Easy Crock Pot Ravioli

 This is an easy, delicious one-pot dish that is easy really easy to put together. All youhave to do is brown the meat, add your favorite spaghetti sauce and then layer everything into the crockpot.

When I buy packs of hamburger, I will cook it with onions and then divide it up and freeze it for future use. 

What is not shown is the jars of spaghetti sauce that I used, typically any jarred sauce will work. I defrost the pre-cooked burger, add the sauce with a little sugar.

Then we layer it up. Oh, before we start to

layer it up, I will put in a Reynolds crockpot bag which makes clean up so easy.

Sauce, frozen cheese-filled ravioli (typically BOGO at Publix), pre-shredded mozzarella cheese and continue until the pot is full.

Cook on high  with the lid on for 3-4 hours or until the sides of the sauce is bubbly. Easy and delicious.

 

Furniture Update: We Took The Plunge

 

Trying to decide on furniture is HARD. 

 Last weekend we went to Lazy Boy and Broyhill to look at couches and chairs to update our living room furniture.

I did find a couch that I liked (here are pics of the couch) and was going to get custom cover for it.  Like, I was all in to spend a crap ton of money. 

That tends to happen, I will get caught up in the moment and spontaneously do something that can turn out to be very fricking expensive. 

I did not make the purchase at that time.  I wisely decided to think about it for a few days. 

Thursday of last week, I was at my favorite thrift store checking out what they had.  The sign outside said it was 50% off of furniture so I decided to go over to the furniture side and check out what they had.  Sitting in the back corner was this couch (pic above) It was very similar to the one I was looking at when we were at Broyhill.  

After sitting on it and flipping the cushions I saw the BROYHILL tag. It was in great shape, with no stains, no odors and it was comfortable!   Most of the furniture in the store is priced, this was not.  That made nervous, I thought is was already sold.  I checked with the clerk and it was still available!  

And the price was $200!  And it was half-price day so it was $100!!  SOLD!!    

Just beyond the couch was this line of recliners.  After checking the handles of the first two, (the one with the pillow and the one next to it) Surprise!  They were both Lazy Boy rocker recliners. 

The first one is large and will fit my 6'5" husband and the middle one is just like the one I already have in our TV room.   And you know it was half-price day, so I bought these too!  For both chairs, I paid $61.00!! 

Yes, they are used, but still have a lot of life in them.  The "new" used furniture will be perfect for us.  We still have pets and we don't need to stress when the grand kiddos come over and want to eat in the living room.

We picked them up that day, saving $75 in delivery charges and I steam cleaned them before we put them in the living room. 

It is such a relief to not have to spend a bucket of money on furniture and this set will last a few more years.  And it it falls apart in 6 months, we really are not out that much money. 

Transfer Tuesday Paying Debt 10/12/21 Better Late Than Never

 

                   

                             

Hello Tuesday!  This is the day that we make an extra effort to pay down our debt and slide into retirement debt-free .  Most every Tuesday we apply extra cash (whether it be BIG or small) to our outstanding debt.  This helps keeps us aware of and accountable for our debt. And it all makes a difference.

Our only debt is a HELOC with an interest rate of 2.24% The minimum monthly payment goes towards the PRINCIPAL and the INTEREST.   I am chipping away at the balance until we sell my deceased mom's house that is currently being used as a rental. At that point, we will pay off the rest of the balance.  Until then, I will be sending in payment to this debt and/or to my taxable investment account every Tuesday. 

MONEY MOVES THIS WEEK

Previous balance on last Transfer Tuesday Post  $64,058.42

eBay 10%     $15    

Posh, Mercari, Bonanza Payout $150.42             

New HELOC Balance:   $63,893.00

We have chipped away $30,000.00 since September 2019

Every little bit helps.  

When we started paying down the debt in Sept 2019 we were at $95,853.00

How was your Transfer Tuesday? 

My inspiration for Transfer Tuesday is Pennies Not Perfection

CVS and Walgreens: Stocking Up September 2021

Friday turned into a shopping day for me.  I originally was only going to get the Dawn Power Wash at CVS, it was on sale for $4.99 and Ibotta was offering $4.99 back when you bought two.  I must have waited too long to get the Ibotta deal, it was not available when I pulled it up when in the store. 

Since CVS had the 19.4 oz Dawn buy one get 1/2 of the second, I went ahead and bought that.  After using a $2.00 ECB I ended up paying $5.05 for both.  Dawn is our dish liquid of choice so for me it was a good deal. 

BUT, I was not done at CVS.   I also had a Free Beauty Item ($5.00) and a 40% off one item coupon.  I went back through the store and picked up a 6oz bottle of Oil of Olay at $10.79 and after using the 40%off and the $5.00 coupon  I spent $3.47 for a savings of $7.32 total.

I was not done. Next was Walgreens. Walgreens had a digital coupon, spend $5 and receive $5 cash rewards on your next purchase. Fine. I found that they had Dial bar soap buy one, get 50% of the second package, AND $2.00 Walgreens cash rewards.  So I picked up two packages of eight-bar packages and paid $8.23 for both and earned the $5 and $2 Walgreens cash rewards. 

Now I have $7.08 Walgreens Cash rewards! I went back through the line with two more packs of Dial Bar Soap with the intention of using ALL of the cash rewards for the purchase.  Walgreens does not roll like that. lol.  I could only use $5 of the Walgreen Cash rewards. 

They have rules to redeeming their cash rewards and the cashier was super sweet and tried to explain it to me.  I used the $5 cash reward, my total was then $3.81 for two packs of 8 bars of Dial Soap. I earned another $2 in Walgreens Cash Rewards for a total of $4.11.  

The goal was to only stock up on what we use and I did accomplish that.  We will use the Dawn, and we have enough DIAL soap bars to last a looonnng time. I love Oil of Olay and was getting low on product. 

There you go. It has been a while since I chased the ECB's and Walgreens Cash Rewards deals.  And it was kinda fun. 

Checking In On My Vision Board (Part Two)

 

 

Back in January, I put together a 2021 vision board.  It is my screensaver on my laptop. I set high goals attempting to balance happiness and success.  By keeping it on my laptop, I am able to look at it every day.  There is a way to make it a screen saver on your phone but I have yet to figure it out. 

I built it using vertical categories in columns, business, personal, financial, travel, and family. The first category is business and I talked about that column HERE

This post will cover two columns, Personal and Financial. ( they are in the Orange box)  Personal addresses the area of self-improvement both physical and emotional.  Walking 3-5 times a week, and going to the gym at least 3 times a week.  I have had bilateral knee replacement and bilateral rotator cuff repair.  It is important that I keep myself strong and flexible. 

Let's start with Personal: 

August was an extremely hot month and I did not walk much at all.  Mid September, the temps are a bit milder in the morning and I am able to get out and walk a couple of miles. I have also upped my Pilates membership to twice a week and then I go to the gym with my husband maybe twice a week.  Depends if I am running around the grand kiddos to their after school activities. 

Losing weight is ALWAYS a thing.  It just does not seem to be MY thing. An emotional eater is my thing and I do it well.  

Counseling, I gave that a shot late last year and early this year.  Insurance changed and I could no longer see the same counseling service.  My primary has advised me to seek out another counselor. Well, I should but I am trying to get ready to start over again.  I dumped a lot of stuff onto the first counselor and it was rough.  I am not yet ready to start that mess again. 

Financial: I was striving to pay the HELOC down to $49,000 this year.  We started at $73,000 in January. It is looking like we will get to $59,000 by the end of the year.  That is not awful, but it will have to do.  The interest rate is 2.24% and when we do get below $50,000 it will go up to 3.0%.  

The 6 months savings goal is 35%.  We also have a LONG TERM savings account that is fully funded.  It is just one we don't ever want to touch. It is for the BIG DEAL emergencies. I waffle on paying down the HELOC and adding to the 6 months account every Tuesday.  I should pay down the HELOC and not add any more to the savings.  Then I think, no, I should put it into savings and pay the minimum on the HELOC. 

 Add a Duplex to our holdings.  This was before the real estate market was so darn crazy.  My thought process was to House Hack the duplex.  Rent out one side and then use the other side for my eBay business. I am still looking for one Duplex that will fit the bill. One side has a bigger living area, three bedrooms, and the eBay side can be significantly smaller.  It's not too crazy of an idea, is it? 

And at the bottom, I put a spot for Beyond 2021.  It's empty lol.  Who knows??

Anyway, that is the breakdown of my Personal and Financial columns 2021 vision board. 

Have you ever used a vision board for your goals? 

Rum Cake

I don't know how it started, but I decided to make a rum cake.  Back in the day, a co-worker would make them from scratch and sell them at work.  They were absolutely delicious.  After a few Google searches, I decided to use a recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  

Ingredients 

 

Transfer Tuesday 9/21/2021 HELOC, Paying Down Debt, Consistently Inconsistent

   

                   

                             

Hello Tuesday!  This is the day that we make an extra effort to pay down our debt and slide into retirement debt-free .  Most every Tuesday we apply extra cash (whether it be BIG or small) to our outstanding debt.  This helps keeps us aware of and accountable for our debt. And it all makes a difference.

Our only debt is a HELOC with an interest rate of 2.24% The minimum monthly payment goes towards the PRINCIPAL and the INTEREST.   I am chipping away at the balance until we sell my deceased mom's house that is currently being used as a rental. At that point, we will pay off the rest of the balance.  Until then, I will be sending in payment to this debt and/or to my taxable investment account every Tuesday. 


