Clueless & A "Last"

Does anyone using eBay EVER read the blasted listing information anymore?!

I woke up today to TWO BEST OFFERS on 2 items........probably desperate Christmas shoppers, right?
And this is after I spent a good chunk of yesterday adding in BIG LETTERS that I am NOT shipping out any items bought AFTER December 18th until January 2nd.
I am on vacation from now until after the 1st of 2014.

I guess these folks just missed that message at the beginning on each of those item listings, huh?
Ugh.

And in associated news......

This here is the last rent check for my storage unit that I mailed out earlier this week!
It pays me up through January 2014.  I doubt I can get it all emptied out before December ends so I paid for December and 1 more month.
And I enclosed a note telling them that I was ending my rental as of January 31st.
So there is no going back now! lolz

We are suppose to get warm weather here this weekend........talking about hitting 60 degrees in December!!! 
I'll be taking advantage of that warm spell to finish getting the garage organized so I can get the rest of what's in storage into it.
Then it's another load or two to Salvation Army before we bid adieu to 2013.....the crappiest year I can remember.

Sluggy



 

Put Those Credit Cards Away!

Consumer spending is NOT the path to prosperity! Keep that in mind this holiday season when you are "shopping 'til you drop".



Don't go into debt to have a Happy Christmas!

Sluggy

What's Your Favorite Christmas Song?

I was planning on posting some Christmas Youtube videos/songs during the next week.
Poking around online for songs/video ideas got me thinking about my favorite Christmas songs/carols.

Here are my top 10 Secular type songs.....at least my favorites this year......

10.  Merry Christmas from the Family

9.  Shake up Christmas

8.  You Ruined My Christmas

7.  We Need a Little Christmas

6.  Silver Bells

5.  Christmas Island

4.  Hippie Christmas

3.  Maybe This Christmas

2.  Christmas in Dixie

1.  White Christmas

And here are the ones that just make me want to take hot metal pokers and shove them into my ears.......

10.  Dominic the Donkey

9.  Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas

8.  Wonderful Christmas Time

7.  The Christmas Shoes

6.  Jingle Bell Rock

5.  All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

4.  Santa Baby-especially the Madonna version

3.  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

2.  I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

1.  Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer


And here are my top 10 Religious/Traditional songs/carols.....again, my favorites THIS year.....

10.  The Seven Joys of Mary

9.  O Holy Night

8.  O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion

7.  Lo, a Rose e'er Blooming

6.  Past 3 o'Clock

5.  Down in Yon Forest

4.  In Bleak Midwinter

3.  Ave Maria (the Bach/Gounod one)

2.  When Was Jesus Born?

1.  The Wexford Carol

And here is one that really isn't a Christmas carol/song but feels right to listen to it this time of year anyway.
A capella fans will like this....



 

So what songs/carols are on your list of favorites?

And which ones do you think will make you go insane if you hear them just one. more. time!?

Sluggy

My Kind of Dollar Shopping

While I didn't buy these things at the Dollar Store, I paid less than $1 for each of them......where else but Rite-Aid! lol

4 x Dove Shampoo on sale 2/$7=$14
3 x Axe Deodorant on sale 3/$14(but 20% discount was $4.39 each)=$13.17
1 x Cold-Eeze drops on sale=$3.99
SubTotal....$31.16

Coupons Used
2 x $1/1 Dove Hair Product(link to IPQ emailed to me)=$2.00
2 x $1.50/1 Dove Hair Product IPQ(link on Walmart site)=$3.00
2 x $2/2 Dove Hair Products AdPerks Q(on R-A Value Videos site, 1 per Wellness account)=$4.00
3 x $2/1 Axe Deodorant IPQ(Redplum site)*=$6.00
1 x $1/1 Axe Product AdPerks Q=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$16.00

$31.16-$16.00=$15.16
I used $15 in +Up Rewards and paid .16¢ out of pocket.

I received $12 back in +Up Rewards($4 Dove, $5 Axe, $3 Cold-Eeze).
$3 in +Ups spent down for 4 shampoos, 3 deodorants and 1 cold drops.

$44.42 in merchandise for $3 of my +Ups and .16¢ cash.
I'll take that deal any day! 8-)

*On the coupon sites you can get 2 prints of each coupon per computer.  I had a third copy of this coupon because I printed it in November(only printed 1 of the 2 I was allowed)and they re-posted it for December too so I could print 2 more, which gave me 3 copies.

Sluggy

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....For Buying Restaurant Gift Cards!

Like the old Christmas tune says.....

 

But it's also the most wonderful time of the year to buy Restaurant Gift Cards!

Around the Holidays, restaurant chains(as well as some local restaurants-check out your local places too!)offer bonuses for purchasing gift cards to their locations.
They want to get in on some of the money you are spending on Holiday gifts just like all those retail merchants do.

But I buy restaurant gift cards at Christmas time for my OWN use.
But ONLY those chains that are offering bonus incentives on a purchase.
Usually it's a $5 bonus gift card when you purchase a $25 or so gift card.
Sometimes it's a free item instead for a gift card purchase or a store "reward" at a grocery store or a drugstore.

This is the time of year, with the spare cash I have sitting around-NEVER go into debt or put these kind of purchases on a credit card that you can NOT pay off in January to do this!!-I load up on restaurant gift cards to places we typically go out to eat at during the year.
My list of local places includes Lone Star, Bob Evans, Logan's, Red Robin, TGI Friday's and now and again Red Lobster.

Just 2 weeks ago I bought $100 in restaurant gift cards at Rite-Aid, as they were giving a +Up Rewards bonus($12 in free script good at Rite-Aid).  So I bought gift cards to spend at restaurants I would eat at anyway in the coming year and I got $12 worth of free toiletries/HBA/food at Rite-Aid.

While out Christmas shopping together, Hubs and I went to Bob Evans for a quick and filling meal.
I saw that they were offering an incentive to buy gift cards and I bit.....

Here's the deal.....
Purchase $30 in Bob Evans gift cards(can be 1 Card for $30 or multiple cards totaling $30).
Get a Coupon Book with $20 in Bonus Savings
AND get a box of 6 Sugar Cookies

Usually I wouldn't be too thrilled with a deal like this but I checked the Coupon Book out before I plunked down the cash....

1 x BOGO Adult Entrée Q wyb an adult entree
1 x $3 off $10 Purchase Q on meals
1 x Free Kid's Entrée wyb an adult entrée
1 x Free Slice of Pie wyb an adult entrée

You can use these coupons when you eat at Bob's and then pay with your gift card.  It's actually more than $20 worth of freebies/discounts.  We don't have any kids for the Kid Entrée Q but this restaurant will let me use it on an adult who wants a kid's entrée.  Sometimes when we go I only want a small portion so this works for us.

Plus you also get these Qs in the booklet for Bob Evans products at the grocers...

These didn't inspire me much as I don't buy frozen premade foods much(frozen mashed potatoes....really??lol).
But I might use that sausage meats one.

Just be aware that the Coupon Booklet coupons good in the restaurants expire on 2/28/14, which gives you just over 2 months to redeem them.
The coupons for the grocery store foods are good until 3/31/14.
I might have purchased more than $60 worth of gift cards if these restaurant coupons didn't expire the end of February.  Jan and Feb. the weather is touch & go here so I'll have my hands full getting to Bob's enough times to use those 2 sets of Qs I got.

And how awesome is it that I have a dozen Christmas cookies now and I didn't have to bake!? lolz

Now I have to get over to Lone Star Steak House and pick up some gift cards for there before Christmas.

Do you buy gift cards in December to use throughout the following year because they offer incentives during the Christmas season?

Sluggy