Frugal Friday.....the August 31st Edition

Happy Labor Day Weekend to everyone!

So let's get to the frugal things that happened this past week at Chez Sluggy.........

*  I went to Weis Markets last Friday and got the freebie plus used a rain check..........

The seltzer was the freebie with a Weis digital coupon.
The ice cream was $2.99 per box with my rain check, plus I had 2 x .75¢ IPQs which each doubled to $1.50.  And I had a digital .75¢/1 Q in my Weis account which also doubled to $1.50 and came off on this order so I got both Ice creams and the seltzer for $1.48 total.

I also earned $2.25 back on SavingStar for buying the ice cream so I got paid .77¢ to bring all 3 home.  ;-)

*  I found some money in the Rite-Aid parking lot.......

A quarter!  This goes into the change pot and will get applied to the grocery budget at the end of the year.

*  Still harvesting garden veggies too......

Not many but I have another photo I haven't taken yet of what's been picked since last Friday.

*  Hubs and I went out for our Anniversary Lunch on Tuesday to Longhorn Steakhouse.  I had an old gift card with $38+ on it and I brought along a $3 off 2 lunches Q.  With tip after Q and gift card our steak lunches cost $13.11 OOP.

*  Hubs and I went to a pick your own farm on Monday and picked all this.......

23 lbs. of tomatoes and 19 lbs. of peppers.
With the corn, cabbage and eggplant we didn't pick but  bought as well it cost $29.60.  Had I bought all that at the grocery stores it would have cost $78 or so OOP.
Just going to the source of fresh produce and doing a bit of the work yourself can save you loads on your food bill.

*  Lots of grocery shopping this week.........

Some of the freebies from Target(using a free gift card to pay).

 Freebies from Rite-Aid(using sales, coupons and Bonus Cash).

Cheap shopping trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets. 

*  I earned cash rebates totaling $19.50 this week on Ibotta and SavingStar.  I love when I get paid to buy stuff!  Those rebates brought down my weekly food spending to $91.13 from $110.63(though I add the rebates back into the food budget at the end of the year, not when earned).

*  Don't know if this is very frugal but I have taken lots of produce(both from our garden and from the farm we visited)and turned them into canned veggies for use this Winter........

Here are 6 quarts of tomatoes(there is another one in the fridge)canned and processed on Wednesday.

And here are 14 pints of my secret recipe Pepper Relish I also processed that day.

Like I said, after you add in all the costs(produce, gas to get to the farm, electricity to can them, other items needed)this might not be frugal but.........
I know what goes into this stuff I can(no preservatives other than lemon juice in the maters)and with the relish, if I didn't make it, we wouldn't have it because you can't buy this stuff in a store, as nobody sells something exactly like it. ;-)

So what frugal wins did y'all have this week?

Sluggy

A Flurry of Food Shopping

I did not mean to spend the whole rest of my August food money this week but.............yep, it happened.

I needed cheese so off to Walmart we went(as they have the best price every day and no real cheese deals were to be had here this week)........

2 x Sparkle pt, 1 x Scott tp, 1 box of Sweet and Spicy tea and 3 x 2 lb. blocks of cheeses came to $25.68 after using coupons too.
I also earned $1.75 in Ibotta rebates on some of this.

Then it was off to Target(twice in two weeks!)since they had cases of water on special........

I got 6 cases of water for $1.69 each, 2 boxes of crackers on sale for $1.87 each, a jar of mayo on sale for $3.00 and 1 packet of chicken w/a 40% Cartwheel was .98¢.
I earned back $2.25 at Target on Ibotta($1.50 mayo, .50¢ chicken, .25¢ for buying any item).

I also bought 2 lbs. of 93/7 ground beef.......

$3 off discount stickers made these $2.69 each.  Not bad for 93%/7% beef.  Even better was I had free gift cards enough left that this was all FREE, zero OOP.
8-)))

I also hit Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday(Senior Discount Day)for a few things and happened upon some clearance deals too.......

