An Open Letter to McDonald's

Dear McDonald's Corporation,

Since 1981, your company, McDonald's has been trying to get the world to eat the abomination of a sandwich you call the McRib.

It was a dismal failure the first go round so you quietly pulled this puppy from the lineup in 1985.
4 YEARS you had tried to turn a profit on this concoction of a ground pork patty, bbq sauce, raw onions and pickles on a bun.
Just makes my mouth water typing that......
Wait! I lie.....NO it doesn't.

And instead of taking heed of the world's lack of love for this sammie, you, McDonald's, have brought it back sporadically in some form or another to grace your restaurant menus for the last 25 years.
25 years.....haven't we all suffered enough already?!
And now it's back again.....just in time for Oct. 31st....like a very bad Halloween prank gone wrong!

All that money on marketing wasted with no profits produced.
All that "food" produced that you end up not needing since the demand for this product is nil.
By the way, what do you do with all that food when you yank the McRib from your menus?
On second thought, don't tell me....it will only make me throw up a little in my mouth.

The McRib has had more Farewell Tours than the Who.
Of the two, I think Peter Townsend looks better than the McRib for the wear.

And another thing......
Pickles?
Pickles on a bbq sammie?!?

I grew up in the South and take my word for it, McDonald's executives, because sauce runs through my veins.....
No self-respecting Southerner would put pickles on a bbq pork sandwich!
Ok, maybe Uncle Cleatus' third cousin Bubba who got kicked in the head by a mule when he was a kid.
And maybe those immigrant Cuban folks in Florida but that's a totally different pork sandwich and Florida is NOT the South. ;-)

So take my advice and just take the McRib out to the woodpile and put it and us out of our misery please!
You know what a woodpile is don't you McDonald's?...it's that thing next to the Smokehouse and the Barbecue Pitt where real chefs cook/smoke real pigs before they put that real meat between a bun.

A little coleslaw on a real bbq sandwich is optional but definitely not pickles.

I think the McRib needs to go toward the light this time and stay there!
It would be in the best interests of our planet and mankind.
Stomachs across our world will thank you for your humanitarian efforts.

Sincerely,

Sluggy, G.R.I.T.S.*

*Girls Raised In The South

Is That A Food Money Hemorrhage I Feel?

                                    (Images courtesy of Millenium-mb.com)





Well this month began as a fairly Frugal Affair.

Ok, we took a short getaway trip to Ocean City MD....but we did it on the cheap and thrifty side!
And I stayed out of the grocery stores for two+ weeks....let alone any other kind of store, not counting Rite-Aid of course!  But Rite-Aid doesn't really count since they pay ME to shop there and I don't ever actually spend money at that store. 8-))
We were content and happy to be using up some stockpiled and freezer goodies for meals and snacks as the month began.

And then it happened......

Three, count 'em three local grocery stores ran Catalina deals in the last 2 weeks, including that lovely Hormel Bacon Promotion(slurp).  Weis Markets had a couple of Cat deals but I didn't even get to that store to take advantage of them....yes, I am slipping in my old age.

This past few weeks, it's like a rare convergence of celestial bodies combined with a lining up of the planets to form a Bargain Eclipse!lol
*Cue the skies opening up and a bevvy of heavenly hosts descending around my head, plucking on tiny harps and raising their angelic voices.....aaaaaah, aaaaahh, aaaaahhh.....

And just like that, I went from a monthly grocery spending total of just under $50 for October to a bloated budget busting total of over $300 for food.
Eeeeek!

I know, I know.....$300 in monthly food spending for a family of 4 is NOT really  "Out There" compared to what the average American spends on groceries, but for me, well......it's HUGE!lol

While I budget for food each month, we aren't living paycheck to paycheck and we regularly live well below our financial means.
So when I find great deals on food or anything else we need, I have the flexibility to spend more than I've budgeted and take advantage of the deals without taking the funds from some other expense we need the cash for instead.
Having a little extra cushion of money is a great thing indeed!
I highly recommend it. ;-)
But still.... when you scribble that pencil down to a nub and see $300 staring back at you from your piece of paper, it tends to make you pause, draw a darn big breath and make you light in the head for a moment.
Or is that just me? ;-)

I did 4 transactions at Redner's, doing the ConAgra and General Mills Catalina promotions(each gave a $10 Cat WYB $25 of items).  I bought 48 assorted items(from tv dinners to cooking oil to whipped cream to canned tomatoes) and spent $51.59 total OOP.  And I have a $10 Cat left to use.
While $50+ sounds high, that was for $293.53 of reg. retail value of food.
That's a savings rate of just under 82.5%(not counting the $10 Cat I have left).

