Saturday at Rite-Aid

Hubs decided to brew more beer on Saturday and took over the kitchen for the day.  He's now doing all grain brewing(instead of the easier part grain/part liquid extract type)and it makes the entire house smell like a fermenting tank x 20.
PU!
It got so overpowering that I was nauseous and had to leave the house(you could even smell it upstairs in a closed room).
So I went to Rite-Aid to hang out for a bit.

The mail had arrived that day already and I received a snail mail of some coupons good at Rite-Aid so I took those with me to see if anything was cheap/free/moneymaker after sales/Qs/bonus cash offers.

While there I decided to also see if they had any inexpensive Jovan or Coty colognes which I hadn't looked for yet that week...........

Select GE LED lightbulbs were on sale for $7.99 and gave $5 in Bonus Cash.  The snail mail coupons included a $5 off 1 GE LED lightbulb pack.

$7.99-$5.00Q=$2.99 and $5 back in BC.

I found two bottles of men's Cologne of the Jovan/Coty variety that were at a price point that made them either free or a moneymaker after my 20% Wellness discount, plus last week these gave a $10 Bonus Cash per purchase.

Jovan Ginseng NRG cologne reg. 12.00-20% discount($2.40)=$9.60
Stetson cologne reg. 12.50-20% discount($2.50)=$10.00

On my son's card......$7.99+$9.60+$10.00=$27.59+.04¢tax=$27.63

The new cashier scanned my card BEFORE trying to put my $5Q through so $27 in Bonus Cash I had on that card/account came off automatically.  I put the .63¢ left on a Rite-Aid gift card.
The  cashier gave me $5 cash for my Q and I earned $25 in new Bonus Cash(2 x $10 colognes, $5 lightbulb).  This transaction I came out a bit ahead, $2.37(converted $5 of BCs into cash and that goes into the "Post Q/Refunds/Rebates" envelope in my desk).

I also bought this lot on my card..........

1 x Remfresh=$7.99
2 x Schick razors on sale=$11.98
SubTotal......$19.97

Coupons Used
1 x $5/1 Remfresh IPQ=$5.00
2 x $3/1 Schick razors IPQ=$6.00
Coupon Total........$11.00

$19.97-$11.00=$8.97+.08¢tax=$9.05

An $8 Bonus Cash came off and I paid the $1.05 left with a R-A gift card.  I earned back $7 in new BC(2 x $2 Schick, $3 Remfresh).

Not a moneymaker but pretty cheap for razors, right?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "I Chose a Goofball Dog" Edition--

I just never know what Chester will do next.  The photo above he lugged his bed into to the doorway of his crate and it was practically vertical when he hopped in and went to sleep.

Here the bed is over by the back door and his front end has spilled out of it and he is fast asleep with his head on the floor. lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--Take-Out(Hubs and I only)

2. Monday--leftover Goulash, Harvard Beets

3. Tuesday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Salad or Beets

4. Wednesday--Ham & Cheese Quiche, Brussels Sprouts

5. Thursday--Tacos
6. Friday--Ham & Cheese Omlettes
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Take-Out(Hubs and I only)

2. Monday--Birthday Out

3. Tuesday--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Salad

4. Wednesday--Beef and Broccoli stir-fry, Rice

5. Thursday--Italian Sausage Sandwiches, Harvard Beets
6. Friday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of take-out and 1 night of Eating out.  Monday we all suddenly were going to be home so we did my Birthday meal out. The ham meals didn't happen so they move to this week or the ham goes into the freezer for another time.

2 Trip to Weis, 1 trip to Walmart and 1 trip to Maines restaurant supply(for produce and deli meats mostly)brought the shopping last week to $78.19 for all.  That brings February's food spending total to $78.19.  There are 23 days left in my shopping month.

My savings percentages last week was 46.87% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 46.87%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week.......ham, tuna noodle casserole, beef stroganoff and beef/broccoli stir-fry.

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

1. Sunday--pizza(one homemade, one store bought frozen)  No one was really hungry so these happened and everyone grabbed something else to their liking if they wanted more/different.  It was a strange food day.

