November Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan Week 4+/December Week 1

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Pot Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions w/Gravy
MONDAY--Tilapia, Mixed Veg, Sweet Potato Fries
TUESDAY--Tacos, Corn
WEDNESDAY--Leftovers
THURSDAY--Turkey Thanksgiving Dinner
FRIDAY--Leftovers
SATURDAY--Chinese Take-Out

 No Squash casserole night again, because though I actually got to the Product market last week I forgot the yellow squash.  I am claiming I was so overcome by the beauty of the Rutabagas....yah, that's my story. ;-)  Lots of leftovers.  We are almost at the end of Thanksgiving leftovers(except for the stuffing)and we still have taco beef.

 
Total for all the food shopping last week came to $56.02.  I had to use half of my ShurSave Reward money and I still spent $17.46 OOP.  I spent $13.02 at the Produce market(and I got some extra sweet potatoes for later). 2 trips for milk last week and I was at $249.47 for the month.

 

Then Daughter came home and decided she needed yogurt(which she didn't eat all of before she left to go back to school), and frozen pizzas(1 of which she didn't eat).  I asked her to pick me up a few more apples for a pie.....so she bought beautiful eating apples NOT on sale instead of  "I don't care what it looks like as long as it's cheap" apples to put in a pie.  5 apples that cost over $6...EEK!  We had some words about buying apples afterwards.....lol

So I will blame Daughter for tipping me over my $250 food budget for November.

My savings percentage was 50.03% last week, as the reg. retail was $112.10 on the groceries I brought home. 

My running total spent for the month is now at $269.54.  I have to food shop tomorrow as I have a $10 ShurSave markets reward left that expires on that day.  I will try to keep it as close to $10 as possible.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Leftovers(Pot Roast)
MONDAY--Taco Bell
TUESDAY--Leftovers(Turkey)
WEDNESDAY--Leftover Tacos or Taco Salad
THURSDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Salad
FRIDAY--Subway or Chinese Take-Out or Pizza
SATURDAY--Chicken Casserole(uses up leftover stuffing), Veggie TBD

Items needed for this menu.....nothing really, I have everything I need to make it all....except for the Subway and the Taco Bell of course.

I don't plan on any food shopping this week except to use that $10 in Rewards on Wednesday.  Basically this week's ads suck, as they always do the week after the Thanksgiving Holiday.

I'll be posting my Monthly Food Spending Post in the next day or two as time permits between dealing with Real Life and eBay stuff.

And of course my posting about food shopping this month isn't complete without a mention of.....

 

Sluggy

In The Weeds....

Literally and figuratively in the weeds here!

That's why I haven't posted lately.
#2 son home from school still....it's deer hunting season in PA so they had off on Monday and today is Parent/Teacher conferences.
But he's had pitt orchestra rehearsals and orthodontist appointment.
Plus I am dealing with Daughter's medical issues and medical insurance provider long distance from college which makes me want to spit nails!
And the phone rang 23 times yesterday.....have I mentioned how much I detest talking on the phone lately?
And the eBay screwball buyers have come out of the woodwork and I am behind on getting things listed because I have been packing and shipping like a wild woman and have no time left for listing.
I haven't even done a menu for this week...ack!
And I am so tired I actually drank a cup of coffee at the Orthodontist's office....it was free so what the hell, right?lol

And the weather.....can I just say that the weather is crazy lately?
It's 60 degrees outside...it was 62 yesterday.
This is northern PA.....this is late November....WTF?!?!
It should be 25 degrees and snowing.
It's like in 2007 when it was 70 degrees and we had a tornado on Dec. 1st.
Wacky weather.......

My shrubbery is so confused.
Here is what my forsythia bush is doing.....

It's BLOOMING!
Likewise my Magnolia tree and the massive Rhododendron bush have budded out because they think Spring is here!
Sigh........

If this keeps up we'll need to mow the lawn again this weekend......in December. lolol

I'll be back later after I get something accomplished.

Sluggy

In eBay Purgatory & My Paycheck to Paycheck Guilt

*  First let me say that I have sold/bought stuff on eBay off and on for more than 13 years now.
I am so OVER eBay already it's not funny.
I am so glad my eBaying days are coming to a close.

In the past, I would dabble in eBay enough to get fed up with dealing with the stuff that happens there(sort of like Vegas but without the booze)and then I'd quit. 

But I wouldn't get fed up enough not to go back....either that or my memory is now so bad that I'd forget the stress and aggravation and just mosey on back during the HIGH SELLING DAYS at the Holidays....sort of like swearing off having another baby but after a few years the memory of those horrible labor pains dissipate and you find yourself back in the delivery room with your legs up in the air and your HooHa smiling out at the room.

In the last week I got 27 new listings up.
I wanted to have 70 new listings up in that time frame, or 10 per day.
Didn't quite happen, did it?lol

This was crunch time for listings since CyberMonday is tomorrow.
You are well aware that Online retailers get slammed tomorrow with orders but eBay also gets slammed on CyberMonday and I sure hope I am one of the lucky Slammees! 8-)

I did sell 5 items so far this weekend so I've got lots of packing/shipping to do today.
Then it's back to trying to get more listings up.

Later this week, I start discounting prices a bit since everyone loves a sale!lol 

I didn't get any atrocious buyers this week.  I did get a MAKE AN OFFER on something but it was a reasonable price so I took it.  And I have 1 potential Deadbeat right now.....and still lots of French folks wanting shipping quotes.....and I fielded a quote question from a new place-someone in Mauritius.  I bet you have no clue where that is either and you have to go mapquest it like I did. ;-)

*  I also relisted all my local Tag Sale site items again on Saturday, hoping some folks would look there for Holiday gifts when they weren't out cruising the mall.
And I have $138 in promised sales and I might have another $15 in possible sales for my efforts.  8-)

I did finally figure out that I need to run the Tag Sale items on either payday or the day before payday.
It appears everyone who uses that board to buy stuff lives paycheck to paycheck.
When I run the ad on weeks/days that aren't pay days I get people wanting to buy stuff but they want to wait to pay me on the 1st of the month or on fridays or whenever they get paid.

It shouldn't surprise me really and you would think I would have figured this out long before now.lol

It sort of makes me feel bad selling stuff to people who are living this way with their money.  I feel guilty that they are spending money they really can't afford on this crap and then when their car breaks or some emergency happens, they won't have the funds to take care of it, because they spent it on toys and dolls and stuff!
I am enabling and not helping them and I feel like a bad fiscal neighbor leading them astray.

But then again, if they weren't spending the money on my crap, they'd buy crap from somebody else, right?lol

So what are you up to today?

 Sluggy

Rite-Aid Deal for Anyone Who Spends $ at Home Improvement Stores...Hurry!

I forgot to mention this Deal earlier....duh!
If you are a home owner you probably end up spending money on your property at those big Home Improvement stores....you KNOW the ones I mean!lol

If you have spare cash to tie up until your next trip to Lowe's and/or Home Depot, head over to Rite-Aid TODAY.

One of their Black Friday Weekend Deals is this.....
Buy a $50 "Do It Yourself Home Improvement" Gift Card.
It looks like this....

Don't buy the identical one that you can put a range of cash into, buy the $50 one.  You pay no fees and it looks like it's a prepaid Discover card thing.  But you don't have to have a Discover card account to use this....sort of like prepaid American Express cards you can get but don't have to have an AmEx card to spend them.

Anyway, buy this card and you'll get $10 in +Up Rewards "money" for each one you buy.  There is a limit of 2 per Wellness card.

This is a great deal if you can afford to "tie up" your home repair/improvement funds in a gift card until you need to spend them at the store.
Or if you like someone you give gifts to at the Holidays $50 worth and they want this kind of thing, buy it for a gift and keep the $10 in "free" Rite-Aid script.

I went out on Black Friday(the ONLY shopping I did!)to Rite-aid and bought 2.
I'll be borrowing the BIL's card to get 2 more since he won't/doesn't need to get any of these.

This Deal ends tonight so get to Rite-Aid today.

Now I want to hear all about all you folks who rode the Crazy Train and hit the stores on Thursday and/or Friday.....insanely early wee hours of the morning or not and whether you get a buzz hitting the stores with your friends, if you go Holiday shopping on those days, you ARE riding the Crazy Train!lol

Me?  I went to Rite-Aid, grabbed my gift cards and was out of the store in 3 minutes.  No crowds, no lines, no sleep deprivation and no fist fights with coked up "people of walmart" types. 
Yes, I am boring but hey!....you knew that already. ;-)

Sluggy

The Darkest Day of the Year is Here!

*It's 3 am and I am headed to bed after staying up too too late to pack up things that sold on eBay and need to ship out today.  Don't make too much noise and wake me as y'all head out the door to shop, if you are so inclined.
Here's a repeat of my teeny rant last year on Black Friday.
The clip at the end is funny yet too close to the truth sometimes to be hilarious.
Enjoy!

Sluggyzzzzzzzz
***************************

Will you be out with the Shopping Fanatics on Friday morning?
Or will you be snug in your bed or headed to work at that early hour?
Me?....I don't 'do' Black Friday.

Besides the fact that I don't have many people to buy "stuff" for during the Holidays, it's rare that I want/need something so badly at an insanely low price that I'd brave the traffic headaches, go out into the Chaos of Crowds and stand in lines a mile long to pay in order to save money on an electronic/appliance/toy/article of clothing/etc.
But that's just me I suppose....
Hey, I am all over a great deal but even I have my limits.

If you do have the "Shopping Monkey on your back" and you'll be hitting as many stores as time will allow in a Shopping Bachanalia, remember that all that "stuff" you buy needs to fit into your already crowded with "stuff" home and once you are done with the new "stuff", it will most likely end up clogging up a landfill somewhere....and we are fast running out of places to dispose of all our unwanted "stuff" on this planet.  Consider these points and buy judiciously if you have to purchase "stuff".

The teens mostly want cash or gift cards and Hubs and I don't need more "stuff". I'm going to try to find ways to support local businesses this year when I do buy.
I'll try to find gift cards/certificates to buy off of local small merchants(for consumables or experiences mostly)and try to stay out of the big box stores.

Speaking of big box stores and Black Friday, have a lookie at this SNL skit and tell me that this isn't where we are headed.....



Since I sold a few things on eBay on Thanksgiving(bless all those cyber shoppers with nothing to do but watch football on Thursday!lol) I'll be packing and shipping when I'm not strolling down the aisles at Rite-Aid on Friday seeing what food/HBA items I can bring home for free(or close to it).

Whatever you are doing on Black Friday, stay safe, stay sane and stay warm!

Sluggy