Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sluggy's Boring Blog Box #4 Giveaway....WINNER!

There were 42 valid entries to the 4th Boring Blog Box Giveaway.

I listed the names in order of them being received and assigned a number to each entry.
Then I plugged the parameters into Random.Org and it spit out the Winner.


And the winner is......

Entry Number 2
SonyaAnn said...
Hey, I should just win hands down cuz I'm a sci-fi nut! Not to mention all the probs that I'm having lately, I deserve a little trek love!
September 17, 2010 7:55 AM

Congratulations SonyaAnn.  The sci-fi gods must have heard your please from outer space.lol
Please email me your snail mail info. within the next 48 hours from this time stamp and this lovely box of assorted Boring Blog Stuff will be on it's way to you!

And thank you to everyone who entered!!  We picked up a couple new readers along the way during this Giveaway and I'd like to say Welcome to You! and I do hope you all stick around and keep reading and participating.  If you have any questions or want me to blog about some specific issue with couponing, frugality, decluttering, stockpiling, cooking, sewing, personal finance or dealing with those alien lifeforms called teenagers, just leave a comment or email me.

More Giveaway Fun coming soon....

Sluggy

Got Candy?......I Do & It Was Free Thanks to Rite-Aid!

After using up the 6 bags to make Trick-or-Treat Bags for the kids, I still needed candy to make more bags.
So I went up to Rite-Aid to see what I could do with some coupons, +Up Rewards and a free Gift Card.

First I returned the Udderly Smooth Lotion I had bought on Sunday as it was the wrong size AND we didn't get the +Ups deal on that product in this region anyway.  I got back $1.94(after sales tax) for that item which I hadn't paid anything for(with my Q overage on other items and my free-to-me gift card that I put any OOP amount on).
Then it was time to shop.....

6 x Bags of Chocolate on sale $2 each=$12.00
1 x Sucrets on sale=$2.99
1 x Vicks VapoSyrup on clearance=$3.49
7 x Sinful Colors Nail Polish on clearance $.99 each=$6.93
2 x Ooh La La! Nail Polish on clearance .25¢ each=$.50
SubTotal....$25.91

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 IPQ for registereing my wellness acct.=$5.00
2 x $1/3 Hershey's Candy Bags ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Reese's or Kit-Kat Candy Bags AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
2 x $.50 off $5.00 Candy Purchase Wellness IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50 Vicks Product ManuQ=$1.50
1 x $2.00 any Vicks Vapo Product Flu Booklet Q=$2.00
Coupon Total....$12.50

$25.91-$12.50=$13.41
Used $13 in +Up Rewards....
$13.41-$13.00=$.41 + $.12 tax=$.53 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card
*Sometimes they charge me tax when I pay with Gift Cards and +Ups and sometimes they don't. 8-P
I qualified for a SCR on the Sucrets...$2.99.
I earned $12 in +Up Rewards(3 x $1 WYB 2 Bags of Chocolate, 9 x $1 Nail Polishes)=$12.00

Analysis--
The candy was needed for Halloween.  After Qs/+Ups received all 6 were free.
The Cough Syrup(Vicks) was also free after clearance sale and Qs.
The Sucrets were free after rebate.
All the Nail Polish was again, free after +Ups received.
I only needed the 7 $.99 ea. polishes to get over the $25 threshold to use the $5 off $25 Q(which made my candy bags free), but the 2 tiny polishes were only .25¢ ea. and still triggered a $1 +Up each.  Rite-Aid paid me $1.50 in +Ups to buy those thangs too so how could I refuse?lol


THIS TRIP Total Spent....$.53(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$52.15
SCR qualified for...$2.99
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$12.00
+Up Rewards spent...$13.00

I lost $1 in +Ups but gained a $2.99 cash rebate so this transaction was a moneymaker when all is said and done.

I also figured into my Grand Totals the Manufacturer's Rebate on the NasoGel I bought earlier this week.  Not only was it a Free After SCRebate item at Rite-Aid but the Manufacturer has a direct rebate you can submit for on it.

GRAND TOTALS so far-October Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......11
Total Spent....$3.74 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$518.66
SCR qualified for....$32.95
Other Cash....$1.94 cash refund
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....2 x $5.99NasoGel(Mfg. Rebates 1 for me/1 for BIL)=$11.98


So far this month, I've spent nothing out of pocket and I'm getting back $46.87 in cash and have $518.66 in products. 8-)

+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover from last trip....$25.50
+Up Rewards spent....$13.00
+Up Rewards earned....$12.00
+Up Rewards left....$24.50


Check out my other Trips during the Oct. SCR qualifying period HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.

Sluggy

Friday, October 15, 2010

More Fun at Rite-Aid This Week...How My Trips Turned Out

2 x Playtex Tampons on sale $4.00 each=$8.00
2 x Garnier Cleansers on sale BOGO50%off=$9.43
1 x Gain Dish Soap on sale=$.89
1 x Lipton 1Ltr Tea w/wellness disc.=$.79
1 x Dove Shampoo on sale=$3.00
2 x Sinful Nail Polish some colors on clearance .99¢=$1.98
1 x Sinful Nail Polish=$1.99*
SubTotal....$26.08

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 IPQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Playtex Tampons IPQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Playtex AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Garnier Cleaners IPQ=$4.00
2 x $2/1 Garnier Cleaner AdPerks/VV(1 from Sept./1 from Oct.) IPQ=$4.00
1 x $1/1 Gain Dish Soap ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $.35/1 Lipton Tea Single Q fromTearpad in Store=$.35
1 x $1/1 Dove Shampoo ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Dove Shampoo AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$23.35

$26.08-$23.35=$2.73
Used 2 x $1 +Ups...$2.73-$2.00=$.73 OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card
Received $8+Ups(3 x $1 Nail Polish, $3 WYB 2 Garnier, $2 WYB 2 Tampex)=$8.00

So basically, after Qs and +Ups....the Playtex, Nail Polishes and Dove were free, the Garnier Cleansers and Gain were better than free.

*Ok...here's the weird thing about that 1 nail polish....the cashier price checked all three nail polishes and all three came up on sale for .99¢.  But when she rang up the order, 1 of the polishes rang up full price.  So I took that one back in and showed her what happened.  She returned the polish and gave me $2.11 cash(with the tax that I didn't pay to begin with but she couldn't do it without the computer telling her I got the tax back...whatever.lol).
Then she rerang it.....and it rang up $1.59...this is the reg. price with my 20% wellness discount.
Even weirder.
So I just went ahead and rebought the polish for $1.69(with tax) using the $2.11 cash she had given me back.
So I ending up spending $.73 on my gift card but got back $.42 in cash, so that brings my OOP here to $.31.
AND....another $1 +Up printed for the nail polish.  I told her I had already gotten a $1 +Up for the rerung polish but she said just keep both. 8-)
So my +Up total for this transaction ended up being $9, not $8.

Some of the colors of this Sinful brand Nail Polish are on clearance for .99¢.  Neither store had them marked so I had to price check them at the register both times...what a PITA.  But if you can find them, they are still printing up the $1 nail polish +Up Reward.  When the cashier price checks them if her screen doesn't show the BOGO 50% off deal running this week on that color but it shows up as .99¢ with the wellness card, then it's a clearance polish.  It would be so much easier on everyone involved if the stores here got around to marking ALL the clearance in a timely fashion.  Yes, I am just too demanding.lolol

Then it was off to another store....


2 x Lysol Wipes on sale BOGO=$3.49
2 x Lysol Spray on sale $3.50=$7.00
2 x Garnier Shampoo on sale $2.50=$5.00
2 x Sinful Nail Polish on clearance .99¢=$1.98
1 x Maybelline Eye Studio Shadow 40% off=$3.71
1 x No Nonsense Socks on sale=$2.99
1 x Ace Cold Pack(reg. $1.29) w/wellness disc.=$1.03
SubTotal....$25.20

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 IPQ=$5.00
1 x $1/2 Lysol Wipes ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Lysol Wipes AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Lysol Wipes Flu Booklet Q=$1.50
1 x $1/1 Lysol Spray ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Lysol Spray AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Lysol Spray Flu Booklet Q=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Garnier Hair Product IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Garnier AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Maybelline Eye Studio Tearpad Q from store=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Maybelline Eye Studio AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 No Nonsense Item AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Ace Cold/Hot Pack IPQ=$1.50
Coupon Total....$22.00

$25.20-$22.00=$3.20
Used $3 in +Ups(1 x $2, 1 x $1)=$3.00
$3.20-$3.00=$.20 OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card
Received +Up Rewards($3 WYB $10 in Lysol, 2 x $1 Nail Polish, $1 No Nonsense)=$6.00

Basically in this transaction after Qs(not counting the $5 off $25 Q) and +Up Rewards....all the Lysol products were free, the Maybelline was .71¢, the socks were .99¢ and the Ace cold pack and Sinful nail polishes were better than free.

I need to go back to Rite-Aid tomorrow to get some more Halloween candy since the 6 bags I had aren't enough for the amount of kids that we get for Trick-or-Treating here.  Hopefully I can find enough Qs to throw together another $25 transaction so I can use a $5 off $25 Q to get that $5 off the top of this candy order.

You'll notice that I didn't buy any Free After Rebate items this time and I've only bought 4 or so all week.  I may pick up one or two more FARs next trip but I don't want to "buy" FAR things I don't use and then I have to find a way to get rid of them, which sometimes, is just more work.  ;-)

Be sure and look for tearpads for the Lipton tea bottles at your store.  I also saw alot of cosmetic tearpads tonight.  One store had Borghese Nail Polish on clearance 50% off and there were $1/1 tearpad Qs right on the display.  Some bottles were bundled together so for the clearance price of $4 minus a $1 Q you could get 2 bottles of this brand of polish for $3 total PLUS it should generate a $1 +Up Reward so $2 for 2 bottles after that.  Not bad for stuff that retails for $8 a bottle!

THESE TRIPS Total Spent....$.93(put on free Rite-Aid gift card),$.42 back in cash=$.51
Value of Items....$76.50
SCR qualified for...$0
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$15.00
+Up Rewards spent...$5.00
These 2 trips were a net gain of $10.00 in +Ups.

GRAND TOTALS so far-October Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......10
Total Spent....$3.21 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$466.51
SCR qualified for....$29.96
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0

+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover from last trip....$15.50
+Up Rewards spent....$5.00
+Up Rewards earned....$15.00
+Up Rewards left....$25.50

Sluggy

Friday Randomness with Sluggy

 Here are some things fermenting in my wacky brain lately....


**Have you noticed the escalating price of bacon lately?  I hit a rather decent sales/coupons double out of the ballpark about 5 months ago so I haven't really checked in on the current going price for that porky goodness since early last Spring.
Since our supply is almost gone, I started last week to take note of the market price for bacon.
And let me say for the record....that shits gone way up!!  Regular retail here for $5 to $6 a PACKAGE!
Great Googley Moogley!!
I paid $1.00 a package the last time I stocked up and it was an amazing $2.00 straight sale price without a coupon then.
I might have to start trolling the local animal shelters for abandoned pot bellied pigs to bring home and fatten up.....ok, not really but I *did* consider that for a few moments. ;-)


**I took SonyaAnn's ADVICE and cashed out my credit card Rewards for Christmas gift cards the other day.  I have 8 gift cards winging their way to me in time for Holiday giving.  I have to dig out my gift stash and figure what more I still have to acquire/make.  I'll probably do that next week or this weekend.  I want to have everything in process or done by Thanksgiving so I only have to darken a stores door for food between Black Friday and New Year's Day.
Not to freak anyone out or anything but there are only 70 Shopping Days left Until Christmas......



