Using My Head Instead of My Cash on Groceries!

Longtime readers may recall...ok, maybe not, that I won a local couponing contest sponsored by a local newspaper. This was 2 years or so ago. My prize was a $50 gift card to a local grocery store downtown in the Big City nearby.
Frankly, I despise that store! It's old, not quite clean, with narrow aisles. I get claustrophobic in there and then you add all the old people clogging up the aisles, keeping me from quickly shopping and getting OUT and I get the shakes just thinking about going there. It's also not in the best area of town to be out and about alone....not that anyone has messed with me yet. They also have a HORRIBLE coupon policy(no internet coupons at all!).
As a result, in 2 years I have only used $8 of this gift card.lol

But earlier this week, I realized that this grocery store is part of the affiliated stores in the ShurSave brand. And as such, this current Spend $XX, Get a Gift Certificate Promotion is being offered at ALL ShurSave grocers in the area. So I can go buy stuff there and have it count toward my Total I have running at the ShurSave store in my teeny tiny town.
Hmmmmmm.....

So I picked the coldest and wettest day of the Fall to go into town to use up my gift card and rack up some more cred toward my gift certificate.

The ShurSave stores are also running a deal this week that goes like this.....Spend $35 in one transaction and get a Turkey for .49¢ a lb. instead of the regular $1.19 a lb. they are charging this November.  And both the $35 and the Turkey purchase also count toward earning the gift certificate.

So I got.....

2 x 1lb. of butter on special $1.99=$3.98
1 x Mayo on sale=$3.50
2 x Diamond walnuts 1lb. on sale $7.49=$14.98
2 x Keelber cookies bogo=$3.68
2 x Pop Secret popcorn bogo=$3.08
2 x Green Giant veggies bogo=$1.98
2 x Sargento cheese bogo=$3.74
2 x red potatoes bogo=$4.98
2 x 2lb. onions bogo=$1.98
1 x 2lb. carrots on sale=$1.99
1 x 16.11 lb. turkey=19.17
SubTotal....$63.06 *This amount gets credited toward my total for the gift certificate promotion*

Coupons
1 x $1/2 Diamond walnuts ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Keebler cookies ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Sargento cheese ManuQ=$1.00
1 x turkey discount=$11.28
Coupon/Discount Total...$14.28

$63.06-$14.28=$48.78
I used my $42 left on the gift card for a grand total OOP of....$6.78 cash.

The BOGOs and other sales prices that weren't coupon or turkey discounts saved me $25.45, making the regular retail value of this order $88.51.  Using my gift card gave me a savings of 92.34%.
Not too shabby! 8-))

Though it is sad to see that this amount of food that barely covers my small kitchen table would cost $88.51 without any sales or coupons.

The BIG production was once I got home.....making room in the freezer for the turkey!lol


While I was out, I hit up the Bread Outlet too since I haven't been in almost a month and we were running low on bread products......

 Not to go into a long detailed analysis here, so let's just say it's 9 pastries/cookies, 2 bags of rolls, 3 bags of breakfast items and 2 loaves of bread, and it cost me $17.89 and if bought full retail at the grocery store would have run me $72.44.  That's a savings rate of 75.30%.

Generally, since this is 'day old' stuff I don't like to buy so much at one time.  But since my entire garage now qualifies as a freezer with the return of the cold weather, I have no hesitation that anything will spoil before it can be consumed.  I didn't want to have to hike back over to the Bread Outlet before Thanksgiving so I laid in enough of the breakfast items, the Entemmann's pastries and nom noms(that is a technical term, yes?)to get us through the November company. 

So today's food shopping cost me $24.67.
Regular retail was $160.95.

I need to spend about $35 more to get my gift certificate.
I also have to get to Weis in the next two days to roll my Catalina Q and pick up some PF cornbread stuffing for Turkey Day.

Sluggy

Another Horrible Real Estate Outcome

Perusing Real Estate Listings led from one thing to another online until I happened upon this clip.

It seems very few have been able to avoid the downturn in the housing market.
Some stories are sad.
And then there are other stories like this one......

Sluggy  :-)

What's Going On at Chez Sluggy?

Just a post of Random Tidbits from my life lately.

* We had a good productive couple of days last weekend.  I got 2 pair of pants hemmed.  Hubs and #2 son raked the leaves up and the town carted away 31, yes 31! large bags of leaves yesterday.  I also worked on getting another load of clutter together for charity.  And I FINALLY changed out all my summer clothes to the winter stuff....just in time for a week of temperatures in the high 60's here.
Ugh.

* I sold 3 more dolls on the tag sale site.  Hubs is delivering them today after work.  11 more to go....sigh.....

* #2 son started up flute lessons again.  He is super psyched with this teacher and finally is putting some effort into learning his piece for the Districts audition.  He is playing in the pit orchestra for the school musical next month, finishing up Marching Band season this month, playing the electric bass in the jazz band, playing flute in the concert band and he was just recruited by the music director to play the contrabass in the String Ensemble because the only bassist graduated.  He's never played the contrabass but he plays the electric bass and there is no one else in the band who plays well enough so he got elected.
I feel he is tired and too busy but he is enjoying it.  His grades are doing well so far so I am not impinging on his pursuits.

* #2 son's best neighborhood friend moved away this week.  The stepdad took a job in Alabama & they just sold their house.  They had the closing on their house on Monday and left the state.  # 2 son is in the dumps over losing his friend.

                    ***this is NOT my old house***

* Just by chance I discovered that the home we owned before moving into our current home is for sale!
I found the listing and it was a sad sight to see what they have done to it.  It's bordering on the verge of "fixer-upper" now.  I told Hubs we should buy it back since they are asking only $7K more than we sold it to them for.  It's a steal, really!   I loved that little house in the woods.....

* I reopened my eBay Store for the Holidays on Sunday.  The next couple of months are the busiest time of the year for sales on eBay so I jumped back into the water.  I'll be spending the next few weeks getting my Store stocked with goodies in time for Black Friday when things dramatically pick up....or at least I HOPE THEY PICK UP!lol  I have ALL my remaining boxes of eBay inventory in my living room.  Have I ever mentioned I have NO FURNITURE in my living room?lol
I'll weed through, as I go through the boxes to list stuff, and send some more of it to Salvation Army I am sure.  I have already sold 7 items....go me!  I've put a link to my eBay Store on the right sidebar.  Feel free to browse around it if you feel the need to buy overpriced old toys and crap. ;-)

* I am cleaning out the freezer this week.  I need to find room for the turkey I have to buy in the next couple of days so we are eating down the contents as well as pulling out old stuff to mix into the dogs' dinner bowls.  I have no doubts my dogs will "heart" me this week.....

So what's new in your neck of the woods this week?

Sluggy

Be Careful What You Wish, er....Vote For!

Before I go off today to participate in the local political process I want to tell you this.....
I have a dilemma of sorts.

Our little township(which is 1/5th of the legal entities that comprise my "town")is run by an elected Board of 3 Supervisors. Other elected officials are 1 Zoning Officer, a Tax Collector and 2 Tax Auditors. Other employees of the township are the Township Secretary and a Police Force of 2.
Nice and small limited government.
Just the way I like it except for when it doesn't work right.

Ya see, our Board of Supervisors use to be the "old boys club".  The same group of people ran and were voted in year after year.  And they hired their friends and nothing much got done or changed for the better around here.
Except we had an awesome Secretary.  She did a lot, picking up the slack for the BofS members who did nothing of note to better our community.  She also was an experienced Grant Writer who was able to snag Federal funds for our township.

Well 2 years ago, things changed around here.
New people ran against 2 of the 3 supervisors who were up for reelection.  People who actually called out the old BofS members and detailed what was being done wrong and/or inefficiently with the finances.  They actually cared about spending taxpayer money when it went to no good purpose or was wasted due to oversight or redundancies.
Somebody who said they cared about how our money was spent.....gee, that spoke to me!

So Sluggy voted for these 2 new people who weren't part of the OBC(old boys club)that ran things.
And they won.
And the way money was handled by our township government around here got better.
As a result, taxes didn't go up and services didn't go down.  What is not to love about that?lol


Then these new Supervisors decided to fire the 20 year veteran Secretary who basically ran things here for 20 years when the "old boys" weren't minding the store but still collecting their paychecks and hanging out at their hunting cabins or down at the bar.
They trumped up charges to get rid of her.  Maybe because they considered her part of the old regime, or because she stepped on their toes when they tried to make her do things their way.

It soon became clear they fired her without just cause because they wanted their crony to have the job.
And then they appointed another crony to take over the Zoning Officer job when the old officer quit during his elected term.
Soon after 2 more cronies were put into Tax Auditor positions mid-term when the old ones resigned.

A change in leadership is good.
Except when the 2 new Supervisors install their friends and then proceed to abuse their power.
Monthly Board Meetings have become reminiscent of Nazi Germany around here.

If you have a gripe with how things are run around here, you go to the meeting and air your grievance or ask qustions.
Good for the political process, right?

Not anymore.
Seems people who go and complain or question this Board end up having problems.

They become targets.
They get surprise visits from the Zoning Officer who proceed to fine said property owners for any violations the can trump up.  Even when nobody has called the Township to complain about anything this owner did or is doing.
These people also get visits from the Police Force and get pulled over while driving township roads, just to be harassed and intimidated.
Their bags of leaves get conveniently forgotten when the municipal truck goes around to collect them in the Fall.
The roads near their homes get plowed last in the winter and not kept up and repaired in a timely manner.

So I got what I asked for(the finances to be right), but I also got mini Muammar Gaddafis in the process.

Luckily some people who see what is going on and care to be part of the Board have stepped up despite the wrath of the current BofS and are running for one of the 3 seats, the Zoning Officer position and for the Tax Auditor positions.

And what is driving these 2 Board Nazis crazy is that the former Secretary is running for a seat on the Board.  No, she is not taking this lying down!

There is also an initiative on the Ballot to enlarge the Board from 3 to 5 members.
While this will cost us more(more members=more tax $ for salaries) and goes against my Limited Government ilk, in the long run, it may keep anybody else who wants to be a Board Dictator from being one, or at least slow them down in their campaign for Ultimate power.
Because it is harder to get 2 other Board members in your pocket than just 1.

So I have to make some hard choices.......voting against what the current Board wants is the easy thing!
The hard part comes with the Ballot Initiative.
Larger government=less likely to have a mini Nazi-ish leadership.
Smaller government=less taxpayer money spent.

Wish me luck that I don't get more than what I want!

In other news, we get to vote for new County Judges too.
Oh, how I could go on and on on this subject!
We are, after all, the  Seat of Corruption in this country(outside of D.C. that is!), here in Northeastern PA.
Home of the recent KIDS FOR CASH Government Scandal.
Move over Washington....here comes Luzerne County PA!

Make your voice heard.....go vote today!

Sluggy

November Food Spending Week 1, Meal Plan Week 2

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Chicken & Dumplings
MONDAY--Sloppy Joe on Rolls, Cauliflower
TUESDAY--Ravioli, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Sausage Sandwiches on rolls, Corn
THURSDAY--Chinese Take-Out
FRIDAY--leftovers & Crab Soup
SATURDAY--leftovers again

*The Crab Soup was a surprise treat Hubs brought home for me from a local Seafood Restaurant.  It is to die for!

Basically the meal plan was adhered to, except for the Pork Chops I had planned, which were put on this week's menu.

I spent...$56.79 at the grocery stores last week.

Since Weis wimped out of the $5 Cat Promotion that would give you FREE PUFFS(Hey Weis! YOU SUCK!!lol) after your initial $5 purchase I talked about HERE, I ended up rolling my $5 Cat Q with this on Saturday before the sales week ended....

4 x Bounty napkins on sale $2.50=$10.00 * we were out of napkins.
1 x Herbal Essence Conditioner on sale=$2.99 *for my man child son with the flowing locks of hair
SubTotal....$12.99


Coupons Used
2 x $1/2 Bounty ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Herbal Essence item ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $5 OYNO Cat Q=$5.00
Coupon Total.....$8.00


$12.99-$8.00=$4.99+$.78tax=$5.77 OOP
And I received another $5 Cat Q for purchasing 5 qualifying P&G items


This week Weis Markets has a Campbell's/Swanson/Pepperidge Farms $5 OYNO Cat Deal when you purchase $15 of qualifying products.  Remember that the $15 is based on regular shelf price, not sales prices so between Qs and sale prices you don't actually have to purchase $15.
I'll probably buy some PF cornbread stuffing & chicken broth to use in my Turkey Day meal later this month and roll my Cat.

I also spent $10.27 on almost 3lbs. 93% ground beef that was marked down to $2.99lb. at Weis last week and some chicken meatballs that were on clearance.  The lean ground beef is up to $4.99lb. around here!
Ack!


My other food spending last week was at the local ShurSave affiliate grocer to up my total for that gift certificate deal.  Mostly it was some non-perishable goods, dairy, fresh produce, bottled water(a necessity around here in the winter)and a bit of frozen veggies.  This week is the last week of the program and I need to spend another $100 to qualify.  This store also have a special this week for .49¢ lb. turkeys when you spend $35.  So my $35 and the price of a 24lb or so turkey will get me almost $50 toward that $100 mark to also get my gift certificate.  Walnuts are on sale this week so I'll probably stock up on those as part of my other $50 that I need to spend.

I need to spend .18¢ more on selected baking items and I'll get a $10 gift certificate to spend at this store as well.  I just need to make room in the freezer first for the turkey before I go shopping there.

My savings percentage was only 42% last week, as the reg. retail was $97.88 on the groceries I brought home. 

This week's menu.....
SUNDAY--Pork Chops, Cabbage, Sweet Potato Fries
MONDAY--Cheeseburgers, Green Beans
TUESDAY--Teriyaki Salmon w/ Veggie Fried Rice
WEDNESDAY--Noodle Casserole, some kind of veggie dish TBD
THURSDAY--Lasagna, Salad *Lasagna is in the freezer leftover from previous meal
FRIDAY--Chicken Quesadillas, Corn
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Items needed for this menu.....Salad Greens and the weekly ubiquitous milk purchase.  I'll probably go to the Bakery Outlet this week too as we are low on bread  products, as my last trip was 10/14.

At present, my November food spending stands at $56.79.  I plan on spending between $100-$150 this week.

How about you?  Any MUST HAVE deals where you are?

And do you see any good Turkey Deals?  There are no Free Turkey Deals to be had in this part of PA and we haven't had one in more than 3 years.....sigh

Sluggy