Saturday, January 21, 2012

More Rite-Aid Fun!

So we had BIL's Wellness card at $82 toward the Resolution Reward.
I went back to Rite-Aid late yesterday before the snow hit and bought this.....

Basically it's the Theraflu deal again with a pack of lighbulbs thrown in.

3 x Theraflu on sale $5(must buy 3)=$15.00
1 x Lightbulbs on sale=$2.99
1 x had the cashier ring up .01 manually=$.01 *--watch the magic!
SubTotal.....$18.00

Coupons Used
1 x $3/2 Theraflu IPQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Theraflu IPQ=$2.00
1 x $3/2 Theraflu PeelieQ on package=$3.00
1 x $2 In-Ad Lightbulb Sales flyer Q=$2.00
Coupon Total....$10.00

$18.00-$10.00=$8.00 OOP
I used $8 in +Up Rewards to pay.
I received $5 back in +Up Rewards(for the Theraflu).

$17.99 toward the Resolution Reward total brought BIL's card to $99.99 which triggered the $20 +Up Reward to print.....yay!

Total +Ups earned this trip....$25.00

*-This Rite-Aid will add a penny or two to your total manually if you are that close to being able to use an +Up Reward.  I found that out last month when I was a penny below the amount needed to use an +Up Reward, and the Asst. Manager said they would/could do this.  Who am I to argue, right?lol

I went back in to shop to get a Tom's Deodorant on my card......

1 x Tom's of Maine Deodorant on sale=$3.99
1 x Lightbulbs on sale=$2.99
1 x Cella cherry w/wellness discount=$.26
SubTotal....$7.24

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Lightbulbs In-Ad Sales flyer Q=$2.00
Coupon Total....$2.00

$7.24-$2.00=$5.24 OOP
I used the $5 +Up BIL got for the Theraflu purchase and put the .24¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I earned $3 +Up Reward for the Deodorant.

I could have had the cashier manually up my subtotal to $7.00 and not bought the cherry, using just the $5 +Ups and no OOP to pay.  But she had such problems doing it the first time, I just 'ate' the cherry.....er, the overage and the cherry.  ;-)

So we are finished with the Resolution Reward a week before the deadline of Jan. 28th to earn it.
Some of our +Ups expire on 2/4/12 so we don't need to go back to Rite-Aid for 2 more weeks, unless a great deal happens.....a great deal that we need!

Sluggy

Friday, January 20, 2012

Time for Another Brain Dump....Birthday Edition



*  Lately I have been feeling like the giant hand of the Universe has got me by the leg and has been twirling me in the air, at a high rate of speed and then letting me go.  At this point the laws of matter have stopped applying to me and all the molecules that make up my body fly off like a billion tiny little ball bearings into space.
Ok....that's just my crazy way of saying I feel bad physically and mentally I've lost my center.

I'm so unfocused mentally and I can't do beyond basic functioning.  My thoughts are scattered, my energies are scattered.  I have so many 'things' to see to, but I can't seem to settle my brain enough to concentrate on a consistent thought long enough to accomplish any thing.

My eBay store is sitting empty.  I have tax papers all over the dining room table.  Bags of Sallie's donations sit in the garage.  I still don't have my Goals for 2012 worked out yet. And I can't even find the energy to pick up after myself or clean the house.  There is no forward movement on anything around here!
If I had some energy at all, my current state would drive me nuts.
ugh.

*  After posting last week about Mark and his family's plight I noticed I lost a few followers.
Now the timing may just be coincidence......or not.  And I didn't even think that my dwindling numbers of fans was because of my supporting of a 'gay' issue until Mark mentioned that taking a 'pro gay rights' stand on an issue might cause this kind of backlash with some folks. I didn't see it that way, because frankly I don't see his case as a gay rights issue but rather as a human rights issue.  If what someone does is not hurting you or someone else, why the fleck should you care what they do in the privacy of their own lives?  Do I have to give my "fill in the topic is like a penis" speech again?!?
Let's be loving on each other, not hating.


*  My long anticipated Couponing Seminar....ok, it was really more like a Talk than a Seminar....happened yesterday.  I couldn't sleep the night before, due to nerves and the fact that I was fighting off a sinus infection.  I was scared I would lose my voice halfway through it because of the throat issues I was having.
Even with my before mentioned scattering energies issue above, I was able to cobble something together at that last minute, that sounded halfway coherent and rational.
And I want to thank each one of you who offered thoughts and advice last week on how to approach this thing. I appreciate and took under advisement everything you all said! 8-)

Of course since it's a subject I intimately know and it is well known that given the opportunity I will talk until given "The Hook" and yanked offstage, I did babble on a very long time.  And yet, I still didn't cover everything that was pinging off the walls inside my head.
The best thing was that most of the crowd(and the gal in charge did say it was a rather large crowd, so they must have been interested in the subject matter)enjoyed it and I feel got something out of what I droned on and on about.  This certainly must has turned some off of the idea of couponing and living frugally within a budget but I'm hoping it might have sparked at least a few to explore the subject matter and take steps to change how & how much they spend at the stores.

Since we didn't get around to the nitty and the gritty of matching up sales to Qs and planning a shopping trip I offered to work one-on-one with anybody who wanted more assistance and shared my email addy.  I don't need to do this to make an income, so I can afford to be altruistic with it.  If I can help people save money and time then I am happy to help.

*  My Birthday is tomorrow.  It sucks because I am feeling physically sick(along with that mental exhaustion thing I have going on).  I thought it was the flu, as Hubs was down with a bad cold/flu bug last week.  I think mine is more of a sinus infection though.  #2 Son stayed home from school yesterday as he was feeling ragged and slept all day long.  We told him to stay home tomorrow(which would be today)as well and take the weekend to get better.  3 hours later, as I was typing some of this missive late last night, he came downstairs and promptly threw up all over the downstairs bathroom.
Charming.


So feeling sickly, cleaning up puke and having a Birthday got me into a morose mood and all I can think about now is.....

How the hell did I get this old?
Can somebody tell me please!
I'm watching videos of songs from my youth and I feel like that 16 year old teenager inside, who heard these songs the first time, but the face looking back at me in the mirror is some alien I don't recognize.
Whoever stole my youth, I would appreciate it's return, pronto!
No charges will be pressed and there might be a small reward in it for you. ;-)

*  SonyaAnn got me thinking with her "Bullets Post" of a couple of days ago.  She shared some personal stuff about herself, as well as some wacky anecdotes regarding her life.
I think I want to try something like that on this old blog too.

I started drafting a list of "Things You Don't Know About Me" back in September and I've been adding to it over the months now, when I get inspired.  I am thinking about making it a regular feature with it's own page.  When I add an item on my list,  I'll post and talk about that item.
I must warn you that most of the stuff is silly and weird, but some of the stuff is really really personal.  It may be uncomfortable to read since some of it's not "happy stuff" and I'm not totally sure I want to share those things with every heavy breather weirdo with internet access across the global.
But on the other hand, I'm an old lady and I've got nobody to impress any more, no career to protect and I'm at the age where I can't give a crap what anybody thinks of me or knows about me(mostly), so I may just let this rip.  Any thoughts from anyone on doing this?  Would you?


* The blog stats this week haven't changed much.  I will tell you that if you want search hits, mention Mormons on your blog.  Mormons are "hot".
I am still getting many many hits from "cat hoarding" and "cat hoarders".  Why specifically cat hoarding??  Why not dog hoarding.....or teapot hoarding......or money hoarding.  You would think that if I mentioned Mormon Hoarding I would rake in the blog hits, huh?
Another top search word this week has been Joe Btfsplk.  Who knew so many people search this name/word online??lol
And another strange current stat I found......the country with my second highest hits are located in.....Slovenia.  I'm far from the world's answer to Sherlock Holmes but putting two and two together..... it just occurred to me that maybe there are a lot of folks named Btfsplk in Slovenia? ;-)

Of course, NOW I've offended the country of Slovenia.
There go my page views!......


I think it would be fun to post once a week on the blog some random topic, just to see what kind of keyword page hits it would generate, wouldn't you?





* And I leave you with an awesome site to check out.  Most of the online planet has heard of "etsy".  You know it....that eBay-esque site for selling handcrafted and vintage items.
Well let me introduce you to Regretsy.
This is the dregs and "bottom of the weird barrel" from etsy and other online sales sites, or as the site's owners describe it, "Where DIY meets WTF".
It's a great time waster and good for adding a few chuckles to your day.  I especially liked their Christmas Advent Calendar last month, where they daily added a horrible "why would anyone buy that as a gift for someone else?!?!" handmade Christmas gift that was for sale somewhere in cyberspace.
Hys-pee your pants funny-terical!

I bet when folks from Slovenia aren't googling Joe Btfsplk, they are buying and selling Regretsy-worthy crafts.

Heading back to bed now.  Don't make me have to come back on here and yell at any of you crazy kids!
There!!.....NOW I sound like my age.

Sluggy

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

2012 Decluttering P*rn & Other Stuff

Yes, I am back at the decluttering again.  Once the weather improves a bit this is all leaving the garage and heading into Hub's car trunk....well, the stuff that isn't already in there....then off to Salvation Army. ;-)



Matchbox Beetle Car 1:32 scale
Small Soldiers Slot Car Racing Set
Small Soldiers Board Game
4 Racing Champions 1:64 scale Rockin' Steel Cars
7 Johnny Lightning .Com Racers 1:64 scale
6 Matchbox Airplanes
1 Johnny Lightning Wacky Racers car
1 Miniature Drag Racing car
1 Star Wars Yoda figure


3 Micro Machines Miniature Star Trek vehicles Sets
3 Micro Machines Double Playsets
1 Hallmark Floyd the Dog Mug
1 Johnny Lightning .Com Racers
1 Batman Playset miniature
1 Godzilla Playset minaiture
1 Lunchbox Keychain set
1 Set of 101 Dalmatians Playing cards in collectible tin
1 101 Dalmatians Pen in collectible tin
2 101 Dalmatians Christmas ornaments
2 sets of Christmas cards
1 set of Barbie Paper Dolls-1976
3 Women's blouses(used)
5 Happy Holisters books(used/vintage)
1 Silver Plate Tea Service with Tray



2 Wooden Shelves
1 Rock Tumbler
2 Sets of rocks & findings for Rock Tumbler

Load #1 for 2012.
Go me!lol

I got Daughter to go through all her crap I boxed up when she left in August for college.  Her room was a disaster!  It looked like a Stuff Bomb blew up in there.lol  So everything got boxed and shoved into the closet.  She finally went through the boxes last week.  She threw out 3 garbage bags of rags, worn out shoes, paper and junk.  I have 2 boxes in the living room ready to go into my next Sallie's donation.
She threw out 2 perfectly good cell phones which I found in the garbage pile.  I've tucked those away in case somebody's cell phone dies.  It may not be "in" anymore but it will work fine for me.
Anyway, after she got rid of all that crap, there is now room in the large closet in her room to put away ALL the Christmas stuff.
Finally!  Boxes of Christmas stuff don't have to be in the garage or sitting out in the living room all. year. long.
Can you tell I am pleased?

I'm fighting some illness at the moment....sinuses.....flu.....I don't know what it's turning into.
Hubs had been sick all week and has graciously shared whatever he had with me.  I love him anyway.....

I've got a dentist appointment in a half hour and that Women's Club talk on Thursday so falling apart is NOT an option right now.

My eBay store is empty and once I feel better I'll have to fill that up again as part of the Big Purge.

Off to brush my teeth again and get through the day.

Sluggy

Monday, January 16, 2012

January Food Spending Week 2, Meal Plan January Week 3


*I am taking part in Precious' MONEY SAVING CHALLENGE again for 2012.  You can find her blog FRUGAL MAKES CENTS and a list of other participants and their blogs  HERE.
Check it out.  You might find some new ideas for incorporating frugality into your life there!*


I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by.  These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's or earlier.  
Today's kitchen......or rather today's appliance in honor of my Birthday, a 1959 Electric Range!


Ok....this ad is actually a 1958 Range.....here's the 1959 one.....


Now I don't think I could stomach a Pepto-Bismol pink kitchen but I truly would have loved to have had a TURQUOISE one!  Not blue, not sea green but true up turquoise.  Like this yummy GE range.  And notice Mrs. Tweed Jacked Pencil Skirt Suit also has those cutting edge metal cabinet doors in matching turquoise!
Back the year I was born they touted these new fangled Electric ranges/ovens as so space age and modern.  No more open flames of gas.  "Keyboard Cooking" was the buzz word. Dials and push buttons with numbers for accurate temperatures.  Automatic timers that were easier to set than a clock.  The oven door was removable for easy cleaning.....well, that was a nice feature but who the heck cleans their oven anymore??lol

This fashionable Cooking Machine's cost started at $149.00 in 1959.
Gulp.....that wold be $1,130 in today's dollars! 

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)


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

SUNDAY--bucket of KFC *weekend special for $11*, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, biscuits
MONDAY--Mac and Cheese, Broccoli
TUESDAY--Subway sammies
WEDNESDAY--Kielbasa on rolls, Onions, Ginger Carrots
THURSDAY--Grilled Pork Chops, Beets(leftover), Mac and Cheese(leftover)
FRIDAY--Breakfast for Dinner(Eggs, Pancakes, Meats)
SATURDAY--Fish, Wild Rice, Peach Salad

Except for the bucket of chicken we bought on Sunday and the Subway sandwiches for 3 of us(Hubs was sick), the rest of the food served was already here.  The only thing we needed last week was milk.
Therefore, the food spending was low last week.  1 trip to Weis for Juice and Nestle's Quik where my Catalina didn't print.  Then there were my trips to CVS stores to stockpile Finish dishwasher detergent.
Trips to Rite-Aid also but no actual money was used. ;-)
In all, I spent $39.86 last week at the grocery/drug stores.
I used 26 coupons(25 at CVS on non-food items, 1 at Weis on a food item).

2 Weeks in and I've spent $149.73 of my January food budget.  $150.27 left for the month.

Going into Week 3, we have 1 piece each of kielbasa and salmon leftover.  Since everyone is off of work/school and home today, I am counting on these to be scarfed down for lunch.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Chinese Take-out *I wasn't feeling too well
MONDAY--homemade Pizza, carrot & celery sticks w/dressing
TUESDAY--homemade Chili, Cornbread
WEDNESDAY-- Sloppy Joes(with ground turkey or chicken), Rolls, Green Beans
THURSDAY--Baked Potatoes with Toppings, Mixed Veg.
FRIDAY--Chicken Divan
SATURDAY--Spaghetti Carbonara, Salad

Items needed for this menu are rolls and salad greens.  I have everything else on hand.
The grocery store ads look pretty pitiful this week as well, since it's the "store brand" week here.
I might stock up on salmon this week as somebody had a good deal on it....can't for the life of me remember which store it was.lol  I'll pretty much be staying out of the stores this week at any rate.

My menu might change if A-Daughter want's me to fix a favorite food since she is leaving to go back to school next weekend(yay!lol) or if B-I feel worse than I do now......I think I'm getting the flu or it might just be a cold.
bleh.

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid....Getting to 100

So our Intrepid Bargain Hunter(that's me!)rolls into the new Sales week at Rite-Aid on Sunday, with $51 toward the $100 needed to get her BIL's card to the $20 Resolution Reward.

Here is what we bought.....
Hubs didn't feel like going out for the Sunday paper, so we picked them up.
2 x Sunday papers (1 was $1/1 was $1.20 w/my discount)=$2.20 I'm getting real tired of hearing about Joe Paterno and we aren't even in State College!lol
1 x Fritos on sale=$1.88 *
2 x Tom's of Maine items on sale $3.99=$7.98
3 x Theraflu items on sale $5.00=$15.00-must buy 3 for this price **
2 x GE Lightbulbs on sale $2.99=$5.98
SubTotal....$33.04

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Theraflu item IPQ=$2.00 (Our region didn't get the Theraflu ManuQs)
1 x $3/2 Theraflu items IPQ=$3.00
1 x $3/2 Theraflu items PeelieQ=$3.00 ***
2 x $2/1 GE Lightbulks In-AdQ=$4.00 ****
Coupon Total....$12.00

$33.04-$12.00=$21.04
We used my $20 Resolution +Ups and the $1 +Ups from buying the Hall's cough drops on Saturday to pay.
We put the remaining .04¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
We received $11 in +Up Rewards back(2 x $3 Tom's of Maine and $5 WYB 3 Theraflu).
BIL's card got $31 more toward his $100 because everything except the newspapers were qualifying items, so he's at $82 now.  Only $18 more of qualifying items to purchase to get his reward.

* As far as Frito-Lay's products go, $1.88 is about the lowest price you will ever see at Rite-Aid these days.  I tell you this in case you haven't noticed and you know, you want to stock up on junk food.  ;-)

** Who else is hating on this new Rite-Aid deal where you ONLY get the sale price if you buy in quantities they designate?  So NOT loving this.....

*** First off, I had a better scenario worked out for the Excedrin Deal(which was the other item you could buy with this Sale).  3 Excedrin bottles and $9 in stacked ManuQs/AdPerk Qs....pay $6 OOP and get $5 +Ups back.  But I didn't count on the Excedrin recall last week!  And Rite-Aid had pulled all Excedrin off the shelves, so the Excedrin scenario wasn't happening. ugh  So we resorted to Plan B-Theraflu.

You may have noticed I used 3 ManuQs on 3 Theraflu products, yet 2 of those Qs were for the purchase of multiple bottles/packages and not single bottles/packages. This particular Rite-Aid store has a policy that if an item has a PeelieQ stuck to it, you can use it, no matter if it's expired and/or if you came into the store armed with your own Qs to use on the purchase.  I found a box of Theraflu with a $3/2 PeelieQ on the shelf so I got a bonus $3 off my total. 8-)

**** After I finished my transaction, I was reading the sales flyer in the car and noticed that the GE Lightbulbs In-Ad Q says, "Limit one per customer."  I had bought 2 packages. Sluggy hangs her head in shame....
Now this wording could be open to interpretation....Limit one Q per customer, per item.....Limit one Q per customer, per transaction or visit......or you can only buy 1 package this week and use 1 Q 1 time, period.
If I had noticed the wording or the cashier had caught the wording, I would have only bought 1 in my transaction.  I find that most stores don't have a hard and fast rule on the In-Ad Qs.  If the In-Ad Q is for an item the store doesn't stock a large quantity of, you should always use restraint in the number of something you purchase.
For example, last Winter when Rite-Aid introduced their private label brand of toilet tissue and facial tissue, and was offering +Up Rewards equal in value to the paper products you purchased(which meant you were getting every single one of them for FREE after +Up Rewards).  Whole stores were cleaned out of these items in a matter of minutes on Sunday morning.  It was a blatant case of GREED.  And I dare say that as soon as Rite-Aid management noticed it they put severe limits on the amount one could purchase.  It saddened me to think that people would be so greedy and unscrupulous to do this and then some of them would go online and brag about it on certain blogs and message boards.
But I digress.....
The point is, try to pay attention to the wording but if you screw up, well, it happens.....and be considerate of others.
Some cashiers will enjoy busting your balls over the wording on every Q you try to use and some stores couldn't give a seahorse shaped craplet over the number/variety/wording of any of your Qs.  Use your discretion and good sense at these times.  If you take every flyer on the rack and try to use the In-AdQ to buy every pack of lightbulbs in the store in One Transaction, well yes, you are being an asshole and yes, you are going to piss not only the store off but your fellow shoppers....especially if you are in line AHEAD OF ME!lol 

At least 1 more transaction to go before we hit $100...maybe 2.

I'll be going back to buy myself some Tom's of Maine deodorant this week.  Costing only .99¢ after +Up Rewards is a great price!  Too bad there aren't any Qs out there now for it so it would be FREE! ;-)

Sluggy