Saturday, February 27, 2021

Ibotta and Shopping on Friday at Walmart & Rite-Aid

 I still needed 16 rebates on Ibotta to earn my $10 Bonus before March 1st so I went down the mountain and hit Walmart since that's the easiest place around here to get rebates with the fewest number of dollars spent.  And it wasn't the first week of the month so it wasn't crazy busy there. ;-)


These items were a subtotal of $32.35.  
I used a $1/1 IPQ for the Dave's bagels and a 75¢/1 IPQ for the Tums so total was $30.60+.33¢ tax=$35.93 Total.

I used a free $25 Fetch gift card I bought off my phone in the store to pay which left me with $5.60 OOP on this order.

I earned back 13 rebates(the Mooalas qualified for 2 separate rebates, there was a any antacid rebate that stacked with a Tums rebate and then the Scotties tissue and Core bar triggered 2 separate rebates for each which I had no clue that would happen).  I was expecting the Ritz rebate for $2.98 on the Toasted Chips but Ibotta changed the details on that offer which I have done before and now the Toasted Chips don't qualify. boo.  But that's on me for not checking the UPC in the store and being lazy.  But I'll keep those Ritz chips because I LOVE this Veggie variety! 

 If I take those 2 Ritz items off my total(they come to $5.36)then my OOP on the Ibotta qualified stuff comes to .24¢.
Total earned on Ibotta was $13.95 on the rebates I received at Walmart.

(I also bought a can of soup and a 5lb. bag of rice both on clearance for $5 but those aren't part of this report but will be accounted for on my monthly food spending.)

So now I only needed 3 more rebates to hit 36 so I trotted off to a bigger Rite-Aid near there.......


I bought 6 Arm and Hammer detergent as they were Buy 1 Get 2 Free and a tad cheaper in this store than in mine($6.99 vs. $7.29).  The 3 bags of laundry packs/pods also had $1 off peelie Qs on the bags.
Sweet.  And I handed over 3 other Arm and Hammer Qs(1 Manu/2 IPQs)to apply to the jugs.  Usually you can't use a Q on an item that is free with their deals but all the Qs worked!  $7.98 plus tax for 6 containers of laundry detergent (or $1.33 a bottle/pack)is not bad IMHO.  If there was an Ibotta rebate or a BC Deal on it too it would have been awesome but I'll take it anyway.

I also did the Palmolive/Ajax dish soap Deal-there is a buy2 get $2 BC weekly deal that is double dipping with a $3 BC wyspend $10 monthly deal.  With gold discount I needed to buy a fifth bottle so I got a 10 oz. Palmolive to hit the $10 mark and earned that $7 in BC.

The Gevalia was $6.39 gold discount and gave back $3 in BC.
The other stuff-the 2 Suave deodorants(BOGO50% so $3.58 total), the Neutrogena acne soap($2.79 w/gold discount), the 2 bags of gummies(2/$3 on sale)all helped get me over $40 total so I could use that $10/$40 R-AQ.

Total with $1.14 sales tax added was $26.09 after $16 in Qs(6 x $1/1 Arm and Hammer and the $10 off $40.  I used $26.09 in Bonus Cash to pay and earned a meager $10 in BC back($7 Palmolive double dip, $3 Gevalia).
But I earned back $5.25 on 5 different rebates Ibotta for the Gevalia coffee, Neutrogena acne soap, the 2 Suave deodorants and the 2 bags of Haribo giving me 18 more rebates total and put me over the magic 36 needed so I earned the $10  Bonus.

Total cash OOP for both trips.......24¢
Total rebates earned for both trips....$29.20 w/the $10 Bonus.

Now that's what I call Winning the Rebate Game! lol


I can't help but think about Anne in the Kitchen when I found this video. hehehe

Sluggy


Friday, February 26, 2021

Frugal Friday......the February 26th Edition

 Here are a few of thing frugal things that happened around Chez Sluggy this past week............

*  I already mentioned my Rite-Aid shop--


Though not "free" a good deal this week, especially since the Sundown supplements/vitamins are double dipping as there is a Buy $30/Get $10 BC weekly deal as well as a Buy $30/Get $10 BC monthly deal.  Pair that with that $10 off $40 Q and it's a great buy!

*  While I was out on Wednesday going to R-A I stopped at Burger King for a Wednesday Whopper Deal for $1(a coupon on the app...some Wednesdays it's $2, some Wednesdays it's $1).


Of course I used my BK gift card to pay.  If I keep this up and only use it on $1 Whopper specials I've got about 36 more free whoppers left for the year. lol

*  Younger son(Ex-CB)had a birthday on the 22nd but due to his schedule we are celebrating tonight.  Usually I buy a 1/4 sheet cake or an ice cream cake as he likes those but this year I found a strawberry cake mix at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap)last month and used a 15% off coupon.  Strawberry anything is his favorite!  So this year I made his cake.....


It's not much to look at(the cake started crumbing when I tried to ice it)but it smells really good(if you like strawberry).  I also iced the middle with strawberry jam(which I had in the pantry already).  I probably won't "decorate" it as Ex-CB won't care either way and I'm scared to touch it and make it look worse. lolz

*  I found money!

