This Week on the Dining Table....the January 15th Edition

The "It's that Time of Year Again" Edition.....  

The Mardi Gras stuff is out in full display at stores here now.  Actually they had it out in some places before we left for PA in December.  Around here MG has to jockey for shelf space with the Valentine's stuff.

I thought this inflatable mudbug was horrific.  Who needs to buy this since with the Rainy Season, mudbugs are in everyone's yard?  These would be the real deal critters popping up in them.

No one's yard, from here to Lafayette, to New Orleans, to the shores of the Mississippi river are safe from these wild crawfish tubes.  So lovely.....

This is day 218 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.).  

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Caesar Salad, Chicken Strips

2. Monday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Lean Cuisine tv dinner

4  Wednesday--Chicken Sandwich, Stir-Fry Veggies

5. Thursday--Lean Cuisine tv dinner

6.  Friday--Shrimp Scampi, something veggie?

7. Saturday--Stauffer's Cheddar Broccoli Bake

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

1. Sunday--Caesar Salad, Chicken Strips

2. Monday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Lean Cuisine tv dinner

4  Wednesday--Chicken Sandwich, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, more Leftover Green Beans

6.  Friday--Teriyaki Salmon, leftover Sweet Tater Fries, Cole Slaw

7. Saturday--Chicken Thighs w/SF BBQ sauce, Collard Greens

The "plan" got followed until we hit Thursday, then some shopping happened and we ran this menu into the ditch. lol

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

* Chicken Strips

* Meatballs

* 2 TV dinners

* Chicken Patties

* Chicken Parms

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

* 4 Chicken/Veal Parms

* 1 Smoked Kielbasi

*  7 BSCThighs

Last week we spent a shocking $333.01 on grocery shopping for January.  Still stocking back up.....that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 8-))  All the dog food and facial tissue(which we were running dangerously low on)bought just made the total worse.

Total shopping comes to $523.63 for January.   

There are 16 shopping days left in January.  With the wild weather forecast here I may not get a chance to get out to the store until Thursday or Friday(if at all) this coming week anyway so I'm glad I stocked up.  I figure I've got just over 7 days left in the month to grocery shop and will try to show some restraint. *rolling my eyes*

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

I've earned $168.04 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $41.50 on Shopmium in January.

I've earned $1.00 on Alexa app in January.

I've earned $2.20 on Kroger Cash Back in January.

I've earned $37.97 on TaDa in January.

I've earned $6.76 on Checkout51 in January

I've earned $3.00 on Aisle and $12.84 on a Manuf. Rebate.

I've earned 5,563 points from food shopping on Fetch in January.

I've earned 350 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in January

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

That is $271.11 in rebates(not counting the Kroger Cash Back/Shop Kick/Fetch)on $523.63 of grocery spending so in reality it's $252.52 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 38.37% and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 38.66% spent. 

Leftovers going into this week....2 Chicken Thighs, Spaghetti and Meatballs, 2 Chicken Parm Patties, Cole Slaw and Collards.

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

1. Sunday--Leftover Chicken Parm, Salad

2. Monday--Chicken Marsala, leftover Collards

3. Tuesday--Cabbage w/Onions, Chicken Sausages

4  Wednesday--Shrimp Scampi, leftover Collards

5. Thursday--Stauffer's Cheddar Broccoli Bake

6.  Friday--Leftovers or Lean Cuisine tv dinner

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

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    

Actual Snow is Forecasted for Down Here....Y'all Be Careful Now, Ya Hear!

Not having grown up in the "deep" South("just" in Virginia, as far South as you can go in that state)and then living up North since college(the last 23 years on an actual mountain)I find it hilarious the panic on the faces of people in the store and the Weather People on the tv the last couple of days, due to the fact that they are forecasting up to 1" on snow and/or ice here tonight/tomorrow.

This is what prompted me to post this take on a classical still life painting done by George Lucas in 2016........

Of course my first thought was, Where are the eggs?!?"  Everyone knows you have to wipe the store out of milk, bread and eggs.  I think the tp was added when Covid came on the scene. ;-)

I was at Walmart early this morning and watched people walking around in there without coats, hats, gloves, and one lady had on shorts and flip flops(I kid you not).  And it was 28F by the way.

And this video pretty much sums up Winter/a Prediction of Snow in the South.

Sluggy

Great News!

 I had to have a new sleep study done, been trying to get in with one of these sorts of doctors since we moved Sept. 2022.  Finally got a referral and had an appointment with one this past November.  She confirmed that due to weight changes I needed a new study but the department was backed up for EIGHT MONTHS to get one scheduled. ugh.  But there are two private companies who do the studies here(filling a need obviously, as if someone with severe OSA could die before they get diagnosed/a study at that rate).

So we got scheduled with the private company that took our then private health insurance in early December 2023.  They were to send the test results to my sleep doc, who would contact me.

I sent her a message while we were on our road trip(3 weeks later). She had already set up a follow up appointment for me in March 2024 before she went out on maternity leave, figuring I'd need my settings on my BiPAP adjusted at least.

I was up front with her that I wasn't using the BiPAP since we left in May of 2023 for our cruise, as I felt it didn't help me sleep better.  I had already lost a bit of weight at that point.  I was required by my TKR surgeon to bring it to Ohio with me so I did but they never put it on me after surgery before I woke from the anesthesia, but I dutifully used it at night the two nights after surgery that we spent in Ohio.

So the Sleep Doc sent me a message that she was moving my March appointment up to January.  I kind of knew something was up as the sleep technician, after wiring me up told me it was going to be a "split study" which means they just put you on oxygen for half the night, then wake you up and put a machine on you for the rest of the night.  Turns out he never came to wake me up until the morning when it was time to leave.  Hmmm.

I took my machine to my doctor appointment as instructed(figuring they needed to adjust the settings down as I tried to use it the night before and it was blowing air into my nostrils so forcefully that I had a hard time sleeping and breathing, kept swallowing air, etc.)

She was all smiles when she gave me the good news that the study showed I no longer had sleep apnea! 8-)))

The doctor plugged the unit in to check the settings and the finding from the night before showed her my breathing was worse using the machine than the night I had the study without it.

So here's my almost empty nightstand without that infernal machine sitting on it.  There's a company that buys BiPAPs and CPAPs, refurbishes them and resells them but I guess I used mine for too many hours so they won't buy it. 8-(  Anybody out there need/want a BiPAP?

I think I can sell all the attachments, tubing, filters, cushions, headgear, etc. I have that are still new and sealed in the packaging as those don't require a doctor's prescription.

I was diagnosed in March of 2013 with sleep apnea after ending up in the ER as I couldn't breathe and was suffering from right side heart failure.  That was a week after our then family doctor went batshit crazy(was self medicating with Opioids he wrote himself on his own Rx pad plus was drinking heavily, went and shot up the front of the grocery store in the shopping plaza where his office was and threatened people with a gun while driving an ATV around town.  He eventually lost his license to practice medicine).  No excuse for him not to catch my symptoms as I was seeing him once a month for a year, up to that point.  

BTW-he died in 2017 at 64 years, at home.  I'm thinking he was hopped up on pills and booze and we know he owned a gun(at least one).....but you come to your own conclusions.  I feel sorry for his kids though and his ex-wife.

But that's neither here nor there.

I am FREE from that machine!

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the January 12th Edition

There are a few Frugal wins these past couple of weeks so here goes....

*  Had the first doctor appointment on Medicare with my Medigap policy this past week.  I was all prepared to have to fork over a co-pay but asked the receptionist before I left and she said, "Nope, you don't have a co-pay."  Sweet!

*  Grocery shopping this past week for 2024....I already posted my Monday haul at Walmart.  

I'll say we were a little 'shop happy' this first full week of January--picking up all the deep discounted Christmas stuff and replenishing our pantry.  My weekly grocery total will be large on Monday's post. 8-(

Here are some additional items I bought at Kroger last Friday......

Splenda was BOGO and had a $2.50 Ibotta on each box so $4.99 for both. (I wish that insert coupon had come out BEFORE I did this deal as it would have been even less $$!)

The chocolate(and butterscotch)chips were in a shopping cart at the front of the store and were all marked $1.00 a bag!  I showed remarkable restraint by only bringing 4 bags home. 8-)

There was also shopping at Home Goods last week....

We have been in need of a TP holder in the Master Bath since moving here.  As my right shoulder has issues(and has for over a decade now)having the tp roll in use on the toilet tank lid behind the seat was getting to me so we sprang the $14.99 on this holder of Home Goods.

Found this 2 pack of dish drying mats also at Home Goods on clearance.  We needed this so it came home with us.  Hubs also picked up some clearance jams there for his morning toast.

*  And the best shopping news....seems our town finally got an Aldi!  Shreeeee!  Seems it's near the Ollie's on the other side of town and it opened the end of November and my daughter never told me!! tsk tsk  There will be shopping there in my future........8-)

Then we went nearby and hit up World Market for some Christmas clearance.  At 60% off I got that rainbow Xmas tree, 2 holiday packs of assorted peppercorns(this was cheaper than one of their regular bag sof peppercorns!), a package of Pistachio Nougat candy(from Italy), 2 containers of tea(3 London icon containers and a big tin commemorating Queen Elizabeth 2).  I also found these dark chocolate bars filled with creamy Guinness ganache(love me some Guinness!).

We also hit a Walmart on that side of town and found some nice clearance finds at 90% off!  I can't show you more than this photo since some of it is destined for Christmas gifties for family and friends for this coming Xmas. ;-)

* We hit the Bread Outlet this week while we were over there.  We were down to 2 slices of bread in the freezer so we brought 4 packs of bread items and resisted all the cakes, pies and donut type items they have. rah.  I'd much rather spend $1.60 per loaf than $4.49 per loaf which is the regular price for these items at Kroger.  I just wish they were an outlet for Arnold's bread items instead. oh well......

