Frugal Friday......the August 18th Edition

Vacations on the whole are NOT frugal in the least and we have been away from July 18th through August 15th.

Spending money is NOT frugal on it's own but by making spending choices you can be more frugal on vacation.....or not.

Here are some things we did the last 2 weeks or so that were frugal in one way or another.

Making a stop at Rite-Aid for an rx, the freebies and discounted beer.  I got 4 packs of light bulbs for free although no photos were taken before I gifted them along the way home.  Then I discovered that in Idaho you can sell beer/wine in most stores(including drugstores)so I bought a 6 packs and then discovered that yes, my 20% Wellness discount at Rite-Aid also worked on beer!

Taking full advantage of "good" motel breakfasts when we got one(so hit or miss).  We'd fill up and not have to eat lunch that day(or just have some car snacks instead of a full meal), thus saving some cash for other things.

Taking advantage of free food along the way(popcorn and coffee), when sometimes we didn't feel like eating the snacks we brought along on the trip.

And nearly running over a turkey along the highway and getting a free dinner out of it. lolz

Shopping at discount liquor stores for souvenirs/gifts because what's better than showing up somewhere with booze?

Finding offbeat activities and sights.  Hey!, free is FREE!!!

Before housekeeping threw out the Sunday papers in the public areas at the motel in Fargo, searching those newspapers for the coupon inserts.
Not buying newspapers and getting the coupons for Free?  Yes please!

Thrift store shopping with your cousin and finding a bank in the likeness of another one of your cousins......always a trip!

More historical free activities.

And an end of road trip splurge at the outlet shop.
60% off so I bought two!

Next week will be back to regular frugality stuff....blah, blah, blah.  Not as much fun but nobody can stay on vacation forever.

What did you do lately that was frugal?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the August 4th Edition

This one will be short as we are on vacation and my brain is sort of scattered with driving and moving around so much.....and being with the dynamo called KIM for the last 7 of 9 days of this road trip adventure. 8-)
There is no "we stayed home and didn't spend" type frugalness this week, sorry.

* We have been able, while traveling alone and staying in motels, to eat only two meals a day on some days.  We stay in motels that served "breakfast" so the cost of one of those two meals is rolled into the price you pay at the motel.  Although each motel has a different definition of "breakfast" so you never know how good or wretched that meal will be. lolz

* I asked Kim, the night before we left her house, to please print me out a coupon for Shopko(a smallish discount department store in her parts). We stopped before leaving Idaho so I could use it to get a few things.  I saved $10 on my $32 order that way and I now have 3 Christmas presents tucked away(well in the car trunk until we get home).

* Speaking of Kim, she took me up to her Rite-Aid to fill a prescription and we both got free or better-than-free light bulbs using the deal this week on GE products.

* Speaking of Rite-Aid, the ones in Idaho sell wine and beer.  I picked up a 6-pack of beer for my kids(both legal drinking age now)and since it was Rite-Aid I also got 20% off on the purchase.  I figured the 20% Wellness discount wouldn't work on liquor but I was wrong.  Go me!

* At one point traveling from Twin Falls to Ashton Idaho we made a stop for lunch with Kim and her Hubs Joel.  They chose Applebee's.  I brought along a gift card so we paid for all our meals and used that gift card which meant only $22+ OOP.  Woohoo!

* There have been so many souvenir temptations along the way.  Overall I have been pretty good about not overspending on them.  Places like Yellowstone Park and the place we were yesterday were fairly outrageous in their prices so I haven't bought much at the big sites/parks/museums.  My best souvenir scores have been at highway travel plaza stores. lolz  I have a soft spot this trip for t-shirts and books it seems.

* I haven't bought any groceries since I haven't been home and haven't been cooking at all!  I have bought some drinks for using while traveling however but that's a small cost compared to buying groceries at home.  At least I am picking up drinks by the 6 pack or at discount places(Big Lots/Walmart)instead of paying $1.89 or so at gas station convenience stores or even more at motel vending machines.

So what did you do that was frugal this week?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....July 7th Edition

Not a lot on the frugal front to report this week, but here's a few.........

*  Hubs and I had lunch out on the 3rd when we went out to run errands.  We went to Bob Evans for a late lunch(after 2pm).  We used a 30% off your meal Q so paid $15.90 instead of $22.72.

*  Minute Maid juices is running a Catalina Promotion through the end of 2017 at Weis(might be available at your store too so worth checking out if you buy a lot of OJ).  For every 5 cartons you get a Catalina off $2 on your next order.......

Good thing is that these Catalinas expire 1/5/18!
I think what I'll do is hold onto them and cash however many I get the end of the year in at Weis for my Xmas dinner shopping.
Who knows?  I could save enough to pay for a nice hunk of roast or something! 8-)
And of course, I'll ONLY buy MM OJ when it's on sale to get them(and pair Qs with the sale when available).

*  I smoked a pork butt and two slabs of ribs from the freezer on Monday........

The ribs got wrapped in foil and finished off in the crock pot on Tuesday morning in time for our 4th of July picnic.
The pork butt got put into a larger crock pot on Wednesday night and cooked overnight on low and the resulting barbecue was eaten on buns with Cole slaw for dinner on Thursday night.  Mmmm!
Better and cheaper than going out to a BBQ joint here(MUCH cheaper as BBQ is a high falootin' deal in these parts).

*  We cashed in a Savings Bond that was no longer accruing interest.  Now we just need to sit down and decide where to put that money, hopefully somewhere it can earn more than .0001%.  8-(
Keeping fully matured SBonds is not smart.  Get your money and either use to pay down debt, a mortgage, etc. or stash it elsewhere where it can grow more money for you!


*  Last Fantastic Friday I bought a pack of Lemon Lemon and a pack of Izze drinks........

They were $1.99 per pack on sale.  I wasn't going to just buy 2 Lemon Lemon ones but there was a separate $1 cash rebate on Ibotta for both LL and Izze(limit of 1 per brand).  They had a lemon-lime variety of Izze so that's pretty close to what LL is.
And I had a $1/2 Izze and/or LemonLemon Weis Booklet Q too.

So it was 2 x $1.99=$3.98-$1Q-$2 in Rebates=.98¢ OOP or .49¢ per 8 pack.

*  I made WV hot dog chili to put on our July 4th picnic dogs.  It turned out mighty fine(I've never made hot dog chili before).  Much better than that canned runny slop they sell in the stores.

I also made Macaroni Salad which is also cheaper to make and tastes better than what they sell in the grocery store.

*  I have come up with a genius plan for food for College Boy for when he returns to school.
Since he is a Senior this next semester he doesn't have to take a meal plan from the University.
So no $1700+ to $1900+ food costs per semester. Ever. Again.
I'll reveal my ingenious plan in a later post but I will say I don't know why I didn't think of this before now!  Anybody want to guess my plan to save money on food for him?

That's all I gots.....
What about you?  What frugal feats did you achieve this past week??

Sluggy