January To-Do List Update, Giveaway Info & End of Last Week's Rite-Aid Transactions

 I forgot to include this action item I accomplished in January on that To-Do List.......

I went through all my coupon inserts.  The stack on the right are the ones to be pitched as most if not all the Qs in there had expired.
The cut coupons on the left are the still good Qs I actually cut out of the inserts and tucked them in my coupon envelope that comes to the store with me.

I also cleared out the coupon envelope of all expired coupons in there.  That's the stack above.  Boy, did my envelope feel a lot lighter after that! lol

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There are a few folks who tried entering the giveaway whom I have NOT approved/posted their entries/comments yet.  

If you left a comment and still don't see it, it means I have no contact info(your email addy)for you or it wasn't linked to your Google account on the Blogger platform.  Please email me from your email addy to have your entry count as valid/approved.  
The drawing is tomorrow so get to it! 8-)

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And here's the last batch of transactions I did at Rite-Aid on 2 different cards the end of last week......

I bought 4 boxes of low dose aspirin on each card to roll some expiring BC.  The Bayer was on sale BOGO50% off so $5.53 per pair of boxes.  Every pair also gave back $5 in Bonus Cash so I spent down the BC after new BC by $1.06 per card for 4 boxes.  That's under .27¢ per box on something we use here for heart health.  I'll take this deal all day long.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Happy Puppy" Edition....

      

Since the snow is so high here(not melting due to low temps and lack of sunshine)we can let Chest off the leash in the yard because the snow is too high for him to escape the yard.  Hubs made him a "race track" in the backyard buy shoveling a path from their potty field on one side of the deck back to the fenced in garden area and back down the other side of the deck, making a continuous loop around the yard.  He's in full on sprint mode in the photo.

He is loving running laps in there like a crazy dog!  I think he's the only one here happy with this week's snowy forecast too. lol

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-

This is what was planned....

1. Sunday--Chicken w/Wild Rice Soup, Cheddar Drop Biscuits

2. Monday--Kielbasi, Baked Beans, Grilled Onions

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Potatoes au Gratin, Saute Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Ham slices, Asparagus, leftover au Gratin Taters
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks or Leftovers

6.  Friday--Leftover Soup w/Cornbread

7. Saturday--Chicken Tenders, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Carrots

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

1. Sunday--Chicken w/Wild Rice Soup, Cheddar Drop Biscuits

2. Monday--Kielbasi, Baked Beans, Grilled Onions

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Potatoes au Gratin, Asparagus

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself
5. Thursday--Chicken Tenders, Corn, leftover au Gratin Taters

6.  Friday--Ham slices, Glazed Carrots, Mac and Cheese

7. Saturday--Steak, Tossed Salad, Baked Potato

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/planned overs or no dinner, FFY, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

Mostly everything planned was cooked/served except we had leftover soup for lunch 2 times instead of for dinner on Friday(and there is 1 more helping left besides the  container I froze)and Ex-CB came over on Friday so the Ham as well as Mac and Cheese happened then.  I also made a second smaller pan of Mac to send home with him as it's his and his roommate's favorite. ;-)

The Marie Callender "faux Red Lobster" Cheddar biscuits were not good.  Too salty and not even cheese in them so I think we threw 2 out(or will be thrown out unless Hubs wants to choke those down).lol

I didn't eat dinner on Wednesday so Hubs just fended for himself.

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

* Nothing

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

*  1 pack chicken tenders(used up)

*  1 package of salmon fillet

*  1 Kielbasi ring

*  1/8th of a Dinner Ham

We spent $58.21 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week.  $4.12 at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!), $18.46 at Weis(PMITA)Markets and $35.63 at the Discount Grocery Outlet on mostly produce, luncmeat/cheese, oatmilk for Hubs, a small cheese ball, a rotisserie chicken and a frozen pie. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $68.93 for February.

There are 13 shopping days left in February.  More snow all this week so I don't know how much if any shopping I'll get done.  That's why we hit the Discount Grocery Outlet again on Thursday since we were near there when I had to go back to CVS for my refund.

I've earned $3.80 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $00 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.

I've earned 6,512 points from shopping on Fetch in February.

I've earned 0 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in February.

My savings percentage for last week was 63.76%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for February and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 68.54%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week--cole slaw, ham, bits of corn, asparagus, baked beans, 1 baked potatoe and lots of mac and cheese(like soup from scratch you can't make just a little mac and cheese lol).

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

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out V-Day

2. Monday--Rotisserie Chicken, Assorted leftover Sides, Salad

3. Tuesday--Beef/Mushroom Stroganoff, Rice

4. Wednesday--Chicken Chow Mein, Rice, Crunchy Noodles
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks(Caesar salad w/chicken?)

6.  Friday--Mac and Cheese w/Ham, sauteed Cabbage

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

I bought mushrooms and salad greens last week plus I had a head of cabbage that needs using. Leftover Rotisserie chicken will either become chicken salad or put into a Caesar salad on Hubs night to cook.  Time will tell....

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?  Not such great deals here unless I go to the discount food outlet.

Sluggy

 

To-Do Lists for 2021.....The January Edition

 Here's how my January To-Do came out......

*  Pay Bills  DONE  Everything was paid(plus 1 bill was paid ahead annually for the year)and we had a shade over $300 leftover.  Go me.

*  Read 1 Book  DONE   I read this one..........

"The Seasons of My Mother: A Memoir of Love, Family and Flowers" by Marcia Gay Harden

I've always enjoyed Ms. Harden's theatrical work so her name on the cover drew me in.  It's a heartfelt account of Harden's life growing up, her later years and career and her close connection with her mother especially.  It's told in the present looking at her past and her mother through the lens of Alzheimer's as her mother developed that condition and how it affected Marcia's life.  It was a very interesting read(as Marcia led an extraordinay life, especially as a child)and very sad at the same time.
Marcia's mother was a master of Ikebana and she used that love of traditional Japanese flower arranging to entwine the chapters of her and her mom's stories.

I highly recommend this one and it's going on my book shelf instead into the donate pile. 8-)

*  Take Down Xmas Stuff  DONE   The tree and decor was taken down after the 10th of the month.  There wasn't much to actually do as we used the small tree that was sparsely ornamented and not much decor was put up.

*  Organize and Put Away Xmas  DONE  Well except for the Xmas table runner on the buffet(done now)and the Xmas tablecloth on the dining room table(still on it)everything Xmas is put away.  I just need to move everything off the dining room table(it has become a dumping ground for new R-A purchases and a staging area as I go through and organize stuff)to get that tablecloth folded and put in the buffet drawer.  It will happen soon but I am calling this item done....99.9%. ;-)

*  Organize Pantry  FAIL  I started going through the Pantry but got distracted and never finished that item.  sigh.  This goes forward onto February's list.

*  Clean out Fridge  DONE  I really need to put this on every month's list!  I cleaned/cleared out both fridges(we have one in the garage as well for overflow)in January.  It seems to be a constant cleaning/organizing chore.  I am trying to clear some "old dogs" out of the garage fridge too in my quest to use up stuff and have been relatively successful at moving/eating older things.

*  Hold Giveaway  DONE

*  Mail Giveaway  DONE  Promptly mailed and received.

*  4 Dr. Appointments  DONE  One was a Telemedicine appointment with the Sleep Doc.  Since I got a new BiPAP machine insurance required this appointment(in order for them to pay for it)even though I've been  using a machine for 7+ years now and I sort of know how to use it. lol
But hey, I'll pay the office visit charge for this appointment over paying OOP for a new machine. 

Then I had a routine check-up with my Primary Doc.  Changes some meds and we're all good there.

Also had an exam with the Ophthalmologist(eyes are the same, no changes)and new reading glasses.

