The "Joys" of Parenthood.....or Not So Much

I just read an article about a study that was done on "Raising Children". 
Basically they have concluded that parents who think that the pros outweigh the cons of having kids and raising them to adulthood are delusional.
Yep, people with kids are delusional.
You can read the article HERE.

Frankly I can see where they are coming from.

I do know that if kids started out as teenagers, the world's population would be much less than it is now and alot more families would only have 1 kid! ;-)

What's your feeling on this issue?

Sluggy

Here's the Plan....Meal Plan, that is....and Food Spending so Far in March

Here is what is on the menu this week at Chez Sluggy....

SUNDAY--Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots, Biscuits *Using a corned beef from the freezer so I can fit the 2 new CBs I got for $1.29lb. on Sat. into the freezer.
MONDAY--Chicken Parmesan/Chicken Tenders, Salad *Using old chicken cutlets from the freezer.  Salad fixings I bought on Sat.
TUESDAY--? *The only ones home for dinner this night are #2 son and I so we'll be creative with something here. 
WEDNESDAY--Lasagna, Spinach  *Using the ricotta I got awhile back and the lasagna noodles from the Dollar Store last week...spinach from freezer.
THURSDAY--Beef and Bean Enchiladas, Corn, Rice  *Using tortillas I got in Jan. and ground beef for $1.33lb. I got on Sat.
FRIDAY--Macaroni and Cheese, Broccoli  *I cleaned out the fridge last weekend and found lots of odds and ends of cheese blocks I need to use up.  Mac and cheese is perfect for this!  Broccoli from the freezer.
SATURDAY--Leftovers  *Since Hubs was out of town the beginning of the week and Daughter wasn't home much for dinner, we'll have lots of leftovers.  Sunday may also become a leftover dinner night as well.


I spent $26.39 at Weis last Saturday on 2 rolls of biscuits, 2 marked down tubs of lunchmeat(.99¢), a gallon of milk, 2 marked down 50% bakery items(muffins and scones), a head of lettuce, a tub of marked down organic mixed greens, 3lb. of ground beef for $1.33lb. and 2 corned beef briskets for $1.29lb.  I wouldn't have gotten the bakery items and the biscuits except that you had to spend $25 to get the sale price on the corned beef briskets.  I saved 44% over reg. retail on the order.

Add this trip to the Dollar Store and Bakery Outlet trips earlier in the week and I spent a total of $51.80 on groceries last week.

We are at the halfway mark for March today and my total grocery spending is right at $89.63 for the month.
Not sure if I'll break out and spend a big hunk of grocery money in the next 2 weeks or not.  If I want to stock up on something I have $160 left this month to play with.

What is everyone else's grocery spending looking like so far this month?

Sluggy

The Last of the 3/15 Expiring +Up Rewards...Yay!

I ran up to Rite-Aid last night to use the last $7 in +Up Rewards that expire today.  It's such a relief to only have $21.76 expiring soon instead of $154.....

3 x Dixie Plates on sale $1.97=$5.91
2 x Chloraseptic Drops on sale $3.99=$7.98
1 x Gain Dish Soap on sale=$.88
1 x Renuzit Cone on sale=$.88
SubTotal....$15.65

Coupons Used
1 x $5/3 Dixie Plates AdPerks/VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $1/1 Chloraseptic product IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Gain Dish Soap Home Mailer Q(P&G Booklet)=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$8.00

$15.65-$8.00=$7.65
I used the $7 in +Ups and put the .65¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.(This card has $1.45 left on it.)
I received $6 in +Up Rewards back(2 x $3 Chloraseptic), so I was able to "roll" $6 of the $7 in +Ups.

After the comments I've gotten on the video camera and some reviews I've read, I decided to return it.  Around here, if you return something paid for with +Ups, they give you the amount on a Rite-Aid gift card.  Besides the gift card I am using now, I have $35 left in other Rite-Aid gift cards for putting my OOP on.  That amount will get me through until about June, before I would run out and have to start spending actual money at Rite-Aid again.  But not now!  With the camera return I am up to $90 on my gift cards. ;-)  So basically, I converted via the camera return the +Ups I used to pay into a gift card....I'm ok with the fact that the gift card is only good at Rite-Aid too.  I did lose $20 of my SCRs however.....


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.65 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$25.03
SCR qualified for...$00.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$6.00
+Up Rewards spent....$7.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$111.76

TOTALS--March Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......7
Total Spent....$2.14 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$324.44
SCR qualified for....$44.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for March SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 3/12.....$112.76
+Up Rewards spent....$171.00
+Up Rewards earned....$33.76
+Up Rewards left....$111.76  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

Randomness on a Monday.....

* I know you are all dying to know how I did on the Focus Group!
Well I snagged 3rd place in the final task Contest which added another $50 to the check I am anticipating the arrival of any week now.
Even though it was a looooong 6 weeks and some days I dreaded the pressure of having to meet a deadline(here at Chez Sluggy, I AM mostly the deadline hander-outer, not the deadline meeter), I miss being part of the Group now.  Whatever shall I do with all this free time on my hands??  Oh, right....clean the house like I was able to avoid for the last 6 weeks.lol

*  I have my own theory about all the stuff happening around the Pacific Rim.  I believe that the cause of it all is Charlie Sheen!
Think about it.....things like this don't happen in a vacuum.  It's like a Cosmic Domino Effect.  One event leads to the next, to the next, to the next, etc.
Charlie Sheen goes off his rocker aka "gravitates out of his orbit" as it were.  The pull of this radiates west and causes one week later, the active eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii.  A week after that a now 9.0 Earthquake and resulting Tsunami wipes out whole cities of buildings in northern Japan.  All because of Charlie Sheen. 
Ok, so this what I wrote a couple of days ago.....before the nuclear reactors started melting down and so many where reported dead and missing.  I'm all for having fun but now?
Seriously, these disasters are horrible and I think only positive thoughts for good outcomes for anyone dealing with these situations.  Take a minute to pray, reach out to the cosmos, send healing white light, or whatever you do and believe in.  The folks impacted need all the positive vibes they can get!

* I feel I am suffering from URF, aka "+Up Rewards Fatigue".   Rite-Aid shoppers in increasing numbers are coming down with this malady.  The main complaint is burn-out from figuring out how to roll/spend down/convert to cash all those +Up Rewards we earn shopping the deals at Rite-Aid.  Making it worse is the fact that Rite-Aid keeps running the same deals over and over again.  Enough with the Oreos, Nivea Lip stuff and Gillette Razors and Holiday candy!  Geesh, I almost go into a diabetic coma just smelling the air as I walk into Rite-Aid and have to pass through the Sugar Gauntlet of Holiday Candies/Chocolates.

*  I am so ready for Spring to come.  But at what cost?  Because of the warming in the weather,  I found that an unwelcomed visitor has taken up residence in the garage the other night.....Mr. Field Mouse.  I guess the lure of warmth(well, warmer than outside)in the garage combined with the spilled dog food(thanks so much kids! who feed the dogs)was just too awesome an invite for him to turn his nose up at.
Bleh.
The mouse traps are set and we await the capture of Mr. FM anytime now.  If you have experience in shoving 27 boxes of pasta noodles, 8 boxes of oatmeal and 3 bags of flour from the shelves in the garage into my already overstuffed pantry, I'd appreciate the help! 

*  Daughter got a letter from her 5th choice college the other day.  In order to lure her to send in her deposit and tell them she is attending there in the Fall, they have awarded her(before the financial aid stuff has been all decided)a Board of Governor's Scholarship which will cover 1/3rd of her tuition.  Considering the school, it isn't a lot of money and doesn't cover much of the total cost of attending for an on-campus student, but hey!  it's nothing to look down your nose at!lol
Daughter poo-poo'ed it.
I looked her in the eye and said you had better keep that letter in your back pocket until the financial aid letters start rolling in from the other 4 schools because depending on what you get elsewhere, you may end up needing that scholarship offer!  She looked at me and turned green.  I guess she figured her dad and I would just cave in eventually if PITT didn't give her enough aid to cover her costs, after we handed over the chunk of cash we told her we would contribute.  Silly, silly daughter......to think that I didn't actually mean what I said!  Oh, I guess even though we'll be shelling out for 2 teens in college next school term, she believed we'd just hand over whatever it costs or that PITT would just let her attend even if she didn't pay the the term in full if she smiled & batted her lashed at them  a la Scarlett O'Hara enough.
Nope. 

*  So who is ready for another Giveaway?  I feel we need to do one.....  At least it would give me something to write about.lol

Off to get my Meal Plan done now....

Sluggy

Yup, I Done Spent Down a Mess O' +Up Rewards

Since I had over $120 in +Ups expiring on March 15th, I spent down a big pile of them, as well as converted $64 of them into cash via SCRs.  I only rolled another $14 of +Ups in these transactions.

Here is what I bought the last few days of last week's sale at Rite-Aid.....

1 x Colgate Toothpaste on sale=$2.99
2 x NYC Make-up on clearance .74¢=$1.48
2 x Sally Hansen Nail Polish on clearance .57¢=$1.14
1 x Vivitar Video camera w/20% wellness discount=$23.99**not pictured**
2 x Cella cherries w/20% wellness discount .26¢=.52¢
SubTotal.....$30.12

Coupons Used
1 x $1/1 Colgate Toothpaste IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$1.00

$30.12-$1=$29.12+.06tax=$29.18
I used $29 +Up Rewards to pay and put the .18¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $6 in +Up Rewards($2 Colgate, 2 x $1 NYC, $2 wyb 2 Sally Hansen cosmetics over $1.99).

**I "thought" I had bought the Vivitar video camera that had a $20 SCR...at least the hook it was on had the tag for the rebate on it.
But once I got out to the car I realized I bought the wrong camera because the one with the SCR cost alot more than $23.99.lol
So I returned the one I bought(it, along with an identical one had been put on the wrong peg hook in the store)and bought the correct one.
The correct one was $26 more.
Ugh!
I forked over $26 more in +Ups and put another .06¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.

So I spent down $49 in +Ups.....well really I only spent down $29 & converted $20 of it into cash, via the $20 SCR I'll get back.

I still had something like $78 in +Ups left to use by Tuesday, so I went back on Saturday and bought.....

1 x Phillips MP3 Player on sale but less with 20% wellness discount=$63.99
2 x Reach Dental Floss on sale $1=$2.00
6 x Sally Hansen Nail Polish on clearance .57¢=$3.42
2 x NYC Make-up on clearance .74¢=$1.48
2 x Nivea Lip Balm on sale $1=$2.00
4 x Mead Notebooks w/20% wellness disc. .79¢=$3.16 **#2 son needed these**
SubTotal....$76.05

Coupons Used
2 x $2/1 Reach Floss Tearpad Q from Dentist=$4.00
1 x $1/1 NYC Cosmetic ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/2 Nivea Lip Facebook Q=$2.00
Coupon Total....$7.00

$76.05-$7.00=$69.05+$2.46 tax=$71.51
I used $71 +Up Rewards to pay and put the .51¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card(I have $2.10 left on this gift card).
I received $8 in +Up Rewards back(3 x $2 wyb 2 Sally Hansen, 2 x $1 NYC).
I also qualified for a $20 SCR for the MP3 Player, so I rolled $8 +Ups, spent down $43 +Ups and converted $20 +Ups into cash via SCR.

THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....3
Total Spent....$.75 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$199.33
SCR qualified for...$40.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$14.00
+Up Rewards spent....$126.00 EGADS!!!lol
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$25.75

**Ok, the math says I should have this many +Ups left to spend but I counted them and I actually have $112.76 left.  So, I screwed something up really badly along the way to this point.
Did I ever tell you that I was NOT a math major in school?lol
Ok, so Sluggy is math challenged and forgot to add quite a few +Ups to her totals along the way.  According to my trusty calculator, I should have had $249 in +Ups going into these transactions.  Let's correct the info below(so it at least lines up with the reality of what I have in +Ups at this moment)and move along, shall we? ;-)



TOTALS--March Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......6
Total Spent....$1.49 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$299.41
SCR qualified for....$64.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00



+UPS Totals for March SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 3/6.....$137.75**obviously this number is wrong.lol
+Up Rewards spent....$164.00
+Up Rewards earned....$27.76
+Up Rewards left....$112.76  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy