Rite-Aid Pillaging This Week

I went to Rite-Aid on Sunday and bought this on Daughter's card...........

2 x Suave shampoo on sale=$5.00
I used a $3/2 Suave L2CQ so paid $2.00 in Bonus Cash for it.
I earned back $2 back in new BC.
Except......
besides the $3/2 Suave L2CQ came another $1/1 Suave L2CQ came off as well so I paid $1.06(w/sales tax)in BC and earned back $2 in BC.

Then I bought this on my card on Tuesday when I went to pick-up some Rxs.....

1 x Robitussin on sale=$5.99
2 x R/S candies on sale=$1.00
SubTotal......$6.99

I used a $3/1 Robitussin IPQ so paid $3.99 in Bonus Cash.
I earned back $1 in new BC(wyb2 Russell Stover candies).
I also earned a $3 cash rebates on SavingStar for buying the Robitussin so converted $3 of BC to cash on that card.

On Wellness Wednesday I bought this.........

The single sample pack of Tena undies was free on the Wellness table as well as a small tube of Advil which is not in the photo.

1 x Tena undies pack on sale=$11.99
1 x Unstoppables on sale=$3.99
1 x large bottle of arthritis strength acetaminophen 20% Wellness disc.=$11.99
1 x Alka-Seltzer sleep gummies 20% Wellness disc.=$7.99
1 x Lipton tea bags 20% Wellness disc.=$3.59
1 x Lipton decaf tea bags 20% Wellness disc.=$3.83
2 x Russell Stover sugar-free candies 20% Wellness disc.=$4.46
1 x Dove derma soap on clearance=$2.14
4 x Boost drinks BOGO50%=$29.96
SubTotal........$79.94

Coupons Used(remember that you can load WWQs onto your L2C account AND use the paper WWQs too and that WWQs can be stacked with reg. ManQ and IPQs)

1 x $8 wyspend $40 CatalinaQ=$8.00
1 x $5/1 Tena WWQ=$5.00
1 x $5/1 Tena WWL2CQ=$5.00
1 x $3/1 Tena ManQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Unstoppables CatQ=$2.00
1 x $5/1 R-A arthritis acetaminophen WWQ=$5.00
1 x $5/1 R-A arthritis acetaminophen WWL2CQ=$5.00
1 x $4/1 Alka-Seltzer gummies WWQ=$4.00
1 x $4/1 Alka-Seltzer gummies WWL2CQ=$4.00
1 x $1/1 Ala-Seltzer gummies ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $2/1 Lipton WWQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Lipton WWL2CQ=$2.00
2 x $1.50/1 RS sugar-free candies WWQ=$3.00
1 x $1.50/1 RS sugar-free candies WWL2CQ=$1.50
1 x $2/1 Dove derma series item L2CQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Boost IPQ=$4.00
Coupon Total..........$58.50

$79.94-$58.50=$21.44 + .14¢ tax=$21.58 paid for with BC.
I earned back $10 in new BC(for buying 4 Boost)and the Dove counted toward a $3 Dove BC Deal and the $10 R-A gift card Deal.
Ex-CB will reimburse me $21.58 for the Boost drinks so everything else is free to me.

After stacked Qs the Tena was -$1.01, the Unstoppables was .99¢ the acetaminophen bottle was $1.99, the A-S gummies were -$1.01 the 2 boxes of tea bags were $1.42, the RS sugar-free candies were -.04¢ and the Dove was 14¢.  Applying the overage of $2.06 above and the $8 wys $40 to the Boost brought that down to $15.90.
My sister in-law will take the Tena undies and the rest will get used here.

Not a bad trip. ;-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the November 9th Edition

Let's take a look at what went on here at Chez Sluggy last week that was frugal..........


* Last Friday's Weis freebie was procured....

Just the frozen waffles in the left of this photo, not everything pictured. lolz

*  All this Rite-Aid shopping was free.  No cash spent OOP AND any Bonus Cash spent was earned back in new BC(or converted to cash through rebates).........a post to follow on what I got at R-A this week. ;-)

* I found money!

Between the pennies on the ground and the guy at Aldi who didn't want my quarter when he gave me his cart I found 46¢ there.

I don't know who it was but someone left .85¢ in my car(prolly Ex-CB or Hubs-I never leave change in my car).  Any $$ found in there, as well as in the washer or dryer, is MINE! lolz

*  Discount sticker meat at Aldi's made it $1.33 a lb!

*  All this for $4.69 at Ollie's(all but 1 item was 75% off!)....

*  The weather warmed up a bit this past week so I could turn the heat off for a couple of days.
No heat, no a/c is a win no matter how long I can get away with it.

What frugal wins did you have this past week?


Sluggy

Grocery Shopping Exploits This Week

On Tuesday after voting Hubs and I went down to Aldi to pick up a few things we needed plus we found a couple of Christmas items.  I picked those up too as I wasn't sure whether I would get back to Aldi before Christmas...........

2 bags of flour for $1.15 ea.
2 cans of cranberry "glop" for .89¢ ea.
4 cans of evap. milk for .59¢ ea.
1 pie crust rolls for $1.39
All of the above is for Thanksgiving

1 box cornstarch for .89¢ *not pictured*
1 bag cole slaw mix for $1.29 *not pictured*
6 bananas for $1.04 *not pictured*
1 bag of "Doritos" for Ex-CB .99¢ *not pictured*
4 cans refried beans for .75¢ ea.
1 bag of harvest bagels for $1.99
1 bag of chocolate croissants for $2.99(a treat)
1 container of chicken salad for $2.99(a treat)

And 5 items for Christmas--
2 packs of Bourbon Sweet Potato Ravioli for $2.99 ea.
1 Cranberry/White Cheddar Cheese round for $3.99
2 Stollen(1 Butter Almond/1 Cherry)Cake for $4.99 ea.(love this!)

And here was the deal of the day at Aldi's......

80/20 Ground Beef patties for $1.33 lb!!!  Each package was just over 1.5 lbs. and $4 off, which made them $1.33+/- lb.  I wish I had more room in the freezer for more than the 3 packages I bought.  We've eaten 5 of the patties already and the other 7 are wrapped well and resting in the freezer as I type.  ;-)

We spent $50.54 Total at Aldi.
Only $23.76 of that was Not Holiday spending(Turkey Day/Xmas).
Reg. retail at other grocery stores here would run upwards of $89 for all this.

The Aldi's had just reopened after being remodeled and I'll tell you it's a much nicer store now.  They expanded a bit and the lighting is much better(as is the floor plan).  The produce prices seem lower as well.

And don't look KIM, I hit the mother lode of abandoned change there.........

I went to get a cart and put a quarter in and some guy started waving and yelling at me, pushing his cart back to the corral.  He handed me his cart and I tried to give him a quarter(since I'd get "his" quarter back when I was done with the cart)and he just walked away, so I made a quarter. lolz
Then I looked down under the carts in the corral and saw a plethora of pennies scattered there.
It was pouring down rain but do you think I stooped over and picked up every penny I could reach?.....of course I did! lololz
Then when we were done and I returned my cart and retrieved my quarter from it there were more carts gone and I could reach the last few pennies that were under the row of carts.  I am .46¢ richer after that Aldi's visit!

We hit the Dollar Tree next door for 4 packages of boxed potatoes, $4 spent OOP.

Then we hit that town's Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!)that had all that 75% clearance food a couple of weeks ago and I picked up a few more items.......

I picked up just a few more items.........
2 MH coffee drinks
3 Avelina oatmeal
2 Jello puddings
1 Pillsbury frosting(cinnamon)
All 75% off=$2.70
The almond flavoring was $1.99(reg. Ollie's price).
So $4.69 OOP for everything above.

After my dr. appointment on Wednesday I went back to Price Chopper to use that $10 OYNO Catalina.........

The weekly flyer from the Sunday paper had a lot of coupons if you spent $15 on non coupon stuff---
1 x King Arthur flour for $1.99
2 x Domino sugar for .99¢(1 was .99¢/1 was $1.99 but I stacked a $1/2 Domino ManuQ so the second sugar was .99¢ as well)
1 x 18 ct. eggs for .99¢
1 x lb. of butter for $1.99
1 x PC brand choc. chips for .99¢
2 x Wesson oil for $1.77 ea.

I also found 2 x ZClif bars in a clearance bin for $1.79 ea.
Also bought but not pictured was a 12-pack of Snapple teas for Daughter and 3 boxes of Count Chocula//FrankenBerry cereal on clearance for $1 each for Ex-College Boy. ;-)


Here are the things I bought so my total before the special Q items was over $15.......

1 x Hatfield Black Forest dinner ham on sale for $7.19 and I had a $1.50/1 Q so $5.69.
2 x Hatfield chorizo loose pork on sale for $2.39 ea.
2 x Hatfield Pork Loins(Texas bbq flavor)on sale for $4.79 ea. and I had 2 x $1/1 Qs so $3.79 ea.
5 x Hatfield bacon packs on sale for $2.99 ea.
All the meat was $33.00 after sales/coupons.

But even better there are Ibotta cash rebates on the loose pork, tenderloin and bacon right now($1 on the loose and bacon, $2 on the tenderloins)
There was also a $1 ZClif bars rebate too.
I ended up earning back $15.50 in Ibotta rebates on this purchase($11 on meat items, $2 on Zbars, $2 Mid-Week Bonus and .50¢ November Level 1 Bonus).

$47.54 OOP after Qs and the $10 Cat and I got back $15.50 in rebates.
I'll take it! 8-)))

Then I hit Rite-Aid since it was Wellness Wednesday but that's another post for later.
I was so tired by then I never even got to Weis(PMITA)Markets before this week's sales ended.
Bu that's ok as they didn't have much I wanted in that ad.

I am over $100 spent for the week but that's aok as I picked up some Turkey Day and Xmas needs/wants too.


Sluggy

Holiday Budgeting....Really Think About What You Spend for Christmas

**Given how close it is to Christmas this may or may not help anybody out this year but it's worth a read and a think about implementing this next year if not this Christmas.**

A recent Coinstar survey found that 65% of US adults who give presents at the Holidays establish a budget.  This is a good thing.

Even so, 85% of those folks admit that they go over their budgets for present buying, travel, decorating and other expenses of the Holidays.

However planning ahead CAN reduce the risk of overspending or overspending by a massive amount.  It's hard to keep to a budget and hit that goal if you don't have a target of any kind, right? ;-)

Here are some ideas ideas to help keep you on track this Christmas spending season......

1.  Estimate ALL your Holiday spending not just what you spend on gifts.  List all categories of spending that take a hit at the Holidays--gifts are just the tip of the iceberg!

Here are some categories to consider.............

GIFTS-'nuff said.lolz   How wide is your gift giving circle?  Immediate family? And extended family?  And friends?  And co-workers?  And business associates?  And people who provide services to you like--mail people, your children's teachers, trash collectors, doormen, really wait staff, delivery persons, dog groomers, etc.?  Look at how many people you feel obligated to give gifts to(either due to your own standards or just because they give you gifts so you feel compelled to reciprocate)and really think hard about how much this is costing you financially.

DECORATIONS- There is the decorating(trees, other Holiday displays, tablescapes, mantle displays, special decor in rooms such as dens, kitchen, bathrooms, etc.).  Americans can go crazy decorating for the Holidays.   Don't forget that if you electrify your decorating then an additional nice added chunk of utility usage gets tacked onto your decorating totals.

CLOTHING-Holiday gathers often necessitate wearing clothes that are special to the event or to the party.  Holiday parties that require evening wear, special clothes for Church and Church events, Work Holiday parties, even ugly sweaters for those types of events.  Unless you already have appropriate clothes for a given event, add in some cash to get yourself properly outfitted.

PARTIES/ENTERTAINMENT-If you throw a party or gathering be sure to put enough money aside for all that party food and drink and the entertainment(be it a professional band or buying supplies for a game or activity held at your party).  If you plan on attending a party where you are required to bring a dish or drinks or a wrapped toy donation, etc. be sure to include those costs in your budget.

TRAVEL-If you go away for the Holidays(be it fly or drive or take a train)make sure you budget for tickets, cabs/Ubers, the gas, car rental, nights in motels along the way or at your destination, food to eat along the way, etc.

FOOD/ALCOHOL-Many people have Christmas traditions that involve special food and drink.  Don't forget, if you don't include these items in your regular food budget to put aside extra money to procure these extra goodies.

The most important thing is to figure out what you can afford to spend without racking up credit card debt.  Seriously, don't go into debt to pay for Christmas.  No trinket, food, special night out, etc. is worth paying months and months of interest on to get out of the financial hole you might dig for yourself.  Gifts for the kids and seeing their smiles on Christmas morning are nice and heartwarming to a parent/grandparent but better yet is knowing you aren't jeopardizing their financial futures(or yours).
There was a segment on the news just last night here about a survey that found how a good percentage of Americans(I didn't catch the exact figure)are STILL PAYING OFF THE  HOLIDAY PURCHASES PUT ON THEIR CREDIT CARDS FROM 2017!  And the kicker is, these same folks plan to put their 2018 Holiday purchases on credit card again!!!  Don't be one of those people.

Now take the realistic amount you can afford to spend on Christmas and figure out where to apply that money and where to cut the budget or cut out spending altogether.  I like to prioritize the categories and fund what is most important to me(some gifts and food)and leave off what doesn't add to my personal Holiday Joy(parties, clothing).

Don't get rid of Holiday items that can be reused year after year.......trees, decorations, lights, ornaments, decorative candles(unless you burn them), holiday clothing, etc.  Save those boxes and gift bags and bows and reuse them year after year.

Maybe this is the year you actually acknowledge to yourself that you can't afford to do "up" Christmas like you'd wish or you have in the past(and you really couldn't "afford" to do as much as you did back then).  Good on you on being honest with yourself and not giving into the social pressure to spend, Spend, SPEND!!!

If gift giving is a priority for your Holiday then start NOW to plan for your Christmas shopping next year!  You can reduce so much stress in your life by buying throughout the year when you find a great sale/deal.  But the caveat here is to--make sure you have a person to gift that "whatever you got for pennies on the dollar in Feb." to next December and that you have a secure place to store it for the next umpteen months.  If you end up losing it and/or no one to gift it to that gizmo is better left in the store.

If you have your gifts bought before Thanksgiving and Black Friday comes around it just melts the stress away.  If you buy/collect all your gifts(or at least the bulk of them)before the Christmas season arrives you can relax and focus on something else during the Holiday and not have to fight the crowds at the stores(because face it, the stores are a ZOO in December!)or worry that those last minute purchases made online will arrive in time.

If you have a rewards program through your credit card or do Swag Bucks or some other small money generating online scheme, you can put more cash into your budget.  Play mind games with yourself throughout the year by joining a Christmas Club account at your bank, or saving spare change/small bills, or keeping all rebates received throughout the year to throw into your Holiday spending budget.
If you are diligent and find enough ways to fund Christmas in this way you may be able to stay away from using credit cards and/or your regular income and still have a jolly holiday!

If your extended family or even your nuclear family is expanding exponentially you might want to pow-wow with the adults in your family about cutting the gifting expenses by either discontinuing gifting for the adults(and put the gift focus back on the kids and/or the elderly in your clan)or institute some sort of gift exchange--draw names and only buy for one other person, etc. and set a money limit.

Also think about homemade gifts if you have a talent in that vein.  Sometimes they can be less costly in money but will take up more of your time.   Most anyone is appreciative of something  made specially for them.

I want to close with this video CT MOM shared on her Facebook group awhile back of the most recent Martin Lewis' Money Show.  The clip is HERE.  It's just a small piece of the show.

Here's an interview he did in the UK about this show back in late September......



I'm not trying to be a Scrooge and say you shouldn't spend at Christmas.
All I want is everyone to take a good hard look at what they are spending and really think about whether it's a realistic amount you should be spending and can afford.
Does your Holiday spending impact your financial future?

So who's with me when it comes to simplifying Holiday spending?


Sluggy

Thoughts on The Morning After

I've got a busy day today so y'all just get this quicky post today(I don't know if you should be relieved or upset by this. lolz).

I AM happy that I don't have to suffer through all the unsolicited phone calls and flyers in my mailbox telling me whom I should be supporting or voting for, for at least another almost 2 years.  8-)))

No matter who won it would behoove us to remember these words of George Washington from his farewell address.  During his first term as POTUS he saw the rise of opposing political parties in our country(the Democratic-Republican party vs. the Federalists).  The words he spoke 220 years ago are just as potent and apply even more so to our country in 2018.

"However (political parties)may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

If you have never read this finely crafted document it might be time you did.  
Ya'll can peruse the address HERE.

And like Forest Gump, that's all I have to say about that.

Sluggy