Frugal Friday....the Birthday(Jan. 21st)Edition on January 22nd

First off, thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday or sent messages to cheer me out of the winter doldrums.  I swear with this cold weather I am feeling every one of my XXX years old. lolz  And here's to you, all you other January babies out there!

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 used my free Birthday Burger coupon at Red Robin on Thursday.  I pulled what my daughter use to when we'd go out as a family; I got the most expensive one on the menu. lol  It sort of backfired on me though as it wasn't as good as the burger I usually get there. It was still yummy and FREE! ;-)

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

Nothing OOP, earned $6 in Bonus Cash back and $7 in Ibotta(Oral B, Glide, Twist, 2 x Jergens).

*  I did a fair amount of Walmart this week too.

2 trips(2 different Walmarts)and some offers reset.  Missing from photo are a tin of Nivea men's cream,
a whole Perdue chicken, 3 Hallmark cards, Penetrex muscle reliever, 4 bags of Green Giant Riced/Spiraled veggies, a bottle of Fairlife milk and a Freschetta frozen pizza.

This week Ibotta has 5-6 free items if you sign up or have someone sign up under your referral code.  Mine is MKAAXA.  I haven't gotten any referrals so I only got the free pizza offer. 8-(

Anyway, I also bought a bag of shredded cheese at Weis(PMITA)Markets for $2.50 so my Grand Total Spent for Ibotta items was $79.02 after coupons and gift cards used.(The scanner gun at the last Walmart yesterday was broken so I couldn't use more gift cards from my phone.)
I earned back $63.44 in Ibotta rebates and bonuses for the week, making my OOP $15.58 after Ibotta.  I earned $9.48 on Coupons dotcom and Checkout51 making it $6.10 OOP.  I also earned .31¢ on Fetch, $3.40 on Shop Kick and $6.15 on Swag Bucks(but I don't count those until I cash out for gift cards).

I also found a few clearance deals at Walmart, $1 for Turkey Broth and 100 count boxes of tea bags, 2 bags of Smartfood and 2 Family size boxes of Cheerios(not pictured)for Hubs.

*   I found money!

Found this 12¢ at the entrance outside of my Rite-Aid on Monday.

Found this penny by the second register at my R-A on Wednesday.

Total Found in last Week...... .13¢
Total Found This Year......$1.83

It would be nice to crack the $2 mark for January but probably won't happen. ;-)

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!!

Sluggy 

Card Shower Report

Ok, here is the list of card senders and cards I have received that went out in the package to Sonya this morning......(I waited an extra day and am glad because 3 cards came in on Tuesday)......
S Steiner
D Hartwick(2 cards)
Anne-New Happenings at the Table and Whatever
N Alexander
Cheap Chick-Living Rich on the Cheap
Jen-Absolutely Sweet Chaos
R Davis(2 cards)-Living Better One Day at a Time
American Dreamer-Frugal Things Every Day
Jen G.
Lorraine-We are Clamco
Jane-Crabapple Landing
Deb G.

CTMom-CT on a Budget
Linda-Practical Parsimony
Rivulet-$12 a Day
Jackie in CA
Email from Janie
Email from Angie
Hawaii Planner-The Hawaii Plan
Michelle D. in SC

That's a big pile of love so thanks for doing this for her even with all the stuff going on in everyone's life during the Holidays.

Someone who has her mailing addy wrote her so we didn't get to surprise her with this unfortunately.  She went and saw the post on my blog. *rats*
Sonya said this........

"I just wanted to say I love you. I got a card yesterday from XXXXXX. I knew that was you. And I saw the post. You really care. Thank you. You have no idea how much just knowing you have my back helps. 

Please tell everyone thank you for the concern. It's helps....."

Maybe I should have tucked some Kleenex in the package too because she's going to need it, right?  ;-)

Back later to recap our Christmas before turning my sights on the New Year.  8-)

Sluggy

Thank You!

I just wanted to thank everyone who sent good wishes concerning my recent meltdown on the blog.
I am really bad about responding individually to comments, but if you've been reading here long, you already know that, so don't take offense if I don't respond to your note.

I also received a few emailed private messages of support.  Those were totally unexpected but are cherished just the same.

Being a woman of a certain age, I don't much care what anyone thinks of me or what I think or do.
Society in general can "KMFA" in regard to who and what I am and what I do.  Basically, "my religion" is to be a good person who tries hard not to hurt anyone else and if that ain't good enough for some people then too too bad and here's the remote so you can change the channel.

All that superficial stuff that's so important to the majority of those in our culture concerns me not.  I often feel so out of step with the rest of our society and the majority of womankind.  My worth is not dependent on the latest fashion and hairstyle, how small my dress size or what celebrity or sports team I identify with(none of them).
I know who I am and what matters in my life.

But now and again when my psyche is low things said can get to me.  I guess that's true of everyone.  And last week I was having one of those times so things said that don't usually bother me did, and tunneled down into my soul and made a mess of me at my core.

I really didn't want to stop blogging nor did I want to take it private.
This particular blog of mine has been up and running since 20 Jan 2009.
6+ years at this point.
It's been continually changing as I have changed over the years and it has enriched my life in ways I couldn't have imagined back in 2009 it would.

I think I am back on an even keel now, with a sturdy rudder.  My sails may be in tatters but we journey on into the great unknown.
Sea monsters and trolls need not apply.
There are still many adventures to partake in so come along on the voyage.  ;-)




Sluggy