Using Up the +Ups on Saturday

Here's how I used my $10 in +Up Rewards....

2 bags of Doritos
2 teeny tiny boxes of Whitman's Sampler chocies
1 teeny tiny box of suger-free Whitman's Sampler chocies
1 pack of sheet protectors
1 Cella cherry

$11.18
I used a $1 Wellness AdPerk/VV IPQ and those $10 in +Up Rewards and put the .18¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $4 in +Ups(3 x $1 for the chocies, 1 x $1 for the Doritos).

Analysis....
*Doritos=teen boy snacks + it gave a $1 +Up so I rolled something
*teeny tiny choccies=stocking stuffers + it gave a $1 +Up each
*sheet protectors=son needed for marching band camp + it was a good price for this item
*cherry=filler so I could use my last +Up Reward-the sugar free box of chocies was .08¢ less than the regular so my total was less than I had calculated.

I have $16 in +Ups to use this week.  I don't see many item to roll them with that I can use so it might be another week of burning them.  At this rate I will be out of +Up Rewards in a couple of weeks.
It might be a good thing to be out and take some weeks off from my Rite-Aid adventures. 8-)


THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.18 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$15.07
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$4.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$10.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$28.00
And I have $38.89 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--JULY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......10
Total Spent....$2.95 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....63
Value of Items purchased....$300.58
SCR qualified for....$22.38
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for July SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 7/13.....$34.00
+Up Rewards spent....$82.69
+Up Rewards earned....$53.38
+Up Rewards left....$28.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

Quick Trip to Price Chopper for Coupon Doublers and Edy's Catalina Deal

After getting a gold star this morning at the dentist.....8-))....I made a dash down to Price Chopper to roll my $5 Catalina Q from 2 weeks ago for buying all that Dove Men's Soap.
PC had 3 Coupon Doubler Qs in the ad here on Sunday and there is an Edy's Ice Cream Catalina Deal(Spend $12/Get $4 Cat Q)so I pulled a few Qs and went deal hunting.

4 x Texas Toast Croutons BOGO sale($2.29)=$4.58
2 x Edy's Fruit Bars on sale $3=$6.00
2 x Edy's Ice Cream on sale $3=$6.00
2 x Heluva Good Cheese on sale $2=$4.00
2 x Bic Comfort 3 Razors on sale $2.99=$5.98
SubTotal.....$26.56

Coupons Used
2 x $1/2 Texas Toast Croutons ManuQ(used 2 Doubler Qs)=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Edy's Fruit Bars IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Heluva Good items ManuQ(used 1 Doubler Q)=$2.00
2 x $3/1 Bic Comfort 3 Razor ManuQ(price modified down to $2.99 each)=$5.98
1 x $5 OYNO Cat Q=$5.00
Coupon Total.....$18.98

$26.56-$18.98=$7.58+.06¢tax=$7.64 OOP
And my Edy's Catalina didn't print!
Went to the counter and seems nobody's Cat for this is printing at this store, so the CSM gave me $4 cash instead.
Deduct that $4 and my OOP today was $3.64.
$37.68 worth of items gives me a savings rate of 90.34%.

Analysis.....


* The cheese was $1 a block after Qs.
* The croutons were 14&1/5 cents a bag after Qs.
* The razors were free.
* What's left OOP is $1.00(plus 6 cents for tax)for 4 containers of ice cream/popsicles which breaks down to 25 cents for each container.
 * In a way I'm glad I got cash today instead of a Catalina Q to roll.  I don't go to PC much in the summer so now I don't have a Cat that has to be used in 2 weeks hanging over my head.

This brings my food spending for July up to $78.37.  Half the month is over and we have $171.63 left in the budget.

How is your food spending, or NOT spending going so far in July?
Any great deals you had to have so far this month?
Or are you trying to eat down your pantry?

Sluggy

Say Hello to My Little Friend!

Let me introduce my new, close, personal friend........

He may be very one dimensional but we enjoy each other's company.lol
The downside is that Uncle Sam will want a cut of my new buddy here, come next April. 8-(

I brought Mr. Franklin home on Monday night.  He was my "thank you" for participating in a Focus Group/Mock Jury session held at a local hotel.  We also got some "parting gifts" as Monty Hall use to say but this was the incentive to get me to leave my house, drive 5 miles down the mountain and give my opinion on a case. 

The company I am registered with is turning out to be a good gig for me.  It took a year or so to get things rolling but this is the 3rd group event I've been selected for(2 have been online/1 in-person)since last Fall.  They also send emailed surveys but I seem to get dumped out of them before I get to the end so I only have $2 or so in my account for those so far.  It will be sometime before I can request a $20 check on that.lol
 
If you'd like to sign up with Focus Forward, I'd appreciate if you'd use my link HERE.
They are a nationwide LCC corporation.  Signing up is free and you will never be asked to pay for anything in order to participate in a group.  I highly recommend them.

Another company Hubs is involved with is Pinecone Research.  They send out online survey invites on average of 2-3 a month.  Each completed survey is worth $3 and you can have a paper check sent or request payment through a Paypal account.  Last year Hubs did 20 surveys so made $60.  Of course, Uncle Same also got a cut of that since it IS income.  You won't get rich participating but $60 is a utility bill or a week's worth of groceries, right?

Pinecone doesn't recruit or do referrals.  You have to wait until they have openings and go sign up.  They will advertise openings on various website via banners but there are no set sites or times so it's a matter of keeping your eyes open online and if you hear from some's blog or website that Pinecone Research is taking applications, you need to jump on it.
Hubs didn't get invited right away when he applied.  He had to wait until his demographic fit the profile they were recruiting from so if you don't get in right away, keep trying.

And there is good news on the TOLUNA front as well.  TOLUNA is an online survey company I signed up at the behest of my bloggy buddy SonyaAnn.  If these 2 survey's incentive points every come through from 2 Pending studies I did, I may just actually have enough points to request a $20 check...woohooo!

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Shopping......Convert the +Ups

Well I was able to roll a bit and convert even more +Up Rewards to cash via the Single Check Rebates.
First on BIL's card....

2 x SoftSoap Body Wash on sale=$5.98
1 x Balsamic Vinegar on sale=$1.00
1 x Luster Toothpaste w/20% Wellness discount=$5.99
1 x Crest Toothpaste on sale=$2.69
2 x Sample size boxes of chocolates w/20% Wellness discount=$2.54
1 x Sheet Protectors w/Wellness discount=$1.19 *Not Pictured*
SubTotal....$19.39

Coupons Used
1 x $1 off any purchase AdPerk/VV Q=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Luster Toothpaste IPQ(there is also a ManuQ from the inserts out there)=$1.50
Coupon Total....$2.50

$19.39-$2.50=$16.89 +$.04 tax=$16.93

I used $16.76 in +Ups to pay and put the remaining .17¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $6 in +Ups back(2 x $1 chocolate, 2 x $2 SoftSoap).
I also qualified for SCR #6($2.69 Crest) and #84($4 Luster) so I'll receive $6.69 in cash rebates next month.

*Sheila over at Super Savvy Saver reminded me about the teeny tiny Russell Stover and Whitman's Sampler boxes are giving $1 +Up Rewards this month.  With 20% Wellness discount they only 'cost' you .27¢ and you can roll $1 per box in +Ups.  I was able to find a couple.  While 4 pieces of chocie are NOT a great deal for this price, I am putting my boxes into the Xmas stash for stocking stuffers.

*On Wednesday, when I got to the store, the SoftSoap shelves were bare.  However, there is a Men's variety of this product now and my store had it shelved separately from all the other varieties of SoftSoap Body Wash so there were still 2 bottles left for me to buy....yippee!
I would seriously advise you to GET A RAINCHECK for this item if your store is out.  $.99 for a bottle which will be your raincheck price is a great deal AND you have the possibility of Dial releasing a SoftSoap ManuQ in the future, which pared with this raincheck could make for some very frugal or even free body wash! ;-)   A Raincheck for the CREST toothpaste is also a given, since your raincheck will make it free.

Then I bought on my card.....

2 x Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal on sale=$5.00
1 x Luster Toothpaste w/20% Wellness discount=$5.99
1 x Crest Toothpaste on sale=$2.69
2 x Sample size boxes of chocolates w/20% Wellness discount=$2.54
SubTotal....$16.22

Coupons Used
1 x $3/$15 Store survey Q=$3.00
1 x BOGO Mini-Wheats Homemailer Q(Vocalpoint)=$2.50
1 x $1/1 Mini-Wheats Homemailer Q(Vocalpoint)=$1.00
1 x $1/2 assorted cereals including Mini-Wheats AdPerks/VV Q=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Luster Toothpaste IPQ(there is also a ManuQ from the inserts out there)=$1.50
Coupon Total....$9.00

$16.22-$9.00=$7.22

I used $7 in +Up Rewards and put the .22¢ on my gift card.
I received $2 in +Ups back for the 2 Russell Stover sample boxes.
I also qualified for SCR #6($2.69 Crest) and #84($4 Luster) so I'll receive $6.69 in cash rebates next month in my account.

 * If your store has the Fruit in the Middle variety of Mini-Wheats and you got the Vocalpoint mailer Qs, this is a great way to use them if you still haven't yet.  2 boxes of cereal are $5.  Use the BOGO Q and one of the $1/1 Qs PLUS the $1/2 Rite-Aid AdPerk/VV Q(these can be stacked with manuQs for additional savings)and now your cereal cost you .25¢ a box!

* I also lost $2 in +Ups from my stash.  They expired on Tuesday.  I forgot they were expiring then and not on Saturday....ugh.

I still have $10 in +Ups to use up by Saturday so I foresee another trip to Rite-Aid in my not too distant future.lol

THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....2
Total Spent....$.39
Value of Items....$53.26
SCR qualified for...$13.38
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$8.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$23.76
+Up Rewards I let expire...$2.00 bleh
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$34.00
And I have $38.97 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--JULY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......9
Total Spent....$2.77 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....56
Value of Items purchased....$285.51
SCR qualified for....$22.38
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for July SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 7/9.....$51.76
+Up Rewards spent....$72.69
+Up Rewards earned....$49.38
+Up Rewards left....$34.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

Wednesday's Musical Interlude

Enjoy!




Sluggy