Frugal Friday...the August 15th Edition

 Not much frugal going on here.

*  We went to Aldi and I found these Lo Mein meals marked down to $2.00 each..........

I should have filled the freezer at that price!

*  We hit up Ocean State Job Lot after my orthopedic appt.  

Some of this was from their "Eat for free" table.  I got the cost of those items back in a gift card and I used a gift card to pay for the items that weren't on the "Eat for free" table. 8-)

*  I found money!   2 Pennies at Dollar General.

                        

 At the beer Store Hubs told the owner/cashier I collect Change I find so he dumped the change jar into Hubs hand.

Let folks know and they hand over the change. lol

That's 36¢.

I found .27¢ at the self-checkouts at Walmart.

Then I found 2 quarters at Aldi.

Found Money The Past Week.... $1.25

Grand Total Found in 2025....$5.26 

That's all I got.

What frugal things did you do this past week?

Sluggy

Budget Torpedoed by TP

So I have been looking to score a deal on toilet paper lately.  It's been in the back of my mind that our stockpile of tp was getting to a point where I needed to be keeping an eye out for a great deal.
I have a love/hate relationship with TP.....hate to waste good money on something I am throwing away so I get it as cheaply as I can and when I find a deal I definitely buy A LOT! ;-)

So last week at Walmart I happened upon some clearance paper towels--
1 x Scott towels(6 double rolls)for $2.50
2 x Viva towels(6 double rolls)for $3.00
$9.01 with tax OOP.
I'm not a fan of paper towels but Hubs won't stop using them so I buy. 8-(
But I was glad to find them as Dixie Belle isn't quite fully house trained yet and with 2 dogs now, there are times we NEED paper towels! ;-)
A nice score but it's not TP....

I hit Ocean State Job Lot on Monday during their Annual 20% off Sale and picked up a few food items.........

2 x pasta
4 x spices
2 x baby clams
2 x specialty coffee for Ex-CB
All this came to $12.78 after 20% off.
It's all good since I was still fitting into my $400 food budget for September.

But then I went over to the paper goods aisle.....as Scooby-Doo would say, "Rut Roh!".......

These mega-packs of Marcal tp were $7.19 after 20% discount.
Marcal is a brand I don't see around much any more, not since they released their eco-friendly/recycled "Small Steps" paper goods back in 2009. I think the last time I saw/bought a Marcal item was in 2014?
I got a ton of Marcal back in 2009 using deals and Qs(heck I even ran a guessing game/contest to see how many rolls of it I had).  Longtime readers will remember this photo of my storage unit filled with paper products from back in the day.....

I had bought 474 rolls of Small Steps tp back then and we just used up our last pack of it late last year. 8-)))

Even though the package at OSJL didn't have a sq. footage break down on it, I know the brand and that it's economical as far as tp goes so I picked up two of those 16 roll packs.

Then Weis(PMITA)Markets had the huge packs of Scott tp on a Fantastic Friday deal for $7.  I went into the store for the Friday Freebie(they were out already!)and 1 jar of Ragu and left with the Ragu and 2 packs of Scott tp.  I had 2 Qs that doubled to $1 each so my huge packs cost me $6 +.36¢ tax each OOP.

I went into this week with no grocery budget left for September but happened to hear about tp clearances at Weis were going on.

So would you NOT check out the tp deals since you are at your budget limit or would you say "the heck with the budget!" and go have a look-see?

What do you think Ol' Sluggy did? ;-)

Yep, you guessed it..........

Seeing as I had the money to stock up on tp even outside of my grocery budget and the space in the garage, I went for it.
My September spending suffered a hit for it, but we are now awash in tp.

The Scott tp packs on the bottom left of the photo were from Friday.

On Monday I got 3 packs of Cottonelle TP, 2 packs of Viva towels and 10 packs(Hubs had already taken 1 of these to use so there's only 9 in the photo!lol) of Charmin Essentials(the "cheap" Charmin-except at half off it WAS actually cheap! lol).  They also had Northern brand for 50% off but the others were a better deal with the square footage comparison so I didn't get any of that brand.
I also had both IPQ and digital Qs to use for this or that.
All totaled I spent $33.80 with sales tax at Weis for 180 double rolls of tp and 12 double rolls of paper towels.

Add that to the 168 rolls I had left in my stockpile and we will be good for quite awhile.  Not as epic as my Marcal stash from 2009 but it will get us through a year or maybe two....or maybe not(have you seen how much tp Ex-CB goes through??!). ;-)

My stockpile(other than toiletries/HBA)is looking fine when it comes to dish soap, laundry detergent, cleaning products, paper towels, soup, condiments, pasta, rice, spices, tomato products, canned chicken, chiles, mushrooms, tuna, peanut butter, oatmeal, cold cereals, some canned veggies and of course, tp. 8-)))

What good prices have you taken advantage of lately to build your stockpile?

Queen of the TP 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

Shopping Lately on Vacation & At Home

**Still waiting on Little Penpen to contact me about her giveaway box and time is running out!**

So I hit some stores on our vacation as is my want to do.
Rite-Aid in Wells Maine for some better than free make-up brushes.

We also hit Reny's in Wells and I picked this up..........

2 large jars of roasted red peppers for $3.29 each and 2 bottles of sesame oil for $3.79 each.  I noticed that the sesame oil went up .80¢ there since buying it a couple of years ago, but it's still cheaper than buying it locally here in PA.

Then on the way out of Maine we hit a Marden's in Sanford.  The only foodstuffs I bought there were 2 bottles of chili sauce for $1 each and 6 cans of Tasty Kitchen(from Quebec) brand tomato soup for .29¢ a can.  Never had or heard of that brand of soup but for .29¢ a can why not!  And if it's not so "tasty" I can always use it in my Beef Pie recipe. lolz

After we got home I went to our local Ocean State Job Lot on Monday since they put a $5 wyb $25 Q on my Insider Card.  It expired that day so I had to go have a look  if there was anything worth getting with it.
And there was!

These quart jugs of pure maple syrup, regularly $14.99(still a good price)were marked $8.99 for Insiders Only so I got two.

Jars of spices regularly $1 were priced at .79¢ each.  The olives were $1, on special as well.

For the Grand Opening of the store here they had pallet upon pallet of Polar soda and seltzer 6 packs on special.  I guess they didn't sell as much as they had thought they would so an Insider Special last week with no limit evidently was Polar 6 packs for $1 each.  I got 11 x 6-packs(even though it put me well over the $25 I needed to spend that $5 off Q because duh! It was an awesome price!!! lolz
I got 5 packs of seltzer and 6 packs of soda.  We are having family over the middle of next month so this will come in very handy then.

Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)is have their Bonanza Days this week so everything in the store is 15% off for Ollie's Army card holders, no Q needed.  Hubs and I will be heading over there later today to see if anything is priced low enough for us to pick up.
I have yet to darken the store at Weis(PMITA)Markets before leaving for NH(6/14 to be exact)so I know a trip there tomorrow for the freebie item is in my future.

But I am happy to report the freezer is looking less full these days and we have been able to eat it  down a bit even with a week away thrown in.

Have y'all gotten any good grocery deals lately?
Tell us all about it.

Sluggy

Our Trip to Maine 2016......Part 6

Part 1 of our Maine trip is HERE.
Part 2 of our Maine trip is HERE.

Part 3 of our Maine trip is HERE.

Part 4 of our Maine trip is HERE.
Part 5 of our Maine trip is HERE.


So Day 6 of our trip to Maine was all about a little shopping and a little eating and alot of great scenery.  What could be better, right?

We took off East from Augusta for the coast.   We passed an OSJL outside of Belfast so we had to stop......

