MIA

I got a message from Kim and another phone call from Sissie because I have been MIA for over a week on the blogs.

I guess they forgot(not like ANYBODY is Busy this time of year, right?)I was going on a vacation.

More later on that but here's a big hint were I was(bad word warning and NFW)...........

I am sooooo behind getting ready for the Holidays so I will pop in sporadically until I'm caught up.  Be good to yourselves and don't stress out until then

Sluggy

And the Giveaway Winner Is.......

 Sorry I am tardy with this post but the 13th was spent in the car on the long trek from my brother's house to home.  We arrived home 9ish pm and after unloading the car I was too beat to deal with picking a proper winner so today is the day.

Drum roll please!

And the winner is.............

Ur-spo

Ur-spoDecember 5, 2021 at 5:49 PM

Whoever wins will not need any stocking stuffers this year.

Congratulations Ur-spo!  Please send me via email(mine is on my right side bar)your full name and mailing address and I'll get your winnings out to you tout suite. ;-)

Thanks to everyone who played along on the Sluggy Boring Blog Box Giveaway this time.  

Sluggy

December Giveaway....Come Enter!

 Who's ready for the Eleventh Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for 2021?!?

It's December and Christmas is right around the corner....when did this happen? lol

Let's take a look at what is in the Giveaway Box this month........

1 x Secret deodorant
1 x Alive! women's vitamins

1 x Simple face cleanser

1 x Axe men's spray deodorant

1 x Daylogic make-up remover pads

1 x Alka-Seltzer gum

1 x Whitening toothpaste

1 x Oral-B toothbrush

1 x Bic Comfort 3 razors

1 x Plackers dental picks

1 x Compeed blister pack

1 x Bayer low dose aspirin

1 x L'Oreal lipstick #297 red passion

1 x Almay eye cream lunar disco(blue)

1 x Nivea moisture lip balm

1 x Rimmel eyebrow pencil dark brown

6 x Ghirardelli chocolate squares

Close up shots of these goodies.....

Depending on where you shop, the winnings have a reg. retail value of approximately $60-$70+.

Here's how this is going to work.....

* The giveaway is open to ALL readers, previous winners or not.

* There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY.  Come back each day to enter again.

* Only VALID entries will be posted.  A Valid entry is a limit of one per day and I MUST HAVE VALID CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOU(either you are on the Giveaway Contact List which I maintain, your comment is connected to a Google/Blogger profile which links to your email address or you email me directly(my email is in the side bar on the Blog)your email address.

IF YOU ENTER THE GIVEAWAY AND DON'T SEE YOUR COMMENT It's because I can't get to my computer until later this month.

From all the VALID entries I receive I'll pick a winner at random and the winner has 48 hours from when the post goes live to contact me with their full mailing address.

In your entries I'd like to hear about how you celebrate Christmas, Hannukkah and/or Kwanzaa.  Will you be traveling for the Holidays?  Is it a big splash out occasion or a low key affair for you?  What is your favorite gift to receive or give?

If you are on my Giveaway emails list just leave a comment and your name(with last name initial please)to enter. If you aren't on the Giveaway emails list make sure you leave your email in your comment OR email me your email privately after you leave a comment(my email is in the side bar area under "About Me").
I'll leave this giveaway open until December 12th Sunday at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.  When I return I'll draw the winning entry and post the Winner.

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winners on this blog on  and those persons have 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one make sure your email info is linked to your profile.

So let's get this Giveaway started. Good luck to everyone!!!

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the December 3rd Edition

  Here's what we had happen in the frugal vein around here this past week.....

*  I forgot to mention last week, in regard to my pumpkin pies.  I had a can of "yams", a crash and burn can that needed using.  So I used a can of pumpkin and this can of "yams" blended together for a couple of pumpkin/sweet potato pies.  Using up what was on hand.

*  My pillage at Rite-Aid......

My two online orders arrived as well which added...
8 packs of batteries
6 bottles of Excedrin
4 bottle of Carol's Daughter Moisturizer
8 bottles of Sally Hansen nail treatment
6 bottle of Suave shampoo
4 Twin-packs of Degree deodorant
That brought our BF haul suggested retail to $1,044.52.

If you need to roll BC this week, try the In-Ad coupon deal on SoftSoap and Irish Spring.  With the Q and the $2 in BC you get back(limit 2)your soap items will "cost" you .99¢(plus tax if applicable).

*  I received a sample in the mail.....

A sample size Dove men's deodorant.  I had sent for that so long ago I had totally forgotten about it!

*  I used some c/c points to send away for a $25 Walmart gift card and it showed up this past week.........

This is something that I can use and stack Qs and rebate apps with to get more than $25 worth of items.

*  I found money!

A couple of pennies in Rite-Aid last weekend.

Another penny half tucked under the floor mat at the entrance at Rite-Aid on Tuesday.

And a penny and a dime at Weis(PMITA)Markets on Wednesday at the self-check out I used.

Total Found This Week... .14¢
Total Found This Year.....$20.24

That's about it this week.

What frugal wins did you have last week?

Let us know!

Sluggy

Income & Spending 2021....The November Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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 fun may be to apply 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 2021.

I can report that we finished up November in the red.
The amount we ended the month of November with?....-$2,631.87

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in November---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $169.22

* Cash put into bank to cover some groceries of $50.00

Total "Income" for November.....$5,413.45

Expenses in November---

* Healthcare Premium for November was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in November were $2,711.29

* Variable Expenses in November came to $3,362.04
Total Expenses....$8,045.32

$5,413.45-$8,045.32= -$2,631.87

Slush into November of $37,977.07 in that Fund, subtract $2,631.87and we get $35,694.88 going into December's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $2,631.87. 8-(

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in October.

*  The WAM was $52 less than was taken last month.

*  The Water bill was $3.93 lower than in October.

*  The cell phone bill was the same as last month.

*  The MC c/c was $2,091.28 lower than October.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $74.65 higher than in October.

*  The gas bill went up by $3.88 from last month.

*  The WAM was $52.00 higher than in October(but back to the usual $300 total).

*  The Amazon c/c was $839.22 higher than last month.

*  We had Four Irregular bills in October-0

*  We paid for the kitchen tile renovation so $1,875.00 in irregular bills.

*  A yearly Vet visit for Chester at $93.00.

*  Semi-annual car insurance of $551.56.

*  Hubs put $191.73 charges on his Visa card that weren't personal items.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on November---Not the best of months but I'm ok with it.  We had pulled money out of the 401K for the cruise in December and also throw some cash into the HSA for next year but we forgot to take any out for the kitchen tile work which accounted for a good portion of our monthly deficit. I used some of my accumulated WAM to cover the Bridal Shower gift to try to put a Band-aid on the money hemorrhage this month.  A little bit of bad planning on our part but nothing that led to a catastrophe in our finances. 
 

THOUGHTS going forward into December 2021---The c/c should be about the same amount as last month.  Lots of Xmas type charges and mailing a box to my daughter in Louisiana was NOT cheap(I told her next year it's a check in an envelope instead lol). The Amazon c/c will be high due to buying gift cards at Rite-Aid last month for places we'll frequent and to get some extra Bonus Cash to roll at R-A during the Black Friday sale.  We'll also have Long Term Care premiums due this month but that's it for the irregular bills.  December bills will be what they will be...not low and not outrageously high so I am good with it all.

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 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 it 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