This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Can We Please Not Get Anymore Snow for Awhile?!" Edition

 

Here is what was planned last week---

 

Sunday--Leftovers or FFY(I was the only one home)
Monday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Grilled Asparagus
Tuesday--Kielbasa and Onions on Rolls, Brussell Sprouts
Wednesday--Roast Chicken, Collards, Smashed Rutabaga
Thursday--Eating Out, #2 Son at District Band Comp.
Friday--Chicken Fajitas(using leftover chicken from Wed.)
Saturday--Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Leftovers of FFY(Fend For Yourself)

 

And here is what actually happened---

 

Sunday--Leftovers or FFY(I was the only one home)
Monday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Grilled Asparagus
Tuesday--Kielbasa and Onions on Rolls, Brussell Sprouts
Wednesday--Roast Chicken, Collards, Smashed Rutabaga
Thursday--Eating Out at Bob Evans using gift card
Friday--Fend for Yourself(I was home alone)
Saturday--Chicken Fajitas(using leftover chicken from Wed.)

Everything served as planned except I forgot I was going to be home along for dinner on Friday so Friday's dinner was prepared Saturday.

Not a big deal.
Eating out used a previously purchases gift card combined with a BOGO Entree free Coupon.

 

I spent a total of.....*sit down for this one!*....$184.53 on groceries last week.
I had spent $51 or so early on in the week, but then Hubs took me to R-A, The local market and Weis PMITA Markets on Saturday and I spent $133+ I wasn't expecting to.  I found some good deals(b/s chicken breast for $1.88 lb. cantaloupes for $1.47, blocks of cheese on special)so I spent.  We also needed dog food last week and that is something we don't buy often but when we do we stock up. 
Even if I spent loads more than usual in 1 week, my savings rate was still 50%, and my savings rate for February so far is 59.15%.
Pretty darn good. 8-))

I don't expect to buy much this coming week since I've planned a menu around what is here for the most part, except for some fresh produce.

If I am trying to do a $300 food budget month, I have already spent $288.40 in February and it's only the 10th!
Holey Moley.

That means I have 14 more days after this coming Saturday to feed us until the month is over and $11.60 left in my food kitty to accomplish this.
Hmmmmm.......
Don't know how I am going to pull THAT off but I'll give it a shot.  ;-)

 

Going into the new week here are the leftovers we have.....
Collards, Chicken Fajita fixings.

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Broiled Cod, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Onions, Coleslaw
Monday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Sugar Snap Peas w/Red Peppers
Tuesday--Chicken in Wine Sauce, Noodles, Broccoli
Wednesday--Hot Dogs w/Coleslaw, Red Potato Salad, Beans(for Hubs/#2 Son)
Thursday--Quiche(freezer), TBD Veggies
Friday--Mushroom Parmesan, Salad
Saturday--Breakfast for Dinner or Leftovers

That makes 6 new meals and 1 leftover or planned over meal.
As I only have enough turkey lunchmeat for 2 lunches so I'll be eating on leftovers for lunches this week after that is gone.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......maybe some fresh produce or I'll just dig some veggies out of the freezer instead.
 

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

 

Sluggy

Saturday at Rite-Aid

Going into last week I had $12 in +Up Rewards expiring on 2/15.
Here is what I got on Saturday 2/8.....

1 x case of Nestle water RAINCHECK price=$2.99 *not pictured*
2 x Cheerios cereal on sale=$5.00
2 x GE light bulb 2-packs on sale $3.99=$7.98
Subtotal.....$15.97

Coupons Used
1 x Nestle water VV Q=.50¢
1 x BOGO Cheerios IPQ=$2.50
2 x $1/1 GE light bulbs ManQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 GE light bulbs VV Q=$2.00
Coupon total....$7.00

$15.97-$7.00=$8.97
I used $7 in +Up Rewards to pay(1x $5, 1x $2).....$8.97-$7=$1.97 + .08¢=$2.05 OOP

And I received $6 in +Ups back(2 x $3 GE), giving me $11 in +Ups now.

About that Cheerios Coupon, if you haven't gone HERE already, do so soon to access this coupon.  It expires Feb. 15th, so be sure and find a deal on Cheeeios soon and use it!  It's good on most any variety of Cheerios but you can only print it once.

