Weis is Lousy with Catalina Deals This Week!

I was going to do my run down of what is worth buying at Weis Grocery Stores this week, but this Week is a Holy Week at Weis it turns out and I can't be bothered with regular old what's cheap or free this week.
There are FOUR, COUNT ' EM FOUR CATALINA DEALS!!!

Of course, they aren't Fabulous though.....alot of the products don't have any coupons currently available and some of them are specialty items like baby food, diapers and pet stuff, so if you don't have a 2 legged or a 4 legged baby in your home, you don't need/want to do some of the Cat Deals.  Take out the unhealthy stuff(cake mix, frosting, ice cream, etc.)and the high price point items(big bags dog food, boost nutrition drinks, paper towels and adult diapers..lol)and you are left with barely enough stuff to pull together a decent scenario.

Here are the Catalina Deals with the shelf prices/sale prices from my local store(your store may be a bit higher or lower so be sure to check before working your scenarios).  I spent Sunday afternoon reconnoitering at my local store to get the prices.

Remember the SHELF PRICE is what you need to get to, not the sale price!  Then deduct your coupons to get to your OOP.

CAT ONE  Nestle/Purina/Gerber Products
Buy $25/Get $5 Cat or Buy $35/Get $10 Cat
Items....
Stouffers Entrees(limit of 10) $3.39/$1.99
Hot/Lean Pockets  $2.50/$1.99
Nestle Hot Cocoa Mix  $2.19/$1.00
Nestles Toll House Morsels  $2.59/$2.00
Nestle Crunch or Butterfingers(8 pack)  $1.59/$1.25
Deer Park Aqua Pod(8 ct.)  $2.50/$1.00
Tasters Choice Sticks  $2.99/$2.50
Nestle Fun Size Bag  $3.59/$3.00
Nestle Raisinets 11oz.  $2.69/$2.50
Gerber 2nd Foods  $1.19/$1.00
Carnation Evap. Milk  $1.29/$1.00
Boost 6ct.  $8.99/$5.99
Purina Dog Chow 15.5-20lb. bags $12.65-$10.99/$10.49
Chef Michael 1.5lb Dog Food Bag  $3.99/$3.50
Chef Michael Wet Dog Food Can  $.75/$.70
T-Bonz Dog Treats  $2.85/$2.00
Whisker Lickin's  $1.25/$1.00
Fancy Feast 3oz. cans  $1.25/$.50
Friskies Dry Cat Food  $4.55/$3.50
Friskies Indoor Variety Pack 12ct.  $7.99/$7.19
Tidy Cats Cat Litter 25lb.  $4.59/$3.00


CAT TWO-Pillsbury/Betty Crocker/Progresso/Green Giant/Old El Paso
Buy $20/Get $4 Cat or Buy $30/Get $8 Cat
Items....
Green Giant(Lg. Bags/Create a Meal/Just for One)$3.50/$3.50
Totino Pizza Rolls  $3.59/$3.00
Toaster Strudel or Pancakes $2.39/$2.00
Nature Valley Granola Bars or Nut Clusters  $2.50(bars)$3.39(clusters)/$2.50
GM Cereals....various
Cheerios $3.49/$2.50
Reese's Puffs/Cookie Crisp/Lucky Charms  $4.29/$2.50
Wheaties Fuel  $4.35/$2.50
Choc. Cheerios/Cinnamon Toast Crunch  $3.99/$2.50
Valley Fresh Steamers 12oz.  $2.50/$2.00
Fiber One or Yo-Plus Yogurt  $2.79/$1.50
Pillsbury Crescent or Cinnamon Rolls  $2.29/$1.67
Pillsbury Cookies Refrig. $3.19 Simply Variety $3.49/$2.50
Betty Crocker Cake Mix $1.79/$1.00
BC Cookie Mixes  $2.19/$1.67
BC Muffin Mix or Brownie Mix $2.79 Muf. $2.49 Brown./$2.00
BC Frosting $1.99/$1.50
Old El Paso(EOP)Taco Dinner Kits $2.50/$2.39
OEP Shells  $1.95/$1.25
OEP Salsa  $2.39/$1.50
OEP Taco Seasoning $.89/$.62
OEP Refried Beans 16oz. $1.45/$1.00
Progresso light or high fiber Soup $2.19/$1.33
BC Potatoes Value Size $2.49/$2.00

CAT THREE-Unilever Items
Buy $15/Get a $3 Cat or Buy $30/Get a $7 Cat
Items.....
I Can't Believe it's not Butter or Brummel and Brown Marg. $2.49/$2.00
Klondike or Good Humor Ice Cream $3.99(no Good Humor in my store)/$2.50
Hellman's Mayo $3.69 or $4.25 for All Out Bottle)/$3.00
Ragu Sauce 45 oz. $2.50/$2.50
Skippy PButter  $2.49/$1.67
Lipton Tea Bags $3.39(reg.)$2.19(decaf.)$3.29(cold brew)/$2.50
Axe Deodorant $5.19/$3.59
Axe Shower Gel $4.89/$3.99
Axe Shampoo $5.99/$4.99
Dove Bar 6pk. Soap$6.99 or Body Wash$6.89/$5.99
Suave Hair Care $2.29 or $2.49 Kid's Variety/$2.00
Dove or Degree Deodorant $3.19/$2.49
Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion 10oz. $3.69/$2.59

CAT FOUR-Paper Goods
Buy $10/Get a $2 Cat or Buy $20/Get a $5 Cat
Items....
Viva Paper Towels 6pk. $8.19/$6.49
Scot Naturals TP or Towels $7.99/$7.99
Poise $15.89 or Depends $13.59/$11.99
Huggies Big Pack Diapers $19.99/$19.99
Cottonelle Fresh Wipes $4.25/$3.99
Kotex assort. $3.49/$3.00
Huggies Baby Wipes $3.39/$3.00
Pull-Ups $16.99 or Goodnites $16.35/$14.99

My thoughts.....
Cat Deal #4 is junk....difference between shelf and sale prices are small IF THERE AT ALL.  Most are high priced items and coupons don't bring it down enough for a low out of pocket.
Add in that the Cat is only $5 and the buy point is $20 which is a 1:4 ratio.
Bleh....

Cat Deal #1 has potential...especially if you have a cat and it eats Fancy Feast.  $1.25 shelf to $.50 sale price plus there is a $1/24 cans Q for this stuff.  IE--buy 28 cans(shelf price is $35).  28 cans at $.50=$14 OOP.  Add in a $1/24 Q and you pay $13.00.  Get a $10 Catalina.  Buy 28 more cans...use another $1/24 Q and the $10 Cat and your second batch of 28 cans costs you $3.00 OOP and you get another $10 Cat to keep rolling.  If you did this deal 5 times(and had 5 $1/24 Qs)you would end up paying $25 OOP total, have 140 cans of Fancy Feast and a $10 Cat leftover to roll into something else.
That's .178¢ a can plus $10 worth of Cat.

I see potential in the Chef Michaels Dog Food too. Buy 9 bags($35.91 shelf price)for $31.50 and use 9x $2/1 Qs=$13.50 OOP and get a $10 Cat.
Roll the deal.
Pay $3.50 for the next 9 bags and get another $10 Cat.
Roll it 5 times and you end up with 45 bags, $27.50 OOP and a $10 Cat left to roll into something else.
That's .61¢ a bag plus $10 worth of Cat.

Even the water deal, if you buy bottled water has merit.
Buy 14 Aqua Pod Packs($35 shelf price) at $1 a pack=$14 OOP.  Get a $10 Cat.
Roll the deal again using the Cat and pay $4 OOP for the next 14 Packs.
5 Rolls and you have 70 packs of Water, OOP $30 and a $10 Cat left to roll into something else.
That's .428¢ a pack of 8(.053¢ a bottle) plus $10 worth of Cat.

Here is the BEST DEAL I see.....
In CAT DEAL TWO....there are 2 potential MINI CATS you can do inside this Deal!
Buy your $30 shelf price worth of items but be sure to include in these items....
6 Pillsbury(rolls/cookies) and 6 Old El Paso items.
Not only will you get an $8 Cat for buy $30 of items, you will get a $4 Cat for buying the Pillsbury items and a $3 OYN Meat purchase Cat for buying the Old El Paso items!
That's $12 in Cats to roll and a $3 Cat for buying meat.

I hope this gives ya'll some items.
Let me know if you see a particular scenario worth doing.
Dang, I wish I had some more OEP Qs!!!

Sluggy

Here's an Easy Rite-Aid Scenario....Spend $2.03 OOP/Get $29.76 in Stuff

I went over to Rite-Aid on Sunday to do a transaction, after my belated Birthday meal at Red Lobster.

Well of course they were out of the new Dove Men's Body Wash, which would have been a $1.25 moneymaker at $4 a bottle with a full price SCR and a $1.25 ManuQ. 
This torpedoed my scenario but I quickly found another combination of items to buy.

Before you head out to try this scenario, sign up to watch the videos at AdPerks on the Rite-Aid website.  Watch enough video commercials to get 20 credits and you can download the Bonus $5 off a $20 Purchase Q.  You can only print this Q ONCE, so make sure you select multiple copies to print out when your printer prompts you to tell it how many copies to print, ok?After you get the $5 off $20, pull out your inserts from 1/3 SS & 1/3 RP and this Sunday's P&G insert and clip the appropriate Qs.

This scenario is quite easy to follow so lookie here all you Rite-Aid hounds......

1 x Venus Embrace or Breeze Razor on sale=$7.99
1 x Olay Body Wash=$7.79
**I have a 10% off reg. price discount from my Wellness card, so the Body Wash was only $7.01
1 x Nivea Body Wash on sale=$2.99
1 x Purevia on sale=$2.99
SubTotal....$21.76/$20.98 with discount

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
1 x $2/1 Venus Embrace or Breeze Razor ManuQ(2/7 P&G insert)=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Any Shaving Accessory CRT printed Wellness Q=$1.00
1 x Buy Embrace/Breeze Razor, Get Olay Body Wash FREE ManuQ(2/7 P&G insert)=$7.79/$7.01 w/discount
1 x $2/1 Nivea Body Wash ManuQ(1/3 RP insert)=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Purevia ManuQ(1/3 SS insert)=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$19.79/$19.01w/discount

$21.76-$19.79=$1.97+.06¢PAtax=$2.03 OOP
I had $2.22 on a Gift Card left so I had Zero OOP and .19¢ left to burn.

In addition the Olay and Razor count toward SCR #551--the P&G Buy $25/Get $5 Visa Card, Buy $50/Get $15 Visa Card, Buy $100, Get $35 Visa Card, so that's $15.78 toward your total purchases(or $15 in my case). Just $9.22 more in P&G items and you qualify for a $5 prepaid Visa Card.
I'm working on BIL's Visa card.  I got mine in the mail already, early last week.....

The Nivea Body Wash also counts toward your $15 purchase of Nivea items to qualify for a $5 Gift Card, SCR#56.  $2.99 down, $12.01 to go.....
the Nivea Body Lotion is also on sale this week for $5.99 a bottle.  There are $5/2 ManuQs from 1/03 RP insert.  If you can use Wellness Qs, combine that Nivea Q with 2 x $2 off any Skin Care item over $2.99 Wellness IPQ(check your Wellness account on the Rite-Aid site for the link to the PDF)....2 x $5.99=$11.98-$5-$2-$2=$2.98 OOP.  Combine this with other purchases to total $20 or more and you can use an AdPerk $5 off $20 purchase IPQ too and bring your OOP even lower.

With regard to my scenario above, if you don't have a Wellness card and the Wellness CRT printed Q for the $1 off Shaving Access. your OOP will be $3.09 and not $2.03   But that's still a good price, right?

I noticed that the prices on the Nivea and Olays in my local store on Sunday have been jacked up....the Nivea Body Wash by .30¢ and the Olay Body Wash by .50¢.  I wonder if we may be seeing more price increases on other items in Rite-Aid soon.

Sluggy

Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway Week 2.....Enter to Win It HERE!

It's WEEK 2 of The 1st BORING BLOG BOX OF FUN GIVEAWAY of 2010!

Here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  1 set of Make-Up Brushes.
2.  2 travel size Tubes of Toothpaste(Aquafresh and Colgate Total).
3.  1 Tube of Rite-Aid brand Apricot Scrub Face Wash.

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways on THIS POST.

Time to enter.....You can enter this week from today, February 7th through Saturday, February 13th.

1. 1 entry per person per week.  Leave your name/email addy and a comment for a valid entry on THIS POST only.
2. MUST be a follower to enter.
3. MUST still be a follower at the time the the winner is posted.

There are 2 ways to get extra entries each week....

4. Blog about my Giveaway on your blog or on a Message Board.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with a link to your blog post or the message on the board.  You can earn an extra entry each week by reposting about the Giveaway.
5. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with the URL of your blog. You can earn an extra entry each week by keeping my blog on your roll.

I'll post again about this Giveaway when the new week is here(Feb. 14th) to remind ya'll it's time to enter again and let ya'll know what I've added to the box.

Any questions?  Just email me at slugmama@yahoo.com

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

Hubby Dated me for my Baltimore Colts Connection

Hubby is a true blue American male.
How do I know this?
He loves sports.
All kinds but especially baseball and football.
He'll watch anything sports.....golf, lacrosse, soccer, bull fighting, arm wrestling, tiddly winks, paint drying.....
The list goes on forever.

Sports and me?
Not so much love there.

I'll watch winter sports and some gymnastic type things, or anything my kids are competing in.
So I don't do Super Bowl or football at all.

Hubby has 3 teams he has followed since he was a young testosterone-producing zitster.
Baseball....the NY Mets.....secondarily The Baltimore Orioles.
Football....the Baltimore Colts.

He even stuck with his Colts after they secretly packed everything up in a U-Haul truck in the middle of the night and moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
That was truly a black day in our house.....

As fate would have it Hubby attended college in Baltimore in the mid to late 1970's.
Sportwise, he was in his glory to be residing in the town of 2 of his favorite sports teams.

I also went to college just outside of Baltimore at a small 'exclusive' women's school called Goucher College.
Here is the dorm I lived in my freshman year.....

Well, it's actually in the wing of the building on the left in the photo....the front building contained 2 commons rooms, an old cafeteria that wasn't used any longer, the laundry room, the RA's rooms, vending machines, the building switch board room and some old 'dating parlors'.
And yes, even though it was 1977, it looked just like this much older photo.
Some days I would wake up and think I was still in 1952.

I lived in Tuttle House, second floor.
And we were special in Tuttle House.
Why?
Because we had window air-conditioners in our rooms!
This was back before central air-conditioning in the dorms at Goucher College.
No one else had A/C units but us.
And do you know why we had A/C?

Because out of all the dorms at the school our 3 floored Dorm House was where the Baltimore Colts players slept during their Summer Training Camp.
The Colts rented out Goucher College's facilities in the summer and held their Training Camp there.

And if you don't believe me, go check out this article HERE

Just think.....I could have slept in the same bed as Bert Jones.....ok, so it wasn't Johnny Unitas as he had retired already but still....

Sometimes I think that is why Hubby went out with me to begin with....it was almost as good as having a Balto. Colt for a girlfriend.....or something like that.

I'm just thankful I didn't pick up any "diseases" from that mattress.  I've read Ball Four.  I know what goes on at training camps.....

At any rate Hubby will be rooting for his Colts this Sunday.
Me?
I already told Hubby I'll be rooting against his team.
Why?
Because if the other team wins...I don't even KNOW who this is!....I'll get a free bottle of Hot Sauce!!

Sorry honey.....Free Food always trumps....

Sluggy

Decluttering and Organizing Your Life....Start Small

In the past week, while surfing around in Blogland, I've noticed quite a few bloggers are talking about and/or holding "DeCluttering your Home" Events this month or throughout 2010. Organizing Junkie is holding a February Decluttering Challenge HERE and there is this Full Year Declutter Project HERE.
Just google "Declutter Blog" and you'll find enough organizing angst writing to fill your day.

Clutter and decluttering seem to be HOT this year among the mommy &/or frugal blogs.

Clutter is bad.....that we can all agree upon.
Clutter gets in the way of you being your "authentic self".....geez, did I just say that?
So decluttering is always a good idea.
I doubt there are few among us who couldn't use a little decluttering and organizing.
Some of us, on the other hand, could use a FLEET of 1-800 Got Junk? Trucks!

In between racing off to grab another load of Catalina deal-ed goodies at Price Chopper or picking up more almost free stuff at Rite-Aid, I decided to take an hour out this week and declutter/organize something in my house.
But what?......what could I finish in less than an hour??

And then it hit me.....well,literally.....it's on wheels you see and the dog can push it if he jumps up on it's side looking for food.
My junk drawer in the kitchen island!
Small and an overflowing pig sty...perfect!!

First I had to clear the island's top....ugh.....the scope of this job is expanding....

Step One....I dumped it out....

 

Did all that actually fit in that little drawer?

Then I took the drawer out and wiped it down.
Here it is all cleaned up.
Can't I just leave it like this?lol

Next I made 3 piles....a "Will Live in this Drawer" Pile, a "Has to Live Somewhere Else" Pile and a Trash Pile.
Every item was touched once....if I touched it I had to make a decision and put it in one of the piles immediately.  No putting it back and dealing with it later on.
After about 15 minutes I had 3 separate piles and was ready to move on to Step Two.


Step Two involved....
1. Putting the trash pile in the trash.   Gee, that was complicated....lol
2. Putting the stuff that was going back in that Drawer back into the drawer, but NEATLY this time.  I had 2 organizing bins in there already but this time I USED them to organize.
Imagine that....
3. Putting the "Needs to Live Somewhere Else" Pile into a bag so I could walk around the house and relocate each item to it's proper location--the canning jar lids in the garage with the canning supplies, the magnifying glass into my desk drawer, the coupons in the coupon box, etc.

And here is what the Junk Drawer looks like now....ain't it pretty?

February 4th and this is the extent of the organizing I have done for 2010.  I have done some decluttering but organizing?.....this be it.

I'll put more organizing and decluttering on my list after I get the taxes finished.
If you've been putting D & O(that's organizing and decluttering) off, you probably have a BIG job ahead of you.
Take my advice.....start small.  Find some area that is small or break a larger area it down into zones to work on instead of trying to tackle a whole room.  Breaking it down into small jobs gives you more of a sense of accomplishment as you can complete something.  When you have a success behind you, you will feel more positive about moving on to another zone to clean.

How about you?  What have you done in the way of decluttering this year?
Let us know in the comments section.

Sluggy

N is for Nivea(Gift Card Rebate)at Rite-Aid next Week

This coming week, Feb.7-13, will be a great time to do the Rite-aid Nivea Single Check Rebate(SCR).
It is SCR #$56....Buy $15 worth of Nivea(Body,Lip,Body Wash or For Men Products)and receive a $5 Rite-Aid Gift Card.

The Nivea Body Wash will be on sale for $2.99(reg. price of $5.99-$6.99).  There are $2/1 Qs from the 1/3 RP insert, which would make each bottle $.99 after Q. 
So you can buy 6 bottles...6x$2.99=$17.94, use 6 $2/1 Qs....$17.94-$12, and spend $5.94 OOP & receive a $5 Gift Card.
Getting a $5 GC means you are basically you are 'paying' $.94 for the 6 bottles of body wash.

Or better yet turn this into a Moneymaker......
Buy 7 Bottles of the Body Wash for $20.93, use 7 $2/1 Qs AND a $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q.
$20.93-$14.00-$5.00=$1.93 OOP

Spend $1.93, get 7 bottles of Body Wash and a $5 Gift Card.

If you want to wait a couple of days and chance all the Nivea Body Wash being sold out, Rite-Aid may release new Wellness IPQs, which could make this deal even better.
They have a current $2 off any Skin Care item over $2 Wellness IPQ which expires 2/6, Saturday.  This won't help bring your OOP down next week, but they may release a new Wellness IPQ that does help(chances are they might re-release this $2 Skin Care Q, since this is the 2nd time we've seen it already in the Wellness program).

There is also a ManuQ $5/2 Nivea Lotion and the Lotion will be $5.99(down from $7.99-$8.99), so you could pair this Q with the sale to do the Nivea SCR fairly inexpensively.

Also there are some Nivea Men's Products on clearance over by the men's shaving section in some stores.  Depending on the prices and if the reports of new Nivea Qs in Sunday's inserts are accurate(including a $1/1 Nivea Men's Product Q), you might want to consider using those clearanced products for SCR #56 as well.

Sluggy

KA-BOOM!

Well I was coasting toward the end of January having spent $277.20 on my food/toiletries budget(before rebates that is).  Not too bad but not too great.

And then Friday daughter needed Gas-X(on doctor's orders)so I spent $23.75 at Wags on $30 worth and some Jello for #2 son as he was having dental surgery that morning, and he'd be needing that very soon.
I did get a $10RR so I didn't feel too badly about spending that $23.75 in the end.

Then I hit the grocery store(Weis) Friday evening and found a great sale on Ground Beef for $1 a lb!  I walked out of there with $20 less in my pocket and enough cow to fill a shelf in the freezer.

And then on Saturday I hit various Rite-Aids to get some more deals and finish out some other deals to the tune of $6.89 OOP but a profit of $1.61 AFTER SCRs + credit toward some Gift Card rebates too.

Then I hit CVS to spend some ECBs, use my Free Stacy's Q and do the Chips/Soda/Etc deal.  I found 1 pack of Ivory soap so got that for free before the $1/1 Q expired on Sunday.  I did the Chips/Soda deal but this store started next week's sales on Saturday so my ECBs didn't print, as the Lay's didn't ring up the right price...I bought 1 more bag and the cashier printed the ECBs manually.

Then I was naughty....imagine that SonyAnn!lol.....I saw that my card showed I still was $8 from getting the $10 ECBs for the Chips/Soda deal so when I went by another CVS and bought 3 more bags of Stacy's chips to test my theory.  Since the ECBs were printed manually at store #1, so my card still showed I was $8 away from getting $10 ECBs, I could get $10 more ECBs by buying $8 more of chips/soda items instead of the whole $20 worth.  3 bags of Stacy's was $9.  I used $9 in ECBs and the $10 ECBs printed.....bonus ECBs....lolol  So altogether, I ended up buying $29, spending $.98OOP put on a gift card, and gettting $20 in ECBs back.
I know it was wicked.....but who am I to stop CVS from giving me more ECBs?lol

So another $40 or so tacked onto the January budget spending for all of  Friday's/Saturday's spending wasn't so bad, considering all I got for that.

And then Sunday happened.
If you felt the ground shake and tilt on Sunday, that would have been the after affect of me blowing up the budget on Sunday.
To.
Smither
Eens.

We hit the Bread Outlet first.....hadn't been there in a bit and needed bread.
There went $6 for 3 loaves and 3 boxes of doughnuts for DH's evening snack.
A good deal.

Then we went to Big Lots to use that 20% off coupon.  I bought.....
14 1/2 gallons of juice
2 boxes of popcorn
2 corned beef hash
2 sloppy joe sauce
1 parsley
1 hot sauce
1 pudding for dental surgery boy
1 apricot jam for making my pork chops glaze
2 boxes of oatmeal pies
1 bag of rubber bands(DH's purchase)
$90+ worth of food had we bought it at the cheapest grocery store here on sale using coupons, spent $41.02 with Big Lots prices and the 20% off Q.

After Big Lots I just sort of lost my mind temporarily.

Yah see....it was the last day of January and all those lovely lovely coupons were.....were.....EXPIRING!

I felt like a possessed woman released from a prison who hadn't been in a store for a year, compelled to use those coupons......and spend, spend, SPEND!!!

We were off to Walmart since DH needed something there.  While I waiting on him, I picked up....
2 Beech-Nut baby foods for .08¢ each.
2 packs of Ivory Soap for .07¢ each.
4 Finish dishwasher tabs for $1.37 each.
2 cans of Sauerkraut for .42¢ each.
5 Duck packing tape for .67¢ each.

Then it was off to Price Chopper.
PC decided to gift us with TWO CATALINA DEALS this week!
Around here it's mostly famine but on a rare occasion we do get FEAST.
There is a Spend $30(reg. shelf price)/Get $10 OYNO Deals.
One for Unilever stuff.
Another one for Kraft stuff.
AND there are TWO Doublers in the Store ad!
DH and I went to PC to reconnoiter and gather the reg. shelf prices on items in those Catalina Deals.
I ran 1 transaction too, got my 1st $10 OYNO Cat and I've been rolling it once a day.  Once the extra Qs I ordered come in the mail, I'll step up the pace the rest of the week.  After the initial outlay to get the $10 Cat, I've been averaging about $3 OOP a transaction.  I've been picking up some items we need/want and the rest are flea market goods for the spring.....basically I pay for the couple of items we want/need with the OOP and the flea market stuff is free so everything I sell will be gravy. ;-)

Sunday night I hit Rite-Aid to do this week's deals....spending about $8 OOP and I'll get $9.99 back in SCRs and I have credit toward the Healthy Heart SCR and the Nivea Products SCR Gift Cards.

I finished off Sunday by hitting Weis markets to get 5 free Marcal Small Steps items, 2 tubs of Heluva Good Dip & 2 boxes of Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage for daughter for $1 ea.....and a big containers of ricotta cheese to make Monday night's Stuffed Shells dinner per my Meal Plan.  $6.62 OOP with a savings of 72% according to my receipt from Weis.

So, this is just my way of explaining what I've been doing and why I haven't finished totaling up my January receipts yet.  I'm still pulling receipts out of bags as I put things away in between runs of Price Chopper and Rite-Aid this week.
I'll get them finished off and the books closed on January, hopefully tomorrow.

Sluggy

Saturday Shopping.....Rite-Aid & Keep Your Eye Out for This!