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Tacos or Taco Salad

4. Wednesday--Fish, Veg, Potato Salad or ?

5. Thursday--Ham and Cheese Quiche, Salad
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--?

This week will see 4 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers, 0 night of Take-out/Eat-Out and 1 night of ?(who knows at this point lolz).  I am totally uninspired this morning about a meal plan. 
Next Sunday I hope to get back into my Soup Sunday groove.  Any suggestions of what to make?  I've got makings for a Ham and Bean, a Clam Chowder, a French Onion or a Potato Gnocchi(oh wait, I don't have any spinach for that one).

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is salad greens and milk.

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

January To-Do List.....Update

* Pay Bills--DONE  Everything paid in full either on time or a bit early

* Read 1, 2 Books--DONE
I read this one......

Sort of a YA read though quite violent so I wouldn't recommend it to a teen with any sort of "issues".  It was a very well crafted story but didn't make for a good nighttime "before going to sleep" read if you know what I mean.  ;-)

And this one.............

From the author who gave us "The World According to Garp".  John Irving also wrote the screenplay for "The Cider House Rules"(a movie I very much enjoyed).  
I found "The Hotel New Hampshire" a bit "out there".  It was a long novel but highly entertaining.  I hear the movie they made from it was horrendous though and Mr. Irving didn't particularly like the finished product.  This makes me want to watch it though. lolz
I saw this novel in December on a list of 50 novels to read, each novel that takes place in one of the states in the US.  This was the New Hampshire book obviously due to the title(even though this novel takes place in NH, ME, NY and Vienna Austria).  I had it on my bookshelf so I moved it to the top of my reading list for 2018.

* Hold Giveaway--DONE

* Mail Giveaway--DONE  Mailed away and received(and enjoyed).  ;-)

* Load to Sallies'--FAIL  I just need to kick my ass in gear and do this one.  There is a bag of castoffs that's been riding around in Hubs' car's trunk for over a month.  Will definitely do this in February.

* Purge Files--DONE  I went through lots of our files in January and purged old papers that aren't needed any longer.  I had quite a pile to add to what was already in the shred folder.

*Shred Old Papers--DONE 

Generally this is one of Hubs' chores but I got tired of waiting on him to do this so I did it.  Filled a garbage bag too.

* Gather 2017 Tax Info--DONE
I believe we have all the forms now-W2s, assorted 1099s.  I went through and did the bank interest my profits for blog revenue and eBay sales too.  We just need to sit down and fill out the tax forms and see what we are on the hook for to Uncle Sam(that insatiably greedy Uncle!)

* Load to Food Bank--FAIL
I have a load sitting in the living room(plus some in the garage)all bagged up waiting on me to get the motivation(and weather cooperation)to go drop this off. ugh.  It will definitely go in February.

* Get back on my usual Diet--DONE
It only took about a week after New Year's to get back into my usual eating/drinking routine.  Between not as much exercising as in good weather and not restricting calories like I did this Summer I am not losing right now but I am holding steady.  I'll call that a win. 8-)

* Put all Xmas Away--DONE
The Xmas stuff got put away soon after New Years however it didn't get put away correctly(in the wrong places).  Plus a few things were forgotten.  We drug all the boxes out again and repacked and stored everything away in the proper places.....except for the rolls of .50¢ gift wrap I picked up on clearance after it was all stored away. lolz  Hubs just needs to chuck those into the bag on top of the cabinets in the garage when he feels the spirit move him.  ;-)

* Plan possible 2018 Travel--PASS
It's still early in the year so I am giving myself a pass on this one.  We have been thinking and doing a little research and planning but nothing is firmed up yet.  Hubs has a trip later this month to get done.  I trip to LA on house stuff there.  A lot of what we can/will do in the travel realm depends on what transpires on that trip. sigh.  Plus we also have a dog and his needs to consider now when we plan our trips.

* Have Financial Meeting about 2018 w/Hubs--DONE
We had our big money meeting for 2018.  Decisions were made and we'll revisit the 401K withdrawal schedule at the end of March.

* Work on 2018 Goals--PASS
I have a few goals for the year and most of them are big(drop more weight, get healthier, sell house in LA, work on the PA house in prep to sell it).   I need to come up with some smaller, filler goals.  As the year goes on I'll decide on what else to tackle in 2018.

* Work on 2018 Budget--PASS
Again, we came up with a loose budget so far for 2018 in our big money meeting in Jan.  But there are things up in the air still for the year so the budget will be tweaked and realigned as we go forward.

Not bad for January overall.  The two items I didn't do are readily taken care of in February.  Now I have to flesh out the February To-Do List.

Did you meet your goals for January?

Sluggy

Net Worth.....February 1st Update

We have gone from acquisition mode with money into spend-down mode since we are now officially retired here at Chez Sluggy.

Our Net Worth will no longer be growing so I have to stay on top of what we have and where it sits.
I shared where we keep out money and why in the first Post-Retirement Net Worth post HERE.

So here is how the money did in January......

* Checking Account #1 Went up by $5863.09(mostly this was a 401K withdrawal-see accompanying 401K account lose below)
* Checking Account #2  Went up $156.66(blog revenue and Ibotta deposit and interest)
* Savings Account  Went down $1(monthly fee)
* Online Accounts  Went up $80.36(monthly interest)
* Certificate of Deposit  Went up $254.32(monthly interest)
* US Savings Bonds  Went up $22.06(interest)
* Cash on Hand  Went up $38.21(some refunds/post coupons)
* 401K Account  Went down $3925.88(monthly interest earned offset a $6K withdrawal)
* HSA Account  Went down $115.94(We've been using the account in Jan. to pay some deductibles.)
* RMSA Account  Went down $1519.66  (The interest earned on this account offset the healthcare premium reimbursement amount by $293.82 so it didn't go down by the full withdrawal amount of $1813.48.)

Overall we are $2147.78 down from January's Net Worth.  Between the interest on all accounts and income received, weighed against our spending last month,  our holdings sank very little.  It was a good month overall. 8-)

I calculated the eBay sales I had in November and December where I can add that profit to our Net Worth but I forgot to do this(it's still sitting in the Paypal account)so I'll add it into the March Net Worth Update as I'll transfer the $ this month.

I am by no means a financial expert but I'll readily share what worked for us on our financial journey if you have questions.

Did you increase your net worth last month?
Or are you in asset spend down mode(retirement)?
Do you have a retirement plan in place?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......February 2nd Edition

So what frugal wins did we have at Chez Sluggy last week?

* Lots of freebies(and .50¢ jars of spaghetti sauce)from Rite-Aid.

* I used a $5 e-gift card for Amazon to reduce the price for ink cartridges for Hubs printer and used a $5 e-gift card to Walmart to help pay for some groceries I bought.

*  I hit a nice clearance sale on clothing online and it all came this week............

4 x s/s knit nightgowns
2 x s/s rayon buttoned shirts
1 x l/s rayon blend knit tunic
2 x l/s knit shirts
1 x s/s rayon print dress(which I'll have to hem up a mile of it)
All for $114 w/shipping
Finding plus size clothing is almost impossible at a brick and mortar store anymore(and if you can find some it's ridiculously expensive).  All nearly impossible to find at a thrift store(big ladies tend to wear out their clothing and not donate it around here).
I am thrilled with what I got and what I paid.  And thrilled that all of it is a size(or two)smaller than I use to buy. 8-)))

*  I picked up a few groceries on Thursday at Weis(PMITA)Markets.....

Eggland's best eggs are 1/2 off until Sunday night.  I don't usually buy name brand eggs but with a $1/2 Q these came out to .75¢ per carton so the cheapest eggs around these parts for now.(Weis brand are $1.99 dozen here.)
I also picked up 3 packages of ground beef patties 85% lean as they each had a $2 instant discount sticker on them.....

After sticker these were $2.49 lb.
I also saw Weis now carries a cheap brand(Valutime)of milk but in half gallons only.  It's 50¢ less than the Weis brand so that came home with me too.
All in I spent $16.09 at Weis.
I found another Eggland's Q in an insert so I'll get 2 more dozen eggs before that sale ends this weekend.

*  This was dinner on Wednesday evening.  I had put the leftover hunk of Christmas roast in the freezer to use it later.  I took it out and shaved off slices for Wednesday's dinner and made Beef and Broccoli.  I had gotten broccoli crowns for .99¢ lb. this week/last month.

What frugal wins have you had lately?
Keep it frugal and keep it real folks! ;-)

  Sluggy