General Electric Holiday Lighting Coupon + Sale on Lights at Lowe's=Less $ OOP

I have been feeling under the weather the last 2 days.  If anyone wants to come bring me some chicken soup it would be much appreciated. 8-)

It's probably just a sinus infection(which I get 1 or 2 times a year)or a run-of-the-mill cold so I'm popping Vitamin C, doing Neti Pot sinus rinsing and hydrating myself until I resemble a balloon float in the Macy's Turkey Day Parade.

Anyway, I wanted to alert my Environmental Warrior-type Readers to a deal.

The 'hot' thing in Christmas decorating seems to be LED Lights.  These use alot less energy than the regular type of Christmas light string.
Now I know that people who decorate with lights are NOT going to stop, nor would I tell you to.  But if you are going to use lights in your decorating, why not use something that is not as bad for the environment?
We drug out our old lights this week.  I think we are down to 3 strings that still work so now we have to find some way to dispose of the broken ones.  For something that only gets used a few days a year, these things sure don't last long, do they? 
Anyway, you all know I am CHEAP....er, I mean frugal, so I've been wrestling with myself about making the jump to the LEDs(for the energy savings) vs. the larger cost for the new technology.

But GE has come to my rescue!lol
There is a PDF format Coupon for $3 off GE LED Lights located HERE.
Pair this Q up with a current sale at Lowe's on the 50 Count GE LED Mini Lights for $5.97 a string and you can get them for $2.97.
Hubby & I priced these LED things earlier this week at Walmart.  The 60 count LEDs there(I don't remember if they were GEs however)were $10.99!
The Q is good for ANY GE LED lighting product so you can probably find something you can use it on.....you don't have to get the Mini lights.

The Q does say "offer limited to one purchase", so if your cashier/store has a problem with the difference between transaction & purchase, this could be a YMMV situation, where you have to bring along more family members/friends to each buy 1 string or go through difference register lines and buy 1 string per transaction or hit alot of different Lowe's.  Just a heads up.....

The sale at Lowe's runs until the 7th, so hurry and print this to use soon if you want those $2.97 lights!

Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge NOVEMBER Totals.....More Great Progress!

I have posted my NOVEMBER End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right(near the bottom) for the specific numbers.

We had another Excellent month growing our Savings in November!

I have to report that we finished up November in the Black again.

The amount we ended the month of November with was......sit down for this......$3,189.49!
Woot!


The electric bill went up less than $20 from Oct.'s bill.  Not bad considering that the heat was on fulltime this month while Oct's bill saw the heat just being put on occasionally. 

The water bill went down again in Nov. another $3.  I guess the kids are getting a couple more wears of out their clothes before putting them into the hamper.lol
All other regular bills...Cable, Internet, Phone, etc. are the same each month.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in November was low after rebate income was figured in and compared to the value of the items bought we saved over 93%.

So, what did I do right in November to come out of it with over $3K extra?

First, we have no mortgage payment or car payments.  Those are the 2 big Bugaboos that suck down your income.  Having bought a modest house and having paid if off asap combined with paying cash for cars(which means we always buy cars we can AFFORD and don't finance), means we have been able to cut our living expenses dramatically.  It didn't happen over night though and there were many years of living well below our means and socking every penny into savings.  But knowing that those lean years wouldn't last forever and that there was a shining Goal of being debt-free at the end of it all made it so worth it.

Secondly, we had no other large bills....taxes, sewage, insurance, etc. this month.  These are paid quarterly or semi-annually and not due in November.

Thirdly, we stayed out of restaurants and I didn't do as much running around in the car, saving gas and shopping expenditures.  That was reflected in the lower credit card bill in November.  The cc bill(which is paid off every month-NO BALANCE)went from $845.49 in October to $536.51 in November. While not a big difference, there was less gas needed for the car since I didn't travel far last month(except to Acme)& we didn't dine out much. 

We are Eleven Months into this $AVING$ Challenge, and we have a Savings Total of $21,760.57 for the year.

What's ahead for December....
Looking at my check register from last December I see that we have some quarterly bills coming due this month.  Nothing large but they add up before you know it.

We do have ALOT of out of the ordinary expenses for December....
an additional amount toward car insurance(daughter has been added as a licensed driver)
a vet bill for a very sick dog
clothes for 2 of the kids
possible holiday travel expenses(gas, hotels, eating, kennel boarding-budgeting at least $800)
oral surgery bill for daughter(insurance covers some of this)
orthodontist bill for son(we pay upfront for the discount and insurance covers some)
holiday gifts (mostly for our 3 kids, we are considering not exchanging gifts with the adults this year)

Besides hubby's paychecks, I've opened up my eBay store this month(though it's been slow selling so far), and I am waiting on over $200 in rebates, so we have a good potential on the income side.

Income up, expenses way up.....we'll be lucky to NOT go negative in December.
I am hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.  If we have any money leftover at the end of December I will count myself extremely lucky!

Be sure and check out how others are doing with their finances this month at Money Saving Mom.

So how was your November financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?  Let us know!

And what are your plans for your money in 2010?  It's time to start thinking about how to get a fresh start to Financial Freedom next year!


Sluggy

November BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2009.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in November.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home)& 3 dogs. No kids under 13.

ACME
OOP $62.75
Qs/Ads $1072.07
Value $1134.82
Savings  94.47%

CARONE'S(local Independent Grocery that doesn't take IP Qs)
OOP $58.65
Qs/Ads $57.64
Value $116.29
Savings   50%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $14.00
Ads/Sales $55.00
Value $69.00
Savings  79.70%


KMART
OOP $0.00
Qs/Ads $38.99
Value $38.99
Savings  100%

OLLIE'S (local Discount chain Store that doesn't take coupons)
OOP $.97
Qs/Ads $1.02
Value $1.99
Savings  50%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $73.17
Qs/Ads $179.77
Value $252.94
Savings  71%

RITE AID
OOP $132.77before rebates/$.47 after rebates
Qs/Ads $619.83
Value $752.60
Savings 82.35%( 99.03% after rebates of $132.30 due)

SHOP-RITE
OOP $4.32
Qs/Ads $.77
Value $5.09
Savings  15%

TARGET
OOP $15.00
Qs/Ads $18.11
Value $33.11
Savings  54.70%

WALGREEN'S
OOP $1.22
Qs/Ads $38.99
Value $40.21
Savings  97%

WALMART
OOP $15.87
Qs/Ads $17.74
Value $33.61
Savings  52.80%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $163.40
Qs/Ads $350.99
Value $514.39
Savings  68.25%

I've decided NOT to track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & go toward Food/Toiletries budget purchases, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN NOVEMBER

Kellogg's Fuel for School...$40.00
Olay/Pantene......$20.00
Palmolive Dish Liquid....$2.79
Pinecone Research....6.00
Rite-Aid SCR........$229.13
SC Johnson......$30.00
Suave Lotion/Body Wash...$3.98
Venus Razor....$7.99
Subtotal........$339.89

FREE ITEMS

Almond Tin(no nuts tho....boo hiss!)

2 x Coupons for Old El Paso Taco Shells & $10 GC from contest I won

Herbal Essence Shampoo Free Item Coupon

Book I won

Kashi Granola Bar yum!

Coffee Samples

COUPONS

Del Monte Fruit-Vocalpoint
Jolly Time Popcorn

GIFT CARDS & STORE CHECKS

Rite Aid  $10.00
Staples  $94.00 Store Check
SubTotal...$104.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$443.89

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from  KMart at 100%,  Walgreen's at 97% and Acme at 94.47%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$542.12
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$2450.92
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2993.04
TOTAL Savings of......81.90%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$339.89
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$202.23
TOTAL Savings of..................................93.25%

This closes out the November spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With the high amount of income from Rebates received I was able to have a low out of pocket for this month considering I spent over $500 OOP on groceries/toiletries.  After rebates, just over $200 for $3 thousand in products is very good.
Having gotten so much at that Acme sale I was able to give over $350 of food/OTC meds to the Food Bank this month, as well as send 4 bags of food to family without even noticing a dent in my pantry supplies here.
Outside of Rite-Aid, where they now know me by name, I made only 1 other trip to a drugstore....1 trip to WAGS after I went to the Oral Surgeon since I was out that way, and no trips to CVS.

What's ahead for December.....
I have an overstuffed freezer at this point that needs defrosting and my stockpile shelves are groaning under the weight of all the boxed/canned foods on them.  Unless some grocery store sabotages me by running a great Catalina Deal, I am going to institute a USE IT UP Challenge for myself.  No buying unless we absolutely need it, which means only fresh produce/fruit & fresh dairy.
#1 son will be home from school mid-month so this will help me use up some of our stores, as the boy likes to eat!lol

I am NOT going to set a budgeted amount for Food.  If I do while I am trying to spend ZERO, it will just give me license to spend up to that budgeted amount in my head.  I am better off at telling myself I can't spend anything and see how many times I veer off of not spending by the end of the month.

How did you do in November with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

What I Bought at Rite-Aid this Week OR Getting Paid to Take Stuff Home with Me!

Here is what I bought this week at Rite-Aid....

1 x Gillette Fusion Razor on sale $9.00
1 x Febreeze Candle on sale $5.99
1 x Duracell Batteries 40% off  $3.29
1 x Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste on sale $1.07!!!
Subtotal....$19.35

**Ok, so I was expecting the Toothpaste to be $2.49 like the sales flyer advertised.  But it rang up $1.07 with a reg. price of $4.29.  Now I haven't gone back to see if another of this tube will also ring up at $1.07-if I had more coupons, you bet I would have jumped on this for free!lol  But I don't have more Qs....  Anyway, I was expecting my total to be over $20 so I could use my AdPerks $5 off of $20 Q.  I didn't realize the Toothpaste rang up so little until after I got back into the car, so I used the AdPerks Q and it went through, even though my total was UNDER $20.  The AdPerk Qs go through even if you don't make the $20 minimum purchase!

If you see this exact tube of Crest pictured, I'd price check it and you might find you get some real cheap or free toothpaste at your store. ;-)  It's the Cinnamon flavor....

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 AdPerks Q=$5.00
1 x $4/1 Gillette Fusion Razor ManuQ=$4.00
1 x  $2/1 Febreeze Candle ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Duracell Batterie ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Crest Premium Toothpaste ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$13.00

$19.35-$13.00=$6.35+$.38tax=$6.73 OOP

SCRebates qualified for....
$5 Gillette Fusion Razor
$2 Febreeze Candle
$1.50 Crest/Oral-B Item
SCR total....$8.50

$6.73-$8.50=$1.77 Overage

I'm loving that that toothpaste was $.07 after the $1/1 Q AND I got a $1.50 rebate for buying it, meaning that I got paid $1.43 to take it home!lolol

Sluggy

Shameless Self Promotion.....turns into Bah Humbug-ness

I use to sell stuff part time on eBay.  Long story short, I stopped back in February of this year.  Just needed a break I guess.  That was about the time I threw myself into 'Extreme Couponing'.  eBay got pushed aside....

I still have tons of 'new in the packages' stuff here & in storage to sell and it IS the Season that folks loosen the purse strings and buy gifts, right?
So I opened my eBay store back up this past weekend.
It's located Here if anyone is interested and is in the market for overpriced collectibles and toys.

I figure eBay is a way to keep me out of the stores BUYING if I am home SELLING.  And I'd much rather make the money than spend it.  ;-)

While I don't recommend selling on eBay anymore(it use to be profitable for most everyone in the early days, not so now), I use to enjoy having it available as a way to bring in a little spare cash to provide for 'special' things the family enjoyed.  And being able to work when I wanted to from home in my housecoat was a big plus too.

But I'm having a rough time listing items using my auction management service.  The AMS has changed things around in the last 9 months I haven't used it, so it's slow going.  That and I am having to retake photos and dig out the items I had listed in Feb. when I shut down the store.  And I am under a time crunch to get everything up, seeing as tomorrow is DECEMBER!
December.....Already!
EEK!!!

So it's going slow and I'm getting the inevitable "I-can't-be-bothered-to-read-your-description-or-terms-so-I'm-going-to-pester-you-with-redundant-questions-and-waste-what-little-time-you-have" customers/potential bidders sending me emails.  How many times must I tell you I can't ship something to Singapore before you'll stop asking me??!!lolol

Then I got a person incredulous at the cost of the shipping of an item and asked if the shipping quote that appeared on his page was a misprint.
Excuse me, but this package weighs 19lbs. and measures 34x29x9(an oversized parcel), so yes, it will cost more than $4.95 to ship halfway across the country.  I am not Amazon dotcom and I don't offer free shipping. 

Now I went to double check the shipping quote on that item I just mentioned and the automatic shipping calculator on eBay is WAAAAY messed up for this listing.  eBay is giving me a $15+ quote to ship it to an address near me, while the PO website says it will cost over $60 to ship to that same address!
And eBay is showing that this package CAN go via Priority mail, while the PO website indicates that it is too large in size to go any other way but Parcel Post.
Boy, Mr. Incredulous Shipping Cost Buyer would pee his pants at the REAL shipping quote according to the PO Website!LOL
Wait!....I think that Sonic Boom I just heard was Mr. ISCB's jaw dropping on the floor....

The thought of having to contact eBay(always a FUN TIME!ha)and find out what the heck is going on since their shipping calculator is obviously ON DRUGS, has me so stressed out to the point that it is NOT WORTH IT.  So I just unlisted the item rather than deal with all this.

I guess I'm frustrated here.  And it's slowly turning into depression and I am losing my holiday spirit.
Now I remember why I use to close up the eBay store in early December....so I wouldn't have to deal with the Holiday Rush Buyers.lol

Maybe I'll just say the heck with it and haul everything up to Salvation Army instead and then go sit with my sullen unappreciative teenagers who don't want to decorate or listen to Christmas music but just want the parental units to dole out stacks of cash to them Christmas morning so they can go immediately back into their caves, lest they be forced to socialize with us old squares.
*Sigh*
Ho-Ho-Ho....

Sluggy