Our Trip too Maine August 2016....Part 2

* Part One of our Summer Trip to Maine is HERE

We slept well(after the party next door broke up).  No a/c needed usually in Maine in August(except for a 2 week stretch that month from past experience)and the motel had no a/c anyway.  This motel is on a small island and the ocean bay breezes plus a room fan are enough to keep you cool most days/nights.

So what did we do on our first full day in Maine?

 Well we drove back over all those bridges back to the mainland to town to pick up some provisions.
The motel did not provide a free breakfast.  They had juice and coffee only.
We hit Dollar Tree and Walmart and picked up some snacks, fruit and drinks.

I did however leave this questionable item in the store.....Larry the Cable Guy endorsed frozen Biscuits & Sausage Gravy.
Ick.  Note the "open GRUB here" tab on the package. lolz

We saw a Goodwill store in town so we decided to wander around in there since we had time to kill before our big activity of the day.

This is one of the strangest items I've ever seen in a thrift store.  A handmade miniature replica of Stonehenge.
WTF?!?

I also saw a really big teapot that declared that "one cup is never enough".
Indeed.
Truer words were never spoken.....

We decided to head back onto the island for an early lunch as we hadn't had breakfast.

 Some spare floating dock pieces along the side of the road.

 A cute little old fashioned schooner bobbing in the water.(More on that boat later.)

A big passenger ferry cruising through the bay.

 We decided to have lunch at Cook's Lobster House Restaurant in Garrison Cove on Bailey's Island.  It's been here since 1955.  It began life as a take-out shack like so many others that dot the coast of Maine, started by Maurice Cook.  By the time I spent Summers around these parts it was a full fledged restaurant.  New folks bought the place the year before our visit and renamed it Cook's Lobster & Ale House.  (Ale Houses are just so trendy now.)

 We sat in the "pub" aka the bar and ordered a seafood lunch.

 Of course, because it's now an "Ale House" Hubs had to get a flight of local brews.

Here's me and my new BFF.  I wonder what this fella weighed when he was caught? lol

So after eating we had to hurry down to the shore.  Hubs had to move the car and then we walked over to the wharf.

This was where we got on that schooner I showed you before.......

Because our activity for that day was to take a cruise on a old fashioned schooner sailing ship.
Pretty cool, huh?

I have been on a lobsterman's boat before(one of the local actors at the Summer theatre also was a lobsterman)but never a wooden schooner......well except for that time when I was little and they had a replica schooner in the Norfolk Botanical Gardens which was part of a pirate adventure deal for kids.

We booked a 2 hour cruise on Schooner ALERT.

I love this shot I took on board.

More on the schooner cruise next time.


Sluggy

It's All About the Bass, er Bonus Cash

I have figured out that pretty much I can never spend down all my Plenti Points as long as I have Bonus Cash.
I am trained to just buy items at Rite-Aid that are A-on sale, B-give a reward(now it's called BC), and C-have coupons for the item.  Using this formula I have gotten so much merchandise at Rite-Aid for free or pennies on the dollar.

But currently, the way their system works at R-A, "my" system utilized within their system will never let me spend Plenti Points.
As soon as you scan your Wellness card, the register takes off Bonus Cash on your card to put toward the total you owe OOP.  Cashiers are now ringing up items, then scanning through your paper coupons BEFORE they scan your card(to avoid having to do "post coupons" for every single paper coupon if you have coupons to apply but have lots of Bonus Cash too.  Doing transactions this way also means whether your Load2CardQs come off appropriately is a crapshoot too, but that's another problem.

For me, it means I have problems spending accumulated PPs on my cards/accounts.
So what I need to do is plan transactions that spend down my Bonus Cash temporarily until I use up my PPs.

This point was driven home to me on Saturday at Rite-Aid.  I went in to pick up an Rx and saw they restocked the Arm and Hammer laundry tabs and scent boosters.  I had a $3 off wyb $15 Catalina I didn't get to use on Wednesday since the new cashier didn't know when/how to scan it for my order that I wanted to use and one of the "pro" cashiers was manning the register so it was the opportunity to now use it if I could come up with a transaction on the fly.

Here is what I put together........

4 x Arm and Hammer laundry tabs on sale=$7.96
4 x Arm and Hammer scent boosters on sale=$7.96
2 x GE led light bulbs on sale BOGOFree=$7.99*not pictured*
2 x Nature's Truth Turmeric bottles on sale BOGOFree=$18.99
(I bought the chocolate candy hearts separately later.)
SubTotal.....$42.90

Coupons Used
4 x $1/1 Arm/Hammer laundry tabs ManuQ/IPQs=$4.00
4 x $1/1 Arm/Hammer scent booster ManuQ/IPQs=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Nature's Truth item ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total........$10.00

$42.90-$10.00=$32.90

When the cashier scanned my card, I had a $5/1 GE led lightbulbs L2CQ that did NOT come off but $31 in Bonus Cash attached to this card DID come off(2 x $10, $8, $3), leaving 2 x $2 and $5 in BC on that card.

If the L2C had come off then my total owed would have been $27.90 and a different combination of BC could have come off totaling $27($10/$8/$5/$2/$2), leaving me owing .90¢ on my R-A gift card and leaving $3/$10 in BC on that card.
At any rate, this proved to me that your BC is NOT being used oldest first, then newer ones earned(with longer times until expiration)but whatever combination the computer sees fit to use to get close to your total owed.  Basically you the customer has NO control over what BC gets used!

So after putting the $1.90 owed after BC came off on my R-A gift card(still couldn't use any PPs for this as the remainder was under $2)I saw that the light bulb Q hadn't come off.
Plus the cashier didn't put my $3 off wyb $15 Catalina as that would have meant having to scan the Wellness card first(the register won't take off Catalina spend X/get X without a Wellness card first and then having to do a "post coupon" for ALL the other coupons.....and the L2C still may not have come off.

In the end I used $31 in Bonus Cash, $1.90 on my Rite-Aid gift card and I got $15 in new Bonus Cash(I bought $42.90 in qualifying Bonus Cash items so over $40 threshold to receive $15 in BC).

So after I finished the transaction, the cashier gave me $3 back in cash for the SpendX/GetX catalina doing a "post coupon".

Then when I went over my receipt I saw the L2C for the light bulb didn't come off(and a cashier can't fix that and give you money back for it)so I returned them.
The register made the cashier give me back cash for that return, $8.47, even though I hadn't used but $1.90 in cash/gift card AND told her to return .48¢ in tax in that amount back, even though I hadn't been charged any tax on the transaction when it rang up the first time.
Huh???
I guess the system at R-A doesn't like/want to give money back as Bonus Cash even if you used some?
And the $15 I earned on this transaction?  Even though I returned the lightbulbs, as of this morning, I still have that $15 BC in this card's account.

Hmmm, I see lots of folks buying and returning stuff in the future if the system doesn't take back the BCs earned and gives you cash instead.  There will be a flood of folks converting Bonus Cash to actual cash in this way.

I just don't know....this whole new system baffles the mind and any sort of logical thinking. lolz

You'll notice, in the receipt above, this card has $98.22 in Plenti Points still attached to it and even though I've used it a number of times since the new BC system came into being I haven't been able to spend ANY of it down since the cash due is always under the $2 threshold for using PPs.

So now I have these BC amounts on this card....2 x $2, $5, $15(in order of when they were earned).

Oh, and I remembered to get those free heart chocolates before leaving the store........they were 2/$1 and I had a $1/2 Load2CardQ loaded on this card/account, so free chocolate.  8-)))

I left Rite-Aid Saturday with all the things in the photo above, spent $31 in BC/got $15 in new BC and $11.47 in cash in my pocket.  Technically I "spent down" my BC when all was said and done by $6.43(well technically $4.54 in BC and $1.90 in R-A gift card monies).

So basically I'll need to spend down to zero all the Bonus Cash on each card, then use up the Plenti Points on each card and try to earn new BC on the last transaction I have where I am spending down my PPs even though this goes against every fiber in my being. ;-)
Got that?
Good.

And this is how I have to keep track of the Bonus Cash......

A sheet of paper where I put down what I earn in appropriate amounts and scratch off what I use.
You are suppose to be able to log into your Wellness account on the R-A website and all your BC earned are at the top of you list of Load2Card coupons(when you go to L2C area)but........A-people are not having some BC show up there(even though if you get your cashier in the store to check after scanning your Wellness card they do show up on their screen)and B-if you have duplicate BC of the same amount(you've earned more than say, 1 $3 BC)only 1 of each amount shows up on your account on the R-A website).  Using pen and paper I can see at a glance what's left AND more importantly which one is expiring sooner so I can craft a transaction to use that one before it can no longer be used.  If you are participating in the Bonus Cash thing and you don't shop at R-A often(at least a couple times every 2 months), you could be in jeopardy of not using your BC in time before it expires now as BC is only valid for a 2 month window of time.

There was a young mother with her daughter who is a new coupon user playing the drugstore game and also new to R-A's BC system who was checking out at the register next to me on Saturday and things were not going well with her.  I overheard that she thought she had a $20 BC on her card/account but it didn't come off and she said nobody else would have used her card and used that $20 BC and she hadn't used it yet.  The cashier even checked her card/account on the register and didn't see a $20 BC there.  That customer was NOT happy!   Totally possible she used it already and didn't remember ,but at any rate, it shows you need to stay on top of your game especially as this BC system still has lots of kinks in it that need working out.

And if you read all the ways down to here, you must need help learning the new Rite-Aid system or are a masochist or you need a life as much as I do.  ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Wacky Winter Weather" Edition--

The photo above it was a typical Winter in the Poconos where we use to live looked like.  This was taken standing in our circular driveway from about 20 feet away from the house The high "pile" on the right?   One of our cars is actually under all that snow. lolz
Ah the good old days.....

We don't get nearly as much snow at our current location in PA but we do get a whopper storm every couple of years.
Last week has been crazy Winter weather with it not knowing what it wants to do.  Cold a couple of days then it warms up, snow melts and then it rains some?  It was 50F degrees here last night!  The yard is now officially a swamp.  It's suppose to hit almost 60F degrees later this week, at which time the yard will be Lake Poop(since Daughter never cleans up after her dog and the dog is large and poops three times a day!lol).

So all you folks who get a few inches of snow each Winter, I don't want to hear the bellyaching. ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

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--?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--pizza(one homemade, one store bought frozen) or FFY

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Tacos or Taco Salad

5. Thursday--Salmon, Au Gratin Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts
6. Friday--Manicotti in Sauce, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers of Fend For Yourself

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 night of take-out and 0 nights of Eating out. 

1 trip to Weis and 1 trip to Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!),brought the shopping last week to $65.78 for all.  That brings February's food spending total to $143.97.  There are 16 days left in my shopping month.

My savings percentages last week was 58.80% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 53.08%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week.......some ham chunks, beef stroganoff, manicotti(2) and a little taco beef.  I've put the rest of the ham chunks into the freezer(except for some for Sun. and Tues. night's meals).  All the leftovers will be eaten as lunches as there isn't enough of any of them to be dinners.

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

1. Sunday--ham and cheese quiche

2. Monday--hot dogs on rolls, beans

3. Tuesday--ham and bean soup, cornbread

4. Wednesday--leftovers

5. Thursday--chicken fajitas
6. Friday--Italian pork roast, potatoes, onions and carrots
7. Saturday--leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers, 0 night of Take-out/Eat-Out.  I am trying to get my soup mojo back though it didn't happen on Sunday this week(Tues. will be soup night for now).

