Frugal Friday....the January 29th Edition on Saturday

I'm a day off this week but here's the Frugal Report I usually do on Friday with all the frugalness from the past week here around Chez Sluggy......

*  I hit a few Rite-Aid stores this week to grow my Bonus Cash a little bit.......

This trip on Monday netted me an additional $1 in BC after rolling the other $5 I already had.

 

On Thursday I hit a few other R-As and maxed out the stationery deal on each card.  I earned $4 for every two rulers I bought and they cost .74¢ + tax each so $1.56 for each pair and and $2.44 extra back in BC beyond what they cost.  But I got 1 bottle of body wash in one transaction w/2 rulers and in another I bought 3 clearance Nivea men's items($1.99 each)spending down that card's BC by $3.90 after earning the $4 BC for the rulers.

But there was method to my madness here since I earned $7.50 cash rebates on the Nivea items on Ibotta so really just converting some Bonus Cash to actual cash(plus more cash back than I spent in BC).  I grew that $3.90 in BC by $3.60 to $7.50 cash. 

Go. Me.

*  While I was across the street at R-A I hit up the discount grocery outlet too....

2 bags of baby carrots for .10¢ a bag.  

A bottle of lime juice for .59¢.

2 cans of water chestnuts for .79¢ each.

2 cartons of OJ for .99¢ each.

1 carton of nut juice for Hubs for $1.99

4.04 lbs. of BSCBreast for .99¢ per lb.

2 loaves of PF raisin bread for .99¢ each. *not pictured*

2 x 2lb. bags of frozen Brussels sprouts and stir-fry Veggies for $2.39 a bag. *not pictured*

2 x 1lb. bags of frozen Broccoli and Green Beans for $1.29 a bag. *not pictured*

1 package of napkins for $1.79. *not pictured*

I also grabbed 2 freebies-a package of organic wraps and a bag of ranch flavored popcorn for Ex-CB.

I may have forgotten a thing or two but this trip cost me $27.52 w/sales tax.

I'd call that a successful shopping trip, especially the chicken. ;-)

*  I found money!

I tagged along with Hubs last Saturday on a trip to Walmart and  found this penny at the self-checkout .

Then passing the Amazon lockers still in Walmart I spied this nickel underneath one....

These two pennies were found in Rite-Aid in two different spots in the front of the store on Monday.....

And this dime and penny was found on the floor at the checkout at P and R Outlet on Thursday.....

Total Found This Week....  .19¢

Total Found in 2021....  .38¢ This past week I doubled my finds for the year...woohoo!

*  I still had 25 rebates to do on Ibotta by Sunday night to earn the $10 Cold Hard Cash Bonus and I didn't think I could put together a deal that would get me there that wasn't a high spend because I'd have to do most if not all of those 25 rebates at Walmart.

So having a free day on Friday I gathered up my coupons and ideas and went to Walmart to see what I could do........

After Q and rebate the Kettle Chips were $3.96 for 2 bags.

After Q and rebate the Scottie tissues were .47¢ for 2 boxes.

After rebate the Breakstone cottage cheese was $2.64.

After rebate the Ritz toasted chips were $2.38 for 2 bags.

After rebate the Kraft shredded cheese was $2.38.

After rebate the Kraft singles cheese was $2.48.

After rebate the Ocean Spray juice boxes was .73¢.

After Q and rebate the Splenda was $1.98.

After Q and rebate the 6 soups were $5.09 total.

After rebate the Minute Rice was .98¢.

After Q and rebate the Bella dog food was .21¢ for all 4.

After rebate the Good Thins crackers were $2.56 for both boxes.

After rebate the 2 cans of Swanson broth were .52¢ for both.

After rebate the Philly cream cheese was $1.71.

After rebate the Siggi's yogurt was .98¢.

After rebate the Ore-Ida fries were $2.08. *not pictured*

After rebate the Mixed root veggie fries were FREE. *not pictured*

After Q and rebate the Poise pads were a .32¢ Moneymaker.

After Qs and rebate the Rolaids were a .32¢ Moneymaker.

After rebate the Coke w/coffee was a .10¢ Moneymaker(qualified for 2 rebates).

After Q and rebate the Rimmel face powder was a .28¢ Moneymaker.

After Q and rebate the Rimmel eye shadow was a $1.53 Moneymaker.

After Q and rebate the Rimmel lip gloss was .37¢.

After Q and rebate the Listerine ready tabs were .97¢.

After rebate the Alka-Seltzer gum was $2.24.

After rebate the 2 Listerine flossers were a .06¢ Moneymaker.

After rebate the clearance Almay eye shadow palettes were a $2 Moneymaker.

If the store had another $2 marked down eye shadow it would have been a $3 Moneymaker but I'm happy with what I found.

In total I spent $84.65 including tax.

I used a free $25 gift card earned from ShopKicks so I paid $59.65 OOP for everything above.

Now for the rebates...

I earned $52.99 on regular rebates. 

I earned that $10 Cold Hard Cash for doing 25+ rebates in this time frame.

I earned a .50¢ Perfect Pairings Bonus for buying the Tomato Soup(4 cans)and the Kraft Singles.

