Don't Make Me Stop This Car!

Thankfully I am no longer "in the weeds" like these parents are.
But I know I've used every single one of the mommyisms in this!lol

I thought this was a fun way to get your weekend started though.





Sluggy

It's a Southern Thang.....

Sluggy

Another Boring Blog Box Giveaway...Come Enter!

Time for another......

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY!

Here's how it works.....

I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  1 bottle of Garnier Fructis Shampoo

2.  1 Dog Frisbee (from Purina Fit & Trim)
3.  1 box of Reach Dental Floss

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.  *As always, if you are located outside the US, you CAN enter and win but weight restrictions/shipping costs may mean your prize box will contain less items.*

***Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I close this post to entries.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.
Leave your name/email addy and a COMMENT on this post.  

This week I want to hear about your Fall plans.....
Do you take vacations in the Fall and where do you go and why?  Do you have any plans like home improvements to do in the Fall?  Or do you plan to just stay home and save money?  Do you like Fall and what activities do you enjoy during this season?

You can come directly to this blog post or find it through the link on the right side bar to leave 1 comment per day.  The current Giveaway Post will be linked right at the top of the side bar.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get 2 EXTRA entries on this and each new Giveaway Post.......

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with the URL of your blog so I can go check it out. **If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra entry comment once each week of this giveaway.

2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog with a link to this post.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with a link to your blog post so I can go view it.  You can do this extra entry once each week of this giveaway.


Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

And Speaking of Cars......

We are witnessing some extended family stuff involving cars and making unwise choices with money lately here, so I thought some recent mail I received was very apropos to what is going on.

I think the synchronicity of the Universe had something to do with me getting this mail at this very moment. ;-)

Sometimes I just have to laugh at stuff though.
Like the other day.
I got some junk mail.....you know, that stuff companies send you to try to get you to buy something they are selling.

Obviously whomever sold them MY name from some big database of suckers potential customers is actually clueless as to how futile and wasteful this attempt at selling me is!

Here's what showed up in my mailbox....in all it's full color, luxurious papery booklet goodness, enclosed in elaborate plastic packaging(which I did not photo before throwing out)........

And just in case you didn't catch the brand in that photo.....

These hunks of metal start at $41,300.
Like I would ever spent that kind of money on a car!
Not in this lifetime and not while I have my faculties about me.

Why?
Because a new car loses 20% of it's value by the end of the first year so I'd be out $8,260 after 1 year of ownership.
You can get a real nice used car for what this rust bucket car depreciates in 1 year.

Not only that but you are looking at a car payment in the neighborhood of $900+ a month if you have to finance it.

I guess Hubs and I are on some list somewhere of people who have cash so that is why we get offers for luxury cars, country clubs, cruises, platinum level credit cards, all kinds of vacation/resort packages/clubs, jewelers, designer this and that, etc.
And do you know why we have money?
Because we don't spend it on crap like this! lol

Yes, I choose to be inspired Infiniti....inspired NOT to waste money on stuff that doesn't matter.

Sluggy

A Personal Milestone Sort of Day

Today has been 30 years in the making.
Today is Hub's and my 30th Wedding Anniversary!

Here's a photo I snapped of us this past weekend......

Ok, maybe this isn't us but it IS how our kids "see" us and it's the card I am giving Hubs tonight. lol

30 Years.
Use to be that seeing your 30th Anniversary....(30 years with the SAME person)was not so much a milestone.
Use to be that being together 30 years wasn't very special in the world.
Ok, maybe it was special in that if you LIVED to be that old and that both of you lived to be that old, THAT was what made it special.
Not the part about being married for 30 years.

But in this modern world, 30 Years is "like forever!" if you are to believe what people say about it.
One person?.....for 30 years!!?!?
How old fashioned.
How boring.
How not modern society.

This disconnect between me and society was brought clearly into focus for me about 10 years ago when Hubs told me about some younger women at his office that he overheard chatting.
One of these women was planning her wedding and she was in her mid 20's.
She and her office pals were looking through wedding magazines and the bride-to-be was pointing out what gown and accessories she had chosen for her nuptials.  After some oohing and aahing  by the chums, the BTB then pointed out a second gown and proclaimed, "And this is the gown I am going to wear when I get married the next time!"
*face palm*

And she was dead serious about that.
She's not even married yet and she's planning on getting married to someone else at some point down the road!
Like, it's a given.....a fact of life......just normal that you'll get married early and often.

This is just another example of what our society has come to.
We are a disposable bunch.  Not only do we throw out all sorts of items(both non-disposable ones and disposables ones long before their time is over) but we marry on whims and we shed our partners like snakes shed skins.  (Not talking here about marriages that break up due to legitimate reasons like dysfunction of one of the partners).
We aren't encouraged anymore to work through our difficulties as a married couple.
When things get uncomfortable in any way and married life isn't that rose garden you were sold by all those magazines, you get a free pass from society to just move on and  try again.

It's normal and routine and when the BTB said that about her second marriage/wedding, not a single one of her gal pals laughed or took it as another other than deadpan serious.

It's sobering to think that 40% to as high as 50% of marriages end in divorce in this country.
And according to data if you married for the first time between the ages of 20 and 24 you are at the most risk of getting divorced, close to 40%.  Those who married at 35 to 39 years of age only have about a 6% risk.  Maybe this says a lot about how older people, who have experienced more of life, are wiser when it comes to taking the big steps.

And the statistics I saw on multiple marriages are not encouraging.......
The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%

So if you are considering tying that knot, take some advise from this old fool celebrating her 30th Anniversary today.....

* Don't go into any marriage without much forethought.  Get some premarital counseling if you can, preferably WITH your intended spouse.

*  Don't rush getting married.  Take your time.  You can't "know" someone from a few dates or within a few months.  It can take YEARS for someone to totally reveal what is behind that dating facade they show.

*  Marriage ISN'T just the Wedding Day.  Though the excitement of that one day occupies all your thoughts, it's a miniscule part of your life.  The actual marriage starts after the honeymoon.  And in keeping with this thought, don't spend all your money on your wedding!  You WILL be sorry if you do.

* TALK to your intended spouse BEFORE you get married about the "big issues" in life.
These include:
--Where/how to live, how close/distant you want to be concerning your families
--Whether you want children and when, how you want to raise said children(parenting styles/religion)
--MONEY(how to take care of it, how to spend it, what to save).

Yes your views on the big issues my change over the years but if you don't go into a marriage in the same ballpark on these, you face a long hard road and extra strife along the way.

So I'll be getting stinking drunk having one glass of wine tonight in celebration of making it to this 30th Year in my marriage despite family, kids, miscarriage, job changes, sickness, relocation and financial difficulties.

With any luck Hubs and I will make it to 40!

Sluggy the old married fart

Food Spending August Week 4 & Meal Planning Week 4+

Ok, so this photo doesn't have anything to do with cooking.  Though it is a reminder to slow down in life and enjoy the ride. ;-)

*****************************
And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

Sunday--Son's belated Birthday dinner out-Steak

Monday--Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw, Birthday Cake

Tuesday--Lime Citrus Chicken Quesadillas, beans

Wednesday--Leftovers

Thursday--Chinese take-out

Friday--burgers, green beans(from garden)

Saturday--Leftovers again

 

 

The weekly food spending was $79.30.  I stocked up on 100% juices again, butter, ravioli at rock bottom prices.  The needs were milk, cabbage(for coleslaw), 1 onion, small packet of ground beef, rolls, lunchmeat, deli cheese and 2 kinds of fruit.  The family's wants were crackers, ice cream, frozen fries, whack biscuits and Kraft mac and chemical cheese--all on sale.

