-)  And they got my height wrong as well....sigh.

This is day 239 of the new "diet".  Down 59 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 67 lbs.).  

Not actively trying to lose right now, just maintaining.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Zaxby Zalad

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers(bun optional), Baked Sweet Potato Fries

3. Tuesday--Leftover Chicken and Dumplings

4  Wednesday--Salmon, Stir-Fry Veggies

5. Thursday--Soup and Sammies or ?

6.  Friday--???

7. Saturday--Whatever is easy or Hubs makes

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

1. Sunday--Linner of Zaxby Zalad

2. Monday--Leftover Cheeseburgers(no bun), Baked Sweet Tater Wedges

3. Tuesday--Leftover Chicken and Dumplings

4  Wednesday--Salmon, Stir-Fry Veggies

5. Thursday--Hubs had Meatloaf tv dinner and I had a Teriyaki Chicken Lean Cuisine

6.  Friday--Linner at Cracker Barrel in MS(Fish Fry, Cole Slaw and Okra for me)

7. Saturday--Power was out again so we went to the local Pizza Joint for a Muffaletta Pizza.

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

*  1 Meatloaf tv dinner

*  1 Lean Cuisine dinner

*  1 bag Stir-Fry Veggies

*  2 Small packages of Salmon

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

*  2 Meatloaf tv Dinners

*  5 Lean Cuisine tv Dinners

*  NY Texas Toast

*  4 Smart One Chicken Enchilada tv Dinners

*  1 pack of Burritos(for Hubs)

*  Birdseye Garlic Shrimp Family Meal

*  PF Chang Beef Broccoli

Last week we spent $159.84 on grocery(dog food, paper products, toiletries, etc.)shopping for February. 

Total shopping comes to $159.84 for February.   

There are 24 shopping days left in February.  

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $72.54 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $12.50 on Shopmium in February.

I've earned $19.00 on Alexa app in February.

I've earned $0.00 on Kroger Cash Back in February.

I've earned $2.70 on TaDa in February.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $0 on Aisle.

I've earned 1,170 points on Fetch from food shopping in February.

I've earned 1,485 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in January

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

That is $87.74 in rebates(not counting the Kroger Cash Back/Shop Kick/Fetch/Alexa)on $159.84 of grocery spending so in reality it's $72.10 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 36.17% and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 36.17% spent.  

Leftovers going into this week....1 portion of Salmon.

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

1. Sunday--Leftover Chicken n' Dumplings

2. Monday--Liver and Onions w/Corn, Mashed Taters

3. Tuesday--Salad

4  Wednesday--Roasted Chicken, Stuffing, Veg

5. Thursday--Soup and Rolls or Grilled Cheese

6.  Friday--Beef Pie

7. Saturday--Whatever is easy or Hubs makes

I have 2 x $3 off $3 deli meat/cheese Qs from Kroger I must use this week and there are a few things/deals I want to pick up but nothing earth shattering.

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 2nd Edition(on Saturday)

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

*  We had a visitor!

With our property being a full on bayou right now(I hear it raining yet again outside!)we have a resident chorus every day and night of bull frogs.  Frogs drop eggs in these pools of water and they turn into tadpoles.

As it blends into the scenery I tried to color adjust this photo so you can see we had a Snowy Egret show up in our yard.

Here's a larger un retouched photo of the bird with the neighbors junked card in the background.  The egret methodically made it's way down the "river" on the left side of the yard by the fence and picked off frog eggs or whatever.  It was there quite a long time feasting.  I am sure it will be back and maybe I can get a better shot without having to step into the bayou. 8-)

*  As for saving money last week.........

I hit frozen food clearance at our Walmart and found quite a bit--

 

The Beef and Broccoli bag was $4.00, as was the famil size bag of Garlic Shrimp skillet meal.

Four of these Lean Cuisine meals were marked down to $2.00(the fifth was full price of $4.14 but I wanted it.  I got $5 back from an Ibotta rebate and earned 825 kicks on these too(10 of that was for walking in the store)so another $3+ once I cash out for a gift card.

The I found these Smart Ones tv dinners, Chicken Enchilada Suiza, marked down to $1 a box!  I also snagged 2 of the Great Value Meatloaf dinners for $1.50(Hubs ate one before I got a photo).

I would have picked up more but the freezer is now officially packed full such that I couldn't wedge a fart in there. lol

We also picked up 2 x 18 ct. eggs at Kroger for $1.49, along with yogurt drinks, bananas for Hubs cereal and 2 bags of Tortilla chips for him in prep for the playoffs.  I'll make him Nachos for the Super Bowl using what's left.

I've done no other grocery shopping this past week, didn't really have time to.

*  The only other wins this week were 3 productive doctor appointments with specialists.  With my Medicare Supplement I had no co-pays.

*  I found Money!

I was in a different Walmart last week and after self-checking out I spied a dime in front of a vacant machine and before I could get to it, the self-checkout employee went and stood right on top of that dime. argh.

So I told her there was a coin under her foot, she moved her foot and I picked it up and offered to split the dime with her.

She said she wasn't allowed to take money out of the machines(when people walk away and leave change in them so I guess that also applies to coins they drop on the floor?).  So I wished her a good day and left with my new found dime.

Total Found in last Week.... .10¢
Grand Total Found this Year........84¢

That's all I got.  

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

Sluggy   

January Food Spending 2024

Onward to January's Food Spending Report.....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for January 2024.

I have posted January's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.  I closed out the books on January a few days early so everything I bought after 1/25/24 will go on February's ledger.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

ALDI

OOP  $4.98

Sales  $3.00

Value  $7.98

Savings  37.60%

BREAD OUTLET

OOP  $6.40

Saving $10.66

Value  $17.06

Savings   62.49%

KROGER

OOP  $258.31

Qs/Gift Cards $179.73

Value $438.04

Savings  41.03%

SHOPPER'S VALUE

OOP $26.82

Sales  $13.64

Value $40.46

Savings  33.71%

WALMART

OOP  $286.93

Qs/Gift Cards $170.61

Value  $457.54

Savings  37.29%

WORLD MARKET

OOP  $69.50

Sales  $352.77

Value  $422.27

Savings  83.54%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at World Market with a savings of 83.54%.  My worse rate was at Walmart with 37.29%.  

I shopped at 6 different stores in JANUARY.

TOTAL Spent in January......$652.94

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$730.41

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,383.35

TOTAL Savings of........52.80%

This closes out the JANUARY food/toiletries/etc. spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 2.82% in January to 52.80% compared to December's 49.98% savings average.  Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people-because I don't have to). I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

The Savings total was great mostly due to all that 90% clearance at World Market after Christmas which was mostly snacks and nibbles and not "real" food.  8-))

With 1 month accounted for, I have spent a Total of $652.94 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.

2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$652.94

2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$1,383.35

2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$730.41

2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................52.80%

The average per month amount spent is $652.94 in 2024 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Coupons dotcom, Shopmium, Checkout 51 and other miscellaneous rebates sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gives me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that.

LOOKING AHEAD TO FEBRUARY 2024.....There are a few deals I want to do this week(mostly frozen food clearance at my Walmart)and those will be accounted for in February's budget since I've closed the books on January as of 1/25/24.

I plan on avoiding Ibotta, etc. deals(unless they are items we really really need)in February....and now that I've written that there will be massive discounts this month. lolz).

I really need to seriously get back on track with meals and spending.  With traveling, the Holidays and my Birthday, January has been kind of a wash so I'm kicking it into high gear for February and closing the purse strings this coming month.  February I'll be concentrating on using up freezer and pantry goods that have lingered too long.  I am also going on an Ibotta Fast for February, meaning unless we "need" it, even if it's free or a great deal, I am Not buying it.

I don't have a firm dollar amount budget but I'll shoot for good quality but at the lowest prices I can find.  That's a challenge, given it's the dead of Winter and veggies, even here in the deep South, are pricey but I plan to hit up the Aldi that just opened in November in town. woot!

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in January?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons versus buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

*  Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?

Sluggy