What I'm Doing This Week at Rite-Aid

New week at Rite-Aid.
Here is what I got on Monday......

1 x Samy Foam Hair Color raincheck=$8.99
2 x Bliss candy bags on sale $3=$6.00
3 x Alka Seltzer cold BOGO50%off sale=$16.22
1 x Alka-Seltzer reg. BOGO50%off sale=$2.14
SubTotal....$33.35

Coupons Used
1 x Samy Foam In-Ad Q from raincheck week(stapled to raincheck)=$6.00
1 x Samy Foam $5/1 IPQ=$5.00
1 x $1/2 Bliss candy ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Bliss candy AdPerksQ=$1.00
2 x $3/2 Alka Seltzer IPQ=$6.00
1 x $3/1 Alka Seltzer cold Load2CardQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Alka Seltzer reg. Load2CardQ=$1.00
Coupon total.......$23.00

$33.35-$23.00=$10.35
I used $10 in +Up Rewards and put the .35¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.

I got back $2 in +Up Rewards($2 wyb2 bliss bags), and I have $18.36 tracking toward spending $25 in select cold products toward a $10 +Up Reward.
I also qualified for SCR #8 for $5.00 for buying those 3 Alka-Seltzer cold meds.

I'll go buy $6.64 more in cold meds to get the $10 +Ups later this week.

Why I bought what I bought.....
--We lurv the white chocolate here.  I'll put 1 of these bags into someone's stocking.  The other bag?.....I'm not telling.lol
--The hair color is my shade....it's a bit subtler than "I Love Lucy" Red.....
--The Alka-Seltzer is for Hubs.  He swears by this stuff when he gets sick.  I have other stuff but not this, so I thought I'd pick it up for him since it was so cheap and all after sales/Qs I love him this much! ;-)


September Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$38.65  cash
Value of items bought....$331.20
Savings Rate of  88.33%
Single Check Rebate due....$10.00
Other Rebates due......$3.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... $25.65
Savings Rate  92.25%

+Ups at beginning of month...$18+
+Ups used....$95+
+Ups received...$87+
+Ups currently...$10+

So what are you buying at Rite-Aid this week?

Sluggy

Hog Love & My Usual Breakfast

I am truly in mourning here today.
I just discovered that we are down to our last package of bacon.

Once upon a time there use to be regular bacon deals when I could stock up on that magical meat product until the next deal rolled around.
The last bacon stock-up deal was at Price Chopper back in 2010.  You can read about it HERE.
If you don't want to look, the deal was 4 packs of bacon for $10.98 total and a $7 Catalina Q.....so after the 1st transaction I was paying $1 a package for 1lb. of bacon.
Stupidly easy and cheap!!!

Well, we are down to the last package.
And while I KNOW in this economy and inflationary period that I won't find $1 bacon now, I've been looking around for the last 2+ months for a real deal on bacon.
And the best I've been able to come up with is $3.49 a package....and only once that low.  The other best prices have all been about $4 a package.
And I'm having a hard time getting myself to pay that for bacon.....because I hold out hope of finding it for a better price after sales/Qs/whatever.

So I shed a tear today for the depletion of my stash of "the gods elixir".
Bacon, how we hardly knew ye......


And since I don't have any pork products to fry up this morning I rustled up my "go-to" breakfast instead.

Have a look at my "go-to" breakfast.

It's plain Greek Yogurt(for my digestion).
I put a tablespoon of flax seeds(for my heart) on it.
Then I put a teaspoon of local honey(for my allergies)on it.
Finish it off with a 1/4 cup of granola with nuts and raisins(nuts for protein and 'cuz I like granola)on top.  If I don't have granola I break up some walnuts and add those instead.

Along side is a banana, though sometimes it's an orange or an apple or some other whole fruit.  The fruit is to help get things moving....if you know what I mean. ;-) 
It also helps ward off scurvy, you know, if I ever decide to take to the sea and become a pirate.

In warm months I have a big glass of ice water, in cold months a big mug of red zinger herbal tea or something similar to wash this all down.


What price are you willing to pay for bacon? 

What is your "go-to" breakfast?

Sluggy 

Food Spending Sept. Week 2, Meal Planning Sept. Week 3

       US Govt. Poster From WWII
***************************************

And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

Sunday--Chicken Enchiladas, Caesar Salad

Monday--Steak Tips in Gravy over Brown Rice, Green Beans

Tuesday--Tacos

Wednesday--Pizza

Thursday--Leftovers

Friday--Salmon, Asparagus on the Grill

Saturday--Chinese take-out

The weekly food spending was  $170.02.  $130.37 in reg. grocery spending and $39.65 at Rite-Aid.

Ugh.

While I got some really good deals and accomplished a savings rate of between 45.55% and 56% at the grocery store, it's still a big chunk of money spent.

I spent the $50 on needs as planned and then I did some stock-ups/rock bottom prices on yogurt, spaghetti sauce, chicken, steak, salmon, taco shells, whack biscuits, dehydrated potatoes, pizza rolls for the teen and I bought 4 boxes of cereal.  

I had to laugh at myself buying cereal again.  Besides the casual box or two of cereal I got for free or almost free in my Rite-aid scenarios over the last few years, I haven't 'on purpose' bought cold cereal since the Fall of 2009.

That Summer and Fall I took advantage of a couple of amazing Sales Promotion by Acme markets.  Here's a couple of photos of some of what I got back then....

Let me also mention it was the last time I bought a nasty Pop-Tart....lol

One of those hauls included 19 boxes of cereal, the other one included 45 boxes.  Of course 27 of those boxes ended up going HERE, but I digress.

The point is, I haven't gone out of my way to buy cereal for us until last week, when I bought 4 boxes.  When it was here in such large quantities the kids ignored it and had to be threatened with bodily harm to get them to eat it.  Bring 4 boxes into a "cereal barren landscape" and they are fighting over who gets it first!  I guess it's basic economic theory--the scarcity of a product imbues it with magical powers and the marketplace will set it's value.

Go figure......

I've spent $249.92 of my $400 monthly food budget so far this month. 

I am going into the new week with these leftovers......a tiny bit of taco meat, which I will add to the new filling for the Enchiladas.

***********************

This week's menu.....

Sunday--Burgers on Rolls, Corn

Monday--Stuffed Shells, Green Beans

Tuesday--Beef Enchiladas, leftover Corn

Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

Thursday--Pork Chops, Potatoes, Beets

Friday--Leftovers-only 2 home

Saturday--Leftovers

 

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....Ground Beef, Salad Greens.  

Milk, Fruit and some stock-ups('Crack' noodles aka Kraft boxed dinners)will also happen this week.  I'm hoping to "get by" spending $65 this week.

No wait!  There is a Catalina Deal and Hubs needs coffee.

Oh crap.....looks like I'll be going over $400 this month too.

Come back to see how badly I stray from my budget next week! ;-)

So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Sluggy

Are You A Racist?

This is great!
How was I so blind to not see how racist I am against this particular class of people!? lolol




Sluggy

Saturday's Rite-Aid Bounty or Booty-You Decide

Though I am bummed that I had only 3 days to do my "Rite-Aid Thang" this week, and because of the new "can't use the +Ups the same day you get them" rule I had more out of pocket actual spending, I am also soooo glad too that the shopping week is over!

I am spent....literally and figuratively!lol

I noticed last night that R-A had the boxes of full sized candy bars on sale this week for $9.99 AND they gave a $1 +Up Reward, limit of 4.
We have a rep in the neighborhood of giving out awesome Halloween treats, which usually means full sized candy bars.  I'll just say we are very popular on Oct. 31st here. ;-)
Since I wanted to max out on the Gatorade Deal and I lacked enough +Ups to do it without forking out more cash AND I had to buy these candy bars anyway and this is the best price around here for them, I went ahead and hiked up to Rite-Aid last night AGAIN and bought 4 boxes.  While I don't count these in my food budget(the money comes out of the holiday/special occasion budget)I won't count their cost under my monthly food spending.
But.....hehehe....I will take the $4 in +Ups and add it to my stash to spend on food/toiletries this month.
If anyone out there has a problem with this, I suggest you take it up with the Board of Directors here at "Don't Read This; It's Boring!".

And I have no photo of the candy since it got hidden away immediately to keep certain teenagers from devouring it all.
Ok....who am I kidding!  I had to hide it from myself as well..... 8-P



So with that said, I started this morning with $30(the $26 I had + the $4 from the Halloween candy) in +Ups just burning a HOLE in my pocket. ;-)

This went on the BIL's card....

2 x Whole Goodness Grain chip Things 25%off=$4.92
2 x Whole Goodness Oatmeal like substance 25%off=$5.98
2 x No Nononsense Men's sock packs(7 pr. in each)50%off=$6.98
2 x Kotex tampon on sale $3=$6.00 
6 x Regular sized Candy Bars on sale B2G1Free=$3.96
SubTotal......$27.84

Coupons Used
4 x .50¢/1 Whole Goodness product IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/2 Kotex IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/2 Kotex Load2cardQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Kotex AdPerksQ=$1.00
2 x .50¢/2 Reese's bars AdPerksQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$8.00

$27.84-$8.00=19.84 + .06¢tax=$19.90
I used $19 in +Up Rewards and put the .90¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $9 in +Up Rewards($3 WYB $10 in Whole Goodness, $5 WYB2 No Nonsense, $1 WYB2 Kotex).
So after Qs and +Ups the Kotex was free, the 4 food products were $5.90 for all 4(or $1.475 ea.), the Socks were $1.98 for 14 pairs(or .14¢ ea.) and the candy bars were .49+¢ each.

Then on my card I gots this............

And this.....

2 x Kotex on sale $3=$6.00
2 x Brach's candy corn mix on sale $1=$2.00
2 x Stride gum on sale $1=$2.00
10 x Gatorade on sale $1=$10.00
SubTotal.....$20.00

Coupons Used
1 x $2/2 Kotex IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/2 Kotex Load2cardQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Kotex AdPerksQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Brach's candy IPQ=$1.00
1 x BOGOFree Stride IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$7.00

$20.00-$7.00=$13.00 + .06¢tax=$13.06
I used $11 of yesterday's +Up Rewards and put the $2.06 on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $9 in +Up Rewards(2 x $3 Gatorade-1 monthly/1 weekly deal, $1 WYB2 Brach's, $1 WYB2 Stride gum, $1 WYB2 Kotex).

September Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$38.65  cash
Value of items bought....$286.47
Savings Rate of  86.51%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
Other Rebates due......$3.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... $30.65
Savings Rate  89.30%

+Ups at beginning of month...$18+
+Ups used....$85+
+Ups received...$85+($18 today plus adding in the $4 from late last night)
+Ups currently...$18+


As for next week at Rite-Aid?

Not a lot that I want/need.
Maybe some "Bliss" chocolate, a Sammy Foam raincheck and some Incense to roll about $5 of the +Ups....that way I only have to roll/spend $13 of the $18 I have the following week.

What's looking like a deal to you at Rite-Aid next week?


 Sluggy