January Giveaway Winner

 So here's what was in the January Giveaway box............

And I just had to laugh when Random dotOrg picked comment #2 to win.............

KIM!

Out My windowJanuary 15, 2022 at 4:21 PM

Okay, need those peppermint patties please.

Congratulations Kim.  Please email me your full mailing address within 48 hours of this post going live on the blog.

Thanks to everyone who played along and I'll have another Giveaway coming up in February. 8-)))

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

***Due to Technical Difficulties(danged weather and internet!)I didn't pick a Giveaway Winner yesterday.  I'll be back later today and do that so stay tuned........***

 The "The Birthday Week is Over" Edition...

It was a lowkey affair this year.  Hubs bought a cake and we still have half of it left so come on over it ya want a piece! lol  We went out to the only open Chinese Buffet restaurant left here(thanks Covid!)for lunch and then Hubs drove me to a new-to-me Walmart and a Rite-Aid on my regular rotation of RAs so I could finish my Ibotta Bonus.  We are just party animals, no?

My birthday coincides with the Feast Day of St. Agnes(who died a martyr's death because she would not marry).  First by being burned at the stake, and when that didn't work, then being beheaded.  Just like me and my Birthday buddy, Rasputin, we are/were all hard to kill. *snort*  St. Agnes Day is also said to be the coldest day of the year and boy, was it ever here!!  We had 3 snow days last week.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned......

1. Sunday--Leftover Beef Pie

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself as I am not feeling well

3. Tuesday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

4. Wednesday--Homemade flatbread Pizza, Salad
5. Thursday--? Hubs' night to cook

6.  Friday--Beef & Veggie Stir-fry, Rice

7. Saturday--More Leftovers?

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Leftover Beef Pie

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself as I am not feeling well

3. Tuesday--Don't remember so it must have been forgettable

4. Wednesday--Don't remember so it must have been forgettable
5. Thursday--I made Hubs Spaghetti and Meatballs, I didn't eat due to the big lunch out

6.  Friday--Lunch out at Chinese Buffet(no dinner), Cake

7. Saturday--Beef & Veggie Stir-Fry w/Noodles

Nothing very exciting here.  When it's so cold here I don't feel like cooking.  Used a free gift card to get Applebee's on shot night and paid for Chinese take-out this week too and I don't care because it was my birthday week and I didn't want to cook so there...pphhhhtttt!

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

*  a Pizza

*  a small London Broil

*  a whole Chicken

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

*  a handful of Meatballs

* 1/2 bag of stir-fry veggies

*  a small London Broil

I spent $147.15 on food/toiletries/HBA the last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $265.29 for January so far.  It would have been about $35 lower except at that new-to-me Walmart, the price scanner gun at my register was broken so I couldn't use some digital gift cards. 8-((

There are 7 shopping days left in January.  

I've earned $245.12 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $5.39 on Checkout51 in January.

I've earned $15.50 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in January.

I've earned 17,221 points from shopping on Fetch in January.

I earned 2,105 Kicks from food shopping on Shop Kick in January. 

I've earned 1,946 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in January.

I've earned $0 from food shopping on Tada in January.

That's $266.01 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $265.29 in grocery spending so in reality it's -.72¢ spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.  

rah...

My savings percentage for the last week was 56.28%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 61.97% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....Beef Noodle Stir-Fry, Spaghetti and Meatballs

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

1. Sunday--Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Roast Carrots, Potatoes

2. Monday--Pizza, Salad

3. Tuesday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

4. Wednesday--Chicken Salad
5. Thursday--Leftovers? or No Clue

6.  Friday--Chicken and Dumplings w/Carrots

7. Saturday--Leftovers?

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  I may need milk but that's it.

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

  

Frugal Friday....the Birthday(Jan. 21st)Edition on January 22nd

First off, thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday or sent messages to cheer me out of the winter doldrums.  I swear with this cold weather I am feeling every one of my XXX years old. lolz  And here's to you, all you other January babies out there!

So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

*   No food waste so far. ;-)  Not much cooking either and eating leftovers happened as always.

*  I used my free Birthday Burger coupon at Red Robin on Thursday.  I pulled what my daughter use to when we'd go out as a family; I got the most expensive one on the menu. lol  It sort of backfired on me though as it wasn't as good as the burger I usually get there. It was still yummy and FREE! ;-)

*  I did a couple of Rite-Aid transactions this week.......

Nothing OOP, earned $6 in Bonus Cash back and $7 in Ibotta(Oral B, Glide, Twist, 2 x Jergens).

*  I did a fair amount of Walmart this week too.

2 trips(2 different Walmarts)and some offers reset.  Missing from photo are a tin of Nivea men's cream,
a whole Perdue chicken, 3 Hallmark cards, Penetrex muscle reliever, 4 bags of Green Giant Riced/Spiraled veggies, a bottle of Fairlife milk and a Freschetta frozen pizza.

This week Ibotta has 5-6 free items if you sign up or have someone sign up under your referral code.  Mine is MKAAXA.  I haven't gotten any referrals so I only got the free pizza offer. 8-(

Anyway, I also bought a bag of shredded cheese at Weis(PMITA)Markets for $2.50 so my Grand Total Spent for Ibotta items was $79.02 after coupons and gift cards used.(The scanner gun at the last Walmart yesterday was broken so I couldn't use more gift cards from my phone.)
I earned back $63.44 in Ibotta rebates and bonuses for the week, making my OOP $15.58 after Ibotta.  I earned $9.48 on Coupons dotcom and Checkout51 making it $6.10 OOP.  I also earned .31¢ on Fetch, $3.40 on Shop Kick and $6.15 on Swag Bucks(but I don't count those until I cash out for gift cards).

I also found a few clearance deals at Walmart, $1 for Turkey Broth and 100 count boxes of tea bags, 2 bags of Smartfood and 2 Family size boxes of Cheerios(not pictured)for Hubs.

*   I found money!

Found this 12¢ at the entrance outside of my Rite-Aid on Monday.

Found this penny by the second register at my R-A on Wednesday.

Total Found in last Week...... .13¢
Total Found This Year......$1.83

It would be nice to crack the $2 mark for January but probably won't happen. ;-)

That's about all I've got for this week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

And have a good weekend and stay warm!!

Sluggy 

One More Day.....

 And no I'm not referencing the musical "Les Miserables" song.  It's one more day until my Birthday! 8-)

I've been feeling rather punky and maudlin lately.  Don't want to  do anything other than sleep, watch YouTube while I know I have tons I need to do.  After Xmas doldrums?  Winter "I hate the cold" doldrums?  Pandemic fatigue?  Pissed off at insurance new year/new deductible crap? Who knows.  I just want to hibernate and avoid everything.  So tell me something to cheer me up! ;-)

Sorry if I haven't been putting anything worthwhile on the blog lately.  I haven't been accomplishing much in real life either. sigh

So I'll post Frugal Friday tomorrow and then I am taking off at least the weekend from the blog.  I'll be back to post the Giveaway Winner on Sunday of course.  Don't forget to enter the Giveaway by Saturday at 11:59pm ET.  

While 2021 was ok for us I don't feel like I'm living my best life right now.  I have high hopes that 2022 will see us emerge from whatever and give us reasons to thrive and keep going.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Living In Suburbia" Edition...

This flyer(wrapped in plastic)arrived on our driveway a couple of months before Christmas.  Someone around here evidently has a full fledged business designing/installing/taking down your Holiday Light Displays.

I was tempted to call for my free estimate just to see how outrageously expensive it would be to have someone throw lights on your house and then come take them down.

I just don't get this whole "industry" of having your house/yard visible from outer space sort of thing.  If you can't put up a few strings of lights yourself and call it a day then don't do it. ;-)  To pay someone else to do this is just unnecessary.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned......

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

2. Monday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Homemade flatbread Pizza, Salad
5. Thursday--? Hubs' night to cook

6.  Friday--Some sort of soup or stew

7. Saturday--?

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself

3. Tuesday--Cheese Ravioli, Salad

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie
5. Thursday--Applebee's out

6.  Friday--FFY

7. Saturday--Chinese take-out

Nothing very exciting here.  When it's so cold here I don't feel like cooking.  Used a free gift card to get Applebee's on shot night and paid for Chinese take-out this week too.

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

*  Not a thing(other than Xmas ham)

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

*  Ravioli

*  Breaded Chicken Patties

*  Ground Beef

I spent $62.64 on food/toiletries/HBA the last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $118.14 for January with the month slightly more than half over.

There are 14 shopping days left in January.  

I've earned $187.65 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $.88 on Checkout51 in January.

I've earned $8.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in January.

I've earned 17,221 points from shopping on Fetch in January.

I earned 1,305 Kicks from food shopping on Shop Kick in January. 

I've earned 1,329 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in January.

I've earned $0 from food shopping on Tada in January.

That's $196.53 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $118.14 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$78.39 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.  

rah...

My savings percentage for the last week was 67.76%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 67.28% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....

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

1. Sunday--Leftover Beef Pie

2. Monday--Fend for Yourself as I am not feeling well

3. Tuesday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

4. Wednesday--Homemade flatbread Pizza, Salad
5. Thursday--? Hubs' night to cook

6.  Friday--Beef & Veggie Stir-fry, Rice

7. Saturday--More Leftovers?

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Nothing.  I got it covered(except maybe Hubs' night to cook).  The squash ravioli and homemade flat bread pizza carry over to this week since they didn't happen last week.

Ibotta this week?  Still not decided.

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