I earned a .75¢ Kraft Game Day Bonus for buying the Philly cream cheese, the Kraft shredded cheese and the Ore-Ida fries.

I earned a .50¢ Listerine Bonus.

I earned the $1 January Level 2 Bonus as well.

Total rebates earned came to $65.74.

I could have bought 3 less items than I did(sort of lost track on how many I had because I needed so many! lol).  I probably wouldn't have bought the yogurt, the Kettle chips and the cottage cheese if I had it to do over again but they are things we use so not a big deal.  That would have brought my OOP to $52.07 and made my Rebates total $63.74 so a bigger Moneymaker but I have no time machine to go back to yesterday and redo this transaction. lol

Oh I also got 110 Shop Kicks, 139 Points on Fetch and $1 on Checkout51 so a buck and a bit more earned back on other rebate apps too.

*  Our fridge has been having problems.  Hubs decided with encouragement from me to replace the freezer door gasket as it was split and coming off.

We searched online for the replacement piece and got one for around $50(don't recall right now the exact cost).

We watched some YouTube tutorials about how to replace a worn out gasket(trust me, if we could do it, it's an easy fix!lol)and voila!, the freeze is good as new now.

I would much rather pay $50+/- than replace the whole fridge/freezer so it's a money win in my book! 8-)))

That's about all from here.

Stay frugal and let us know what wins y'all had this past week!

Sluggy

4 Months of To-Do Lists....EEK! Sort of Long

I just noticed that I have neglected to post my monthly TO-DO List outcomes for the last FOUR  MONTHS!

Geez....how did THAT happen!!
Well that's easy to explain actually...well at least some of it.
Right before September List was suppose to be written I had an emergency gall bladder surgery.
Then in early November after I recovered other stuff was going on and I didn't get October's list done.
Early December and well, the Holidays, enough said so there went November's list. lolz
It's time for December's list(well I am kind of late in January with that one)and I am trying to get back on track.

So let's combine the lists from September to December and try to briefly as possible go through them all.

The item I always have at the top of the Month is "Pay Bills" and that's always accomplished so I am leaving that one off since y'all know it was done each month.

FOUR MONTH OF TO-DO LISTS

*  Read Books-Here's what I read the last 4 months--I really fell down on this goal the last quarter of 2020.

In September I read--

"Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin" by Jill Lepore

I got this one at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)and now I know WHY it was there.  The book was fine if a little thin because of the subject matter.  Written by a Harvard professor(la de da!)it was basically a biography of Jane Franklin, the younger sister of Benjamin Franklin.  It was interesting but so little information jhas survived the last 200 years concerning Jane's life that there wasn't much to work with here.  The author expanded by including a lot of information on Ben Franklin and their "close" relationship as brother and sister.  Funny thing is that when Benjamin Franklin wrote his memoirs he never mentioned Jane at all.  Hmmm.is that telling as to Ben's sense of self-importance or that he though no one reading his memoirs down the ages would be interested in what his sister, being a mere woman, thought of the world or her life?  You be the judge.

The odd thing that really distracted from my enjoyment of this book was this....

On random pages at random places in the story, there was no print on the page!

Then I'd turn the page and the book was fine....

And then a few pages further there's be more blank pages!  This kept happening aboout the 1/3 of the book and man, was it ever aggravating!  I persevered however and eventually the misprints stopped and I was still able to follow the thread of the book.  I hate to say it but I threw that book in the trash(the only reason I'd EVER throw a book out)when I was done though I would liked to have had this one remain in my book collection. 8-(

In November I read--

"Ostend: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth and the Summer Before the Dark" by Volker Weidermann

I did a little background reading on these two German authors before attempting this book because I know so few German writers(other than Goethe and Thomas Mann).  This was an interesting read as it explored the time right before Hitler came to full power and the troubles that some German authors who "weren't on board" with the Nazi agenda had....the political upheaval in their lives and families, the publishers who were forbidden from printing these writer's works, their emotional, mental and physical struggles to survive from this loss of income and some in their circle of friends being unable to return to German for fear of the consequences if they had gone abroad.  Ostend is a tiny seaside town in Belgium that was a favorite of a certain circle of German friends and writers and this book retells of their last Summer of glory at the sea before the Darkness fell over Europe.  Full of sadness and melancholy but a moving story.

I know I read more than TWO books the last 4 months but I didn't keep them(donated those books as they were "meh").  Perhaps I didn't finish a book in October due to surgery/not feeling up to reading much/or the short trip that month.  These other tomes must not have been very memorable as I can't recall any of them.  I did start two other books but have yet to finish them, but when I do, I'll report in. ;-)

* Hold Giveaways  DONE  Luckily I had Giveaway Boxes pre-filled and ready to go for the reat of the year by September or I may not have had anything to giveaway in October and maybe in November.  

Here's what was given away...5 boxes of goodies in total . 

September

October

November #1

November #2

December

*  Mail Giveaways  DONE  Everything was mailed out promptly.

