Frugal Friday Again on Saturday....the December 26th Edition

 Even though it's the Day after Christmas let's do the Frugal Friday list!

*  I always give the Brother In-Law a box of food/HBA/toiletries(mostly from my stockpile)for Christmas.  Most years this involves having to wrap and decorate a large cardboard box so the presentation is nice.  I ran out of large wicker or other baskets to use for this purpose years ago and I refuse to buy one anymore.  Add in that my hands don't work some days(arthritic and all)well enough to wrap a cardboard box well enough for it to look nice. ;-)

I came up with the perfect solution this year.  My brother had gifted us an order of Omaha Steaks 2 years ago and I still had this heavy duty styrofoam cooler in the garage from when those arrived.
I put his Christmas goodies in that and put a ribbon/bow around it.  The ribbon was found in one of my Christmas tubs of miscellany.

I recycled the container and passed it off to someone else to deal with. lol

*  I submitted all my receipts from last week to various stores to Ibotta, ShopKick, Fetch and Kellog's to earn points/kicks/rewards/cash depending on what items I bought that qualified for something.

*  On December 19th when leaving Rite-Aid I saw something shiny in a snowbank in the parking lot opposite where I was parked in a vacant parking spot.  The snow removal company from our 12 incher storm did a shitty job of clearing the parking lot so they had to hire someone in a small Bobcat to reshovel the lot that morning.  I backed up my car to the parking spot where I saw the red and gold shiny thing and found this.......

2 small bags of Peppermint Bark chocolate still sealed.  Obviously these fell out of someone's bag somewhere in the parking lot snow after the storm and ended up heaped into this snowbank.  I took a photo of them and sent it to the Assistant Manager and told her where I found them in case someone came in or called the store looking for them so I could turn them in.  So far, no one has tried to claim them so I may have something yummy to have for New Year's Eve. 8-)

*  Hubs and I used our Ollie's coupon on Dec. 18th......

Ollie's typically holds a one night special sale on the Sunday before Christmas and you need this ticket to get into the store and get 25% off toys and Xmas stuff and 15% off everything else in the store.  But with COVID this year and not wanting that sort of crowd this event causes they made the coupon good for a whole week.  Friday was the next to last day to use it so we went out.  Didn't really pick up much(mostly I bought 3 books)as there wasn't much on the list of needs lately.  I did spend $8.95 after discount on foodstuffs but I haven't taken a photo of it and can't for the life of me remember what foods I bought.

*  There was a flurry of last minute shopping at Walmart/Weis/CVS/Rite-Aid and of all places Target too! to finish off the 3 level Ibotta rebate Bonuses.  More on that later.

*  I found money!

I found a penny at Ollie's last Friday.

I found 2 pennies at Rite-Aid last Friday as well.  They were found in different locations in the store so I took separate photos. lolz

I was back at Rite-Aid the next day and found .10¢ on the floor near the register.

On Monday Hubs and I went to Walmart and found another .11¢.  Both in the self-checkout area.

The next day I hit Weis for some last minute foodstuffs and found a penny.

Back to Rite-Aid on Wednesday and I found .11¢ more. This was the week of .11¢ no doubt! lol

And finally on Christmas Eve I found a penny at Weis(PMITA)Markets again under one of the self-checkout machines.

Total Found This Week..... .37¢
Total Found This Year So Far...$53.50

That's about all I can think of for the week ending on December 24th.

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week leading up to Christmas?
Tell us all about it!

Sluggy

Merry Christmas!

I hope y'all have a Merry Christmas!

Here's a little holiday funny.........

Sluggy

Almost Christmas!

 Christmas decor sighting today.........

This is our front door.  The wreath lights up at night.

We put these doggy Holiday stickers on the storm door. 

Feliz Navi-Dog y'all! lol

Now back to make my last Christmas treat, Mexican Wedding Cookies.
More tomorrow.....

Sluggy

Shopping on Monday at CVS & Walmart

There was too much cloud cover last night to get a good look at the "star of Bethlehem" last night but here is a photo of our Christmas tree all lit up.......

Hubs and I went down the mountain to hit a few stores yesterday.

I had a couple of ECBs expiring(again!)before the end of the year which I don't want to worry about using so I did a shop at CVS..........

2 x Dove shampoo(lavender!)on sale=$7.00
2 x Tresemmé shampoo(not on sale)=$9.98
2 x Advil PM on sale=$21.98
4 x Oral-B toothbrushes on sale=$15.96
SubTotal......$54.92

Coupons Used

1 x $3/2 Dove DigitalQ=$3.00
1 x $3/2 Tresemmé DigitalQ=$3.00
2 x $1/1 Advil IPQ=$2.00
1 x $6/4 Crest/Oral-B DigitalQ=$6.00
1 x $1/1 Oral-B toothbrush DigitalQ=$1.00
1 x $3/$12 Hair Care CRT=$3.00
1 x $2/$10 CVS Naproxen CRT=$2.00
1 x $3/$10 Oral Care CRT=$3.00
1 x $1/$6 Manual Toothbrush CRT=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$24.00

$54.92-$24=$30.92

I used $30 in ECBs so paid .92¢+.01¢ sales tax=.93¢ OOP

I earned back $12 in new ECBS($2 Dove, $5 Advil, $5 Oral-B).  I earned a $3 Beauty Buck as well because the shampoos put me over $30 spent for my next BBuck, giving me $23 left in ECBs expiring in January.
I also submitted to Ibotta and earned $4 for buying the Advil putting me closer to the Ibotta Bonus.

Then it was off to Walmart to finish an Ibotta Bonus and do some ShopKicks too........

1 x Kellogg's Jumbo Packs=$4.98
3 x Suave Sleek Shampoos/Conditioner=$5.94
1 x Suave Professional Conditioner=$2.98
1 x Nudges Dog treats=$4.98
1 x Poise pads=$4.84
1 x Propel packets=$1.98
1 x Afrin nasal spray=$4.98
1 x Maggi chicken bouillion=$1.38
2 x Hall's cough drops=$3.28
1 x Delsym cough syrup=$9.88
SubTotal......$45.22

Coupons Used
1 x $1/1 Kellogg's Snack Packs IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Poise ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Afrin ManQ=$2.00
1 x $1/50/2 Hall's ManuQ=$1.50
1 x $4/1 Delsym IPQ=$4.00
Coupon Total.......$11.50

$45.22-$11.50=$33.72+.95¢ sales tax=$34.67

I earned back $10.70 on Ibotta plus reached the $5 Ibotta Bonus.

I submitted the receipt to ShopKick and got 4,150 receipt Kicks for buying the Suave, Afrin, Delsym, Nudge dog treats and Kellogg's Snax box plus a Suave hair bundle bonus plus an additional 75 Kicks for scanning various items and for just walking in the store so 4,225 Kicks total which is equal to $16.90.

$15.70+$16.90=$32.60 back in rebates makes this trip an OOP of  $2.07.

.93¢ CVS + $2.07 Walmart=$3.00 OOP but deduct the $4 Ibotta rebate on the Advil at CVS and now both transactions combined are a $1 moneymaker.

Sweet!

I need 9 more rebates on Ibotta to hit the $3 Sled Bonus so I am off to Weis(PMITA)Markets shortly. ;-)  I'll probably not make it to the last Xmas Bonus there but that's ok.
Then it's time to wrap more gifts and make fudge for gifts for neighbors and my Rite-Aid friends.

What's on your agenda today?

Sluggy

This Week on The Dining Table

The "I'd Hate to Meet the Dog That Could Eat That!" Edition.....

Hubs posed with this Holiday Dog Rawhide Treat.  Look at the size of that thing!!  Unfortunately I don't have a Mastiff, Great Dane, or "Insert other massive dog here" to gift it to.  Or should that be fortunately? lolz

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

This is what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Salmon, Tossed Salad

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

3. Tuesday--Pizza, Salad

4. Wednesday--Meatloaf, Veggies TBD, maybe Noodles for Hubs
5. Thursday--Butternut Ravioli w/White Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

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

1. Sunday--Salmon, Tossed Salad

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself

4. Wednesday--Domino's pizza, Salad

5. Thursday-Beef Stew, leftover Whack Biscuits

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Roast Chicken, leftover Sweet Potato Fries, Sugar Snap Peas

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY/TV Dinners, and 1 night of Take-Out.   

The Butternut Ravioli didn't happen again, so it moves to this week.

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  2 cans of OJ concentrate

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  3 Hamburger patties

*  1/2 a small Salmon side

*  2 Petite Grilling Steaks(for the Stew)

*  Sugar Snap Peas

We spent $75.46 last week($57.12 at Weis and 3 other small shops at DG/CVS/Ollie's).  That brings our food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods Grand Total to $276.94 for December so far.

There are 10 shopping days left in December.  

I've earned $96.19 on Ibotta in December. 

I've earned $00 on Checkout51 in December.

I've earned $10.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in December.

I've earned 8428 points from shopping on Fetch in December.

I've earned 3165 points from food shopping on ShopKick in December.

I've earned 600 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in December.

My savings percentage for last week was 61.50%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for December and the monthly savings total for December comes in at 54.33%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....1/2 a carton of Chicken Stock(which I'll use in either Chicken and Dumplings or Pot Pie).

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

1. Sunday--Butternut Squash Ravioli

2. Monday--Meatloaf, Steamed Mixed Veggies

3. Tuesday--Chicken and Dumplings or Chicken Pot Pie using leftover Roast Chicken

4. Wednesday--leftover Beef Stew
5. Thursday--Chinese Take-out

6. Friday--Baked Ham, Lasagna, Mac and Cheese, Salad, Carrots, Rolls, Stollen and Cookies

7. Saturday--Pierogies and ? at Son's apartment

What needs buying for this menu?  Salad fixings and carrots.  Not much but I'll make a run to Weis/Walmart this week(gotta work on those Ibotta Bonuses), hopefully sooner rather than later. ;-)

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