Frugal Friday.........the July 5th Edidtion

There are very few Frugal wins over the past week.

*   I grabbed a few things at Kroger this week after my eye appointment......

                               

The Bugles were $1.73 after offers and Ibotta for both, The cereals were $2.23 for both after offers and Ibotta for both, the Rock Stars were a $1.66 moneymaker after $5 rebate.  You can do this offer all year every other week if you want.  Just go to  "discover.gotoaisle.com/referral/kq98hepHXk", sign up, buy 2 Rock Star drinks and text a photo of your receipt to the number they text you back.  Rock Stars are regularly $1.88 at Walmart and $1.25 at the Dollar Tree if nobody else has them on sale the week you can buy them.
The Finish tabs were .99¢ after offers and Ibotta, the Powerade was free with a Best Customer Coupon, The Stem mosquito spray was a $1.51 moneymaker, the Barilla Pesto sauce was free after offers and Ibotta, the 4 Mott's soft baked bars were $1.96 total for all 4 after offers(2 had $1/2 peelie coupons on them) and Ibotta, the O.B, tampons were $1.75 on clearance and another dollar off on Mega Sale, the 3 Elvive conditioners were .75¢ each after clearance and another dollar off on Mega Sale and the 1 Elvive shampoo was .92¢ after clearance and another dollar off on Mega Sale.  Along with the produce I bought that day I spent $20.45 OOP.

2 of the Motts bars, the tampons, the dish tabs, Rock Star drinks and the Reese's cereal are all headed into the food bank donation box.  Maybe the shampoo and conditioners as well. 8-))

*  I messaged the Orthopedist about how that injection last week didn't help and maybe I should wait until I got back from Virginia to take any other actions.  This injection just made my shoulder feel worse but he still wants me to come in and talk about this....and pay him another $20 co-pay to do so. 8-(  I don't see the point as I am NOT going to let him give me another injection now so maybe I'll reschedule this appointment for after I get back from Virginia?

*  Remember that $15 gift card for 2nd place we won at Trivia last week?.....

Well we went back this past Wednesday to use the gift card and play trivia.  There were huge teams of 9 and 10 and lots of folks playing.  We still won 2nd place-AGAIN!  lol  We would have taken 1st place but Hubs didn't kick in the answer to the last Bonus question until it was too late to get our paper to the moderator.  Dang it!  We were laughing our heads off beating these big old teams and we weren't even trying too hard to win. 8-)

*  I found money!  It wasn't a great week for found coins but at least I didn't get skunked.

I found a penny at the dirty Kroger walking through their vestibule to leave that store on Wednesday.

Total Found last week.... .01¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$5.15 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.   

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

Sluggy     

 

Frugal Friday....the June 28th Edition

There are a few Frugal wins over the past week.

*   I grabbed a few freebies at Walmart this week......

The pads and toothpaste are headed to the food bank.  The Winged Wellness gummies, the Mushroom gummies and "Wonder Gut" I am keeping and all had full price rebates on them(well not the Wonder Gut).  The Shepherd's Pie was an "The Insiders" offer I qualified for...cost $5.98 and I am suppose to get a $15 electronic debit card.

*  About those electronic debit cards--seems you can't combine them with another form of payment if the amount on the EDC doesn't cover what you are trying to purchase(at least not on Amazon or Walmart, etc. as I have tried).  So you need to track what you spend and find something that, after tax included hits or comes close to but not over the amount on the card.  The last time I had one of these EDCs it had $30 loaded on it and after buying 2 items I had $2.14 left on it.  I figured I wasn't going to have that card expire with $2.14 still on it(these debit cards have about 6 months of life).  I actually found something for $2.14 including sales tax to LA the other day so ordered it.  It's something I'll either give as a gift or put in a giveaway box in the Fall(too hot here to mail anything that might melt in this heat and humidity now).

*  Every PT session I grab a bottle of water from the fridge there.  So free 16 bottles of water total. 8-)

*  I went back to the Orthopedist for my shoulders.  Still having pain in the left one(PT and continuing to do exercises at home seems to have helped the right one)so I got a steroid injection in my left AC joint.  I am bruised and still sore where it was administered but hopefully this will give me some relieve(this and avoided doing certain actions with my left arm).  The AC joint is full up with arthritis inflammation, and it's right where my bra strap sits so going braless seems to help as well.  Good thing I don't go much of anywhere and can stay home and not wear one of those torturous devices. lol

*  I also did a little Kroger shopping on Tuesday.....

In preparation for being at my brother's house in VA, where I won't have a car and they eat a strange diet(due to medical issues), so I don't know what they will have I can consume, I bought 5 boxes of protein bars plus 3 single bars.  The Dave's Killer Bread bars were on sale(and had a coupon and a rebate, which made them free), the singles were part of the Mega Sale and the 2 Annie's boxes and 2 Fiber One boxes were on clearance(and both had rebates making them ultra cheap-$1.04 each for the Annie's and $1.77 each for the Fiber One).  The breakfast cereal and 3 toothpastes were for the food bank and the box of cookies were for Hubs(plus had a coupon and rebate making it $1.79).  The Knorr noodle cups were on sale and had Shop Kick offers making them .89¢ each, the Excedrin Head Care(no NSAID in it, just melatonin and other "herbs")was .49¢ after clearance sale + $3 digital Q and $3 Swag Bucks offer.  The double pack of Voltaren was 50% off on clearance and it's something we can use with my shoulder issues so I gladly spent $17.49 on that.  The Duke's soap & body wash was on clearance for $3.52 each and had $1.75 on each in Ibotta rebates and a matching $1.75 off each KCB(who knows if that will ever show up!)so were .02¢ if the KCB does magically appear. lol  I'll either sell or donate those toiletry items so they are not counted in my grocery tab.

We did spend on 2 packs of Klondike ice cream sandwiches on sale and with Ibotta rebates, a pack of clearance priced trout fillets for Hubs to make when I am gone(I don't care for trout)and an almost half priced with store coupon hunk of salmon.

Also picked up a 2 lb. of strawberries for $2.88(changed my location in the app to get the best coupon deal)and a 4 pack of Dannon yogurt cups on clearance which cost $1.39 after digital coupon.  These regularly go for almost $5 at Kroger!

Also bought were some bagged salads(3 on clearance and 1 on sale)and a cantaloupe, also on sale.  I also picked up a 12 pack of Cesar wet dog food for the little beasties, after coupon was $13.49(plus I got a $1 from Ibotta and I had tracking on Fetch so received another $6 for hitting a threshold there).

*  Remember that $10 gift card for 3rd place we won at Trivia last week?.....

Well we went back for trivia at the new location to us on Wednesday to spend this and not have to go back again.  We didn't try very hard at trivia and there were so many pop culture, video game and Netflix series questions(we don't pay for Netflix)we though for sure we'd not win, place or show(as we don't watch movies, don't have Netflix or other streaming services and don't "do" video games).  There were only 5 teams playing(all of which were much larger than the 2 of us).  One team left after the second round so it was 4 teams competing for 3 gift card prizes.  Even with our dismal showing we got 2nd place!  We played the 15 point bonus round(where you can lose your points if you are wrong)and we got it right, which means 2 other teams either didn't even do the Bonus round or got it wrong.  Even when we try to lose we win if there are so few teams competing.  We were laughing our heads off at the 2nd place win. lolz

*  After PT on Thursday I hit up Walmart for some freebies.........

I am keeping the dog foods only.  The 2 tubes of toothpaste and the swim diapers are going to the food bank.

All this cost me $45.67, well I DID use a free gift card so it actually "cost" me $20.67 OOP.

I received back $45.62 in rebates so it all "cost" me a nickel.  I had a $2/1 paper coupon for the swim diapers which I forgot so it could have been a $1.95 moneymaker.  oh well.

*  Way back on February 14th I texted AARP.  I was already incensed that I was required to join AARP in November of 2023 and hand over $12 to them in order to get a certain Medical Supplement Plan back in January when I became eligible for Medicare, but I realized in February that when you join you are suppose to get a free gift and I wanted that free gift!  So supposedly the agent in text had ordered my free gift of a tote bag on that date and it was shipping out in 3-4 weeks.  Fast forward to June 17th and nothing had arrived nor had I heard word one from AARP on this matter.  So I texted them again and used their quoted words from before on my gift shipping out in 3-4 weeks. This agent looked into the matter and that previous employee had never actually ORDERED the bag!!!  My, that's crackjack customer service for you, isn't it?!  So this new agent assured me the tote bag was ordered and would be on it's way.

Here is what I received this week........

A very small package.

Here's the "Tote Bag" along with 3 copies of a glossy generic thank you card.  Quality control much??

This "tote bag" is about the size of a lunch bag, not the size of what anyone would refer to as a tote bag.  I have tote bags of various kinds and this ain't one.  Maybe I can use it in the Summer when I buy frozen or refrigerated food at the grocery store to "tote" it home.  I think 1 pack of ground beef or a steak will fit into this.

*  I found money!  It wasn't a great week for found coins but at least I didn't get skunked.

On Monday I headed into Walmart to pick up a new Rx from the "real" Neurologist and got a few freebies too.  I found one penny tucked under the pharmacy counter and the other near a self-checkout register before leaving the store.  Go. me.

I also found another penny at a different Walmart in their parking lot on Thursday. rah.

