Been Busy Shopping The Last 18 Hours

Ok, so haven't been shopping the whole last 18 hours.
I did sleep for a good stretch of that time!

On Friday when everyone was at the mall.....or actually everyone who went to the mall and the big box stores in the wee hours of the morning to shop and then had come home and were SLEEPING.....yes, when everyone was shopped out or catching up on sleeping, I was at the grocery store.

Since I had denied myself picking up the good sales deals at the grocery stores BEFORE Thanksgiving, trying to spend as little as possible, I now had almost $200 left in my food budget for November so I hit the Shursave market and picked up some deals.
Nothing earth shattering really, just cranberry "glop" at the lowest price of the year, some chip type snacks for the Christmas holidays coming up(BOGO deal), and an in-store "Buy 10 GM foods, Get $5 Certificate" Deal.  Oh, and they had frozen Birdseye veggies for .88¢ so I grabbed some of those to stick in the freezer.

Then, since I was out, I hopped over to where else?.....Rite-Aid.
It was about 3 in the afternoon and no crowds at all.
Just the way I like it. ;-)
There were a few things I wanted to pick up, present type things, so I took some of my Christmas money up with me and picked up.....

* 1 8G Flash Drive for $13.99, which gave back a $10 +Up Reward
* 2 gift sets of Planters Peanuts for $5.99, which each gave back a $3 +Up Reward
* 2 boxes of Hershey's Chocolate for $3.99, which each gave back a $2 +Up Reward
* 1 nail polish Gift Set for $3.49, which gave back a $2.50 +Up Reward
* 2 Home Improvement Gift Cards for $50, which each gave back a $10 +Up Reward (These cards are good at Home Despot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, Farm & Tractor Supply, Sears, as well as other places.  These weren't gifts so came out of the regular income and will be used for home repairs and projects.  It's just converting the money we use for these things from cash into cards.)

I spent $38.47 from my Christmas funds and $100 from the regular income.
I got good deals(not amazing), but.....I also got what I consider Free +Ups to use to shop for everyday needs at Rite-Aid.  $42.50 in +Ups so it's a win-win for me! 8-)

While I was in the store, I went and used/rolled my old +Ups even though I don't have to use/roll them for another week.  There must have been a REALLY good deal for me to do that, huh?
It was!!
Before I went, I printed a $1/3 laundry detergent from the Arm & Hammer website.

4 x Arm & Hammer liquid Laundry Detergent on sale $3 each=$12.00
I used my $1/3 Q and paid $11 in +Up Rewards and put .66¢ in tax on my gift card.
I got back 2 x $2 and 2 x $3 +Ups back.
The Black Friday weekend ad Deal is buy 2 of these and get a $3 +Ups back.
There is another double dip Deal on these however(a monthly? deal)so that you also get a $2 +Ups back for every 2 you buy.
So basically, I "spent" $11 in +Ups and got back $10 in +Ups, meaning I spent down $1 of my +Ups.
That's .25¢ for each bottle of laundry detergent!

Here is my Grand Totals for yesterday's laundry detergent buy.  I am not counting the Christmas shopping here, but I'll roll the +Ups gotten into my pile of +Ups(bonus!lol).....

This trip--
OOP....$0.00
Value of items....$29.16

GRAND TOTALS so far FOR NOVEMBER.......

Out Of Pocket....$1.25  cash
Value of items bought.....$197.54
Savings Rate of  99.37%
Single Check Rebate due....$0.00
Other Rebates due......$0.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... $0.00
Savings Rate  99.37%

+Ups at beginning of month...$10.00+
+Ups used....$58+
+Ups received...$60+
+Ups currently...$12+ 
Bonus +Ups added....$42.50+
+Ups total.....$54.50+

So I went back this morning to Rite-Aid to roll some of these +Ups......

4 x Axe Deodorant 2/$8 Sale....really they are ringing up BOGO50% sale!....each set of 2 at my store(the overpriced store)are ringing up $8.23, not $8!  so I paid $16.46 for 4, not $16(I'll be going back to get my .46¢ back later. Of course you KNOW I would....lol)
I used $16 in +Ups and got back $11 in +Ups back(2 x $3 wyb2 weekend ad, $5 monthly wyb $15 in Axe).
In the end I "spent" $5 in +Ups for 4 Axe Deodorants.

I also got this.....

4 x Gilette brands of Shaving Gel on sale 2/$5=$10
I used 2 x $1.50/2 IPQs-1 for Edge and 1 for Skintimate=$3.00
I paid $7 in +Ups and got 2 x $2 Gillette +Ups back=$4 +Ups.
In the end I '"spent" $3 in +Ups for 4 Shave Gels.

I also got this.....

4 x Monster drinks on sale 2/$3=$6.00
I used $6 in +Ups and received 2 x $2 in +Ups back, so $4 +Ups.
In the end I "spent" $2 in +Ups for 4 drinks.
And yes, since #2 Son now has a girlfriend, he is watching his caloric intake so it's sugar-free. ;-)

And I also bought this.....

2 x Soft Soap hand soap on sale $1.89(not such a great deal really)=$3.78
Each one gave back a $1 +Ups so they cost me .89¢ in +Ups.
1 x Clear Shampoo on sale $1.99 and it gave back a $1.99 +Ups so FREE.
Now before you say, what an amazing deal THAT was, look at the size of the bottle.....lol
It's a travel size.
meh.
I'll put it into someone's stocking.
I spent $5 in +Ups and put .77¢ on the gift card and I got $3.99 back in +Ups.

So here is what this morning's trip looked like.....

This trip--
OOP....$0.00
Value of items....$32.19
+Ups coming into today....$54.50
+Ups used....$34.00
+Ups earned.....$22.99

GRAND TOTALS so far FOR NOVEMBER.......

Out Of Pocket....$1.25  cash
Value of items bought.....$229.73
Savings Rate of  99.45%
Single Check Rebate due....$0.00
Other Rebates due......$0.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... $0.00
Savings Rate  99.45%

+Ups at beginning of month...$10.00+
+Ups used....$92.00+
+Ups received...$125.49+
+Ups currently...$43.49+ 

I've still got $20.50 in +Ups from yesterday I can use today(the $22.99 I got this morning I can't use until Sunday), so I might go hit up another Rite-Aid while we are out today for more laundry detergent and shaving gel. Or maybe I'll pick up some more Christmas goodies that give +Ups so I can add those to my +Ups stash.
Be sure and get rain checks for stuff too if your store is out!!!
Oh, the possibilities are endless!lol

Sluggy

My Sealed Pot & Take A Guess, Maybe Win A Prize!

This is my "sealed pot" and what it looks like today........

As you can see, it more of a "bowl" rather than a pot and it is definitely not "sealed" in the typical sense of the word.
We have a change cup that Hubs and I contribute to daily/weekly.  When it fills I take the change and roll it up into coin wrappers.
We don't save bills in there, just the change.
I know it won't go far to bankroll our Holiday spending, but every little bit helps, doesn't it?

I am about ready to take these rolls, count them up and take them to the Credit Union to exchange for bills.  Maybe I'll do that come December 1st.....

Anybody want to guess how much is here?
Maybe if enough people put a guess in, I can find something to award whomever comes closest to being correct?
How about I leave this open for guesses until December 1st at midnight.
The prize will remain a mystery until the winner gets it.....and no, they will not be able to retire because of it. ;-)

So who's up for playing along?
Leave 1 guess on this post.

Sluggy

It's Countdown Time....

It's almost time!
Time for what?
Time to eat!

The Rutabagas are boiling.....

The Carrots and Parsnips are glazed.....

The Potato Rolls are rising.......

And the bird is browning nicely now....

Off to do the Taters and pop the rest of the Stuffing into the oven......

Sluggy

The Cooking Marathon Has Begun!

So we have achieved Pumpkin Pies......

And Cookies......

I tried a new recipe called Cranberry Pistachio Oat Cookies.  Sort of a Raisin Oatmeal but with Cranberries instead of Raisins and Pistachios.  They are very good.  If anyone wants the recipe I can post it later, just ask.  It came from the Healthy Bites magazine from Weis PMITA Markets.

And then I made the Cornbread......

No, we aren't eating Cornbread for Thanksgiving.  I made this to put into my Stuffing. 

That was yesterday's cooking.
Now I am off to finish chopping onions and celery, and everything else I need to do to make the stuffing.

Then it's onward to peeling, boiling and mashing potatoes for the potato roll dough.

Who's bringing me dinner this evening?
I'm too busy to cook it!lol

Sluggy

Put The Brakes on Consumerism for Awhile

Hopefully everyone will be happily sleeping off the Turkey coma tomorrow, while surrounded by their loved ones.
If you spend Thanksgiving instead plotting and planning and standing in lines in the wee hours of the night in order to stampede into a store on Black Friday, please reconsider doing that.




I know it's a funny video but seriously, is any item in the world really worth the stress and aggravation of Contact Shopping in a Mob?
You all know me, and how frugal I can be, but you won't find me taking part in the Mass Hysteria that Black Friday shopping has become.  Saving $10 or $20 is not worth the potential for bodily harm that going out into these mobs can lead to.

How about we take a 24 Hour break from Consumerism on Black Friday?

More about that HERE.
Let's actually NOT rush out less than 24 hours after spending the day giving Thanks for all we have to go to the stores to get more.
What a Concept! ;-)


If we have to shop and spend money, how about we wait until Saturday November 24th, and support local businesses instead of big boxes and those mall stores?

Buy your gifts from local small businesses in your community.  Why not support your neighbors and keep more money in your own local economy?  You can learn more HERE about this initiative.


And as we start spending away our money in this Season of the Shopocalypse, let's remember that the Season is not about acquiring more stuff and buying the love of our family and friends with more trinkets, to fill our already overstuffed lives and homes with more redundant crap we don't need.

Don't buy into the consumer culture!
Look around at all you have.......will having more make your life any better?

Take all that money you use to spend on more stuff at the Holidays and use it to do some good in the world.
Buy farm animals for families in 3rd World countries, make a business loan to a struggling entrepreneur in Indonesia, or support a sorely needed dental clinic right here in Appalachia USA.

Let your family and friends know you'd appreciate their monies going to where it's NEEDED in the world, not to buy you yet another sweater at Lord & Taylor or another tray of cheese from Hickory Farms.




Sluggy