Ok, I DO know what possessed me.
I dropped off a load to the tiny little local food bank in my town on the 31st. The 'food bank ladies' were there and I got to meet them finally. Every time before the food bank wasn't open when I had goodies to drop off and I dealt with the church secretary.
So I popped me head into the food bank room and asked if I could drop some bags of stuff off.
As I brought in bag after bag, one of the ladies asked me if I was 'that lady who shops a lot of great sales and gets stuff for free and brings lots of food to the food bank'.
Um....I guess that would be me.lolol
The church secretary had been telling them tales about me and my escapades apparently over the last year, so they were happy to put a face to the "legend". ;-)
They gushed and gushed over me until frankly I felt like Garth..."totally not worthy".
So I've had that meeting in the back of my head lately. It's pushing me to try to do more and give more to the food bank. For me, 2010 was so NOT about getting much food for free or real cheap so most of what I brought them wasn't food but toiletries and paper goods. I'm crossing my fingers that the food coupons get better in 2011 so I can have more actual food in the bags I take in to them.
Now the last thing we need is another tube of toothpaste, but this Aquafresh deal was so easy, didn't cost me anything but my time, some gas to get to the store and some ink and paper to print the necessary coupons.
6 cans of soup at .19¢ per can with Q.
2 packs of Angel Soft TP for .70¢ a pack after sale and $1 +Ups wyb2.
1 can of Cranberry Glop on clearance for .32¢.
I ended up using $9 +Ups, getting back $11 +Ups and it cost me .85¢ off my free Rite-Aid gift card.
The Toothpaste and soup will go into the food bank donation pile.
The TP will go to BIL and I'm keeping the Ocean Spray Glop. ;-)
Which leads me to a food bank donation dilemma I am having.
If you've been reading here for awhile you know I have been donating food/hba to a relative that is having financial problems. This help has pretty much been on a regular basis since the fall(and irregularly before then).
This relative frequents this food bank as part of other help they receive.
Should I just give my donations to them since they are family?
Should I give my donations to the food bank and have the relative get stuff from there instead of from me directly?
Should I divide up what I have and give to both?....and if so, how much to each?
When I give to the relative directly they still go to the food bank as well....it's not like my donation directly to them keeps them from using the fb.
I don't know....I was letting the relative choose from my donation stash first and then taking what they didn't want to the food bank. I'm thinking this is probably the best way to handle things.
Let me know if you have any thoughts on this.
Anyway, here are my updated Rite-Aid totals for this shop.....
THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.85 put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$43.99
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$11.00
+Up Rewards spent...$9.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$132.00
GRAND TOTALS--January Rebate Period so far
Number of Transactions......18
Total Spent....$8.13 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$773.57
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00
+UPS Totals for Jan. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 1/6.....$130.00
+Up Rewards spent....$160.50
+Up Rewards earned....$179.00
+Up Rewards left....$132.00 includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period
Sluggy
I would allow the relative to choose first and take the rest to the food bank. You obviously want to help the person, so I would help kin I wanted to help first. I wonder how much need would exist if family worked together to begin with. You actively participate directly to your family. Good for you. Getting the coupons seems to be the key, getting them without having to order them.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you have read what this guy does--http://www.pennyexperiment.com/
He never pays for coupons, just has people who give them to him....sigh. That's not working for me!
The amount of food he has donated is phenomenal. AND, he was doing the donations and eating on $1/day. Your totals would be impressive, also.
Yeah, I think keeping it the way you've been doing it -- let the relative choose from your donation stash, then donate the rest -- is the way to go. That way, your relative gets stuff from you he/she needs and will most likely get different things from the food bank, so that your remaining donation goes to all the other folks who frequent the food bank. That would seem to spread everything as fairly as it can be :)
ReplyDeleteI'm currently looking at my stash of Raisin Bran that's not getting any younger, and that I'm not eating at all - I know all the RB I ate last year is why I packed on more weight that I'm trying to lose now. So I need to cull the boxes with the closets expiration dates and get those over to the UPS food bank drop probably before the end of this month.
That's so cool about the ladies at the food bank wanting to meet you, the Legend! :)