Frugal Friday......the August 17th Edition

Let's take a look around and see what frugal-ness we had here at Chez Sluggy this week..........

* We closed out credit union account.  While not frugal per se, it makes our finances a bit simpler.  We moved the money to an online account via the other brick and mortar bank we use.

*  While at the bank depositing the check, we also cashed in a US Savings Bond as it had matured.  Not point in letting it sit there once it's not earning any interest!

*  Speaking of money...........

I found some more of it!  Two pennies in two different parking lots.

*  While out we hit the bread store for the month......

All this for $10.50.
2 loaves of bread, a pack of bagels, a pack of English muffins, 2 packs of Hawaiian sweet buns, a pack of dinner rolls(can use for sliders), a pack of donuts, 2 bags of stuffing, and 2 bags of spicy chips.
I would have gotten more bread and not the snacky things but at this time of year it's hard to keep bread from going moldy(I just don't have room right now to throw it into the freezer). The chips and stuffing were 2/$1....can't beat that price with a stick. lolz  The muffins were free since I spent $10+.
72.66% savings rate over paying full retail price and we are good on bread now until Sept.

*  I also went back to Weis on Wednesday before the sale week ended and bought this.........

2 more boxes of Tetley tea bags because I found 2 more $1/1 Qs so .99¢ per box and I got a rain check for the classic/reg. variety as they have been out of that all week.  Hopefully I can score some more Qs for it before the rain check expires.

2 OM Deli Fresh lunch meats, on sale for 2/$6 and I had .75¢/1 Qs that doubled to $1.50 off, so $3 off $6=$3 or $1.50 for each package.
We have been eating a lot of BLTs due to the tomatoes ripening fast and furiously here(plus we like BLTs).  I got the deli meat(smoked turkey)so we could have a little variety and have club sandwiches now and then besides the BLTs.  ;-)

 I also bought these........

9 x Snickers B2G1FREE sale=$6.00
3 x 3Musketeers B2G1FREE sale=$2.00
I had 2 x B1G1Free 3Musketeers Qs=$2.00 and 4 x .50¢/2 Snickers Qs(doubled to $1 each)=$4.00.
$8 in candy bars-$6 in Qs=$2 for all 12.  Under .17¢ per bar?  Yes, please!
Of course the 3Musketeers went right into the freezer hiding spot, the Snickers go into the family grab bag/giveaway box prized/the fridge bag waiting on Halloween for trick or treaters.  8-)))


*  We hit a Shursave Market in the adjacent town that takes printed internet coupons(and doubled to $1)because mine doesn't take them.  They had a deal on Chex cereal and I had Qs to use!

3 boxes of Chex were $1.99 when you bought 3.  My .50¢/1 Qs doubled to $1 so .99¢ per box.  Rice Chex, Raisin Bran and multi-grain Cheerios are my favorite cereals.
I also got a turkey breast on their one day sale for .99¢ lb.  I know these will be going on sale closer to Thanksgiving but I don't have any now and wanted to do a turkey meal so it got bought. lolz
I also found 2 good dairy discount sticker deals-those mozzarella blocks had $2 off stickers so where $2.69 per lb./piece and those 4 packs of Greek Yogurt were on sale 2/$3 AND had $1 off stickers on them so .50¢ each package. It's a good thing I like strawberry flavor.  ;-)

*  We continued to pick veggies from the garden and attempt to use them all..........

*  I already blogged about my Rite-Aid scores this week.......

No money spent OOP(just $21.98 in Bonus Cash)and I got back $4.25 in cash rebates for doing all this.(I was able to reload the $2 Pop-Tart rebate so could do it twice.)

And $3.40 of my WAM on all this(Hey! I actually spend MONEY at Rite-Aid this week!).

That's about it for us this week.
And remember, in the words of the Most Frugal Man on the Planet.......

What frugal wins did you have this week?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the August 3rd Edition

Let's take a look at what "frugalness" we accomplished this past week......

* I found a penny in the Rite-Aid parking lot...........

With my luck though it was a Canadian penny and I don't think they even use those anymore. lolz

*  I had Hubs get the Weis Friday Freebie last week since it was something we could use......

Free hamburger rolls?  Yes, please!

*  I went online to Coupons dotcom on August 1st to snag coupons I thought I might use this month.
Coupons are only available in a limited quantity online so best to print them at the first of the month. (Use to be totally true but nowadays some brands put their coupons online during the month too so best to check back at the coupon sites later in the month too.) In addition with some brands, when there is a good sale using those particular coupons coming up, some coupons may be pulled before the week of the sale so it's good to look at coming week's sales flyers for the stores you shop at so you can print them before they are taken down.
It's a game folks and you need to be a step ahead of the stores and the manufacturers.

*  I got paid to bring some things home from Rite-Aid..........

 I got paid $1.56 after Bonus Cash used and earned back to bring all this home.

*  I sent away for a free $50 Target gift card so I can pair it with that $10 when you spend $50 coupon Target mailed me. The gift card is paid for with c/c points.

*  I picked lots of veggies from the garden last week........

 one squash....

 2 squash and 2 zukes

 4 squash and 3 zuke(including the behemoth one)

1 squash and 1 zuke
Do you think we have enough yellow squash and zucchini now? lololz

*  And quite out of the blue since it's been a while and I forget I have things up there, I sold something on eBay!

This set of unopened 7 miniature Star Wars Lego vehicles sold.  After fees and what I paid I should net $103+.  These all cost me under $22(with tax)when I bought them years ago at Walmart.
Go me! 8-))

*  I also earned $2.00 on Ibotta for various things.  Actually this was for the previous week but I forgot to put it on there. 
I really need to start making a list and adding to it as something frugal occurs so I stop forgetting things by Friday. ugh.


And that's all for me this week.

Remember the words of The Most Frugal Man in the World.......

What frugal wins did y'all have this week?

Sluggy

Around the Backyard

We have been in a rainy weather pattern that just won't go away!
I've been telling Hubs for weeks now that "Gee, we could sure use some rain!  It's been pretty dry here so far since May."
Well this past weekend the rain started and this front just won't leave.
The meteorologist this morning said we are due for another 7 DAYS or longer of this on again/off again rain.
Lots of flash flooding around here, mostly to the West and South of us, and more will happen until this front leaves.  The ground is saturated now and if we get much more I may loose lots of veggies.
Eek!

The rain let up for about a half an hour so let's take a walk around the backyard today at Chez Sluggy 

I actually took these first three shots on Saturday........

The profusion of morning glories

Many vines are on the bird feeder poles and trying to climb higher.
I don't even bother to plant these anymore......they just grow back every year from the seeds that drop from the previous Fall.

You might be able to make out the pollen grains on this flower.
You'll notice that we have again been invaded by Japanese Beetles this Summer.
They LOVE morning glory foliage evidently, as well as my Japanese Eggplant plants.

Here is a shot looking over the garden from the left corner......

And here is a shot from the right hand corner......

Here's one of my basil plants.  I am trying to stay ahead of the blossoms to pinch them off so I keep getting more leaves.

One of three eggplants almost ready to pick from 2 of my plants.  The other 2 plants got swallowed up by tomato and squash plants and can't get any sun.  I figured only a few squash would survive the Spring and actually grow but I was wrong.  Now everything is so crowded together some shorter plants don't have a chance.

 A few of the yellow squash not quite ready to pick.....

A couple tomatoes looking good.  Notice the leaves of a hidden basil plant to it's left.......

I see you there Mr. Zucchini, trying to blend in and hide from me until you are a massive size. lol

Here's one of my barrels with the lettuce in it.  It's Simpson black seeded lettuce.
Usually by late July the lettuce is done because of the heat but not this year!
I can't seem to kill these three lettuce plants!
Two of them have gotten so large they look like vines!  And they need support to keep them from falling on the ground from the barrel.

My entire green beans crop.
Only ONE of my bean plants survived the chipmunk invasion.
I may get six whole green beans this year, all from this one plant.  I'll let them go to seed and maybe start then indoors next Winter/Spring and see if I can have a better outcome next season.

And in the front we have about 12 tomato plants which are doing fantastically well.  Trying to stay ahead of pinching off some blossoms there too.  The plants get the best sun of the entire yard so these plants are almost five feet tall at this point.
With all this rain these plants are toppling over a bit so we'll need to tie them up some more.

Some Amish paste variety(like a Roma)growing out there too.  I can't wait to try those.

And all this rain(and now the tomato plants falling over)isn't thrilling the Coleus and Petunias.
Once the tomato plants die back they'll get more sun and nutrients.....

And here is what got picked this weekend--
On Saturday.......

And then on Tuesday........

I also picked 2 more ounces of lettuce for the nephew to take home but didn't photograph that or add it into our harvest count yet.

So far I've picked 170.9 ounces of veggies, or 10.68 lbs. from our garden.
Go me.

I just wish the rain would stop for awhile so I can enjoy my yard a bit more.  I really do like being out there near the garden.

What's growing in your yard?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....June 30th Edition

So what thrifty things got done around Chez Sluggy you ask?
Here's the list.........

*  I hit two more Rite-Aids yesterday for more water as I was out near both stores on errands.
Can you say FREE water?

8 bottles from each store, so I am up to 20 bottles.  If I can find 4 more bottles at my local store today when I am there picking up an Rx that will make 24 in total. These will be lovely to take on our road trip this Summer.

*  I made $1!

I used to be a Nielsen grocery scanner person years ago.  They sent me an offer to join some radio study along with a crisp, new dollar bill inside the envelope.
We will pass on being in the study/survey but yes, we will take and thank them for the FREE MONEY! 8-)))
This just shows that it does pay to open all the junk mail you get.  ;-)

*  We had a bag of apples that needed using up since it's been hanging around here for so long.  Daughter was suppose to use them while I was in VA but she didn't.

We've gotten some cool days so last Saturday I made a massive apple pie. I also made a carrot cake using ingredients I had on hand. The pie is gone now but we still have some cake left.  The cake is good without any frosting too(though Daughter made me frost it).

*  Bath & Body Works had a semi-annual 75% off Sale earlier in June plus I had a $10 off $40 coupon to use.  I decided to pick up some Xmas presents.

$5 for $13 lotion and body washes for someone on my shopping list.
This Aromatherapy line at BBW hardly ever goes on sale for so cheaply. It was awesome to pick up for that price.
I also treated myself to some body wash and a candle.
7 items in total for under $40 after shipping and tax.

*  Our deck swing's awning is a rough shape.  It's old and I've already repaired it a couple of years ago.  I need the shade of that awning in the Summer to sit on the swing to not get burned up.

Before--

And here's the After--

It's not a great looking repair but if it holds up for the season I'll be happy if we can get one more Summer out of this swing and awning.  I can't remember exactly but we bought the swing the year we had the deck put up so it's at least 10 years old?.....maybe older.  Glad we have gotten our monies worth out of it at any rate and happier still not to have to shell out money for a new one yet.


*  I've been picking up household/food items for College Boy's apartment needs when he goes back to school in August.  By fitting them into my weekly shopping money/budget it won't seem such the money stretch if I were to wait and buy all what he needs/wants the week before we pack him off.

So far in June I have..........
2 skillet dinner kits
2 dish soap
1 bottle bathroom cleaner
6 bags of coffee
2 bottles of ketchup
8 boxes of cereal
3 boxes of lotion tissues

This doesn't count the stuff I already have for him like; tp, detergent, reg. tissues, shampoo, deodorant, trash bags, paper towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes,etc.  You get the idea.
I should sit him down and make a needs list now and populate it with the stuff we still need to procure to take back to college with him so I have something to work off of once we return from our road trip in August.....if there is still anything we need to get at that point.

*  I sent away for this freebie.........

A coupon for a free bottle of iced tea.
We can always find a use for free iced tea here. ;-)

*  So glad I had the Hubs put in at least some of a garden while I was in VA.  It's been growing well(except for the green bean plants)and the maters and cukes have opened blossoms now.

Before--end of May

After--end of June

And some of the yellow squash plants I started in the half barrels at either end of the garden bed sprouted and are also growing now.  Free fresh home grown veggies are awesome, aren't they?

That's about it for here for frugal lately.
What's been going on around your house?


Sluggy