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

Frugal Friday....the May 14th Edition on Saturday

 Frugal wins this past week, May 7th to May 13th........

*  Well it was bound to happen.  While on vacation we hit an Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!).  So as soon as I got home I got a 15% off flyer in the mail. lolz  Potential savings for my next trip to Ollie's?  Perhaps....

*  Hubs and I went to Target last weekend to do the Spend $20/Get $5 Gift Card deal, as well as pick up a few items to finish my Ibotta Weekend Bonus.  The trip turned into a clusterfuck!
Since my knee was messed up I took advantage of those electric shopping carts rather than keep walking on it and let me tell you it was great!  The problem came when I went to check out as I used a self-checkout.  The employee working that area saw me in that electric shopping cart and came right off to give me "assistance" which I didn't need.  I guess she figured I was a doddering old lady so she took over scanning my items and must have had 5 Red Bulls that morning because she was moving like "The Flash", pushing buttons and ringing stuff up before I could do my coupons, etc.  I was dizzy and wondering what just happened and ended up using all my free gift cards to pay that were in my Target wallet and then OWED another $6.07.
WTF???
So we went over to the customer service desk to hash these mangled transactions out.

These(except for the chocolate bar)were my 2 Spend $20/Get $5 GC transactions.  Total before Q was $44.33(excluding the chocolate).  I had $6 in digital Qs and I had $8 in  paper Qs that I didn't get to use so I got back $8 in cash at the desk.  I also got $12 in Ibotta rebates(should have been $16 but the Banana Boat rebates disappeared from my account before I got home and submitted the receipt. sigh

And $10 in Target gift cards was received so it "cost" me $8.33 in gift cards(or was suppose to).

Then the steaks......I found 2 discounted nice steaks which were BOGO50% off and had $5 off peelie Qs on them.  I had rung one up before the Red Bull employee came over and just took over my checking out process.  Not only had she not deducted that $10 off my bill but she rang up 1 of those steaks again so the receipt said I bought 3 steaks but clearly only two were in my bag.  So I got another $10 in cash for those 2 coupons and a $8.87 Target gift card as that was the price the phantom 3rd steak rang up and I had used gift cards to pay so I got that overcharge back on a new gift card.

I will still keep that $6.07 in cash I "spent" on my grocery tracking since the $18 total in post coupon cash went into my envelope for that and will be added back into the food budget at the end of the year and I'll account for the $8.87 gift card whenever I used it in the future.  Good times, good time! lol

*  I found money!

A penny on Friday when I went to Rite-Aid for an Rx.

This dime at the same R-A on Saturday when I did some "bringing stuff home from the store".

Another dime later that same day at Weis(PMITA)Markets when I went to get the freebie on Ibotta-Artisan Flatbread.  It was lying in the middle of the floor in the self-checkout area.

There was this penny near the register at the R-A I call the "Clueless Store".  Both times now when I have presented one of those "Spend $50/Get $15 back in BC" Qs it hasn't worked because they didn't scan it.  As a result I have now $30 in cash instead of Bonus Cash for their ineptitude.  Would rather have it in cash anyway and now I also have a nice shiny penny too! ;-)

I found both this dime and penny in the parking lot at the "Suspicious Rite-Aid".  I don't enjoy going there since it's the furthest R-A away that I frequent but I go there because it's a LARGE store and I can find stuff there I can't find at other R-As plus it's super clean.  Except the parking lot has money in it. lolz  I call it the "Suspicious Store" because the cashiers inspect every coupon you try to use and if you end up getting back more BC than you spend they will go over your receipt like it's Nazi Germany and you are presenting your papers for inspection.  What one has to do sometimes to beat the system.....

Total Change Found This Week.... .33¢
Total Change Found This Year......$3.72

*  Hubs and I hit the Produce Outlet on Wednesday and got fresh produce(10 lbs taters, 2.5 lb. squash, 2 lb. strawberries, 1 lb. carrots, etc.), canned OJ, a 2 lb bag of frozen veggies, 2 packs of bacon, 1 lb. of frozen salmon, a pack of creamed spinach, 4 pot pies, a bag of lettuce, a huge can of corn, a lb. of Whole Foods dried cranberries and a WF chocolate brioche plus 2 other items I can't identify from the receipt for $30.41.  I figure it's all more than 50% off regular retail at Whole Foods or Weis or whatever other retail grocer around here(not that we have a Whole Foods within 100 miles of us).  We got great value for that $30.41.

That's about it this week other than all my Rite-Aid hauls which I'll talk about later this weekend.  There were 4 different Spend $50/Get $15 Bonus Cash codes again this sales week.  Yum!

What frugal wins did y'all have lately!?

Sluggy

A Little More Rite-Aid & My Trip to the Surplus Outlet

I had 2 more $3/1 Cover Girl Qs so I went out yesterday and used them........

1 x Axe body wash 20% Wellness disc.=$4.63
1 x Axe body wash clearance=$1.44
1 x CG mascara clearance=$1.49
1 x CG eyebrow pencil 20% Wellness disc.=$3.83
SubTotal.........$11.39

Coupons Used
2 x $3//1 CoverGirl IPQ=$6.00

I also had the $1/2 Axe RA In-Ad Q but it's a beeper and the cashier decided that it beeped because one of my Axe items was on clearance so she wouldn't accept it.  WTF???
I know she was WRONG! but I didn't press the matter because this wasn't "my" store and some of these other stores have irrational "rules" and make shit up and I was just, "whatever, I don't care" at this point in my day.  I "could" go up to my store and show them the Q and my receipt(the fact that it was forgotten)and get a $1 post coupon.

Anyway, at this point my total after the $6 in Qs used was $5.39 +.33¢ tax=$5.72 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $9.00 in new BC($4 wyb2 Axe, $5 wyb2 CoverGirl)so even with the $1Q kerfuffle this was a $3.28 moneymaker.


So I wanted to talk about my Surplus Outlet from last Saturday.
If you have one of these types of stores(salvage/overstock/overruns/etc.)for food and household items it would behoove you to get it a look.
They are much like a treasure hunt since they have no regular inventory so you never know what types of items and what brands you will find.
Some of the items in these stores will be nearing their shelf life expiration(this won't apply for non-food items)so be aware of the difference of  "sell by" dates, "best if used by" dates and "expiration" dates.  Go HERE for some information on the difference and links to more FAQs.
I always use my own common sense and judgement(knowing the difference between all these labels)and always check the dates on anything I buy here.

I had a short list of items I specifically was looking for-tomato paste, a special cream cheese spread, panko and coffee for Hubs.  The kids have pretty much used up his coffee supplies and now are under orders not to use his coffee but to buy their own.  I am tired of the pressure of hunting deals on coffee and paying for their coffee in my grocery budget. lolz

This is what we picked up.........

Colavita Greek EVOO, 25.5 oz bottles for $2.99  This brand is reg. price of $10 or more for this size in the grocery stores around here.

I already talked about this deal-boxes of Knorr sides and meal starters for $1 per box(8 packets per box).  A tremendous deal!

A large bag of Martha White brand Corn Meal Mix for .89¢.  You don't often find this brand here up North but I grew up using it.

2 x 4 lb. bags of Yuban brand whole bean coffee for $8.99 per bag.  That comes out to $2.25+/- per lb.  Yuban is a brand Hubs knows and likes and being whole bean rather than ground the freshness will be better.

6 x Jet-Puffed marshmallow creme @ .50¢ per jar.  Still in date too.  I use this stuff in my Xmas fudge(well, one of the recipes I used)and it retails in the $1.69 range around here, rarely going on sale.

3 x Panko bread crumbs @ .79¢ each.
I prefer using Panko over reg. bread crumbs for breading meats/fish over regular bread crumbs(that is still the preference in meatloaf filler or corn flakes).  Panko can be ridiculously if not on sale for something that is just bread crumbs.

6 x small cans of tomato paste @ .15¢ per can.  In hindsight, I should have bought more than 6. 8-(
Tomato paste is ubiquitous in much of what I cook here.  I prefer small cans over large ones.

