The Great North Giveaway Winner Revealed!

 45 valid entries for the 7th 2021 Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway were received.  Using Random dotorg to pick the winner and it's.......

Crystal Hankey!

Crystal HankeyAugust 25, 2021 at 10:18 PM

Loved Glacier Bay when I went on my Alaskan Cruise. We had a small deck off our room and sat their an enjoyed the sights. Beautiful!

Congratulations Crystal.  You have 48 hours from the time stamp when this post goes live to email me your full mailing address.

Thanks for playing along everyone.  It was an amazing adventure!!!

                               Ice Ice Baby!

I'll try to get blog posts up about the trip up soon and have another Alaska themed Giveaway coming up early in September so stay tuned!

Sluggy

The Great White North Giveaway Begins Now!

Who's ready for the Seventh Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for 2021?!?

It's August and the dog days of Summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Don't wait to enter as you only have a limited number of days to enter this Giveaway!

Let's take a look at what is in the Giveaway Box this month........

1 x Right Guard deodorant

1 x Eucerin lotion

1 x Soft Soap pomegranate body wash

1 x Herbal Essence shampoo grapefruit and mosa mint

1 x Neutrogena oil-free acne wash

1 x Carol's Daughter black vanilla leave-in conditioner

1 x Almay make-up pads

1 x Dentek flosser handle

1 x Compeed blister pack

1 x Rimmel flawless face make-up

1 x Crest Charcoal toothpaste

1 x Bic Silky touch razor pack of 12

1 x e.l.f. eye shadow brush

1 x Revlon Insta-Sculpt palette(blush)

1 x Physian's Formula lipstick(mauve color)

3 x Health Warrior pumpkin seed bars

1 x Scunci hair bands(browns)

1 x Visine red eye comfort drops

3 x Freeman masks(gel mask + scrub/clay mask/water gel mask)

Close up shots of these goodies.....

Depending on where you shop, the winnings have a reg. retail value of between approximately $60-$90.

Here's how this is going to work.....

* The giveaway is open to ALL readers, previous winners or not.

* There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY.  Come back each day to enter again.

* Only VALID entries will be posted.  A Valid entry is a limit of one per day and I MUST HAVE VALID CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOU(either you are on the Giveaway Contact List which I maintain, your comment is connected to a Google/Blogger profile which links to your email address or you email me directly(my email is in the side bar on the Blog)your email address.

IF YOU ENTER THE GIVEAWAY AND DON'T SEE YOUR COMMENT It's because I'll be offline next week and won't post entries until I am back online.

From all the VALID entries I receive I'll pick a winner at random and the winner has 48 hours from when the post goes live to contact me with their full mailing address.

In your entries I'd like to hear if you've ever been on a cruise and where did you go?  What did you enjoy and what did you dislike about the trip?  What do you think Sluggy wants to do/see most in Alaska?  What do you think Hubs wants to do/see most in Alaska?  Where do you think we will be stopping(ports)?  What will Sluggy buy(if anything)?  What will Sluggy do on the ship in between ports of call?  Will Kim survive without Diet Coke(the cruise serves Pepsi products)or will Sluggy need to toss her off the ship?

If you are on my Giveaway emails list just leave a comment and your name(with last name initial please)to enter. If you aren't on the Giveaway emails list make sure you leave your email in your comment OR email me your email privately after you leave a comment(my email is in the side bar area under "About Me").
I'll leave this giveaway open until August 30th, Monday at 11:59 pm Eastern  Daylight Savings Time. On August 31st, Tuesday, I'll draw the winning entry and post the Winner that evening or so.

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winners on this blog on  and those persons have 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too 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(the 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 make sure your email info is linked to your profile.

So let's get this Giveaway started. Good luck to everyone!!!

Alaska Bound Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the August 20th Edition

 Well this wasn't a stellar fugal week in some ways but in others, it was..........

*  Only two trips to any store this week....

Both to Rite-Aid and "made" $21.87 on those trips.

*  I resisted the urge to do any Ibotta for this weekend as I got a $5 Bonus.  Must resist....must resist!

*  I found no money this week.  *Whomp Whomp*  Kind of a result of sitting my butt home. lol

Total Found This Week...00¢
Total Found This Year...$13.67

*  We used up all the leftovers this week and did minimal laundry.

*  Got ahead of a few things here with no driving anywhere.

*  Gave away ready produce we couldn't use before leaving.  Hopefully when we get back there will still be tomatoes ripening.  BLTs....yum!

That's about it.  I know it's a piss poor frugal showing.  Whatcha gonna do?

Tell me about all your frugal wins while I am off spending my children's inheritance in the Land of Cold and Snow..... 8-))

Sluggy

Bon Voyage Soon Y'all

 Some cute puppies waiting for a treat before heading to the doggie hotel........

After Saturday I'll be offline for awhile.  

Here's a musical send off that might give you a hint of where I'll be..... ;-)

Sluggy

My Name is Sluggy......

 ...and I'm an Ibotta addict. ;-)

So I got a $1 Mid Week Bonus for 5 offers.  This is something I could do just at Rite-Aid so I hit up a different Rite-Aid which would have more inventory than mine.  Armed with a $10 off $50 R-A Q, I bought this......

2 x Unisom $10.23 Gold discount=$20.46
3 x Nivea lotion clearance $2.49=$7.47
1 x Hollywood Glam body wash Gold discount=$5.43
1 x Hollywood Glam jelly oil Gold discount=$4.79
3 x Carnation evaporated milk Gold discount=$4.29
2 x Genexa Arnica clearance=$7.48
4 x Extra gum on sale=$4.44

2 x CORE bars(1 blueberry/1 coconut-not pictured)Gold discount=$4.94
Subtotal.......$59.30

Coupons Used

1 x $10 off $50 R-AQ=$10.00

2 x $8/1 Unisom IPQ=$16.00

1 x $3/2 Nivea lotion ManQ=$3.00

1 x $1/1 Nivea lotion ManQ=$1.00

2 x $1/2 Extra gum IPQ=$2.00

Coupon Total......$32.00

$59.30-$32.00=$27.30+.65¢ tax=$27.95

I used Bonus Cash and a piece of R-A gift card to pay.

I earned $19 in new BC($4 Nestle, $10 Hollywood Glam, $5 Unisom).

I also submitted for $18.98 in Ibotta rebates plus the $1 Bonus and a .50¢ Extra Bonus so $20.48 back in cash. (They missed 1 gum pack so I submitted a ticket for that.)

I used $27.95 in BC/gift card, got $39.48 in cash/BC back.

Then I hit my R-A that evening armed with coupons and I got all this.......

8 x U by Kotex 2/$10 sale=$40.00

3 x Carnation evaporated milk Gold discount=$4.77

2 x Nivea lip balm clearance=$3.48

1 x Almay eye shadow clearance=$2.24

1 x Revlon lip gloss clearance=$2.37

SubTotal.......$52.86

Coupons Used

1 x $10 off $50 R-AQ=$10.00

4 x $4/2 Kotex items IPQ=$16.00

1 x $2/2 Nivea lip balm ManQ=$2.00

1 x $3/1 Almay eye item ManQ=$3.00

1 x $3/1 Revlon lip item ManQ=$3.00

Coupons Used.....$34.00

$52.86-$34.00=$18.86

Paid for with $18.86 in Bonus Cash.  Earned back $24.00 in new BC making this transaction a $5.14 moneymaker.

I also earned $5.30 in Fetch points on both receipts.  All that Kotex will be going to the Food Bank when we get back from Alaska.

To recap--

Spent $46.81 in BC/gift card.

Earned $43 in BC, $20.48 in Ibotta rebates and $5.30 on Fetch.

Not a bad couple of trips for my short shopping week.

And I am loaded up on evaporated milk for Pumpkin Pie making season. Woot!

Sluggy

What's Your Story Morning Glory?

It was a beautiful morning(cool for a change)on Sunday.  I happened to go out on the deck and noticed my morning glories were looking pretty darn good.

Lots of blooms!  As their name suggests they bloom in the morning and close up later in the day.  There are over 1,000 varieties of morning glory and they are related to the sweet potato.  The family is Concolvulaceae.

Can you see the pollen grains on the blooms below?

The flowers of the plant last one day before dying and dropping off.  Yet the vines produce oodles of blossoms for your viewing pleasure from late Spring to the first frost.

A close-up of a bloom with lots of pollen grains to entice bees and hummingbirds.

I tried to get a shot of a bee inside the flower above.  You can barely see their tiny bottom in the center of the flower.

Here is the bee leaving the bloom above.  

I haven't planted morning glories here in years since they just reseed themselves now and come back each Spring season.

I made a brief video below touring the vines.  No narration to ruin it but it was a nice quiet morning and the birds were singing.  Take a look....

Do you plant flowers?  Morning Glories perhaps?  They are really a low maintenance plant in my opinion except the vines will take over all your garden if you let them. ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

  The "Tomatoes-Finally!" Edition...