I have $2.72 left of my $400 food budget for August and 5 days left in the month.  That's enough for 1 half gallon of milk.  I may be going over slightly for the month if anything comes up this week.

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up.......2 portions of the lime citrus chicken, 1 portion of barbecue pork(after Sunday's dinner), half a bowl of coleslaw, 1 portion of green beans.  I am figuring on using the chicken on Friday when it's only 2 of us at home.

***********************

This week's menu.....

Sunday--Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw

Monday--Taco Bell-after music lesson

Tuesday--Dinner Out-30th Anniversary Date night

Wednesday--Pork Chops, Saffron Rice, Broccoli

Thursday--Alfredo Primavera

Friday--Chicken Tacos(using leftover chicken)

Saturday--Leftovers 

 

 

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....rolls, some fresh veggies(for the primavera).

Basically 3 of my meals are based on leftovers and 2 are Eating Out, so only 2 new meals cooked this week.  This makes it an easy week for me in the kitchen, what with getting 2 students back in school and not running the oven since it's hot and muggy again here.

So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Sluggy

My Rite-Aid Trip Week of 8/26

Here are my "gets" at Rite-Aid this week....

2 x Herbal Essences Shampoo on sale $3=$6.00
1 x Scope mouth wash on sale($4.29)but 20% Wellness discount is less=$3.99
2 x Crest mouth rinse on sale $4.99=$9.98
SubTotal.....$19.97

Coupons Used
1 x $3/2 Herbal Essences ManuQ(8/5RP)=$3.00
1 x $1.50/1 Scope ManQ(8/26P&G)=$1.50
1 x BOGO ManuQ(7/29P&G)=$4.99
1 x $1/1 Crest Rinse ManuQ(8/26P&G)=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Crest/Oral-B item Oral Care BookletQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$11.49

$19.97-$11.49=$8.48 + .09¢tax=$8.57 OOP
I used $8 in +Up Rewards and put the .57¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.

I received back $12 in +Up Rewards($2 Herbal Essences, $2 Scope, 2 x $4 Crest mouth wash).
Use $8, get $12 back.....not bad! ;-)

*  If your reg. shelf price on the Scope is less than the $4.99 price at my store, AND you have the GOLD 20% discount, after +Ups and Q, the Scope will be close to free.  Mine was .49¢ after discount, Q and +Ups.

*  With the Crest rinses, be sure you buy 1 large 1Liter and 1 the 500ml(or similar sized) rinses in order to use the BOGO Q.  The white bottle smaller Crest rinse(like the one I bought above) will produce the $4 +Ups.
On the Crest bottle that was NOT free after the BOGO Q, I stacked a $1/1 Oral Care booklet Crest Q with a ManQ $1/1Crest rinse in Sundays P&G insert.
2 bottles were $9.98, I used $6.99 in Qs, paid $2.99 OOP in +Ups and got $8 in +Ups back.  Great little way to grow your +Ups this week.

*  Though I didn't do it, there is a good deal on Glad bags this week.  $3.99 per box.  There is a $2 Adperks Q(watch before Thursday!) and a $1/1 ManuQ IPQ on Glad's Facebook page(the tab for the wild animals game,etc)to stack with it, making each box $.99 this week.

BUT......if you don't need to roll expiring +Ups this week, hold these Qs for the week of 9/9 for a better deal!  The Glad bags will be $4.49 BUT you get a $3+Ups wyb 2.  Print 2 of each Q and the deal looks like this.....
2 x $4.49=$8.98-$6Qs=$2.98 and get $3+Ups back, so FREE bags!!

*  I may go back this week to do the $5 wyb various $15 worth of P&G items(limit 2 deals) on the back page of the ad.
I have $2/1 tampax Pearl Qs and could end up with 4 boxes of that plus 1 tube of Crest toothpaste for $2.19 each.  I have to see if Daughter needs these or not but $2 is a great price for tampax Pearl.


Here are the August Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$501.26
Savings Rate of  99.86%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$162+
+Ups received...$178+
+Ups currently...$30+

As for my Wellness cards and spending for this year......
My card hit 1000 pts. a month or so ago, so I am Gold 20% off for 2013 already.
BIL's card should hit 700 pts. with this transaction, so only 300 pts. to go with 4 months to get there to get him to Gold for next year.  Even if I don't buy anything else with his card for the rest of the year, just putting our prescriptions on it will get him to Gold easy by Dec. 31st. ;-)



Do you see anything you need/want to get this week at Rite-Aid?

Sluggy

My Mystery Peeps

If you are the family archivist, I implore you,  PLEASE LABEL YOUR PHOTOS!

While my mother was pretty good about labeling family photos, I do have scads of photos with no information about them....not the people, the place or the date.  But most of them I recognize the people peering out from those pieces of paper as I knew them at some point in their lives.

But there are some that reach back, way back into the past and I am clueless!

If any of my mother's relatives......the Baker, Vassar, Tucker, Harper branches of our tree are out there reading this, and you recognize this photo or these people, please leave a comment or email me privately!

Here's the first photo......

And then there is this family portrait.....

I believe these are copies of photos my mother obtained at one of the Baker/Vassar Family Reunions she attended back in the 1990's in Charlotte County, VA.  She left no information about the photos or the folks in them.
I am assuming I am related somehow to these peeps but a few names would be nice to know.  ;-)

I also have a copy of a photo from the 1920's or early 1930's(I believe)of my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather with some of their children(and possibly a few spouses of their children and the children's children(my GGrands grandkids).
I'll post the photo here in case some of my Baker/Vassar relatives are reading this and can help me out by identifying the people I can't.......

My Grandmother is the older of the 2 girls kneeling in front holding babies(the one to the left not sticking her tongue out).
My Great Grandmother is to the right of the really old woman in the center. GGrand is wearing an apron.
Those are the ones I recognize definitely.

I think my Great Grandfather is behind and to the left of the really old woman in the center.
And I believe that the really old woman in the center is either my GGrandmother's Mother or my GGrandfather's Mother.
I believe the younger adult woman  to the left of the really old woman is Louise or Rosabel.
I believe the younger adult woman  behind and to the right of my Great Grandmother is Virginia.
I believe the adult man in front of her with the "prominent ears" is Lealon.
I believe the girl kneeling with her tongue hanging out is either Doris or Lula.
If the baby my Grandmother is holding is my mom, then one of the other babies may be Grandma's youngest brother Barry.....but that would only be the case if this photo was taken after 1934.
As for the men.....I really don't know my Grandmother's brothers by sight, so I don't know which are  brothers and which are spouses of her sisters.

It would have been nice to have had the folks labeled on this picture. *sigh*

So many questions I have! 8-)

Sluggy

Things That Grow That Are Green

Remember my bean vines that thought they were Kudzu?

Here is how it looks this week......

You can't even see the plant hook anymore! lol

This vine reminds me of the old segment of the movie CREEPSHOW.  The one where Stephen King plays Jordy Verrill, a not-too-bright Maine hick who ends up being swallowed up by strange vegetation that grows thanks to the alien slime that came out of a meteor he poked when it fell to Earth on his land.

