Frugal Friday......The March 6th Edition

Let's see what frugal goodness took place around here this past week..................

* I got the Weis(PMITA)Markets freebie last Friday.........

A can of OJ concentrate.

*  I earned $2.10 in Ibotta rebates.

Rah! 8-)
I also earned $1 on SavingStar last week.  I picked up a package of Magnum ice cream bars on clearance for $2.24 so after that rebate they cost me $1.24.
Rah Rah! lolz

*  I almost forgot so this is an Update.......
I got a $10 store coupon from Kohl's so I went Monday while my 30% discount coupon was still valid to see what I could find on clearance for free/cheap.  I found 3 items to put away for Christmas gifts for Ex-College Boy so I can't show them here.  Total came to  $1.40 OOP.
Nice. 8-)

*  I found some good deals at Weis last week.
First some clearance items.........

.62¢ a box whole grain spaghetti on clearance.

Lots of cellophane tape and better than free Vitamin E sticks after rebate at R-A.....

.63¢ spent on a free R-A gift card for Kleenex and Betadine spray plus sample freebies too.

I hit the Dollar General Clearance event last Saturday(plus was able to use a $6/wys $25 Q)..........

 I paid $11.37 OOP

And of the items I'll keep for our use it was $5.79 out of my grocery budget. ;-)

Other shopping deals from this past week can be seen HERE and HERE if interested.


*  I found money!

This .22¢ was found all in one go at Rite-Aid under the candy rack at the register last Friday.  One of the dimes I saw first, glinting at me in the sun, and then when I went back up front I saw there was more under there so I snagged the other dime and the two pennies. ;-)

I found another penny on the floor at R-A on Saturday.

I found this worse for the wear penny outside Dollar General on Saturday.

And this shiny fella was spied under a rack at the Rite-Aid downtown on Tuesday.

Total Found Money this Week....  .25¢
Total Found Money for the Year so far....$43.16

*  Hubs and I went out to lunch on Wednesday to Outback.  We used a gift card Hubs had to no $$ spent OOP(other than the tip which Hubs took out of his WAM).

That's about it from Chez Sluggy for the week.

Did you have any frugal wins this past week?
Tell us all about them!


Sluggy

Rite-Aid & Other Shopping and Deals This Week

Lots of shopping this week at lots of different places(Rite-Aid, Weis, and two Grocery/Produce Outlets).

First off Rite-Aid--
This week one type of Rite-Aid brand cellophane tape is on sale BOGO and when you buy 2 you get $2 in Bonus Cash back.
So you end up getting 2 packs of tape, pay $1.49(plus sales tax if applicable to your state)and get back $2, which is a .51¢ moneymaker(before tax).
This is a monthly Deal for March, limit of 4 per card/account.

I maxed out this deal on my card and my son's card plus I bought Nature's Truth Vitamin E sticks which are BOGOFree this week as well on son's card but I'm putting it out there as one transaction.

16 x R-A tape BOGO sale=$11.92
2 x NT Vitamin E sticks BOGO=$1.99
SubTotal......$13.91+.71¢ tax=$14.62

I paid with $6.31 in BC(on my card)and $8.30 on a free R-A gift card(on son's card).
I earned back $16 in new Bonus Cash($8 on each card).
I also submitted for a $2 Ibotta rebate for the Vitamin E sticks.
So $14.62 "spent" and $18 earned back.

On Wednesday it was Wellness Wednesday so I went up and got a few items on son's card........

2 x Kleenex BOGOFree sale=$2.99
2 x Betadine spray 20% Wellness discount($8.79)=$17.58
SubTotal........$20.57

Coupons Use
2 x $1/1 Kleenex WWQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Betadine IPQ=$4.00
2 x $7/1 Betadine WWQ=$14.00
Total......$20.00

$20.57-$20.00=.57¢+.06¢ ta=.63¢ OOP on a free R-A gift card.  I should have used the .63¢ of the $8 in BC on that card but I forgot I had it on there. oh well...

I also picked up the 3 freebies in front--a sample Aquaphor spray, CeraVe lotion and another Bayer pill caddy/key chain for daily baby aspirins.

I also hit P and R Outlets when I went across the river to hit another R-A.  It's a discount grocery/HBA/ outlet that also stocks gluten-free stuff and a lot of organic foods(mostly the fresh produce).  Here are the best deals I got there and nothing was out of date.........

6 x Hormel Turkey No Bean chili for .59¢ a can
2 x Reese's water chestnuts for .10¢ a can
1 x Momfuku Thai chili sauce for .29¢ a bottle
1 x Back to Nature maple pecan granola for $1.99
1 x Ka-Me sesame Teriyaki noodles for .79¢
2 x Suzie's almond butter cookies for .59¢ a box
2.83 lb. zucchini for .69¢ lb.($1.95 total) pictured below
1 lb. bunch of asparagus for $1.49 pictured below
9.7 lbs. bananas for .10¢ a lb.(4 bananas) already gone lolz

P and R $12.40 OOP.

I also hit Malacari's produce market and got all this(except the 2 items mentioned/bought from P and R)........

1 x 3-pack of Romaine lettuce=$1.99
2 x 1lb. Butcher Wagon bacon=$3.98($1.99 each)
1 x 2lb. frozen shrimp=$9.99
1 x 1.95 lb. cabbage=$.96(.49¢ lb.)
1 x pack of snow peas=$1.60
1 x 2.48 lbs sweet potatoes=$1.71(.69¢ lb.)

I also spent $7.76 on 1.11 lbs. chicken lunch meat.  They have the lowest price on Dietz and Watson lunch meat around here, charging $6.99 a lb.

The Butcher Wagon brand is made by Hatfield, a well known PA brand.

Malacari $27.99 OOP.

I also hit Weis(PMITA)Markets this week.........

3 x Oral-B toothbrushes on clearance $1=$3.
I had a $2/1 Q for paid $1 for all three, making them .33¢ each.
Good price for a toothbrush.

4 x large packs of Luvs baby wipes on clearance $3.14 each=$12.56
I used 2 x .50¢/2 Luvs Qs that doubled to $1 each so $2 off making these $10.56 OOP.

And I did the Clorox deal(spend $20 on select items/Get $7 off instantly)and it was working off of reg. shelf price.........

4 x Clorox wipes on sale 2/$5=$10.00
3 x Glad wrap on sale 2/$5=$7.50
SubTotal.....$17.50

Coupons Used
4 x .50¢/1 Clorox wipes IPQ (doubled to $1 each)=$4.00
3 x .75¢/1 Glad wrap IPQ(doubled to $1.50 each)=$4.50
Coupon Total.....$8.50 + $7 instantly off=$15.50

$17.50-$15.50=$2.00+.12¢ sales tax=$2.12 paid OOP

As an aside, the bleach shelves were practically bare.  I should have taken a picture of them.
Plenty of wipes and spray cleaners though, just the bleach.

It was a high spend(not including R-A)week for me but I got lots of good deals.

Sluggy

Dollar General Clearance Event Scores

The Big February clearance event at Dollar General this past weekend(50% off all clearance + anything with a clearance % off on the shelf also was another 50% off)meant I had to go poke around.
We don't have large DGs here and a lot was already gone when I got there Sat. am, the sale having started on Friday, but I did find a few goodies.............

4 x Herbal Essences coconut milk shampoo clearance price $2.25=$9.00
4 x Biore face scrub clearance price $1.50=$6.00
2 x U Kotex tampons 36 ct. clearance price $3.37 =$6.74
2 x DG razors 10 ct. clearance price .90¢=$1.80
1 x Thermacare lotion clearance price=$2.25
2 x Febreeze Car deodorizer clearance price $2.25=$4.50
SubTotal..........$30.29

2 x U Kotex pads 12 ct. clearance price $1.80=$3.60
1 x Solo bowls clearance price=$1.35
1 x DG 500 ct. paper napkins clearance price=$1.35
1 x Ajax dish soap 90 oz. jug clearance price=$2.23
1 x Little Tree 3 pack car deodorizer clearance price=$1.28
2 x Little Tree 1 pack car deodorizer clearance price .45¢=.90¢
4 x Bath Fizzy packs clearance price .45¢=$1.80
SubTotal...........$12.51

Grand SubTotal....$42.80

Coupons Used
1 x $6 when you spend $25 DigitalQ=$6.00
2 x $5/2 Herbal Essences items(1 ManuQ/1 DigitalQ)=$10.00
4 x $2/1 Biore face item ManuQ=$8.00
2 x $1/1 U Kotex tampons ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Thermacare PeelieQ=$1.00
1 x $3/2 Febreeze items DigitalQ=$3.00
2 x $1/1 U Kotex pads ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total........$32.29

$42.80-$32.29=$10.51+.86¢=$11.37 Total OOP

The HE shampoo and the Biore items gave me $3 in overage after those Qs.  (4 x Herbal Essences @ $2.25=$9.00-2 x $5/2 Qs($10)= negative $1.00 and 4 x Biore @ $1.50=$6.00-4 x $2/1 Qs($8)= negative $2.00).
After Qs, the tampons were $2.37 each, the pads were .80¢ each, the Febreeze car deodorizers were .75¢ each and the Thermacare  lotion was $1.25(before applying a percentage of the $6 off when you spend $25).

The razors, the paper products, the Little Trees deodorizers, the bath fizzies and the jug of Ajax had no Qs and were all just on clearance.

The bath fizzies were a leftover Xmas item and will be heading into Giveaway boxes later this year.
I would have bought more of the Ajax dish soap if they had more than one because it was a great price for that size jug even without a Q!

The things I am keeping for our use-the car deodorizers, the Thermacare lotion, the Ajax dish soap and the paper napkins and bowls so that's $5.79 OOP from my grocery budget.
The Kotex items are for eldest son's GF and the rest are going into giveaway boxes later this year.

Did anyone else hit the Dollar General clearance sale and what did you find?

Sluggy

The Income & Spending Report.......February 2020 Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the February report---

I had 2 goals for February.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2020.

I can report that we finished up February in the black.
The amount we ended the month of February with?.....$2,318.74

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in February---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $593.42
* A small 401K withdrawal of $1,129.16(the Feb. part of the 1st quarter withdrawal)
Total "Income" for February....$6,828.58

Expenses in February---

* Healthcare Premium for February was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Variable Expenses in February came to $2,626.08
Total Expenses....$4,509.84

$6828.58-$4509.84=$2318.74

Slush into February $18,539.48 left in the Slush Fund to take into March with that $2,318.74 overage brings Slush to $20,858.22
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $2,318.74 for February.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this February,  here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges(landline-last bill)and internet were approximately the same as last month.(Within $2 or so)and the landline is not a bill any longer going forward. yay!
*  The electric bill was $26.95 lower than in January.
*  The WAM taken was $350.00 less than last month(due to taking cash for traveling to LA in Jan)
*  The main c/c bill was $986.94 less than in January(again, due to road trip expenses last month).
*  The gas bill was about the same as last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $5.88 higher than in January.
*  We wrote the sister in-law a check to help with her mom's funeral expenses.
*  The new cell phone bill was paid.  It was large so we need to wait to see what it settles down to before we make any changes there.
*  We paid the vet $445.23 to have Dixie spayed.  Thankfully this is a one and done situation. ;-)

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on February---

February's bills/expenses were nice and boring(except for that large cell phone bill I didn't see coming when we changed providers).  I was surprised that the heating bill was lower than January's bill.  Both months have been mild for PA weather-wise this year, but still.  The heating bill usually doesn't start going down until March but I'll take it as a win. lolz


THOUGHTS going forward into March 2020----

The $1K+ extra in March from the small piece of the 401K withdrawal we didn't apply to the HSA for 2019 tax purposes will give us a financial cushion into March bills, which includes 3 irregular bills-annual sewage, long term care quarterly premiums and county taxes for the year.  The sewage and taxes will be paid early as usual and we'll receive a small discount on those.  Every little discount helps keep more money in your pocket and I will gladly take advantage of them!  This February overage along with the piece of 401K withdrawal applied to March's income will cover all those irregular bills due plus extra leftover to carry over into April.
At that point we'll sit down and see if we need to make another quarterly withdrawal in the second quarter or not.

We will be receiving a small tax refund on our federal taxes but won't be counting on it for any expenses since it will most likely be used to cover what we owe in state taxes as PA for interest income and capital gains on the stock we sold.  No counting chickens until we know what we owe for that. ;-)

Financially we're in a good place going into March. 8-)

So how was your February financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in February?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!


Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Well That Was Weird" Edition................
Remember all that baby food I bought at Weis(PMITA)Markets last week?

The Gerber stuff(6 blue packages on the right and 4 glass jars w/green lids in the middle)was bought on Feb. 26th.
On Friday, Feb. 28th, when I went to get the Weis freebie item(a can of OJ concentrate)this printed out on the Catalina machine.........

$1 Cat for buying Gerber products.  A TWO DAY lag between purchase and getting a Catalina for that purchase? lol  I've never had that happen before(Catalinas are suppose to print out with the purchase!).  Has anyone else had this happen to them?
Not that I'm complaining....I'll gladly take $1 in free stuff but it was just strange.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

This is what was planned for last week.......

1. Sunday--Stuffed Jumbo Shells, Salad
2. Monday--Ex-CB birthday meal out
3. Tuesday--Chinese dinners(from freezer)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, Salad

6. Friday--Pork Teriyaki Stir Fry(and rice for some)
7. Saturday--Leftovers of FFY

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Stuffed Jumbo Shells, Salad
2. Monday--Ex-CB birthday meal out
3. Tuesday--Leftovers(I had soup)

4. Wednesday--Chinese dinners(from freezer)

5. Thursday--Leftovers(I had leftover Chinese and soup)

6. Friday--Leftovers again(I had Tuna Salad w/Crackers for Lunch, Jello for Dinner)
7. Saturday--Cheese Steak Sammies, Salad

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/FFY or TV dinners, and 1 night of Eating Out/Take-Out.
The Chicken Parm and Pork Teriyaki didn't happen, leaving the only planned meal that did happen being the Stuffed Shells and the frozen Chinese dinners.  Both of those meals move to this week.  I got a package of thin cut steaks on instant discount last week so we had Cheese Steak sammies as a meal instead for one of those that didn't happen.  We also had lots of leftovers for Hubs on those nights I didn't feel like eating/cooking so it's all good.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 2 dozen meatballs
* a whole roaster chicken

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 2 boxes of Chinese meals
* 1 box of Fried Rice

1 trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets this past week in the amount of $38.31 brings my February Grand Total spending on food to $406.39.
I've earned $93.54 in Ibotta rebates too in February.

My savings percentage last week was 50.69%(without Rite-Aid trips)and February's monthly savings total comes in at 49.43%(w/out R-A).  

I have 29 more food shopping/spending days in March.

Leftovers going into this week.....2 Pork Chops and some Stuffed Shells.  Not much left from last week but then again I only cooked 3 nights.

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

1. Sunday--Take-Out Pizza, Salad
2. Monday--Chicken Parmesan, Garlic Bread, Veg
3. Tuesday--Pork Teriyaki, Stir-Fry Veggies

4. Wednesday--Clam Chowder, Biscuits or Cornbread

5. Thursday--Breakfast for Dinner

6. Friday--Salmon, Roasted Carrots, Mac and Cheese
7. Saturday--Leftovers of Fend For Yourself

What needs buying for this menu?
Nothing that I can see.  The Pork Loin, Salmon, Chicken Cutlets and frozen veggies are in the freezer already and the other items needed are in the pantry/fridge.

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