Tampa Bay Lightning 2022-2023 "We Win You Win" Promotions

#1 ChickFilA Sandwich - When the Lightning win a home game, open the Chick-fil-A app after the final buzzer. You’ll have until midnight to claim a free chicken sandwich or biscuit. You then use your mobile app to get the freebie the next day at most Tampa area Chick-fil-A locations. If you have location services turned off, you may not get the deal because it’s exclusive to Tampa Bay fans. Also there are times when the freebie doesn’t pop up in those first 30 minutes.

Now a personal tip – since this freebie is in your app, place your full order with the app, pay with it and opt for in store pickup. Lines in the drive thru are always long, but they can get cray cray long the day after a Lightning home game. Just walk in the store and pick up your order without the wait!

#3 Papa Johns 50% off  - you get a half price pizza at Papa John’s when the Lightning win – home or away. The day after a win, use the promo code BOLTSW in their app or on their website to get the deal.

#4 Wendys - Even if it’s not a home game, if the Lightning score 4 goals or more, you get a free Double Stack burger at Wendy’s. For this one, just show the tweet or facebook post from the Lightning from the point in the game when the Bolts scored their 4th goal. The offer also works if the Lightning get the shut out.

MInnesota State Fair **NEW FOODS***

 Yum! I clicked on this Minnesota State Fair New Foods and there are a ton of great looking and I imagine great tasting new foods this year. Every year we make the trek across the nation to attend the State Fair, and this year is no exception.  The Fair is from August 26 through Sept 6, 2021. 

Intuitive Eating Frugal

When I was a child I had hoarder tendencies. With food. My mom would buy some donuts or cookies and keep them in the bread box for everyone in the family to eat. But my older brother, and younger sister have no restraint and would eat them all within a day. I would maybe get one to eat, before they were gone. I liked to savor and enjoy the chewy sweetness, one small bite by bite. But if I wanted to have more to eat another day, I would have to hide the sweet treat where it was out of reach for the hungry paws of my siblings. I mentally calculated what my portion would be among our family of five, and stash it somewhere no one would find it, like in a box of rice or empty cookie jar in the cupboard. I don't think I ever forgot where something was stashed, and I don't really remember if it was ever found out and disappeared before I could eat it, but it probably happened.

Anyway, I still like to savor my favorite foods and consume them in many sittings. I have a lot of self control and actually prefer to enjoy my treat foods many times. I find that all I need or want is a few bites and the pleasure never diminishes. When you eat what you really want, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. ⁣⁣Little did I know this is called Intuitive Eating. Eating foods you enjoy and that feels good, is a way to connect with your body more deeply. ⁣⁣
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To practice this principle, I invite you to ask yourself: ⁣What do I really want to eat? Think about what is available to you where you are now. Do you want savory, salty, sweet, protein, spicy or mild? ⁣What food would hit the spot at this moment?⁣ How do I want to feel when I finish eating?⁣⁣

2019 3rd Qtr Mileage Report

Wow, its been a hot summer, and rainy too. Lots of rained out bike rides home from work this summer, but that didn't stop me. Unfortunately about two weeks ago, a white ghost bike was installed on my most dangerous corner off 56th and Harney. That means some poor soul didn't make it. I'm not surprised given that Tampa has nearly the highest number of cyclist and pedestrian deaths from cars in the Nation. My angels have protected me the past 15 years commuting to work, so I hope they don't fly off the last few before I retire. Today, as I was weaving around dump trucks in lanes of traffic and between cars, a dude driving a F350 come driving up along side me and rolls his window down to admonish me for biking. "What are you doing out here with all these kooky drivers, you're brave girl". I just said, "I know, I know". Anyway, gotta love it. The mornings are dipping below 70F, and its dark so I have on my extra safety gear, a lighted helmet and safety hi vis vest. 

We did get out the motorcycles for couple quick rides, both have needed their batteries replaced this quarter. The camry is our old reliable, unobtrusive vehicle that we drive when the chances of a door dinger are good - the grocery store, the bar, busch gardens. The van is super handy for tailgateing at concerts and where ever we tailgate. Actually, this weekend we're volunteering at the Tampa Tailgate Taste Fest in downtown, should be fun.

It was another typical quarter as far as mileage, around 3K miles combined for all our vehicles. The majority miles were the van and the bike.

DOA Campground bus at Howl O Scream, Busch Gardens

Ten Uses for Google Maps besides Directions

One of my absolute, daily go-to apps on my Android phone is the Google Maps app. It's not that I need directions to get around everyday, it's because it can show you all sorts of other information.

