The Church Auction

We attend a local small church auction every Fall.
This year's was held last Saturday.

We ended up spending $400 at last year's event but we only spent $315 this year on our winnings.

Items offered include goods and services to local businesses as well as "things", both new and used, donated by church members.
Sometimes items when offered up don't garner bids so they add other more desirable goods to the pot.

This is why/how I ended up with a set of hair rollers(lolz), a used George Foreman grill, as well as this set of items........

A large pair of ceramic Staffordshire dogs.


Not something I want but the $50 of pet boarding and $20 in McDonald's certificates that came bundled with it was well worth my winning bid of $15.

These items they "throw into a deal" that aren't something we want or can use will be offered to family or then sent to Salvation Army as donations if no one else wants them.
And the SA donations we get to write off our taxes at the end of the year so it's just a win/win for us.

Here is what I ended up bringing home......

1 large jarred Yankee Candle
1 Fall décor tchotchke
$12 GC local Italian restaurant
$12 GC another Italian restaurant
5 x $10 GC McDonald's
$20 GC local bar/inn
1 Free Oil Change local garage
$20 GC local sub/pizza place
$25 GC Price Chopper grocery store
6 x Discount cards for Domino's Pizza
$20 GC Sonic
$20 GC Bonanza steakhouse
$20 GC Sheetz gas
1 George Foreman grill(used)
1 pair ceramic dogs
$100 GC  local pet boarding
$20 GC Red Robin
$25 GC Sweet Frog frozen yogurt
1 pie pumpkin
1 living room designer lamp
1 concrete Welcome statue w/puppies
1 free pizza local pizza restaurant
1 free haircut local barber shop
$50 GC local pet boarding
$25 GC Advance Auto stores
$10 GC local Greek restaurant

 

I figure the total value is about $605 for all this.
I paid $315.

                             
All the gift certificates except for 3 Hubs is holding onto.

A few of the deals were not so great.
I should know better than to do some of them since I go to this every. single. year.

The problem with the gift certificates is that you can't see what the actual "deal" is when you bid.
The give you the $ value of the item and where it's from.
Not until you win and you open the envelope do you see what you actually got.

One year I bid on a $40 value from a local restaurant and when I opened the envelope it wasn't just a GC worth $40.  It was 5 coupons for a free appetizer, each valued at $8.  This meant we'd get an $8 appetizer when we bought a meal, meaning we had to spend A LOT of money before seeing that $8 benefit. grrrrr.
 Not the deal I thought I was getting of a certificate worth $40 off your dining bill. lolz

Last year I bid on 2 different Domino's deals, worth $20 each, and won both.
One envelope held 2 $10 off gift cards.
The other envelope held 2 punch cards with 16 punches for a BOGO free pizza. 
These cards weree fundraising cards that could be purchased for $10 each(so $20 value). 

Now getting $10 or $20 off a pizza purchase is good, getting the opportunity to purchase 32 pizzas and then getting 32 pizzas free is NOT such a good deal.
Unless of course you eat A LOT of pizza on a regular basis. ;-)

Well stupid me bid on a $20 value Domino's envelope this year and won it.
Instead of OPENING the envelope and finding out that it was 2 of those stupid punch cards I didn't want I didn't THINK to check it before they offered more $20 Domino's envelopes up for bids.

I ended up winning THREE envelopes of Domino's punch cards for a total of 6!
Ugh.

Domino's had only given the church punch cards this year.......

So now I have until June 2015 to buy 192 pizzas and get 96 of them free.
That's 13+ weeks(THREE + MONTHS!) of eating nothing but pizza for dinner every night of the week.
Or if I spread it out over the whole stretch from now until the end of June 2015, that's a pizza for dinner about every 2.65 days.....or pizza about 3 times a week.

I.
Am.
An.
Idiot.

So I'll be offering some of these punch cards to my 2 oldest kids and maybe put one in the next giveaway box because we can't possibly eat that much pizza.

Well we COULD eat that much pizza but it wouldn't be a prudent thing to do....... ;-)

I did bid on and win 1 "thing" I wanted.
A lamp for the living room as we are still gathering items to furnish it.

A new lamp with a green base.  Won it for $15.
My new living room is slowing turning into the "Green Room"....... lolz

The only other regret on my bidding at the auctions that I had was that I didn't win that purple slow cooker!
I really didn't NEED it and the bids when to $26 which was too high for me.
But the freaking thing was PURPLE!

Sigh......


Sluggy


 

The Ice Man Cometh.....Not Soon Enough!

May had been an incredibly expensive month for us here at Chez Sluggy.
Luckily, May was also one of those freak 3 paycheck months.
Good thing, it was!

So how do I start off June financially?
Well, I bought a freezer.

Yup.

Our old workhorse of a freezer has been limping along and this past week things started happening in the old chill chest that indicated that it would be gasping it's last very shortly.
It was defrosted recently and I opened the door to find a LOT of ice built up on the top shelves and on the door and the stuff on the top shelves didn't seem as frozen.
Jacking up the thermostat didn't help the situation either.

So I moved the ice cream and such to lower shelves and after another 24 hours rechecked the temperature and it was definitely heading in the wrong direction.

I went online for 3 HOURS yesterday comparing all the makes, models, brands for all the features important to me, in the size I needed.
My eyes were crossing by the time I came to a decision.

I would have liked to have bought from a local small business but both of them never returned my calls/emails within 6 hours time.
Good job local retailers, Grand Central and Beiter's,  if you are reading this......well done!
You have a willing mark customer and you both blew it....congratulations!
You should be so proud.

A note to every retailer out there who is selling freezers.....
The chances are that your potential customer shopping for a freezer is in a bit of a HURRY, as the likelihood is high that they are REPLACING their current freezer that NO LONGER REALLY KEEPS ANYTHING FROZEN......and when the weather is in the high 80's, this is an unacceptable situation to have for very long.
If you are selling freezers, return your phone calls if you want the business.
That's all I'm saying.......

Oh!....and don't NOT put prices on your website and make me call/email you for a "price quote".
I understand wanting to get me in the door and upsell me a more expensive/larger appliance but in real life, it just drives me into the arms of another retailer.

The frugal me wanted to buy my freezer from Lowe's....as I have a hate/hate relationship with the ir competitor, the Home Despot.
And I have $500 in gift cards to use at Lowe's from my Rite-Aid +Ups binging days last year.
($350 of the gcs are good at either Lowe's or the Despot, $150 are store specific for Lowe's).

For those of you who are thinking, "My, that was mighty brave/foolhardy of you to purchase such an expensive and large appliance, sight unseen on the internet.....aren't you scared?"
Nope.

Most of these freezers are NOT even in the store(the Despot only had 2 in the size/style in the store and Lowe's had 3 I think on the sales floor and 2 were too expensive), so I didn't even need to go in and "kick the tires" on the chill chests in order to decide.

My requirements were thus.....

1.  Be a certain size to fit into the current space for a freezer & approx. same interior size
2.  Be an upright model-we are horizontally surface challenged here
3.  Have a security door lock
4.  Be an Energy Star machine
5.  Have good to excellent reviews
6.  Not cost an arm OR a leg or our firstborn

I got 5 outta 6.  I can live without a door lock if I have to.

2 hours into the research and I realized one thing....Frigidaires are shit.....at least according to the "man on the street" reviews on various sites AND from my own personal knowledge of them.

So I pulled the trigger and here is what the delivery crew from the Despot is delivering to Chez Sluggy this coming Thursday.....

Whirlpool 15.8 cu. ft. Frost Free Upright Freezer in White

Model # EV160NZTQ

Reg. retail at the Despot is $599.00
I got it for $448.20 plus free shipping and haul away.

AND our electric supplier in PA has a $35 rebate if you replace your old freezer with an Energy Star model and THEY will haul it off.
Take it away and give me money?

Yes, please!!

And the deciding factor between this freezer and a nearly identical one at Lowe's?
The Despot would deliver it a full 12 DAYS sooner than Lowe's.

12 Days people......
June 6th vs. June 18th

Do you know what thawing meat smells like in 80 degree weather in 12 days time? lolol

Yeah...I got over my Despot loathing, at least for now, and I've got to organize room and a plan in the garage now for the new machine.
First the old fridge needs to be moved and the old freezer moved over into it's space.
Then the new machine needs to be delivered and put where the fridge was.
Then the goods transferred into it.
Then the old machine gets moved to the front of the garage, awaiting pick-up by the electric co.
Then the new machine needs to be slid over 3 feet and the old fridge needs to be moved back into it's space.

What.
A.
Production.

In the end we are out $413.20 and as a bonus, a little chunk of my sanity.....which is running rather low at the moment.


Sluggy

 

Thursday Rite-Aid Trip

Since I got use of my car back, I hiked up to Rite-Aid to see what was left to buy.

Now I want to prepare y'all before I start.
Please sit down so I can tell you......I actually spent money yesterday!
LOTS OF MONEY.......ugh

Since the +Up Rewards can't be used immediately anymore and you have to wait until the following day to use today's I only have 3 days to earn and roll the ones for this week.
Kind of sucks for me, but whatever....

So I have to compress all my buying into 3 trips or less before the sale week ends.

So Thursday's trip was all about the food and drink mostly....

** 2 x No Nonsense Socks 3 packs on sale BOGO50%.....*This rang up strangely.  Instead of $5.29 reg. price for 1st and $2.64 50%off for the 2nd, the 1st set rang up with my 20% off Wellness discount at $4.23 and the 2nd set rang up 50%off at $2.64.....for a total of $6.87 and I received a $5 +Up Reward making 6 prs. of socks cost $1.87.  Not a bad price for 6 pr. of socks!  Ssshhh....don't tell, these are going into Xmas stockings....

** 10 x Gatorade on sale $1=$10.00  *I was suppose to get 2 x $3 +Ups--1 $3 for spending $10 on select drinks for this week and 1 $3 for spending $10 on select drinks under a Monthly +Up Deal.  But you will see that I bought 2 of the dreaded BLUE Gatorade, that have been reported to not trigger either the weekly +Up deal or the monthly +Up deal, I can't remember which.  I did go back Friday morning and returned and then rebought 2 non-blue Gatorades to get the 2nd $3 +Up Reward to print.  So now I spent $10 and got $6 +Ups back, making the drinks cost me .40 each.  Pretty good for something I have to buy for marching Band anyway. ;-)

** 2 x Stride gum packs on sale $1=$2.00  *I used an IPQ BOGO Free Stride, paid $1 for both and got a $1 +Up Reward back, so this was free after +Ups.

** 2 x Chips Ahoy! on sale $3(must buy 2)=$6.00  * I used 2 x $1/1 IPQ Nabisco Cookies Facebook Qs from the beginning of the month and paid $4.00 for both and got a $2 +Up Reward so $2 for both packages after +Ups.

**  4 x Nabisco Crackers on sale 2/$5=$10.00  * I used a B2G1Free IPQ and a $1/2 IPQ.  I forgot to also use my .75¢/1 AdPerk Ritz Q...argh.  I "should" have paid $5.75 and gotten 2 x $1 +Ups back for a total spent of $3.75 for 4 boxes.  But I'll have to settle for $4.50 after +Ups.  Still not bad for 4 boxes.
And I would have only bought 3 boxes but it was one of those MUST BUY in multiples of 2 to get the sale price.  ick.

**  2 x ProGlide Razors on sale for $9.99, but with 20% Wellness discount they were $9.03=$18.06.
I used 1 x $4/1 ManuQ Proglide and 1 x $5/1 ManuQ Proglide=$9.00 off and paid $9.06.  I received back 2 x $4 Gillette +Up Rewards for a total spent of $1.06 for 2 razors.

**  2 x Lysol Cleaners on sale $2.79=$5.58.  I used 1 x $2/2 Lysol Cleaners ManuQ and 1 x $3/2 AdPerks Lysol Cleaners Q for a total spent of $1.58.  I then received back 2 x $1 +Up Rewards(1 for each bottle), making this a $.42 moneymaker.
**  1 x Lysol Wipes with 20% Wellness discount=$3.19.  I will submit for the FREE Lysol Wipes rebate(Buy 3 Lysol products-1 of which has to be the Wipes-and get up to $3.00 back.)  So after rebate all 3 products will still be a .23¢ moneymaker.

**  6 x Flora Incense at $1.19(with 20% Wellness discount)=$7.14
I received back 3 x $3 +Ups, 1 for every 2 packages of incense I bought.  $7.14-$9 +Ups==$1.86 moneymaker.  Another Ssshhhh, don't tell, it's a Xmas stocking stuffer. ;-)

In the end I spent OOP $38.65 including tax, after also using my $12 in paper +Ups I had left.
I got back $35 in +Up Rewards and I'll be getting $3 in cash rebates too.

If I had more days left to break this into more and smaller transactions, I could have covered most of the cash spent OOP and not had to fork over so much green stuff.
Oh well....
I still got good deals and I'll be going back later today for more stuff I didn't get yet....like garbage bags, tampons, candy corn, more incense, more Gatorade.
A little more Rite-Aid pillaging to come--stay tuned!  I went back this afternoon and rolled yesterdays's +Ups.


September Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$38.65  cash
Value of items bought....$124.27
Savings Rate of  68.90%
Single Check Rebate due....$0.00
Other Rebates due......$3.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... $35.65
Savings Rate  71.32%

+Ups at beginning of month...$18+
+Ups used....$18+
+Ups received...$41+
+Ups currently...$41+ ($6 on my card, $35 on paper)

Sluggy

What $511 Will Buy You If I'm Paying

I know everyone has been waiting for this, so I won't keep y'all in suspense any longer.

Here is the list of the food I bought in March.

milk 1/2 gallon  1
milk gallon   3
sour cream  1
butter 1lb.   2
greek yogurt   9
cheese block/bag   9
ice cream   8

eggs dozen   1
whipped cream   4
juice   3
salad bags   16
head lettuce   2
mushrooms   7
onion, bag of   1

tomato  1

strawberries 2lb container   2

grapes lb.  1
apples   2
mandarin oranges   1
red bell peppers   2
oranges, bag of   1
celery bunch   1
cabbage lbs.  6.5
ground beef lbs. 12.22
corned beef briskets   6
roasting chicken  1
scrapple   2
veal patties pkg.   2
fish lb.  6
stuffed clams   2

deviled crab   3

frozen angus burgers 2lb box   6

lunchmeat lb.  2

deli cheese lb.   1

pepperoni bags   6

bacon lb.   3

frozen veggies bags   18

on-cor dinner   2

sausage patties   2

biscuit sandwiches   2

bagel bites   8

onion ring bags   2

sweet potato fries bags   2

ravioli bags   3

hummus   2

peanut butter   3

mayo   5

rolled pie crust   2

boxed mac/cheese   4

pasta sauce   32

pasta boxes   4

chili cans   9

pancake syrup   7

baked beans   6

cereal   3

hamburger rolls   2

hot dog rolls   2

pound cake   1

bagel, bags of   3

corn toasties   1

loaves of bread    4

onion rolls   2

muffins, boxes of   3

pies   2

ice cream cake   1

2 liter soda   2

12-pack soda   2

Assorted chips   8

cookies, packages   5

candy bars   4

candy bags  2

cadbury eggs   4

fudge boxes of   2

oreo single packs   2

choc. covered cherry   1

toilet paper 8 pack   1

body wash   3

deodorant   4

analgesic spray   1

shampoo  2

conditioner   2

dog food cans  12

That's 326 items for $511+.  Some small items(individual chocolate covered cherry), some large and/or expensive(fresh fish and ice cream cake).

Now go find someone else who can bore you like this as well as I can!

Sluggy

February 2012 Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2012.

I have posted February's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(3-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

BIG LOTS
OOP  $19.35

Value  $35.50

Savings  45.50%

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP   $7.45
Value   $38.92
Savings  80.86%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $5.98

Qs/Ads  $9.14

Value  $15.12

Savings  60.45%

RITE-AID DRUG STORE
OOP  $9.05 in cash($24.92 with $15.87 put on my free Rite-Aid gift card)
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $412.71

Value  $437.63

Savings  97.93%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $173.69

Qs/Ads  $122.42

Value  $296.11

Savings  41.35%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN FEBRUARY

Mondavi Wine.....$1.00
Pinecone...$6.00

Rite-Aid SCR....$14.49
Subtotal........$21.49

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Nothing

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$21.49

COUPONS and FREEBIES

2 Knives--Giveaway win
2 x Coca-Cola 12-pack Q

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 97.93%, the Bakery Outlet at 80.86%, and Price Chopper at 60.45%.

I shopped at 5 different stores in February.


TOTAL Out of Pocket........$215.52

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$607.76

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.28

TOTAL Savings of...................................73.82%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$21.49
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$194.03
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$629.25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.28
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................76.43%

This closes out the February spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
We continued to eat down the freezer and didn't do any restocking on frozen foods....except for those whole roasters I bought.  We spent well below our budgeted amount for food again in February.  I think this was in part due to consistent meal planning and sticking with the menu, cutting down on our eating and sticking to simpler foods(not buying much processed or prepared foods and buying items closer to their natural state and buying a narrower range of items).  A simpler diet will help to keep your food costs down.

I want to note something here.....while I used quite a few Qs at Rite-Aid, no Qs were used at Big Lots, Price Chopper and the Bakery Outlet, and I hardly used any Qs at the Shursave grocery store(since they don't accept internet printed ones).  With most of the items I purchased, either they didn't have a Q available or the store didn't allow Q redemption.  Even without using Qs, by just buying on sale, I was able to realize a savings rate of at least 40%.  So if you arranger your purchasing so that you don't pay regular retail price, you can still save a very nice amount!
Of course everyone wants to save 70% or 80% off of their food bill.  But even if you don't use Qs you can still save 40% if you shop strategically by buying items when they are at the lowest price point in the supermarket sales cycles.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MARCH.....
We'll have an extra mouth or two to feed for 1/3 of the month.  No Birthdays or special  food occasions, except for St. Patrick's Day.
I'll try to pick up some corned beef briskets on sale for stockpiling.  I like to get briskets and slice my own for corned beef sandwiches.  Much less expensive than buying corned beef at the deli counter....it's about $9 a lb. around here these days!  I can buy a 4+lb. brisket on sale in March for what they charge for 1 lb. of it sliced at the deli counter.

I will be keeping my food budget at $300 for March.  I will hold the excess from Jan.($92.32) and Feb.($84.48)that I did not spend in reserve, which gives me an extra $176.80, should a great food deal come around this month.

How did you do in February with your Food Budget? 


Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

The Frugal Weekend Report

Let's see.....what did I do over the weekend.....

Last weekend was one of my favorite frugal activities of the year.
One of the local churches holds a little festival, composed of a flea market, bake sale and then a country auction at the end of the day.
I go to this each year as it's a great place to round out my eating out options for the year.
Along with all the fine second-hand items donated, the ladies at this church get a load of gift certificates to local businesses to auction off as well.
Mostly the certs are for restaurants but they also have auto servicing(inspections, oil changes, etc.), hair cuts and other salon features, gas for the car, fuel for the home, et cetera.

I am a big spender at their auction and they always love to see me coming. 8-)
Not only do they like the cash I drop at this thing but I do a fair share of bidding other folks up.
Yes, sometimes certs will not be going for a fair price, so I'll jump in and start a bidding war so that the church actually makes a few dollars holding this thing.
It's one thing to get a good deal, but if you are walking out paying $2 for a $20 gift certificates over and over again, not only will they stop holding these(which I can't have happen!lol)but it's not charitable either.
Most certs go for about half of the value but the sought after ones go higher.  And since it's for charity, I will bid as high as the full retail price if it's an establishment that I would go to anyway and spend full retail at....like Mickey D's for #2 son for example.
But I don't like to make a habit of paying full price.....

Here is what I brought home.....

Mostly it's eating out certs but we snagged 2 barbershop haircuts for $5 each this year.
We enjoy eating out and this is one way I round out my eating out budget frugally.
Not only that, it supports this fine church group(though I am not a member)and because we often spend/eat in excess of the value of the certificate when we go to redeem it, it also helps support the local businesses.

While Hubs is still upset he missed winning a couple of used leather laptop cases, I did snag a food processor(used once!) and a swing arm lamp to mount on the wall next to my dungeon-like computer corner(it even still had a light bulb in it!lol)

In the end we won $300 in gift certificates, the lamp and food processor for under $200.
I always round up what I pay them to an even amount, so I cut a check for $200.

Winning!

On Sunday afternoon Hubs and I had a date.  We still had a gift certificate we won last year at the auction to a restaurant we enjoy that serves Greek food.  It's quite a distance from where we live so we decided since we had the day free to take a drive there and use this cert.
I scoped out and found that 2 different from what I usually shop at grocery stores were down the street from the restaurant so after scarfing down Moussaka and Spanakopita, we went to GiantPA.

I checked out the flyer online before we went and saw a small Deal I wanted to get there.  They had a "Buy 10 products, Get $5 off Instantly" Promotion.  Since it's a store I don't shop at regularly, in a town not nearby, this sort of instant discount promotion makes more sense for me than a Catalina one, where I would have to return to the store again to get the discount.
So I jumped on this deal since we are addicted to Brownies around here......

10 x Brownie Mix on sale 4/$5($1.25 ea.)=$12.50
The instant discount....$12.50-$5=$7.50
I also had 2 x $1/2 any Pillsbury baking item ManuQs...$7.50-$2=$5.50 OOP

This meant my brownie mixes cost me .55¢ each.
I can't buy the ingredients to make 10 batches of brownies for that cheap so I am happy paying this price.

I also picked up some inexpensive chicken breasts while in Giant.  Since Hubs doesn't enough wandering around the grocery store checking things out like I do, especially when he is full of Greek food and just wants to nap, I didn't do a whole lot of reconnoitering at Giant.  I did feel that the prices were a bit high and the sale prices weren't that great on the things I usually buy.
But then again, Weis is no great deal anymore either! 8-(

We also harvested the last items from the garden this past weekend......

My two last surviving pumpkins.  They weren't quite fully ripe yet but with it raining EVERY DAY FOR TWO WEEKS, I was done with waiting and chancing they would rot in the mucky, soggy yard before the rain stopped and they got the last dose of sun they needed.
They are now happily orange through and through and awaiting my skillful hands(skillful?...maybe....)to turn them into full-on yummy-ness. ;-)

So there you have it!

A weekend choked full of...
Buying Local
Buying Second-Hand
Buying At Discount Price
Growing Your Own Food
Can't get a much more Compact and Frugal Weekend than that, huh? 8-)

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Last Week....Part II--I Made $13

I did 4 transactions at Rite-Aid last Saturday.
Again, since the deals are past I won't get into the fine details unless some one asks me to. ;-)

Transaction 1 & 2 in this photo....

#1 Transaction

2 Tugaboo Diaper packs
2 Bic pens(1 Triumph pack/1 stick pens)
2 Maxwell House Coffee
2 Halls big bags of Cough Drops
1 Gilette Pro-Glide Razor
SubTotal...$27.11
Coupon Total....$17.00
+Up Rewards used...$10.00
OOP....$.11 put on free Rite-Aid gift card

Received $14 +Up Rewards($3 wyb 2 Bic,2 x$1 Coffee,2 x $2 Hall's Drops,$5 Gillette)
"Spent" 10 +Ups, Got 14+Ups back=$4 moneymaker.

#2 Transaction

4 Bic Pens(1 Triumph/3 Stick pens)
3 Folger's Coffee
1 Nexxus 'Poo
SubTotal....$26.52
Coupon Total...$19.00
+Up Rewards used...$7.00
OOP...$.52 put on free Rite-Aid gift card

Received $9 +Ups Rewards(2 x $3 Bic,3 x $1 Coffee)
"Spent" 7 +Ups, Got 9+Ups back=$2 moneymaker.

Transaction 3 & 4 in this photo....

#3 Transaction

2 Bic stick pens
2 Pine-Sol
2 Lysol Spray
1 Nexxus 'Poo
2 Foamie Kits
SubTotal....$28.00
Coupon Total...$26.00
+Up Rewards used...$2.00
OOP.....$0.00 8-))

Received $5.00 in +Up Rewards($3 Bic, $1 Pine-Sol, $1 Lysol)
"Spent" 2+Ups, Got 5+Ups back=$3 moneymaker.

#4 Transaction

4 Bic stick pens
2 Tugaboo diaper packs
2 Clorox Wipes
1 Gillette Razor
2 No nonsense Sock 3-Packs
SubTotal....$25.72
Coupon Total...$17.50
+Up Rewards used...$8.00
OOP......$.22 put on free Rite-Aid gift card


Received $12.00 in +Up Rewards(2 x $3 Bic, $1 Clorox, $5 Gillette)
"Spent" 8+Ups, Got 12+Ups back=$4 moneymaker.


THESE TRIPS
Total Spent....$.85 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$156.33
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$40.00
+Up Rewards spent...$27.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$38.00

GRAND TOTALS--December Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......6
Total Spent....$2.44  put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$241.34
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Gift of Savings Reward...$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Dec. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 12/3.....$25.00
+Up Rewards spent....$34.00
+Up Rewards earned....$47.00
+Up Rewards left....$38.00

So this weekend I put .85¢ on my gift card and came out with $13 more +Up Rewards than I started out with on Friday.

Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge OCTOBER 2010 Totals.....

I have posted my OCTOBER End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up October in the black....with another healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of October with was.......$3,326.27.

Income
We had $3,253.45 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $72.82 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,326.27 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.  Keep in mind that we are able to save so much of our income because of 2 things--we have low living expenses(no mortgage payment)and we are not in a personal debt hole with monthly payments sucking up any money we have leftover after paying bills.  Once you pay off your house you free up a big chunk of money each month to put other places in your life.  The average monthly mortgage payment in the US is $1,500.  Over the course of a year, that's $18,000 you are paying out and alot of that is interest on your loan.   Getting a mortgage does take monetary sacrifice and it's not fun, but when you get that house loan paid off, your financial life gets so much better! ;-)

Outgo
As for the expenses in October.....it was pretty much a 'normal bills' type month.  Since the vacation money came out of the Savings Challenge 2009 monies set aside and not from the monthly income, we had just a few unusual/non-repeating bills....a college application fee for Daughter, a charity cash donation, a couple of prescriptions refill copays and my driver's license renewal fee.  The credit card bill other than the trip costs put on it was under $800.  Generally we put gas and eating out on the credit card, along with miscellaneous costs, like house repair or kid shoe/clothing purchases. 

The Food Budget costs for October are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in October was way over budget, proving that even if you are frugal or try your hardest to be, sometimes you can/will bust things wide open anyway.lol

Looking Ahead to November....

Wow....I can't believe we are already into November!
Looking at last November as a guideline, I see no out-of-the-ordinary expenses.
It's just the usual monthlies plus some small Marching Band related expenses.  The credit card bill so far is looking lowish(it closes for this upcoming statement this week)which is always a good thing.  3 items will be costing us more this month....The gas expenses will be going up this month as Hubs is taking Daughter to visit one of the 3 schools that has accepted her for next fall, so there is a road trip in our future.    The electric bill will be increasing in Nov. due to the cold weather setting in. Finally, one of the dogs is having a flare up of her chronic back problem now so we'll have some vet bills in November.  But none of these things looks like it will wreck havoc with the budget thankfully.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $26,247.63 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $22,500 saved.  Currently, we are only $3,752.37 from the yearly goal!  Unless something catastrophic happens, we will reach $30K.  That makes me pretty darn excited....8-))

So how was your October financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

Is That A Food Money Hemorrhage I Feel?

                                    (Images courtesy of Millenium-mb.com)





Well this month began as a fairly Frugal Affair.

Ok, we took a short getaway trip to Ocean City MD....but we did it on the cheap and thrifty side!
And I stayed out of the grocery stores for two+ weeks....let alone any other kind of store, not counting Rite-Aid of course!  But Rite-Aid doesn't really count since they pay ME to shop there and I don't ever actually spend money at that store. 8-))
We were content and happy to be using up some stockpiled and freezer goodies for meals and snacks as the month began.

And then it happened......

Three, count 'em three local grocery stores ran Catalina deals in the last 2 weeks, including that lovely Hormel Bacon Promotion(slurp).  Weis Markets had a couple of Cat deals but I didn't even get to that store to take advantage of them....yes, I am slipping in my old age.

This past few weeks, it's like a rare convergence of celestial bodies combined with a lining up of the planets to form a Bargain Eclipse!lol
*Cue the skies opening up and a bevvy of heavenly hosts descending around my head, plucking on tiny harps and raising their angelic voices.....aaaaaah, aaaaahh, aaaaahhh.....

And just like that, I went from a monthly grocery spending total of just under $50 for October to a bloated budget busting total of over $300 for food.
Eeeeek!

I know, I know.....$300 in monthly food spending for a family of 4 is NOT really  "Out There" compared to what the average American spends on groceries, but for me, well......it's HUGE!lol

While I budget for food each month, we aren't living paycheck to paycheck and we regularly live well below our financial means.
So when I find great deals on food or anything else we need, I have the flexibility to spend more than I've budgeted and take advantage of the deals without taking the funds from some other expense we need the cash for instead.
Having a little extra cushion of money is a great thing indeed!
I highly recommend it. ;-)
But still.... when you scribble that pencil down to a nub and see $300 staring back at you from your piece of paper, it tends to make you pause, draw a darn big breath and make you light in the head for a moment.
Or is that just me? ;-)

I did 4 transactions at Redner's, doing the ConAgra and General Mills Catalina promotions(each gave a $10 Cat WYB $25 of items).  I bought 48 assorted items(from tv dinners to cooking oil to whipped cream to canned tomatoes) and spent $51.59 total OOP.  And I have a $10 Cat left to use.
While $50+ sounds high, that was for $293.53 of reg. retail value of food.
That's a savings rate of just under 82.5%(not counting the $10 Cat I have left).

As for my Hormel totals at Price Chopper......
3 bags of Pepperoni
26 packages of Bacon
34 cans of Chili
Equals 63 items
$39.90 OOP + a $7 Catalina left to spend
$222.27 reg. retail price of items
Savings of 82% (not counting the $7 left to spend).

So now I need to apply a Financial Tourniquet to our spending and try to avoid the grocery stores and eat down on this pile 'o food.
Luckily the month is almost over and I get to start with a clean budget slate in 5 days. 8-))

So how is your food spending going this month?
Have you gotten any good deals on groceries lately?

Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge AUGUST 2010 Totals.....Full Steam Ahead!

I have posted my AUGUST End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up August in the black....with another healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of August with was.......$3,138.45.

Income
We had $3,132.45 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in a whole $6.00 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,138.45 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.

Outgo
As for the expenses in August.....it was pretty much a 'normal bills' type month.  Since the vacation money came out of the vacation funds set aside and not from the monthly income, we had just a few unusual/non-repeating bills. 

The Food Budget costs for August are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in August was about $17 less than I had budgeted for so we are right on target there.

Looking Ahead to September....

Looking at last September as a guideline,the only non-monthly bills I see are the quarterly sewage fee and the school taxes, which is a big one! 8-(  And it looks like at this point we will be purchasing a new refrigerator....which will cost a pretty penny!
Otherwise, it's just the usual monthlies plus some smaller school related fees(photos, club fees, band stuff, etc.).   No other big expenditures and no heating bill in September so it's usually a fairly good month to stash some cash away for us. 8-))

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $22,921.36 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $20,000 saved.  Currently, we are an entire month's worth of savings ahead of schedule.  It would be so awesome to finish the year with more than $30K saved!  I don't want to get my hopes up but I can dream. ;-)

So how was your August financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

Rite-Aid on Friday....Had to Use It or Lose It!

So, I was FORCED to go to Rite-Aid on Friday.
Why you ask?
Because my GIFT OF SAVINGS Christmas Gift Certificate expires April 30...Friday.
No way I was going to let $20 expire even if going out Friday
was the last thing I wanted to do!

So I gathered up some couponage I might use and headed up with #2 son & his friend in tow.
Oh great....just what I need....baggage.lol


I had wanted to get a market umbrella for the deck patio set since ours bit the dust a couple of years ago.  It would be nice to be able to sit out and eat there without the sun blasting down on you in the heat of summer.  So with the $20 Cert., my 20% discount and a $5 off a $20 purchased, I'd only have to pay zero or even be negative money and have to add something to the order.
Free umbrella.....NICE!

But alas, there was not a market umbrella in the joint, just some beach umbrellas that were NOT going to cut it.

So the plan got thrown overboard and we went hunting the aisles for things to buy.......

I had a scenarios just about worked out when #2 son comes over pleading with me to advance him allowance $ so he could buy a watch.
So we went and inspected his potential purchase and I deemed it worthy of purchase for $19.99.
My wheels in my brain set to working and suddenly there were TWO scenarios to complete.

I took 2 things from my initial scenarios and added them to the watch purchase so we could use another $5 off $20 Purchase Q.

2 x Dove Shampoo on sale $3=$6.00  Used 2 x $2/1 Dove 'Poo IPQ -$4.00
1 x Watch=$19.99  My wellness discount applied -$4.00 **Not Pictured**
$25.99-$8 Qs=$17.99
Minus $5 off $20 purchase RAQ=$12.99+.78¢ tax=$13.77 OOP

Once #2 son pays me back for the watch, my total here is .50¢ overage.
($16.77-1/2 of the $5 off Q=$14.27 he owes for the watch).  

I also qualified for $3.00 in SCR on the Dove 'Poo purchase, giving me $3.50 in overage so far after the SCR.

Then I did transaction #2 to use my $20 Gift Cert.....

4 x Ban Deodorant on sale BOGO50%($5.68 per 2 deos)=$11.36
2 x Benadryl on sale $4.39=$8.78 with wellness disc.
1 Schick Hydro Razor=$7.99 with wellness disc.
1 x Paper Lanterns with wellness disc.=$7.99
2 x Snickers on sale=$1.00
1 x Trident gum=$1.03 with wellness disc.
SubTotal...$38.15

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q=$5.00
4 x $1/1 Ban ManuQ=$4.00
1 x $5/2 Benadryl ManuQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 any cough, cold, allergy OTC item Wellness Q=$4.00
1 x $20 Gift Cert=$20.00
Coupon Total....$38.00


$38.15-$38.00=$.15 OOP


I totally didn't figure in the 20% wellness discount on a couple of things so I was $2 short of using my last $2/1 Q and had to add the candy and gum....and the gum got another wellness disc. to boot!
All in all, this one came out very nicely.


SCR qualified for in Transaction #2....
Schick Hydro Razor=$6.00
Ban Deodorants=$10.00
Total...$16.00 in SCRs and another $8.78 toward qualifying for the $25 Allergy SCR(WYB $50 of Allergy products).

**When I got home I discovered 2 of the Ban Deos I purchased were the wrong type.  I hiked back Saturday morning and exhanged those 2 for the correct ones so I will get my $10 SCR for buying 4 Ban Deos...'-)


Grand total for the day.....
I am OOP  negative .35¢ today buying all this(when #2 son pays me back) and I am getting back $19.00 in SCRs.


I may have been laying low on Rite-Aid shopping in April but I am BACK with a vengeance!lol


Sluggy

Halfway Through the Month...So How's the Budget Doing?

We are officially halfway through September.....doesn't it seem like it's just flying??

I just went and added up my Food/Toiletries receipts for the month, as of Sept. 15th.  I've spent Out of Pocket a grand total of............

$122.50
 And that includes 2 receipts for WAGS for August that got forgotten in a bag.

If you recall, I gave myself a ridiculously low budget for Sept. of $250.
Plus, I am expecting almost $200 in Rebates before Sept. is over to count against what is spent OOP.
2 Weeks left to go and I'd say my Budget is in REAL GOOD shape!
Even if I succumb and go Full Out Deal Hounding grocery shopping I should be ok. ;-)

So, how are YOU doing with your Food Budget this month?

Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge AUGUST Totals.....Expensive Month but at least it's not Negative

I have posted my AUGUST End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I am once again able to say that we finished up August barely in THE BLACK.
The amount put into Savings for August was $789.25.

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just under $2K this month. We had some big unusual purchases like a new stove, hotel bills again, gas purchases for trips and other costs associated with summer fun.

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but I am still sitting out on eBay.  I miss the cash coming in from that source but I dread jumping back in and dealing with all the problems selling there brings.

On the recurring utilities front, we saw an increase of $2.46 in the electric bill from July. A negligible amount as we haven't run the A/C hardly at all in August, just like we didn't run it in July.

The water bill saw a dramatic decrease! We went from $97.24 in July to $38.87 in August!  I guess patching that hole in the pool and not having to run water constantly into the pool was the reason.  I hope hubby can resolve future pool issues quickly next year so we don't WASTE all that money on unnecessary water.  It's just so wrong.....

The Food Budget costs for August are in another post, which is located Here.  Food/Toiletries spending in August was my lowest monthly total for the year.  I'm hoping to stay out of the stores more this month and have set a September Food Budget of $250.

With #1 son going off to college(college textbooks & a laptop computer), more summer fun expenses(like entrance fees to various experiences), replacing a vehicle's windshield, other school(graphing calculator for daughter, back-to-school clothing expenses for 2 kids) & marching band expenses, August turned into an expensive month.  I was hoping for at least a $1K savings for the month.
Didn't quite happen.

But considering that we just paid over $6 THOUSAND DOLLARS in CASH for #1 son's 1st Semester of College, I don't feel so bad about only saving $789.25.

Let me repeat that.....
We paid for #1 son's 1st Semester of College in CASH.
Yes, I AM boasting here!  8-))
Hubby & I have worked darn hard to save all that money and have gotten to a place in our financial lives where we can pay CASH for college.
No payment plans.
No loans.
C-A-S-H.

We started our married lives with me as a waitress heading back to graduate school and him in his 2nd yr. studying for his Masters.
We were pretty broke like most regular people who are just starting off in life.
On our 1st Anniversary, with his degree in hand, we embarked on life with no jobs and about 15 thousand in Student Loan debt.  That was 1983.  15 Thousand in Student Loans was ALOT in 1983 dollars.

Yes, we did live with family briefly at two points in our marriage when we were just starting out but we bought our first house WITHOUT large sums of money given to us from family.  We were very proud that we waited until we could afford the home to buy it.  We did have a mortgage however.
After buying that house, we made paying off the student loans the priority and paid them in full in 2 years.
14 years after buying our 1st home, we bought our 2nd home.  At that point we were able to put a rather large down payment on that home and carried TWO Mortgages for almost a year until the 1st home sold.  I don't recommend buying another house BEFORE you sell the old one.lol  The point is, because of buying a modest house the 1st time and living frugally, we were financially able to put a large downpayment on house #2 AND carry that extra mortgage WITHOUT too much difficulty.
Then we paid off the 2nd house fully in 6 years and have remainded Totally Debt-Free since 2006.

We celebrated our 27th wedding Anniversary last week.  We have worked 27 yrs. living frugally to get to the level of financial freedom where we are now.
The moral of my story is if we can do it, you can to!
It takes time but you have to just keep going.....even when you stumble and don't keep with your budget one month, just pick yourself up and try again next month.


We are Eight Months into this $AVING$ Challenge, and we have a Savings Total of $15,635.41 for the year.


What's ahead for September....
Less food spending.
Trying to track small outlays of cash better.  These add up to big outlays over time.
No travel this month so no unusual hotels, gas, food expenses.
No big ticket purchases foreseen this month and no items to buy for the kids.

I'd love to stash away $2K this month.  It should be do-able unless something comes up.

Be sure and check out how others are doing with their finances this month at MONEY SAVING MOM.

Sluggy