My Meat!.....DIY Breakfst Sausage

I have my mouth all set for a biscuit with sausage patty this morning.
You know, like what Mickey D's sells on their $1 Menu.....for a dollar. lol

But I didn't want to have to go there to buy it.
So I went hunting for rolled sausage at the grocery store while I was there this morning.
The first store didn't have any rolls of sausage meat!  Just a cut up already roll on a styrofoam tray of Bob Evans brand sausage.  Seems like they were hiding an expiration date or lopped off an end of the roll that went bad or something by selling it in this manner.  And they wanted $3.99 for not even 12 oz.
No way.

So store #2 had 1 brand of rolled sausage, Johnsville.
And they wanted $4.99 for a roll!
Not even a lb. of sausage....12 oz.  That comes out to .60¢ an ounce.
Nope, not buying it.

So I spied some containers of ground pork further down in the meat case.
Ground pork for $1.99 lb.
Hmmmm.....
Since it was already ground up(I don't have a grinder attachment for a stand mixer or a manual table mounted grinder)and I didn't want to make links(no casings to buy or deal with), I bought that pork.

I came home and printed out a breakfast sausage recipe(Alton Brown's HERE).  I gathered the spices....

And measured them out.....

I sifted the spices and dumped in the pork....

After a few minutes using my "mobile, manual mixing attachments"(aka my hands)my sausage meat looked like this....

Then I slapped some patties together and set em to cooking in the cast iron skillet....

Here is the finished product.....

And here they are in the "delivery system of choice"(aka biscuits).....

And the Verdict?
O.M.G.
Mickey D's just lost the battle for my sausage biscuit dollars!


* I love that after the cost of the whack biscuits on sale here this week for $1.25 a roll for Grands!, the cost of the ground pork and $1.00 to cover the cost of the spices used I can make 8 sausage biscuits for $4.92.(8 large patties came to $3.67+roll of biscuits at $1.25)  That's 61.5¢ per biscuit sandwich.  If you make your own biscuits your cost goes down significantly from there.
Me?  I'm lazy....

* I love that I found already ground fresh pork.  This makes it super easy since you don't have to grind the meat yourself.  My $1.99 lb. price wasn't the best but I could wait for a deal on that to purchase it for next time.

* I love that you can play with the spices to your own taste.  With the recipe I used I left out the red pepper flakes since it called for ground cayenne pepper too.  I also substituted 1/3 of the black pepper called for with some ground multicolored peppercorns for a depth of flavor and a little less heat.
You could also add more brown sugar and/or add real maple syrup if you like your sausage sweeter.
You can also add other spices to make some Italian sausage patties.   Just google a recipe for Italian sausage to find which spices you need.

 I will definitely be doing this again!  Next time I hit the warehouse type stores to find a nice big deal on ground pork.  Then I can fill the freezer with semi-homemade sausage patties.
Yumm!

Have you ever made sausage yourself?
Did you go the whole Charcuterie route and cut and grind your own meat cuts?
Or did you work from preground meat?

Sluggy

Stuff Shopping Frenzy, Meal Plan Tuesday & ArmaCUKEgedon!

If you recall, here is what I planned on the fly to eat last week....

SUNDAY--Ravioli, Garden Salad
MONDAY--leftover Pork Loin slices, Fried Yellow Squash, Mashed Potatoes
*Then things got rejiggered with the additional of the Nephew at meals.*
TUESAY--Rueben Sandwiches
WEDNESDAY--Chicken Fajitas
THURSDAY--Chicken Cheese Broccoli Rice Casserole
FRIDAY--Boston Baked Beans, Cornbread, Pickles
SATURDAY--Leftovers


This plan happened until Friday.
I didn't get the beans soaking in time so I substituted some good old "Breakfast for Dinner".....Buckwheat Pancakes and Bacon.  No one was interested in a fruit side dish, so I saved it for Saturday.

The Nephew got packed up and returned on Saturday.  Not before a big long talk about Senior year and what he needs to do to get on the ball about college.  Hopefully he'll get his head out of Jersey Shore and his social life drama.

Since then we've been spending actual money all willy-nilly around here!  This is so strange since we never spend money on stuff anymore, just food and experiences.