A penny at Rite-Aid last Saturday.


And another penny at R-A on Wednesday by the Pharmacy counter.

Not a stellar week for change but it's something.

Found Money This Week.... .02¢
Found Money This Year..... .91¢

We are inching close to a whole $1 for the year. ;-)

That's about it for this week.

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


Sluggy


Thursday, February 25, 2021

Rite-Aid This Week So Far

 The local Rite-Aid ad doesn't have the $10 when you spend $40 coupon on it so I went online to print off that Q from the ad there.

I only did one transaction so far.......


2 x Sundown Turmeric BOGOFree=$15.49
2 x Sundown D3 BOGOFree=$9.79
2 x Sundown Melatonin BOGOFree=$8.99
1 x Nutella to go cup 20% Gold disc.=$1.51
1 x Neutrogena acne bar soap 20% Gold disc.=$2.87
2 x Haribo gummies on sale 2/$3=$3.00

SubTotal........$41.65 so after .14¢ tax added on and my $10/$40 Q the total came to $31.79

I paid with a combo of Bonus Cash and free R-A gift cards so Zero OOP.

I earned back $20 in new BC plus $3.50 in Ibotta cash rebates.  Not a great deal(moneymaker)but not a bad deal after $23.50 back in BC/cash.

I may hit up a different R-A on Friday(if the weather is ok)and do a variation on this transaction on another card.  I can use the 4 Ibotta rebates(plus if my Gevalia coffee one resets by then).  I am currently 16 rebates away from earning my Feb. $10 Bonus so if I can do those 5 at Rite-Aid(and spend no money doing them)that means only 11 rebates at Walmart by the 28th.  8-))

Sluggy

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Happy 112th Birthday Granddad-The Black Sheep of His Family

 I am late with this post but last Tuesday, Feb. 16th, would have been my paternal Grandfather's 112th birthday.  I don't feel too badly about being late with this one since Granddad was, as they say, "a wicked old screw" and not much of a family man.

Frank Foster Bowman, Jr. died on 5 September 1978.  I remember because my immediate family was a mess at that time and I had been yanked out of college the Fall of 1977 right before the play I was starring in was to be presented because my mother had attempted suicide and was in the hospital and they didn't know if she'd live.  It was deja vue for me the next Fall of 1978 as I had just gone back for my sophomore year of college, only to have my mother call and say my grandfather had died and they were pulling me out of school for a couple of days and my brother was driving to Maryland to pick me up the next day.  

We went to Fairfax,Virginia where my grandfather lived and stayed at a motel with my parents for the night.  I didn't go to the viewing/wake as I had childhood trauma from attending 3 of those affairs as a young child.  My aunt and some of her kids came to the funeral from Massachusetts but her mother, my grandmother Catherine, Frank's first wife, did NOT attend for reasons that will become obvious later on in this post.

What shall I say about Frank in remembrance?  He was born in Bridgeport Connecticut in 1909, the oldest of  6 siblings that survived childhood.  His family moved to New Windsor, New York sometime after 1920 as the family is still in CT in that census year and his third sister, Eleanor, was born in New Windsor in 1922.  

At age 16 Frank ran away from home(this would just be the first time he ran away from family)and joined the U.S. Marines in July of 1925, lying about his age obviously.  He was stationed at the St. Helena Training Barracks in Berkley, VA(now part of Norfolk, VA).


This photo is of Frank in his dress blues in 1926 at the St. Helena Barracks.
I suppose when he went to re-up after his 2 year hitch they discovered he had lied about his age in 1925 so he was mustered out of the Marines in 1927.

Frank made his way up to the Boston area afterwards where he met my grandmother, Catherine McCarthy.  They married in 1928 in Cambridge Massachusetts, probably after a brief courtship, and the story is Catherine didn't invite her own father, Dennis McCarthy, to the wedding.

Frank and Catherine lived in Manhattan, NYC and Frank worked as a salesman in a department store there.  Between the 1930 census and the birth of my father in Nov. 1931 the family had moved to Brooklyn, NY.  
I connected briefly awhile back with a 1st cousin 1 x removed(my grandfather and her mother were siblings)and she emailed me these photos she had....

                                                     

My dad is about a year old in these photos which would make them from late 1932 or early 1933.  I believe they were taken in Upstate NY where my great Grandparents lived in Orange County.
The written caption says "Catherine, Frank and Sonny".  They use to call my father Little Sonny.  
My grandfather Frank's youngest sibling, Bill Bowman was nicknamed Sonny. Frank was the oldest child that lived(a son Richard died shortly after birth in 1908) so there was a 20 year span between him and Bill.  Bill was born in 1928 and my father in 1931 so my father and his Uncle were practically the same age. 8-)


                                                           


This photo is on my father and his mom, Catherine and a big dog.  My Grandmother Catherine is 23 in these photos.  Love that fur trimmed 1930's coat and that short flapper hairstyle!

In the 1940 census the family was still living in Brooklyn and Frank was employed as an Electrician Foreman for a construction firm.  
Frank enlisted in the NY National Guard in 1932 after my father was born and in 1935 won a recruitment medal/award from the National Guard.
Here is Frank in his National Guard uniform sometime in the mid 1930's.....



By 1934 my grandparents had another child, my Aunt Marilyn.
Here's where his story runs off the rails.....

In 1941, after Pearl Harbor Frank left his family, the old "he went out for a pack of cigarettes and never came back".  He enlisted in the US Army on 31 Dec. 1941 and listed himself as single.
I also found a WWII draft card where Frank stated his next of kin was, Albert Martin, a friend he was living with at 121 Madison Ave. NYC.  Here's a photo of that apartment building today located at the corner of 30th St.

Frank lists his employer as Gilliam and McVay which turns out was a real estate broker in NY at that time.  So at this point he had left his wife and kids without a howdy dee do and was living in Manhattan.

At some point after January 1st, 1942 he was shipped out to England.  He served in both the European and the Pacific theaters during the war.  
While in Europe he married 2 British women, yes, he was married to both at the same time.  He was a bigamist, thus I refer to him as a wicked old screw.  Frank told my mother in the 1960's that he was married to two women in England during WWII and my aunt confirmed that he had married in England during the war too.
A few years ago my aunt Marilyn also mentioned that Frank had told her he was "involved" with a WAC also during the war.  She didn't have a name or know if he had married her or what.  This just added to his lovely image of being a womanizer.  But he was an old school, good Catholic and he seemed to always marry them before bedding them(even if he already had a wife back in NY).

Once the war was over in Europe(VE Day)he was shipped out to the Pacific and served there until VJ Day before returning to the US.
When Frank left Europe he never told either wife in England he was leaving and of course neither wife knew about the other.  Since he "disappeared" during the war it was presumed by these wives that he had died in the war.  The other shoe dropped the day the second Mrs. Frank Bowman applied for her widow's pension with the British government and was told they were sorry but Mrs. Frank Bowman had already applied for that pension.
Another 1st cousin 1 x removed Shirley, the daughter of my grandfather's younger brother John "Jack" Bowman told me about 10 years ago that at least one of Frank's English wives had a daughter and she had immigrated to Canada but I've been unable to ascertain where or her name(or the name of her mother).
But I digress....
During the war Frank was not in touch with his family, neither my grandmother and their 2 children nor his parents and his siblings.  Frank's mother, Kitty O'Brien Bowman died in 1945, before the war ended not knowing whether her son Frank was alive or dead.


Here's a photo of Frank's parents, Frank Sr. and Catherine "Kitty".  I don't know what year this photo was taken other than before 1945.

So Frank shipped off to the Pacific Theater after VE Day.  He was a member of the Corp of Engineers at this point.....

He was a Master Sargent and leader of his unit.......


Frank is center front row in this group shot of  his battalion.

I found a book written after the war, "The Corps of  Engineers: The War Against Japan: written by Carl C. Dod, with this foreword by Brigadier General Hal Pattison in 1965......

Contributions of the Corps of Engineers to victory in war, and to our country's peacetime history, are well known and appreciated. The skill and versatility of this talented body of soldiers met a supreme test in operations against the Japanese, many of which were conducted in the most primitive and undeveloped regions of the world. Engineers built the Alaska Highway, Canol, and the Ledo Road in Burma. They cleared the jungles to build airfields for heavy bombers and supervised the work of Filipinos, Chinese, and Melanesians as they built runways by hand. They built ports, roads, and docks where none had existed. Indeed, one of the most familiar recollections of the U.S. veteran of the war against Japan is the ubiquitous engineer operating a bulldozer....."

In that context this next photo cousin Shirley sent me makes sense....


My grandfather Frank somewhere in Asia in a loincloth posing with a machete for the camera. lolz

So after the war what did Frank do?  Where did Frank go?

This has gotten quite long so I'll continue this story in a Part Two about my black sheep, mysterious paternal Grandfather.

Sluggy






Monday, February 22, 2021

This Week on the Dining Table

  The "Ex-College Boy's Birthday" Edition....


This photo of Ex-CB was taken in the Fall of 2011 when he was in 9th grade.  No adult was there to tell him to fix his hair....really?!?
At the time I was NOT amused having to pay money for THIS school photo but now it's a funny, cherished memory. lolz

Let's all wish him a Happy 25th Birthday!

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-
This is what was planned....
1. Sunday--Chinese take-out V-Day
2. Monday--Rotisserie Chicken, Assorted leftover Sides, Salad
3. Tuesday--Beef/Mushroom Stroganoff, Rice
4. Wednesday--Chicken Chow Mein, Rice, Crunchy Noodles
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks(Caesar salad w/chicken?)
6.  Friday--Mac and Cheese w/Ham, sauteed Cabbage
7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

And this is what really happened.......
1. Sunday--Chinese take-out V-Day
2. Monday--Rotisserie Chicken, Assorted leftover Sides, Salad
3. Tuesday--Leftover Chinese
4. Wednesday--Frozen Pizza
5. Thursday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Tossed Salad
6.  Friday--Beef Stew, Biscuits
7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 night of leftovers/planned overs or FFY, 1 night of frozen pizza and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.
Mostly everything planned was cooked/served except the canned chow mein and the mac and cheese w/ham.  The London Broil I thawed for the Stroganoff was huge so I only used half of it for that and I had everything to make a Beef stew so I used the other half and made that.  Because of the timing Hubs got off without cooking on Thursday(I cooked both Wed. and Thurs. meals on Wed. and we just put the finishing touches/heated up the stew on Thursday.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 1 frozen Pizza
* 1 pack Puff Pastry
* 1 carton Ice Cream
* 1 bag of Scallops

What got taken out of the freezer and used...
*  1 large London Broil
*  1 frozen Pizza

We spent $74.92 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week-2 trips to Weis and 1 trip to Walmart. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $143.85 for February.  I am shocked that my food spending is so low at this point in Feb.  I may not even crack $200 at this point which would be amazing!  I know we've used many pantry old dogs and things from the freezer so it makes sense for the spending to be so low.

There are 6 shopping days left in February.  

I've earned $48.72 on Ibotta in February.
I've earned $00 on Checkout51 in February.
I've earned $4.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.
I've earned 5,101 points from shopping on Fetch in February.
I've earned 12,483 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.
I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in February.

My savings percentage for last week was 46.49%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for February and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 59.94%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week--mac and cheese, stroganoff, rice, beef stew, biscuits.  I also used leftover rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad(using for lunches).  If we don't eat all the mac and cheese/stroganoff/stew this coming week, whatever is left will be put into the freezer for use sometime in March.

Here is this week's "food plan".....
1. Sunday--Leftover Mac and Cheese w/added Ham, sauteed Cabbage
2. Monday--Leftover Stroganoff, Rice, Spinach Souffle 
3. Tuesday--Seafood/Mushroom/Asparagus in Pastry w/Cheese Sauce, side Salad
4. Wednesday--Chicken Chow Mein w/added Veggies, Rice, Crunchy Noodles
5. Thursday--Leftover Beef Stew and Biscuit
6.  Friday--Not sure what ExCB wants for his Birthday Dinner yet on his day off, Cake
7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?
Maybe a cuke, some grape tomatoes for Tuesday's meal.  And I don't know yet what Friday or Saturday will bring but that's it for missing ingredients.  So it might be a very low spend week except...I started the $10 Feb. Funds Bonus on Ibotta and I need 21 more items to finish it for the $10 extra.  If the weather cooperates and I can find 21 items we need/want for cheap I'll finish that before the end of the month.

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?  Not such great deals here unless I go to the discount food outlet.

Sluggy



 

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Frugal Friday.....the February 19th Edition, on Saturday

The more I do, the behinder I get some days.  I wanted to mention the R-A deals before the week was over(and the Spend $50/Get $15 Bonus Cash Q expired)so I posted that on Friday instead.
So here is the Frugal Friday post a day later than usual.......

*  My Weis(PMITA)Markets Points were expiring last Sunday so I used 100 of them to get .10¢ off each gallon of gas I bought.  I only earned 154 pts. in the last 6 week period since I didn't shop there much and you have to use them in 100 increments so .10¢ off gas was the best I could do.


I went on Saturday and saved a whole .54¢ since I had half a tank still in my car.  Hey, .54¢ is .54¢, right?

*  I already posted about my Walmart trip....


Spent $17.37 OOP and earned back $26.65 in cash rebates there.

*  I also cashed out some Shop Kick points to purchase a $25 Walmart gift card before checking out at Walmart which brought my OOP on the previous shop down by that amount. 8-)

*  And my Rite-Aid trips.........



Spent Zero OOP and earned back $21.70 in cash rebates and $66 in Bonus Cash.

*  I found money!


After getting the discounted gas on Saturday I swung by Mickey D's for an iced tea.  When I stopped at the first window to pay I saw change on the ground so I opened my door while waiting on the cashier and scooped up this dime and quarter.  Yay!


On Tuesday I was chatting with my friend in the R-A break room while she ate her lunch and found this penny tucked under the fridge in there.


When I was leaving Walmart on Wednesday I spied this abandoned penny peeking out from under a candy rack.  He came home with me of course!

Found Money This Week... .37¢
Found Money This Year.... .89¢

*  Last Friday Hubs and I hit the P and R Outlet again since we were over that way.  Mostly we bought lunchmeats, cheese plus produce and oatmilk.


Here are the freebies they were giving out that day--bags of pork rind snacks and 8 pack boxes of kids crackers.  I think these cracker are cheese flavor so they will be eaten at Chez Sluggy or I can give them to Ex-CB.

*  I returned some items to Rite-Aid last week that weren't needed/wanted.........


They give back cash instead of BC when you have paid with Bonus Cash now so I got a cash refund of $17.08 which went into my "Refunds/Post Coupon" envelope to be added back into my grocery funds at the end of 2021.

That's about it from here.


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

Sluggy





Friday, February 19, 2021

Walmart & Rite-Aid This Week Between Snowstorms

We had a bright sunny day on Wednesday and I had a $3 Ibotta Bonus if I bought 15 items mid-week.

So I bought this at Walmart on Wednesday, but not without a few hiccups......

2 x Trident gum=$2.24 *not pictured*
2 x Scott tissues=$1.72-.75¢=$.97
1 x Poise pads=$4.84-$2 Q=$2.84 **
1 x Alka-Seltzer gum=$4.24-$2 Q=$2.24
1 x Core protein bar=$2.24
2 x Chobani flips=$2.44
1 x Ocean Spray juice boxes=$2.98
1 x Bic Soleil razor=$4.92 **
1 x Power-Ade Ultra=$1.00
4 x Renuzit cones=$3.88-$1/4 Q=$2.88
2 x Ritz toasted Chips=$5.36
1 x Pringles scorchin' chips=$1.48
1 x Malt o Meal Crunch cereal=$3.48
1 x Malt o Meal Spooners cereal=$4.12
1 x Palermo pizza=$5.00-$3/1 Q=$2.00  *not pictured*
2 x Mead folders on clearance=.50¢  *not pictured*

Subtotal=$41.69+.68¢ tax=$42.37

I used a free $25 Walmart gift card(earned through Shop Kick)so paid $17.37 OOP.

I earned $18.57 on Ibotta.
I earned $1.29 rebate for one of the packs of Trident on Coupons dotcom.
I earned 1300 Shop Kick points*equal to $5.20* for the Malt o Meal cereals.
I earned 1590 Fetch points*equal to $1.59* for the Poise pads.

Hiccups were.....

* I didn't read the Ibotta Poise offer correctly.  It changed from a buy 1 to buy 2 on my account so it didn't count there but I still got Points and finished a Bonus for it on Fetch.

* I had both a women's and a men's Bic razor in my order but neither of the $3/1 IPQs would scan and the cashier wouldn't push them through. waa waa  So I put back the higher priced men's razor and just got the women's razor.  I "should" have bought enough items for the mid week Bonus just at Walmart but without the Poise and the men's Bic I was two items short.

So I hit Rite-Aid and bought this................

2 x R-A insoles BOGO50%=$3.73
1 x DSC 6 blade shave kit w/Gold discount=$7.99
1 x DSC 4 blade shave kit w/Gold discount=$5.59
1 x KY lube w/Gold discount=$13.59
1 x Schick Hydro razor kit w/$3 off=$7.99
1 x Schick Hydro refills w/Gold discount=$12.79
2 x Dove mini chocolates=.78¢
SubTotal.......$52.46

Coupons Used
1 x Spend $50/Get $15 BC Q
1 x $5/1 KY lube=$5.00
1 x $4/1 Schick razor L2CQ=$4.00
Coupon Total......$9.00

$52.46-$9.00=$43.46=$1.83 tax=$45.29 paid for with a combination of Bonus Cash and free gift cards.
I earned back $28 in new BC($15 wys $50, $3 wyb2 insoles, $5 KY, $5 wys $20 Schick).
I also earned 2300 Shop Kicks*equals $9.20 for the DSC items.
I earned $10 in Ibotta(2 x $3 Schick, $1 Schick  Bonus plus the $3 mid-week Bonus).

Then I bought this on my card.........

2 x Nivea lotion on sale=$11.98
1 x Ensure shakes on clearance=$2.37
2 x Nature's Truth Melatonin BOGOFree=$12.99
2 x Nature's Truth Turmeric BOGOFree=$15.49
2 x Nature's Truth Elderberry BOGOFree=$11.99
SubTotal......$54.82

Coupons Used
1 x $15BC wys $50
1 x $2.50/1 Nivea L2CQ=$2.50
1 x $2/1 Nivea IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Ensure ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$6.50

$54.82-$6.50=$48.32+.45¢ tax=$48.77 paid for with Bonus Cash and free R-A gift card.

I earned $38 in new BC($15 wys $50, $20 wys $40 Nature's Truth, $3 wyb2 Nivea).
I also earned $2 rebate on Coupons dotcom for buying Nature's Truth.
I earned 50 pts*equals .50¢ in Fetch total for both R-A receipts.

To recap--

I spent $17.37 OOP.
I earned back the equivalent of $47.90 in cash back between coupons and all rebate apps.

Here are my referral codes if anyone wants to join up-
Ibotta  mkaaxa
Fetch  GC73D
ShopKick  FUN260238


Sluggy


Thursday, February 18, 2021

February Giveaway Winner!


Sorry for posting this so late on Thursday.  What can I say but stuff happens. 8-)
Here is what was given away this month.


There were 12 valid Giveaway comments so I put that number into Random Generator and that picked the winner......


Mountain Girl/Paula M

Something about me--I grew up in Western Pa. I left when I was 18. Most of my family still lives there. I love living in the Blue Ridge Mts. of N.C.
Mountain Girl/Paula M.


Congratulations Paula M!

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 February.


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

Come back next month so another Giveaway!


Sluggy

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

January To-Do List Update, Giveaway Info & End of Last Week's Rite-Aid Transactions

 I forgot to include this action item I accomplished in January on that To-Do List.......


I went through all my coupon inserts.  The stack on the right are the ones to be pitched as most if not all the Qs in there had expired.
The cut coupons on the left are the still good Qs I actually cut out of the inserts and tucked them in my coupon envelope that comes to the store with me.


I also cleared out the coupon envelope of all expired coupons in there.  That's the stack above.  Boy, did my envelope feel a lot lighter after that! lol

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

There are a few folks who tried entering the giveaway whom I have NOT approved/posted their entries/comments yet.  

If you left a comment and still don't see it, it means I have no contact info(your email addy)for you or it wasn't linked to your Google account on the Blogger platform.  Please email me from your email addy to have your entry count as valid/approved.  
The drawing is tomorrow so get to it! 8-)

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

And here's the last batch of transactions I did at Rite-Aid on 2 different cards the end of last week......


I bought 4 boxes of low dose aspirin on each card to roll some expiring BC.  The Bayer was on sale BOGO50% off so $5.53 per pair of boxes.  Every pair also gave back $5 in Bonus Cash so I spent down the BC after new BC by $1.06 per card for 4 boxes.  That's under .27¢ per box on something we use here for heart health.  I'll take this deal all day long.


Sluggy

Monday, February 15, 2021

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Happy Puppy" Edition....



      
Since the snow is so high here(not melting due to low temps and lack of sunshine)we can let Chest off the leash in the yard because the snow is too high for him to escape the yard.  Hubs made him a "race track" in the backyard buy shoveling a path from their potty field on one side of the deck back to the fenced in garden area and back down the other side of the deck, making a continuous loop around the yard.  He's in full on sprint mode in the photo.
He is loving running laps in there like a crazy dog!  I think he's the only one here happy with this week's snowy forecast too. lol
Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-
This is what was planned....
1. Sunday--Chicken w/Wild Rice Soup, Cheddar Drop Biscuits
2. Monday--Kielbasi, Baked Beans, Grilled Onions
3. Tuesday--Salmon, Potatoes au Gratin, Saute Cabbage
4. Wednesday--Ham slices, Asparagus, leftover au Gratin Taters
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks or Leftovers
6.  Friday--Leftover Soup w/Cornbread
7. Saturday--Chicken Tenders, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Carrots

And this is what really happened.......
1. Sunday--Chicken w/Wild Rice Soup, Cheddar Drop Biscuits
2. Monday--Kielbasi, Baked Beans, Grilled Onions
3. Tuesday--Salmon, Potatoes au Gratin, Asparagus
4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself
5. Thursday--Chicken Tenders, Corn, leftover au Gratin Taters
6.  Friday--Ham slices, Glazed Carrots, Mac and Cheese
7. Saturday--Steak, Tossed Salad, Baked Potato

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/planned overs or no dinner, FFY, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.
Mostly everything planned was cooked/served except we had leftover soup for lunch 2 times instead of for dinner on Friday(and there is 1 more helping left besides the  container I froze)and Ex-CB came over on Friday so the Ham as well as Mac and Cheese happened then.  I also made a second smaller pan of Mac to send home with him as it's his and his roommate's favorite. ;-)
The Marie Callender "faux Red Lobster" Cheddar biscuits were not good.  Too salty and not even cheese in them so I think we threw 2 out(or will be thrown out unless Hubs wants to choke those down).lol
I didn't eat dinner on Wednesday so Hubs just fended for himself.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* Nothing

What got taken out of the freezer and used...
*  1 pack chicken tenders(used up)
*  1 package of salmon fillet
*  1 Kielbasi ring
*  1/8th of a Dinner Ham

We spent $58.21 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week.  $4.12 at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!), $18.46 at Weis(PMITA)Markets and $35.63 at the Discount Grocery Outlet on mostly produce, luncmeat/cheese, oatmilk for Hubs, a small cheese ball, a rotisserie chicken and a frozen pie. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $68.93 for February.

There are 13 shopping days left in February.  More snow all this week so I don't know how much if any shopping I'll get done.  That's why we hit the Discount Grocery Outlet again on Thursday since we were near there when I had to go back to CVS for my refund.

I've earned $3.80 on Ibotta in February.
I've earned $00 on Checkout51 in February.
I've earned $00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.
I've earned 6,512 points from shopping on Fetch in February.
I've earned 0 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.
I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in February.

My savings percentage for last week was 63.76%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for February and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 68.54%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week--cole slaw, ham, bits of corn, asparagus, baked beans, 1 baked potatoe and lots of mac and cheese(like soup from scratch you can't make just a little mac and cheese lol).

Here is this week's "food plan".....
1. Sunday--Chinese take-out V-Day
2. Monday--Rotisserie Chicken, Assorted leftover Sides, Salad
3. Tuesday--Beef/Mushroom Stroganoff, Rice
4. Wednesday--Chicken Chow Mein, Rice, Crunchy Noodles
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks(Caesar salad w/chicken?)
6.  Friday--Mac and Cheese w/Ham, sauteed Cabbage
7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

I bought mushrooms and salad greens last week plus I had a head of cabbage that needs using. Leftover Rotisserie chicken will either become chicken salad or put into a Caesar salad on Hubs night to cook.  Time will tell....

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?  Not such great deals here unless I go to the discount food outlet.

Sluggy



 

Sunday, February 14, 2021

To-Do Lists for 2021.....The January Edition

 Here's how my January To-Do came out......

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything was paid(plus 1 bill was paid ahead annually for the year)and we had a shade over $300 leftover.  Go me.

*  Read 1 Book  DONE   I read this one..........


"The Seasons of My Mother: A Memoir of Love, Family and Flowers" by Marcia Gay Harden

I've always enjoyed Ms. Harden's theatrical work so her name on the cover drew me in.  It's a heartfelt account of Harden's life growing up, her later years and career and her close connection with her mother especially.  It's told in the present looking at her past and her mother through the lens of Alzheimer's as her mother developed that condition and how it affected Marcia's life.  It was a very interesting read(as Marcia led an extraordinay life, especially as a child)and very sad at the same time.
Marcia's mother was a master of Ikebana and she used that love of traditional Japanese flower arranging to entwine the chapters of her and her mom's stories.

I highly recommend this one and it's going on my book shelf instead into the donate pile. 8-)

*  Take Down Xmas Stuff  DONE   The tree and decor was taken down after the 10th of the month.  There wasn't much to actually do as we used the small tree that was sparsely ornamented and not much decor was put up.

*  Organize and Put Away Xmas  DONE  Well except for the Xmas table runner on the buffet(done now)and the Xmas tablecloth on the dining room table(still on it)everything Xmas is put away.  I just need to move everything off the dining room table(it has become a dumping ground for new R-A purchases and a staging area as I go through and organize stuff)to get that tablecloth folded and put in the buffet drawer.  It will happen soon but I am calling this item done....99.9%. ;-)

*  Organize Pantry  FAIL  I started going through the Pantry but got distracted and never finished that item.  sigh.  This goes forward onto February's list.

*  Clean out Fridge  DONE  I really need to put this on every month's list!  I cleaned/cleared out both fridges(we have one in the garage as well for overflow)in January.  It seems to be a constant cleaning/organizing chore.  I am trying to clear some "old dogs" out of the garage fridge too in my quest to use up stuff and have been relatively successful at moving/eating older things.

*  Hold Giveaway  DONE




*  Mail Giveaway  DONE  Promptly mailed and received.

*  4 Dr. Appointments  DONE  One was a Telemedicine appointment with the Sleep Doc.  Since I got a new BiPAP machine insurance required this appointment(in order for them to pay for it)even though I've been  using a machine for 7+ years now and I sort of know how to use it. lol
But hey, I'll pay the office visit charge for this appointment over paying OOP for a new machine. 

Then I had a routine check-up with my Primary Doc.  Changes some meds and we're all good there.

Also had an exam with the Ophthalmologist(eyes are the same, no changes)and new reading glasses.

Then I finally got my "annual" mammogram which was almost a year later than planned.  I usually go in Jan./Feb. but I decided to wait until Spring(better weather and less hassle)in 2020 and then Covid hit and the hospital here shut down doing mammography until Summer.  Then I had an HS procedure on my breast and couldn't get a boob smashing until that healed up.  After 1 aborted attempt in early October it got rescheduled a couple of times and I went on an antibiotic long term to get the incision finally healed.  End of January we had a successful mammo and Sluggy shows no signs of boob cancer.  Rah!

*  Roll/Spend ECBs  DONE  Last week....or so I thought.  Turns out I still have $4 in ECBs to use.  *Sluggy raises her fist to the sky and exclaims, "Curses on you CVS!!!"  More on that later as well.

*  Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  DONE  I successfully rolled/spent down lots of BC at Rite-Aid(See all the R-A posts for January).  This needs to continue into February as I hope to divest myself of BC altogether on 2 cards.

*  Celebrate my Birthday  DONE  Due to Covid nobody came to help Hubs and I celebrate my "early SS" birthday.  We did do some Birthday celebration eating(free burger out at Red Robin, Chinese take-out on my Birthday),Hubs gave me 2 gift cards and I received some Bday cards.  But other than that it was a lowkey celebration.  The big thing was Hubs made me a birthday cake from scratch(his first from scratch cake ever!).  It was yummy except he forgot to add raisins(carrot cake)but that's ok!  I just sprinkled raising on top as I don't do frosting on my carrot cake recipe as it's so rich and yummy and doesn't need frosting to perk it up. ;-)

*  Stay Warm  DONE  Well we had a good amount of snow and cold in January.  If I had a crystal ball I'd know that February was the month I'd need to put this item on my list! lolz
I've been more conscious about lowering the heat and or closing doors so we aren't heating spaces we aren't using so the electric bill wasn't too bad in January.  I've pretty much switched from iced tea to hot tea as my beverage of choice for now and I'm layering my clothes more to keep the chill off.  Too bad January was just the dress rehearsal for Staying Warm in February!

*  Eat Down the Freezer  DONE  Well we DID eat down lots of foodstuffs in the freezers but, because of some good deals I found we pretty much filled it back up in January so we ended the month a little below what we started with. lol  It's all good though as we used older things that needed using. ;-)

All in all, it was a successful for me month.  Not much going on and not much that was ambitious but I'm good with that.

How did your January turn out?


Sluggy

Friday, February 12, 2021

Frugal Friday....the February 12th Edition

 Let's take a look at the frugal wins from this past week around here at Chez Sluggy......

*  I already blogged about my BIG(lol) Rite-Aid haul this week where I rolled/spent down some Bonus Cash....


And for Ms. Goose--the $15 BC wyspend $50 coupon is confirmed for next week!  If it's not in your local ad go online to print it out. 8-)

*  When I went back to R-A on Wednesday for an Rx refill I also did a post coupon for a Q I forgot to use last week when I purchased something.......



That gives me $2 back in my pocket!  Well, back in my refund/post Q envelope really....

* I also did another transaction last week(Friday)at Rite-Aid on another card using that $10 off $50Q.......

The 2 Tides, 7 Febreeze items(one is not pictured as I put it in my car to use-a car deodorizer)were part of the $10 BC wys $30 PandG deal last week.
The R-A brand insoles were $1.99 after Gold discount and gave back $3BC for every 2 packs.
The 2 Neutrogena items were $7.72 after Gold discount and $6.50 in Qs and gave back $6BC.
The ruler and eraser were $1.85 after Gold discount and gave back $4 in BC.
The dog treats were .80¢ after Gold discount and had .50¢ freshness stickers so cost .60¢ total for both packages.
Total was $58.33 after Gold discounts and after $30.47 in coupons it came to $27.86 + $1.44 tax=$29.30 paid for with Bonus Cash.  
I earned back $26 in new BC($10 wys $30 PandG, 2 x $3 R-A insoles, $6 Neutrogena, 2 x $2 R-A stationery)so spent down the BC by $3.30.


*  I did a small shop at Weis(PMITA)Markets on Wednesday as well between snowstorms.  Nothing to show really, just a few bits and bobs we needed(a can of sauerkraut that Hubs requested as we were out,), Salad Greens(one had a 50% sticker), Weis brand sugar(was a really good deal), some dehydrated potato flakes(got 50% back on Ibotta), Chinese crunchy noodles(have you seen the high price of those!?! but I finally broke down at paid full price because we've got a can of chow mein we need the noodles for), 2 jugs of tea(on sale)and a 2 pack of panko pork tenderloin filets(with a discount sticker on it for the freezer).  $18.46 was the cost OOP and it's the only money I've spent this week.

*  Do you remember my final shop at CVS last week?

If you remember I lamented that the Cheez-Its were NOT on sale as the old signage stated so I ended up paying $2.30 OOP after ECBs and gift card.
CVS emailed me a "how did we do" survey last weekend and I told them about the signage issue.  I got an email from the store manager to come in for a refund of the difference between what I paid and what the sign said the price was.  Haven't had a chance yet to go in yet(it's not close and hello-constant snow storms all week!)but I'll print out the email and next time I go down the mountain that way I'll pop in for the refund.
Stay tuned.

*  While doing the end of January bookkeeping I discovered I didn't account for an Amazon Pantry order I made last month.  I'll just put it into February's tally so no worries.  Also I used a free Amazon gift card to pay the $33.23 it came to so it wouldn't change my January spending(just the total of what the savings rate was as it was free).  It was 11 household/food items they had put on a short time sale(some I bought multiples of so more than 11 items in total in the order).  Stuff like tea bags, minced garlic, parsley flakes, carpet deodorizer, bags of tortilla chips, a box of rice Chex, cold care tea bags, chicken stock, bathroom cups, etc.  Free shipping once I hit the $30 threshold I believe.

*  I found money!

This penny was found at Weis(PMITA)Markets by my favorite self-checkout.


And that same day in Rite-Aid I passed a freestanding display of gift cards and one of the hooks with a bunch of gift cards was laying on the ground.  So I bent over to pick the hook/cards up to put it back on the display and I spied a dime in the corner there.  Who says it doesn't pay to be kind? lol


Then on the way out of R-A this rock salt coated penny was lying by the door on the sidewalk outside.  It's still cruddy after I gave it a bath but there is a penny under there. ;-)

Considering I only went to 2 stores this past week I am happy with this found money total. ;-)

Found Money This Week... .12¢
Found Money This Year....  .52¢

That's about it for me this week other than staying home, playing with the doggies in the snow, no take-out and eating down the pantry and freezers.  Hubs and I may go to Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)tomorrow as I still have a 15% off coupon that expires on Sunday.


What frugal wins did y'all have this week?

Tell us all about it!


Sluggy