I love poking around in these type of stores.  Sometimes you see the most interesting items.  Like this one.........on second thought I should have picked this up for a few drinking folks I know *cough*......

These napkins were apropos for the area.....everyone up here say's "Wicked Good", even a brand of potato chips have this on the bag..............

Though not in this area of the state, moosie napkins are also apropos....

Here are the goodies from OSJL that did come home with me................                                                

Chinese straw mushrooms, dried mushrooms at $1 a box, Ty-phoo tea, coconut oil, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, fig flavored vinegar, honey, grape seed oil, hibiscus tea bags, peach tea bags, maple syrup, balsamic ketchup, honey peanut butter, Sesame bar candy, dried hibiscus, dried cantaloupe and olive tapenade.  Great prices on all this stuff!

Driving along Route 1 up the coast through Searsport and Stockton Springs and over the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.....

 We drove over this bridge on our trip back in 2010 and went up into the observation tower on the other end of the bridge.
If you read this post you might remember this photo from the tower looking down on the old bridge they hadn't torn down yet...........

Halfway over the new bridge following a dump truck....

 Once we get over to this area we take Rte. 15 at Five Mile Corners and then onto Rte. 199 so we can drive around the Bagaduce River which is a branch off from the Penobscot River which empties into the Penobscot Bay.

It's a nice scenic drive along country roads and there are two seafood shacks located around the Bagaduce.

First there's the Bayview Take-Out.

Good prices.....$17.50 for a full lobster dinner is well under what you'd pay at a sit-down restaurant, even up heyah.....

Behind their shack are a few picnic tables and this gorgeous view while you eat your yummies.......

A fairly sunny day with a nice cool breeze so why not dine al fresco?

A whole flock of seagulls sunning themselves on a rock out in the water.......

I did finally have my lobster for the trip here.  Much cheaper at a take-out shack and a rustic experience.
I think blogger Linda had posted about licking a knife and cutting her tongue the day before on her blog so I pretended to lick my knife. lolz

Then we drove onto Rte. 175 to another location along the water to here.......

The James Beard Foundation named this place an American Classic in 2008.  It's been here and in this family since opening in 1946 and it's a favorite among locals of the Blue Hill Peninsula.
We were still full from Bayview Take-Out so I just had a salad.
The prices seemed substanially higher than Bayview anyway.

 But they had nice view too as the shack backs onto a spit of land jutting out  into the river.

 Supposedly there is a reversing falls along the river here but I think it was on the other side of the building.

I did see a loon offshore swimming along..

 Another nice place to sit and eat by the water here.......

 It was time to start heading back so we headed north to Bucksport and then up to outside of Bangor to get on I-95 as that was the fastest way back to Augusta.
Before we got on the interstate we stopped in Brewer at this place...........

Another of the stores I like to check out while in Maine.  We've been to this one back in 2010 when we stayed outside of Bangor at a campground.
Marden's(or as they pronounce it up here "Mahden's")is another closeout/salvage store but only located within Maine.

Kim and McVal would go crazy in this place.  I don't know about the other Marden's locations but this one has a MASSIVE fabric department!

Photo from the website because I got so excited just browsing it all I forgot to snap a photo. lol
And the prices though higher from my last visit in 2010(most stuff was $2.99 yd. back then)there were still deals there.

Actually I only bought a few pieces of cloth this time as I really don't need MORE fabric(Ha! What fabricaholic needs more fabric?!?)
And Hubs was tired and cranky and didn't want to stand around waiting on me so I didn't get to properly browse....sigh.

We passed this lumber yard after Marden's but before the interstate entrance.  I didn't think there were many Viking descendants in Maine.....you find Viking Everything in the Upper Midwest/Plains...ask me how I know! lolz

I think we hit Taco Bell near the hotel as we got back late and just needed something in our bellies before bed.  Nothing expensive or memorable or worth talking about, though I have just done a bit of talking about it anyway. lolz

Sluggy