Going into this week at Rite-Aid I have $5 in +Ups that has to be used this week, and $6 in +Ups that I have 2 weeks to use.
I haven't even looked at this week's sales ad so tell me what is worth buying this week at Rite-Aid?

Sluggy

My Tangly Tree....Family Tree That Is

The more I dig into my ancestry the more my family tree branches start getting gnarly and twisted up into themselves.
Meaning, at some point in the past all the little branches start tangling up with the larger limbs they forked off of.
Like what I just discovered this past week when I broke through one of my brick walls.

One of my maternal grandmother's father, or my great grandfather was named John Little Vassar.
Now I have the Vassar branch of the family going back to the 1st Immigrant of that line to Virginia in 1635, 12 generations counting John the Immigrant to me.

Plus I have an additional 20 generations going back from John's wife, Elizabeth Dowe/Dew to William the Conqueror.
But who cares about him, right? 8-)

What I am focusing on is on that Vassar line.
My 5th great grandparents are Nathaniel Vasser(1756-1823),and his wife, Sarah Hudson(1756-1846). 
Sarah's parents were Peter Hudson and Mourning Griffith(or Griffin) of Virginia.  At this point back into this Vassar/Vasser line I only had the pedigree, or the direct ancestor once you get back into the Hudson side of the line, no siblings for anyone. 
And I only have as far back in Hudsons as Peter and 1 further generation back for his wife Mourning Griffith(her parents are John Griffith and Sarah Parrish).

The Vassers/Vassars continue down with Vassars until you get to my grandmother, who married a Harper, my mother who married a Bowman, to me....Sluggy.

That line is well established however there are other offshoots from my maternal grandmother's side that I didn't have much documentation/family tradition coming into this whole genealogy hunt.

One of those offshoots is John Little Vassar's grandmother's family.

John Little's parents were John Alfred Vassar and Rosa Belle Snead(the ancestral line that I am related to Sonya Ann through).

John's mother, Rosa Belle Snead's parents were Lewellen Snead and Rebecca Womack.  It is this Womack line that I have been trying to make headway on.

Rebecca's parents were Abraham Womack(1785/90-1863)and Willie(though some call her Millie)Wade(no dates).

I busted through the Womack brick wall this week with the aid of another researcher to discover that Abraham's parents were Abraham Womack and Tabitha Hudson.

This Tabitha Hudson was born abt. 1760.

Hmmmm.
My Sarah Hudson, in my great grandfather's line, was born 1756.

Hmmmm again.
Tabitha and Sarah both lived in the same geographic area of Virginia.

Well when I discovered that Tabitha's parents were Peter Hudson and Mourning Griffith, I knew I had found Sarah, who married Nathaniel Vassar, Tabitha's sister.

So my 2 x GreatGrandmother, Rosa Belle Snead's 2 x Great Grandparents are the same 2 x Great Grandparents as her husband, John Alfred's 2 x Great Grandparents.
And Rosa Bell's husband is my 2 x Great Grandfather.

This means my 2 x Great Grandparents were 3rd cousins.
My family tree seems to be branching out and then cleaving back together along this journey of mine. lol

I also found this same type of situation in my mother's father's sister's family.

My grandfather Harper had an older sister named Ollie Harper.
She married Joseph Warren Sublett.
I doubt she knew at that time that they were related.

Joseph Warren's 3 x Great Grandfather was a man named Pierre Louis Soblet, who immigrated to Virginia from France(first, by way of Germany, Holland and England)in 1700. Warren traces back through his direct Sublett surname line, from Joseph Warren to William Joseph, to Benjamin Branch, to Matthew Thomas, to Benjamin Sr., to Pierre Louis Soblet.

Ollie's 5 x Great Grandfather was this same Pierre Louis Soblet through her mother's side of the family.....Jennie Vie Tucker back to his mother Mary Jane Mason, back to her mother Elizabeth Weatherford, back to her mother Martha Sublett, back to her father William Abraham Sublett, back to his father Pierre Louis Soblet.

This means my great Aunt Ollie and Uncle Warren were 4th Cousins 1x removed.

Does your head hurt from the math yet?
Mine does. ;-)

Ok, back to seeing dead people for me......

Have you made any interesting family history discoveries lately?

Sluggy

Habits of the Debt-Free

I saw an article on Yahoo earlier this week HERE.

It is a list of 10 traits that Debt-Free people have.
The author states that in order to be debt-free you need to think and act as those who are debt-free.

There are many lists of ways to improve your life out there, but I thought this one was pretty spot on.
At least, these are habits that I have made my own and I have been totally debt-free since March 15 2007.

Here's a brief synopsis of the list in my own words......

1. They pay attention to the details.
If you want to be Debt-free, pay close attention to the details of your money.  Things like always checking your account statements, reconciling your statements each month, always recording withdrawal/deposits/debits.  If you have auto withdrawals coming out of your accounts, keep an eye that they are accurate.  Keeping an eye, as well, on your credit card statements that all purchases are correct.  Stay on top of payment due dates and avoid overdraft fees.  Pay off your credit cards each month to avoid interest charges.  Debt-free folks avoid late fees, overdrafts and interest charges whenever possible.

2.  They understand their finances.
Not everyone has a finance or accounting degree or knows tax law inside and out.  But even if you can't do all the legal/tax/investing work concerning your money, you make a point of learning as much as you can, so you can understand what your financial planner, tax expert/preparer, stock broker, insurance agent is telling you.  Debt-free folks never just hand over their financial information to another to manage blindly.  They have some level of knowledge about all things financial and ask questions if they don't understand something.  They never make financial decisions without knowing something about that decision first.

3.  They live on less than they make.
Debt-free people know exactly how much they bring in each month or year and make a point to live below their means.  They know where their money goes each month because they put it on paper and tell their money where it is to be spent(or saved).  They know they need money for unexpected emergencies and they know they need to think about their future(retirement), so they plan to live on a percentage of their income each year instead of squandering their whole paycheck every month.

4.  They plan for the long term.
Debt-free people don't just live for today, they think about their tomorrows.  Because they live below their means, they can accomplish saving for their financial future.  This takes a lot of discipline and avoiding instant gratification in a society that only values the "here and now".  Some times debt-free people feel at odds with our society and are often labeled freaks.  Wave that freak flag proudly! 8-)

5.  They aren't afraid to be bold.
Debt-free people aren't shy about asking others how they achieved a goal that is worthwhile to them.
If you want to be debt-free and you know someone who accomplished some financial goal, ask them about it, and then apply that advice to your situation.  That's probably how a debt-free person got there.....they saw or asked how others who were debt-free did it and applied those same principles to their own lives.
Be curious how people you know, who have won with their money, did it and don't be shy about getting some tips from them.

6.  No amount of money is too small to save it.
Debt-free people know that any little bit you put away for tomorrow will help you reach your financial goal.  $10, whether from your regular paycheck or some unexpected windfall, may not seem like much and not worth putting toward retirement savings so you may be tempted to spend it on some frivolous want now.  But getting into a habit of putting into savings regular small amounts can add up over the long haul(yah for compounding interest!).

7.  They set goals and can see the "Big Picture".
Debt-free people set goals, both short term and long term.  They have more focus because of their goals.  Like the snowballing debt principle(paying off debts helps you build momentum toward paying off More debt), setting financial savings goals helps you to keep moving forward with your money.  You reach one goal and that helps you stay focused on reaching the next goal.  All these interim goals eventually add up to your complete financial plan for your life.  Debt-free people don't like surprises, especially where their money is concerned.

8.  They can say No to their wants or find ways to satisfy them cheaper.
Debt-free people are good at telling themselves no yet not feeling like they are sacrificing all the joys in life.  They can deny themselves many of the "lifestyle inflation" wants in our culture that end up sucking up all that extra money people make as their salary increases.  It is very frequently that as people make more money they spend more money.  Debt-free folks are able to avoid letting their lifestyles expand at the same rate(or even a higher rate)as their salaries do.
Yet they are still able to satisfy their wants and have a balanced life by finding ways to enjoy the fruits of their labors in less expensive ways.  Find the priorities in your life and make trade-offs to achieve what is important to you.

9.  They know what everything costs them, not just in money.
Debt-free people know the value of a dollar.  They understand how hard it is to earn those dollars and how much of their life everything they have to pay for costs them.  When you think about that $500 designer purse you lust after as not just $500 of your money, but you having to work for 30 hours for to afford to buy it, does it still feel so appealing versus 30 hours of your life?  If you stop buying $500 purses, how many less hours over the course of your lifetime could you work and be able to do some activity you enjoy more than working?  Could you have retired years earlier if you didn't spend money on "things" you don't really need and spent your time how YOU wanted to instead of slaving for a boss?
Debt-free people know that things cost you in time out of your life, not just in money.  Money is merely a tool to get you somewhere you want to be in life.  The hours of you life are FINITE so spend those judiciously.

10.  Their values are different from most of society's values.
The majority of debt-free people value people more than things.  I'm not talking about the 2nd generation wealthy who have always had wealth, though some of them also value people more than things.  Most Debt-free folks have different priorities in life than our society.  Money is not the "end all" and "be all" in life.  Sure money is important, but it is just a tool.  A too that when used effectively can help give you a happier life.  It can take care of some problems in your life and keep stress away when you have enough money to avoid financial problems in life.  It's a tool to give you time with the people you love and help you to keep them healthy and happy and use it to make their lives better. 

So what do you think of  this list?
Doable?
Or a Load of bullshit?

I didn't always have these habits.
They have evolved over the years.
Some where naturally easier for me to take up and some have been difficult......very difficult in some instances.  Like the money only being a tool to happiness and not the end goal in life, to just have money.

These aren't hard things to do if you just keep trying them.
They say an action only becomes a habit once you've stuck to it for 30 days or so.
That's all it takes to get it to become routine in your life.

Anybody can form a habit at any time in their life by just sticking to it for 4-6 weeks.
But it's all about WHAT we want to become our habits.
Try picking one of these 10 characteristics above and focus on making it a habit in your life for the next 30 days.
If you need support don't be afraid to ask someone for help too to keep you on track either.

If you want to be debt-free DO what the debt-free do.
A better life is in your hands!
So why not start now toward the life you want.

Sluggy

Uh oh.....Anybody Know The Answer to This?

Calling any tax geeks out there reading this!
I'm talking the Educational American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit things specifically.

Last year I got 2 1098-Ts from Daughter's colleges(she attended 2 different colleges in 2012)...so I have 3 semesters paid for in 2012--1 Spring Semester for Clarion and 1 Fall and 1 Spring Semester for the local community college.  The CC billed her for the Spring 2013 Semester in November of 2012 and I paid it in 2012, not 2013, so that is why we have 3 college bills paid for her in 2012.

Then she dropped a class in that 2013 Spring semester before it began and we got a $960 refund on a piece of the tuition we paid.
So when I paid the taxes in 2012, went ahead and reduced the amount the Com.College said we paid for 2 semesters in 2012 by that tuition refund.

Last week I got a 1098-T from the Com. College for 2013 with Box 4 checked, displaying that $960 refund, and it said I had to do a recapture(repayment)of the AO credit I received in 2012 on our 2013 taxes concerning that amount.  Except I had already reduced our credit by this refund.
So I am good to go and don't have to do this.

But when I went looking at the figures for 2012, to make sure I had accounted for this reduction in what we paid for tuition,  I found that I had under reported the amount of the AO Credit we were due in 2012!
Yes, math nerd me, claimed $1,800+ inside of the $2,800+ for that school's Tuition payments in 2012.
So basically my credit should have been higher and my taxes lowered n 2012.

The question......if you report too much credit, of course the IRS wants you to pay more in taxes(since you own them), but is there a device in place, if you under reported your AO credits in 2012, to give you credit for it in 2013 taxes OR would have I have to file a FULL amended tax return for 2012 to get my proper credit?

And if I have to do the latter(re-file the whole enchilada for 2012), is it worth the trouble?

I am so over doing taxes right now!
Come on American, just call your Senators and get them to endorse the HR 25 fair tax bill already!

Stop the Madness!
Abolish the IRS!

Sluggy