The Last of the Rite-Aid & I Almost Go a Whole Week without a Grocery Store Visit

Friday night I ran out to finish some rebate stuff at Rite-Aid.

Rite-Aid #1

1 x Lysol Hand Soap System thingy=$12.99  egads!
1 x L'Oreal EverStrong Shampoo on sale=$5.99
1 x Vaseline Lotion on sale=$2.99
SubTotal....$21.97

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
1 x $3/1 Lysol Hand Soap System ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $5/1 Lysol Hand Soap System In-Ad Q=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Lysol Hand Soap System AdPerks IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 L'Oreal Shampoo ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Any Hair Care item over $1.99 Wellness IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Vaseline ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Any Skin Care item over $2.99 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$20.00

$21.97-$20.00=$1.97 + $.12tax=$2.09 OOP  Put on a Rite-Aid Gift Card.
Single Check Rebates....$1 Lysol


Then to Store #2....

2 x L'Oreal EverStrong Shampoo on sale $5.99=$11.98
2 x Starbucks Coffee on sale $1.66=$3.32
2 x Luden's Cough Drops on sale $.99=$1.98
1 x Vaseline Lotion on sale=$2.99
1 x Wet N' Wild Makeup 40% off=$2.39
SubTotal......$22.66

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 L'Oreal EverStrong Shampoo ManuQ=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Any Hair Care item over $1.99 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Starbucks Coffee IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Luden's Cough Drops ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $.25/1 Luden's Cough Drops GOLife Q=$.50
1 x $1/1 Vaseline Lotion ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Any Skin Care item over $2.99 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$17.50
**Checking my receipt now, somehow the Cashier rang up an extra Hair Care $1/1 Q, so I got $18.50 in Coupons instead of the $17.50 I was due.

$22.66-$18.50=$4.16 = $.15tax=$4.31 OOP  Put on a Visa Prepaid Card.
Single Check Rebates qualified for....$2 Wet N' Wild, $5 L'Oreal EverStrong Items totaling over $13(adding in the 1 Shampoo in the previous transaction)=$7 SCR

Total OOP.....$0.00
SCRebates.....$8.00

I discovered that I made a tactical error earlier this week.  I bought 2 L'Oreal Shampoos for BIL's  $5 L'Oreal SCR.  Only the EverStrong 'Poos qualify for this rebate, not the EverPure ones.  I bought 2 EverPures by mistake.  OOPs!  Since this rebate runs the full month and not just the week the 'Poo was on sale, I can take those 2 bottles back and exchange them for the right ones and get my receipt fixed so I can submit for the SCR.  What a pain....

And I almost went the entire week without setting foot in a grocery store!  What sunk me was that I had $16 in Catalinas expiring on friday night from my Kraft/Unilever trips to Price Chopper the week before last.  So I was forced to go grocery shopping....the horrors!lol
No photo but I got...
1 head of lettuce=$1.49
1 lb. of frozen squid=$4.99
2 pork loins BOGO=$9.53 (for just under 2lbs. each)
3 Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream on sale $2.99=$8.97
SubTotal....$24.98

Coupons Used
3 x $1/1 Ben & Jerry's=$3.00
And the $16 in Cats=$16.00
Total....$19.00

$24.98-$19.00=$5.98 OOP
The value on the order was $38.01 before sales.

With 1 more week to go in February I've calculated that I have $2.42 left in my $250 monthly food/toiletries budget.  Here's hoping I receive some more rebates this coming week to give me a bit of wiggle room, otherwise I'll be staying out of the grocery store for another week, except to spend those Weis Catalinas that will be expiring the 27th!

Sluggy

The Real Cost of that Holiday Debt

Did you know the average American puts the bulk of their Christmas/Hanukkah spending on a credit card and takes months to pay those charges back?

Buying that $50 cashmere sweater as a gift for your Cousin Nellie is nice, but if you can't afford to pay cash for it now and have to put it on a credit card, unless you pay the balance of the card in full before the next statement/billing cycle, that sweater will cost you more than $50 in the end and take you months to pay off.

In one of those reports they love to do this time of year, it was reported that the average American spent $835 on Christmas of 2007.  If that person has the average credit card rate of 16% and makes only the minimum payment each month on their bill, it will take them 90 months to pay off the bill and they will have paid an additional $572.87 in interest, turning that $835 Christmas bill into a $1407.87 Christmas bill!  In fact, as of Dec. 2009, that person who spent $835 in Dec. 2007 has only made 24 payments on that Christmas '07 bill and will continue to pay off that debt for another 5 and 1/2 years!!

How about you?
Are you using credit cards to pay for Christmas/Hanukkah and taking months to pay it off?  If so, you are spending a lot more than what you think you are spending when all is said and done.

Step Away From the Credit Cards this Holiday Season!
Don't be intimidated by friends or family to spend more than you actually have now!  
Give modest gifts that fit within your budget and give an abundant helping of yourself instead!


Make this the year you say NO MORE to Holiday Debt!
Make this the year you don't dread the January Fiscal Hangover!


Sluggy