Wednesday, August 12, 2020

To-Do List.........July's Outcome

** NOTE-Don't forget to enter the August Giveaway which closes on Saturday night, August 15th.
Not many entries yet and there are only 4 days left to enter.  $25 in Amazon CASH is up for grabs and who can't use that, right?!?
Link to enter is on the side bar -->



Let's see how July's To-Do List turned out...........

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

* Read 1, 2, 3 Books  PASS  July was a good and bad month for my personal reading goals.   I tend to have multiple books going in an given month and July was one of those months.  I had FIVE books in progress but only finished ONE of them, this one what with everything going on around here(company, moving, etc.)..........


"My Father's Business:The Small-Town Values That Built Dollar General into a Billion-Dollar Company" by Cal Turner, Jr.

This was an interesting read, all about the family(3 generations)that started what we know as the Dollar General chain of stores.  The business, started by Cal, Jr's grandfather, Luther Turner, a man with a 3rd grade education, as a wholesale supplier in Scottsville, Kentucky in the 1950's, then was taken to new heights by the son, Cal Turner, a nature entrepreneur with no business "learning" and eventually was headed by Cal Jr. until he resigned earlier this century.  It truly was a family business that kept to it's small-town roots and principles and defied modern day business models of giant corporations.
Being a family business was not always easy or good for the family interpersonal relationships either.
I found the book fascinating and instructive as well and it left me with a good feeling about the folks who tried to model this business to serve others(though not always successfully-service and looking out for your fellow citizen doesn't always jive with a company's bottom line after all, especially after it goes public and has stock holders).  Cal Turner, Jr. had massive shoes to fill from his familial predecessors and it's an honest account of how he attempted to make his family proud and drag the chain into the 21st century.
4 Thumbs up!

* Hold Giveaway--DONE


The winner didn't want the MandM's so I subbed in a few other things instead.

* Mail Giveaway--DONE  Mailed and received though it seems to have taken awhile longer than expected.....but then again, with this virus situation and the extra volume of packages flying around it's to be expected.

* More Decluttering--DONE  Well, between the leg injury late in June and Ex-CB not leaving until the last day in July(plus Eldest son here taking up space)I am surprised I got as much gathered to go to Sallie's or into the garbage as I did.  Eldest still had some of his stuff here and I hoped he'd take it with him to Jersey but his car was already full of crap for the move he didn't want in the POD he rented for this move so we'll have to bring it with us to Jersey when we go see the new apt. in a couple of months.
I now have a huge cardboard box in the living room where I have put all the stuff leaving the house that is donate-worthy and I filled it up in July.  Woot!
Of course, with Ex-CB gone I can now de-clutter stuff that was in the closet of his room that I couldn't get to previously and refill that box once Hubs takes what's in that box now to Sallie's.  Double Woot!

* Sew More Masks--PASS  Though I didn't get any masks completed I did do some cutting and sewing and got 4 masks closer to finished.  It was sort of a challenging task this past month with Eldest son here, Ex-College Boy getting ready to move out(the sewing room was in an uproarious state with all the boxes and furniture being moved about)and my leg issues.  But we did make some progress so I'm calling this a win.

* Continue to Deal w/VA stuff--DONE  Well we aren't "done" with all the legal stuff but we did make progress and got answers to lots of questions still on your plate via Zoom meetings.  There will be one more Zoom session in our immediate future before we can move forward with our tentative plans for relocating(which won't be any time soon, the relocating that is).  Things are moving forward.

* Cash in Savings Bond--DONE  We did that as soon as possible in July.  After we cash out 3 bonds maturing Sept.1st we'll decide on where to squirrel away all those cashed in bonds.  We also have a CD maturing mid September so we'll probably throw the bond monies in with the CD after we decide where to put that next.

* Help Ex-CB Move--DONE  He moved out July 31st.  It took a U-Haul cargo van and Hubs and Ex-CB's new roomie about 2 hours to relocate Ex-CB's stuff.
Here's the photographic proof that he is gone(without showing all the crap he left lol).


Hubs posted this photo on Facebook of me and Ex-CB before they left for his apartment..........


I can't decide if I look deliriously happy or psychotic in this photo. lol  I know Ex-CB is happy to finally be on his own.

I am glad that for the first time in TWENTY NINE YEARS we have an empty nest!  July of 1991 when eldest was born until July of 2020 when kid #3 moved out.  29 years and they are all gainfully employed, have college degrees, on their own and relatively happy.
Gosh, I need a nap(and maybe a drink).......

* Get Ready for Eldest to Visit--DONE
Eldest spent about 11 days here between the time he moved out of the Fredericksburg apartment and when the apt. in NJ was ready to move into.  It was nice having him here for that long though I had hoped we'd get a bit of work out of him in exchange for the free room and board but he had other ideas. lolz

All things considered, it was a pretty productive month here at Chez Sluggy.

How was your month and your To-Do List if you make one?


Sluggy

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

I Hit Dollar General Again Last Saturday & Rite-Aid on Monday

 Since there were a few deals there(with their digital Qs)plus the $5 off wyspend $25 I decided to hit the DG that was second closest to my house instead of the smaller one in town and I am glad I did as they had a few things my store doesn't carry.

Here is what I got.........

1 x Simply Tide 89 load jug=$8.95

2 x Old Spice body wash $4.50 ea.=$9.00

1 x Suave men's =$3.00

1 x Dentalife dog treat=$1.00

1 x Suave professionals shampoo=$3.00

1 x Suave body wash=$2.00

SubTotal.........$26.95


All digital DG Qs used

1 x $5/$25 Q

1 x $3/1 Tide big jug Q

1 x $5.49 BOGOFree Old Spice body wash Q

1 x $1.50/1 Suave men's Q

1 x $1/1 Dentalife dog treat Q

1 x $1/1 Suave Professionals Q

1 x $1/1 Suave body wash Q

1 x $2 Instant Savings off when you spent $6 on Suave(which I did)so another $2 off my total.

Q Total,,,,,$19.99

$26.95-$19.99=$6.96 +.42¢ sales tax=$7.38 OOP for everything above.

Nice seeing as the regular price on the Tide is $8.95. ;-)

They were out of the moneymaker Bic razor(after digital Q)at this store and my store(since I checked on my way home)but that would have made my total $7.10 for 8 items but I'm happy with what I got.

That Tide vanilla and orange is a new scent(and I snagged that last jug of it there!).  Anybody try this scent yet and is it good?

Then I went to Rite-Aid on Monday and got my free toothpaste and toothbrush........


The Crest toothpaste and mouthwash(select types)and Oral-B toothbrushes(again select types)are $4 this week.  There are $1/1 L2CQs on all three products this week and the items give back $3 in Bonus Cash so free in the end.

Unless.........you find items that are less than $4 after your 20% Wellness Discount(which these two were=$3.75 each.)then they are a .25¢ moneymakers each. 8-)))

I also found these Clean and Clear face products on clearance for 75% off at my store and I had a $2/1 L2CQ as well as a $2/1 IPQ for them.

$2.84 on clearance so after $2 Q they were .84¢ each or $1.68 total but add in my .50¢ moneymaker on the oral care items and I paid $1.18 for both with Bonus Cash I had so $6.68 paid in BC for all and $6 in BC earned.

I also earned toward both a Crest and an Oral-B Bonus Cash Challenge I have on my card too.

Win/Win/Win!


Sluggy


Monday, August 10, 2020

This Week on the Dining Table


The "More X-Rays" Edition..........
I limped back to the doc this past Wednesday and they did more x-rays and I'm still waiting on the results.  Not having fun this week so far and next week I get laser-ed open.
Good times!
Meal planning is the least of my worries right now. 8-(

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....
This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin sandwiches, TBD veggie for freezer
2. Monday--Applebee's Salads Take-Out using a gift card
3. Tuesday--Hubs Surprise
4. Wednesday--Hubs Surprise
5. Thursday--Hubs Surprise
7. Saturday--Hubs Surprise

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

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin sandwiches, Broccoli
2. Monday--Applebee's Salads Take-Out using a gift card
3. Tuesday--Leftovers
4. Wednesday--Cheeseburgers, Corn on Cob
5. Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie
6. Friday--Lamb Chop(for Hubs only), Sweet Potato Fries, Macaroni/Veggie Salad
7. Saturday--Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners(if you consider a frozen pot pie home cooking lol), 1 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.
Hubs made the Sun./Wed./Thurs./Fri.(the lamb chop)/Sat. dinners though I made the sweet potato fries and the macaroni salad on Friday.  He grilled his own lamb chop(I am so proud of him!)

What got put into the freezer last week....
* More bacon
* Popsicles
* Shredded Cheese
* Chicken Thighs

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* Pork Tenderloin
* Broccoli
* 3 pot pies
* 1 lamb chop
* grilled/bagged chicken strips
* 2 Kielbasa(for Hubs lunch one day
* 1 hot dog(for my lunch one day)

We spent $125.41 last week(through last Thursday), bringing our food to $144.21 so far this month.
Most of this was some canned goods stockpiling for Fall/Winter as I found some cheap canned veggie deals.

I've earned $29.20 on Ibotta in August so far.

My savings percentage for last week was 43%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August came in at 43% so far.(w/out R-A).


Leftovers going into this week......macaroni salad, some taco filling and ground beef we didn't use on the cheeseburgers and browned up for meals this week.

Here is this week's "food plan".....
1. Sunday--Steak strips, Brussels Sprouts, Baked Potato
2. Monday--BBQ chicken legs, leftover Macaroni Salad, Squash and Onions
3. Tuesday--?
4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?
6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--?

Hubs was having an emergency dental visit when I wrote this up so I didn't know if he'd be eating regular food the rest of this week so I didn't put anything in the rest of the week.  We have plenty here to choose from so I'll play it by ear the rest of this week.  Most probably we'll get lobsters 1 night, 2 ground beef meals will happen and a pasta meal another night.
Come back to see what we did.

What needs buying for this menu? Lobsters, fresh produce as we are out, maybe some lunch meat or I'll just pull out some tuna cans for lunches.  And we are almost out of bread so we'll hit the Bread Outlet at some point.

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Scampi
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli
* Breakfast for Dinner
* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new
* Beef Liver  new
Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

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, August 8, 2020

Frugal Friday.....the August 7th Edition on Saturday

 Here are the few things that happened here around Chez Sluggy that could be called frugal wins.........

* I earned a $10 Reward from buying some clothing online late Winter right before Covid hit.  This reward was expiring on Thursday 8/7 so I pulled up the website and saw they were having a one day flash sale on the type of knit pants I like-3 pairs for $33 total so $11 a pair which was a great deal and I need smaller pants come Fall/Winter.  My "reward" covered all the shipping plus $1.01 on the pants so I spent $31.99 total for all three pair + shipping.

*  We harvested veggies from the garden this week--lots more broccoli and some yellow squash.  Still no tomatoes. 8-(

* I grocery shopped this week and earned the Midweek Ibotta rebate too...........

At Weis I got.....

5 x Think! oatmeal cups on clearance for $1 ea. 

1 x Kraft mayo for $3.49

2 x Crack an Egg breakfast cups(for Hubs)for $2 ea.

1 x Barilla Vero Gusto spaghetti sauce on clearance $3.19

1 x OEP shredded cheese for $2.49

1 x Breakstone cottage cheese for $1.99

$20.16 spent at Weis

At Walmart I got....

4 x Bella wet dog food for .74¢ ea.

1 x Manwich can for $1.00

1 x Butterfinger candy bar for .88¢

3 x Banquet chicken pot pies for .94¢ ea.(Hubs cooked this week so easy foods)

2 x Mead 5 star folders for .97¢ ea.

1 x Hormel turkey snack for $1.67

$9.05 at Walmart

$29.21 OOP on all this(plus .12¢ tax on the Mead stuff)and $11.20 in Ibotta earned back plus $2.25 on Savingstar so $15.88 w/sales tax OOP on all that shopping.

* I also hit Rite-Aid this past week on Wednesday.........

2 x Neutrogena acne soap $2.87 w/Gold discount=$5.74

1 x Neutrogena acne wash w/Gold discount=$7.19

1 x Neutrogena acne cleanser w/Gold discount=$7.19

2 x Bic razors $3.99 w/Gold discount=$7.98

Subtotal.....$28.10

Coupons Used

4 x $3/1 any Neutrogena acne product IPQ=$12.00

2 x $3/1 Bic select razors In-AdQ=$6.00

1 x $3/1 Bic Flex/Comfort3/Soleil razor IPQ=$3.00

Coupon Total..........$21.00

$28.10-$21.00=$7.10+.23¢ sales tax=$7.33 paid for with a combo of Bonus Cash and R-A gift card.

I earned back $7 in new BC($6 wys $20 Neutrogena, $1 wyb2 Bic razors) so almost free. 8-)


* I found money!

I didn't even have to leave the parking lot and go inside at Rite-Aid to find this dime.  Found next to my car when I got out of it.

And Hubs gets the credit for this penny.  He accompanied me to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday and found this coin on the way to the check-out.

Total Change found this week. .11¢
Total Change found this year....$47.20

* Ex-College Boy has been moved out for 1 week now and we have already seen our daily electricity usage go from over $6 per day to under $5.50.  I'll take that as a win any day! lolz

It will be interesting to see how much the water bill goes down too. ;-)


That's about it from here.

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?


Sluggy

Thursday, August 6, 2020

The August Giveaway.....Something a Little Different

The Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway Box I had planned for August will have to be delayed until cooler weather sets in as there are Dove chocolates in it so it's the perfect occasion to help out a friend and former blogger instead.



Remember my cousin and dear friend Sonya Ann?
Well since she stopped blogger, moved and had her life turned on it's ear she's been writing again.
And she's got a new book out on Amazon which is HERE.
It's called "Their Hellfire".
If you have Kindle Unlimited you can download it for free but otherwise it will cost you only $2.99 to get the download.

Sonya also has a nifty website HERE though she hasn't done much with it yet.  McVal helped her create that online presence. 

So here's the Giveaway part.........
1. Go to the book's Amazon page and check it out.
2. Leave a comment on this post that you did.  You can enter once per day this way.
3. If you buy the book, you get an extra entry AND you can get that extra entry each day you enter on this post. *We are using the honor system here about buying the book.  Please be honest.
4. You can also get an extra entry PER DAY for sharing this Giveaway post on your own blog, website, Facebook, Instagram or other social platform.  Please leave a link to your share in that comment/entry.
5. Make sure you either leave your email address in your entry/have your email address connected to your Blogger/Google account or I have you on the "Master List" of giveaway entrant emails.

That's it.
Easy-Peasy.

The prize for this Giveaway is a $25 Amazon gift code which I will sent to the winner.

This giveaway starts today, August 6th, as soon as this post goes live and will end on August 15th, Saturday at 11:59pm EDST(Eastern US time)so that gives you over a week to dig into this new novel and enter.

As always, the winner, once announced will have 48 hours from that announcement post to contact me via email to receive their prize code.

Who doesn't want free Amazon money??
So get cracking on this one and Good Luck to all!!

Sluggy