Frugal Friday......the August 17th Edition

Let's take a look around and see what frugal-ness we had here at Chez Sluggy this week..........

* We closed out credit union account.  While not frugal per se, it makes our finances a bit simpler.  We moved the money to an online account via the other brick and mortar bank we use.

*  While at the bank depositing the check, we also cashed in a US Savings Bond as it had matured.  Not point in letting it sit there once it's not earning any interest!

*  Speaking of money...........

I found some more of it!  Two pennies in two different parking lots.

*  While out we hit the bread store for the month......

All this for $10.50.
2 loaves of bread, a pack of bagels, a pack of English muffins, 2 packs of Hawaiian sweet buns, a pack of dinner rolls(can use for sliders), a pack of donuts, 2 bags of stuffing, and 2 bags of spicy chips.
I would have gotten more bread and not the snacky things but at this time of year it's hard to keep bread from going moldy(I just don't have room right now to throw it into the freezer). The chips and stuffing were 2/$1....can't beat that price with a stick. lolz  The muffins were free since I spent $10+.
72.66% savings rate over paying full retail price and we are good on bread now until Sept.

*  I also went back to Weis on Wednesday before the sale week ended and bought this.........

2 more boxes of Tetley tea bags because I found 2 more $1/1 Qs so .99¢ per box and I got a rain check for the classic/reg. variety as they have been out of that all week.  Hopefully I can score some more Qs for it before the rain check expires.

2 OM Deli Fresh lunch meats, on sale for 2/$6 and I had .75¢/1 Qs that doubled to $1.50 off, so $3 off $6=$3 or $1.50 for each package.
We have been eating a lot of BLTs due to the tomatoes ripening fast and furiously here(plus we like BLTs).  I got the deli meat(smoked turkey)so we could have a little variety and have club sandwiches now and then besides the BLTs.  ;-)

 I also bought these........

9 x Snickers B2G1FREE sale=$6.00
3 x 3Musketeers B2G1FREE sale=$2.00
I had 2 x B1G1Free 3Musketeers Qs=$2.00 and 4 x .50¢/2 Snickers Qs(doubled to $1 each)=$4.00.
$8 in candy bars-$6 in Qs=$2 for all 12.  Under .17¢ per bar?  Yes, please!
Of course the 3Musketeers went right into the freezer hiding spot, the Snickers go into the family grab bag/giveaway box prized/the fridge bag waiting on Halloween for trick or treaters.  8-)))


*  We hit a Shursave Market in the adjacent town that takes printed internet coupons(and doubled to $1)because mine doesn't take them.  They had a deal on Chex cereal and I had Qs to use!

3 boxes of Chex were $1.99 when you bought 3.  My .50¢/1 Qs doubled to $1 so .99¢ per box.  Rice Chex, Raisin Bran and multi-grain Cheerios are my favorite cereals.
I also got a turkey breast on their one day sale for .99¢ lb.  I know these will be going on sale closer to Thanksgiving but I don't have any now and wanted to do a turkey meal so it got bought. lolz
I also found 2 good dairy discount sticker deals-those mozzarella blocks had $2 off stickers so where $2.69 per lb./piece and those 4 packs of Greek Yogurt were on sale 2/$3 AND had $1 off stickers on them so .50¢ each package. It's a good thing I like strawberry flavor.  ;-)

*  We continued to pick veggies from the garden and attempt to use them all..........

*  I already blogged about my Rite-Aid scores this week.......

No money spent OOP(just $21.98 in Bonus Cash)and I got back $4.25 in cash rebates for doing all this.(I was able to reload the $2 Pop-Tart rebate so could do it twice.)

And $3.40 of my WAM on all this(Hey! I actually spend MONEY at Rite-Aid this week!).

That's about it for us this week.
And remember, in the words of the Most Frugal Man on the Planet.......

What frugal wins did you have this week?

Sluggy

Spending Some Bonus Cash Down at Rite-Aid

This having to keep on top of three Rite-Aid cards' worth of Bonus Cash which expire after 60 days is just too much work for me right now.
So I am judiciously spending down some BC this week.
I want to get rid of all BC on one card and am aiming for about $20 in BC on each of the other cards.  If that is still too much I'll spend down another card.

So the question is.....What to buy to spend the Bonus Cash down?
The answer is either stuff we need/want and/or stuff to fill Giveaway Boxes.

So here is what I've bought this week.

On Monday I got this..........

2 x Crest toothpaste on sale $4=$8.00
I used 2 Qs-1 $2/1 Crest L2CQ and 1 $2/1 Crest ManuQ so $4 off=$4.00 paid for with BC.
I earned back $4 in new BC so these were straight up free.

Then I bought these for ex-College Boy........

