Frugal Friday....the Nov. 29th Edition

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

Here are our frugal wins for this past week......

*  I got my Coat in the mail last week that I ordered....

It was a great price plus it's Purple!

This will be the very last thing I buy from this company however.  They are forcing paperless billing on me or now charging me $2.99 for each statement I get.  I called and closed my account telling them I don't appreciate being charged money for the honor of buying things from them.  One less credit account and temptation to spend money, right? 

*  I got Hubs Christmas gift via Amazon..........

His luggage was getting raggedy and his favorite color is orange and these American Tourister bags fit the bill.  I used Amazon credit so nothing out of pocket.  I gave it to him early so he can use it on our trip to SC and VA.  8-)))

*  All that shopping for the food bank got taken in..........

Lots of goodness.

This makes our second trip with stuff to the food bank in November.

*  We hit Ollie's after dropping off the food bank donation.....

The Truvia and the Power Sheets laundry box weren't Ollie's(Kroger)but everything else was stuff I bought at Ollie's.  The canned Beets were 75% off even!  I should have bought more of those....

*  I hit my $3 Midweek Moneymaker & my $3 Weekend Warrior Bonuses on Ibotta and I used a free $20 gift card at Walmart to purchase items we needed to get to my Bonus targets.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We ate everything or put it in the freezer .

*  Entertainment last week was free tv or playing with the dogs.

*  This week was time to get my Rock Star drinks.  Bought them at Walmart, making this a $3.76 Moneymaker after my rebate.

*  I found money!  

I was in Dollar General last Saturday(using my $5 off $25 coupon)and found these two pennies inside the store.

If you don't go much of anywhere you can't find money, right? lol

Total Found last week..... .02¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.36 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy   

No Sew Fleece Blanket.....Xmas Idea

 A few years ago I wanted to make Kim a fleece blanket as I found a fabric full of doughnuts(her favorite food group).  

But I already had Essential Tremor so bad I was unable to sew(though undiagnosed as of then).

So I found this lady who I am assuming had had a stroke and only had partial use of one arm/hand, with a tutorial of how to make a fleece blanket where you didn't have to tie knots(as not having the use of two hands, knots were not going to happen for her).

This has got to be the easiest no sew fleece throw pattern on earth if anyone gets a mind to make one as a Christmas gift.

I pulled up this tutorial again this week to make this Christmas gift for someone.....

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table.....Nov. 24th to Nov. 30th

 The "Have a Twinkie Christmas" Edition.........

I snapped a shot of this display in Walmart last week.  Ginormous boxes of Twinkies in Christmas themed boxes.  These have to be the largest boxes of Twinkies I've ever seen!

I don't think most people would be happy to open this as a present on 

Christmas morning.

Would you?

I wonder how many of these will be bought?

Personally, I didn't eat these as a kid(well, maybe a couple)but I was never a fan.  I preferred the little fruit pies Hostess made.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

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

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Beef Pie

2. Monday--Didn't feel like cooking so we fended for ourselves(Hubs wanted Taco Bell for lunch so I didn't feel the need to eat much of anything after that)

3. Tuesday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup, Biscuits

4. Wednesday--Ham, Teriyaki Green Beans

5. Thursday--Rotisserie Chicken, Roasted Broccoli w/Balsamic Vinegar

6. Friday--Leftovers(Pork Stir-Fry)

7. Saturday--Leftovers(Beef Pie)

Pretty much most of what was planned happened.  I made the Beef Pie(which provided leftovers)and the Soup, though the soup happened a day later due to a scrumptious(eye roll)Taco Bell lunch on Monday.

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

*  1 lb. Ground Beef

*  a bag of Broccoli(went into the soup)+ some fresh Broccoli

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

*  a Ham Bone

                   

Last week we spent $109.87 grocery shopping.

Total shopping comes to $357.69 for November.  There are 5 shopping days left in November.  We are taking our last donation for the year to the food bank today so other than some Brussel Sprouts and maybe some Sweet Potatoes I am done shopping for the month.

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

I've earned $245.25 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $30.91 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $84.13 on Aisle, etc. in November. 

I've earned $15.58 on TaDa in November.

I've earned 35,652 points on Fetch from food shopping in November.

I've earned 15,074 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.($60.29)

I've earned 20,290 points on My Points in November.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

I've earned 1,259 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.($12.59)

That is $360.29 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/Swag Bucks/TaDa/The Insiders were I earn gift cards)on $357.69 of grocery spending so in reality it's negative $2.60 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 40.00% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 42.15% spent.

Leftovers going into this week.....Beef Pie, Ham, a Piece of Pork Tenderloin, Ham, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Ham, Roasted Broccoli, Ham, Green Beans, Some Rotisserie Chicken, Ham.

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers(Ham and Green Beans)

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Turkey, Stuffing, Brussel Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Rolls, Rutabaga(if I can find one that is bigger than the size of a tennis ball), Pie

6. Friday--New Leftovers

7. Saturday--New Leftovers

Other than Thanksgiving, we are all about the leftovers this week.  I've got meatballs and sauce in the freezer if we get tired of same old, same old.

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

It's Just So Funny!

This commercial has been coming on the tv channels I've watched recently.  It just makes me chuckle to hear Christopher Walken's voice coming from a squirrel.   I keep waiting for him to say, "It needs more cowbell."  lolz

Have you ever seen this commercial?

Sluggy

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