We finally got the first ripe tomatoes out of the garden.  rah.  Now since we won't be here soon they will all ripen while we are away.  And Ex-College Boy doesn't like tomatoes so he won't come and pick them. lol

Oh, and we are still being inundated by zukes too.....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Leftover fish and one of the zuke sides

2. Monday--BLTs

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs or Brats, Potato Salad, Cuke Salad
5. Thursday--Lasagna, Salad

6.  Friday--not sure yet

7. Saturday--Chinese take-out

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

1. Sunday--Leftover fish and one of the zuke sides

2. Monday--BLTs

3. Tuesday--Leftover fish, and whatever else you could find lol

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Cuke Salad
5. Thursday--Chinese Takeout

6.  Friday--Lasagna, Salad, Bread

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

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

* 4 lbs. of Ground Beef

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

* Hot Dogs

* Bacon

* Cheese

I spent $63.52 on food/toiletries/HBA last week.   This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $131.19 for August so far. 

There are 15 shopping days left in August.

I've earned $155.71 on Ibotta in August.

I've earned $2.25 on Checkout51 in August.

I've earned .75¢ on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in August.

I've earned $24.51 from Aisle.

I've earned 6,699 points from shopping on Fetch in August which equals $6.69.

I've earned 3,465 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in August which equals $13.86.

I've earned 2,367 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in August which equals $2.36.

That's $158.71 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $131.19 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$27.52 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count until I cash out on the other three apps. 8-)))

My savings percentage for last week was 65.93%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 67.80%.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....a little corn casserole, lasagna.

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

1. Sunday--BLTs, baked sweet potato fries

2. Monday--Grilled Steak, Corn Fritters(using corn casserole leftover, Baked Potato

3. Tuesday--Cheeseburgers, Leftover Potato Salad

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself + Zuke
5. Thursday--Fend for Yourself + Zuke

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  We don't need no stinkin' badges groceries. ;-)  There won't be any grocery shopping until September 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

 

Friday Shopping-Walmart, Target & Rite-Aid

 I had a dr. appointment mid morning on Friday and was attempting to get a blood test done in the same building with a lab.  I got up too early so left then and went to hit Walmart briefly for some Ibotta deals beforehand armed with a $25 free gift card earned from my Fetch account.

1 x RXBar box clearance=$2.00

1 x Glad Flex n/Seal bags=$4.48

1 x Depends Silhouette=$11.97

1 x Success brown rice=$1.96

1 x Goldfish crackers=$1.78

1 x Sensodyne toothpaste (travel size)=$1.47

1 x Pure Protein bar=$2.27

1 x Kraft mac and cheese=.98¢

2 x Super Coffee drinks=$5.74

1 x Cranberry snack boxes=$2.12

1 x Colgate renewal toothpaste=$6.96

2 x Clio yogurt bars=$2.00

2 x Bic highlighters=$3.94

SubTotal.......$47.67

Coupons Used

$3/1 IPQ Silhouette website=$3.00

$2/2 Bic Manu=$2.00

Coupons...$5.00

$47.67-$5=$42.67+.39¢ tax=$43.06-$25 gift card=$18.06

I received back $30.24 in Ibotta rebates and $1.25 in small Bonuses=$31.49 and got 12 of the 15 rebates I needed toward my Weekend Whiteboard $3 Bonus.

I texted this Walmart receipt to Aisle and got $5.50 back in my Venmo account(.50¢ RxBars, $1 Clio, $4 Super Coffee).

I also redeemed for $3 on Coupons dotcom for the Colgate toothpaste and submitted for 600 Kicks from Shop Kick(which is $2.40)for the Sensodyne and the Glad bags.

After the doctor/lab work stuff I hit Target for 2 Aisle items.  My store doesn't carry the Good Culture cottage cheese but they had the Milk protein bars so I got the limit of 5.  I also found ground beef with $5 instant savings stickers on them so got 4 lbs. total of meat for $10.06 or $2.52 per lb. for 85/15% GB.

I paid for all with free Target gift cards and received back $15 for the Milk bars through Aisle(the Milk bars cost $11.50 so $3.50 of that moneymaker helped pay for the beef.). 8)

A quick trip to a different Rite-Aid to finish my weekend rebate turned out strangely.  This is the R-A where I have had register/employee problems before.

The smallish haul......

2 x Pure Zzzs clearance $2.25=$4.50

2 x Unisom simple sleep gummies 20% gold discount=$20.46

1 x Nivea moisturizing face balm 20% gold discount=$6.39

1 x Acidil 20% gold discount=$7.99

2 x Neutrogena Hydro gel face masks 20% gold discount=$5.26

1 x Q-tips clearance=.87¢

SubTotal........$45.47

Coupons Used

1 x $10 of $40 spend Anniversary Q on this card=$10.00

2 x $1/1 Pure Zzzs(1 L2CQ, 1 ManuQ)=$2.00

2 x $8/1 Unisom simple sleep gummies IPQ=$16.00

1 x $1/1 Nivea men's item IPQ=$1.00

1 x $3/1 Acidil IPQ from website=$3.00

1 x $3/1 Neutrogena Hydro item IPQ=$3.00

Coupon Total........$35.00

$45.47-$35.00=$10.47+.30¢ tax=$10.77 paid with Bonus Cash.

Except..........the cashier hit the "payment" button for my BC before she imput ANY of the coupons!

(This store ALWAYS does this no matter the cashier....so aggravating!)  They ALL need training there.

So she used all my BC first($17.98 worth)before taking off the $35.00 in Qs and I ended up with a negative balance of $3.70

Plus one of my Unisom $8 Qs only took off $4.87 on one of the bottles..........

And she handed me a bag of stuff plus this.........

Then I tried to redeem at Coupons dotcom $3 for that second Neutrogena Hydro boost product and it said it didn't qualify(but the paper Q worked perfectly?).  I'll just returnn the second Neutrogena mask and maybe the Unisom that the Q didn't take off the full amount.

I earned $14 in new BC($4 Acidil, $5 wyspend $20 Nivea-had tracking to that one already, $5 wyspend Unisom)So I have $14 in BC and $3.70 in cash whereas if the cashier didn't screw things up(and the $8 Q had "behaved")I 'should' have $21.21 in BC instead so I was shorted $3.51.  Instead of trying to get CS to fix this(they are hopeless)or go back to the store and explain until I turn blue trying get them to understand the transaction shorted me I'll just return a Unisom and the Neutrogena mask. sigh.

But I digress.........

The Pure Zzzs, Acidil and Nivea gave me 4 Ibotta rebates(only needed 3 to get the weekend Bonus)totaling $8 plus the $3 Bonus with no money spent OOP.

The upside of all this is I spent $21.56 in Target gift cards and $18.06 in Cash OOP at Walmart and ended up with--

$42.49 in Ibotta rebates

$20.50 in Aisle rebates

$3.00 from Coupons dotcom

$2.40 from Shopkick

239 points on Fetch

And $3.70 cash at R-A.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the August 13th Edition

Sorry I've been AWOL most of this week.  I just haven't had any "umph" to post lately.  This extended hot spell has done me in and all the little things that need attending to has just been too much(returning emails I still need to get to, editing the ever growing folder of photos from old trips I still haven't posted-2017 anyone?, never did get the August Giveaway up either...., planning this trip and excursions, figuring out what/how to pack everything into one suitcase(I suppose I'll look like an idiot at the Charlotte airport on our layover wearing a hoodie when it's 100 F in August there, since it won't fit in my suitcase. lol).  Just feeling stressed and nervous about the flight to Seattle and uncertain whether they'll cancel the cruise due to Delta variant exploding. I've been wearing a mask(though it's not mandated here)for 3 weeks, taking a "just in case" Covid test tomorrow and will have to take another on Saturday at the dock  in Seattle before they will allow us on the ship.  Worries about one of our party not testing negative and then the cruise has "screwed the pooch" as they say.  I am just apprehensive and my nerves are fraying the closer the trip gets.  I haven't flown since college and it will take quite a few drinks to get me on that plane I think. ;-)

 All I can seem to do is sit in the a/c and pay bills ahead of time and go to Rite-Aid, Walmart and Weis, get blood drawn x 2 in a week(leaving me a lovely bruise on my arm)and attend a doctor's appointment earlier today which went great.  Or I lay in my bed in the a/c with my knee up and watch YouTubes.  Oh and all that stuff about cooking, laundry and some cleaning begrudgingly is getting accomplished.

I just don't feel like I have anything important to say so I am giving everyone a break from listening to me babble on about boring crap or absolutely nothing! If you can't be informative or funny then STFU is my motto.  There!  I went and broke my rule by writing all the above. lolz

Frugal wins.....a few I guess.  Not many photos though this week so please forgive me for that.

*  Brought home stuff from Rite-Aid this week using Bonus Cash(I still haven't spent it all down as it goes against my very fiber to do that but at least I am rolling it ahead. 8-)

*  I've been proactive about paying incoming bills ahead in case we end up floating in the Pacific Quarantined and I can't get home in time to pay stuff when it's due.

*  I did a couple of post Qs this week($8)and a refund at R-A(2/3 in BC back and 1/3 in cash as I used a part of a gift card to pay for something).

*  I found money!

2 dimes in the self-checkout area at Walmart last Friday.

Then early in the week I hit the Mother Lode at R-A.  Between the floor and the register counter(where folks here just leave their change after checking out)I gleaned .44¢.

Total Found This Week.... .64¢
Total Found This Year....$13.67

Besides eating every form of zucchini known to man....Blah blah blah.
That's about all I have to add to the conversation today.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be more talkative(you'd better hope not!)......

How frugal has your week been lately?
Any good wins to tell us about?

Sluggy

Income & Spending 2021....the July Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the July report---

I had 2 goals for July.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2021.

