The To-Do List....October Edition

Well in my zeal to do an October To-Do List and Update my side bar to November I electronically blew away my October list.  Thought I saved it in a draft before I zapped it out of existence on the side bar.  Nope. sigh.

Though I can't recall all the items on it, here are the highlights of what got done in October.

*  Paid all the bills(so so many bills.....)

*  Went on a Girls Trip to the Gulf(the highlight of October)

*  Cleaned out my coupon stash(not that I have much of a stash anymore since I haven't bought a paper since moving down here and my printer wasn't hooked up either)

*  Edited more photos(seems I am always editing photos but never get around to posting them on the blog)

*  I didn't post about any older trips, heck, I didn't post much at all! 8-)

*  Worked on Genealogy(connected with a cousin on mom's side and gave her some difficult info. on shared GGGgrandparents)

*  Buy a House

*  Get a Contract on PA House

*  Buy a Washer and Dryer(Did it in Oct., was suppose to be delivered Nov. 4th but then supply chain issues happened and now it's coming 2 days before Thanksgiving, supposedly.)

*  Survive the trials and tribulations of moving

That's the bullet points list of what got done.  More details on the house stuff in the fullness of time.....

Sluggy

The House Hunting Saga-Part 1

Not the house we bought. lolz

So Hubs and I were in no hurry to buy a house in Louisiana since we had an open ended invite to stay with daughter and son in-law at their house plus our house in Pennsylvania had just gone on the market and wasn't sold yet so no big pool of house money yet to put towards the new abode.

But I happened to be browsing on Zillow a couple of days after we arrived here and saw a house that met most if not all our criteria.  It was a well-maintained brick stick-built home of about 1800 sq. ft. on over an acre in a rural setting in East Texas.  From the photos you could tell it was an "estate" situation-someone had died who had lived there many years(the furnishings were circa 1970's)and the inheritors just wanted it sold for the $$$.  It was listed for $159,900 which was a great price for this house!

Zillow put me in touch with a licensed realtor in E. Texas and he attempted to contact the listing agent for a viewing.  While we waited for said agent to get back to us the realtor said he's take us to see some other houses(what the heck!  we had nothing else to do)in Texas.  We saw exactly 2 houses with he and his wife(also a realtor).  Both were overpriced for their condition(in the low 200's but had many condition issues we'd have to pay $$$ to fix and make the houses livable).  They were also more than an hour from daughter's place.  Later we found out that this area was one that was in demand due to the schools so houses there were going for over-inflated money even in poor condition.  We also did a drive by of a house we saw online but couldn't get a showing for that day and ruled that one out as well.  This realtor also kept pushing us to see a house well outside our price range(this one was $280K)and a distance from LA.  I think he was the listing agent for it and the seller was desperate to sell and wanted ANY offer.  We declined to see it as it was too expensive and too big and two stories.  Then he said his daughter was an agent licensed in Louisiana(he was only licensed in TX)and offered to hook us up with her, which we said ok to.

Now let's back up and add that about a week after we left PA the housing market in that area basically crashed when the FED raised interest rates .75%(They have raised rates yet again as I type this.)  Even though there was a limited number of homes in our town in PA for sale and about 5 what you'd call comparables to our home, nothing was selling.  The "your house is going to sell quickly" spiel turned into "you should be prepared to drop your asking price soon" one. sigh.

Hubs and I had figured we'd wait until our house(which we were assured would sell quickly for close to asking price)sold and then begin the new house hunt in earnest with the check for the sale of our house tucked into our account so it could fund the new house purchase.  But with the market freezing up and us getting tired of sleeping on inflatable beds(yes troll, I can fit my massive body on an air mattress without blowing it out!)our plan soon changed.

So the new plan was to regroup, go through our finances and to see how much we could afford to spend without the PA house proceeds on a new abode in LA.

Our requirements were 3 bedrooms(so we could have some separate spaces for ourselves), one floor(because I have a bum knee and climbing stairs as you age isn't fun or practical at some point). 2 bathrooms(1 ensuite with the master bedroom and a guest bath), possibly 2 living areas(as we had 2 sofas), on at least an acre of land so we didn't have to be in close proximity to potentially bad neighbors.  A dining room was not a consideration.....had one of those in PA and barely used it except for Holidays so room in the kitchen for a table would suffice.  A garage would be nice as well but we knew many homes in this area only had a car port.  

So we figured out how much we could afford to yank out of various non-retirement accounts and then contacted the realtor in Louisiana to begin looking around for a new house.

More to follow.....

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "My .20¢ Turkey" Edition.....

I bought enough to fulfill the rebate count to unlock the $14 off a Butterball turkey.  This little guy was $14.20 so I just paid the .20¢ and brought him home.  Sorry the photo is so blurry and you can't see the writing on the tag.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned.......

1. Sunday--Kielbasi on rolls, asparagus

2. Monday--Chicken Fajitas

3. Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

4. Wednesday--tv dinner

5. Thursday--leftovers

6.  Friday--no clue yet

7. Saturday--no clue yet

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

1. Sunday--Kielbasi on rolls, asparagus

2. Monday--TV Dinner

3. Tuesday--Steak, Greek Salad

4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs

5. Thursday--Chicken Parmesan, Broccoli Cheese Rise Casserole

6.  Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--BBQ Chicken Thighs, Yellow Squash and Onions

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

*  a 12+lb. turkey

*  10 lb. Butter

*  2 T-Bone Steaks

*  3 On-Cor Chicken Parms

*  1 store made Sausage

*  1 box of Breakfast Sandwiches

*  1 package of Brats

*  3 bags of Chinese food(Chicken Teriyaki/Sweet n' Sour)

*  48 Meatballs

Lots of shopping and putting stuff in the freezer to stock it as I found deals.

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  2 TV dinners

*  12 Meatballs

*  2 Steaks

*  3 Kielbasi

*  1 box of Chicken Parm

*  2 Chicken Thighs

                                                   

I spent $259.86 on food/toiletries/HBA this last week at Kroger, Cash Saver, Shopper's Valu Foods, Ollie's and Walmart.

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $532.68 for November so far.   If I can stay around $600 I'll be happy.

There are 16 shopping days left in November.

I've earned $107.33 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $13.00 on Coupons dotcom in November.

I've earned 8,001 points from shopping on Fetch in November.

I earned 4,551 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.

I've earned 65 pts. from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.

That's $120.33 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $532.68 in grocery spending so in reality it's $412.35 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 37.70% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 34.33% so far.  Gone are the days of 70% savings rate with Rite-Aid.

Leftovers going into this week....

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

1. Sunday--Chicken Fajitas, Spanish Rice

2. Monday--Fried Catfish, Asian Cole Slaw, Cornbread

3. Tuesday--Teriyaki Chicken Stir-fry, Rice

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie w/Veggies and Cornbread

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6.  Friday--Shrimp Scampi, Linguine, Veg TBD

7. Saturday--Thanksgiving Dinner w/family

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  I believe I have everything I need.  I do need to stock up on a few seasonal days this week at Kroger-pie crusts, more bacon, ready made pies, canned veg. and one can of evaporated milk.

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 November 11th Edition

Here are a few frugal wins lately.  Not having much luck in the frugal department here yet......

*  Went to Texas to check out a few store.  Texas doesn't charge sales tax on food(unlike Louisiana). Over the course of a year this could add up if we can hold off on food purchases and make big shops in Texas(gas is a LOT cheaper here than in PA).  One store there had butter for $3.25-the cheapest in these parts by far so I bought 10 lbs. for the  freezer.

*  While in Texas we stopped at Walmart and found a clearance deal on clothes hangers(which we had dire need of)-a box of 50 for $5!  Now we are flush with hangers. lol

*  Hubs needed a nightstand so we went to a local furniture store to browse.  This store was so weird-a mix of new(factory seconds) furniture, used furniture as well as flea market used housewares, shoes, clothing, etc.  They also had antiques(in bad shape though)and new gift type items.

So true....hehehe

I found a fainting couch with my name written all over it........

Isn't it lovely? 8-)  It comes with a sofa and loveseat too.

Hubs got a used nightstand that matches well enough.  At this stage in my life I am far from house proud that my house has to be matchy-matchy.  Close/a decent price is good enough.

*  I went to Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)and bought some items we needed(kitchen stuff, curtains, doormat, etc.).  I had a 15% coupon so that was wonderful!

*  Slowly building our pantry/freezer when I find a great deal on something.  Other than yesterday we haven't eaten out in a couple weeks.  Yesterday I used my next to last Applebee's gift card.

*  I found money this past week!                  

Hubs emptied out his suitcase on the bed and took his accumulated change out.  When I went to get into bed later I found .26¢ lying on my side of the bed.

While moving boxes around in what will become my sewing room I found .02¢. 2 paint stained pennies.

At the Kroger in Texas I found 2 pennies left in the coin return of the self check-out machine I used.

At the Cash Saver store where I got the cheap butter I found another 2 cents-one penny at the register and the other near the exit.

This penny was found at the cheap hanger Walmart by the lottery machine on my way out of the store.

On Wednesday I was out past lunch time so swung through Whataburger for a burger.  These 2 pennies were picked up in the drive-thru. There was more change(all pennies sadly)but these were the only ones I could reach.

This penny was found at a Walmart I checked out near the Ollie's.

We had to send papers to PA via the UPS store so we checked out the "Dirt Cheap" store since it was right there(even though Anne warned me not too!).  Betty Davis' character in "All About Eve" kept playing "What a dump!" in my head but it didn't distract me from finding these two pennies on the floor of an unused register aisle.

And this penny was found last weekend at Dollar General on the walkway outside.

Total Found Since We left PA 2 months ago until last week...$7.47

Total Found in last Week.... .39¢
Total Found This Year.....$23.05                       

*  I've been picking up needed food/household items and I hit the Free Turkey from Ibotta at the Walmart near the Ollie's.  I'll be going today to get that bird.  I also found a receipt in the parking lot at Walmart and got another $3.25 in rebates-$2.25 from drinks someone bought on that receipt and then another $1 for hitting my Weekly Bonus number of rebates.  Those 2 items put me at 2 bought toward the 4 items needed to unlock the sides offer.  I'll by the turkey and 1 more items when I go to Walmart, submit the receipt and put those items in my car.  Then I can go back inside and get my 3 free side items. 8-)))

*  I purchased a Walmart gift card with Shop Kick points and used it at Walmart to cut down on my OOP spending there on Wednesday.

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

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

Sluggy  

Income & Spending Report....the October Report

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals 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 October report---

I had 2 goals for October.......
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 2022.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up October in the black.

The amount we ended the month of October with?...$23,094.84

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in October---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)
*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $110.83

*  Quarterly stock dividend check of $18.48

*  A Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$5,200.51

*  A big 401K withdrawal to cover moving expenses=$20,000.51

*  SS of $3,570.00

*  Garbage service refund from PA $30.00

*  C.C credits on m/c statement of $37.75

*  C/C credits on visa staatement of $5.76

Total "Income" for October....$32,209.27

Expenses in October---
* Irregular bills in October were $170.00

* Variable Expenses in October came to $6,718.30

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$9,114.43

$32,209.27-$9,114.43=$23,094.84

Slush into October of $47,240.13 in that Fund, add October's overage of $23,094.84 and we get $70,334.97 going into October's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $23,094.84.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, WAM,  storage bill, as well as the Health Insurance premium were all the same as last month.

*  There was no internet bill in October.  We used Daughter's service gratis. 8-)

*  We got a small refund from our garbage service in PA as we paid in full for all of 2022.

HERE are the BAD THINGS(so many bad things...)

*  The Mastercard was $3,306.18 higher in October(gee I wonder why?  Oh yeah, moving...).

*  My Amazon c/c was $290.71 higher last month(again, moving).

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $142.59 in October.

*  The September gas card bill that didn't get forwarded got paid this month.

*  We had an irregular bills due in October too--

  *  We had to pay a deposit to turn on water at the LA house.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS on October 2022---

October was a very expensive month.  Lots of bills from the move came due and were paid.  While our PA house is still under contract we have utilities to pay there.  This is the last month I'll pay the storage bill in PA.  We had our quarterly 401K withdrawal in October but instead of reporting 1/3 of that each month I am just going to report the whole thing in October.  We also made a one time withdrawal from the 401K to help with moving and setting up a new household costs.  I am ok with yanking that much out of the 401K since it is larger than I thought it would be at this point in our retirement as we didn't tap into it for years when we first retired as Hubs had planned/wanted to. We had a large overage due to that which will be whittled down in the next few months as we purchase items for the new house(blinds, curtains, bathroom hardware, kitchen utensils, furniture, fenced in yard, a riding mower, etc. )

THOUGHTS going forward into November 2022--I am optimistic that costs will settle down going forward.  While expenditures still need to be made we'll be spacing them out and prioritizing them.  The PA house costs will be going away(utilities, storage fee).  Plus we'll be getting refunds on some house items we prepaid for the year(house insurance, property and school taxes)which will be a nice little chunk of cash back into our bank account.  And the profits from the check we get once the house is sold will replenish all those pots of funds that aren't 401K monies that I pillaged to purchase this LA house before the old PA house sold.

So how was your October financially? 

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