Halloween Is Here!!!

How did I keep Halloween Trick or Treating frugal this year?

I bought bags of candy last Halloween and Christmas on clearance and threw it into the bottom of my chest freezer, digging it out a couple of days ago to thaw and be ready for tonight.
If you have spare real estate in a freezer for this sort of scheme(and the self-control NOT to raid the stash for your own eating)I'd suggest you hit the candy clearances after the Holiday and do likewise.

I'm off to set up the front porch to receive beggars this evening.


Here's a little mood music for the day.
Enjoy!




luggy

Frugal Friday....April 20th Edition

Let's see what frugal wins we had this past week.........

* I did a $40 shop at Weis this week.  Here are the best deals I got.........

 VO5 products were .77¢.  I used 2 x .50¢/2 Qs that doubled to $1 and bought 4 bottles.  OOP cost was .22¢ per bottle.  I don't use this brand on my hair(I get moreexpensive shampoos for free at Rite-Aid)so I'll use these watered down to refill hand soap container.  I should be able to get 2 refills from each bottle so 8 refills total.  8 bottles of hand soap even at the Dollar Tree cost $8.  I'll take $1.76 spent OOP over $8 any day.

 These ready-to-use pasta bags were on sale $1.50 each. I used 2 x $1/1 Qs plus a digital e-coupon came off my loyalty card so I paid $0.00 for both.

4 x Hormel quick wraps have been a monthly deal at Weis when you buy 4 they are $1.25 each so $5 for 4.
I used 4 x .50¢/1 IPQs that doubled to $1 each so $5-$4Qs=$1.00 for all 4 packages so .25¢ each.
College Boy has been eating these as they are a quick to grab meal when he is rushing off to the music studio.

* Last Week's Freebie at Weis(PMITA)Markets.....

A box of popcorn.  Again, Customer Service had no CLUE this was Friday Freebie freebie.  Good thing I sent Hubs because he's got a knack of getting them to give him the freebie without a hassle(maybe because he's a man?lol).
This will get used and saved me from spending money on it so it's a win!

*  I tried a new side dish last week-Zucchini with Anchovies and Capers.  Recipe HERE.
I don't usually keep anchovies in our pantry so had to buy them to make this dish.  Luckily the anchovies were on sale at least.  ;-)

Afterwards I was left with 1/2 a tin of salty fish to use up.
So I decided to put homemade pizza on the menu this past week to use them up.

I got out about 6 bags of partially used shredded cheese(why don't these people here use up a bag before opening a new bag?!?), 2 cans of pizza sauce I picked up at the grocery outlet last Summer, a small bag of pepperoni from the freezer, a can of olives and an onion in the pantry and that half tin of anchovies.  I made enough dough for 3 pies(one XL)--a pepperoni and onion, an anchovy and olive and onion, and a pepperoni and olive pie.  I forgot to take a photo of the anchovy pizza and this is all that is left after the meal(and College Boy hitting the leftovers for two late night meals. 8-)

*  I found a penny in the Weis parking lot.

Hey!  It's a small win but picking  random change that gets abandoned in a parking lot adds up.
I also found someone's key in a different parking lot with nobody around to ask if they lost it, and turned it in to the store.

*  I sold this on eBay last Friday..........

"Would you believe?" It's a complete dvd set of the 1960's series Get Smart(see what I did there?lol).
Hubs dearly loved this tv show as a kid so when they came out with this boxed set of the series I got it for him for Xmas about 10 years ago.  I think he watched 3 episodes and put it away. He said the show didn't "age" well and wasn't so fun to watch now.  I bit my tongue about saying how some PEOPLE don't age well either. hehehe

I took a lower offer on it just to get it out of the house and I am trying not to think about the sunk costs and instead about how this dvd set will make someone else happy.  Considering what I paid for it I lost money here but it's gone and I've got $44.30 after fees back in my pocket.

* And there was a small trip to Rite-Aid this week......

I should have been able to use $2 in BC or PPs on this(as my total should have been $2 after Qs)but 2 of the toothpastes were less than $3.50 with the 20% Wellness discount($3.43)so my total was at $1.86 instead of $2(A rookie mistake but even I am not at the top of my game some days.)
So I put the $1.86 on my R-A gift card.

*  Cheap Mouse for the Win!
My computer mouse went KAPUT! about 10 days ago so I went and got a new wireless mouse.....

It was a choice between this or a purple one with geometric shapes on it.  This one was a bit less expensive of the two on Amazon(an unpopular design they were clearancing out?).  It was free shipping with Prime, cost me $11.61 w/tax which was less than any brick and mortar wanted to just a plain boring black or blue name brand wireless mouse.

*  The federal tax refund hit our bank account.  After $381.03 in fees(for tax software and monies we had to pay the states of PA and LA and mailing costs for 1 state return we banked $5362.97.  Likely the fed. refund was so high due to Hubs working 50% of the year and having such high withholding in his checks so that when we dropped down to the retirement income level we had a large credit of withholding.  That doesn't sound quite right but I can't figure out how to say it right now. lolz
Anyway, we didn't go blow that check on a down payment on a car(people do that with tax refunds, use it to get a car but it only covers a down payment and then they are saddled with a new recurring car paymentbill), or spend it on something else that was a want.  If we had debt we'd have thrown it onto that bill but we don't thankfully at this point in our lives.
So we will transfer it to our online account(which will earn a tad more than at a brick and mortar bank)and just let it sit for now until we make a plan for that money.

*  While Hubs was out running an errand I had him hit the Bread Outlet since he was going right by there.........

I gave him a list with options.  He picked up 3 3/$3 items and 3 3/$4 items. (A package hamburger rolls is missing because we used them that evening before I thought to take a photo.)  He spent $7 on bread products that would cost $24.14 at the grocery store(not on sale, but even on sale it would have been at least $12+).
That blue labeled bread is Organic and goes for $5.99 a loaf!!
With that 5 lb. log of Cooper Cheese I bought College Boy is eating a LOT more grilled cheese sandwiches(he will eat 3-4 at a sitting!)so the bread was very low so I am glad we got restocked.

So tell us what Frugal wins you had this past week?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....November 10th Edition

In terms of making $$ it was a good frugal week here at Chez Sluggy.

* I received two liquor rebate checks in the mail this week.  Actually receiving liquor rebates you send away for in PA is hit or miss on whether you actually get them.  I bought some booze in Wisconsin while visiting cousin Sonya Ann this Summer that had rebate hang tags so I sent away for the rebates and I actually finally received two of the three sent away for.  (The other one was received in September.)

* I listed some Box Tops for Education points on eBay and they sold within 3 days!  I listed them as a Buy It Now item but I also received Best Offers.  I got a Best Offer the first day of HALF the price I listed the items for, which I declined.  Then I got a 60% of my price Best Offer and considered it.  Then I looked and found that the person offering me this deal was also selling BTFE points on eBay for the same price I was selling my lot for!  My first thought was that they wanted my listing gone(and they'd turn around and resell my lot for a teeny tiny profit).
So I declined that offer as well.  A few hours later someone bought the lot for full price. Yay!
Thanks to fellow blogger Belinda for her advice and help with this as I've never sold this sort of thing on eBay.   8-)

*  Remember those TRU gift cards I got for free?  Well instead of trading 2 of them for Amazon gift cards I went ahead on a different gift card exchange site and sold them for cash.  The price to sell them immediately to the site was $18.75 but I could list them on the site at the price I set(I chose $21 each)and wait for a buyer.  Since there were no TRU gift cards listed at that time on the site I had no competition and within 1 hour of listing them I had sold both.  I'll get a check for $42 in about a week as the website has mailed the check this week.  So now I can maybe purchase the coffee grinder elsewhere if I find a lower price or I'll have more cash than I thought and can purchase it on Amazon as planned.  Gotta keep those options open, right?

*  I got a set of coupons for Kohl's in the mail.....an $8 off any priced purchase(so $8 free)and a $10 off a $25 purchase good on Nov. 10th only.  I'll probably take my daughter Friday evening to Kohl's to see if we can find her something to wear for right around $25.  I also have a 20% Q when I use my Kohl's card to pay so we'll be able to reduce the price of whatever she finds a better deal.
Of course this frugal thing means spending $ but by using all the possible tricks to not spend as much it helps me feel better about having to spend.

*  Hubs and I went out for lunch to our usual spot, Bob Evans, on Thursday since we were out running errands.  The waitress was a bit unorganized and forgot to get our drinks so after bringing this to the attention of management we got our drinks for free and I didn't have to pay for the upgrade to substitute a salad for a side dish.  I also used a 20% Q for the meal.