My knees has been acting up so Hubs went out Sat. without me and bought socks and shoes for work.
Yes, I let him pick them out alone. 
I was cautiously optimistic we wouldn't A-overspend and B-he'd come home with lime green Converse sneakers and rainbow striped toe shoes.  This would be a bad thing since he is NOT a professional Rodeo Clown....

He done good and toted home a pair of black loafers, 4 pairs of black sox and 4 pairs of muted dark
heather-toned sox in earth shades.
And he only spent $50.99 and he got $10 in Kohl's cash that I can use to get Daughter or #2 Son something this weekend for school duds.

Then Monday was the convergence of 3 deals aligning for me that made me part with some moola.
My favorite bras at Just My Size go on sale 2 x a year for half-price
On Monday they offered a one day deal to take an additional 25% off your total order, even sale items.
And if you spent $70 the shipping was free.

I hadn't bought myself a bra in over a year.
Hubs needed new boxers and undershirts.
I got to $70 easily even with all my purchases being on sale(the Hubs stuff was BOGO50% too + 25% off of that price).
Jackpot!
Hubs and I will be good for unmentionables for another year or so.

Then I had to order #1 Son's books for his upcoming semester.
The college bookstore changed the website/process a bit from last winter so I only ordered the books they had in stock that were used.  If we can't get them used, I'll just let #1 Son pick them up new in person at the bookstore once he gets back to college.
I was only able to order half of his books used.  Getting used textbooks, it came to $271.25.  But we still run the risk of the bookstore sending us new books because of the stupid way they set up the ordering process online....so we could be on the hook for $397.45 + shipping instead!  Even though I stated I ONLY want USED books.
Ugh.

If you end up having to get new on the other 6 books, that's $165 + more(1 book isn't in stock yet and has no price indicated).
If we end up with all new books, it comes to $562.45 + the one book we can't price out yet.
I will refrain from going off on a "textbook rip-off" rant at this time. 8-(

I wish Hubs and #1 Son would let me rent textbooks again but after our CHEGG fiasco 1st semester of his freshman year, renting is NOT an option no matter what I say.
His school's bookstore is looking into offering book rentals through them either next semester or next fall.  I might have a chance convincing them to do that deal. ;-)

I am just beginning to check on options for Daughter.  I was hoping her school would go digital books before the upcoming semester so we could entertain the possibility of a Kindle purchase and renting ebooks for it...IF that was the least expensive option.  I don't like the idea of pushing using another electronic device unless it's cost effective.

I also bought some items on Target.com recently and they arrived last week.
They offered Free Shipping on purchases of $50+.
I found a tabletop ironing board(for Daughter's dorm room), 2 purses(for me who hasn't had a new purse in 5 years) and 4 pair of designer rainboots.  Everything was on clearance....the boots were $7.48 a pr!  I'll give Daughter one pair and tuck another back for Xmas.  I can also take any of this and return it to the local Target for a refund.  Since I didn't pay shipping to begin with, that's a great deal.

If the bookstore ships us the used textbooks, I'll be $398.68 poorer after all this shopping.

As for this week's Meal Plan.....

I got the smoker out again on Sunday and smoked up one of those London Broils I got at Weis Markets 2 weeks ago on a BOGO sale.
I served Creamed Spinach with it(and my homemade pickles).
Here's a photo to make you drool....

And here's a close-up.
See that awesome smoke ring?

 Some of us ate it straight and some made sandwiches on Steak Rolls.

Monday's dinner was Chicken Breast Patties pan sauted crispy with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese melted on top....a stove top Chicken Parmesan.
No heating up the house with running the oven.
Hubs and I put it on Kaiser rolls for yummy chicken parm sammiches.

The rest of this week.....in no particular order, depending on what I 'feel' like making each night.
* Leftovers, Pasta Salad
* Quiche Lorraine, Green Salad
* Tuna Noodle Casserole
* Leftovers Again

And on Saturday Hubs is off for a Chess Tournament so I'll get Chinese for lunch for #2 Son and I and we'll just raid the fridge/freezer for something for dinner.

