Frugal Friday......the October 11th Edition--On Sunday

Here's the frugaliciousness that went on this past week in Sluggy's World.......

*  I went to Weis a week ago this past Friday............

The tissues were the Friday Freebie that week.  Of course I picked out a purple box. lol

The Celentano items were BOGOFree and I used a Q as well.
The Asian items were all on 50% clearance as was the Mrs. Renfroe's salsa.

* On Saturday Hubs and I attended the annual church auction we go to each year near our house.

We got lots of restaurant, gas and car services, and a grocery store gift cards/certificates to places we frequent/spend money anyway.  We also won a gift card to a new to us pub we wanted to try.
We don't bid on many "things" anymore but Hubs did win a metric ratchet set as he only has the US type.  I won a basket of home canned relishes/jellies and a Dr. Scholl's foot spa thing(got it dirt cheap).
I don't know how much we saved on the reg. retail of these gift cards/things but I'll figure that out when I get home.
We kept the spending on this under $250 too.  I budgeted $300 so that was a win in and of itself.

*  I found money!

This penny was found under the Weis self-checkout machine I used on Friday.

And this penny was found in Rite-Aid when I went to pick-up an Rx.

This is my new to me computer bag.  Hubs had 2 of his old computer bags from work in the donate pile.  I asked Ex-CB if he could use one so he took the nicer one.  I also needed a better computer bag so I took this one that was left.
When I got to Ocean City and started unpacking my machine I heard a jingling noise in the pocket.

This .68¢ in change was in that pocket.  Hubs was going to unknowingly throw away this money!
It's a good thing I rescued that bag and this cash, right?

It also put me .68¢ ahead in the Found Money competition with Kim while in OC.
Kim was fit to be tied! lolz

I didn't find any more money until the end of our time in OC.  After Sissie went home Kim and I joined forces and had 'fun our way" and ended up splitting $1.64 in found change on Wednesday. 8-)))

Also on Wednesday I found 1¢ at Ollie's(the shiny one)and another 1¢ on the wooden walkway over the dune to the beach on Assateague Island(the sand encrusted one).
All together I am $1.54 richer for the week. ;-)

*  I got a good deal on the hotel room in Ocean City.  October is the off season but it's still really warm(I think it hit 80 degrees one day while we were there), the rates are about 1/4 of what they charge for an oceanfront balcony room and best of all, NO tourists!!!  You would know what a blessing this is if you have ever been to OC during the high season. lolz

                                The view from our balcony.

The room was a suite with a sofa bed, chair and tv in the sitting area and had a full kitchen.  We brought some groceries and hit a grocery store for more food so we didn't have to pay the outrageous OC prices at restaurants there(unless we wanted to).  The hotel had an indoor pool and a hot tub which we availed ourselves of most nights.
And we split the cost of the room 3 ways so it was quite affordable for everyone.

*  We hit the outlets.
Hubs and Ex-CB both wanted me to get them some shoes if I found good deals.  I found Hubs some Converse but they only had one pair in his size and they were running a BOGO50% sale there.

So I was forced to buy myself these awesome Crocs at that store and they were 50% off. ;-)

*  While stopping at Mickey D's to get Kim a Diet Coke on Wednesday I spied an old newspaper in an abandoned high chair in the dining room there.

There was a coupon insert in the bowels of that paper.  I took the insert since no one was there and the newspaper was abandoned.
A free Q insert?
Yes, please!

*  I received $1(for the Celentano items)in my Ibotta account last week.

*  I sold 2 items on eBay and shipped them out(well Hubs shipped one out for me)before going to OC.

This out of production afghan throw from the late 1990's.....I accepted an offer of $30 on it.

And this pair of new in the box, long discontinued style skater shoes, I listed at $125 and accepted an offer of $100 on.

Back in 2009 I hit a really good clearance sale on 6pm dotcom and bought Ex-College Boy 5 pairs of this color/style skate shoe in various sizes as his feet were still growing(as well as the rest of him).
When I dug out his old closet I found this pair that he never wore(I guess he got tired of this style/color after awhile lol)so I reclaimed them and put them on eBay.  This is a high end skate shoe company, the style was discontinued/retired years ago and they had been endorsed by an old skating pro so I knew I could sell them and make a few dollars.
The best part was I had only paid $10 for them on clearance so $100 was a really nice profit and one more thing outta my house!! 8-)))

That's all from here for the week.

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?
Let us know!

Sluggy

Recent Happenings at Chez Sluggy

Let's see.....what's been happening here at Chez Sluggy......these are in no particular order.

*  I've been getting some really strange comments lately.  One was in German(and I don't understand a lick of German)and linked to an anonymous blogger profile.  Another was really bizarre and talked about how the Illuminati can guide you to being rich beyond your wildest dreams.
OoooooKkkkkkk!?
I always know which are oddball comments or shameless commercial links because they are always left on a very old post.  Ok, almost always left on a long ago blog post.  ;-)

*  Last week when I smoked those ribs and that chicken I also smoked some potatoes.  McVal posted a recipe for a smoked potato salad eons ago that I wanted to try and I finally got around to smoking the potatoes for it.

 They smelled really good when they came out of the smoker.

And you can even see a smoke ring on them!  I didn't have all the ingredients however to make the recipe for the dressing in the recipe she sent so I just made the dressing like I always do and it was even yummier than the way I usually make my potato salad.

I did notice though that smoked potato salad is much better when it's WARM.  Eaten cold from the fridge later as a leftover, the potato skins seem tough for some reason....maybe smoking made the skins tough?  The next time I make this I'll just make enough for one meal and not plan on having any leftovers.....or I'll try it with the recipe ingredients(if I plan ahead and make sure I have everything for it).


*  I've also gotten more "we love your blog and we want you to link to us or we want to post something on your blog that will make us money somehow/somewhere else" emails.  I got another one that opened with "Dear Linda".  Um, I'm not Linda.
Remember the one I got in May HERE?  They also called me Linda.  Is there a Linda out there somewhere impersonating me? lolz

*  The local Bakery where College Boy worked part time during his last year of high school and where he hoped to work again this past Summer ended up closing it's doors this June.  Good thing he got another job for the Summer, huh?
Well a couple of weeks ago I drove past and the Bakery is back!

WTF?!  Same name/sign.  I wonder what happened?


*  I graduated from Physical Therapy.  rah! 
7 appointments and they gave me the boot.  Well insurance actually gave me the boot if you know what I mean.   Since this wasn't really addressing the current issue with my foot(but rather exercising and strengthening my ankle which was good but not necessary)I could have stayed home and gotten as well just as fast. lolz

*  I picked collards from my garden for the first time earlier this week.

This lot came to about 1.5 lbs.  I cooked them up for dinner on Wednesday and Hubs said, "So is that all of them?"
HA! 
"Hardly",  I replied.  I've got 6 plants out there and this is just the beginning of what they are going to yield.  I wanted to wait until the first frost to harvest them but I may have to go ahead and pick them all this weekend and put them up for Winter.

Cooked Collards are so much better when you can find them fresh, whole in the store or grow your own rather than buying the bagged stuff they sell.  The bagged, washed and chopped collards are always full of the big thick stems.  The companies don't de-stem them so your whole collard experience is spoiled by that IMHO.

*  Hubs and I went to that annual Church Auction fundraiser last weekend.

Here are the actual "things" we won......

A vacuum cleaner
A car/truck organizer
A miniature electric skillet
A basket of jams and vinegars
A car cd player lock(this was thrown in with a gift certificate I wanted, it was not wanted but I had to take it, and it will be going into my next Salvation Army donation)
A large warty pumpkin and a massive watermelon which aren't pictured.

I also won this print.........

It's a print of boat house row in Philly on the Schuylkill River by Carl Whitney Bucks.  It's part of a series on Philly and is framed nicely.  This would go for at least a couple hundred bucks in an art store.  I paid $16(and got Domino's discount Qs as well with it).
Now I just have to figure out where to hang it........


And now for the gift certificates we won.............

This is the reason we go, for the gift certificates to local businesses.
We got everything from pizza, to restaurants, to oil changes, to auto parts stores, to haircuts, to grocery store GCs.
Included in these gift certificates are a few things I am using for Christmas presents so a win/win!
We paid $320(it was less but I always round the amount on the check I write up)and received $600+ worth of goods and services.

