Building a Brand That Hooks You

I thought this was interesting.......

Sluggy 

Doing the Weekend Warrior Bonus on Sunday & Saturday

I had a $5 Bonus for 18 rebates this past weekend on Ibotta.  I had picked up a few items at my R-A on Saturday already earning me 3 items toward the 18 rebates.

Hubs and I went out on Sunday and I got this.....

At Rite-Aid I picked up 3 Ibotta items on Sunday-the Tom's deodorant, the 2 Max Freeze and 4 Nestle Crunch bars giving me 4 rebates totaling $25.71 paid with BC.  I got back $11.70 in rebates and $6 in new BC.  The Tom's deo was on clearance for $1.99 and I used a $1/1 L2CQ and then got back $1.70 on Ibotta.  That was great!  The Nestle bars all had .50¢ freshness peelies on them so after sale price of .88¢ each they were $1.52 total and I got back $1 on Ibotta.

I also picked up the Sweet-Tarts, Nature's Truth(BOGO)*not in photo*and Pink Vitamins*not in photo* on Saturday at my R-A.  Again used BC to pay so Zero OOP for those and they earned me 3 more Ibotta rebates totaling $4.  I am at 6 rebates earned and 12 more to go to hit the Bonus.

At Walmart, the Renpure body wash was on clearance for $1.61 a bottle so I picked that up even though there was no Ibotta rebate for it as it was a good deal.  The other 9 items(not the Oxi-Clean)all had Ibotta rebates-some were "any XX item" rebates, some were particular brand rebates.  I only used 1 Q $1/1 Alka-Seltzer item ManuQ for the kid's bottle of chewy Alka-Seltzer.  The 9 Ibotta rebate items came to $20.50 w/tax and I paid with a free SwagBucks gift card(I also put some other non-Ibotta items on that gift card as it was for $25.).   I got $7.90 back on Ibotta and was at 15 rebates.

On the way out of Walmart I saw an abandoned receipt outside so I scooped up the litter(hehe)and scanned it(actually I scanned this one before I scanned my own)and there were 3 more rebates earned from that receipt(any item bread, crackers and juice-though I would have gotten that juice one anyway as my Ocean Spray juice would have double dipped had I scanned that receipt first), giving me my 15 rebates and another $5 Bonus.

Total spent.....$0.00
Total earned...$22.70+$5 Bonus=$27.70

The Oxi-Clean was $16.87 for 2 w/tax.  I earned back $9 on Swag Bucks, $4.74 on Checkout51 and another $1.50 for a Coupons dotcom rebate so $16.87 spent and $15.24 in rebates so $1.63 OOP for 2 of those which is a great deal!

In conclusion I spent $1.63 after rebates on the Oxi and got $27.70 back after rebates and Bonus on the Ibotta items having spent Zero OOP on those.

I haven't gotten a MidWeek Moneymaker Bonus but I am 20 more items away the Super Bowl $10 Bonus that ends Saturday.  Don't know if I'll get there or if I want to try to but I am happy with how I did so far. ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "I Wish I Wasn't Here" Edition...

It's cold as F*^k here!  It was 80F and sunny back in December 2021 in the Virgin Islands.  That larger boat was the one we took there.  Maybe we can move there or go stay for a month or two if we can find someone to watch the dogs for us and not charge us an arm and a leg. ;-)

How about you take our dogs for awhile Kim.  With all the animals and grandkids running around there you'd never even notice them. hehehe

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--I didn't eat(see above), don't know what Hubs had

2. Monday--Chicken and Dumplings w/Carrots

3. Tuesday--Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff, leftover, Brussels Sprouts, Rice

4. Wednesday--Fish, Cole Slaw
5. Thursday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

6.  Friday--Homemade flatbread Pizza, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Leftovers

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

1. Sunday--I didn't eat(at hospital), don't know what Hubs had

2. Monday--Chicken and Dumplings w/Carrots

3. Tuesday--Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff, leftover, Brussels Sprouts, Rice

4. Wednesday--Fish, Cole Slaw, Sweet Potatoes
5. Thursday--Ate Lunch out, I didn't have dinner

6.  Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out for Lunch, no dinner

Again, the homemade pizza and squash ravioli didn't happen and moves again.

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

*  a box of Super Pretzel

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

*  1 lb. London Broil

*  1 box of fish

*  a box of Super Preetzel

*  a qt. of Ben and Jerry's

I spent $29.99 on food/toiletries/HBA the last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $29.00 for February.  

There are 21 shopping days left in February.  

I've earned $51.12 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $10.13 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $5.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.

I've earned 258 points($.25) from shopping on Fetch in February.

I earned 150 Kicks($.60)from food shopping on Shop Kick in February. 

I've earned 942SB($9.42) from food shopping on Swag Bucks in February.

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

That's $67.75 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $29.00 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$38.75 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count(plus a $1.50 rebate sent to my Paypal account).

rah...

My savings percentage for the last week was 67.33%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 67.33% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week.....Chicken and Dumplings, 1 helping each of Fish, Cole Slaw, Sweet Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

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

1. Sunday--Bought a bucket of KFC while out

2. Monday--Leftover KFC

3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms, Veggie TBD, Mashed Potatoes

4. Wednesday--Leftovers or Copycat Bob Evans Salad
5. Thursday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

6.  Friday--Homemade flatbread Pizza, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Leftovers

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Nothing.  I've got everything I just have to dig some chicken breast out of the freezer for the Marsala.  I'll save some chicken from the KFC bucket to top my Bob Evans copycat salad.  I made Colonial dressing last week to use on that.

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

  

Where To Move To...I Need Input!

 I need some input from my dear readers.  In the next year or two Hubs and I will be leaving PA.  Now that the kids are all grown and have left home we have little reason to live here.  One son is nearby as well as one of Hubs' siblings and our nephew but I don't expect most of them to stay in this area for long.

                                                 Not our house. lolz

We have narrowed our search to a few states with the criteria of climate, taxes, proximity to family and healthcare access.  We want to be closer to family(but not too close lol-we have family in LA, SC, VA, NJ, PA *for now*), be in a lower cost area(taxes and cost of housing), warmer state and an area with good healthcare(docs, hospitals, etc.)available as we age.  We no longer want to be in the snow belt and I don't care to be in the Deep South of MS/AL/GA/FL. I grew up near the shore but I fear property is just too expensive to justify a move to the coast.

The areas we have on our short list are North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas(eastern/upper part near NW LA).  Kentucky, Arkansas and West Virginia are not on the list due to inadequate healthcare facilities unless you know of areas in those states that prove that assumption wrong and have affordable housing, etc. as well.

We are looking to downsize from a 2,100+ Sq Ft. 4 bedroom/2.5 bath 2 story home w/a 2 car garage on 1/3 of an acre, to a 1,800 or less sq. ft. 3 bedroom/2 bath 1 story home w/a 2 car garage on more land.  We would like to make a lateral move financially so about $300K or less would be preferable.

Anybody who has experience or lives in any of these targeted states have any input or information I'd love to hear your thoughts either in the comments or email me privately.  I thought I'd ask before we start making trips to look at property in those states so we don't waste time looking in areas that just don't meet our criteria.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the February 4th Edition

This was the view out the front door this morning.  Since then it's been snowing.  I won't be going anywhere anytime soon so no money spent. rah.

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

*   No food waste so far. ;-)  We've got lots of leftovers this week to use up or repurpose.

*  I used 3 expiring $2 rewards at Subway to get us lunch on Thursday along with part of a gift card. 

 I saw I also had a free Birthday cookie in my Subway account so Hubs picked that up too. ;-)

* I bought about $12 in stuff on a trip to Weis.  That was my only food shopping trip for the week.

*  I did about 4 Rite-Aid transactions this week utilizing BC, Catalinas and coupons.......

*  On Wednesday Hubs and I had a lunch out at Applebee's using a Xmas gift card from Sonya.  I "went outside my lane" as they say and ordered something new(uh oh), a small steak.  It was overcooked and I couldn't cut it(the dull knife they gave me didn't help any either).  I gave my plate to Hubs to attempt to cut the steak.  This piece of meat shouldn't have been served.  I've had tough and chewy steaks before as well as grisly ones and sinewy ones but there was an artery/vein tube that ran through the center of this steak!  You couldn't cut the tube(think rubber hose)or cut the meat away that was edible from around it.  Called the server over to send it back for an edible piece of meat.  Manager brings new steak over along with a new knife(just as dull as the old one though)and I cut into that one.  Not much better but at least there was no hose in it and it was chewable.

The server brought the check and I used part of my gift card to pay and noticed I had been charge for TWO steaks!  We signaled him over and pointed out that this was an error and he took the check and gift card up to his manager then came back having taken the second steak charge off the check as well as another $10 off for all the issues on this visit.  Basically my part of the meal had cost $3 and change at this point.  go me.

*  I got the result of my sleep study back and the findings where that I no longer need the supplemental oxygen at night so no concentrator is needed.  Rah!  That's less medical bills in my future for DMEs.  Anybody need a broken oxygen concentrator? lol

*  I got $4 back in "post coupons" at R-A this week.  $2 for St. Joseph Aspirin and $2 for Nivea lotion when I forgot my qs at home.

*   I found money!

One whole penny at Weis in front of the CS desk.  I'm shocked I found no errant change in R-A this week!  At least I didn't get skunked for the week thanks to that lone penny at Weis(PMITA)Markets.

Total Found in last Week...... .01¢
Total Found This Year......$1.88

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!  It's been snowing all day here.... 8-(

Sluggy