Frugal Friday.....the February 16th Edition

There are a few Frugal wins this past week so here goes....

*  We had a visitor, again!

Mr./Mrs. Snowy Egret came back yet again since we've had more buckets full of rain here.

*  As for saving money last week at the grocery stores, here are the best deals--

CVS gave me more free money so we wandered in and came out with this lot.........

2 bottles of Hydrogen Peroxide(had a $4 off/2 first aid items Q)and 2 boxes of Special K cereal for Hubs that were BOGO.  After all my free money script I paid $1.35 OOP for all.

I also earned .70¢ back on Ibotta for the cereal so actually .65¢ OOP and that was all LA tax.

Then it was onward to Kroger.......

The sugary cereal was for a donation item and after sale and rebate cost .17¢ per box, the pizza was dinner that night and cost $2.99 after sale and rebate, the fruit splash Ginger Ale was part of a Buy 2 x 12 packs/Get 3 x 12 packs free(making that one .99¢ after the $3 rebate), the Reese's cups were .25¢ each after sale and rebate, the Siete potato chips were .99¢ after sale and rebate, the Granola bars were $1.49 each after sale and rebate and the Cascadian Farms granola were $1.99 per bag after sale and rebate(cheaper than I could make them or buy the private label stuff).

The zero sugar Body Armor drink was .99¢ after coupon, the Crest toothpastes, which were on clearance, were free after various digital Qs, the sponges were also on clearance and the Astepro sinus spray was on clearance for $6.30 and had a Kroger Q for $4 off of it so $2.30 OOP

I also found 2 x 4 packs of Chobani flips for .99¢ on clearance.  I had a $1/2 4 packs Chobani peelie Q so one was free and the other one was .98¢.

*  I used a Zaxby's gift card when I was out shopping to get a chicken sandwich and redeem my Free Chicken fingers offer.  Had those on various days for lunches during the week.  Then on Tuesday after my back injections we picked up Zaxby's for "linner"....I got an Asian Zalad and Hubs got a sandwich meal.  That gift card is depleted now.

*  Zaxby's had a gift card deal the 3 days around Valentine's Day so I bought a $30 gift card and got $5 off that.  I also bought a $150 Lowe's gift card at Dollar General last Friday and got 10% off that.  We can always use a home improvement store gift card living here.

*  Had an eye dr. appointment on Thursday.  Found out a membrane is growing under my new lense after my cataract surgery.  This needs zapping with a laser which was scheduled for 2 weeks from now and Medicare covers it. yay.  More doctor stuff....

*  I found Money!

Nope, skunked again.  I did find a paper clip in the waiting room at the Painful Doctor's office for Hubs who loves him some paper clips and rubber bands. ;-)

Total Found in last Week.... .0¢
Grand Total Found this Year.......$1.16

That's all I got.  

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

Sluggy   

The Deals I Got Last Week-Mostly Weis/Some Ollie's

I sure spent a LOT of $$$ last week on groceries but I got some nice deals.......

*  Goldfish crackers are .99¢ a bag if you buy 3 at a time at Weis now.
 I bought 2 Hershey Gold candy bars for $1 each, used a .75¢/2 Q which doubled to $1.50 off so         .50¢ total OOP for 2 bars.
 The Gatorade protein bar was free after a Free Catalina Q the machine spit out on a previous visit       to Weis.

*  These cleaners were $1.97 each when you bought any combination of 3.  I used 2 x .50¢/1 Qs for    the Fantastik and the Scrubbing Bubbles that doubled to $1 off.  I also had a .75¢/1 Windex Q that      doubled to $1.50 so it was $2.41 total for all 3 or .80¢ each(plus 1¢).

*  I got 2 Chi-Chi's salsa on Fantastic Friday sale for $1.25 each so $2.50 .  I used a $1/2 Chi-Chi's IPQ so $1.50 for both.  The Chi-Chi's flour tortillas were in the ad for 2/$4 but our store had them on special for $1.89(which  was a better price).  I bought 2 bags of tortillas and used a $1/2 Chi-Chi's IPQ so those were $1.39 each.
The new Foldable flour tortillas had a .55/1 Q on the packages so I got two of those as well.  The Q doubled to $1.10 off so these were .79¢ per packages.

*  Also on Fantastic Friday the Herr's corn tortilla chips were Buy One Get Two Free so $4.29 for 3 bags or $1.43 per bag.  I bought 6 bags of these total.
Ex-College Boy goes through a LOT of these chips so I am glad to stock up on them when I can(and I'll hide them from him so I can control how fast they get consumed).