*  Change out Wardrobe  I wanted to get this done in October after out short trip to MD(as it would still be warm down there).  Then we had a spell of warm for the season weather in November so I waited until early December to change out my clothing for the Winter season.  It just didn't make sense to do this chore earlier this year.  Blame it on being 2020....that works for me! lol

*  Dentist Appointment  Had my Dentist appointment for a cleaning in September.  No x-rays or new cavities so it was free.  This was my only Dentist appointment for the year as the Dentist was closed until August.  I hate that we paid for dental insurance that was suppose to pay for 2 6 month cleanings but only got to get 1.  I think we are due a partial refund on those premiums.  Of course if we had had a dental emergency I think the dentist would have seen us so I guess I am not too upset over being charge for a whole year of service. ;-)

*  Doctor Appointments  Oh boy, did we EVER have LOTS of Doctor appointments during this time due to the surgery!  A regular checkup in September then an ER visit, a surgery and a whole slew on appointments(4 in total)coming off the surgery situation plus 2 regular appointments with specialists I see.  We are all systems go by this point! 8-)

*  Stuff to Salvation Army  I believe we made three trips to Sallie's over the course of 4 months.  Of course the months I planned this to happen, it didn't.  Should have been 2 trips but Hubs forgot some things he shoved in his car's trunk and had to make a quick trip back later in Deecember.  We got rid of about 3 boxes of items we don't need/don't use.  The point is that the chore did get taken care of but it took longer than expected.

*  Go through bags of Clothing Ex-CB left  This one happened in September.   A few items I pulled out that were new with tags went back to Kohl's after Christmas and I got store credit.  A few other items I put aside to sell on eBay(Levi's mostly).  Everything else went into the Sallie's donation box which didn't leave when planned(see item above)but it was all donated before 2020 was over.

*  Continue to Deal w/VA stuff  DONE  This item has continued to drag on and on.  Partly due to the lawyer we were using and partly due to issues my brother has letting go of things.  I can't go into this further but once this pandemic let's us travel again I hope to make some headway as there is stuff I had to be in VA to do in person.

*  Work on Details of Winter Trip  This Winter Trip ultimately was put on hold until 2022.  I'd love to go sooner but traveling for now is on hold and IF things open up by August/September I don't think I want to be in the American Southwest during that time of year so we'll hold off until Winter 2022 on that particular trip.  I'd like to go to LA to see my daughter as we haven't seen her in a year now, since the wedding.

*  Move $-matured CD  We had a CD mature in September.  Looking around at the current rates at that time our best move was to just roll it over where it was sitting into a new CD.

*  Cash in 3 Savings Bonds  DONE  Three Savings Bonds matured so we cashed them in during September.

*  Take 401K Withdrawal  DONE  We also took a small 401K withdrawal in September to cover 1 of 3 irregular bills that came due-Long Term Care premiums, yearly School Taxes and Legal Fees concerning my VA issue.  The withdrawal was just to cover the school taxes.

OCTOBER saw these items added........

*  List Things on eBay FAIL  I don't feel so bad about this item on the list.  It stayed on the To-Do  List until December but I never did get around to listing anything on eBay.  Looking back at the clusterf**k the mail was last Fall I am GLAD I never put anything up on eBay to sell!  I found out yesterday that one of my Christmas Cards I sent out for Anne's Card swap arrived on 1/25!  44 days to  go barely 170 miles to MD via mail.  Heck I got a card from someone in Canada well before Xmas!  I am so glad to fail this year listing on eBay. lolz

*  Make More Masks  DONE  Part were done in Oct. and part in Nov.  I've got 5 more masks finished.  I hope to not have to make more but we'll see. 

*  Go on Trip  DONE  We had scheduled a quick trip to the beach and I was healed up well enough to still go mid to late October.  We researched and kept an eye on infection rates in the area and how the hotel was handling protocols(no housekeeping service unless you requested it so we didn't, sanitation stations all over the hotel and I stayed out of the pool).  Mostly we did outdoor activities away from other people and ate in the room or in almost vacant restaurants.  There was one outing to the outlets to two stores and they were only allowing X number of folks inside at a time.  We didn't pick up any infections and I really needed to get away for my mental health.

*  Stuff to Food Bank  FAIL  This didn't happen in October.

*  Invest Savings Bond $$  FAIL  Another one that didn't happen in October.

NOVEMBER saw these items added......

* Have Company  DONE  The only company we had at Thanksgiving was Ex-College Boy and his roommate(whom we call #3 Son).  They are in our 'bubble'.  It was a small enjoyable gathering and we sent them both home with lots of food.  I did make too many pumpkin pies but we thought Older son and his GF would be here but due to job restrictions they were unable to travel out of state.

* Plan & Cook for Turkey Day  DONE  We had only 4 people for dinner so other than the pie situation a lot less food was prepared and it was still plenty to too much.  Lots of leftovers were eaten the rest of November.

* Roll/Spend ECBs  DONE  I had something like $30+ in ECBs and I did get to CVS and roll/spend them down a bit during the Black Friday weekend.

* Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  DONE  Ditto for the Black Friday deals at Rite-Aid.

These are just some of what was hauled home from Rite-Aid on Black Friday Weekend.

* Drag Out Xmas Gifts  DONE  Gifts I've been collecting throughout the year were stored away until November in the Guest Room/Toiletries Stockpile Room closet.  Two tubs worth by Christmas and I wrote out a list as I went through them with whom got what and noted any "holes" in gifting that still needed to be filled.

* Get Kids' Xmas Lists  DONE  You'd think I was asking them to give me the contents of their ban accounts instead of a list of what they want me to GIVE them! lolz

* Stuff to Food Bank  FAIL  Another month I didn't get this done due to not being able to contact the person at the Church were they collect/give out the food.  I just kept trying to connect with the person and it wasn't happening.

* Invest Savings Bond $$  DONE  Finally got this money transfer to a higher interest bearing account in late November.  It was only just over $2K but hey!, money is money and better it be in there than sitting not earning anything. ;-)

DECEMBER saw these items added to the To-Do List...

* Have Company? DONE  While Older son and GF couldn't come for Christmas(again GF's work restrictions)we did have Ex-CB, #3 Son and the Brother in-law and Nephew over.  It's was a good day overall.

* Plan & Cook for Christmas  DONE  I got everything done and on time.  I cooked ahead a few things so I wasn't so rushed and tired on Xmas.  We had everyone over for dinner later than usual so we had some time to relax with the dogs in the morning and not stress about getting stuff ready for company.

* Make a few Christmas Treats  DONE  Gosh help us, NO pumpkin pies this holiday. lol

I made 2 pecan pies(1 to take to Older son as it's his most fav), peanut butter cookies(Ex-CB's fav)and Mexican wedding cookies.  I also bought a small peppermint chocolate cheesecake at the discount grocer for cheap(which nobody really liked lol).

* Roll/Spend ECBs  DONE I stayed on top of my CVS game(what little game I had lol).

* Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  DONE  Roll/Spend Down massive amounts of BC at Rite-Aid happened in December too.

* Finish Christmas Shopping  DONE  There wasn't much to buy after I hauled home my Black Friday drugstore loot. lol  Just a gift card or two.

* Wrap Christmas Gifts  DONE  Some got wrapped at the last minute(as is always the case)but they all got wrapped and the ones for my R-A pals got delivered Xmas eve as well as 3 Pizzas.

Here's an out of focus photo of our little tree with gifts wrapped underneath for family that was coming for Christmas.

Hubs and I ended up driving to Jersey the weekend after Xmas to visit with Older son and his GF for the day and took their presents to them then.  I figured if I had also mailed their packages they might still be waiting for them to arrive given the terrible mail situation in December. lol

* Mail Christmas Packages  DONE  I mailed out 6 packages but whether they arrived before Xmas was another matter not in my hands. lolz  Most of them ended up traveling through the "7th Circle of Postal Hell" aka as the Philly Mail Distribution Hub so I am grateful everything got to it's destination eventually.

* Stuff to Food Bank  DONE  I finally got all the donations up to the Food Bank.  I also made a large donation to the local AmLegion Hall for their overseas troops care packages.  It's no fun to be away from home especially at the Holidays.

* Collapse  DONE  More of a partial collapse really.  Glad all the hullabaloo was over and we had nothing on the agenda between Xmas and the New Year.  Hubs and I just relaxed and didn't worry about getting much done going into 2021.

So now I and y'all are all caught up with my To-Do Lists.

rah.

I don't have to worry about doing one now for another 4 Days! lolz

Sluggy

Rite-Aid & Walmart Plus Reader Questions....Mostly Last Week

I ended up doing a few hauls at Rite-Aid last week after doing the gift card glitch too.  There were 2 $15 BC wys $50 coupons...each one had a different code on it so you could do each of the two once per card.

This transaction was mostly about getting some paper products and converting BC to cash rebates on Ibotta....

1 x Cottonelle tp on sale=$8.99
1 x Scott paper towels on sale=$8.99
2 x Lady Speed Stick deo on sale=$5.98
4 x Snuggle dryer sheets B2G2Free=$10.98
1 x Nivea shave gel 20% Wellness discount=$3.99
2 x Nivea moisturizing After Shave on sale=$11.98
SubTotal.........$50.91*

Coupons Used
1 x $15 BC wys $50
1 x $1/1 Cottonelle L2CQ=$1.00
2 x $2/1 Speed Stick In-AdQ=$4.00
1 x $1/2 Speed Stick ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total......$6.00

$50.91-$6.00=$44.91+$2.22 tax=$47.13 paid with Bonus Cash and gift card.

Bonus Cash earned back was $29($15 wys $50, $5 wyb2 Cotonelle/Scott, 3 x $3 wyb2 Nivea).  2 of the $3 on Nivea was expected as there was a double dip but a third one came off for buying "Nivea, Bull Dog, Edge or Schick" too.  Doesn't matter now as those monthly deals are finished.

I got the Snuggle and Nivea to complete Ibotta rebates. Ibotta gave me back $6 for the Snuggles(4 x $1.50), $1.20 for the Nivea shave gel and 2 rebates each for the after shaves-those qualified for a Nivea Moisturizing rebate($2 x 2)and a Nivea after shave rebate(2 x $2.50), giving me back $16.20 total.  That gave me 4 of the 10 rebates I needed to finish an Ibotta Bonus too.

* The shave gel should  have rang up 20% off w/my Wellness discount but it didn't so I ended up cashing out $1.06 of my BC because I got a refund the next time I went in, so cash to put into my refund/overcharge/post coupon envelope........

