Frugal Friday...the May 27th Edition

First I want to thank everyone who wrote words of encouragement or called me yesterday because of my funk.  The black dog visits me often as I age but I usually am able to sent him away quickly but not this time.  It cheers me to think of how folks, many of whom I have never met IRL care and will reach out.  There are just so many balls up in the air right now it's discouraging.  I think I am in need of an adventure but don't know what to do just yet.  I'm sure someone will think of something. ;-)

So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here at Chez Sluggy this past week.......

*  No online orders this past week but I did do 2 in store transactions last weekend.  Mostly for vitamins, Pepcid, band-aids, Vaseline lip stuff and some items that had Ibotta rebates.

Spent $99.82 in Bonus Cash, earned back $94 in new BC, converted $23.50 into cash rebates(including a $5 Weekend Warrior Bonus).  I also converted $7.25 in post coupons below to cash back in my pocket.  I also submitted to J and J for 2 x $10 rebates so this week was stellar in terms of spending and saving.

*  Went to Rite-Aid on Tuesday with coupons I had forgotten to bring/use last weekend when I bought some stuff.  The cashier on that weekend transaction also forgot to remove and use a $2/1 hangtag Q on one of my vitamins too.

That's $7.25 back in my pocket.

*  The only take-out this past week was Thursday.  Hubs didn't thaw anything to cook so he opted for Chinese take-out.  

*  It's been unseasonably warm here this past week as well as 2 previous weeks.  That means not running the heat and not needing the a/c yet and we received a lower than normal electric bill for May.  Go us! 8-)

*   I found money!

I found this penny under a self-checkout machine last Friday at Walmart.

I scooped this .11¢ up at the Burger King drive-thru later that same day.

I found this penny at my Rite-Aid on Monday.

These pennies were also found at R-A but on Tuesday.  I went in the morning to get a gift card and found the lone penny.  I went back that evening to get my post coupons done and found 2 more pennies.

I came home that evening and did a load of laundry(cheaper time of day rates)and found this quarter in the dryer.  Any found money in the laundry is claimed by the launderer. ;-)

Total Found in last Week...... .41¢
Total Found This Year......$12.92

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

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

And have a good weekend!  

Sluggy  

Frugal Friday.....the April 29th Edition

  So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

*   No food waste this past week. Eating lots of leftovers and bits and pieces we already have.  I made a big pot of Mushroom/Wild Rice soup, using foodstuffs we have in the stockpile.  After our Burger meal on Sunday I took the rest of the thawed ground beef and made a petite meatloaf.  I still need to turn the frozen from last Summer's garden tomato sauce into pasta sauce today.  I can use the rest of the opened can of tomato paste(from the meatloaf making)in the pasta sauce.

*  I cashed in on Fetch for a $10 gift card and on Ibotta for 7 x $5 gift cards, all for Walmart.  Yes, I can't resist chasing that $35 Bloomin' Bonus. ;-)

*  Another 2 purse sized bottles of hand sanitizer for free from Rite-Aid this week.

*  I got rid of some clothes to the thrift store....

This was all ex-College Boy's cast offs.

And 2 tops and a coat that are too big for me now.  There were a few other garments I forgot to get a photo of.  3 big bags in total got carted off to the thrift store.

*   I found money!

Last Friday I hit a different Rite-Aid.  All this change was strewn about the parking lot near my car.

That same day I hit my R-A and found another penny in an aisle.

I went back to R-A on Tuesday and found all these pennies in various spots in the store.

Total Found in last Week...... .32¢
Total Found This Year......$10.67

* On that last trip to R-A I turned in 2 coupons I had forgotten to use when I bought some items on Saturday evening.

I had gotten 2 bottles of Love, Beauty, Planet Body Wash on clearance for $2.24.  Forgot my $3/1 LBP body wash Qs so got $6 post coupon back on that trip making each bottle a freebie plus a .76¢ moneymaker. 8-)

Found a shelf full of 8 packs of Gatorade Zero at Walmart last Friday on clearance for $3 per pack.  That's .75¢ per 2 bottles so I picked up 3 packs.  This is a sugar-free thirst quencher around here in the Summer!

Then I found a shelf full of Great Value burritos at Walmart this week marked down to $1.03 per bag!  Hubs LOVES these for lunch so I picked up 3 packs(only 3 would fit in my freezer otherwise I would have bought more lol).

*  I'm still tending to my seedlings in the house......

Not a great photo but here they are as of this morning.  The leggy ones on the left are watermelon starts.  There is one whole row that never germinated-the third row from the right.  Can't recall offhand what those were suppose to be, I'll have to check my chart later.  Planting season is still 10 days off around here.  I'll start putting this out in the sun everyday the weather is good until then.

That's about all I've got for this past week.

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

And have a good weekend!

Sluggy  

Frugal Friday....the February 4th Edition

This was the view out the front door this morning.  Since then it's been snowing.  I won't be going anywhere anytime soon so no money spent. rah.

So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

*   No food waste so far. ;-)  We've got lots of leftovers this week to use up or repurpose.