* I spent a half an hour on the phone with the billing department where I had my cataract surgeries because the last bill I received from them made NO sense whatsoever to me!
What a PITA!!!  I must have sounded like a total idiot to the billing clerk but I was NOT getting off that phone without understanding what was going on with my bill.  It looked like I was double charged for something(which I had already paid 2 months ago) and none of what they claimed I owed lined up with anything on my EOBs from the insurance company.
In the end I found out when they charged a co-pay upfront for the surgery center facility charges it was WAAAAY under what they should have charged, and that I will most probably be getting billed for another facility charge for the 1st surgery back in April(which was also way under charged in the upfront co-pay)and that charge the insurance keeps denying and they are still appealing.  Very strange.
Anyway it ended up today that I still owed them $427 or so(and will probably owe another $427 once the appeals are done).  If insurance won't pay that appealed charge I will end up owing $1300 so I sure hope it gets straightened out!!!
It's bad enough I owe almost $1K I didn't realize was going to be due but owing $1700+ would be worse.
bleh.
So I wrote a check for the $427, put it in an envelope and stamped it.  You'll LOVE the stamp I chose to use to mail this to the Eye Doctor........

*snort* Ya, I am that gal!


*  I received a rebate check in the mail last week.............

When I shop online(on the rare occasions I do shop online)I use the cash back portal ShopAtHome dotcom.  You can cash out at $20 minimum.  I got an email from them in July that they were sending me a check(even though I didn't ask to cash out).  I wanted to wait until after the Holidays this year to cash out since I probably would buy some stuff online but not get at least $20 back in savings so I would let what I had accumulate some more and cash out Jan. 1st. 
Now if I buy anything online I'll have more rebate $ to carry over into 2016 and will have to wait even longer to be able to cash that out. Ugh.

Yes, I've used ShopAtHome almost 2 years now and this is the FIRST $20+ in rebates I have accumulated.  I told ya I don't shop online much! lolz

*  I've been doing Genealogical RAOK(Random Acts of Kindness)for folks online who don't have access to the documentation on Ancestry dotcom.  I sent a woman photos of the death certificates for her great grandparents this past week.  She said she had been searching for this information for years!
I found it almost instantly with a few keystrokes.
Piece.
O'.
Cake.

*  A follow-up to the Plenti Points snafu of last week.  I talked about going back to do the $10 in Points Deal on Pink Eye and Ring Relief products HERE (toward the end of that post).  Well I went online with Rite-Aid the evening of the day I bought those products and they only gave me $2 total in points instead of $20.  The online CS person couldn't do anything but have the District Manager call me on the phone in the coming days and in his words, "make me a happy customer". lol

I gave him the phone number but said I just wanted my points and I didn't want to have to talk to yet another person to get satisfaction and I ended the chat session.  And then I went back the next day to Rite-Aid and returned the products, got a refund in the form of points back in my account AND a partial refund on the gift card(they also yanked the $2 in points I got for buying the products).  And I thought this Crapfest was over with.

But on Monday evening the phone rang and it was the manager of my Rite-Aid.  I didn't pick-up the phone(I never do!lol)and he left a message that he was calling about the problem I had had at Rite-Aid over the points not generating.  Yes, they yanked/changed the deal and it now gave $1 in points not $10 in points and there is nothing he can do to put more points on my account.  So he was giving me a $10 R-A gift card for my troubles(even though I really think it should be for $20 as that was the amount of points that was the issue!)and it will be in the office and to just let a manager on duty know to get it for me the next time I was in the store.
I was picking up rxs last night and also picked up an envelope with this in it....

 

So it goes to show that it pays to complain when things don't go the way they should and you may get something.

And just to be a real bitch about this, here are 2 photos I took in the eye care aisle at Rite-Aid last night on my way to the pharmacy counter..........

 The shelf tag for the Ring Relief is STILL THERE!

The shelf tag for the Pink Eye Relief has been removed.
Soooo, instead of changing the sign and making it the correct 100 points they just took the whole thing down.

And you will plainly see that it states you get 1000 Plenti points still when you buy this item!!!
The next time I go to the store I think I'll whip out a pen and change the sign to reflect the correct amount of points just so no one else gets tricked by Rite-Aid.

So what has been happening in your world lately?

Sluggy
 

Weekend Happenings

               Last year's church auction goodies.

Since I don't have to go up to Rite-Aid today, whatever will I do with myself this weekend?!

It's rainy so no outdoor projects or the garage will happen at least today.

Hubs and I will be going to that annual local church auction this afternoon.  It's a fundraiser we attend every year for going on 6 or 7 years.
It's our regular October Date.
I get to be with my Hubs, spend money, get an adrenalin rush and buy stuff for cheap....what more could I ask for?
8-)

I posted a video about what I won last year in this post HERE.
It's a way to get stuff you need or want for cheaper.....and it helps the church pay it's bills.

Then I really do need to get some sewing done......at least cut some things out.
I have picked out fabrics and have my patterns made so I'll get to it this weekend.
Maybe...... ;-)

I've got leftovers still so no cooking today.
I've already viewed next week's grocery ads and between my main 2 stores there are only 4 items I want/need to pick up.
Next week is not a great week for grocery shopping here....at least for me.

Sunday starts a new week for my meal planning so I've gotten a start on figuring that out already.
Will work more on it this weekend.

I also need to change over my closet to Fall/Winter clothing and put the dresses which I usually wear in the Summer away.  The weather took a nosedive last night and the temperatures dropped significantly here.....and it's October already!?!
I should also start in on packing for our trip to Ocean City as it's coming up very soon.

After last week's Rite-Aid orgy my stockpile could use some reorganizing as well.
And speaking of stockpiles.....I need to gather another box of goodies for a giveaway.

Plus I have 2 dozen more fabrics to list in my Etsy shop.

And I could go to Rite-Aid on Sunday, since the new ad/deals start then, and do a transaction.

And if Sunday is nice Hubs and I could go for a ride somewhere together.

See?  I have lots of activities to participate in this weekend.

Or maybe I'll just stay in my pjs and take a nap or two......

What's on your plate this weekend?
Anything thrilling or out of the ordinary, or just the same old, same old stuff?

Sluggy

 

Weekend Hijinks....Not Very Hijinky

Is hijinky even a word? lol


My weekend has been low key and not fully what I had planned it to be.
Saturday was filled and we had ourselves an adventure, Hubs and I.

First off, we went to the Annual Church Auction down the road from us.  We go to this every year.
Besides the items you see(well you can see about 75% of the items)that people donate for this event, they auction off business donated gift certificates.  The gift certs. are mostly what I go for.  I bid on(and hopefully win!)certs. for local eateries & entertainment we go to, and services we use anyway(like car oil changes, pet boarding, etc.).  Spending some money now on gift certificates at less than full price, instead of paying full retail when we obtain the goods and services later, saves us a big chunk of change in the long run.

Here's a little video I made with all the certificates I won on Saturday.  I got quite a lot more certs this year than I usually win the bids on.
And forgive me when I keep saying this was FREE in the video.....I KNOW they weren't free as I did pay for them.  I just paid less now than I would have to pay otherwise at the store/business.
And the money goes to the church which makes me feel good.



I had a savings rate of 43% overall on what I spent vs. what I got.

*I really wanted that lamp in the photo for my new living room, but it went for something like $50(still less than retail at that)which was way over what I was willing to shell out of my pocket. ;-)

Then we headed over to KMart.
I had bought a folding camping table Saturday morning online before we left for the auction.
I need one for my shipping HQ(my online packages for eBay/Etsy) and for sewing(to cut fabric on)
since I no longer have a dining room table to do these things on.  And once I get a dining room table, we can always use a good portable banquet type table.
So I waited to get one that didn't fold in the middle at a sale price.

It was $39.99, $10 off.
I bought it online because I had a Get $5 off a $40 order coupon code so if I bought $45 in goods I got $5 off.
So I needed to add $5.01 in goods, which ended up being FREE with the coupon code.
I got diet fruity sodas for me and grape sodas for #2 Son.

Then we hit Weis PMITA Markets for some chicken deli meat for lunch sandwiches for me for the coming week and 2 Di Giorno's pizzas on sale for $5 and I had a $2/2 IPQ, making the pies $4 each.
Hubs made one for dinner Saturday and the other is for #2 Son to have some time this coming week for dinner or lunch, depending on his schedule.

Sunday isn't going nearly as well or as planned.
Judy and I were suppose to meet for lunch but she is too sick to make the trip to her sister's this weekend.
I guess it's all for the best since I woke up to my foot.....the good foot that didn't have the blood clot....very sore and not being able to put much weight on it.
Ugh.
If it isn't one thing, it's another, isn't it? 8-(

So we'll do the meet up/lunch date in a couple of weeks.
And no Judy, I am not bringing the giant zebra's ass with me to Denny's, just my own giant ass......

I think I strained a muscle on the right side of my foot because while the pizza was heating up Saturday evening, I went out into the yard to pick broccoli so I could make more Broccoli Soup.  The yard is sloped where I had to stand to cut the broccoli and I must have hurt my foot standing on that uneven ground.
Ugh again.
So there was no way I was getting into the car and driving to meet Judy today.
I've been hobbling around the house today trying to make that blasted Broccoli Soup and straighten things up a bit.  I've got to be well enough tomorrow since I have a 4 month checkup with my primary doctor Monday morning.  So after the soup is finished I am off the foot for the rest of the day.

So that's my thrilling weekend.
How has yours been?

Sluggy

What and How I Spent My Week

Well I can tell you what I didn't do this week......I didn't spend much money on anything other than food/paper goods! lol

I went to Rite-Aid early in the week, but that doesn't count because I don't actually spend money there, do I?
Hubs and I went to Big Lots last Sunday, as they had their 20% off Everything in the Store Day.
We stocked up on some food/paper goods, as they were cheaper there than even when they go on sale at the grocery stores around here.
That came out to $67.12.

Napkins(because we always need those), brown sugar(holiday baking ahead), and some canned goods.
I make no secret that I am not a big fan of canned foods, at least not canned veggies outside of corn and water chestnuts.  But tomato products, olives and green chilies are another story!  I like to keep these 3 types of products stockpiled.
Especially in the tomato arena, I love to keep paste on hand.  It's so handy...duh...on hand, handy...lol  I find tomato paste is the jack-of-all-trades in the kitchen.  It can be used in so many ways in so many dishes.  Why pay more for pizza sauce.....you've got a can of paste, garlic and spices and access to water?....you've got pizza sauce.  You need an easy sauce thickener?...tomato paste.  Need to extent a sauce to feed more?.....tomato paste.  Need to help or fix a meatloaf and out of tomato sauce?.....dilute some tomato paste and cover that ugly meatloaf.
If tomato paste was a person, I'd marry it. 8-)
I also love green chiles when I do Mexican style dishes(and even beyond Mexican).  But access to fresh chiles here in PA?  Not happening.  And those tiny cans in the grocery store?....You'd think they were filled with gold instead with what they charge.  So any time I can find them cheaply, I buy them.
I also picked up some cornbread mix and pancake mix cheap.  I know I can make my own mix just as cheaply, if not cheaper.  I buy these for my family to use or for when I am rushed to get something on the table.  I try to encourage the kids to cook things for themselves and if I have a box with directions on it that's already to pour out and use, they are more likely to cook it if they are hungry.  I should make up batches of my own pancake mix and such but as soon as I do it, the kids will never eat another pancake.
Seriously.....they would do that!  They drive me crazy that way.


I also picked up a few Christmas presents at Big Lots.  Now I need to spend some time going through what I have picked up through the year and start calculating where we stand with the Christmas budget for 2012.  That should keep me busy and out of the stores wandering around, being tempted to buy crap I don't need NEXT week.

I took #2 Son driving a bit this week, since he still needs hours of practice before he can take his driver's test for his license.  Of course we hit some cemeteries while we were out and I got some Find A Grave photo requests fulfilled and took some extra shots of headstones to pass along to other memorials on that site.
The only spending(other than on gas)was $3.39 for fast food for a starving 16 year old.  We justified it by calling it Drive-Thru Window practice.......

We got Chinese take-out on Thursday night for dinner.  There was $34 out of our Eating Out part of the budget.

Besides the Usual daily stuff I do, there was some working on stockpile organizing and some changing out the wardrobe to the Fall/Winter clothing.  Still have some items to go through with that.

We finished pulling up the garden this morning.  We had a severe frost last night so many of my Collards didn't survive but I was able to harvest a shopping bag full of the smaller leaves.

 I gleaned some Morning Glory seed pods that had dried out already, off those flower vines before Hubs yanked it from the deck railing too.
If I can get these seeds to germinate next Spring, that's a money savings.  Yay!

We'll be attending a local Church auction this afternoon.  I talked about that last year HERE.  I'm hoping to get some more goodies this year.  Wish us luck bidding! 8-)

Other than a quart of milk I had Hubs bring home, I've spent $0 at the grocery stores this week.  And we've eaten at home 6 out of 7 days.  Tonight is a frugal pasta and sauce dinner plus leftover veggies in the fridge.  The Collards are on the menu for Sunday dinner but I'm still undecided on what to fix with them.....maybe a pork chop or two?

Oh, I almost forgot to add that I bought gas this week.  I drive so few miles that I can usually fill my minivan tank once a month(unless Hubs or the Daughter uses my car for work that month).  I had 80 gas points from Weis PMITA Markets that had to be used this week.  The timing was right so I filled up on Sunday.  I saved $12.42 on my gas fill-up.  Go me!

I'm off to get ready for the auction now.

Sluggy