Frugal Friday.....the December 6th Edition

Here's what qualified as frugal in my world this past week....................

*  I got the Weis(PMITA)Markets Freebie last Friday--

A large 24 oz. bottle of salad dressing.  I got this for Hubs as he loves Blue Cheese dressing and it's something I rarely buy.  Maybe I should put it in his Christmas stocking? lolz

*  I printed out a $5 Coupon that a local brewery sends me.  These get sent about every month.  I gave it to Hubs so he can get a growler fill there for $5 less than he usually pays.

*  I got lots of goodies at Rite-Aid last Friday and Saturday during the Black Friday sale........

This isn't counting Thursday's haul and it was all with no OOP.

*  I went out yesterday and hit some more Rite-Aids to do the Nexus/Shea Moisture Deal.
Here's what I found on Tuesday.....

 2 tubes of Body Butter.

And here's what I got on Thursday..........

2 bottles of Body Wash and 8 bars of Soap.
I spent $55.43 in Bonus Cash and earned $60 back in new Bonus Cash so it was all free!

* I found money!

2 pennies at the Burger King drive-thru last Friday.

A nickel at Weis in one of the center aisles last Friday.

A dime right in front of the register counter at Rite-Aid on Tuesday.

2 Dimes by my favorite self-checkout at Weis on Wednesday.  Who ever loads the change into the checkout machine there isn't very careful getting the coins into the hopper.  Generally the days I see empty coin rolls in the little trash can by the machine I can find a coin or two.  ;-)

This penny was found at Dollar Tree on Thursday in the checkout lane.  I needed some birthday cards and wedding wrap so that put me in the right spot to pick this beauty up.

Again on Thursday I was in the R-A downtown hunting free SheaMoisture stuff and spied this penny near an end cap display.

That makes a Grand Total this week of .39¢ free money!

Oh, I also found this(not money though)..........

A greeting card in the middle of the parking lot at Ocean State Job Lot.  Even though it was spitting snow the card hadn't been sitting there long and was in good shape still.  I picked it up and looked around to see if any was in the lot(either outside their car getting in or sitting in a car ready to leave)so I could ask if anyone dropped the card but there was no human activity in the parking lot.
I guess it got to go home with me as the owner was nowhere to be seen. ;-)

*  I sold something on eBay!

This rather pricey Fitz and Floyd Xmas themed picture frame was a gift to me many years ago from a friend from Canada who use to visit me so she could go shopping in the US.  Her mom and her had eBay business where they picked up stuff like this along with other brands from a wholesale distributor in Canada and sold them.  I haven't heard from this friend in many years also.

I've never taken this gift out of the box to use and found it sitting in a box of Xmas things so put it up for sale as it's discontinued by the manufacturer......and it sold!
Something else de-cluttered from my house and a little money in my pocket besides. 8-)

*  Hubs and I didn't eat out at all this past week.....well except for that small burger at BK, while I was running errands, which I paid for with a gift card. ;-)

*  I earned $25.65 in cash rebates on Ibotta this past week.
Mostly it was from things I bought at R-A during the Black Friday sales but there was $2.50 of it earned from Weis.

*  Speaking of Weis I bought these jars of pasta sauce last Friday there............

5 jars where on sale for .99¢ each if you bought at least 4 at a time.
There was a .50¢ rebate on Ibotta on this brand so each jar ended up costing me .49¢.  We don't care for this brand though so I'll either send these to the local Food Bank or put them into my brother in-law's basket of food I give him each Christmas. ;-)

*  I went to Ocean State Job Lot(to pick up a couple of Xmas presents)and found some foods on the "Eat For Free" table to buy...........

1 x bottle of Sunflower Oil
1 x bag of matcha mochi cookies
1 x box chamomile tea bags
1 x jar barbecue sauce
1 x jar curry sauce
2 x bottles of coconut water
2 x packets of curry sauce mix
2 x Slim-fast meal replacement drinks

$26.95 spent and $26.95 earned on a gift card.
I also cashed in some free gift card points.  I bought 2 packets of Chinese soup, $11.55 in dog treats for the puppies and $9.99 spent on a gift for Hubs for Xmas.  So what I spent on gift cards I didn't use it all on food items but I'm ok with that.
I still have $62.97 on my old gift card plus a new $26.95 gift card.

* I did do some Cyber Monday shopping.  I had a $10 reward for a clothing company that was expiring Dec. 6th and they had everything in their store 50% off on Monday so I bought a few shirts and will take the cost of it all out of my accumulated WAM.  I also needed new bras and found the best price on Kohl's so I combined that purchase with a couple of Xmas gifts and bought them all on Kohl's.  I used coupon codes and $50 in gift cards so ending up paying $5.56 in cash.  I earned $15 in Kohl's Cash so I used that on Wednesday to buy another Xmas gift, using coupon codes again and a free shipping offer which brought my OOP to just over $60.  I went through the ShopatHome portal so earned 4% back in rebates on all the Kohl's purchases(about $4 total).  $4 isn't much but every little bit helps! ;-)

Ok that's all I can think of from last week.

As always stay frugal and tell us the frugal wins you had last week! 8-)))



Sluggy

Ocean State Job Lot & Walmart-Potentially Free Food & Ibotta Rebates

So I was over by OSJL on Monday so I browsed the "Eat for Free" table of goodies and came home with lots of foodstuffs!

I laid out how this program works in the blog post HERE.

Here is what I bought, all items we will use.........

1 x Chai tea concentrate=$2.99
2 x Grapeseed Oil 50.70 oz.=$20.00
2 x Roasted Almond halves=$11.98
4 x Organic Turkey Stock=$8.00
2 x Cranberry/Orange baking chips=$4.00
2 x Sea Salt=$2.98
2 x Cranberry/Museli Cookie tins=$4.00
2 x Bamboo Shoots=$1.78
1 x English Breakfast tea bags=$2.99
4 x Stir-Fry/Fried Rice Seasoning packets=$4.00
6 x Mushroom pieces=$6.00
2 x Tetley mint/Hibiscus tea bags=$3.98

Total of $72.70 paid OOP and I received a Crazy Deal gift card for $72.70 too.
Crazy, right?

Since some of these things are "gourmet" items and they don't sell them around here I had to find the regular retail price on Amazon or on other websites where you can buy particular items.
All told, reg. retail came to $164.11.

Add this $72.70 gift card with the one I got in July for $10.78 and besides this $83.48 in food items I now also have $83.48 in store chits to put toward our grocery/toiletries/paper goods/etc. spending. (Can not spend it on other Crazy Deal items or on items with Insider Coupons, has to be regular priced goods in the store.)

Oh and those Danish cranberry/museli cookies are "da boom"!

I know that folks who use Ibotta may or may not have the same offers in their app but here are some groceries I picked up while were were out that day, this time at Walmart.
I thought I'd check my Ibotta app while there picking up some needs like sour cream and cheese and see what else I could find a "deal" on.
These are the items we got that I either got a rebate on or have Qs for.......

1 x Scott paper towels clearance to $2.50
1 x Greenies dog toothbrushes=$4.98
1 x GV Baking Mix clearance to $1.35
1 x GV 2lb. cheddar=$5.64
5 x Hormel natural choice snacks=$8.35
1 x Perfect Bar protein bar=$1.98
5 x Pro Fuel yogurt drinks=$9.80
SubTotal this stuff.........$34.60

As for Qs used......
I had a $5.00 off for the Greenies that the company snail mailed me.
There were .75¢ hangtag Qs on all those Oikos drinks.
Qs used came to $8.75.

Everything pictured above(except the Greenies)also had an Ibotta rebate in my gallery--
* .25¢ off any brand toilet paper(the Scott item was paper towels but it came off)
* .25¢ off any brand pancake mix(technically what I bought was "baking mix"but it came off)
* .25¢ off any brand cheese
* 5 x $1.50 Hormel natural choice snack packs=$7.50
* $2.00 off Perfecct Bar protein bar(even though only paid $1.98)
* 5 x $1.00 of Pro Fuel yogurt drinks=$5.00
* .10¢ for buying anything
Total Rebate....$15.35

$34.60-$8.75 in Qs=$25.85-$15.35 rebates=$10.50 for everything pictured after Qs and Ibotta rebates.
The best "deals" above were the snack packs(.17¢ each after rebate)and the yogurt drinks(.21¢ each after hangtagQ and rebate).

I bought another $21.28 in food/paper products so my total OOP at Walmart was $47.13.
(The rebates get figured into/taken off my spending at the end of the year).

To recap the day's food spending for 2 stores--
$119.83 Total OOP
$15.35 back in Cash Rebates
$72.70 back in OSJL store script


I run hot and cold throughout the year with using Ibotta. A lot of times the rebates are on items I don't buy or the stores I shop at aren't an Ibotta qualifying food source(Shursave, Aldi, Restaurant Supply Store, local Produce Market, etc.).But I do avail myself of Ibotta when I can when buying at Weis, Rite-Aid, Target or Walmart.

If anyone doesn't use Ibotta yet but would like to try it and you have a smartphone, give it a go.
And if you'd be so kind, please use my referral code when you sign up--

Referral Code  mkaaxa
I'd appreciate it. ;-)


Sluggy

Eat For Free!.....at Ocean State Job Lot

Now I knew that title would get some folks attention but seriously, it's what Ocean State Job Lot store calls this program they have.  You have to have a store loyalty card to do this deal, also called a Job Lot Insider Card(you need that card as well to partake of any "coupon" deals there as well).

Here's the info from their website..............

Job Lot Insiders Eat for Free!*

Free food! Need we say more? At Ocean State Job Lot we understand how important it can be to put food on the table for the best value possible, so we’re giving our Insiders a way to “Eat for Free!” Well, pretty close to it, anyway.

Did you know that every Job Lot location has an “Eat For Free!” section where you can find loads of gourmet pastas, sauces, cookies, crackers, beverages, condiments and snacks that you love? As long as you’re a Job Lot Insider, when you spend at least $10 on those select items, we’ll hand you a Crazy Deal™ Gift Card for the same amount you spent!

When you buy $10 worth of food, you'll get a $10 Crazy Deal™ Gift Card. When you buy $25 worth of food, you'll get a $25 Crazy Deal™ Gift Card. You could even buy $153.21 worth of food and get a $153.21 Crazy Deal™ Gift Card! The possibilities are endless!

Our “Eat For Free!” food selection is changing constantly, so check back often to see what’s available. Any questions? Ask an associate how you can “Eat for Free!” today!

So basically how ever much you spend on food items in this special section of their store they give you the equivalent amount of money on a Crazy Deals Store Gift Card.

The first time I went into our newly opened OSJL store I guess they hadn't set up this "Eat for Free" food section yet because I just noticed it on this trip and it was no where near the food aisles.

I thought from the signage on the table in my store that you only got a $10 Gift Card back so I tired to stay as close to $10 as possible but over $10 so the deal would kick in.

Here's what I bought..........

2 x cans of Porcini mushroom pieces=$2.00
1 x Indian dish mix=$2.00
2 x bamboo shoots=$1.78
2 x cranberry/orange baking "chips"=$4.00
1 x Asian Stir-Fry sauce mix=$1.00
Total.......$10.78

And here's what I got back.........

A store gift card for $10.78 good on anything in the store. As far as I can tell there is no expiration date either.  ;-)

There are rules about using a Crazy Deal gift card(can't buy gift cards with it, can't pay for Insider Deal items, can't get another Crazy Deal GC if you use your Crazy Deal GC to pay for another Crazy Deal item so you can't roll this GC into perpetuity to get free food.

As I suspected many of the items(there were a good variety of items)were close to their sell by dates so you have to be aware of that.(Ex-CB loves ranch dressing and they had lots of it in this section but as it was short dated I didn't pick any of that up.)  I didn't go crazy and buy lots but just stuff I knew we'd use and soon.
They had both unusual items(gourmet/upscale foodstuffs)and everyday use items like cooking oil, salt and salad dressing and they say the particular items change frequently.

It's a clever way for them to clear out old items and give customers a "deal" on them. 8-)

I also bought on this trip........

1 x Oyster Sauce=$2.00
1 x 8 oz. Pecans=$3.99

All totaled I spent $16.77 OOP and earned a $10.78 gift card.  There are a few food items I buy there, things I can get cheaper there than other places(see pecans and oyster sauce above lol)so I'll have no problem using that $10.78 gift card.

This could be another little way to stretch your food dollars if utilized well.


Have you ever partaken of the "Eat for Free" Deal at OSJL?
Yeah or Nay on this promo?


Sluggy