Frugal Friday......the December 15th Edition

Let's so what frugal wins we had this week, shall we?

* Daughter's birthday was Wednesday but I let her open this little something earlier in the week.

Daughter loves a good Ugly Xmas Sweater so she got it early so she would wear it to class before they ended.
It's a T-Rex in a Xmas sweater.  Note the sleeves are hanging way over his hands. lolz
I paid less than $19 for this quality sweater on Cyber Monday with all my discounts. ;-)

* The $5 Amazon e-card I ordered from Coke Rewards which the email w/the code for never arrived finally got put right.  I contacted them and they resent it and all is right with Sluggy's world now.....yet I am reticent to apply coke cap codes to get any more for fear the same thing will happen again. sigh.  The "leave well enough alone" philosophy is taking hold on me here. ;-)

*  Cheap drinks and candy at Rite-Aid on Wednesday.......

*  Deals at Weis I talked about already.........

*  I sold two more items on eBay this week and shipped them out.  Two things just taking up space in the garage.
$20.91 profit in my pocket after fees. 8-)

The Frugal Wins are kind of thin this week as I haven't done much shopping(just Weis and Rite-Aid).

What have you done to stay frugal lately?

Remember the words of my buddy, the "Most Frugal Man in the World"..........

Sluggy

Weis & Rite-Aid This Week

Considering there weren't many deals I wanted to do at Weis I sure spent like a drunken sailor on Wednesday there!

Here are the highlights from Weis......

The 6 items on the right were part of the Mix and Match 6/Get $3 off Instantly Deal.

2 x Heinz bbq sauces on sale=$3.98
1 x Nivea in-shower lotion on sale=$5.49
2 x Smart Made frozen meals on sale=$5.98
1 x Sandwich Bros. breakfast sandwiches on sale=$3.49
SubTotal........$18.94

Coupons Used
1 x $1/2 Heinz bbq sauces CatlinaQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Nivea item Weis bookletQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Nivea in-shower lotion IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Smart Made items Weis bookletQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Sandwich Bros. items Weis bookletQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Sandwich Bros. item IPQ=$1.50
Coupon Total.....$7.50 + $3 instantly Off=$10.50

$18.94-$10.50=$8.44 + .11¢ tax on the lotion=$8.55 for all 6 items or $1.42 each.

I had gotten a $2.50 CatalinaQ for Nutella a couple of weeks ago so I got a jar for Xmas cookie making and it only cost me $1.09 after using that Q.

I also stacked a BOGOFree IPQ for those Hershey Cookie Layer Crunch things with a $2/2 Hershey Cookie Layer Crunch Weis bookletQ to get each bag of those for $1.00.
Reg. price was $3.99 each x 2=$7.98-$3.99-$2=$1.99 for both bags.

The Daughter's birthday was yesterday and she wanted Tiramisu instead of a reg. birthday cake so I paid $14 regular retail for that. ouch but she only turns 25 once, right? ;-)

I also got 5 1 lb. blocks of assorted cheeses for $3.47(rock bottom around here), 3 bags of chocolate chips($1.87 each) and a few packages of instant discount meats worth mentioning.

$91.09 OOP total for all and a 40% savings rate overall.

While I was at Rite-Aid picking up an Rx I bought this too.....

The Yoohoo, Snapple and V8 Energy drinks are .88¢ each this week(.80¢ if you have 20% Wellness discount level)and for every 2 you buy in a single transaction you get back $1 in Plenti Points.
Some of the bagged Dreamhouse candies/nuts are 50% off this week and also give back $1 in Plenti Points when you buy 2 in a single transaction.

3 x Yoohoo .80¢=$2.40
1 x Snapple= .80¢
2 x Jordan Almonds 50% off=$2.98
Total.....$6.26 + .15¢ tax=$6.41 using Plenti Points.

I earned back $3 in new Plenti Points so I spend down points by $3.41.
Other than some cheap drinks I don't see any "deals" at Rite-Aid through Christmas week.  Maybe some 50% candy and stuff after the 25th but that's about it.

Just waiting on hearing more details about this Bonus Cash thing that is replacing Plenti Points.  Not liking that I'm hearing they expire in 60 days instead of 2 years like PPs.  I think if I need to divest myself of PPs soon I won't be pillaging much at Rite-Aid after that.  8-(

Sluggy

I Need a Favor.....Please!!

So some of ya'll out there use to read my Cousin Sonya's blog A Mom, Money and More.
She stopped writing/blogging right before Thanksgiving of last year.

I can't go into what is going on but she's in a very dark place right now and more than anything she could use some positive thoughts and to know that there are people out there who care about her.

So if you have a minute and a spare card and a stamp, I'm asking that you send her a note of encouragement.  Her birthday is a few days after Christmas too so if you want to send a b-day card that would be much appreciated as well. 
She could also use some $$ right about now but I'm not going to send up a GoFundMe thing again because the last time I did that for someone, the supposed friend cut me out of her life shortly afterward. 8-(

Sonya is having a really rough patch so please, if you use to read her blog, take a minute to send her a letter/card of encouragement/friendship or even just say a few prayers for her.

I don't want to give out her address so if you want to send a card/letter, please email me(arcure at ptdprolog dotnet)and I'll supply you MY mailing address and in about 10 days I'll take all the cards received and box them up Priority mail and send them to Sonya.
More than anyone I know right now, she sure could use a care package of love. 8-)))

So email me asap please.


Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "New Twist on a Familiar Recipe" Edition--

Last Monday because I had a TON of fresh mushrooms to use up I made my Beef Stroganof recipe but left out the beef and just used a LOT of mushrooms.  And we didn't even miss the meat in this dish......well Hubs did. ;-)
If you need to reduce the amount of meat you use/eat for whatever reason, I'd recommend doing so this way.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Fresh Mushroom Soup, French Bread

2. Monday--Mushroom Stroganof, over Leftover Mashed Taters, Asparagus

3. Tuesday--Sloppy Joe, Rolls, Carrots

4. Wednesday--Tacos

5. Thursday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Caesar Salad
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Fresh Mushroom Soup, French Bread

2. Monday--Mushroom Stroganof, Rice, Asparagus

3. Tuesday--Sloppy Joe, Rolls, Carrots

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Tacos
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread

Pretty much the plan happened but not in the order or on the days planned.No leftover mashed taters so I made rice for the Stroganof. The last of the French bread became garlic bread for the spaghetti meal.  We used up and ate all those packages of mushrooms I got for .50¢ each and no leftovers there.  Daughter tried her hand at making fresh Mushroom Soup and it was nothing like that canned cream of mushroom stuff.  Yum!

Last week saw 5 night of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of take-out and 0 nights of Eating out.
Weis, Maines and Bread Outlet shopping last week and the bill came to $119.03.  That brings December's food spending to $168.88.  There are 20 more days in my shopping month.

My savings percentages last week was 53.48% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 53%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week.......sloppy joe meat, spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread

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

1. Sunday--homemade Tomato Soup w/Veggies and Pasta, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

2. Monday--Pork Chops, Grilled Asparagus

3. Tuesday--Fried Fish, Home Fries, Brussels Sprouts

4. Wednesday--Leftover Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

5. Thursday--Chicken Sausages, Roasted Veggies
6. Friday--Homemade Pizza, Caesar Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers, 0 nights of Take-out.

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is nothing I think. 8-) 

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

December Giveaway #2......Come Enter!

This is the tenth and FINAL Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for the year.
December is here and the Holidays are here and before you know it, New Year's Day and 2018 will have arrived!
This giveaway is a little different since it isn't a box full of goodies.
Come on and enter.
Somebody has to win and it might just be YOU!

Here is what you can win if your entry is picked.........

It's a Brinker restaurant brand gift card for $15.
You can use it at a CHILI'S, a MAGGIANO'S, a MACARONI GRILL or an ON THE BORDER restaurant.
I figured this was the best one I could offer since most people have at least one of these restaurants available to them. (We only have Chili's here.)
I know $15 won't buy you a full big meal(unless you go by yourself)but hey!, we are living on a fixed income now and I did the best I could.  ;-)

I'll leave this giveaway open until Saturday, December 23rd, at 11:59pm Eastern Time, so that gives everyone 12+ full days to enter this one.  On December 24th  I'll mark all the valid entries and use Random dotorg to pick a number and that corresponding person's entry wins.

Please note-I will mail this out when I can.....it might be before New Year's or it might be later that week. I will be sending it in a Xmas card via regular letter mail and NOT priority mail.  I wanted to wait to mail this so it didn't get lost in the voluminous Holiday deluge of cards and letter mail.  You can use this for a nice night away in the new year, 2018.  8-)))

*Please note the rules*
I'll post the name/Id of the winner on this blog and that person has 48 hours from then to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page).
If I am not contacted via email I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supply with their entry and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

There are three ways to enter--1 Daily and 2 One-Time Only........

1. Leave a comment every day.

2. Be a follower of this Blog(Hit the "Follow" button on the right hand side bar.) Let me know if your comment for this entry the name you follow under to verify.  You can do this entry once.

3. Post on your own blog(or on your Facebook page)about the Giveaway and leave a link in your comment/entry to where I can find it.  You can do this entry once.
In your Daily Entry tell me in your comment......which of the 4 restaurant chains you most would like to use it at, what food is a MUST to have on New Years Eve/Day for you, and/or what's the one big goal you want to accomplish in 2018.

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.
As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten to high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies, I pay for it all(cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with your contact information on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one with those Google Circles nonsense I CAN NOT CONTACT YOU as Google Circles doesn't show your contact info.

If I can't contact you then you can't win.  I am still having to disqualify entries due to this issue and I sure don't like doing that.  Thanks!

So let's get this started!

Sluggy