**This is a photo of part of our high school's Marching Band taken 3 weeks ago.
The kid in the center playing the flute is my son.
I do think it's time for a haircut.....


**Have you noticed that Outlet Malls are no longer the place to get a deal?
Ok....maybe sometimes they are.....but over the past few years outlet malls have really become just another excuse to throw up a shopping mall somewhere and sell regularly priced stuff.  I am old enough to remember when an outlet 'store' meant it was located in the geographic area of it's manufacturing mill and carried overruns, imperfects, seconds, etc. and you could buy them at a deep discount off of the regularly priced perfects that got shipped to the regular stores.  My mom and I use to take trips to Lightfoot VA to snag deals at the Williamsburg Pottery Factory when I was growing up.  Good times.....
Somewhere about 1978 though they began renting out space there(after they over expanded and the economy tanked a bit)directly to the manufacturers they had previously bought outlet bound stuff from and resold.  Other real outlet stores followed suite.  That's when it all went downhill for the deals in my humble opinion.  The manufacturers began stocking/running their own outlets.  Seeing how successful this model was, developers began building outlet malls so you could go to one place and get deals from many different brands without traveling far.  And they located them in touristy areas to generate more revenue.  Then they started offering regular mall bound merchandise or lines created just to sell in the outlets, which raised all the prices and just bastardized the whole original concept and made outlet stores/malls mostly crap in my opinion.

The point was illustrated clearly this past week on our trip to Ocean City.  We stopped in Rehobeth Delaware at the Tanger Outlets to do some clothes/shoe shopping.  While Hubs got some deals on shoes at Rack Room shoes and I picked up a pair of Chuck Taylors for Daughter for less than full retail, no deals were to be found at the supposed Under Armor outlet store.

#2 son wanted a basic black shirt to wear under his Marching Band uniform so we went looking. Everything in that store was full retail price, unless you wanted some boys sized shirts(that were STILL $20!) or some hideously ugly pieces I wouldn't buy at a thrift store for a fraction of the price they were charging.


**I mentioned awhile back about a relative who was having a financial crisis, and that I was helping them with a plan to get them "out of the weeds", as they say in golf.....not that I play golf or anything....
I am so happy to hear that they got through September and have taken the budgeting info. and embraced it, tweeking it and making it their own.  Hopefully, they should be able to get through the next few years until their situation is scheduled to improve.


**One of the Deal Blogs(sorry, can't remember which one)had something posted Sunday about a 10-10-10 sale on 6pm, the dotcom shoe/clothing store.  Big clearance sale where everything was $10!
Luckily we have some oddball sized feet in this house, so I was able to find 9 pairs of shoes we could use...woohoo!
I am not a big fan of buying shoes online since you can't try them on, but I figured for $10 I'd take some calculated risks on styles/sizes and if some don't fit right, I can pass brand new shoes along for Christmas to friends, other family members, the local Christmas charity program or make a thrift store donation.

#2 son is a skateboarder.  He goes through shoes quickly.  He lusts after expensive skaterboarding branded shoes.  I found one of these brands in this clearance sale for $10 a pr.  Reg. retail of $65 a pr.  I bought 5 pairs(in 3 sizes) for less than what 1 pair would cost me at the mall store(not that I'd every buy them there for full retail). lolol

The downside.....now my bedroom closet looks like the storeroom in a shoe warehouse.


Anybody seen my shoe horn?

Sluggy

LAST CHANCE to Enter My Giveaway....HURRY ends Tonight!

Ok, the Title said it all actually.lol

The Boring Blog Box Giveaway ends this evening at Friday, Oct. 15th at 11:59pm Eastern time(10:59 for you Central time folks, etc.).
So if you haven't entered yet or used up all 3 of your Entry Options, go HERE now and enter!


There are only 39 valid entries so far so your chances are good.....

Sluggy