*  As part of Weis(PMITA)Markets new pricing deals lots of Weis brand products(and some produce)is now lower priced when you buy in groups of 3.
Among those deals is Weis brand mac and cheese boxes.....29¢ each wyb3.  Buy less at a time and they are .69¢ each.

*  The Old El Paso items were on sale 4/$5.  When you bought 4 in a single transaction you got a free 16 oz. Weis sour cream.  I had a $1/2 Old El Paso digital Q attached to my card so all 5 items cost me $4 OOP.

*  Ragu pasta sauce was on sale for 3/$5($1.67 each).  I had 8 .75¢/1 Ragu Simply Qs that doubled to $1.50 so the sauce cost me .17¢ per jar.
I bought 4(only 4 like Qs will double per transactions)and went back later in the week and bought 4 more.

*  Chobani yogurts were .87¢ each last week.  I bought 5 and used a $1/5 ManQ so $3.35 for 5.  I went back again and bought 5 more using another $1/5 ManQ.

*  I bought 8 more Hershey's Gold bars using 4 more .75¢/1 Qs which doubled to $1.50/1 so $2 spent on 8 bars or .25¢ per bar.

*  I bought 2 dozen Eggland's best using a $1/2 ManQ.  They were on sale for $1.77 each so these cost me $1.27 each dozen after sale/Q.  That was the best price for eggs here last week and we were low.
*  I also found some dog treats on clearance for half price plus I used my free Purina dog food can Q.

*  Another Fantastic Friday deal was Reynolds Foil for $2.99.  I bought 2 and I had a $1/1 Digital Q attached to my card which came off so $4.98 for both.

*  When I took Kim and her Sissie to Ollie's I found these large cans of mushrooms.  With my 15% off Q they were $1.10 each.

*  These corn tortillas were $1 each.  I bought 4 and used 2 x $1/2 Chi-Chi's IPQ making them .50¢ per package.
They also had deli-sliced provolone cheese for $4 per lb.  This usually costs between $6-$8 here at the deli so I got 2 lbs.

*  The best deal I got was Bella wet dog food trays.  They were on clearance 1/2 off for .40¢ each.
I bought 24 trays and used 2 x $5/12 Bella IPQ.....$9.60-$10.00= -$.40.  The second $5 off Q wouldn't scan so the cashier manually pushed it through.  I was confused why as I had plenty of other items the overage should have attached to.  After shoppping I looked at my receipt and for some reason I also had a $2.50/6 Bella digital Q attached to my card.  That explains why the second $5 Q wouldn't scan, because I didn't buy 30 Bella trays.  So I paid -$2.90 for all 24 trays.  8-)))

I also got a lot of fresh and frozen produce last week(on sale and/or in season stuff), some soda(3 6-packs for $1.87 each) and a few meat deals.
I spent a lot more than I planned last week but I got quite a few good buys. 8-)



Sluggy

Drips & Drabs & Shopping on a Wet Tuesday

*  I went to check my credit card statement/balance this morning and found a charge from the Apple ITunes Store for over $100 on my account.
Neither Hubs or I download music or games or videos from ITunes...ever!

Great!  Something else to have to deal with....
I am thinking when I made those hotel reservations last weekend online, someone got access to our account #(at the hotels?)and went on a music spree for their iPod/iPad/whatever.
I checked with the kids and it wasn't one of them so it IS fraudulent.
Gosh I HATE technology when it doesn't work the way it's suppose to!!

I don't want to shut down the card though since we are going away and would put our spending on it as a convenience, so we don't have to carry buckets of money on us.

Yah, the modern life works well, except when it doesn't.
****sigh****

*  I noticed yesterday, after Carla posted about her mini goals for the week, that I had NOT updated my Monthly Goals side bar since......wait for it!.......APRIL.
It is almost halfway through June now.
****sigh****
So I went in and deleted stuff and updated the List.  It is current now.....and staring me in the face every time I go online, taunting me..... ;-)

*  While we are on the subject of people who are oblivious......**whistles and looks towards the sky**...I just noticed that I hit 200 Followers.
EEP!  How long ago did THAT happen?!?!
Who's too busy ranting and raving about life or hiding from life to notice that milestone?
Me evidently! 8-))
Now if someone goes an unfollows me, I'll just die, I will.
Don't mind me.....I'll be sitting over here stressing out over getting a couple more OVER 200 Followers, just in case someone comes to their senses and unfollows me and my numbers drop.

To prove I loves each and every one of you, what can I do to make you happy and make you stay?
Do I need to have another giveaway or something?  Input welcomed.....

*  I took #2 Son to his last flute lesson last night, until he returns from camp.  The date is unknown....could be July, could be August.  It all depends on if he gets asked to work at camp after his training weeks are done.  Cross your fingers he gets asked to work! 8-)

While I was over on the other side of the river, I ran two errands.  First to the health food store to restock on 6 lbs. of local honey.  DONE
I also picked up 1 lb. of flax seed and quinoa.  I tried before to choke down flax seeds with little success back when I was trying to be healthier.  I think I had a bad batch of the stuff before as it smelled rancid to me. 
The quinoa is just something I have been meaning to get Hubs to try.  When I am flush with cash the high cost doesn't wig me out too too badly.lol
 $27.77 total out of my pocket

Then it was over to the restaurant supply store to pick up some produce and eggs for cheaper than the grocery store, 6 lbs. of ground beef to bag up and freeze, a 2lb. bag of large(26 per lb.) shrimp for $9.99(cheaper than the grand opening deal at Weis this week!) and a big bag of potstickers(my weakness).
$48.04 poorer I left.

*  As I was riding on fumes and the little gas pump icon was on, I went to the new Weis gas station and filled up the tank.  80 gas points got me a fill-up for $2.549 a gallon.  I saved $12.80 on something I had to buy anyway.

*  This morning I took #2 Son and hit Weis PMITA Markets.  They are having a Grand Opening sale because of the new gas pumps here so we bought this stuff....

3 x Coke 12 packs $1.88 each=$5.64
WYB 3 12-packs, get a FREE 6 pack of $4.99 Vitaminwater

1 x Milk
1 x pkg. Bagels $2.35
2 x Oreos $1.88 each=$3.76
1 x Asparagus $1.03
1 x Celery $1.00
6 x COC $2.99
3 x Bread/Rolls BIG2Free $3.69
3 x Eight o'Clock Coffee B1G2Free $6.19
3 x Middleswarth Chips B1G2Free  $3.99

Reg. Retail...$85.79
Sale Price....$30.66

I used the $4 OM Cat from last week and the $10 Cat for buying $50 in gift cards, so my total OOP was $16.66.  (The teen cashier also gave me the Senior Discount again today! For another $1.07 off my bill I'll play along and be old.lol

I saved 80.59% on my order.
And I got these Cats....

$3.50 OYNO of $45.
$2.00 OYNO
And I still have the $7 CAT for buying Clorox last week, plus the $5 gift card(which I will save for awhile in case the Bounty napkins come in).

And then, since I need to buy #2 Son some clothes this week before camp, I bought this......

 $50 I was going to spend anyway on shorts and swim trunks.
And the $10 OYNO Cat printed out just fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. ;-)
$10 in free groceries for money I had to spend anyway?
Works for me!lol

To recap.....
I have spent $92.47 on food this week.
I have $27.50 in Catalinas for free food. 

I may go back for more coffee, soda, asparagus and gift cards this week.  I have the cash and it's a great deal so why not?

*  One thing I didn't buy was the Smuckers/Hungry Jack brands deal.  Both grocery stores in town are running a "Buy 7 selected items and get $5 instantly off your total" Deal.  The pancake mix is on sale for $2 a box and one of the items that qualifies.  This is one of the few things #2 Son will cook/fix himself, pancakes.  So having a mix handy for him will encourage him to make himself food during the summer.
7 boxes of pancake mix w/the discount comes to $9, or $1.28 a box.
But I figure pancake mix is just flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
I found a rubbermaid container in the kitchen that wasn't being used.  It has a pour lid and will hold a large quantity of mix.  I can pre-mix this up for him and as long as I tape instructions on the container(like the ratio of milk/egg to mix), he can use this instead.  I've got all the ingredients except for a new bag of flour, which I'll pick up when the next sale on it comes along while he is at camp.  I figure 2 bags of flour and the other ingredients won't even come to half of what I'd spend on 9 boxes of premade pancake mix, even on sale.
He'll be in the pancake making bidness as soon as he gets back!

Well that's about it for me today.  I'm off to dispute this credit card charge, then get directions down for some things we want to see/do on the vacation.
And then to read some blogs.

Sluggy