As for my Hormel totals at Price Chopper......
3 bags of Pepperoni
26 packages of Bacon
34 cans of Chili
Equals 63 items
$39.90 OOP + a $7 Catalina left to spend
$222.27 reg. retail price of items
Savings of 82% (not counting the $7 left to spend).

So now I need to apply a Financial Tourniquet to our spending and try to avoid the grocery stores and eat down on this pile 'o food.
Luckily the month is almost over and I get to start with a clean budget slate in 5 days. 8-))

So how is your food spending going this month?
Have you gotten any good deals on groceries lately?

Sluggy

New SCR Period at Rite-Aid...Sugar Rush!

I went and used my BOGO Candy Bar Qs Sunday evening before all the Rite-Aid stores are wiped out of the BOGO King sized Bars this week.....

And notice the spiffy new fall colors tablecloth too!lol

This transaction is easy....
32 x King sized Candy Bars on sale BOGO($1.59)=$25.44
SubTotal....$25.44

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 purchase Q from my wellness acct.=$5.00
16 x BOGO Mars brand ManuQ(up to $.99)=$15.84
Coupon Total....$20.84

$25.44-$20.84=$4.60

Used $4 in +Up Rewards...$4.60-$4.00=$.60 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card.

Received $10 +Up Reward for buying $25 in advertised Candy items.(lots of candy items qualify, check the sales flyer).

Many people on Sunday were reporting that the $10 Candy +Up didn't print for them.  It seems some of the candy items were not keyed in to qualify for this +Up and corporate was fixing it.  Not sure if it's fixed yet so check the Slick Deals board before you go try to do this deal.  If your +Up does not print, call Rite-Aid Corporate Customer Service at 1-800-748-3243


THIS TRIP Total Spent....$.60(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$50.88
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$10.00
+Up Rewards spent...$4.00


GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......1
Total Spent....$.60 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$50.88
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

Nothing spent and I am "up" $6 in +Ups as I received $10 but only spent $4.

+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover from last trip....$20.50
+Up Rewards spent....$4.00
+Up Rewards earned....$10.00
+Up Rewards left....$26.50*
*Updated +Ups Total....$21.00($5.50 of old total given to kids to spend)

Sluggy 

The Last Rite-Aid Trips for the SCR Period and FINAL TOTALS!

*WARNING!*
Boring Rite-Aid trip post alert.....skip down to the bottom for the SCR Period Final Numbers for 9/26-10/23.

I had to get in a couple more trips.
After all....who can resist FREE TOILET PAPER!lol

1 x Scott 12 roll Toilet Paper on sale=$7.49
2 x Axe Shower Gel on sale BOGO 50%=$8.53
3 x Hormel Compleats on sale $1.99=$5.97
1 x Clearsil Cream 20% wellness disc.=$4.23
SubTotal...$26.22

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 the one from that newsletter in Jan.=$5.00
1 x $2.50/1 Scott TP IPQ=$2.50
1 x BOGO Axe Shower Gel ManuQ=$4.55 **
1 x $1/3 Hormel Compleast IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 any Clearasil product In-Ad Q=$2.00
1 x $2/1 any Clearasil product IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total...$17.05

$26.22-$17.05=$9.17
Used $9 in +Up Rewards...$9.17-$9.00=$.17+$.06tax=$.23 OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card.

Received $7 in new +Up Rewards...3 x $1(Hormel), $2(Scott), 2 x $1(Axe)=$7.00

I 'lost' $2 in  the +Ups count this time but that's the price I pay for more TP.lol
And I keep forgetting to stack the $1/1 Hormel Compleats Q from the Flu Booklet w/my IPQ ManuQ....ugh.

**Ok, the Axe was Buy One Get One 1/2 off, so I should have gotten only $2.84 off with my BOGO Q.
But the register showed each Axe as being $4.55....I think that was the price with my 20% off wellness discount.  So the cashier took off $4.55 instead of $2.84 and I didn't catch it until I sat down to type this out now.  Rite-Aid owes me $3 in +Ups that I never got around to calling Corporate about from 3 weeks ago so I guess in the end it all evens out. ;-)

And that evening I stopped in another store and got this.....

