Rite-Aid Porn on Sunday

Went up to Rite-Aid this morning to get some deals.

First I bought this on my card........

3 x Playtex tampons on sale=$20.97
1 x Colgate toothpaste on sale=$3.99
1 x Oral B toothbrush on sale=$4.00
1 x Crest mouth wash on sale=$4.00
2 x Russell Stover pumpkins on sale=$1.00
SubTotal........$33.96

Coupons Used
1 x $6 wyspend $30 CatalinaQ=$6.00
3 x $2/1 Playtex tampon IPQ=$6.00
3 x $2/1 Playtex tampon In-AdQ=$6.00
1 x $2/1 Colgate In-AdQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Colgate ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Oral B toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Crest mouthwash ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.......$24.00

$33.96-$24.00=$9.86+.14¢tax=$10.10 paid for with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $7 in new Bonus Cash($3 Oral B, $3 Crest, $1 Russell Stover)so "spent down" the BC by $3.10.
I also earned $7.50 in Ibotta rebates(3 x $2.50 Playtex)making me "up" $4.40 overall after cash back.

Then I bought this on daughter's card...........

4 x Suave Pro shampoo on sale=$12.00
4 x Suave kid's shampoo on sale=$12.00
1 x Crest mouthwash on sale=$4.00
1 x Oral B toothbrush on sale=$3.67
2 x Crest toothpaste on sale=$8.00
1 x Colgate toothpaste on sale=$3.99
2 x Russell Stover pumpkins on sale=$1.00
SubTotal.....$44.66

Coupons Used
1 x $4 wyspend $40 CatalinaQ=$4.00
4 x $2/2 Suave In-AdQ=$8.00
4 x .50¢/1 Suave kids item IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Crest mouthwash ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Oral B toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Crest toothpaste ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Colgate toothpaste In-AdQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Colgate toothpaste ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$21.00

$44.66-$21.00=$23.66+.92¢tax=$24.58 paid for with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $21.00 in new Bonus Cash($3 Crest mouthwash, $3 Oral B, 2 x $3 Crest toothpaste, 4 x $2 Suave, $1 Russell Stover)so "spent down" BC by $3.58.

I also earned back $8 in cash rebates through Ibotta($6 Suave, $1 Crest mouthwash-Scope variety, $1 Oral-B toothbrush)making this a $4.42 moneymaker after cash back.

I also noticed my L2CQ for the Crest toothpaste didn't come off so I took the receipt back in with a $1/1 Crest paste ManuQ to substitute for the one that didn't come off and got $1 back in a post coupon situation.....that makes this a $5.42 moneymaker.  ;-)

I'll probably go back later this week if the Playtex rebate is available again on my account and do it on my son's card(along with the pumpkins and some Crest which will be free after sale/Qs/BC).

Now I am off to process some more veggies for canning and the freezer.
What are you up to today?


Sluggy

2018 Food & Toiletries Spending........August Edition

Onward to August's food spending report.......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2018.

I have posted August's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in August.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4-5(3-4 at home this month). No "kids" under 22.

*****************

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $10.50
Value  $38.41
Savings  72.66%

FARM
OOP  $29.60
Value  $73.99
Savings  59.99%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $20.68
Value  $49.87
Savings  58.53%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $5.89
Value  $18.64
Savings  68.40%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PP/BC  $719.77
Value  $719.77
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE
OOP  $138.28
Qs/Ads  $128.83
Value  $267.11
Savings  48.23%

TARGET
OOP  $0.00
Value  $99.29
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $25.68
Value  $48.47
Savings    47.02%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $165.07

Qs/Ads  $198.25

Value  $363.32

Savings  54.54%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Target at 100% and the Bread Outlet at 72,66%.  My worst savings rate was at Walmart at 47.02%.  If your worst savings rate is well over 40% that's great, right? ;-)

I shopped at 9 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket for August..........$398.20

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales...$561.40

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$959.60

TOTAL Savings of ................................58.50%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for August.....$398.20
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales....$1281.09
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid.....$1679.29
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items........76.29%

This closes out the August food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
August was on target spending wise($400)with $1.80 to spare.
Go me!  I was on track to be around $300 in food spending but then some good shopportunities came along and I stocked up on some items for later this year.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went Up by 7.02% in August 2018 to 76.29% compared to July's 69.27% savings average.
The free stuff from Rite-Aid skewers my averages but without R-A I am at 58.50% savings.  So even without R-A we are doing well on the "savings" front.

With 8 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $3469.28 on food/toiletries in 2018 which is a 73.24% savings rate for the year so far and averages out to $438.73 spent per month in 2018.  We are heading back down toward my $400 a month average target again and that's a good thing.

LOOKING AHEAD To September.......
Keeping with a $400 food budget for September.   Hubs and I will be away for a few days in September but otherwise things will carry on as normal.  Maybe I can stay under budget for September.....here's hoping! ;-)

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in August?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?
*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?
*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the August 31st Edition

Happy Labor Day Weekend to everyone!

So let's get to the frugal things that happened this past week at Chez Sluggy.........

*  I went to Weis Markets last Friday and got the freebie plus used a rain check..........

The seltzer was the freebie with a Weis digital coupon.
The ice cream was $2.99 per box with my rain check, plus I had 2 x .75¢ IPQs which each doubled to $1.50.  And I had a digital .75¢/1 Q in my Weis account which also doubled to $1.50 and came off on this order so I got both Ice creams and the seltzer for $1.48 total.

I also earned $2.25 back on SavingStar for buying the ice cream so I got paid .77¢ to bring all 3 home.  ;-)

*  I found some money in the Rite-Aid parking lot.......

A quarter!  This goes into the change pot and will get applied to the grocery budget at the end of the year.

*  Still harvesting garden veggies too......

Not many but I have another photo I haven't taken yet of what's been picked since last Friday.

*  Hubs and I went out for our Anniversary Lunch on Tuesday to Longhorn Steakhouse.  I had an old gift card with $38+ on it and I brought along a $3 off 2 lunches Q.  With tip after Q and gift card our steak lunches cost $13.11 OOP.

*  Hubs and I went to a pick your own farm on Monday and picked all this.......

23 lbs. of tomatoes and 19 lbs. of peppers.
With the corn, cabbage and eggplant we didn't pick but  bought as well it cost $29.60.  Had I bought all that at the grocery stores it would have cost $78 or so OOP.
Just going to the source of fresh produce and doing a bit of the work yourself can save you loads on your food bill.

*  Lots of grocery shopping this week.........

Some of the freebies from Target(using a free gift card to pay).

 Freebies from Rite-Aid(using sales, coupons and Bonus Cash).

Cheap shopping trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets. 

*  I earned cash rebates totaling $19.50 this week on Ibotta and SavingStar.  I love when I get paid to buy stuff!  Those rebates brought down my weekly food spending to $91.13 from $110.63(though I add the rebates back into the food budget at the end of the year, not when earned).

*  Don't know if this is very frugal but I have taken lots of produce(both from our garden and from the farm we visited)and turned them into canned veggies for use this Winter........

Here are 6 quarts of tomatoes(there is another one in the fridge)canned and processed on Wednesday.

And here are 14 pints of my secret recipe Pepper Relish I also processed that day.

Like I said, after you add in all the costs(produce, gas to get to the farm, electricity to can them, other items needed)this might not be frugal but.........
I know what goes into this stuff I can(no preservatives other than lemon juice in the maters)and with the relish, if I didn't make it, we wouldn't have it because you can't buy this stuff in a store, as nobody sells something exactly like it. ;-)

So what frugal wins did y'all have this week?

Sluggy

A Flurry of Food Shopping

I did not mean to spend the whole rest of my August food money this week but.............yep, it happened.

I needed cheese so off to Walmart we went(as they have the best price every day and no real cheese deals were to be had here this week)........

2 x Sparkle pt, 1 x Scott tp, 1 box of Sweet and Spicy tea and 3 x 2 lb. blocks of cheeses came to $25.68 after using coupons too.
I also earned $1.75 in Ibotta rebates on some of this.

Then it was off to Target(twice in two weeks!)since they had cases of water on special........

I got 6 cases of water for $1.69 each, 2 boxes of crackers on sale for $1.87 each, a jar of mayo on sale for $3.00 and 1 packet of chicken w/a 40% Cartwheel was .98¢.
I earned back $2.25 at Target on Ibotta($1.50 mayo, .50¢ chicken, .25¢ for buying any item).

I also bought 2 lbs. of 93/7 ground beef.......

$3 off discount stickers made these $2.69 each.  Not bad for 93%/7% beef.  Even better was I had free gift cards enough left that this was all FREE, zero OOP.
8-)))

I also hit Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday(Senior Discount Day)for a few things and happened upon some clearance deals too.......

2 x Quacker Overnight Oats cup on sale=$3.00(and I had $1 in Qs)
2 x Del Monte peaches cups on sale=$3.54
1 x Tabasco big bottle=$3.39(and I had $1/1 Q)
6 x Snickers bars on sale B2G1Free=$4.00(and I had $3 in Qs)
2 x Tutturosso diced tomatoes on sale=$2.00

And then I found some clearance/discontinued items.....
7 x Tutturosso San Marzano whole tomatoes 50% off $1.14 can
6 x Furmano ground/peeled tomatoes 50% off .83¢
2 x Classico parmesan cheese 50% off  $3.24(cheaper than Kraft even if I had a Q for Kraft)
2 x sugar-free ZZZquil 50% off $2.74 each(and I had $1/1 Qs)

I also found some meat discounts....
1 x cut-up whole fryer chicken 2.97 lb for .71¢ lb after discount sticker
1 x Perdue B/S thighs 1.83 lb for $1.65 lb after discount sticker
1 x package sausages 1.40 lb for $1.56 lb after discount sticker

Grand Total after discounts/clearance and Qs was $55.35.

I also earned back $6.50 in Ibotta rebates($1 Tabasco, .75¢ Del Monte, $1 Quacker, .75¢ Tutturosso, $3 Weekend Warrior-buying 7 items over a certain period of time)so $48.85 after rebates too.

We also went and played field hands on Monday.....one of the hottest/muggiest days of the year.  Not the best planning on our part. lolz
We weren't out in the sun long but it seemed like forever once I had filled that mesh bag and had to haul it across the fields and up a hill back to the farm stand. UGH
We did bring home lots of fresh produce........

Fresh corn-6 ears for $3-which is already gone.

6 Japanese eggplant-3 for $1.

A huge cabbage for $2
23 lbs. of tomatoes at .40¢ a lb.(We picked these.)
19 lbs. of peppers(no green) at .60¢ a lb. (We picked these too.)
$29.60 spent OOP for all this.  Had I bought it all at the grocery store it would have run $73.99 or thereabouts.

I am about shopped and pick your owned out for this week. lolz

The August food budget has $1.80 left in it.  I got some screaming deals and didn't go over budget for the month so I am happy as a pig in sh&t! ;-)

Any good deals in your neck of the woods lately?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Porn for This Week

Here's the R-A haul for this week.
Went to the downtown location while out with Hubs and found that store had the 4 Tums sugar-free containers I needed to finish the $10 Back Digestive Deal.

4 x Tums sugar-free on sale $3.99=$15.96
2 x 4 pack Kleenex on sale $3.99=$7.98
2 x Oxi-Clean on sale $3.99=$7.98
4 x Sally Hansen nail polish clearane priced to $2.49=$9.96
SubTotal.....$ 41.88

Coupons Used
1 x $8 off wys $40 CatalinaQ=$8.00
4 x $2/1 Tums sugar-free receiptQs=$8.00
2 x $1.50/2 Tums ManuQs=$3.00
1 x $1/4 Kleenex bundle ManuQ=$1.00
1 x .50¢/4 Kleenex bundle IPQ=.50¢
2 x $2/1 Oxi-Clean ManuQ=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Oxi-Clean R-A adQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.......$26.50

$41.88-$26.50=$15.38 + .47¢ tax=$15.85 paid for with Bonus Cash
I earned back $21.00 in new BC($10 wys $30 Tums, $1 wyb2 Kleenex, 2 x $5 wyb2 Sally Hansen)so all this was a $5.15 moneymaker.

I found bunches of Sally Hansen nail polish in a clearance bin and these also earn the $5 when you buy 2 Sally Hansen items this week.

I also bought this on a different card at that store.......

3 x lip balm clearance priced to .32¢=.96¢
1 x SH nail clearance priced to $2.24
1 x SH nail clearance priced to $1.99
SubTotal.....$5.19 + .32¢ tax=$5.51 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $5 BC for buying the 2 Sally Hansen nail polish so this transaction "spent down" the BC by .51¢.

I hit my Rite-Aid on the way home and found some E.L.F. brushes, the $1 ones that give $2 in BC when you buy 2.  With the 20% Wellness discount they cost .80¢ so a .40¢ for every 2 you buy after BC earned.
2 x $1=$2-.40¢ Wellness disc.=$1.60 and earns back $2.00 in Bonus Cash.

I got 6 brushes total, 4 on one card and 2 on another card so I am "up" $1.20 in BC on these.


Sluggy