Then on Saturday Hubs needed to go to Walmart so I tagged along to finish my weekend Bonus.......

2 x Good Thins crackers=$4.32
1 x Wheat Thins family size=$3.67

2 x Oreo Thins covered cookies=$5.12
2 x Mead folders on clearance=.50¢
3 x Arm and Hammer Scent boosters=$11.91
SubTotal......$25.56

I used 1 x $1/3 Nabisco items ManuQ so $24.56+.75¢ tax=$25.31
Then I paid with a free $25 Fetch gift card.....

This made my OOP .31¢.

Nice. 8-))

I earned back with 6 rebates(Mead, 2 x Good Thins, Oreos, 2 x Wheat Thins)totaling $8.31 and the $1 Weekend Bonus. Total earned last weekend on Ibotta $25.51, total cash OOP between Walmart and Rite-Aid was .31¢.

I also earned $2 back on Checkout51 for the Good Thins and the Oreos.

I submitted to SwagBucks for the Scent Boosters as they were giving back $12 in points so a freebie and .06¢ moneymaker.  They didn't pick up the third container from the receipt submission but after a review later that day I got the full amount of points.  I was planning on doing the frozen pizza(CA Pizza Kitchen)deal but they changed that rebate from full price paid to $3 on 2.  Wasn't interested in the Ferrero-Rocher chocolates as we aren't big hazelnut fans here.

Debbie had asked in the comments what sort of gift cards I get from ShopKicks.  Since I use any gift cards earned from rebating to put back into the rebating game and the only store gift cards I can use are Walmart(Weis and Rite-Aid cards aren't an option on any of them, ShopKick, Fetch or SwagBucks)so I get Walmart.  I could get CVS gift cards but I don't go there much and I'm trying to wean off of that store right now.

ND Chic asked how I put together my Ibotta deals too.  First I'll go through the offers for Walmart, Weis, Rite-Aid and any other store I think I might go to that week that participates in Ibotta.  Then I'll go on YouTube and see what other couponers are doing at the stores and what offers are double dipping too and if there are any internet printable or ManuQs I can combine with offers.  I write up a list and it's usually got way more offers than I end up doing as I have to allow for A-items being out of stock that I want to do and B-items not carried in that particular Walmart, etc.

It helps to follow/subscribe to a vlogger or two that coupon.  Choice ones that frequent the stores you do too.

Right now I am only 10 offers done out of 36 needed to get that $10 Cold Hard Cash Bonus and it ends on Jan. 31st.  It's highly possible I won't finish that Bonus at this point between the bad weather here and lack of deals I want to do this week but that's ok.  You don't have to do them all just to do them.

And if anyone wants to use my referral codes to join one of the rebate apps, here they are--

IBOTTA-mkaaxa

SHOPKICK-FUN260238

FETCH-GC73D

SWAGBUCKS-email me for an invite

Later on Saturday I went back to R-A and did this to stock up on some supplements.....

2 x Nivea breathable lotion on sale=$11.98

2 x Nature's Truth Turmeric gummies b1g1=$17.99

2 x Nature's Truth Elderberry b1g1=$14.99

2 x Nature's Truth D3 b1g1=$12.99

SubTotal......$57.95

Coupons Used

1 x $15 BC wys $50 Q

2 x $3/1 Nivea Breathable IPQ=$6.00

1 x $3/1 Nature's Truth Gummies HangtagQ=$3.00

2 x $2/1 NTruth IPQ=$4.00

I had a $2/1 NTruth L2CQ I didn't realize came off as well.

Coupon Total..$15.00

$57.95-$15.00=$42.95+.36¢ tax=$43.31 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $38 in new BC($15 wys $50, $3 wyb2 Nivea lotion, $20 wys $40 NTruth).

Then I did the P and G Deal on a third card.  Parameters were spend $50 to get the $15, but also spend $30 on P and G qualifying items(to get another $10BC)and spend $15 on Cover Girl items(to get another $5BC)within that same $50.....

1 x Gain detergent on sale=$4.94

1 x Tide pods on sale=$4.94

1 x Tide detergent on sale=$4.94

2 x Secret aluminum free on sale=$10.98

1 x Crest toothpaste on sale=$4.00

1 x Glide dental floss on sale=$4.00

3 x Cover Girl mascara 20% Wellness discount=$16.77

SubTotal......$50.57

Coupons Used

1 x $2/1 Gain IPQ=$2.00

1 x $2/1 Tide pods L2CQ=$2.00

1 x $2/1 Tide L2CQ=$2.00

1 x $5.99/2 Secret aluminum free L2CQ=$5.99

1 x $2/1 Crest toothpaste L2CQ=$2.00

1 x $1/1 Glide floss L2CQ=$1.00

2 x $2/1 Cover Girl eye ManuQ=$4.00

1 x $2/1 Cover Girl eye L2CQ=$2.00

Coupon Total of $20.99

$50.57-$20.99=$29.58 paid with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $30.00 in new BC($15 wys $50, $10 wys $30 P and G, $5 wys $15 Cover Girl).

Except two things went awry.  The first one I noticed as soon as the transaction was done.  Someone had put the wrong Tide pods(20 ct.)where the 16 ct. and on sale ones were suppose to be so I bought the wrong ones that didn't count toward the $30 spend/get $10 BC offer. sigh.