Previous balance on last Transfer Tuesday Post  $ 65,661.95

Money Moves This Week: 

Cashed out a low interest earning CD $1000.00

Sending cash from my eBay account      $61.95 

 

                                    New HELOC balance:  $64,600.00

We have chipped away $30,000.00 since September 2019

Short Term Savings: 

 

BOA Keep the Change Savings Account       Previous $1101.00

Monthly Auto Transfer $25

Round Up to the Round Ups  $5                     New Balance $1131.00

Investments: 

M1Finance                                                 Previous Balance: $3459.59

                                                                   Current Balance    $3343.43

There have been no withdrawals, just fluctuations in the market. 

When we started paying down the debt in Sept 2019 we were at $95,853.00

How was your Transfer Tuesday? 

My inspiration for Transfer Tuesday is Pennies Not Perfection

Monday: Furniture Shopping, Another Vaccine, Mammogram

Our favorite couch 

 Sunday Recap.  Yesterday afternoon we went shopping for new living room furniture. 

 
Our first stop was Lazy Boy to check out their recliners and couches.  When we walked in the salesperson that greeted us asked if we had been to this store in the past.  In fact, we were here last year to pick a recliner for me to use after rotator cuff surgery.

We gave the name of the salesperson and he was in the store finishing up a transaction.  Meanwhile, we strolled around the store checking out the couches for me, and recliners for my husband. We were just looking, so there was no hurry to have our salesperson check in on us. 

I think we waited about 30 minutes and during that time we pretty much checked out all the couches and recliners.  The couches were okay but not comfortable.  Most are a standard size and as a shorter person (5'2") they don't fit me appropriately.  When sitting in the majority of these couches, my feet don't touch the ground. 

One of the swatches I liked 

Our salesperson breezed by and checked in with my husband, but I guess he was still busy with his previous client.  We did find a recliner for my husband, but the couch shopping journey will have to continue.  So we decided to go across the street to check out BroyHill. 

We tried out a million couches at Broyhill, and narrowed it down to two.  Then it got complicated. One of the couch were able to be customized with the seating depth, cushion comfort, couch arms, three cushion or two cushions and then the saleslady bought out the color swatches.

It was then I was becoming overwhelmed and broke out in a sweat. It may be hot flash related or stress related. Anyway, I was done and had to leave.  We did not buy a couch and if we did, it would have been extremely expensive.  Glad I walked away. 

Another pattern that we liked. 

I need to regroup and start the shopping process again.  It's not often that I will say I miss my mother, but when I need decorating assistance, I do miss her input for that.  She had style.  

Today is  my annual mammogram day, I already had it done this morning and the results were available online in an a couple of hours.  The results were negative.  Praise the Lord! 

After my mammogram, I passed by CVS to use a 40% off coupon on shampoo body wash for my husband.  While I was there I checked the Minute Clinic for availability for a Shingles vaccine.  Low and behold, they said I could come on back and get the first Shingles vaccine. 

Now I can check that off my list.  I signed up for the second shot in November.  I still need to work on a flu shot and a pneumonia vaccine before the end of the ear.  My primary doc gave me a list, and don't you know I have waited until the last minute.  I have an appt with him next Monday, but I pushed it to next month. Oh well lol. 

I still need to get a couple of eBay listings up.  I keep about 10-15 in drafts and typically send 2-3 live daily.  Not going to lie, I have not really been in the eBay mood lately. I have been in the purging stuff I no longer need mood.  I have cleaned closets and dresser drawers part of the weekend and that always feels good. 

Dinner is crockpot lasagna ravioli I use the frozen ravioli that are currently BOGO at Publix this week.  Super easy and delicious.  I picked up 4 bags this weekend and my have to go back and get a couple more. 

Hope your Monday is fantastic. 

Weekend Grocery Shopping

 I did a little grocery shopping this weekend.  Winn Dixie had a weekend special on Tide Pods 20 ct at
BOGO for $7.99. Let me back up a bit, the ad for Winn Dixie hit our driveway on Wednesday in a newspaper flyer.  

Most of the time the BOGO's are for items I don't really need or use.  But there is that rare occasion that I get excited about BOGO and the Tide BOGO was one of them. 

 I googled  TIDE coupons available from a coupon cutting service and found a set of 10  ($2.00 off 30 ct or lower )for sale for $4.49 free shipping.  Paid for the coupons on Wednesday and they were here on Friday. 

I headed out to Winn Dixie on Saturday and used all 10 of $2.00 coupons and ended up spending $22.75 for 10 bags of twenty pod count bags of Tide. 

After factoring in the cost of the coupons, each bag of the Tide pods cost me $2.72 (tax included). I saved 66% on each bag. 

I am not a diligent couponer, but when I can find items that we will actually use I will make it a point to seek out coupons online or from a coupon service and stock up. I think these Tide pods will last us a couple of years. But for reference, I dated them with the date I bought them and will be able to see how long they will actually last us. 

I also hit up Aldi and Publix today for a few odds and ends.  Nothing earth-shattering with regards to couponing. The usual items, salad fixings, butter, and my husband likes their protein shake powder. 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!