Curse! Foiled Again & Freebies Time

Well my plan this week at Rite-Aid was thwarted.
Since I wasn't home for half the week....the beginning of the week, I couldn't execute the plan I had.

There were some items on the clearance shelves at the back of my store that I planned on buying this sale week, but evidently someone else who shops at my store had the same idea. lolz

This week's ad had a Dove Deal......Buy 2 items(including 2 bar packs of soap), Get $2 +Ups back.

There were 2 packs of Dove soap(cucumber scent)in the clearance area for $2.24.  Even with no coupons to use, 2 packs would have been $4.48 plus $2 in +Ups back so only $1.24 per 2 bars.

Also in this week's ad was a No Nonsense Deal......Buy 2(including socks), Get $3 +Ups back.

There were packs of men's socks marked down to $3 and change in the clearance area.  2 packs would have been $6 and change plus $3 in +Ups back so $3 & change for 2 multipacks of socks.
These would have gone into my Christmas presents box for giving out next year.

But alas, someone bought it all while I was in Pittsburgh.
sigh.
I'm glad someone got the great deals even though I have tons of +Ups to roll/spend before this coming week is over.

So since all my potential deals were gone I cashed in some rain checks from the Black Friday sales instead since I was in the store anyway.......

2 x Bumblebee Tuna=$0
1 x GE Light Bulb=$0
2 x RA Toothbrushes=$0
1 x RA Cough Drops=$0

OOP......$0.00
Value of items.....$14.66

Now I have $51 in +Up Rewards expiring on various dates between tomorrow(Sunday)and next Saturday.  There are few items I want to pick up for cheap or free during next week's sale but I have more +Ups I have to use than I have ideas for.
I'll be searching out more plans for spending them as the week goes on and if all else fails, I'll use them to buy toilet paper....something everyone hates to spend money on but truly needs.

Sluggy

Some Frugal Grocery Finds

In the midst of all the Holiday Hullabaloo I made time to do some food shopping.
I stopped at the Surplus Outlet on the way to get College Boy a couple of weeks back and found these awesome deals......

Here is a salad dressing I never saw on a grocery store shelf around.  No added processed sugar, just sweetness from the fruit in this dressing.

I don't know if this is a regionally released item or is a discontinued item.
All I do know is that these bottles were 5 for $1......20¢ a bottle!
Sure the Sell By date was soon but these will last at least a year beyond that.

I like olive oil and vinaigrette type dressings over "heavy" mayo based dressings so this buy was a no brainer for me.

Having just used up the last of the Bell's seasoning at Thanksgiving I was delighted to find these boxes for .39¢!
Regular price on this item at our local grocery stores?
$2.50 or more.
Bell's in the stuffing is a tradition in my family.

One of the employees was stocking a new shipment of spices when I was in the aisle.
I found these "offbeat" spice types--2 types of curry and crystallized ginger.
The best thing was that they were .79¢ a bottle.

Then the employee dug out these jars of Saffron Threads...... .79¢ each!!!
Do you KNOW how expensive saffron is?!?!

Next time I am ready to make some Indian/Spanish/Moroccan fare, I am all set! 8-)

Then Hubs talked me into going to Sam's Club on Christmas Eve Day.  We didn't get much, just some needed Peroxide, Alcohol(rubbing, not drinking!lol), apples and mixed veggies(both for Christmas dinner), 3 dozen eggs, a bag of salad, a TUB of cashews(my Xmas gift to myself), a case of water, eggplant(for Parm later this week)and a box of croissants(for easy breakfasts for College Boy).
After applying a free $20 Gift Card I got for signing up at Sam's Club we paid $39.67 out the door.


Sluggy



 

Rite-Aid Buy While Traveling

On the way home from a quick trip to Pittsburgh to see our eldest son for Christmas Hubs let me stop at a Rite-Aid......

2 x Raisins on sale=$5.00
2 x Sugar on sale BOGO50%=$6.43
Subtotal.....$11.43

I used a .75¢/2 Domino's IPQ bringing the total to $10.68
I used $10 in +Up Rewards and paid .68¢ OOP.
I received back $6 in new +Ups($1 wyb2 raisins, $5 wyb $15 baking items).

Then I bought the same stuff again at another store in another town......

Everything the same except the sugar came to $6.73, making my OOP .98¢ for that transaction.
Same $6 in new +Up Rewards received.

Now I am off to plan out how to spend all these +Ups I have that are expiring between this Sunday and Jan. 6th.

Sluggy

 

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas or Winter Holiday

Here's hoping your Holiday is everything you wish it to be.

Photo taken at our traditional Chinese dinner on Christmas eve.


Thanks for coming here time and time again to check in with my little life.
I wish for you all a world of peace and acceptance and unity.

Sluggy

 

December Financials...The $24K Savings Challenge

We are just waiting on the electric bill to come in but other than that all our expenses are accounted for in December and paid up.

I have a pretty accurate guestimate on the income left to come in for the month so I sat down to do a rough end of month calculation.
We should end the month with a spare $2,000(or a bit more)to put into my Savings Challenge.

I am torn whether to apply all this spare $ to savings however.

Let me explain......

Our high deductible insurance resets on Jan. 1st.
This means we pay all insurance related expenses out of pocket until we hit that $4K mark for 2015 and then our insurance benefits and co-pays kick in.

I take some very expensive medications.
The "U&C"(aka usual and comparable market cost)for one is almost $500 a month another is almost $400 a month(without any insurance drug benefit, which doesn't kick in onto after we hit our $4K deductible).
I have to refill these each month.

We will carry over a bit more than $1K in our Health Savings Account into 2015 after all the December co-pays/co-insurance charges are paid.

By mid-February of 2015, with these drugs(plus others and a dr. appointment and labs in February)our HSA will be depleted from paying our OOP costs.  (This isn't counting any charges our Daughter-who is still on our plan-has incurred in the first 2 months of 2015.)  Each payday means we add under $200 to this HSA so we will need to come up with $ for OOPs fairly soon into 2015.

I think I am going to take most of the excess cash saved in December from our income and hold it for paying medical OOPs instead of funneling it into my 2014 Savings Challenge.

It's really not a big issue, whether I put this excess income into a savings fund or keep it in the checking account to pay medical costs.

Either way the costs need to be paid, whether from our excess Dec. income or, if we wait a few months to pay those medical bills, with new 2015 income.
One way we pay them immediately, the other we wait until the funds in the HSA build back up.

I feel better if we pay them on time however and using the excess Dec. income is probably what I'll do.
So my 2014 Savings Challenge total won't be much more than what it was in November.

If it stays at it's November tally of $26,353.19 that's still a goodly amount for us to have put into savings during the year.  8-)

Sluggy