Then I finally got my "annual" mammogram which was almost a year later than planned.  I usually go in Jan./Feb. but I decided to wait until Spring(better weather and less hassle)in 2020 and then Covid hit and the hospital here shut down doing mammography until Summer.  Then I had an HS procedure on my breast and couldn't get a boob smashing until that healed up.  After 1 aborted attempt in early October it got rescheduled a couple of times and I went on an antibiotic long term to get the incision finally healed.  End of January we had a successful mammo and Sluggy shows no signs of boob cancer.  Rah!

*  Roll/Spend ECBs  DONE  Last week....or so I thought.  Turns out I still have $4 in ECBs to use.  *Sluggy raises her fist to the sky and exclaims, "Curses on you CVS!!!"  More on that later as well.

*  Roll/Spend Bonus Cash  DONE  I successfully rolled/spent down lots of BC at Rite-Aid(See all the R-A posts for January).  This needs to continue into February as I hope to divest myself of BC altogether on 2 cards.

*  Celebrate my Birthday  DONE  Due to Covid nobody came to help Hubs and I celebrate my "early SS" birthday.  We did do some Birthday celebration eating(free burger out at Red Robin, Chinese take-out on my Birthday),Hubs gave me 2 gift cards and I received some Bday cards.  But other than that it was a lowkey celebration.  The big thing was Hubs made me a birthday cake from scratch(his first from scratch cake ever!).  It was yummy except he forgot to add raisins(carrot cake)but that's ok!  I just sprinkled raising on top as I don't do frosting on my carrot cake recipe as it's so rich and yummy and doesn't need frosting to perk it up. ;-)

*  Stay Warm  DONE  Well we had a good amount of snow and cold in January.  If I had a crystal ball I'd know that February was the month I'd need to put this item on my list! lolz
I've been more conscious about lowering the heat and or closing doors so we aren't heating spaces we aren't using so the electric bill wasn't too bad in January.  I've pretty much switched from iced tea to hot tea as my beverage of choice for now and I'm layering my clothes more to keep the chill off.  Too bad January was just the dress rehearsal for Staying Warm in February!

*  Eat Down the Freezer  DONE  Well we DID eat down lots of foodstuffs in the freezers but, because of some good deals I found we pretty much filled it back up in January so we ended the month a little below what we started with. lol  It's all good though as we used older things that needed using. ;-)

All in all, it was a successful for me month.  Not much going on and not much that was ambitious but I'm good with that.

How did your January turn out?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the February 12th Edition

 Let's take a look at the frugal wins from this past week around here at Chez Sluggy......

*  I already blogged about my BIG(lol) Rite-Aid haul this week where I rolled/spent down some Bonus Cash....

And for Ms. Goose--the $15 BC wyspend $50 coupon is confirmed for next week!  If it's not in your local ad go online to print it out. 8-)

*  When I went back to R-A on Wednesday for an Rx refill I also did a post coupon for a Q I forgot to use last week when I purchased something.......

That gives me $2 back in my pocket!  Well, back in my refund/post Q envelope really....

* I also did another transaction last week(Friday)at Rite-Aid on another card using that $10 off $50Q.......

The 2 Tides, 7 Febreeze items(one is not pictured as I put it in my car to use-a car deodorizer)were part of the $10 BC wys $30 PandG deal last week.

The R-A brand insoles were $1.99 after Gold discount and gave back $3BC for every 2 packs.

The 2 Neutrogena items were $7.72 after Gold discount and $6.50 in Qs and gave back $6BC.

The ruler and eraser were $1.85 after Gold discount and gave back $4 in BC.

The dog treats were .80¢ after Gold discount and had .50¢ freshness stickers so cost .60¢ total for both packages.

Total was $58.33 after Gold discounts and after $30.47 in coupons it came to $27.86 + $1.44 tax=$29.30 paid for with Bonus Cash.  

I earned back $26 in new BC($10 wys $30 PandG, 2 x $3 R-A insoles, $6 Neutrogena, 2 x $2 R-A stationery)so spent down the BC by $3.30.

*  I did a small shop at Weis(PMITA)Markets on Wednesday as well between snowstorms.  Nothing to show really, just a few bits and bobs we needed(a can of sauerkraut that Hubs requested as we were out,), Salad Greens(one had a 50% sticker), Weis brand sugar(was a really good deal), some dehydrated potato flakes(got 50% back on Ibotta), Chinese crunchy noodles(have you seen the high price of those!?! but I finally broke down at paid full price because we've got a can of chow mein we need the noodles for), 2 jugs of tea(on sale)and a 2 pack of panko pork tenderloin filets(with a discount sticker on it for the freezer).  $18.46 was the cost OOP and it's the only money I've spent this week.

*  Do you remember my final shop at CVS last week?

If you remember I lamented that the Cheez-Its were NOT on sale as the old signage stated so I ended up paying $2.30 OOP after ECBs and gift card.

CVS emailed me a "how did we do" survey last weekend and I told them about the signage issue.  I got an email from the store manager to come in for a refund of the difference between what I paid and what the sign said the price was.  Haven't had a chance yet to go in yet(it's not close and hello-constant snow storms all week!)but I'll print out the email and next time I go down the mountain that way I'll pop in for the refund.

Stay tuned.

*  While doing the end of January bookkeeping I discovered I didn't account for an Amazon Pantry order I made last month.  I'll just put it into February's tally so no worries.  Also I used a free Amazon gift card to pay the $33.23 it came to so it wouldn't change my January spending(just the total of what the savings rate was as it was free).  It was 11 household/food items they had put on a short time sale(some I bought multiples of so more than 11 items in total in the order).  Stuff like tea bags, minced garlic, parsley flakes, carpet deodorizer, bags of tortilla chips, a box of rice Chex, cold care tea bags, chicken stock, bathroom cups, etc.  Free shipping once I hit the $30 threshold I believe.

*  I found money!

This penny was found at Weis(PMITA)Markets by my favorite self-checkout.

And that same day in Rite-Aid I passed a freestanding display of gift cards and one of the hooks with a bunch of gift cards was laying on the ground.  So I bent over to pick the hook/cards up to put it back on the display and I spied a dime in the corner there.  Who says it doesn't pay to be kind? lol

Then on the way out of R-A this rock salt coated penny was lying by the door on the sidewalk outside.  It's still cruddy after I gave it a bath but there is a penny under there. ;-)

Considering I only went to 2 stores this past week I am happy with this found money total. ;-)

Found Money This Week... .12¢
Found Money This Year....  .52¢

That's about it for me this week other than staying home, playing with the doggies in the snow, no take-out and eating down the pantry and freezers.  Hubs and I may go to Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)tomorrow as I still have a 15% off coupon that expires on Sunday.

What frugal wins did y'all have this week?

Tell us all about it!

Sluggy

Rite-Aid This Week

Between storms I went up to Rite-Aid as I have BC expiring so I had to spend down/roll some on 2 accounts.

I bought 8 bottles(the 10 oz. size)of Palmolive dish liquid on one card.

These were on sale for 4 for $5 and earned back $1 Bonus Cash for every 4 you bought.

Plus they double dip with a Monthly Deal for $3 BC when you spend $10.

So it was $10+.60¢ sales tax=$10.60 using BC to pay.

No coupons used.

And I got back $5 total in new BC(2 x $1 wyb4, $3 wyspend $10)so I spent down $5.60 and rolled $5 of my old Bonus Cash.

Then I did this same transaction on another card that the BC needed using/rolling.

After BC and tax each bottle was less than .78¢ which is an ok price.

Now I am stocked up for the foreseeable future on dish soap. 8-)

I know it's not very exciting this week at Rite-Aid.

Reports are that next week there is a Spend $50/Get $15 BC coupon(if it's not in your local ad it should be available to print from the R-A website or maybe emailed to you if you are on their email list)so it might be a better week to shop there then.  I haven't really looked yet so I don't know other than Valentine's Day stuff will be on clearance after Sunday. ;-)

Have you found any good deals at Rite-Aid this week?

Sluggy