Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Monday.....Before the Snowpocalypse Rite-Aid Trips

After Sunday's 5 trips...EGADS!....I still had $52 in +Up Rewards to roll before this Saturday.
With the "Historic" Storm bearing down on us, I ran errands on Monday and did 3 more transactions to roll some of those reward monies.
I also had some coupons expiring Monday night(Jan. 31st) so there were 2 reasons for the trips.
Yah....that's my story! ;-)

Transaction #1
1 x Gillette Razor on sale but 20% wellness disc. was lower=$8.79
4 x Edy's Ice Cream on sale $2.99=$11.96 **not pictured**
SubTotal.....$20.75

Coupons Used
1 x $4/1 Gillette Razor ManuQ=$4.00 expiring 1/31
Coupon Total....$4.00

$20.75-$4.00=$16.75 OOP
I used $16 +Up Rewards and put the .75¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $13 back in +Up Rewards....4 x $2 Edy's and $5 Gillette Razor.
**Remember, there is a limit of one Gillette +Up Reward per card.**


I spent $16 +Ups and got $13 back so I am 'down' $3 +Ups for this transaction.

I found the Neuragen Gel at this store so I rolled some +Ups into SCR $....

Transaction #2
1 x Neuragen Gel on sale=$19.99
1 x Olay Bar Soap w/20% discount=$2.79
1 x Secret Deodorant w/20% discount=$2.63
SubTotal....$25.41

Coupons Used
1 x $5/1 Neuragen IPQ=$5.00
1 x $2/1 Olay product(includes bar soap) ManuQ=$2.00 expiring 1/31
1 x Free Secret Deo when you buy Olay product(includes bar soap) ManuQ=$3.29 *cashier put it reg. price tho I got the 20% off price even tho I told her my price was less.
Coupon Total....$10.29

$25.41-$10.29=$15.12 OOP
I used $15 +Up Rewards and put the .12¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received ZERO +Up Rewards back but I qualified for a $19.99 SCR.

I spent $15 in +Ups so I have less to roll now but I am getting back $4.99 MORE in cash instead. 8-))

Then later that night up to my favorite Rite-Aid....
Transaction #3
6 x Bounty Basic Towels on sale .97¢=$5.82  **for my Hubs, the PT addict**
2 x Precise Patches on sale $4.99=$9.98

2 x Motrin PM raincheck $1.00=$2.00


2 x Olay Bar Soap packs w/20% discount $2.87=$5.74 **This store's reg. price is higher.**
2 x Secret Deodorant w/20% discount $2.79=$5.58 **This store's reg. price is higher.**
1 x Total Toothpaste on sale=$2.99
3 x Sierra Mist soda w/20% discount $1.27=$3.81
SubTotal....$35.92

Coupons Used
1 x $1 any Purchase AdPerks/VV Q=$1.00
3 x $1/2 Bounty Towels ManuQ=$3.00 expiring 1/31
2 x $6/2 assortment of McNeil items(Precise & MotrinPM)ManuQ=$12.00
2 x $2/1 Olay products(includes bar soap) ManuQ=$4.00 expiring 1/31
2 x FREE Secret Deodorant when you buy Olay product(includes bar soap)ManuQ=$5.58
1 x $1/1 Total Toothpaste ManuQ=$1.00
3 x $.55/1 Sierra Mist soda 20 oz. TearpadQ=$1.65 expiring 1/31
Coupon Total....$28.23

$35.92-$28.23=$7.69
I used $7 in +Up Rewards to pay and put the .69¢ on my ever present Rite-Aid gift card.**This gift card has $2.26 left on it.  I may be breaking out another gift card later this week. ;-) **
I received $4 in +Up Rewards back....$2 Colgate and 2 x $1 Precise.
I spent $7 +Ups and got $4 +Ups back so I am 'down' $3 in +Ups this transaction.

**Those $6/2 McNeil Qs pair well with my $1 Motrin PM rainchecks(it was $3 w/a $2 +Up, so $1 on raincheck!)and the Precise being $4.99 this week.  One of each comes to $5.99, so the $6 Q covers it plus you get a $1 +Up for the Precise.

At this moment, after having spent $38 +Ups, I have $14 +Ups left to use by Saturday.
As long as I can find some of this week's deals still on the shelves after tomorrow, I shouldn't have a problem using these up in time.


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....3
Total Spent....$1.56 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$130.74
SCR qualified for...$19.99
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
Resolution Reward....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$17.00
+Up Rewards spent...$38.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$193.93
 

GRAND TOTALS--February Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......10
Total Spent....$3.73 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$491.58
SCR qualified for....$19.99
Other Cash....$0.00

Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Feb. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 1/30.....$214.93
+Up Rewards spent....$141.00
+Up Rewards earned....$178.93
+Up Rewards left....$193.93 includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period



Sluggy

Sluggy's Birthday Boring Blog Giveaway Post #5....Time to Enter Again!


Time for Post 5 for the Birthday Boring Blog Giveaway!
If this is your first time here, get up to speed on how this Giveaway works by looking HERE.

Check out the rules.....
The Rules
1. You must be a "Follower" of my blog to enter and still be a Follower if/when you win.  Lookie on the right sidebar and press the big ol' FOLLOW button if you are not already a follower.
2.  Sorry but this Giveaway is open ONLY to those with a mailing address within the USA.  Hate to have to do that but the postal rates outside the country are KILLER.
3. 1 vote/entry per post with 1 exemption.  You can leave more than 1 comment per post but only your 1st vote/comment will count.

The 1 Exemption....You can earn EXTRA ENTRIES this way....
*If you get someone to become a Follower and enter this giveaway you can earn an Extra Entry for each person you bring on board.  You can blog about the giveaway or email people or post about it on a message board or call your neighbor on the phone....whatever way you want to recruit them, I don't care.  Just make sure that they mention in their vote/comment/entry that You(your name here)told them about the blog/giveaway and you get an extra entry that post.


As always, this is not a company sponsored or company supplied Giveaway.  Any costs associated with this Giveaway are coming out of my pocket because I'm just that kinda gal.  Please patronize our blog ads....I'm just sayin'.... ;-)


Now down to the business at hand.

Here are your 3 items to choose from today....

1. Halls Refresh Drops-tropical wave
2. Hershey's Kisses with almonds
3. LifeSavers-Pep O Mint


Just leave a comment on this post within the next 3 days with your choice of #1, 2 or 3.
Additional praise for me on the anniversary of my birth is welcomed but won't earn you any Brownie points for the Giveaway. ;-)

Sluggy

January Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending


Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2011.

I have posted January's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2011 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 14.
******************
AMELIA'S FOOD OUTLET
OOP  $32.80
Savings  over Reg. Retail $26.85
Value  $59.65
Savings  45%

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $24.67
Savings over Reg. Retail   $53.57
Value $78.24
Savings  68.47%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $75.53
Qs/Ads  $37.93
Value  $113.46
Savings  33.43%

CVS
OOP $42.00
Qs/Ads  $211.93
Value $253.93
Savings  83.46%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $3.85
Qs/Ads  $8.02
Value  $11.87
Savings  67.56%

GERRITY'S
OOP  $20.36
Qs/Ads  $38.10
Value  $58.46
Savings  65.17%

KEYCO(Restaurant Supply Store)
OOP  $23.60
Savings over Reg. Retail  $28.40
Value  $52.00
Savings  54.61%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $17.03
Qs/Ads  $25.42
Value  $42.45
Savings  59.82%

REDNER'S(does not double coupons)
OOP  $45.96
Qs/Ads  $37.35
Value  $83.31
Savings  44.83%

RITE AID
OOP  $19.62 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads  $1,445.55
Value  $1,465.17
Savings  98.66% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WALGREENS
OOP  $4.36
Qs/Ads  $19.37
Value  $23.73
Savings  81.62%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $67.43
Qs/Ads  $124.15
Value  $191.58
Savings   64.80%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor 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 JANUARY
Heartguard Dog Meds....$18.00
Pepperidge Farm TMF Rolls...$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$48.98
Sure Deo RMF...$2.63
TENA TMF...$11.99

Subtotal........$87.60

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Office Depot Online win...$30.00
Staples Ink Rewards Credit...$6.00

Subtotal....$36.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$123.60

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Coke Rewards....Free bottle
Coke Rewards....Free 12 pack
Excedrin....Free Bottle ManuQ x2
Garnier....Sample and $1/1 ManuQ x2
Lowe's....Assorted Qs
McNeil....2 x $1/1 Motrin ManuQs
Purina...Free bag of Dog Food ManuQ
Ruffles....Free bag of Chips ManuQ

