Frugal Friday.....the December 29th Edition

Here are our frugal moves this last week of 2017......

*  When in Rite-Aid this week I found money!

Two pennies in the foyer and a dime sitting in one of the candy bar boxes by the register.
Free 12¢ is Free 12¢.

*  8 bags of coffee were procured at Weis(PMITA)Markets(in two separate transactions)this past week for a total OOP of $5.96 or .74¢+ per bag.

*  Now I can show some of the Xmas gifties I picked up cheap this year since Christmas is over.  I shop during the year and throw items into my gift box when I can get something for little cash.

These Red Hot Chili Peppers CDs for College Boy were found for $1 each at a thrift store in IL.

These items for College Boy were also bought this past Summer on our road trip--a RHCP shirt for $5, a bag of specialty coffee for $1, a pack of candy cigarettes for .50¢.  Also the large bag of M&Ms for $1 at a grocery outlet in MO.  The bottles are vape juice I picked up for $5 each in Pierre, SC at a convenience store.  The company that makes the juice changed it's name in 2017 and the "old" label bottles were on clearance for $5, regularly $15.  That was an awesome score I didn't know was so awesome until later. lolz

My brother smokes cigars.  We stopped at a tobacco shop on the Nez Pierce Reservation in Idaho and I picked him up some stogies for cheap plus no sales tax.

Daughter got an "Abraham Drinkin'" shirt, specialty coffee, candy cigarettes and a pack of cute socks from Shopko in ID.  I signed up for a Q and got these items plus CB's shirt/coffee/cigs above for less than $15 after that Q.  The Jackalope t-shirt was bought in Rapid City, SC in Walmart there since they had a souvenir section because they are so close to Mt. Rushmore.
The lip gloss balls were $1 at a thrift store in IL.  Two small bottles of vape juice gotten at the Nez Pierce Rez tobacco store too for $5(smaller bottles so not as good as the other vape juice deal).

I also got my brother's wife some Bath and Body Works eucalyptus aromatherapy body wash during a sale last Spring for cheap for her Xmas gift.  Eucalyptus is her favorite scent.

* I saved money on Christmas dinner too.  While I got a free smoked ham(10+ lbs.)at Weis with Points I earned on my card we didn't use it for Xmas dinner.
Instead we used this 7.37 lb. whole eye roast.  I bought two of these roasts November 2016 when it was a Fantastic Friday Weis deal then.  We used one of the roasts last Christmas but I super wrapped the second one and tucked it into the depths of my little chest freezer.  Took it out and it was just as good as when I bought it in 2016(the ham would have been the backup meat for dinner if this had gotten freezer burned).  Why pay $9 or more a lb. for a roast at Christmas when I had this $2.50 lb. eye round bought on a great sale?

* I refilled all my prescriptions I could before December ended.  January 1st means a new year and having to satisfy a $3K deductible(including Rxs)before we see a healthcare benefit.  Some of these Rxs I don't use every day/month so I will be ahead of the game in co-pays for 2018.

* On Dec. 18th I sold an expensive item on eBay and shipped it out the next day.  A 15 year old Star Wars lego set.  I bought it on clearance at Walmart after Xmas in 2002 and meant to resell it on eBay but soon after purchasing it I stopped selling on eBay so it has sat unused/unopened in the garage since.
I wanted to wait until the legos arrived and the buyer was happy(and wasn't going to back out of the sale and/or return it)to mention this sale.
I can safely add this to my side money total for 2017 now.  After fees, extra shipping insurance and what I paid I have $323.85 in extra income to report to the IRS.
$323.85 in my pocket instead of something sitting in the garage still.  ;-)

* I've got a 70 cents discount at Weis(PMITA)Markets gas station.  We'll take all 3 cars here up and get 20 gallons of gas between all 3 cars before the discount expires Sat. evening.

So what frugal wins have you had recently?
Here's to a frugal 2018!

Sluggy

The Good & the Not-So Good at Target Yesterday

Well Hubs and I made it up to Target on Friday.  It was crowded as I thought, though it would be not nearly what it will be on Saturday. lol

I went with 2 previous gift cards earned for free on "Buy something and get a free Target gift card" that amounted to $15(a $5 and a $10).
I also took a loaded Target gift card I got for free with credit card points, which had $18.37 left on it.

A fistful of Manufacturer/IPQ coupons and a Spend $50 on food/beverage & earn a $10 Target gift card coupon as well.

This is what I bought........

2 x Kraft parmesan cheese 1lb. containers on sale=$6.82
2 x Bear Naked granola=$7.98
2 x Snapple teas=$2.98
1 x Goldn'Plump chicken legs $2.99 w/instant $1 off sticker on them=$1.99
1 x Lay's chips on sale=$2.00
2 x Ice sparkling drinks on sale=$2.00
2 x Hawaiian rolls on sale=$6.00
1 x MC pie on sale=$5.99
1 x Ortega steak kits clearance=$1.94
1 x Ortega green chiles clearance=.86¢
2 x large eggs on sale=$1.98
1 x Swirl bread=$2.69
2 x MC pot pies on sale=$4.50
2 x Minute Rice on sale=$3.58
SubTotal.......$51.31
So we made it to $50+ on food/drink and earned that $10 Target gift card

I also bought this in the same transaction.......partly in honor of Sonya Ann and partly in honor of the release of the new "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" movie....lolz

4 x Windex=$12.56

New SubTotal........$63.87
I earned another $5 Target gift card for buying the Windex AND earned a $3 OYNO Target Catalina Q.
Woohoo!


Coupons Used
2 x .75¢/1 Kraft parmesan cheese IPQ=$1.50
1 x $1/2 Bear Naked granola IPQ=$1.00
1 x BOGO Snapple tea hangtag Q=$1.49
1 x $1/1 Goldn'Plump chicken IPQ=$1.00
1 x BOGO Ice sparkling drinks IPQ=$1.00
1 x .55¢/1 MC pie IPQ=.55¢
1 x $1/2 any Ortega items IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 PF Swirl bread=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Minute Rice ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $1/2 Windex IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$11.54

$63.87-$11.54=$52.33-$15 in Target gift cards=$37.33-$18.37 Target gift card balance=$18.96 OOP.

When I got home I submitted for $2.25 in cash rebates($1 for the Minute Rice, .75¢ for the MC pie and .50¢ for 1 of the Ice drinks)through Ibotta and Checkout51.
So after that my OOP becomes $16.71 and I earned $3 Catalina and $15 in new Target gift cards.

The Not-So Good was I mistakenly bought the wrong brand of swirl bread and didn't realize it until I got home and Ibotta wouldn't take my rebate for that. doh!

I bought Thomas' instead of Pepperidge Farm but on the good side of this, the cashier pushed the $1 PFQ I gave her through. lolz
So I got a loaf of bread that was .30¢ cheaper to begin with, saved $1 off of it by mistake and didn't get my .75¢ rebate, so it's only a .45¢ "win".  I can live with that.  ;-)

Unfortunately I didn't print out the King's Hawaiian rolls IPQs in time or that would have been cheaper.  I still wanted them for Easter dinner as I really didn't want to have to make my handmade rolls.  I prefer my family recipe but I guess I am just getting old and tired.....why kill myself to make everything at home, right?  It's not like the brother in-law will notice they are store bought. lolz
I am going to whip some butter with honey though to serve with these...not like they aren't sweet enough, right?  8-)  But it will be a nice extra touch to make up for that they aren't homemade.

And those 1lb. containers of parmesan cheese are twice the size of the little canisters you see at the store and buy and THEY WERE THE SAME PRICE AS THE LITTLE CANISTERS!  Why not get twice as much for the same price, right?  And the coupon made them $2.66 each....can't beat that with a stick!

Sometimes when I go to Target to do these deals I end up buying filler junk.  I really wanted to avoid that this trip.  Why spend $50 if half of it is stuff you didn't go to get anyway, right?  The pie is for Easter(again, I am being lazy.lol)and the chips are for Easter for the pre-dinner snacks and veggie tray(and Hubs will eat whatever is left later). The Swirl bread is for making French Toast Easter morning for Hubs and I....a little treat for us.

I am happy overall for once with a Target trip.  I don't often say that. ;-)
Used $33.37 in gift cards, $11.54 in Qs and $18.96 in cash.
Got back $15 in gift cards, $2.25 in cash rebates and $3 in CatQs.
And that $18.96 OOP cash didn't bust my march food budget either.  8-)

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