Frugal Friday....the April 15th Edition

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

*   No food waste last week. Not much cooking either. Sort of works that way, right? lol

* I finished using those free Secret and Old Spice coupons at Rite-Aid.  I had sent away for these in February from P&G due to some lawsuit where they were giving coupons for freebies if you have recalled products.  Of course I hadn't "paid" OOP monies on the defective items either.   5 free deodorants for the win!

*  I went through the chest freezer and pulled out lots of items to use up if I had other fridge or shelf items to make a meal--tomato sauce from last year's garden, ground beef, steaks, ravioli.  I got 4 meals with leftovers made with items I already had.

* I hit Walmart on Wednesday and bought all this for Ibotta rebates....

Not pictured is a Breakstone cottage doubles(it was eaten already)too.

I also bought a clearance toothpaste, 2 Jello boxes and had a .25¢ any receipt off from a Rite-Aid shop on Monday.  Nothing OOP at Rite-Aid and $4.56 OOP at Walmart after a $1/1 Sargento Q and redeeming a $10 free gift card.  I earned back $9 in regular Ibotta rebates along with a .50¢ Bonus rebate on the Jello and $5 MidWeek Moneymaker Bonus for doing 10 rebates so $10.50 back on a $4.56 expenditure.  Not bad.

*  I used another $10 in free gift cards to cover most of the other items in my order, including a few treats(fudge drizzled popcorn!!)and 4 of these frozen meals.......

Salmon dinners I found in a clearance bin at Walmart, marked down to $2 each.  Some quick and healthy and CHEAP meals tucked into my freezer.  Yes please!

*  At another store I found a slew of frozen meals marked 75% off!  I picked up 4 breakfast sandwich 2 packs, 5 Devour meals,  4 Benihana meals, 2 trays of multi-serve meatloaves and 2 bags of fake chicken w/Asian Orange Sauce.   $89.08 worth of frozen meals for $22.27 OOP.  That is at least 8 breakfasts, 17 lunch or dinners covered for under $23.  Well  I do have to add rice or noodles and veg to the fake chicken and sides to the Meatloaf but even so, great deals!

*  I got $1.50 in post Qs at Rite-Aid on April 11th.....

Forgot to bring a coupon a couple of days before when I purchased something last week.

*  A purse sized bottle of hand sanitizer for free from Rite-Aid on Wednesday...

*  I finally received my replacement R-A gift cards in the mail for the multiple defective ones that wouldn't scan.

This has been a long drawn out nightmare and I am glad it's over with.  Hopefully these will work and I will NEVER buy another Rite-Aid gift card again.  'Nuf said.

*   I found money!

A penny last Friday at the Weis self-checkout.

Found these 2 dimes at my Rite-Aid in different locations in the store on Monday.

2 pennies, one each under a different self-checkout at Weis on April 12th.

A dime in front of my self-checkout on Wednesday at Walmart.

And then a dime in the drive-thru line at Burger King on Wednesday too.  I got a Whopper with a coupon and used a free gift card too.  Free food and finding money too, can't beat that with a stick! lolz

Total Found in last Week...... .43¢
Total Found This Year......$10.34

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

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

And have a good weekend and Happy Easter if you celebrate it!  

Sluggy  

April Giveaway....Come & Enter

Who's ready for the Another Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for 2022?!?
I missed a March giveaway as I wasn't home but half the month.  Let's get back to it in April as these giveaways seem to be popular with some of my readers and keep me hanging in the BlogUniverse even when I am not inclined to. ;-)

It's a hodge-podge of randomness this month to win.  Hair conditioner, vitamins, deodorant, travel bottles of toiletries(from my son's wedding), oral care stuff, makeup, eye drops(because allergy season is here), facial care masks, lip balm, candy, granola snacks, pretzels(from the flight into Houston), disinfecting wipes and a few coffee pods(another wedding freebie).

Let's take a look at what is in the Giveaway Box this month........

1 x Alive! women's vitamins

1 x Suave Sleek and Shine conditioner

1 x Speed Stick deodorant

1 x Pure ZZZ shower mist

1 x Colgate Toothpaste

4 x Beekman 1802 travel bottle(shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion)

3 x Coffee pods(Lake & Lodge, Butter Toffee, Law's Blend)

1 x Vaseline lip cream

1 x Almay eye palette(smoldering eyes)

1 x Colgate toothbrush

2 x Nature Valley granola bars

1 x Visine eye drops

1 x bag of airline pretzels(tiny)

4 x Healthy Warrior pumpkin seed dark chocolate/peanut bars

2 x Clorox travel disinfecting wipe packs

2 x Freeman face masks
4 x Starlight mint candies

1 x Extra peppermint gum pack

2 x Butterfinger candy bars

1 x Tide-To-Go wipes pack(not pictured)

Close up shots of the goodies.........

Depending on where you shop, the winnings have a reg. retail value of approximately $50-$60.

Here's how this is going to work.....

* The giveaway is open to ALL readers, previous winners or not.

* There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY.  Come back each day to enter again.

* Only VALID entries will be posted.  A Valid entry is a limit of one per day and I MUST HAVE VALID CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOU(either you are on the Giveaway Contact List which I maintain, your comment is connected to a Google/Blogger profile which links to your email address or you email me directly(my email is in the side bar on the Blog)your email address.

IF YOU ENTER THE GIVEAWAY AND DON'T SEE YOUR COMMENT within a few days it's because I don't have your contact/email info.

From all the VALID entries I receive I'll pick a winner at random and the winner has 48 hours from when the post goes live to contact me with their full mailing address.

In your entries I'd like to hear about your tips during inflationary times on how to make your income stretch.  Any area is game....food, healthcare, cars, hobbies, standard bills, etc.  We can all use a new way to cope with tips for our incomes that don't go quite so far lately.

If you are on my Giveaway emails list just leave a comment and your name(with last name initial please)to enter. If you aren't on the Giveaway emails list make sure you leave your email in your comment OR email me your email privately after you leave a comment(my email is in the side bar area under "About Me").
I'll leave this giveaway open until April 22nd Friday at 11:59 pm Eastern  Daylight Savings Time(EDST).  I'll  pick and post the winner on April 23rd, Saturday.

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winners on this blog on  and those persons have 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one make sure your email info is linked to your profile.

So let's get this Giveaway started. Good luck to everyone!!!

Sluggy

Sort of a Frugal Friday Post on Tuesday

 Slowly on the mend here.  Still trying to catch up on "stuff".  So behind I can never die. lolz

I guess eating happenstance/whatever you can find to cook here is frugal.  Though I did spend a bit of $$ on food last week though I can't remember what unless I consult a grocery receipt or three. 8-)

I found a penny last week......

Don't ask me where or when but I took this photo as proof.  I think it was at Weis(PMITA)Markets on April 8th.  I was in Weis on that date and I know I didn't find that at Rite-Aid so....

Add in the $6.24 in found change from the trip out West in March and we are at.......

Total Found in last Week...... .01¢
Total Found This Year......$9.91

No cheap $1.99 lb. Butter here in PA at Aldi stores either.  Some states got the short end of the butter stick this Spring. *snort*

Between resting, coughing, blowing my nose and sleeping I did a bit of decluttering last week.

First I cleaned out my bedside stand drawer.  I was scrounging in it for cough drops and found a pile of old ones had clumped together and had melted/leaked onto the drawer making a sticky mess.  I went ahead and dumped everything out and sorted/threw out some stuff and reorganized neatly what got put back in.  Some unopened items got put back into the toiletries stockpile.  No photo of this industry but I did finally get the kitchen pantry tackled with the help of Hubs last weekend.

The BEFORE, a packed pantry.

And the AFTER.........

Some old/opened "we are never going to use" items got thrown away, some unopened items got put back into the garage and yet other items got consolidated if 2 of the same were opened.

Next on the list is to go through the garage stockpile but that will be a multiday project and have to wait for warmer weather.

Oh, it snowed like a demon here on Sunday....and it also sleeted......and rained.  Mother Nature just couldn't make up her mind.  3 seasons in the course of 24 hours.

I've got the crockpot going so Beef Stroganoff will be on tonight's menu.  I have a trip to R-A planned as well as Hubs wants to bathe the dogs today as it's warmed up a little.  The dogs really need grooming first though so I'll be chopping fur off them before said baths.

We don't have any plans for Easter weekend.  We were invited to the DIL parents big shindig in Jersey but we have the dogs and they can't be left alone for an entire day.  Ex CB is having dinner with his new flame's parents so we are on our own this year and I really don't want to cook a grand meal.  It might be tv dinners or take-out for Easter here at Chez Sluggy.

I really need to find the seeds I bought and start plants this week in the little greenhouse kit I bought.  We can't plant outside until Mother's Day or later here and expect anything to live. lolz  Ah, the joys of living on a mountain in PA.

That's about it for here.  What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Still Feeling Unwell" Edition... 

I can't think what I've been doing this past week besides going to the doc, getting an Rx, taking it and sleeping so I get over this sinus infection.  I haven't had one this bad in about a decade. ugh.  

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned.....

Nothing

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

Well we ate a bit.  I don't recall when/where/what mostly.  It was a mish-mash of whatever was here and Hubs or I could heat up.  I had a fair amount of soup and there was some take-out soup and a Hoagie dinner for Hubs' birthday(he had a BOGO offer from Primo Hoagies).  I made a Hamburger and Noodles meal with grilled Asparagus on the side before I really felt badly. But other than that there was nothing remarkable or noteworthy about meals(such as they were).

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

*  a pack of burritos

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

*  No Clue

I spent $73.35 on food/toiletries/HBA this last week.  I managed a trip to Walmart and a trip to Weis and threw stuff in the cart with no rhyme or reason plus a birthday cake for Hubs. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $149.20 for April.  I did manage to do some Ibotta/Shop Kick/Swag Bucks deals in the process.

There are 19 shopping days left in April.  

I've earned $58.73 on Ibotta in April.

I've earned $1.52 on Checkout51 in April.

I've earned $0 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in April.

I've earned 6,385 points($6.38) from shopping on Fetch in April.

I earned 1830 Kicks($7.32)from food shopping on Shop Kick in April. 

I've earned 762 Swag Bucks($7.62) from food shopping on Swag Bucks in April.

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

That's $60.25 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $149.20 in grocery spending so in reality it's $88.95 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

Go me! 8-/

My savings percentage for the last week was 33.52%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for April comes in at 28.48% so far(w/out R-A).  I am really off my game right now.

Leftovers going into this week.....the burger/noodle dish but Hubs will polish that off for lunches.  The leftover Lasagna from before we went on the trip is in the freezer and I'll probably pull that out this week.

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

1. Sunday--Tacos

2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Brussels Sprouts

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Baked Sweet Potato Fries
5. Thursday--Chinese take-out unless Hubs cooks

6.  Friday--Fish Fry, Coleslaw(if I can manage to buy some cabbage)

7. Saturday--Lasagna, Salad

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Cabbage.  I've got everything else.  That is if I can manage to get it together enough to cook.  Otherwise, all bets are off....

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?  Great deals(even good deals)....what's that lately? hahahaha

Sluggy

  

Income & Spending Report....March 2022

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the March report---

I had 2 goals for March.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2021.

I can report that we finished up March in the black.
The amount we ended the month of March with?....$1,251.07

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in March---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,229.07(after tax withholding)
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $174.56

* 1/3 of Quarterly 401K withdrawal=$2,051.69

* RMSA account to pay for health premiums totaling $2,226.13

*  Stock Dividend of $18.48

*  Cash in Pts. on M/C of $189.73

*  Cash in Pts. on Visa of $268.01

*  Cash in Pts. on NCL Visa of $287.87

*  Fed. Tax Refund of $1,842.00

Total "Income" for March.....$10,287.54

Expenses in March---

* Irregular bills in March were $1,384.55

* Variable Expenses in March came to $5,425.79

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,226.13

Total Expenses....$9,036.47

$10,287.54-$9,036.47=$1,251.07

Slush into March of $40,810.91 in that Fund, add $1,251.07 and we get $42,061.98 going into April's 2022's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,251.07

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this February here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The Internet, water, cell phone and WAM was the same as last month.

*  The electric bill was $77.23 less than February's bill.

*  The gas c/c was $64.64 less than in February(because we didn't use Sunoco gas much).

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The Mastercard was up by $2,550.03 from February.

*  The Amazon card was higher by $186.28 this month.

Irregular bills were paid too.

*  Long Term Care premiums were due

*  We had to kennel the dogs for half a month in March for $600.

The Food Budget costs for March are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on March 2022---We got out with our asses intact and did much better than I predicted.  The Federal tax refund and using c/c points to throw back onto the c/c payments helped a good bit along with not having to pay the real estate taxes until April(usually they are due annually in  March but COVID gave us an extra almost month long extension)so I'll pay the taxes this month as soon as the April 401K withdrawal hits the account.  Otherwise, March would have been a financial fail.

THOUGHTS going forward into April 2022--Besides the real estate taxes being due, we will have a good bit of c/c bills coming due in April from this trip as well, so April might see us in the red for next month.

So how was your March financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in March?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

Sluggy