Keeping Costs Lower Where You Can

I was out already this morning to run two errands.
First to Weis(PMITA)Markets........

6 x Dinty Moore stew on sale $1.87 ea.=$11.22
2 x Whack Biscuits on sale $1=$2.00
1 x Smart Balance spread on sale=$2.50
1 x Bakery rolls 50% off=$1.64
4 x StarKist tuna on sale .77¢=$3.08
SubTotal.......$20.44

Coupons Used
3 x $1/2 Dinty Moore ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $1/2 Pillsbury fridge goods IPQ=$1.00
1 x .75¢/1 Smart Balance IPQ(doubled to $1)=$1.00
2 x $1/2 StarKist IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.......$7.00

$20.44-$7=$13.44 OOP
$32.35 in reg. retail so I saved 50.45% on this order.

I also have a $1/2 Pillsbury biscuits Rebate clipped on my SavingStar account so I'll be getting $1 back there too, making this $12.44 OOP.
(I am up to $21.00 in rebates on SavingStar and it's only January!)

The canned stew will go into College Boy's emergency food stash and the tuna may be headed for the food bank.  Rolls, biscuits and spread are for us.

While I was at Weis I dropped off a rx to transfer.
Since we have a $3K deductible at the beginning of each new year for our medical insurance I have 2 different scripts for my high cost prescription.  Same medicine but different delivery system means the Usual and Customary for one if $355+ and the other same drug/diff. brand/system's Usual and Customary price is $250+.
So when we have to pay the full U&C before we satisfy the deductible and are then only charged the co-pay price of $45, I have the lower U&C cost drug refilled.

So I transferred this lower cost drug rx to Weis' pharmacy today.......

Yes, that's $251.69 for 1 rx refill!  But it could have been $350+!
At least I also earned 60 gas points for this purchase.
I am trying to look at this as the glass is half full here...... lolz

But why transfer the rx to Weis?
Well, this week when you have them transfer or fill a new rx you can get a $20 Weis gift card(as well as all those gas points).
So that's what I did and got.......

Hey, I figure I have to pay the same price for this medicine no matter where I have it filled so why not have it filled at Weis this week and get $20 of free groceries?  ;-)
Rite-Aid only gives me a piddly 25 Wellness points per rx so I get more of a perk at Weis even if it's just gas points.

Just working the system to keep my food spending costs down for 2016.

Then I went up to Rite-Aid for this stuff........

2 x Charmin TP on sale=$13.88
6 x Coke 12 packs on sale 3/$11=$22.00
2 x Cover Girl eye shadow BOGO50%=$5.08
2 x Cover Girl plumpify mascara BOGO50%=$14.98
1 x Centrum Vitamints on sale=$6.99
SubTotal.......$62.93

Coupons Used
2 x $1/1 Charmin IPQ=$2.00
6 x MyCokeRewards Free Q=$22.00
1 x $2/2 Cover Girl eye or lip ManuQ=$2.00
2 x $3/1 CG Plumpify mascara ManuQ=$6.00
1 x $4/1 Vitamints IPQ=$4.00
2 x $3 OYNO CatalinaQ(from Friday's trip)=$6.00
Coupon Total......$42.00

Except a $4 Load2Card for Vitamints also came off that I had forgotten about and the cashier didn't notice(nor did I until I was in the car)so he manually forced the paper Vitamints Q through and I got an extra $4 off my order.

If you also clipped the $4 Vitamints Rebate on SavingStar you can make the vitamin purchase a $1.01 moneymaker after Q and Rebate(unfortunately I didn't clip that one a couple of weeks ago before they ran out of offers).

$62.93-$46.00=$16.93 + .48¢ tax=$17.41 OOP.
I used $17.41 in Plenti points to pay so no cash spent.
I earned $32.00 in new Plenti points for the order..........

$10 in Plenti points for spending over $30 on P&G items
$10 in Plenti points for #1 Bonus spending over $30.
$10 in Plenti points for #2 Bonus spending over $30($62.93 total spent before Qs).
$2 in Plenti points for buying 6 packs of Coke items($1 per 3 packs x 2).

$32 in new points, spent $17.41 in old points which makes this a $14.59 moneymaker on this card.  8-)))

So I spent $13.44 cash and got $32.35 in reg. retail of groceries, $20 in free potential groceries, $97.67 in reg. retail of toiletries, drinks and paper goods and $14.59 in more new points than I spent down.  The rx refill is a wash as I had to have that filled somewhere anyway but the .60¢ additional off my next gas fill-up is a nice little bonus.

But that $251.69 spent for meds still hurts......lolz

Have you ever moved prescriptions to gain perks like free gift cards or rebates?
I did this 2 times last year at Weis for $40 in free gift cards there and I also moved rxs to Kmart's pharmacy last Spring for $60 in free gift cards there and also earned $10 in free stuff after having my 5th refill purchased there.  That's $110 in free gift cards just for filling prescriptions that have to be filled anyway.  Why not get something else I can use as a bonus, right?

Sluggy

What I Bought at Rite-Aid This Week

Well I resisted going to Rite-Aid until Friday and then I gave in.
Since I really didn't NEED anything I tried my best to stay home.

But the siren song of really cheap stuff that I could potentially sell for a profit got the better of me. lolz

This week Huggies diapers were on sale for $7.99 and you received $3 in Plenti points for every 2 packs you bought.
Limit of 2 offers per card so potentially you could earn $6 in points, plus another $10 in points since buying 4 on your card meant you "spent" $31.96, so you qualified for the $10 in Bonus points as you spent over $30 on "Starting Points" items.
Using 4 x $2/1 Huggies IPQ your total before tax came down to $23.96 so after new Points earned of $16.00 you are out $7.96 + tax.
But if you bought 4 packs of Huggies in the same transaction you also earned a $10 Catalina from Huggies which is good on your next order!
This makes this deal before taxes a $2.04 moneymaker.

I went to do this deal on each of our two household cards except things didn't go quite as planned.
I meant to roll the first $10 Catalina I got and use it in my second diaper order on the second card.

First order--
4 x Huggies=$31.96
4 x $2/1 Qs used=$8.00
$31.96-$8=$23.96 use Plenti Points.
Earned $16.00 in new Plenti Points and a $10 Catalina.

Second order--
4 x Huggies=$31.96
4 x $2/1 Qs used=$8.00
1 x $10 Cat used=$10.00
$31.96-$18=$13.96 use Plenti Points.
Earned $16.00 in new Plenti Points and a $10 Catalina.

$37.92 in Plenti Points spent.
$32.00 in new Plenti Points earned and 1 $10 Catalina.

But the cashier finished the 2nd transaction before I handed her the $10 Catalina so I ended up spending $47.92 Plenti Points, getting $32 in new Plenti Points and having 2 x $10 Catalinas when I was done.
Well, I also bought a bottle of Vaseline in the first diaper transaction too....$2.99, used a $2/1 ManuQ and got $1 in Plenti points back so this on it's own was a .01¢ moneymaker.

Since I had 2 $10 Cats when I was done  buying the diapers I bought......
2 x Viva paper towel 6 packs on sale BOGO so $12.79 for both
I used a $1/1 Viva ManuQ making my total $11.79.
I used a $10 Catalina making my total $1.79 + tax.
I earned a $3 Catalina for buying 2 Vivas in a single transaction(even though 1 is free it still counts toward your total items bought).

I had $1.96 tracking on the card from buying the 4 packs of diapers toward a second $10 Bonus Plenti pts. wyb $30, add in the $12.79 and my tracking is at $14.75.

So I rinsed and repeated the Viva transaction and added 3 boxes of protein/cereal bars.
Special K bars and cereals were 3/$8 at Rite-Aid.  There was an in-ad Q for $3 off wyb 3, making them $5, plus I found a $1/2 IPQ Special K bars and activated a $1/2 Special K bars rebate offer on my SavingStar account.
The second Viva transaction was $20.79-$5 in Qs=$15.79-$10 Cat=$5.79 + tax.
I earned another $3 Catalina for buying 2 Viva and another $10 Bonus Plenti points Offer for spending over $30 total this week.
Plus I'll get another $1 in my SavingStar account later this week.

Total spent in Plenti Points w/tax....$57.90
Total earned in new Points...........$43.00
Total Catalinas remaining...............$6.00
Total SavingStar Rebates earned.....$1.00

So after all my rebates/cats/new points I "spent down" my Plenti points by $7.90.
Or 8 packs of diapers, 4 packs of paper towels, 1 bottle of lotion and 3 boxes of protein bars cost me $7.90.

As for what the plans are the all those diapers?
Either I'll hold onto them in the hopes that one of my older kids gets pregnant in the near future(Hey! I can hope, right?)or I can be sensible and either give them to the food bank or sell them via the town's online marketplace.  I sold a bunch of packs of diapers a few years ago that I had gotten for free at Rite-Aid so I figure I can make about $32-$40 that way off of the diapers, which would make all this a nice big fat moneymaker.  8-)))

I may go back later today and get 3 more bottles of Vaseline lotion as I have 3 more ManuQs and each one is a .01¢ moneymaker so why not?
I can add them to the food bank donation I am gathering this month.

Sluggy

Lottery Fever....Get a Grip People!

Ok, after I heard about the woman who started a GOFUNDME campaign because she spent all her savings on Powerball Tickets(and didn't win anything of course)and wanted complete strangers to send her money because she was broke, and people were actually giving her money!!! before the site shut her down,  I just had to write something.

Yeah, me keep my big mouth shut?  Who didn't see THAT happening?! lolz

Lotteries are bad ideas for the most part.
True they do fund some government programs and fill the state's coffers.
But the percentage of ticket sales that actually go into winner's pockets and the odds of winning, especially a multi-state super lottery drawing like Powerball, are so not weighted in your favor.
While playing games of chance at casinos are always in favor of the house and against you, the odds of winning a state or multi-state lottery are almost nil.
The jig is up, it's a highly rigged game!

A guy named James Walsh wrote a book back in 1996 called "True Odds".  It's about how risk affects your everyday life.  It's an interesting read especially if you are a statistics fan or numbers geek.

Mr. Walsh named one of the chapters, "Lotteries are a tax on the stupid".
That sounds a bit harsh(if not ultimately true), but I'd change it to "Lotteries are a tax on the foolish and the poor.".

The people most likely to play the lottery are the ones who can least afford to lose money on them, the poor.  People who think of themselves as poor seem to play the lottery often if not weekly.  I guess if you have so little money and have little to no hope of ever rising up on the socioeconomic ladder that you feel that your best, if not only, shot at being economically advantages is to hit a lottery.  The dream of winning big gives people with the least hope something to grab onto, if not just for a moment or two.

I have heard it said by more than one person I know, that a large part of their retirement plan is to play and hit the lottery.  Some people might say this as a joke but my mother truly believed that her numbers would come in one day and for a time she played religiously with the little income she had.  She even went so far as to keep track of the odds of which numbers were "due to hit" in a notebook and studied it frequently before picking her lottery numbers.
I'll let you know that her numbers never came in. Gee, aren't you shocked? ;-)  She was able to keep her gambling "in check" and didn't lose every dollar she had, unlike some addictive personality folks out there who lose it all betting in casinos, racetracks, football pools and/or state lotteries.

While winning the big prize in a lottery is akin to the odds of a modern day person being eaten by a dinosaur I am always happy for the folks who actually win(and equally sorry for all those who pissed away lots of money buying the losing tickets too).

But this go around, I saw spiteful people who threw money away on loosing tickets making terrible comments on social media about the holders of those 3 winning tickets.  There was a rumour making the rounds that the person who bought a winning ticket in Callifornia was a 27 year old hedge fund manager, who may have purchased $20K in tickets.  Once that story made the rounds the vitriol was flying!
"Must be nice to be able to spend $20K on lottery tickets?!"
"Someone like this doesn't 'deserve' to win!"
"There needs to be laws so that rich people can't play the lottery!"
Wow.
Just wow.
What do these reactions say about us as a culture?
Sour grapes is one thing but this is ridiculous!

Let's get a grip people.
Gambling is not a long term financial plan so don't count on it as such.
If you want to waste a couple of bucks playing the lottery be my guest and have your little "if I was rich fantasy".
But don't come crying to me(or any social programs our government runs funded by tax dollars)when you piss away all your economic wealth on highly risky games of chance, asking for us to bail you out.
And for gosh sakes, get your heads out of your asses and don't go grumbling and getting pissed at the people who do beat the astronomical odds and win.

Sluggy

The Plan for Food Spending in 2016

Food Spending.

The bane of my existence. 8-)

Here is a list of what I have spent since 2010(the year I started fully tracking where all the food/toiletries monies went).  Not too scientific as the number of persons being fed varied during these years from 5 to 2, depending on kids at college or not, and kids moving out or not.

2009--$6,254.84 +(I didn't track rebates and gift cards received that year)

2010--$2,291.67 + ($841.73 rebate checks/ $563.99 gift cards received)

2011--$3,080.59 + ($433.22 rebate checks/ $76.00 gift cards received)

2012--$4,196.36 +($67.48 rebate checks/ $5.00 gift cards received)

2013--$4,560.82 +($80.99 rebate checks/ $15.00 gift cards received)

2014--$4,989.49 +($44.54 rebate checks/ $10 gift cards received)

2015--$4,338.87(including $103.17 in rebates/$110 in free grocery store/drugstore gift cards)

A little explanation of these figures--

I started couponing and deal hounding seriously in Feb. of  2009 so my full year's spending in food was even more than shown that year.  Yikes!

Obviously 2009 was the year I started stockpiling and learning how to coupon in earnest and by 2010 I had a system and ramped up the rebating.

As you can see a combination of rising food prices, a dearth of rebate deals/gift card deals in each succeeding year and a bit of "food lifestyle inflation" and even though I am feeding less people now than in 2010 my food costs have inched up every year until I started bringing them down in 2015.

LOOKING AHEAD for 2016.........

My Goals are much the same as they were in 2015.

With some planning and watching the pennies better we should be able to keep the food/toiletries/paper goods/cleaning products spending at $4000.00 or less in 2016.  Last year we brought the spending down to $4,333 so I am cutting this a bit more to bring it down some more.

Here's how I am going to accomplish that---

*  Buy Less.  Since we are looking at selling this house and moving within the next 2+ years I will start reducing the size of our stockpile.  This means using up more of it in 2016 so I'll need to buy less.  Less $ spent + Less stuff to move=Success!

*  Seek out the best deals I can find on what I need to buy.  Stick to my price book principles and think twice before splurging on items I "want" but don't "need".  Make better decisions with the food dollars.

*  Preserve our garden harvest.  We did preserve what little we harvested last year.  I'll garden again this year and hope we have a larger yield in 2016.

*   Only buy seasonally and when possible more locally. 

We pretty much buy seasonally now so it's just keeping on, keeping on in this area.

*  Food Waste.  While we have minimal food waste most months I could do better.  I will do better.  Successful meal planning goes hand in hand with food waste(or the lack thereof).  By planning you are halfway to eliminating the waste.  8-)

*  Utilize any savings I can find.  This will take the form of shopping ONLY sale items, pairing sales with coupons(if applicable), sending for rebates when applicable, using offers of free gift cards to purchase needed foods(cashing in c/c points, transferring RXs for free gift cards, etc.).  These are all ways to bring down the out of pocket costs to us for our groceries.

*  Cooking from Scratch more.  I already make most of our meals so this means making more items(components of our meals)from scratch myself rather than buying ready-made foods.  I am talking about dried beans rather than canned beans, making tortillas from masa and flour rather than buying already made ones(unless I can get the tortillas for less than hand making them would cost), etc.

I am hoping that with these measures I can get the spending down below $4000 out of pocket for the entire year in 2016.

$4K a year on food/toiletries/paper goods/HBA is roughly $333.34 per month.

I spent less than $333.34 in 7 out of 12 of the months of 2015.  If I can get those other 5 months under that mark this is very doable.

Of course all of this goes without saying that I won't compromise the level of the quality of the food I buy now to save more on food purchases.  Sure I could just buy more processed foods for cheaper and save money at the expense of our health but that's not an option for me.

So what do you spend on food/toiletries a year if you track those expenses?

What measures do you take to keep your food/toiletry costs down?

Sluggy

Why I Don't Do Spending Fasts

With 2016 a bright and shiny new year it's time for all those frugal blogs out there to hold or participate in what's called A Spending Fast or a No Spend Month.

While I can applaud the theory behind the idea I don't participate in them.

I find them pointless really and here is why.....

1. No Spends cause undue stress in your life.  Most people have enough stress just living their lives.  Between, spouse's demands, kid demands, work demands and extended family's demands everyone's stress levels are filled to capacity already.  So putting yet another demand-of not spending in the face of times when you really need to spend money-on oneself just adds to your anxiety level and when/if you fail at it to your guilt load.

2.   No Spending/Low Spending can cause overspending.
Many people who undergo a No Spend/Low Spend Month will be required to stock up so they can go without buying ANYTHING for a month.  You have to go into a No Spend Month with a full pantry and fridge stocked in order to get through the month.  This means the month before your NSM you have to spend more to lay in the required food/toiletries/paper goods/etc. for a full 30/31 days.

Add to this that most people who go through an extended period of time in which they are Not allowed to spend money tend to go off the deep end and overspend once that period is over.  It's only natural that people who are deprived of something want it even more once the period of deprivation is over. It's the same reason you shouldn't skip meals or go on restricted diets.......it leads to overeating once you can eat again.

3. No Spends or Month long Fiscal Fasts are artificial.
Picking an arbitrary time frame in which to avoid spending is in no way organic to how your life runs.
While the idea of a Fiscal Fast is a good idea I'll venture to say that they never give you long lasting results.
This is born out because people keep going on them year after year.  If the behaviors they purported to change really came to pass there would be no need to continue to do these No Spending Months over and over again.

4.  No Spends/Low Spends don't change the underlying Spending Behaviors.
Let say that one again......No Spends/Low Spends don't change the underlying Spending Behaviors.
A NSM is just a temporary state.  Once the month is over most people go right back to spending at the rate they usually do.  It's only a temporary behavior and doesn't last long enough to become a permanent habit.
Devotees of Spending Fast say they "reset your spending". Yes, they may lower your spending but it's only a temporary fix since you don't actually change your money habits.
While studies have shown that it takes 21 days to FORM a new habit it takes over 60 days, 2 MONTHS, of a behavior to make that habit part of your routine.

 The only way you will change your spending habits is to make it a permanent behavior.  Not spending for a month and then releasing yourself form the challenge and going back to your regular spending habits changes nothing about your life in the end.

5.  Most people don't really learn anything from doing a No Spend Month.  Well, except that at the end of that month that they don't want to be doing a No Spend Month anymore.  lolz


The ONLY way to change your relationship with your money permanently is to....

1.  Track your spending religiously over a long enough period to get a true sense of how you use money.  A month is not long enough to get the broader view of how you use money.  6 months to a year is much more helpful.  Anybody can change their spending habits for a few weeks but by tracking a year or so it will show you where your money truly goes.

2.  Analyze that tracked spending you did to see how much, of what, goes where, and actually learn about how you interact with money.  There are no shortcuts.  You must take the time to study how/why/what/where you spend and then ask the hard questions of yourself.

3.  Put these newly discovered perceptions about how you use money into action and permanently change those behaviors with money that are keeping you from overspending/wasting your income.

I spent an entire year not shopping for "things" back in 2008 while part of The Compact.  We pledged to not buy anything new for an entire year.
Yes, there were exceptions like food, medicine, paying bills, etc.  And I allowed myself to purchase underwear and footwear new, but only if truly needed.  Other than that I bought nothing in a store for an entire year, except for 1 photo album.  That photo album was my only "want" purchase all year.  At the end of the year was a "Jubilee" day during which you could go and buy ANYTHING you wanted to and that you were prevented from being during that Compact Year.  But since my money habits had changed and taken root over the course of that year there was very little I did buy once I was released from my no shopping year.  "Things" I had lusted after during that year when I wasn't allowed to buy them held little interest to me once I was no longer Not Buying Anything.

Not spending for an entire year showed me where my weaknesses were and I was able to change my behaviors involving money.
Before, I shopped when I was bored or wanted something to do, thus I stopped shopping for entertainment and found other ways to spend my free time.
Before, I carried around multiple credit cards and had no second thoughts about pulling one out at the drop of a hat to buy anything that struck my fancy, thus I cancelled cards and kept them in a box at home unless I purposely had a need to buy something.

If you really want to spend less money(and save more)I'd say don't do a No Spending Month.

Instead, analyze how/where/why you spend after tracking that spending for an extended period of time and see what behaviors you have with money you need to change.

Then make yourself change them over a period of time until they become routine.

This will take much longer than 30 days but in the end it will be worth the effort it takes.

And as for the spending you "have to do", the needs,(ie-bills)go and study how and if you can reduce them too.

New money habits and lowering your required bills will reap you benefits with your money for the rest of your life.

Sluggy