Total Found last week.... .03¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$5.14 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.   Next "FF" up will be in July.

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

Sluggy     

 

Frugal Friday.......the June 14th 2024 Edition

There are a few Frugal wins over the past week.

* Had an assessment for PT on my right side/back muscle and 1 session of PT this past week.  Again, no co-pays.  Man, this gal works me hard and the back exercises are even harder than the shoulder ones.  Plus my left shoulder still hurts so doing some of the back stuff hurts that arm as I have to brace myself with that arm.  

*  Every PT session I grab a bottle of water from the fridge there.  So free 12 bottles of water so far and counting. 8-)

*  I hit up Walmart on Wednesday........

The spices were all on clearance(one is a gift so we don't count that one in the grocery budget).  The pads are for the food bank(also not counted in groceries)and a moneymaker after coupon and rebate.

*  I picked up this at Dollar General too ........

These were part of their 50% clearance event.  $4.47 for each pack of 64 plates.  These heavy duty name brand ones on this sale were cheaper than store brand ones and it was something we needed.

*  These were picked up this past week.......

These had a free manufacturer's rebate and an Ibotta rebate.

*  I tired to put a CVS deal together..........

We picked up $20 ECB due to buying some gift cards there.  So I had $20 ECB going in.

Well this didn't go as planned really.

I bought the cereal(on clearance for Hubs)and the Peroxides for laundry.  The rest(plus two tubes of Colgate and a canister of Scent Beads not pictured)is for the food bank or a gift.  This was two transactions and totaled $18.53 OOP.  But I earned $22.00 in rebates so it turned into a $3.47 moneymaker and I have $5 in ECB left. So not as bad as I thought. ;-)

*  We got second place in Trivia on Tuesday night and got this.......

a $20 gift card.  Though we did eat there and spent money(doesn't come out of grocery budget)but next time we go we'll use that gift card to help pay for dinner.

*  I also found this on the floor there, when I went to the bathroom.......

A novelty guitar pick.  Interesting.

*  As for Kroger and my KCB account...what a f**king cluster!  Coupons started being grayed out on my app after I used them but I never get the $$ in my account.  I started taking screenshots of those coupons that clearly state they were used but they start falling off my account and still no $$ shows up.  Another two rounds of phone calls to Krappy Kroger Korporate and they give me a case number but nothing ever changes.  Seriously, they need to FIX THIS SHIT or get rid of it!  Some times I get the $$ and some times I don't.  Going forward I won't be eager to do any deal involving KCB AND it I do and I don't get the $$, that/those items are going back to the store for a refund.  I am tired of their games.

The next to last employee I talked to treated me like an imbecile, talking down to me and when I calmly tried to explain that yes, I KNOW how to send my KCB to my shopper's card, and no, that isn't the problem here, he hung up on me. What a jerk! **rant over**

*  I needed new nightgowns as mine are old and getting ratty.  I went online and perused at the fat lady store.  There were having a sale on what I needed but there would also be shipping.

While up at Walmart I found these.....

3 Summer weight night gowns all on clearance.  Regular price of $14.98(these were the sale price at the online store!), marked down to $9 each.  So much cheaper now that I can shop at regular stores and don't have to buy clothes at online fat lady stores. 8-)

*  I found money!

I found this dime at Walmart last Friday by the self-checkout machine.

On Sunday, I hit up the 'ol Walmart again, first to return something.....

Found a dime and a penny at the CS desk on the floor.

Then I found a penny randomly somewhere in the store.

And as I was leaving the self-checkout area I spied another penny by the candy racks.

We went to Trivia on Tuesday evening and I found this in the parking lot........

And then stopped at CVS on the way home and I spied this in the entrance........

Total Found last week.... .25¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$4.96 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.  

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

Sluggy     

 

Frugal Friday....the September 8th Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week but here goes......

*  Hubs and I went out Monday evening to trivia.

We hadn't been there for awhile and they had changed out the Guest Pagers when your food is done for these laminate cards.  They call your celebrity's name out when you need to pick up your food at the counter.  I got a salad(meh) and a water while Hubs got a "Kevin Bacon" burger and a beer.

We planned trivia and won 3rd place even though we blew the last 15 point question(had we not guessed on that one we might have won 1st place).

So now we've got $25 free food money for the next time we go to trivia there. 8-)

*  No grocery shopping except for $1.75 spent at DG Market for a can of crushed tomatoes.  I went to make Lemon Pepper Zucchini and Chicken on Sunday but didn't have any tomatoes.  Hubs went out and picked 1 can up so I could finish making dinner.

*  I found money! 

Nope.  Skunked again.  Only went to Trivia all week.

Total Found in last Week.... .00¢
Total Found this Year.......$3.05

That's all I got.  Just sitting home is frugal, right?

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

Sluggy