2 x Quacker Overnight Oats cup on sale=$3.00(and I had $1 in Qs)
2 x Del Monte peaches cups on sale=$3.54
1 x Tabasco big bottle=$3.39(and I had $1/1 Q)
6 x Snickers bars on sale B2G1Free=$4.00(and I had $3 in Qs)
2 x Tutturosso diced tomatoes on sale=$2.00

And then I found some clearance/discontinued items.....
7 x Tutturosso San Marzano whole tomatoes 50% off $1.14 can
6 x Furmano ground/peeled tomatoes 50% off .83¢
2 x Classico parmesan cheese 50% off  $3.24(cheaper than Kraft even if I had a Q for Kraft)
2 x sugar-free ZZZquil 50% off $2.74 each(and I had $1/1 Qs)

I also found some meat discounts....
1 x cut-up whole fryer chicken 2.97 lb for .71¢ lb after discount sticker
1 x Perdue B/S thighs 1.83 lb for $1.65 lb after discount sticker
1 x package sausages 1.40 lb for $1.56 lb after discount sticker

Grand Total after discounts/clearance and Qs was $55.35.

I also earned back $6.50 in Ibotta rebates($1 Tabasco, .75¢ Del Monte, $1 Quacker, .75¢ Tutturosso, $3 Weekend Warrior-buying 7 items over a certain period of time)so $48.85 after rebates too.

We also went and played field hands on Monday.....one of the hottest/muggiest days of the year.  Not the best planning on our part. lolz
We weren't out in the sun long but it seemed like forever once I had filled that mesh bag and had to haul it across the fields and up a hill back to the farm stand. UGH
We did bring home lots of fresh produce........

Fresh corn-6 ears for $3-which is already gone.

6 Japanese eggplant-3 for $1.

A huge cabbage for $2
23 lbs. of tomatoes at .40¢ a lb.(We picked these.)
19 lbs. of peppers(no green) at .60¢ a lb. (We picked these too.)
$29.60 spent OOP for all this.  Had I bought it all at the grocery store it would have run $73.99 or thereabouts.

I am about shopped and pick your owned out for this week. lolz

The August food budget has $1.80 left in it.  I got some screaming deals and didn't go over budget for the month so I am happy as a pig in sh&t! ;-)

Any good deals in your neck of the woods lately?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Porn for This Week

Here's the R-A haul for this week.
Went to the downtown location while out with Hubs and found that store had the 4 Tums sugar-free containers I needed to finish the $10 Back Digestive Deal.

4 x Tums sugar-free on sale $3.99=$15.96
2 x 4 pack Kleenex on sale $3.99=$7.98
2 x Oxi-Clean on sale $3.99=$7.98
4 x Sally Hansen nail polish clearane priced to $2.49=$9.96
SubTotal.....$ 41.88

Coupons Used
1 x $8 off wys $40 CatalinaQ=$8.00
4 x $2/1 Tums sugar-free receiptQs=$8.00
2 x $1.50/2 Tums ManuQs=$3.00
1 x $1/4 Kleenex bundle ManuQ=$1.00
1 x .50¢/4 Kleenex bundle IPQ=.50¢
2 x $2/1 Oxi-Clean ManuQ=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Oxi-Clean R-A adQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.......$26.50

$41.88-$26.50=$15.38 + .47¢ tax=$15.85 paid for with Bonus Cash
I earned back $21.00 in new BC($10 wys $30 Tums, $1 wyb2 Kleenex, 2 x $5 wyb2 Sally Hansen)so all this was a $5.15 moneymaker.

I found bunches of Sally Hansen nail polish in a clearance bin and these also earn the $5 when you buy 2 Sally Hansen items this week.

I also bought this on a different card at that store.......

3 x lip balm clearance priced to .32¢=.96¢
1 x SH nail clearance priced to $2.24
1 x SH nail clearance priced to $1.99
SubTotal.....$5.19 + .32¢ tax=$5.51 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $5 BC for buying the 2 Sally Hansen nail polish so this transaction "spent down" the BC by .51¢.

I hit my Rite-Aid on the way home and found some E.L.F. brushes, the $1 ones that give $2 in BC when you buy 2.  With the 20% Wellness discount they cost .80¢ so a .40¢ for every 2 you buy after BC earned.
2 x $1=$2-.40¢ Wellness disc.=$1.60 and earns back $2.00 in Bonus Cash.

I got 6 brushes total, 4 on one card and 2 on another card so I am "up" $1.20 in BC on these.


Sluggy

Still Crazy After All These Years

Today marks me and Hubs 36th Wedding Anniversary.

We've been "together" for 41+ years, married for 36.

I can't believe I am this old sometimes!



I found these photos recently we took on one of our first vacations to Maine in 1989......

Proof that Hubs use to have Hair! lolz

Sluggy at the falls in Machias, Maine with a very unfortunate hair style.  ;-)

Here are what some things cost 36 years ago....

Dozen Eggs  .84¢
A Loaf of Bread  .50¢
Gallon of Milk  $2.24
Tomatoes  .39¢ lb.
US Postage Stamp .20¢
New Car  $7,983
New House  $82,200
Monthly Rent Avg. $320
Commodore VIC 20(home computer) $29.95
19" Color TV  $499

US President....Ronald Reagan
The Average Income in 1982.....$21,050
Unemployment Rate.....7.6%
Fed Interest Rates......11.50%
Inflation Rate USA....6.26%

News events from 1982........
* In Chicago 7 people killed by ingesting potassium cyanide laced Tylenol capsules
* EPCOT opened
* Dutch Elm disease destroyed millions of trees
* Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands
* The wreck of the "Mary Rose" flagship of King Henry VIII was raised to the surface after lying at the bottom of the Solent for 437 years.
*  AT&T was ordered to break-up their communications monopoly by the Justice Dept. due to na anti-trust lawsuit brought in 1974.
* Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album is released.

And speaking of music here are some songs from 1982.

1982 was all about disco, funk, rock and a resurgence of Girl Bands.

I was heavily into this group in 1982......



And this one..........



And this girl group........



1982 saw this classic tune.......



And another iconic song debuted that year.......



Another band that was big during this time.........



And the beginning of the Music Video Age saw some interesting tunes....



And here's a true classic..........



Here's a slightly disturbing music video...........



And a One Hit Wonder.........


And this tune that just keeps going and going and going......




This guy was John Cougar back then........



And this strange video and song became an ear worm to many........



And the top Billboard song of 1982........



And let's end with one of my all-time favs.......




Have a great day and have a drink for me today!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Not Much to Share From Last Week" Edition--

I shared this on Facebook last week(I think).  Made me laugh(and cry).

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This  is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out

2. Monday--leftover Chinese take-out or ?

3. Tuesday--Roast Turkey Breast, Corn on cob, Stuffing, Gravy

4. Wednesday--No clue yet

5. Thursday--Ham and Zuke Quiche, Tossed Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--No clue yet

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out

2. Monday--leftover Chinese take-out or other Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Roast Turkey Breast, Corn on cob, Stuffing, Gravy

4. Wednesday--Lasagna Hamburger Helper, Cuke and Tomato Salad

5. Thursday--London Broil, Eggplant in Hoisin Sauce

6. Friday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches w/Veggies
7. Saturday--Chicken Parm, Spinach Souffle

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  
Lots of cooking since we didn't have many leftovers from the previous week(other than squash).
Too hot to run the oven for quiche so it's off the menu until the weather turns.

Two small trips to both Weis and the Shursave Markets and the Target trip(along with the Bread Outlet trip I forgot last week)brought the weekly food spending to $101.18 and the monthly total to $287.57.
I have 4 days left in my shopping month for August and have $112.43 left in the food budget to spend this month.  Hopefully I can stay under budget with 4 days left. ;-)

My savings percentage last week was 65.86%(without Rite-Aid trips)and August's monthly savings total comes to 58.06% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......turkey breast, gravy, eggplant in Hoisin sauce, chicken Parm, London broil and 1 pork tenderloin.

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

1. Sunday--Leftover turkey breast w/gravy, roasted broccoli

2. Monday--various meat leftovers and squash and onions

3. Tuesday--Anniversary Dinner Out(36th)

4. Wednesday--Something out of the freezer

5. Thursday--Lobster, Cole Slaw, Mac and Cheese

6. Friday--Leftovers or BLTs
7. Saturday--Pizza(homemade), Salad

This week will see 2-3 new meals cooked, 3-4 nights of leftovers/FFY, 1 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Lobster, Cabbage.  Lobsters are on sale this week at Price Chopper.  I do need to get cheese at Walmart(lowest reg. price and lower than sale prices at other grocers)this week too.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid Porn....Saturday & Sunday

I've got a couple of cashiers at my Rite-Aid who treat me right.
Sometimes people who shop there are in a rush and when a catalina Q prints out they don't take it.....when this happens and it's a Spend $X/Get $X Off Catalina Q the cashiers tuck them under the money drawer in the register.

They give them to folks they know and like who are regular shoppers in the store.....like me!
In return I have been known to help customers find things in the store and print coupons at home for one of the cashiers who doesn't have a printer.

I put together another transaction on Saturday and bought all this..........

1 x Gillette men's razor 20% Wellness disc.=$6.79
1 x Venus women's razor 20% Wellness disc.=$7.99
2 x Caltrate bone health BOGO50%=$14.98
1 x Advil sinus/Allergy BOGO50%=$8.29
1 x Emergen-C item BOGO50%=$3.14
SubTotal......$41.19

Coupons Used
1 x $8 wyspend $40 CatQ=$8.00
1 x $2/1 Gillette men's razor ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $3/1 Venus razor ManuQ=$3.00
2 x $2/1 Caltrate item ManuQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Advil allergy ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Emergen-C ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total......$21.00

$41.19-$21.00=$20.19+.61¢ tax=$20.80 paid for with Bonus Cash.
I earned $13 in new Bonus Cash($8 wyb2 Gillette razors, $5 wyspend $25 on pain relievers)so spent down BC by $7.80.

I also earned another $5 Paypal reward(Pfizer Spend $25/Get $5 Deal)and I received $4.00 back in SavingStar cash rebates($2 Caltrate,$2 Advil Sinus/Allergy)so in the end this transaction was a $1.20 moneymaker.  8-))

On Sunday I went up to R-A and wanted to use a Spend $30/Get $6 Off CatalinaQ, so I did this transaction..........

2 x Tums sugar-free on sale $3.99=$7.98
2 x Suave shampoo BOGO50%=$4.18
4 x Degree deodorant BOGO50%=$11.68
4 x Bic items on sale 2/$3=$6.00
2 x XL candy bars 20% Wellness disc.=$3.82
SubTotal......$33.94

Coupons Used
1 x $6 off wyspend $30 CatQ=$6.00
2 x $2/1 Tums sugar-free receiptQ=$4.00
2 x $1.50/1 Tums sugar-free ManuQ=$3.00
4 x $1/1 Degree deo IPQ=$4.00
1 x $2/wyspend$4 Bic IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Bic ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1.50/2 XL Hershey bars R-AQ=$1.50
Coupon Total........$22.50

$33.94-$22.50=$11.44+.26¢ tax=$11.70 paid with Bonus Cash.
I was suppose to get back $6 in new Bonus Cash(3 x $2 wybw Suave/Degree/etc.)which would have made this a $5.70 spend down in BC EXCEPT.......

The cashier screwed up the transaction to my benefit.
She forgot to put my coupons through before finishing the transaction.....so she had to return everything and re-ring it all.  With so much in coupons, $22.50, she couldn't just do a "post coupon" and hand me that in cash, so we re-rang it all.
This meants that I got 4 x the Suave $2 BC(the 3 x ringing it all up the first time, plus one more on the rering as that deal had a limit of 4 per card/account.....had the limit been 6 I would have gotten $12 in BC total).
So instead of "costing" me $5.70 in BC this all only "cost" me $3.70 in BC.

Also, because of the snafu at the register, I have credit for buying 4 Tums when I only purchased 2, so I only need to buy 4 more to get to $30+ spent and earn a $10 reward.

