My Thanksgiving Survey Replies...

1. What is your preferred menu for Thanksgiving dinner and why?
*Crispy Roasted Duck, homemade stuffing(with sausage meat/walnuts/mushrooms), sweet potatoes, green beans, roasted fall veggies, au jus rather than gravy, Aunt Ollie's recipe potato rolls, cranberry glop from the can, sparkling cider, pumpkin pie and cheesecake.

2.  Do you cook/host the meal or do you gather at someone else's house for dinner? If you cook, how many will gather around your table to eat?
*I cook.  If I can get help cooking, all the better but I don't expect help or anyone to bring any food.
Since the kids are teens with jobs, they may or may not be here when we eat the meal.  The most if family is in town is 9, the least is 3.  We usually have about 6-7.


3. What time do you generally sit down to eat?
*Since I don't relish getting up at the crack of dawn to start cooking for the day, we try to eat around 1 or 2(usually more toward 2).  We'll have a light late breakfast so we are hungry by 1.  Dinner is "go grab something for the fridge" at whatever time you want it.

4. Do you have any traditional dishes you serve/have served and what are they?  (These can be regional dishes or family traditions or what you feel are the national dishes everyone eats.)
*The jellied cranberry glop in the can is traditional from when I was a wee one.  #2 son likes it so we keep it, even though I've tried to serve 'better' versions of this dish over the years.  The family just doesn't take to them.
The other family traditions are my stuffing(my mom's recipe which I have changed over the years and made my own)and my Great Aunt Ollie's potato roll recipe.  Aunt Ollie left this Earth about 10 yrs. ago at the age of 98.  She was a good old country cook, who cooked on a wood cookstove until she was 96.  Have to have the potato rolls....if not on Turkey Day then on Christmas.

5.  Do you have any non-food Thanksgiving traditions?
*I've tried a few activities but nothing catches on.lol  The last one was to pass out paper and pencils and have everyone write down something they are thankful for.  Someone reads them all out loud before we eat.....this way we keep from embarrassing the teens since the 'thankfuls' are anonymous.
The only other tradition is to play board games after the meal, while the testosterone laden people watch football....**Sluggy rolls her eyes....**lol


6.  If you could only have 5 food/beverage items at your Thanksgiving meal, what would they be?
*Pumpkin pie, stuffing, potato rolls, roasted fall veggies, duck...then hook me up to a cardiac monitor. lol

7.  What was your worst and/or best Thanksgiving day and why?
*I can't think of a Thanksgiving day that sticks out in my mind as being the 'best', but any from when my mom was alive and we had extra relatives &/or friends there would qualify.
 
I do have a worst Thanksgiving however.....this was during my sophomore yr. in college.  I was 19. My family life was non-existent at this point so there was no going home for Turkey Day....besides, I couldn't even afford to take the Greyhound bus there.  So my BF(now Hubs)asked his parents if I could come home with him for Thanksgiving.....and they said no!  As BF told me, they didn't want 'strangers' at the house for Thanksgiving.lol  And yes, I had been to their house before at least twice before this time.
So BF did NOT stay at school with me, he went home and left me there alone.  It's a wonder I stayed with him and married him after that, huh?lol
I remember my Thanksgiving that year was spent alone in my apartment, watching the parades on a tiny 10" screen tv I owned.  I walked down to the A&P and bought myself a Thanksgiving meal...one of those turkey roll things, a frozen Stouffer's spinach souffle and I stopped at the bakery on the way home with my cart and bought a slice of something sweet...it wasn't pie because they didn't sell them by the slice and I couldn't afford a whole pie, and I might just have eaten the whole thing if I could have afforded it...I was that depressed.lol
I was approached by an old drunk on the way home from the grocery store and he panhandled me for a dime to "buy a cup of coffee".
Frankly, I couldn't spare a dime for him and I was in shock that someone had actually asked me for money, since I was destitute enough myself to be doing the asking.lol
After I got home, I just sat down and cried big time.
Alone and being accosted by bums on Thanksgiving. lol
I sure felt low and sorry for myself...


I am happy to say that things have improved since then. 8-)


Sluggy

The 3 Day Rite-Aid Bender

**If the deals at Rite-Aid make you yawn, just skip to the bottom of this post for the Totals.
I promise something NOT Rite-Aid next post.  ;-)

So I set out Saturday to find 10 boxes of Keebler products on the shelves to do that Deal I mentioned on my last Rite-Aid post.  (Buy 10 Keebler items on sale for $1.99, use $1/2 Qs, get $10 in +Ups back and submit for the $10 Keebler Rebate found in the Keebler booklet found in grocery stores.)
Well, this transaction turned out even better!
Because that Keebler booklet also had a coupon for $2 off 2 sodas when you buy 2 Keebler cookies/crackers.
So instead of having to use $5.10 in filler items to get my transaction to $25 so I could use a $5 off $25 coupon too, I bought 6 2 liter bottles of 7-Up, which were on sale for $1.33 and gave a $1 +Up Reward when you bought 3 in one transaction.

So here's how it went down...
6 x Cheez-Its=$11.94 *1 box is missing...the teens ate it already.lol
4 x Keebler cookies=$7.96
6 x 7-Up bottles=$6.66 *My wellness disc. made the price less than the sale price-$1.11 per bottle.

SubTotal of $26.56

Used...
$5 off $25 Q=$5.00
5 x $1/2 cookie or cheez-it Qs=$5.00
3 x $2/2 soda wyb 2 Keebler items=$6.00
Coupon deductions of $16.
Balance of 10.56.
Used $10 in +Ups, put $.56 on my Rite-Aid gift card.
Received $11 in +Ups back(1 for each cookie/cracker and 1 for 3 bottles of 7-Up)
If there wasn't a limit on the 7-Up deal of 1, I would have gotten 2 $1 +Ups for a total of $12.
Oh well...I can live with that.lol
So basically everything in this transaction was free and I just rolled those $10 in +Ups.
Sweet!

Then I stopped in to my local Rite-Aid that evening while I was out grocery shopping....

After coupons, the ColorSilk was $.50 ea., the Summer's Eve was $.63, the Renuzits were -$.24, the Tugaboo trial size was -$.21, the Hand Sanitizer was $.99 total for both, the Edge gel was $1.89 total for both(1 BOGO Q and a $1.50 adperk/vv Q stacked) and the Skittles were were $.25 ea. so $1.50 for all 6.
Subtract the $4 off $20 Wellness AdPerks/VV Q and we end up with $.56 total OOP put on a Rite-Aid gift card.
Nothing gave +Ups in this transaction.


SATURDAY TRIPS
Total Spent....$1.13(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$83.62
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$11.00
+Up Rewards spent...$10.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$32.49



Then Sunday I did this....

3 Colgate Toothbrushes on sale=$6.99   *Get $2 +Ups back
8 Assorted food items on sale $1.50=$12.00   *Get $1 +Ups back WYB 2 items
1 Herbal Essence 'Poo on sale=$2.99   *Get $2 +Ups back on each bottle
2 Right Guard Deo on sale BOGO=$3.29
2 Newspapers =$1.58  *Not pictured*
SubTotal...$26.85


Coupons Used
1 x $5/$25 Q=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Colgate Toothbrushes(smartsource online)IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Colgate Toothbrushes Sunday inserts ManuQ=$1.00
3 x $1/1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush AdPerks/VV IPQ=$3.00 *These beep.
1 x $1/3 Heinz Gravy (living delicious website)IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Stovetop (living delicious website)IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 FFOnions ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 BC Taters ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 BC Taters AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Herbal Essence ManuQ(sunday's insert)=$1.00
1 x Right Guard BOGO ManuQ=$3.29
Coupon Total....$21.29
**Actual on the receipt was $19.29


$26.85-$19.29=$7.56.
I used $7 +Ups so $.56 OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card.

I received $8 in +Ups($2 Herbal Essence, $2 Colgate toothbrushes, 4 x $1 for buying 8 Thanksgiving food items).
I wanted to do the $4 +Ups wyb 10 items that were $1 each but even with getting to the store by noon on Sunday, they were out of the ones I wanted.  They started the sale that morning with very little of those items on the shelves and I've seen others have complained that their stores were similarly SO Understocked!  Rite-Aid missed out on some big bucks with this one.....


Then I stopped in later that evening to use those $2/1 Clairol family Qs on some Herbal Essence(a Clairol product).....

4 x Blistex on sale $1.50*1 rang up $1.43=$5.93
3 x Herbal Essence 'Poo on sale $2.99=$8.97
1 x Tugaboos trial pack w/wellness disc.=$.79
2 x Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks on sale BOGO 50%=$11.98
SubTotal...$27.67


Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
2 x $1/2 Blistex ManuQ=$2.00
3 x $2/1 Clairol product ManuQ=$6.00
2 x $5/1 Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Q mailed to wellness members=$10.00
Coupon Total....$23.00**'
Some how 1 of my $1 Qs didn't come off. I forgot my Tugaboos $1 Q and I think the Blistex Qs stuck together...ugh.
So coupon total is $22.00


$27.67-$22.00=$5.67
I used $5.50 in +Ups so $.17+$.50 in tax=$75 OOP put on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $14 in +Ups(3 x $2 Herbal Essence 'Poo, 4 x $1 Blistex, $4 WYB $10 in Revlon/Almay).

The Blistex was giving out $1 for EACH item, not $1 for 2 items as the flyer stated.  That has since been corrected and it's only giving 1 per 2 items as of Monday.
Please note that the Almay/Revlon $4 +Ups deal is a LIMIT 1 per card.

SUNDAY TRIPS
Total Spent....$.1.26(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$86.54
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$22.00
+Up Rewards spent...$12.50
+Up Rewards left to spend....$41.99


Onward to Monday's trip out....

2 x Blistex on sale=$3.00
3 x Colgate 360 Toothbrushes on sale=$6.99
3 x Reach Dental Floss on sale $.99=$2.97
1 x VapoRub on sale=$3.99
2 x Glad trash bags raincheck item $3.74ea.=$7.48
1 x Tugaboos diaper pack w/wellness disc.=$.79
SubTotal...$25.22

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
2 x $1/2 Blistex ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Colgate Toothbrush (smartsource online)IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Colgate Toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
3 x $1/1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush AdPerks/VV Q=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Reach Dental Floss ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/2 Reach/Listerine items ManuQ=$1.50
1 x $1/$10 any Oral Care items Wellness IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 VapoRub ManuQ=$1.50
1 x $2/1 VapoRub Flu Booklet Q=$2.00
2 x $.75/1 Glad trash bags ManuQ=$1.50
1 x $.50/1 Glad trash bags AdPerks/VV Q=$.50
1 x $1/1 Tugaboos product Q inside previous diaper pack=$1.00
Coupon Total...$21.00


$25.22-$21.00=$4.22
I used $4 in +Ups to pay so the $.22 OOP was put on a Rite-Aid gift card.
I received $4 in +Ups($1 Blistex, $2 Colgate, $1 NyQuil/VapoRub) so I rolled my +Ups here.

MONDAY TRIP
Total Spent....$.22(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$43.19
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$4.00
+Up Rewards spent...$4.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$41.99






GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......22
Total Spent....$11.71 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$1,041.82
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$14.99
Additional Rebates....$10.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 11/12.....$31.49
+Up Rewards spent....$89.50
+Up Rewards earned....$108.49
+Up Rewards left....$41.99
 

Sluggy

The Good, The Bad & The Not-So-Pretty

First the good.....
If you haven't seen this on my Facebook already, #2 son's Marching Band had a big regional tournament Sunday in Hershey PA.  The band performed very well and they won their Division!  In addition they were awared top honors in 4 individual areas.

I am so glad to see them do well finally.  Our Band Parent's Association hosts one of the big local Tourneys at the high school.  Our band finished last in the 'open' division at that.  Our band is very small.  Our band gets next to zero $s from the school district, so the parents are saddled with most of the costs to cloth, host competitions, travel to competitions, etc.  This lack of resources puts our band at a large disadvantage next to other schools who have much larger parent associations as well as more funding.  We usually compete in the open division but with the big glitzy bands the kids have to compete with, they never finish very high up the food chain.

There is one local band that we have a David and Goliath type competition with.....to put it into GLEE SPEAK(for those of you who are "gleeks", we are New Directions and we compete with Vocal Adrenalin.
And after working the tourney our band hosts and seeing the directors and parents and the kids in this Goliath band up close and personal, I can honestly say that most of them that I have had to deal with are NOT very nice people.  They are rude, the universe revolves around them and their needs, and they have no class.
So seeing as we really can't compete on an equal footing with the Mega-Bands, we now compete in a different division.  And it seems to be paying off.

Speaking of people who think the universe revolves around them.....
We are having large problems with our Daughter.  She has always been too smart for her own good.  Getting good grades, etc. has been a nice result.  But she has "too big for her britches" syndrome and has had it for the last 5 years or so.  She feels she is the center of the universe and she treats other people(her family)like dog poo....unless of course, she wants something from you, and then she treats you nice until she gets her way.  She no longer wishes to be associated with our family except for us to do for her and give her her own way in things.  She doesn't feel the need to respect her parents or her siblings, or to lift a finger to help the family.  It's all a big she takes and we give.

If fact, she is making life so stressful for her parents and her younger brother when she is home that we are at the point that once she turns 18 next month, she may be asked to find someplace else to live.
I love my Daughter and I thought we could make the current living situation work well enough to get her graduated and off to college(which would have her NOT living here then), but I'm not so sure we can make it until June.  My health is suffering and she is becoming verbally abusive toward me.
Unfortunately we don't have any family locally who we can pack her off to for awhile until things cool off or she grows up a tad so I don't know what you are going to do.

In other news.....Daughter got her acceptance to Ohio State today.  I have no clue WHY she applied there.  We aren't big OH football fans and we don't live in Ohio.lol
But she did and she got in.
We are still waiting for the "yeah" or "ney" from the one school we haven't heard back from....Penn State.
Hopefully soon.

I have reopened my eBay store for the Holidays. SSP(aka Shameless Self Promotion) link is HERE.

I'm hoping even with the economy and the sluggishness of eBay, I can unload some goodies to the Holiday buyers.  I am concentrating on listing toys and collectibles since it's the gift buying time of year.  Even with this heavy stuff at Christmas someone might overlook the shipping expense more and I can get some of these large weighty items outta here!lol
At any rate, my living room and dining room now looks like a postal warehouse has exploded in there with all the bubble wrap, boxes and merchandise everywhere.  Throw in a few boxes loaded with fabric since I store those in there and it's such a lovely sight.lol

The one thing that all my years doing eBay has done for me?  It has made me an expert at re-cutting and gerryrigging boxes for shipping.  Now, if there was some industry where I could put this skill to work for me as a career....besides eBay that is.lol


I cleaned the interior of my minivan on Sunday.  It was LOOOOOONG overdue!  For the past 2 years I have told the kids that if they wanted to make some extra money that cleaning my car was tops on that list and the money was available at any time should they undertake that chore.
2 years and it was still undone.
So I hauled out the vacuum cleaner, clorox wipes, windex and newspaper and just got it done before winter weather sets in.

Saturday was the last day to qualify for the Thanksgiving Deal at the local independent grocery store.  If you spent a minimum of $300 in 5 weeks' time you got a $15 gift certificate.  It wasn't even a free bird deal but the best thing going in these parts.
I made a run to the grocery store Saturday evening and we ended the qualifying period with $115 in purchases....so not EVEN halfway to the amount we needed to spend to get that $15 certificate.
Oh well.
Last year I ended up doing the Price Chopper Turkey Deal....spend $25 in one transaction and get a free bird.
This year Price Chopper has upped the ante tho....spend $50 in one transaction and get a free bird.
Egads!
Doubled the qualifying price!!
And I don't even like turkey so I am so not liking this deal and tempted to eat chicken this year instead.lol

That's about it for now from  my corner of the world.
What's new in yours?

Sluggy

Let's Talk Turkey & T-Day

I so love Thanksgiving!
Of all the holidays we celebrate this is about the only one that is basically secular.  Everyone, no matter their religious beliefs(or lack thereof)can/will celebrate it on an equal footing.  It's all about thankfulness and appreciating family ties and those pretty much transcend the ideological differences that our chosen religions possess.

