I Hit Dollar General Again Last Saturday & Rite-Aid on Monday

 Since there were a few deals there(with their digital Qs)plus the $5 off wyspend $25 I decided to hit the DG that was second closest to my house instead of the smaller one in town and I am glad I did as they had a few things my store doesn't carry.

Here is what I got.........

1 x Simply Tide 89 load jug=$8.95

2 x Old Spice body wash $4.50 ea.=$9.00

1 x Suave men's =$3.00

1 x Dentalife dog treat=$1.00

1 x Suave professionals shampoo=$3.00

1 x Suave body wash=$2.00

SubTotal.........$26.95

All digital DG Qs used

1 x $5/$25 Q

1 x $3/1 Tide big jug Q

1 x $5.49 BOGOFree Old Spice body wash Q

1 x $1.50/1 Suave men's Q

1 x $1/1 Dentalife dog treat Q

1 x $1/1 Suave Professionals Q

1 x $1/1 Suave body wash Q

1 x $2 Instant Savings off when you spent $6 on Suave(which I did)so another $2 off my total.

Q Total,,,,,$19.99

$26.95-$19.99=$6.96 +.42¢ sales tax=$7.38 OOP for everything above.

Nice seeing as the regular price on the Tide is $8.95. ;-)

They were out of the moneymaker Bic razor(after digital Q)at this store and my store(since I checked on my way home)but that would have made my total $7.10 for 8 items but I'm happy with what I got.

That Tide vanilla and orange is a new scent(and I snagged that last jug of it there!).  Anybody try this scent yet and is it good?

Then I went to Rite-Aid on Monday and got my free toothpaste and toothbrush........

The Crest toothpaste and mouthwash(select types)and Oral-B toothbrushes(again select types)are $4 this week.  There are $1/1 L2CQs on all three products this week and the items give back $3 in Bonus Cash so free in the end.

Unless.........you find items that are less than $4 after your 20% Wellness Discount(which these two were=$3.75 each.)then they are a .25¢ moneymakers each. 8-)))

I also found these Clean and Clear face products on clearance for 75% off at my store and I had a $2/1 L2CQ as well as a $2/1 IPQ for them.

$2.84 on clearance so after $2 Q they were .84¢ each or $1.68 total but add in my .50¢ moneymaker on the oral care items and I paid $1.18 for both with Bonus Cash I had so $6.68 paid in BC for all and $6 in BC earned.

I also earned toward both a Crest and an Oral-B Bonus Cash Challenge I have on my card too.

Win/Win/Win!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "More X-Rays" Edition..........

I limped back to the doc this past Wednesday and they did more x-rays and I'm still waiting on the results.  Not having fun this week so far and next week I get laser-ed open.

Good times!

Meal planning is the least of my worries right now. 8-(

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin sandwiches, TBD veggie for freezer
2. Monday--Applebee's Salads Take-Out using a gift card
3. Tuesday--Hubs Surprise

4. Wednesday--Hubs Surprise
5. Thursday--Hubs Surprise

7. Saturday--Hubs Surprise

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin sandwiches, Broccoli
2. Monday--Applebee's Salads Take-Out using a gift card
3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Cheeseburgers, Corn on Cob
5. Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie

6. Friday--Lamb Chop(for Hubs only), Sweet Potato Fries, Macaroni/Veggie Salad
7. Saturday--Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners(if you consider a frozen pot pie home cooking lol), 1 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.

Hubs made the Sun./Wed./Thurs./Fri.(the lamb chop)/Sat. dinners though I made the sweet potato fries and the macaroni salad on Friday.  He grilled his own lamb chop(I am so proud of him!)

What got put into the freezer last week....
* More bacon

* Popsicles

* Shredded Cheese

* Chicken Thighs

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* Pork Tenderloin

* Broccoli

* 3 pot pies

* 1 lamb chop

* grilled/bagged chicken strips

* 2 Kielbasa(for Hubs lunch one day

* 1 hot dog(for my lunch one day)

We spent $125.41 last week(through last Thursday), bringing our food to $144.21 so far this month.

Most of this was some canned goods stockpiling for Fall/Winter as I found some cheap canned veggie deals.

I've earned $29.20 on Ibotta in August so far.

My savings percentage for last week was 43%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August came in at 43% so far.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week......macaroni salad, some taco filling and ground beef we didn't use on the cheeseburgers and browned up for meals this week.

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

1. Sunday--Steak strips, Brussels Sprouts, Baked Potato
2. Monday--BBQ chicken legs, leftover Macaroni Salad, Squash and Onions
3. Tuesday--?

4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?

6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--?

Hubs was having an emergency dental visit when I wrote this up so I didn't know if he'd be eating regular food the rest of this week so I didn't put anything in the rest of the week.  We have plenty here to choose from so I'll play it by ear the rest of this week.  Most probably we'll get lobsters 1 night, 2 ground beef meals will happen and a pasta meal another night.

Come back to see what we did.

What needs buying for this menu? Lobsters, fresh produce as we are out, maybe some lunch meat or I'll just pull out some tuna cans for lunches.  And we are almost out of bread so we'll hit the Bread Outlet at some point.

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Scampi
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Breakfast for Dinner

* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

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?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the August 7th Edition on Saturday

 Here are the few things that happened here around Chez Sluggy that could be called frugal wins.........

* I earned a $10 Reward from buying some clothing online late Winter right before Covid hit.  This reward was expiring on Thursday 8/7 so I pulled up the website and saw they were having a one day flash sale on the type of knit pants I like-3 pairs for $33 total so $11 a pair which was a great deal and I need smaller pants come Fall/Winter.  My "reward" covered all the shipping plus $1.01 on the pants so I spent $31.99 total for all three pair + shipping.

*  We harvested veggies from the garden this week--lots more broccoli and some yellow squash.  Still no tomatoes. 8-(

* I grocery shopped this week and earned the Midweek Ibotta rebate too...........

At Weis I got.....

5 x Think! oatmeal cups on clearance for $1 ea. 

1 x Kraft mayo for $3.49

2 x Crack an Egg breakfast cups(for Hubs)for $2 ea.

1 x Barilla Vero Gusto spaghetti sauce on clearance $3.19

1 x OEP shredded cheese for $2.49

1 x Breakstone cottage cheese for $1.99

$20.16 spent at Weis

At Walmart I got....

4 x Bella wet dog food for .74¢ ea.

1 x Manwich can for $1.00

1 x Butterfinger candy bar for .88¢

3 x Banquet chicken pot pies for .94¢ ea.(Hubs cooked this week so easy foods)

2 x Mead 5 star folders for .97¢ ea.

1 x Hormel turkey snack for $1.67

$9.05 at Walmart

$29.21 OOP on all this(plus .12¢ tax on the Mead stuff)and $11.20 in Ibotta earned back plus $2.25 on Savingstar so $15.88 w/sales tax OOP on all that shopping.

* I also hit Rite-Aid this past week on Wednesday.........

2 x Neutrogena acne soap $2.87 w/Gold discount=$5.74

1 x Neutrogena acne wash w/Gold discount=$7.19

1 x Neutrogena acne cleanser w/Gold discount=$7.19

2 x Bic razors $3.99 w/Gold discount=$7.98

Subtotal.....$28.10

Coupons Used

4 x $3/1 any Neutrogena acne product IPQ=$12.00

2 x $3/1 Bic select razors In-AdQ=$6.00

1 x $3/1 Bic Flex/Comfort3/Soleil razor IPQ=$3.00

Coupon Total..........$21.00

$28.10-$21.00=$7.10+.23¢ sales tax=$7.33 paid for with a combo of Bonus Cash and R-A gift card.

I earned back $7 in new BC($6 wys $20 Neutrogena, $1 wyb2 Bic razors) so almost free. 8-)

* I found money!

I didn't even have to leave the parking lot and go inside at Rite-Aid to find this dime.  Found next to my car when I got out of it.

And Hubs gets the credit for this penny.  He accompanied me to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday and found this coin on the way to the check-out.

Total Change found this week. .11¢
Total Change found this year....$47.20

* Ex-College Boy has been moved out for 1 week now and we have already seen our daily electricity usage go from over $6 per day to under $5.50.  I'll take that as a win any day! lolz

It will be interesting to see how much the water bill goes down too. ;-)

That's about it from here.

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?

Sluggy

The August Giveaway.....Something a Little Different

The Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway Box I had planned for August will have to be delayed until cooler weather sets in as there are Dove chocolates in it so it's the perfect occasion to help out a friend and former blogger instead.

Remember my cousin and dear friend Sonya Ann?

Well since she stopped blogger, moved and had her life turned on it's ear she's been writing again.

And she's got a new book out on Amazon which is HERE.

It's called "Their Hellfire".

If you have Kindle Unlimited you can download it for free but otherwise it will cost you only $2.99 to get the download.

Sonya also has a nifty website HERE though she hasn't done much with it yet.  McVal helped her create that online presence. 

So here's the Giveaway part.........

1. Go to the book's Amazon page and check it out.

2. Leave a comment on this post that you did.  You can enter once per day this way.

3. If you buy the book, you get an extra entry AND you can get that extra entry each day you enter on this post. *We are using the honor system here about buying the book.  Please be honest.

4. You can also get an extra entry PER DAY for sharing this Giveaway post on your own blog, website, Facebook, Instagram or other social platform.  Please leave a link to your share in that comment/entry.

5. Make sure you either leave your email address in your entry/have your email address connected to your Blogger/Google account or I have you on the "Master List" of giveaway entrant emails.

That's it.

Easy-Peasy.

The prize for this Giveaway is a $25 Amazon gift code which I will sent to the winner.

This giveaway starts today, August 6th, as soon as this post goes live and will end on August 15th, Saturday at 11:59pm EDST(Eastern US time)so that gives you over a week to dig into this new novel and enter.

As always, the winner, once announced will have 48 hours from that announcement post to contact me via email to receive their prize code.

Who doesn't want free Amazon money??

So get cracking on this one and Good Luck to all!!

Sluggy

Income & Spending 2020.....the July Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the July report---

I had 2 goals for July.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2020.

I can report that we finished up July in the black.
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....$2241.06

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $507.19

* Some of my excess WAM cash to cover my Ancestry subscription and a cash birthday gift to Eldest so=$200.00

Total "Income" for July.....$5813.19

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in July were $89.00
* Variable Expenses in July came to $3483.13
Total Expenses....$3572.13

$5813.19-$3572.13=$2241.06
Slush into June of $27,118.01 in that Fund, add the $2241.06 overage brings Slush to $29,359.07 going into August
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $2241.06 for July.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this July, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were the same as last month.
*  The water bill was $3.37 lower than in June.
* The Amazon c/c bill was $99.93 lower than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $136.05 lower than in June.
*  The WAM was the same amount taken in June

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $14.31 higher than last month.

*  The gas bill was $52.45 higher than in June.

*  Dixie Belle needed her rabies shot and a parasite check so that was $39.00 paid we didn't plan for.

* A cash birthday gift was given in July.

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on July---
Two small irregular bills last month so that was good but I did spend what I consider a lot at the grocery stores.

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2020----
The house insurance is due mid-August as far as irregular bills go.  The Mastercard c/c bill will be high due to the new love seat we purchased for the den.

So how was your July financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in July?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!


Sluggy