Wednesday, October 31, 2018

When Being Frugal Is Not

When it comes to spending money, sometimes doing supposedly frugal things can be anything BUT frugal.

1.  Buying stuff just because it's free or cheap that you won't use.

All those "Deal" blogs out there laying out scenarios on how to get stuff for free or cheap are tempting, aren't they?  But really, it's NOT a deal if it's something you can't or won't use.  Buying items you have no plan/use for is just tying up your money with items that A-you then have to figure out how to dispose of and B-will take up space in your house and cause *gasp* clutter.  These unneeded items just cause more work for you.
Not every "Deal" is a "Deal" to everyone.
I know it's difficult sometimes, but just pass up the ones that don't suit your lifestyle and your needs.

2.  Spending large amounts of time hunting down a "Deal".

Time is money as the old saying goes.  If "Deal Hunting" and the associated prep time to find deals is taking up too much of your time each day/week/month, maybe in the end, these Deals are not such a Deal for you.
There are Deal Blogs and Forums where you can find good prices on just about everything and at every store.  If you tried to go after all the Deals out there you could spend most every waking moment on Deal Hunting.
If Deal Hunting is your whole life then more power to you!  But most of us neither want to or can let researching and implementing The Hunt take over our lives because frankly, we have other goals in life(and other people in our lives to deal with).
Unless you are making a living scoping out deals(getting paid to find deals for others)don't let this activity consume your life.

3. Trying to do ALL the Deals at ALL the stores.

Concentrate your Deal Hunting efforts on a couple of stores, find one or two Deal Hunting sites you can trust and stick to what you can get there. (Unless some really, really awesome Deal comes up, like This Staples Paper Deal in 2009.  I'm still using the paper I got back then! lolz)

When I first started hunting deals years ago I went everywhere......and I mean Everywhere!  I hit the deals at ALL the drugstores, ALL the grocery stores in my area.  Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS, Weis, Price Chopper, Wegman's, Giant, Sav-A Lot, ShopRite, Kmart, Target.
I was exhausted and had no time to get other things done sometimes.
I found that concentrating on just a couple of stores, ones were you get overall the best prices and the staff is friendly are the ones to limit yourself to.  Get to know "the system" at just a couple or a few and work those stores.  Nowadays I mostly do Rite-Aid and Weis, but I have been known to shop at Wegman's, ShopRite and Target infrequently still.


4.  Driving miles out of your way for a "deal".

Another rookie mistake is going too far afield from your usual environs just for a Deal.  All that time driving and extra gas will negate any savings you get from the Deal, unless it's a monstrously large Deal.  I would never go out of my way to say Target, to get a free mascara or a cheap package of toilet paper.  The Deal has to be much larger than one or two things and the savings has to be more than say $10 to get my attention and make me want to drive more than 5 miles out of my usual routine.
That happened in the Summer of 2009 when the Acme chain kept having tremendously good brand name deals and I drove all the way to the 'burbs of Philly on a couple of occasions.  Read about one of those trips HERE.

*Side Note* I sure miss 2009, after the Recession hit, when grocery chains were offering Killer Deals to get folks into their stores to spend money.  I sure miss the days of  doubling coupons up to $2 everywhere, R-A Single Check Rebates where you got back MORE than you spent on most anything and spending under $2K a YEAR for groceries for a family of 5.......

That being said, I have been known to frequent a far away store just for a change of scenery or to take a ride out in the country.  The trip to the particular store is just a side benefit.  I go to a ShopRite once or twice a year which is 45 minutes away from here.  What leads me to change my shopping pattern such?  When that store has a killer(for me)sale on enough items to make it worth the trip, and the weather is beautiful and the route I take is very serene and lovely, especially in the Fall when the leaves are at their height of color.  If I had to fly down a crowded interstate to get there I'd probably pass.  The journey is the primary focus, not the deals.

Now if I happen to find myself going somewhere I don't grocery shop at for another reason other than to be going there I'll stop in and do a bit of hunting.  Like when we take Hubs out to a brewpub he likes that's in a not too nearby town.  Since we were in that town it made sense to stop in to the local Amish Surplus Grocery outlet and see what we could use. But I only go there a few times a year if we are already planning to be in that area for something else.  And when we are traveling on vacation I am often seen checking out grocery and outlet stores and subsequently bringing home food "souvenirs" for the pantry and stockpile. 8-)

5.  FOMO with Deals

If you read the big Deal Hunting blogs and forums they seem to cover it all.....all the retailers near you, all the retailers not-so-near you and all the retailers at great lengths from where you are based and ALL their supposed deals.
You'll also see "brags" on these sites about specific shops that someone did and all the great things they got for pennies on the dollar.

And then, since we are all human, the anxiety and jealousy starts creeping in and the "Fear Of Missing Out" takes over.  Suddenly we get the urge to go to those stores and get the deals they got even if we have no use for those specific deals and we live nowhere near those stores and most importantly we don't have the financial resources to spend on all that stuff.
FOMO is much like "Keeping Up with the Joneses" in my book.
Keep an eye on yourself and when these feelings creep in and recognize them for what they are and check yourself before you spend money you shouldn't on stuff you don't need/want.

Do you deal hunt?
What rookie mistakes have you made in deal hunting?
What's the best deal you've gotten recently?


Sluggy


Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Saturday Shopping

Hubs and I hit the town South of us for a little shopping on Saturday.  We don't usually go out on the weekend to stores but the weather was so crappy we figured not a lot of folks would be out as usual.....plus we were getting a bit stir crazy.  '-)

After the first two stops below we hit a Chinese buffet place for a cheap lunch out that we haven't been to in years.
While Hubs paid the bill before we left, I wandered over to this fountain in the lobby..........


I resisted dipping my hand in and scooping up a load of change, but if KIM had been with me, I doubt I'd have been able to hold her back from wading in said fountain. lololz

On to the shopping!
First we hit Giant and here are the best deals I got there.........


They had Eight O'Clock coffee BOGOFree($5.19)so I got 4 bags=$10.38
I used 2 x $2.25/2 IPQs so $4.50 off=$5.88 for all 4 bags or $1.47 per bag.
I would have gotten up to 12 bags but they didn't carry the variety that Ex-College Boy likes and since these Qs don't expire until 12/31/18 I'll wait for this coffee to go on sale at Weis and used them there.

They had a special over the weekend, buy up to 4 boxes of select types of Cheerios for .99¢ per box.
These maple ones were part of that special so I got 2 boxes to try them so $1.98 for both.
But I also used a $1/2 Cheerios digitalQ attached to my Giant card so they were .98¢ for both or .49¢ a box.  8-)


There was a coupon for London Broil at $1.99 lb. if you spent $15.  I spent $15 so I picked up the largest prepackaged LB they had(almost 3 lbs.)and paid $5.81 for a hunk of meat regularly marked $21.87.
They also had Giant brand cheese marked $1.77 over the weekend so I got 3 bags at $5.31.  I had a digitalQ attached to my card for $2 off wys $5 on store brand cheese so all 3 cost me $3.31 or $1.10+ per bag.

Total OOP at Giant was $36.63 on $91.89 reg. retail of products.


Then we hit Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)and I hit the mother lode of 75% clearance items!!!


Everything I bought was 75% off!

2 x Avelina oatmeal .42¢ each
2 x Pop-Secret popcorn  .47¢ each (These are huge boxes!)
2 x Velveeta mac and cheese kits  .37¢ each (The kids will like this stuff)
2 x Velveeta skillets kids  .40¢ each(ditto)
1 x OEP taco shells  .25¢ each
4 x Marie Callender cornbread mixes  .32¢ each (I can't even make cornbread from scratch for that price.)
2 x Jello pudding  .20¢ each


3 x LOL Cappuccino K-pods  $1.00 each
2 x Maxwell House flavored coffee mix  .65¢ each

All the above came to $9.55, 75% off $38.20 Ollie's prices($61.30 reg. retail if bought elsewhere at full price).
I've hit my local Ollie's since Saturday at the above Ollie's and none of this stuff is on clearance there?????
So weird to find it 75% off at one store and not another......

We also hit Walmart for a few items of --a 2 lb. block of cheese, almond milk, frozen burritos x 2, coffee creamer.  $15.94 worth of food.  This stuff wasn't worth taking pictures of. lolz

They also had a mobile shelving unit of garden fertilizers for $1 per item by the door..........


I spent $5 on all this for next year's gardening.  Heck they were each marked $5 on clearance(before the $1 sale)so I know I got a great deal here!
It's all safely tucked away in the shed for next year.  ;-)


Sluggy

Here's What I Got From Rite-Aid Last Week


I had a $5 Catalina(gotten for buying Goodnites on 10/12)to use before Saturday when it expired so here is what I put together to buy last week.........


3 x Huggies GoodNites  on sale=$26.97

I used 3 x $2/1 GoodNites Q Cats to pay and that $5 OYNO Cat so $11 off=$15.97 paid for with BC.
I earned another $5 OYNO Catalina too.

Then on Saturday I went back to R-A and bought this..........



1 x GoodNites on sale=$8.99
2 x Huggies diapers on sale=$17.98
SubTotal.....$26.97

I used 1 x $2/1 GoodNitesQ and 2 x $1/1 Huggies Qs and the new $5 OYNO Cat so $9 off=$17.97 pad for with BC.
I earned another $5 OYNO Catalina too.



Then I bought 1 more pack of Huggies,  using the $5 Cat and a $1/1 Load2CardQ=$2.99 paid for with BC.
No more $5 OYNO Cats but I earned $20 in new BC(2 x $10 wys $30 on Huggies).

In the end I "spent down" my Bonus Cash on this card by $16.93 but after selling these 7 packs of diaper/overnight pants I'll have $35+ in new cash making me $18+ "up" overall.

I also got a $8 off wys $50 Catalina on that last transaction.  Unfortunately it expires Saturday so I have to use it this week or lose it and this week isn't a very good week at Rite-Aid.  I'll have to play around and see what I can do with it.  ;-)

I did lots of shopping on Saturday...a trip to Ollie's and a trip to Giant, reports coming up later today.


Sluggy

Monday, October 29, 2018

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Well That's Interesting" Edition--

Spotted earlier this month on a grocery store shelf-a "throwback receipt" of Beefaroni.  Priced almost doubled as the regular Beefaroni.  Checking the ingredient list the only difference I spotted was no HFCS in the throwback receipt one.  Would you pay double to buy the one without HFCS?  Would you even buy this item? lolz  (I confess that I will buy/eat Beefaroni on occasion as it reminds me of my early childhood and comforts me.)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Cheese Lasagna
2. Monday--Leftovers
3. Tuesday--Chicken Strips, Sweet Potato Fries, Veggie TBD
4. Wednesday--Beef Stew, Biscuits
5. Thursday--Rigatoni, Meat Sauce, Salad(Hubs will cook this)
6. Friday--Chicken and Chilies Enchiladas, Beans, Rice
7. Saturday--FFY(Fend for Yourself)

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Cheese Lasagna
2. Monday--Leftovers
3. Tuesday--Chicken Strips, Sweet Potato Fries, Veggie TBD
4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Salad, Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--Beef and Veggie Stew, Biscuits
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Rigatoni, Meat Sauce, leftover Collards

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Eating Out.  
I had breaded chicken cutlets in the fridge that needed using so those happened instead of Chicken Enchiladas.  Everything else happened but not in the order/on the day planned.  No salad with the Rigatoni because we had leftover Collards to finish up.

1 small trip to Weis, 2 items at Dollar Tree and a trip to Ollie's on vacation brought the weekly food spending to $44.92 and brought the monthly total to $198.53.
I am pleased as punch I've kept the food shopping so low so far this month....about half of my usual spending so far.  8-)
I have 2 days left in my shopping month for October.

My savings percentage last week was 71.92%(without Rite-Aid trips)and October's monthly savings total comes to 56.71%(w/out R-A)so far.

Leftovers going into this week......lasagna, beef stew, rigatoni w/meat sauce.  Not much leftover.

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers
2. Monday--Chicken Fajitas
3. Tuesday--Leftovers or FFY
4. Wednesday--Potato crusted Cod, Cole Slaw, Veggie TBD
5. Thursday--Chicken and Chile Enchiladas
6. Friday--Beef Goulash, Rice, Spinach Souffle
7. Saturday--FFY(Fend for Yourself)

If I go to Price Chopper this week the meal plan may change since I plan to buy a rotisserie chicken there(it's one of the deals)so there may be more chicken meals this week.

This week will see 4 new meals cooked, 3 night of leftovers/FFY, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out. 

What needs buying for this menu?  Chicken, mushrooms, sour cream.  I plan on hitting a couple stores before Wednesday too which will raise my October food spending but aren't things we need for this menu.

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  

Sunday, October 28, 2018

I'm Still Here!



But I am barely hanging on at the moment.
Go me! lolz

Since taking half of October off I am pedaling as fast as I can(which doesn't seem to be very fast actually lolz), trying to catch up on little stuff like paying bills, financial paperwork, cleaning the house, planning and implementing meals, getting Chester to the vet, changing out the wardrobe, changing out room curtains, etc.
You know..little stuff like that. ;-)

I'm currently working on packing up the Giveaway boxes to ship off on Monday, then I'll be cleaning up the dining room(packing central), going through giveaway prizes that are left, packing up a food bank donation and a Sallie's donation.
I haven't done any genealogy is a good month or other fun stuff and I don't have any blog posts written up other than the Monday Menu one and now it's almost November so I need to write up my Food Shopping and Income/Spending Report for October now too. eek!
And I have tons of photos from the trips to go through(plus last Summers trip which I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN TOO).  *sigh*

So I am slowwwwwlyy getting things done here and getting back to normal.

While I get back up to speed why don't y'all tell me(and each other)about what's going on in your lives.

Sluggy



Saturday, October 27, 2018

Are You Out There Sue??

Ok, I have heard from two of the three current giveaway winners.  So if you are out there SUE, please email me asap and provide your full name/mailing address plus the list of goodies you want in your box.

Here's your winning comment again.......

In THEORY I like the cooler weather, but since we are still in the 80's....the gingerbread truffle bag is calling my name - ANYTHING with gingerbread calls my name!!!!

You have until midnight Eastern Time today, Oct. 27th, to contact me at arcure@ptdprolog.net.
Otherwise I have to draw another winner.

Back to regular blogging once I hear from Sue.

Sluggy

Friday, October 26, 2018

Frugal Friday......the October 26th Edition

Here's the frugal stuff I did this past week........

*  We had a short vacation down in NC at the beach with my brother and his wife.  We rented an oceanfront suite of rooms in the OBX. 


The location couldn't have been better and we got a deal going in the off season(though it was still warm)and we split the cost of the lodging as well as shared a car down to NC(used our car, brother paid for the gas).

*  I found money!



A dime at the bbq place in VA we had lunch at and a nickel at a Dollar Tree in NC, both happened last Friday.

*  My sister in-law wanted to stop at thrift/consignment stores on the way back from the beach so I was forced to go look at stuff. lol
I did find 2 things to buy and spent $2 whole dollars on two potential birthday/Xmas gifts.  Sorry no photos of that stuff in case someone is snooping on my blog. lolz
 Next month I get to drag out my gift box and see what I still need to buy for Xmas gifting.

*  No Weis freebie last week as we were not here but I did find all this for 50% or 75% off......


*  My best Weis deals were these......

The pasta was .89¢ per box this past week and I used a store .50¢/2 Q so .64¢ per box.
The YQ yogurt was reg. price of $1.49(for 1 little cup!!)but I had a .30¢/1 IPQ that doubled to .60¢ off and a $1/1 store Q that came off and then a digital .30¢/1 attached to my card which doubled to .60¢ off came off as well so I "made" .71¢ buying this yogurt(the overage went toward everything else in my order that I bought that wasn't free.  ;-) ).

I also bought a pound bag of shelled walnuts for Holiday baking.  This was $5.99, a full $4 off the reg. price.

*  On the way back from the beach in NC when we all stopped for lunch Hubs and I shared a plate of bbq..........


Beef brisket, burnt ends, cole slaw, hush puppies and sweet potato casserole.  1/2 a plate was plenty to eat for each of us(especially those burnt ends!!!).

*  We stopped to see our elder son on the way home since it was right along the way.  We took him out to lunch and I used a gift card I'd had for ages hanging around which covered the whole meal and tip.


*  I thought my camera battery had died which would mean spending $$ to buy a new one.
But I figured out it wasn't the battery but the battery charger that bit the dust.  I tried my extra battery charger and it worked!  So glad I thought to try the second charger before I went and bought a new battery that I didn't need.

*  Since getting home last Saturday we've done a lot of sticking close to home, doing chores and relaxing and not going out or spending money(I did go to Rite-Aid but I didn't spend actual money there as usual.).  I've cooked all our meals(or we've had leftovers)and no eating out.
Go us! lolz

What frugal wins have you had this past week?



Sluggy

Thursday, October 25, 2018

And the Winners Are..........

47 valid comments this time.  I decided to draw 3 winners this month as I have so much stuff to giveaway here right now.  8-)))

So without further ado, Random dotorg and I drew 3 entries a little while ago.........



The First winner is...........
Sue!

In THEORY I like the cooler weather, but since we are still in the 80's....the gingerbread truffle bag is calling my name - ANYTHING with gingerbread calls my name!!!!

The Second winner is.........
Lori R.!
I found all kinds of meat marked down at Winn Dixie this week. My best deal was boneless skinless chicken breasts just shy of 4lbs for $5.17. I love when I find such a variety of meats on markdown.

Thanks for the giveaway!

Lori R

And the Third winner is..........
JoAnn!
The only thing I really like about fall is the lower humidity, football and hockey. :) I see you have my shade of hair color in the last pic, so I have to enter, right?!

Congratulations to all three of y'all!
Please email me at arcure@ptdprolog dot net within 48 hours of this post going live to claim your prizes.  If I don't hear from someone I'll draw another name.
I'll need a list(in order of preference)of which items you want to go into your prizes box and your full names and mailing addresses.

Thanks to everyone for entering.  Do y'all think I should have another giveaway for only those who haven't won yet?
Let me know ya or nay.

Sluggy

Giveaway Update.....Attention Nancy & Martha!

Would Nancy Ives and Martha who entered the current giveaway on the blog please email me...arcure@ptdprolog.net.
I don't have Martha's contact info for your entries to be valid.
And I think I have Nancy Ives under an alias so I need to hear from her too to make sure it's the same person on the contact list.

You three have until 4 pm today, Oct. 25th to contact me so I can get this Giveaway winner drawn.

Thanks so much!

Sluggy

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Buying Groceries on Vacation....Am I Weird?

**Today's the last day to enter my Giveaway.  If you have never won one of mine before go HERE to enter before 11:59 pm ET tonight.**


I am a simple woman who enjoys simple things in life.
When on vacation I have been known to buy groceries.
Yes, if I see a store I don't have around here(even some we do have here)I like to go browse and see if I can find some deals.
You just never know what you'll find because life is an adventure.  ;-)

So on the way down to Virginia last week we stopped at an Ollie's in Delaware that was along the way.
There is no sales tax in Delaware so right there is a savings!



I found peanut butter and honey flavored oatmeal packets for $1.49 per box.  Something different to try.
I also found a big squeeze bottle of blue cheese dressing for $1.69.
Cornbread stuffing is hard to find around here in Pennsyltucky(and that is at Thanksgiving-the rest of the year, fat chance!)so I picked this Stove Top brand bag of cornbread stuffing up for .79¢.

The Panko bread crumbs I found at the Grand Opening of a Dollar Tree in North Carolina for, you guessed it?, $1 per canister(plus tax).

I also found all this on clearance.........


The ranch dressing was 50% off so .64¢ per bottle.
The M&M's were 50% off(Valentine's colors)so $1.14 per bag.
The crackers were 75% off(and not stale either!)so .24¢ per box.
The MegaRed was 75% off(!!!)so $2.50 per bottle.

Altogether everything pictured in the 2 photos cost me $22.87(including the sales tax on the Panko).

Add to that that I found a dime on the floor in Ollie's and a nickel on the floor at Dollar Tree so I am OOP $22.72 overall.  ;-)

Not to be totally a nerd I did buy a couple of souvenir t-shirts on vacation too.

Do you like looking in grocery stores to see what sort of different things they have that your stores at home don't have?

Sluggy



What I Bought at Rite-Aid Last Week


On Monday of last week I bought 1 tube of Colgate and the Alka-Seltzer Powermax meds.
There is a full price rebate(up to $11.99 on them HERE.  If you use a coupon they deduct that from the rebate you will receive back.) 

Sometimes it's good that a cashier screws up your transaction. 8-)))

My transaction was this......

1 x Colgate toothpaste on sale=$3.50
1 x A-S Powermax pills on sale but Wellness disc. better=$7.99
SubTotal........$11.49

Coupons Used
1 x .50¢/1 Colgate toothpaste ManQ=.50¢
1 x $3/1 Colgate toothpaste In-AdQ=$3.00
1 x $3/1 Alka-Seltzer powermax ManQ=$3.00
Coupon Total....$6.50

$11.49-$6.50=$4.99

Except.....
The cashier didn't ring in my $3/1 In-Ad Q for the Alka-Seltzer so my total was $7.99


So I got $3 cash for a "post coupon" situation.
And since no coupon used for the Alka-Seltzer appears on my receipt I'll get $7.99 cash refund instead of a $4.99 refund. 8-)

I also earned $2 in Bonus Cash for buying the Alka-Seltzer product.


During out trip to VA/NC I picked up 3 more tubes of Colgate making sure they were the varieties that were part of a monthly deal giving back $3 in BC wys $12.........

* 2 tubes in Pocomoke City MD on the way down, used 2 x In-AdQs(had no more .50¢/1 ManuQs)so paid $1.42(.42¢ TAX!!!)total for those 2 tubes, using Bonus Cash of course.

* 1 tube in PA on the way home to finish off the $3 BC deal.  My sister in-law gave me the .50¢/1 Colgate Q from her Sunday paper so I used that and paid Zero on that tube.

In total I paid $9.42 in Bonus Cash for everything pictured, I earned $5 back in new BC($2 Alka-Seltzer, $3 wys $12 Colgate), $3 in cash for the forgotten Q I used, and $7.99 cash back from Alka-Seltzer.  That makes this a $6.58 moneymaker.

This week I have a $5 Catalina to use by Friday when it expires.  I'll either buy some Huggies(earn another $5 Cat and $10 in BC)and sell the diapers to make a small profit or buy some Ricola Immunity drops and earn back $6 new BC.
Decision, decisions, decisions.....

What are you buying this week?

Sluggy


Monday, October 22, 2018

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Something I've Never Seen in a Grocery Store Here Before" Edition--

In case the signage is too small or you don't recognize these, they are Jackfruit from India.
And they are ginormous!  I read that a jackfruit can get up to 120 lbs......geez!
My question is--why are they in a grocery store in podunk PA( very small town a half hour west of my town with no Indian/Southeast Asian population)?!?
Has provincial small town PA suddenly developed a taste for something more exotic than pierogi and halushki?  Lololz
I am still shaking my head over this one.......


Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Beef Stroganof, Rice, TBD Veggie
2. Monday--Halushki
3. Tuesday--?
4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?
6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--FFY(Fend for Yourself)

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Beef Stroganof, Rice, TBD Veggie
2. Monday--Halushki
3. Tuesday--Leftovers at Brother's house
4. Wednesday--Fried Shrimp, Salad, Mashed Taters
5. Thursday--Pizza, Salad
6. Friday--Beef Brisket, Sweet Potatoes, Cole Slaw, Banana Pudding(Hubs and I shared a platter)
7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself(I had an English Muffin)

Last week saw 2 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 3 nights of Eating Out.  We were in VA and NC for a large part of the week so there was a bit of eating out.  Tues. we had leftovers the night we got to VA(had lunch at Chick Fil-A on the way down). Wed. we had breakfast out, no lunch and a dinner out. Thurs. we had breakfast at the motel, a late lunch at Pizza Hut and munchies in the room for dinner. Fri. we had breakfast at the motel, lunch at a BBQ joint and a burger at BK after going to the movies. Sat. we had Micky D's for breakfast on the road, lunch w/older son at Chili's and dinner was FFY at home.

1 big trip to Weis, a Bread Outlet trip and a trip to Maines restaurant supply for mostly produce-all before we left town last week-brought the weekly food spending to $123.76 and brought the monthly total to $153.61.
I have 9 days left in my shopping month for October.

My savings percentage last week was 48.93%(without Rite-Aid trips)and October's monthly savings total comes to 48.55%(w/out R-A)so far.

Leftovers going into this week......beef stroganof, halushki, cheddar broccoli soup.  The kids didn't seem to have eaten any of the leftover foods....gee, what a surprise. lolz

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

1. Sunday--Cheese Lasagna
2. Monday--Leftovers
3. Tuesday--Chicken Strips, Sweet Potato Fries, Veggie TBD
4. Wednesday--Beef Stew, Biscuits
5. Thursday--Rigatoni, Meat Sauce, Salad(Hubs will cook this)
6. Friday--Chicken and Chilies Enchiladas, Beans, Rice
7. Saturday--FFY(Fend for Yourself)

I made a big pot of pasta sauce w/meat on Sunday to use on the Lasagna.  Leftover sauce will be used on Thursday so Hubs can give me a night off from cooking(He can boil pasta and add the sauce and open a bag of salad aka as "cooking" in his world. lol)

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 night of leftovers/FFY, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.  Between the trip to Maine and the trip to VA/NC I have had my fill of Eating Out for awhile. ;-)

What needs buying for this menu?  Nothing really except salad greens and milk.  Should make for a cheap grocery week, right? ;-)

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  

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Frugal Friday......the October 19th Edition on Sunday

Let's see what frugalness happened around here this past week......

* I hit the bread outlet.


$10.95 for 4 loves of bread, 2 bags of rolls, 2 boxes of donuts and 3 bags of English muffins(cranberry!).  I spent $10 or more so I got a free bag of whole grain English muffins too.
Bought at reg. retail in the grocery store this all would have cost $47.49.  Even on sale at the grocery store it would have been around $29+/-.

*  I sent Hubs up for the Friday Freebie on the 12th........



A 2 lb. sack of flour.  Something I can always use so free was good!

*  I did a big shop at Weis(PMITA)Markets last weekend before we left on our trip.  Here are the highlights.......


The Kraft expertly paired cheese bags were on sale for $2(must buy at least 3-I bought 5).  I had a $1.25 cash rebate on Ibotta for these, up to 5 bags so they were .75¢ each in the end.
The tv dinners were on sale $1.99 each and I had a .75¢ cash rebate on Ibotta for these so $1.24 each in the end.
The Breakstone sour cream were $1.50 on sale and I had a .50¢ cash rebate on Ibotta for these so $1.00 each in the end.
I also had a coupon in a recipe book available at Weis for $1/1 Larabar.  The Larabars were $1 last week so this was free after coupon.

*  I found money on Tuesday.........


Hubs and I were in line at an Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)in Delaware when I spied this dime on the floor in our cashier line.  I reluctantly must say that I almost shoved the shopping cart violently into Hubs to get him to "move outta the way!" so I could pick this up before anyone else spied it.  Then I remembered that Kim wasn't with us and I took my time getting to it then. lololz

*  And speaking of good buys at Weis, I picked up these two pork butts before we left town too(part of that big shop I did at Weis mentioned above)......

These were .97¢ per lb.!  Haven't seen that price in something like 15 years around here so I grabbed two(making sure the sell by/use by date was long enough)and will be smoking these this week when we get a warmish day.
Then they will be finished off in the crock pot, shredded and the meat portioned out into freezer bags for the chest freezer for eating in 2019.

*  I don't remember if I mentioned this or not before........