Did you know you can do all this?

1. Traffic - in real time.  Green is good, Red lines on the highways indicate traffic jams. There is usually a red icon for accidents, and orange icon for construction backups.
   
2. Tag Places you want to Visit - read about a new restaurant? Tag it. Want to see that Gaudi museum in Barcelona? Tag it. Want to see the murals in Montreal. Tag it. You can see in my Googles Maps the teal colored tags are murals and food. The yellow tags are places saved. The green tags are places I want to go. The Red tags are favorites. 
   
3. Hours of Operation - all businesses have their hours listed in Google Maps, also a graph of when the place is busy or not.
   
4. Photos - of Businesses and locations, their food and drinks. You can see all the photos that users have uploaded for this location.
   
5. Reviews of Businesses - good and bad. also "About" area that describes offerings, accessibility, planning, and possibly a note from the owner.
   
6. Add your own 2 cents - you can upload that plate of food picture, or the menu on the wall, or the outside of the building to help the user community
7. See whats nearby your destination. If you're looking for a hotel near that theme park.
8. Phone numbers and link to call direct from Google maps
   
9. Website of business with link to click
10. Google My Maps app - you can make a journey by selecting many locations and then save it as mymap for offline use later. This is a little more advanced, but super helpful in planning travel. There is an app called Google My Maps that lets you add places to make a tour and save it off line too.
    

A Method To Select & Analyze 401K Investment Choices

When your employer offers you the benefit of a 401K investment option, you need to select from the choices they offer in the retirement plan. My employer is revamping and forcing investors to switch companies and select from a few choices. Here's the process I followed to make my decision.
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and considering this information is at your own risk.

1.  Go to your companies 401K website and find the link for the comparison of the "Various products, fees and investment items". There you should find a quarterly performance report for the last quarter. 
2. The first thing I review is the historical returns, and the fees. I eliminate any with high fees over about 5%.
3. Then I look for double digit returns in the last year. Eliminate any choices that don't have at least double digit returns in the past three to five years.
4. Also consider the type of fund being considered and what risk range is preferred.
5. So, now you only have a handful to investigate further. Find out the ticker symbol of the fund or stock so you can investigate dividends, review the performance charts and see projected dividends.
6. With your ticker symbol, you can search google finance to determine the last years dividend. If there is no dividend, then eliminate the choice from your remaining inventory.
7. I like to use a free android app called Dividend Tracker to look up and research funds.
8. Then I made a chart in Excel where I could compare the potential of the ticker symbol by taking the share price minus the annual fee cost and add the annual dividend income (average 5 year) to come up with the final projected value of the the fund/stock.
9. Using Dividend Tracker I can find the 5 year average dividend which I use instead of last years. I also can review the dividend history to see if they have been decreasing or increasing, or have stopped altogether.
10. Review your choices and add more to your chart if none of them look promising. If you decide on a fund, google it and research it further to be sure it aligns with your investment strategies.

stock	price	#shares in 100K	fee	-fee	divd per share	+annual dividend	value+AVG divd-fee	5 yr avg divd	5yr divd proj	price to div ratio
RGAEX	49.63	2073.83	6.8	$  680.00	$   5.08	$  10,535.05	$  107,283.50	$3.84	10.55%	9
VCSRX	22.50	4623.21	5.6	$  560.00	$   2.04	$     9,431.35	$  103,508.42	$0.88	9.45%	11
LSSIX	27.23	3725.78	9.4	$  940.00	$   2.58	$     9,612.52	$  107,256.72	$2.20	9.61%	10
INGIX	15.90	6561.68	2.7	$  270.00	$   0.95	$     6,233.60	$  108,260.18	$1.30	51.62%	16
RNPEX	44.24	2341.37	8	$  800.00	$   2.83	$     6,626.08	$  104,468.09	$2.25	6.33%	15
IICIX	10.40	9532.89	3.5	$  350.00	$   0.18	$     1,715.92	$  102,700.52	$0.32	4.23%	58
VIIIX	272.79	382.54	0.2	$     20.00	$   3.30	$     1,262.38	$  101,747.34	$4.62	1.93%	79

The chart starts with the price of the fund. It assumes you have $100,000 invested and divides by share price to give the Number of Shares. Then fees are listed by %, and dollar amount based on your principle of $100K. The dividend per share amount is taken from Dividend tracker and used to calculate the annual dividend by taking the last years dividend amount multiplied by the number of shares. Then you can add your $100K + annual dividend - fee = value of your money. Of course you want the largest value, but it is not guaranteed. This is just a projection if all funds are analyzed equally. 

I like to also consider the share price vs dividend ratio by dividing the share price by the last years dividend. The smaller number the better value. In fact that is the column I sort my chart by, the dividend ratio.

You will notice that just because a fund has a high fee does not mean it is the worst choice. It may have a high dividend and low share price to compensate for that and provide you with good value at the end of the year.

You will also notice that a low fee fund is not necessarily the best choice either. It may not provide good dividends or any dividends.

Again, I remind you I am not a finance advisor and this is just an example of how I review choices to invest in.

Good Luck!

#money #invest #retire

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Bicycle Safety is No Accident

Maybe its the warm weather. Maybe its the time of day. But, some days drivers on the road are more erratic than normal. Today was one of those days. In the dark, early calm morning. With my handy dandy rear view mirror, I can tell when a driver spots me on my bike and speeds up to pass me before we come to a narrow area where there is definitely not enough room for a bicycle rider and a car, like a tight corner. I can also tell when a driver slows down to let me pass the situation (like today it was the garbage truck stopped in the oncoming lane).

I always think about close calls on my bike because I read about motorcycle crashes and bicyclists who were killed every day in the paper. Another grim reminder of the tragedy of biking, is the white ghost bike that was installed on my routes deadliest turn off 56th Street & Harney last week. I've always told my DH that if I get killed on my bike its going to be at that fork in the road. Drivers are speeding along and there are no signs to yield or slow or stop, just pick a direction right or left. I need to go right, crossing the left road in front of potentially left going vehicles.

Today the driver that tried to kill me was in a little red Kia or Corolla. I could tell they were going above the 25 mph speed limit and as I approached the downhill corner, I knew we both could not be there at the same time. So, I moved to the middle of the lane to capture my space so they didn't expect me to stay in the gutter to the right. That meant for them to pass me they went to the far left and then cut back in front of me, forcing me to the right into the gutter. Being the prudent biker, I moved aside rather than die.

Riding a bike to commute is not for everyone. Cars speeding 55 mph inches away from me, can be a little unsettling. It is a safe and healthy activity, made dangerous because of the drivers. I'm a driver too, sometimes. I know its a hassle to stop for a biker or walker. But it matters.

Here are some of the little things I do to help me stay safe on the road biking alongside traffic.

• Be Seen - wear hi vis yellow or orange shirts or a safety vest. I wear a vest with reflective stripes when it is dark too.
• Use Lights and MORE lights - I have a small Knog bike light that is super bright. It has a small rubber strap that clips on my front handlebar. It charges the battery with a regular USB plugin.
• A super bright back red light. Its important to keep the batteries fresh on this one or the light is not quite so bright.

• A lumos Helmet that has flashing front and back lights, and turn signals. I charge it once a week on my USB port of my laptop. 
• A rear view mirror is critical to see whats coming up behind you, in the event you need to swerve into the lane of traffic to avoid a hazard such as dead animals, broken glass, piles of gravel, lumber debris or any other number of things that will impede your safe travels.

If you use all these safety features, you'll be seen by drivers and hopefully they will be the courteous ones who share the road.

Ten Years

It's been ten years since I created this place of mine on the internet. Unfortunately, I have not dedicated the effort it takes for a blog to be profitable and support my life style and quit my day job. I'm still toiling away at my government job, and still dreaming of being able to quit. So, I've decided to rearrange the leisure activities in my life, notably reading and replace it with writing and promoting my blog.


Having a blog is not simply writing 500 words and clicking send. There are lots of details to get it out there where people will read it. It means sharing on social media sites, responding to comments, and in general engaging with others on the internet. It's tedious, and not always productive. However, I want to give it a try. There are lots of tools to automate posting and sharing.


I'm thinking that my focus will be frugal living, and also adding the perspective from a senior (now that I'm over 55) and preparing for retirement. Not necessarily early retirement like all the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) people out there, but just regular old retirement for regular people.

2nd Qtr 2019 Mileage Report

 I know the orangatan doesn't have anything to do with mileage, but thats the new rollercoaster Tigris in the background. Typical mileage this past quarter as we continue to use the motorcycles sparingly. The majority of our travel is in the new minivan at close to 70%. My biking to work is the other major part of the commuting with 20% of the miles traveled. We have not gone on any trips this past quarter as we are saving our leave time for our big transatlantic cruise in the fall.