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, CVS at 83.46% and Walgreen's at 81.62%.
Yep....a drug store clean sweep...lol

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$357.59
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$2,076.26
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2,433.85
TOTAL Savings of...................................85.30%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$87.60
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$269.99
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$2163.86
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$2433.85
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................88.90%

This closes out the January spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I went over my budget of $250 per month.  The month I take part in a Money Diet I bust the budget bigtime!
Go figure.....
But I can take solace in the fact that after rebates were figured in I broke budget but a mere Andy Jackson!
I found a few nice stockpile opportunities in January along with some really good deals on meats so I am not gnashing my teeth over what I spent.  It's not like I overspent on crap like chips and soda....ok, maybe a teeny tiny bit.lol

What's ahead for February.....
I would really like to eat down some things we have here this month.  I am taking this week to eat from the pantry and not go grocery shopping(unless it's a bit of free food from Rite-Aid)beyond milk and a couple of needed items.....all totaled about $10 worth of stuff.
The weather is facilitating me staying out of the grocery stores most of this week.  I am going to try for a second week of no shopping later this month as well.
I'll shoot for spending half of my usual budget, or $125.00 for February.


How did you do in January with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for February?
Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  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

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Minimalist Mindset in Blogland



I've been a fan of a blog/website for some time now.  It's located HERE.
This guy is a true Minimalist believer.
Minimalism as a movement is hot right now...especially with the techno generation.

It's drawing many people into it's ranks.
Some of these folks and their blogging efforts are fabulous and thought provoking....others not so much.
Embracing true, full-frontal minimalism as a way of life is not for the faint of heart and not for most people....including me!
What I do is draw lessons from this path and apply them to my own life as I see fit.
Even if you think these minimalist people are froot loops, some of the ideas are valid and CAN enrich your own life. 

Here is a brief wishlist/ to-do list to get to a minimalist state....
Stop buying unnecessary things.
Toss half your stuff, learn contentedness.
Reduce half again.
List 4 essential things in your life,
stop doing non-essential things.
Do these essentials first each day, clear distractions
focus on each moment.
Let go of attachment to doing, having more.
Fall in love with less.
 This list sounds a lot like just decluttering and simplifying your life, right?
True minimalism takes it a step further until you strip away all but the bare bones of possessions, money as well as doing(working and other doing that isn't working for pay).

Now on the other hand, many out there in cyberspace are calling themselves Minimalists.
They have taken some of the concepts/theories and applied them to their lives.
That's a good thing.
But....they still embrace other concepts/behaviors that are in complete conflict with true minimalist insight.
Some are just Posers and some are what I refer to as Minimalist-Lite.
I'm not there yet, but I may end up living a Minimalist-Lite life.
Except for the giving up money thing.
I have a problem with that one....lol

A very popular concept right now among the Minimalists is this notion of  Only Owning 100 Things.
I get why you limit yourself to a certain number.  But owning 100 things is an arbitrary number that doesn't "One Size Fits All"!
And by trying to put every minimalist follower into the same slot like that makes for some funny as shit incongruities!

Here's another Minimalist devotee's blog GET OFF THIS WHEEL.
He made a hilarious video about "minimalists" and posted it on the blog.
Please go check it out.
If you have been hanging around minimalist blogs or groups, you will SO get this! ;-)



Sluggy

That's Just How I Roll.....ECBs at CVS, That is!

If you are a regular reader here, you may remember that about 3 weeks ago I actually went to CVS and bought things.
Yes, I know....you are horrified that I forsook my beloved Rite-Aids and ventured into a CVS.
Well you would too if CVS was giving away Finish Dishwasher Detergent for .75¢ a box...and that was BEFORE the Extra Care Bucks I earned buying $21 worth! ;-)

So let's follow the saga of getting and rolling these $10 in ECBs x2.  You'll see how much I have actually paid Out of Pocket to buy stuff at CVS.

First off, I have 2 cards....1 for me and 1 for Hubs.
I bought a stack of Finish coupons, er rather, I paid some kind soul on eBay to clip a stack of coupons for me for the price of $6.48 with shipping.  A bit high for 20 coupons but these were regional high valued ones so I was prepared to spend a bit more.
I used 14 of the coupons between the 2 cards, so I am OOP $4.53 right off the bat.
(Each coupon w/shipping cost .324¢.)

