Frugal Friday....the February 28th 2025 Edition

Here are our frugal wins for this past week....

*  I love finding marked down foods at Kroger(this really doesn't happen at Walmart).  I found 2 dented cans of crushed tomatoes(or double crushed if you count the cans lol)markes down to .09¢ each, a carton of oatmilk to use in my oatmeal was a $1.01 moneymaker,  some clearance marked Hummus and Spinach Yogurt Dip, 2 lbs. of Smoked Sausage for $1.99 total after sale and digital coupon, 2 1lb. packs of Ground Sirloin on clearance for $5.16 each, a 3/4 lb. of salmon  for $1.65 after clearance price and mega sale, 4 lbs. of strawberries for $1.88 each after digital coupon sale, 2 bottles of Panera Blueberry/Pomegranate Vinaigrette dressing clearance to $1.24 each after sale price and mega sale, and 5 packages of Jiffy cornbread mix marked down to .33¢ each.

*  We used up some pantry items as well.

*  We also had no food waste last week.   We cooked at home and then ate some leftovers this past week. There was no eating out.

*  I sold a length of fabric last week.  Of course I took an offer that was less than I probably paid for it and I hadn't updated my bank account info since the move so it went to an account that doesn't exist. lol  Stupid me.  Hopefully that bank returns it and I do finally get the cash.  

*  While grocery shopping I picked up some items for the food bank we donate to.  It wasn't much cash out of hand but helps folks struggling here out and makes us feel good.

Spending money on groceries not for us isn't frugal but it certainly is frugal for others.  Especially if it's toiletries or paper goods which they can't use EBT/Snap benefits on.

* It's been warm here so the heat has been off during the day.  Not "hang your laundry out to dry warm" but warm enough not to need the furnace days.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv, YouTube watching, doing genealogy or reading.

*  I found money! 

Between Aldi and Kroger I found .27¢ total-a quarter and 2 pennies last week.

Found Money This Week.... .27¢

Grand Total Found this Year....... .57¢

That's all I got.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy   

Frugal Friday....the May 17th Edition

There are a few Frugal wins over the past week.

*  Had my first "real" PT session(which costs me no copay).  She worked me over good. lol  I hope this helps my shoulders but after last night's sleep, I am not optimistic. 8-(

*  Went to Aldi last Friday and bought some sauces, hummus, frozen veggies, carrots, spaetzle for Hubs(way over priced I might add), a bag of General Tso Chicken, pickles for me and found a large pack of BSCB for 50% off.

Then we hit the tiny Kroger near there and bought this.......

The cereals are bound for the food bank(and not counted in my food budget).  The sauces and mustard are part of the Mega Sale(buy 5 to get the discounted price)and the Veggie Craft Pasta were a deal(on sale $3.29 with $1.50 each in KCB and $1.50 back from Ibotta so .29¢ each in the end).  I had a FREE Kroger buns coupon and tried to use that but got charged $1.99 for them.

So after PT on Tuesday we were near the old and dirty Kroger so I took them back and got $1.99+tax back for them.

Then I bought 3 discounted individual salads, a carton of milk(that had an Ibotta rebate),  some marked down thin steak for steak sandwiches and these sauces(4 from the clearance bins).......

Here are the backs of them...........

The Kinder Teriyaki were on Mega Sale for $1.99 each, the other Kinder Sauce(the burger sauce)was marked down to $1.49 and also part of the Mega Sale so another $1 came off making it .49¢ and the 3 Bachan Japanese BBQ sauces were marked down to $3.82 and another $1 came off each, making them $2.82 each.  These 3 sauces also had Ibotta rebates of $1.50 each so in the end those cost $1.32 each.  Not bad when you know those cost $8.99 reg. retail at Kroger(and $7.99 at Walmart)!

I also picked up another round of RockStar drinks.......

I had a Kroger digital Q for Buy a Rock Star and get a Rock Star Focus free plus these were on sale for $2 each, so both cost me $2.00 OOP.  I submitted to Aisle for a $5 rebate making this a $3 moneymaker.  Plus these are going to the food bank as I don't drink energy drinks.

If you want to get in on this Aisle Rock Star deal which runs all year(you can do it every other week)please use my link......

discover.gotoaisle.com/referral/kq98hepHXk

That way I get to do this deal twice every other week and then you can refer someone else to do the deal after you do it.  If you shop at Walmart Rock Stars cost $1.88 each and at Dollar Tree they are $1.25(they are smaller cans though)each so either way they are moneymakers and if Kroger is running a special they are moneymakers there too.  Please and thank you. 8-)

So while in Kroger I tried unclipping that FREE BUNS offer and then reclipping it to see if that would kick it in the butt and make it work but nope.  That coupon is a dude it seems.(I have the same issue with Kroger's Cesar dog food Qs-they never come off.)

*  I hit up Walmart for this on Wednesday after my car got fixed, as I was already near there.....

I had a $10 Ibotta rebate and a $10 Shopmium digital coupon so it was a $2.02 moneymaker.  I also found some marked down bags of produce, a pack of bacon and a pack of sausages as well as a marked down individual salad.

*  I noticed that none of my KCB offers I did have been applied to my account(since the beginning of April!)so I called to get clarification on a few things.

It's difficult to keep track of KCB since as soon as you use/apply an offer and purchase the item, the offer disappears from your available account and it doesn't show anywhere as pending.  Going forward I'll track what offers I use and when so I can contact CS if they don't show up after 1 week.

The person I spoke to put a courtesy $10 on my Kroger card the first time I called about this issue  but I'll be darned if I won't be calling back on Friday(which will be a week since purchase)to get the $6 in KCB for those crackers bought last Friday. ;-)  I now have a spreadsheet for KCB offers, when I purchase those items and what date and how much I am owed back.

Beginning of the week I called about the $6 in crackers and they put $15 store credit on my account, then I called again on Thursday after $5 for an item purchased 9 days previous I was owed.  I asked that they please fix this or I'd be called every time an offer didn't work and I really didn't want to be having to do this so this CS person took more info and is escalating the issue upstairs(and didn't offer me store credit, which is fine, I just want this KCB to work properly and to get what I am owed!)  I hope I get a callback since tomorrow I will have to call yet again inquiring about $4 in KCB that was never applied to my account. lol

*  We have been using food here and eating all the leftovers.  No eating out so far this week.

*  Had my "medical safari" to the Dermatologist in MS on Monday.   I already showed the tiny bag of lotions she gave me for free.......

*  I found money!

I found a penny when we stopped at a Love's for gas and I went in to get a soda.  Found that penny on the floor at the register.

I found this penny at the Kroger the next day walking by a register and it was laying on the floor.

                                       

I went to Walmart on Wednesday for a freebie and to finish my Midweek Bonus(a whole dollar)and saw something peeking out from under a drink cooler next to my self-checkout.  So I used a paperclip to edge it out and voila! I got a nickel!

Total Found last week.... .07¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$4.48 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy     

Frugal Friday....the July 15th Edition

So here are the frugal things that happened here at Chez Sluggy this past week.......

*  I only made 1 food shopping trip and it was to Walmart and I spent $24.48. I did get $18.48 in Ibotta rebates even though I just bought things we needed or were free that I could give to the food bank.

*  I had Hubs take a box of food/toiletries to the food bank and 2 boxes of items to Salvation Army this past week.  I already have started gathering 2 more boxes of donations for both places.

*  I used some free gift cards at Ocean State Job Lot to procure 10 storage tubs.  I've spent some time filling 5 of them this past week and storing them in the garage.

*  I received 2 x $5 rebates from Blue Diamond almonds via virtual gift card.  Offer is valid until the end of August and you must buy 2 cans per transaction and submit a photo of your receipt to their website.  The information is HERE.  There is also a sweepstakes running too and if you do the rebate you get entered into that as well.

*  I called the lady from the Church auction we got to each Fall to see if she wanted a donation of gift and toiletry sets to sell.  An emphatic yes! and I'll be handing it all off to her on Monday.

*  Hubs had dental surgery on Tuesday so my meal plan has been nonexistent this week.  We've been eating whatever we have here mostly.  Strange meal combos but we are getting fed and eating down some of our supplies.

*  I had my nephew come over this past week and gave him lots of food and toiletries from the stockpile.  He was hesitant to take so much but I told him if he doesn't take it now it's going elsewhere so we can move.

*  I got out the Christmas presents I've collected so far this year.  I've wrapped and separated all the items for my nephew, my two sons and their wife in one case and their SO in the other case.  I'll give them everything before we move with instructions not to open anything until Christmas so I don't have to pay to move all this and then SHIP it back here! lolz

*  I also gave Sissie a bag of goodies and shipped Kim a box.  These were their early Xmas presents and less to move. '-)

*  I purposely did NOT redeem a free $10 gift certificate to one of the online plus size clothing shops I had.  There is nothing I want/need to buy right now plus that $10 would cover shipping with a couple dollars left over to go toward an item.  Just didn't make sense to use it.

*  I rolled and/or converted some Bonus Cash that was expiring this past week at Rite-Aid.  Just slowly spending it all down as we get ready to move and there are no R-As near where we plan to go.

*  I found a $5/$15 Smokey Bones coupon and gave it to one of my Rite-Aid friends who likes that place since I'm not going to use it.  I also brought her some toiletries on one of my trips to R-A this past week.

*   I found money this past week! 

                

Found this penny last Sunday in the parking lot at Ocean State Job Lot.

Then I found these two dimes on the floor in front of the register on Tuesday at Rite-Aid.  On the way out of the store I found the penny on the sidewalk in front of the door.

This penny was found near the register at Rite-Aid again on Thursday.

Total Found in last Week.... .23¢
Total Found This Year.....$13.65

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

And have a good weekend!  

Sluggy  

All My Stuff......Where Does It Go?

 A commenter(I think it was T'Pol over on "Frugal @ Istanbul")asked recently about all the deals I get and what happens to all the "stuff" that Hubs and I(plus sometimes Ex-College Boy)don't/can't use.

Here's where it all went in 2020.......

* First I give food/toiletries to extended family, which includes a Brother in-law, the Nephew and my Brother and his wife when I travel down to Virginia to see them(I always take a bag or two of goodies with me to VA).  When we travel and stop to see friends we take toiletries to hand out but the only trip in 2020 that included seeing friends was to Daughter's wedding in early January.  I believe I asked but the two friends we stopped to see didn't want anything so we only brought some items to Daughter on that trip.

* Next are the Giveaway Boxes.  I gave away 15 boxes of goodies in 2020.

January saw 2 Giveaways!

First this one....

Then this one.........

February was this one....

March was this one...

April--2 more Giveaways.

First a Pandemic Themed(Stay at Home Amusements")one........

                                      

Then a regular box of goodies..........

May saw this box given away.......

June saw this box of goodies leave my house.....

July's box was for the menfolk......

August........This was a different giveaway.  A free book written by my cousin/friend Sonya Ann to promote her latest novel, "Their Hellfire" which is still available for purchase through Amazon.  Though I gave her book away, I didn't do a box of goodies that month.

September saw this bunch of goodies given away.....

October was this array of items.......

November saw THREE Giveaways.....

Then this one..........

And then this "Girlie" box of goodies.....

December's giveaway rounded out the boxes given away in 2020 at 15 total......

Plus I had to cover the postage for all 15 of those(ranging for $8-$13 each)which came to quite a bit of change OOP! ;-)

*  I also made two donations of goods to the local food bank in 2020.....

All this baby food was gotten in February but I had to hold onto it until April since the food bank closed to donated goods for awhile during the early part of the pandemic.

I was finally able to take in the above donations in April.  Not going out much and the worry about being able to buy food due to supply chain issues early in 2020 meant less of a donation from Chez Sluggy.

Between everything in this photo above(which I was unable to bring in in November, and everything in the snapshots from my car below(didn't have time to set up a photo shoot of it all before I had to take it in).........

It all went to the food bank in December. I didn't write down what I brought so I can't tell you everything in those bags but it was mostly cereals, detergent and a few boxed pantry items. The table shot is pretty self explanatory. ;-)

* The local American Legion also put out a call in November for donations to send to US military troops serving overseas for care packages for the Holidays.

I filled two large shipping boxes with snacks and toiletries and had Hubs drop them off at the local Legion Hall.

Oodles(2-3 dozen tubes)of Toothpaste in the bag on the chair on the left........

Oodles(again 2-3 dozen packages)of razors in the bag on the right on the other chair......

Closeups of what is on the table......blister stuff, feminine needs, contact lens solution, shaving gel, protein and granola bars, lip balm....

Shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, dental floss, toothbrushes, cough drops......

 

bar soap, body wash, body lotion and topical pain relief(ben-gay type stuff).

* I also sent some friends online some boxes of goodies, sort of a random act of kindness thing for folks who I knew were struggling during the pandemic because of a job loss or other reasons. I even hesitate to mention this as I like to keep some things in my life private. 8-)

*  In other years/times I've been known to have Stockpile/Garage Sales or go set up at the Flea Market and sell stuff(buyers get a deal and I get a few $$s back in my pocket to get more deals)or sell on a local FB site.  But none of that happened this year.   Three guesses why?....Yep, Covid.  Plus I just didn't have to "oomph" to organize myself enough to do this.

We keep some and we give a lot of it away to spread the love. 8-)))

Sluggy