October Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2010.
I have posted October's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2010.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in October.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom Totals information.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $11.89
Value $64.66

Savings  81.61%

BIG LOTS
OOP  $33.46
Value  $57.00
Savings  41.30%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $75.47

Qs/Ads  $51.91

Value  $124.42

Savings  39.35%

FAMILY DOLLAR
OOP  $10.00
Value  $19.00
Savings  47.40%

FARMSTAND
OOP  $32.70
Value  $84.60
Savings  61.35%

FOOD LION
OOP  $16.88
Qs/Ads  $11.07
Value   $27.95
Savings  39.60%

PRICE CHOPPER(Northeast)

OOP  $77.85

Qs/Ads  $207.06

Value    $284.91

Savings  72.68%

REDNER'S

OOP  $83.92
Qs/Ads  $115.20

Value  $199.12

Savings  57.86%

RITE AID
OOP $9.30 after cash refunds(whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads  $1,094.06

Value  $1,103.36

Savings  99.16% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

SAV-ALOT
OOP  $25.97
Qs/Ads  $20.29
Value  $46.26
Savings  43.86%

TURKEY HILL MINIMART
OOP   $2.96
Value  $2.96
Savings  0%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP  $31.60

Qs/Ads  $10.65

Value  $42.25

Savings   35.21%


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

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN SEPTEMBER
Home Depot/Behr Paint Rebate....$20.00

P&G/Back-to-School Olay Rebate....$10.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$30.99
Visine Maximum Redness TMF Rebate...$5.83
Subtotal........$72.82

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Rite-Aid Oral Care.....$10.00
Rite-Aid Kimberly/Clark....$10.00
Staples (Giveaway win)...$25.00
Subtotal....$45.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$117.82

COUPONS and FREEBIES
Advil.....Free Item Q
Cottonelle Wipes....Free Item Q
Greeting Cards(Giveaway win)...50 Free Cards
Kleenex.....Free Box
Pringles Chips.....Free Item Q x 2


My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, The Bakery Outlet at 81.61% and Price Chopper at 72.68%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$402.70

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1,653.79

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2,056.49

TOTAL Savings of..........80.42%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$72.82

TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$329.88
TOTAL Savings of..................................84%

This closes out the October spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-

I went waaaaay over on the budgeted $250 amount for the month, even after you add on the rebates received to offset the spending total.  Just so many good Catalina deals so I stocked up(think bacon).  It's nice to have 'wiggle room' in your monthly spending to take advantage of sales when they come around, without having to worry about being able to meet all your other bills.  Being frugal in other areas and living well below your monthly income gives you that freedom.

What's ahead for November 2010.....

Seeing as the freezer is stocked to the gills at the moment, we'll be eating down on the frozen items here this month.  Beyond onions, pumpkin, apples and peppers I didn't get to the farm early in October for more veggies to preserve and now it's too late.  Oh well....

I am keeping the November food budget at $250.  Though we won't need to spend the full budget amount, I will still pick up non-perishables if deals present themselves in November.  While we are good on flour and nuts, sugar is low so I'm looking for those baking sales to start.  I also might pick up items on sale now from the store that is running the gift certificate deal if you spend X amount by Nov. 14th.  Presently we are only 1/3 of the way to the $300 amount we need to get the certificate.  All other things being even(price this month or in Dec.)I'll buy it in Nov. to qualify toward the cert. instead of buying it in Dec.

As always, any rebates received in November will be added to the food budget to offset what we spend.

With ten months of the year behind us, we have averaged $194.27 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens + 2-3 pets.

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

Sluggy

What's in Your Wallet?.....Sluggy Style

I saw this over at REAL LIFE LIVING and if it's good enough for Annie Jones to blog about, it's good enough for me! ;-)

Here is my Ultra-Exciting Wallet!

 OOoooo!
Isn't it......brown?!?
And old?
And not very exciting?lol

Sort of like me....except for the brown part....

But Wait!  There's more.....

  Inside we have a Driver's License(it's under the flap so you can't see the lovely mug shot of me on it), 2 grocery store cards and a discount/clearance store card.  I generally operate off of the keyring grocery store card thingys and not the big cards but Hubs has my keyring cardlet for one of these and the other keyring cardlet won't scan anymore so I have to use the fullsized card.  All the other store cards(and there are a mess o' them!)are stowed away in the outside pocket of my purse.
To continue....I also have my 1 credit card(for gas purchases)and my ING card(which gets used like twice a year). 
Now we get to the exciting parts!!
There is a wad o' cash since that is how I always pay at the grocery store.
And there are 4 Rite-Aid Gift Cards(well one is a prepaid Visa but I got it from Rite-Aid), and they were all free from either previous SCR deals there or from Prescription transfers.  The top card has about $1.50 left on it(it started with $25).  I have used that particular card since September 14th to cover any Out of Pocket on transactions at Rite-Aid.  That's over 35 transactions since that date.  It's hard to spend $25 at Rite-Aid when your average OOP to put on a card is about $.75 a trip.lolol

I also have my very old Rita's Italian Ice card....Buy 10 Get 1 Free.  I am on Ice #4.  I may get that free Ice by, oh.....June of 2012 at the rate I buy them.lol

My wallet does have a change compartment. 
It is always jam packed.
It is also very dark in there and when I need change I have a hard time finding the correct coins.  My next coin compartment should come with a built-in light that goes on when you open it, like a closet.
Either that or I need eye transplants.

The best thing in my wallet though is that Dollar bill.
I received it in change somewhere about a month ago.  I noticed the writing on the back before I tucked it into the bill fold.
It says...."August 2010.  I'm everywhere you go baby!  You can run but you can't hide!  LOVE YA  Another day Clean & Sober  8 months & 9 months"
I folded and put this bill in my coin purse.
Why?
I find it very life affirming. 
There is someone out there, anonymous to me, who is doing the right thing.  Proud(I hope)of their accomplishment and living a 'real' life. 
They know where they came from and they know where they are going and by G*d, I hope they get there! And the least I can do is cheer them on.

Everytime I open my coin purse to search for a blasted nickel or a dime in that dark hole I frown.  Then I see that dollar and smile.  And I think about what this person has accomplished, what they have changed and I can't in good conscience continue to gripe about not being able to see my change.
And I silently give up a little prayer for them that they make it through to 9 months & 10 months and beyond.

So dear readers, what's in YOUR wallet this grey November day?

Sluggy

Hormel Compleats....a Review of My Lunch

So a couple of weeks ago I purchased a bunch of these Hormel Compleats at Rite-Aid, since with coupons and store sale and +Up Rewards I received back, they were basically free.
I had gotten them with the thought that Hubs could take them to work for lunch, since they do have access to a microwave in the cafeteria.  It would save us some $$ if he didn't have to buy lunch everyday and could eat these instead once in a while, right?