I hit up a discount grocery store on Thursday and scored a few markdowns--a can of tomato sauce for .50¢, a bottle of Kraft dressing and a bag of Cole Slaw mix(not pictured) both for $1.25 and 2 bags of doggy treats, each at $1.25(Great deal on the doggy treats as those go for lots more at SRP.  They had 5 shopping carts of marked downs but we didn't need any more Cheerios or Oatmeal packs and the rest were really smushed up canned goods or Holiday candies.

*  I had Hubs use my Kroger points to bring filling his car's gas tank up down by $1.00 per gallon.

*  I received this in the mail......

A new Ollie's discount card to use before Feb. 19th.  I'll be starting a list to use that before it expires.

*  I also received a refund from the office of that horrible dermatologist I saw back in August.  I don't recall if I explained that dreadful situation but the front office insisted I had a $50 copay before this dermatologist would see me, even though I did NOT have a co-pay with my then insurance.  I figured I'd not see this refund check until well after the first quarter of 2024, even after calling and explaining and then sending a letter with documentation to their billing department in December.  You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw that check arrive!

Now we get to jump through hoops on our end to get that refund put back into our HSA account which is still in a bank in PA. ugh.

I found Money!

On that moneymaker Walmart trip on Monday evening I found these 3 pennies as I was leaving the store, strewn past the checkout registers between them and the customer service desk.

The next day Hubs and I hit a different Walmart to check if they had any Christmas clearance left and to pick up one freebie.  I spied this Quarter as we approached the self-checkout machines.

* I also, at another store, spied a penny at a different self-checkout register but someone walked up to it before I could hobble over there and get it.  I told the gentleman about the bounty that lay under his machine so he could grab it before leaving his register.  Because I am nice like that sometimes. 8-)

Total Found in last Week.... .28¢
Grand Total Found this Year........28¢

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy   

INCOME & SPENDING...DECEMBER 2023

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 December report--

I had 2 goals for December....

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 2023. 

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

 

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

The amount extra we ended the month of December with?....$1,847.63

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in December---

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

*  SS income of $3,672.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $985.66

*  Stock Dividend of $19.95

Total "Income" for December....$7,328.270

Expenses in December---

*  Irregular bills in December were $1,608.86

*  Variable Expenses in December came to $4,057.97

Total Expenses....$5,480.64

$7,328.27-$5,480.64=$1,847.64

 Slush Fund coming into December of $45,848.23 and the addition of $1,847.63 in December, our end of December 2023 Slush fund comes to $47, 695.86. (This isn't counting the $35K I siphoned off to invest into a high rate CD in October.)

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,847.64

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The WAM, the water bill, Health Insurance premium, vision care, Hubs supplement plan and internet were the same as last month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $172.10 lower than in November.

*  The Aviator c/c was $1,247.61 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill went up by $119.00(it's Winter, duh!)in December

*  My Amazon c/c was $465.36 higher than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $228.17 higher than in November.

*  We had 4 irregular bills in December--

*  The bill of $784.55 for quarterly LTC premiums.

*  We had an irregular bill for $160.22 for property taxes.

*  We paid $170.00 to have the dishwasher installed.

*  We took $480.00 in cash for our December trip.

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

FINAL THOUGHTS for DECEMBER 2023---December was a moderatly heavy expense month(Daughter's birthday, CHRISTMAS, irregular bills, etc.)but we knew we'd take a hit in the financial realm and were prepared for it.  Also most of the trip spending for December won't hit until the January(as it was put on credit cards that we pay off each month in full)so we've got that to look forward to. rah.  January may be a worse financial month than December turned out to be.

I am just happy to see we didn't go into the red in December. 8-))

THOUGHTS going forward into JANUARY 2024---Well the healthcare premiums get turned on it's ear in January as I go onto Medicare like Hubs.  Yay.  No more $1K+ a month for private insurance for me(only Hubs vision benefit of $15.91-which he keeps for life)but now we have 2 x Medicare Part B premiums, 2 x Part D drug supplement premiums and 2 x Medigap supplement premiums.  All that still ends up costing a bit less than what we paid before I hit Medicare age. go us. 

There will be higher than normal credit card bills(trip-gas, hotels, food), Christmas bills(some paid in December thankfully), I bought new clothes and supplements on the trip, heating bill will be higher(it's Winter, duh!) and I have a big payment due in January for the cruise for this April.  We will have a quarterly 401K withdrawal hitting our account in January which will pay for the cruise balance(I used about $500 worth of c/c points to put toward that which helped lower that bill).  In the end, January bills may end up putting us in the red for the month but we can handle it.

In 2023 the "Perfect Storm" of bills put us in the red for only two months-February and June(for a total of -$10,005.79, while we came out ahead the other 10 months for a total of $33,146.26 for 2023.  Subtracting those 2 months when we went negative we had a yearly gain of $23,140.47 overall.*

* While we had a gain of $23,140.47 some of those funds aren't "liquid", as in CD interest and Bond interest.  We'll realize those funds once these investing instruments mature.

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

So how was your December financially?

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

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