Saturday I did some running around to finish up some Rite-Aid deals I was working on.
First the local Rite-Aid....

 I'll spend over $20 and will be able to use a $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q
2 x Nature's Bounty BOGO=$8.99  Used a $5 ManuQ Rewards Program & a $2/1 Any Vitamin Wellness IPQ
3 X Toblerone Candy RAINCHECK($1.50)=$4.50  Used 3 $1/1 ManuQ expiring that day!
1 x Rite-Aid Aloe Lotion clearance=$2.99  Used $2/1 any Skin Care Product over $2 Wellness IPQ
1 x Maybelline Mascara 40% off=$3.11  Used $2/1 any Beauty Product over $2 Wellness IPQ  
1 x 3Musketeers Bar**filler to get to $20 total** on sale=$.50

Total before Qs=$20.09
Coupon Total=$19.00
$20.09-$19.00=$1.09 OOP

SCR=$2 for Maybelline Mascara & $8.99 toward Healthy Heart SCR #550

So a profit of $.91 after SCR!

Then it was off to Rite-Aid #2......

 I'll spend over $20 and will be able to use a $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q

2 x Nature's Bounty BOGO=$9.99  Used a $5 ManuQ Rewards Program & a $2/1 Any Vitamin Wellness IPQ
1 x Nivea Body Wash=$5.99  Used $2/1 ManuQ & $2/1 any Skin Care Product Wellness IPQ
1 x Finish Dishwashing Tabs=$6.49  Used $2.50/1 ManuQ & AdPerks $1/1 Finish IPQ


Total before Qs=$22.47
Coupon Total=$19.50
$22.47-$19.50=$2.97 OOP

SCR=$1.50 for Finish. $5.99 toward Nivea SCR($5 Gift Card WYB $15) & $9.99 toward Healthy Heart SCR #550($25 Gift Card WYB $50)

Total after SCR Rebate=$1.47 OOP

Transaction #2 at Store #2.....

 I'll spend over $25 and will be able to use a $5 off $25 Purchase from Red Plum IPQ

2 x Osteo-Bi Flex BOGO=$19.99  Used 2x $6 ManuQ Rewards Program & 2x $3 Osteo-Bi Flex AdPerk IPQ
1 x Nivea Lip Care=$2.99  Used $.50/1 Nivea Lip ManuQ
1 x Nivea Creme Tin=$.99   Used $.25/1 Nivea Creme Tin GOL Q
1 x Maybelline Eye Shadow 40% off=$2.57  Used $2/1 any Beauty Product over $2 Wellness IPQ  

Total before Qs=$26.54
Coupon Total=$25.75
$20.09-$19.00=$.79 OOP

SCR=$3.98 toward the Nivea SCR Gift Card & $19.99 toward Healthy Heart SCR #550

Then it was time to move on to Rite-Aid #3.....

 I'll spend over $20 and will be able to use a $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q

2 x Nature's Bounty BOGO=$9.99  Used a $5 ManuQ Rewards Program & 2x $2/1 Any Vitamin Wellness IPQ
1 x Airborne on sale=$4.99  Used $1/1 ManuQ

1 x Rite-Aid Aloe Lotion clearance=$2.99  Used $2/1 any Skin Care Product over $2 Wellness IPQ
1 x Maybelline Mascara 40% off=$3.11  Used $2/1 any Beauty Product over $2 Wellness IPQ  & $1/1 Maybelline Mascara AdPerks IPQ

Total before Qs=$21.08
Coupon Total=$20.00
$20.09-$19.00=$1.08 OOP

SCR=$2 for Maybelline Mascara(BIL),$2 for Airborne(BIL) & $9.99 toward Healthy Heart SCR #550(BIL)
After SCRs this trip was a profit of $2.92!

And 1 more transaction here...

 I'll spend over $20 and will be able to use a $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks Q

2 x Nature's Bounty BOGO=$9.99  Used a $5 ManuQ Rewards Program & 2x $2/1 Any Vitamin Wellness IPQ
1 x Nivea Body Wash=$5.99  Used a $2/1 ManuQ & $2/1 any Skin Care Item Wellness IPQ
1 x Cascade Dishwashing Gels on sale=$2.99  Used a $1/1 Manu Home Mailer
2 x M&Ms on sale BOGO=$3.99  Used $1/2 ManuQ & 2x $1/1 Any Candy over $1 Wellness IPQ 

Total before Qs=$22.96
Coupon Total=$22.00
$20.09-$19.00=$.96 OOP

SCR=$1 for M&Ms, $5.99 toward Nivea SCR Gift Card & $9.99 toward Healthy Heart SCR #550

So a profit of $.04 with the M&Ms SCR.

Total for the day.....
OOP=$6.89
SCRs=$8.50 cash plus $ toward the Nivea/Healthy Heart Gift Cards.

Today was a Profit of $1.61 after the cash SCRs.


Here's something you can get almost free at Rite-Aid if you have the Wellness Card....

 

See that big pale yellow bottle?  It's RITE-AID brand ALOE THERAPEUTIC BODY LOTION.
It's normally $5.99 a bottle(it's a big bottle)and it's in or near the Sunscreen/Suntan lotion items in your store.  It's on clearance for 50% off, so $2.99 a bottle.  Combine this with the $2/1 any Skin Care Item over $2 Wellness IPQ to get it for $.99.
Some stores I've been in have it marked, some don't, but Rite-Aid online has it listed as an Unadvertised Special.  Best to price check it before you pay anyway.
This is a good product to have around and it's a great cheap filler to get to your $20 or $25 threshold so you can use one of those $x off Rite-Aid Qs.
Look for it!


While I was in line to pay for the 1st transaction at Store #3 I made a mistake......I looked at some guy in line near me.  Obviously by doing that, in his mind it said, "hey, please talk to me until I can't stand it anymore!".  
This guy is a fellow couponer.  But he is also a nutcase.  Besides being loud and not SHUTTING UP because we don't want to hear your life story waiting in line to buy toiletries, he's also, er......let's call it "interesting looking".
I'm no hot babe myself but this guy looked like one of the guys in the Bowery who wash your windows when you stop at red lights in NYC.  He had one eye that rolled around in it's socket like a pinball and the other eye drifted off to the left so you didn't know if he was looking at you or the valentine's candy in the bin 2 aisles over.
Add in the raggedy pants and overcoat, the ripped t-shirt, the unkempt hair and moustache and you've got one crazed looking couponer.
I have told DH to just shoot me if I ever get that bad.lol

This guy went on and on about how much he saves and how he does rebates for everyone in his apartment building(8 or 9 sets-they let him use their addy/names and he gives them a cut of the rebates).  He also seems to have an 'arrangement' with the particular cashier who was working this evening at this store.....she takes as many coupons on each item until he gets it for pennies or free.  It sounds like he ONLY comes in when she is working....hmmmm.....I wonder how long until she loses her job?
He made 8 $20+ trips while I was in there making my 2 transactions and had paid under $1 for all.  I saw what he was buying and there is no way, even with all the different Qs you can use at Rite-Aid, that he was using the couponage the right way and in the right amounts.   Now I would use multiple of different Qs or 2 ManuQs on each item in a BOGO if the cashier lets me but I wouldn't buy 2 tubes of AquaFresh ToothPaste and use 3 of the same $1 any Oral Care Q on 1 tube to get it for free!
That ain't kosher.....


Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....February 1st Edition....Never Going to See the Back of the Freezer Again!

Last Week's Menu Postmortem...
The Stuffed Shells, Alfredo & Birthday Dinner Out didn't happen.
Moving to this week.

About this cleaning out the freezer deal...after this past weekend, I am about ready to give it up.  I can't seem to go more than 3 weeks without finding something worth stocking up on and this past weekend was my downfall.  At this rate--the 3 week not stocking with 1 week stocking--I'll never find the back wall in the freezer.  I spent 4 days digging out older food to serve and filled all the emptied out space back up in 1 day of grocery shopping.  argh

Here's what I will be serving our family of 4 this Week.....a couple of my favorite recipes reappearing this week.  Most of the meals will be soft-ish foods since #2 son is still recovering from dental surgery last Friday.  He's slowly progressing from liquids/semi-liquids to soft foods so I don't want to have to cook two different meals each night.

MONDAY--Stuffed Shells(stockpile/freezer), Salad(fridge)
TUESDAY--Quesadillas-chicken or cheese, Corn
WEDNESDAY--Easy Chicken Alfredo with Vegetables(freezer/stockpile)
THURSDAY--Quiche Lorraine, Salad
FRIDAY--Beef Pie
SATURDAY--Leftovers
SUNDAY--Birthday Meal out....maybe this week?lol
SNACKS/DESSERTS--Oranges(stockpile), Brownies(stockpile), Birthday Cake(stockpile)

At this point, I can't tell you how much I spent last week on Food and Toiletries.  I do know that I BLEW UP the Food Budget  with style and panache this past weekend.
I was at $277.20 for Jan.(before rebates)on the 25th.
Then Friday I went to Walgreen's to get daughter some OTC meds she needed, before #2 son's appointment for his dental surgery.  I spent almost $21 but I now have a $10RR.
And then on Saturday I hit CVS, Rite-Aid(multiple ones)and Weis(to use up Jan. expiring Qs), where they had 3lb. contains or Ground Beef that was $4.99 marked down to $2.99--$1 a lb for meat!
THEN.....Price Chopper offered TWO Catalina Deals for this week, starting on Sunday so I had to go spend more money there...and I'll be making many MANY trips back to PC over the course of this week, not only is Jan. shot, Feb. may be wounded too after this week.lolol
And hubby FORCED ME to go with him to Walmart(and I happened to take some Jan. expiring Qs with me to see if I could pick up anything cheap or free).  And it was over to Big Lots to use the 20% off anything in the store Q on all those lovely bottles of 100% juice.  And we drove right by the Bread Outlet so of course, I HAD to go in and check if they had potato bread for #2 son(which they did have...yah!) so 3 loaves and 3 boxes of doughnuts(for hubby)and $6 later, my food budget for January was blown to hell.

FOOD WASTE REPORT
ARGH....my lovely lovely Boston Baked Beans.  Since everyone was home when I made them(plus an extra relative), I made a TON!  Not enough people were around or inclined to eat them leftover so even after feeding a fair share to the doggies over the weeks, I ended up having to compost quite a bit that was still left.
I consider this a big fail on the food waste front.  And we were doing so well too until this point.....

Check out ORGANIZING JUNKIE to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week.

Sluggy

Hershey's Chocolate Pieces Candy PROMOTION at KMart....Better than FREE CHOCOLATE!

Ok.....here's a great deal for anyone who loves Hershey's chocolate before I run off for the day to do some errands.

Starting Sunday, 1/31, KMart is running as one of it's weekly sale items the new Hershey's Pieces Chocolate for $2.50 a bag.

Wait, it gets better......

Kmart is running a promotion as well on this item!
When you buy 4 bags you can get a $10 KMart Gift Card.  The form for the rebate will print on the bottom of your receipt if it doesn't print from the Catalina machine.

And to make this deal a moneymaker.....
There is suppose to be a $1/1 Hershey Pieces Coupon in the Smart Source insert on Sunday(1/31).

So......
Take 4 of these Qs with you to KMart.
Buy 4 bags 4 x $2.50=$10.
Use your 4 $1 Qs  $10-$4Qs=$6 OOP.
Send for your rebate.
Wait what seems like forever to get $10 back.
You spent $6.00 and got back $10, so you made $4 on this deal.

Now who wouldn't want to get paid $4 to eat chocolate??

Sluggy

LEFT BRAIN MAN....Don't Argue Pork Products with a G.R.I.T.S.

First off, let me say that I am married to a wonderful man.
Ok....some days I want to strangle said wonderful man, because who among us hasn't been there?....but he is wonderful nonetheless.

But......
he is also a "Left Brain".

If you have no idea what I mean, go check out THIS before you read further.

So one morning this past weekend, I asked the family what they wanted me to cook them for breakfast.
It was a rare day when we all....er, most of us were up early enough to eat breakfast.

#2 son asked for sausage patties.  Other than his sister's 'special' turkey sausage patties I said we were fresh out.
Left Brain chimed in that we did indeed have a roll of sausage meat in the freezer.
I sweetly replied that he was mistaken, that there was no sausage meat appropriate for serving at breakfast.

With that gauntlet flung down at his feet, he marched into the garage, rummaged around in the freezer(there goes all my organizing!)and came back triumphant with 2 rolls of sausage meat.
I looked at the first roll and said, "Now you can't fix that, it's italian sausage."

Hubby has a large dose of Sicilian blood coursing through his veins but after I mentioned it, even he realized that Italian sausage may not be quite socially acceptable before noon....outside the borders of Italy.
So he holds up the second roll, secure in his feeling that he was still triumphant!
Yes, it is JIMMY DEAN SAUSAGE printed on the wrapper but it also said SAGE SAUSAGE on the roll.
"SAGE?"
"Really??"
I shook my head.

I had to explain.....
"Honey, this sausage has SAGE in it.....it is for making Stuffing, not for eating with your pancakes and syrup."

He just looked at me like I had spoken in Portugese.....not comprehending.
"But why can't we have it for breakfast?", came the reply eventually.

"Because it's full of SAGE!  It's not seasoned for breakfast eating."

He wouldn't back down, insisting this sausage would be a tasty treat with eggs and french toast.

I finally had to put my GRITS foot down....

"HONEY!.....Where I come from, You don't eat SAGE SAUSAGE for Breakfast!  I'm from the SOUTH.....I KNOW my pork products!  No self-respecting Southerner would eat this stuff for breakfast....It's just not done!!"

With that bit of throwing the Hog around, he backed down.

I guess my Left Brained Yankee husband saw the better part of valor by not provoking me further and escalating this into one of our Battle Between the States Discussions that always ends with  yelling, slamming doors and threats of sleeping on the sofa.

Yankee....0
Southern GRITS Gal....1

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Transaction This Week.....And a Change to the Coupon Policy

Here's my 1st trip for the week and for the February Single Check Rebate period at Rite-Aid....

1 x Nivea Body Wash=$5.99
2 x Nature's Bounty Vitamin C BOGO sale=$9.99
2 x Nature's Bounty Vitamin D BOGO sale=$4.99
2 x Hall's Refresh Drops=$4.98
SubTotal....$25.95

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Purchase(available from RedPlum online)=$5.00
1 x $2/1 Nivea Body Wash ManuQ(1/3RP insert)=$2.00
1 x $2/1 any Skin Care item over $2 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
1 x $5/1 Nature's Bounty Vitamins Rewards Program IPQ=$5.00
1 x $2/1 any vitamin item over $2 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Nature's Bounty Vitamins Rewards Program IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 any vitamin item over $2 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
1 x BOGO Hall's Item In Store Flyer Q=$2.49
Coupon Total....$22.49

$25.95-$22.49=$3.46+$.11tax=$3.57 OOP

I have $5.99 toward a $15 purchase of Nivea, to qualify for a $5 Rite-Aid Gift Card(SCR#56) and the Vitamins purchase counts toward another Rite-Aid Gift Card(SCR#550)....purchase $25 worth of products/get a $10 gift card or purchase $50 worth/get a $25 gift card.  Of course, we will shoot for the $25 card. ;-)

Things did NOT go as planned on this trip however.

I had emailed Rite-Aid Corporate back last summer to obtain a copy of their coupon policy.  This is what I've been following when I set up my scenarios.  The email I have states that with a BOGO deal, you can use a ManuQ on each item, so 2 ManuQs total.  And since Rite-Aid lets you stack a store copy(In-Ad, Wellness, AdPerk) with a ManuQ it follows that you could use 4 Qs total on a BOGO deal(2 ManuQs and 2 StoreQs)....right?

Well, when I went to check out the Night Supervisor happened to be at the register.  And she refused to let me use any Qs on the item that was free with the BOGO deal(I bought 4 vitamins and was only allowed to use 4 Qs--2 on each not-free item).  My understanding from the copy of the coupon policy was that I should have been allowed to use up to 8 Qs...or at the very least 6 Qs(since a ManuQ was allowed on the free item and if they wouldn't take the second Store Q stacked on the ManuQ on the free item). I was going to use 6 Qs--4 ManuQs and 2 StoreQs(on the 2 Not-free items)...which would have given me a $1.57 OOP.
Follow me?

The Supervisor said NO coupons are allowed on the free item in a BOGO situation! 
Period.
Since I didn't have a copy of the policy on me(stupid me....didn't have any problems with management EVER so I just stopped bringing my copy of the policy with me!)and she had no authority to make an exception nor did she seem like she would...lol...I paid and went home.

The next day I printed out the emailed coupon policy and read it again.  Since it was from last summer, before Wellness and AdPerk Qs, it didn't address some grey areas on coupon usage.  So I called Corporate Customer Service and had a loooong talk with a Rep.  Seems that the coupon policy has changed from last summer(and he said it is always changing)so he is going to snail mail me a new copy. 

Here is the new interpretation of the policy.....
On a BOGO Deal--you can use TWO Qs BUT....both Qs have to be used on the Item that is NOT free.
This means you can now only use ONE ManuQ on a BOGO Deal, not One ManuQ on each item.  Both Qs used have to be on the non-free item, meaning you can use a ManuQ(either from an insert/IP/peelie/blinkie/home mailer)and the Second Q has to be a Store-type Q and is applied to the item you pay for, not the free item.