*  I used 3 expiring $2 rewards at Subway to get us lunch on Thursday along with part of a gift card. 

 I saw I also had a free Birthday cookie in my Subway account so Hubs picked that up too. ;-)

* I bought about $12 in stuff on a trip to Weis.  That was my only food shopping trip for the week.

*  I did about 4 Rite-Aid transactions this week utilizing BC, Catalinas and coupons.......

*  On Wednesday Hubs and I had a lunch out at Applebee's using a Xmas gift card from Sonya.  I "went outside my lane" as they say and ordered something new(uh oh), a small steak.  It was overcooked and I couldn't cut it(the dull knife they gave me didn't help any either).  I gave my plate to Hubs to attempt to cut the steak.  This piece of meat shouldn't have been served.  I've had tough and chewy steaks before as well as grisly ones and sinewy ones but there was an artery/vein tube that ran through the center of this steak!  You couldn't cut the tube(think rubber hose)or cut the meat away that was edible from around it.  Called the server over to send it back for an edible piece of meat.  Manager brings new steak over along with a new knife(just as dull as the old one though)and I cut into that one.  Not much better but at least there was no hose in it and it was chewable.

The server brought the check and I used part of my gift card to pay and noticed I had been charge for TWO steaks!  We signaled him over and pointed out that this was an error and he took the check and gift card up to his manager then came back having taken the second steak charge off the check as well as another $10 off for all the issues on this visit.  Basically my part of the meal had cost $3 and change at this point.  go me.

*  I got the result of my sleep study back and the findings where that I no longer need the supplemental oxygen at night so no concentrator is needed.  Rah!  That's less medical bills in my future for DMEs.  Anybody need a broken oxygen concentrator? lol

*  I got $4 back in "post coupons" at R-A this week.  $2 for St. Joseph Aspirin and $2 for Nivea lotion when I forgot my qs at home.

*   I found money!

One whole penny at Weis in front of the CS desk.  I'm shocked I found no errant change in R-A this week!  At least I didn't get skunked for the week thanks to that lone penny at Weis(PMITA)Markets.

Total Found in last Week...... .01¢
Total Found This Year......$1.88

That's about all I've got for this week.

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

And have a good weekend and stay warm!  It's been snowing all day here.... 8-(

Sluggy  

Frugal Friday....the January 14th Edition

So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

*   No food waste so far. ;-)  Not much cooking either and eating leftovers happened as always.

*  I did a couple Rite-Aid transactions this week.......

Purposely spending down the Bonus Cash and converting what I can through Ibotta back into cash monies. 

*  I had 3 post coupons at Rite-Aid early in the week.........

1 x $2

2 x $1

Total of $4 in my Post Q/Refund envelope for 2022.

*  I made some returns at Rite-Aid too later in the week.......

$1.79(though the cashier gave me $1.80).  She botched the transaction right before and charged me for 3 of an item instead of two so she owed me this back.

$4.99 for a bottle of mouthwash(same cashier gave me $5.00 instead)  I'm thinking she doesn't like dealing with coinage. lol

And I returned a deodorant Thursday night and got a refund of $5.71.  I also returned two candy bars but those gave me BC back on my card.  Sometimes I get BC back and sometimes cash.....I never can figure out which. lol

*  I stayed home 4 of the last 7 days so I didn't spend anything then. Went out to R-A(of course), Walmart and Aldi when I did go out.  R-A to spend BC, Walmart to do Ibotta rebates and use gift cards and Aldi for eggs and bread as they are the lowest price in town on those.

*   I found money!

All 3 of these pennies under the candy racks by the register.

I went to Aldi on Thursday and saw scads of shopping carts un-corralled so I corralled 2 of them and got .50¢.

Then when I was leaving I handed over my cart to a lady and she shoved a coin in my hand.  I didn't bother to look at it and put it in my coat pocket.  Later I took a look at it and it wasn't a quarter but a $1 Coin!  That made my Aldi trip a $1.25 one. lol

Went to my R-A Thursday night to return something and found a nickel right when I walked into the store and a grody penny on the floor near the register.

Total Found in last Week...... $1.34
Total Found This Year......$1.70

January is looking GREAT for found money! 8-)))

That's about all I've got for this week.

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

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid on Tuesday & Wednesday

On Tuesday  used that $3/$30 Q on Daughter's card buying this.......

3 x Tide detergent on sale=$17.97
6 x Pantene 'poo/conditioner on sale=$23.94
SubTotal........$41.91

Coupons Used
1 x $3/wyspend $30 CatQ=$3.00
2 x $2/1 Tide detergent/pods ManQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Tide detergent L2CQ=$2.00
2 x $5/3 Pantene items ManQ=$10.00
Coupon Total............$19.00

$41.91-$19.00=$22.91+$1.38 tax=$24.29 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $20 in new BC($20 wyspend $40 on select P&G items)so spent down BC by $4.29.

The down side was the new cashier kept putting payment through before she took my Qs. ugh.  So we did this transaction THREE times(along with two voided transactions)to get it right. 8-)))

Then I did this on my card...........

2 x Allegra 30 ct. BOGO50%=$34.48
1 x Allegra kid's liquid 20% Wellness disc.=$11.03
SubTotal........$45.51

Coupons Used
2 x $4/1 Allegra 24Hr 24ct. or larger ManQ=$8.00
1 x $4/1 Allegra kid's ManQ=$4.00
Coupon Total........$12.00

$45.51-$12.00=$33.51 paid for with all my BC + .75¢ off an old R-A gift card.
I earned back $10 in new Bonus Cash(spend $30/Get $10).

While not a great deal getting only $10 BC back on a $33.51 spend, this transaction was part of a triple dip however.
Besides the $10 in BC back, I also submitted for a $10 Rebate(which comes as a Paypal deposit)from Chattem, the manufacturer when you spend $30(after Qs/sale prices)on at least 2 Allegra items in a single transaction.

I got an email that my submission was successful later Tuesday saying my Paypal reward would be arriving in 1-2 weeks.
Wednesday morning I awoke to a Paypal email that my $10 payment was already in my account!

PLUS I got $45.51 in points toward the "Spend $75/Get $20 BC Rite-Aid Allergy Rewards" which runs all year.  This card is now up to $67.52 toward that BC Reward with only $7.48 let to spend to get that $20 BC.

Triple Dip--
*Bonus Cash
*Rebate
*Points toward more BC

Then on Wednesday I bought this on Son's card........

3 x Schick mens razors on sale $5.99=$17.97
1 x Schick ladies razors on sale=$5.99
4 x e.l.f. brushes 20% Wellness disc.=$3.20
SubTotal......$27.16
1 x $4/1 Schick L2CQ came off so $23.16+$1.39 tax=$24.55 paid for in BC.

I earned $12 in new BC(2 x $3 Schick, 2 x $3 e.l.f.).

But here is the rest of this story...............

Another new cashier who is "push the payment button" happy.  I wanted to see if my $4/1Schick  L2CQ came off and she pushed the payment button without using my other 3 $4/1 Schick paper Qs so $24.55. sigh.
Then-GET THIS!-She looked at the 3 unused Qs and said, "Oh, these don't expire soon so you can use them next time.".
Imagine the look on my face at this point.......and me screaming in my head, "Bitch, I am using these Qs NOW!!!"
(BTW-the L2CQ did come off as you can see above.)

So we returned just the razors since there were no Qs used on the e.l.f. brushes.
Then I rebought the 4 razors and used 3 Qs, but now the L2CQ didn't come off(since it was "used" in the previous transaction).

So I pulled out a 4th $4/1 Schick Q after the transaction was finished and we did a "post coupon" and I got $4 in cash for it.
Again she didn't know how to do a post Q so luckily the manager was right there and showed her how to do one.

Plus when we returned the 4 razors the register told the cashier to refund me $24.55 in BC AND .85¢ in cash.
So I had $30.89 in Bonus Cash on this card BEFORE this transaction and ended up with $30.21 in Bonus Cash AFTER plus $4.85 Cash.

It's a head scratcher for sure! lolz
But any day I can walk out of a store with more BC and cash than I had when I walked in is a GOOD day.  ;-)

Then I bought this on Hubs card...........

3 x e.l.f. brushes $1, 20% Disc.=$2.40
1 x e.l.f. brush $2, 20% Disc.=$1.60
4 x Big Win candy bags on sale 2/$3=$6.00
SubTotal......$10.00

No Qs were used so $10+.24¢ tax=$10.24 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $9 in new BC(2 x $3 elf, 1 x $1 Big Win candy wyb4 weekly, 1 x $2 Big Win candy wyb4 monthly)so spent down my BC by $1.24 on this transaction.

I may venture into Rite-Aid again before Saturday night if I get an itch to.  Will update my R-A hijinx if I do.


Sluggy

Small Finances....2018 Year End

This is my End of Year Small Finances money post for 2018.

I went through the various small pots of monies and here is where it all stands as of  December 21st.
I save up all my rebates/spare change/refunds to apply toward the food bill in December.
(I don't however put monies from things I sell during the year into this kitty.)

Here are my totals........

*  Rolled Coins--$49.50 to put toward the food budget.  This is mainly change we throw into a change cup throughout the year.

*  Here are the current cash rebate app totals for 2018 to this point in December........

   Ibotta  $382.11
   Checkout 51  $12.50 *Can't cash this out until it hits $20*
   Savingstar  $88.65
Rebate apps Total....$470.79(w/out Checkout51)

*   My Weis Refund/mailed Rebates envelope has $48.80 in it.

*   My Rite-Aid Post Q/Refund envelope has $182.21 in it.

*   My found change envelope has $3.49 in it.

Altogether I have a Grand Total of $754.76 in funds to put back into the food budget in December.

2018 was a great year for small finances at Chez Sluggy.  The added cost of having a smartphone was balanced by being able to do a lot more in cash rebates w/phone apps.

Do you keep track of small streams of cash you receive?
Do you ear mark any of it for something special?

Sluggy