Frugal Friday......the September 22nd Edition

*  Eldest son experienced a change in life status recently so we went down to Va to assist him in finding bedroom furniture for his apartment.  Eldest is a not very well paid new teacher and he just bought a car(after being car-less for an entire year)so money is real tight for him right now.  There would be no perusing expensive furniture stores for a matching bedroom suite.

While he worked on Friday we visited many, many thrift stores scouting out the furniture prospects.
At the Goodwill no furniture we could use but I did find College Boy a Xmas present.........hehehe

We found 3 candidates for a bedroom night stand in our travels.  We took some photos and after viewing them later, Eldest picked this one to go and purchase on Saturday.......

It has some style, was "real wood" and sturdy and the best part it was only $8.
Sold!

After about 6 thrift stores and no luck we saw this dresser sitting out in front of a junk store across the street from a thrift store we checked out........

Again, real wood and fairly sturdy and large enough to hold his stuff.  Knowing it was a deal at $55 I went ahead and paid for it and we went back on Saturday to arrange for delivery.

After checking out some mattress stores Eldest decided on a temper-pedic type foam mattress and a platform type bed frame/headboard.
The "discount" mattress store wanted upwards of $3500 for a queen sized 14" foam mattress and frame/platform.
hahahaha
No wonder people have to make payments and buy a bed on time at those prices!

So it was either buy a cheapy regular mattress and box spring at a store, or get a good mattress for cheap online.
He opted for the good mattress online where his dad and I got ours along with a platform bed frame/headboard.
He's all good in the bedroom department(mattress/frame/headboard/dresser/night stand)for a grand total of $770.

*  Remember all these that I have been collecting(mostly at Rite-Aid for free)all year........

This past week I turned it into this..........

$80 in cold hard cash.

*  While in Va we got Domino's for dinner on Friday using an old gift card so no new money OOP.

A Stormtrooper was riding shotgun for that delivery driver.
"Keep calm and join the dark side" as the back window suggested.

*  Almost free razors at Rite-Aid, free barbecue sauce at the Shursave market, and a few items bought while on the road to VA and back as shared already are my grocery finds.

*  In Goodwill I also scored a stocking stuffer for one of the kids and it was that week's 50% colored tag so half price off a thrift store price.  Rah!
In Walmart in WV I scored some clearance clothing too.......

Sleep tank tops for Daughter for $1 each.
I also found Daughter something I had already bought at the local Walmart for $4 cheaper so I bought it and will return the one that was more $. ;-)

A Summer nightie for me for $7.

And a Wonder Woman sleep shirt for me for $3.
Because I am "Fierce" when it comes to saving $. lolz

What have you done lately that is frugal?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....June 30th Edition

So what thrifty things got done around Chez Sluggy you ask?
Here's the list.........

*  I hit two more Rite-Aids yesterday for more water as I was out near both stores on errands.
Can you say FREE water?

8 bottles from each store, so I am up to 20 bottles.  If I can find 4 more bottles at my local store today when I am there picking up an Rx that will make 24 in total. These will be lovely to take on our road trip this Summer.

*  I made $1!

I used to be a Nielsen grocery scanner person years ago.  They sent me an offer to join some radio study along with a crisp, new dollar bill inside the envelope.
We will pass on being in the study/survey but yes, we will take and thank them for the FREE MONEY! 8-)))
This just shows that it does pay to open all the junk mail you get.  ;-)

*  We had a bag of apples that needed using up since it's been hanging around here for so long.  Daughter was suppose to use them while I was in VA but she didn't.

We've gotten some cool days so last Saturday I made a massive apple pie. I also made a carrot cake using ingredients I had on hand. The pie is gone now but we still have some cake left.  The cake is good without any frosting too(though Daughter made me frost it).

*  Bath & Body Works had a semi-annual 75% off Sale earlier in June plus I had a $10 off $40 coupon to use.  I decided to pick up some Xmas presents.

$5 for $13 lotion and body washes for someone on my shopping list.
This Aromatherapy line at BBW hardly ever goes on sale for so cheaply. It was awesome to pick up for that price.
I also treated myself to some body wash and a candle.
7 items in total for under $40 after shipping and tax.

*  Our deck swing's awning is a rough shape.  It's old and I've already repaired it a couple of years ago.  I need the shade of that awning in the Summer to sit on the swing to not get burned up.

