Frugal Friday....the Nov. 22nd Edition

There are some Frugal wins over the past week.....

*  I had one dr. appointment with my Orthopedist.  Just a check in and I don't go back for 4 months. 8-)))

*  I did some more shopping for the food bank..........

There was a Quaker Products deal "Buy 2, Get 3 Free".  Last week I got Oatmeal packet boxes, this week I got 2 containers of oats and 3 boxes of pancake mix.

Then I got 2 shampoos, 1 Body Wash and 2 Deodorants.  I spent $7.97 out of pocket and then got $4 back from Swag Bucks for the deodorants and $2 in Points from Shop Kick for the same deodorants.

*  I hit my $5 Midweek Moneymaker Bonus which bulked up my rebating monies.  Last weekend's Bonus was only $1 so no, that didn't happen.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We have lots of leftovers/planned overs so we'll be eating on this until next Thursday probably.

*  This week was time to get my Rock Star drinks.  Kroger had them for $2 so this was a $1 Moneymaker

*  We finally turned the heat on yesterday night.  Temps got into the 30'sF last night.

*  I found money!  

I found a dime in Walmart on the 18th, near the coin sorter machine.

I went back to Walmart the next day to check on an Rx and found 2 pennies, one at the pharmacy and one near the Customer Service area.

Outside I found a nickel in the parking lot.  Nickels are rare as hen's teeth to find in the wild in my experience.

I found these two pennies in Ollie's on Thursday.  One in the store and one in the parking lot.  Can you guess which was found where? ;-)

I found another penny at Wendy's on Thursday.

Total Found last week..... .15¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.34 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy   

Something to Remember As We Head Into This Holiday Season

 I can't say it any clearer.....

Sluggy

Shop Kick Problem-Kroger is MIA in their app?

I was just wondering if anyone else is having this same issue with Shop Kick(if you use it).

I went to submit for an offer at Shop Kick which I bought at Kroger yesterday.  Only to find that Kroger is no longer listed in my Shop Kick app!  I hope it's just a glitch because it's one of the two main stores I shop at.  

I sent Shop Kick support an email asking what was up and they didn't even address my concern.  They neither denied or confirmed the status of Kroger as a participating store.

So disappointing.

* Must have been a glitch.  Kroger is back on Shop Kick now.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table....Nov. 18th to Nov. 25th

The "Meat & Three" Edition.........

I remember when we first moved down here we went to a "Meat & 3" restaurant.  We didn't have these type of establishments up North and I rarely went to one where I grew up in Virginia.

I have just "the 3" veggies and I didn't get the meat item.  That's my plate--some kind of greens, a sweet potato casserole and something else I don't recall now and the rest of a dinner roll.

I was not impressed by this lunch, especially the sweet potato casserole as it was sooo sweet!  Ya don't need to sugar up sweet potatoes! ;-)  The green were ok.

I wish other restaurants here did the "Meat & 3" but we just have this one local chain.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

1. Sunday--Leftover burgers, sweet potato fries.

2. Monday--Dinner somewhere on the road

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Spinach Souffle

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Salad

5. Thursday--Liver, Taters, Beets

6. Friday--Sautèd Scallops, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Spiral cut Ham, Veggies TBD

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Leftover burgers, Sweet Potato fries

2. Monday--Dinner somewhere on the road(Arby's Brisket Sandwich)

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Grilled Asparagus

4. Wednesday--Liver and Onions, Gravy, Broccoli

5. Thursday--Ham, Green Beans, Pineapple

6. Friday--Pork Teriyaki Stir-Fry Veggies

7. Saturday--Fajitas

The liver finally happened (Look away Anne!) We didn't have any mashed potatoes with the liver(as is tradition)and we didn't miss it.  The souffle, chicken parm and the scallops didn't happen but we have ham for days now!

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

*  Salmon

*  Liver

*  Ham

*  Pork Tenderloin

*  Stir-Fry Veggies

*  Chicken

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

*  3 containers of ice cream(there was a pie and ice cream deal)

*  2 lbs. meatballs

                    

Last week we spent $112.28 grocery shopping.

Total shopping comes to $247.82 for November.  There are 12 shopping days left in November.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $188.69 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $25.66 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $57.16 on Aisle, etc. in November. 

I've earned $15.57 on TaDa in November.

I've earned 27,312 points on Fetch from food shopping in November.

I've earned 13,720 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.($54.88)

I've earned 20,120 points on My Points in November.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

I've earned 103 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.($1.03)

That is $271.51 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa/The Insiders were I earn gift cards)on $247.82 of grocery spending so in reality it's negative $23.69 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending(but I do count any rebates on those items) so it's a win/win--the food bank gets a large donation of goods and I get a lower grocery bill.

My savings percentage for the last week was 50.29% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 45.05% spent.

Leftovers going into this week.....Ham, Pork Stir-Fry, Ham, Pineapple, Ham, Fajita filling and did I mention Ham? ;-)  That's what happens when you defrost and cook a spiral ham and there are only 2 people to eat it and I wasn't about to cook ham for Thanksgiving.

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

1. Sunday--Beef Pie

2. Monday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup, Biscuits

3. Tuesday--something Leftover

4. Wednesday--something Leftover

5. Thursday--probably Ham in some iteration, Green Beans

6. Friday--Leftovers? with Roasted Broccoli

7. Saturday--more Leftovers

With all that ham and other foods leftover I don't plan on cooking for most of this week(other than some veggies).  It's not even "soup weather" here(is it ever soup weather here??) but I am craving Cheddar Broccoli soup so I'll sweat and eat it.  If  I can find rye bread we'll have Rueben sandwiches(sort of, I have Pastrami not Corned Beef)one night but otherwise it's ham.(And I don't even like ham and I can't remember what possessed me to buy one...oh yeah, it was on clearance.) lololz

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? 

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the Nov. 15th Edition

There are some Frugal wins over the past week.....

*  I had 2 PT sessions this week and I am done with PT now.  These sessions were free to me.

*  We sat down and worked out what Part D Medicare plan to choose.  Since Part D rules changed for 2025 I had many more plans to chose from that covered my one  expensive medicine, meaning I don't have to pay as much for my meds.

*  I picked up these new plant based Reese's cup bags.

They were in the clearance bin at Kroger(I guess they weren't very popular)marked down to $1.37 and I had $1.75 rebates for them so I made money on these, $1.14 to be exact.

*  I picked up this stuff at Walmart early in the week....

I am keeping the toilet bowl cleaner, the Glade air spray, the bag of cornbread mix and the cough drops.  The Truvia brown sugar is for my sister in-law and the rest is for the food bank.

*  I did some more shopping for the food bank..........

We are just keeping the little 3 pack of dog food in this lot.

I hit my big $30 Bonus and my $5 Midweek Moneymaker Bonus with this shopping trip which bulked up my rebating monies.

*  We did no eating out last week.

*  We also had no food waste last week.

*  The a/c and heat were not used most days again this week and our electric bill is liking this weather. 8-)))

*  Made what seems to be my last trip to the Dermatologist in MS.  I am stable on my meds so she has approval to do Telehealth appointments with me. rah

I will miss the little bag of freebies she gives me.  I think she feels sorry that I have to drive 7+ hours roundtrip for an appointment.

*  I found money!  

I found a dime inside the Walmart and a penny outside there in the parking lot.

I found a penny in the parking lot of the truck stop near the dog park on Monday.

Total Found last week..... .12¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.19 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy