This Week + on The Dining Table....Dec. 15th to Dec. 29th

 The "Christmas Ornament" Edition........

Here is one of the splurge purchased I made during the After Christmas sales.  It's a Cheetos bag ornament.  When I was a kid I loved Cheetos.  Recently, Flavorwiki had me taste test Flamin' Hot Cheetos.  I have never been one for "hot" food so I don't know why they picked me to do that survey.  Do you want to guess whether I gave them the thumbs up or down? lol

Onward to the meal planning!

Here is what was planned for the last week I did a meal plan.....

1. Sunday--Cod, Squash and Onions

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers(bun optional), Leftover Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Whatever needs using up(soup, squash, green beans, etc.)

4. Wednesday--Whatever else needs using up

5. Thursday--?

6. Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

8. Sunday--?

9. Monday--?

10. Tuesday--Fajita Bar at friend's house

11. Wednesday--Turkey

12. Thursday--?

13. Friday--Cracker Barrel

14. Saturday--Chili's

15. Sunday--?

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Cod, Squash and Onions

2. Monday--Cheeseburger(no bun), Leftover 

Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Don't Remember

4. Wednesday--Used by what was left

5. Thursday--Cracker Barrel

6. Friday--Cracker Barrel

7. Saturday--Golden Corral

8. Sunday--Chick fil-A

9. Monday--Don't remember

10. Tuesday--Fajita Bar at friend's house

11. Wednesday--Turkey and lots of sides

12. Thursday--Standing Prime 

Rib, Salad

13. Friday--Cracker Barrel

14. Saturday--Chili's

15. Sunday--McDonald's

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

*  2 pieces of Cod

*  Hamburger Meat

*  2 Chicken Biscuits(breakfast)

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

*  Nothing  

                   

Last week we spent $227.37 grocery shopping.

There are 0 shopping days left in December.

Rebate monies earned in December.....

I've earned $201.96 on Ibotta in December.

I've earned $9.50 on Checkout51 in December.

I've earned $190.72 on Aisle, TaDa, SwagBucks, Flavorwiki, etc. in December. 

I've earned 7,760 points on Fetch from food shopping in December.

I've earned 17,925 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in December.($71.70)

I've earned 865 points on My Points in December.(not sure what the conversion rate is here)

That is $402.18 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints where I earn gift cards or send $$ to my Paypal account and count it at the end of the year)on $432.66 of grocery spending so in reality it's $40.38 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 42.48% and the monthly savings total for 50.49%.

Leftovers going into next week.....nothing

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

1. Sunday--Zalads from Zaxby's(using gift card)

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers, saute Cabbage

3. Tuesday--Shrimp, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

4. Wednesday--TV dinners

5. Thursday--Pasta, Salad

6. Friday--Chicken Tenders, Veg TBD

7. Saturday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Saute Yellow Squash

Nothing inspiring here.  Just trying to eat what is here,

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 Jan. 3rd Edition

Here are our frugal wins for this past week(and the week before while traveling).....

*  I love finding marked down foods at Kroger(this really doesn't happen at Walmart).  We bought salads, hummus, tuna salad and crackers on clearance to eat.  And I did a little Ibotta shopping too. 8-)

*  We also had no food waste last week.   It's hard to have food waste when you aren't cooking. lol

* I cashed out a total of $167.18 between Checkout 51 and Ibotta last week.

*  We bought gas at Kroger, using my points, when possible.

*  We used gift cards when we had to dine out when traveling.  There was one exception-we went to Cracker Barrel and Hubs had the gift card in his pocket and forgot to use it. 8-(  So instead of eating at CB twice, we had to eat there 3 times. ugh

*  I used credit card points to get free or reduced hotel rooms when we weren't staying with family.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv or socializing with family.

*  I found money! 

I found a dime and a penny when we stopped at a Buc-ee's in Georgia on 12/28.

I found a penny when we stopped at a Chili's for dinner on 12/28 in Alabama.

I found a total of .36¢ at Walmart on 12/30-a quarter, a dime and a penny at different parts of the store.

                          

I found .25¢ at Aldi on 12/31 when we went to pick up fresh produce and fruit.

And I found a fuzzy Geo. Washington .25¢ at Walmart by the pharmacy counter on 12/31 when went to pick up an Rx.

Grand Total Found this Year.......$10.70 & 5.30 Euros  I had a strong finish with a found coins streak the last week of 2024.

(And I just counted up my coinage and it came to $12 even.  I must have missed writing down $1.30 of my stash somewhere in 2024.)

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy 

Frugal Friday....the Dec. 27th edition on Saturday Night

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

*  I love going to Kroger here as they usually have marked down salad kits and a small container of tuna salad.  I got 3 this week in Virginia but not too many to use up before we left town.

*  We also had no food waste last week.  We ate everything in the fridge or put it into the freezer before we left.

* Did 3 Flavorwiki taste testings and earned $4.28 over and above the cost of the items.  Plus we got to keep the items.

*  Traveling is not frugal, but I used hotel points for free or cheaper lodging, then stayed with family in Virginia.

*  We bought gas at Kroger, using my points.

*  We used gift cards when we had to dine out when traveling.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv or socializing with family.

*  I found money!  

We stopped at the Bu-cee's in South Carolina on our trip to Virginia and found a dime on the floor.

On the 26th we made a pilgrimage to Trader Joe's and found a penny in the back seat of the car.

Inside Trader Joe's I found a dime under one of the checkout counters.

Then my sister in-law found another penny while doing laundry.

Total Found last week..... .22¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.94 & 5.30 Euros  I may hit $10 found before the year is out at this point. 6 more cents to go!

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy

Merry Christmas to All!

 

Here's my Buc-ee's ornament on my Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  He never made it onto our small tree last year so he made his debut this year.

While everyone has a wonderful Christmas Holiday with what and whomever fills you with joy please at least say a prayer or keep in mind the folks in Western North Carolina who are still suffering from the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene that hit their area back in October.  I personally know that area and how cold those mountains get in the Winter and most of the people who live there are suffering greatly and will continue to go through a traumatic time as the season progresses.

If I lived closer I'd be taking all these toiletries and foodstuffs I get for cheap or free to them instead of the food bank here in Louisiana.

Nick Johnson, a youtuber who has documented this disaster and the government's lack of help, has two videos out recently.

Maybe think about donating to some organization or person on these videos inside of buying another Christmas present for a family member.  I'll be donating.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday...the Dec.20th Edition

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

*  I love going to Kroger here as they usually have marked down salad kits.  I got a couple this week but not too many to use up before we leave town.

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

* Did 3 Flavorwiki taste testings and earned $13.53 over and above the cost of the items.

*  I sold some gift sets this week locally on FB.  These are gifts I no longer need for people no longer in my life.  I plan to sell as much as I can before we move.  I have toiletries to unload after Christmas.  The less we have to cart out of here the better. 8-)  

$62 made so far.

Anything we can't sell I'll donate to the food bank.

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

*  I found money!  

I went to Walmart and Dollar General on the 14th and  thought I had found 2 pennies and the former and 1 penny at the latter.  But once I got home and went to clean them I saw that all three had another penny stuck to them! lol  So I ended up with 6 cents total.

Then I found myself back at DG on Tuesday.  There was a dime in the parking lot behind my car and when I went back out to my car I noticed a penny next to my car.

Total Found last week..... .17¢

Grand Total Found this Year.......$9.72 & 5.30 Euros  I may hit $10 found before the year is out at this point.

That's all I got.

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

Sluggy