Frugal Friday....the August 20th Edition

 Well this wasn't a stellar fugal week in some ways but in others, it was..........

*  Only two trips to any store this week....

Both to Rite-Aid and "made" $21.87 on those trips.

*  I resisted the urge to do any Ibotta for this weekend as I got a $5 Bonus.  Must resist....must resist!

*  I found no money this week.  *Whomp Whomp*  Kind of a result of sitting my butt home. lol

Total Found This Week...00¢
Total Found This Year...$13.67

*  We used up all the leftovers this week and did minimal laundry.

*  Got ahead of a few things here with no driving anywhere.

*  Gave away ready produce we couldn't use before leaving.  Hopefully when we get back there will still be tomatoes ripening.  BLTs....yum!

That's about it.  I know it's a piss poor frugal showing.  Whatcha gonna do?

Tell me about all your frugal wins while I am off spending my children's inheritance in the Land of Cold and Snow..... 8-))

Sluggy

Bon Voyage Soon Y'all

 Some cute puppies waiting for a treat before heading to the doggie hotel........

After Saturday I'll be offline for awhile.  

Here's a musical send off that might give you a hint of where I'll be..... ;-)

Sluggy

My Name is Sluggy......

 ...and I'm an Ibotta addict. ;-)

So I got a $1 Mid Week Bonus for 5 offers.  This is something I could do just at Rite-Aid so I hit up a different Rite-Aid which would have more inventory than mine.  Armed with a $10 off $50 R-A Q, I bought this......

2 x Unisom $10.23 Gold discount=$20.46
3 x Nivea lotion clearance $2.49=$7.47
1 x Hollywood Glam body wash Gold discount=$5.43
1 x Hollywood Glam jelly oil Gold discount=$4.79
3 x Carnation evaporated milk Gold discount=$4.29
2 x Genexa Arnica clearance=$7.48
4 x Extra gum on sale=$4.44

2 x CORE bars(1 blueberry/1 coconut-not pictured)Gold discount=$4.94
Subtotal.......$59.30

Coupons Used

1 x $10 off $50 R-AQ=$10.00

2 x $8/1 Unisom IPQ=$16.00

1 x $3/2 Nivea lotion ManQ=$3.00

1 x $1/1 Nivea lotion ManQ=$1.00

2 x $1/2 Extra gum IPQ=$2.00

Coupon Total......$32.00

$59.30-$32.00=$27.30+.65¢ tax=$27.95

I used Bonus Cash and a piece of R-A gift card to pay.

I earned $19 in new BC($4 Nestle, $10 Hollywood Glam, $5 Unisom).

I also submitted for $18.98 in Ibotta rebates plus the $1 Bonus and a .50¢ Extra Bonus so $20.48 back in cash. (They missed 1 gum pack so I submitted a ticket for that.)

I used $27.95 in BC/gift card, got $39.48 in cash/BC back.

Then I hit my R-A that evening armed with coupons and I got all this.......

8 x U by Kotex 2/$10 sale=$40.00

3 x Carnation evaporated milk Gold discount=$4.77

2 x Nivea lip balm clearance=$3.48

1 x Almay eye shadow clearance=$2.24

1 x Revlon lip gloss clearance=$2.37

SubTotal.......$52.86

Coupons Used

1 x $10 off $50 R-AQ=$10.00

4 x $4/2 Kotex items IPQ=$16.00

1 x $2/2 Nivea lip balm ManQ=$2.00

1 x $3/1 Almay eye item ManQ=$3.00

1 x $3/1 Revlon lip item ManQ=$3.00

Coupons Used.....$34.00

$52.86-$34.00=$18.86

Paid for with $18.86 in Bonus Cash.  Earned back $24.00 in new BC making this transaction a $5.14 moneymaker.

I also earned $5.30 in Fetch points on both receipts.  All that Kotex will be going to the Food Bank when we get back from Alaska.

To recap--

Spent $46.81 in BC/gift card.

Earned $43 in BC, $20.48 in Ibotta rebates and $5.30 on Fetch.

Not a bad couple of trips for my short shopping week.

And I am loaded up on evaporated milk for Pumpkin Pie making season. Woot!

Sluggy

What's Your Story Morning Glory?

It was a beautiful morning(cool for a change)on Sunday.  I happened to go out on the deck and noticed my morning glories were looking pretty darn good.

Lots of blooms!  As their name suggests they bloom in the morning and close up later in the day.  There are over 1,000 varieties of morning glory and they are related to the sweet potato.  The family is Concolvulaceae.

Can you see the pollen grains on the blooms below?

The flowers of the plant last one day before dying and dropping off.  Yet the vines produce oodles of blossoms for your viewing pleasure from late Spring to the first frost.

A close-up of a bloom with lots of pollen grains to entice bees and hummingbirds.

I tried to get a shot of a bee inside the flower above.  You can barely see their tiny bottom in the center of the flower.

Here is the bee leaving the bloom above.  

I haven't planted morning glories here in years since they just reseed themselves now and come back each Spring season.

I made a brief video below touring the vines.  No narration to ruin it but it was a nice quiet morning and the birds were singing.  Take a look....

Do you plant flowers?  Morning Glories perhaps?  They are really a low maintenance plant in my opinion except the vines will take over all your garden if you let them. ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

  The "Tomatoes-Finally!" Edition...

We finally got the first ripe tomatoes out of the garden.  rah.  Now since we won't be here soon they will all ripen while we are away.  And Ex-College Boy doesn't like tomatoes so he won't come and pick them. lol

Oh, and we are still being inundated by zukes too.....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Leftover fish and one of the zuke sides

2. Monday--BLTs

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs or Brats, Potato Salad, Cuke Salad
5. Thursday--Lasagna, Salad

6.  Friday--not sure yet

7. Saturday--Chinese take-out

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

1. Sunday--Leftover fish and one of the zuke sides

2. Monday--BLTs

3. Tuesday--Leftover fish, and whatever else you could find lol

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Cuke Salad
5. Thursday--Chinese Takeout

6.  Friday--Lasagna, Salad, Bread

7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

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

* 4 lbs. of Ground Beef

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

* Hot Dogs

* Bacon

* Cheese

I spent $63.52 on food/toiletries/HBA last week.   This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $131.19 for August so far. 

There are 15 shopping days left in August.

I've earned $155.71 on Ibotta in August.

I've earned $2.25 on Checkout51 in August.

I've earned .75¢ on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in August.

I've earned $24.51 from Aisle.

I've earned 6,699 points from shopping on Fetch in August which equals $6.69.

I've earned 3,465 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in August which equals $13.86.

I've earned 2,367 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in August which equals $2.36.

That's $158.71 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $131.19 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$27.52 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count until I cash out on the other three apps. 8-)))

My savings percentage for last week was 65.93%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 67.80%.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....a little corn casserole, lasagna.

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

1. Sunday--BLTs, baked sweet potato fries

2. Monday--Grilled Steak, Corn Fritters(using corn casserole leftover, Baked Potato

3. Tuesday--Cheeseburgers, Leftover Potato Salad

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself + Zuke
5. Thursday--Fend for Yourself + Zuke

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  We don't need no stinkin' badges groceries. ;-)  There won't be any grocery shopping until September at this point.

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