Just Throwing Money Around Like There's No Tomorrow!

This week has been all about spending money.
It's SO not me! lol
But it's spending with a purpose.

We are putting in hardwood floors in the dining/living room this summer.
Well "WE" aren't since we can't, but the guy we are paying to do it is.
We need to buy the wood so I can use all the Lowe's gift cards I can get with this $10 OYNO Cat Deal!
It's stuff I have to purchase anyway, so why not get free groceries when I buy them at the grocery store, right?

I went back to Weis PMITA Markets Thursday morning and got another $50 Kohl's Gift Card....which meant another $10 Catalina in Free Groceries for later.  I also picked up another 3 bags of coffee.  3 bags for the $6.19 price of one bag.....good deal!

After going through #2 Son's clothes, we figured we needed a bit more in new clothing than I had hoped so we went armed with $100 in gift cards.
And we got everything he needed and spend $100.34.
Great!
And I found a t-shirt for #1 Son on sale and picked that up with my cash.  His 21st birthday is next month and I won't see him then, so I'm bringing a gift bag of presents since we'll see him when he drop of #2 son this weekend.
I spent another $10 on underwear at KMart for the teen, and $4 on sundries at the $ Store(eyeglass repair kit, eyeglass cleaner, batteries for his flashlight, and a laundry bag).
The teen spending is done and just the packing is left to do.
No wait!  He still needs bug spray and I forgot to pick it up at Rite-Aid last night so I am going back on Saturday morning. ugh.

I went to Rite-Aid after dinner on Thursday to pick up 2 of the $50 "Home Improvement" Store Gift Cards.  This is my first time into Rite-Aid since the Load2Card thing started loading +Ups onto Wellness cards instead of printing on the receipts.  I came armed with the instructions to "opt out" of loading them onto the L2Card but it was not needed.  The +Ups printed on the receipt as usual.  But I'll keep the instructions in the car just in case I need them at a future point in time.
So another $100 in gift cards good at Lowe's/Home Despot to buy the hardwoods for the guy to install in the living room.
And $20 in +Up Rewards as a bonus to spend in the next 2 weeks.
I guess this means I am back on the Rite-Aid merry-go-round.
meh.

Then I trotted back to Weis PMITA Markets.
I had a Spend $45, get $3.50 oyno Catalina, so I wanted to get my order over $45(before coupons, but after sale prices).
I bought $106.73 worth of stuff.

Everything was on sale except the milk.  Some of the things were on deep Grand Opening discount like the soda, coffee, bread and Oreos.

Sale prices applied made my order $47.53.
Then the $3.50 Cat was applied=$44.03.
I had free item Qs for the Pizza Rolls and the Honey Bunches of Oats cereal(Thanks Frances!).
I had $1 Qs for the Polar Seltzer and a .75¢ Q for the Jimmy Dean Sandwiches(which doubled to $1).
One of the packages of Oreos had a $1 off wyb a gallon of milk w/the cookies(which I planned to buy anyway), so one of the Oreos was .88¢ after sale and Q.
Then I used a $2 OYNO Cat, a $3 OYNO Cat and a $7 OYNO Cat.
Altogether that's another $21.18 off my total....$44.03-$21.18=$22.85 OOP.
That's a 78.59% savings.
And I got another $5 OYNO Catalina.

I bought another $50 in gift cards and received yet another $10 OYNO Catalina for that.

I now have $35 in Catalinas(plus the $5 gift card for NOT buying the Bounty last week lol)to spend at Weis and $20 in +Ups to spend at Rite-Aid.
$60 in free food/toiletries at Weis and Rite-Aid for spending money on stuff I had to get anyway and gift cards for spending I have to do anyway.

As soon as this Gift Card Deal is over(I plan to get a few more before it ends on Saturday), I'll be on vacation and spending money wantonly next week.
Between motels, dining, gas and a few sights that are NOT free, I'll be shelling out about $1K.
At least that is my soft budget limit.
The trip is being paid for out of my Savings Challenge money I saved in 2011.
We haven't touched a penny of that $34K yet.
All paid for in cash.
Anything put on a credit card(for convenience)will be paid for out of this cash when the statement cuts.


I think I'll go lay down for awhile.
This money leak may give me a nose bleed or something! ;-)

Sluggy

This is Why....

This is why I grow salad greens in gutters hanging off of my dog run.....

In case you can't make them out, here is another photo of the critters circled....

3 salad greens eating rabbits of various sizes.
All waiting for my lovely greens to come in so they can get even bigger!

No freaking way this year!
Uh uh!!

Hubs has to get the fruit tree fencing up before we leave for Ohio since they have been eyeing the radish tops already.
And they CAN get to the radishes since they are in the traditional garden in the ground.

Sluggy

Garden is In....Better Late Than Never Edition

We finally got the gardens planted about 10 days before the company started arriving last week. It was STILL May but just barely!
I am pretty worthless when it comes to digging and planting.  It's all I can do to harvest.
#1 Son wasn't here long enough to dig up my gardens this year and Hubs had been laid up with medical issues so we are late getting going this season.

I took this photo about a week ago.....

 It's green beans(vining)in the back row and radishes in the front row.
Hubs says the middle row is collards but I am not sure of that.  It's a 20 foot row and he planted it heavily.  I didn't think I had enough collard seed to have this much sprouting!lol

We'll see later on what he actually planted I guess.

No photo of the front yet but it's tomato plants, yellow squash and colorful bell peppers.

And here is what I've got going on the dog run.....

I've tried to get rid of this eyesore on Craigslist but no one seems to have the cash to take it off our hands right now.  Since the male beagle passed away, the female just doesn't want to be out there in the good weather.  So it sits unused taking up real estate in the backyard.
So I have hung gutters on it.

I'm copying my friend Brenda in Maine.....

These are the salad gutters hanging on her shed from a couple years ago.

I can't nail gutters onto my shed(besides, it doesn't get enough sunshine anyway), so I used the dog run and we wired them on.

And the greens are starting to come up now......

We've got a 3rd gutter piece to hang up yet and plant.  What's great about this is I can harvest without killing my back AND it keeps the resident yard rabbits out of my salad!
At least until they learn to scale chain link fencing....

So now we are keeping the dog run.
Might have to expand this gutter thing and hang some on the back end of the run too.

Sluggy

You Lika Da Pizza?

Dominos has a facebook deal, good until the 17th.
Go HERE.
Like Dominos and follow the instructions.
You'll get 50% off reg. menu price and you have to order your pizza online.

I will be adjusting my Meal Plan this week to include a Pizza night now.

Sluggy

Drips & Drabs & Shopping on a Wet Tuesday

*  I went to check my credit card statement/balance this morning and found a charge from the Apple ITunes Store for over $100 on my account.
Neither Hubs or I download music or games or videos from ITunes...ever!

Great!  Something else to have to deal with....
I am thinking when I made those hotel reservations last weekend online, someone got access to our account #(at the hotels?)and went on a music spree for their iPod/iPad/whatever.
I checked with the kids and it wasn't one of them so it IS fraudulent.
Gosh I HATE technology when it doesn't work the way it's suppose to!!

I don't want to shut down the card though since we are going away and would put our spending on it as a convenience, so we don't have to carry buckets of money on us.

Yah, the modern life works well, except when it doesn't.
****sigh****

*  I noticed yesterday, after Carla posted about her mini goals for the week, that I had NOT updated my Monthly Goals side bar since......wait for it!.......APRIL.
It is almost halfway through June now.
****sigh****
So I went in and deleted stuff and updated the List.  It is current now.....and staring me in the face every time I go online, taunting me..... ;-)

*  While we are on the subject of people who are oblivious......**whistles and looks towards the sky**...I just noticed that I hit 200 Followers.
EEP!  How long ago did THAT happen?!?!
Who's too busy ranting and raving about life or hiding from life to notice that milestone?
Me evidently! 8-))
Now if someone goes an unfollows me, I'll just die, I will.
Don't mind me.....I'll be sitting over here stressing out over getting a couple more OVER 200 Followers, just in case someone comes to their senses and unfollows me and my numbers drop.

To prove I loves each and every one of you, what can I do to make you happy and make you stay?
Do I need to have another giveaway or something?  Input welcomed.....

*  I took #2 Son to his last flute lesson last night, until he returns from camp.  The date is unknown....could be July, could be August.  It all depends on if he gets asked to work at camp after his training weeks are done.  Cross your fingers he gets asked to work! 8-)

While I was over on the other side of the river, I ran two errands.  First to the health food store to restock on 6 lbs. of local honey.  DONE
I also picked up 1 lb. of flax seed and quinoa.  I tried before to choke down flax seeds with little success back when I was trying to be healthier.  I think I had a bad batch of the stuff before as it smelled rancid to me. 
The quinoa is just something I have been meaning to get Hubs to try.  When I am flush with cash the high cost doesn't wig me out too too badly.lol
 $27.77 total out of my pocket

Then it was over to the restaurant supply store to pick up some produce and eggs for cheaper than the grocery store, 6 lbs. of ground beef to bag up and freeze, a 2lb. bag of large(26 per lb.) shrimp for $9.99(cheaper than the grand opening deal at Weis this week!) and a big bag of potstickers(my weakness).
$48.04 poorer I left.

*  As I was riding on fumes and the little gas pump icon was on, I went to the new Weis gas station and filled up the tank.  80 gas points got me a fill-up for $2.549 a gallon.  I saved $12.80 on something I had to buy anyway.

*  This morning I took #2 Son and hit Weis PMITA Markets.  They are having a Grand Opening sale because of the new gas pumps here so we bought this stuff....

3 x Coke 12 packs $1.88 each=$5.64
WYB 3 12-packs, get a FREE 6 pack of $4.99 Vitaminwater

1 x Milk
1 x pkg. Bagels $2.35
2 x Oreos $1.88 each=$3.76
1 x Asparagus $1.03
1 x Celery $1.00
6 x COC $2.99
3 x Bread/Rolls BIG2Free $3.69
3 x Eight o'Clock Coffee B1G2Free $6.19
3 x Middleswarth Chips B1G2Free  $3.99

Reg. Retail...$85.79
Sale Price....$30.66

I used the $4 OM Cat from last week and the $10 Cat for buying $50 in gift cards, so my total OOP was $16.66.  (The teen cashier also gave me the Senior Discount again today! For another $1.07 off my bill I'll play along and be old.lol

I saved 80.59% on my order.
And I got these Cats....

$3.50 OYNO of $45.
$2.00 OYNO
And I still have the $7 CAT for buying Clorox last week, plus the $5 gift card(which I will save for awhile in case the Bounty napkins come in).

And then, since I need to buy #2 Son some clothes this week before camp, I bought this......

 $50 I was going to spend anyway on shorts and swim trunks.
And the $10 OYNO Cat printed out just fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. ;-)
$10 in free groceries for money I had to spend anyway?
Works for me!lol

To recap.....
I have spent $92.47 on food this week.
I have $27.50 in Catalinas for free food. 

I may go back for more coffee, soda, asparagus and gift cards this week.  I have the cash and it's a great deal so why not?

*  One thing I didn't buy was the Smuckers/Hungry Jack brands deal.  Both grocery stores in town are running a "Buy 7 selected items and get $5 instantly off your total" Deal.  The pancake mix is on sale for $2 a box and one of the items that qualifies.  This is one of the few things #2 Son will cook/fix himself, pancakes.  So having a mix handy for him will encourage him to make himself food during the summer.
7 boxes of pancake mix w/the discount comes to $9, or $1.28 a box.
But I figure pancake mix is just flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
I found a rubbermaid container in the kitchen that wasn't being used.  It has a pour lid and will hold a large quantity of mix.  I can pre-mix this up for him and as long as I tape instructions on the container(like the ratio of milk/egg to mix), he can use this instead.  I've got all the ingredients except for a new bag of flour, which I'll pick up when the next sale on it comes along while he is at camp.  I figure 2 bags of flour and the other ingredients won't even come to half of what I'd spend on 9 boxes of premade pancake mix, even on sale.
He'll be in the pancake making bidness as soon as he gets back!

Well that's about it for me today.  I'm off to dispute this credit card charge, then get directions down for some things we want to see/do on the vacation.
And then to read some blogs.

Sluggy