What frugal things did you attempt this past week?

Sluggy

Finishing Off my Oct. Rite-Aid Deals.....Madness I Tell Ya!

The last 4 weeks at Rite-Aid, by buying selected items and spending $50(before Qs)you could earn a $25 TRU(aka Toys R Us)gift card.
A $10 off your next order Catalina Q was also generating if you purchased $30+ in Huggies diapers in a single transaction plus during one week of this 4 week window you also earned $10 in Plenti Points on said $30+ purchase of said diapers(double dip but limit of 2 Deals per Wellness card).

If you've been reading here you are aware that I can generally get Huggies during these sort of Deals for pennies on the dollar(or pennies worth of points)and turn around and sell them locally via a tag sale site.

So I bought these x 4 times for a total of 16 packs of diapers........

Plus a few extra things in one transaction.............

Earned 4 of these...

When I hit $50 of diaper spending on two of the Wellness cards I earned two of these(one on each account).........

So going into this final week of the TRU gift card Deal(last week)I had $17.92 on two different Wellness cards tracking toward earning another TRU gift card which meant if I spent $32.08 on select items on either card I'd earn a second gift card on that account/card.

I also want to get Hubs this for Xmas......

It's a Cusininart conical burr coffee grinder.
I was going to order it from Kohl's last week, where it would have cost $80+ with sales and coupons and discounts.
But Amazon has it for virtually that same price everyday.

I have a $50 Amazon gift card I earned from staying at a certain motel chain on our Summer road trip.  It was free from points earned for my stays.  So I needed to come up with a way to cover the rest of that $80 purchase without paying any cash out of pocket.
Hmmmm.
So my brain got to working on this evil plot. ;-)

I found a way to get a third TRU gift card before the Deal ended on Saturday without spending any cash.
Bear with me here.........

I went to Rite-Aid and bought this on one of the Wellness cards tracking $17.92 toward the $50 in spending needed for a second gift card on that account........these products I bought didn't count toward the GC Deal but they saved me OOP on the transaction that followed which DID contain GC Deal items.

3 x Aveeno facial cleansers BOGO50% sale(reg. $8.79)=$20.21
I used 3 x $2/1 Aveeno facial product IPQs....$20.21-$6=$14.21+.78¢tax=$14.99

I paid with $14.99 in Plenti Points and earned back $8 in new PPs(Spend $20 Aveeno face/Get $8 in PPs Deal).  So I am "down" $6.99 in PPs.

I loaded a cash rebate to my Ibotta account before heading to the store for $1.50 back on Aveeno facial cleansers and you can submit up to 3 offers so I got back $4.50 in cash rebates from there.
After those rebates my "spending" is now $2.49 for all 3 items.

When my receipt printed out for this transaction the Catalina machine printed off a $4.50 OYN purchase Catalina good at Rite-Aid AND a $3 Off an Order of $30 Rite-Aid Q.  The last one being a happy accident and I hadn't planned on that! 8-)

The items above didn't track toward the gift card deal but it earned me $7.50 in store script to apply to my next transaction, using the same Wellness card as the last transaction..........

2 x Lil' Critters vitamins on sale=$19.98
2 x Advil Jr pain reliever 20% Wellness discount=$10.86
1 x Boogie Wipes 20% Wellness discount=$3.83
Subtotal........$34.67

Coupons Used
1 x $3 off $30 Purchase=$3.00
2 x $3/1 Lil' Critters vitamins IPQ=$6.00
2 x $1.50/1 Advil Jr IPQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Boogie Wipes IPQ=$1.00
1 x $4.50 OYNO CatQ=$4.50
Coupon Total......$17.50

$34.67-$17.50=$17.17 Total
I paid with $17.17 in Plenti Points and earned $3 in new PPs(wyb2 Lil' Critters vitamins), making a  $14.17 "spend down" in Plenti Points.
Once I got home I submitted online for a $5 cash rebate for buying the bottles of vitamins so I am "down" $9.17 for this transaction.

And all items in this transaction qualified for the TRU gift card Deal so I earned another one of these.....

Let's recap what I brought home in total doing these deals in October.......

16 packs of diapers
2 packs of Tummy Zen
1 pack of light bulbs
1 spray deodorant
3 Aveeno cleansers
2 bottles of vitamins
2 bottles of pain relievers
1 pack of disposable wipes
3 $25 TRU gift cards

And here is what it "cost" me.....

Used $109.99 in Plenti Points
Earned $56.00 in new Plenti Points
So I "spent down" $53.99 in Plenti Points
I also earned $9.50 in cash rebates bringing the "spending" down to $44.49.
After I sell off all the diapers for between $80-$88 cash I am in the black for at least $35.51 on all this.

And I have $75 in free to me TRU gift cards.

So back to this.........

Here's the evil plot twist--
I can either sell  TRU gift cards for $18 cash or trade each $25 worth for an Amazon gift card worth $19+/-(currently what these are trading for).
Selling or trading two of the gift cards will give me enough Amazon gift card value when combined with the $50 freebie Amazon gc I earned this Summer to procure this awesome Christmas gift for nothing.

I can keep one $25 TRU gc to use some other way(giveaway? buy toys for Toys for Tots donating?, gift it to someone?).
Some of what's left(besides the diapers which will be sold)will be gifted, some used here(the Tummy Zen and maybe some Aveeno)and the rest will make appearances in future giveaways.

Sometimes I am Pinky but sometimes I am The Brain! ;-)
And at least it keeps me off the streets......

Sluggy

Borderline Cheapskate or Something Else?

The Krazy Coupon Lady website had this article about someone who considers themselves a Cheapskate and the 20 bullet points/examples that prove it.
I got to tell you that this person isn't Borderline Cheap.  Some of what they do is down right unethical if not illegal.

Go HERE to read the article yourself.

Here are the 20 bullet points and my thoughts--

1. I dumpster dive for coupons. As long as the dumpster isn't signed No Trespassing or padlocked I don't see a problem with this.

2. I break off broccoli stems to reduce weight.  Tough one-if they are advertising "crowns" and there are large stems still attached I might be tempted.  But then again, stems are edible and taste the same and can be cut up small and/or put into soup.

3. I split the cost of wi-fi with my neighbor.  Not sure on the legality of this but if your neighbor and you agree to this, go for it.

4. I only go to Costco for the free samples.  While not illegal it is smarmy if you ONLY go there for samples.  And really, how sad is your life if you do this. lolz

5. I rub myself with magazines.  Ok, no problem with this, I say go for it!  Except it's not something I'd do personally as I don't like being drenched in fragrance.  Heavy scents give me breathing problems.

6. I ask for ugly produce for the "chickens".  If you do not have chickens or are not going to give foods given to you under false pretenses you have ethical problems.  This is lying plain and simple.

7. I pull Catalinas out of the wastebasket at the self-checkout. This is a brilliant hack and if I think to try it I will peruse the self-checkout wastebasket.

8. I always reuse my Ziploc bags.  Why not reuse something you had to buy if it's feasible and you didn't contaminate the bag with raw meat.  All for it.  Or better yet, find a non-disposable alternative to plastic bags, like reusable glass containers.

9. I find other customers' receipts in parking lots and shopping carts and use them to redeem rebate app offers.  You might think that why not? since the item was purchased, if the buyer isn't going to avail themselves of the rebate, you should and you aren't stealing from the company really.  This smacks of unethical though in my head.

10. I only go to the movies if I have a free pass.  Only going when you have free tickets?  Knock yourself out.  As long as you don't cheat or steal to get that free pass.

11. I use free gym membership trials to stay fit.  Again, like the Costco samples question, you are setting forth from the start to "use" a free offer with no intent to buy.  Smarmy.

12. I ask other customers to use my loyalty card. First off, I am not so bold that I would ask a stranger to use my loyalty card just to get points for myself for some future reward.  But if I was in line behind someone and they were purchasing items that would be cheaper for them if they had a card then I will offer my card for use.  Maybe it comes down to your intent when you do this.....or maybe it's wrong no matter the circumstances.

13. I water down my husband's body wash.  I would do this in a heartbeat, especially with College Boy(who has been known to use half a bottle of shampoo to wash his hair once).  No problem stretching out product as long as it still gets the job it's suppose to do done.  Good hack.

14. I furnish my home for free.  Again, I have no problem hauling used items home if they are free for the taking.  Why spend money when you don't need to?

15. I hide products so I can run home and get my coupons.  Not very sportsman-like of you but not illegal.  A bit self-centered and unethical.  Why did you not have your coupons with you, hmm?  And think of the extra time people working there will have to put in putting your hidden things back in the proper place if you don't come back and purchase them?  This costs the store/employer wages in the end.

16. When at the movies, I grab popcorn bags out of the trash to get free refills. BIG PROBLEM with this one!  Free refills are for the folks who purchased the food.  You did not.  Even if the purchaser does not avail themselves of refills, you don't have a right to trash dive and get their refills.  Period.

17. Or I just bring my own snacks from home.  This is a bit unethical.  You risk getting kicked out of the movie if caught.  And secondly, the movie house makes NO profit on the film ticket sales.  That purchase barely covers the cost of rental to them from the film company of the movie.  Their profits come solely from the snack bar purchases.  Personally, I think this is a terrible system and the cost of food at the movies is ridiculously high.
If you are this tight just don't buy food when you attend the movies.  

18. I only buy clearance meat.  Best hack ever!  I personally mostly only buy discount sticker meats and/or meats on sale at the very least.  This goes for fresh produce and fresh baked goods as well.  It's a great way to lower your food bill.  If you have a freezer it's a great way to eat well for a lot less money.

19. I rarely pay attention to the best by dates on my food.  A good hack but one which you have to be careful about.  There are "best by", "sell by", "use by" and "expiration" dates and depending on the type of item and the store you frequent they can mean vastly different things.
You really need to read up and know your foods.  Many "best by", etc. dates are put on items by the manufacturer so they can sell more goods.  Really!  The faster they make you think you have to use up something or trash it, the faster they can make you buy another.  This means more sales over time and more profits for the company.
Go HERE for a handy guide to how long you can safely store different kinds of foods.
Remember that once frozen the clock stops on fresh foods rate of decay.  I "heart" freezers.  ;-)

20. I buy my bread at the dollar store.  Another good solid hack.  If you have a dollar store that carries fresh bread/baked goods it just makes sense to buy your loaves there.  As long as it's a brand/type/quality that you prefer to use.  It's the same as going to a company's Bread Outlet like I do buy bread.  Day old bread is fine.  And bread can be handily frozen too if you can't use it up before it gets hard/mold/etc.

So would you/do you follow any of these suggestions to save money?
Do you feel any of the above 20 items are good practices or not-so-good?
Do you have any other hacks you partake in that make you a cheapskate?

Sluggy

More Frugality Last Week

Besides my plan to move my Rxs for free store gift cards I did a couple other frugal things this past week--

*  I had .50¢ in gas points.  Since my Sonic only has a 10 gallon gas tank I give the points to Hubs as his Malibu has an 18.5 gallon gas tank meaning he gets a better benefit(if he runs his gas down first)for those gas points.  Hubs used them this week so the Weis $1.879 gas was only $1.379 per gallon and he saved us $6.43 on his gas fill-up.

*  I have NOT gone to the grocery store this week at all!  One of the few side benefits on not feeling well-I have not felt like grocery shopping.

*  Though I haven't been to the grocery store I sent Hubs out for plastic wrap at the local Shursave store as it was $2 a roll on sale this week and we are on our last roll.  I had thought about going to Weis last week as they had a Mega-Sale that included the same rolls of Glad wrap but the Deal was you had to buy 10 rolls(or as many rolls as you wanted + enough other Mega-Sale items to equal 10 items)....Reg. price at Weis of $2.49, Instant .50¢ off for Mega-Sale makes them each $1.99.....which is what the local Shursave was selling them for on sale.  I don't NEED 10 rolls of plastic wrap nor could I figure out 8 other Mega-Sale items I wanted/needed so it was more fiscally prudent to just buy them at Shursave.

*  While Hubs was picking up the Glad wrap he also bought himself a bag of chips(to finish off the dip I made him for Super Bowl)and it was on sale too.  Evidently this store started some sort of Grocery Giveaway Promotion and he got a game ticket with his purchase.
Well lookie here!  I won a can of tuna!

I'll take it........lolz
So in the end, we spent $7 of the food budget last week and got a free can of tuna.

* I found a free program to help me do my taxes this year.  I can also use them to e-file for free(but I probably will mail in a paper return anyway).  Why pay for tax software when you don't have to?
Now that we don't have enough deductions to itemize my return is a lot easier to complete....well except for that Lifetime Learning/College Credit thing.  The free software from that tax site makes quick work of that too so I am a happier camper and I keep another $50 or so in my wallet not shelling out for TurboTax or whatever.

What frugal hacks have you taken advantage of lately?

Sluggy