If The Phone Rings One More Time......

Seriously, it will be so nice to be able to answer my phone again late next week.....well, after I let my "private secretary" aka answering machine screen my calls, which I always do anyway.

I am scratching my head here because obviously I didn't GET THE MEMO that if you are a registered Libertarian(which I am), that you should expect phone calls from both the Republicans and Democrats urging you to go to the polls and vote for their Flavor of the Year next Tuesday.

What part of "I won't participate in your FREAK SHOW anymore" don't these people understand?!?! LOLZ

Been there, done that.  Got the t-shirt.
Time to vote for UNITING my country, not for DIVIDING it.
Any.
More.

Tell me I am not the only person who is sick to death of the smear campaigns and childish behavior of our politicians?

Tell Washington to stop pointing fingers at each other this year.
Get them out of your bedroom AND out of your wallet.

LIVE FREE!

Sluggy-who was a Libertarian all along and never knew it

The Quaker Man is In The Building!

This entry is from the annals of "You just never know".

One of my blogging buddies is Sheila over at A Super Savvy Saver.  For the latest deals, especially if you shop at Shop Rite and/or Price Chopper, she is the one to check out!
Back in mid September among the deals Sheila posted was this CONTEST sponsored by Price Chopper.

You had to leave a comment on the Price Chopper blog with "tips you have to ensure that your kids eat  a healthy breakfast!".
I left a tip and promptly forgot about it since what are the odds, right?

And one week later I get an email from someone at Price Chopper that I have been selected as the Grand Prize Winner.
Yay me!!

I didn't even remember what I had won, so I asked the PC rep and while it's not a new car or a big pile of money, it IS a year's supply of Quaker Oatmeal!

Though you can't see it(thank goodness!), my colon is smiling. 8-)

Then came the HARD decisions that had to be made......
*First, did I want half my winnings now and half in 6 months.
A year's supply in this instance happens to be 48 boxes or containers of oatmeal....which is 4 cases of Fiber Town.

I got a bit paranoid at first.....if I only took half the winnings now, what if Price Chopper went out of business before 6 months had passed or what if the person who was in charge of this thing left the company or the records got lost or something......6 months later, I might email for my second half of the free oatmeal and they would look at me like I'd a crazy woman.....which I am sometimes but that's not the point here. ;-)

Then I thought 4 cases would be Massive.....and where would I put it all if I took it all now?
But turns out 4 cases is not so massive after all.
I have the room for it, and if not, I could just shove one of the kids into a closet or something and make room, right?

So I decided to take it all in one delivery.

Then the other important decision had to be made.....which Flavors and/or Varieties?

There are instant packets......and if packets, then which flavors or assortments?
Do you have any clue how many different flavors of instant oatmeal they make?!

And then you have to figure out if you want regular, or High Fiber, or Weight Control or Low Sugar.
And then there is regular Oatmeal in the Canisters.......Old Fashioned Oats or Quick Oats?
Too many decisions!

I had to pick up to 4 different varieties/kinds/flavors.
After much polling of the family here, we came to a consensus and I emailed off my decision.

And then the waiting began.......and we waited.
And we waited some more.
And life went forward and we forgot this had ever happened.

And I didn't dare say anything about this whole episode to anyone just in case it was some cruel hoax and I was being played for a patsy.

And just went we gave up on him, the UPS Man arrived during Hurricane Sandy on Monday and wheeled the Quaker Man out of the back of his brown truck to our door.

The Quaker Man is back in Pennsylvania and in 'da house in Teeny Tiny Town!

To paraphrase a saying......"A face only your colon could love!"

And here is our years supply of oatmeal goodness stacked proudly in our den.....

3 cases of  Instant varieties and 1 case of old fashioned canisters.
Wanna bet we eat through this all well before the "prize year" is out? lol

 The moral of the story?
You have to be in it, to win it.....or....You never know when God will smile upon your colon.

Or something like that. 8-)

Sluggy

Week 2 of the Boring Blog Box Giveaway.....Enter Now!

Time for another......

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY!

Here's how it works.....

I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Here is what went into the Box today......

 

1.  1 Herbal Essence Shampoo (Tousle Me Softly)

2.  1 Pack of Gardenia scented Bath Salts
3.  1 Gardenia scented Votive Candle

4.  1 Nylon Washing Poof

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.  *As always, if you are located outside the US, you CAN enter and win but weight restrictions/shipping costs may mean your prize box will contain less items.*

***Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I close this post to entries.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.
Leave your name/email addy and a COMMENT on this post.  

This week I want to hear about what issue(s) is/are most important to you as you cast your votes on Nov. 6th.  

I don't need to see a paragraph about your political theories or hear about how the opposition(s) is/are evil or wrong just a sentence or two on what political ISSUE(or 2 if you can't pick just one) is the most important to you and is making you cast your votes in a certain direction.

If you want to talk elections beyond that, tell me who was the first candidate you voted for and if you have  been voting for many years, if your political views have changed over the years or not.

Tell me if you have ever run for a political office and which one......and how did you do?

 

You can come directly to this blog post or find it through the link on the right side bar to leave 1 comment per day.  The current Giveaway Post will be linked right at the top of the side bar.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get 2 EXTRA entries on this and each new Giveaway Post.......

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with the URL of your blog so I can go check it out. **If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra entry comment once each week of this giveaway.

2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog with a link to this post.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with a link to your blog post so I can go view it.  You can do this extra entry once each week of this giveaway.


Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

OCTOBER 2012 Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2012.

I have posted October's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in October.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

BREAD OUTLET
OOP   $6.89

Value   $22.44

Savings  69.30%

BIG LOTS
OOP   $67.12

Value   $127.54

Savings   47.37%

DOLLAR STORE
OOP   $7.00

Value  $16.00

Savings  56.25% 

DRUG STORE In MD

OOP   $7.47

Qs/Ads $7.92

Value   $15.66

Savings   50.57%

FOOD LION

OOP   $24.94

Qs/Ads  $12.00

Value   $36.94

Savings   32.49%

KMART

OOP   $1.50

Qs/Ads   $.39

Value   $1.89

Savings   20.63%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP   $32.66

Qs/Ads  $19.95

Value   $52.61

Savings   37.92%

RITE-AID

OOP  $0.00

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $322.35

Value  $322.35

Savings   100.00%

SAV-A-LOT

OOP   $22.56

Qs/Ads   $9.88

Value   $32.44

Savings   30.46%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $157.47

Qs/Ads  $82.11

Value  $239.58

Savings  34.27%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $134.08

Qs/Ads  $115.39

Value  $249.47

Savings  46.25%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN October

P&G Prepaid Visa Card Rebate.....$5.00

Rite-Aid Single Check Rebate.......$8.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$13.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Nothing....well not really, but I have a separate post about that, so until then it's a secret. ;-)

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 100%,  the Bread Outlet at 69.30%, and The Dollar Store at 56.25%.  l shopped at 11 different stores this past month, 4 of them only because we were on vacation far from home.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$472.36

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$658.23

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,130.59

TOTAL Savings of...................................58.22%

TOTAL Out of Pocket after Rebates received this Month......$459.36
TOTAL Savings after Rebates of..........................59.37%

This closes out the October spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into October with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I blew through the $400 mark again this month, by $59.36, even after rebates received were applied to the food budget.

My grocery savings hovered at below 60% for October after rebates.  If you take the Rite-Aid purchases out of the equation, my savings percentage falls to below 44%.

I continued to shop the loss leaders and sales and stocked up when things were at rock bottom price in the sales cycles.  I also continued to not use many coupons at all at the food shops.  I only counted 26 coupons and 4 store coupons on my receipts.

Of course, the small pile of coupons used at the grocery stores does NOT include the vast amounts I utilize at Rite-Aid.  Yes, Rite-Aid is all about the coupons for me! lol

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO NOVEMBER......

I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for November.  I am set for most of what I need for the Turkey Day meal this month so I don't need extra cash in the food budget for that.

I do plan on stocking up on some non-perishables/shelf stable items this month so I can earn a turkey gift certificate, as well as a $10 certificate for buying baking products at the Shursave independent grocer.  Between that, the little I need for the Thanksgiving meal and some weekly fresh purchases(milk, fruit, produce)and some things for Daughter's work meals I should be able to stay below $400 this month.

The wild card is we don't know how many are coming for Thanksgiving dinner and what price turkey will be here when the time comes for me to buy the poultry.  If more come, we'll just all have to eat less. ;-)

How did you do in October with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to your budget?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

Some Politicans Actually Make Sense

Come Nov. 6th, I wish I lived in Maryland, in the 8th District.
That would mean I could vote for this guy for Congress.....

He sure talks sense, doesn't he?


I'll be back later with my Food Spending Report.

Sluggy