Before--

And here's the After--

It's not a great looking repair but if it holds up for the season I'll be happy if we can get one more Summer out of this swing and awning.  I can't remember exactly but we bought the swing the year we had the deck put up so it's at least 10 years old?.....maybe older.  Glad we have gotten our monies worth out of it at any rate and happier still not to have to shell out money for a new one yet.


*  I've been picking up household/food items for College Boy's apartment needs when he goes back to school in August.  By fitting them into my weekly shopping money/budget it won't seem such the money stretch if I were to wait and buy all what he needs/wants the week before we pack him off.

So far in June I have..........
2 skillet dinner kits
2 dish soap
1 bottle bathroom cleaner
6 bags of coffee
2 bottles of ketchup
8 boxes of cereal
3 boxes of lotion tissues

This doesn't count the stuff I already have for him like; tp, detergent, reg. tissues, shampoo, deodorant, trash bags, paper towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes,etc.  You get the idea.
I should sit him down and make a needs list now and populate it with the stuff we still need to procure to take back to college with him so I have something to work off of once we return from our road trip in August.....if there is still anything we need to get at that point.

*  I sent away for this freebie.........

A coupon for a free bottle of iced tea.
We can always find a use for free iced tea here. ;-)

*  So glad I had the Hubs put in at least some of a garden while I was in VA.  It's been growing well(except for the green bean plants)and the maters and cukes have opened blossoms now.

Before--end of May

After--end of June

And some of the yellow squash plants I started in the half barrels at either end of the garden bed sprouted and are also growing now.  Free fresh home grown veggies are awesome, aren't they?

That's about it for here for frugal lately.
What's been going on around your house?


Sluggy

Frugal Friday....Wins & Losses

Here are some things I did this week that were frugal......

* I didn't buy into the marketing of Valentine's Day and spend money on "stuff".  Heck I didn't even go out the day after and get 50% VD stuff to use next year.  We have never been a big fan around here of made up holidays(not that ALL holiday aren't made up really). Ok, call them "Hallmark Holidays" then. ;-)  Hubs used to buy flowers for me but I told him to save the money years ago.  At that time we were struggling financially with three small children and it was an unnecessary added expense we didn't need.  We got out of the habit of spending cash on that one and a few others.  We do show our love to each other in other ways that don't cost of cash.

* I had bought this at the end of December at Rite-Aid(using Plenti points, not cash).....

It was $11.23 in PPs and I had a Try Me Free Rebate for it that was sent away for.
Last week, I received a check for $11.23......

And the pay to the order of name is wrong!  Well the last name is correct but my bank knows me so it's all good. ;-)

*  I did all our laundry during the off peaks hours of 5 pm to 7 am this week, or on the weekends which is also off peak hours 24/7.

* I went to Rite-Aid and brought all this home for no money.......

Not only was this all free but I'll get paid cash to buy it when the rebates come in. 8-)

* Speaking of rebates--I sent for two mail away rebates totaling $14.62 and claimed 4 SavingStar and Checkout51 rebates on products I bought this past week, netting me another $7.50. (The $7.50 in rebates have already been received into those accounts too.  The mail aways will take longer.)

* My Kohl's Visa Debit Reward came in the mail finally....

This was for 5 rebates on items bought at Kohl's around Black Friday last November.  I made sure to keep the boxes and cut off the UPCs, save the packing slips(bought online, not in the store so no receipts), and print off the rebate form, and then document everything before mailing the paperwork off at the end of December.
The card is for $60.  While this isn't free money I won't be spending it on wants or physicall things I'd like to have.  It will go toward my grocery budget in the coming months instead of using paycheck income.

* I only made 1 trip to the grocery store(so far)this week and spent $28.68.  I usually hover around $100 in spending for groceries per week.  I've been trying to eat down some of our stockpile and frozen assets instead.

* This item isn't something I gained this past week exactly, but I am putting them into play now.....

Back in December Weis(PMITA)Markets put gift cards on Raise dotcom.  Usually the only Weis cards that show up on that gift card exchange site are from customers unloading gift cards they don't want for cash and they are usually for very small amounts, under $100(usually the balance of a card someone has used already but doesn't want to finish).  As such very few Weis gift cards are even offered up there.
But I found pages of listings for high value gift card being offered back in December.  Although it raised my credit card spending in December(and how WANTS to spend more at the Holidays on their credit card? lol)I went ahead and bought two cards worth $160 for $144 each.  Just doing that means I will save 10% off the top on the groceries I purchase with these cards.  Add in that I almost always buy items only when they are on sale and if I can pair that item with a coupon I will.  The savings exponentially grow doing this(discounted gift card compounded with sale prices and coupon savings).

So I dug out these Weis gift cards and now have them in my coupon pouch and am ready to use them.  As I have already paid for these anything bought with them will not 'cost' me anything going forward.

* I basically stayed at home other than the Rite-Aid trip and the Weis Markets trip this week.  Hubs and I ate leftovers for lunches.

And here are the Frugal Fails of the Week....

* We found someone to plow our driveway last weekend after our 8+ inch snowstorm.  He did a decent job and it cost us $40.  I hate to spend money on this chore but it's a necessity for us at our age and with Hubs out of commission for shoveling.

*  Hubs talked me into going out to eat on Wednesday(the day after VD).  He wanted to get out of the house plus I wanted to break from cooking.  We went to our local Bob Evans.  The food is decent there and not highly priced(plus do I have to mention that I had a coupon? lolz)and the service is good.

Ok, so I did make this meal out sorta frugal by using a coupon and bringing half my dinner home to eat for lunch the next day.
I guess I just can't help myself! 8-)))

What did you accomplish this week that was frugal?

Sluggy

Current State of the Stockpile

I am lucky in that I have lots of room to maintain a stockpile of goods bought at low prices for our use.

My Daughter's old bedroom is now a spare bedroom AND my stockpile room for HBA & TP.

I have 2 dressers filled with products.......

 3 of the 5 drawers with items in it.  I can't pull them all out at the same time or the dresser would fall over!

6 drawers on this dressers overflowing with products.

The top of the dressers are also filled....

Only half of the tall dresser is filled as my boxed up coo coo clocks are sitting up there too.

The top of the book shelf is also filled.....

And there is a plastic tub in the hall closet too with mouthwash, razors and saving cream.......

Plus there are bags I still haven't found room for.....

That plastic purple tub above has product piled on top of it too! lolz

And this doesn't count anything I have bought at Rite-Aid since Sunday....... 8-)))

I need to spend down my remaining +Up Rewards and take a break from Rite-Aid for a few months as I am out of room! ;-)

Do you stockpile goods?
Do I need to apply to be on that Extreme Couponing Show? lolz

Sluggy


 

Lackluster Rite-Aid Week

2 x Clear Men's Shampoo $7.49 w/Gold discount $5.99=$11.98
2 x Clear 3oz. Shampoo $2.49 w/Gold discount $1.99=$3.98
1 x Keri Hand Lotion (raincheck price b4 Xmas)=$.99
1 x Cella cherry w/Gold discount=$.26 *not pictured, eaten*
SubTotal.....$17.21

Coupons Used
2 x $3/1 Peelie Clear Men's Shampoo(on bottles)=$6.00
2 x Free Item Clear 3oz. Shampoo VV/AdPerksQ(deducted full $2.49 price ea.)=$4.98
1 x $2/1 Keri Lotion IPQ(from Dec. was stapled to raincheck when procured)=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$12.98

$17.21-$12.98=$4.23

I used $4+Up Rewards and put the .23¢ on my gift card.
I received back $7+ Up Rewards for buying $15 in Clear products.

My 50th Anniversary Promo tracking is now at $48.41(only the .99¢ Keri qualified).
I am still missing my Sharpie marker spending on my total.
But I guess it really doesn't matter because I am NOT getting to $100 of spending/tracking by the 26th.

I might just use my $11.50 in +Ups tomorrow and buy 2 large packs of TP, as the Scot is on sale.  Betwwen +Ups, Sale price and 2 Qs I have, I'll have to "spend" about $1.06 on my gift card.
TP is something we can use/need and I'll be out of +Ups so I can stop Rite-Aiding for a few months.

The deals at Rite-Aid are few and far between for me lately and I am just worn out and need a break.

I know everyone will miss these R-A posts.....LOLOL

Maybe I should hold a lottery and everyone can guess how long I can go before I go back to Rite-Aid? ;-)

This trip to Rite-Aid--
OOP....$0.00
Value of items.....$29.08
+Ups coming into this trip....$8.50
+Ups used....$4.00
+Ups earned......$7.00
+Ups at the end.....$11.50

 
**GRAND TOTALS FOR JANUARY-so far**

Out Of Pocket....$0.00  cash
Value of items bought.....$139.89
Savings Rate of  100%
Rebates due......$16.99(Neosporin 2x)
Savings Rate after Rebates.....100 %

+Ups at beginning of month...$32.50+
+Ups used....$37.00+
+Ups received...$16.00+
+Ups currently...$11.50+  


Sluggy

$20K Savings Challenge.....NOVEMBER Update

Ok, here is my NOVEMBER Savings Challenge Update post for 2012.

This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against "unconscious" spending.

Just to update, My Savings Goal for the Year in 2012 is $20,000.  It's well below what I've saved in previous years I know.  But we also have a goal of paying for 4 home improvement projects at Chez Sluggy this year.  We plan on cash-flowing these projects with the additional money we save and/or our income tax refund.
Our background info--We are a family of 5(kids are 21-16)with one living away from home.  We have 2 dogs. We own 4 cars at present and live in/own free & clear a 4 bedroom house in a small town.

On to the November report.....

I have posted my NOVEMBER End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up November in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of November with?.......$6,762.91

Income
We had $6,752.37 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted. 

Add in a teeny bit of interest at $.54 from the interest bearing checking account and a rebate check worth $10.00 and it brought our gain to $6,762.91 for November.

Outgo

As for the expenses this November......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

* The water bill was the same as last month.

* The credit card bill decreased by $270.
* The cash withdrawals were $50 lower.

*  Music lessons went down.

And the big one....

* There were NO car maintenance/repair bills in November.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The medical/dr. bills were $125 higher than last month.

*  The electric bill went up by $72, mostly due to the heat being on fulltime now.

The Food Budget costs for NOVEMBER are in another post, which is located HERE. 

We managed to stay within our $400 food budget in November.

YEAR-TO-DATE GRAND TOTAL.....
With 11 months behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2012 is at  $26,351.38!

We have hit our target for the year and then some.  That 3 paycheck month in November put us well over the top.

And there is one more month to go!   Even though we have passed the Challenge Goal, I'm going to keep with it to the end of the year.  Maybe I can add another thousand or two to my Grand Total for 2012.
 ***************
I'm so happy we hit the Goal before we end the year.  We were lagging behind on the targets for each month so many times earlier in the year.
And don't think I didn't have one BIG URGE to just take that extra 3rd paycheck in November and not count it and put it toward this savings challenge!
With Christmas so close, I could have seen myself take that big wad of paycheck cash and blow it on one massive Mother Of All Christmas Spending Sprees!  Like a blast from the shopping/Xmas spending past it would have been!
So sweet.....especially with where financially things are heading for us little guys after we jump off the fiscal cliff in 2013 and beyond.  It would have been a last hurrah of blatant consumerism, right? ;-)

But I kept it together and didn't go back to those old ways and kept my grimy little fingers off that check and sent it to savings to keep us that much more solvent in the coming years.
It's not as flashy and fun but it helps me sleep well at night, which is worth all the new trinkets and gadgets in the world. 8-)

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

As for a look ahead at DECEMBER.......

*  No irregular bills are due this month.

*  Normal monthly bills only are expected.
*  We may have a car repair bill this month.

Be sure and check back with me after 2012 ends on our final tally for this Savings Challenge.  Let's see if I can run through the tape at the finish line! 8-)

So how was your November financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
How much of your income did you save in November?  And did you use it to pay down debt or build your Emergency Fund?

Even if what you are able to save each month doesn't look like a lot of money, figure out what percentage of your income you saved.  You might feel that it's a more substantial amount in those terms!

We saved approx. 74% of our take home income in November.  My goal is to shoot for 50% each month but that extra paycheck made my percentages shoot quite high.  It's too bad I can't get it that high in a normal month.  We do have 2 kids in college and another one headed there in another 18 months.....so we NEED to be saving like crazy.

But most months aren't this insanely good.

Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.
Did you have debt you were able to pay on?
Did you pay off a car, a house or a credit card?
Did something financial blow up on you last month?
What are you doing financially to change your life?

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

Sluggy

Frugaled Out, The Weekend Plans & Songs for a Friday

Like I was just commenting to SonyaAnn over on her blog today, I think I've lost my Frugal Gene.
Ok, maybe just hidden it away somewhere.
I haven't hunted a deal in ages really.
As for hitting up lots of different grocery stores for deals?.....hasn't happened in months and months.
The deals just aren't good enough to get me to drive all over the place.  It just seems a big waste of my time and gas, what with the current prices of that! ugh

I stay in town except on rare occasion and buy at Weis PMITA Market or the ShurSave affiliate independent market.
And if I use a coupon it's a fluke.
And no Rite-Aid still.  The last trip to Rite-Aid was in MARCH.....almost 2 full months ago!
I know some of you are whoozy at that news and need to sit down.lol

But I still don't need any more toiletries.  We are still going strong on my big big stash of those.  So there is no point buying more, even if it's practically free, right? ;-)

I've got some +Ups sent from corporate(for ones that didn't print)I have to use by the end of June so I know I'll be heading back there next month.  But other than that, I'll be laying off of Rite-Aid until the Fall.

I've still got a huge Toiletries stockpile.
I've still got a huge toilet paper stockpile.
I've still got a huge laundry detergent stockpile.
I've still got a decent household cleaners(including hand washing dishes soap/dishwasher soap)stockpile.

As for the food stockpile it's getting leaner and meaner every day.
Lots of pasta, tomato products, peanut butter, spices, canned fruit, hot cocoa, coffee, oatmeal, canned soup, rice, ketchup, mustard, dry soup mix and olive oil.
Using up stuff I no longer stockpile like salad dressing, barbecue sauce, cold cereal, jelly, etc.
I'm going out in the garage this weekend and reorganizing it all.

You are all thinking I am crazy to want to spend a Holiday working in my garage, but since it's suppose to be in the mid to high 80's here, the garage will be the coolest place to be in my house! lol
Plus the kids won't want to be anywhere near the garage working so I'll have some peace and quiet too.
A win/win situation if ever there was one.

If Hubs gets the pool ready I'll probably spend some time in that too, pretending it's not too cold still to swim in it.
No other plans really.
Just sit around and relax, do a few things around the house and drink a few adult beverages this weekend.

I hope you do something you want this weekend too.
I'll leave you with this musical interlude.

Here's a band I used to like a lot in the past.  They started out in Ohio but early on in their musical development they spend a good deal of time in my old stomping grounds in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which includes the southside metro area of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Va. Beach and Newport News, Hampton, Yorktown and Williamsburg on the peninsula side.

The band is Blessid Union of Souls, or Blessid Union as they refer to themselves now.  They gained popularity in the 1990's and had a Top Whatever Hit you might recognize which is the 2nd clip below.

The first clip is my favorite song of theirs called "Oh Virginia".  It's a homage to their time there. 
If you google it you can find a music video they did for it but it's fairly lame.  I think their record label at that time put about $8.57 into the production budget for it. ;-)
So I am featuring a live rendition they performed at a gig in Tennessee instead.

There is a longish harmonica solo which isn't part of the song, but the guy is very good.  The mouth organ gives the tune a very 1990's flavor so much so that you expect Blues Traveler's John Popper to jump up from behind an amp.

The guitarist also does some crazy riffs and if I'm not mistaken I heard some Jimmy Page "Misty Mountain Hop" in there, which segued into the beginning of  the Kinks "You Really Got Me" intro.

Ok, so nobody knows WHAT I am talking about so I'll just shut up and bring on the tunes.
Crank it up, put your hands together and Enjoy!!!

And have a great weekend!

Oh Virginia


Hey Leonardo!

Sluggy

A Rite-Aid Quickie......Last Saturday!

Hubs drove me up to Rite-Aid after we shut down the Stockpile Sale at noon on Saturday.
Here's what I spent my expiring $4 in +Up Rewards on....

No nit-icky breakdown 'cuz the sale week is over.
I had an old raincheck for the plates($1.97)so with the $2 in Qs, each package was .97¢.  The juice was $2 after the $1 wellness AdPerks/VV Q.
My total with cherry filler at .26¢(see it on the top of the juice bottle?lol) came to $4.20.  I used the $4 in +Ups and put the .20¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey!

Tuesday is the last day for the July Single Check Rebate Period and I 'might' get to Rite-Aid then so I won't close out the totals for July yet.


 THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.20 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$13.60
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$0.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$4.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$22.50
And I have $38.49 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--JULY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......12
Total Spent....$3.25 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....77
Value of Items purchased....$364.58
SCR qualified for....$22.38
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for July SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 7/18.....$26.50
+Up Rewards spent....$98.69
+Up Rewards earned....$63.88
+Up Rewards left....$22.50  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

Be Careful......Frugality Can Turn You Into Sheldon!

I guess being frugal comes naturally to nerds. All that math involved in doing deals and the logical reasoning that stocking up exemplifies.

So call me a nerd.....I don't mind.

If you consider yourself a Frugalista, go watch this clip and tell me you don't "get" Sheldon.



Sluggy-who has a 2 year supply of toilet paper & would have more if she had the room for it