Vacation Pillaging at Ollie's & Rite-Aid

Finally getting around to showing some of my favorite shopping pillaging from my trip down to Va and back.

As I remarked in my food spending post for June I actually spent money at Rite-Aid that month on 75% clearance food.

Besides all the baby aspirin I found(5 x triple packs 75% off so $1.49 for each 3 bottle pack)but I deleted all those photos on my phone so no pictures, sorry), here is some of what else I got and what it cost me OOP.............

3 x Quacker oatmeal packets(Cranberry and Almond-never seen it up here and one of my fav. food combos)=$1.22 each
2 x Craisins bags=.82¢ each(R-A brand were also 75% off but more $?)
4 x R-A brand organic honey bottles=$1.49 each(non-organic honey in this size bottle is reg. way more $!)
2 x R-A brand chicken broth=.79¢ each
2 x Hormel chili w/beans=.82¢ each
1 x Hormel no bean chili=.84¢
1 x R-A brand tomato paste=.29¢
1 x McCafe coffee bag=$2.24
1 x Seventh Generation dishwasher detergent=$1.49
1 x R-A brand Pink Himalayan salt=.84¢
1 x EOP refried beans=.44¢
1 x R-A brand ketchup=.54¢
2 x Campbell's Yes! soup(sweet potato chowder)=.84¢ each
2 x Hormel Roast Beef Hash=.84¢ each(Ex-CB loves this stuff)
4 x R-A sliced mushrooms=.29¢ each
3 x R-A organic/fair trade coffee bags=$1.69 each
2 x Jif whipped peanut butter=.99¢ each

I also bought this below at an Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)in Fredericksburg, VA(I already showed the generic Rice Crispies for 75% offI found in Va. Beach at.37¢ per box=I wish I had room in the car to get more of those!).  While not all 75% off these were still good deals with my 15% discount flyer....

1 x tart cherry juice=$1.29
1 x Minute Maid self stable OJ=..89¢
1 x Horseradish Sauce(for Hubs)=$1.09
3 x Bear Naked granola(this WAS 75% off)=.65¢ per bag

Keep your eyes and ears open because you never know when/what is going to be a good deal.

Sluggy

2020 Second Quarter......Small Economies Report

The second quarter of 2020 is in the books now.
Let's see where some of my small pots of savings look like so far halfway though the year.
These stats are all effective as of June 30, 2020.

*  Rolled coins--$3.00(still)

I haven't gotten enough spare change to roll any more coins.

*  Found Change--$46.50  Finding money is the best!  Nobody can argue with that, right? 8-))

*  Refunds & "Post Coupons"--$44.35 Mostly Weis(PMITA)Markets and Rite-Aid.

*  Cash Rebates--
   * Ibotta--$278.40
   * SavingStar--$25.00
   * Checkout51--$0.00
   * ShopAtHome--$23.27

Total.........$420.52 so far in 2020 to put toward the grocery spending in December.
At this halfway point in 2020 that means our OOP on food spending is $1755.55 with that $420.52 in small economies deducted.
Nice.

Do you stash non-income money aside to put toward a goal?
Tell us about it and what strategies work for you in savings small amounts of money!


Sluggy

To-Do List....June Update

So another month done and dusted.  Let's see how the JUNE To-Do List turned out, shall we?

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything paid early or on time as always.

* Read 1, 2, 3 Books  FAIL  I went to VA with high hopes on getting lots of reading done.  What I did get done was lots of napping instead. lolz  I got halfway through a book at home but didn't take it with me.  I started another book on the way down at my son's place but promptly left it there so another book begun(barely)but not finished.  
Oh and I made two trips to Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)-one trip with son and another trip with brother and sis in-law, and besides a few pantry goods to bring home guess what I mostly bought at those two Ollie's?

If you guessed MORE BOOKS you'd be correct! ;-) That's my cart with the 5 or so I picked up in Va. Beach.
But!  I did get one book completely read in June.

"Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain Without Turning Into One" by Karen Duffy
If you are a wise-ass, have a sarcastic gene and especially if you are a fellow chronic pain sufferer, I implore you to find this book and read it!  The book is enlightening and uplifting and a reminder that you can thrive even if you are among the 1 in 3 Americans who suffers from some form of chronic pain.
I felt like she was speaking directly to me.  5 Thumbs Up!!!!!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

It took awhile to get in touch with the winner as she just had surgery and is enduring a tough recuperation period.
Please send out good thoughts out to Lisa B. if you would as she gets over this time.
I hope the package lifted her spirits a bit too. ;-)

* Mail Giveaway  DONE
Mailed and received quickly.

* 2 Doctor Appointments  DONE
Got a semi-annual check-up with one doc which went well and all blood work came back good.
Had a check-up and TB test with my dermo doc to see how the Humira was working or not.  She is recommending a Laser Excision Surgery on one spot of my HS that the Humira is not helping.  She gave me the paperwork/info on what that surgery will entail and I should be scheduled for surgery later this month.  Oh goody. 8-(

* Change out Clothing for Summer  DONE
I finally got around to changing the wardrobe for warm weather out before I left town.

* Pack for Trip  DONE
I sort of killed two birds with one stone by packing for the trip while changing out my clothes for Summer.  It was far easier since I was already reorganizing clothes in the closet.

* Sew Masks for Folks  DONE
Eldest had told me that VA had recently gone to face masks in public mode before I left home.  I had sent him a mask I made back in March(along with tp as he couldn't find any at his stores back then)so I spent some time a few days before leaving making more fabric masks-2 for Hubs, 1 more to bring to Eldest son and 3 masks for my Brother and Sis in-law as well as another mask for myself in a lighter colored fabric.  My  brother never leaves his property but my sis in-law is a realtor so she's been spending for disposable masks as she doesn't sew.  Having 2 so she can wash and change it out daily will help her and her wallet. ;-)
Some where along the way I lost the new mask I made for myself so I need to make another one soon. 8-(

* Deal with "Stuff" in VA  PASS
Well we've done some stuff and gotten the ball rolling but there are more hoops to jump through.  Decisions have been made and more are to come.  That's about all I can say for now on this.  We are waiting on some blocks to fall into place and the lawyer to return from vacation now so we are in "wait" mode for now.

* Visit my Son  DONE
I stopped for 2 days on the way down and 1 night on the way home.
He's leaving where he taught for the last 5 years and relocating to NJ so we had a lot to talk about.
Atlas, the cat was always nearby to comfort him. lolz

* Visit my Brother/Sister in-Law  DONE

Besides a quick trip to Ollie's my brother didn't go anywhere.  But we did get visits from the neighbors and their dogs while I was down there.  That's Harper and Truman and their humans visiting in the photo above.  We also got a visit from Petey on another day and his human.
Sis in-law and I, on the other hand, hit various Rite-Aids, Kroger, Aldi, Lidl, Cracker Barrel, Walmart and an Estate Sale while I was.  We bonded and laughed a lot.

* Plan Goals for 2020  PASS  Hubs and I have hashed out a few goals and made some decisions about our living arrangements going forward.  There is still a lot to do and it feels overwhelming at times so I'll be biting off a bit at a time for now.  Mostly, the Goal for 2020 is now to survive it! 8-)))

* Arrange for Painter  FAIL  This was on Hubs list of stuff to do while I was gone.  He got a list of painters at the hardware store then the store owner told him, "frankly, I wouldn't recommend any of these guys to paint inside your house". lolz  I am thinking once we contact a realtor about selling our house they might have better sources.  So this search for a painter is ongoing.

* Have Money Meeting w/Hubs  PASS  We had a half-assed financial meeting.  Half-assed as some financial things were up in the air and I was gone half of the month.  July's money meeting should be more productive but we did make a few money decisions in June so I am giving us a pass. ;-)


Did you have a To-Do List in June?
Tell us how you did with it.


Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Some of the Garden is Taking Off" Edition..........

I was gone for 15 days(when the garden was barely anything)and this photo happened on July 5th!  Actual broccoli forming on 7 of the 8 plants(the largest looks to be about the size of a baseball as of now).  Things are starting to produce slowly.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
2. Monday--Salad and Pizza
3. Tuesday--FFY

4. Wednesday--Crab Cakes, Sweet Potato Wedges, Broccoli
5. Thursday--Mushroom Ravioli, more Broccoli

6. Friday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken
7. Saturday--Something Chicken-I have a roaster that needs to be cooked and ?

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
2. Monday--Salad, Take-out Pizza
3. Tuesday--Mushroom Ravioli, Salad(Hubs and Ex-CB cooked)

4. Wednesday--Crab Cakes, Glazed Carrots, Potato Salad(Hubs cooked)
5. Thursday--Roast Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges, Broccoli(Hubs cooked 2/3 of this)
6. Friday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken

7. Saturday--Cheeseburger, Corn on Cob (July 4th cook-out)

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 0 night of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out.  With my injured leg Hubs stepped up and actually "cooked"(not just boiled water for pasta and opened a jar of sauce-well except for ravioli night). ;-)  We got take-out pizza one night using a free Domino's gift card.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* Nothing
Most of the fresh meat products I bought the previous week got used too.

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 1//2 bag of frozen broccoli

Hubs spent a whole $29.38 at two grocery stores.  At Weis he got a cuke, grape tomatoes, 2 heads of lettuce, a dozen ears of corn, a watermelon, a quart of Greek yogurt and 2 bags of apples and at the Produce Market he got a pint of blueberries and 1/2 lb. of chicken lunch meat.  I didn't set foot in any grocery stores.

I earned $2 on Ibotta in July so far(on the two bags of apples I had Hubs pick up).

My savings percentage for last week was 30.16%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for July and the monthly savings total comes in at 30.16%(w/out R-A).

I have 25 more food shopping/spending days in July.

I salvaged a loaf of French bread I bought at Weis(PMITA)Markets before I left on my trip.  I figured Hubs would have pasta a few times while I was gone and he could use it to make garlic bread since he likes that with pasta meals(plus it was only $1).
But he didn't use it(or have pasta)so it was still in the fridge and stale.
So I sliced it up Friday afternoon into 12 hunks, left it out to finish going stale and rock hard and used it to make a French Toast breakfast Saturday morning(I also cooked up one of those packs of Bob Evans breakfast sausage links I got the previous Friday with an instant sticker on it.).  We had a nice breakfast that morning and the leftovers(enough for 2-3 breakfasts for Hubs)are now in the fridge for him to heat up.  Of course I'll now have to remind him it's in the fridge so he eats it. lol

Leftovers going into this week.......2 helpings of mushroom ravioli, lots of corn on cob, a little roasted chicken.  Did I mention we have LOTS of leftover corn on the cob? lol

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers(I had corn on cob, mushroom ravioli)
2. Monday--Taco Salad or Tacos
3. Tuesday--Chinese Take-out or ?

4. Wednesday--Shrimp Scampi w/Linguine, whatever fresh produce I can find this week(maybe Broccoli from our backyard 8-)))
5. Thursday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms over Mashed Potatoes, Spinach Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Big Salad

What needs buying for this menu? Maybe some fresh produce.

I'm still keeping to my bed because of my leg/knee so the ambitious meals(Scampi, Marsala)may or may not happen if I can't cook them.  I still have to rely on Hubs for a lot of help too so it depends on whether he feels like helping me this week.  Things may actually be simpler like spaghetti w/meatballs, breakfast for dinner or grilled cheese and soup. ;-)

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home...........
* Shrimp Tempura
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Spaghetti and Meatballs

* Breakfast for Dinner

* Grilled Chicken  new

* Grilled Steak  new

* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new
* Pork for Tenderloin Sammies  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

Not a lot has come off this master list as I/we used freshly bought meats since I got home.  This week should see more of the frozen assets here being used. 8-)

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

Income & Spending 2020.....the June Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), 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 June report---

I had 2 goals for June.......
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 June in the black.
The amount we ended the month of June with?.....$1,273.10

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in June---

* 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 $490.14
* Dividend income of $18.27
Total "Income" for June.....$5614.41

Expenses in June---

* Healthcare Premium for June was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in June were $555.41
* Variable Expenses in June came to $1902.14
Total Expenses....$4341.31

$5614.41-$4341.31=$1273.10
Slush into June of $25,844.91 in that Fund, add  the $1273.10 overage brings Slush to $27,118.01 going into July.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1273.10 for June.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were the same as last month.
*  The water bill was exactly the same as in May.
*  The electric bill was $58.06 less than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $21.91 lower than in May.
*  The gas bill was $0.00 so $8.82 less than last month.
*  The WAM was the same amount taken in May.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Long Term quarterly premiums were due.  The only irregular bills due this month.
*  Both dogs needed vet visits/shots so that was $131 paid we didn't plan for.

The Food Budget costs for June 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 June---
Another boring financial month for the win! lol
Even though I was in VA for half the month I didn't break the bank down there.
Two good news items-Ex-CB went back to work the last of June and his plan to move out are moving forward.  He should be fully moved into his apartment by August 1.(yay!!!)
Looking back at 2019 our savings in June, July, August and September was in the RED so I much prefer 2020's "in the black' numbers.

THOUGHTS going forward into July 2020----
July is another no irregular bills due month so that's a plus.  I don't plan to grocery shop much in July except our eldest son will be here staying with us for two weeks or so before his new apartment in NJ is ready so yeah, take back what I just said about not grocery shopping much this month. ;-)
No plans to go anywhere in July except to the bank to cash out of fully matured Savings Bond.
July is "steady as she goes Cap'n!" as they say in all those bad seafaring classic movies.

So how was your June financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in June?
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