4 x Pop-Tarts on sale $1.99=$7.96
I used a $2/4 Pop-Tarts IPQ(couponsdotcom)=$5.96 paid for with BC.
I earned back $2 in BC AND $2.25 back on Ibotta(.50¢ per box and .25¢ for buying any item at Rite-Aid).
So these "cost" $1.71 in BC once all that is figured in.
I also bought 2 cases of Nestle water(didn't photograph them, sorry).  On sale this week for 2/$6.  I used a $1/2 Nestle water ManuQ so $5 after Q.  It gave back $1 in BC wyb2 so the water spent down $4 in BC.
It's something we needed so I'm ok with this spend down.

It's been about a year since I bought garbage bags and the Big Win bags are double dipping this week-a monthly $3 in BC wyb2 and a weekly $1 in BC wyb2, plus they are on sale 2/$6 this week.
For every $6 you spend/2 you buy, you get back $4 BC back making them $2 a box.  8-)
I thought I was SOL at the first two Rite-Aids but I spied some garbage bags on an end caps side rack at store #2 right about when I had given up hope.

This made my shop $12 so far, and I had some Spend $X/Get $X off your order Catalina Qs that one of my R-A cashiers hooked me up with(people, being in a hurry don't wait to be handed the Catalina Q that prints often times, so the cashiers tuck all those Spend $X/Get $X Off Qs under the register drawer and give them away to deserving customers who "spend" a lot at one time, meaning it's a good thing to make friends with your cashiers.)  8-))
I had a $6 off wyspend $30 Catalina Q so I tried to get to $30.

Single serve bottles of Big Win apple juice are $1 this week, Buy 3/Get $1 BC and double dipping with a Spend $6 on select food/drinks, Get $2 BC back.
So buy 6 bottles, pay $6 in BC and earn back $4 in BC making it $2 OOP for 6 bottles.

I also got two bottles of Summer's Eve wash for $8.  I had 2 x $1.50 IPQs for it so $5 in BC and earned back $2 in new BC.

I got 4 more boxes of Pop-Tarts for ex-College Boy(4 x $1.99=$7.96)and used a $2/4 Pop-Tarts IPQ making those $5.96.

$12+$6+$8+$7.96=$33.96 gave me enough of a total to use the $6 off Cat
Coupons were $6, $2 Pop-Tarts, 2 x $1.50 Summer's Eve=$11.00 off, so $22.96 +.60¢ tax=$23.56

Paid for with BC and earned back $16 in new BC($8 BW trash bags-2 x $1 weekly/2 x $3 monthly,  $4 BW apple Juice-2 x $1 weekly/1 x $2 monthly, $2 Pop-Tarts-2 x $1 monthly, $2 Summer's Eve-1 x $2 wyb2 weekly).

Then I spied a whole box of Butterfingers that are Buy2Get1Free this week with .50¢ off stickers on them.
Let's do the math....
6 Butterfingers on B2G1Free sale(reg. $1.15 each)=$4.60
Deduct $3 in instant discount stickers=$1.60 for all 6 bars makes them just over .26¢ per bar.
Then when I bought 6 the Catalina machine spit out a $1/6 Nestle candy bars(of which Butterfingers are one kind).

So I went back, bought 6 more=$4.60-$3 in instant stickers, used the $1/6 Q so .60¢ OOP for all 6 bars.
And another Catalina Q spit out so 6 more bars, rinse and repeat until there were not 6 bars left.
In total I got 24 Butterfingers and paid $3.40 for all or .14¢+ per bar.
I used some WAM to buy all these and not BC.

We hit another Rite-Aid too and I scored more trash bags one a different card/account.  I also had a Spend $20/Get $4 off your order Catalina too.......

4 x BW trash bags on sale 2/$6=$12.00
4 x Pop-Tarts on sale $1.99=$7.96
6 x BW juice on sale $1.00=$6.00
SubTotal.....$25.96

Coupons Used
1 x $4 wys$20 Catalina=$4.00
1 x $2/4 Pop-Tarts IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$6.00

$25.96-$6.00=$19.96 +.50¢ tax=$20.46 paid with BC.
I earned back $14 in new BC($4 BW juice, $2 Pop-Tarts, $8 BW bags) so spent down this card by $6.46.



Sluggy

Grocery Shopping This Week

I've only made one trip to Weis so far this week.
Here are the best deals I got.......

5 x Tetley tea boxes on sale $1.99=$9.95
I used 5 x $1/1 Tetley IPQs so $5.00 off=$4.95 for all 5 boxes.

3 x Oikos Greek yogurt=$3.00  They were on sale .83¢ wyb12 but I only had 3 x .50¢ Qs so I only got 3 cups.  The Qs each doubled to $1 so all 3 yogurts were free.  I like free..... ;-)

The lobster cakes(like a crab cake)were an impulse buy.  These are usually $6.99 a package.  These two had $3 off Instant stickers on them so $3.99 a package or $1 per cake.  I can splurge at that price.

These items were all part of the .88¢ sale(buy in groups of 8 and pay .88¢ per item).  The green beans are usually $1.50 per bag and everything else is usually $1 or so per item.  I needed these types of pasta and the green beans so overall it was worth picking these up.

I also bought these.....

They were B2G1Free and regularly $1 at Weis so $4 for all 6.
I had a B1G1Free Musketeers Q and a .50¢/2 Snickers Q which doubled to $1 so $2.00 off making it $2 for all 6 bars.  I love a frozen 3 Musketeers bar when it's hot out so those went right into the freezer(hidden behind stuff so the kids don't steal them).
And yes, I can be a Saucy Savage Princess.....what of it?  lolz


I was also out hitting Rite-Aid today but I'm too tired to write that up just now.  Maybe tomorrow.

Sluggy

The Weather is Odd This Summer

Gosh it has been raining here almost non-stop since late June.
I do believe we had 4 days without rain in July!
So far in August maybe 1 day?  Wednesday it's suppose to clear finally.....before raining again on Thursday. lolz

Of course all this rain means all the rivers/streams/creeks around here are overflowing their banks such that, this area made the national news yesterday

All the towns and counties around us seem to be flooding out or having flash flooding.  One town in the county South of here has been hit three times since Spring with flash floods.  Surprisingly the only river that hasn't overflowed into banks is the Susquehanna, which is the one river that is the usual suspect around here, flooding the valley and the large city to our North.
We are fine in my teeny tiny town(except maybe over by the trailer park here).  If my town ever floods out you'd ALL better start building an ark because we are located on a mountain! lolz

The plants are loving the rain since we had a very dry May and June.
Speaking of plants, this is the view out my living room windows........

The front of the house gets full sun most of the day and the tomato plants we planted at the back of the front flower bed are as tall as me now(not that that's very tall lol).

We harvested a nice load on Sunday out in the garden........

This lot was 16.35 lbs.
In all we've harvested 58.67 lbs. of veggies this Summer.

The back garden bed is starting to wind down a bit now(except for tomatoes).  We've had deer visitors recently.........

The morning glory vines have been munched on at the three foot or higher level......

Plenty of morning glories left for both the wildlife and us.

And over on the shady side of the yard where the pine trees are are these.........

Lots and lots of toadstools........

The whole side of the house is covered with fungi.  Hubs even saw a squirrel when he was out there working on something eating a mushroom.
I did not know that squirrels ate them.
But evidently, after watching lots of Youtube vids, they do..........



Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Lots of Veggies to Use Up Now" Edition--

I grabbed this off of someone on Facebook.  It made me laugh hard! lolz
It also made be think of you McVal.  8-)))

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--Hot Dogs on Rolls, leftover Macaroni Salad(Hubs can handle this)

2. Monday--Pizza, Fried Zucchini(If I can get ex-College Boy to make the zuke)

3. Tuesday--Tacos or Taco Salad(Hubs can handle this)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers, Squash and Onions(Hubs can handle this, at least the leftovers part)

5. Thursday--Chicken and Dumplings(If I am well enough to traipse downstairs)

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Hot Dogs on Rolls, leftover Macaroni Salad

2. Monday--Pizza(Hubs got take-out)

3. Tuesday--Tacos or Taco Salad(Hubs made this.)

4. Wednesday--Fried Zucchini

5. Thursday--Meatloaf in the freezer, Squash and Onions, Garlic Mashed Taters

6. Friday--leftover Eggplant Parm, Tomato and Cuke Salad
7. Saturday--Mexican Stuffed Zucchini

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 0 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of Take-Out or Eating Out.  
Since I was bedridden for 3 days Hubs handled dinner(and I told him what to make/do).  He did Sun, ordered a pizza on Mon, Tues, the daughter handled Wed and some of Thurs.
The chicken and dumplings didn't happen obviously so it moves to this week.

Two trips, one to each of Weis and the Shursave Markets brought the weekly food spending to $24.99 and the monthly total to $85.43.
I have 18 days left in my shopping month for August and have $314.57 left in the food budget to spend this month.

My savings percentage last week was 35.20%(without Rite-Aid trips)and August's monthly savings total comes to 48.52% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......

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

1. Sunday--Pork Chops, Squash Casserole, leftover Fried Zucchini(Daughter cooking)

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner(Meat, Eggs, Waffles)

3. Tuesday--BLTs

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Ham and Zuke Quiche, Tossed Salad

6. Friday--Something on the Grill, Tomatoes
7. Saturday--Chicken and Dumplings

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 1 nights of leftovers/FFY, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.
Using up garden veggies this week(squash casserole, Waffles, Quiche, Salads)or freezing them.  Only running the oven 2 nights(for casserole and quiche)and those will give us leftovers.  I may make a cake while the oven is on for the quiche too.

What needs buying for this menu? Half and Half for the quiche.  I am waiting until later in the week to make/serve this as half and half is going on sale at Weis. ;-)  I'll be picking up some loss leaders and almost freebies w/Qs.  Other than that I have all the meats but just have to dig something out of the freezer to grill.

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