I don't recall any meteors falling in the backyard so I think I am safe from that characters fate at least. ;-)

I did get the wind chimes taken off and moved before it totally enveloped the pole.
And now look at the plant hook pole on the other side of the deck where I moved the chimes to......

The wind chimes are starting to get swallowed up again.....this time by the volunteer Morning Glory vines on this end of the garden bed.

I have run out of places to hang the chimes now.
I guess I'll take them down until I can hang them up again on the other pole in a couple of weeks when the bean vines are done and can be pulled up.

What's new in your garden this week?

Sluggy

JB Fletcher Has Nothing on Me!

And if you get the reference in the title, you  are old and watched way too much TV in the 1980's!

The other day I was at Rite-Aid(of course I was!lol) picking up a prescription.
I commented to the pharmacist that my co-pay seemed ALOT higher than usual.
It was in fact almost double what I usually pay for the generic version I get of said drug.
We both shrugged our shoulders and I paid and when home.

Then Daughter picked up her prescriptions yesterday and when I went over the receipt to write her a check to reimburse her for paying for them, I noticed that 1 of her drugs was the exact same medicine in the exact same size with the exact same dosage.....and it did NOT cost almost double like mine did.

You probably can't make out my very bad, blurry photo but the receipt on the left says $18.72, the receipt on the right says $10.00 for the exact same meds.

So I dug out my old prescription bottle and my new prescription bottle and had my Eureka! moment......

Again, let me translate the bad photograph.....
The label on the right says "Take 2 tablets by mouth daily", the label on the left says "Take 1 tablet by mouth daily".
So my old bottle's 60 pill refill was for a month and my new bottle's 60 pill refill was 2 months worth.
Someone at Rite-Aid goofed when printing out the label.
And that goof  caused the insurance company to think I was getting 2 months worth so I got charged 2 month's worth of co-pay instead of 1 month's worth.

After 20 minutes of showing the evidence, explaining and wild gesticulating(see how I used a $20 word there?lol), the pharmacist checked my records, printed a new instruction label, changed some information in his computer and then handed me $8.72 back.

Not only do I get paid to buy toiletries at Rite-Aid but now I can claim that I get paid to get my drugs there too......well, at least this once, right? ;-)

While I was there, I took the opportunity to pick up a few more things and grow my +Up Rewards.....

2 x R-A Hand Sanitizer on sale $1=$2.00
1 x Max Freeze on sale=$7.00
2 x St. Joseph Aspirin on sale $4.99=$9.98
3 x $1 size R-A Juice drinks w/20% wellness discount.80¢=$2.40
SubTotal....$21.38

Coupons Used
2 x $2/1 St. Joseph Aspirin over $4.49 IPQ(HERE)=$4.00

$21.38-$4.00=$17.38
I used $17 in +Up Rewards and put the .38¢ on my gift card.
I got $18 +Up Rewards back(2 x $1 Sanitizer, $1 WYB 3 juice drinks, $7 Max Freeze, 2 x $4 St. Joseph).

I used $17 and got $18 back.

Analyze This!--
* The St. Joseph is part of a +Up Deal along with Anacin and something else that are each on sale for $4.99.  Each give a $4 +Up back.  Use the $2 IPQ and buy the St. Joseph's and it's a small moneymaker after +Ups.  I take a baby aspirin each day so I can score these larger pills.  I can stretch each 200 count bottle out to give me 2+ years worth of the baby aspirin dosage.
* The #2 Son can use these smallish juice drink bottles for Marching Band.
*  The R-A Juice drinks also qualify for a monthly $2+Up WYB $10 in R-A pantry items.  I believe it only runs through next week so you have to spend $10 quickly to get that $2 +Up.

Here's a heads up if you need free shampoo at Rite-Aid the week of 9/2.
Go to the Video Values before Aug. 29th and watch the Infusium23 clip while it's still available.
Then print out the $2/1 AdPerks Q and take it to the store the week of 9/2.
Infusium 23 products will be $4.99 that week.
Use your $2 Q and pay $2.99 and you will receive a $3 +Up Reward back(limit of 2 per card on this deal).
This makes the Infusium 23 free after +Ups.

Here are the August Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$472.71
Savings Rate of  99.85%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$154+
+Ups received...$166+
+Ups currently...$26+

Sluggy

For My Friends Friday

For all my friends who are debt-free and all my friends currently on the road to debt-free, this one is for YOU!

And if you aren't debt-free, what is stopping you from trying to get there!? ;-)

Let's all get up and dance!!!....but put down the scissors first.....




Happy Friday!

Sluggy

The Bailey Building & Loan *UPDATE*

As of this afternoon, the ING deposits have arrived at The Bailey Building & Loan....aka my Credit Union.
And there was rejoicing in the Land of Sluggy!

Wow....it only took 5 days from ING sending the deposits and notifying me that they were working and received until the CU actually posted the deposits to my account.

I sure hope that TBBAL doesn't continue to use passenger pigeons and other outmoded means of communication to talk with other financial institutions and me in the future.....

Sluggy

The Bailey Building & Loan is Alive and Well in PA OR The Joys of Banking

No, I said Banking, not Baking......


Hubs & I have wanted to move our money to a credit union for some time now.
We finally pulled the trigger a few weeks ago.

We aren't the kind of folks you jump around from financial institution to financial institution.
If it's working for us somewhere, we stay put.

When we moved here in 2000 our huge national bank did not have a location closer than 30 minutes away.  While they had a branch near Hubs work it was darned inconvenient for me to do any banking.
So I opened up an account at the tiny local bank in our town so I could move the money between the 2 banks/accounts.

This worked ok for us until about 6 months ago, when our huge national bank was taken over by another huge national bank.
HNB #2 said we had to open up a different account in order to keep our old account since they didn't offer that old type of account anymore.
Otherwise, we'd have to pay fees for the honor of allowing them to hold and use our money.
How nice of them.....

So we opened the additional account with the min. they required of $100 and kept our real money in the old account.
If that was all it was going to take to make them happy, we figured we'd stick with them.
After all, they were one of the few big banks that didn't take TARP money.

Then they started pressing us to get debit cards for this "new" account.
I guess they figured they'd just keep at us and eventually make us start using this account as our main account, migrate our money over to this account and phase out the original account.
I don't like being pushed into anything, especially if I am not given a good reason to do so.
And then when we didn't ask for debit cards they mailed them to us anyway.  Hey, thanks for something I didn't want! lol

Next  they started calling here and dunning us via snail mail with great deals on stocks/bonds/mutual funds/cds/retirement plans/etc., as well as wanting us to come in to "speak with someone".....as in speak to someone who wanted to get control over investing our money.  No thanks!

I guess nobody ever heard of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and "don't annoy the piss outta your customers" at this company.
The old huge bank let us be but this new huge bank was annoying as hell.
Which surprised us, since we had used this new bank as our mortgage company and we had been very pleased with them back then in that capacity.

Anyway this pestering came to a head last month and we looked around to move our money and move it to a local institution if possible.
And we found a local credit union.

So we went in, had a look-see and opened a savings and a checking account there.
Everyone says that Credit Unions are full of sunshine and lollipops....or is that rainbows?
I never can remember.
At the moment we have 3 accounts(not counting the ING one)-2 at banks and 1 at the credit union.
Having our money all over the place is not a good thing.....it's driving me to distraction.

Eventually the plan was to close down one of the bank accounts and keep the CU account and the small regional bank account.

And things went well with the CU until this week.

I have an ING account so I went online to link the 2 accounts.
And ING notified me that the small deposits had been made to confirm the linking so I went to check them at the CU.
And there were no deposits.
For 4 days I waited for them to show up.
And the routing and account numbers were checked and double checked.
But still no deposits.
Great......

And I went into the CU and the teller couldn't fine the deposits either.

And then I tried to deposit a personal check at the CU this week.
And the teller told me that I can't deposit a personal check into the checking account if it is for a LARGE sum of money....a business check was a different story.
I would have to deposit it in my savings account, wait for it to clear and then come back and move the money from savings into checking.
WTF?!
And then I asked her what was the cut-off amount that constituted a "Large sum of money".
$200 or more.
WTFF?!
$200 may be a "large sum of money" in Dhaka, Bangladesh or Mogadishu, Somalia but in middle class American, not so much.

And then she said that I had to wait 2+ days after depositing a check to withdraw it.
WTFFF?!
It's not a case of we don't have other funds in that account to cover if the check in question was bad.
None of this was mentioned at any point when we set up these accounts at the CU.

I'm under the impression that this CU thinks it's the Bailey Building and Loan and Uncle Billy is running things!

There is only so much bullshit I can take before I close this CU account down too.  Maybe I'll just stick to my back-up bank....the small regional one.


So let me know.....how many accounts do you have and at how many financial institutions?
Do you use a credit union or a bank and are you happy with whichever you use?

Sluggy

My Weekly Rite-Aid Trip(s)

I got around to my Rite-Aid trip early this week so here are the long boring details in all their glory......

4 x Dixie Plates BOGO sale($4.49)=$8.98
1 x Fat Foam hair coloring on sale(but 20% discount is lower)=$8.23
2 x R-A brand hand sanitizer($1)=$2.00
1 x Sleep Sheets on sale=$5.00
1 x Max Freeze on sale=$7.00
1 x Sting Ease w/20% wellness discount=$3.43
6 x NYC nail polish w/20% wellness discount(.79¢ea)=$4.74
SubTotal.....$39.38

Coupons Used
1 x $5/1 Fat Foam IPQ=$5.00
1 x $6/1 Fat Foam Store-ad Q=$6.00
1 x $1/1 Sleep Sheets ManuQ in box=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$12.00

$39.38-$12.00=$27.38
I used $27 in +Up Rewards and put the .38¢ left on my Rite-Aid gift card.

I received back $26 in +Up Rewards($2 wyb $6 in Dixie items, 2 x $1 R-A Hand Sanitizer, $5 Sleep Sheets, $7 Max Freeze, $4 Sting Ease-monthly Up+, 2 x $3 wyb 3 select nail polishes).

So all this stuff cost me $1 in +Ups I spent down and .38¢ on my gift card.

* If you buy the Sleep Sheets you might want to open the box and check for a $1 off Q inside....but only if you are buying it for sure!  Or if you have a problem opening it before you pay for it, buy it, THEN open the box and take the Q out and get your cashier to do a 'post coupon' transaction to use the Q.

* The Sting Ease is a monthly +Up deal so continue to look for it on the shelf.  With Wellness discount, you pay less than the value of the +Up Reward you get back.

* Select nail polishes are generating a $3 +Up when you buy 3.  The NYC .99¢ bottles qualify for this deal so there are Free after +Ups or a small moneymaker if you have the silver or gold Wellness discount.

* The Dixie plates/cups are a good deal but not free.  They are BOGO this week so if you buy 4, 2 are free and the 2 you pay for come to $8.98 and after the $2 +Ups you get back, they end up costing you $6.98 or $1.745 each package.  They can be almost free if you also buy......

* The Samy Fat Foam hair color.  With stacking the In-Ad Q and the $5 IPQ you get at least $2.01 in overage to put toward the Dixie plates or anything else you want to buy.

I was planning another trip today but Hubs car(again with the CARS!?ugh)is having work done on it so he has my car today.
So I sneaked back up to Rite-Aid yesterday evening and got more of the same....

More Polish, Sanitizer, Hair Color and Paper Plates.
But I got 6 Dixie products this time because it made more sense.  If you buy 4 with the BOGO sale, you are spending enough to get the $2 +Ups WYB $6 worth AND you are halfway to spending enough to get a second $2 +Ups(because you have spent $9 and the second +Ups triggers at $12 total spent).  So buy a set of 2 items with the first 4, spend another $4.49 OOP for both AND get another $2 +Ups.  Instead of being OOP $1.745 for each item, when you buy 6 at the same time, you are OOP $1.578(after the +Ups are applied).
If you already bought 4 items, you can't go back and buy 2 and get the second $2 +Ups to trigger because this +Ups Deal is NOT tracking.

Anyway, this second trip was $17.58(with .04¢ tax), I used $17 in +Ups to pay and put the .58¢ on my gift card.
I received $12 in +Ups back(2 x$1 Sanitizer, 2 x $2 WYB $6 of Dixie items, 2 x $3 WYB 3 Nail Polish).
I spent down $5 of +Up Rewards this trip but I don't mind since it's stuff we need/use and you can't beat $5 for $49.95 worth of stuff! ;-)


Here are the August Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$438.86
Savings Rate of  99.84%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$137+
+Ups received...$148+
+Ups currently...$25+ 

 Sluggy

Guess How Many Cars We Now Own!?

If you said 4, you would win the prize!

Oldest son came home for a few days.....ok, technically he was here for 2.5 days from the moment he stepped into the house Sat. night, until he left a few minutes ago.

I put the blog on auto-pilot mostly for the last 5 days because we've been dealing with buying another car.
Ugh.....didn't we JUST BUY ANOTHER CAR?!?!

This one if for oldest to use this year at school and then he will "buy" it from us when he leaves school, gets a job and can afford his own insurance policy.

So we've been busy finding a car the past 5 days.
And here is what we got.....

 A 2002 Hyundai something or other.
Yah see how interesting I am in cars?
I can't even remember what it's called.lol
* I've been informed it's a Sonata....thanks TANNER!

Anyway, we got a good deal from a local dealer we trust.  Out the door it was $5650 with tax, tags, registration and they give a 90 day warranty.
And it has 53K miles on it.

Technically this car didn't cost Hubs and I anything. The car and the extra in insurance for the next year  for it was all taken out of oldest's college fund $.  It's technically his car....we just hold the paper on it until he is graduated and working.  The remaining college money was divided into 2 halves and he gets 1 hunk to live on this semester and the other hunk to live on next semester.  And then the money is gone and he is on his own.

I also have been cooking.
Oldest wanted some barbecue so Sunday was spent on the porch with the smoker for a good piece of time.  We had his birthday meal out Sunday night at a steak house.
Monday he ran errands and packed, then we had the barbecue for dinner and the cake I baked him for his belated 21st bday....

Here's the backup shot with him pretending he just blew out the candles.....

What a ham.....

We sat down and went over his money situation and gave him half of what is left in his college fund.....Jan. he gets the other half and then the Bank of Mom & Dad is closing his account....permanently!lol

I printed out a budget form and when he gets back he and his girlfriend are going to sit down and budget the money.
I impressed upon him how good it would be to live on less than he had left for the next 4 months and to throw some money each month into a car account in case the car needs a repair, because we are NOT paying for anything else.  I hope he takes my advice.

Anyway, he was out the door bright and early this morning so he can get back to school for his girlfriend's birthday on Wednesday and to get settled into their new digs, buy groceries, get his books for this semester, etc.
But not before I could load him up with 2 big boxes of food/toiletries/laundry detergent from the stockpile too.

So that's what I've been doing the past 5 days.....when I wasn't going to Rite-Aid.

I can't wrap my head around the fact that we own FOUR CARS.  One for every licensed driver in this house.....until #2 son gets his license later this year.....eeshh!
Anybody want to come pick me up after I faint dead away when I get our next car insurance bill?!

What's going on in your life?

Sluggy

Food Spending August Week 3 & Meal Planning Week 4

*****************************
And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

Sunday--Salmon with maple glaze, Stir-fried mixed veg, mashed potatoes

Monday--BLT sandwiches with tomato from our garden...slurp!

Tuesday--tuna helper, Caesar salad

Wednesday--Leftover Rigatoni, Broccoli

Thursday--Meatloaf(leftover), Mashed Taters, Snow Peas

Friday--Taco Bell

Saturday--Leftovers

 

The weekly food spending was $9.91.  I was tempted to do the Kimberely/Clark Cat Deal at Weis(which would have stocked me up on a few things but would have meant spending alot more OOP) but in the end I resisted.  I used $12 in Cats to pay last week for the few needs we had which is why I spent so little.

I didn't stay within the $8 limit I set but it was close. None of what I spent was for items needed to make dinner.....it was all milk purchases and items for the Daughter's work lunches.

I have $82.02 left of my $400 food budget for August and 11 days left in the month.  I think we can make it to the end of the month before the end of the money. ;-)

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up.......a portion of snow peas(I'll polish those off for lunch one day).

***********************

This week's menu.....

Sunday--Son's belated Birthday dinner out-Steak

Monday--Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw, Birthday Cake

Tuesday--something Chicken, Rice, Green Beans(from garden)

Wednesday--Taco or Taco Salad

Thursday--Leftovers

Friday--burgers, baked beans, cuke salad

Saturday--Leftovers again

 

 

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....rolls, cukes, maybe more lettuce.

So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Quickie!

Finishing up the "gots" for last week.....

More Stayfree and Oral-B/Glide floss and something new for me, 2 Duck brand mailers.

SubTotal....$12.08
Same coupons as I used on the Stayfree and Glide floss when I bought them before......$5.00
$12.08-$5.00=$7.08 and I used $7 in +Ups and put the .08¢ on my gift card.

I got back $8 in +Ups($2 Stayfree, 2 x $2 Glide, 2 x $1 mailers).
AND the mailers qualify for SCR #51(Duck brand), so there's another $3 in cash I'm getting back.

So I spent $7 in +Ups, Got $8 +Ups back and $3 cash.
Not bad, huh?lol

The mailers were awesome!  Reg. price of $1.49 and my Gold Wellness discount brought that down to $1.11.  Then each one generated a $1 +Ups, so .11¢ OOP at this point.
And I get $3 cash back next month on my SCR, making them a $2.78 moneymaker....sweet!
These aren't generating a $1 +Ups this week but if you have the Wellness discount it is still a MMer after SCR to pick them up.
8-)

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$324.87
Savings Rate of  99.78%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$93+
+Ups received...$110+
+Ups currently...$31+ 
 
**Don't forget to go to Rite-Aid this week for the FA+UR(free after +Up Rewards)items.
There are 4 of them I think......Max Freeze or Max Heat topical pain rub, Sleep Sheets sleep aid(dissolving sheets), Restless Leg Cream and RA brand Hand Sanitizer.

Sluggy

Guess What Everyone is Getting for Christmas This Year?

After this week, Christmas 2012 "hair" at my house will be all about the Brush....hair brush that is! ;-)

I might catch heck for posting this so late in the week but so be it...lol
I had $9 in +Ups expiring this Sat. so up to Rite-Aid I trotted again and got this stuff....

1 x Stayfree on sale=$3.00
1 x Purel Sanitizer on sale $3.99 but 20% Wellness disc. less=$3.43
2 x Conair Hair Brushes on sale BOGO=$9.19
2 x Oral-B/Glide Dental Floss on sale $3.49 but one was cheaper w/Wellness disc.=$6.92
SubTotal.....$22.54

Coupons Used
1 x $1/1 Stayfree IPQ(HERE)=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Purel ManQ(All You Aug. ed.)=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Oral-B/Glide product ManQ (P&G insert)=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Oral-B/Glide product Oral Care Booklet=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$6.00

$22.54-$6.00=$16.54
I used $16 in +Ups(9+ expiring 8/18 + 7+ expiring 8/26 and 9/2).
$16.54-$16 +Ups=$.54 + $.16 tax=$.70 OOP.
I paid .70¢ cash since not only did I NOT bring my calculator this trip, I also forgot my R-A gift card.

I received back $13 in +Ups($2 Stayfree, $2 Purel, 2 x $2 Glide, $5 WYB $10 Conair brushes).
$36.24 in merchandise for .70¢ cash and spending down $3 in +Ups. ;-)

You'll notice my conair brush didn't quite cost $10, but that comb I bought last trip gave me $1.60 or so left to combine with this $10 worth of stuff.  It brought me over $10 and triggered the $5 +Up Reward.
This Conair deal is a limit of 2, so I am done with it now.

If you have the Oral Card book of Qs and the P&G insert Glide Q, each Floss is at least a .51¢ moneymaker after $2 +Ups.
IF you can find the floss in your store at this point in the week.

August Grand Totals so far this month.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$308.82
Savings Rate of  99.77%
Single Check Rebate due....$2.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket....Still -$1.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$86+
+Ups received...$102+
+Ups currently...$30+ 



Sluggy

Happy Friday!

Sluggy

What I Got at Rite-Aid This Week

I had $30+ in +Up Rewards to spend and/or roll before Saturday night.
Not alot this week I want/need that would let me roll more than I spent down.
That's how Rite-Aid gets you.......they give you a week with a ridiculous number of great deals, so that you end up with lots and lots of +Up Rewards, and then for the next 2 weeks(that's how long you have before most +Ups expire) the store has nothing.....nada......no opportunities to roll those +Ups.
*sigh*

So it was off to Rite-Aid to shop......

1 x Bayer aspirin (used raincheck)=$3.00
4 x Dawn dish soap(used raincheck .97¢ea.)=$3.88
2 x Glad trash bags on sale($4.49ea.)=$8.98
2 x Playtex Ortho binkies 20% Wellness discount($4.39ea.)=$8.78
2 x Conair hair brushes BOGOF sale=$9.19
1 x Conair comb 20% Wellness discount=$2.23
SubTotal....$36.06

Coupons Used
1 x $3/1 Bayer ManuQ=$3.00
2 x $1/2 Dawn dish soap ManuQ(P&G insert)=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Glad trash bags AdPerksQ=$4.00
1 x $2/2 Playtex Ortho binkies IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total......$11.00

$36.06-$11.00=$25.06
I used $25 in expiring +Up Rewards.

$25.06-$25 +Ups=$.06 + $.15tax=$.21 OOP.
I put the 21¢ on my trusty Rite-Aid gift card.

I received back $13 in new +Ups(2 x $4 for the Binkies, $5 WYB $10 in Conair items).

And here's the analysis.....
* The aspirin was free after Q and raincheck.  This was a free with +Ups deal last month that my store has been out of since then.  I'm happy they got some in before the Q expired later this month.  With 3 kids there is always a need for headache medication.lol

* With the $1/2 Qs and raincheck, the Dawn came out to .47¢ per bottle.  Dish soap is a staple in my stockpile.  It doesn't go bad and it's something you need.

*  Glad trash bags are on sale at R-A this week for a decent price-$4.49.  By pairing this sale with the August AdPerks $2 off Glad products Q, they are $2.49 a box.  If you have a ManuQ to stack with this AdPerksQ, you can get them for even cheaper this week.  Again, I like to keep a stockpile of these items.

* Select Playtex baby products produce a $4 +Up this week, including these pacifier packs.  The binkies are NOT on sale but if you have a Wellness discount, they are under $1 each after discount, the Q and +Ups you receive back.  This is not something I need, but it was good for rolling expiring +Ups AND I'll either wrap them up for my "baby is due any day" friend or I'll tuck them back for another gift opportunity.  They don't take up much room so I don't mind hanging onto them for now.

* Now to the deal that got me excited!
The hair brushes.
This week the Conair brushes are BOGO free.  Plus there is a $5 +Ups when you buy $10 in these products.
I got 2 boar bristle(the GOOD ones!)brushes for the price of one--$9.19.
I had to buy a small item to get me to $10 spent, so I also got the black comb, which cost me $2.23 after Wellness discount.  Since I didn't get 2 combs, my 20% Wellness discount kicked in on that item.
I spent $11.42 on 2 good brushes and a comb and I got a $5 +Ups back.
In the end I spent $6.42 on 2 good quality hair brushes and a comb.
I can match that deal anywhere!
One of them is going into #2 Son's Xmas stocking and the other I'll keep in reserve for when he loses the one Santa brings. 8-P

Pardon me for gushing over these brushes......

I used $25 in +Ups.....$13 was rolled, $12 was spent.
I still have $9 to spend/roll before Saturday is out.


August Grand Totals so far this month.....

Out Of Pocket....$0  cash
Value of items bought....$321.16
Savings Rate of  100%
Single Check Rebate due....$2.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket....Still $0
Savings Rate Still  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$70+
+Ups received...$89+
+Ups currently...$33+ 
 

Sluggy

Tales From the College Crypt

I found this image and thought it said some things I've been saying for years.

You CAN get a college degree without debt but it takes some doing and you have to be super motivated.

Which takes us to my post for today.
It's about college and my kids.

Regular readers will remember that we have 2, count 'em 2, kids in college at the moment.
My oldest is a senior and my daughter is a sophmore.

We have/had a set amount of $ for each of our kids for college.
They were/are told how much we will spend on their college and then it's up to them to make the hard choices......
The choice of going to a less pricey school and pay cash and get their degree without debt OR to going to the high priced school and having to take out loans to finish the program.

#1 Son(oldest)chose an in-state public school with on-campus housing and meal plan.  His college fund(along with a small academic scholarship)was enough to cover all his costs, including textbooks.  Covered it all except for incidentals(pizza out, movies, fun money, etc.)which he covered with pay from a part time job.
He's our most sensible child.

As a safety measure in his 3rd year, he took out and got a $1K subsidized loan.  With the steep increase in the school's rates, he was worried about his college funds not quite covering all his bills that year.  After the school's financial aid department used some weird formula to deduct this and that from his loan, he ended up receiving $59 each semester in loans.
Yes, I just said he got FIFTY NINE DOLLARS out of a THOUSAND DOLLAR Loan that was awarded to him.
Obviously somebody somewhere needs to relearn how they do math.

Anyway, he finished his junior year of college with the grand total of $118 in student loans.
This would be ridiculously easy to pay off, right?

We sat down and had the senior year college money talk with him last Spring.
Due to a few other fees we didn't count on(clearances and such as he is going into teaching), and more increases in tuition and other charges, he doesn't have quite enough left in his college fund to finish his last year without paying out of his own pocket-either cash or taking on loans.

If he stayed on campus and on the meal plan for his last year, he would end up using all of what is left in his college fund and need another $5000.
In anticipation of this shortfall, #1 son applied for college loans again and found out in May that he was awarded $7500 worth this time around.
This would be MORE than enough to get him through.....unless financial aid starts yanking some of it and doing voodoo math again.

But.......
Living on campus is NOT what he is planning to do.
He got it in his head that he could live cheaper off campus in an apartment and cook for himself.
The real reason is he wants to live with his girlfriend and THAT'S not going to happen in a double dorm room this year.
The GF has a car, so they can live outside of this tiny college town(aka find a cheaper rental)and still get to classes.
With having to pay for gas to get to class I think the savings of living off-campus would be negated by the new transportation costs.
But it's his life, right? ;-)

So they have been actively looking since March for an apt. and let's just say that after 4+ months, it's just not happening.
Until early last month when GF's relatives unexpectedly gave them both a place to live for the school year.
For a very low cost.
So low in fact that now #1 son may not need those loans he took out even if he has to pay/cook his own meals.

You know this can't be the end of the story right? ;-)


So with things looking pretty good for him......seriously, who leaves college with $118 in student loans!?lol........until last month he comes up with a new complication.

GF and he have determined that having 1 car between them is not going to cut it.
#1 son has to student teach each semester this year.....one semester in a rural school and the other in an urban school.
Since his college is in a tiny town with no public transportation(outside of the college bus that goes to the Walmart each day), he will need to find a ride for both teaching gigs without being able to ride the bus there.
And GF doesn't think that with her schedule that they can rely on her car to get them to school AND to his assignments outside of town.

Soooooo, #1 son has decided he needs his own car.
And since he has this loan money being applied to his bill(with some leftover too), what is left of his college fund(that he doesn't need for rent and food)can be used to buy a car.
And he will come out of school with a total of $7618 in student debt.
For a car.

*thunk*

So we had a long talk about all this.....but in the end it's his life, his money and his decision.
It doesn't make me happy but he'll be the one who has to live with having to pay this off.
And if it breaks down, he's the one who has to pay to fix it and he has been told as much.
And he is paying for the car insurance as well.
Outside of funding the purchase, we are washing our hands of this car.

Stayed tuned for more developments.............

Sluggy

Even Though You Are Frugal, You Can Still Be Nice

One of the gals I am friendly with up at my local Rite-Aid store is expecting a baby.
She is due in the next couple of weeks actually.
This is her first baby and she is super excited. 8-)

She is a sweet person, so I really wanted to do something nice for her.
Even though I am not what you'd call one of her friends in her personal life, I wanted to give her something for the new baby.  But I wanted to be frugal about it, because, well......that's what I am, frugal!lol    I went about getting a gift together without spending money.  It took planning and time to pull off.  But I had time on my side, since I've known about her impending bundle since about March.

So as soon as I found out that she had a bun in the oven, I set about entering Giveaways online for baby items.  There are always tons of giveaways out there for all kinds of baby stuff on the internet.  You name it, you can find someone giving it away in order to promote a company and/or a blog.