So....if I buy 2 Vitamins on BOGO.
I can use 1 ManuQ and 1 Store-typeQ.
2 Items and 2 Qs.
Not 2 items and 3 or 4 Qs.

Seems to me that this new policy is not better than the old one when you could use up to 2 Qs on a BOGO Deal.  They haven't expanded how many Qs can be used(since the old policy didn't address non-ManuQs really), they have just changed what type of Qs you can use in a BOGO situation and not changing the number you can use.

You can however, still use a BOGO Q on a BOGO Deal and get both items free.

I have to admit I did get a tad pushy with the Supervisor....so much for flying under the radar anymore.lol

After I receive my new copy of the Q policy I will go have a private chat with this Supervisor.  If I was inadvertently in the wrong, I'll apologize for being testy with her.  She'll probably look at me like I have 7 heads and 1 eyeball but hey, at least I'll have done the right thing.

Sluggy

Duggars.....Can You Hear Me Now?!?

For the record.....
I am all about the nuclear family.
And I would never dain to get between a person and what they perceive their deity &/or religion to be(if they hold to one).  And I don't go around knocking people's belief system even if it involves 7 wives or husbands or wearing black nikes with $5 bills tucked inside and taking poison to get back to the 'mothership'.
What you believe is between you and your deity(or lack thereof)....as long as it doesn't impinge on the way I want to live my life.

Having said that.....
I do believe that the Duggars deity is trying to tell them something at this point in their lives.
And since the Duggars have declared to the world, often and in a very public way that they do have a close personal relationship with their deity, which involves speaking with each other, I do think the Duggars are just not listening to their deity or following his/her advice.

Duggar #19 was brought into the world in December. 
That's a wonderful thing!
Brought into the world 3 months early via emergency C-section.
Oh, now that's not so wonderful.

Brought into the world weighing 1 pound, 6 ounces.
Thank your deity for Neonatal Intensive Care Units and the miracles of modern medicine Duggars!

So far, #19 is doing ok.....but down the road the chances are high that this child will have some kind of problem, or lots of problems as she grows.


The reports I have read for the last few years all say that Mrs. Duggar has needed to have a Cervical Cerclage(a procedure where the cervix is sewn shut when it doesn't stay closed fully, to keep the baby from being born too soon)with each recent pregnancy to keep the baby inside and safe until it was full term. 
After so many pregnancies and wear and tear on ones reproductive system, cervical incompetency is bound to happen, ya think?

Do you know what carrying 19 children in one's uterus does to the muscles of one's pelvic floor?   Women are prone to have....how to put this genteelly.....urine leakage issues after only carrying a couple or so pregnancies to term.  I have this feeling that Mrs. Duggar will be exchanging all those baby diapers for a life of adult diapers as she ages.

Do you think perhaps your deity is trying to tell you in a fairly strong way that maybe you should practice a little self-control and stop letting nature take it's course?  Maybe avail yourself of some other miracles of modern medicine if Mr. Duggar can't prevent himself from showing how much he loves his wife in that particular way, so much and so often?

After bringing baby #19 into this world the Duggars really need to stop talking to their deity(and the media endlessly)and listen to the message He/She is sending them.
IMHO they have been blessed many times over with a gaggle of children.....but they are now moving into "pushing their luck to it's limits" territory.
You are both only human.
Leave being Superman/Superwoman to your god.

Sluggy

Marcal Giveaway at COUPONERS UNITED

The Blogger over at "Couponers United" is holding a Giveaway for a Marcal Small Steps Prize Pack.

If you know me, you know I am all over anything more sustainable.  By using recycled paper products to make their paper products instead of massive logging like most paper manufacturers, Marcal is ahead of it's time and so relevant to today's world.  And to think that they have been following this business principle for the last 50 years!  

Go over and check out the Giveaway HERE and then head over and check out Marcal HERE.

Sluggy

Chocolate Cheerios Giveaway....Go Sign Up

The Blogger over at "Who Said Nothing In Life is Free????" is holding a Giveaway for a Chocolate Cheerios Prize Pack.
Anything Chocolate is worth signing up for, right?
Go over and check it out HERE.

Sluggy

Has your Money lasted longer than January has?

Dave agrees with me(LOL)that a Budget is a neccesity to WIN WITH MONEY!




Give him a listen.....and then start telling your money what to do.
I do.
And most times the money listens to me!
Unlike my kids.....


Sluggy

Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway is Now OPEN!

The 1st BORING BLOG BOX OF FUN GIVEAWAY of 2010 is Ready!

Here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  A set of Stationery Folded Notecards.  These have Arctic Animals from a Series of USPS postage stamps designs on them.
2.  3 Tubes of Mentos Sugar-free Gum.
3.  a Sample of Head & Shoulders Shampoo.
4.  a Glade Candle(Clean Linen scent).


If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways on THIS POST.

Time to enter.....You can enter this week from today, January 27th through Saturday, February 5th. (I'm giving ya'll an extra few days the first week to enter.  The rest of the weeks will be strictly Saturday to Sunday, 7 days.)

1. 1 entry per person per week.  Leave your name/email addy and a comment for a valid entry on THIS POST only.
2. MUST be a follower to enter.
3. MUST still be a follower at the time the the winner is posted.

There are 2 ways to get extra entries each week....

4. Blog about my Giveaway on your blog or on a Message Board.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with a link to your blog post or the message on the board.  You can earn an extra entry each week by reposting about the Giveaway.
5. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with the URL of your blog. You can earn an extra entry each week by keeping my blog on your roll.

I'll post again about this Giveaway when the new week is here(Feb. 6th) to remind ya'll it's time to enter again.

Any questions?  Just email me at slugmama@yahoo.com

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

Almost Shorts Weather in January....Well, Except for the Deluge!

Yesterday was some wild and crazy weather here in northeast PA.
First off, it was unseasonably warm.  Ok, so I won't complain about that much!lol
#2 son had his braces put on his teeth yesterday morning, so we had to be out and about in wind-driven rain most of the day.  As we passed the bank sign on the way to the Orthodontist's office the temp. read 59 degrees...and that was at 9 in the morning!

We ran errands and went to use a free Birthday meal certificate at Red Robin for lunch and then it was off to the Oral Surgeon with #2 son.  He's getting FIVE teeth pulled(including a Wisdom Tooth)on Friday in conjunction with the braces deal, so keep us in your prayers later this week.  I'll be a mess but he'll be fine after the anesthesia and later when the vicodin pills kick in at home afterwards. 


The local streams and creeks were raging yesterday as all the snow pack melted within hours with the warm temperatures.  Add in 2 inches of rain that fell yesterday and now the Susquehanna River is over flood stage.  Roads are closed and people down by the river and nervously watching and waiting for it to crest and recede.
I hope they don't have to put up the Flood Walls on the bridges here.  We need to go back over the river Friday for the Teeth Extractions and swimming across to get there if the bridge is closed would be a tad inconvenient.lol

Here's what I found when we got home yesterday around 3:30pm.

It's my metal swing.  It was on the opposite side of the deck from where it lives.
And here is what it was attached to.....

The metal frame.
It was laying on it's side halfway down the steps to the yard also on the opposite end of the deck from where it lives.  At least daughter righted it and drug it back onto the deck so the doggies can do their business in the yard again.

Today, it's flurry-ing and the temperature is dropping quickly.  We'll be in the teens by tomorrow night.
I'm thankful that it was warmish and that 2 inches of rain was RAIN and not 2 FEET of SNOW!

It's certainly been a weird Winter so far!

Sluggy

Cheap Finish Dishwasher Detergent at Rite-Aid

If anyone still has any of those $2.50 off Finish Dishwashing Detergent Coupons left that expire on Sunday, 1/31.....you might want to think about using them at Rite-Aid.  Depending on what Finish is priced at there(I haven't been in to look yet myself), you can combine the $2.50 off Q with the $1/1 Q at AdPerks Finish Q AND the $1.50 SCR #94--

Purchase One (1):
• Finish Automatic Dishwasher Detergent Powder or Gel, 75 oz.
• Gel Caps or Powerball Tabs, 20 ct.
• Jet Dry, 8.45 oz.

With $5 off after rebate($2.50+$1+$1.50), it might be worth picking some up at Rite-Aid if you can't find a better deal on Finish at some other store.  Just remember that the SCR is a limit of 1 per person/address so if you need to use multiple $2.50 Qs keep in mind that only your first purchase will qualify for the $1 rebate.   ;-)

Sluggy

Free Oreos.....well not REALLY Oreos IMHO

Not to sound ungrateful.....ok, with an opening like that, you KNOW this is going to sound ungrateful.lol

Did you get in on the FREE bag of OREO Cookies yesterday on Facebook?
Since there were something like MILLIONS of people signed up to the Fan page for the Free Oreo Deal on Facebook and there were only going to be 150,000 bags of cookies given away starting at 3pm EST, I figured when #2 son and I got home from the Orthodontist and the Oral Surgeon around 3:30pm EST yesterday it hardly seem worth trying to get online for the cookies.

I thought all 150,000 bags would be scarfed down in mere seconds.....
But I went online and tried anyway and low and behold.....

I got through and I gots cookies!!

After I finished and got the "Congratulations-the Cookies are on their Way" Page, I noticed something.
They are sending these......

THOSE aren't Oreos.....

THESE are Oreos!

Ok, so they are BOTH MADE by the same company, but an Oreo has to have that DARK almost BLACK Chocolate Cookie!  You can monkey around with the filling.....creme, peanut butter or even mint.....add Double the filling even, but the Cookie part defines an OREO as being an OREO.

These Vanilla Cookie things are just imposters!!  They may be in the same shape and design embossed on the cookie but the FLAVOR of a Golden Oreo is NOT an Oreo!

I am so disappointed.....

But free cookies are free cookies after all.
There will be NO DUNKING in MILK with these "Oreos" but someone here will surely be adding to their waistline using them anyway.lol

So how do you feel about "Golden Oreos"?
Are they clever imposters in your mind or are they REAL Oreos?
Leave a comment and weigh-in on this 'heavy' debate!

Sluggy
 

NEW Wellness Coupons Available....Expire 2/06/10

If your area has the Wellness Program, there are some good coupons available for you to make your Rite-Aid deals even sweeter!

New Coupons good until 2/06/10....
--$2 off any vitamin item with a price of $2.00 or more
--$2 off any skin care item with a price of $2.00 or more
HERE

And the return of these coupons.....also good until 2/06/10....
--$3 off any $15 non-prescription purchase
--$1 off any candy item with a price of $1 or more
--$.50 off any greeting card item with a price of $.50 or more
--$2.00 off any beauty costmetic item with a price of $2 or more
Just go to the Rite-Aid website and sign into your account to access these 4 coupons.

Some thoughts on using the new coupons this week....

Maybelline is 40% off this week, making the regular mascara product $3.11(reg. price of $5.19).
Use the $1/1 Maybelline Mascara AdPerk Q with the $2 off beauty cosmetic Q and pay $.11 AND qualify for SCR #61 for $2.00.

Buy a Wet n' Wild item for $3.99 or higher and qualify for SCR #71 for $2.00. Use a $2 any beauty cosmetic item Wellness Q and after rebate the item is free.

Sugar-Free bags of candy are on sale this week for $1.50.
Use the $1 off candy item to get these for $.50 each.

M&Ms are BOGO(reg. price $3.99 ea.)this week.
Use 2 of the $1 off candy item wellness Q and pay $1.99 for 2.  Then submit for SCR #97(purchase 2 M&Ms bags including seasonal) for $1.00, making it $.99 for 2 after rebate.

Various Lotions are on sale this week.
Pare the sales with the various ManuQs and the $2 off skin care Q to get a good deal on lotions this week.
There is a $5 RA Gift Card (SCR#56)WYB $14 of select Nivea products.  There are various Nivea Qs to pare with the $2 any skin care Wellness Q to do this cheaply., espcially if Nivea goes on sale in the coming weeks.

The $2 off vitamins also would make a good sale pared with various ManuQs &/or the AdPerk Nature's Bounty $1/1 Q.  Some Nature's Bounty bottles have $1/1 Peelies on them too.

There is also a new SCR offer...Healthy Heart 2010 #552 that includes many vitamin items.  Purchase $25 in qualifying items, get a $10 Rite-Aid Gift Card, or purchase $50 of qualifying items, get a $25 Rite-Aid Gift Card.  Use ManuQs, sale and Wellness $2 off any vitamin over $2 Qs to get in on this deal.  This SCR deal runs until 3/27/10.

Sluggy

Good Deals at Weis this Week....1/24/10-1/30/10

As far as using Coupons this week at Weis, there aren't many good deals to be had.  A lot of Weis or house brands featured and the usual 'junk' foods like soda, chips, cookies, etc.(which I don't pay much attention to).

There are a fair amount of BOGO deals this week at Weis, but few that have matching coupons so I am not impressed.

One FREEBIE that I can see...IF you have the right coupon.  Let me know if you see something because I have gone blind looking for them this week.lol

And of course, NO CATALINA Deals either.....sigh....at least I might be able to stay out of the grocery store this week since it's so abysmal.

Here are the CHEAPIES....

Helavu Good Cheese blocks  BOGO (off reg. price of $2.89) $2.89 for 2
--use $1/2 ManuQ(12/13RP insert) and pay $1.89 for 2-less than $1 per block

Baked Lays $3.00
--use $1/1 ManuQ(1/3SS insert) and pay $2 **It's in the database at AFullCup as $.55/1 so the $1/1 is regional...if your Weis doubles, the $.55/1 will still get you $1 off a bag.

Birds Eye Steamfresh Veggies or Boxed Veggies in Sauce $1.00 each
--use $1/2 ManuQ(1/10SS insert) and pay $.50 each WYB 2.**Again, the database lists this Q as $.50/1 so the $1/2 was regional.  If you got the $.50/1 and your store doubles, you get 1 box/bag for FREE instead.


Nabisco Crackers assorted $2.00 a box
--IF the Crackerfuls are included in this sale, use the $1/1 ManuQ(1/10SS insert)to get a box for $1.00
--use $1/1 ManuQ(1/24SS insert)to get a box for $1.00
--use the $1/2 ManuQ(12/13SS insert)to get 2 boxes for $1.00(.50¢ each)

Archway Cookies $2.50
--use the $1/1 ManuQ(11/22SS insert) to get it for $1.50**Again, the database lists this Q as $.55/1 so if your store doubles, still get $1 off 1 bag.  NOT a steal, however these are really good cookies.lol

Friskies Party Mix Cat Treats $1.25 each
--use the $2/2 ManuQ(11/15SS insert)to get 2 for .50¢(.25¢ each)
--use the BOGO ManuQ(1/24SS insert)to get 2 for $1.25(.625¢ each)

And that is about it for Good Coupon Deals.

OTHER DEALS

Meat
Gorton's Seafood Items 40% off
--use the $1/2 ManuQ(1/24SS insert)to get 2 for ?

Produce
Pink Grapfruit $1 each.--about as low as you are going to see at Weis this winter unless they need to unload what doesn't sell fast and offer a 'real' sale on them.


If anyone sees any other good buys this week at Weis, please leave a comment and let us know!

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....January 25th Edition....Still looking for the back of the Freezer

Last Week's Menu Postmortem...
We started out the week well but by Thursday the plan fell apart.  So the Fish, Pizza and Tacos move to this coming week.  Now I only have to come up with 4 more meals for the week. Yay me!lol

This cleaning out the freezer deal is taking A LOT longer than I had expected!!  I still have a Turkey(not very old really)and a big Ham in there(this is much older).  I guess I need to bake that Ham next month and invite the relatives over to eat a big chunk of it so it doesn't go bad once cooked.  I would never come up with enough ways to use it up in recipes that the family would eat so I need to serve it first to a bigger crowd and hope some of those people want to take a chunk home with them. 

Here's what I will be serving our family of 4 this Week.....no amazing recipes this week, just the quick and easys....sorry.

MONDAY--Assorted TV Dinners-found a stash in the freezer we need to use up
TUESDAY--Tacos(freezer/stockpile), Corn(freezer)*need to buy lettuce
WEDNESDAY--Stuffed Shells(stockpile/freezer)*need to buy ricotta
THURSDAY--Easy Chicken Alfredo with Vegetables(freezer/stockpile)
FRIDAY--Battered Fish(freezer), Rice(stockpile), Veggie Melange(freezer)
SATURDAY--Chicken and Dumplings(freezer)
SUNDAY--Birthday Meal out-delayed a week
SNACKS/DESSERTS--Pineapple(stockpile), Brownies(stockpile), Birthday Cake(stockpile)

Last week I spent $40.37 on food/toiletries....$14.99 at the Independent Grocer, $25.38 at Rite-Aid.  Of course, after the rebates from Rite-Aid, the $25.38 is covered and then some.  For all intents and purposes, I spent $14.99 on food last week. I kept it under $20 like I had wanted.  1 quick trip to the small Grocery for milk, produce.  No stocking up at all this past week.
Are you shocked?   I am.lol

This week my shopping list consists of lettuce, parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese.  I'll probably get some things to use up some coupons expiring in Jan. if I find good prices/sales on those items as well.  And I need to hit up the Bread Outlet this week(did that today) and get deli sliced cheese for the Grilled Cheese Sandwich Teen.  I'm thinking $25 should cover all this plus milk.


Food Waste Report....I had to throw out about 1 cup of chicken meat picked off a carcass that the dog feeder didn't give to the doggies before it "turned the corner".  Otherwise, not a bad week for spoilage.

Check out ORGANIZING JUNKIE to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week.

Sluggy

2 More RITE-AID Runs & the END of JANUARY Totals....Big Moneymaker!

2 more runs to Rite-Aid Saturday.....

1/23  Saturday morning

2 x Nyquil/Dayquil on sale $3.99=$7.98
1 x Puffs Tissue=$2.49
2 x Clorox Bleach on sale $1.99=$3.98
1 x Secret Flawless Deodorant=$4.99
1 x Bayer Aspirin on sale=$1.99
SubTotal....$21.43

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Rite-Aid AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Nyquil/Dayquil ManuQ=$4.00
2 x $2/1 OTC Cough or Cold Meds Wellness CRT Q=$4.00
1 x FREE Puffs Tissue WYB2 Vicks=$2.49
2 x $1/1 Any Household Cleaner over $1 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Bayer Aspirin AdPerks IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$19.49

$21.43-$19.49=$1.94+$.12tax=$2.06 OOP

SCRebates qualified for.....$1 WYB 2 Clorox, $2 WYB 2 Secret Flawless(bought the other one yesterday)=$3.00
And $15.46 more toward BIL's P&G Visa Card Reward=$44.01

1/23 Saturday Evening

2 x Nyquil/Dayquil on sale $3.99=$7.98
1 x Puffs Tissue=$2.49
2 x Clorox Bleach on sale $1.99=$3.98
2 x Doritos on sale $2.49=$4.98 **Not Pictured**
1 x Pantene Gel Styler on sale=$3.00
1 x Bayer Aspirin on sale=$1.99
SubTotal....$24.42

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Rite-Aid AdPerks IPQ=$5.00
1 x $2/1 Nyquil/Dayquil ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1.50/1 Nyquil/Dayquil ManuQ=$1.50
2 x $2/1 OTC Cough or Cold Meds Wellness CRT Q=$4.00
1 x FREE Puffs Tissue WYB2 Vicks=$2.49
2 x $1/1 Any Household Cleaner over $1 Wellness IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Doritos AdPerks IPQ=$2.00
2 x $.50/1 Any Snack Item over .50¢ Wellness IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Pantene Styler ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Any Hair Care Item over $1 Wellness IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Bayer Aspirin AdPerks IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$23.99

$24.42-$23.99=$.43 OOP

UPDATE--I just noticed that the Clorox SCR can be done twice, so this Clorox purchase adds another $1 to BIL's  SCR total.
That additional $1 SCR now makes this purchase a $.57 Moneymaker!

The P&G purchases on these 2 receipts bring BIL's total over $50, so he qualifies for the $15 Visa Card now. (Since the P&G SCR runs for another 2 weeks(into the Feb. SCR period), I could still raise the BIL's Visa Card to a $35 if we make $40 more in qualifying purchases in this time period.)

I know, I know.....I've been spending a LOT of time at Rite-Aid and even IF you have one near you and you do the deals there, I am figuring everyone is pretty tired of reading me blabbing on about Rite-Aid.
But Really!....tell me what other store you can walk into and spend .43¢ and get over $30 worth of stuff on a regular basis And then have them send you back enough money in rebates that you end up making money to shop there?!?!
Wags and CVS have good deals and you can have a low or zero OOP & get back ECBs and RRs but that's only Cash if you spend it there.  You can do well at those 2 drug stores too but except for once or twice, I have never gotten paid a similarly large amount to shop with them like I have gotten straight cash monies back at Rite-Aid in the last few months.  I think with taking multiple stacking types of Qs(Manu or IPs, AdPerks, $x off $x total IPs, In-ad Store, Wellness, & now Game of Life Qs)Rite-Aid by far can be more lucrative than the others.  Heck, I've used 3 times the number of Qs as items in an order at Rite-Aid and it's all perfectly ok with the store.  I just stay out of the negative at the register when paying.  Going negative(which I could very easily do most transactions)is something they can't handle.lol
Add in that I have 2, count 'em 2 Rite-Aids nearby that are so darn coupon friendly(not like the local Wags and CVS)and I'm just living in high cotton!

The FINAL Monthly January SCR Period OOP(before rebates)is.....$70.20

Money I am getting back--
Single Check Rebates qualified for(both persons)......$76.48
Other Rebates qualified for with Rite-Aid Purchases(Kraft,Olays, Lotions).....$91.23
Game of Life Winnings.....$2.00(well, at least it's something!lol)

Rite-Aid Gift Card.....$5.00
Visa Prepaid Cards.....$50.00 

A total of $169.71 Cash and $55 in Rite-Aid Gift/Visa Cards.

That's a $99.51 MONEYMAKER for January!
Plus $55 in Gift/Visa Cards.
And my guesstimate, if all the excess I purchased sells at the flea market, there will be another $150 ready cash to add to my Total profit for Jan.


Sluggy

Not only is my Blog Boring, My 2010 GIVEAWAYS ARE BORING!

So I got this idea from Happy Mom of 5(check it out-her blog button is on my right sidebar).....and she in turn got the idea from someone else's blog(sorry, I can't recall whom or I would rep you).  I thought it was a neat idea.

I am going to host a Whole Year of Giveaways in 2010!

I'm calling it.....
SLUGGY'S BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY!!

And here is what you can win.....

And just WHAT IS THAT, I hear you ask??
It's the inside of a USPS Priority mail box of course!

It's empty just now.....
But it won't be when you win it!

Here's what I am going to do.

I am taking a Flat Rate mailing box.
And I will add prizes to it as the weeks go along and I'll post pictures of what I have added, when I add it.
And when it's full, I'll draw a name and one of my lucky readers wins whatever is in the box!

And just what are the prizes?
Glad you asked!

The prizes will be items I pick up in my couponing travels for free or almost free and/or samples I have requested from companies that I feel compelled to share with my readers.

These will NOT be company sponsored Giveaways!  No company will send me stuff to giveaway.
These boxes will be filled with items I have purchased myself.  Payment for the items and the postage is coming out of my pocket.  Ya see how much I must love y'all?lol


Now I have no clue how long it will take me to fill a box.  That will depend on how much/what deals I find and when.  We'll all get a handle on a timeline as we go along.

As soon as I ship off a Box to the Winner, I'll get another empty mailing box and start filling it and will continue doing this all year.

So what are the rules?
1.  You can enter 1 time per day.  I'll post that a New Box Giveaway is ready to start and then let the entering begin!
On the right side of my Blog, right at the top will be a LINK to the current Blog Post about the Giveaway  where you are to leave your entry/comment.


2.   Besides just saying, "Here's my entry" & leaving your email addy, you will have to post some kind of a comment in your entry.  Talk about an amazing deal you got that week, what a wonderful person you think I am(LOLOL), something that happened in your life, a goal you have or have attained, what your weather is like, a story or joke or a link to a website we might like.....just post Something!

3.  You MUST be a follower of my blog to enter AND when the Giveaway Winner is announced, you must STILL be a follower.  No following, entering and then unfollowing.  If the name I draw is not a follower,  then I will draw another winner.
If you don't know how to follow, just look on the right sidebar for where it says "followers" and there should be a FOLLOW BUTTON you can click on.  If you are still having problem, email me at slugmama@yahoo.com and I'll try to help you sign up to follow the blog.


4.  Extra Weekly Entries for Bloggers.  There are 2 ways to get an extra weekly entry.....blog about my Giveaway and/or put my blog on your blogroll.
You can do both of these each week or only do one.  Each will give you 1 extra entry.  
If you blog about the Giveaway, leave an extra comment and the link/url to your blog post.
If you put me on your blog roll, leave an extra comment and the url to your blog.

5.  Since the box is being mailed Priority FlatRate mail, you must live where this can be mailed to.....meaning only people with US mailing addresses.  Sorry if you are in Canada or overseas but I would need a home equity loan to pay the postage outside the USA.



6.  When the Prize Box is full,  I'll post a LAST CHANCE Post with the last date/time to enter for the current Giveaway.  After the Giveaway is closed,  I will use Random Generator to pick the Winner of the Giveaway.  

7.  After the Prize Box has been awarded and sent, I'll post a new Giveaway Post when a new Prize Box is ready.  Please wait until the new Giveaway Post is up to enter.


8. I reserve the right to change or amend the rules or end the Giveaways at any time.   It's my Giveaway so I'm in charge. ;-) 

I think that covers everything that needs covering.

So look for the 1st Prize Box Giveaway to begin soon!

Sluggy