Working The Pillaging at Rite-Aid!

So this week the scheme at Rite-Aid is "Spend $50 on select items/Get $20 Bonus Cash Back Deal".

I jumped on Coupons dotcom and printed off a bunch of $2/1 Almay and 4 different $2-$3/1 Revlon Qs and then went up to R-A to see how little I could "spend" to get to $50.

Did I mention that Rite-Aid has a bunch of Almay and Revlon at 75% off clearance?!
Dd I also mention that Almay and Revlon cosmetics are part of the "Spend $50/Get $20 BC Deal"??

First off I bought a clearance Revlon and a clearance Almay item to see if the clearance qualified for the "Spend $50/Get $20 BC" Deal.
And by gosh those items did qualify!

So here is all I bought at two different R-A stores.......

First off I had 2 x $1.25/1 Nivea lip balm IPQs.  I only got 2 printed off before it disappeared from Coupons dotcom(and I don't get Nivea Qs anymore in the Sunday paper b/c my paper no longer carries the RetailMeNot inserts *sad face*).  I would have printed off more it I had the chance because it was cheap after sale/Q and I love the Nivea lip stuff.

2 x Nivea lip balm on sale=$4.00
3 x Revlon face make-up on clearance for $3.49 ea.=$10.47
2 x Revlon nail color on clearance for $2.24 ea.=$4.48
4 x Revlon lip crayon on clearance for $2.49 ea.=$9.96
3 x Revlon brow crayon on clearance for $2.49 ea.=$7.47
7 x Almay mascara on clearance for $2.24 ea.=$15.68
SubTotal.........$52.06

Coupons Used
2 x $1.25/1 Nivea lip balm IPQ=$2.50
3 x $3/1 Revlon face item IPQ=$9.00
4 x $2/1 Revlon lip item IPQ=$8.00
3 x $2/1 Revlon brow item IPQ=$6.00
7 x $2/1 Almay any item IPQ=$14.00
Coupon Total.......$39.50 and ALL the IPQs scanned(shocking!).

$52.06-$39.50=$12.56+.74¢ tax=$13.30 OOP paid for with a combination of Bonus Cash & part of 1 of the 2 $20 Prepaid R-A Visa cards I earned back in January so ZERO OOP in real money.
Too bad I didn't have any Revlon nail color Qs as well....I would have "spent" $4 less than I did. ;-)

I earned $20 in Bonus Cash for buying all the stuff in the picture(plus the one mascara that didn't make it into that photo)because it all came to $50+ before coupons used.

Even better.......I also earned $20 in Ibotta cash rebates as the lip/face/brow items, all 10, qualified for a $2 cash back each-10 x $2=$20 back.

This was an awesome score and will all go into the Giveaway Box Pile of Goodies.  8-)


Oh and Valentine's Candy went to 75% off on Sunday too in case anyone was wondering........


Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "It's Not Suppose to Be this Warm Here in February!" Edition.........

In the car on the way to a different Weis(PMITA)Markets on Friday I snapped this blurry shot of the temp. on my car's dashboard.  If you can't make it out it says 59F.  A minute later it rolled over to 60F.
WTF?!?
Normal around here in February ranges from a high of 40 something to a low of -10 or so.
And I just read it's suppose to hit the mid 50sF again this week.

Crazy weather.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

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

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Pad Thai fake-out

2. Monday--Beef Lasagna, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread

3. Tuesday--leftover Ham, Mac and Cheese, Assorted leftover veg-corn and peas

4. Wednesday--Hamburgers, Potato Salad, Baked Beans

5. Thursday--Fend For Yourself(Don't remember what exactly)

6. Friday--Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry, Fried Rice
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out. 
I used leftover roast chicken for the Pad Thai and the Teriyaki Stir-free.  The cuke got used somewhere else so we had beans and tater salad w/the burgers instead.
Breakfast for Dinner and Chicken Thighs meal didn't happen(I was sick one night and I wanted to use up the rest of the leftover roasted chicken in a stir-fry so we did that chicken meal instead of thighs.)and move to this week.

What got put into the freezer last week.....
*  15 pints of ice cream/frozen yogurt
*  2 large bags if cheese ravioli
*  1 box of breaded fish fillets

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.......
*  Nothing-It was all meats I already had in the fridge

 A couple of grocery trips.....3 smallish trips to Weis($16.16/$36.40/$31.45)and a trip to Malacari's Produce Market($23.40)brought the weekly food spending to $107.41 and brought the February monthly total to $180.89 so far.  And I forgot to include the trip on Friday where I bought 15 pints of ice cream(not going to go back and redo the numbers, I'll just add it to this coming week's total). ugh

My savings percentage last week was 58.85%(without Rite-Aid trips)and February's monthly savings total comes to 63.85%(w/out R-A).  

I have 10 more spending days in the month(plus that 1 trip to Weis to account for from last week).

Leftovers going into this week....ham, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, lasagna, potato salad, baked beans, 1 helping of chicken teriyaki stir-fry, fried rice(more than 1 helping).

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

1. Sunday--Leftover Ham and Mac and Cheese(just Hubs and I)

2. Monday--BBQ Chicken Thighs, Asparagus, Leftover Fried Rice

3. Tuesday--Birthday Meal Out(Ex-College Boy)

4. Wednesday--Breakfast-Scrambled Eggs w/Ham and Cheese, French Toast

5. Thursday--Brats on Rolls, Grilled Onions, Broccoli, leftover sides smorgasboard lolz

6. Friday--Leftover Lasagna, Tomato/Cuke Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 3 new meals cooked, 3 nights of leftovers/FFY, 1 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Asparagus, a Cuke, milk(as usual). I'll be making a trip to Weis for more free yogurt and free soup this week.  Not much else on my radar yet.  ;-)

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  

Just Bit of Shopping & WTF Just Happened!?

So I saw a bunch of Almay in a clearance bin at Rite-Aid.

Almary mascara marked down to $2.24 from $8.99 makes it 75% off.

I used a $2/1 Almay make-up item IPQ and paid .26¢ for this(with .02¢ tax).
Almay is part of the spend $50/Get $20 BC next week so I'll go back with a fist full of more Qs and see if the clearance stuff qualifies for the BC Deal.
Spending .26¢ isn't too bad for giveaway goodies, yes?

I also hit up Weis on Friday.
I only planned to get a few things.....*cough*

These Jimmy Dean breakfast thingamabobs were $2.50 if you bought 3.  I had .55¢/1 IPQs that doubled to $1.10 off so they were each $1.40.  Just something new to try.

I found 3 Chobani marked down from $1 to .50¢ each.  I had a $1/5 any Chobani so picked up 2 flips to make it 5 items. $3.50 with markdowns-$1/5 Q=$2.50 for all 5 yogurts.

I had 2 x .50¢/1 Too Good Yogurt IPQs(which doubled to $1 off)so those 2 yogurts on the far right were free.

The 2 x Oikos triple zero cups and the 4 x Oh! Oikos were also $1 each and my doubled IPQs for those make all 6 of those free as well.

I forgot to photo the 2 dozen Eggland's Best eggs that were on sale for BOGO(reg. price $2.50).  I used a $1/2 ManuQ so 2 dozen eggs cost me $1.50.
I'm up to $5.70 OOP.

The Mix and Match Deal this week is Buy 6/Get $3 Instantly Off.  Not too thrilled on only getting $3 off and not $6 but the items above were worth grabbing.
Organic Progresso soups $1.99 on sale and Annie's granola bars $2.99 on sale.
SubTotal $13.94-$3=$10.94.
My 6 Qs that doubled came to $8 total so $10.94-$8-$2.94 for all 6 items(plus the Annie's has box tops on the boxes. woohoo!lol).
Now we're up to $8.64 OOP.

This 12 pack of wet dog food trays was $9.45 and had a $2 Q on it so $7.45.

Then I used a $5/1 12 pack Bella IPQ so paid $2.45 out the door for it. 
SubTotal for everything was up to $11.09.   8-)))

Then I went down the frozen food aisle and as the young folks say, "shit got real"........

Weis had certain flavors of Halo Top, Yasso, Enlightened, Talenti, Gelato Fiasco, Weis brand Gelato, etc. on clearance marked down by 50% for between $1.73 and $2.69 a pint!

The store started spinning, I texted my Daughter for an intervention but she egged me on and the next thing I knew I came to at the register with FIFTEEN pints of ice cream/frozen greek yogurt in my cart.

So much for all that space in my freezers...........

And my LOW food spending for the week.
Cheap ice cream is an exception to a low spending month, right?!? ;-)


Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the February 15th Edition

Here's what passed for frugal around here this past week..........

*  I got the Weis Friday Freebie last week..............

A free bag of Weis candy.  I chose the Peach Rings because, well, they were the best choice among the candies that were free.


*  I used my 700 Weis points to get .70¢ off per gallon of gas on Wednesday. Of course, it would have been more of a win if Hubs would go up there with me in his car so we can get the full 20 gallons available at that discount.
My car's tank holds only 10 gallons but he can't be bothered to convoy up to Weis with me to save another 10+ gals at $1.72 gal. rather than the current reg. price of $2.42 gal.  I can't figure what his problem is with this.....it's not like Weis is far away and/or he has anything better to do being retired and home bothering me all day!  I guess it's his passive aggressiveness shining through.  ;-)


*  I found some change..........

A trip to Rite-Aid on Wednesday to pick up drugs and I found .12¢-.11¢ under a display and .1¢ in front of the register.
Yay!

Then I was back at R-A on Thursday to pic up Hubs' drug and spied another .1¢.
Total for the week.......13¢.

I went to the local produce place on Sunday and found a nickel......

Then I found another penny in the dryer and under the Rules of Sluggy any money found in the washer or dryer at my house is MINE! lolz

Total found change last week........19¢.  8-)))


*  I picked up some deals at Weis(PMITA)Markets........

The juice was on clearance for $1.42 and I used a $1/2 ManuQ so .92¢ per gallon.
The 2 yogurts were free after doubled IPQ.
The meatless bacon pack was free(more on that in a minute).
The big Palmolive dish soap was .55¢ after a stacked .50¢ IPQ and a .50¢ digitalQ on my card(both of which doubled).
The sugared-up cereal were on sale 2/$5.  I used 2 x .50¢/1 IPQs which doubled to $1 off each.  I also had a .50¢/1 digitalQ that doubled that came off so I am up to $3 off.  I will get another $1.50 cash back on Ibotta(.75¢ per box)for buying these as well so I am OOP .50¢ for both boxes of cereal.

The 3 packs of baby wipes and 3 bags of frozen veggies were part of the Mix and Match Buy 6/Get $3 off Deal.
All were $1.99 w/sale prices so $11.94-$3 instantly Off=$8.94.
I also used 3 x .50¢/1 Huggies wipes IPQ(which doubled to $1 off even though the coupon clearly states "do not double". lol)plus a digital .50¢/1 Huggies Wipes Q which also doubled to $1 came off so now were are at $8.94-$4Qs=$4.94(plus tax on the wipes)for all 6 items.
Nice.

* It always pays to double check your receipt.  The smart bacon item rang up $2.99.  I was expecting it to ring up $1 because here is the tag on the shelf.........

Reg. $3.99 on sale for $1.

But it rang up $1 OFF instead even though the tag says pay $1.
So I took the receipt back in, took a snapshot of the tag and item on the shelf and went to Customer Service.
CS called over the produce guy(this stuff is in the produce dept.)and it was decided that the tag was a misprint and I got the item free since it rang up wrong.

This was just an impulse buy, something I'd spend $1 on so Daughter could try it.
Better yet, catching the mistake it cost me NOTHING. lol
(Daughter said it was ok but has NO protein in it so I won't be getting this item again.)

I am off to Weis for today's freebie, the Friday sales and to check out the clearance stuff in a different Weis(PMITA)Markets.

What frugal wins did y'all have last week?



Sluggy

Ask Sluggy & Other Important Stuff

If only I looked THIS cool blogging!

*   I am having a craptastic week here other than finding some change.  I broke a tooth yesterday so I am hopped up on Orajel until I get to the dentist later today so let's do a round of  "Ask Sluggy".
Go ahead and ask me anything you want-personal, financial, silly, serious.
Fire away!

*  About future giveaways on the old blog.  Let me know what you personally prefer on these......
Do you like a themed giveaway?
Doing a Giveaway per month...is that too many per year?
Do you like picking your own box contents from a selection presented?
What specific items do you hope to see more of as prizes?
Do you like "item" giveaways(and not just toiletries/candy)...if so, what sort of items would you like to see?
Should I do more "Only those who haven't won before" Giveaways?

*  About the blogroll......
I will be doing a bit of cleaning up on the blog roll soon.  Ditching some blogs to either haven't posted in ages(except for a few legacy blogs)or ones that now bore even me.
Do you have any favorite blogs I don't have over on the sidebar?  Tell me about them and maybe I can add a few blogs too.

*  Anybody down South want to meet me?  Hubs and I are taking a trip down to VA, NC, SC and maybe as far as Savannah GA in March.  Any readers down in these parts want to have a meal or drink or go grocery shopping with us?  We can be charming and highly entertaining when pushed to be and I always bring "gifts aka toiletries" with me.  lolz  Email me your area and availability and I'll see what we can do.


Sluggy