Sunday Night Ramblings & Things That Make You Go "Huh?"

It's been an interesting day here.

*  I don't know why but I fell down today.  It was slow motion really.  I bent over to clip Chester to the tie-out to take him outside and I just kept going down. lol  Except for my pride nothing got injured.

As I lay there face down on the floor Chester thought I was playing and licked my face, jumped around my head and stood on my back(King of the Mountain anyone? lolz)while I felt like that "Help? I've fallen and I can't get up lady on TV.

I must have tensed up when I took that dive as my left shoulder is now sore.  My sinuses must have given me some vertigo symptoms which caused me to fall as they have been draining for a few days at least that's what I am hoping was the cause.

*  I had to laugh at this sign at Maines Restaurant Supply I saw in December........

Bean Green aka Green Beans.  I guess they are outsourcing their signage from India or China or ?

*  Have a look at my "long" nails..........

I've never had nails of any note but I recently grew them out.  I have very soft nails(always have)that split easily so these are long for me.
I found after a week or so that I HATE having long nails!  Not only do I mistype on my keyboard because of them, I hate having to constantly having to clean them out and file them.  I used my hands to make meatloaf and boy were they a mess after that. lol

*  I received this in the mail right before Christmas and thought, Hey! This could be something good!

But it was just an ad to get me to buy......a hearing aid. lolz
Nice trick Miracle Ear folks.

*  I saw these fancy paper towels at the discounter nearby......

Since LSU won the College Championship I'm thinking I missed a great opportunity to cash in! lolz

*  I bought these cookies at Lidl back in October when I stopped at my son's apartment for the day coming back from the Ocean City MD girl's weekend.  Son took me to Lidl near his place as I've never been to one.  I must say these were the best Pfeffernüsse cookies I've ever had.  Five thumbs up!
And they were not expensive either because, well, Lidl! ;-)

*  I got the current bill for either Kohl's or one of my fat lady clothing stores(don't remember which now).  Just look at all these ads for more crap to buy that were shoved in with the bill!

6 pages of advertisements for stuff I'd NEVER buy!!
I should have saved it all and returned it with my payment, right?! lolz

*  When Hubs and I went to Kohl's recently to spend my $10 Chit we wandered around all the Christmas leavings there.

This was a "Do-It Yourself Christmas Tree Kit".  A vial with fir tree seed pellets, a hand trowel and a hand rake, along with a tiny journal to record the milestones of your tree's life.
So silly and even on clearance too expensive.

*  And now that my Daughter is married I can start sending her pictures of stuff like this...........

I may have to nag my way into becoming a Grandma! lolz

*  Let's end with some puppy cuteness.  It looks like Chester is winking in this one.......

And that Xmas toy behind him?  It took the two of them 2 hours to destroy it.
Kids and furkids are why you can't have nice things! lolz


Sluggy

Using Up Bonus Cash-There is Light at the End of the Tunnel!

So I hit up R-A on Friday/Saturday to use up a lot of Bonus Cash.

I did this on Daughter's card........it had $3.08 in BC on it.

1 x Caltrate on sale=$6.99
1 x Baby Ruth candy bar on sale=.49¢
SubTotal.......$7.48

I used a $4/1 Caltrate ManuQ so $3.48, $3.08 in BC used and .40¢ on a gift card and Boom! this card has no more BC on it.

I also will earned $4 cash back on Savingstar for buying the Caltrate so a .52¢ moneymaker.

Then I went to do the "Spend $50 on select items/Get $20 Visa gift card Deal" but the return from Tuesday(which I had to call about on Thursday because my BC was NOT put back on my card 2 days later)was still not accounted for with the return of the BC points. sigh.
So I did some of the deal(and called again when I got home about the missing BC)and went in Saturday morning before the snow started.

2 x Kleenex 6 pack on sale=$15.98
2 x Scott big tp on sale=$15.98 *not pictured*
4 x Butterfinger candy bars on sale=$1.96
1 x Micinex DM on sale=$14.99
2 x Altoids on sale=$4.00
SubTotal.......$52.91

Coupons Used
2 x $1/4 Kleenex singles or 1 4 pack ManuQ=$2.00
2 x .50¢/1 Scott tp ManuQ=$1.00
4 x .50¢ Instant Discount Peelie on candy bars=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Mucinex IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.........$7.00

$52.91-$7.00=$45.91+$1.05 tax=$46.96 paid for with Bonus Cash.
R-A actually paid me .04¢ to take those Butterfingers home(after sale/instant Q they were -.01 each). ;-)

I earned a $5 Catalina(spend $25 on Kimberley/Clark-Kleenex and Scott products)...........

And the $20 Visa Reward Card code printed on my receipt this morning.....

So I turned $46.72 in BC into a $5 Cat and a $20 Visa debit card that expires the end of June 2020(and can be used anywhere, not just R-A).

Then I bought another Caltrate on Hubs card.....

$6.99-$4 ManuQ=$2.99 paid for with Bonus Cash.  This is something I need and use and I needed to spend the BC down.
I have another $2.24 in BC on Hubs card that has to be used before end of business Monday.
I have $1.06 BC on son's card which doesn't expire until Feb.
I also have $20 on my card which expires end of Jan. so I'll be spending that all down in the next week or two.

This means I am almost divested of ALL of my BC and can take a nice long break from Rite-Aid.
I am just tired of playing the drugstore game and we are full up with toiletries.  8-)))

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the January 17th Edition

A quick look at what passed for frugal this past week around Chez Sluggy.....

* I got the Weis Freebie item last week--

Or rather Hubs got the freebie as I sent him to Weis. lol  Cotton swabs are always useful so heck yeah!!

* I went to pick-up an item I ordered from Kohl's--

I had $10 in Kohl's Cash that had to be used before we went to Louisiana so I ordered a bra and did a store pick-up so no shipping.  It came in after we got home.
Total OOP was $7.99 after sale/Q/K-Cash for a Playtex 18 hour bra.  Nice.

*  After we got home from Louisiana I got a $10 Yes2You Reward as well from Kohl's in my email.

Hubs and I went in the store and checked out the clearance stuff.  I can't show what I got as family reads this here blog sometimes(when they are really bored!).  I picked up a big gift and 2 small gifts for a grand total OOP of $4.31(including .08¢ tax)after K-Cash, 15% off Q and clearance deals.

* I earned .10¢ on Ibotta this past week. Oooooo!

*  Best deals of the week............

 Free after sales/Qs/Bonus Cash toothbrushes at Rite-Aid.

And 6 pork chops for $1.66 OOP at Weis.

* I picked up Domino's on Wednesday when I went out to Weis at lunch time.  I ate some of my pizza for lunch and Hubs reheated his for dinner.  It seems tomato recipes no longer like me at dinner time(have to limit acidic foods to before 4 pm or I get bad heartburn at night)but I still can eat these foods earlier in the day.
What made this frugal?  I used a long ago paid for gift card so no OOP.

* I found some money!

A penny in the R-A parking lot last Saturday.  I opened my car door and there it sat right next to the car.

On Wednesday I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets and used my favorite self check-out to ring out.
Lookie what someone left me there............

.31¢ left in the machine change return that came home with me.
Found Change total this week...... .32¢.
Found Change total for the year..... .83¢

That's about it for this past week.  Otherwise I've been staying home, cleaning, de-cluttering, getting Giveaway Boxes ready, doing end of year paperwork and loving on my doggies.

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

Sluggy

This Past Week's Shopping

Not much to report in with.

Here is the total take from Rite-Aid the week of 1/5-1/11/2020

2 x Oral-B toothbrushes on sale $3=$6.00
I used 2 x $1/1 Oral-B ManuQs from the P&G inserts so $6.00-$2.00=$4.00 paid with BC
I earned $4 in new BC(2 x $2 Oral-B)back so free toothbrushes!

I got a couple of good deals at Weis the past 2 weeks too.........

These 2 packs of pork chops were BOGO Free and had $3 off instant discount stickers on them, making 1 pack $1.01 and the other .52¢.
Nice.

We needed cottage cheese so I did a Mix and Match/Buy 6, Get $3 off Deal.  I had no additional Qs to use so OOP was $8.94 for all 6 items.

I did a Lysol/Finish deal too--Spend $15 Get $5 Off(this worked off reg. retail price, not sale prices.

The 3 items on sale cost $13, I used $5 in Qs and got $5 off instantly so OOP was $3. 8-)

I also found this pack of thin sliced chops with a $2 off discount sticker and they were part of a BOGO Free deal.  Half price was $3.66-$2 sticker=$1.66 for the pack.

I also hit the Bread Outlet and stocked up on 3 loaves of Arnold bread and 3 packs of hamburger/steak rolls.  Price paid for all was $6.67. *no photo though*

See?
Not much to report.

Now I am off to puttering around the house as the snow swirls around outside.
Any good deals to report in on where you live?

Sluggy

2019 Christmas Budget/Spending Autopsy

Ok, so calling this an Autopsy is not very festive or cheerful.
So call it "The Post Where I Talk About What I Was Going to Spend for Christmas and What I Actually Spent for Christmas".
Whatever works for you.....

I budgeted $850 for Christmas spending in 2019 back aft4r Christmas of 2018.  Except for what Hubs spends on gifts for me, this is our entire spending budget for Christmas(except for food for Christmas meals-which is accounted for in the food budget). 
But as 2019 rolled out I re-figured that budget since I knew  we weren't traveling and I didn't plan on giving cash gifts to family this year.  Both of those items would bring down the Holiday spending quite a bit so I went back mid-year and reduced the Christmas Budget to $700.

Last year I budgeted $850 and we spent $845.03.  Pretty close to my target and I knew 2019 would be even lower.

The traveling to Louisiana was happening in January 2020 for my Daughter's wedding so doesn't figure into the Christmas totals/budget.

I have been tracking our Christmas spending since 2010--
2010.........$1000 planned/$881.64 spent
2011.........$1300 planned/$851.32 spent
2012.........$1000 planned/$1020.48 spent
2013.........$1650 planned/$2164.77 spent

2014.........$1900 planned/$1742.87 spent
2015.........$1800 planned/$1583.94 spent

2016.........$1600 planned/$793.72 spent
2017...........$850 planned/$845.62 spent

2018...........$850 planned/$845.03 spent

How do I arrive at a budget for Christmas?  Nowadays I look at what we spent the previous years(because I have a full accounting for the last 9 years or so on the blog)and see where we did well and where we did "not-so-well" with budgeting and add in any unusual things we plan to do and after some papers are balled up and thrown away and there is one sheet left with lots of writing on it(as well as writing scratched out on it), we have a plan and a budget. lolz

No, really.....I look at possible spending categories and what I think we will use in each one.

I generally use c/c points to get gift cards for free(to either give as presents or use to buy the presents to give)plus I buy a bit here and there during the year when a deal presents itself and those items are cash flowed from our regular monthly income.  I have been known to reserve some blogging revenue(what I don't spend on shipping costs for giveaways I hold)and then there is always all that stuff I bring home from Rite-Aid. *wink*
I generally don't set money aside each month throughout the year(like a Christmas club account or actual money in an envelope earmarked for Christmas spending)since we had a large cushion of cash in our checking and savings accounts and I can just pull from those sources when I need money to spend on Christmas stuff.  Since Hubs retired mid-2017 I have to budget for Xmas better though.

But if you don't have extra cash lying around it is a good idea to take funds during the year and earmark them for the Holidays.
There are many ways to save ahead for Christmas.....make regular deposits to a dedicated account or a Christmas club at a bank, use a one-time windfall like a bonus or a tax refund, etc........so use whatever works for your situation.

The only unacceptable plan is to GO INTO DEBT for Christmas!
Better to not spend on Christmas than to endure the grief/angst/anguish/stress by going into debt buying crap at Christmas you can't afford and having to pay off the bills incurred sometime in 2020, or 2021 or beyond.

So we went into the Holidays with $700.00 budgeted to spend.

Here is where the funds were allocated.......

Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $40.00
Gifts for immediate family(includes any cash gifts)  $550.00

Gifts for extended family & friends  $50.00

Electricity for lights   $10.00

A Christmas eve meal and show or movie   $50.00
Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze)   $0.00
Charity  $0.00

And here is where the money actually went.....

Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $62.73

Gifts for immediate family  $385.55

Gifts for extended family & friends  $76.40

Electricity for lights  $10.00

A Christmas eve meal and show or movie  $43.03

Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze)  $0.00

Charity  $0.00

TOTAL SPENT...$577.71

Here are the Spending Details....

$62.73 *Shipping/Mailing Holiday Cards & Gifts----$22.73 over budget

We sent out 21 cards(1 was put into a package and not mailed separately in envelopes) and mailed 1 package to my Daughter and her Fiance and 2 packages to 2 friends.  Stamps cost $11 and the cards I had already from previous Christmases.  The postage for three packages(1 to LA, 1 to AZ, 1 to NE)came to $51.73 for shipping. ouch.

$385.55  *Gifts for family---- $164.45 under budget

Last year I spent $640.46 on gifts for family so I spent $254.91 less this year on the family's gifts.  Family included 5 people--Hubs, 3 kids, eldest's GF and daughter's fiance(and their dog).  I gave no cash gifts this year which brought the spending on gifts down a lot.

$76.40  *Gifts for extended family & friends---OVER budgeted amount by $26.40

I bought for more folks this year but didn't spend an exorbitant amount on anyone, plus added a person so I was just a little over on everyone.

$10.00  *Electricity for Lights----ON Budget

We used the larger tree(equals more lights)but there were less lights on the outside of the house which evened out the electric spending.

$43.03  *A Christmas eve meal and show or movie----UNDER budget by $6.97

Ex-CB was working so it was just Hubs and I Xmas eve so we didn't do our Chinese dinner out tradition.  We did go out to the Chinese Buffet lunch the day after Xmas and paid for the 4 of us(Ex-CB had to work).

$0.00  *Charity----NO Cash Spending on Charity this Holiday Season. I gave to the local food bank at least 4 times during 2019.  I do plan to send a check to my old friend's widow to help with funeral costs/medical bills(Tom died Dec. 29th)but that will happen in January.

$0.00  *Christmas travel expenses(lodging, food, gas, booze, cash incidentals)----NO Spending We didn't travel this year again as the Eldest came home for Christmas with his GF in tow.

All totaled, this year I budgeted $700.00 and we spent $577.71, so $122.29 under budget overall.

Thoughts for 2020--

I think I'll keep our budget at $700 for next Christmas.  We aren't hurting for money but we are on a fixed income with Hubs retired now.  Plus all of our kids are 23 or older(and 1 is established in a career and 2 gainfully employed now)so I don't feel the need to spend so much on them as when they were younger.

For our income and our needs, I think this is just the right amount to splash out on Christmas celebrating.

Unless our plans change and we travel for the Holidays or someone gets pregnant(not me!lol)$700 seems a good target amount for spending.

If you kept track of your spending for Christmas, how did you do?
Did you spend more. less or right about what you planned on spending?
Did you have any money epiphanies when you look back at the Holiday plan?
Do you see anything you'll change about your spending for Christmas 2020?

Leave a comment and let us know how you did and what you learned about yourself & money this year!

Sluggy