I'll need more milk for #2 Son.  I also need a bit of swiss cheese and maybe I'll buy a cheat crust for the quiche since pie crust is on sale this week.  I need to pick up some fruit and veggies.  I'll hit the local farm tomorrow I think.

And here is what the garden is giving up lately......

Yes, it's ArmaCUKEgedon!!!
After the rain on Saturday, these bad boys went from baby dill sized to GIGANTOR "you could hollow these out and paddle about the lake in them" size!
This is what is left this morning after BIL took one and Hubs took 4 to work.
I am scared to even go look outside.
The cukes will be crawling up on the deck and knocking on the door soon.
Seriously.
I need to find some cheap lamb(cheap-hahaha) and make some Gyros.
*Hey!  Inspiration just hit....I'll get some pitas and make the smoked London Broil leftovers into some ersatz Beef Gyros.
Genius!....well maybe for a lazy woman......

In other garden news--I am not-so-patiently waiting and eying the 4 tomatoes that are turning red.
One is bound to hit "critical mass red" any day now.
I'm off to defrost a lb. of bacon in anticipation.....

What's happening in your garden and in your wallet lately?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid.....The Catching Up Post

I have 4 transactions to post today.....2 from last week's sales ad and 2 from this week that I did on Sunday.

The 1st transaction(sorry, no photo)I popped into Rite-Aid to buy a gallon of milk since I was fresh out and had $2 in +Ups to use up before last Saturday.
Well, silly me, the register wouldn't let me use +Ups to pay for milk here in PA.
bleh.
So I used a $1 Wellness AdPerks/VV Q and had to put the $2.73 left on my free Rite-Aid gift card.
That sure hurt using that HUGE amount of cash on my gift card!

Since I still had the +Ups to use up I let #2 son buy something.....

1 x spiral bound index cards w/20% wellness discount=$1.99
1 x cella cherry w/20% wellness discount=$.26
SubTotal....$2.25 + .02¢ tax=$2.27

I used the $2 in +Up Rewards and put the .27¢ on my gift card.

Then on Sunday I bought this.....

2 x Gillette ProGlide Razor on sale but 20% wellness discount less($9.03)=$18.06
SubTotal...$18.06

Coupons Used
1 x $1 Wellness AdPerks/VV Q=$1.00
2 x $4/1 Gillette Razor ManuQ(P&G insert)=$8.00
Coupon Total...$9.00

$18.06-$9.00=$9.06
I used $9 in +Ups to pay and put the .06¢ on my gift card.
I received $10 in +Up Rewards back(2 x $5 Gillette).

Then I bought this.....

4 x Crest Rinse on sale $5=$20.00
1 x Oral-B Pulsar Toothbrush on sale=$5.99
1 x Newspaper-$1.00 *not pictured*
SubTotal....$26.99

Coupons Used
1 x $3/$15 Pharmacy SurveyQ=$3.00
4 x $2/1 Crest Rinse ManuQ(P&G insert)=$8.00
1 x $3/1 Oral-B Pulsar Toothbrush ManuQ(P&G insert)=$3.00
Coupon Total....$14.00

$26.99-$14.00=$12.99

I used $11.50 in +Ups and put the $1.49 on my Rite-Aid gift card.(I now have $32.69 left on the gift card.)
I received $5 in +Up Rewards($5 wyb $25 any dental care items)AND I submitted for $12.99 in SCRs for the 4 Crest Rinses($10)and the Oral-B Toothbrush($2.99).

*Analysis*
*  The spiral bound index card booklet was a necessity for #2 son.  He is using this for his 'dot book' for marching band camp.  It is also a Mead product and might qualify for a SCR on Mead products, but I still have to submit the receipt information to see on that.
*  On the Gillette Razors--if you can find the ones with the sample sized shaving gel, etc. in them in your store, these also are on sale and qualify for the $5 +Up Reward this week.  Also note, there is a LIMIT of 2 of this Deal per Wellness Card.
*  The Crest Rinse and Oral-B Toothbrush are a Double Dip Deal this week!  Not only are they part of the $5 +Ups Deal WYB $25 in Dental Care Items(this deal runs through August), but they have their own separate Single Check Rebates if purchased THIS WEEK ONLY.  So spend $25.99 and get $5 in +Ups AND $12.99 in Cash rebates as well.  As you can see by my transaction, by using Qs, you can bring the actual initial cash outlay down(to between $14.99 and $10.99 depending on your Qs).  I 'spent' $11.99 after Qs and sale on these 5 items and I got/will get back $17.99($5 in +Ups and $12.99 in cash).
*  I wanted to get jars of Nutella for #2 son this week.  But bright and early on Sunday, Rite-Aid here had NO jars on the shelf!  I did however get a raincheck and I'm hoping they get some in before the end of August when my $1 off AdPerks/VV Q for it expires.
*  I spent all my +Ups on Sunday and now I only have the ones I received on Sunday, amounting to $15.  I may actually use up ALL my +Ups in the next week or so. This will be the first time I'll be +Ups-less since they started this program, over 1.5 years.  It will be nice NOT to feel compelled to go to Rite-Aid for awhile seeing as I have plenty of toiletries/HBA/paper goods right now. ;-)  I think I need to take a Rite-Aid sabbatical.lol

  THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....4
Total Spent....$4.55 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$68.03
SCR qualified for...$12.99
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$15.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$22.50
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$15.00
And I have $32.69 left on my gift card.

Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--AUGUST Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......4
Total Spent....$4.55 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....11
Value of Items purchased....$68.03
SCR qualified for....$12.99
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for August SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 7/26.....$22.50
+Up Rewards spent....$22.50
+Up Rewards earned....$15.00
+Up Rewards left....$15.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

July Food Spending Week 4.....4 Shopping Trips but Frugal

I am going to update each week in July on my food spending. After the last 2 months of going over, maybe this will help me stay on track more if all of y'all are watching me.....watching me in a good way, not the bad, creepy way. ;-)

Between July 24th and 31st I made 4 trips to the grocery store! 
I spent a total of $54.40.  

The 1st 2 trips were to Weis Markets and the Bread Outlet.  I talked about those on this post HERE.

Hubs picked me up a gallon of white vinegar for $2.99, which was the 3rd trip.  For trip #4, on Saturday he bought some fresh ground beef and 1 tomato for burgers on the grill.  He also picked up a gallon of milk for the 15 yr. old milk guzzling machine that resides with us.lol
With the $54.40 spent last week, I have a grand total spent in July of $200.24 for food, or $175.27 after I deduct the cash rebates received in July.

 

I think by staying focused on the weekly totals, it helped me keep to my budget better than last month.

If you recall, June's food spending was $348.05.  I have halved that total in July.

I have already checked out this week's sales ads, so now I am off to peer into the freezer and pantry and come up with a Meal Plan for the week.

How about you?  Are you eating from your pantry/stockpile this week?   Or are the sales ads tempting you to spend at the stores?

Sluggy

What Food I Bought in July...A Big Boring List Only for Other Nerd's Eyes

My good blogging buddy, Annie Jones, over at Real Life Living posts what she buys every month. The way she tells it, it shows people that she really does get a lot of food for the little amount she spends each month. You can eat well and still be frugal.

I think it's helpful to see it all written down in one place so you can gauge how you are doing with the food money each month.

So I thought this was a real good idea and decided to steal borrow her idea and post all the food I buy in a month to feed my family of 4-5.
Besides, I am a big fat NERD who likes doing this!

For July, we had 3 people at home--2 adults and a 15 yr. old teen boy. 

 I stockpile items when they are rock bottom price, so besides the obvious fresh produce & dairy, this list is not necessarily ALL we ate in July.  We may have items on the list we didn't buy to consume this month and we may have eaten many items already canned or in the freezer from past stocking-up.  But it shows you how far you can make your money go by buying on discount, bulk, sale and paring coupons and/or rebates with the deals.

Here's the food items, including pet foods, I bought in July for an out of pocket of $175.27 after rebates.

This list doesn't include the few toiletries I bought where I actually had to pay money for them(not bought at Rite-Aid).

MEAT, POULTRY AND PORK

Chicken    13 lbs.

Hot Dogs   3 packages

Turkey Lunchmeat   2 packages

Steak   10.5 lbs.

Ground Beef   5.75 lbs.

Pork Ribs  7.5 lbs.

Kielbasa   5 lbs.

Ham Steak   1

Scrapple   1

SEAFOOD
Fish 2 lbs.

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS

Salad   2 bags

Watermelon  3

Cucumber    2

Cantaloupe   1

Yellow Squash   4.50 lbs.

Broccoli   1 lb.

Lettuce   1 head

Corn   4 ears

Red Bell Pepper   2

Onions   2 lbs.

Tomatoes   1
Raisins box   1

DAIRY
Milk gallon  3/quart   1

Eggs dozen  2.5

Cheese  8

Sour Cream   2

Cream Cheese   2

PASTA, GRAINS, BEANS

0

BREADS

Bread loaves   13

Hot Dog Rolls   2

Donuts, Danish, Cake  12 boxes

Bagels 6-pack  1

Croissants   4

BAKING/COOKING STAPLES

Nutella   1

CONDIMENTS/SPICES/HERBS

Vinegar   1

SNACKS
Peanuts   2
Cookies  3
Doritos   2
Potato Chips   4

CANDY
Candy Bars   2
Gum   2
Sample Chocolate Boxes   8
Choc. covered Cherries   2

BEVERAGES
Soda-12 packs  11
Ginger-Ale 2 ltr.   1

Kool-Aid packets  50
Amp energy drinks  4
100% Juice   1
Green Tea single bottle   1
Iced Coffee single cans   2

PREPARED

Ice Cream   2  1.75 quarts

Frozen Fruit Bars   2 boxes

Croutons    4

Whack Biscuit Rolls   3

Sauerkraut   1
Flavor-Ice   2
Breakfast Cereal   2

DOG FOOD
0

I didn't realize until I saw this list that I had bought so much meat in July!  We could stand to up the fresh produce consumption though.  I know #2 son was home this month as the milk, bakery products and soda purchases were much higher.lol   I used a lot of +Up Rewards to buy junk food at Rite-Aid this month....chips, peanuts, gum, chocolate, soda drinks....
Bleh.

So what foods did you buy in July?

Sluggy

July Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2011.

I have posted July's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2011 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(3 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 15.
******************

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $31.91

Qs/Ads  $36.31
Value  $68.22
Savings  53.23%

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $22.45
Value  $105.14
Savings  78.65%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $21.51
Qs/Ads  $12/43
Value  $33.94
Savings  36.62%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $10.67
Qs/Ads  $140.75
Value  $151.42
Savings  93%

RITE AID
OOP  $7.83 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $399.04
Value  $406.87
Savings  98.08% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WALMART
OOP  $7.21
Qs/Ads $0.00
Value  $7.21
Savings  00%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $105.16
Qs/Ads  $117.80
Value  $222.96
Savings  52.83% 

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor 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 RECEIVED IN JULY
Pinecone Research....$9.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$6.99
Snapple....$8.98
Subtotal........$24.97

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$24.97


COUPONS and FREEBIES

Glidden......Free Qt. of Paint
Kotex....$2/1 Q
Pantene.....Free ITEM Q

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  Price Chopper at 93% and the Bakery Outlet as 78.65%.  I shopped at 7 different stores in July.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$200.24
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$795.52
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$995.76
TOTAL Savings of...................................79.89%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$24.97
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$175.27
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$795.52
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$995.76
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................82.40%

Since my Rite-Aid shopping(which contains No OOP)always skews my savings percentages, I like to figure my Totals without the Rite-Aid numbers also.
TOTAL OOP after Rebates.....$175.27
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$588.89
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....70.24%
My food savings percentage seems to run about 50%-60% for the strictly food items only.
Those Rite-Aid purchases always boost up my savings total about 20% points.  This month Rite-Aid purchases only boosted my Savings Percentage 12.16%.



This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I kept my food spending well under my $250 budgeted amount.  I have been buying more produce in July but not from the farmstand yet.  And we've been eating down some proteins in the freezer.
The only stocking up I seemed to do in July was on soda, soap and chips type snacks foods.


What's ahead for August.....
Well be up to 4 at home and then 5+ at home at the end of this month as the kids(and their friends)come back and then leave again for college.  It's a crazy month here.....busy with Band Camp, Summer Jobs, getting ready for school/college plus trying to can/freeze fresh produce for the winter.  I am going to try to keep up the cooking at home/no eating out schedule we've been following in July.  There may be a few meals out however in celebration of everyone home.  Our eating out does not come out of the food budget so I'll have a full shift of meals to pay for with the food kitty.
Hopefully I can stay around the $200 mark for August(before any rebates)and then use that $75 I didn't use last month and about $50 of the $250 budget for Aug.(giving me $125 combined)and put that toward my fresh farmstand purchases to preserve for winter.

How did you do in July with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for August?  Any family coming to stay....or are you trying to figure out a food budget for a vacation? 
Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  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

Rite-Aid JULY Single Check Rebate Period GRAND TOTALS

I did a small transaction on Tuesday before the July SCR Period ended....

2 x Reach Toothbrushes on sale $2.99=$5.98
1 x Sampler Russell Stover chocies w/20% Wellness discount=$1.27
SubTotal....$7.25

Coupons Used
1 x $2/2 Reach Toothbrushes IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Reach Toothbrush AdPerks/VV Q=$2.00
Coupon Total....$4.00

$7.25-$4.00=$3.25
I used $3 in +Up Rewards and put the .25¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.

I received $3 in +Up Rewards back($1 Russell Stover, 2 x $1 Reach).

  THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.25 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$11.57
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$3.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$3.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$22.50
And I have $38.24 left on my gift card.

And here's the wrap up for this SCR Period....

Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--JULY Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......13
Total Spent....$3.50 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....80
Value of Items purchased....$376.15
SCR qualified for....$22.38
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for July SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 7/23.....$22.50
+Up Rewards spent....$101.69
+Up Rewards earned....$66.88
+Up Rewards left....$22.50  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period






Analysis**  I brought 80 items home with a retail value of $376.15, used $3.50 off of my free gift card.  I will additionally receive $22.38 in cash rebates. 


In exchange for $3.50 on my gift card, Rite-Aid paid me $22.38 to bring home $376.15 worth of products.
How can you NOT love Rite-Aid! 8-))



Sluggy

$25 Gift Card Giveaway Results....

And the Winner of the $25 Walmart Gift Card is............

McVal!


McVal said...
Woohoo baby!!! Sign me up! With the wedding getting moved up and up, I need SOMETHING to buy the kids their school supplies with!
July 27, 2011 11:52 AM


Congratulations McVal!

Please email me directly(go to my "See Complete Profile" page to find it)with your Name, Mailing Address and Phone Number(yeah, it's MyBlogSparkso they want that too. lol)and I'll get the info. to the Powers That Be so they can mail you out your winnings.

A big thank you for everyone who entered.  Hopefully I'll see y'all commenting again and reading my humble little blog. 8-)

Sluggy

Company, Meals, Shopping, Gardening & Other Foolishness This Week

My week hasn't gone as I had planned.
First off, the Nephew has been staying with us since Tuesday.
He's not a big imposition but I've had to be more structured with him here.
I just chased him off the tv for the 2nd time this week.  He has a penchant for those MTV and VH1 shows I can't stand.....you know, the Jersey Shore, Mob Wives, Celebrity Rehab, Sweet 16, Cribs, etc.  All those unreality shows where he can sit and be a voyeur into other people's lives...other people who aren't living "real lives", and dream that he'll be just like them when he grows up.
Yeeesh.....

He's 17 and still doesn't have a learner's permit and blames it on other people in his life.
So the first day I drove him to the DMV to get a permit book so he can study and go take his permit test.
He put the book down about an hour after he got it and hasn't studied it since.
Somehow I think those 'other people' in his life aren't the ones keeping him from getting his license.....

I hit the Bread Outlet....9 packages of bread and rolls and 2 boxes of chocolate doughnuts and $10.67 poorer later we stopped for gas at Sheetz before heading home.  I tried to use my .70¢ a gallon points discount from Weis Markets but it didn't take.  The gas station cashier said I had to take my receipt up to Weis and get my refund there.
Bleh.  Another thing that doesn't work right.  Doesn't life just seem to be filled with stuff/procedures/routines that just don't work right?

