Frugal Friday.....the March 15th Vacation Edition

Just popping up with a quick post for Frugal Friday................

*  Last week before I left town I bought some groceries.  Among what I bought was another 5 bags of Malt O Meal cereal on clearance and got another $5 Ibotta rebate, making the cereal .74¢ per bag.
I also got the Friday Freebie last Friday--a bag of frozen veggies.  No freebie this week as there are no Weis' around here.  8-(

*  Also bought last week a bottle of Gold Peak unsweetened lemon tea(58 oz. size).  It was on clearance for $1 per bottle.

Well it rang up $1.42 instead so the next trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets I took a photo of the shelf tag and brought my receipt and per Weis price policy I got my $1.42 back, making the tea free.

*  Before leaving town Hubs and I convoyed our cars up to the Weis gas pumps and used my Weis gas points(as they would expire while we were gone).

We saved $4.15 on gas and filled mine and Hubs car's tanks up.

*  We stopped in Delaware to pick up hooch for the trip as it is cheaper than in PA and there is no sales tax on it.

I found a penny near the register but it hardly offset the $80+ Hubs spent on booze there. *whomp whomp*

*  We stopped at the Ollie's in DE as well and picked up some snacks to have at the motels we would be staying at on the trip so "Good Snacks Cheap!". lolz  Some of what I got was on their 75% off clearance shelf too so even better!

I found this pack of peanut bars marked down 75% off so .75¢ instead of $2.99.  It had 1 bar missing so only 5 bars instead of 6 in the pack, making each one .15¢.
I also got some peanut butter/cheese crackers, cookies, instant popcorn and flavored seltzer water.
This stop was a lot cheaper than picking up snacks/drinks at convenience stores along the way.

*  I made the Myrtle Beach motel reservation using a Hotels.com gift card I bought last year.  I also made the reservation on the Hotels.com app on my phone and got a special price and a rebate of $4.05 on my Ibotta app too.

*  I had $25 in Kohl's script expiring the day after we got to Myrtle Beach so we went to Kohl's and picked up some clothes on clearance.  A sweater and a fleece zip shirt cost me .66¢ OOP.

*  While we were nearby after the  Kohl's stop we went Walmart to pick up some drinks, breakfast items and 2 tv dinners.  Our motel room had a kitchen efficiency unit so we ate breakfast 2 mornings in the room and had Chinese take-out for 1 dinner(which we bought at lunch time-cheaper price-and reheated for dinner) and cooked tv dinners for another dinner.
I also found 2 pennies at Walmart.

We spied some clearance coffee filters at Walmart as well so we bought 7 packs...........

We go through a lot of coffee filters at our house with Hubs and both kids drinking that evil brown beverage so saving .24¢ x 7 on something small and easy to cart home works for me! lolz

*  The first morning in Myrtle Beach, since we hadn't bought any breakfast food yet, we went to an IHop a block away from our motel for breakfast.

It just happened to be Free Pancake Day there so we both got free pancakes w/our meals.  We paid with an IHop gift card so our meal cost $4.71 + tip and our cash donation to the IHop charity that benefited from the free Pancake Day promotion.

*  Hubs forgot to bring his flip flops.  Uh oh!  So we hit one of the gazillion souvenir stores in MB to pick up a pair.  Not so frugal but it was the only time we set foot in a touristy shop and I did NOT buy anything else there.  Such self-control on my part!hehehe

*  The only things we did that cost money in Myrtle Beach was eat because ya gotta eat, right?  The beach and the motel's pool and hot tub were free with the room so that's what we did........walk the beach, lounge in the hot tub, swim in the pool and sit and read and drink on our oceanfront balcony.

*  I also found another penny in MB........

But I can't remember where. lolz

*  We left MB for Charleston but stopped at Bojangles first.............

Yesterday was "PI" day and Bojangles had a special....3 sweet potato pies for $3.14.
A tasty addition to our healthy breakfast. lolz

*  We stopped for gas outside of Charleston at a Sunoco as Hubs gets a .05¢ discount per gallon off the price and we found one that matched the lowest price along our route.  I went inside to use the restroom.

I found 2 more pennies walking through the convenience store inside.

*  We stopped for lunch before checking in as we were a bit early.  We decided to try Cook-Out as they don't have those were we live.
I found all this on the floor in there while Hubs ordered...........

3 pennies and a nickel shoved under the counter.......08¢ total.

*  When we got to the motel in Charleston I opened the car door and saw this.........

Another shiny penny right next to the car! lolz  I am up .15¢ since we left PA.

The Penny Fairy is alive and well in SC.

What frugal wins did you have this past week?
Tell us all about it!


Sluggy

It's Not Snowing Here

We'll it's been a long two days getting down here to "The Land of Buffet Restaurants".

Here is my lunch plate from yesterday.

I sent my sister in law this shot to make her jealous and she said to bring her a to-go plate when we came back to her house.

There is a stretch of highway running through most of North Carolina into South Carolina with Buffets of all sorts advertised....soul food, barbecue, country cooking, Chinese, pizza and seafood all-you--care-to-eat restaurants.

We finally rolled into the beach city for our 3 day stay before the sun set on Monday and we are beat.
I don't plan on leaving my  maroom/balcony/beach except to find food for the next two days.

I may or may not blog for a bit while I decompress by napping, reading and drinking.
Back when I feel like it....😎

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Iridescent Eating" Edition.........

Found this flatware set in a Walmart.  Should have bought this a week ago and I would have been all set for Mardi Gras.😁   It's fun but I'd probably go blind if I had to use this every meal.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Pork Chops, Green Beans, Mushroom Risotto 

2. Monday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

3. Tuesday--Taco Chicken Casserole, a Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots, Taters

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Chicken Strips, Mac and Cheese, Tossed Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Pork Chops, Green Beans, Mushroom Risotto 

2. Monday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

3. Tuesday--Chicken Strips, Mac and Cheese, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

4. Wednesday--Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots

5. Thursday--Grilled Brats w/Onions, Green Beans

6. Friday--Leftovers(I had leftover green beans and leftover mac and cheese)
7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had a salad and cheese and crackers)

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out.
4 of the 5 planned dinners happened.  I had some defrosted brats that needing cooking so the taco chicken casserole will wait for another week.

What got put into the freezer last week.....
*  1.4 lbs raw Shrimp(meat discount sticker deal at Weis)
* More pints of ice cream(hehehe)
* 3 packs of turkey breast
* JD b'fast sammies
* 3 Voila! dinner kits

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.......
* 2 packs of panko-ed pork tenderloins
* 2 smallish corned beef briskets
* 1.5 bags of breaded chicken tenders
* 1 bag of Brussels sprouts
* 1 bag of green beans
* 4 pork chops
* 1 pack of Brats

 Lots and lots of little grocery trips..... smallish trips to Weis brought the weekly food spending to $95.52 and brought the March monthly grand total to $162.22.

My savings percentage last week was 56.01%(without Rite-Aid trips)and March's monthly savings total comes to 52.71%(w/out R-A).  

I have 20 more spending days in the month.

Leftovers going into this week....1 helping of pork chop, green beans and risotto, corned beef, cabbage, carrots, 1 brat.

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

1. Sunday--Eating Out

2. Monday--Eating Out

3. Tuesday--Maybe cooking 

4. Wednesday--Maybe cooking

5. Thursday--Maybe cooking

6. Friday--Maybe cooking
7. Saturday--Maybe cooking

This week will see ? new meals cooked, ? nights of leftovers/FFY, and ? nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.
The Daughter had a list of meal options printed out for her and EX-CB for the next 10 days on Saturday and had made a huge pot of chili already.  I'll check in with her after the week is over and see what they had.

What needs buying for this menu? Not much really, milk and I think she said she was going to buy Rye bread and Swiss cheese.

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  

Friday Shopping Weis & Rite-Aid

I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets yesterday to get the Friday Freebie and ended up with all this(plus a few other things too)............

1 x Weis bag of veggies=$1.97
3 x Bird's Eye Voila! meals chicken and shrimp ones on sale Friday only=$8.97
2 x Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches on sale=$9.00
3 x Shady Brook Farms turkey breast slices=$20.85
SubTotal.........$40.79

Coupons Used
1 x Weis FRIDAY FREEBIE=$1.97
3 x Birds Eye Voila! PeelieQs which doubled to $1 each=$3.00
2 x .75¢/1 Jimmy Dean Bfast sandwiches IPQ which doubled to $1.50 each=$3.00
3 x $3/1 Instant Meat stickers=$9.00
3 x $1.50/1 Shady Brook Farms item(excludes ground turkey)=$4.50
Coupon Total....$21.47

$40.79-$21.47=$19.32 OOP

I also picked up some fresh produce and 90% ground beef on special for the kids and a bottle of tea(which I'll be getting for free since it rang up incorrectly but I need to get to the store to take care of that).
Everything I bought came to $36.24.

The bag of Veggies were free so a no-brainer buying that.
The Bird's Eye Voila! meals were $1.99 each after sale/Qs.
The JD b'fast sammies were $3 a box of 4 or .75¢ each sammie after sale/Qs(and were something EX-CB had requested).
The turkey breast packs were $7.35 total.  Together they came to 3.48 lbs. so $2.11 per lb.

I also went up to Rite-Aid(again!)on Friday and bought this...........

7 x Great Grains cereals on sale $2.50 wyb at least 2=$17.50 paid for with Bonus Cash.
I had a card with BC I wanted to use up.
Every $8 worth of this cereal purchased gave me back $3 in new BC, so I earned $6 BC.
I also applied for .50¢ Ibotta rebates for each box(you can do up to 5 rebates per flavor of cereal)so I got $3.50 back in cash as well.
After BC and cash back these cereals cost me $8 or $1.14+ per box.  A really good price for one of the better quality cereals(not kiddie stuff).
I believe this R-A cereal deal is a month long one(a Limit of 4 Deals)as my receipt doesn't show I maxed out this deal after 2 Deals.
It would have been an even better deal if there were Post Great Grains Qs out there somewhere to use on this but hey!, $1.14+ a box is still a good deal if you eat this stuff.

I also bought 5 more Fig Newton packs..........

With Gold Wellness discount they are .63¢ per pack so $3.15 paid for with BC.
Checkout51 has that .75¢ Fig Newton rebate again this week until Wednesday(limit of 5)so I got $3.75 back in cash rebates there.
Also SavingStar has a .75¢ Fig Newton rebate(limit of 1)now so I spent $3.15 in Bonus Cash and earned back $4.50 in cash rebates, making these a $1.35 moneymaker. 8-)))

Now I've got to get some things/errands done today so we can take this road trip to South Carolina and North Carolina and Virginia.

Last chance to let me know if you live in those states if you want to meet up with Hubs and me.  Just email me and we can set something up.
Would love to meet some readers!!

So what's going on this weekend for you?

Sluggy

Why I Buy Stuff on Wellness Wednesday

Because someone asked........

I buy the stuff on Wellness Wednesday because the paper WWQs and the L2C WWQs stack....meaning if widget A is $3 off with the paper WWQ you also get another $3 off if you load the L2CQ to your card's account.  This doubles the Q discount you receive on widget A.

Now if widget A is also on sale that week OR your account has the Gold Wellness Discount(meaning you get an instant 20% the reg. retail price-if the sale price that week is less)that's an even better deal.

And the colliding of all the goodness in the Universe will happen if you can also find a Manufacture's coupon(any kind-IPQ, ManuQ from the Sunday inserts or a magazine, Hangtag Qs, Peelie Qs or a Q the manufacturer sends you directly in the mail)to stack with the double R-A Qs and a sale price/20% Wellness discount.
The much beloved triple stack deal.  ;-)

So I'll reconnoiter at my R-A store a few days before WW when the paper WWQ info is leaked and the L2C WWQs appear in my account.....to see the reg.shelf prices on the items w/WWQs for that one day of WW.

I then figure out how much they will cost w/my 20% Wellness discount.

For example, the R-A brand women's bladder pads are $11.79 at my store(my store is usually a bit higher than some R-As).
With the 20% Wellness discount they were $9.43 per pack.
With 2 x WWQs(a paper one and a L2C digital one)for $5/1 so that's a $10 discount.
This made them free after 20% discount and stacked Qs and gave me .57¢ overage in the transaction to apply to something else I bought.
As long as you can use or pass the item along to someone who can use it, it's common sense to get any item on WW that is free or gives overage.

In this transaction the foot spray, Daylogic shampoo, Tena pads, R-A bladder pads, the Werther's candy, the Emergen-C(only because it also had a $2 RA discountQ attached to it too), the Zen balm, the R-A throat lozenges, the Centrum and the R-A eye drops all gave overage because the amount of the Qs for each item was greater than the cost of the item.

This meant all that overage could be applied to the Aspercreme and the Ensure drinks which were .19¢ and $3.47 respectively after sale and Qs(the Ensure L2CQ didn't work but it gave $3 back in new BC so still worth paying for). 

Still having overage after covering those 2 items I bought all that L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner, used the rest of the overage and L'Oreal Qs and some BC to cover it and earned back $10 in new BC for the 'poos/conditioners plus a $2.50 Catalina Q.

It's great to use overage on items giving it to buy other things you need but always have a plan for the thing you got free w/overage is my motto.

Everything but the bladder pads will be used here, given to family or go into potential Giveaways on the blog. 
The bladder pads will also be used..........given to the local food bank(they have a toiletry/paper products/HBA/laundry detergent area)and they will be thrilled to receive them for someone who can't afford to buy them.

Sluggy