Even If You Think You Know Everything about Doing Taxes.....

So.....when our Federal Income Tax showed up in our checking account via direct deposit a couple of weeks ago, it made me happy......

Really!....wouldn't that make anyone happy?lol

But the amount that was deposited didn't sound quite what I remembered it should have been.  So I went and got out our copy of the forms we filed and the numbers didn't match up with what we actually got back.
We got back more than we thought we would!
Hmmm....

So a few days later I received a letter in the mail from the IRS.
*Cue up the ominous music.....

After I picked my still beating heart up off of the floor, I proceeded to open the letter with trepidation, just waiting for a team of men in black suits to burst through the front door and haul we away in leg irons.
Luckily, that didn't happen.

The letter was an explanation of why we got back a refund that didn't jive with what we figured our refund was going to be.
It seems we qualified for that "Making Work Pay" Credit...line 63 on the long form if you are a tax geek.

Seeing as the government considers our income in the "rich people" range(see me slap my knee and keel over with laughter!),  I didn't even download the worksheet/form or instructions to see if we could claim this credit.  I just assumed we made too much money to apply for it.
Well, I was wrong.
Imagine that?

And my wonderful government had some diligent IRS employee recalculate our return figures and they sent us $800 more than we had expected back.

Now isn't that nice of them?
I thought so.

Moral of this story......
Even if you think you know everything about doing something, you probably don't.
It's always good to take a look at how you do things with a fresh eye.

Sluggy

May Clutter Donation #1.....Let it Begin

Here is what I've gleaned from the piles of stuff to kick off the Charity Donations in May....

2 x Kites...because McVal never came over to fly them with me.  ;-)
4 x Chroma-Cel Anime Cel Repros matted and ready for framing
1 x Disney Cinderella Cel...I guess Disney found another way to get $ out of people by cutting up old spare reels of classic films & mounting them in plastic....I found these on the clearance shelves years ago so I guess they didn't do so well.lol
1 x Just the Right Shoe shoe Figurine "Pave"....a cool rhinestone covered shoe if you are a shoe fiend
2 x Nike Poster Art Cards Sets....includes the 1st nike shot of Michael Jordan, the Jumpman Shot
1 x Popeye Christmas Ornament.....don't even ask because I can't remember what possessed me to buy this!
1x Trix Rabbit Bobblehead.....silly rabbit.....silly lady with more money than sense
1 x Boyd's BearsCeramic True Love Wedding Salt & Pepper Shakers... I still think these are really cute shakers for a wedding gift
1 x Boyd's Bears Edmund the Elf Christmas Resin Figurine
1 x Boyd's Bears Reggie Foxworthy Fox Plush...named for Jeff Foxworthy...Hello! Captain Obvious
1 x Ty Beanie Cat Kaleidoscope.....somebody was smoking something when they came up with THIS design!lol
1 x Set of Transformers Playing Cards...
1 x Complete Inspector Gadget Figure-McDonald's Toys....I had to choke down 8 Happy Meals to get this thing completed!
1 x 3 pce. Set of Bent Twig Doll Furniture.....something my mother gave me, I have no clue why!
2 x Cabbage Patch Kids Patterns(used)...from my CPK doll clothes making days
1 x Alligator Salad Tongs Set(used/vintage)....I know, I know.....people will be fist fighting over these babies down at the Salvation Army

So what have YOU sent to Goodwill/Sallie's/your thrift store lately?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Trips on Saturday...4 Times Because I was Too Lazy to Go All Week!

Since our Sunday inserts didn't get that $4/1 Nivea Q the Sunday before last, I ordered whole inserts off of eBay.  Couldn't find anyone there selling JUST the Nivea Q that didn't require a second mortgage on the house. 8-(

They came pretty fast but I was just too danged lazy or busy or sick or a combo of all to get my keester up to Rite-Aid until Saturday(the last day of the sale on the Nivea Body Wash).  And then I spent a good chunk of my day hitting Rite-Aids in between taking #2 son to look for new pants.
Between the Nivea Qs and the Benadryl Qs($5 off 2) and spending at least $20 at a pop so I could use the AdPerks VV Qs $5 off $20 purchase, I did quite well.


Transaction #1

2 x Nivea Body Wash on sale $3.50!?=$7.00
3 x Benadryl Allergy $5.49-Wellness Discount makes it $4.39 ea.=$13.17
2 x Cello Cherries $.33-Wellness Discount makes it .26¢=$.52
SubTotal.....$20.69

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$20 AdPerks VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $4/1 Nivea ManuQ=$8.00 **Yes, these went thru w/out beeps so $1 in overage!
1 x $5/2 Benadryl ManuQ=$5.00
1 x $1.50/1 Benadryl IPQ=$1.50
1 x $1/$10 Pain Reliever Purchase Wellness IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$20.50

$20.69=$20.50=$.19 OOP-Put on Rite-Aid Gift Card

Ok, the Cherries are because the Nivea rang up $3.50 instead of $3.99 and I was going to be negative if I used my last $1/$10 Q.  So I added 1 cherry and I didn't think about that blasted 20% Wellness discount bringing this price down too low, so I had to add another cherry.lol
I was able to use that $1/$10 Pain Reliever Q on the 3 boxes of Benadryl because I bought Benadryl with Pain Reliever in it(the sinus or cold plus type).  Regular Benadryl doesn't work for this.


Transaction #2

2 x Nivea Body Wash on sale $3.50=$7.00
2 x Benadryl Allergy $5.49-Wellness Discount makes it $4.39 ea.=$8.78
1 x Motrin PM $5.49-Wellness Discount makes it $4.39=$4.39
1 x Eos Lip Balm on sale $2.99/with Wellness Discount $2.63=$2.63
2 x Iced Tea $.99-Wellness Discount makes it $.79 ea.=$1.58 **Not Pictured**
SubTotal.....$24.38

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$20 AdPerks VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $4/1 Nivea ManuQ=$8.00 **Yes, these went thru w/out beeps so $1 in overage!
1 x $5/2 Benadryl ManuQ=$5.00
1 x $3/1 Motrin PM ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $3/1 Motrin PM In-Ad Q=$3.00
Coupon Total....$24.00

$24.38-$24.00=$.38 OOP-Put on Rite-Aid Gift Card
And I qualified for SCR #52(Eos Lip Balm)=$2.00 Rebate

**Between the coupon overage for the Motrin ($4.39-$6= -$1.61)& the $1 in Nivea Q overage, I had $2.61+ the $5 AdPerks $5 off $20 'credit' toward my bill in this transaction.
So the Motrin was free, the Nivea was free and I put $3.78 of that credit toward the 2 Benadryls' cost.
After 'paying' for all those items, I still had $3.83 in overage to spend, so I bought the Lip Balm for $2.63.  After that I still had $1.20 in overage to spend, so I added the iced teas @ $1.58 as we were thirsty. $1.58-$1.20 'overage'=$.38 OOP.


Transaction #3

2 x Nivea Body Wash on sale $3.50=$7.00
3 x Benadryl Allergy $5.49-Wellness Discount makes it $4.39 ea.=$13.17
SubTotal.....$20.17

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$20 AdPerks VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $4/1 Nivea ManuQ=$8.00 **Yes, these went thru w/out beeps so $1 in overage!
1 x $5/2 Benadryl ManuQ=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Benadryl ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/$10 Pain Reliever Purchase Wellness IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$20.00

$20.17=$20.00=$.17 OOP-Put on Rite-Aid Gift Card

And then I repeated this order.....
Transaction #4

2 x Nivea Body Wash on sale $3.50=$7.00
3 x Benadryl Allergy $5.49-Wellness Discount makes it $4.39 ea.=$13.17
SubTotal.....$20.17