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is some chicken breast and carrots as I am all out of those items.  I dug through the freezer and there is no chicken in there.  I'll go out there the day it hits 60F and look more closely for some chicken but until then I ain't spending that sort of time in the garage! lolz

The pork roast, hot dogs and ham bone along with some frozen veg to have with the hot dogs are in the freezer.  Baked beans, corn bread and pie crust(quiche)makings in the pantry, potatoes and onions in the root cellar and peppers in the fridge.

I shouldn't have to spend much this week at the stores and hopefully I WON'T! ;-)

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

Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway......February Edition

February means it's time for the second Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for 2018.
February is zooming by so let's have a giveaway.  This box includes toiletries, some Winter Cold/Flu Season goodies(vitamins/sanitizer/OTC medicine)as well as the always popular-chocolate and candy!
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.

1 x Aquaphor lotion(sample size)
1 x Garnier cleansing face scrub
1 x Centrum vitamins(2 pack)
1 x Suave Infuobitussin cough + chest congestion DM medicine
1 x GE LED lightstick bulbs(2 pack of 75W)
1 x Purell hand sanitizer
1 x Crest Pro-Health toothpaste(mint)
1 x Sally Hansen nail gloss(lavender)
1 x Oral-B toothbrush(battery powered)
1 x Bic Comfort 3 razors
1 x Conair ColorVibes hair brush
1 x Listerine dental floss
9 x Lindt chocolate Truffles(assorted flavors)
1 x Twizzlers candy(strawberry)
1 x Almond Joy candy bar

Over $70 in regular retail of goodi
Closeup shots of the goodies up for grabs......

I'll leave this giveaway open until Wednesday, February 21st at 11:59pm Eastern Time, so that gives everyone 10 days to enter this one.  On February 22nd  I'll mark all the valid entries and use Random dotorg to pick a number and that corresponding person's entry wins.

*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......something like what here is the thing you most want to win, if you like the cold, if you like to do Winter sports, how cold is it usually where you live....stuff like that.

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

Frugal Friday.....February 9th Edition

Not much to report in on this week, but here it goes.........

*  Hubs and I used a voucher for a local Mexican restaurant on Monday for lunch.  The tab came to $4.91 more than the voucher and adding in the tip the meal cost me $10 of my WAM.

Speaking of WAM.....This how much WAM I ended January with--$130.  Add in my $100 Feb. allotment and subtract the $10 I spent on Monday for lunch and I'm down to $220 to spend this month(as any leftovers are rolled into the next month.  Hubs however never has any leftovers.  I am sure Hubs is down to his last $50 for February by now. lolz

*  A trip to Rite-Aid on Wednesday which netted me $7.50 in cash rebates on this haul.

*  Other than grocery shopping(shopping loss leaders and a few needs)and lunch out on Monday no other spending happened.....if you don't count the 5 books I bought at Ollie's(the cost of which-$12.70-will come out of my WAM).  There were a few food items clearance priced at Ollie's I picked up too.....

2 boxes of Archer Farms(target brand)K-Cups for $1 each.  75% off
3 bags of Aunt Jemima cornmeal for .25¢ each.  75% off
The cornmeal will go into the freezer until needed and should yield quite a few pans of cornbread.

And I already showed the discontinued dish soap score at Weis.......

.62¢ a bottle.

*  We don't "do" Valentine's day here.  Having said that those Russell Stover chocolate hearts are 2 for $1 and there are $1/2 Load2CardQs valid until Saturday on our 3 cards.  I've gotten 2 hearts already on one card and will go back before the Qs expire to pick up 4 more chocolate hearts for free.  All my folks living here will get a couple of choccies from me.  8-))

*  We have no plans to go out anywhere this weekend.  Staying home saves money on gas for the car at the very least.  We'll find ways to have "fun" at home.   Maybe I'll pull some fabric from my stash and start work on that buffet topper/runner I want to make.  ;-)

What's been going on in your frugal world lately?

Sluggy