Food & Toiletries Spending 2018......the September Edition

* I won't be doing anymore food spending this month so I'm posting this a bit early.*

Onward to September's food spending report.......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2018.

I have posted September's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in September.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4-5(4 at home this month). No "kids" under 22.

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

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $10.00
Value  $41.31
Savings  75.80%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $38.94
Ads/Qs  $45.00
Value  $83.94
Savings  58.55%

GIANT
OOP  $19.11
Value  $79.74
Savings  76.03%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $54.65
Value  $108.58
Savings  49.67%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $965.93
Value  $965.93
Savings  100%

SURPLUS OUTLET
OOP  $34.40
Value  $67.67
Savings  49.17%

WALMART
OOP  $17.67
Value  $31.27
Savings   43.49%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $311.58

Qs/Ads  $366.35

Value  $677.93

Savings  54.04%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Giant at 76.03% and the Bread Outlet at 75.80%.  My worst savings rate was at Walmart at 43.49%.  If your worst savings rate is well over 40% that's great, right? ;-)

I shopped at 8 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket for September..........$486.35

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales............$604.09

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$1090.44

TOTAL Savings of ................................58%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for August.....$486.35
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales....$1570.02
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid.....$2056.37
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items........76.35%

This closes out the September food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
September's spending was off the rails.  I spent $86.35 more than my $400 food budget.
We have the money for it so it's not like it's a problem for our finances though.  I just take money from another area in September where we were under budget.  If I had to dip into savings to cover this overage or if I spent the money foolishly and didn't get great value for my dollars this would be serious.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went Up by .06% in September 2018 to 76.35% compared to August's 76.29% savings average.
The free stuff from Rite-Aid skewers my averages but without R-A I am at 55.40% savings.  So even without R-A we are doing well on the "savings" front.

With 9 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $3955.63 on food/toiletries in 2018 which is a 73.66% savings rate for the year so far and averages out to $439.51 spent per month in 2018.  We crept back up away from my $400 per month average for the year in September.

LOOKING AHEAD To October.......
October is looking like an austere grocery spending month.  Except for those items we run out of every week(milk, fresh produce, fresh fruit, etc.)we are well stocked so I am going to try to put the brakes on food spending this month, or do what others call a Pantry Challenge.  I am not a fan of these things(since they just trigger in me a response that makes me want to spend more lol)but I am going to try to not grocery shop beyond the immediate essentials.  No stocking up in October.  This might work since October is typically when there are few food deals around in my area......the lull before the November/December holiday deals.
Except for the Shursave Market which runs a Thanksgiving Promo starting in early Oct.(You spend on anything in the store and accumulate points toward a Turkey Day gift certificate-not a free turkey.  Depending on your spending level you get either a $10 or a $20 certificate between early Oct. and early Nov.)
Since I typically don't spend the bulk of my food dollars at this chain I hardly ever earn even the $10 certificate but I feel compelled to spend $ there at the last minute to "catch-up" and earn that cert....even though it's really NOT a great deal to do so.

We'll see how October plays out.  ;-)

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in September?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?
*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?
*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the September 28th Edition

Here's a few things we did this past week that were frugal.......

* I went to Weis and got the Friday freebie last Friday....

A can of chicken broth.  Geez, what a GREAT freebie.....not even a carton of chicken broth.  Can you spare it Weis? lolz

* Gas Points are expiring middle of next week.  Since we won't be here or near a Weis(PMITA)Markets then Hubs and I took our cars up to Weis and filled out.........

No point in letting a .30¢ discount on gas go to waste, right?

*  I found money!

Another penny in the Rite-Aid parking lot.  At this rate I'll have a dollar by 2022!  lolz

*  The lip balm from Kellogg's arrived this week........

Gotten for free from buying 2 boxes of Special K protein bars this Summer.

*  Here I am with my Basil Tree yesterday.........

Since the weather is questionable for when we get back from Maine I pulled this sucker up, plucked all the leaves off and made Pesto with it.
An hour later and very little work, I had 3 containers of pesto for the freezer.

