Rite-Aid Mid-Week Sale Haul

I did two transactions today at Rite-Aid.
Some of the things bought were part of the mid-week 4 Day Sale and some were part of the regularly weekly Sale.
By waiting until mid-week I can combine the deals into 1 transaction and maybe use a $off/$ purchase coupon or two this week.  8-)

First on my son's card this transaction using the $5 off $25 purchase Beauty Mag Q because all these items qualified as a "beauty" purchase......

2 x Suave large bottles BOGO(4 Day Sale)=$4.69
1 x Axe gift set(weekly Sale ad)20% wellness disc. less than sale price=$9.59
2 x Dove men's 'Poo 20% wellness disc.=$8.30
1 x Conair combs(weekly Sale ad)20% wellness disc.=$2.71
1 x Scunci barrettes(weekly Sale ad)20% wellness disc.=$1.43
SubTotal.........$26.72

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$25 Beauty purchase=$5.00
1 x $2/2 Suave large bottles ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Axe gift set ManuQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Dove men's hair care ManuQ=$4.00
Coupon Total.....$13.00

$26.72-$13.00=$13.72
But a L2CQ came off for something so it was $11.72 + .59¢ tax=$12.31 paid with Plenti points.

I earned $3 in new Plenti Points for buying 2 Conair/Scunci items and I qualified for .50¢ in SavingStar Rebates(.50¢ Axe gift set, but evidently the $2 wyb 2large Suave bottlesrebate  didn't "take" because 1 of the bottles rang up as Free so in their eyes I didn't buy 2...sigh), so all this "cost" me $8.81 when all is said and done.

Then I bought all this on the same card and used a $5 off $50 Purchase that R-A had snail mailed me.......

2 x Peroxi-Clear contact solution(weekly Sale ad)20% wellness disc, less than sale price=$18.06
2 x Arm&Hammer kitty litter(4 day Sale)BOGO=$8.99
1 x Soft Soap refill jug(weekly Sale ad)=$3.99
2 x Bic razors(weekly Sale ad)BOGO50%=$7.48
2 x 5 Hr. Energy shots(4 day Sale)=$8.00
4 x KickStart drinks(4 day Sale)=$4.00
SubTotal......$50.52

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$50 Purchase RAQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Peroxi-Clear IPQ=$4.00
2 x $2/1 Bic Razors ManuQ=$4.00
Coupon Total......$13.00
*I had $6 more in coupons but the register wouldn't take them(they were valid)so the clerk did a "post coupon" transaction and I got $6 in cash back.

$50.5-2$13.00=$37.52 + $2.26 tax=$39.78 paid with Plenti points.
I earned back $28.00 in new points(2 x $5 Peroix-Clear, $5 wyb2 Arm& Hammer, $1 wyb2 Bic, 2 x $4 5 Hr. Energy, 2 x $2 wyb2 Kick Start drinks) so after points and the $6 cash all this "cost" me $5.78.

$114.10 worth of goodies for spending down $14.59 on the Plenti points balance.

If I buy one more Dove men's 'Poo using this card I'll get $4 in Plenti Points for spending $12 on Dove, so basically the next Dove men's 'Poo I buy will be free after points.

I don't usually buy kitty litter and contact lens solution but this was for the son and his GF(and the grandkitty).  If they can't use it, we can use the kitty litter for the snow(IF we ever get any!lol)and the contact solution can go into the "Giveaway" pile of goodies(along with the hair barrettes this trip).

I'll go back before the 4 Day Sale ends on Saturday to get more KickStart drinks for College Boy and do the Scott TP deal--it's on sale for $2.99 and gives $1 in Points back, pair this with a $1/1 Scott IPQ that's available on coupons dotcom and that's .99¢ for a 4 pack of Scott TP(my fav. brand).

After I check on how much in Kohl's gift cards I have I may get some more of those before the 4 Day Sale ends as they are giving $10 in points for every $50 in gift cards you buy(limit $100 in gift cards per card).

As for next week's sales ad at Rite-Aid nothing much jumps out at me as a good deal.  They are going to have Jo-Ann fabrics, Claire's and DSW shoes gift cards, buy $25 worth get $2 in Plenti points.  If those are places you already shop at or need one of these stores for a gift it's worth picking up next week to get those points you can spend on toiletries I guess.  But that's about all I see that's worth buying at Rite-Aid(unless a last minute R-A Facebook Q pops up for a deal).  And there is no mid-week 4 Day Sale next week as far as I can tell.

Sluggy

Our Trip to IL.....Part 4 PTSD, Old Stuff & ERs

Monday and Den went to work although he felt like crap still.
So what did Hubs, Sonya and I do?
Why we went off on an adventure north to Wisconsin to an Apple Farm/Destination called Apple Holler.

This was a Pick Ur Own Apple Orchard/Farm with Fall activities for the kids, Pumpkins, Animals, etc.
They also have a fresh bakery, a gift shop with food/drinks and a restaurant.

Of course we couldn't find the entrance once we got off the interstate and made a big circuitous 5 mile drive around the place before finally finding the entrance.

The place was packed with cars and school buses full of little kids and I had a brief PTSD episode in the car before we went into the restaurant.
You see, when College Boy was in Kindergarten I was a classroom mom for his class and had to chaperone a field trip to a local to us place just like this one.

I had to watch 5 little 5 year old boys on that trip and one of them was totally out of control.  2 of my little charges spent half the day tracking down ADD Boy and dragging him back to the group with me. ADD Boy was climbing on buildings and ended up in the fenced off area with some animals(wasn't suppose to be in there of course).  All those little kids running around took me back to that bad, bad day.....

Anyway, after I got over the flashback, we wandered around outside and waited on Sonya's mother in-law, Donna, to arrive.

The plan was to meet here for lunch in the restaurant and then us gals would go off thrift store shopping for the afternoon and Hubs could drive back alone to Sonya's house for some quiet downtime.

The restaurant was cute and country-ish and we sat out on the enclosed porch and stuffed ourselves.

Here's a photo from across the table.......

Donna insisted on paying for lunch.  That was so sweet and totally awesome!

We wandered around the bakery and gift shop for awhile.

I have no clue why I took a photo of this jar of pickles. lolz

After lunch we bid goodbye to Hubs and went off in 2 minivans to hit the Goodwill Circuit in this part of Wisconsin.
Hey, we were in the neighborhood so why not, right?

We had a devil of a time finding the first store as it was hidden behind and to the side and down a hill from a Walmart.  But we persevered and finally got there.

I think I bought a few things(including 1 of the items in the Giveaway this month)and some books.

These aren't all the books I got in IL/WI at the thrift stores and a couple I got other times/places but this is what I was working through in November.  Missing are a biography on Cole Porter and a book I finished before we left Sonya's house.

I found a set of interesting music cds of music from the War Between the States Era.....

While in the second Goodwill Store we hit Sonya got a phone call from Den.  Still not feeling well he had left work early and gone to the clinic.  They were sending him to the Emergency Room as his throat was almost closed up! Donna gave me a lift back to Sonya's house and Sonya hightailed it to the ER.

As it was dinner time Hubs and I went down the road for a meal at Culver's.

If you have to have fast food, Culver's is the way to go.  I sure wish they had these in PA.
I had Hubs get me a "concrete" for dessert but he came back with an XL one and I could only eat 1/4 of it.  Seems a shame to throw out good ice cream but oh well......

Sonya came home a couple of hours later with Den.  They had to scrape an infection in his throat, sent him home until the next day and put him on a myriad of pills.
Hubs went with Sonya that evening to an all night pharmacy that they had to call the meds into since it was in a bad part of town.
What a guy........

On Tuesday Hubs and I made an excursion into Wisconsin.
We hit some bad traffic heading north....

But soon hit the state line........

We hit the Sprecher's Brewery gift shop for a few things but Hubs didn't want to buy anything until after we had lunch at their restaurant a few miles north of the brewery.

So we went a couple of miles into downtown Glendale Wisconsin to the "mall" for lunch at the Sprecher's Brew Pub Restaurant.......

"Mall" is a misnomer.  It's really a shopping district downtown with not much parking(outside of the parking garage which we didn't see until we were leaving the town).  Hubs dropped me off at the restaurant and I waited outside for him to find a place to park and hike back to where I was.

Hey! What's that across the street?
A Vera Bradley store......I was tempted to take off for it but I resisted.

I hung out with Rooty the Griffin instead.......

The parking was metered so our leisurely lunch wasn't so leisurely.
We did have time for some drinks however........

Why oh why did we get this fried cheese curds appetizer?!?
By the time we chowed down on those I was full!

But I still had a cheese curd topped burger to eat, not to mention the side of beer cheese potatoes.......ugh.

Hubs had a duo of Wisconsin sausages and a jalapeno cole slaw.

OMGosh.....I got a quarter of the way through that burger and had to fly the white flag of surrender.
I don't think I've EVER said it's just TOO MUCH CHEESE before until now. lolz
So I just ate the meat outta the sandwich.

We waddled back to the car in a cheese coma.  After another stop at the brewery gift shop to actually BUY things this time, we hit the road back to IL making a quick stop at the outlets in Pleasant Prairie WI.  I wanted to check out the Pepperidge Farms outlet there.  The skies opened up and I stood out in a lightning storm waiting for Hubs to notice me on the curb and come pick me up in the car.  He must of been playing with his phone though and I ended up running to the car before a bolt of lightning took me out.

A strange massive inflatable at a car dealership seen on the way back to Sonya's house.

Later that day we found out that the infection Den got started at his dental cleaning.  They must have nicked his throat during his appointment and by Monday the infected place was so big it was closing up his airway.
Yikes!  I don't blame him if he never wants to go back to that dentist!!
He was on meds the rest of the time we were at their house which cut down on the amount of drinking that went on. ;-)

With Den on the mend by Wednesday and back to work Sonya and I had some "girl time".  Hubs took a trip east to visit an Indian Museum by himself and Sonya Ann and I hit the road to check out her personal thrift store circuit.
Yep, SA has all the thrift shops scoped out in these parts.

I lost count but I think we hit 5, or was it 6?,  of them that day.

This was one of my intriguing finds....an entire collection of Princess Diana calendars for every year for 15 years. All new and unused?!
Why people, why???

Just one of the innumerable Goodwill's we went into........

This penguin platter/tray was cute........but not something I needed.

We even hit a Salvation Army store.  We only have Salvation Army stores here and no Goodwills.  In IL SAs are a sad, sad affair......dark, dirty, overpriced and ramshackle.
The Goodwills on the other hand are well lit, organized and have good prices.

We even hit one of these thrift stores where the merchandise(and prices)were a bit more upscale. Unfortunately I didn't find anything here that met my needs.

Soon it was time for a late lunch and Sonya Ann took me to Portillo's.  She kept raving about this place so we did lunch there.

I had a really nice salad with chicken and Sonya had a soup and sandwich plate.  Next time(and you know, there WILL be a next time!)I need to try something Italian.  The smells in that place were amazing....

I got another couple of photos of Sonya Ann.  You know she REALLY detests having her picture taken but yah, I just keep torturing her....lolz

Smile SA!!

That's better....

So she returned the favor and took my photo outside.

And then we had another "selfie fail" in the wind........I think you can see a booger hanging outta my nose.......*snort*
And we can't even blame the drinking on this fail! '-)

After lunch we walked around Hobby Lobby.......

Aha! Santa's elves are pervs......

Ribs on a bbq grill ornaments........

I couldn't get this sock monkey hat on my big fat head, no matter how I tried but that didn't stop me from having Sonya take my pic in it.

And nothing says "Christmas" like a little chainsaw hanging on your tree..........

Unless it's a shotgun shell wreath and a rifle..........

We had a blast just poking around in stores and talking.
That night Hubs sprung for take-out pizza(and a sub for SA)and we just hung out.
So ended Day 7 of the trip.

Sluggy

Weis Markets Trip

I made a quick trip to Weis this morning to get 1 more Angel Soft TP pack to finish off the $5 SavingStar Rebate.
Of course they were out of it so I got a rain check and will pick it up next week and my $1/1 Q will still be good and that will finish of that rebate.

I got a few other things and spent $18.51 OOP.
Savings rate on the receipt says 56% but that is incorrect since on the rain check I cashed in for BOGOF flounder, she deducted the price of the second bag to get the price on my receipt right.
So I actually got $47.18 worth of regular retail groceries for $18.51 and not $42.54 the receipt shows.
Actual savings rate is 60.76% which I like even better.  8-)

Again, notice that everything I buy is AT LEAST on sale.  Some are marked down as much as 50% off and most of those I also paired a coupon with them.  In addition, I stacked a storeQ with a MANUQ for the chili.


I'll be going back to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Thursday when the new ad goes live to pick up a few things.  Very little is a good deal in MHO next ad and much of the ad is advertising Holiday goodies(which many are highly priced).  Mainly on Thursday I'll be checking out any meat discounts(as that is the day to find them)and get the Angel Soft if it's back in stock.  Friday they are having another Friday Only Deals Sale too.

Sluggy

Clairol Deal at Rite-Aid on Sunday & Other Things I Bought

Heads up if you have a  Rite-Aid(sorry Sonya Ann)and you are a "women of a certain age" who colors her hair.
Starting Sunday(that would be yesterday)at R-A there is a Clairol deal.
Nice n' Easy and Root Touch-Up colorings is on sale for $6.99.  If you have Gold Wellness status your price will be $6.79 per box.

There was a $5/2 Clairol Hair Color ManuQ in the 11/29 P&G coupon insert.
There is a Buy One Clairol Hair Color Get One Root Touch-Up Color in this past Sunday's coupon insert. You'll have to have 2 of this Sunday's insert Q and access to the R-A Beauty Magazine in store with the $5 off $25 purchase inside to do this deal.

Here's your Deal--

Buy 2 x Clairol Hair Color=$13.98
Buy 2 x Clairol Root Touch-Up Color=$13.98
Subtotal...$27.96

Use Coupons....
1 x $5 off $25 purchase R-A Beauty Mag Coupon=$5.00(Ask for it at the store if they don't have any of the Beauty Magazines out.)
1 x $5/2 Clairol Hair Color ManQ=$5.00
2 x BOGOClairol ManuQ from Sunday's insert=$13.98
Coupon Total........$23.98

$27.96-$23.98=$3.98 + any tax for all 4 boxes.
That $1 a box for hair color!


So I went to R-A Sunday to do this deal plus get a few other things and complications ensued...........

First off I bought $50 in Subway gift cards on each of the Plenti cards we have as they give $6 in Plenti Pts. for every $25 you spend this week.  We frequent Subway during the year so I pulled Eating-Out money for 2016 and got some cards, netting me $24 for free potential Rite-Aid goods with the points.
That went fine.

Then I bought the Clairol hair color products and a few other things......

2 x Clairol Nice n' Easy on sale=$13.58
2 x Clairol Root Touch-Up on sale=$13.58
4 x HE conditioner on clearance$1.24=$4.96
1 x Crest mouthwash on sale=$5.00
1 x Soft Soap refill jug on sale=$3.99
SubTotal.........$41.11

The coupons I handed over.....
1 x $5 off $25 Beauty Purchase RAQ(hair coloring qualifies)=$5.00
1 x $5/2 Nice n' Easy ManuQ=$5.00
2 x BOGO Nice n' Easy/Root Touch-Up ManuQ=$13.58
1 x $2/1 Soft Soap Refill RA FacebookQ=$2.00
2 x $3/2 Herbal Essence product ManuQ=$6.00
1 x $1.50/1 Crest mouthwash Load2CardQ=$1.50
Coupon total was $33.08.

$41.11-$33.08=$8.03+.34¢ tax=$8.37 OOP is what it "should" have been.

But......
There were 2 other Load2Card Qs that came off for this transaction that we couldn't figure out why.....a $2 and a $3 Q.
And because they were applied to the transaction the register wouldn't take my $5/2 Clairol and one of my $3/2 Herbal Essence ManuQs.

So my Coupon Total was $30.08 instead....

$41.11-$30.08=$11.03+.34¢ tax=$11.37 using Plenti points so $0 OOP.
And I earned $3.50 in new Plenti points so I spent down my points by $7.87.

After we completed the sale they did a "Post Coupon" transaction and gave me $8 in cash for the 2 coupons that wouldn't scan......

So in the end this transaction "cost" me $7.87 in Plenti points(the $11.87 I paid with, minus the $3.50 in new Plenti points I earned buying the Crest mouthwash)and I got an $8 cash refund.
WTF?!?!?

Later at home I figured out by comparing my clipped L2CQs on the other Wellness/Plenti card that the $2 L2C was also for Clairol(when you buy one) and the $3 L2C was also for Herbal Essence(when you buy two).  This means I shouldn't have used one of my HE $3/2 ManuQs so I need to return $3 of that cash refund and my transaction turns into spending down $2.87 worth of Plenti points instead of a .13¢ moneymaker.

Got that?
I hope so because my head hurts now....lolz

I am done with Rite-Aid until Wednesday when they are having another 4 day "Mid Week Specials Sale".   Lot of BOGO sales in that 4 day ad.

The 5 Hour Energy shots and the Mtn. Dew KickStart drinks will be free after Plenti points earned on each so I'll be getting some KickStart drinks for College Boy.

Plus there is a $ back in Points deal when you buy Kohl's gift cards during this sale so I'll probably take some more clothing funds for 2016 and buy a couple cards since we finished up using my stash from last year back in October replacing part of College Boy's wardrobe.

Also of note--the large bottles of Suave professional 'Poo will be BOGO and there is a $2/2 Suave Pro ManuQ that expires on 12/13 plus a $2 Suave Pro SavingStar Rebate so $4 off 2 bottles + the BOGO price will make for some cheap 'Poo.

And there is also a BOGO sale on Arm & Hammer Cat Liter and $2/1 and $1.50/1 Qs for Liter on the Arm & Hammer website you can print, plus you get $5 back in Plenti points for buying 2, making for some cheap liter for your pussy.

Now I am off to start writing Christmas cards up.  I am so behind on that job.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "We Finally Get Seasonal Weather" Edition--

Last Wednesday morning the skies opened up with a heavy sleeting episode.  In minutes the deck was covered.....

Then the sleet turned into a snow squall dumping an inch of snow on us in another few minutes.....

Accompanying the snow was thunder!  So yah, we had SNOWTHUNDER here last week.
This is the first seasonal weather to happen here this late Fall/early Winter.  Usually by the end of November we've had a few snowstorms already.
By noon though it was all done, melted and the sun was out and the roads were bone dry by the time I went up to Rite-Aid.
I very strange year for weather in NEPA 2015 has been.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Leftovers-whatever you want
2. Monday--Butternut Squash Soup(something light), Garlic Bread
3. Tuesday--Pecan Chicken, Leftover Sides
4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Leftover Sides
6. Friday--Chicken Parm, Spaghetti(for Hubs), Salad and/or Leftover Sides
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftovers-whatever you want
2. Monday--Butternut Squash Soup
3. Tuesday--Thanksgiving Leftovers
4. Wednesday--Roast Chicken, Leftover Sides
5. Thursday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Brussels Sprouts
6. Friday--Baked Flounder, Home Fries, Sugar Snap Peas
7. Saturday--Chicken and Dumplings(using leftover roast chicken)

I picked up some cheap seasoned chickens Monday so I threw one into the freezer and roasted one on Wednesday.

As for my grocery spending last week...... 5 trips(4 to Weis)for a total of $135.82 spent OOP.  Quite a bit of my food budget spent in this first week of the month due to some really good meat buys. Month to date is $135.82 spent for December on $290.03 worth of regular retail foods/toiletries so a 53.17% savings rate this week.  I have $214.18 leftover in the food budget for the rest of the month and it's only the 7th....eek!

Leftovers going into this week.....Butternut Squash Soup(1 serving), Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Brussels Sprouts, Sugar Snap Peas,  Chicken and Dumplings(1 serving)and 1 piece of Flounder.
I'll at least have the flounder for a lunch this week and will work the rest into the meal plan.

Here is this week's "food plan"--

1. Sunday--Beef Pie
2. Monday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Spinach Salad
3. Tuesday--Leftovers(probably the soups and some Stroganoff)
4. Wednesday--Bacon and Asparagus Quiche
5. Thursday--Hot Dogs/Brats, Sides(something easy as I'll be driving most of the day)
6. Friday--Pecan Chicken, Corn Casserole, Mixed Veggies
7. Saturday--Leftovers or Subway

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 2 meals of leftovers consumed.

What I need to buy for this menu?.........Spinach.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?

Sluggy