I can report that we finished up July in the red.
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....-$2,978.08

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $214.19

Total "Income" for July.....$5,408.42

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in July were $3,405.86(Clothing, Cruise, Airline Tickets)

* Variable Expenses in July came to $3,008.65
Total Expenses....$8,386.5

$5,408.42-$8,386.50= -$2978.08

Slush into July of $42,011.60 in that Fund, subtract the $2,978.08 in shortage and we get $39,033.52 going into August's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a reduction of $2,978.08 for July.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this July, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in June.

*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.

*  The electric bill was .25¢ lower than in June. lol

*  The gas bill was $32.66 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $6.48 higher than in June.
*  The cell phone bill was higher by $91.96 in July.  This is due to Hubs getting a new phone.

*  The MC c/c was $1,532.94 higher than in June.(Not much was charged to that card in June.)

*  My Amazon Visa was $2,730.89 higher this month(Alaskan cruise  and plane fare to Seattle x 2 anyone?)

*  I also paid for some clothes to the tune of $74.97 in July.

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on July---I knew July's financials wouldn't be pretty as the Slush Fund took a big hit what with taking the cruise/flight costs from that fund instead of withdrawing money earning "real" interest.  I am ok where we landed on spending in July.
 

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2021---Most of the vacation is paid for already but I suspect there will be incidental costs to cover still plus the dog boarding bill when we return.  Until the trip we are just going to concentrate on staying home, not spending money we don't have to, planning the next house project and using up some foodstuffs.

*Sluggy chants, "I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta.....". ;-)

So how was your July financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in July?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!


Sluggy

This Week on the Zucchini Dining Table

 The "Zucchini Deluge Continues-Stop the Madness!!!" Edition...

Here are the latest loathsome veggies zucchini we picked on Sunday.  Plus there was one picked on Thursday and tempura-ed for dinner.  I am about done with zucchini for a lifetime.  It wouldn't be so bad if the green beans were more plentiful and the chipmunks hadn't eaten our broccoli seedlings. sigh  Oh we got another cuke too.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Clam Chowder, Biscuits

2. Monday--Leftover Lemon Pepper, Zuke in tomatoes, rice

3. Tuesday--Breakfast for Dinner

4. Wednesday--Stuffed Zuke w/Beef and Onion, Rice
5. Thursday--No Clue(Hubs night to cook)

6.  Friday--Tempura Zucchini and Fish

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself and Zuke Casserole

I will also be making bread pudding this week for Hubs(his fav)with some Thomas' mini croissants taking up room in the fridge that no one has eaten and some of the excess milk on hand.

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

1. Sunday--Clam Chowder, Biscuits

2. Monday--Leftover Lemon Pepper, Zuke in tomatoes, rice

3. Tuesday--Breakfast for Dinner

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself
5. Thursday--Hubs made pork chops, Spanish zuke dish, mashed taters

6.  Friday--Tempura Zucchini and Fish

7. Saturday--Stuffed Zuke w/Beef and Onion, Spanish Rice

4 meal with zuke and I am sure on Wednesday at least one of us had a zuke leftover in our dinner. lol  Zucchini overload anyone??

I used the half of loaf of French bread leftover from last week's Breakfast for Dinner meal  and we had it again this week.  I'm in use stuff up that will go bad mode right now.

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

* Nothing

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

* 2 Pork Chops

* 1 lb. of Pollock fish

* 1 lb. of Ground Beef

I spent $67.67 on food/toiletries/HBA last week.  This also included the almost free($1.58) ice cream I picked up at CVS, $2.31 spent at Ollie's and $25.36 I spend at Ocean State on the "free food" table-got a $25.36 gift card back-and forgot to put into July's total.  This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $67.67 for August so far.  Take out the July "Oops" and it's $38.42 strictly in August.

There are 23 shopping days left in August.

I've earned $70.88 on Ibotta in August.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in August.

I've earned .75¢ on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in August.

I've earned 3,158 points from shopping on Fetch in August which equals $3.15(It's actually more but I've been lazy about submitting my receipts.).

I've earned 3,175 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in August which equals $12.70.

I've earned 2,355 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in August which equals $2.35.

That's $71.63 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $67.67 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$3.98 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count until I cash out on the other three apps. 8-)))

My savings percentage for last week was 69.38%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 69.38%.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....a little corn casserole, zuke tomatoes, rice. clam chowder, biscuits, Spanish zuke dish, 2/3 of a stuffed zucchini. And carrot cake.

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

1. Sunday--Leftover fish and one of the zuke sides

2. Monday--BLTs

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs or Brats, Potato Salad, Cuke Salad
5. Thursday--Lasagna, Salad

6.  Friday--not sure yet

7. Saturday--Chinese take-out

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  We are all set to make this menu(except Friday and the take-out on Saturday).

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

 

$5 Weekend Bonus-Done

 I went to Walmart armed with a $25 Gift Card(gotten for free through Swag Bucks)and a few coupons.  I needed 12 rebates to earn a $5 Weekend Bonus so I bought all this........

The 3 boxes of Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea were just a happy clearance find at $1.50 a box and didn't have a rebate attached.  The Degree body wash/soak and massage soap bar were a Shop Kick deal only($3.40 in pts)and $3 off in Coupons.  The Cover Girl concealer that I bought was a $1.50 moneymaker(on clearance for $1 and I had a $2.50/1 face coupon).  The One by Poise package was a Fetch Rewards($3 worth of pts. for it)and a Shop Kick deal($2.80 worth of pts.)plus I had a $3/1 Q.  The mini boxes of Werther's sugar-free candies were a Swag Bucks deal($2.96 paid and $3.00 back in Swag Bucks).

The rest of the items(plus the Werther's)were my 12 Ibotta rebates; 2 x Quaker S'mores oatmeal, Pringles French fried onions, Smart Water, Rold Gold pretzel twists, free Chex cereal(qualified for 2 separate rebates), better than free Crayola crayons, 6 pack of Craisins(qualified for 2 separate rebates), Jet-Puff marshmallows(also gave back .80¢ on Shop Kick), the Pure Protein bar and the 2 Safeguard Hand Soaps. I actually had 13 rebates because of a couple of items qualified for 2 rebates each.

Take out the non-rebate items(the tea)and I spent OOP after coupons and gift card $14.57.  I earned $21.14 from Ibotta individual rebates, the $5 Weekend Bonus so $26.14 on Ibotta so an $11.57 moneymaker on just Ibotta.  If my store had had more of the freebie items I could have paid even less.  Even including the clearance tea bags it's still a $7.07 moneymaker. 8-)))

I also earned $3.60 on Shop Kick, $3 on Swag Bucks and $3.27 on Fetch though I don't "count" those until I cash out for a gift card and use it.

Done any rebate shopping lately?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the August 6th Edition

 Not much happened this week noteworthy as frugal but here are the highlights......

* No eating out or take-out at all.  This is a big win for us!

*  I did a smallish Walmart haul.

This(plus 2 items not pictured)turned out to be a $27.88 moneymaker.

* I also went to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Thursday just in time to use that .75¢ Catalina I found in the trash at Weis a couple of weeks ago.  I picked up a couple of peaches(our first of the season here), a couple of tomatoes for BLTs again and salads, a yogurt(45¢ after Q and rebate), a box of Zantac(a $2.81 moneymaker after double Qs), a big bottle of Heinz ketchup for .99¢ after store Q, a box of Kraft mac and cheese(.65¢ after rebate), a small can of dog food the puppies eat(.69¢ after rebate), 4 small cans of cat food for $1 total after double rebates(to take to my brother's kitties)and 3 boxes of cold cereal for .49¢ after double Qs(one of which I'll keep and the other two bound for the food bank).  I also bought a store brand Onion Dip because we have Fritos and well....onion dip! ;-)
Total OOP was $10.13 w/sales tax and I should receive $1.40 in rebates back on that spending.

*  I found money!!

Not much this week, at first.......

A penny at Walmart last Friday.  It was at the door as I loaded the groceries into the car and looked down under the cart  and it was staring up at me. 8-)

Then .11¢ last Saturday at my Rite-Aid.

Nothing else until Thursday at Weis(PMITA)Markets.  There were 4 pennies in the change slot of my self-checkout.  So I peeked into the slot of the other empty self-checkout on my way out of the store and spied a nickel and 4 more pennies to come home to live in my found change envelope.

Total Found This Week... .25¢

Total Found This Year....$13.03

*  I did a tiny bit of Rite-Aid shopping.........

The 6 packs and body wash Irish Spring are free this week at Rite-Aid($4 on sale and use the $2 in-ad Q + get $2 in Bonus Cash back for each one).  You will be sales tax on these though depending on your state, which made them a grand total of .24¢ here after Q and BC.

Not a lot of good deals this week unless your store has some 75% clearance items you need.  Next week there will be a $15 off WYSpend $60 in-ad Q however and I am hoping for some good Qs to pair with that but not holding my breath.

*  Continuing to use up garden goodies here.  We picked 3 more cukes and 1 zucchini this week.   I made more pickles and I've had two salads with fresh cuke.  I also put a sliced up zuke into the pickling brine.  There was zuke in the carrot cake, tempura zukee spears(which will be making another appearance soon), and a Spanish dish called Calabacin al Ajillo-grilled zucchini coins with garlic and parsley.  Still to come are a zucchini gratin casserole and a stuffed zuke(like a stuffed pepper dish)because this one is a big sucker and the seeds need to be scraped out of it first.  

After that I am raising the white flag of surrender and grating up the rest of any more zukes and throwing them into the freezer for baking season. lol

Now we wait for the tomatoes to ripen.......

July overall turned out to NOT be very frugal but for a reason(hello paying for Alaska flights and trip!)so I'll take any wins I can at this point. 8-)))

Any frugal wins at your house this past week?

Tell us all about them!

Sluggy

Walmart Ibotta Haul From Tuesday

 This will be my last Ibotta haul until September rolls around.  I went to Walmart on Tuesday to finish my Lunch Money $10 Bonus(needed 11 offers)and my $1 Midweek Bonus(needed 10 offers).  The offers overlap so getting 11 offers gave me $11 total(plus the rebates on the specific offers too).

I bought everything in the photo in addition to one more almond milk(Hubs already opened that one).
It was 12 offers done as the dog food and the Almay qualified for two separate offers each.

The cover girl lip gloss wasn't an Ibotta offer but it was on clearance for $1 and I had a $1.50/1 IPQ so I got .50¢ in overage to apply to something else for buying that.  The trial size Old Spice deo and body wash were also not Ibotta offers(though the Flipz and the Kotex pads were both SK and Ibotta offers along with some scan kicks I did in store) I got back $6.44 worth off points from Shop Kick as well.

I also cashed out for a $25 Walmart gift card on Shop Kick to use.

SubTotal.....$31.86
Coupons.......$4.45
Gift Card...$25.00
OOP.............$2.41

Earned back $19.29 regular rebates, $11 Bonus offers so $30.29 on Ibotta, making this a $27.88 moneymaker trip.

Sluggy

Food Spending 2021.....the July Edition

  Onward to July's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2021.

I have posted July's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 25. (I don't count all the "freebies" I get at the Discount Outlet in my totals either.)
*****************

GIANT

OOP  $4.30

Value  $18.20

Savings 76.37%

OCEAN STATE JOB LOT

OOP  $0.00

Value  $9.98(used free gift card)

Savings  100%

P and R DISCOUNTS
OOP  $14.81
Value  $43.68
Savings  66.09%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $1,167.05
Value  $1,167.05
Savings  100%

OLLIES

OOP  $12.12

Value  $22.98

Savings  47.26%

SHOPRITE

OOP  $21.42

Value  $57.96

Savings  63.04%

SHURSAVE

OOP  $2.27

Value $2.27

Savings 00%

WALGREENS

OOP  $4.7280.94

Savings  94.17%

WALMART
OOP  $265.34
Value  $468.75
Savings  43.39%

WEIS

OOP  $148..85

Qs/Sales  $115.27
Value  $264.12
Savings  43.64%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Ocean State at 100% and Walgreens at 94.17%.

The worst rate was at Walmart at 43.39%.
I shopped at 10 different stores in July.  That's what happens when you go lots of places you don't usually go in a month. lolz

TOTAL Spent in July......................,...$473.80

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards.....$495.13

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.,,...$968.93

TOTAL Savings of ..............................52.26%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for July w/R-A...............$473.80

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$1,662.18
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$2,135.98
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................77.82%

This closes out the July food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into July wanting to slack off on rebating. Didn't happen.  Dear me, I think I am now addicted to rebate apps. lolz  I've earned $312.72 back on Ibotta alone in July(not counting rebates earned on other apps)so spending close to $500 on groceries in a month isn't a concern to me.  I was able to get a bunch of donation items as well for the food bank so it's a win/win. ;-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 6.01% in July 2021 to 77.82% compared to the June's 83.83% savings average.  Quite a bit down but still winning!

With 7 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $2,425.06 on food/toiletries in 2021.

2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,425.06

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$12,924.04

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$10,498.98

2020 Yearly Savings Total.............................81.24%

The average per month amount spent is $346.44 in 2021 so far.

My Ibotta rebate total for the year so far is $1,684.71.  Put that next to a full spending of $2,425.06 for the year so far and I've "actually" spent only $740.35 on food/toiletries for the year or an average of $105.76 per month.  Plus I've been able to donate to the food bank and share my haul bounty with others.

I think that is awesome. 8-)))

LOOKING AHEAD To August 2021...........

Vacation month so we'll be shopping less for groceries and trying to use up things that are perishable(or throw them into the freezer).  I have to finish my $10 Bonus and then we'll see what the month holds.

Perhaps I can actually just buy what is needed in August?  Time will tell.

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

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in July?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

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


Sluggy

Stuff Lately.....#1 August Edition

*  Reader Jen G. sent photos of her kitty enjoying her giveaway box.   Not the "stuff" that came in the box but the actual box.  I hear it's a cat thing...fitting your feline self into a container whether you fit or not.

Here are Jen's kitties.  See the one on the bookshelf in the back? lolz  I just remember one's name, Zima, the black and white cat.  No photo of Darrell the dog however.

                             

Here is Zima exploring the box.......

Ok, let's figure out how to fit in this thing........

Success!  Time for a snooze.......

*  In other news we are heading out on our Alaskan adventure later this month with Kim and her hubby.

I hope we don't have to throw anyone overboard but the possibility does exist..... ;-)

Anybody out there take one of these cruise ships to Alaska?  Tell us about your experience-what you did or wish you had done(or hadn't done in hindsight).  There will be no rock climbing/rappelling or snorkeling for this slug but otherwise we are wide open for suggestions as far as excursions.  Should we partake of the cruise prompted shore excursions or just explore on our own?

Someone mentioned in Kim's blog comment they live up there, I think it was in Ketchikan, so let us know and maybe we can meet up with ya(as long as you have a Diet Coke and a Pastry for Kim-unless you enjoy Grizzly Bear behavior)!*snort*

Also anybody live in Southern Alaska want to chime in on what to pack to wear there in August?  I hear it's a might cooler than PA and rainier as in 'rain forest wet" in August.

*  Finished my $10 Ibotta Bonus today, rah.  I doubt I'll be tempted to do any more grocery shopping this month as we are in "use up what's here" mode now until the trip. 8-)

After coupons and a free $25 gift card I paid $2.41 for all and earned back $30.29 from Ibotta.(That doesn't count the Fetch points-a few-or the 1,610 in Shop Kick points($6.44)earned.)making this trip a $27.88 Moneymaker and getting my August grocery spending off to a roaring start. ;-)

*  The weather the last 5 days or so here has been just lovely for late July/early August.  If you don't count the hail storm last Tuesday or the torrential rains we had for 2 days.  The rains did manage to break the humidity so that's a plus but I am scared to look in the garden again for fear of finding more mammoth green Italian squash monsters!!!

Or better yet, did anyone see the Crankshaft" comic on Sunday?

Back tomorrow with the July Grocery Spending Totals.......

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Zucchini and Cucumbers Anyone?!?" Edition...

Current state of zukes and cukes not used yet.  Will have to see if the neighbors want more.  Needless to say this week's menu is heavy on zucchini. lol

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Subway or Leftovers

2. Monday--Pizza, Salad

3. Tuesday--Roasted Chicken, Veg TBD, leftover 

Taters

4. Wednesday--Clam Chowder, Biscuits
5. Thursday--No Clue(Hubs night to cook)

6.  Friday--Leftovers or Chicken Salad Sandwiches

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

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

1. Sunday--Subway or Leftovers

2. Monday--Pizza, Salad

3. Tuesday--BLTs

4. Wednesday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke Tomatoes, Rice
5. Thursday--(Hubs night to cook)FFY

6.  Friday--BLTs

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

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

* Nothing

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

* 4 Chicken Thighs

* 1 pack of Bacon

I spent $29.44 on food/toiletries/HBA last week.....just a few things we needed.  This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $473.80 for July(I made a math error earlier in the month that I just found.)  More over my $400 limit but still under $500 at least.

There are 0 shopping days left in July.  We are onto August!

I've earned $312.72 on Ibotta in July.

I've earned $12.00 on Checkout51 in July.

I've earned $27.43 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in July.

I've earned 20,361 points from shopping on Fetch in July which equals $20.36(It's actually more but I've been lazy about submitting my receipts.).

I've earned 16,834 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in July which equals $67.33.

I've earned 7,210 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in July which equals $72.10(if they ever approve the last $30 of stuff)...hate them!

That's $352.15 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $462.56 in grocery spending so in reality it's $110.41 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count until I cash out on the other three apps. 8-)))

My savings percentage for last week was 46.25%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for July and the monthly savings total for July comes in at 52.26%.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....a little corn casserole, au gratin taters, 2 pieces lemon pepper chicken, zuke tomatoes, rice.  And carrot cake.

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

1. Sunday--Clam Chowder, Biscuits

2. Monday--Leftover Lemon Pepper, Zuke in tomatoes, rice

3. Tuesday--Breakfast for Dinner

4. Wednesday--Stuffed Zuke w/Beef and Onion, Rice
5. Thursday--No Clue(Hubs night to cook)

6.  Friday--Tempura Zucchini and Fish

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself and Zuke Casserole

I will also be making bread pudding this week for Hubs(his fav)with some Thomas' mini croissants taking up room in the fridge that no one has eaten and some of the excess milk on hand.

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Nothing unless I can't find any ground beef hidden in the bowels of the chest freezer(or I can sneak ground turkey into the dish without Hubs noticing lol).  I will be finishing up my Ibotta Lunch Money $10 rebate this week and then taking a break from them until we return from Alaska.

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