Trip #1 to Rite-Aid this Week....Coming Out of my Flu Fog

Since I had to drive down the mountain to pick up Hubby after he dropped his car off to have the heater blower replaced(kind of need heat in the car these days, ya know?), I stopped at Rite-Aid.
Actually, this was my SECOND time in Rite-Aid on Monday.  Remember my previous 'flu post'?  I forgot to mention that while out yesterday to take the change to the Coinstar machine I also stopped at Rite-Aid to do a transaction.  Some where, in my flu filled brain, I 'thought' I had seen online that Rite-Aid had the GE LED xmas lights for 2/$10 this week, so I had built a scenario around using my $3/1 GE LED light Qs to get me some, since our lights are dead.
So, I walk into Rite-Aid and not only are there NO GE LED xmas lights on sale, they don't even carry GE Lights!LOLOL
So I left emptyhanded, as I hadn't brought 'spare/back-up scenario' Qs with me to get to a $25 order.
Bleh.
So add that little gem to my already weirdo 3 days and you can write me off as a full blown lunatic!

Anyway, back to last evening's trip to Rite-Aid.  I was able to pull myself together enough to actually purchase something and without screwing things up!  Ya'll might want to try this scenario too....
Oh! and notice I have Finally changed the tablecloth on the kitchen table to something Christmasy.  That's about the extent of my Holiday Decorating so far......bleh......

2 x Reveal GE Lightbulbs(yes, I DID find a GE product in Rite-Aid!lol) on sale 2/$5=$5.00
2 x Scotch pop-up Tape on sale $2.14=$4.28
1 x AirWick Mini Dispenser 50% off sale=$4.99
4 x Halls Refresh Drops on sale $1.50=$6.00
1 x RA M5 Magnum Razor Refills on sale $5.99
Subtotal....$26.26

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$25 RiteAid IPQ=$5.00

2 x $1/1 Reveal GE Lightbulbs ManuQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Scotch pop-up Tape IPQ HERE=$2.00**(Thank You Coupons Deals & More)
1 x $5/1 AirWick Mini Dispenser ManuQ=$5.00***
2 x BOGO Halls Refresh Drops $1.50=$3.00
2 x $.50/1 Halls Refresh Drops TearpadQ=$1.00
(You could also use 1 x the $1/2 Halls ManuQ instead)
1 x $2/1 RA M5 Magnum Razor/Refills Store Flyer AdQ=$2.00
1 x $3/1 RA M5 Magnum Razor IPQ(currently on coupons.com)=$3.00****
Coupon Total.....$23.00

$26.26-$23.00=$3.26+$.26tax=$3.52 OOP

Qualified for SCRebates of....
$2.00 GE Lightbulks(wyb 2)
$3.29 Scotch Pop-Up Tape(wyb 2)
Total....$5.29

$3.52-$5.29=$1.67 OVERAGE

** When you go to print the Scotch PDF Qs, set your printer to print page one ONLY, unless of course you want all 5 Qs offered.  The Pop-up Tape Q is on page 1 of the 2 pages of Qs.
*** Even though the AirWick Q was for 1 penny more than the price of the product on sale, the Q did NOT beep.  Put this Q in the middle of your Qs and the cashier probably won't notice the Q is 1¢ over....I say this in case your store is anal about adjusting Qs down.  Rite-Aid has a policy of adjusting Qs down but sometimes you run across the new cashier or the uninformed hardass cashier.  I'm just saying.....
*** The $3/1 IPQ for the M5 Magnum Razor does not say it's also for the Refills.  My store takes it anyway for the refills because they love me....er, I mean they don't care.  But this Q is a YMMV if you try to use it on refills.  If there is a hassle, just buy the M5 razor instead.

Did anybody go to Rite-Aid this week yet?  What did you get that was good?

Sluggy

Nothing to See Here.....Just Keep Moving....

IF ONLY I looked this good the last few days!!
Let's just pretend that this woman with the flu in the photo is me, okay?
I don't think I look this good on my BEST day, so you can imagine the sight I am at present.

I'll be heading back to my sickbed shortly.  I just got back from a hike up to the PO to mail some eBay stuff that had to go out today as promised.  I just hope to gosh that I sent the barbie to New York & the clown blanket to Great Britain and not vice a versa.
Ugh.
Days like this I wish I had a stunt double who could wash clothes, mail & ship packages, cook dinner, babysit 3 dogs, clean the kitchen, meal plan, vacuum the living room, write out xmas cards so I could just stay asleep and hopefully get over this thing.

The weekend is a blur.  Most of it was spent inspecting the insides of my eyelids or coughing up a lung.  I made hubby take me to Rite-Aid on Saturday so I could finish buying batteries for the Duracell $5 SCR.  I think we also went to the grocery store too.....if I can find a receipt I'll know that happened for sure and isn't just a hallucination.lol
We also got a drawn out snowstorm for a day & a half...again, this is just what the kids have told me since I didn't go out except for the quickie to Rite-Aid.
I believe hubby also drug down the Christmas tree this weekend.  I think I saw a big tree-like object as I passed the living room a little while ago.

When I woke up this morning, I was a little more coherent so there is hope I'll recover.
Coherent enough to realize that not only did I forget in my sickly fog to go spend $13 in expiring Cats at Price Chopper by Sat. night, but I also forgot to take my change to the Coinstar machine to get the $10 Bonus thingy by Sunday night!
I realized I had missed the Coinstar deadline today, as I drove into the Weis parking lot to park my car and tote this massive bag of change to the machine.  I looked at my check register and saw that today was the 7th, not the 6th.
I also emailed the guy in Norway this morning, that I sent his package out on friday Dec. 5th.  I've probably caused him to burst into a full blown panic since he's convinced I am a Looney Tunes by now.

And I am barely coherent in this post, even to myself.
Meal Plan Monday?
Ha! cough cough.....
Maybe I'll get to it by Thursday.....but I ain't betting my Theraflu stash on it!

Sluggy

General Electric Holiday Lighting Coupon + Sale on Lights at Lowe's=Less $ OOP

I have been feeling under the weather the last 2 days.  If anyone wants to come bring me some chicken soup it would be much appreciated. 8-)

It's probably just a sinus infection(which I get 1 or 2 times a year)or a run-of-the-mill cold so I'm popping Vitamin C, doing Neti Pot sinus rinsing and hydrating myself until I resemble a balloon float in the Macy's Turkey Day Parade.

Anyway, I wanted to alert my Environmental Warrior-type Readers to a deal.

The 'hot' thing in Christmas decorating seems to be LED Lights.  These use alot less energy than the regular type of Christmas light string.
Now I know that people who decorate with lights are NOT going to stop, nor would I tell you to.  But if you are going to use lights in your decorating, why not use something that is not as bad for the environment?
We drug out our old lights this week.  I think we are down to 3 strings that still work so now we have to find some way to dispose of the broken ones.  For something that only gets used a few days a year, these things sure don't last long, do they? 
Anyway, you all know I am CHEAP....er, I mean frugal, so I've been wrestling with myself about making the jump to the LEDs(for the energy savings) vs. the larger cost for the new technology.

But GE has come to my rescue!lol
There is a PDF format Coupon for $3 off GE LED Lights located HERE.
Pair this Q up with a current sale at Lowe's on the 50 Count GE LED Mini Lights for $5.97 a string and you can get them for $2.97.
Hubby & I priced these LED things earlier this week at Walmart.  The 60 count LEDs there(I don't remember if they were GEs however)were $10.99!
The Q is good for ANY GE LED lighting product so you can probably find something you can use it on.....you don't have to get the Mini lights.

The Q does say "offer limited to one purchase", so if your cashier/store has a problem with the difference between transaction & purchase, this could be a YMMV situation, where you have to bring along more family members/friends to each buy 1 string or go through difference register lines and buy 1 string per transaction or hit alot of different Lowe's.  Just a heads up.....

The sale at Lowe's runs until the 7th, so hurry and print this to use soon if you want those $2.97 lights!

Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge NOVEMBER Totals.....More Great Progress!

I have posted my NOVEMBER End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right(near the bottom) for the specific numbers.

We had another Excellent month growing our Savings in November!

I have to report that we finished up November in the Black again.

The amount we ended the month of November with was......sit down for this......$3,189.49!
Woot!


The electric bill went up less than $20 from Oct.'s bill.  Not bad considering that the heat was on fulltime this month while Oct's bill saw the heat just being put on occasionally. 

The water bill went down again in Nov. another $3.  I guess the kids are getting a couple more wears of out their clothes before putting them into the hamper.lol
All other regular bills...Cable, Internet, Phone, etc. are the same each month.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in November was low after rebate income was figured in and compared to the value of the items bought we saved over 93%.

So, what did I do right in November to come out of it with over $3K extra?

First, we have no mortgage payment or car payments.  Those are the 2 big Bugaboos that suck down your income.  Having bought a modest house and having paid if off asap combined with paying cash for cars(which means we always buy cars we can AFFORD and don't finance), means we have been able to cut our living expenses dramatically.  It didn't happen over night though and there were many years of living well below our means and socking every penny into savings.  But knowing that those lean years wouldn't last forever and that there was a shining Goal of being debt-free at the end of it all made it so worth it.

Secondly, we had no other large bills....taxes, sewage, insurance, etc. this month.  These are paid quarterly or semi-annually and not due in November.

Thirdly, we stayed out of restaurants and I didn't do as much running around in the car, saving gas and shopping expenditures.  That was reflected in the lower credit card bill in November.  The cc bill(which is paid off every month-NO BALANCE)went from $845.49 in October to $536.51 in November. While not a big difference, there was less gas needed for the car since I didn't travel far last month(except to Acme)& we didn't dine out much. 

We are Eleven Months into this $AVING$ Challenge, and we have a Savings Total of $21,760.57 for the year.

What's ahead for December....
Looking at my check register from last December I see that we have some quarterly bills coming due this month.  Nothing large but they add up before you know it.