Those Tums sugar-free Qs that have been printing on every receipt I get can stack with Tums ManuQs or IPQs.  The Tums are $3.99 this week and are part of a Spend $30/Get $10 BC digestive deal.  If you have enough receipt Qs and reg. ManuQ/IPQs so you can stack the discounts, getting to $30 spent would be easy without actually spending much at all.....and then you'd get $10 in Bonus Cash back.


Sluggy

Lots of Food Shopping This Week!

I ended up doing quite a bit of grocery shopping this week besides that Target trip.
There were loss leaders and deals I could use so I took the opportunity to stock up on certain items we use a lot of.

First at Weis.....

This trip didn't go as planned(in a bad way).  Certain Yoplait brand yogurts were .88¢ wyb 8 in a single transaction.  I had Qs for 2 of those types of Yobplait so I could use 4 of each Q-they were each for .40¢ off which would double to .80¢ off, making each yogurt .08¢.(Weis will double up to 4 of the same Q).
But.....
The store decided to thwart my efforts by dropping the "Fruitside" type of yogurt, so I could only use 4 Qs per 8 cups so 8 cups cost $3.84. bleh.  I should have just bought 4 cups, at reg. price of $1 per cup, used the Qs and paid .20¢ OOP for each cup.  But I didn't think this through well and bought 8 cups.(1 was eaten before the photo got taken.). I did also get .40¢ back on Savingstar for 1 yogurt so I feel a little better about this. ;-)
I bought Kozy Shack pudding on sale $2.50, used 2 x $1/1 Qs and paid $1.50 per container.
The taco shells(we were out)were $1.25 each and I got $1 back on Savingstar so $1.50 for both.

I went back to Weis later in the week to get some meat and use my last 3 Yogurt Qs.....

After Qs the yogurts cost .90¢ for all 3.
The breakfast sausage was on sale for $2.50 and had $1 instant discount stickers on them so $1.50 per package.
The package of thin sliced bottom round steak was $2.30 and had a $1 instant discount sticker on it so $1.30 for .66 lb. or $1.96 a lb.
The package of chuck tender steak was $6.59 and had a $3 instant discount sticker on it so $3.59 for 1.10 lb. or $3.26 a lb.
The best deal was a Buy1Get2Free deal on London Broil cuts.  3 hunks of meat, 4.66 lbs., at a cost of $2.19 per lb.

Then I hit the Shursave market for 3 different "Spend X/Buy X Items, Get $X Off your Order" Deals.....

Hormel had a "Buy 10 items/Get $5 Off" Deal.  We were down to one can of chili for Hubs/Ex-College Boy so I bought 10 cans at $17.90 and got $5 off so $1.29 a can.

There was a Kellogg's "Buy 5 items/Get $5 Off" Deal.  I bought 4 boxes of Raisin Bran and 1 Pop-Tarts, spending $12.  I used a $2/4 Kellogg's cereals ManuQ making it $8, then got $5 off so $3 OOP for those 5 items.

There was also a Quaker Oats "Spend $15/Get $4 Off" Deal.  I bought 2 boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal, 2 boxes of instant oatmeal and a caninster of old fashioned oats, totaling $15.15.
I used a $1/2 Cap'n Crunch cereal ManuQ making it $14.15, then got $4 off so $10..15 OOP for all 6 items.

Then on Wednesday I hit another Shursave Market that had a certain brand of pasta and did the Kellogg's deal again...........

3 Raisin Brand/1 Mini-Wheats and 1 Pop-Tart came to $12 and I got $5 off so $7 OOP for all 5 items.
The DaVinci pastas were .88¢ per package and I had $1/2 ManuQs so $2.28 total or .38¢ each after sale/Q.

There were a few other things as well, a watermelon, a bag of frozen french fries, broccoli, a cuke, corn, a carton of OJ, half a lemon meringue pie 50% off, as well as some half price chicken breasts($2 off instant stickers at Shursave on the packages)and 1.86 lb. of boneless pork chops at Weis marked $6.28 off with sale and $1 instant discount stickers on the 2 packages.  I did not pay full price on any items this week except the milk(milk is highly regulated in PA and NEVER goes on sale).

I am off to peruse the coming week's ads and see if there are any "deals" I need.


Sluggy

Free Stuff From Target!

So remember that $10 off when you spend $50 Target Q I had mailed to me?

A couple of weeks ago I sent for and received a $50 Target gift card using credit card points too.......

I decided that this was the week to go use that Q and gift card so Hubs and I made a trip up to Target on Wednesday and I bought all this............

First I did the paper products deal(Buy 2 select items, Get a $5 Target Gift Card).
Cottonelle TP   $9.89 and I used a $1/1 ManuQ
Viva paper towels  $9.79 and I used a $1/1 ManuQ

The rest of what I bought was all food--

4 x Target brand Butter $1.99 w/5% Cartwheel off $1.89 each
9 x Chobani flip yogurts Buy 8/Get 1 Free Deal $1.00 each and I used a $1/3 ManuQ
2 x Planters Crunchers Nuts $6 and I used a $2/2 ManuQ
1 x Target brand sour cream  .99¢
1 x Milk  $3.55 reg. price(We needed it.)
1 x Cucumber  .69¢
1 x Lettuce  $1.29
2 x Tortilla chips on sale 2/$5 and 5% off Cartwheel made them $2.37 each
2 x Tic-Tac mints 40% off Cartwheel made them .70¢ each and I used 2 x .50¢/1 IPQ

Total after Cartwheel % off.......$54.08
Coupons Used.........$16.00($10, $2, 3 x $1, 2 x .50¢)=$38.08 +.27¢ tax=$38.35 Total.

I used a $5 Target gift certificate first, that I earned last Christmas on a Coke Reward Offer so now the total was $33.35.
Then I used the free Target gift card for the balance of $33.35.
Zero OOP.

I earned a $5 Target gift card for buying the paper products.
I earned $2.50 back in Ibotta cash rebates($2 Planters, .50¢ Cottonelle)as well.

I spent $38.35 in free gift cards and earned another $5 gift card and $2.50 in cash.
This is my kind of shopping trip! 8-)))

And I've found the best place to get the lowest priced butter around here(everyday price)is either Target or Walmart--both sell it for $1.99 a pound(though at Walmart you have to buy it in 2 pound packages).


Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the August 24th Edition

Let's take a look around and see what frugal-ness we had here at Chez Sluggy this week..........

*  Last Friday we got the Weis Friday Freebie........

*  I made a rare trip to Target and got all this for free.........

*  We ate all our leftovers and there was no food waste.

*  I got paid .05¢ after Bonus Cash and Cash Rebates at Rite-Aid to bring all this home with me...

*  I bathed and groomed Chester myself last weekend.  Hey, the dog doesn't complain when he gets a bad haircut. lolz

*  Lots more garden goodies too........

*  I earned $13.90 total in Cash Rebates plus a $5 Target gift card and a $5 Paypal reward on all the shopping I did this past week.

That's about it for us this time.

And remember, in the words of the Most Frugal Man on the Planet.......

What frugal wins did you have this week?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Trip This Week

I've made one trip to Rite-Aid this week.
I tried to make a video on my new phone instead of my camera.

It's rough but here it is........

Video

I misspoke on the video as I could have sworn I had a $2 Persil rebate on SavingStar...oops!

So this ended up being a .05¢ moneymaker trip instead of $2.05.
Oh well.......free is still free, right?  8-)))

And I forgot to mention there is another $5 cash rebate on these pain relieving items too through the manufacturer.
Pfizer Rebate Offer

So we are "up" $5.05 at this point.

Sluggy

Sluggy Joins the 21st Century

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

And I'll add to this, that Sluggy got a smartphone.

Yep, I have joined the 21st Century.
It's something we've been thinking about for awhile.

Then two weeks ago my Tracfone flip phone started having seizures.
Well you could call someone but you could no longer hear the phone ringing or them talking if they picked up or their voicemail message if they didn't......so I didn't know if calls were going through.
So I called our land line, couldn't hear it connect, etc. so I just talked into the phone and THAT I could hear myself talking.
So the flip phone was dead for all intents and purposes.

And then if I left the tracfone on at night it would dial people by itself.  Sonya Ann got a few 3 am phone calls from my number that way. lolz

So Hubs and I bit the phone bullet and got new android phones.

And I will just say that it has been quite the learning curve for me!
I've had it 1 week now and I feel like a toddler with training wheels still. lolz

I don't like that this phone will cost me a LOT more but after we ditch the landline and the extra fee on that to make/receive long distance calls, that's $35-$40 we don't have to pay monthly and makes this only an additional $60 per month for unlimited data phone service for both smart phones.

I can live with that.

The best perk so far is not having to borrow Hubs android Tracfone anymore to do my Ibotta. ;-)

Sluggy

And the Giveaway Winner Is......

There were 55 valid entries this go round.
Listed, numbered and with the help of my good friends at Random dotorg we picked a number.
And the winner is.........

Rhitter!

Rhitter94August 17, 2018 at 10:47 PM

I love the long summer nights. I suffer terribly with SAD. So I am trying to find some natural remedies for that. Chocolate helps!

Congratulations Rhitter!  Please email me your full name and mailing address and I'll get this box of goodies mailed out to you.  And tell me if you want something substituted from the box too and I'll see what I can do.....and no that doesn't mean subbing shampoo for a bundle of $20 bills. hehehe

Thanks to everyone who played along and be looking for another Giveaway coming up in September. 8-)))

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

** Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter the Giveaway.  Go HERE before 11:59 pm EDST to enter. **

The "Goofy Dog" Edition--

This is Chester's Summer bed.  He has torn 3 holes in it and has pulled every last bit of stuffing out of it. He seems to prefers it flat like a blanket because he still uses it as a bed.
Then he began ripping the fabric apart so much so that it's more hole than fabric now. lolz

This is Chester getting inside the bed to hunt for more stuffing I am assuming......

A little while later he decided to go inside it again..........

 and he got most of his body inside it(you can still see a foot).......

Luckily it is lightweight fabric and I was right there when he began panicking because he couldn't extricate himself this time. lololz
After that time, he hasn't attempted it again.  ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This  is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Pork Chops, Squash Casserole, leftover Fried Zucchini(Daughter cooking)

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner(Meat, Eggs, Waffles)

3. Tuesday--BLTs

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Ham and Zuke Quiche, Tossed Salad

6. Friday--Something on the Grill, Tomatoes
7. Saturday--Chicken and Dumplings

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Pork Chops, Squash Casserole, leftover Fried Zucchini(Daughter cooking)

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner(Meat, Eggs, Waffles)

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Cuke/Tomato Salad, Lobster Cakes, Leftover Fried Zuke(again!)

5. Thursday--Fend For Yourself

6. Friday--Leftovers(I had a BLT)
7. Saturday--Pasta w/Meat Sauce, Salad, Bread

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  

The chicken and dumplings didn't happen again(it's too hot for it!)so it comes off the schedule for the time being until things cool off here. Friday it was too wet and muggy to grill out anything..heck, it's been too rainy and muggy most days to stand out there and grill.  The quiche didn't happen because I didn't get the half and half and we had too many leftovers in the fridge already to eat down.

Three trips, two to Weis and one the Shursave Markets brought the weekly food spending to $100.96 and the monthly total to $186.39.(I forgot to add in the Bread Outlet trip when I was adding my tracking book up and I don't want to have to redo it, so that goes on this coming week's tally.)
I have 11 days left in my shopping month for August and have $213.61($203.11 after adding the Bread store trip in)left in the food budget to spend this month.

My savings percentage last week was 54.79%(without Rite-Aid trips)and August's monthly savings total comes to 52.12% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......lobster cakes, pasta w/meat sauce, squash casserole.

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

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out

2. Monday--leftover Chinese take-out or ?

3. Tuesday--Roast Turkey Breast, Corn on cob, Stuffing, Gravy

4. Wednesday--No clue yet

5. Thursday--Ham and Zuke Quiche, Tossed Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--No clue yet

This week will see 2-4 new meals cooked, 1-2 nights of leftovers/FFY, 1 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.
Didn't turn the oven on for the quiche so I didn't make the cake yet.

What needs buying for this menu? Corn, half and half so far.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy