Places We Are Considering Retiring To-The Financials

Here are some places we are mulling over moving to eventually in retirement.
Along with the state are the various financial implications which led us to include these 11 states on our "short list".

I thought this might be of interest to some of my readers out there who are starting to look at retirement and whether to relocate or not.  This is just what we consider the major financial repercussions for each state that will affect us and our situation.
Sometimes it can be enlightening to see "what is what" if you lay it all down together.

While we didn't include Estate Taxes(since we don't plan on leaving anything when we die), Cigarette taxes(since we don't smoke), etc., we did include 4 types of taxes that would affect our day to day existence while living in that particular place.

Sales Tax--Because you have to buy stuff in retirement.
Gasoline Tax--Because you have to go places in your car in retirement.
State Income Tax--Because you have to pay this if you live in certain states.
Property Tax--Because we will own a home in retirement.
Federal Income Tax isn't talked about in this post since it affects you the same no matter what part of the country you live in.  We are just talking about the tax variables from state to state here.

First though, here is the financial scorecard if we were to stay in PA(in this location)for comparison purposes---


PENNSYLVANIA

*State Sales Taxes-6%(food, clothing, heating fuels, drugs both prescription and OTC are exempt)

*Gasoline Taxes-68.9¢ per gallon(very high)

*Personal State Income Taxes-flat rate of 3.07%
No exemptions, no deductions, no federal deductions on state taxes
Retirement Income Taxes-Retirement income not taxed for state tax purposes.
Social Security benefits are not taxed.

*Property Taxes
Property taxes are levied by local governments (counties, municipalities and school districts).  The tax cannot exceed 30 mills on the assessed valuation of the property without special permission from the courts.
County taxes here are currently 5.7456% of assessed value of the property.
The municipality taxes are .2600 of assessed value of the property.
The school taxes are 9.637 mills and I suspect they will go up in 2017 as the school budget is operating in a deficit currently.
We currently pay under $4,000 a yr. in a semi-rural location(read No services)for a home valued at approx. $230,000.
Effective property tax rate is 1.51%($2,484), thirty ninth lowest of all states.**

**I have included this property tax rate ranking from highest to lowest of 51 places(50 states and Washington D.C.) as a snapshot of each places property tax.  However, this ranking can't be relied on solely since it ranks the states using the median home/property value of each state, and each state has a different median cost for homes.  This means that while the property tax rate may be low and the rate may rank lower, if the median home price/value is a lot higher, it skews the actual property tax amount.


Now here are our potential new states to move to in retirement.
They are listed in no particular order and ONLY take into considerations the financial aspect of retirement for us.
There also may be other factors(non-financial)why some of these states made the cut too and why other financially less expensive locations did not.


TENNESSEE

*State Sales Taxes-7%(prescription drugs exempt)and 6% on food and food ingredients.  Counties and cities are allowed to add another 1.5% to 2.75% to these rates.

*Gasoline taxes are 39.8¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Taxes-not levied on salaries, wages, Social Security benefits, IRAs and pension income.  A 6% tax is levied on stock dividends and interst from bonds.  The first $2,500 of these incomes are exempt for joint filers.
Retirement Income Taxes-After age 65 the first $37K of this class of income is exempt for joint filers.
Social Security income is not taxed.

*Property Taxes
Property taxes are assessed and collected by the local governments.  County assessors of property appraise real estate for assessment purposes.  In addition, they assess tangible personal property used or held for use in a business.  The county commission and city governing bodies determine local property tax rates.  The property taxes are collected by county trustees and city collecting officials.
Tennessee does not have a homestead exemption.  However, there is a property tax relief program for the elderly, disabled and veterans.
The assessed valuation of a property is based on 25% of its fair market value.  Depending on the location of the residence, homeowners will be assessed property taxes from the city only, the city and county, or the city, county, and a special school/fire district rate. A local government may authorize (at their option) a person who is 65 years of age or older to defer payment of tax up to $60,000 of the appraised fair market value of the homeowner’s residence if the combined income is not more than $12,000.  Local option could increase it to $25,000.
Effective property tax rate is .75%($1,046), thirteenth lowest of all states.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

*State Sales Tax-No sales taxes. There are however specific sales taxes on certain goods: 9% on restaurants, prepared foods, hotel rooms and car rentals; .55¢ per megawatt hour on electricity, 7% on telecommunication services, plus additional taxes on real estate transfers and alcohol(liquor stores are state run in NH--uh oh!)

*Gasoline Taxes are 42.23¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Taxes-None per se though NH does tax dividend and interest income of more than $4,800 per couple at a rate of 5%.  At age 65 there is a $1,200 exemption above and beyond the $4,800 amount.
Social Security income is not taxed.

*Property Taxes
Property Taxes are assessed/levied/collected by each municipality and vary widely.  Total taxes vary from under 9% to over 32%.  We don't have a locality picked out yet so can't evaluate accurately until we decide on the area/town.
These tax rates includes a statewide education rate of $2.350 per $1K of valuation.
Effective property tax rate is 2.10%($4,996), forty ninth lowest of all states.

LOUISIANA

*State Sales Tax-4%  Food for home consumption and home utilities are Not taxed. Prescription drugs are taxed.

*Gasoline Taxes are 38.41¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Tax-Depending on your income bracket, we would be in the highest bracket of 6%.
Personal Exemptions on State Income Tax would offset income to the tune of  $10,000 a year and Federal Taxes are fully deductible at the state level, which won't in all probablity lower our tax bracket.
Retirement income is taxable, though after age 65 we will get a $6,000 exemption on it.
Social Security income is not taxed.

*Property Taxes
These are assessed and collected and the parish level(like a county).  Homeowners receive a homestead exemption of $7,500.  This is applied against the assessed value of the home(which is equal to 10% of the FMV), therefore you only pay property taxes if your home's FMV is over $75,000.  This exemption does not generally apply to municipal taxes so those are still due.
Effective property tax rate is .48%($672), third lowest of all states.

ARKANSAS

*State Sales Tax-6.5% though prescription drugs are exempt.  Food taxed at 2% and city/county sales taxes could add another 5.5% depending on where you live/shop.

*Gasoline Taxes are 40.20¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Tax-Brackets for our income level would be 7% tax.
Tax Credits and Deductions would offset income to the tune of $4,046 a year plus another whole $26 when we hit 65 years of age. lolz  Large Medical and Dental costs per year can be deducted the same as on Federal taxes.
Social Security income is exempt from state taxes as is the first $6,000 of private pension/retirement plan income.

*Property Taxes
Property taxes are levied by counties, municipalities and school districts.  All households are eligible for a homestead tax credit of up to $350 regardless of income/age.  Taxes collected on real estae and personal property(cars/boats/rvs/etc.)and are assessed at 20% of true market value.
The tax assessment value of residents 65 or older are capped at the previous year's value(unless improvements are made or the property is sold.
Effective property tax rate is .62%($673), tied for eighth lowest of all states.

DELAWARE

*State Sales Tax-none.

*Gasoline Taxes are 41.4¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Taxes-Depending on your income bracket, we would be in the highest bracket of 6.6%.
Tax Credits and Standard Deductions on State Income Tax would offset income to the tune of  $6830 a year which "might" lower our tax bracket.  We can also exempt $12,500 of pension/qualified investment income which would definitely lower our tax bracket 1% or so, so effective state income tax rate would be in the 5% range.
Social Security income is not taxed.

*Property Taxes
All real property is subject to county, school district, vocational school district and municipal property taxes. Tax relief programs for residents 65 or older up to $500.  Delaware boosts it has the fourth lowest property tax rates in the nation and will depend on which area of the state you are in.
We are looking at a more rural area where it is currently .66% of appraised value.
Effective property tax rate is .53%($1,231), fourth lowest of all states.

VIRGINIA

*State Sales Tax-4.30%  An additional 0.7% imposed in Northern VA and Hampton Roads localities making the rate in these areas 6%.  Eligible food items are subject to a reduced tax rate of 2.5%.

*Gasoline Taxes are 40.78¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Tax-Brackets which place us at the 5.75% level.
Personal exemptions and deductions lower our taxable income by $7,860.
Long-term care premiums are deductible from income as long as they have not been deducted for federal income tax purposes.  The year before you turn 65 you can claim a $6,000 deduction and when you reach 65 a $12,000 deduction.
Social Security is exempt from state taxation.