Each lot of 7 boxes of Finish after coupons cost me $5.25 OOP.
2 transactions of 7 boxes each makes it $10.50.
Add in the $4.53 and my investment total is $15.03.
Here's half of the boxes....

I received $10 ECBs for each card, so I had $20 to roll into more products.

The following week I did a soda deal at CVS and rolled one of the $10 ECBs.
I got 6 12-packs of Pepsi products for $20, using the $10 ECB, leaving me with $10.60(.60¢tax) OOP.
I received another $10 ECB for buying $20 of Pepsi products.

My spending at this point was $25.63.

This week I finished rolling/spending those $20 in ECBs I had left.  I just don't want to keep having to drag sorry butt back to CVS every 2 weeks, especially this time of year when getting there is iffy with the bad weather.
So I decided to roll and spend down all $20 ECBs this week.

Here's what I did....

The Buy $15 in Unilever food items, Get $5 in ECBs deal was first.
6 Boxes of Lipton TeaBags....I drink alot of iced tea and go through teabags quickly!....was $15.
After using 3 $1/2 MaunQs and my $10 ECBs, I paid $2 OOP.  $15-$3=$12-$10=$2.00 OOP.


I received a $5 ECBs for buying $15 worth.

Spending total is now $27.63.

Then I bought 2 4lb. canisters of Sugar that were on sale for $2.99 this week.
2 x $2.99=$5.98 and I used a .65/2 ManuQ=$5.33.

I used the $5 ECB from the TeaBag Deal, so my OOP came to .33¢.
And I have no more ECBs on that card to roll.

Spending total is now $27.96.

On the other card I bought 5 12-packs of Coke products, as there was a Buy $15/Get $5 ECBs Deal.
I had a FREE 12-Pack of Coke Coupon reward I used as well.

$15-$3free cokes Q=$12-$10ECBs=$2.00=$.12 tax=$2.12 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.

Spending total is now $30.08.

I bought 6 more boxes of Tea Bags and used 3 more $1/2 ManuQs and the $5 ECB to pay.....$15-$3=$12.00-$5.00=$7.00 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.


Spending total is now $37.08.

Then I bought 2 Sugar canisters($5.98)and 6 Dawn Hand Renewal Soap(.97¢each=$5.82)=$11.80.
I used a .65/2 sugar Q and 3 x $1/2 Dawn Hand Renewal=$3.65
$11.80-$3.65=$8.15-$5 ECBs=$3.15+$.08tax=$3.23.

And I am out of ECBs on both cards.

Spending total is now $40.31.

So I have spent.....
$4.53-Finish coupons
$10.50-14 Finish boxes
$10.60-6 Pepsi packs
$2.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.12-5 Coke packs
$7.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.90-6 Dish Soap


And I received for this $40.31.....

14 Dishwasher Detergent boxes
11 12-packs of Soda
12  boxes of Tea
16 lbs. of Sugar
6 bottles of Dish Soap

To break it down into what my family uses and at what rate, that's 1 year worth of Dishwasher Detergent, 6 months worth of Soda, 6 months worth of Tea Bags, 6 months worth of Sugar and 4 months worth of Dish Soap.

It may sound like I've spent alot of money but if you divide what I spent by the number of items, it averages out to .68¢ per item!
And it's all items we need and will use....no fillers.

Using the sale prices and not the regular prices(since I NEVER would have paid those prices for the items!),without using the ECBs(and ManuQs)to bring down the prices paid, I would have spent $122.78+tax on this stuff.
I "saved" $82.47.
That's a savings of  67.17% over just buying these items at the sale prices.

I have a question for those of you who shop at CVS on a regular basis....

Do you ever buy filler items(along with items you need/want) just to roll ECBs into more ECBs before they expire?
Or do you only roll ECBs on things you need and just spend them down on things you need if there is nothing good to roll them on, to get more ECBs?
Do you ever feel pressured to buy things you normally wouldn't, to roll your ECBs?
If you do buy things you wouldn't to roll the ECBs, do you have someone/some groups you can pass these items on to easily?
If you had a choice of spending down your ECBs(because there is nothing good to roll them on to)OR rolling your ECBs when at least a part of what you buy would mean buying things you don't want/need to get more ECBs, which do you prefer to do?

Sluggy