Frugal Friday.....the October 5th Edition

This is the Sluggy & Kim edition of Frugal Friday.
There was lots of $pending this past week but there were a few "wins".........

*  We ate breakfast at the motels and at the cottage in Canada, we bought food and ate there, only going out to eat when we didn't have cooking facilities in our room.

*  We shared a rental car.

*  We also a couple times shared a room at night to save money.

*  We snacked for 1 meal per day along the way(a Mickey D's stop or snacks from a convenience store, etc.), only eating out for a late lunch/early dinner.

*  We did lots of free activities(to offset all the ones that we had to pay the Big Bucks for)whenever possible.

*  I've been accumulating the tiny shampoos and soaps, etc. along the way on the trip.....

I just never knew given the level of accommodations what we would find in the rooms.

*  No groceries were bought as part of our regular food budget.  The few items bought went under the travel budget.

*  Most souvenirs were of the consumable kind.  Exceptions were a bag I bought(on sale for 25% off and CDN $s so cheaper than US $s).  And a few things Kim bought for Christmas presents.

*  We did NOT get arrested by Border Patrol, though Kim and I tried out best at times, which saved on bail money and lawyer costs.

*  That bag mentioned above was also paid for with Canadian dollars I've had in a drawer since my last trip to Canada in 2003.

*  We hopped over to Maine to buy groceries instead of paying through the nose at Canadian stores for the very same items.

*  We stopped at Rite-Aid on Wellness Wednesday and did some shopping using coupons and sales and cash rebates.

*  We laughed a LOT and enjoyed each others company.....and I didn't kill Kim, especially in the mornings when she was so, so perky.


As always, follow the advise of the Most Frugal Man in the World...........

What frugal wins did you have this week?

Sluggy

You Can't Loan Yourself Out of Debt....Period!

** This will be the last post for a few days.  The blog will be going dark while I am in the land of Moosies and Maple Leaves.  See everyone on Sunday.....maybe.  ;-) **

Among the many, many spam comments I get I've gotten this one a few times lately........the ID links to a bogus User ID and I have X'ed out the email and phone info.

Karen BrownMay 20, 2018 at 2:30 PM

I AM FINALLY FREE FROM FINANCIAL BONDAGE THANKS TO MOORE LOAN COMPANY(XXXXXXX@yahoo.com).

Good day everyone,I can’t hide this great testimony that took place in my life I will love everyone to know it and be a partaker of this, that is why I want to share it to the whole world by placing this advert on classifieds, I am Mrs Karen Brown by name, I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee United State, I want to thank ROBBINSON MOORE for his kindness upon my family life, I never knew that there is still a sincere and trustworthy lender like this on the internet and on earth. Just some days I was in search for a loan of $ 100,000.00, As I was running out of money for feeding, School fees, My business was really going out of capital and my rent. I was scammed about $15,000.00 dollars and I decided not to involve my self in such business again. But a Friend of mine introduced me to a loan firm due to my appearance and doings and also my complains to her. And I told her that I am not interested in any loan deal anymore but she told me that there is still a sincere lender who she will recommend me to, And she gave me the details of this man who is called MOORE ROBBINSON. And I really put a trial and I am most greatful and lucky today, I was given a loan amount of $95,000,00 Dollars by this great firm MOORE LOAN COMPANY. If you are in need of a genuine, Sincere, durable and a truth worthy loan lender or financial assistance and also you know you can be reliable and trusted, capable of paying back at the due / duration time of the funds I will advice you to send your contact to them via email [XXXXXX@yahoo.com] OR Text (XXX) XXX-XXXX .

A comment was posted to This Site about loan scams--it's the same spammer message under a different name.

This moron below doesn't understand that the post was about scams and scammers and people were posting scammer messages/hooks so everyone could avoid these slime balls.

She(or whoever it really is)posted her loan scam schpeil.....unreal.

Posted By: luis Root

MOORE LOANS SAVE ME WHEN THERE WAS NO HOPE {XXXXXX@yahoo.com}

Hello everyone in this forum, I am Luis Root from USA, I cannot believe that God really exist not until i was Redeemed and saved from Financial bondage.. l was into financial crisis and needed to pay some bills. l tried seeking help from banks but all to no avail,l also tried seeking help from the internet only to meet scammers who pretended to be private lender and made away with my $15000 and did not get my loan, not until GOD introduce me to Moore Robbinson through a friend who was rescued from financial problem and a loan of $100,000.00 was granted to him by Moore Robbinson, so l took his advise and contacted Moore Loan Company and in the space of one week my loan of $200000 was granted to me.so my advise to everyone seeking for loan at low interest rate of 2% .l am doing this because l am so happy am out of financial bondage and am once again full of joy and life is easy all thanks to GOD and Moore Robbinson. You can contact Moore Loan Company via {XXXXXX@yahoo.com} OR Text (XXX) XXX-XXXX.,..,.

 30th, September 2017

How anyone falls for this stuff is beyond me.

Nobody is going to give you a $200K or $100K unsecured loan! lolz

And for goodness sakes,  getting a LOAN is NOT going to get you out of "financial bondage".  A loan IS financial bondage!!!

This particular scam seems to be they take all your personal information(yikes!)and then ask for a fee to take out the loan, which they cash and you never hear from them again.

Please don't fall for this sort of tomfoolery!

And another thing........Every time I'm in the car and turn on the radio I hear all these ads by local banks touting their great low rate loans.  They go by different euphemisms......"lifestyle loans", "Summer loans", "toy loans". 
But the best one I hear around the Holidays on the local radio stations that tells you YOU CAN pay for Christmas by getting X bank's Holiday Loan.  No you are NOT paying for Christmas.....you are just kicking the paying for it all into the new year by getting a loan.

If you can't afford your lifestyle then you are living beyond your means.  If you can't afford a Summer thing(vacation, ATV, boat, etc.)or a "toy" then you don't need it.  Seriously, the greedy lenders play to people's sense of "Everyone else has X, I deserve it too!".

Don't be a sheep folks!
Who cares what the Jones' have and do.

Live the life you want, WANT the life you live.

Sluggy

3rd Quarter Review...Small Finances

So we are three quarters of the way through 2018.
How did that happen so fast?? lolz

I went through the various small pots of monies and here is where it all stands as of September 30th.
I save up all my rebates/spare change/refunds to apply toward the food bill in December.
(I don't put monies from things I sell during the year into this kitty.)

*  The spare change was rolled and counted September 27th......

$39.00 to put toward the food budget come December.  Now that Hubs isn't working and doesn't have as much WAM we don't get as much change accumulating at Chez Sluggy.  I rolled $15.50 from Hubs' change cup but he wanted the bills($15)and let me have the .50¢ roll of pennies so I only had .50¢ to add to my spare change stash this quarter. 8-(  I guess since 95% of the spare change in the cup is from his WAM it IS his to keep.

*  Here are the current cash rebate app totals for 2018 thru the end of September.......
   Ibotta  $170.33
   Checkout 51  $6.75
   Savingstar  $57.15
A total of $234.23 in cash rebates to put toward food spending in December.

*   My Weis Refund envelope has $25.75 in it.

*   My Rite-Aid Post Q/Refund envelope has $146.48 in it.

Altogether I have $445.46 at the 3/4 point in the year to apply toward food spending in December.  Since my normal monthly food budget is $400 per month I can cover all the December food shopping!!  Even is I go over a bit I'm good.  8-)))

*   Not part of the grocery monies but my leftover WAM from the first 9 months of the year came to $586.00.
That was until Kim showed up and we hit the road.  I fear my WAM accumulation will change significantly once this trip is over.......

Do you keep track of small streams of cash you receive?
Do you ear mark any of it for something special?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Kim Goes to Bean's" Edition--

We arrived in Maine on Saturday night.  Had dinner with my cousin and her husband.  Last night around 7 pm I initiated Kim into "Bean's".....known to the world as L. L. Beans.  Around these "pahts" it's just Bean's.
More fun to come.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--Hamburgers on Rolls w/Tomato, Fries

2. Monday--Fish, Mac and Cheese, Brussels Sprouts

3. Tuesday--Beer Brats, Grilled Onions, Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Tacos

5. Thursday--BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw

6. Friday--Eating Out
7. Saturday--Eating Out

1. Sunday--Hamburgers on Rolls w/Tomato, Fries

2. Monday--Fish, Mac and Cheese, Brussels Sprouts

3. Tuesday--Beer Brats, Grilled Onions

4. Wednesday--Tacos

5. Thursday--BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw

6. Friday--Eating Out(I had Chowder and Greek Salad)
7. Saturday--Eating Out(I had whole belly fried clams-unfortunately)

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 0 night of leftovers/fend for yourself/tv dinners, 2 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.
Most of what was planned happened.  

One trip to Weis, a trip to Dollar General and another somewhere I can't recall now brought the weekly food spending to $67.56 and brought the monthly total to $486.35.
I have 0 days left in my shopping month for September and I am over the food budget by $86.35.  I think I'm done. lolz  I need to get some things this week, plus I found my Walmart receipt from earlier in the month that I didn't record(sigh)so I am hoping to stay under $500 now for the month,which happened.
Go me! hehehe

October will be all about being austere with the budget and using up what we have and buying very little grocery shopping other than milk, fresh produce.  I've got to reign it in for a month and October will be that month!  Usually there are no great grocery store deals around here in Oct. and things heat up in November for holiday deals and food buying.

My savings percentage last week was 58%(without Rite-Aid trips)and September's monthly savings total came to 76.34%(w/R-A).

Leftovers going into this week......barbecue, rolls, Cole slaw, taco meat, taco shells(I think it's still left, can't check as I am not home with the kids and doggies right now.)

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

1. Sunday--Eating Out

2. Monday--Eating Out

3. Tuesday--Eating Out

4. Wednesday--Eating Out

5. Thursday--Cooking a Shore Dinnah

6. Friday--Eating Out
7. Saturday--Eating Out

This week will see 1 new meals cooked, 0 nights of leftovers/FFY, 6 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.
How's THAT for easy?! lolz

What needs buying for this menu?  Shore dinner ingredients(lobsters, clams-maybe not clams at this point, mussels, corn, maybe potatoes).  No other food shopping will happen this week I can safely say. ;-)

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

Food & Toiletries Spending 2018......the September Edition

* I won't be doing anymore food spending this month so I'm posting this a bit early.*

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2018.

I have posted September'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 September.  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(4 at home this month). No "kids" under 22.

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

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $10.00
Value  $41.31
Savings  75.80%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $38.94
Ads/Qs  $45.00
Value  $83.94
Savings  58.55%

GIANT
OOP  $19.11
Value  $79.74
Savings  76.03%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $54.65
Value  $108.58
Savings  49.67%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $965.93
Value  $965.93
Savings  100%

SURPLUS OUTLET
OOP  $34.40
Value  $67.67
Savings  49.17%

WALMART
OOP  $17.67
Value  $31.27
Savings   43.49%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $311.58

Qs/Ads  $366.35

Value  $677.93

Savings  54.04%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Giant at 76.03% and the Bread Outlet at 75.80%.  My worst savings rate was at Walmart at 43.49%.  If your worst savings rate is well over 40% that's great, right? ;-)

I shopped at 8 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket for September..........$486.35

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales............$604.09

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$1090.44

TOTAL Savings of ................................58%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for August.....$486.35
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales....$1570.02
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid.....$2056.37
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items........76.35%

This closes out the September food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
September's spending was off the rails.  I spent $86.35 more than my $400 food budget.
We have the money for it so it's not like it's a problem for our finances though.  I just take money from another area in September where we were under budget.  If I had to dip into savings to cover this overage or if I spent the money foolishly and didn't get great value for my dollars this would be serious.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went Up by .06% in September 2018 to 76.35% compared to August's 76.29% savings average.
The free stuff from Rite-Aid skewers my averages but without R-A I am at 55.40% savings.  So even without R-A we are doing well on the "savings" front.

With 9 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $3955.63 on food/toiletries in 2018 which is a 73.66% savings rate for the year so far and averages out to $439.51 spent per month in 2018.  We crept back up away from my $400 per month average for the year in September.

LOOKING AHEAD To October.......
October is looking like an austere grocery spending month.  Except for those items we run out of every week(milk, fresh produce, fresh fruit, etc.)we are well stocked so I am going to try to put the brakes on food spending this month, or do what others call a Pantry Challenge.  I am not a fan of these things(since they just trigger in me a response that makes me want to spend more lol)but I am going to try to not grocery shop beyond the immediate essentials.  No stocking up in October.  This might work since October is typically when there are few food deals around in my area......the lull before the November/December holiday deals.
Except for the Shursave Market which runs a Thanksgiving Promo starting in early Oct.(You spend on anything in the store and accumulate points toward a Turkey Day gift certificate-not a free turkey.  Depending on your spending level you get either a $10 or a $20 certificate between early Oct. and early Nov.)
Since I typically don't spend the bulk of my food dollars at this chain I hardly ever earn even the $10 certificate but I feel compelled to spend $ there at the last minute to "catch-up" and earn that cert....even though it's really NOT a great deal to do so.

We'll see how October plays out.  ;-)

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 September?
*  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