*  We picked what will probably be the last of the tomatoes this week............

31.3 ounces.  I won't be able to update the Garden Totals until we get back but I do know it's well over 100 pounds now.

That's about it from me.

What frugal wins did you have this past week?




Sluggy

My Shops at Rite-Aid This Week

I went over to R-A on Sunday and bought this.........

I did the Weekly Rimmel Deal, the Weekly Chobani Deal and the Hello Toothpaste Monthly Deal.

4 x Chobani yogurt on sale=$4.00
2 x Hello Toothpaste 20% Wellness disc.=$11.66
1 x Rimmel mascara 40% off=$3.47
1 x Rimmel foundation 40% off=$3.17
1 x Rimmel bronzer 40% off=$3.95
1 x Rimmel eye shadow 75% off(clearance)=.92¢
SubTotal.......$27.17+.16¢tax=$27.33

Coupons Used
1 x $1/4 Chobani singles ManuQ=$1.00
4 x $3/1 Rimmel any product IPQ=$12.00
Coupon Total.......$13.00

$27.33-$13.00=$14.33 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $12 in new BC(2 x $1 Chobani, 2 x $5 Hello).

Now I didn't know the Rimmel eye shadow was a clearance item, I expected it to ring up $2.21 or 40% off.

If it had I would have earned another $6 in BC as I would have hit the $12 purchase mark, so it was a surprise that I didn't earn $18 in BC for this transaction.


I needed to spend .49¢ more on Rimmel so I bought this..........

2 x Hello toothpaste 20% Wellness disc.=$11.66
2 x Rimmel eye shadow 75% clearance=$1.84
Total........$13.50+.09¢ tax=$13.59

Coupons Used
2 x $3/1 Rimmel IPQ=$6.00

$13.59-$6.00=$7.59 paid with Bonus Cash.

Except......the cashier didn't ring up one of my $3 Qs so I paid $10.59 w/Bonus Cash and she did a post coupon and I got $3 back in cash.

I earned $16 in new BC(2 x $5 Hello, $6 wyspend $12 on Rimmel).

On Wednesday I went back and did this transaction.............

I did more Hello toothpaste and Tums Deal on daughter's card/account......

3 x Hello toothpaste 20% Wellness disc.(1 on raincheck, so 1 was free)=$11.66
2 x Tums sugar-free on sale=$7.98
2 x candy bars on sale=$1.54
SubTotal....$21.18

Coupons Used
1 x $4 wyspend $20 CatalinaQ=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Hello item IPA=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Tums sugar-free Load2CardQ=$2.00
1 x .75¢/1 Tums item IPQ=.75¢
2 x $2/1 Tums sugar-free receiptQ=$4.00
1 x .50¢/2 Snickers bars IPQ=.50¢
Coupon Total.......$13.25

Except I forgot that the L2CQ comes off automatically so my subtotal after that was $19.18, under the $20 threshold so I had to add 2 more candy bars to my total($1.54)bringing it to $22.72, then the $2 L2CQ coming off made the subtotal $20.72 and the rest of the Qs could come off my total.

$20.72-$11.25=$9.47
Except.....the register wouldn't take the second $2/1 Tums receiptQ(even though I bought 2 of those)and it also wouldn't take the second Hello $1/1 any item IPQ(these Qs seem to be coded in such a way only 1 Q will come off a transaction even if you buy more than 1 of that product).
I had a new cashier who wouldn't push through those 2 Qs so she did a post coupon for them.

So my total was $12.47 paid for with Bonus Cash and I got back $3 cash for the 2 Qs.
I earned $17 in new BC(3 x $5 Hello, 2 x $1 Tums).

So the totals this week....
$37.39 spent in Bonus Cash
$45 in new Bonus Cash earned
$6 in cash received "Post Coupon"


Sluggy

A Little Rite-Aid Shop

Last Friday I did a small Rite-Aid shop on my card.

2 x Cremo body wash on sale=$9.98
2 x Cremo shave cream on sale=$9.98
2 x Snickers bars on sale=.98¢
SubTotal.......$20.94

Coupons Used
4 x $1/1 Cremo product IPQ=$4.00
1 x .50¢/2 Snickers bars IPQ=.50¢
Coupon Total.....$4.50

$20.94-$4.50=$16.44+$1.05 tax=$17.49 paid with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $10 in new BC and $4 in cash rebates($2 Ibotta for 1 of the body wash, 2 x $1 SavingStar for 2 Cremo shave creams), making this transaction a $3.49 "spend down".    Unfortunately the cashier didn't have any spare $4 wys $20 Catalina Qs so I'll have to settle for this instead of a "moneymaker" transaction after Qs/Rebates. sigh  8-)

I could have put the candy bars back since I didn't need them to get to $20 in spending(to use a $4 off Catalina the cashier didn't have)but I didn't.   I am sure Kim will take care of those chocolate bars when she gets here.  ;-)



Sluggy

How I Play the Rite-Aid Game

A reader, Wendy, asked in one of her giveaway entries......
"I would love to know how much time you spend each week planning out your deals. You are so good at it and I would like to hear about your "process" and what you do to prepare."

Ok, I'm game for this.


Let's take this week's ad and I can try to talk through how I approach planning my shops at Rite-Aid.

My philosophy for shopping at Rite-Aid is......get stuff that is free or cheap, get stuff you need or want or can give away to someone who can use it, pay with Bonus Cash instead of real cash, and buy items that meet all these criteria that also give back Bonus Cash so you can roll your BC.
Sometimes an item hits all those criteria, sometimes just a couple of them.

I sort of know what types of items I can get cheap/free at Rite-Aid from past experience.  Once a week I peruse Coupons dotcom and see what Qs I 'might' use in the coming month on deals at Rite-Aid or the grocery stores I go to.

I may end up printing off Qs I don't ultimately use but that's ok.  I have a printer that takes toner so I buy a high yield cartridge which is much cheaper than printer ink and buying colored ink and a black ink cartridge.
 I look especially for any high value Qs as those are the most valuable and the most likely to get you larger discounts on items you buy.
Plus our area hardy ever gets the "good" Sunday inserts so using internet printed Qs(IPQs)are my go-to coupon.

The Qs in the photo above I printed off 2 weeks ago.  They are $2/1 Degree men's deodorant ones(good for both solid/roll on and dry spray types).
They are high value coupons.
It's an item I would buy if it's cheap enough.
Hubs is not picky about his brand of deodorant.
So if combined with a nice sale(that hopefully gives back BC at R-A)before they expired 10/31(long dated Qs to boot!)I'll have 4 to use and get some cheap deodorants.

Another example, I saw  $3/1 Rimmels awhile back so I printed those off from 3 different computers here and had a set of 6 of those $3/1 Qs.  I knew I could use those 2 weeks ago at R-A on a Rimmel sale because I had seen an advance copy of the sales ad.
Last week that $3/1 Rimmel Q reset so I printed off another set of 6 Qs and you'll see why later on in this post.  ;-)

First off I know in advance what is coming up in the next sales ad.
How?  Well I get sales flyers in advance from the cashiers at my store(generally the stores get boxes of ads in 2-3 weeks in advance of the sales).  It never hurts to ask for the next week's ad.

I then frequent a site online called "IHeartRiteAid"(just add dotcom to it and you don't need to capitalize anything).
It's run by someone named Erica.  She also have a Walgreen's and a CVS site.
She has photos of the sales ad pages a week-three weeks in advance of the sales.  Erica also will post which "deals" are worth doing(meaning you can get items for cheap or free)and what currently available coupons match up with that deal.
Readers will also post comments about that week's sales......if they see something good folks aren't aware of yet, if there is a coupon nobody thought of yet to make a deal better, if they did a deal and how it went, if something goes wrong in their transaction so you can avoid the same problem, etc.
Stuff like that.

So I read the upcoming ad and go to Erica's site to see what she found, and then I am ready to get to work.

The first thing I see is this deal.......

I got a rain check a couple of weeks back for Sparkle towels.  They were on sale for $4.99 per 6 pack and wyb2 you got $1 BC back, so with the rain check I can get 2 packs for $8.98 or $4.49 each.
But they were out of that item so I got a rain check for 4 packs so they will be $4.49 per pack when this is cashed in.

Now this week the Sparkle is giving back $5 in BC wyb4 and it's on sale BOGO.  Regular price is $10.99 at my store so that means if I buy 4 this week, it's $21.98-the $4.25 in Qs I have-the $5BC means I'd spend $12.73 + tax on this Deal or $3.18....if I didn't use the rain check.

Using the rain check I'll pay $4.49 per item=$17.96-$4.25 Qs=$13.71-$5BC earned means I'd spend $8.71 + tax on 4 items, which amounts to $2.18 per package, a much better deal with the rain check.

The only problem here is my store probably won't have 4 packages of this item in stock.  I put this on my "maybe buy" list and move on to see what else I can score this week.

Herbal Essence and Head and Shoulders shampoos are on sale and part of the Get $5 BC wys $20 on P&G items monthly deal(all that Crest and Oral-B weekly deals earlier in the month was also part of this monthly deal).  This isn't a "great" sale price(know this from past experience)and I only have a $3/2 Head and Shoulders L2CQ on 1 account.  If I had more $ tracking toward the $20 I might cobbled something together to get to that amount to earn another $5 BC.  But I don't.

The Suave professional type shampoos are 2/$6 this week and it's the last week of the monthly Suave deal(Buy 2 Suave items/Get $2 BC back, Limit 4 deals).  I still can do 1 Suave deal on son's card/account.  IF I got the Suave 'poo Qs in this Sunday's inserts I could buy 2 professional 'poos, use 1 x $3/2 Suave insert Q, pay $3 in BC and get back $2 in BC, meaning 2 bottles of 'poo would cost me $1(in BC).  But I didn't get these Qs(we don't get many of the insert Qs here)and the only IPQ for Suave currently is for kid's poo for .50¢/1. 8-(
So moving on........

Here another Deal.  Cover Girl is BOGO50% and wyspend $30 you get $10 BC back.
There are Qs available to pair with this deal but spend $30 get $10 BC isn't a great deal so unless you really 'need' make-up or a particular CG product I'd pass on this as you will be spending more OOP/or of your BC than you need to.(I only buy make-up to fill giveaway boxes.)

A better CG Deal would be spend $30/Get $15 BC or Spend $10/Get $5 BC, both of which R-A has had this year, so I'll wait for a better deal on this brand.

 Here's a moneymaker deal. Tums 28-96 ct. are $3.99 this week.  You get $1 BC back for each container you buy(limit 2 Deals).  So it's $2.99 per item after BC.
Check your Load2Card Q account and clip the $2/1 Tums sugar-free Q.  Now you are down to it "costing" you .99¢(plus any tax in your state).

Now go check your old receipts for any coupons and you might find this one.......

$2 off sugar-free Tums products.  These receipt Qs can be stacked/used with reg. manufacturers Qs so now you will get paid $1.01 to buy a bottle of Tums.
$3.99-$4 in stacked Qs =.01¢ moneymaker and you get back $1 in BC so a $1.01 moneymaker.  Just make sure there is something else in your transaction if you buy this and stacked the Qs because R-A won't give you $.01 in change. ;-)

Here's a food Deal-buy $10 worth of select foods/drinks, Get $3 BC back.
If you need these snacky foods and you can pair Qs with the deal it might be worth doing.  Personally I don't need these foods right now.  The 'cheapest' was to do this deal would be if you have a Kellogg's Reward account with enough points in it, you could print off 5 x $1/1 any Kellogg's cereal coupons, Buy 5 Kellogg's cereals for $10, use $5 in Qs and pay $5 for 5 boxes and get $3 in BC back, making 5 boxes of cereal cost $2 or .40¢ per box.  8-)))

Here is one of the Deals I WILL do this week............

Rimmel cosmetics are 40% off reg. retail price this week and wyspend $12 you get $6 in BC back.
There are $3/1 Rimmel IPQs on coupons dotcom to pair with this deal.  Now be aware that these $3/1 Rimmel Qs always beep!  Some store may take them, some may not....YMMV.  Use them at a store that doesn't mind pushing through beeping Qs.
This deal will make for some free or moneymaker Rimmel cosmetics after the BC earned!

This is also a good Deal.....

Chobani yogurts are 2 for $2($1 each).  When you buy 2 in the same transaction you get $1 in BC back making them .50¢ each.
Better still there was a $1/4 Chobani ManuQ a few Sunday's ago so buy 4, use that Q, pay $3 and get $2 in BC back, making each on "cost" you .25¢ after BC earned.

I also saw this on the shelf............

There has been a monthly Deal for September on Hello Toothpaste, the activated charcoal one only.
The limit is 4 Deals for the month(which runs through this Saturday), Buy one and get $5 BC back.  If you have 20% Wellness discount level(and depending on the reg. retail price at your store)you will pay $5.83(or so)and get back $5 in BC.  If you go to the company's website you can print off a $1/1 Hello product Q and you'll pay $4.83 and get $5 BC back so a moneymaker.

This would also be a good item to buy if you need to "roll" your Bonus Cash forward, if you have BC expiring soon.  I have been waiting ALL MONTH for my store to get this item back in stock.  Finally!

Now this same product gave the same $5 BC back upon purchase in a weekly sale deal back in July...........

Back then it was a Deal limit of 2 and my store quickly ran out so I got 2 rain checks(each rain check good for 2 items free).
I believe I used 1 of the freebies on one of my rain checks in August so I still have rain checks good for 3 free tubes of this toothpaste.

Now if I use those rain checks before the monthly deal is over on Saturday I'll get 3 free tubes AND $15 back in BC when they get rung up automatically.....which is like getting paid $15 in BC to take these home.  8-)

How much time I spend on figuring out the deals each week varies.  If I see little that will achieve my goals(cheap or free, rolls BC, needed)that week I spend little time on figuring a deal....maybe just reading the ad and a quick look-see if there are any current Qs that will get me something for cheap/free.  I'd say 5 minutes or so total time used.
But other weeks!.....other weeks I spend a good 15 minutes to a half hour.  And then if deals pop up(others report in on something they found)I'll spend more time when I see that.  If it's a bountiful Deal Week I'll recheck Erica's website and I might search more fully during the week for other Qs I can pair with the deals.  A stupendous week I'll spend upwards of 2 hours on hunting the deals.  The actually buying takes up little of my time. ;-)
And since I get the ads before the sales week I have lots of time to prepare beforehand.

Lastly, I like to write down the scenario BEFORE I go to the store if possible and have all the Qs I'll be using pulled and separated and ready to go.  What I end up buying may change once I'm in the store(if something is out of stock, etc.).  I can always rewrote a deal on the fly or just let it fall apart and let it go/don't buy something.  I try to have a back-up plan if possible.
And if something is out of stock, GET A RAIN CHECK!  Great advice this.

So I hope this helps a bit and feel free to ask any questions.

And come back tomorrow and I'll show y'all what I ended up buying at Rite-Aid this sales week.
8-)

Sluggy

And the Winners ARE......

Since I'm in a very good mood today I am announcing TWO giveaway winners.
Double the fun!! lolz

The first entry I drew gets first crack at picking their goodies and then I'll contact the second entry I drew to see what they want in their box of goodies.
Sound good?

Without further ado the First Winner is........

Jen G.!!!

AnonymousSeptember 20, 2018 at 6:19 PM

Not the healthiest choice but stopped at Kroger for more bags of $1 Bugles. They're so good and regular price is $2.99!

Jen G.

Congratulations Jen G!  

Please email me at arcure@ptdprolog.net with your full name/mailing address and in order of preference(other than hair ties obviously lolz)what you want in your box and I'll start filling it up.

Our second winner is............

MamaHen/Wendy!!!

MamaHenSeptember 23, 2018 at 7:32 AM

Still hot here. Sigh. I would love to know how much time you spend each week planning out your deals. You are so good at it and I would like to hear about your "process" and what you do to prepare.
Wendy Clark

Congratulations Wendy! 

Please email me at arcure@ptdprolog.net with your full name/mailing address and in order of preference what you want in your box and I'll start filling it up after I get Jen's box full. 8-)

Thanks to everyone who entered and be looking sometime in October for another Giveaway.

Sluggy

Last Chance for the Giveaway

Today is the last day to enter the Giveaway so get your last entry in!

This is all the stuff you can pick from to fill your box!

Entry cut-off time is 11:59pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
See Saturday's post to make sure you are on The Master List of email addys/names/nom de plumes so your entries are valid.
****I'm talking specifically to you Jean, Mimi, Jamie Wilmer and Mallory*** 8-)

Good Luck to everyone!!!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Ready for Company" Edition--

All systems are go and I am ready for Kim's arrival! lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This  is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Breakfast for Dinner

2. Monday--Leftovers or BLTs

3. Tuesday--Ravioli in Sauce w/Sausage, Salad

4. Wednesday--Tacos or Taco Salads

5. Thursday--Chowder, Bread

6. Friday--Pizza, Caesar Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Breakfast for Dinner

2. Monday--Chinese Take-Out

3. Tuesday--Ravioli in Sauce w/Sausage, Salad

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Cheese Steaks

6. Friday--Homemade Pizza
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 night of leftovers/fend for yourself/tv dinners, 1 night of Take-Out or Eating Out.  
We got another spat of unseasonably hot weather so Monday we got take-out and the tacos and chowder didn't happen this week.  I had roast beef that needed eating so Cheese Steaks happened instead on Thursday. No one wanted salad with the pizza either.

Nobody offered to cook this week for me. **sad face**

Two trips to Weis, a trip to Giant and a trip to the Surplus Grocery Outlet brought the weekly food spending to $131.58 and brought the monthly total to $418.79.
I have 6 days left in my shopping month for September and have -$18.79 left in the food budget. lolz  I need to get some things this week, plus I found my Walmart receipt from earlier in the month that I didn't record(sigh)so I am hoping to stay under $500 now for the month.

October will be all about being austere with the budget and using up what we have and buying very little grocery shopping other than milk, fresh produce.  I've got to reign it in for a month and October will be that month!  Usually there are no great grocery store deals around here in Oct. and things heat up in November for holiday deals and food buying.

My savings percentage last week was 56.36%(without Rite-Aid trips)and September's monthly savings total came to 54.42%.

Leftovers going into this week......2 ears of corn, fettuccine Alfredo, potato salad, ravioli w/sauce, pizza.  Little bits of these things.

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

1. Sunday--Hamburgers on Rolls w/Tomato, Fries

2. Monday--Fish, Mac and Cheese, Brussels Sprouts

3. Tuesday--Beer Brats, Grilled Onions, Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Tacos

5. Thursday--BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw

6. Friday--Eating Out
7. Saturday--Eating Out

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 0 nights of leftovers/FFY, 2 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu?Lettuce(maybe), milk.

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

Blog Business--Giveaways....Are You on the List?

Ok, I've got a few folks entering the giveaway who I have NO contact information for again.
If you aren't on the master list then I don't have your email info and your entry is NOT valid.

Specifically at the moment I am talking to the following people......
* Jamie Wilmer
* Mimi of "Life Drawings" blog
* Mallory of "frugal&awesome" blog
* "Jean" who left a comment on 9/22 Sunday.

You all need to email me so I have that email attached to your names or you can't win and your entries will be deleted.
My email is on the right side bar under "About Me" on the blog.
Or leave your email information in a comment on the Giveaway post and I can add you to the Master List of folks who enter my giveaways.

Here is the updated list of folks arranged alphabetically by first name/nom de plume.
If you aren't on here and you wish to enter giveaways then contact me.

Sluggy

GIVEAWAY EMAIL LIST 

Alice Williams

Amanda 

Amber R

“American Dreamer” 

Amy Walter 

Annamarie Voss 

“Anne in the Kitchen” 

Angie

Barbara 

Barbara G

Barbara S 

Belinda R

“Bellasmom"

Bobbie 

Bonnie Swanson 

Carol Pavlick 

Carolsue 

Cheryl Soergel 

“chopf” 

Chris T

Coleen C

Crystal Hankey 

cskies 

CT Bargain Mom

CT MOM

Dana Matthews 

D.A. Vick 

Debbie 

Debbie S

Deb G. CT

Diane 

Donna F

Elena Pendell “Ellie” 

“farmgirl”

Frances Moseley

Gaby “violinista” 

Gayle Binkley

Gerry T

Grammy Goodwill 

Gwendolyn Jordan

Heather H Temp 

Heather McC

“j.rontal” 

Janet Mendonca 

Janie Junebug 

Jean Lange 

Jen G.

Jenifer Rigby

Jess

Jessica Fletcher-Fiero 

JoAnn

Joyce 

Julie M.
Jull

Kathi Davis in FL 

Kathy Sheffield

“kat kaz” 

Kelly M. 

Kim H. 
Kim N.

Kimberly 

Laura H.

Laurie 

Linda "lindvXXX"

Linda “practical parsimony” 

Lisa C “ladybug” 

Lisa R

Lori R

Lorraine 

“Lucy-A Dime at a Time” 

Lucy 

“Making Cents of it All"

Marcia 

Marcia C “miserly mac”

Marie Galtier 

Mary G

Mary L

“McVal” 

Melissa Storms 

Meme “Ellen” 

Meredith M 

Michelle 

Michelle D

Michelle H

“nives” 

“pamintexas” 

Pamela J 

Patti

Patti or Precious People Preschool 

Patti 
Peggy Lineberry

Rachel D

Ranee Milliman in MN 

“Rhitter” 

“rivulet”

Rosemary Ford

“SAM” 

Sandi 

Sandie in CT 

“seyrey” 

Sheila Womack “Sheila”

Shirley 

“sparky136” 

Sue "sweetiesuzy"

Susan Lasker “Sue” 

Susan Steiner “SMS” 

Susanna Smith 

Tebble 

Teddie 

Tammy 

Terri S. 
"thriftmaven"

”Urspo” 

“vaj” 

VanessaKC

“wondrfluf” 

Wendi

Wendy Clark 

Frugal Friday.....the September 21st Edition

Let's see what frugalness went on here at Chez Sluggy this past week.......

*  I visited a couple different Rite-Aid stores this week(along with my own)to use up my Always Discreet Qs before they expired.........

 This transaction "cost" $12.60 in Bonus Cash and earned back $21.00 in new BC.

This transaction "cost" $20.16 in Bonus Cash and earned back $24 in new BC.

This transaction "cost" $17.50 in Bonus Cash and earned back $21 in new BC.
I have now maxed out the Always Discreet monthly deal on all 3 cards and have grown my BC a little bit in preparation for the Holiday Deals at R-A.
The Always pads and liners will be distributed thusly....given to the food bank(they take toiletry items and household goods), my sister in-law(who uses these)and some will stay here(because I am getting "that" old). lolz

*  I earned $11.70 in grocery cash rebates this past week, $10.45 on Ibotta and $1.25 on SavingStar.

*  Did the Mix and Match "Buy 6/Get $3 Off Instantly Deal" at Weis on Wednesday by buying this.........

4 x Perdue breaded chicken
5 x LOL butter tubs
2 x Breyer's ice cream
1 x Talenti dairy free ice cream
Cost before sale prices.....$44.52
Cost after sale prices......$31.92
Cost after coupons......$24.52
Cost after Qs/Instant $6 Off...$18.52(no tax)

I also did a Hormel Deal(did the chili in 3 transactions so all my Qs would double).....

10 x Hormel chili on sale $2 each=$20.00
Used 5 x .55¢/2 chili Qs which doubled to $1.10=$5.50
Paid $14.50
Got a $5 OYNO Catalina Q for spending $20 on select Hormel/Coke items.

I also found a bunch of clearance items on that trip(which were all at least 50% off).......

Lime Jello-large boxes
Orange Jello
Vanilla Pudding
Mounds dark chocolate Pudding
Furman's tomatoes with ancho chiles and cumin(will be great in taco meat filling!)
Reese's pieces for baking(small size bits)

*  Still picking tomatoes from the garden(as well as the lurking zucchini)......

We are up to over 102 lbs. for the Season with a few more tomatoes out there still to come.

*  Speaking of tomatoes, I used the previous week's batch to make pasta sauce with sausage which we had on Monday night with cheese ravioli. Nom Nom Nom


*  Last Friday the Freebie at Weis was an 8 oz. block of  cheese, which I of course went to get......

Free cheese?  Yes, please!!  8-)))
Don't forget to check your grocery store freebie this week!  Even if it's something you won't/don't use, you can always give it to the food bank or when some organization comes around to collect for the hungry/needy. ;-)

*  We went to the Grocery Outlet yesterday in the town West of us while we were out and about.........

Best deals were...
--Martin's tortilla chips, 3 bags for $5 or $1.67 per bag
--Stacey's bagel chips, .50¢ per bag
--Heinz Ginormous can of NE clam chowder(6-8 servings)for $1.99  I can't make clam chowder from scratch for that price!


*  While we were in that town, I finally used a $25 Giant gift card I've had for a few years(won it at an auction).........

They had a Spend $20 get $5 off Instantly Deal too on Hormel and Chi-Chi's products.  12 items came to $20 I used $5.20 in Qs(only the first of a specific Q doubles at Giant so 2 of my Hormel Qs didn't double)and the Instant $5 off gave me $10.20 in discounts making it $9.80 OOP for all 12 items.
They also had a "buy 5 select GM cereals/Get $5 off Instantly Deal".  Each box was $3 so 5 boxes came to $15.  I had 5 x .50¢/1 GM cereal Qs(1 was a duplicate so only 4 doubled to $1), so $4.50 in Qs and $5 off instantly gave me $9.50 in discounts making it $5.50 OOP for all 5 boxes.

The Starbucks coffee was on sale for $5.99 when you bought 3.  I had no Qs but I got back $1.65 per bag on Ibotta so the coffee after rebates was $13.02 or $4.34 per bag.

I also bought a Hellman's ketchup on sale for $2.99.  I got $1.50 on an Ibotta rebate and since I now bought 1 Hellman's mayo and a Hellman's ketchup I received a bonus $1.50 on Ibotta as well, making this ketchup -.01¢  ;-)

I also found a meat markdown of boneless skinless chicken breasts for $5.07(4.29 lbs. so $1.18 per lb.)and 2 packs of Johnsonville breakfast sausage patties marked down from $3.99 to $1.59.

After sale prices, coupons, instant discounts and my $25 gift card I spent $19.11 OOP and earned back $9.20 in Ibotta/SavingStar rebates on this shop so $9.91 spent in the end.

*  I did NOT buy anything at the big online fat lady website 50% off everything sale this week.  Yes, I put lots of stuff in my virtual shopping cart but I left everything in there and let the sale expire.  Sure, I would have liked a few new clothing items but I have not lost enough weight yet to justify so many new clothes and I still have a few things I bought during the last sale in the Spring that I haven't even worn(well, I really haven't gone anywhere since buying them either lolz)! 
Sure, we have the $$$ but it's not a need at this point, just a want so I didn't spend anything on that.

That's all I can think of this week.

What frugal wins did you have this past week?


Sluggy