*Property Taxes
Real Estate is taxed at 100% of FMV and rates vary from town to town. Tangible personal property(cars, boats, RVs, etc.)is also taxed at the local level and based on the percentage of the original cost so your rates can vary from town to town.

   RE Tax rate in the town I am from(Va BCH) is $1.1494 per each $100 of FMV.
   Personal Property rate in the town I am from is $4 per each $100(cars only, other are $1.50 per            $100)of assessed value.
   RE Tax rate in the town my mother is from(Brookneal) is $.52 per each $100 of FMV.
   Personal Property rate in the town my mother is from is $4.45 per each $100 of assessed value.

There are exemptions at age 65 but we may have too much retirement income to qualify for those.
Effective property tax rate is .80%($1,941), sixteenth lowest of all states.

TEXAS

*State Sales Tax-6.25% Exemptions are food(not prepared), prescription and OTC drugs.  Localities can tack on another up to 2% to this rate.

*Gasoline Taxes are 38.4¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Tax-None.
Retirement Income is not taxed.

*Property Taxes
No State instituted property taxes but the local municipality/county sets and levies property taxes.
Texas on average has some of the highest property taxes in the country.  They range from under $400 yr. in Terrell County to over $5,000 yr. in King County.
There are also School Taxes levied in Texas.  All homeowners get a $15,000 exemption on your property value and after age 65 you can apply for another $10,000 in exemptions and your school taxes get "frozen" at that level and can't be increased as long as you own that home.
Effective property tax rate is 1.93%($2,537), forty seventh lowest of all states.

WEST VIRGINIA

*State Sales Taxes-6% though prescription drugs are exempt.  Food is taxed at 1%.  Seniors 60 and over are eligibile for a discount card for pharmaceutical, retail and professional discounts.
Municipalities can add a local sales tax up to 1%.

*Gasoline Taxes are .53¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Taxes-Brackets put us at the 6.5% rate.
Personal exemptions would reduce our liability by $4,000 of income and medical deductions would allow 33.4% of whatever we paid for medical care insurance(supposedly until we were Medicare eligible at 65).
Social Security income is taxable only to the extent that the income is includable in your FAGI.
At age 65 you can exclude the first $16,000 of retirement income for calculating state income purposes.  (This is the only state on the short list that does tax Social Security on the state level.)

*Property Taxes
Property taxes are levied at the county level and each county and municipality can impose its own rate within limits set by the WV constitution. Property is assessed at 60% of FMV.  Due to excess levies the rates can vary from county to county. Rates vary from a high average in Jeffeson Co. of $1,379 to $235 in Webster Co.
WV has homestead and other exemptions for those 65 and older which we will probably not qualify for because of our income.
Effective property tax rate is .59%($590), seventh lowest of all states.

MISSISSIPPI

*State Sales Taxes-7% though prescription drugs, residential utilities and healthcare are exempt.

*Gasoline Taxes are 37.18¢ per gallon

*Personal State Income Taxes-Bracket depending on income and we would be in the 5% one. 

Personal exemptions and deductions would offset income to the tune of $16,600 and once we  hit age 65 that would increase another $1,500 each.  Qualified retirement income is not taxed at the state level.

*Property Taxes

Both cars and real estate are taxed. Residential single family property taxed at 10% of assessed value, cars at 30% of assessed value. All other personal property is assessed at 15% of its value(not sure what they include in personal property).

Homestead exemption has to be applied for and up to age 65 is $300 per year. At age 65 there is an exemption of the first $75,000 of true value which will lower your property taxes some.

Effective property tax rate is .78%($790), fifteenth lowest of all states.

WYOMING

*State Sales Tax-4% though prescription drugs and food for home consumption are exempt.  Counties can add up to 4% in additional tax.

*Gasoline Taxes are 42.4¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Taxes-None.
Retirement Income is not taxed.

*Property Taxes
Property taxes are set by various legal entities.
Property tax applies to only a fraction of FMV, most places that is 9.5% of FMV.  Counties are limited to assessing property to 8 mills(.8%)of value for their taxation purposes.
There are various tax relief/credit/deferral programs that are income based as well as a Tax Relief program for those age 65 and up.  We would most probably not qualify for any of those perks.
Effective property tax rate is .62%($1,179), tied for eighth lowest of all states.

NORTH CAROLINA

*State Sales Tax-4.750% Prescription drugs, medical equipment are exempt, while food is subject to an additional 2% county tax.  Counties may add an additional 2-3% of tax depending on locality.

*Gasoline taxes are 56.5¢ per gallon.

*Personal State Income Taxes-Brackets which would place us in the 7.75% rate.
Personal exemptions and deductions would lower our taxable income by $8,500 and once reaching age 65 we would see another small deduction in taxable income.
Medical/Dental deductions of the federal amount claimed as well.  Up to $350 credit for premiums paid on long-term care insurance too.
Social Security is exempt from state taxes.  In retirement savings up to $2,000 of qualified private pensions and IRAs are also exempt from state taxes.

*Property Taxes
All real and personal property is taxed at 100% of appraised value and collected by cities and counties.  Combined effective rates range from .3144% to 1.6491% which is quite a range.
There is an elderly exclusion at age 65 but we will have too much income to be eligible for that.
Effective property tax rate is .85%($1,313), twentieth lowest of all states.



More next time a bit on our retirement location picking process.

Did you move in retirement?
What were the criteria that led you to move to the location you did?
Did the financial aspects of your life have a hand in where you relocated to?
Where you satisfied with the move and why?


Sluggy

Happenings Lately and Stuff in My Head

*  First the Rite-Aid business.....lol

Purex detergent is $1.99 a small jug at Rite-Aid this week.
Pair that with $1/2 Qs from the Sunday inserts and a Spend $15/Get $4 Back cash rebate with Saving Star and it makes for some really inexpensive suds.
And then I paired the 2 jugs I bought earlier this week with 2 moneymaker March Pain Deals to get all this for free.

2 x Purex on sale=$3.98
1 x Joint Flex 20% discount=$16.79
1 x Similisan 20% discount=$8.79
SubTotal........$29.56

Coupons Used
1 x $1/2 Purex ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $3/1 Joint Flex ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Similisan Product IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$5.00

$29.56-$5=$24.56 + .18¢tax=$24.74 OOP

I paid with $24.74 in Plenti Points and earned $26.00($17 Joint Flex, $9 Similisan)back in new Plenti Points making this a $1.26 moneymaker.

And I have $3.98 tracking for the Saving Star rebate.
I'll go back and get 6 more jugs this week(or rain checks if they are out)and finish off this Rebate.
After sale/Qs/rebate 8 jugs of detergent will end up costing me $9.62 in Plenti Points.  No cash spend OOP.
Nice.

*  I went to pick up College Boy on Saturday.  After riding in the car for 2.5 hours I was forced to use his dorm suite's bathroom.  With two 20 year old males sharing it, I knew it wouldn't be pretty.
It wasn't quite as dirty as last Spring when I picked him up for break.  Here's the bathroom waste basket as it appeared in March 2015...........

This time the bathmat I sent with him in the Fall was a disaster.  You couldn't see the blue color for the black mold covering it.
Ewwwwww!  "Well", I thought, as I sat using the toilet and contemplating the rug, "At least we won't have to haul that home when he moves out.". ;-)

*  Since we have a sizeable chunk of retirement money we are all the time getting "invitations" in the mail to a free lunch, mostly to Ruth Chris' Steak House locally.  The caveat being we had to sit through a sales presentation by some financial peddler while we choke down that free steak as they want to talk us into letting them get their hands on our assets because they know they can best manage them for us.....after they take their cut of fees and commissions for investing it wisely for us.

But we got something a little different in the mail recently....

"You are invited to the most Important Retirement Summit of 2016" it says.......

Really?!
Should I feel honored for this invite?

No.
It's just a supposedly free lunch and talk by that IRA guy who pops up on PBS now and again, hawking his books and dvds as a "reward" for a rather large donation to your local PBS channel.

But no, this supposed free lunch is NOT free!  A $50 "donation" is required at the time of registration to attend once you read the invite.
"There is no additional cost or obligation and nothing will be sold." it reads as well.

Nothing may be sold at this lunch but it is being sponsored by an area financial instruments seller so you KNOW they are trying to drum up business and SELL you something!
The Ed Slott talk will be the same old stick you can see on PBS and you'll be paying $50 to charity for that and a sad business lunch....plus the sponsoring business gets to feel good and reap the benefits of giving your $50(and all the other attendees $50)to charity.
How nice of them.....geez, they must be good financial advisors, right?  ha

Be wary of anybody giving you a free lunch in order to get their hands on your retirement monies.
Are they giving you free financial advise only or are they actually trying to sell you financial instruments?
Here's a better way......pay for financial advise from licensed certified financial planners and NOT financial products sellers.

*  And we just sunk to a new low in the "Folks who want to get ahold of our money and 'help' us" Category.
We just received our first phone solicitation by a financial investments seller.  A subsidiary of NY Life wants to reach out to us and "help" us with our retirement assets.  Great!  Now I get to dodge phone calls from these bastards too and not just through the mail.
Lovely.

*  And in other news we took College Boy out for his Birthday meal to the local Hibachi Restaurant.
And yes that little kid at the other end of the table has a mohawk.  Don't be surprised, his dad had a tongue stud, piercings other places, massive tattoos and ear gauges.


And we sing Happy Birthday to him, though the only one you can hear on this is me! lol



This is the place that squirts sake into your mouth from a bottle.

You may remember my post the first time we went to this place back in 2011.
I blogged about it HERE.

Luckily for all involved our chef didn't pull a rubber chicken out of his hat so things didn't get very ugly that night.
I did take sake shots from a squirt bottle however.
Noah can't have the sake yet so he got the Lemonade baby bottles squirt.  Next year though he turns 21...he can't wait!

We sat at the grill with a family of 5(3 kids).  The mother has aspirations of being a My Little Pony I think.  I didn't get a picture but her hair looked just like this........

Honest to goodness I didn't know this was a "thing" until I googled it. lolz

She had to be in her late 30's this woman and was wearing cut-off jean shorts(more nothing than shorts)with her ass cheek hanging out and the cellulite of her legs on display for all to see.

Classy lady.

*  I had Hubs stop in at Walmart while he was out last weekend to buy this.......

A box of a tea I like.  There was a $1 off Q on the Good Earth website.  Tea cost $2.48 at Wal-mart-$1=$1.48 OOP.

There is/was also an Ibotta Rebate for $1.25 off of 1 box of any flavor of GE tea.  I grabbed Hubs smartphone and sent for that rebate so my box of tea in the end will cost .23¢.

Sweet......and Spicy. lol

*  The dumpster guy came and hauled off the construction waste on Wednesday.  He put what looked like a shower cap/hair net over the dumpster before picking it up onto the truck and driving away.

Hubs did add in a few larger items to the dumpster that had been sitting in our basement for years before they took it off.  Might as well fill the thing up since we paid for it anyway, right?

You will also notice in that shot that the "Behemoth" RV is NOT parked in the neighbors driveway!  They drove it off almost 2 weeks ago but if they are staying in it, it must be at a campground nearby because their cars keep coming and going at odd intervals to and from their house.  School is not out on break and the teenage daughter is staying at the house sometimes and going to school in the mornings I guess.

These people have always been odd but I am just glad that their RV is NOT here for however long that lasts!

*  The local high school has adult education courses each spring and we got a brochure recently.

You can pay $21 and go learn how to color.

WTF?  I just don't get this whole adult coloring book thing!

I didn't like to color in coloring books as a kid....I found them too restrictive and boring.....why on earth would I pay someone to let me color now?

They also had this course.........

Now THAT'S the course I should sign up for......just to be the smartass in the room who challenges what this instructor/amateur says. lolz

And why on earth does this "instructor" have to say he's a CPA?!?  It has nothing to do with the subject matter he is teaching.  It just lets people know that he is boring and this class will be a snoozefest....... ;-)

*  I took a ride down to the town South of us as the Weis(PMITA)Markets there now carries beer.

Chocolate Truffle Stout?  I might have to try that one......

I wonder if my Eldest Son has tried this?  He likes spicy hot stuff.......

Ah, this one called to my inner Viking........but not at $14.99 a 6-pack.

And then I saw this car parked next to me in the lot.............

Each side of the car was covered in insulting phrases appropriate to people who drive badly and talk/text on phones while driving.

Ah, a person after my own heart.

This might just have given me an idea or two........lolz

So what stuff and nonsense has been going on lately in your world?

Sluggy

The Great Bathroom Remodel of 2016.....Part 3

So let's talk a bit before I show more Reno Porn photos.

Our first choice of flooring was this.......

It's a tile product that looks like weathered wood.  We chose the whitewashed pecan board look as it is in gray tones.
This tile comes in long planks like wooden board flooring.

Our contractor gave us a look when we showed him what he had picked out.
Seems this type of tile has a problem.

First they don't always come perfect from the factory.  Contractor has had experience with laying this flooring and has found that the boxes of tile contain many planks that have factory flaws-they come bowed and are not straight.  What happens when you walk on tile planks that aren't straight?  Over time and stress they crack and break, meaning floor repairs over the life of the tile.

Also, even if the tiles are true your sub floor needs to be perfectly plumb.  A square tile(even a 12 inch one)can be laid on a less than perfect sub floor and be ok.  A long plank tile laid on the same less than perfect sub floor will cause problems and you end up with buckling tiles and/or cracked/broken tiles over time.
Contractor has had complaints about these plank tile floors he has put in once the floors are walked on and has had to redo them.  He does not like to put these in anymore(and who can blame him?).

So since we are flexible and not ultra-picky and want what we want no matter what! people, we chose a second tile in the same tones as the original.
It's called Chilo Grey.

Bonus was that this gray tone square tile was ONE THIRD the price of our first choice....score!

Day 2 the walls were mostly back up, except for this one segment under/next to the window.
I would be ok with leaving the drywall unpainted(PURPLE!)but there is the little issue of taping and spackling the seams.
Oh well.....

After the weekend(they don't work the weekends), Day 3 of the job, the walls were all up and the first round of tape and spackle was also done.....

The new bathtub and walls were also in.
So white and shiny and new!
Knobs, faucet and shower head still to be installed.

We went for a tub surround/shower wall system as opposed to retiling the bath area.
The cost was less(tiling is slow and tedious work and costs much more in labor)and the maintenance/upkeep is easier.  No grout to clean constantly.
We chose a wall system with built in ledges for soap and bottles of 'poo.  Hopefully Hubs won't fill them all up with stuff.

On Day 4 there was another round of sanding and spackle and then the mortar went down on the floor and the tile got laid.

Things are beginning to look like something now.

Day 5 was a short workday with  another round of sand and spackle and then the white primer went up on the walls.  This is the "boring" part of the process as spackle has to dry in between coats so it doesn't look like any progress is being made.

Day 6 another round of primer and then the first coat of paint went up before they left.
We chose a warm gray called "Tempered Gray" for the wall color.

Knowing that the small little paint chip you choose your colors from sometimes can be too dark or overwhelming once it's on your walls, even though this was what most would call a pale tint, I was still reticent about the color until it went up and dried.


Here is someone else's room painted with this color.....

I wanted a warm gray but not something that was too brown or muddy.  This tint seemed not as cool as some grays can be, but still clean looking.
My fears were assuaged once I saw the dried walls.

I didn't get a photo of the walls in the bathroom with the paint up until after they were done.

Day 7 was more coats of paint and some trim work and grouting the tile floor.  Trim going back up is white as is the closet door. Grout is a darker shade of the tile so it recedes into the background.

This photo below is where we left off for the weekend when Day 7 was done.  The job couldn't be finished on last Friday as expected.

Due to a manufacturing flaw with the sink top which wasn't uncovered until Friday when they took it out of the box, the trim couldn't be finished since they couldn't install the vanity cabinet/sink first....which needed to be done first.
Ugh.

So this is where we where at the end of Day 7.
Walls done, floor done, tub and surround and tub/shower fixtures done.

Not a great shot of the grouted floor and the wall heater is still propped up in the corner and not put back into place.

Luckily for us another Lowe's nearby had the same sink top we ordered in stock so it would be available by Monday to be put in and the job wouldn't be held up weeks and weeks waiting on another identical sink top to arrive.  Had another sink top not been available locally we'd have had to go find one at another Lowe's elsewhere in the state or wait for another one to be ordered and arrive from the manufacturer.  Or, since I am not ultra-picky I might have gone with another sink top that WAS available now.  I wanted the plain white one but could have talked myself into something else if push came to shove.

The sink flaw was small(a pinpoint sized spot/hole where the glaze hadn't taken on the right front corner of the unit but why accept and put in a flawed product when we didn't have to?  Having spent this amount of money(!!!)I wanted it right.  Plus being on the front I would have noticed it every time I used that sink.   I guess I do have a level of picky-ness if I am paying for it. lolz

But everything came together on Day 8 of the job, which was this past Monday, with just a few little issues to correct/address.

I'll share the final photos in the next Update Post.


Sluggy

More Lying and Rite-Aid Pain Deals

Back to Rite-Aid on Friday and bought on the other Wellness card...........

All the March Pain Deal items I bought on the first card, plus Joint Flex Cream....on sale for $17 but $16.79 with Wellness 20% Gold discount.
I had a $3/1 ManuQ to use with this one, making it $13.79 using Plenti Points and getting $17 back in new Plenti Points for buying it.

This lot cost me $52.85 in Plenti Points and earned back $66.00 in new Plenti Points, thus a $13.15 moneymaker.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "We are Getting Close" Edition--

This shot is of the new bathroom tile before it was grouted I shared over the weekend on my FB page.
 We are going with a neutral and plain color scheme having lived with the green cacophony for long enough.  I detest the beige/tan route so we went with grey/white.  The floor we initially chose was a plank porcelain tile(the durability of tile in the bathroom but in the shape/form of wooden planking instead of squares)called Brazilian Pecan White Glazed.

Basically it looked like an old weathered wood floor but in grey tones.  It was more expensive(much more!)and had inherent design issues so we went with boring old square tiles.  Boring is GOOD after living through that strident tonal poem of greens which overran our bathroom before. lolz


Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Leftover Lasagna
2. Monday--Sausage Patties on Rolls, Sauted Cabbage
3. Tuesday--Leftovers
4. Wednesday--Fish, Potato Salad(using up old taters), Grilled Asparagus
5. Thursday--Leftovers again?
6. Friday--Italian Torta, Salad
7. Saturday--?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftover Lasagna
2. Monday--Sausage Patties on Rolls, Sauted Cabbage(I just had the Cabbage)
3. Tuesday--Leftovers(I had Stroganoff, Hubs had Thai Chicken and a can of Soup)
4. Wednesday--Fish, Roasted Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus
5. Thursday--Leftover Meatloaf, Grilled Mixed Veggies
6. Friday--Leftover Pecan Chicken and Fish, Leftover Asparagus, Halushki
7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out

6 meals cooked at home.
2 new meals and 4 nights of leftovers in some form or another and 1 night of Take-Out.

We finished up many leftovers last week.  I took the leftover sauted Cabbage and used it in the Halushki I made on Friday.

As for my grocery spending for March.....some of this was bought the last few days of February but using March monies.
I spent $77.82 at 4 stores/5 shopping trips the last 9 days.  I also went to Rite-Aid 3 times but I didn't spend any money as is the usual.  ;-)

$77.82 spent of the potential $250-$300 March food budget so between $222.18 and $172.18 left to spend with 24 days left in the month.

Leftovers going into this week......Cheese Lasagna(which will get put into the freezer shortly if not eaten up early in this week), Halushki, Roasted Potatoes, Breaded Fish.

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

1. Sunday--Roasted Chicken, Stuffing, Deviled Eggs and Roasted Carrots and Cauliflower
2. Monday--CB's Birthday Meal out
3. Tuesday--Philly Cheese Steaks(I'll have Halushki), leftover Veggies
4. Wednesday--White Chicken Chili, Biscuits, Salad
5. Thursday--Tacos or Taco Salads
6. Friday--Crab Cakes and Shrimp, Coleslaw, Steak Fries or add to leftover Roasted Potatoes(for Hubs and CB)
7. Saturday--Leftovers or Take-out

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 0-1 meals of leftovers(re-purposed into new dishes or not) and one meal Out.

What I need to buy for this menu? Ground Beef, maybe more lettuce, Provolone Cheese(for the subs), Cauliflower and more Cabbage.  Luckily with St. Patrick's Day nearby cabbage is cheap this week.  I got the Cauliflower on Sunday already and the Ground Beef on Friday(Weis Friday only Special)so all I need for this week's meal is the Cheese.

Of course I'll put a caveat on this week's menu as it may change, depending on what College Boy feels like having and if he is going to be around at dinnertime.  Both of those factors will affect what I actually make and serve.

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 great deals on food at your stores this week?

Sluggy