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$20 AdPerks VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $4/1 Nivea ManuQ=$8.00 **Yes, these went thru w/out beeps so $1 in overage!
1 x $5/2 Benadryl ManuQ=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Benadryl ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/$10 Pain Reliever Purchase Wellness IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$20.00

$20.17=$20.00=$.17 OOP-Put on Rite-Aid Gift Card


Total to Date for the May Rite-Aid SCR Period

No. of Transactions....6
Out of Pocket......56¢ put on free Gift Card=Zero OOP
SCRebates due....$21.00 Cash & $25 Rite-Aid Gift Card
Value of Items Received....$166.22

Free money & free stuff.
This is the reason I don't feel the need to go to Wags or CVS lately.  8-)

Sluggy

Weis Pet Food.....What I Ended up Doing Last Week

The last you heard this intrepid Couponer had 2 $10 OYNO Catalinas and was out of Mighty Dog $3/5 cans Qs but had other Qs to use for more almost free dog food.

So we did this on Saturday....

2 x Beggin' Strips reg.$3.29/sale $2.50=$5.00
2 x Kitten Chow reg. $1.89/sale $1.50=$3.00
2 x Purina Dog Chow 20lb. bag reg. $11.99/sale $9.99=$19.98 **Not Pictured**
1 x Friskies Cat Treats reg. $1.49/sale $1.25=$1.25
SubTotal  reg. $35.85/sale $29.23

Coupons Used
2 x $1/1 Beggin' Strips ManuQ=$2.00
2 x FREE Kitten Chow ManuQ=$3.00
2 x $1.50 Dog Chow ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Friskies Cat Treats ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$9.00

$29.23-$9.00-$20.23

Used 2 x $10 OYNO Cats=$20.00
$20.23-$20.00=$.23 + tax $1.75=$1.98 OOP
And I received another $10 OYNO Catalina

I was so glad and shocked! that they had restocked the Kitten Chow that I had FREE ITEM Qs for...otherwise my OOP would have gone over $2.75 with the tax.egads!lol


All together, including the dog food I bought at the local independent grocery,  I spent out of pocket $6.59(2x $1.98+$2.63), all but .93¢ of that was TAX.  And if you count the $10 Cat I have left, I am "up" $3.41 in overage.

230 cans of Mighty Dog
40lbs. of Dog Chow
3 bags of Friskies Cat Treats
2 lb. of Kitten Chow
2 bags of Beggin' Strips
That's $176.81 Retail Value of Pet Food +1 $10 Catalina
And it all cost me $6.59.

Oh yah!!

Sluggy

Happy Mother's Day to All You Moms Out There!

Here's hoping all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day.
This Cartoon hit home for me.  Both of my sons opted NOT to give me a card, a hug, a kiss or acknowledge the day.
Typical man behavior, no?
I would have even settled for what the mom in the cartoon got.....8-(

DH-who knows better than to do this-had a bouquet of flowers(lavender ones, of course!lol) & a card(funny on the outside, appropriately mushy on the inside) waiting for me when I came downstairs Sunday morning.  He also made dinner....from scratch! ;-)

Daughter surprised me this year.  She got her butt up early Sunday morning and went out in search of just the right Mother's Day card and bought me a plant too.....all with her OWN MONEY!  If you knew Daughter, you would KNOW what a sacrifice this was for her.lol  I also got a "Happy Mother's Day" and a big hug from her.
I just keep wondering if she wasn't in the doghouse for having a car accident in the high school parking lot on Thursday if she would have been as attentive to me Sunday. 8-P

Here's picture of the cards I received.  The larger one on the left in the photo with the purple flowers is the one Daughter gave me.....

If you can't make out the words, it says, "You've been like a mom to me...."
LOL
The insides joke here is that when she and her older brother were 3 & 4 years old, my DH took them to the drug store to pick out cards to give me for Mother's Day.  Not being able to read, Daughter picked out her card because of the pretty flowers on the front.  That card said, "You've been like a mom to me...." also.  So now she makes an effort to find a Mom Day card with that same sentiment....evidently because I am just like a MOM.
8-))

Sluggy