Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Tuesday Shopping and No Rite-Aid!

Well I actually got College Boy out of bed at the crack of 9:30 and we went off shopping yesterday.
I know, try to contain your glee, just as College Boy tried to, at the thought of shopping with his mother.
But the child needs clothing/shoes so suck it up lollipop! ;-)

First we hit the bank(for cash)and the PO to mail off the last of the Christmas cards.
Then it was a stop at Salvation Army to make the fourth donation in the last week.

Just some of what left the building yesterday............





Moving on.......We stopped in at Gabe's.  It's a discount department store type place that they have out in Western PA that has made it to Eastern PA here.  It's a crapshoot finding anything worthwhile there but worth a lookie.  We went in looking for cheapish clothing for College Boy.


He didn't see anything he wanted to be seen wearing but I found some Playtex bras, brand new in the package, that usually go for $35 for $6.99 and THEY WERE IN MY SIZE!  I wear an industrial strength, large sized bra and NEVER find it in a store and have to order them from the manufacturer.  But not this time!!!  I bought 2 and mostly probably will go back for more if I like the way these fit.  While it's the brand I wear it's not exactly the same style I get so 2 will do for now.


          Not my bread store but this is what it looked like.

Then we hit the Bread Outlet as we were right around the corner and were out of bagels and almost out of bread.
I walk in and the shelves are practically bare....wtf?!?
Some hot dog rolls, 3 bags of cranberry bagels and some pastries, cakes and such.  "Where is all the freaking bread?!" I asked.  Did someone back a truck up to the backdoor last night and rob you?
The clerk said, "Well we don't get a delivery on Tuesday."
To which I replied, "Yeah, but did everyone in town have a bread emergency on Monday and clean you out?!?" lolz
It was so freaking weird not a loaf in sight...........

So we hit Panera down the street since it's Bagel Tuesday and a baker's dozen is only $6.99 instead of $9.99 on Tuesday(plus they taste awesomer and at this price they are cheaper than the ones the grocery stores make fresh and sell around here!).  The clerk threw in a 14th bagel at no charge too.  8-)


Then it was off to the shopping center right behind Panera to Target.  I loathe to fight through the crowds at Target(especially at the holidays)but I needed walnuts to make my fudge and there was a $3 off $10 Baking needs Q in the Target ad on Sunday.

2 bags of Target brand shelled nuts after sale and coupon for $10.66.  Actually I used my free Target gift card I got from my c/c points to pay so Zero OOP for this.




Then we hit Kohl's since I had $16 in free credit to spend there($10 Yes2Rewards reward and Anniversary $6 free card).  College Boy needed shoes, dress shoes for Symphonic Band and Winter gloves(hopeful he'll need them soon as it 55 degrees still here).

The gloves were 50% off, the dress shoes were 50% off and the sneakers were on sale for $49.99
After 20% discount card, free $ and sales I paid $68.77  out the door and got $10 in Kohl's Cash and he can go back after Christmas when all the winter stuff goes on deep discount and get another pair of gloves or a hat for free with it. 8-)

Neither of us were hungry for lunch yet when we finished up at Kohl's at 1:30pm so we just headed home.  I was shopped out for the day.

Today I need to hit Weis(PMITA)Markets for a few things, Kmart as I have a paper good for $30 in SYW Points when I spend $30 and then the Shursave market that takes IPQs(the one in my town doesn't, the fuckers)so I can get a deal or two using my Qs that I can't get at my Shursave market.

Then I just need to get to the mall(ACK!!!)to spend my free $10 at Penneys and to Bath & BodyWorks to maybe get some cheap soap.
I love how they lure you into the stores this time of year with little freebie offers because they know if they can get you to step foot in the place you'll probably spend money there too.
Resist the urge!  Just go get your free stuff and LEAVE!! lolz

There is 1 more giftie to pick up for Hubs and then you can stick a fork in me, as I am DONE with this holiday shopping shit!(Not counting Rite-Aid of course.)

So what freebies/coupons for freebies did the stores send you this season?

Sluggy

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Take A Stand

Ok, you have to take a stand. 

Is it "Santa Baby" sung by Eartha Kitt?





Or Madonna?






And as for Shakira, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue and Ariana Grande, do NOT even go there! 8-)


How you answer this pretty much decides whether we can remain friends or not...... ;-)

Sluggy

My Only Trip to RIte-Aid This Week

No mid-week Sale ad at Rite-Aid this week so I went in already and got the freebies for the week after points...........


Buy 2 Lysol products for $5 and get $5 back in Plenti Points.  It becomes a moneymaker once you add a coupon to the deal(if you don't have to pay too much in sales tax where you live).

2 x Lysol items=$5.00
1 x .50¢/2 Lysol items IPQ(Lysol website) used.
$5.00-.50¢=$4.50 + .27¢ tax=$4.77 using Plenti points to pay.
I earned back $5 in new Plenti points so even with my state's tax this was a .23¢ moneymaker in points.

There is a limit of 1 of this deal per Wellness card.

So I did it again on my other card..........


2 x Lysol items=$5.00
The toilet bowl cleaner had a pamphlet around it's neck with 6 coupons on it so I used 2 of them on this order for a total of .75¢ off these 2 items.

There were large candy bar packs on sale BOGO and some had .50¢/1 Rite-Aid Qs attached to the packs,
So I bought 6 candy bars with Qs on them.
6 x BOGO candy bars($1.99 for 2)=$5.97

SubTotal......$10.97
Coupons Used.....$3.75
Makes this order $7.22 + .22¢ tax=$7.44
I used $7.44 in Plenti points and earned $5 in new points back, making all this cost me $2.44 in points.
$2.44 in points minus the .23¢ moneymaker in points means I spent down $2.21 in points between the two transactions.

$33.10 worth of goodies for Zero money OOP.

And unless something else pops up this week I am done "Rite-Aiding" for the week.

Sluggy

Monday, December 14, 2015

This Week on the Dining Table


It's the "Crazy Weather Around Here" Edition--



By Friday we are suppose to be back to more seasonal weather here in this part of PA.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

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

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Beef Pie
2. Monday--Meatloaf, Sweet Potato, I don't remember which veggie
3. Tuesday--Leftovers(I have Stroganoff, Rice, Brussels Sprouts, Hubs had Butternut Squash, Venison and Rutabaga)
4. Wednesday--Leftovers(I had Chicken Dumplings and Salad, Hubs had Stroganoff)
5. Thursday--Bacon and Asparagus Quiche, Salad
6. Friday--Leftover Meatloaf,
7. Saturday--Cheese Steaks(I also had a Tossed Salad)

No Brats or Dogs, Tuna Noodle Casserole and the Pecan Chicken moves to this coming week.  We ate most of our leftovers last week and kept from getting Subway or Take-out(except for a Wendy's lunch on the way home from picking up College Boy on Friday.  I am going to try to avoid Take-out until the last 2 weeks of December as there will be lots of eating out at that time between our traditional Xmas eve Chinese dinner out and our meals while traveling/visiting.

We had a rare incidence of food waste this past week.  1 helping of green bean casserole from Thanksgiving was found lurking in the back of the overstuffed fridge.  We haven't had any food waste in quite awhile.

As for my grocery spending last week...... 7 trips to 4 different stores for a total of $100.21 spent OOP. Month to date is $236.03 spent for December on $503.67 worth of regular retail foods/toiletries. I acheived a 53.10% savings rate on items bought this past week.  I have $113.97 leftover in the food budget for the rest of the month(plus $10.75 in catalinas to spend by Dec. 26th).

Leftovers going into this week.....quiche, cheese steak fixings.

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

1. Sunday--Pecan Chicken, Corn Casserole, Broc/Cauliflower Mix
2. Monday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Salad or ?Veggie
3. Tuesday--Broccoli Soup, Grilled Cheese
4. Wednesday--Tacos or Taco Salad
5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, Spaghetti, Sugar Snap Peas
6. Friday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Beans, Veg TBD
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 6 new meals cooked and 1 meal of leftovers consumed.

What I need to buy for this menu?.........Salad Greens, Spinach.
We also need milk.
I plan on spending about $20 this week on groceries(unless the Thursday ad has something good in it and/or I find some meat markdowns this week).


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

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Random Happenings Lately at Chez Sluggy


*  Well it's almost Christmas time so I opened my sealed pot 2 weeks ago.......well it's not sealed just rolled up, so I just took it out of the basket and counted it.........



And then lugged it up to the bank and turned it into this........


The rolled loose change tally for 2015--$116.50.
That will go toward paying for Christmas.

*  In other Christmas hacks........
I used credit card reward points to get some gift cards for gift giving this year.
Cost to me?  Zero.

Christmas stocking stuffers this year are mostly items gotten from Rite-Aid which were paid for with Plenti points/sales/coupons.
Cost Out of Pocket?  Zero.

Bought $100 in gift cards at Weis this week and earned a $10 off Your Next Shopping Order Catalina.  That will go toward buying a hunk of beef for Christmas Dinner.

*  Speaking of Christmas I am not feeling the Season yet.  For one thing the weather here has been VERY unseasonable.  It was 60+F here today!!
My car registered 63F when I got home and the bank sign down the road read 66F when I drove by it....geez!

Not that I'm complaining really but I'm use to frigid cold and snow by now having lived up North since 1984.


*  Don't forget to enter my Giveaway before it ends on Wednesday December 16th.
I really thought I'd have more entries at this point in the process.  It's either due to folks just being too busy to be reading blogs due to the Holidays and all the extra work/effort that entails AND/OR the sort of readers I have aren't into "stuff", are more on the frugal end of the spectrum and would rather have useful stuff like toiletries and HBA items.....and chocolate of course. ;-)
What do you think??

*  I've been changing up the BlogRoll too if y'all haven't noticed.  Adding a few folks and I'll be removing some who no longer post or I don't feel are relevant to me anymore.  If you have any suggestions for new blogs(or old blogs that I don't know about)feel free to suggest them to be added to the list.

*  In other blog business--I noticed that I keep bouncing between having 285 followers and 286 followers for the past month or so.  There is someone who keeps un-following and then re-following I think. Can they not make up their mind? lolz  Not that I care but it is odd.....or maybe I am just odd for noticing? ;-)

*  2015 is quickly coming to an end and 2016 is just around the corner.  Did this year just fly by or is it just my perception?!?
I need to sit down sometime this week and start thinking about Goals for 2016.  Other than keeping up with the exercise I started in 2015 I don't have anything else for that list.  We never did the big home repair/maintenance planned for 2015 so I guess that moves to next year as the money to pay for it is sitting in our account.  I plan to take some time to reflect and re-evaluate some of my aims in life after the Holidays.  Boy, does that sound lofty and pretentious or what? lolz

Ok I am off now to gather some more goodies to send off to charity.  I am trying to get 3 more donations made before 2015 ends and most of that will happen this week...I hope. 8-)

What are you up to lately?

Sluggy