My free EOS/Special K lip balm arrived.

*  We stopped at Walmart on the way to our vacation spot and picked up breakfast food, drinks and munchies.  We ate breakfast in the room each day and only ate 1 big meal out(dinner the first night/late lunch the second night)to save money.  Much more cost effective to not be eating out for every meal. 8-)

*  The last of the basil got pulled up the day before we left town.


I dried it in the oven and ended up with 2 small mason jars of dried basil.


In the background in that shot is also the last of the tomatoes we picked before we left and the weather turned much colder.  Now I have to tally up the grand total of what we harvested from the garden this past season.

*  And finally look at what arrived in the mail..........
My seasonal 15% off purchase coupon for being part of the "Ollie's Army".  We'll figure out how we plan to use this in early November to get the best value from it.

That's about it here.  Sorry I am so late with this but I didn't even open the computer a couple of days and the internet was not optimal anyway and who wants to be online when this is the sight out your front door................

What frugal stuff did you do this past week?  Tell us all about it.


As always, remember the words of the "Frugalest Man in the World"......




Sluggy

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Just A Quickie Today


An early morning howdy to y'all from the front porch here............



I'm off for the day to see the sights.
* Sorry this photo wouldn't load so I am posting this since I got back.  Now I am going to go collapse in bed for a bit.*


Sluggy

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Fall Giveaway Time!

Fall is officially here so it's time for the Twelth Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for 2018. 8-)

This one is gonna be a bit different again.


Here are all the goodies you can pick from to fill your box if your entry is picked(except for the items that were picked by September's winners.....I am not hauling all this out to rephotograph it again!lol)

Personal care items...deodorant to body wash to shampoo to razors to dental care items to lip balm.


Laundry detergent pods, to sinus rinse to hydration to light bulbs to mouthwash to vitamins to lotions to tampons to supplements to night light bulbs to tape to shower cap to hair goods to hand soap to topical pain relievers to eye drops to baby wash.


More lotion to nail care to all sorts of make-up products(mascara, blush, eye pencils, eye shadow, face powder, lip products).

It's all about the chocolate and candy in this photo......Lindt truffles to sugar-free Russell Stover to gums to chocolate bars(from whole bags and to bars to singles).


Here's the full list of items available from the photos above........

Aussie mousse
Softsoap body wash x 2
Irish Spring body wash
Garnier shampoo
Pantene shampoo
Suave Professionals shampoo
Tresemmé shampoo
Suave Professionals shampoo
Gillette shave cream
Barlow's dry shampoo x 2
Arm and Hammer toothpaste x 2
Colgate toothpaste x 3
Listerine dental floss x 2
Oral-B toothbrush x 2
Arm and Hammer battery toothbrush
Oral-B battery toothbrush
Bic men's disposable razors
DayLogic men's refillable razor x 2
Degree fragrance spray
Suave ladies' deodorant x 4
Speed Stick men's deodorant
Lady Speed Stick deodorant
Arm and Hammer deodorant
Degree men's dry spray deodorant
Lever 2000 bar soap 2 pack
Yardley honey and almond bar soap
Cetaphil baby body wash x 2
XLEAR sinus rinse and bottle
Playtex sport compact tampons(reg.)
Arm and Hammer laundry tablets
Noxzema cream
Conair hair brush
Emergen-C super orange supplements
St. Ives face scrub
Liquid RX hydration packets x 2
Magnavox ear buds x 2
Dial hand soap pump
Conair shower cap
Thermacare back patches
GE LED light bulb
R-A night light bulbs x 2
R-A mouth rinse
Max Freeze topical pain cream
Aquaphor cream
Centrum fruit vitamins
Centrum Silver vitamins
Rolaids 3 pack
Visine eye drops x 2
Neutrogena oil-free acne wash
R-A cellophane tape x 2
Eucerin cream tubes x 2
Rimmel face cream
Cover Girl liquid foundation
Cover Girl face powder
Cover Girl lip stick
Physician's Formula bronzer powder
Sally Hansen nail strengthener gloss
Sally Hansen nail polish
Revlon emery boards x 2
Neutrogena concealer x 2
Cover Girl face compact
Cover Girl eyebrow pencils x 2
Jesse's Girl lip pencils x 3
Wet n' Wild eye pallette
Wet n' Wild single eye shades x 5
Cover Girl lip pencil
Rimmel bronzer/shader pallette
Revlon nail clippers
Revlon tweezers
Cover Girl eye shadow pallette
Maybelline eye shadow pallette x 2
Almay single eye shadows x 4
Cover Girl mascara
Rimmel mascara
Russell Stover sugar-free chocolates x 3
Hershey's cookie layer crunch w/mint
M & Ms caramel bag
Biscoff cookies
Perugina dark chocolate bar
Lindt Peppermint white chocolate bar
Mentos fruit rolls x 2
Reese's fast break
Hershey's Gold bar x 2
Dentyne's Ice gum 2 x
Orbit gum x 2
Trident gum x 2
Cadbury singles caramel x 16
Cadbury singles mint x 11
Cadbury singles fruit and nut x 6
Kit Kat bar singles x 16
Lindt truffles(assorted)x 36

I also added this group of items......


1 x Lindt gingerbread truffles bag
1 x GE LED lightbulb
1 x Always bladder pads
1 x Revlon Colorsilk med. rich brown
1 x Clairol Natural Instinct medium cool brown
1 x Clairol Nice n' Easy medium golden brown
1 x Revlon Colorsilk medium auburn
1 x Reese's cups sugar-free
1 x Twizzlers strawberry
2 x Jolly Ranchers candy bags
1 x Starburst gum
1 x Trident mint gum
2 x Mentos mint candy rolls
2 x Mentos cinnamon candy rolls
1 x Emergen-C super orange
2 x Colgate toothpastes
1 x Bic disposable razors
1 x Hello toothpaste(non-flouride)
1 x Gardenia body polisher
1 x Gardenia soap
1 x Gardenia body powder

Lots of things you can win and the retail cost depends on what you pick.
If something in the first 4 photos is gone from the list of what is available let me know and I'll see if I have more in my stash to send you if you are the winner.

I'll leave this giveaway open until Wednesday, 24th at 11:59pm Eastern Time, so that gives everyone a full week to enter this one.  On Thursday, October 25th I'll mark all the valid entries and use Random dotorg to pick a number and that corresponding person's entry wins.

*Please note the rules*
I'll post the name/Id of the winner on this blog and that person has 48 hours from then to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page).
If I am not contacted via email I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supply with their entry and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

The thing that makes this Giveaway different is that ONLY PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER WON ONE OF MY GIVEAWAYS MAY ENTER THIS ONE!

There will only be ONE way to enter this time by leaving a comment on this post.  Tell me what your favorite activity is during Autumn, your favorite Fall recipes, your favorite Halloween candy, the best grocery deal you got recently, or the thing you most want to win.....those sort of comments.
You may enter once each day by leaving a daily comment on this post before October 24th at 11:59pm Eastern time.
And remember, only folks who have never won before are eligible for this one. 8-)

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.
As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten to high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies, I pay for it all(cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***
Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with your contact information on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one with those Google Circles nonsense I CAN NOT CONTACT YOU as Google Circles doesn't show your contact info.

If I can't contact you then you can't win.  I am still having to disqualify entries due to this issue and I sure don't like doing that.  Thanks!

So let's get this started!

Sluggy

Monday, October 15, 2018

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Guess Where I Am?" Edition--



Well I'm not "there" anymore.  But it was just barely 2 weeks ago I was there. sigh

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--steak, corn casserole, collards, baked potatoes
2. Monday--Pasta
3. Tuesday--Pork Chops
4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--Pizza, Salad
6. Friday--Chinese take-out
7. Saturday--TBA

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--steak, corn casserole, collards, baked potatoes
2. Monday--Chinese Take-Out
3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself(I had mushroom soup)
4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself(I had a baked potato)
5. Thursday--Fend for Yourself(I had collards and a banana)
6. Friday--Pork Chops, leftover Mac and Cheese, leftover Cabbage
7. Saturday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup, leftover Rolls

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night  of Eating Out/Take-Out.
Pizza and pasta didn't happen but the pork chops did.  I only "cooked" 3 nights as I eased myself back into an at home routine.  The fandamily had to deal with finding their own dinners for a few nights and it didn't' kill them.  ;-)

1 trip to Weis for collards, 1 trip to Ollie's for a few things and 1 trip to the Shursave Market brought the weekly food spending to $29.85 and brought the monthly total to $29.85.
I have 15 days left in my shopping month for September.

My savings percentage last week was 46.95%(without Rite-Aid trips)and October's monthly savings total comes to 46.95%(w/R-A)so far.

Leftovers going into this week......corn casserole, collards, 1 pork chop, broccoli cheddar soup, 1 dinner roll.

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

1. Sunday--Beef Stroganof, Rice, TBD Veggie
2. Monday--Halushki
3. Tuesday--?
4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?
6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--FFY(Fend for Yourself)

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

What needs buying for this menu?  I went to the produce/restaurant supply store and picked up cabbage, mushrooms and other produce, as well as a bag of shrimp.  Sunday and Monday used the mushrooms and cabbage(along with other items at home already).
We are traveling the rest of the week so no clue what will be eaten at this point.

Under $30 spent for October at the halfway point but I did do some shopping this past weekend which will be reported on next Monday's Dining Table post.

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