So I thought I would play the guinea pig and try one before I insisted he take them for lunch.  I chose the reduced-calorie Sesame Chicken meal.
Looks fairly good, doesn't it?

Now let's get a close-up of that dish, shall we?.....

Now let's take a gander at what this Sesame Chicken dish really looks like.....

Mmmmm.....
Makes you wonder how many Hormel would sell if they put THIS PICTURE on the outside of the package?

I'm gonna guess about.....zero packages! lol
If you can get past the dog food appearance(just shut your eyes and eat it!), it doesn't taste that bad.  Much better than it looks is what I'd say!

The 'sauce' is a tad sweet for my taste but acceptable.
The worst thing is the texture of the noodles.  They are waaaaay overcooked and almost at the "mush" stage.  This dish would be alot better if Hormel didn't boil the noodles to death before adding the veggies and sauce.  On a better note, there were much more hunks of chicken than I expected and the pieces were firm and meaty.  You could tell you were eating chicken.
I believe that if you dressed this Sesame Chicken meal up with rice, or chinese noodles or even more stir-fry type veggies(or all 3), it wouldn't be a half bad lunch meal.

In the end, I have mixed feelings about this Hormel product.  It's quick and easy to fix but lacking a bit in the flavor/presentation.  At free, the price was right but doesn't totally overcome the shortcomings.
I doubt if I'd pay money for this product unless the other varieties are better.

Have you ever tried these Hormel Compleats?  How was your experience with them?  Leave a comment and give us your feedback!

Sluggy

A Good Fall Day....at The Farm

I finally got a chance to get to a local farmstand last week to pick up some produce before the Winter sets in here.
It was a nice sunny, albeit chilly, day.
I hit a roadblock, literally, before I got there.  Seems PENNDOT also thought it was a nice day and chose the intersection of the road the farm is located on, where I needed to turn onto it as a great place to repair and replace the asphalt road...ugh!
So I had to find a new, scenic route to get to the farm.

But with only a short detour I did hook up with the road I needed to be on.
Usually by the end of October our trees are well past the fall peak color time and naked due to the winds.  But there have been little wind or rain this Fall, so there was some pretty foliage, like this tree I saw on the way....

It was much more striking in person I think.

Our destination is up ahead....

They have a big enclosed Pumpkin Pen here in back of the farmstand, where you can choose your squash.  That part is geared toward the little kids and it's decorated and there are things for the wee ones to do.  In order to draw the customers in, you have to cater to the kiddies....

Oh look!  One of those rare "squash-epillars"!

I hear they are hard to find in captivity....

Here's a "Self-Service" Pumpkin grader.  Find the hole your gourd fits through and pay that price.
I was in search of pumpkins for pie making so I got a wagon and help picking out my selections in a different section of the pen.  Can't you just imagine me pulling a red wagon loaded up with orange gourds?lol  I needed a nap when I got home...ugh

Instead of guessing the weight on this bad boy, they should have had a "Guess How Many Pies He Will Make?" contest. lol

After procuring my batch of pumpkins, a bushel of onions, a big batch of apples and red peppers, it was time to go pet the baby animals....

This guy let me snap his photo but wasn't interested once he found out I didn't have a snack for him.

Another standoffish customer.....what's this world coming to when the petting zoo animals are worldly and jaded?

This calf was very friendly though....and so soft since his long shaggy winter coat was coming in.
His horns were sprouting too so I don't think he'll be in the petting zoo again next year.lol
They also had a brooder of baby chicks.  Oh, to be able to bring a few of those home to raise my own eggs.  Someday......

And here's the brains of the operation....the one who keeps everyone in line and keeps things running smoothly--the farm dog.
This old boy followed me everywhere and then sat keeping guard on my car until I was ready to leave.

Business started to pick up for the afternoon as I left.  I was glad to see more support for this local farm!
I opted to take an alternate route home since the PENNDOT guys would still be stretching out the 2 hour asphalt job for the rest of the day.

Just some scenery I passed along the way home.

Not much color now but it sure beats staring at the 4 walls in the house, right?

There's nothing like a leisurely drive down a country road on a sunny day to clear your head.  Especially when you know by next month, the weather will be keeping you homebound for the forseeable future.
And the bonus is that you can bring home a bunch of fresh local produce that's a more frugal deal than buying the stuff the grocery stores truck in from much further away!

Now who's coming here to help me make pumpkin puree?

Sluggy

Garden Harvest....Picking Before the Hard Frost

I had Hubs go pick what was still left in the garden, except for the Collards on Sunday morning.  We experienced the first frost of the season this past week so all the plants(besides the collards and eggplant)are dead.
Here is our next to last harvest for the year.....

That's a mess of jalapenos, some green bell and Italian roasting peppers.
The vine holding our last lone butternut squash had a surprise baby squash on it.  The baby is only about 4 inches tall so we'll see if we actually get anything edible from it once it's peeled and all.lol

I had picked about 14 tomatoes, the last for the year, in between this harvest and the one mid-October.  I used some when I made a batch of fresh pasta sauce, but things got away from me here and I ended up letting some of them go bad, so back into the garden bed they went with the rest of the compost.  I'm not counting those in the garden totals, nor the ones that went into the sauce since I didn't think to weigh them first.

Update on the Eggplants....
The plants are still alive and kicking.  Since the temperatures have dropped significantly here in the last few days, I'm not sure how much more time I've bought those eggplants to grow but anything helps, right?

I'll be picking them in the coming week I think, along with the collard greens.
*Update*
I just went out to check on the eggplants and the temps. last night did the plants in so I had to pick them.  More on them in a day or so....

This Harvest----
56.4 oz.
TOTAL....3 lbs.  8.4 oz.

Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....91 lbs.  3.02 oz.

Sluggy

You Are on My List Rite-Aid....

And that is not the GOOD list!
I just got off the phone with Rite-Aid Customer Service and I am one annoyed customer.
The "Diabetes Buy $30, Get a $5 +Up Reward" Deal advertised in this and last week's Sales flyer, as well as the Nov. SCR Directory is the issue.
Seems when you purchase qualifying items for this +Ups they don't "track", meaning you can't buy some things this time and more things next time and the computer keeps track and spits out the +Ups when you hit $30 anytime during the 3 month qualifying period.
Na na na!
You have to purchase all $30 worth of qualifying items in ONE TRANSACTION!
Now, I don't MIND having to buy it all in one fell swoop BUT.....
it would be NICE if Rite-Aid would make this RULE CLEAR, wouldn't it?

This +Up Reward Deal is promoted in the November Single Check Rebate Directory.....page 10, go check it out!
First of all, I don't know WHY it's in there as it's NOT a SCR but it is....
Nowhere does it state that qualifying products must be purchased in one transaction!
In fact, this quote from the directory seems to infer that you do NOT need to buy it all at once.....
"Your +Up Reward will print on your Rite-Aid receipt after $30 purchase requirement is met." 
Nothing about, "Must purchase items in same transaction." or anything to that effect.
Misleading at best, deceitful at worst.....

I'm so cranky and annoyed at the moment that perhaps I need to go return every stinkin' one of the $41.87 worth of items I bought that qualified me for that +Up Reward!

1 little $5 +Ups and I'd be a happy camper Rite-Aid, continuing to promote your brand and shop in your stores.....
But nooooo!

Ya let me down Rite-Aid.
What can I say?

Sluggy

Buy Coffee, Support The Troops

One of our favorite gifts to buy here at Chez Sluggy during the Holidays is bags of coffee.  Hubs as well as most of his siblings love coffee.  My kids love coffee too.
A bag of good coffee is a great gift for folks like the mailman or my favorite PO clerk.
Think teacher or co-worker gift too.

Though I am NOT a coffee drinker(imagine that!), every year I darken the local Dunkin Donuts store's door and buy lots of bags of coffee for gifting.

I just saw that Dunkin Donuts is running a promotion from November 1st until November 14th.
For every 2 1lb. bags of their coffee you buy either at a Dunkin Donuts store or through their online store, they will donate 1 bag to the US military through the USO.(up to 100,000 lbs.)
Now if DD will start their seasonal deal of a special price on the bags of coffee they run every Holiday Season, this could be a sweet deal for everyone.....more coffee for your dollar and free coffee for the troops!

Go check it out HERE.

Sluggy

Simplyfying the Holidays....What I am Doing or Not Doing

So last time we talked about making a Plan.
A conscious decision on what and how we plan on celebrating during the upcoming Holiday Season.
Cutting back and just partaking in those rituals and activities that we have the time and money to afford, and that we truly enjoy.

Here is my Prioritized List.

Traveling to visit with Family.
Sending a few Holiday Cards.
Shopping for and exchanging gifts with family.
Cooking Christmas dinner.
Charity.
Baking cookies and pies.
Christmas Tree.
A Christmas eve meal and show or movie.

*Our actual plans(if we are traveling or not mostly)are still up in the air at this point in time but to me, the being with family & friends at Christmas is most important. 
*So I will reach out via cards this year to those I can't physically be with during the Season.
*While we aren't all about the getting stuff, we do exchange gifts and I, er...I mean "Santa" fills everyone's stocking with goodies.
*If we don't travel, I'll cook Christmas dinner and host the meal...if we travel I'll help whoever is cooking or provide edibles for the meal.
*We'll donate time/money through some organization as we do every year and hopefully we can get the kids involved since they are in more need of a life lesson than us grownups. ;-)
*The baking will be a multi-person activity and not just me thundering around the kitchen complaining about all this work and that no one is offering to help me.
*The tree will be put up but the extent of 'bling' also strewn about the house will depend on how the travel plans mesh out and if anyone else here is interested in helping out with that.
*On Christmas eve we have a tradition of a meal out together and then a family activity.....going to a show of some kind or a Holiday movie.  If we can't find something to agree on we'll sit home with some of the cookies we baked and didn't give away and watch a Holiday movie on the tv/dvd player.

I don't have young children, so there are no additional activities like Taking them to Talk to Santa, school/friend's/organizations kid parties, buying teacher/classmate gifts and such.  Not having to contend with all that sure cuts down on the time/energy/money commitments at the Holidays.
And I don't work outside the home so I don't have office parties, gift exchanges, etc. vying for my time/money.
Add in that we aren't big party throwing people either and we don't have church affiliated activities to contend with.
The list I end up with is a pretty modest one of stuff to get done by Dec. 25th and I can easily fit it all into my regular weekly "To Do" list without driving myself insane with the added work and stress if I plan ahead and work it all in to the next 7 weeks a little bit at a time.

So are you motivated to make a "To Do" list and make it a reasonable length?
If you find you have just too much to accomplish and not enough time/energy/money, try cutting down or cutting out just one thing that you have to do this Holiday Season.
What would you cut out of your "To Do" List this year and why?
Speaking of stress, next time we'll talk about the Cost of the Holidays and ideas on how to lower the expenses that pile up during this Season.

Sluggy

The Lost (Rite-Aid) Weekend

I spent alot of time at Rite-Aid this past weekend.
First I had lots of goodies still to bring home from last week's sales ad so I did 3 transactions on Saturday evening.
And I was right back up there Sunday afternoon doing 3 more transactions for the new sales week.  I had lots of coupons that were expiring on Sunday(Oct. 31st)so if I was going to do some deals, it had to be on Sunday.

*If you don't care about the "particulars", skip down to the Grand Totals at the bottom.

First Saturday's deals....I won't go into excrutiating details on these since the sales week is over for this stuff.

 With sales, Qs and +Up Rewards, this lot cost me $.23+$.04 tax, so $.27 OOP put on a free Rite-Aid gift card.  I used $8 +Ups and received $10 +Ups back(Chili, NYC, Halls).

Then I did this.....

Select Gillette men's items gave a $10 +Up Reward when you purchased $30 or more(before coupons).
With my 20% wellness discount the Gels were $3.83 and the Pro Series Washes were $6.39, making my pre-coupon total $30.66.
I had $20 in Qs and used a $10+Up from the Halloween candy I bought earlier in the week, which brought my total to $.66 to put on my RA gift card.
I received another $10 +Up.

I finished off the evening with this transaction.....

More Chili, more NYC Cosmetics, another Lady Speed Stick Deo, 4 more Lipton 1 Liter Teas(I had $.35 tearpad Qs-expiring Sunday-from a different Rite-Aid...no tearpads in this store).
Having 2 Flu Booklets, I was about to use 2 Peroxide Qs and 2 Dial Hand Soap Qs.  Each of these two items was on BOGO sale, so after Qs the Dial Hand Soaps were $1.29 for 2(2x$1/1 Qs off retail of $3.29)and the Peroxides were $.49 for both(2x$.50/1 Qs off retail of $1.49).
Total before Qs was $23.31.  After using a $4 off $20 and assorted coupons on each item, the total was $11.71 with tax.  I used $11 in +Up Rewards and put $.71 on my RA gift card.
I received $12 in +Ups back(Chili, NYC).
This transaction should have been $1 less but I picked up a $2.99 NYC lip gloss instead of a $1.99 one by mistake when I bought the 4 lip cosmetics I chose.

All in all, Saturday's transactions cost me $1.64 on my gift card and I used $30 +Up Rewards.  I received $32 in +Up Rewards.
So I gained $2 Ups in the course of these transactions.



As if that wasn't enough to make your eyes cross, here is Sunday's haul....

3 Tide 18 ct. Stain Booster thingies, on sale for $5.88.  I used the $3/1 Q that was expiring Sunday(10/31) and they each gave a $1 +Up, making them $1.88 ea. after Qs and +Ups.
2 Febreeze Warmers on sale for $2.49.  I used the $3/1 Q that was expiring Sunday and they each gave a $1 +Up, making them -$1.51 after Qs and +Ups.
1 St. Ives Scrub on sale for $3.99.  I used a $1/1 Q and will receive a $3 SCRebate on this item, making it -$.01 after Qs and SCR.
My total was over $25 so I could use a $5 off $25 Q and I used $5 in +Ups, making my grand total $.78 with tax(put on my gift card).  I received $5 in Ups back(3 x $1Tide and 2 x $1Febreeze).

2 Kendall AMD bandages on sale for $3.50.  I used 2 $2.50/1 Qs from the Allyou website, which made it $2 for both.  These will qualify for a $3 SCRebate so it's eventually a $1 moneymaker.
2 Folger's coffee on sale for $2.99.  I used 2 $1/1 MaunQs, which made the price $3.98 for both.  These gave me 2 x $1 +Ups back, so I ended up paying $1.98 for both( or .99¢each).
The Oral-B Toothbrush was a $12.49 clearance find behind the other Oral B electric Toothbrushes on the rack.  I used a $10/1 Oral-B Vitality Toothbrush Q from the 9/26 P&G insert(expired 10/31)and paired it with a Wellness IPQ for $1 off $10 of any Oral Card purchase, making the toothbrush cost $1.49 in the end.
My total before Qs was over $25 so I could use a $5 off $25 Q.
After all coupons and using $2 in +Ups, my OOP was $.57 with tax, which I put on my gift card.
I received $2 +Ups back, one for each Folger's coffee purchase.

And I finished up my trip with this transaction....

2 more Kendall AMD bandages, yadda, yadda....after SCR it's a $1 moneymaker.
1 bag of Dog Chow on sale for $4.99.  I used a $2/1 IPQ.  I got a $1 +Up so after that, the puppies can continue to eat for $1.99.
2 Febreeze Air Fresheners on sale for $2.49.  I used 2 $1/1 Qs and they produced a $1 +Ups each.  After +Ups these were $.49 each.
4 more Lipton Tea 1 liters with Wellness disc and $.35 Q cost $.44 each.
The Crest Toothpaste was on sale for $2.27.  I used a $1/1 ManuQ(10/10 P&G insert)and stacked it with a $1/1 Crest Pro-Health Paste Flu Booklet Q which dropped the price to $.27 after coupons.
The Trident gum did NOT ring up BOGO as the ad stated so instead of a $6.97 after Qs total and using $6 in +Ups, the total was $7.86 after Qs and I had to use $7 in +Ups and I obtained a $.89 cash refund for the difference in price for the gum.
I received $3 in +Ups back($1 Dog Food, $2 Febreeze)and the bandages qualify BIL's account for a $3 SCRebate.

With the Kendall bandages purchase I should have gotten a $5 +Ups for the Diabetes Deal(Between 9/26-12/25/10 purchase $30 in select items, receive a $5 +Up Rewards).
Between the Bayer AM I purchased on Friday and the Kendall today, I was well over the $30 mark, yet no +Ups printed.  I suppose I'll be on the phone with Corporate sometime today.....bleh.

Totals for Sunday.....
Spent $2.21 on gift card.
Received $.89 cash refund.
Spent $14 in +Up Rewards.
Received $10 in +Up Rewards back.
Qualified for $9.00 in SCRs.

I'm down $4 +Ups but up $9 cash in SCRs so we'll call it $5 in overage for these 3 transactions.

THESE 6 TRIPS
Total Spent....$3.85(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$245.02
SCR qualified for...$9.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$10.00
+Up Rewards spent...$14.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$37.00


GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......11
Total Spent....$6.59 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$503.33
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 10/24....$24.00
+Up Rewards spent....$28.00
+Up Rewards earned....$41.00
+Up Rewards left....$37.00

Sluggy

Boo!

There!
Did I scare ya?

Darkness made our decorations look a little bit better.
#2 son dressed up and went out with his buddy but the buddy had to go home fairly early so #2 continued on with the 'candy looting' mission.
What a brave soul!
That's what sugar motivation will do for ya!lol

We were hit hard by the zombie children and often and were down to our last spare bag of chocolate when curfew time rolled around.
That was a squeaker!

#2 son refused to let me take his photo in his get-up....what a party pooper! (He went as Garth from Wayne's World btw...his buddy had been Wayne.)
For being a spoil sport, I told him I was posting this photo of him at Halloween when he was 4....

He's the one in PINK.....
Yes, he went as Kimberly the Pink Power Ranger for FOUR YEARS!
And it was his own choice.
He was in love with the Pink Ranger....

Does this make me a "Scary Mommy"? lol

Hope your night was special!

Sluggy

Happy Halloween....Are You Ready?

Except for the string of pumpkin shaped lights framing the front porch, this is all we could muster up to greet the Trick-or-Treaters this evening.
My dying potted mums(gee, the purpled ones never even bloomed fully before the cold got them)and 2 'fake' light-up jack o'lanterns.

We are pathetic....

No one got the 'umph' this year to get a real live pumpkin and carve it.  The teens are at the age where they hardly care about this kind of thing anymore....the Daughter has to work and the #2 son just wants the "Halloween Loot"....perferably Twix bars.

But our lack of Halloweenie spirit won't deter all the little and not-so little hobgoblins in our neighborhood from darkening our door as soon as the sun dips below the horizon this year. 
You see, we have a "rep"....as in reputation around here.  We are on the list of "best houses to hit" for Trick-or-Treating.
That's because we give out BIG CANDY!
No little bite-sized pieces of candy or even worse, that generic stuff in the plain wrappers.
We give out full sized candy bars and full packs of gum.  And this year, we also have, for the lucky few, KING SIZED candy bars, thanks to Rite-Aid's candy deals.
We get hit early and hit up often for "loot" and often have to turn out the light because we run out before the parade of kids is done for the night.
I would go broke if I had to pay full retail price for all that candy!
Sigh....What I do to be popular for one night a year....lol

And when I got home from my trip to the farm on Thursday with eight pie pumpkins Hubs started stroking his chin and sizing them up as carving material.  I looked him in his beady eyes and told him these are not decorating gourds, so no one lays a piece of cutlery on these babies unless the end result is to make pie, so back off Michelangelo! 


Here's hoping that only the nice ghouls and goblins surround you this year.
Happy Halloween!

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid This Week

So no surprise I made a couple more trips to Rite-Aid this week, right?lol

There are also 3 12-packs of Mountain Dew that are not pictured here.