So I returned those and rebought the correct ones, thus the $2/1 L2CQ came off on the rebuy.  I ended up with $3.49 in cash.  I also returned a lip balm so that was another $2.79 back in cash as well on that trip.......

Then when I got home I noticed I didn't get my 20% Wellness discount on the regular priced Cover Girl

items so when I went up to R-A on Monday I got that $4.51 back in cash as well....

The transaction I did on Monday was this one......

1 x Irish Spring bar soap pack on sale=$3.99

1 x Irish Spring body wash on sale=$3.99

2 x R-A rulers 25% off sale=$1.48

SubTotal.......$9.46

Coupons Used

2 x $2/1 In-Ad Irish Spring RAQ=$4.00

1 x .75¢/1 Irish Spring body wash ManuQ=.75¢

Coupon Total....$4.75

$9.46-$4.75=$4.71+.29¢ tax=$5.00 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $6 in new BC(2 x $1 Irish Spring, 2 x $2 R-A office supplies)so a $1 moneymaker this one.

Not a great Rite-Aid week but there are a few wins this week especially if you have the Irish Spring coupon and/or the Unilever inserts from Sunday(of which we don't get here).

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

   The "Technology is Great When It Works" Edition....

Explanation is below the menu....

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

This is what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Leftover Beef Pie

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself

3. Tuesday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Veg from the Freezer

4. Wednesday--Sloppy Joes, Veg from Freezer
5. Thursday--Take-Out for Birthday

6.  Friday--Tacos or Taco Salad

7. Saturday--Pizza, Salad

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Leftover Beef Pie

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself

3. Tuesday--Subway Subs

4. Wednesday--Subway Subs
5. Thursday--Chinese Restaurant for lunch, FFY for Dinner

6.  Friday--Tacos or Taco Salad

7. Saturday--FFY

Last week saw 1 night of home cooked dinners, 5 nights of leftovers/planned overs, FFY, and 3 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.   

The plan went way off course last week because I tried to order a sub for lunch.  I knew my birthday would be no cooking day but we had a snafu at Subway on Tuesday--I tried to order 2 subs online for Hubs and myself, inputting a gift card and under $2 on a c/c since the gift card didn't have enough on it to cover the whole order.  The screen kept spinning after I placed the order so I figured it wasn't going through so Hubs went and placed the order in person taking the gift card mentioned above plus another gift card I had.  Hubs had left a good 10 minutes before when I got an email confirming my order(the first one placed online).  It was took late to call Hubs to say pick up the first order and don't order it again(and pay again)so he comes in the door minutes later and says the one gift card, they told him it had no money on it(I knew it was because it was used on the first order that went through)so he used the second gift card only.  Then after I told him what had transpired after he left to get the subs I had to dress and go get the first sub order. LOL

We ended up having a half a sub each for 2 lunches and 2 dinners last week due to the snafu.  Since they had already charged me I was not NOT going to get 4 subs.  But I don't want to see anything tuna fish for quite some time to come. ;-)

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  2 lbs. of salmon(on sale 1/2 off)

*  1 lb. of seasoned ground chicken

I hadn't planned to buy either but the 50% salmon sale on Friday popped up at Weis(PMITA)Markets and I saw $5.99 lb. packs of seasoned ground chicken on sale $1 off and with $3 off instant stickers on them(so $1.99 lb.)so I thought I'd try one to add to ground beef next time I make meatballs for spaghetti.  $11.99 spent I hadn't planned on last week but I was not NOT going to spend for those items. ;-)

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  2 lbs. ground beef

The only meal I cooked last week was tacos/taco salad.

We spent $68.81 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week.  $20.17 at Walmart, $37.09 at Weis, $5.06 at Ollie's and $6.49 at the Bread Outlet. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $204.25 for January.

There are 6 shopping days left in January.

I've earned $172.79 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $10.00 on Checkout51 in January.

I've earned $2.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in January.

I've earned 524 points from shopping on Fetch in January.

I've earned 2566 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in January.

I've earned 1200 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in January.

My savings percentage for last week was 60.82%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for January and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 64.35%.(w/out R-A). That's a really high savings rate even for me. 8-)

Leftovers going into this week--1 helping of macaroni salad, 2 hot dogs and taco filling.  No food waste again last week.  But few leftovers means lots of cooking this week.

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

1. Sunday--Fend for Yourself

2. Monday--Chicken Fajitas

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts

4. Wednesday--BBQ pork sammiches, Veggie TBD
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks or Leftovers

6.  Friday--Homemade Manicotti(if I feel ambitious), Salad

7. Saturday--Leftovers

I've got bbq in the freeze that just needs thawing and sauce and I can make the Manicotti earlier in the week as my energy level will be low on Friday so this plan should work out well.

What needs buying for this menu?  Nothing I can think of at this point except a small container of milk.  I will look for OJ concentrate at a good price as Weis always seems to be out so I look for it whenever I go there.

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

January Giveaway Winner!

There were 62 valid Giveaway comments so I put that number into Random Generator and that picked the winner......

TEBBLE

TebbleJanuary 17, 2021 at 3:08 PM

My birthday month is March! I love me some cupcakes with real frosting, not that whipped crap) 😉. Something about me is I work full time at a college but also started a side hustle last year selling all size clothing last year online. It has gone gang busters and I love meeting all the new people ❤️ Tebble.

Congratulations Tebble!

You have 48 hours from when this post goes live to contact me with your full name and mailing address to claim your prize. (My email addy is on the side bar under "About Me".)

If the Boring Blog Giveaway Box is not claimed within that time I'll choose another winner for January.

Thanks for everyone who entered and the entertainment your comments provide me too. ;-)

Come back next month so another Giveaway!

Sluggy

Fugal Friday.....the January 22nd Edition

 Not much this week that was frugal but one really big win!  Let's take a look........

*  I only did the gift card glitch deal at Rite-Aid so far this week....

Plus there are two different Spend $50 Get $15 BC coupons(they have different barcodes)so you can do the deals twice on each card and get the $15 BC if you have a mind to(I haven't.).  I used gift money to buy the Rite-Aid gift card so that's a bonus win too. ;-)

*  I did the Ibotta Midweek Bonus at Walmart.......

After ALL rebates the above cost me MINUS $6.13. 8-)))

*  Hubs took me out for lunch yesterday on my Birthday. Of course I found and printed a coupon(10% off)to reduce the cost. lol

*  I found money!

Not much to report in for this week.....

This penny found in front of the beer cafe/bakery register at Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday.

And this penny found at the register in Rite-Aid when I went in on Thursday.

Found Money This Week..... .02¢
Found Money This Year.....  .19¢

*  I actually sold something on eBay this past week!

This Osbourne Family(from their old MTV reality show)Throw blanket still new in the package.
Back right before Christmas I had an eBay user who sent me the same Offer on it three times(that's the limit on offers you can send a Seller).  They kept sending the same $ amount offer and it was a lowball one so I just ignored them.  Ignored for the low amount and because it was so close to Christmas and with the USPS so backed up I know I'd have problems with it getting to them in time.  So this past week another buyer paid full asking price for it and it's on the way to them.  Sometimes it pays to hold out for full price.  And they still got a good deal first because this item is long ago discontinued and it still has the retail price of $59.99 on the package. 8-)

*  And my big frugal win for the week considering I HAD TO spend money on it.......

My computer is coming up on 8 years old and on it's last legs so I needed a new machine.  I got input from my tech support guy(Ex-College Boy)and we decided on this one as it had most of what I needed(the only flaw is the screen isn't as big as the one on my old laptop but I can live with that).  So I bit the bullet and ordered it.  This bad boy retails for over $1,100.

But the cost wasn't as painful as you'd have thought.  I have been saving our credit card points for a few years now(use to get gift cards with points for Xmas presents to give out to the kids)and I had $641 worth of points to put toward the laptop so it only cost me $400 and some OOP.

And guess where that $400 and some came from?  Yep, my stimulus check, so in the end this cost me NADA OOP.

yay. me.

That's about all I've got this week.........

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?

Tell us all about them!

Sluggy

It's Mah Birfday!

 What I hope they'll say on my Birthday......

What's actually happening on my Birthday this year..

And how I am feeling turning over a new year of life........

Don't forget to enter the Giveaway HERE.  It ends Saturday evening at 11:59pm.  Also if "Linda", "GrammaGrits" and "T" who entered already are reading this, they need to contact me with their contact info(email addys)as their Google/Blogger profiles are empty of any identifying information so their entries are not valid until I get some kind of contact info for them.

One of my Birthday Buddies is Chris Britton.  If you are old as dirt like me you know him from this band/pop hit from the 1960's......

But I am channeling this other Troggs hit today....

Here's another Birthday Buddy of mine.  You may know her as "Baby Spice"...

Go out and have a Great Day!

Sluggy

MidWeek Ibotta Bonus Was A Big Moneymaker!

I received a $3 Ibotta Bonus offer for doing 6 rebates.  This was a piece o' cake so I went ahead and did it at Walmart earlier today..........

2 x Celestial Seasonings black tea $2.38 ea.=$4.76
2 x Good Thins crackers $2.18 ea.=$4.36
2 x Bic Prevguard pens clearance $4.00 ea.=$8.00
2 x Mead folders clearance .25¢ ea.=.50¢
3 x Listerine Flossers $1.97 ea.=$5.91
SubTotal....$23.53

Coupons Used
1 x $1/2 Celestial Seasonings tea ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Good Thins crackers ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/2 Bic items ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$4.00

$23.53-$4.00=$19.53+.33¢ sales tax=$19.86

Rebates earned back totaled $24.75.
$21.25 regular rebates($2.49 Celestial Seasonings, .10¢ any brand tea bags, .10¢ any Probiotic beverage, $1.50 Good Thins, $2.56 Good Thins, $6 Bic Prevaguard, $2 Bic Stationery, .50¢ Mead, $6 Listerine).  I also got a .10¢ any brand fruit snacks but am not counting that since they will probably find their error and remove it.

I also earned a Listerine Bonus of .50¢ and since I went over 6 rebates I earned the $3 MidWeek Bonus as well.

This was a whopping $4.89 moneymaker after cash rebates earned on Ibotta!  

But I also scanned two varieties of Celestial Seasonings teas to ShopKick for 50 Kicks, got a 10 Kicks for walking into Walmart and submitted my receipt for the CS tea I bought for another 250 Kicks so I'll get $1.24 for all those Kicks from ShopKicks too, giving me a $6.13 moneymaker in the end.  Nice.

I like these small number of items to get a Bonus and rarely get them...usually I have to do 12 or 15 offers and the payoff is only a buck.  This was a nice change.

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Glitch

I saw reports online that the $15 BC when you spend $50 coupon at Rite-Aid(in some flyers but also available to print from the online flyer and emailed to shoppers if R-A has your email addy)was again working on certain gift cards this week.

So I went and tried it out.............

The $50 Home Depot fixed amount and the variable amount newer design Rite-Aid gift cards(when you put $50 on that one)both generated $15 in Bonus Cash to each of these accounts/cards.  I also got another $2 BC w/the R-A card because I bought a coffee creamer for Hubs and we hit the $10 mark on that specific BC deal too. :-)

The Home Despot cards are always handy to have for home repairs and that cost I took out of the home repair/maintenance budget.  My brother sent me a check for Xmas so I used that $ to buy the R-A gift card.

Last time I believe a Google gift card also glitched and generated Bonus Cash when you put $50 on that one too but I didn't try that one this time.  The biggest hurdle may be to get your cashier to scan the coupon as these coupons don't work with gift cards(or at least they are told that).

Remember this is a glitch so I could go away at any time so try at your own risk and your mileage may vary and all that.  I just thought I'd mention it in case anyone would like to know.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

  The "Use It Up" Edition....

My massive container of elbow noodles is now gone.  Hubs cooked the rest up Saturday night to go with his leftover Stroganoff meal.  I told him that was too much noodle for the amount of Stroganoff left but he cooked it all anyway.  I guess he's planning on using what is leftover from his meal with spaghetti sauce for lunches this week.  And if that wasn't HIS plan, it certainly is MINE! lol

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

This is what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff over leftover Mashed Taters, Sauted Green Beans

2. Monday--Salmon, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Mac and Cheese

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Broccoli Cheddar Soup
5. Thursday--Beef Pie(Hubs cooking)

6.  Friday--More Leftovers

7. Saturday--Subway or Leftovers(depending on how much of the Leftovers Hubs eats for lunches)

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff over leftover Mashed Taters, Sauted Green Beans

2. Monday--Salmon, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Mac and Cheese

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Broccoli Cheddar Soup
5. Thursday--Beef Pie(Hubs cooking)

6.  Friday--Hot Dogs, Macaroni Salad

7. Saturday--Chinese take-out for lunch, FFY for dinner

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 nights of leftovers/planned overs, FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out.   

The plan was followed mostly last week, except Hubs ate more leftovers than I thought so I had to come up with a new meal on Friday.  I was having a craving for Macaroni Salad so I made some and paired it with those boutique hot dogs I got 2 weeks ago at P and R. Ex-College Boy was coming over Friday night to get our old microwave anyway plus he LOVES my macaroni salad and there were extra hot dogs so he ate with us too.  I gave him some mac salad to take home along with a container of the Broccoli soup too as he likes that as well.

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  Not a single thing

Everything I bought was to use last week or refrigerated things like cottage cheese and/or produce.

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  1 small London Broil
*  1 hunk of Salmon

*  1/2 bag Brussels Sprouts

*  1/2 bag of Broccoli

*  1 lb. Ground Beef

This month is going to be all about taking more OUT of the freezer than putting IN the freezer.  I'll also be going through canned/boxed goods to see what we should be using now versus later.

We spent $49.45 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week.  $38.33 at Walmart, .12¢ at CVS, $5.05 at P and R discounters and $5.95 at Malacari's Produce. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $135.44 for January.

There are 13 shopping days left in January.

I've earned $120.93 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $8.00 on Checkout51 in January.

I've earned $2.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in January.

I've earned 294 points from shopping on Fetch in January.

I've earned 2240 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in January.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in January.

My savings percentage for last week was 58.39%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for January and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 66.37%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week--Beef Stroganof w/Mashed Taters, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Beef Pie, Macaroni Salad.

I am not feeling inspired toward a meal plan this week.  It's my Birthday this week so I know we'll be getting take-out on Thursday(luckily it's my shot day so I don't cook then anyway)but otherwise I'm not feeling it this week.

I need to just got take some things out of the freezer and put something together. 

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

1. Sunday--Leftover Beef Pie

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself

3. Tuesday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Veg from the Freezer

4. Wednesday--Sloppy Joes, Veg from Freezer
5. Thursday--Take-Out for Birthday

6.  Friday--Tacos or Taco Salad

7. Saturday--Pizza, Salad

I've got cooked up ground beef to use thus sloppy joes and taco/taco salads this week.  I also have a boxed mix for tuna noodle casserole that's been in the pantry for awhile. (Next week seafood and chicken will return and maybe pork chops...it just depends what I pull out of the freezer.) Add in various leftovers and the week o' meals is filled out.  Nothing inspiring or interesting really but it gets the job done. ;-)

What needs buying for this menu?  Nothing I can think of at this point.

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