I know she is like me, in that she doesn't believe in having a lot of "stuff".  She's not into newfangled products that aren't "needs"......she doesn't have the room in their tiny apartment for all kinds of gadgets and doo-dads that aren't necessities for raising a baby.  She is also very big on being "natural", using natural products.

So I entered giveaways for baby stuff that was useful.
And I scored some 7th Generation diapers for free and a hardcover copy of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss back in March.  Even if she does cloth diapering, she will have occasions where disposables will be needed.

And 2 weeks ago, I bought a bunch of Johnson's Baby body wash and lotion from their "Naturals" line in a couple of my Rite-Aid trips.  These products didn't hardly cost me anything.
Combined it all made for a nice little gift for her new baby.

Now I didn't have a baby themed gift bag to put it all into but I did have a Summer themed bag(watermelons!.....so appropriate when you look like you are about to give birth to a watermelon!lol).   The bag was done in soft blue and rose colors.  There was a gift tag on the bag so no baby greeting card was needed either.

This baby gift cost me only cents on my gift card and I used something I had already.  Can't get much more frugal than that! ;-)

And the mom-to-be loved it.  She didn't expect this and she was thrilled to get it....especially the book since she said it is her favorite Dr. Seuss book and she told her hubby she wanted to get the baby a copy of it when she got older.
And she loved the irony that I got all the Johnson's baby stuff from where she works.....she may have checked me out on one of those trips too.lol

And it warmed my heart to make her happy.
And I got to be a nice person but still maintain my miserly frugal ways.

But if anyone ever says I'm a nice person, don't you believe them..... ;-)

Sluggy

It Drives Me Nuts!

                          photo  credit Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg / via Getty Images

I use to spend soooo much time in Toys R Us stores when my kids were little.
The oldest was a LEGO Maniac.
Seriously addicted to them!
I still have the scars on the bottoms of my feet to prove it.......
Plus I use to sell some things on eBay.

So I had a real good guffaw when I was THIS STORY HERE about a mother/son duo who when on a methodical crime spree and sold the the illegally gotten goods at an online auction/marketplace site which will remain anonymous, by the name of eBay. ;-)

I love the ironic little twist at the end......see if you can figure out what I am talking about with that!

It made me stop and think too.
Now WHY didn't I think of this and implement it?
Ok, I know why......because I wouldn't have been able to live with myself, that's why!

And the title of this post?
So many things about our culture drive me nuts so take your pick. lol
Atcually, it's in reference to that stupid backwards "R" in the toy retailers name.  It drives me insane but I admit it IS a rather clever marketing tool that some ad person came up with for the chain.
And it never kept me from dropping $ on toys in the store so argh!!! at you T-(backward)R-U

What do you think about this story?

Sluggy

Food Spending August Week 2 & Meal Planning Week 3

Repeating the picture above again this week.  I got to thinking and the caption is all wrong!

It should read, "If Looks could kill women wouldn't need CAST IRON SKILLETS.

Am I right? ;-)

*****************************
And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

Sunday--Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Green Beans

Monday--Meatloaf, Squash Casserole 

Then things went haywire.....

Tuesday--Leftovers

Wednesday--Steak, COC

Thursday--Rigatoni with Mushrooms in Sauce

Friday--More Leftovers + mixed veggies

Saturday--Leftovers Yet Again(plus a big tossed salad)

I only made 2 of the original meals I planned.  Wed and Thurs we changed plans due to a store sale on steak, corn of cob and mushrooms(I had the sauce and pasta already.).  The 2 meatloaves and leftover pasta left us with many leftovers.

 

The weekly food spending was $188.09.  This is waaaay high for me in just 1 week.

I hadn't counted on the local Shursave market having their semi-annual MEAT SALE last week.  About $150 of that spending was pure meat.  I got a large Pork Shoulder(for smoking and barbecue), 7 lbs. of ribeye steaks and 2 large eye round tenderloins which I hacked up into smallish sirloin steaks and cubed the ends into stewing beef chunks.

Only about $40 of what I spent last week was on non-meat necessities.

I have $91.93 left of my $400 food budget for August. 

And it's just the 13th of the month.

A.C.K.

I do have $12 in Cats and a $10 gift card to help get me through the rest of August without going over my $91.93 left.   That gives me around $113 for the rest of the month.  Just keep any deals and sales away from my eyes!lol

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up......meatloaf, rigatoni in sauce.

***********************

This week's menu.....

Sunday--salmon with maple glaze, Stir-fried mixed veg, mashed potatoes

Monday--BLT sandwiches with tomato from our garden...slurp!

Tuesday--tuna helper, caesar salad

Wednesday--Leftovers

Thursday--tacos or taco salad

Friday--burgers, baked beans, cucumber salad

Saturday--Leftovers

 

 

I'm going for easy peasy this week on the stovetop or outside on the grill and no running the oven.

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....cucumbers.

I bought bread, carrots, rolls, lunchmeat for lunches and lots of lettuce last week so it's just cukes and milk.  I'm going to try to keep the spending under $20 this week.....I have to use the $12 in Cats this week, so actual $ spending of $8 or less.

So what's on deck for your menu this week?

Sluggy

Wallowing in Self-Loathing

I have hit an emotional/psychological loggerhead in regards to the decluttering again.
 
I have gotten down to the last layer of stuff I need to get rid of both here in the house/garage and the storage unit.
The "stuff" are things I bought to resell but due to either just having too much and not enough time to sell it, or the "market" for this stuff just isn't there anymore(due to higher shipping costs and the weaker economy making collector's cut back on spending), it still sits here.
I've tried selling locally and even with ridiculously low prices and THAT doesn't work.
So I know intellectually I need to just finish carting all of it off to charity and take what little bit of a tax write-off I can get.

So I send a little bit off and then I stop......because I just can't emotionally continue to send off the rest.
So the rest sits for weeks on end while I wrestle with myself emotionally.

Eventually I get mad enough(at myself for buying too much, at myself for not being able to let it go, at "it" for still being here in my life causing me pain), and that motivates me to send a little bit more off to charity.
And then I show what I send off on the blog and someone who hasn't been here long, inevitably comments about "why are you giving away such nice and new stuff?.....why don't you sell it?". lol
And I plummet back into an emotional/psychological dark place again and the cycle starts again.

So in the end, I DO end up getting rid of this stuff but I am in a cycle now whereas it is going to take me FOREVER to get it all done.

Here's an example of what I am talking about......
I pulled a box of Boyds bears out.
This is a box of stuffed critters I've had since 2000.
I first pulled this box out 2 years ago to sort through and check the prices things were going for online(eBay).
All but 2 of the critters aren't worth my time or energy to sell, for what they would bring in(going by sold prices on completed listings).
Not worth it for the last 3 times in 2 years I've pulled it out.

So guess who pulled the box out again 2 days ago? lol
I check online again.
Still not worth the time to sell.
Duh....really?lol

But then I get another idea......why don't I sell them on Etsy?.....or even Amazon?
I go check and people have these things listed on both marketplaces.
Then I think.....but what are the chances they would actually SELL?
And how long would I have to keep them listed in order to get a sale?.....meaning I could still be storing these things a year or two from now, waiting on a sale.
And I don't want to still be toting these critters around in 2 years from now.

And then I got depressed......and now I am getting mad at myself......for being silly........and an idiot.

I feel like a full fledged hoarder sometimes.  I might have nicer stuff and not throw it on the floor with garbage and waste but the fact is, I am emotionally attached to this stuff like a hoarder.

I think I need some of y'all to come here and hold my hand while I make the decisions to to get rid of it all.

Do you have stuff you know you need to get rid of that you can't bring yourself to throw out or give away?
Or are those loony tunes of those hoarder shows and I alone in this?

Sluggy

Poking Fun At Politics

*WARNING!
If you have no sense of humor and you don't want to see yet another political post on the internet, just leave now.



If you've been hanging around Chez Sluggy for awhile you know that I often times drip with sarcasm.
I do enjoy a good needling, don't you?
Especially when a subject is ripe for poking fun at.
Like say......Politics and those vile creatures known as Politicians.
Or more specifically deeply embedded career politicians.

When the gang of guys who founded this country were tinkering with how things should work in the new Republic of the United States, one of their principles was that government be as small as possible.
It was there to protect us from foreign and hostile invaders(army/militia) and to keep the order internally by way of rules and enforcement(laws/police).
It was not there to take all our income(taxes)or get in the way of our conducting business(bureaucracy).

The people who served in government did so on a limited basis.  Elected officials served their term or 2 and then they went home to their REAL job or business and continued to live their life and SUPPORT THEMSELVES.
You didn't stay in office for 40 years and then retire and go home lugging along a big fat retirement package that the people who elected you in the first place had to work additional years to pay for YOUR lifetime monthly check along with the work to save for their own retirement income.

But I digress.....

The founding fathers didn't foresee how politicians would take advantage of the system.
Knowing human nature they should have  seen it coming but they weren't perfect.
They dropped the ball.
And after 236 years of bloat and graft, look at the Monster we have now!

(The cartoon could be a Rep. Admin....doesn't matter which party.)


Again I digress......

The point is I found a "cute" little video online and I thought I'd share it with you all.

It also reminds me of a favorite quote of mine attributed to Albert Einstein.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Please thing about this quote as we get closer to Election Day on Nov. 6th.


And now, with apologies to Rogers & Hammerstein for your listening pleasure......lol.....



Sluggy

Thinking Like a Generation Z-er

This is a bit dated but it's still funny.
Though this would be funnier if I didn't think some of what he is saying IS what young people think!
Check it out......

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Totals Update for August

I was so having fun complaining that I forgot to put the blasted Rite-Aid Monthly Totals in yesterday's R-A post.

Here 'tis.....

August Grand Totals so far this month.....

Out Of Pocket....$0  cash
Value of items bought....$272.58
Savings Rate of  100%
Single Check Rebate due....$2.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket....Still $0
Savings Rate Still  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$45+
+Ups received...$76+
+Ups currently...$45+ 




   
That is all....carry on.

Sluggy
 

Rite-Aid & Complaining

Boy, you hit the jackpot today!
You get to see the spoils from my latest trip to Rite-Aid AND you get to hear complaining.
Lucky, Lucky YOU!

A quickie to Rite-Aid last night......it's a slow week again there.....

2 x Gillette Sensor 3 disposable razors on sale $7.49=$14.98
1 x Conair VIBE hairbrush on sale but 20% Wellness disc. cheaper=$2.63
1 x Revlon tweezer w/20% Wellness discount=$2.39
2 x Milky Way DARK(Mmmmm) candy bars on sale BOGO=$.99
SubTotal.....$20.99

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Gillette disposable razors ManuQ(7/22 RP)=$2.00
1 x BOGO Gillette disposable razors ManuQ(8/5 RP)=$7.49
1 x $2/1 Revlon Eye Beauty Tools AdPerk IPQ=$2.00
1 x .75/2 Milky Way candy bars IPQ(no longer available)=$.75
Coupon Total.....$12.24

$20.99-$12.24=$8.75 + .06¢tax=$8.81

I used $8 in +Up Rewards and put the .81¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $6 in +Up Rewards(2x$2 WYB Gillette disposable razor pack, 1x$2 WYB Vibe hairbrush or Scuncii hairbands).

The tweezers should give me enough to get the SCR #30(Purchase $5 worth of beauty tools/Get $2).
I was at $4.50 with the last 2 tools I bought so now will be over $5.
Last month's SCR for beauty tools R-A counted the reg. shelf price, even if you bought them on a BOGO50% deal.
So I spent $8 in +Ups and got back $6 +Ups and $2 SCR cash.

*With the 2 razor Qs, I believe these both can be used on Mach 3 or Sensor 3  razors.  Read the wording, look at the picture on it to be sure.  My store was out of the Mach3(since that is the one all the deal bloggers told everyone to buy), but you can use on Sensor 3 as well.

And here is the Deal I wanted to do to CONVERT some +Ups to cash, but my store doesn't carry this product.....

Part of this BOGO50% Deal is the Luster Now! Mouthrinse.  It's usually $6.99 reg. shelf price, so 2 bottles on this sale would be $10.48.

I had these coupons to use....

2 x $1.50/1 IPQ(from their website)=$3.00
2 x $1.25/1 R-A Oral Care book Q=$2.50
Total....$5.50

$10.48-$5.50=$4.98, (and you pick up a small item(Cella cherry)to get your total over $5.  Then you use $5 in +Ups to pay and pay the small change amount left OOP.

Then you take your receipt and apply for SCR #28--Luster Now! Mouthrinse $3 rebate on each.
There is a limit of 2 of this rebate per household, so you get $6 cash back.
Spend $5 in +Ups(and some change), Get $6 cash back.
Awesome, right? 8-)
But only if you can find a store that carries it.  Mine carries the toothpaste and the whitening strips in this brand but not the mouthrinse. 8-(

And that's probably my only trip this week.
Slow week for my needs......they can't all be a trip to the circus.

And I probably thought I forgot about the complaining I promised you in the title, right?
HA!

Well I didn't forget.....but for a change, it's NOT ME complaining!
Evidently I ticked someone off enough that they couldn't be satisfied with leaving a comment on the post, they had to email me privately.
Seems my blog is just for bragging about my Rite-Aid trips.
Because I didn't post details like a deal blogger.
And I posted it AFTER the store had closed that night and the sale was over for the week.

First off, this ain't a deal blog.
I tried that but it bored even ME to tears!lol
It was too much work, too much pressure and just plain boring.
I sit here and pound out posts for the pleasure in it.
I am NOT making a living off this blog.

Blogging?.....for money?.....Really??!!

In the immortal words of Austin Meyers....."That ain't my bag baby!"

You want some suggestions for deal bloggers to follow, let me know and I'll post a few. 

And secondly, I don't usually get to the store until later in the week.
I am not sitting in my car at the crack of dawn waiting on Rite-Aid to unlock their doors on Sunday morning.
If I did I think my store would force me to get a job there and start opening for them......I am there a lot but not on a regular basis and NEVER early in the morning.....unless I stayed up all night. hehe

I try to post details on what I buy/what coupons I use if I think it will help someone else see a deal.
So yeah, I guess some days my Rite-Aid posts are mainly bragging.
So sue me......wait, don't do that!

Ok, it's thundering like a bitch here so I am off for awhile.
Everyone leave a comment of the awesome deal you got this week somewhere.

I know SonyaAnn bought every pack of bacon in a 3 state area last week for a ridiculously small cost!
I want to know when she is inviting me over for BLTs!?!? Mmmmmmm....bacon.......


Sluggy