We do have ALOT of out of the ordinary expenses for December....
an additional amount toward car insurance(daughter has been added as a licensed driver)
a vet bill for a very sick dog
clothes for 2 of the kids
possible holiday travel expenses(gas, hotels, eating, kennel boarding-budgeting at least $800)
oral surgery bill for daughter(insurance covers some of this)
orthodontist bill for son(we pay upfront for the discount and insurance covers some)
holiday gifts (mostly for our 3 kids, we are considering not exchanging gifts with the adults this year)

Besides hubby's paychecks, I've opened up my eBay store this month(though it's been slow selling so far), and I am waiting on over $200 in rebates, so we have a good potential on the income side.

Income up, expenses way up.....we'll be lucky to NOT go negative in December.
I am hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.  If we have any money leftover at the end of December I will count myself extremely lucky!

Be sure and check out how others are doing with their finances this month at Money Saving Mom.

So how was your November financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?  Let us know!

And what are your plans for your money in 2010?  It's time to start thinking about how to get a fresh start to Financial Freedom next year!


Sluggy

November BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2009.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in November.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home)& 3 dogs. No kids under 13.

ACME
OOP $62.75
Qs/Ads $1072.07
Value $1134.82
Savings  94.47%

CARONE'S(local Independent Grocery that doesn't take IP Qs)
OOP $58.65
Qs/Ads $57.64
Value $116.29
Savings   50%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $14.00
Ads/Sales $55.00
Value $69.00
Savings  79.70%


KMART
OOP $0.00
Qs/Ads $38.99
Value $38.99
Savings  100%

OLLIE'S (local Discount chain Store that doesn't take coupons)
OOP $.97
Qs/Ads $1.02
Value $1.99
Savings  50%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $73.17
Qs/Ads $179.77
Value $252.94
Savings  71%

RITE AID
OOP $132.77before rebates/$.47 after rebates
Qs/Ads $619.83
Value $752.60
Savings 82.35%( 99.03% after rebates of $132.30 due)

SHOP-RITE
OOP $4.32
Qs/Ads $.77
Value $5.09
Savings  15%

TARGET
OOP $15.00
Qs/Ads $18.11
Value $33.11
Savings  54.70%

WALGREEN'S
OOP $1.22
Qs/Ads $38.99
Value $40.21
Savings  97%

WALMART
OOP $15.87
Qs/Ads $17.74
Value $33.61
Savings  52.80%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $163.40
Qs/Ads $350.99
Value $514.39
Savings  68.25%

I've decided NOT to track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & go toward Food/Toiletries budget purchases, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN NOVEMBER

Kellogg's Fuel for School...$40.00
Olay/Pantene......$20.00
Palmolive Dish Liquid....$2.79
Pinecone Research....6.00
Rite-Aid SCR........$229.13
SC Johnson......$30.00
Suave Lotion/Body Wash...$3.98
Venus Razor....$7.99
Subtotal........$339.89

FREE ITEMS

Almond Tin(no nuts tho....boo hiss!)

2 x Coupons for Old El Paso Taco Shells & $10 GC from contest I won

Herbal Essence Shampoo Free Item Coupon

Book I won

Kashi Granola Bar yum!

Coffee Samples

COUPONS

Del Monte Fruit-Vocalpoint
Jolly Time Popcorn

GIFT CARDS & STORE CHECKS

Rite Aid  $10.00
Staples  $94.00 Store Check
SubTotal...$104.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$443.89

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from  KMart at 100%,  Walgreen's at 97% and Acme at 94.47%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$542.12
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$2450.92
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2993.04
TOTAL Savings of......81.90%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$339.89
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$202.23
TOTAL Savings of..................................93.25%

This closes out the November spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With the high amount of income from Rebates received I was able to have a low out of pocket for this month considering I spent over $500 OOP on groceries/toiletries.  After rebates, just over $200 for $3 thousand in products is very good.
Having gotten so much at that Acme sale I was able to give over $350 of food/OTC meds to the Food Bank this month, as well as send 4 bags of food to family without even noticing a dent in my pantry supplies here.
Outside of Rite-Aid, where they now know me by name, I made only 1 other trip to a drugstore....1 trip to WAGS after I went to the Oral Surgeon since I was out that way, and no trips to CVS.

What's ahead for December.....
I have an overstuffed freezer at this point that needs defrosting and my stockpile shelves are groaning under the weight of all the boxed/canned foods on them.  Unless some grocery store sabotages me by running a great Catalina Deal, I am going to institute a USE IT UP Challenge for myself.  No buying unless we absolutely need it, which means only fresh produce/fruit & fresh dairy.
#1 son will be home from school mid-month so this will help me use up some of our stores, as the boy likes to eat!lol

I am NOT going to set a budgeted amount for Food.  If I do while I am trying to spend ZERO, it will just give me license to spend up to that budgeted amount in my head.  I am better off at telling myself I can't spend anything and see how many times I veer off of not spending by the end of the month.

How did you do in November with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy