A Milestone.....and a Giveaway Reminder

I just wanted to pause for a moment of silence to commemorate an accomplishment I made over the weekend.  At some point in the last few days, some kind eBay buyer left me a feedback and I officially rolled over and hit the 4 Thousand feedback mark!
Little old me.....4,000 non-deranged user feedbacks.
Come on over everyone.....the party hats are optional and the cake is on me!! 

Here's another "eBay is the world's largest crap shoot" story for your files.....
I put this reproduction Lost in Space Lunchbox up on eBay recently.....

 I listed it as I do all my items as a Buy It Now store item with a solid price...not insanely high and not a "give it away" price.  It's in mint condition, still wrapped in plastic as it came from the factory.
About a week ago I get a "Question to Seller"....someone wants to buy this but they want a better price and they go on and suggest what price they want to pay.  Usually I don't take too kindly to folks offering me less than what I set the price at.  If I was open to taking less for it I would have put a BEST OFFER option on the listing...which I hadn't.
But then as I was feeling unkindly toward this potential cheap buyer, I thought....What the heck!  This item was absolutely FREE to me, didn't cost a penny, and I've been carting it around for 10 years now and am finally getting around to trying to sell it and they offered me pretty close to what I had it listed for.  So I added a Best Offer option at the price they wanted it for and emailed them about having put this option on the listing and told them to go buy it.
And I waited.....and waited for 2 more days and they didn't buy it...nor did they email me back to say they found another one from someone else.
Rude jerks. ;-)
The next morning, I discovered the item had sold but it was to someone else.
And even better this buyer had just bought it at the listed price and had NOT used the Best Offer to get it for less!
And as I packed up the Lunchbox to ship out an email came in with another Question to Seller......asking me if I had sold the lunchbox and if I had anymore to sell.

Can't sell it for less than I wanted and now I have people standing in line to buy it.LOL
Further proof that eBay is the world's largest crap shoot.


**PROGRAM NOTE**
A reminder also that you can stop by the current Giveaway page(see the link at the TOP of the right side bar)EACH DAY to place another entry.  There is only 1 person who has been diligently returning for their daily entry who will remain anonymous, by the name of Marilyn.  So unless ya'll want Marilyn to kick your butts on this Giveaway, get on over and enter! ;-)
Update***New goodies going into the box later today!

That is all.

Sluggy

It's Monday Again!

It's already noon and I am just now getting my keester in gear.
Mondays.......

The last 2 days here have been brutally hot.....say like 90 degrees hot!
We went from March to mid August in terms of the weather and frankly my dear, it SUCKS donkeyass!!

No, if you haven't guessed by now, I am NOT a big fan of hot humid weather.
If we actually had central a/c I might be less of a hot hater.
Needless to say we got nothing done in the yard or garden over the weekend.   I grilled out steaks one night and refused to cook on the other night.  Sunday was spent moving around as little as possible...
Ugh!  The rainstorms passed mostly south of us(like by a mere 5 miles!)so we got no cooling relief.  I am hoping the skies will actually open up here today so I can feel human again.

Speaking of coupons......was I?lol....neither our area or Philly got the $4/1 Nivea coupons in the Sunday inserts so I just gave in and bought some whole inserts(with those coupons)on eBay.
Bleh.
Why did I give in and do that??
I need more body wash like a hole in the head!
I guess this week will see me hiking up to Rite-Aid once the inserts get here.  Hey, it gives me an excuse to go to Rite-Aid so it's not a totally bad thing. ;-)

I've got a couple of boxes to ship today, motel reservations to make for July, fundraiser candles to pick-up later, bread to buy at the Entenmann's Outlet, the end of April Savings Challenge post to write, eBay photos and listings to complete, a stack of papers and coupon inserts to file, and I am sure I am forgetting some other pressing thing on my "to do" list that my CRS brain can't recall.
Oh yeah, I don't have a meal plan for this week planned yet either.....which I run Sunday to Sunday....and it's Monday already.

Later this week, we've got the nephew's birthday, I've got organizing to do in the garage, stuff in the living room/dining room(aka eBay Central) to deal with and #1 son comes home this Saturday so we will be more cramped for space than usual.
The following weekend I am doing the local flea market(if the weather is good)and then we have a week-long visit from a relative so I may be disappearing from online for a few days.

So what is everyone else doing this week?  I hope you are going to have more fun them I am!lol

Sluggy

April Rite-Aid SCR Period Spending and TOTALS & Rite-Aid Chit-Chat

I just went through all my receipts from Rite-Aid.
I did not shop a lot in April so I only made 6 trips between 3/28 & 4/24th,  and spent $.00 in cash for the April Single Check Rebate Period of March 28th to April 24th.
Actually I "spent" $6.89.

But all of what I spent was put on assorted Gift Cards, so my Out of Pocket was ZERO.

These Gift Cards were obtained as earned rewards from assorted prior purchases at Rite-Aid.  It was all free money to begin with that I used to get more products for free.
And some of what I bought with these gift cards qualified me for SCRs, or more Single Check Rebates, so I got paid money for buying some of the items...which didn't cost me anything out of pocket to begin with.
You follow me? ;-)

So I spent $.00 during the April SCR Period.
I received $158.21 in products.
And I will receive a check amounting to $8.00 in rebates.
With these purchases, I  am also $17.56 toward a $50 'purchase' which will net me a $25 Rite-Aid Gift Card(SCR#552). (I have almost 2 months left to complete another $32.44 in purchases for this SCR.)

$.00 outgo.
$8.00 income.
$158.21 of toiletries/food.

Rite-Aid paid me $8 to bring home $158.21 of stuff in April.
If you want to see the list of what I got paid to bring home you can find it on this post HERE.
For me, $8 is nothing compared to most of my other month's checks but it's still something. ;-)

April was a big month for Rite-Aid, as they rolled out the Wellness Program nationwide.  Even though I already have a Wellness card/account and I didn't request to sign up again when the program went "live" across the country, I received a new set of Wellness cards(big one and the little keyring ones too)the week before the roll out.  This new card said I already had a 20% discount available to me(which I had earned already with my old Wellness card).  But the new card has a different 'number' than my old card.  I really didn't feel like activating this new card(who knows?....something could have gone wrong in the changeover and they may have 'lost' my 20% discount or whatever).  So on my first trip to Rite-Aid last week after the roll out I asked the clerk if I could still use my old card.  He had NO CLUE!  Ok.....so we tried it anyway and it worked just fine.  Now I'm not sure how long it will work so I'll hold onto the new card to activate if I ever need to...but I'm hoping they don't deactivate my old card.

For May I'll be hitting Rite-Aid a little more than in April, and I've already made 2 trips this Rebate Period.
Not sure how lucrative the shopping trips will be since the Wellness coupons they are releasing are pretty lame....sorry Rite-Aid, but $1.00 off a $10.00 cosmetic or vitamin or allergy, etc. purchase is NOT a good coupon!  (For instance....to use a $1/$10 allergy Q I would have to buy THREE 24 ct. Benadryls-with Wellness Discount they cost me $4.39 ea., so 3 come to $13.17.  $1 measly dollar off is NOT a very good deal.
Bring back the old Wellness coupons!!

Just from this year's rebates I have $51.60 in accumulated Gift Card credits left. 

Plus BIL is STILL Waiting on his P&G $35 Prepaid Visa that he requested on 2/15!....the last email Customer Service sent him said to give it 4-6 MORE WEEKS from the date of that email!  It could very well arrive mid-JUNE and that would make it 4 MONTHS since it was requested, to receive the thing.   All the while there are all these things he could be getting for cheap or free with that $35 he is due.
Can you tell the BIL is NOT happy with Rite-Aid at this moment?!?

Anyway, it looks to be a good Rite-Aid month in May for me.
I just wish the Wellness Qs were better. ;-)

So how did you do at Rite-Aid last Rebate Period?  Did you get some good buys?  Tell us!

Sluggy

APRIL Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2010.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in April.
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 14.


CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $47.45
Qs/Ads $41.29
Value $88.74
Savings 46.53%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $16.67
Ads/Sales $33.33
Value $50.00
Savings  66.65%

PRICE CHOPPER Northeast
OOP $75.51
Qs/Ads $49.06
Value $124.57
Savings 29.40%

RITE AID
OOP $0.15 ($23.46 put on Rite-Aid Gift Card)
Qs/Ads $162.81
Value $162.96
Savings 99.91%

TURKEY HILL(convenience store)
OOP $4.80
Qs/Ads $0.00
Value $4.80
Savings 0%

WALMART
OOP $11.95
Qs/Ads $0.00
Value $11.95
Savings  0%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $41.66
Qs/Ads $27.21
Value $68.87
Savings  39%

I don't 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' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, 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 MARCH
Johnson & Johnson Beauty Rebate...$20.00
Olay 3 items Rebate....$15.00

Olay 2 Cleansers Rebate.....$15.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Renpure Shampoo....$3.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$100.33

Subtotal........$159.33

FREE ITEMS

5 Gum  Free Pack of Gum

Johnson & Johnson  $10 Item

Welch's Juice  Free Juice Voucher

COUPONS

None

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Rite-Aid P&G SCR $10 Gift Card

Rite-Aid $5 Nivea Gift Card

Rite-Aid $25 Heart Healthy Gift Card

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$100.33


My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Entenmman's at 66.65% and Carone's at 46.53%.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$198.19
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$313.70
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$511.89
TOTAL Savings of..........61.30%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$159.33
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$38.86
TOTAL Savings of..................................92.40%

This closes out the April spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
Starting with a $250 food/toiletries budget we not only kept under that amount before the rebates were figured in, but after rebates we spent a mere $38.86 of the budgeted amount for the month!  And that is with my infamous Lobster Splurge too. 

I spent most of the month staying out of the stores and had DH pick up items as needed since I was injured for part of the month and couldn't drive.  His shopping for me did NOT involve using sales and coupons for the most part, thus even though we spent almost $200 OOP initially, not alot of coupons were used or items bought on sale, thus the lower savings ratio overall. 

What's ahead for May 2010.....

The May 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget is set at $300 cash out of pocket.  Any rebates received this month will offset this OOP spending.  Since the rebating has slowed to a crawl I don't see much coming in for May to throw at the food bills. (IE; My Rite-Aid SCR check is going from $100 in April to $8 in May.) I have raised the budget by $50 because #1 son returns from college next wekend, so I'll have more mouths to feed=more food spending in May.  Even with that adjustment, it will take a lot of self-control to keep within budget this month!  I did very little shopping really in April and got out of the coupon groove so I have my work cut out for me for May.

With a quarter of the year behind us, we have averaged $165.60 per MONTH on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4 adults/teens.

For someone who use to....
*spend $500 and up per MONTH before I stockpiled, shopped to the sales and used coupons on a regular basis
*had less food/toiletries to show for it
*we ate a lot more store brands
*we ate a lot more of unhealthier type foods
...this THRILLS ME!


How did you do in April 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

Rite-Aid on Friday....Had to Use It or Lose It!

So, I was FORCED to go to Rite-Aid on Friday.
Why you ask?
Because my GIFT OF SAVINGS Christmas Gift Certificate expires April 30...Friday.
No way I was going to let $20 expire even if going out Friday
was the last thing I wanted to do!

So I gathered up some couponage I might use and headed up with #2 son & his friend in tow.
Oh great....just what I need....baggage.lol


I had wanted to get a market umbrella for the deck patio set since ours bit the dust a couple of years ago.  It would be nice to be able to sit out and eat there without the sun blasting down on you in the heat of summer.  So with the $20 Cert., my 20% discount and a $5 off a $20 purchased, I'd only have to pay zero or even be negative money and have to add something to the order.
Free umbrella.....NICE!

But alas, there was not a market umbrella in the joint, just some beach umbrellas that were NOT going to cut it.

So the plan got thrown overboard and we went hunting the aisles for things to buy.......

I had a scenarios just about worked out when #2 son comes over pleading with me to advance him allowance $ so he could buy a watch.
So we went and inspected his potential purchase and I deemed it worthy of purchase for $19.99.
My wheels in my brain set to working and suddenly there were TWO scenarios to complete.

I took 2 things from my initial scenarios and added them to the watch purchase so we could use another $5 off $20 Purchase Q.

2 x Dove Shampoo on sale $3=$6.00  Used 2 x $2/1 Dove 'Poo IPQ -$4.00
1 x Watch=$19.99  My wellness discount applied -$4.00 **Not Pictured**
$25.99-$8 Qs=$17.99
Minus $5 off $20 purchase RAQ=$12.99+.78¢ tax=$13.77 OOP

Once #2 son pays me back for the watch, my total here is .50¢ overage.
($16.77-1/2 of the $5 off Q=$14.27 he owes for the watch).  

I also qualified for $3.00 in SCR on the Dove 'Poo purchase, giving me $3.50 in overage so far after the SCR.

Then I did transaction #2 to use my $20 Gift Cert.....

4 x Ban Deodorant on sale BOGO50%($5.68 per 2 deos)=$11.36
2 x Benadryl on sale $4.39=$8.78 with wellness disc.
1 Schick Hydro Razor=$7.99 with wellness disc.
1 x Paper Lanterns with wellness disc.=$7.99
2 x Snickers on sale=$1.00
1 x Trident gum=$1.03 with wellness disc.
SubTotal...$38.15

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q=$5.00
4 x $1/1 Ban ManuQ=$4.00
1 x $5/2 Benadryl ManuQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 any cough, cold, allergy OTC item Wellness Q=$4.00
1 x $20 Gift Cert=$20.00
Coupon Total....$38.00


$38.15-$38.00=$.15 OOP


I totally didn't figure in the 20% wellness discount on a couple of things so I was $2 short of using my last $2/1 Q and had to add the candy and gum....and the gum got another wellness disc. to boot!
All in all, this one came out very nicely.


SCR qualified for in Transaction #2....
Schick Hydro Razor=$6.00
Ban Deodorants=$10.00
Total...$16.00 in SCRs and another $8.78 toward qualifying for the $25 Allergy SCR(WYB $50 of Allergy products).

**When I got home I discovered 2 of the Ban Deos I purchased were the wrong type.  I hiked back Saturday morning and exhanged those 2 for the correct ones so I will get my $10 SCR for buying 4 Ban Deos...'-)


Grand total for the day.....
I am OOP  negative .35¢ today buying all this(when #2 son pays me back) and I am getting back $19.00 in SCRs.


I may have been laying low on Rite-Aid shopping in April but I am BACK with a vengeance!lol


Sluggy