1 x Scott TP on sale=$7.49
3 x Hormel Compleats on sale $1.99=$5.97
1 x Oscillococcinum  on sale=$4.99
1 x Simply Saline  on sale=$3.99
1 x Ace cold pack w/wellness 20% disc.=$1.03
2 x Pepsi bottles w/wellness 20% disc.$1.27=$2.54
SubTotal...$26.01

Coupons Used

1 x $5 off $25 the one from my wellness acct.=$5.00
1 x $2.50/1 Scott TP IPQ=$2.50
1 x $1/3 Hormel Compleats IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Hormel Compleats Flu Booklet Q=$1.00
1 x $3/1 Oscillo IPQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Oscillo AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Simply Saline ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Ace cold Pack IPQ=$1.50-again they didn't adjust the Q down
1 x BOGO Pepsi bottles AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.27
Coupon Total...$18.27

$26.01-$18.27=$7.74
Used $7 in +Up Rewards...$7.74-$7.00=$.74+$.02tax=$.76 OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card.

Received $5 in new +Up Rewards...3 x $1(Hormel), $2(Scott)=$5.00
Qualified for SCR #25($4.99) and #30($3.99)=$8.98

And while I "lost" $2 +Ups(used $7, got $5 back), I will received $8.98 in SCRs on BIL's account, so overall we are "up" $6.98 on this transaction.


THESE TRIPS Total Spent....$.99(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$80.34
SCR qualified for...$8.98
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$12.00
+Up Rewards spent...$16.00


GRAND TOTALS--October Rebate Period  FINAL

Number of Transactions......16
Total Spent....$5.70 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$725.56
SCR qualified for....$53.90
Other Cash....$1.94 cash refund
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....2 x $5.99NasoGel(Mfg. Rebates 1 for me/1 for BIL)=$11.98


I've spent nothing out of pocket(since the gift cards were free)and I'm getting back $65.88 in cash and have $725.56 in products.
Who can NOT love this kind of shopping! 8-))

+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover from last trip....$24.50
+Up Rewards spent....$16.00
+Up Rewards earned....$1.00
+Up Rewards left....$20.50*
 
* I need to recount my +Up Rewards that are left, as I gave some to one of the kids to buy something and I can't find their receipt and don't recall how many I handed over to them.  I'll post the correct +Ups left total next Rite-Aid trip.

Sluggy

About Yesterday.....

Thanks to everyone who slogged through my little Pity Party and left me some life affirming comments!
I didn't mean for it to be a cry for attention and the lovefest that ensued.
But hey!, I'll take it!!lol

I truly was thrilled to get so many responses....though not hopeful I would.
You see, I have this very Very bad habit of NOT responding to comments that are left on my blog.
It's one of my many Achilles Heels....if Achilles had been me, he would have been an octopus I have so many shortcoming 'heels.'  ;-)

Please believe me when I say it's not intentional, this ignoring of my Commentators.
I read   Every.  Single.   One.
Many I read over and over again for the boost it gives my over-inflated ego.
And some I want to copy onto large sheets of paper and plaster them on the wall next to my computer desk, so that when my ungrateful offspring give me sneers and eye rolls, I can point to these precious comments and say, "Well at least THESE people seem to LOVE me, even if you little Sonsabitches don't!"

("Sonsabitches" is a word coined by my rather colorful Grandmother.  Grandma swore like a longshoreman & that was the term of endearment she used to call us from an early age.  I am just carrying on a family tradition here.)

I also read the negative notes and do post them unless they are personal attacks.  And I ruminate even more over those.  Like most women I tend to take the bad things people say more seriously than the praise.
It's that ingrained inner negative dialogue thing.
I still have that tape recorder of put downs from my youth on loop running in my head, though most days I can put it on mute.
Geez....that makes me sound like some psycho, doesn't it?
Ignore that last part.

Sometimes I don't respond to comments too because well, I just get distracted by other stuff blowing up here.  When things calm down I can't remember what I was going to write so I just let it go....sigh....

I've made some notes on various things and I'll be making a few small changes when I get a chance during my copious free time in Teeny Tiny Town.
But remember....I am a Slugmama and nothing around here moves at anything approaching a fast pace, except for the free floating anxiety in the air, so don't look for massive remodeling anytime soon.
Heck, I've been trying to get the walls in my living room fixed and painted for what?.....10 YEARS now!!lol

Please feel free to leave comments anytime &/or email me(the addy is on my contact page).


Sluggy