This Week on the Dining Table

The "Who WOULDN'T Want This!?!?" Edition.............

Hubs and I were out and about on Saturday.  I found this yummy rainbow furry purse and threatened to send it to Kim for her birthday next month.  Who wouldn't want this, right? lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Homemade Pizza, Hot Wings

2. Monday--Cheese Steak Subs, Spinach souffle 

3. Tuesday--Leftover Beef Pie or FFY

4. Wednesday--Pork Roast, Italian side dish w/Beans and Veggies, Baked Kale Chips

5. Thursday--Roast Chicken, Stuffing(maybe), Sweet Potato Casserole, Sugar Snap Peas

6. Friday--Ham, Mac and Cheese, Brussels Sprouts
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Homemade Pizza, Hot Wings

2. Monday--Cheese Steak Subs, Spinach souffle 

3. Tuesday--Pork Roast, Italian side dish w/Beans and Broccoli, boxed Mac and Cheese

4. Wednesday--Leftovers or FFY(I had leftover Beef Pie)

5. Thursday--Chinese Take-Out

6. Friday--Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Sweet Potato Casserole, Corn, Peas
7. Saturday--Ham, Mac and Cheese, Broccoli

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out. 
Everything happened as planned but perhaps on different days then planned. Instead of leftovers the second night we got take-out.  I wasn't "feeling" leftovers and we hadn't had take-out in quite a while.

What got put into the freezer last week.....
*  1 pack of ground veal
*  3 packs of panko-ed pork tenderloins
*  2 lbs. of ground beef
*  5 packages of veggies
*  a box of ice cream snadwiches

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.......
*  2 packs of deli sliced roast beef
*  1 whole chicken
*  1 pork roast
*  2 spinach souffles 
*  1 dinner ham
*  3 bags of frozen veggies

You would THINK the freezers were emptying out, wouldn't you?  

 A couple of grocery trips.....2 smallish trips to Weis($6.98/$45.88)and a trip to Ollie's($10.71)brought the weekly(really more than a week because Jan./Feb. week last week and I only reported the Jan. of that week)food spending to $73.48 and brought the February monthly total to $73.48 so far.

My savings percentage last week was 69.30%(without Rite-Aid trips)and February's monthly savings total comes to 69.30%(w/out R-A).  I got some great deals on meat and some clearance items and used Qs on those too so a big savings % last week.

Leftovers going into this week.... a helping of pot roast w/veggies, taco filling(might still have some//I didn't check yet), roast chicken, ham, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, corn, peas, kale(daughter made it one night).
Besides the ham and mac/cheese there isn't enough of the rest of it to serve another night/as leftover.

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

1. Sunday--Pad Thai fake-out

2. Monday--Hamburgers, Tomato and Cuke Salad

3. Tuesday--Beef Lasagna, Tossed Salad

4. Wednesday--leftover Ham, Mac and Cheese, Veggies TBD(maybe leftover corn and peas)

5. Thursday--Chicken Thighs and something else lolz

6. Friday--Ham and cheese scrambled eggs, French Toast, Fruit
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Ground beef and veal was bought on Sunday along with some reduced B/S chicken thighs(half went into the Pad Thai/half saute for later this week).  The rest of the week should be low spend(I think).  ;-)

Whatever ham is left after 1 night of leftover slices and what goes into the eggs on Friday will be chopped and put into the freezer for ham/bean soup in the future.

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  

January To-Do List Update

Here's how the January To-Do List turned out.....

* Pay Bills  DONE  Number one priority each month.

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE
I read this one..........

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

A fun read and a pretty quick one as well.  I also have the other two books in this trilogy sitting on the ready for me to get to.  I don't know how I feel about viewing the motion picture Tim Burton and Hollywood made based on this tome.  Perhaps after I read the whole trilogy?

And this one.......

"Coolidge-An American Enigma" by Robert Sobel
Most people wouldn't make it their business to read about our previous POTUSes or even read about American history.  It's the past and so dry so why spend your time on it?  
I find history fascinating(why else would I be "into" geneaology?!lol)and unfortunately, enough folks today don't care or think learning from our past is important.

What did I learn from this book?
Calvin Coolidge didn't follow the formula to getting elected that most men do in politics.  "Cool Cal" was his own man who had a strong moral compass who took the office seriously and wanted to serve his fellow Americans.
He was different and again, one of the few POTUS in the last 200 years(and especially the last 100 years) that didn't piss all over the Constitution and use his office to enhance the power of that office and feed his own narcissism/megalomania.


* Hold Giveaways  DONE

* Mail Giveaways  DONE  Everything has been received. 8-)))

* Plan Winter Holiday  FAIL  Well I did some work on it but Hubs hasn't been giving me input plus I need to hear back from my brother before I can actually book anything....but I have worked on this a bit.  Will carry over this item into February and get it DONE!  Have to since we are going in March so we're running out of time. lolz

* Start Getting Tax Stuff Together  DONE  I just need to print out the 1099 from our online bank.  UPDATE-Just did that so this is checked off the list.

* Put Xmas Stuff Away  DONE  All the Holiday decorations got put away well before my Birthday without having to nag.

* Celebrate my Birthday  DONE

An amazing Birthday week!

* Organize Toiletries Stash  DONE
I spent 3 hours up in the Stash gleaning out some stuff to give to friends and family and more stuff to put into Giveaway boxes.  That still leaves me with a LOT of toiletries, et al. for us to use.  Last January the big purge/organize in there took all. day. long.

* Put 2018 Paperwork Away  DONE  Files have been purged and all the 2018 paperwork(except what is needed to file taxes)have been put away.  We are ready for the influx of 2019 paperwork now....ugh.  ;-)


Basically I didn't have much on my list in January to accomplish.
After a busy December/Holiday Season I tend to take it easy on myself in January....plus it's my Birthday month. ;-)

So what did y'all do in January? 
Did ya'll get stuff done that y'all wanted to get done?
Is there anything you avoided doing/getting to last month?


Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the February 8th Edition

A quick look around and I see we had a few Frugal Wins this past week and they were most excellent ones..........


*  I hit Rite-Aid on Wellness Wednesday and got lots of goodies!

Everything pictured above plus qualified for a $20 Visa gas card and it cost me $16.53 in Bonus Cash and I'll be getting $6 in cash rebates in my Saving Star/Ibotta accounts.  Woot!

*  Speaking of Rite-Aid, my 2 x $20 Visa Cards arrived.........

$40 to use before the end of March.  I think I can do that.....lolz

*  I mentioned that Kim's Sissie brought me presents last month for my birthday.

The gift bag(which was also saved)had nice glitter flecked tissue paper in it. Instead of throwing it out  I saved the paper and ironed it flat and folded it so I could use it again.  I have been known to save and iron wrapping paper too on the odd occasion.  ;-)

*  Our fridge had a problem.  The bottom shelf was cracked across the back so you couldn't set anything on the back half of the shelf.  Plus the plastic guides that hold the produce bins in place were broken off the unit.  Replacing the whole fridge because of this was just stupid and expensive.  Hubs found the replacement part/shelf online, I ordered it and it arrived last week.  For less than $50 we now have a fridge in original working order.

*  I got the Weis(PMITA)Markets freebie last week.......

a chocolate bar.  Who doesn't like free chocolate? ;-)

*  Speaking of free, a check from a cash back site arrived.........

I use "Shop At Home" when I buy most things online.  Going through their portal means I can earn cash back(usually a % or two but sometimes it's more)on items I was going to buy anyway.  I earned $21.53 this time.

*  One of January's giveaways was this book......

I usually send my giveaway prizes via Priority mail, except when I went to pack this I just couldn't send it that rate.  Books can be mailed for a LOT cheaper Media Mail rate so that is how I sent it.  Given the winner's distance from me it didn't take that much longer than Priority rate to get to her.
I just couldn't go against that frugal voice in my head(you know, the voice that sits right next to the crazy voice up there). lolz  I saved about $4 in postage sending it Media Mail.  Little things like that add up over a lifetime of saving. 8-)

*  And speaking of free money, I found some............

I swung through the BK drive-thru after picking up the nail polish at RA on Sunday.  The snow was melting and I spied a coin next to the building while in line so I hopped out of the car and picked it up.  It was a penny with some corrosion on it due to the ice melt it had sat in for who knows how long.
It will still spend just as well as a bright, shiny one thankyouverymuch. 8-)

And then in Rite-Aid on Wednesday I saw this on the floor...........

A $20 bill.  This was after the store's Wellness Ambassador found a few $1s and a $5 in front of the register and someone else found some cash in the parking lot.
We tried to find whomever had dropped it all but they were long gone.
The employees there know me(haha)so if the person who lost all this comes forward I'll return that $20 too.
If not, what should I do with this money?  I was thinking make a donation somewhere.....what do y'all think?
And no Kim, I am not sending it to you and I win the Found Money Wars this week! pppfffttt! 8-P

What frugal wins did y'all have this week?
Big or small a win is a win so tell us all about it!


Sluggy

A Porn Fest from Rite-Aid

I did various deals on each of my 3 Wellness cards/account on Wednesday.  I loaded the Wellness Wednesday Load2Card Qs plus stacked the paper pamphlet WWQs and sprinkled in a few IPQ or ManuQs to triple stack on a few items too.

A couple of the WW deals double dipped with the "Spent $50/Get $20 Gas Visa Card" Deal--the Centrum and the Emergen-C.  After buying those I only needed a few more items that qualified(that were also on sale and I had IPQs for)to reach the $50 of spending.

 This all was on my son's card/account.  The Folgers L2CQ didn't come off(just the WW pamphlet Q did) that "costs $1.79 instead of being a moneymaker.  The R-A artificial tears were .39¢ after stacked Qs.
After stacked or triple stacked Qs, the Crest mouth wash was -.77¢, the Crest toothpaste was -.97¢, the Soothe XP was -$2.41, the throat drops were -.51¢, the large make-up remover pads were -.17¢, the Ginger Chews, the smaller make-up remover pads and the Power Toothbrush set were each -.01¢.

I made a tactical error buying the Centrum and the Emergen-C in the same transaction as it charged me full price for the Emergen-C(the highest priced item), took 50% off 1 Centrum and 20% discount on the second Centrum instead of BOGO50% on both Centrums and 20% discount on the Emergen-C.  Doing them all in one transaction meant I paid .30¢ for all 3.  Not a deal breaker.

To get to $50 of qualifying products I also bought 2 x Eucerin(BOGO50% + $6 in Qs), 2 Dial foaming hand soups($4-$1.50 in IPQ)and 1 Cover Girl blush palette($2 instant discount + $2 IPQ)which came to $22.62-$9.50 in Qs=$13.12.  With tax I spent $13.30 in Bonus Cash on all the above and earned a $20 Visa Gas Card.

This lot was bought on my card/account.
Again, the Folgers "cost" $1.79 because the L2C WWQ didn't come off. Same items were same prices above, most were slight moneymakers.  I also bought a Thermacare item($6.07-$3 L2CQ)as it qualified for the "Spend $50/$20 Gas Card".  I did purchase the Emergen-C and Centrum in separate transactions this time(saving myself .30¢)

I "spent" $2.94 total in Bonus Cash on this lot and I have $35.99 tracking toward the Gas Card Deal(Only $14.01 left to spend).

This lot was bought on my daughter's card/account. Same stacked WWQs used and a couple of regular manu L2CQs.  I had to add in the Dial hand soap pumps(plus a $1.50/2 IPQ)because my total was in the negative without them.
Total paid OOP in Bonus Cash(with tax)was .29¢

Before leaving I also bought these 4 small Lindt bags. Each has 2 truffles in it and they are strawberries and cream.
On sale this week at Rite-Aid for $1 if you buy 2 or more(otherwise $1.29 w/out Wellness discount level you are at).
I had 4 x $1/1 Lindt truffle bag IPQ(coupons dotcom)and they specifically say on this size bag or larger so they were free(no sales tax on food in PA).  8-)))

Free chocolate?  Yes, please!!

All together I spend $16.53 in Bonus Cash on $341.04 reg. retail worth of stuff at Rite-Aid.
Plus I earned a $20 Visa Gas Card and got $4 back on Saving Star in cash rebates.
**Edited on Friday to add that I got $2 back for the Thermacare purchase on Ibotta as well so I'm up to $6 in cash back on these purchases. 8-)))

Oh and I got a sample sized tube of Burt's Bees toothpaste which I forgot to photograph. ;-)

All in all not a bad Wellness Wednesday.....

Did you get anything at Rite-Aid this week?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid & Ollie's Porn

I went up to Rite-Aid to do some reconnaissance for Wellness Wednesday's deals on Sunday.
While I was there I picked up some nail polish...........

The Kokie brand polish and fake eyelashes give back $4 in Bonus Cash this week.(Limmit 2 Deals)
If you have Gold status these $4.99 items are $3.99 after 20% discount.
If you don't have sales tax in your state, even better as these will be a .01¢ moneymaker each.

If you have sales tax that's all these will cost you so figure out if it's worth it to you to pick them up.

Mine total for each 2 bottles was .46¢(sales tax of .48¢ on 2 bottles).  I paid with Bonus Cash so spent BC down on 3 cards by .46¢.


I also went to a different Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)recently.  I should have taken Kim and her Sissie to this one when they were here.  This one must have a manager who has an independent streak as they always seem to have a bunch of food item marked down 75% and 50% off.....the same stuff at the other Ollie's I frequent NEVER have the same foods marked down thusly!
So I hit a deal.........

2 x Velveeta mac and cheese kits 50% off=$1.58
2 x OEP taco shells 75% off=$1.00(.50¢ ea.)
2 x Carrol Shelby chili kits 75% off=.80¢(40¢ ea.)
2 x spaghetti 2 lbs. 50%=$1.78(.89¢ ea.)
1 x Quaker Grits 75% off=.40¢
1 x Planters Pecan pieces 75% off=.87¢
2 x Kraft dressings 75% off=$1.28(.64¢ ea.)
6 x Nestle trio chocolate chips 75% off=$3.00(.50¢ ea.)
$10.71 OOP on $45.23 worth of food items.

The fancy pants chocolate chips were a great deal.  I suppose I have to bake some cookies now, huh? ;-)

Don't forget to get up to Rite-Aid today to do the Wellness Wednesday Coupons!!!  Load them to your card and get a sheet of the same paper ones in the store because they both come off.....except the Folgers Q-that Load2CardQ didn't come off.

Sluggy