I won't bore you with the nit-picky details on this one since it turned out to be a colossal mess!
The employees were super busy and one started my order and another finished it.
Then things rang up crazy amounts and add on that the meter got price checked and then NOT rung up....so I didn't pay for it and had crazy overage and couldn't make heads or tails of my receipt when I got home....and then I had to schlep everything back to the store and get it all fixed and actually PAY for the meter and pray that whomever was on that night didn't think I stole the meter, or even think I was a nutjob when I tried to explain it all.  I was even tempted to just put the meter back on the shelf and not try to explain all this because I didn't want the cashier to get into trouble for just making a mistake, but the meters are right under the pharmacy window so there was no way I could have taken it out of a bag and put it back on the shelf without someone noticing.

Oy vey...what a mess!
Let's just say I spent $.50 OOP on the rest of the stuff and put it on my gift card in the end, shall we?

3 things here I want to mention....
1. The Colgate Sensitive, though it is the correct size to qualify for the BOGO sale this week and nothing in the ad disqualifies it from being part of that sale, does NOT ring up BOGO.  I didn't feel like fighting about it at the store level(goodness knows I don't NEED more toothpaste personally!lol), nor did I feel like calling Corporate on this, so I just returned it(something I hardly ever EVER do!).  Well, since I was there to explain my ...ahem, stolen meter and pay for it, adding in a return on the same receipt(that the meter should have been on)just complicated the devil out of this bizarre transaction. lolol
2. The Hormel Chili is indeed giving an unexpected/not advertised $1 +Up Reward.  Add in that the AdPerks/VV Chili coupon is NOT serialized(meaning you can print and use as many as the store will let you at one time-1 coupon per can)and your can of chili on sale this week will cost you $.75 and give you back a $1 +Ups.
3. The Maxell CD pack(which I had to scramble to add to my order because I "thought" I had misjudged my couponage and turned out to be the meter not getting rung up)were a good deal for me with my 20% off discount.  However.....next week this item, reg. retail in my store of $21.99, is on sale chainwide for $12.99, so a much better deal than the 20% wellness discount cost.  And if you have a Flu Booklet, there is a $3 coupon in there for this item, PLUS there is a $3 Single Check Rebate for November on this item.  So your $21.99 price CD pack will cost you a mere $6.99 when all is said and done.
Sweet!

So let's move on to Transaction #2 from the following day when I went back after the truck from the warehouse brought restocks.....

Let me explain that I have been in search of the Alka-Seltzer Fast Powder Packs all week.  They are on sale this week for $5, there is a $3/1 coupon from this past Sunday's coupon inserts, each one gives a $2 +Up, plus if you purchase $30 in select Bayer products this week, the register also spits out a $10 +Up.  So theorectically, if you purchase 6 of the elusive Alka-Setlzers, use 6 $3/1 coupons and a $5 off $25 purchase coupon, you'll pay $7 OOP and receive $22 in +Up Rewards.
The key factor here is IF you can find 6 packages of this item.
Needless to say, no Rite-Aid had enough of this product to satisfy demand this week and all the shelves around here have been bare of this product since roughly 9:05am on last Sunday morning after the sale started.

And our store did NOT get any restock of this item.
UGH!
So I procured a raincheck for 7 boxes...that's how many I would need to do this deal with my 20% wellness discount.
And let me tell you.....trying to explain to the cashier how she needed to write this raincheck out made me NEED this product immediately!
What a mess.....
She sort of got it, and wrote it for a sales price of $3 per package since that's the price AFTER the +Ups it won't be giving after this week.  But then I tried to explain that since I would be buying 7 and my total would be over $30(before coupons and the +Ups she was discounting from the price), I should also get $10 off the total purchase.
Her eyes glazed over and she couldn't wrap her brain around how to add that into the price I was to be charged, so she wrote, "Spend $30 Get $10 Up.  Figure out at time of purchase." and signed it.
Ah, perfect!  Pass the headache onto whoever rings these puppies up in the future.....
It probably is all for naught though, since the chances of finding 7 of these items on the shelf in the next month before the raincheck expires is highly improbable.

So I went ahead and did a Bayer Deal using what was on the shelf.  I wanted to try these Bayer AM things anyway, since they are aspirin and caffeine, which is basically what "migraine" labeled formulations contain and migraine promoted products are pricey.  With my wellness discount, coupons and the +Up Deal, it was better than free.

4 x Bayer AM ($7.29 reg. retail)w/wellness discount $5.83=$23.32
1 x Bayer 50 ct.(also part of the deal)w/wellness discount=$4.55
1 x Alka-Seltzer Cold on sale=$4.99
SubTotal...$32.86

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
5 x $3/1 select Bayer product In-Store Ad=$15.00
2 x $2/1 Bayer AM ManuQ=$4.00
2 x $1.50/1 Bayer AM IPQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Bayer product ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Alka-Seltzer product IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Alka-Seltzer product AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Alka-Seltzer product Peelie on package=$1.00
Coupon Total....$31.00

$32.86-$31.00=$1.86
I used a $1 +Up, so $1.86-$1.00=$.86 Out of Pocket put on a Rite-Aid gift card.
And I received a $10 +Up Rewards.

Spent 1 +Ups, got 10 back, making me 9 "Up" for this transaction.

*A word about stacking a ManuQ, a StoreQ and a PeelieQ on one item.
Technically Peelie coupons ARE Manufacturer's coupons and you can't use 2 manufacturerer's coupons on a single item.
However, at Rite-Aid you can stack a peelie on the product with your own Manu. coupon.
Now I don't know if this is a chainwide policy or not.
But it is done in this region at all the Rite-Aid stores I have bought anything at.  The first time it happened, the cashier was the one who noticed the peelie and went to scan it for me.  I reminded her that I had already used a ManuQ on the product and she said that they were told to let customers use any peelies on the products they were buying at the point of purchase, regardless if they had other coupons OR if the peelie coupon was past it's expiration date.  This policy has been confirmed to me by employees at two additional stores I shop at since that happened.
I am curious to know if any of my readers who shop Rite-Aid have encountered this policy for themselves?  Please leave a comment if you have.

Anyway, back to the numbers....I won't add in the toothpaste that I returned or the meter debacle to the value of items.

THESE TRIPS Total Spent....$1.36(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$78.49+$41.34=$119.83
SCR qualified for...$3.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$15.00
+Up Rewards spent...$1.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$39.00


GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......5
Total Spent....$2.74 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$258.31
SCR qualified for....$3.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 10/24....$24.00
+Up Rewards spent....$14.00
+Up Rewards earned....$32.00
+Up Rewards left....$39.00

Sluggy

Simplifying the Holidays....Define YOUR Celebration

So what do I mean exactly when I talk about simplifying the Holidays?

What I mean is to make a deliberate plan of action this Holiday Season on how to fill your time, keeping in mind that there are only 24 hours in a day and realize that you can't do everything that is available to do, and you can't spend beyond your means.
By cutting out some activities this Holiday time, you will have more time for enjoying the ones you choose to keep and everyone around you will feel calmer for the slower pace you proceed at.

The specifics of Simplifying your Holiday Season will mean something different to every person because after all, everyone has their own likes and dislikes, family situations and amount of cash to spend available to them.  I can't tell you HOW or WHAT to include or not to include in your Holidays....that is your job to decide.  I can bring up some topics to explore and get you thinking about what you do now for the Holidays and/or consider changes you may want to make in your life.

But before you can enjoy your Holiday Season, you need to make a plan, a master list of how you plan on celebrating this year.  Even though you have a plan, remember that you still need to be flexible and open to changes if "life happens".

Yah, I know it's still Oct. but sit down and really think about what you want your Holiday Season to be like before the Yuletide craziness starts.

Ask yourself....What do you like about this time of year?
If you could celebrate exactly how you wanted and not how everyone else thought you should celebrate, what would you do/participate in this year?

Is it the shopping and hunting for just the right gift that you love?
Or do you think about the shopping & gifting part is just way too much hassle and money spent for no good reason?

Do you like to decorate.....the tree, the rooms, the lights outside and everything else you can think of to drape garland over?
Or do you prefer a few well placed festive touches in your home or nothing special at all?

Are you all about throwing or attending parties?
Or do you prefer to visit one on one with close friends or like to hold up on the couch watching old movies alone with your dog, sipping on a mug of egg nog?

Are you the Holiday baking Queen and your kitchen emits scrumptious smells as you create food with love?
Or do you keep your favorite bakery or caterer on speed dial for your eating pleasure?

Face it--if you tried to do Everything at the Holidays, you would kill yourself from the work and the stress.
You would not enjoy anything because you would not be present in the here and now.  You would be going through the motions alright, but your mind would be thinking ahead to the next thing you needed to cross off your list...your very long list!

People set themselves up for failure by trying to do it all at the Holidays.  There are only so many hours in the day you can devote to the added strain involved in craving out time for celebrating.
The laundry, the cooking dinner, the cleaning, the regular errands of life, the homework supervision still needs to get done.  Now you have to add all those Holiday things on top of your life?
*Sigh*
When you try to do too much, nothing will live up to your expectations.
It's better for you and your family if you pick and chose specific activities and rituals to participate in this year instead of rushing head first into Holiday overload!
It will help restore a bit of sanity to your life by scaling back the scope of your plans.

So find a few quiet minutes in your day in the coming week and realistically figure out what shape your Holiday Season will take.
Choose the rituals you feel speak the Holiday's language for you....

Send cards?
Give gifts?
Bake treats or special meals?
Parties?
Church/Synagogue services and fellowship?
Christmas Tree...Deck the Halls?
Volunteer or Charity Donations?
Holiday Trips?
Special Activities with the young people in your life?
Caroling?
Winter Sports?

Don't forget to consult your spouse or significant other too!  Hash out a list for the Holiday Season that is realistic and that you both can live with.

I suggest once you have a list, to go back and number the items on it so you set up a Priority system.
That way you have a clear idea of which items are more important than others and if time runs short and you find you can't do everything on that list, you know which items are the most important to accomplish in the time you have available.

Next time I'll share my Holiday To-Do List with you.
Feel free to share your List or any Questions/Ideas for me in the Comments section.

Sluggy

I Want Caaaandyyyy!....Back to Rite-Aid for Chocolate

I still had some BOGO candy bar Qs in my pocket so I went traipsing back to Rite-Aid yesterday....

I won't bore you with the nit-picky figures.
Total before Coupons....$31.11
Coupon Total.....$21.03
Used $10 +Ups received for buying last mound of candy bars....$10.00
$31.11-$21.03-$10.00+Up=$.08 Out of Pocket.
And that 8¢ was put on my handy dandy free Rite-Aid gift card.

I should have bought 1 less $.50 candy bar and the OOP should have been $.18 but....
the cashier rang the 1st BOGO candy bar coupon for $1.59 and not the max. amount it allowed which was .99¢.  I caught it and told her so she rang the rest up correctly but she didn't go back and change that 1st one.
So I had an extra 50¢ to cover and threw in another 50¢ candy bar.
Oh, I received another $10 +Up Rewards for buying another batch of $25 worth of chocolate/candy advertising in the sales flyer.
So I basically just rolled that $10 +Up into more free candy bars and added a $1 +Up for buying the 2 Oatmeal boxes!

My teens are just thrilled to pieces with me lately!....I wonder why?  ;-)

Then I went back to the local store to pick up my Rxs last night and got this.....

2 x Quaker Oatmeal on sale $2.50=$5.00
2 x Pistaschios on sale $2.99=$5.98
2 x Colgate Toothpaste on sale BOGO=$3.79
1 x Lady Speed Stick Deodorant on sale=$2.95
1 x Aveeno Shampoo on sale=$5.99
2 x NYC cosmetics(1 Lip Gloss/1 Nail Polish) on sale BOGO=$1.99
SubTotal...$25.70

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 from activating my wellness acct. online IPQ=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Quaker Oatmeal IPQ=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Pistachios IPQ(all you website)=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Colgate Total Toothpaste ManuQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Colgate product AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Speed Stick AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Speed Stick Flu Booklet Q=$1.00
1 x $4/1 Aveeno Hair item AdPerks/VV IPQ=$4.00
1 x $1/1 NYC item IPQ(all you website)=$1.00
Coupon Total....$22.00

$25.70-$22.00=$3.70
Used $3 in +Ups....$3.70-$3.00=$.70 Out of Pocket put on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $6 in +Up Rewards back....($1 WYB 2 Quaker, 2 x $1 Pistachios, $1 Aveeno, 2 x $1 NYC items)=$6.00
So I spent $3 +Ups and received $6 back.


A few comments....
*There is a AdPerks/VV Q that can be stacked with the In-ad Q to make the Deodorant $.99 OOP. The Deodorant Q is NOT serialized and can be printed and used more than once...but you have to print the number you want to have at once since you can't go back and print them again later once you have printed them.  The non-serialized Qs end with 122510(that's the expiration date for the Nov. viewed AdPerk/VV Qs).

*The Buy 1 NYC item, Get 1 NYC nail polish prints 1 $1 +Up Rewards for each item, even the free nail polish item.  Be sure to select the $1.99 nail polish and NOT the $.99 nail polish if you want the +Up to print.  The $.99 polishes do not produce a +Up Reward.


*It has come to my attention that you can use more than one AdPerks/VV Q in your order, even the serialized ones, which you can only print and use once.  You can only do this by accessing/having more than 1 AdPerk/VV account.  You can have other people print Qs from their AdPerk/VV accounts and give them to you to use in addition to your own AdPerk/VV Qs.  However you can only use 1 AdPerk Q per item(besides stacking ManuQs with them).  For example, I bought 2 Colgate Toothpastes.  I had 2 $1/1 Manu Colgate Qs, one for each tube.

I also had 2 $1/1 AdPerk/VV Colgate item Qs...one was from my account, one was from my BIL's account.  I stacked one of these Qs with each of the ManuQs for the toothpaste.  1 Adperk Colgate Q was in his name, 1 in mine.  Both scanned through with no beeps or problems.
I hope I made this point clear as mud. ;-)


THESE TRIPS Total Spent....$.78(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$87.60
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$16.00
+Up Rewards spent...$13.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$24.00

GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......3
Total Spent....$1.38 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$138.48
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 10/24....$21.00
+Up Rewards spent....$13.00
+Up Rewards earned....$17.00
+Up Rewards left....$25.00


Sluggy 

Drawing a Life Lesson from Spider-man

The Coupon Goddess has again brought up a Reader Issue for debate.  Go read about it HERE.
Basically it involves instituting Couponing Skills Courses for Food Stamp recipients.

If you've been a longtime reader of my blog, you'll remember that I partook in a Food Stamp Challenge back in June of this year.  I spent that month exploring the issues surrounding Food Stamps as well as living off of an average full monthly allotment of snap benefits(food stamps)in my daily life.
You can search back in the archives of June 2010 to read up on what I talked about then and see how we did with that challenge.
So this issue is not something I haven't considered long and hard before.  And over the intervening months I've continued to mull some of these same issues over in my own head.

Here is my very long response to this debate.....

Sluggy
"With great power comes great responsibility"--Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-man

****
First off, I am older than dirt and have "been around" on this big blue ball many many years and seen a lot of human nature.
We are fascinating creatures, are we not?

Requiring 'courses' of some kind by social service agencies has been tried off and on over the years since the modern day food stamp program began a long time ago.  Anything from mandated lessons on nutrition to shopping skills to cooking skills have been held.  States are in charge of implementing, modifying & setting rules within a standard frame for their individual Food Stamp programs so nothing has been tried on a nationwide scale.

The result of all these courses overall? 
Unless attendance was required to get the food benefit, most people in the program did NOT go.  While I'm sure you have recipients with legit reasons why they couldn't attend, it is human nature to keep doing what you are doing and not step outside of your comfort zone and try new things.  Most people are not motivated to make the effort it takes, even though they would reap many benefits in the life they lead from partaking of something like these courses.  Some people would be against being told to attend from the word "go",  since grown up people don't take kindly to being treated like a child and being told what to do is seen as condescending by many.  Then the Food Stamp employees would be dealing with a whole lot of passive-aggressiveness on their part when dealing with these clients.

If efforts are made(and additional monies in the program's budget spent)on ideas that only a few take advantage of(like courses), those in charge end up discontinuing those services.  Obviously, the courses are NOT cost-effective from an accounting standpoint.  Also when budgets are cut if these kind of services are in place, they are the first thing to be cut(even if the clients utilize them),because the funds need to go for actual food benefits and spread out to cover the largest group of recipients it can.

It's sad really, that people as a whole don't take every advantage or help offered to them, and that we keep cycling through plans like this...start a course, have it met with indifference by the majority, discontinue that service and years later, after that service is forgotten have a new set of program directors try what is basically the same idea again.  Sad and frustrating.

That being said....I do feel that these sort of nutrition/cooking skills/shopping skills courses ARE a good thing.  And if it helps just one family break out of a cycle of poverty and/or diminished health, it was worth attempting.

I took part in a Food Stamp Challenge this past summer where I attempted to feed my family on the avg. monthly snap benefit amount those on full food stamp allotments receive.  With my couponing/cooking/budgeting skills I was able to complete it fairly handily without altering the diet I fed my family much.  If I had shopped/cooked like the average American, I doubt that I would have completed the task as handily.

As a part of this FS Challenge, I also researched the history of the program, the statistics, the shopping habits, the rules, and how to augment your scrip with other resources available to the general public and how to make frugal workarounds to stretch that money further.  I talked to people in the grocery store who used snap benefits to get some 'real' feedback to my 'phony' poverty.

In all this I found that the majority of snap benefit recipients have NO CLUE that you CAN USE COUPONS WITH FOOD STAMPS!
I was floored to find this out frankly.  The ones I talked to were equally surprised that they could combine the 2 forms of payment as well.

Now, I do see that using coupons if you are on food stamps is problematic, since if you are on food stamps, you are economically disadvantaged.
The majority of food stamp recipients don't have either extra money available or the resources to gather coupons.  If you don't have enough money to buy food for your family, how can you justify spending money on multiple newspapers for the inserts or paying for a coupon clipping service to get coupons?  Also, if money is tight, where do you get the cash for crazy expensive ink cartridges as well as paper to print out the coupons available online(if in fact, you have access to a computer WITH a printer)?

Here is what I would like to see happen.  It would NOT require any additional monies in a state's food stamp budget to be spent on non-food stamp benefits NOR would it require any added payroll funds.
1-Have every social services employee who deals with the public in the FS program make each recipient of the benefits aware that coupons CAN be used with Food Stamps in payemnet at the stores.  If handouts could be printed off at a small cost, then also give each recipient something in writing to take away when they come in to the agency.
Knowledge is power.  Those who are pro-active in their lives will take that power and use it, I hope. ;-)

2-Somehow get manufacturer's to supply their coupons(for food products only) to food stamp recipients for free.
I don't know who this could be accomplished, but by putting the coupons in the hands of those using snap benefits you take away one more stumbling block to stretching your food scrip dollar further.  I am sure that giving free coupons to the govt. agencies who handle the FS programs would be viewed as some how wrong(think companies using that 'in' supplying coupons directly to these consumers as a form of advertising and drumming up business and profits for those companies), perhaps some one can find a happy compromise that offends no one's sense of fair play.  An independent clearing house to receive the free coupon supplies, in charge of distributing said coupons to those in need.  I'm unclear on the actual 'how to' to get this accomplished.

3-While most govt. social service agencies are resistant to new ideas and people coming in off the street offering them help, try this at your local food bank or soup kitchen--a non-govt. entity.  If you coupon and have the bent or ability to teach others, go to said private entity and offer to hold a couponing class free of charge to anyone who wants to attend.  It may take some convincing but hopefully if you are persuasive and have a good argument for why it's a VERY good thing, and someone in charge will give you a chance to do something to help their clients outside of handing them a bag of food or a plate of hot food.
Or at the very least, approach these same independent entities about starting a Coupon Box at their location.  This would just be some system(a box in a corner or something more elaborate if wanted/needed)where someone could get free-to-them coupons to use.  Get a group together to donate coupons they won't or can't use to this effort.  File the coupons by category and make it available at the food bank or soup kitchen, etc. so people can take what they need.  It would just require getting the approval and setting this up initially and then once a month, someone would need to glean through and trash the out of date coupons, maintaining the system as it where.  Low maintenance and BIG potential for rewards!

Now I am off to DO something to help someone here using my coupon smarts.
What can YOU do in your world to make a positive impact?

Sluggy

An Open Letter to McDonald's

Dear McDonald's Corporation,

Since 1981, your company, McDonald's has been trying to get the world to eat the abomination of a sandwich you call the McRib.

It was a dismal failure the first go round so you quietly pulled this puppy from the lineup in 1985.
4 YEARS you had tried to turn a profit on this concoction of a ground pork patty, bbq sauce, raw onions and pickles on a bun.
Just makes my mouth water typing that......
Wait! I lie.....NO it doesn't.

And instead of taking heed of the world's lack of love for this sammie, you, McDonald's, have brought it back sporadically in some form or another to grace your restaurant menus for the last 25 years.
25 years.....haven't we all suffered enough already?!
And now it's back again.....just in time for Oct. 31st....like a very bad Halloween prank gone wrong!

All that money on marketing wasted with no profits produced.
All that "food" produced that you end up not needing since the demand for this product is nil.
By the way, what do you do with all that food when you yank the McRib from your menus?
On second thought, don't tell me....it will only make me throw up a little in my mouth.

The McRib has had more Farewell Tours than the Who.
Of the two, I think Peter Townsend looks better than the McRib for the wear.

And another thing......
Pickles?
Pickles on a bbq sammie?!?

I grew up in the South and take my word for it, McDonald's executives, because sauce runs through my veins.....
No self-respecting Southerner would put pickles on a bbq pork sandwich!
Ok, maybe Uncle Cleatus' third cousin Bubba who got kicked in the head by a mule when he was a kid.
And maybe those immigrant Cuban folks in Florida but that's a totally different pork sandwich and Florida is NOT the South. ;-)

So take my advice and just take the McRib out to the woodpile and put it and us out of our misery please!
You know what a woodpile is don't you McDonald's?...it's that thing next to the Smokehouse and the Barbecue Pitt where real chefs cook/smoke real pigs before they put that real meat between a bun.

A little coleslaw on a real bbq sandwich is optional but definitely not pickles.

I think the McRib needs to go toward the light this time and stay there!
It would be in the best interests of our planet and mankind.
Stomachs across our world will thank you for your humanitarian efforts.

Sincerely,

Sluggy, G.R.I.T.S.*

*Girls Raised In The South

Is That A Food Money Hemorrhage I Feel?

                                    (Images courtesy of Millenium-mb.com)





Well this month began as a fairly Frugal Affair.

Ok, we took a short getaway trip to Ocean City MD....but we did it on the cheap and thrifty side!
And I stayed out of the grocery stores for two+ weeks....let alone any other kind of store, not counting Rite-Aid of course!  But Rite-Aid doesn't really count since they pay ME to shop there and I don't ever actually spend money at that store. 8-))
We were content and happy to be using up some stockpiled and freezer goodies for meals and snacks as the month began.

And then it happened......

Three, count 'em three local grocery stores ran Catalina deals in the last 2 weeks, including that lovely Hormel Bacon Promotion(slurp).  Weis Markets had a couple of Cat deals but I didn't even get to that store to take advantage of them....yes, I am slipping in my old age.

This past few weeks, it's like a rare convergence of celestial bodies combined with a lining up of the planets to form a Bargain Eclipse!lol
*Cue the skies opening up and a bevvy of heavenly hosts descending around my head, plucking on tiny harps and raising their angelic voices.....aaaaaah, aaaaahh, aaaaahhh.....

And just like that, I went from a monthly grocery spending total of just under $50 for October to a bloated budget busting total of over $300 for food.
Eeeeek!

I know, I know.....$300 in monthly food spending for a family of 4 is NOT really  "Out There" compared to what the average American spends on groceries, but for me, well......it's HUGE!lol

While I budget for food each month, we aren't living paycheck to paycheck and we regularly live well below our financial means.
So when I find great deals on food or anything else we need, I have the flexibility to spend more than I've budgeted and take advantage of the deals without taking the funds from some other expense we need the cash for instead.
Having a little extra cushion of money is a great thing indeed!
I highly recommend it. ;-)
But still.... when you scribble that pencil down to a nub and see $300 staring back at you from your piece of paper, it tends to make you pause, draw a darn big breath and make you light in the head for a moment.
Or is that just me? ;-)

I did 4 transactions at Redner's, doing the ConAgra and General Mills Catalina promotions(each gave a $10 Cat WYB $25 of items).  I bought 48 assorted items(from tv dinners to cooking oil to whipped cream to canned tomatoes) and spent $51.59 total OOP.  And I have a $10 Cat left to use.
While $50+ sounds high, that was for $293.53 of reg. retail value of food.
That's a savings rate of just under 82.5%(not counting the $10 Cat I have left).

As for my Hormel totals at Price Chopper......
3 bags of Pepperoni
26 packages of Bacon
34 cans of Chili
Equals 63 items
$39.90 OOP + a $7 Catalina left to spend
$222.27 reg. retail price of items
Savings of 82% (not counting the $7 left to spend).

So now I need to apply a Financial Tourniquet to our spending and try to avoid the grocery stores and eat down on this pile 'o food.
Luckily the month is almost over and I get to start with a clean budget slate in 5 days. 8-))

So how is your food spending going this month?
Have you gotten any good deals on groceries lately?

Sluggy

New SCR Period at Rite-Aid...Sugar Rush!

I went and used my BOGO Candy Bar Qs Sunday evening before all the Rite-Aid stores are wiped out of the BOGO King sized Bars this week.....

And notice the spiffy new fall colors tablecloth too!lol

This transaction is easy....
32 x King sized Candy Bars on sale BOGO($1.59)=$25.44
SubTotal....$25.44

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 purchase Q from my wellness acct.=$5.00
16 x BOGO Mars brand ManuQ(up to $.99)=$15.84
Coupon Total....$20.84

$25.44-$20.84=$4.60

Used $4 in +Up Rewards...$4.60-$4.00=$.60 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card.

Received $10 +Up Reward for buying $25 in advertised Candy items.(lots of candy items qualify, check the sales flyer).

Many people on Sunday were reporting that the $10 Candy +Up didn't print for them.  It seems some of the candy items were not keyed in to qualify for this +Up and corporate was fixing it.  Not sure if it's fixed yet so check the Slick Deals board before you go try to do this deal.  If your +Up does not print, call Rite-Aid Corporate Customer Service at 1-800-748-3243


THIS TRIP Total Spent....$.60(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$50.88
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$10.00
+Up Rewards spent...$4.00


GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......1
Total Spent....$.60 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$50.88
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

Nothing spent and I am "up" $6 in +Ups as I received $10 but only spent $4.

+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover from last trip....$20.50
+Up Rewards spent....$4.00
+Up Rewards earned....$10.00
+Up Rewards left....$26.50*
*Updated +Ups Total....$21.00($5.50 of old total given to kids to spend)

Sluggy