There are a few Frugal wins these past couple of weeks so here goes....
* We were able to use some old gift cards for restaurants along the way on the trip.
We had Applebee's in PA and IHop in GA, paying with gift cards. We also mooched meals off our Hosts in PA, MD and VA. There was restaurant spending in PA and MD without the benefit of gift cards. ouch
* I had a $50 gift card still for Ocean State Job Lot(but they don't have stores anywhere down here). So before we left Wilkes-Barre on Dec. 26th we hit there to use it up, mostly buying discounted Xmas stuff we no longer had(bags, boxes, bows, tissue paper and ribbon)plus some doggies treats and toys for our puppies and a few food items(sesame oil, dark chocolate, coffee filters and a monstrously larger vat of pink Himalayan sea salt.
This 5lb. containers was only $5.99!
It should last us the rest of our lives. lol
* Grocery shopping the past 2 weeks for December--best deals........while I wasn't home to do regular shopping we bought some foodstuffs on the trip at places we don't have here.
We hit up Aldi in VA while staying at my brother's house. Got some chili, pumpkin(long dated), crushed tomatoes, dark chocolate bars and a bag of peanut butter cups(my guilty pleasure). The first 3 items were on clearance too.
We went to a Trader Joes also near my brother's place that same day. I got a package of Rigatoni(hard to find here, almost as hard as shell pasta is to find), a dark chocolate bar and some dark chocolate peanut butter cups. So many things at both of these stores we'd have loved to bring home but they required refrigeration. 8-(
And to finish off the shopping spree that day we hit Rose's discount store for these on clearance........
You are either in the Fruitcake Friend or Fruitcake Foe camp, there is no middle ground. This is by far the BEST fruitcake there is....as Dr. Spo is given to saying, "Do not dare question this!" 8-)
$2.25 for a 1 lb. brick of this delicacy? Heck yeah! Claxton's has been around forever so they must be doing the fruitcake game right. The best fruitcake is 90% fruit and nuts with only enough cake batter to hold the thing together.
* In the "found category", at the rest stop somewhere in VA, as I walked around to get some exercise, I wandered over to the vending machine cubicle and noticed one of the drink machines was flashing "$1.00 credit" on it's screen. I needed some water so I put the rest of the coinage needed to purchase a bottle of water into the machine and voila!, out popped a bottle of Aquafina(a very over priced brand IMHO).
So I got a discounted much needed at the time bottle of water courtesy of some kind Secret Santa who put $1 into that machine and left. * I found money!
These two blurry pennies were in the vending machine coin return at the Vicksburg MS Welcome Center/Rest Stop.
This quarter in a change return of a vending machine in a VA Rest Stop.
This dime in the Chinese Restaurant we had a tradition of having Christmas Eve dinner in when we lived in PA. We enjoyed the company of our nephew there.
This quarter on NYE on a trip to Aldi's at my brother's house in VA. Some guy returned his cart but didn't hook it up and take his quarter so I "helped him". hehehe
This Penny on my Brother's Porch the day after New Year's.
This penny somewhere in NC at yet another Rest Stop.(We saw a LOT of rest areas on this trip due to my butt and knee issues.)
And this penny on the ground at the vending machines in a Rest Stop somewhere in AL.
Total Found in last 2 Weeks.... .65¢
Grand Total Found this Year.......$4.21
Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods? Let's hear all about them!
Sluggy
Claxton fruitcake is delicious! And, I am not a fruitcake fan. Shells are hard to find? While you were gone, Publix had my a2milk for $3.99/gal. This week, I found bscb for $1.99/lb,, but forgot where.
ReplyDeleteActually, the milk was $3.99 for a half gallon, making it a mere $7,98/gallon.
DeletePractical Parsimony
Do you know that I have NEVER had fruitcake? Everyone that I know hates it, so I have never had the opportunity. I love the Aldi peanut butter cups and the Trader Joe's ones as well! Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteI think your brother put it there for y to find, not bad for finding money 2024 will be the year for you
ReplyDeleteFruitcake slices seem to be a necessity on a mixed dessert Christmas platter. I used to wish I could buy rubber fruit cake to put out on those trays. I could just wash them and use them year after year when entertaining since no one ever bothered to put a slice on their plates.
ReplyDeleteWe travel in an RV, so can use the refrigerator for great finds. We were in Homassasa, FL for the holiday and Publix had bone-in Prime Rib for $6.99 lb.! I bought the smallest one since it is just the two of us and it was still $44, but a bargain. Your coins made me think of my son back in the 80's. If I lost track of him in the grocery I always knew to look at the soda vending machines where he would be on the floor with his skinny are under one getting all the dropped coins! He never passed a pat phone without checking to see if someone may have forgotten the change. That boy always had a pocket full of change! I found you on Unbagging The Cats, one of my favorite reads. You can find me On Mountain Mama's Point of View.
ReplyDeleteup here in Ohio we leave the cart unhooked to pay it forward to the next person, usually only during the holidays.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog
ReplyDeleteI will have to try the Claxton fruit cake as it sounds good! Good deal on finding the coins and on the pink salt too!
ReplyDelete