A 2 lb. bag of Jasmine rice for .89¢. This goes for at least double that at the grocery stores here.
And my "best" find was that 3 lb. tub of Philly cream cheese spread w/veggies for $2.99.

I have a favorite cream cheese spread made by John F. Martin(a Lancaster PA company)with roasted red peppers in it.  LOVE to eat this with celery as a snack or as a meal replacement.  The only place I can find it is at the Surplus Food Outlet and then, only infrequently.  I had hoped they'd have some on this trip but they didn't. 8-(((

The only other place I've seen this is at a Shursave Markets in Wilkes-Barre but they charge waaaay too much for it at their deli counter.

So I had a flash of brilliance LOLZ, got the 3 lb. tub of Philly and found a jar of roasted Italian style red peppers for $1.49 on the shelf at the Outlet.  Brought them home, put the peppers in the blender, then mixed that up with the Philly and voila!.....Cream Cheese w/Roasted Red Peppers, 3+ lbs. of it for a grand total of $4.48. 8-)))

I am off to make some cookies now. 
The Holiday Spirit is sloooooowly returning to me.  Thanks for everyone's comments the other day about my missing mojo and the crazy pill issues.

I went to the beer distributor yesterday while  I was out using up those Qs at Rite-Aid and bought a bunch of craft beers for the family and that seems to have picked up my "spirits"....pun intended.

I was standing in the store contemplating how I ever got to the point that I was Christmas shopping for my family(kids included)in a liquor store.  I didn't know whether this was s sad commentary on our life or funny as hell, picturing what my parents would have thought of this.

 Heck, from now on I'll just load the Xmas tree up with beer and wine for gifts as the family seems to appreciate that more than most anything else I give them plus it's easier on me. lolz

Have a great day even if you have to venture out on "Panic Saturday" as they are calling it.

Me?  I hope to stay home for the duration except for our traditional Christmas Eve Chinese Food dinner out.

Sluggy

A Few Good Deals from Weis

I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday rather than Wednesday due to weather issues that were suppose to happen on Wednesday.

Here are a few good deals I got.....

* Barber chicken was on sale 3/$10.  I used 2 x $1/1 IPQs(there are also ManuQs available)and paid $4.67 for 2 packages of 2 or $1.17 per portion. (I don't buy this often as it's a splurge for us.)

* Eight o'Clock coffee was BOGO this week(and next week as well).  I had a $2/2 CatalinaQ to use so paid $3.49 for 2 bags of coffee or $1.74 per bag.(I also got a $3 off 3 bags CatalinaQ when I paid.)

* Select Progresso soups were .77¢ a can this week.  Using 2 x .50¢/2 ManuQs(which doubled to $1 off each)I paid $1.08 total for 4 cans or .27¢ can.

* And the best deal was the Andouille Sausage which was on sale for $2 per package(reg. $4 per package)and this one had a $1 instant meat discount sticker on it, so I paid $1 for a lb. of sausage.

These items along with others came to a total of $28.68 OOP, with a reg. retail of $78.64. I saved 62% on it all.

I'll take that rate on groceries all day long! lolz

I also will be getting $2.50 back in SavingStar rebates for the 4 cans of soup($2)and for Nature Valley granola bars(.50¢)I bought for the daughter's lunches.

Sluggy

Hijinx on A Holiday Weekend....How Boring Can I Be?!

Oh such a thrilling holiday weekend we had here!

First off,
Happy "Not Really Your Birthday Yesterday" ML King!
Why can't we celebrate them on the actual dates?
Oh right.....people want it as an excuse for a 3 day weekend.
Happy Birthday anyway Dr. King.  You helped move mountains.....

Since snow is in the forecast for this week here, Hubs and I went out to Walmart on Sunday.
Now I haven't been in a Walmart in a couple of years if I recall correctly.
Though it's a fine place to people watch, it's also very crowded at ours no matter the day and time and not such a great place for bargains anymore(at least in regards to what I buy, which besides food isn't much of anything anymore).  Plus it's all the way down the mountain in the big city, so I just don't find myself going there anymore.

