Frugal Friday.....the September 13th Edition

Frugal Friday is also Friday the 13th this week.
Grab a drink and a chair because this week's FF is long....Oh boy!!!

Here's what frugalisciousness happened this past week..........

* Here's what I bought at Rite-Aid last Friday, "the week of free toothpaste/toothbrushes/mouth wash and marshmallow/chocolates".........

The Crest toothpaste and candy were all free after Qs and Bonus Cash.

I also cashed in a rain check from 2018 for Hello toothpaste.  With that rain check it was free(as it was from a Buy for $5/Get $5 BC back deal).  In addition, if you bought 2 this past week you got $5 BC back(a new Deal)so those two tubes cost me nothing and gave me $5 BC back.
Sweet. 8-)

*  I made a rare trip to Target and used some of that $300 Target gift card I bought last November...........

$3.15 for the chicken w/a $3 off sticker
$1.59 for a Stubb's bbq sauce(50% off cartwheel)
$2.16 for 2 jars of clearance peanut butter
$7.00 for 3 boxes of granola bars(I used a .50¢/2 ManuQ)
Came to 13.90 and I deducted the 10% discount I received when I purchased the gift card so $12.51 total to add to my grocery tally for September.

*  Those nature Valley granola bars are also part of the gift card deal at Target too.......

Buy 3 participating General Mills items and get a $5 Target gift card.
Go HERE for details.  This offer runs through 1/14/20.


*  I found money!

Last Friday at Weis this penny was found by one of the self-checkout registers.

These three pennies were found in three different parts of my Rite-Aid store--1 by register #1, 1 by register #2 and 1 in the foyer area as I was leaving the store.
They all found a good home here with me at Chez Sluggy.

This dime was found in my local Shursave Market past the registers by the exit door.  FDR left the building in my pocket......

Then I found this $2 in the dryer............

Any money found in the washer/dryer reverts to me per Sluggy House Rules. 8-))
$2.14 into my Found Money envie.  8-)))


*  Here are some good deals I found at Weis(PMITA)Markets last Friday........

Everything in the photo but the sugar was 50% off on clearance.
The sugar is a new hybrid(50% white sugar/50% brown sugar)they call "Golden Sugar".  After a .75¢/1 doubled to $1.50/1 Domino Q it cost me .50¢ OOP.

I got 2 more 4 packs of tuna($2.99)and 3 more large cans of chicken breast(.75¢ each)except the cashier who pulled my cart over to the self-checkout and was ringing everything up for me was going so fast one of the cans didn't register so I ended up only paying for 2 cans of this. ;-)
They also have tins of anchovies(pizza and Caesar salad here I come!)for $1 each so I got 4 and a Salted Caramel Brownie mix for $1.29 each.  Ex-College Boy will go wild for those!

Along with everything else I bought on that trip, my total came to $35.18 OOP.
But I used this..........

A $15 prepaid card earned back in March at Rite-Aid that expires the end of September to pay for some of this transaction so my OOP was $20.18 at Weis.  The regular retail on everything on that trip would have been $98.10 if I had paid shelf price there. 
Nice.

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

Weis brand dipping sauce so I selected a bottle of  "Yum Yum" sauce.  Totally Free.

*  I received $7.44 in Ibotta rebates(.20¢, .25¢ and $6.99 for a 3/17/19 hotel stay-which I had to bitch about to finally get it to credit!)and $1 in a SavingStar rebate(Farm Rich frozen item).

*  I continue to pick tomatoes(cukes are done, and I'm getting teeny tiny broccoli heads still)in mass.

This isn't the current batch because I didn't take a photo before throwing them into the freezer but it's representative. lolz
I am up to 20.209 pounds of tomatoes harvested.  Besides canning them we've been eating them fresh in BLTs and salads or just sliced on a plate with a bit of salt sprinkled on them.
We grew Cherokee Purples among the varieties this year and they are so good eaten fresh!
Paying retail in the grocery store for 20 lbs. of tomatoes is OBSCENE for what they would charge for a tomato that tastes terrible.  I will miss "real" tomatoes when they are done for the year.  8-(((

*  On Labor Day I found a deal where 3 coupon codes stacked(2 Labor Day codes + a Spend $25/Get $10 off code).
Some housewares were on sale and there was no shipping if you picked up at the store.  Of course 4 of the items weren't in stock at my store so I had to have them shipped to the store so I couldn't pick it all up until THIS week and show it to y'all.

Sorry for the crap poor photo but I haven't had time to take it all out and arrange it nicely for a picture. lolz
It's 6 pillows, 8 bath sheets and 4 hand towels.
The 8 bath sheets were ordered in a separate transaction from the rest so I could use that $10 wyspend $25 coupon code twice.
8 bath sheets on sale for $3.99(reg. $9.99)
$31.92
I got $19.51 in discounts so with .74¢ sales tax all 8 cost me $13.15 OOP.

Then I ordered the 6 pillows and 4 hand towels separately.
Pillows were $3.99(reg. $9.99)and hand towels were $2.99(reg. $7.99), subtotal of $35.90.
I got $20.94 in discounts so with .90¢ sales tax all 10 items cost me $15.86 OOP.
Total OOP with tax was $29.01 for everything.
Reg. retail of $171.82 so I am good with spending under $30 for new pillows for all the beds and a complete set of towels in FABULOUS colors. lolz

And I got some change back(something like .22¢ lolz) from ordering through ShopAtHome website.
I guess when you don't spend much you don't get much in a rebate. ;-)

That's it from here this week.

What frugal wins did y'all have this week?
Tell us all about them!

Sluggy

To-Do List....August Update

I know it's a bit late but here's our August To-Do List and how it all went down last month.....

* Pay Bills  DONE  First thing every month....pay ALL the bills in full.

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE
In August I read this book...........

"The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy" by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko.

Actually we found in when Hubs cleared out his bookshelves so I read this years ago already but I am counting it again anyway.
The data is dated in this edition now and it's not a how-to become wealthy anyway.  It just proves that if someone appears to be a millionaire(ie, big house, expensive car, fashionable clothing, etc.)it doesn't necessarily mean they are.  Most millionaire(not billionaires)can be ordinary working stiffs who live below their means, invest their money and grow it and not show off by living a fancy lifestyle.
It's an interesting read and the stuff about second generation wealth, EOC(Economic Outpatient Care), UAW vs. PAW, are spot on.
And then I read this book.........

"The Real Custer: Fron Boy General to Tragic Hero" by James S. Robbins

So many myths surround Custer but this book gives the true facts of his life an even handed treatment.  I wasn't a fan of Custer going into this tome and I'll say my opinion of him didn't change much.  In my opinion, between taking risks with his battalion at the Little Big Horn, his life long treatment/opinion of the Natives, and his playing politics, he got what he deserved.  The only career he was suited for was as a soldier but he thought he knew better than his superiors and chafed at the glacier slowness of the military structure and it's dependence on government's machinations.  If he hadn't had a widow who spent the rest of her life tirelessly  promoting and shaping Custer's legacy, George Armstrong Custer would have been forgotten long ago.
An interesting read no matter what your opinion of the man is.

* Purge Inserts and Q Envie  DONE  I try to do this every month.  As I get less Sunday inserts than in years gone by it's not as bad a chore as it was.

* Hold Giveaway DONE

* Hold 2nd Giveaway  DONE  I gave away two sets of these items.

* Mail Giveaway & 2nd Giveaways DONE

* Get Carpet Done in Hubs' Room  DONE

Gratefully Hubs found a carpet in stock that he liked so it wasn't long before they had it pulled and ready to install.

* Go Through Xmas Stash  DONE

This is the photo of my whole Xmas stockpile for 2019.  I've got a list of everything in these tubs/boxes and to whom the gifts are for.  Mostly my shopping is done.  I have also decided after this Xmas we are cutting down severely on gifting.  Going forward, as a rule, cash will be given to the adult kids and I'll still send my brother and his wife presents but that's it.  It will be easier that way(and cheaper too)and I won't have to shop for Xmas year round.

* Cut Dog's Hair  DONE
Chester got a hair cut and shampoo last month before his flea treatment(cologne).

* House Train Puppy  IN PROGRESS
We are still working on the house training with Dixie.  They said a Cavalier could take 4 months to fully potty train.  She's getting it but it's taking time mainly because she is such a ditz. lolz

* Move More $ Into a CD  FAIL
Just didn't do anything with any of the extra monies in the checking account. blah  Maybe in September?

* Continue to Clean out Garage  DONE

The shot down one side with a clear pathway after Daughter moved out and all her stuff left the garage........

And the front of the garage before the stockpile sale happened.  Look at all that floor space!!!

* Organize my Stuff  IN PROGRESS
Getting the last of my sewing stuff out of the master bedroom and into my she shed room.  I'll do a reveal when it's finished in September.

* Start Processing Tomatoes  IN PROGRESS  

I started in with processing tomatoes in August and this will continue into September.

* Get Ready for a Stockpile Sale in Sept.  IN PROGRESS

Here are all the tubs and bags of stuff to sell that I gathered in August.  As of this writing the sale is over, yeah!!! Stay tuned for September's update)or the September giveaway winner announcement) for the final tally of what sold.

I am overall pleased with the progress we've made getting stuff done in August.
Here's hoping September is equally productive.  

Did you get stuff off your To-Do List in August?
Tell us all about it!


Sluggy

September Giveaway....Let's Do This!

Here goes Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for September. This makes 16 giveaways I've held in 2019.  Boy, that is a LOT of stuff!! ;-)


Here's what you can win if you are selected this month.........

1 x Centrum Women's Vitamins
1 x Tresemme Hair Spray
1 x Suave Shampoo
1 x Skintimate shaving gel
1 x Lady Speed Stick deodorant
1 x Colgate toothpaste
1 x 2 pack of Lever bar soap
1 x Trident gum(watermelon)
1 x 12 pack Bic razors
1 x Lysol toilet bowl cleaner thingy
1 x Yes2 Charcoal Detox face mask



Close up shots of the goodies..........

There is a little more room in the box so once a winner is selected they can tell me what small cosmetic type items they also want put into the box.

It will all be around $60 worth of regular retail goodies(depending on where you shop for this sort of thing).

* This September Giveaway Box of goodies is open to any and all readers, non-winners yet and previous winners.

There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY for this Giveaway.  Come back every day and enter though!

In order to enter you must comment with how much you think I made at the Stockpile Sale.  Whomever comes closest to the actual amount wins....easy peasy!

Here's a photo of the cash monies I raised..........

Don't forget to count that baggie of quarters under the plate on the upper left in the photo. 8-)))

I'll leave this giveaway open until Friday, September 20th at 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. On September 21st, Saturday, I'll go through the entries and announce who came closest to the actual amount I ended up with from the sale.  In case of a tie, I'll have Hubs draw a name out of a hat.

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winner on this blog on  and that person has 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

If I am not contacted via email, I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supplied with their entry(or gave me to add to the Giveaway Data Base)and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with your contact information on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one make sure your email info is linked to your profile.

If I can't contact you then you can't win.  I am still having to disqualify entries due to this issue and I sure don't like doing that.  Thanks!

So let's get the SEPTEMBER Giveaway started.  Good Luck to everyone!!!

Sluggy

Stockpile Sale Outcome

I am getting where I get anxious when I have to deal with the public.  As I get older I just want to stay home and not interact with people I don't know.  This was my frame of mind going into this adventure.

I advertised the stockpile sale on craigslist(which also automatically put it on the yard sale app)and I posted on 3 local FB sales sites on Friday.
The dingbat comments started shortly after. lolz

Then the ones who wanted to show up on Friday because blah, blah, blah.
Read the ad.....it's Saturday for this hour until that hour.

Then the ones who wanted prices and a list of EVERY SINGLE ITEM I WAS SELLING!
Nope.
You have to show up on Saturday.....my event my rules.

I opened the garage promptly at 8 am.

Except for the first guy and his wife everyone was lovely who showed up.
The first guy was such a jackass that the other folks who were there while he was were rolling their eyes and making comments to me.
sigh.

After he left there were no problems and no stress.
Things were steady, busy for the first two hours.  Then a few stragglers the next one and 3/4 hours and I started breaking things down about 45 minutes early due to nobody showing up and closed the garage door 15 minutes before I posted I'd end it.

If you happened to be here at quarter of ten you would have seen the "show".....me fall straight back out of my chair, flat on my back on the ground.  It was a silly little chair that folded up when I bent over to grab a bag for a customer to put stuff in and when I went to sit back up I just kept going back onto the ground. lolz
Fun times.
Sore as hell and bruised still from that but no damage was done.

Some of what's left........

What sold?
Spaghetti Sauce and liquid laundry detergent sold out.
Salsa, cereal, lotions, shaving cream, ladies deo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash, razors, soap and baby products nearly sold out.
Feminine paper products, shampoo, cold meds, pain relievers, laundry pods and "some" make-up sold well.

I still have TONS of shampoo.  The low end stuff($1 a bottle)didn't sell. It was mostly the $2 and $2.50 bottle stuff that went but not enough of it sold.

I'll take some 'poo down to my brother/sister in-law, to son and GF and to Kim and her Sissie next month when I see all of them.  I am in the process of giving away things to people I know around here who can use them.  Another load of shampoos will go to the Food Bank not to mention into the Giveaway boxes.

I made a wad of cash, more than I thought I'd make which was nice!
But I am not telling y'all how much I made yet.

You'll have to wait until I post the September Giveaway tomorrow and you'll see why then.  ;-)

I started with 7 Rubbermaid tubs of stuff to sell and now have 3+ left.
All this is in excess of what I kept for family use.  Since I had to move the toiletries tubs out of  Hubs' man cave room I now only have space for 2 Rubbermaid tubs plus 2 unused bedroom dressers I have filled with toiletries.

Had I done another flea market with this stuff it would have meant more work(and compressed into a short window of time),traveling and hassle which I wanted to avoid.

Overall, the sale was a success--it lightened the amount of toiletries sitting around here AND gave me a little "fun" money. ;-)
And it was beautiful weather to sit in the garage and have people give me money for stuff they wanted and I got for free or almost free.  8-)))

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "My Flowers Are Gone Mostly" Edition................

I've been growing morning glories so long along the backyard deck that they just self-seed each year at this point.  Almost 2 weeks ago we got 3 sunny days in a row so Hubs did the yearly deck cleaning, followed by sealing the wood.  In order to do the railing he had to tear down all my morning glory vines on it.
Now I have two balls of dead and dying vines hanging from the bird seed feeder hooks on either end of the deck.  For a week the blooms continued to open each morning but now there is just one old bloom in that ball of yuck....it bloomed yesterday and now is dying.

I do have a few vines still going at it in the garden bed proper and in the half barrels.
It's always a trade off each late Summer....keep the glories going on the railing or get the deck treated before the Fall weather sets in and it's too late to seal the wood.
Farewell to pretty.....

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

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

1. Sunday--Steak, Corn Casserole, Garlic Mashed Taters
2. Monday--Haddock, French Fries, Cole Slaw

3. Tuesday--Leftovers(Probably Beets and Scampi + Tomatoes)

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Squash and Onions

5. Thursday--Pizza, Salad

6. Friday--Pork Chops, Glazed Carrots, Rice(Hubs is cooking this.)
7. Saturday--?

And this is what actually happened--

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

1. Sunday--Steak, Corn Casserole, Garlic Mashed Taters
2. Monday--Haddock, French Fries, Leftover Beets

3. Tuesday--Corn on the Cob(that was enough, we had lunch out)

4. Wednesday--Chicken Fajitas

5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

6. Friday--Veal Parmesan, Spinach Souffle, Corn(used 2 leftover ears)
7. Saturday--Leftover Shrimp Scampi, Tomato and Cuke Salad

* I also used the leftover Broccoli in Cheese Sauce to make Broccoli Cheddar Soup, adding the last of the garden Broccoli.

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 nights of leftovers/ffy, and 0 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out.

Everything happened except the pizza and the "Hubs' is cooking" meal.  The pepper picking meant Fajitas was added to the meal plan too.  And I did not succumb to the siren song of cheap lobsters at Price Chopper. lolz

What got put into the freezer last week.....

* 6 thin sliced Pork Chops(I bought 12, used 6)
* White Castle bkfast sandwiches(for Hubs)
* Grilled Cheese Sticks(for Ex-CB)
* .85 lb. Steelhead Trout fillet
* Lots and LOTS of bags of Pepper strips/chunks

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.....
* 2 Chicken Breast halves
* 1.65 lbs. Haddock
* 2 small Steaks
* 1 Spinach Souffle

Two trips to Weis($63.41), produce at the farm($18.50)and a trip to Aldi($32.70)brought the weekly spending to $114.61 and my September Total spending on food to $114.61.

My savings percentage last week was 63.26%(without Rite-Aid trips)and September's monthly savings total comes in at 63.26%(w/out R-A).

I have 21 more food shopping/spending days in September.  The budget is $400 but we always hope to do a little better than that amount. ;-)

Leftovers going into this week......Harvard Beets, 1 helping of Corn Casserole, Fajita filling, Broccoli Cheddar Soup and a few slices of cuke.

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

1. Sunday--Hubs' cooking Pork Chops, Glazed Carrots, Asiago Rice
2. Monday--Stuffed Peppers with Rice

3. Tuesday--Fall Harvest Hungarian Goulash, Egg Noodles

4. Wednesday--Leftover Soup, Grilled Ham Sandwiches

5. Thursday--Lobster Cakes(like crab cakes), Cole Slaw, Yellow Squash and Onions

6. Friday--Leftovers or Pizza
7. Saturday--T-Bone Steak, Salad, ?

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 1 night of leftovers/FFY, and 0 nights of  Eating Out.
2 meals with be heavy on peppers since I reserved a few for stuffed peppers and I have a large bag of pepper chunks for Goulash found at the bottom of the chest freezer.

What needs buying for this menu? Ground Beef, Cabbage and Sweet Potatoes.  I might pick up that 3 lb. bacon and some lunch meat at Malacari's but no other planned food purchases unless at "deal" presents itself. ;-)

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