I have a confession to make....
I am not a big fan of turkey as a food myself. 
Ok, I DO love fresh hot roasted turkey slices right from the bird.  But once it has sat for awhile or has been refrigerated, I don't want it.
Now, it's not about having an aversion to leftovers.

It's the smell of turkey.
Maybe it's just me and my strange sense of smell but "not-just-out-of-the-oven turkey" has an odor to it that I can't abide.
So every year I pack off as many turkey leftovers  as I can  get away with to the BIL and I eat some other protein or just eat the side dishes whenever I have to serve the leftovers from Thanksgiving.
But another funny thing about me, while I can't abide " NOT fresh hot turkey from the bird", I can eat SMOKED TURKEY until I burst!
Maybe it's the southerner in me....loving a food smoked that I can't stand not smoked.lol

I continue to prepare/serve turkey at Thanksgiving because well, it's pretty much expected and traditional.  And the family likes it.
And it's the most frugal meat protein around at the Holidays.

I would much prefer having "Chinese Turkey"(aka duck), like the family in "A Christmas Story" have on Christmas....minus the head.

With Thanksgiving right around the proverbial corner I was curious about everyone else's Turkey Day meal and traditions.
So I have a little survey for y'all.  Please leave a comment with your thoughts on today's topic.

1. What is your preferred menu for Thanksgiving dinner and why?
2.  Do you cook/host the meal or do you gather at someone else's house for dinner? If you cook, how many will gather around your table to eat?
3. What time do you generally sit down to eat?
4. Do you have any traditional dishes you serve/have served and what are they?  (These can be regional dishes or family traditions or what you feel are the national dishes everyone eats.)
5.  Do you have any non-food Thanksgiving traditions?
6.  If you could only have 5 food/beverage items at your Thanksgiving meal, what would they be?
7.  What was your worst and/or best Thanksgiving day and why?

Next time I'll give you my survey answers.

Sluggy

Putting a Transaction Together From Odds and Ends at Rite-Aid

So I went in search of the Flu Coupon Booklet today at a different Rite-Aid today with my newly printed off  Value Videos coupon in my hot little hand.
After I go talk to the pharmacy gals I find out that this particular RA only did the Flu Shots 1 day in Oct. and the 1 day in Nov....and the Nov. day was yesterday.....so the flu booklets are gone!  Either the gal who came to do the shots took the leftover booklets or they got thrown out at the end of the night.
UGH!

Not to have this trip be a total waste I wandered around and patched together a $25 transaction from drips and drabs of coupons and sales.

My store was out of the lower prices Ester-C products that were BOGO this week, but this RA had some.
I wanted to get 4 bottles of the Sun Down Vitamins that are BOGO and give a $2 +Ups WYB2 this week, but none of the stores around here have much of a selection and what there is, they have very few bottles.  It looks to me like RA is doing away with carrying this brand of vitamins....

So here is what I worked up.....

1 x Lipton Tea-I was parched!lol w/Wellness 20% disc.=$.79
1 x Tugaboos Diaper Sample w/Wellness 20% disc.=$.79
2 x Ester-C Gummies on sale BOGO=$6.49
4 x assorted Sun Down Vitamins on sale BOGO($4.99, $4.49)=$9.48
1 x Color Silk Hair Coloring on sale=$2.50
1 x Summer's Eve Fem. Wipes w/Wellness 20% disc.=$2.39
2 x RA Plastic Wrap on sale BOGO=$2.99
1 x Ace Cold Pack w/Wellness 20% disc.=$1.03
1 x Compleats on sale=$1.99
SubTotal.....$28.45

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Ester-C Flu Booklet Q=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Ester-C AdPerks/VV Q=$2.00
2 x $3/2 SunDown Vitamins IP ManuQ=$6.00
2 x $1/1 SunDown product AdPerks/VV Q=$2.00
1 x $1/1 any $10 vitamin purchase Wellness IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Color Silk item Wellness IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 any Summer's Even product Wellness IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1.50/1 Ace product IPQ=$1.50*I told her to adjust it down but she didn't bother lol
1 x $1/1 Compleats Flu Booklet Q=$1.00
Coupon Total...$26.50

$28.45-$26.50=$1.95

Used $1 +Up Rewards so $.95 OOP put on my free Rite-Aid gift card.
And I received $5 in +Up Rewards for this transaction(2 x $2 WYB 2 SunDown Vitamins, $1 Compleats)=$5.00
Used 1, gained 5 means I am "up" $4+Ups for this transaction.

I used NO manufacturer's coupons from the Sunday paper, just Wellness Qs that the PDFs were emailed to me from Rite-Aid,  Video Values Qs, Flu Booklet Qs and a few IPQs from various sources.
If I hadn't been thirsty and bought the bottle of tea, my total would have been $.16 after coupons and I wouldn't have had to use that $1+Ups in payment.

So if you have a wellness card, register your account on the Rite-Aid website, watch the AdPerks/Value Videos, get a hold of a flu coupon booklet and can print coupons from online, you could very easily do a moneymaking transaction like this.

I may go back on Sat. and do the cracker deal.  Buy 10 boxes of the Keebler products that ar on sale for $1.99 and give a $1 +Ups back per box.  Add in a small filler and use your $4 off $20 Q.
Here what the deal looks like...
10 x $1.99 Keebler items=$19.90
1 x Tugaboo trial pack w/20% wellness discount=$.79
(You could also use a Renuzit cone freshener for $.88 if you have the $1/1 Q)
Subtotal...$20.69(w/out 20% disc. $20.90)

Use the $1/1 Q inside the Tugaboos package and your $4 off $20 Q=$5.00 off
With no other Qs, Pay using $15 in +Ups=$.69 or $.90 OOP and get $10 +Ups back.
Then submit for the Keebler $10 rebate(forms found in booklet on displays in grocery stores)and that turns this into a $4+ Moneymaker.

If you have the $1/2 Keebler Qs from that booklet mentioned above, use 5 Qs with your $1 Tugaboos Q and the $4 off $20 Q=$10.00 off your $20.90 transaction=$10.69 or $10.90 total.
Use $10 in +Ups to pay, OOP is still $.69 or $.90 and you get 10 $1+Ups back PLUS apply for the Keebler Rebate.
Which makes this deal a $9+ Moneymaker.
Remember though that you have to buy the 10 boxes in ONE SINGLE Transaction for the Rebate.
Finding a Rite-Aid with 10 boxes on the shelves is the challenge here.lol


THIS TRIP
Total Spent....$.95(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$50.56
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$5.00
+Up Rewards spent...$1.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$31.49

GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......17
Total Spent....$9.05 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$828.47
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$14.99
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 11/7.....$27.49
+Up Rewards spent....$63.00
+Up Rewards earned....$71.49
+Up Rewards left....$31.49
 


Sluggy

It's All About A. Marie Today.....Go Enter Her Giveaways!

My bloggy buddy A. Marie over at My Money Mission Online has two giveaways that are ending tonight so head on over to enter before it's too late.

First we have the Old El Paso Family Taco Night Giveaway HERE.

Second we have the Butter Bell Crock Giveaway HERE.

Both Giveaways end tonight, November 12th.
So run, don't walk over and say Hi to A. Marie now!

Sluggy

Final Garden Update for 2010

I got the remaining collards picked so now the garden is done for the year.
Here's a pic of the greens before I blanched them and froze them....

That's 2lbs. 9.3oz.

And here is my 'frugal hothouse' eggplant.....get out your magnifying glass first...lol.....

This behemoth tips the scale at 3.2oz.

Combined total....2lbs. 12.5oz


Garden Harvest Weight Grand Total for 2010....93 lbs.  15.52 oz.

I am sure that if I had kept up on the garden better(not let so much of it rot because I was too lazy to get out there and glean or pick in the heat some days), we would have topped 100 lbs. of food.
But I am more than happy with the 93+lbs. we ate or will eat this winter.
I believe I spent right around $50 on seeds/seedlings/dirt/manure on the garden this year.
Not a bad ROI(=return on investment) for my $50 bucks, huh?

Maybe next year I'll hold a little contest where you can guess what my final Garden Harvest Weight will be....maybe with a cool prize of home canned jelly, relish, pickles and tomatoes?

So what is stopping you from having a garden?  I am a half-assed gardener so if I can do this, you can too! 8-))   That should be encouragement enough, right?lol
Just find a little piece of dirt and do it.  Heck, that little piece of dirt can be in a pot even! 8-)  At least try growing some tomatoes if nothing else because a 'real' tomato tastes nothing like that red thing they sell in the grocery store....

Now to put the garden to bed.  The planning for next year will have to wait until January at least.
I've got more decluttering, eBay selling and the Holidays to contend with now.
Oh, and the family too.... ;-)

Sluggy

The One Where I Rant on Consumerism, Shopping, Frugality and Deal Blogs

Before you jump in the car today and hit the stores have a lookie here.

Is is just me or has the shopping madness just gone too far?
Yes, everyone acknowledges the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, as the beginning of the Mad Shopping Dash for Christmas.
And Stores no longer wait until after Halloween is over to start putting up their Christmas displays and merchandise.  That's been true for years.....

But now, Stores have extended the Holiday shopping frenzy to include Veteran's Day!
Use to be advertisers would run Veteran's Day sales for things like mattresses and some housewares(since Thanksgiving was right around the corner and you might need dishes/cooking stuff for the big day's meal).
Throw in a little winter clothing and you'd have a smallish special ad to snag shoppers who were off from work for Veteran's Day.

At least to me, is seems like the major retailers are using Veteran's Day to start the Christmas selling season instead of waiting until Black Friday.  ToysRUs has HUGE ads/deals for Veteran's Day.  They sell toys, so they depend on the Christmas season revenues to stay in business the other 11 months of the year.  But when did Veteran's Day become a time to go spend large sums of money on toys?
The line on the highway to get into the TRU parking lot is insane on Veteran's Day.....same madness can be seen in the Wal-Mart here around the toy aisles.

I am a frugal person.
I use coupons and shop sales, etc.
I check out the "deal" blogs often all year long....not talking about the grocery deals, just the 'stuff' deals.
I will tell you I've gotten a few good deals by finding offers on "deal" blogs.
Many deal blogs think of themselves as frugal blogs as well....because they are saving their readers money when they take advantage of the deals they tout.

But.....frugality is NOT only about saving money because true frugality is NOT about spending money!
And I feel that many of these "deal" blogs have the reverse affect and encourage some people to spend MORE money.  People who don't NEED an item but see it for a steal from a "deal" blog post will go and spend money, when they would not have w/out that post or that special price.
And theses people would have continued to lead their lives just as well without that item/deal.

Deal blogs have a place but I truly believe that they are fueling shopping addicts need for a "sales high".
And I know what I am talking about because I use to wander around in stores looking for clearance signs/racks and I brought many an item home for cheap that I didn't need.  I have felt the "shopping high" and it's quite a drug....

But from this point until the end of Dec. I am better off dumping almost every deal blog out of my favorites and not visiting them.
Because when I do go to them, all I find is massive quantities of "deals", so many that it overloads my senses.  And I find it difficult to weed through this huge crush of deals to find the one or two nuggets that I want or need.
Because I don't buy massive quantities of stuff for the Holidays anymore.
Just a few choice things.
And the bulk of what is being hawked on the deal blogs is not a deal for me.
And the deal blogs start to all look the same(same deals)and it's hard to distinguish them from the major retailers ads/deals either.

And another thing......if you are buying "deals" online from a faceless business and the items you are buying are being made halfway around the world and being shipped from this same place and no one in your local community is prospering from your purchase, it may still be a deal for your wallet but it's no deal for the planet nor a deal for your local businesses, that employ your local citizens, as long as they stay in business.  And if you don't support your local businesses at all by spending your money there, they will go away.  And the jobs will go away.  And the jobless will put more stress on your government supported safety nets(food stamps, unemployment, etc.).  And then your taxes will go up.  And that online deal that saved you so much money will cost you more in other ways, than you ever thought in the end.

I'm not saying you need to stop buying from anyone EXCEPT a local business.  No, I am not a tree-hugger, extremist.
I think life is all about balance.
And even when you shop, you can find balance.
So go get some "deals" online(but only things you truly need/want!)but also spread your consumer net wide.....go spend money with local merchants too.
We have 2 Chinese/Japanese restaurants in our teeny tiny town.  Some things are prepared better at one, other things at the other.  Both are locally owned small businesses.
So we alternate which restaurant we eat at and spread our consumer dollars out between them.
That way we support both and neither goes out of business.
And we continue to have a choice in where we want to dine when we want Chinese/Japanese food.
Having choices is cool and so is keeping jobs in your neighborhood.

Just some food for thought from what spills outta my brain....

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Wellness Discounts Information....Will You Look at That!

Look at what printed out on my receipt at Rite-Aid on Saturday.....

It's sort of fuzzy(thanks to my non-close up taking camera)but it says I get the 20% discount everyday not through the end of 2010....No No NO!....but through the end of 2011!

I had thought that once you earned the Gold Level discount it was valid through the calendar year in which it was earned.  The Manager of the Night at Rite-Aid tried to explain it to me, not quite understanding the reasoning behind it herself, that yes, you earn the 20% off level and keep it for the remainder of the year in which it's earned but, you get it for the following year too.  And during the 2nd year, Rite-Aid will begin tallying your spending toward the Gold level discount for the next year(2012).  If you spend enough in 2011 to reach the 20% discount level again, then your discount level will just roll over and there will be no interruption in your discount level.  But if next year, I don't spend enough to earn the 20% disc. for 2012, then at the end of 2011 I lose any discount and drop to zero spending and have to start accumulating points toward the discount from scratch.
Or at least that it how it sounded...

Now I have no clue what happens if you are at the Silver Level by the end of 2010(and got the 1 time 10% off certificate).  Do you keep at that level and build from there in 2011 or do you drop back down to zero because you didn't get to the highest discount level?

Maybe I'll have to email my Corporate "Mole" and find out, if anyone out there is interested. ;-)

I don't know if I can really sustain this level of shopping at Rite-Aid for another whole year.   It is draining sometimes....
But family here is flush with toothpaste, deodorant and body wash.  And as a bonus, the local food bank(which also takes HBA donations)will be thrilled next month when I show up and back up my car to the door.  I've got 4 boxes of items to take and there's still time and money on my gift card yet!lol

Ho ho ho!!


Sluggy

Simplifying the Holidays....You've Got a Budget, Now What?

Now that you have decided on a Holiday Spending Budget, what's next?

First, figure out specifically where is the money to fund this budget coming from?  Before you spend a penny on the Holidays, you need to decide where you are getting the dough from.

At our house, we have decided on a budget of $1000.

It is an amount we can afford.   We will pull it from whatever we save in November for our $30K Savings Challenge.  Since we are ahead of schedule saving money to put into that fund, we can spare this amount.
If we didn't have it to pull from there, we would reduce other variable expenses this month and use the extra cash that would free up for the Holiday spending budget.  We would NOT pull the Holiday spending money out of either an Emergency Fund(the Holidays are NOT an emergency!), nor would we whip out Credit Cards and pay for Christmas with money we have yet to earn.

If we had no extra cash to put toward the Holiday spending, then we would sell something(on eBay, Craigslist, bulletin board at the grocery store, etc.)or bring in extra money with a side job(babysit, dog walk, recycle bottles/cans/scrap metal for cash, tutor, bake and sell cookies door to door, deliver pizzas or flowers part time, get a holiday part time job, etc.).
If you get creative, there are ways to acquire what you want to do/give at the Holidays without going into debt.  Try finding ways to get the things you need/want without money or for less money.  Barter.  Buy used.  Reuse what you have.
Your enjoyment and satisfaction at the Holidays should Not be dependent on how much money you spend!
And if you ARE in debt, please think long and hard about how much you are spending for the Holidays.
And don't put it on a credit card and dig yourself a deeper hole to get out of....please.

If you haven't taken your total spending amount and broken it down into each of the categories that you will spend money on for the Holidays yet, you should do that next.

Anyway, here is my prioritized Holiday list and how we are initially allocating the funds.

Traveling to visit with Family.  $300
Sending a few Holiday Cards.  $10.80
Shopping for and exchanging gifts with family.  $400
Cooking Christmas dinner.  $30
Charity.  $100
Baking cookies and pies.  $20
Christmas Tree.  $5
A Christmas eve meal and show or movie.  $125

$300  *Traveling to visit with Family----
The plans are still up in the air.  If we go, we will be staying with family so the bulk of that spending is for gasoline and some travel meals.  There is a small cushion to cover any fees/expenses at the destination if we go somewhere or do something that costs money.  We don't plan on it but you never know what your hosts will want to do.

$10.80  *Sending a few Holiday Cards----
I have enough cards to last for many years(bought on Xmas clearance at deep discount over the years)so the only cost will be stamps.

$400  *Shopping for and exchanging gifts with family----
By far the largest outlay of cash goes on in this category!  Most of this amount if earmarked for our 3 teens.  It's true, the older your kids get the more expensive their toys.  We average $150-$200 per kid for gifts.
Now before someone has a coronary over this amount, let me say that we do NOT buy stuff for our kids year round.  They receive a nice birthday gift(at their ages, that's usually cash now)and gifts at Christmas.  That's it.  They receive an allowance until they get their 1st job and are expected to take care of their "needs" as well as save some with those funds.  There are unexpected/spontaneous surprise gifts during the year but not very often.
You'll notice that if I spend $150-$200 on each child with this gift budget I will have gone over my limit.
I have brought down the actual cash I'll be spending by using other sources of 'cash' to buy some of their gifts.
We have a credit card(which we pay off each month)that gives us points that we can redeem for a variety of "stuff"......from electronics, to housewares, to magazine subscriptions.  We can also buy services, green points, pay down debts, make charity donations or get gift cards.  I've redeemed some points already for gift cards for the teens.  I also have been socking away giveaway winnings(gift cards and amazon dotcom account codes for cash in my account, etc.)and turning in SwagBucks points.  Between all this it gave me about $200 toward my gift budget.
The rest of the gifting budget that doesn't get spent on the teens, is for buying the nephew a present and for Hubs and I to get each other something modest.  Being old fogeys we really don't need much....a book, new slippers, a new can opener, that sort of thing.  Yes, we live on the edge....
Our immediate family does a Secret Santa.  Instead of each of us buying 4 gifts, we draw names and we get 1 person in our family a gift in the $20-$30 range.  Each person uses their own personal money for the gift they buy so this Gift Budget does not cover that expense.

We don't have a large extended family and there is only 1 other child.  I don't believe in adults just exchanging gifts by rote because everyone else does it or that's what your family has always done since you were a kid.  This leads to a lot of people spending money on useless stuff that the recipient usually couldn't care less about or have a use for it.  I've gotten my fair share of cheese logs over the years and I am so glad that's over!  Nothing says love at the holidays like a cheese log.....yah, right.  I also don't believe in buying presents for adult family members that you won't physically see at Christmas.  Having to ship presents can get very costly!  If you live 4 states away, you'll get a card and maybe a phone call.  If I really like you, maybe a tin of cookies.... ;-)

You will note that I didn't mention paying for wrapping any gifts.  I have a large supply of wrapping paper, bows, tags, tape, bags, boxes, etc. so nothing needs to be bought.  I also have many Christmas fabric prints and once the paper is gone, I'll be making up some Furoshiki cloths with them to use in the future.

$30  *Cooking Christmas dinner----
Most of the food is already covered by my monthly food budget so this amount is if we want anything 'special' to eat.  One year we bought a Smithfield Ham(not very cheap or easy to find up north here!), one year we got a Leg of Lamb(also not cheap or something we eat on a reg. basis).  If we get a cheaper protein like turkey or reg. ham, we'll use the leftover for champagne or egg nog or sparkling cider, etc.

$100  *Charity----While we do make monetary charitable contributions throughout the year, I like to also make one during the Holidays.  We give here and there during the year plus give on a biweekly schedule through payroll deductions to a charity that we've supported since the mid 1980's.  I like to get the kids involved at Christmas and they sometimes help me decide where to direct this donation.  Food bank, or Toys for Tots or Salvation Army Angel Tree gifts or buying gifts for a family in need from a private Yahoo Group I have been on for years are some of the past choices.  I also donate food and/or HBA locally and expect my kids to lend a hand with whatever we do.  And they have been included in the past in packing Samaritan's Purse Xmas Boxes, gift wrapping for the local toy give-out, picking out the Angel Tree gifts we gave, or taking part in Holidays food drives.  The Holidays can so easily become "what's in it for me" to a kid.  It's always a good thing if you can include your children in some kind of charity work or any activity where they can "give back" to their community and maybe realize that the Universe does NOT revolve around them and teach them that many other kids have it far worse than they do.

$20  *Baking cookies and pies----
We try to take one night and do some baking together.  Some years we succeed, some years not so much.  Participation varies depending on which kid(s) are "into it" that year or if Hubs can drag his butt out of the lazy boy. ;-)  Hubs and I began this cookie/baking tradition on Xmas eve, as a young married couple before the kids.  Now we try to fit it in during the Holidays but usually don't wait until Xmas eve anymore.  Since everyone here has a different favorite pie, I will make 3 or more different kinds of pies for Christmas dinner.  Much of the basic baking supplies are already here and covered in the monthly food budget so the $20 is for special ingredients, like pecans, coconut, etc.

$5  *Christmas Tree----
We have 2 artificial trees and boxes and boxes of ornaments and decorations so we don't need to spend anything to deck our halls.  I also have many Holiday music cds since I love listening to Holiday music!  The only money we may spend in this category is on the additional electricity if we put lights on the tree or string some outdoors lights on the house.  We don't go all out with the outdoor electrification but we have been known to string some lights on the front porch.

$125  *A Christmas eve meal and show or movie----
We started a tradition in our family a few years back when the kids got older and could be counted on to behave(mostly!lol)in a restaurant.  We spend Christmas Eve dining at a small local Chinese/Japanese Restaurant.   It's a small town so the staff knows us as we dine there frequently, so there are very welcoming to us.  And the food is very good and reasonably priced.  And we are supporting a small local business which is always a good thing. ;-)
So we host a family dinner there and whoever is in town is invited to go Christmas eve.  Picking up the check is our gift to the adult family members who attend, since we don't buy gifts for any but the kids in the extended family. This amount also includes generous tips for all the waitstaff.
Often, we will rent a movie and go back to the house for cookies and coffee and the show.  Not having to cook and clean and do dishes for this dinner the night before hosting Christmas dinner is priceless to me! ;-)

This Spending Plan leaves me approx. $10 of wiggle room.  Many of my budget categories fall under variable spending, meaning I can actually spend less on some items if I need to(cheaper gifts, order less expensive foods at Xmas eve dinner, bake/cook less expensive dishes for Xmas dinner, pack sandwiches/fruits/drinks for the meals while traveling, give less to charity, no special drinks for dinner, etc.)  I don't worry about leaving such a small cushion since I have discretion in how much I spend in a lot of categories.

Of course, as we go along and if plans change, the spending allocation will adjust.  But I will be tracking my spending, keeping my receipts and we'll see how it all turns out in the end.

So how are you funding your Holiday spending?  Do you have any good ideas to raise some additional money for Christmas?  Or will you start 2011 with a Debt Hangover?

Does your spouse or significant other share your vision for Holiday spending?  If not, how do you reconcile your differences in approaching your Holiday spending?

Sluggy

Done at Rite-Aid This Week?....Maybe

I don't have a job outside the home.  Hubs never takes me anywhere, except to the grocery store.  I have no friends in this town. 
I NEED to go to Rite-Aid.  It's the only place I can go that doesn't cost me money!
I just realized that Rite-Aid IS MY SOCIAL LIFE and figuring out scenarios is my hobby.
How pathetic is that?lol

2 more transactions at Rite-Aid on Monday....

2 x Garnier Herbashine Hair Color on sale $5.99=$11.98
1 x Garnier Anti-Dandruff 'Poo on sale=$3.99
1 x Scott 12 roll TP on sale=$7.49
2 x Renuzit Air Fresheners on sale $.88=$1.76
SubTotal...$25.22

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
2 x $3/1 Herbashine Color IPQ=$6.00
1 x $2/1 Herbashine AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Garnier Anti-Dandruff 'Poo IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Garnier Anti-Dandruff 'Poo AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Scott TP ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Scott TP AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Renuzit IPQ(didn't get adjusted down)=$2.00
1 x $1 off Bonus AdPerks/VV IPQ off any purchase=$1.00
Coupon Total....$21.00

$25.22-$21.00=$4.22
I used $4 in +Up Rewards, so $.22 Out of Pocket was put on my free Rite-Aid gift card.

I received $6 in +Up Rewards back....$1 for Scott TP and $5 WYB $15 of selected Garnier items.

Then I bought this....

1 x ColorSilk Hair Color on sale=$2.50
2 x Maybelline Eye Studio items on sale 40% off($3.71ea.)=$7.42
2 x Finish Auto. Dish Detergent on sale 50% off($5.49ea.)=$10.98
2 x Dixie bathroom cups on sale BOGO=$4.29
SubTotal...$25.19

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Wellness AdPerks/VV IPQ=$5.00
1 x $2/1 ColorSilk wellness coupon emailed to me=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Maybelline Manf.website Q=$4.00
2 x $2/1 Maybelline AdPerks/VV IPQ=$4.00
2 x $3/1 Finish auto. Dish Detergent TearpadQ(gotten last month at Rite-Aid)=$6.00
2 x $1/1 Finish Adperks/VV IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Dixie item RA Flu Booklet Q=$2.00
Coupon Total....$25.00

$25.19-$25.00=$.19 Out of Pocket put on Rite-Aid gift card
No +Ups used or received.

*I also bought #2 son some lighter fuel and used 3 $1+Ups and some change in a separate transaction.  I didn't put this OOP on my gift card but I am down $3 in +Ups in my total count.

I might go back later this week to pick up a few things I want that are on sale this week, but I got everything that is a "hot" deal that they will run out of by Wednesday.

There is a limit of 1 +Up DEAL on the $2.99 Oral-B toothbrush or Crest toothpaste.  The $3.49 Crest Pro-Health or Rinse +Up DEAL does not have a 1 limit as far as I have read online.  The Garnier +Up DEAL can be done multiple times and reports are if you buy $30 in one transaction, you'll receive 2 $5 +Ups.

THESE TRIPS
Total Spent....$.41(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$85.67
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$6.00
+Up Rewards spent...$4+$3=$7.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$27.49

GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......16
Total Spent....$8.10 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$777.91
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$14.99
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 11/7.....$28.49
+Up Rewards spent....$62.00
+Up Rewards earned....$66.49
+Up Rewards left....$27.49


Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday, er.....Tuesday

I'm getting back into writing down a Meal Plan for the week.
I run my Meal Plan here at Chez Sluggy from Sunday to Saturday anyway so I am not wedded to posting it on Monday.
And seeing as I am a habitual procrastinator, usually my Meal Plan mondays turned into Meal Plan tuesdays anyway.lol
So here is this week's plan....

Sunday--Beef Stroganoff, Salad
Monday--TV Dinners or leftovers
Tuesday--Homemade Mac and Cheese, Collards
Wednesday--Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday--Tacos, Corn
Friday--Fish and/or Crabcakes, Sauteed Green Beans w/Mushrooms, Potatoes of some kind
Saturday--Pasta with Meatballs, leftover Collards

Here's why I am serving some of this stuff....
Sunday--I had leftover steak to use up, so cut it up, slow cook it with onions, garlic, mushrooms, then throw in paprika, parsley, ketchup and sour cream and serve over rice.  Pretty fancy shmancy for leftovers, huh?

Tuesday--Hubs pulled up all the collard plants on Sunday, thus collards on the menu.  We haven't had a good homemade mac & cheese in awhile.  No meat needed with these 2 sides.

Wednesday--I have 1/2 of a restaurant sized can of creamed soup leftover to use up as well as some refrigerated pie crusts.  The soup will form the base of my sauce in the pot pie.  Frozen veggies and chicken so nothing to buy.

Saturday--Big pot of collards from Tuesday, so there will be leftovers to eat again.

I won't need to go to the grocery store for anything served this week.  The only thing I don't have here is tartar sauce for the crab cakes, but I'll make my own instead of buying a jar.
Planning your menu helps you eat large on little cost and eat healtheir.

So what is going to be on your plate this week?

Sluggy

Simplifying the Holidays.....Make a Budget to Help Stay Frugal

It's reported that the typical American spends $1000 of his/her income on Holiday spending each year.
Wow....that's a lot of money!

Back in the days of Jean Shepherd's youth, that sure would have bought Ralphie a load of "official Red Ryder carbine-action 200 shot range Air Rifles with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time", wouldn't it?

How many years have you gone into the Holiday Season telling yourself you'll only spend $X this year and after the credit card bills start rolling in the following months, you add it all up and you WAY overspent the amount you set for yourself?
I'm betting it's almost every year, if you are like most people.

But this year do something different.....make a Holiday Budget!

Make a budget and then decide, BEFORE YOU SET FOOT IN A STORE AND SPEND A PENNY, how much you will delegate toward each item in your budget and stick to that plan.

But how do you decide on how much money to put into your Budget?

Let's take that typical $1000 figure.
Put that amount against your yearly take-home pay figure and see what percentage of your income that $1K comes out to be.  Use your net pay since that is what you actually get after taxes, investments and such to spend in your day-to-day life.

If your net pay is $40K, that's 2.5% of your yearly take-home income.
If your net pay is $30K, that's slightly more than 3.33% of your yearly take-home income.
If your net pay is $20K, that's 5% of your yearly take-home income!

So don't go by what the "average" American family spends.  You need to figure out using your yearly income, what YOUR family can afford to spend at the Holidays!

I'd suggest you go through your monthly bills-the fixed and variable charges you must pay each month(mortgage or rent, utilites, car  or student loans, food, gas, credit card min. payments, etc.).  Whatever is left over after the bills are accounted for, for the year, is the place to start to see what you can afford to spend.  Be sure and leave some "wiggle" room in an emergency fund for those unforeseen expenses that happen through the year. 

Once you set your spending Budget, now you have to allocate where/how you will spend it all.
Sit down with your partner(if you have one)and get out that Prioritized Spending List you hopefully made up that we talked about last time.  Now take whatever budget figure you have set and decide how much to spend on what item.
You will probably find that when you add all your item spending up that it exceeds the total budgeted amount you can afford to spend.

Now go back through your list and either cut your spending on individual items according to it's importance in your life or rethink whole items on your list and possibly cut those items from your list.

The other option if you can't cover all the items on your list is to think of a way to bring in additional money over the next 2 months.  Get a side job, sell some things, donate plasma, etc.  

Again, make this a joint decision if you have another adult in your household who is jointly responsible for the income and spending.

Now I'm aware that not everyone(ok, hardly ANYONE!lol)will be able to follow a budget and only spend whatever is allocated per item on the list.  You are allowed to go over a bit or spend a bit more here and a bit less there.  The budget and list is just to make you conscious of your spending habits this Holiday so that you don't wake up on Janurary 1 and find that you again spend WAAAY! too much money than you can afford for the Holidays.

Once you have a workable budget, you need to think about how you will keep track of your spending and how exactly you will spend your money.

I'd recommend an envelope or a pouch of some kind to keep ALL your receipts in.
Keep it in your car or your purse(if you carry one)and stash every receipt there until you get home.  Once home, either keep a spreadsheet on your computer or get a notebook or folder with loose leaf paper in it to list and organize in whatever way that works for you.  Put all your receipt information into your notebook/spreadsheet/etc. and tally up your spending weekly or more often(if you do alot of Holiday spending every day), so you can see what you have spent and how much you have left.
Making a budget won't help you one whit if you never record and look at where your money is actually going!

As for what forms of payment to make all your Holiday purchases with.....unless you are VERY self-controlled, do NOT put your purchases on a credit card.  Though you may get great "points" toward gifts or services or airplane miles when you use your credit card, very few people have the self-control NOT to overspend when using a credit card.  And if you already have a balance on a credit card(s) and you only make minimum payments, do NOT under ANY circumstance use your credit card to pay for anything this Holiday Season!
So that leaves debit cards that link directly to your bank account, checks or cash to make your Holiday purchases.  Personally, I like to use cash. 
These methods of payment are more likely to help you to spend less this year and you will not wake up in January with a credit card hangover and spend the next 9 months paying off the Holiday induced debt.

And looking ahead to 2011.....
It's never too early to begin thinking about how to approach the Holidays for the coming year either.  If you have a hard time saving and scraping the cash together to fund everything you want to do at the Holidays, consider opening a separate account to save/keep money for just the Holidays for 2011.  Christmas Club Accounts have made a comeback in recent years.  These are accounts that usually begin in October and every week either a set amount is moved into this account from a source you designate(another bank account)or you have to physically go and deposit money into the account yourself.  At the end of the Club term, you are sent a check for the amount you put into the account.  Usually there is no interest gained on a Christmas Club Account.  It is just a forced savings vehicle, helpful for those who can't save money if left to their own devices.  You could also open a passbook type bank account and earmark that money for the Holidays.  However, the interest rates are pretty much nil right now and they won't nag you to make weekly deposits.

Get creative in coming up with ways to put money away for next Christmas.  If you coupon, how about taking all your coupon savings and depositing that money into an account.  For example, if you use coupons and save $15 a week at the grocery/drug stores, take $15 from your weekly budget and put it into a bank account or even an envelope in your sock drawer.  Do that every week for 40 weeks and don't withdraw anything or raid that envelope, and next Christmas you'll have a nice little pot of $600 cash to put toward your Holiday expenses!

So do you plan on making a Holiday Spending Budget?   I'll be sitting down with Hubs this weekend to set up our budget.
How do you pay for your Holidays?  Do you have any tricks to get yourself to put money away for the Holidays?
Leave a comment and tell us about it!

Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge OCTOBER 2010 Totals.....

I have posted my OCTOBER End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up October in the black....with another healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of October with was.......$3,326.27.

Income
We had $3,253.45 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $72.82 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,326.27 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.  Keep in mind that we are able to save so much of our income because of 2 things--we have low living expenses(no mortgage payment)and we are not in a personal debt hole with monthly payments sucking up any money we have leftover after paying bills.  Once you pay off your house you free up a big chunk of money each month to put other places in your life.  The average monthly mortgage payment in the US is $1,500.  Over the course of a year, that's $18,000 you are paying out and alot of that is interest on your loan.   Getting a mortgage does take monetary sacrifice and it's not fun, but when you get that house loan paid off, your financial life gets so much better! ;-)

Outgo
As for the expenses in October.....it was pretty much a 'normal bills' type month.  Since the vacation money came out of the Savings Challenge 2009 monies set aside and not from the monthly income, we had just a few unusual/non-repeating bills....a college application fee for Daughter, a charity cash donation, a couple of prescriptions refill copays and my driver's license renewal fee.  The credit card bill other than the trip costs put on it was under $800.  Generally we put gas and eating out on the credit card, along with miscellaneous costs, like house repair or kid shoe/clothing purchases. 

The Food Budget costs for October are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in October was way over budget, proving that even if you are frugal or try your hardest to be, sometimes you can/will bust things wide open anyway.lol

Looking Ahead to November....

Wow....I can't believe we are already into November!
Looking at last November as a guideline, I see no out-of-the-ordinary expenses.
It's just the usual monthlies plus some small Marching Band related expenses.  The credit card bill so far is looking lowish(it closes for this upcoming statement this week)which is always a good thing.  3 items will be costing us more this month....The gas expenses will be going up this month as Hubs is taking Daughter to visit one of the 3 schools that has accepted her for next fall, so there is a road trip in our future.    The electric bill will be increasing in Nov. due to the cold weather setting in. Finally, one of the dogs is having a flare up of her chronic back problem now so we'll have some vet bills in November.  But none of these things looks like it will wreck havoc with the budget thankfully.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $26,247.63 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $22,500 saved.  Currently, we are only $3,752.37 from the yearly goal!  Unless something catastrophic happens, we will reach $30K.  That makes me pretty darn excited....8-))

So how was your October financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

Sunday Fun at Rite-Aid......2 Shops

#2 son tagged along with me this morning up to Rite-Aid because he said he was bored.
He MUST BE, to want to go shopping with me, right?lol
Actually, he DID have an ulterior motive....he wanted a Zippo lighter.  Hubs thinks he is responsible enough so he lets #2 son burn incense in his room.  #2 son wants to be cool and own a lighter to light his incense.
He saw one he wants last night at Rite-Aid and if I pay with my wellness discount he'll get it cheaper.
That's my son!lolol

So we went in and right at the door was all the Halloween candy marked down to 75% off....Reese's and Butterfingers, etc. for $1 a bag.  Instantly #2 son forgot the lighter plan and was drawn zombie-like to the chocolate, clutching a $20 bill in his hand.....

I had a $10 +Ups that had to be rolled or spent this week and I didn't see much to roll it into another $10's worth of +Ups or a high enough SCRebate, so I blew that $10 +Ups on candy.  Yeah, not the brightest idea I've ever had but whattheheck. ;-)  I'll stash it away for Christmas or dole it out in small chunks so #2 son doesn't inhale it all by Wednesday.

Here's what we did.....

1 x Zippo Lighter w/Wellness disc.=$10.39 *Not Pictured*
2 x Nivea Men's Body Wash on sale $3.99=$7.98(there was no +Ups deal signage on the shelf)
1 x Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste on sale=$3.49
1 x Oral-B Clinical Toothbrush on sale=$2.99
1 x Brach's candy corn 75% off=$.25
4 x Beggin' Strips dog treats on sale BOGO($3.99)=$7.98
SubTotal....$33.08

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
2 x $3/1 Nivea Men's Body Wash IPQ=$6.00
1 x $1/1 Crest Toothpaste ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Oral-B Toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Oral-B Toothbrush RA Flu BookletQ=$1.00
1 x $4/4 Beggin' Strips ManuQ=$4.00
Coupon Total....$18.00*

$33.08-$18.00=$15.08

$15.08-$15 +Ups=$.08 Out of Pocket put on free Rite-Aid gift card

*Actually I used $15 in +Ups instead of my son's cash & a few $ in +Ups, and I kept the $11 cash(light w/disc. + tax), so basically I flipped $11 worth of +Ups.
And there were $1/2 Peelie Qs on 2 of the Beggin' Strips I noticed after the transaction was done so I got $2 cash back for those Qs, so the transaction ended up looking like this....
$.08 on gift card
$13 cash back to me(son's $ and $2 for Qs)
$15 +Ups spent($13 of it flipped into Cash, $2 actually 'spent')

And I received $7.49 in +Ups back($1 x2 Nivea, $2.50 Crest toothpaste, $2.99 Oral-B toothbrush), instead of being 'down' $2+Ups, I am 'up' $5.49 +Ups.
I know this is perfectly clear.....lol

Moving on......

2 x Newspapers .99¢=$1.98 *Not Pictured*
2 x Garnier Herbashine Color on sale $5.99=$11.98
1 x Garnier Dandruff 'Poo on sale=$3.99
1 x $1.99 18-pack candy bars(#2 son's purchase)=$1.99 *Not Pictured*
9 x $.99 bags of Halloween chocolate on clearance=$8.91
SubTotal....$28.85

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 AdPerks/VV Q=$5.00
2 x $3/1 Garnier Herbashine Color IPQ=$6.00
2 x $2/1 Garnier Herbashine AdPerks/VV Q=$4.00
1 x $1/1 Garnier Anti-dandruff 'Poo IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Garnier Anti-dandruff 'Poo AdPerks/VV Q=$2.00
Coupon Total...$18.00

$28.85-$18.00=$10.85
I used my $10 +Ups to pay, which left a total of $.85 out of pocket to put on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I received back $5 +Ups Reward for purchasing $15 in Garnier in one transaction.
#2 son gave me $1.99 for his candy bar pack, so I flipped $2 of that $10 in +Ups I spent back into cash.

THESE TRIPS
Total Spent....$.93(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$119.58
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$12.49
+Up Rewards spent...$25.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$28.49

GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......14
Total Spent....$7.69 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$692.24
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$14.99
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 11/6.....$41.00
+Up Rewards spent....$55.00
+Up Rewards earned....$60.49
+Up Rewards left....$28.49


Sluggy

Sat. Rite-Aid Totals UPDATE

I forgot to list the numbers for the Sat. night Rite-Aid shop and the Totals so far for November SCR Period....see what a scattered brained mess I am lately?lol

SATURDAY'S TRIP
Total Spent....$.17(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$69.33
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$6.00
+Up Rewards spent...$2.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$40.00


GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......12
Total Spent....$6.76 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$572.66
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 10/31....$37.00
+Up Rewards spent....$30.00
+Up Rewards earned....$48.00
+Up Rewards left....$41.00


Sluggy

Sometimes I am A Deal Hunting Mess!

I meant to get back to Rite-Aid during the week after Halloween day to get some Glad trash bags and try to make up another $25 transaction but it slipped my mind until I got up from a nap at 8pm Saturday night.
Eek!
So #2 son and I flew to the store.....flew there right after I got my Rite-Aid coupon envelope and then spent 20 minutes trying to find my Glad trash bag coupons.  I was convinced I had cut them out of the inserts but never did find them...until an hour after we got home from the store....ugh.  They were still in the inserts....lol
So basically I just went to get the Suave 'Poo that I hadn't picked up yet on sale(2 for $3)and I figured the Glad bags would be out of stock by now so I figured I'd get a raincheck.
I hadn't planned on buying anything else.
Yah.....famous last words, right?lol

So we get to the store 1/2 an hour before they close and I grab the 'Poo I wanted(2 bottles)and made a wide swing around the back of the store to where they keep the trash bags.  Along the way I see that they still have 3 of the Diabetes lancing tool that is/was free on sale after coupon. And by buying 2 I'll have over $30 in qualifying diabetic items in ONE TRANSACTION so I'll get my $5 +Up Reward...finally!  I just happened to have clipped those coupons so I threw them into my cart. 

While I am digging in the coupon envie I find other coupons I can use to get other stuff that is still on sale for the next 1/2 hour.lol  So I send #2 son off in search of 3 kinds of gum(Orbit, Trident layers and Mentos)as I have coupons for those.  We grab some Soy Joy bars and there is 1 box of Glad bags on the shelf so I grab that even though I don't have my ManuQ for it, I do have a AdPerks/VV Q.  Plus my $5 off $25 will help cover most of the cost for the trash bags.

Total before coupons was $49.65.
Coupons used were....
$5 off $25
2 x Up to $19.99 on the lancing tools(adjusted down to $15.99-the price w/my wellness disc.)
$.50 AdPerks/VV Glad Q
2 x $1/3 Soy Joy bars Q
$1/5 AdPerks/VV Soy Joy bars Q
$1/2 Suave Professional 'Poo Q
$2/2 Suave Items AdPerks/VV Q
2 x $.75/1 Triden Layers Q(I got $.01 overage on one of these Qs)
2 x $1/1 Mentos Q(I got $.51 overage on one of these Qs)
$.50/1 AdPerks/VV Orbit Q

Coupon total was $47.48.
$49.65-$47.48=$2.17
I used 2 $1 +Up Rewards to pay and put the .17¢ on my free Rite-Aid gift card.
Again, I spent nothing out of pocket.
And I received a $1 +Ups for the Glad bags and a $5 +Ups for the Diabetic Promo for a totala of $6 in +Up Rewards.

The Suave I picked up was NOT the type on sale 2 for $3, but my ManuQ was only for the Pro-type I bought and it was only $4 and change after my wellness discount so I got it anyway.  The one on sale was $3/2 and w/the AdPerks Q it would have cost $1 for 2 bottles.  I used $3 in Qs on the Pro-type so it cost me $1.46.  It was worth getting what I wanted for the extra .46¢ instead of the other stuff.

Interestingly, the expiration on the Diabetic +Up is 1/8/11!
I have $27 in +Ups that expire next Saturday that need to be used this week, including a $10 +Up.
I'm on a mission to find something with a SCR attached to it's purchase to use that $10+Up on so I can basically convert that +Ups to cash.

I did get my raincheck but the cashier forgot to put the $1+Ups on the deal and write the price for a $1 less than the current sale price.  bleh

And after I had my order rung up and paid(well, I didn't PAY actually but you know what I mean...lol), I was talking to the MOTD and the cashier while she rang up someone else in the store.  We were talking about my wellness discount and this lady, though she had the wellness card, didn't have a discount yet, so I gave her my card to have the cashier scan so she'd get the 20% discount.  And before I get any comments about that is cheating, the MOTD was standing right there and had no problem with it. ;-)  This lady was complaining that the price of the item she was buying had gone up around $3 in the past couple of weeks and was NOT currently on sale.  After my discount, she got it for $3.19 less so it was the old price she use to pay, making her very happy.  Just my random act of kindness for the day....

So now I am off to check out the upcoming sales that start Sunday 11/7/10, check out my coupons and to pull together a transaction or two so I can bring home more food/HBA for nothing out of pocket.
It's just too bad Rite-Aid doesn't have a meat and fresh produce department then I would be all set and wouldn't have to shop anywhere else....except for when someone has a Catalina deal.....lolol

Sluggy

What To Do....A Bean-filled Dilemna

In one of my past lives.....I sound like a cat sometimes, don't I?lol.....I was a beanie baby collector.Can you believe this about me?  I know sometimes I can't. lol  Some day I'll have to tell y'all the story about how my daughter's near death experience led me into this evil beanie habit. ;-)

I was part of(and still am)two different online beanie groups.   Well, one started as a collector group for beanies, and the other was a spin-off from a list led by a nasty women we all hated and that list was populated by collectors of another line of Ty critters called Attic Treasures. That second snip-off group expanded to include collectors of all things Ty.  Both lists(the original 2)held conventions of sorts back in the day....one of the public, national kind and the other list held annual private get-togethers.  No one on these lists collects these things anymore and we don't post much nowadays but we have remained friends to some degree or another. 8-)

Long story short, I came into possession of some counterfeit beanies back about 12 yrs. ago.  This was back when beanies were hot and going for insane amounts of money. The only way most beanie collectors(the SANE ones)could have those old rare beanies for their own collections was to obtain counterfeits.  I hang my head in shame now that I ever participated in this. I was not in my right mind and not in possession of my faculties.
Ok, maybe that's bull but I just didn't care back then.
I don't think the Ty company was hurting for money/sales because of it...if anything it fueled the craze...so I don't lose sleep over buying some fake beanies back then.

Some of these critters are obviously fakes.....

 In the Photo--Old Face Teddies....left to right....Jade, Teal, Magenta.  The "jade" one is obviously not jade, the "magenta" one is more fuschia and the "teal" one, while it looks fairly teal-ish in the photo is plain Grass Green in real life. 

Anyway, I mention about the beanies because as I was going through the clutter and crap here to get rid of, I found my fakes......and I want to get them out of my life now.
I can't rightly go on eBay and attempt to sell them.....if nothing else, my auctions would be shut down post haste by the 'beanie police'.

So I thought I'd ship them off to Salvation Army with the other boxes of detritus from my life so someone else can enjoy them.
But then I thought, what if someone bought them from Sallie's and after they wet themselves thinking they had a real Royal Blue Peanut and a Billionaire Bear, tried to sell them as authentic rare beanies?

Hubs says to put a tag around their necks saying that they are NOT authentic.
I don't think I have to worry about anyone paying a fortune for one of these things anymore since the beanie aftermarket has been in the toilet for years now, but someone might still want one of these super rare ones and whoever ends up with them might find one of these people who would part with alot of money to have one.
 It would bother me if giving them to Sallie's caused this down the line.

And I have a problem as well with just throwing these perfectly good playtoys in the garbage.  There is still play-value for some kid in them and to send something to the landfill prematurely doesn't sit right with me.

I guess I could hang onto them and have my will amended to note that they should be tossed into the casket with my cold, lifeless body.....

So dear readers, if you were me, what would you do with them?

Sluggy