Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Random Stuff That Makes You Go "Huh?"

Just some random stuff in Sluggy's World not worth a whole post but still a tidbit(or should that be a "Timbit"?)worth mentioning.
It's stuff that riles me up or catches my eye or gets my brain humming.
I cleaned off my desk(Don't faint now!?!)and cleaned out the photos in my camera/phone and unearthed some gems so let's get to it!

*  The number of solicitations in the mail is still going strong for folks who want to get their hands on "managing" our retirement monies.


This one which came in a couple of months ago was addressed to me personally(although Hubs' name only is on all the work accounts that were set up).  This clown must have bought a list with our personal bank account info on it.
I now refer to these unsolicited offers as "The Sharks"(or you could refer to them as Vultures)......there is blood(money)in the water and they are circling for the kill(take your money in fees).  Just keep saying, "They only want what is best for me......". *snort*

* Back in September my Daughter and her Finacé sent out wedding invitations.

The one for Ex-College Boy arrived on September 14th I believe so 2 days after being mailed.
Here is when they were mailed, including the invite for Hubs and I...........



So guess how long it took our invite from being mailed/postmarked to when it arrived from Louisiana?

2 WEEKS!!  We got our invitation in the mail just barely before September ended.
There is a reason I refer to that state as "Lousyana". lolz
The good times are always rolling there and it gets in the way of conducting business in a normal time frame for most of the rest of the country. *snort*
But "Drive-Thru Frozen Dauqiris"?  They are the best at that! lolz


*  When I was going to go on Humira for my HS the company has an "Ambassador"(a nurse who works for the company)come to your house to talk to you about the drugs and to instruct you on how to inject yourself.  Having had a DVT back in 2013 and being on Coumadin then I knew already how to inject a drug into myself.  I got semi monthly allergy shots as a child so I am not squeamish about needles, so I was an easy patient for my "Ambassador".
Part of the Humira program(besides the card that takes my co-pay from $50 to $5(yah!)they provide you with a sharps container to properly dispose of the needles too.

On the lid of that container was this according of paper...........





You gotta love them for trying!lolz
Wouldn't feeling better physically be enough of a reward for giving yourself a shot of their drug?
No, you can only feel good about using this medication if you go spend money on yourself?
I just don't get it......


* And here's another fine tchotchke from the fine folks at the Bradford Exchange........


I don't care what you think of this POTUS and FLOTUS do you really need to shell out $129.99 + shipping and sales tax to have this 11 inch figurine sitting on a shelf gathering dust?
But it's a limited edition of 4 bazillion!!  Get one before they run out! 8-P
That $129.99 + shipping and sales tax IMHO could be better spent on so many other things............


* When Hubs and I went to the movies last, I found this on the changing table in my bathroom stall when I had to go potty myself(if potty works for the dogs as a term, it works for me)...........


Was this planted there just for me by some heavenly force?

Inside was a checklist of 17 items which could be the best basis for reaching Heaven.
Four I don't do now, but most I did as a child(and no longer do out of a religious obligation...some I do because I want to be a good, moral person).

I suppose the jury is still out on whether I'll go to Heaven(if there is a heaven.....there I go, questioning authority again!)

*  I was browsing around Kohl's last month trying to figure out how to spend that $5 in free money there and took a couple of pictures of useless crap...........

Doesn't everyone need a desk sign like this?
Usually folks who have one it means yes, it IS your problem, right? lolz


And they had this ginormous stuffed Sloth sitting in a ginormous gift box thing.  This was the best shot I could get taking a selfie with it.
I guess 2018 was the Year of the Llama but 2019 is the Year of the Sloth?
I wonder what unfashionable animal will be the Sales Mascot for 2020.........

*  And while cleaning out closets when we changed out/redid rooms this past Summer I found these........

The copy of the hospital charges when I had my Eldest son in 1991.
He cost $814.95.

My charges were $2,125.05.
This isn't what we paid, just the charges before insurance kicked in.

By comparison, 5 years later, my last child(Ex-CB)cost over $1,200 and my hospital charges for his birth were in excess of $8,400!
But then again, I had a C-section with him and we both had a 5 night vacation(hahaha)at the hospital too.

I guess that's all I have to say for now.
I probably won't post on Thursday as we have to go to Hershey(the town and Medical Center, not the amusement park)tomorrow for my HS clinic appointment.  Fun, fun.
So I'll be back on Friday.

Have a good Thursday......save some money, do something frugal and have some fun!



Sluggy

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Rite-Aid--Working on the Beauty Gift Card Reward Deal


I went to Rite-Aid on Monday and used two of those Tresemme Catalinas I had leftover from all that Tresemme I bought the week before last.............


The first transaction was the two mascaras on the top of the photo.
Cover Girl mascara on sale BOGO50%=$9.73
I used.......
1 x $2.50 CatalinaQ=$2.50
2 x $1/1 CG Mascara IPQs=$2.00
$9.73-$4.50=$5.23+.32¢ tax=$5.55 paid with BC(no BOGO50% since I only bought one)=$5.99
I used.......
1 x $1.50 CatalinaQ=$1.50
1 x $1/1 CG face product IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 any CG item R-A snail mailedQ=$2.00
$5.99-$4.50=$1.49+.09¢ tax=$1.58 paid with BC

 $7.13 paid in BC, $7 in new BC earned back and this card has $21.15 in purchases toward the $10 Beauty Reward GC so only $28.85 left to get it to $50 spent.

I still have a $1.50 Catalina to use before Saturday but not sure what to use it on yet.

I also bought a few gift cards that give back BC this week to get my BC amounts up a bit before the Black Friday sales.  They were GCs I was going to buy eventually anyway so why not reap the benefit of getting some BC?

Sluggy


Monday, November 18, 2019

This Week on the Dining Table

The "WTF?!?" Edition................



This is a shot from the frozen foods section at my Weis(PMITA)Markets.
I really want to meet the marketing genius who decided to call Chicken Feet, Chicken "PAWS".
Bears have paws, cats have paws, rabbits have paws.
Chickens do not.

Moving On....
Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--
1. Sunday--Fend For Yourself
2. Monday--BBQ on rolls, Cole Slaw
3. Tuesday--Beef Pie
4. Wednesday--Salmon, Asparagus, Rice
5. Thursday--Teriyaki Beef Stir-Fry
6. Friday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--
1. Sunday--Fend For Yourself
2. Monday--BBQ on rolls, Cole Slaw
3. Tuesday--Beef Pie
4. Wednesday--Salmon, Asparagus, Mushroom Risotto
5. Thursday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Salad
6. Friday--Teriyaki Beef Stir-Fry, Rice
7. Saturday--Chicken Parm, Salad(I had leftover Sauteed Cabbage and Chicken)

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

What got put into the freezer last week.....
*  2 meals worth of Salmon
*  2 bags of Ground Beef(1 lb. each)
*  4 bags of Barbecue Pork
*  2 bags of Butternut Squash Ravioli

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
*  2 bags of Barbecue Pork
* 1 London Broil
* 2 packages of Breaded Chicken

A trip to the Bread Outlet, Malacari's produce market, Aldi's and Price Chopper brought the current weekly spending to $110.09 and my November spending on food to $302.06 for this month.

My savings percentage last week was 49.44%(without Rite-Aid trips)and November's monthly savings total comes in at 43.26%(w/out R-A).

A bit of food waste this week--the last tomato from the garden.  It got buried on the kitchen island counter and went bad before I found it this weekend. 8-(

I have 12 more food shopping/spending days in November.

Leftovers going into this week......Fried Chicken, Beef Pie, BBQ, Beef Stroganoff, Beef stir-fry, Rice, Chicken Parm, Asparagus, Mushroom Risotto.

Here is this week's "food plan".....
1. Sunday--Leftover Beef Pie
2. Monday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad
3. Tuesday--Hot Dog on Roll w/Chili, Beans, Squash and Onions
4. Wednesday--Something Chicken, Veggie TBD
5. Thursday--Assorted Leftovers
6. Friday--Beef Stew
7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out

As always this menu is subject to change or rearranging depending on what leftovers get eaten or not and what I am feeling like cooking(or not). lolz

What needs buying for this menu? Nothing that I can think of.

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  

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Using My Assets on Grocery Shopping & Thanksgiving Shopping

As I have said before I have various gift cards to deploy from now until the end of 2019 to get my grocery spending lower.

$12 HeartGuard prepaid card
$15 P&G prepaid Visa
$15 in free Target gift cards
$261.23 in reduced price Target gift cards
$25 Shursave gift card
$89.69 in Ocean State Job Lot free gift cards
That's $159.69 in free and $261.23 in discount chits.

So on Friday I went to Weis to do a few deals and pick up Turkey day essentials.
Here is what I bought..............


2 x Pepperidge Farm stuffing
4 x Swanson broth/stock
4 x Campbell's soup
5 x Weis canned veggies
2 x Hanover Charro Beans
1 x Weis pie crusts
2 x Domino golden sugar bags
1 x Weis paper plates
8.5 lbs. sweet potatoes

Total before sales/coupons/instant savings........$51.65
Total after sales/couopon/instant savings..........$19.03
I deployed THE $12 Heart Guard prepaid card so my OOP was only $7.03

Nice. 8-)))

The PF/Swanson/Campbell's(2 of the soups only)was "Spend $15/Get $5 Off" Deal so $7 after sales/Qs/Instant Sav.  The other 2 soups were .60¢ can after sale/Q.
The Weis veggies were .47¢ per can if you bought 5.  The Hanover beans were on clearance for .75¢ each.  The sugar was .49¢ per bag after sale/Qs.  The paper plates were the freebie item and the sweet taters were finally down to .49¢ per lb. so I stocked up on those.

I see that Target is going to have their "Spend $50 on Food/Beverage, Get a $10 Gift Card" Deal on Nov. 23 and 24th(Sat. and Sun. of next week)only.  There is also a $5 gift card when you buy $20 Frito-Lay/Pepsi products deal that you can stack with the $50/$10 Deal(if you use that sort of thing)to make your Target chits go a little further.

I peered down into the black hole of the chest freezer last weekend and found that I have 2 hotel turkey breasts in it's depths.  So those will be served for Turkey Day along with the usual sides instead of a whole turkey.  I also have a whole eye of round in the freezer so the meat for Xmas dinner is accounted for and I don't need to buy a fancy cut of beef or a ham for that meal.

I will be getting a free turkey(which will take up the space of those 2 turkey breasts)at Weis as I have over 400 points now.  I haven't bought $400 worth of stuff during the time frame that counts but I have done a feedback survey once a week which gives me 100 points each time so 3 surveys and the limited Wes shopping got me to the freebie. ;-)

The sweet potatoes, some stock, some soup, stuffing and pie crusts from this shopping trip were for Thanksgiving(ok, not ALL those sweet potatoes lol)so the only "needs" on the Turkey day list now are celery and rutabagas.  I'll pick those up closer to Turkey Day.

How's your Turkey Day shopping going?

Sluggy


Friday, November 15, 2019

Frugal Friday...........the November 15th Edition

Here's what frugal wins we had this past week at Chez Sluggy.............

*  I got 2 more bottles of Gold Bond lotion this week using BC and gift card cred(no actual money spent), which earned me $3.10 in Ibotta cash rebate and a $10 Rite-Aid gift card as well.

See my Rite-Aid posts for more details. ;-)

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

I snagged the last bottle of it on the shelf. Now and again  Ex-College Boy will go buy Fruit Punch at the store for himself so I got the Freebie this week for him.

*  I also got a couple of Zataran's boxed bean/rice mixes at Weis that day.  They were 50% off on clearance......

But they rang up full price so it was off to the Customer Service desk for a refund.........



* On Thursday I had a semi-annual dental check-up.  No cavities meant just a cleaning so nothing paid out of pocket.
Plus I got a goody bag of samples............



*  I found half a cooked chicken breast and a leg pushed to the back of the fridge earlier this week.  It was still good so I used the leg meat & part of the breast to add to Chester's dinner a couple of nights after his surgery to get him to eat again.  The rest of the breast got made into Chicken Salad(I had an abundance of grapes bought at Aldi this past week for .99¢ lb. and an open bag of pecans so salad was a no-brainer.)for a couple of lunches here.
Keeping food waste at bay once more is a win!

*  I found money!



This shiny dime was laying under the self-checkout as I walked out of the Weis(PMITA)Markets last Friday.


This penny was found in an aisle in Weis on Saturday when I went there to attend their Open House(food tastings).


This dime was found in an aisle in Rite-Aid on Saturday when I went to use the rest of my Tresemme coupons.


I found this penny at Price Chopper as we walked into the door on Sunday.


And this dime also at Price Chopper on the way out of the store by the registers.


And the 2 pennies in this photo were found in two different locations in Rite-Aid by the pharmacy and the quarter was by the register up front so .27¢ richer when I left Rite-Aid on Tuesday.


A trip to Rite-Aid to return something after my dentist appointment netted me this .35¢, a quarter AND a dime on the floor at the register.

Weekly total..........94¢
A very good week for change!

*  I went to Weis on Saturday around noon for their product Open House.  In order to convince you to buy their products for the holidays(and to order pre-made goodies like bakery stuff and deli platters)they had samples set out all over the store with food items.  Cold Shrimp, Hummus and chips, apple cider, clementine oranges, 4 kinds of "gourmet" cookies, 2 kinds of cake/pie, smoked sausage, Jarlsberg cheese, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese were the stores offerings.  I left not needing to eat lunch! lolz



*  One day for lunch I got a 2 Subs for $11.99 text code from Subway so Hubs took my phone up to get lunch there and he used a gift card to pay.  Making the gift card go just a little bit further with a coupon code is a win in my book.

* Cash earned this week(refunds and/or rebates)came to $22.32 ($16.17 at Rite-Aid, $2.60 at Weis, $3.55 at Ibotta).

*  Kohl's sent me a 30% off Q and a $10 off anything promo chit this past week.  Not needing anything I went with Hubs up to Kohl's so he could find a pair of shoes for wearing out in the "poop field" with the doggies.  He wanted something that would be easy to slip on and off.  He won't buy shoes online(he has to try them on first-his rule!)and the only thing we could find in the store that met his criteria were these..........

A pair of Crocs.  He likes Crocs and has 2 pair but they both have ventilation holes in them so not so great to wear in the Winter with snow and ice.
It was the only pair of these particular color/style and they were miraculously in his size......and on clearance!!
So they were, after % off and $10 free chit, $13.99 OOP.
And even better, they sorta match the Crocs I bought at the shoe outlet in Rehoboth, Delaware last month..........



That's about it from here......

What frugal wins did y'all have last week?
Tell us all about it!


Sluggy