But.....
I had bought a $100 Walmart gift certificate the December before last(you got a free $10 bonus gift certificate for buying it at that time)and I still hadn't used the larger of the 2 gift certificates, so I thought it was about time I go spend it.  I figured that Hubs would have used it by now(it's been over a year at this point)but he didn't, so we ventured in.

I picked up a t-shirt I had been wanting and 3 packages of underwear for myself.  That took care of $39 of the $100.
We picked up 3 multi-packs of light bulbs in a wattage we were out of.

The rest of the certificate, about $52 was spent on foodstuffs--quick meal and snack items #2 Son wanted(which used a big chunk of it), coffee filters and liverwurst for Hubs, fresh fruit and veggies, frozen salmon fillets, and 2 packages of cheese filled wonton appetizers I wanted to try(which I had a coupon to use).
Man, that $50+ went fast! 8-(

I stocked up on 4 containers of their brand of olive hummus which is cheaper than the name brands at my 2 grocers, and I can extend by mixing in the garbanzo beans and tahini I have at the house.

We ended up having to pay $3.35 OOP, including the $.51 tax on the light bulbs(no tax on clothing or food here) so I am pulling that $3.35 out of the misc. spending budget.

While I was in Walmart, every corner I turned, I was reminded of JUDY .........

     Stacks of Judys!

A couple of "blocks" later.....

Judy roaster hybrids....on clearance even!  These might be a good idea for using in the summer months out in your garage or on a patio to cook a bird or roast.  You wouldn't heat up your house(make your A/C work harder than it has to=use more electricity)and it would be more energy efficient than running your big old oven.  I'd try to find one used at Sallie's or GW first though for cheaper....

And then on the main aisle toward the women's clothing......Fancy "Judys".....

These "hook up" things are such a waste of money!  $49 for one little crockpot(or a unit with 2 even smaller in one unit ones).  I guess if you were more interested in how these look out on a buffet or table for a party than in how much crock you got for the money, these would fill that need.
I certainly wouldn't buy these E.V.E.R. though.

Then I stopped over by the Valentine's crap aisles for this shot......

You know, NOTHING says LOVE like Skulls and Guitars......or half nekkid men trying to inflict pain on other half nekkid men by wrestling them into submission.
Ok.....depending on who you are and your fantasies, perhaps the last half of that statement does have some merit..... 8-)))

And as we packed up the car and left I snapped this photo of one of our local asshats.....

First off, this idiot has parked his car in the stripe marked part of the lot next to the handicapped space so someone with a handicap ramp in their van can get their wheelchair out.  This is NOT a parking space folks!  Not only that, but there was no handicapped parking sticker or tag on the vehicle.  They also left the car running and you can see there is a child in the backseat, left alone in the car.  She looked to be about 4 or 5 years old and was making the window go up and down, over and over again.  We sat there for about 1 minute watching, and didn't see any adults go over to the car.
And if someone were to get into that running car(accessed through the opened window that the kid was playing with)and drive off with that child, I would totally hold that kid's parent or whoever was suppose to be supervising her at that time responsible.
What a maroon!

I cooked a gotten on sale for .99¢ lb. Turkey Breast dinner on Monday, complete with stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, au jus gravy and cranberry "glop" Monday afternoon.  Now we have leftovers for my lunch sandwiches and another "planned over" casserole meal this week.

Earlier on Monday, I helped Hubs start a batch of beer......

This took way longer than I anticipated, since it was his first try, so the process was sloooooow.
The next one(IF there is a next one)will be much quicker I hope, and maybe he won't need me there to hold his hand and talk him down off the ledge a few times. lolz

I now have a big tub of wort percolating Co2 away in the corner of my powder room and every time I go in there it's like walking into a brewery.
Fun!  8-)

Here's what's up for the rest of the week.......

* Going in to the lab for blood work.  After last week's extensive phone call with the insurance people, the lab people and the hospital billing people, I am curious to see what this is going to cost....ok, not exactly curious, possibly more like seething with anger over it. lol

* Filling my minivan's gas tank at Weis PITA Markets gas station.  I have run my tank down to just below 1/4 and have 90 gas points to use by January 25th(Saturday).  I'll probably go tomorrow since it's right across the parking lot from the lab I need to go to IF the snow isn't too bad.

* I'll be going up to the PO this week to stock up on 1st class stamps as the rate goes up .3¢ on Jan. 26th.  This is suppose to be a "temporary" increase for 2 years only, but we all know how sometimes things like this goes.  The government and big business have very short memories when it comes to promises. lolz
I still do use snail mail so I am taking some spare cash and "investing" it into some Forever stamps, at least enough to get me through 2 years.

* I'll be working on some Etsy listing drafts and photos and getting them ready to launch next Monday, after the rates go up.

* Going through old papers, shredding unneeded sensitive ones and getting my table ready to spread out the dreaded TAX PAPERS so I can start the 1040 and FAFSA.
Ugh.

* Later in the week I'll be going to Walmart(again!)to start the transferring of all the scripts I can.  Hubs can pick them up for me on his way home as it's right on his way, so I don't need to sit around and wait for hours.  After that, I'll just refill them via their website.

So what exciting things have you got planned for this week?

And be sure and leave me some birthday love on this post if you don't mind.
My family has decided to ignore me this year(not even expecting a cake from Hubs and he's working late most, if not all this week)and I ain't too proud to beg.  ;-)

I turn the dreaded Double Nickels today.
Upside is I can order off the Bob Evans Senior Menu now......yay me! lolz

If you could pick the perfect birthday meal and cake, what would it be??

Sluggy


 

Last Shopping Trip for June.....The Good & The Bad

Price Chopper(Northeast)has a Unilever Catalina Deal this week.
Buy $15 in select products(using reg. shelf price, not sale price), get a $5 Catalina.
You can buy 2 packs of the Dove Men's bar soap, on sale for $5.49(reg. shelf price of $8.49), use 2 x $4/1 Dove Men's soap ManuQs(from last Sunday's inserts) so the transaction looks like this....
2 x $5.49=$10.98-$8Qs=$2.98 + tax OOP, receive $5 Catalina Q.

Once you have the $5 Cat, you buy 2 more packs of that soap and at least $2.02 worth of meat/dairy/some other thing you want that you never have Qs for and you get it all for FREE(the 2 packs of soap and $2.02 of the other stuff you buy)& you get another $5 Catalina Q to keep rolling until you run out of the $4 Qs.

Well my Qs arrived in the mail yesterday so I ran to PC to use them.
The problem is there was not a bar of the Men's Dove soap left in the grocery store to buy!
Ugh.

So while I was there I snooped around and found a few other things to bring home.  Hey, I've already blown past my food budget limit for June, why not just add to the misery, right?lol

1 x frozen corn on sale=$1.00
3 x Pop-Secret popcorn on sale B1G2F=$2.99
5 x organic mult-grain flour Tortillas on sale $1.99=$9.95
3 x Hatfield hot dogs on sale B1G2F=$3.99
SubTotal....$17.93

Coupons Used
1 x $1/2 Pop-Secret ManuQ=$1.00
10 x .75¢ Instant dairy section discount stickers on the Tortillas=$7.50
1 x $2/1 any Hatfield item IPQ(Hatfield website)=$2.00
Coupon Total....$10.50

$17.93-$10.50=$7.43 OOP

Reg. retail was $36.89, for a 79.86% savings!

Analysis--The popcorn boxes and each pack of hot dogs came to .66¢ a piece with the sales/Qs.  Ok, they aren't Nathan's or Hebrew National, but these hot dogs are a mite better than Oscar Mayers! Suitable to feed the teenage son's hoard of friends that descends on the house in the summer.lol
The tortillas were a great buy!  The $1.50 in instant discount stickers on each package made them .49¢ per package.  Really good for organic and multigrain.  I'll tuck these into the freezer until they are needed. 
The package of corn was needed for that evening's dinner plan.

I'm headed back to Price Chopper in a little bit to see if the restocking truck did indeed arrive, as I was told it would.  If I don't end up being able to use these Dove soap Qs there, there is always Rite-Aid, right?lol

Sluggy