T Minus 9 Days Until #2 Teen Hits The College Campus

We are just over 1 week before we transport Daughter and all her "stuff" to college for her first semester of school.

Blogging buddy SonyaAnn sent her daughter off to college for the first time last August.  She has a very comprehensive College/Dorm List on her blog HERE that she used to get her daughter's supplies ready for the "Big Move".

My daughter keeps finding more and more things she feels are VITAL to take so she can survive 3 months at school.  I keep reminding her that she has to fit everything into a room the size of the one she has now, but along with a roommate and all her crap too!  I have a feeling we will be hauling some of what she insists she has to take back home on Move-In Day.

I've spent the last few days getting my daughter ready for her first Big Move In to her dorm.  It's not as much so that we don't forget something......it's more to keep her from boxing everything she owns and taking it with her.lol

Here's my version of "The List of Stuff".  Everything in black we still need.  Everything in green we had already or got for free.  Everything we had to buy is in red.

Pens/pencils
Highlighters
Black Marker
Erasers
Paper Clips
Paper
Stamps
Envelopes
Stationary
Scissors
Tape
Notebooks
Stapler
Staples 
Pencil Sharpener 
Laptop(this was her high school graduation gift)
Backpack/Computer Bag
Comforter(I bought this in June on clearance) $17
Sheet Set $13
Sheet Set
Blanket
Pillows
Dorm Fridge $70
Alarm Clock
Coffeemaker(Used a free gift card for this, so paid $3OOP)
Towels  $6
Shower Caddy  $3
Assorted Toiletries
Assorted OTC Meds
Prescription Meds
Desk Lamp
Light bulbs
Trash Can
Ethernet Cable
Cell Phone
Cell Phone Charger
Earphones
Batteries
Flashlight
Flash Drive
TV
TV Cable-on her dime, not mine
Dry Erase Board
Mirror 
Trunk
Rug
Clothes
Shoes and Boots
Coat
Facial Tissue
Women's paper products
Beauty products
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Laundry Soap
Laundry Bag
Hangers
Stain Remover
Hair products
Hair brush
Hair ties
Hair Dryer
Sewing Kit
Tool Kit
Lanyard(for room key, student ID-will buy this in the bookstore at school)
Purse
Wallet
Medical Card
Driver's License
Money
Debit Card(for her account) 


We've got about 8 more things to buy before we get to campus.  Any assorted school supplies(stationary type stuff we don't bring)she can get at the bookstore.  We might hold off on the rug since she isn't sure about her housing at this point.  They put her with a roommate but when she contacted the roommate 2 weeks ago, RM told her that she is NOT going to be rooming with Daughter.  Seems instead of putting D with another freshman, they paired her up with an upper classwoman who now says she is being moved elsewhere.  School policy is if your roommate assignment doesn't happen then they will "consolidate" you into another room needing a body(she's in a double, not a single room).  So she won't get to keep a double room to herself and she has no clue what room and with whom she will be 'consolidated".
What a way to run a school!

So the fridge will not be removed from the box in case it needs to be returned, if it turns out to be redundant.   And no rug until we get there.  I can run to the local Kmart or something if it's needed.


I am hoping to finish up buying what little is left today, if I can stand being in a car with D today.
I tell ya, she is leaving not a moment too soon!
I have one little tiny nerve left and she is climbing all over it......

I will tell you that when we sent off #1 son 2 years ago, it didn't seem to be this much stuff or as big of a "Production".  I spent less on getting him sent off.
I guess it's the "girl factor".lol

Are you sending off a kid to college this year?   How are you handling the acquiring of needs/wants?

I've spent $116 give or take a couple of bucks on her List of Things(not counting the laptop which was her graduation gift).  I'm estimating another $150 to get what is left.  I wanted to keep this at or under $250.  

Do you have a budget for your teen's college stuff?  Are you staying close to it?  How do you feel about buying/gathering all the things they say they need to go away to school?




Sluggy

Week 2 Food Spending for August & Cucumber P*rn

First the P*rn.....

Cucumbers, the gift that won't stop giving!
These cuke vines seriously think they are the mops in The Sorcerer's Apprentice movie.
Remember them?  Mickey keeps splitting them with an axe and they keep dividing and growing legs.
Well, I keep picking these cucumbers and the vines keep spitting out new ones!
The above photo is what is left of one week's crop after salad making, cucumber slices in vinegar making, tzatziki sauce making and filling a ONE GALLON jar with pickles!

I know I'll regret cursing these babies come January when I am forced to pay $1.50 for ONE half shriveled CUKE!
But come on......this is getting comical!lol

Not much food shopping last week.  Hubs picked up milk and pita bread early in the week.
I used the leftover smoked London Broil to make Gyros last week so we needed the pitas.  I was able to use up some cucumbers when I made the Tzatziki sauce for the Gyros.
Yay me!
On the way home from our adventure on Thursday(more on that later), we picked up some 'loupes and corn at a farm market.  Sunday I bought 3 dozen eggs at Kmart since they were on sale for $1 a carton and I was there already with Daughter college shopping.

Then on Monday, Hubs and I stopped again at the local independent grocer for fresh produce(g beans, squash, celery, peaches), more milk(geez!), OJ and I got snuckered into buying frozen pizzas for the teens.  That was almost $20 spent.
Altogether I spent $33.15 in Week 2 on the food shopping.

My savings percentage ran a pitiful 33.27% this week.

Besides the milk, everything was on sale.
I used no Qs because, besides the pizzas, nothing was "couponable".
bleh.

As for a Meal Plan....last week was very free form, meaning, I had some sketchy ideas but Hubs would want to get take-out or go out for lunch(while the teens were still asleep).  After a big lunch I wasn't about to make a big dinner, so the teens would have to make their own "food".  I say "food" because though they ate at 2 in the afternoon, it was really their breakfast and then #2 son would snack/graze again around 7pm(while Daughter would go with her friend and eat while out), and then Daughter would break out a bowl of cereal around midnight and #2 son would end up banging around in the kitchen around 1am again, making another meal for himself.
I just said to heck with plans and let everyone do their own thing last week.  When Hubs and I weren't out lunching it, we'd scare up some scrambled eggs or sandwiches or just throw some leftovers together for ourselves.  The day we came home with the corn on the cob from the farm market,  I pulled some steaks out of the freezer and we did grilled corn and steaks on the spur of the moment that evening.

I'm still working on this week's Meal Plan.
Sunday was Taco Hell Bell since Hubs was still on vacation and I spent all day with Daughter collecting college things.  Monday was leftovers since Hubs and I used a gift certificate at a local restaurant for a late lunch so I wasn't cooking dinner.

Dishes I am definitely making this week:  Squash Casserole and fresh Green Beans with Bacon.
In the leftover department, I have two ears of corn which will make an appearance in Clam Chowder, and a steak which will become Beef Stroganoff with the addition of mushrooms, onions, sour cream, a lot of paprika and other spices.
Depending on if/when Daughter will be home for meals this week and if #2 son wants dinner when he gets home at 9pm after Marching Band Camp each night, I'll try to just fill in the gaps with something from what is already in the house.

I've spent $174.15 of my $250 food budget with half the month left to go.
I have $75.85 left in my funds.

Is it me, or has the price of food gone up so much for what we normally buy that it's getting very difficult to stay under our old food budgets?

I don't drink coffee and I have quite a large stockpile of it for Hubs currently but I've heard that this item has dramatically increased lately in a very short time frame.  Is this true?

I have heard that the drought in much of the country, it is leading to cattle and poultry being taken to slaughter early.  The cost and availability of feed grain is making it hard to keep herds/flocks at their current sizes.  This is going to make for some cheaper prices in these food items short term, but will eventually lead to higher prices the next year or two since there will be less animals for market.
This makes me want to load up on meats now.
What do you think?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid So Far This Month...We Are Killing Trees

It's already the middle of August and this is my first Rite-Aid post for the month.
Yes, I have a bit of catching up to do!lol
But this won't take long, I promise.

The 1st week of August at Rite-Aid I bought 7 Mead Notebooks.  Sorry I have no photo....not that it would be very interesting anyway, right?
2 trips for a total of 7 notebooks.  They were .29¢ each the week of July 31st-August 6th.  These were purchased on the 3rd and 6th.
I used a $1 Wellness Q and ended up putting $1.09 for them on my gift card.

Moving on to last week--August 7th-13th.
I did 2 transactions on Saturday the 13th.

First I bought 2 Kotex tampon packs, on sale for $3.50 each, along with 24 more notebooks, which came to $19.  I used 1 x $1 Wellness Q, 1 x $1/1 any Kotex AdPerks/VV Q, 1 x $2/1 any Kotex ManuQ(Rite-Aid had mailed that to me), so $4 in Qs.
I paid with $15 in +Up Rewards....all the +Ups I had left.
I received $7 in +Up Rewards back(6 x $1 wyb 4 Mead notebooks, $1 wyb 2 Kotex items).

Then I cut off a few +Up Rewards I just got back and bought 8 more notebooks.
8 x .50¢=$4.00
I used 1 x $1 Wellness Q and used 3 +Ups to pay and had NO OOP to put on a gift card.
That's my favorite kind of transaction. ;-)

I received 2 more $1 +Ups for buying the 8 notebooks.
Also, between these 32 notebooks, the 7 I bought the previous week and the Mead index card notebook for son's Band Camp on July 28th, I have "spent" $20.02 on Mead items, so I qualify for the $5 SCR(wyb $20 or more in Mead products).

**Analysis--The tampons were $1.50 a box after Qs and +Ups and Daughter wanted some.

The notebooks last week were .25¢ each after +Ups.  There was a limit of 8 "deals", so you could get 32 notebooks total per Wellness account/card that week and receive the +Ups, making them a quarter per book.  The notebooks also qualify for the $5.00 SCR #3 for Mead products. With 3 kids high school or higher level, we go through TONS of notebooks, so these were a no-brainer buy for me!  Between +Ups and gift card balance and the rebate these cost me almost nothing beyond some of my +Up Rewards.

This week the Mead 70ct. notebooks are .29¢ each but they still qualify toward SCR #3($2 wyb $10 or $5 wyb $20), making them a good deal if you buy enough/need enough of them.


  THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....4
Total Spent....$1.21 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$69.69
SCR qualified for...$5.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$9.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$18
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$6.00
And I have $31.48 left on my gift card.

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

Number of Transactions......8
Total Spent....$5.76 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....52
Value of Items purchased....$137.72
SCR qualified for....$17.99
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for August SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 7/31.....$15.00
+Up Rewards spent....$40.50
+Up Rewards earned....$24.00
+Up Rewards left....$6.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

MIA

Sorry I've not been around enough to post this week.
I've been reading blogs some and I'll get to all the comments on mine soon.

Hubs was able to take this week off and we're having a bit of a Staycation here.
Some lunches out, some pool time, some just doing nothing and 1 small trip/activity.
This is in between lots of appointments and hauling teens around.

Maybe we'll do a movie today.
Maybe not.
Just going with the flow as they say.....

And newsflash.....I haven't stepped foot into Rite-Aid yet this week.
Nothing is expiring this week so I might just not darken their door until Sunday or Monday. ;-)

Here's hoping y'all have a nice weekend!
Anybody got any plans??

Sluggy

Two Great Minds I Know....Both Frugal in Their Own Way

I want to talk about 2 fellow bloggers today.

Annie Jones did THIS POST yesterday on her blog.
I have to say that I think she is my Cosmic Twin.
Why?
Because here is a shot of what's above my sink......

Yep, I've got a sink clothesline too!lol
Great minds DO think alike!

At the moment we have no ziploc bags on it.....
Notice that it's also a barbecue tool holder(you can't see the meat fork and long handled spatula in the shadows on the left)and restaurant grade tongs holder.
Hubs put this up about a year ago?...I think.  The old bag drying workaround was hanging them by a bottom corner from the closed cabinet doors upsidedown.  Sometimes that worked and sometimes they fell into the very wet draining mat.

In other news.....

Lookit what showed up in my mailbox yesterday!

A $20 check from Toluna.
My first $20 check from them.
It only took me how many months?......4 or 5 months to get this?
And the only reason I got it this quickly is because half the surveys I didn't get dropped out of before completing them where ones they wanted my teenage son to answer.  So I guess I should give half of this money to him, right?
IF I tell him it came.
Ssssshhhhh.....you didn't hear anything about this from me!

I doubt I'll ever get as prolific as SonyaAnn with Toluna.  She's up to $200 or something for this year so far! 
She's my Toluna Idol.

Sluggy