Frugal Friday......the March 27th Edition

Another week of "not normal" so let's try to bring some normality to our lives by doing a Frugal Friday.  In this time of pandemic it's hard to remain frugal(except if you stay home and stay away from online shopping when home-guilty as charged lol).

*  Hubs filed and we received our Federal Tax Return and it arrived via direct deposit into our account this week.  We don't get a very large refund which is good since it means we don't 'loan' the Federal Government our money for a year. ;-)
Of course a piece of that refund will go into the state's coffers since we ALWAYS owe them something. 8-(

* I had to go to Aldi on Tuesday for mushrooms so I picked up some other things there that are cheaper than anywhere else(butter, tortilla chips, cream cheese, almond milk for Hubs, etc.).
I also went to this town's Weis(PMITA)Markets looking for my Stress Relief tea.  I also bought some comfort foods while at Weis--2 bags of potato chips(haven't bought those in months!)and 2 containers of tapioca pudding(which wasn't on sale!).  I Love me some tapioca pudding so I happily paid full retail for that.  8-O

* We got pizza take-out from Domino's last Friday which cost me nothing OOP due to gift cards.  For some reason I have a metric shit ton of gift cards for Domino's(I went a little crazy last R-A Black Friday deal time when I already had some Domino's cards).  For 2020 this is considered free pizza since I paid for all those last year(or in 2018 in some cases).  I think we'll be plowing through this gift card stockpile for the foreseeable future what with our town finally getting it's own Domino's franchise and well, PIZZA!!  ;-)

* Speak of Weis(was I?), they have cancelled Freebies and Fantastic Friday Deals until further notice and there is NO weekly sales ad that should have started today which will cut down on me getting any deals there since I won't be shopping there(much).

* While I was near Aldi since it was "Cheap Bagel Tuesday" I got a Baker's Dozen of bagels at Panera across the street at their drive-thru window.  I used a free gift card to pay that I got with c/c points.

*  I did go to Rite-Aid once this week since I had to get an Rx anyway and I found this stuff.......

1 x Love/Beauty/Planet Conditioner 75% off=$2.24
2 x Baby Ruth candy bars on sale .77¢=$1.54
SubTotal...$3.78

Coupons Used
1 x $1.50/1 Love/Beauty/Planet item IPQ=$1.50
1 x BOGOFree Baby Ruth ManuQ=.77¢
Coupon Total.....$2.27
$3.78-$1.51+.05 tax=$1.56 paid for with Bonus Cash.

*  As mentioned in my opening I succumbed to some online clothes shopping on Sunday.  I was going to get 2 Summer dresses anyway(as I do each year)but then the store was having a 50% off everything, including clearance items so I bought a bit more.  I went through ShopAtHome and got 3.5% back in rebates on what I spent AND I found a Free Shipping code(which saved me another $19.99).  I'll pay all this from my accumulated WAM.

*  I found money!  On the one day I had to go out I found change, first at Aldi........

First I got a free quarter when the lady wouldn't take my quarter for her cart.  I guess a lot of folks are not wanting their quarters back now.

Then I found 2 pennies in the check-out line near the end by the register/cashier.  I used a Lysol wipe to pick them up.....do you know how hard it is to use a wipe to do that? lol
When a lady handed me her quarter for my cart I had her drop it into the wipe in my hand, so I didn't touch it before cleaning it off.

And at Rite-Aid later that afternoon I found another penny........

This coin was found by the register.  The floor mats in front of the registers are brown like an old penny so it's a good place to find those at Rite-Aid. lol

Again, I used a Lysol wipe to pick it up and all change was thoroughly cleaned once I got it home.

Found Money This Week...... .28¢
Found Money This Year so far....$44.55

*  I earned $1.60 in Ibotta rebates this past week.

*  I made myself a mask for when I have to go out in public again.............

I used sewing supplies I already had, which made this frugal.  While it's no N95 mask it makes me feel a  bit safer among the unwashed masses out there.  I don't go many places but the drugstore and grocery stores anyway but those are the places everyone is in nowadays because they can't go anywhere else. lol

I think our county will become a "shelter in place" county soon.  The infection is spreading here from NYC and Philly and the main county entry point from those cities where cases are exploding went into "shelter in place" status this week.  Our county is a couple dozen cases below them now so it's going to be any day for us. The local bus service to NYC and Philly has suspended service until further notice.
Then word got out that NYC has bussed in convicts from Brookly  into one of our local prisons.  I can see the villagers with pitchforks and torches storming Castle Frankenstein any time now............




That's about it for this week.

Any frugal stuff in your world?
Stay Frugal, Stay Safe and Wash Your Hands!



Sluggy

My Better Than FREE Target Trip This Week

So they had the "Spend $50 on Food/Beverages, Get a Free $10 Target gift card" this week.
I ordered 2 x $50 Target gift cards from our credit card points(better deal than using points to pay the c/c bill)a couple of weeks back as I knew it was about time for this Target Deal to appear.

Made a list, added some Ibotta rebates to my phone, clipped a coupon or five and headed out on Tuesday with Hubs.
Here is what I got *not everything is pictured*........

2 x Lavazza coffee 35% off=$12.08
2 x Quaker pumpkin oatmeal packs 25% off=$4.58 used a $1/2 ManuQ=$3.58
1 x Blue Tortilla chips=$2.59
1 x Cape Cod chips 20% off=$2.29
3 x LaCroix sparkling water packs on sale=$9.99 *not pictured*
4 x Pepsi 12 packs B3G1Free=$10.00 *not pictured*
1 x Readypack Salad=$.84 *not pictured* had $1 coupon on it
1 x Readypack Salad=$.84 *not pictured* had $2 coupon on it
1 x 1.5 lbs. ground beef w/discount sticker=$4.19 had $3 off coupon on it
4 x sour cream 5% off=$3.22(only 3 pictured)
2 x cream cheese=$3.32
2 x Kraft shredded cheese=$5.00
SubTotal......$57.94 + $1.04 tax=$58.98 Total

Their receipts are always so wonky this is the best I can figure....the Total is correct however.
I spent $58.98 of my free Target gift card, received a new $10 Target gift card for spending over $50 on food/beverages.
I also earned $6.25 cash back on Ibotta($3 La Croix, $1.50 Kraft, $1 Philly, .75¢ Cape Cod)and $2 on SavingStar(Lavazza).
Spent $58.98 of free gift cards, earned $10 in more gift cards and got $8.25 back in cash.

An explanation of why I bought what I bought....
*Hubs needed coffee
*We eat alot of oatmeal in the cold weather.
*Chips needed for Holiday snacks.
* Soda/Sparkling water drank by Me, Daughter, Ex-CB and for guests
*We needed salad greens this week
*I never turn down inexpensive meat(ground beef-half will become meatballs/half taco meat)
*The people here go through a ridiculous amount of sour cream(lots of Mexican dishes)
*Need cream cheese for Holiday baking
*Can always use cheese(see Mexican dishes comment above)

I love doing this shop at Target with free money once or twice a year.  8-)


Sluggy

Just Throwing Money Around Like There's No Tomorrow!

This week has been all about spending money.
It's SO not me! lol
But it's spending with a purpose.

We are putting in hardwood floors in the dining/living room this summer.
Well "WE" aren't since we can't, but the guy we are paying to do it is.
We need to buy the wood so I can use all the Lowe's gift cards I can get with this $10 OYNO Cat Deal!
It's stuff I have to purchase anyway, so why not get free groceries when I buy them at the grocery store, right?

I went back to Weis PMITA Markets Thursday morning and got another $50 Kohl's Gift Card....which meant another $10 Catalina in Free Groceries for later.  I also picked up another 3 bags of coffee.  3 bags for the $6.19 price of one bag.....good deal!

After going through #2 Son's clothes, we figured we needed a bit more in new clothing than I had hoped so we went armed with $100 in gift cards.
And we got everything he needed and spend $100.34.
Great!
And I found a t-shirt for #1 Son on sale and picked that up with my cash.  His 21st birthday is next month and I won't see him then, so I'm bringing a gift bag of presents since we'll see him when he drop of #2 son this weekend.
I spent another $10 on underwear at KMart for the teen, and $4 on sundries at the $ Store(eyeglass repair kit, eyeglass cleaner, batteries for his flashlight, and a laundry bag).
The teen spending is done and just the packing is left to do.
No wait!  He still needs bug spray and I forgot to pick it up at Rite-Aid last night so I am going back on Saturday morning. ugh.

I went to Rite-Aid after dinner on Thursday to pick up 2 of the $50 "Home Improvement" Store Gift Cards.  This is my first time into Rite-Aid since the Load2Card thing started loading +Ups onto Wellness cards instead of printing on the receipts.  I came armed with the instructions to "opt out" of loading them onto the L2Card but it was not needed.  The +Ups printed on the receipt as usual.  But I'll keep the instructions in the car just in case I need them at a future point in time.
So another $100 in gift cards good at Lowe's/Home Despot to buy the hardwoods for the guy to install in the living room.
And $20 in +Up Rewards as a bonus to spend in the next 2 weeks.
I guess this means I am back on the Rite-Aid merry-go-round.
meh.

Then I trotted back to Weis PMITA Markets.
I had a Spend $45, get $3.50 oyno Catalina, so I wanted to get my order over $45(before coupons, but after sale prices).
I bought $106.73 worth of stuff.

Everything was on sale except the milk.  Some of the things were on deep Grand Opening discount like the soda, coffee, bread and Oreos.

Sale prices applied made my order $47.53.
Then the $3.50 Cat was applied=$44.03.
I had free item Qs for the Pizza Rolls and the Honey Bunches of Oats cereal(Thanks Frances!).
I had $1 Qs for the Polar Seltzer and a .75¢ Q for the Jimmy Dean Sandwiches(which doubled to $1).
One of the packages of Oreos had a $1 off wyb a gallon of milk w/the cookies(which I planned to buy anyway), so one of the Oreos was .88¢ after sale and Q.
Then I used a $2 OYNO Cat, a $3 OYNO Cat and a $7 OYNO Cat.
Altogether that's another $21.18 off my total....$44.03-$21.18=$22.85 OOP.
That's a 78.59% savings.
And I got another $5 OYNO Catalina.

I bought another $50 in gift cards and received yet another $10 OYNO Catalina for that.

I now have $35 in Catalinas(plus the $5 gift card for NOT buying the Bounty last week lol)to spend at Weis and $20 in +Ups to spend at Rite-Aid.
$60 in free food/toiletries at Weis and Rite-Aid for spending money on stuff I had to get anyway and gift cards for spending I have to do anyway.

As soon as this Gift Card Deal is over(I plan to get a few more before it ends on Saturday), I'll be on vacation and spending money wantonly next week.
Between motels, dining, gas and a few sights that are NOT free, I'll be shelling out about $1K.
At least that is my soft budget limit.
The trip is being paid for out of my Savings Challenge money I saved in 2011.
We haven't touched a penny of that $34K yet.
All paid for in cash.
Anything put on a credit card(for convenience)will be paid for out of this cash when the statement cuts.


I think I'll go lay down for awhile.
This money leak may give me a nose bleed or something! ;-)

Sluggy