Having the Nephew here necessitated me hitting Weis Markets again this week for some provisions so we combined the gas points refund trip with our shopping excursion to the grocery store.
The gas points malfunction seems to be a known issue and they have a 4 page instruction sheet at the CS desk to get you a cash refund without alot of fuss and muss.  I had my $10.83 cash refund in my hot little hand in no time flat.

As for the groceries....I had planned to get a Watermelon(on sale for $3.99), 2 blocks of Cabot Cheese($1.50 after Qs),2 packages of cream cheese($1.25 on sale) and a bag of onions for $2 this week.  They had nice red peppers for $1 each so I picked up 2(since I had to rethink my tentative meal plan this week with an additional mouth to feed) and I got a quart of whole milk for the quiche I was planning on making and added in a couple of bags of salad(BOGO sale) so I could offer some salads for lunches this week.  I needed something to make a quick late lunch that day, so I found some discounted fresh ground beef for just under $2 lb. to make some burgers on the grill for the 3 of us at home for lunch.

Here are a couple of deals I found as well.....

Turkey Kielbasa for $1 a package(near sell by date).  I bought 3 to put into the freezer.

I also had 2 $2/1 Hatfield IPQs to use by 7/30.  Last Saturday they had Hatfield bacon marked down to $2.99 and Ham Steaks for $2.50 but I didn't have those Qs with me, rats!
The marked down bacon packs were long gone, so I got 1 package of Scrapple for $2.99 so $.99 after Q.
Then I got this....

Over by the Ham Steaks they still had the 2 for $5 sign up, though it expired on Saturday.
So I threw a ham steak in my cart.
I went through the check-out and paid my $33.41 total, including the ham steak which rang up full price at $3.99.
I then headed to the CS desk since my ham steak didn't ring up the sale price hanging off the shelf tag.
Weis has a policy that if your item rings up incorrectly(not the sale price)you get your money back and get to keep the item for free.  They also give you back your money if an old sale hangtag is still on the shelf....I thought they just gave you the difference back between the current regular price and the old sale price sign but getting it for free is better, right?lol
So basically they gave me the ham steak for free AND they gave me an additional $2 off the rest of my order, for the Q I used on it's purchase.  Somehow that seems so wrong but they didn't deduct the Q since they will get that $2 back from the manufacturer when they turn it in.

So I spent $29.41 at Weis which turned out to be a 54% savings rate off of regular retail. 8-)

We started out the Meal Plan for the week....
SUNDAY--Ravioli, Garden Salad
MONDAY--leftover Pork Loin slices, Fried Yellow Squash, Mashed Potatoes
*Then things got rejiggered with the additional of the Nephew at meals.*
TUESAY--Rueben Sandwiches
WEDNESDAY--Chicken Fajitas
THURSDAY--Chicken Cheese Broccoli Rice Casserole
FRIDAY--Boston Baked Beans, Cornbread, Pickles
SATURDAY--Leftovers

So my quiche didn't happen this week.
Late Monday night, I cooked 2 small corned beef briskets in the crockpot and put in the fridge to cool Tuesday morning.  Then before dinner I took them out and sliced/shaved them on my mandolin slicer into deli slices for the sandwiches.  I also had the swiss cheese already and the 1000 island dressing.  I bought a loaf of rye bread for .89¢ at the Breat Outlet.
Wednesday I thawed 2 chicken breasts, used some old red bell pepper strips from the freezer, threw in 2 small leftover yellow squash I hadn't used on Monday, along with some of the onions and 1 of the red peppers I just bought Tuesday.  I also added 2 banana peppers from the garden to the mixture.  I used an opened bag of shredded cheddar and opened a package of multgrain organic tortillas I bought for .49¢ at the beginning of the month at Price Chopper.

I'll put some yellow eye beans on to soak in a bit for Friday's dinner.  That night's dinner is totally from the stockpile/pantry.

I did some more picking from the garden the last few days....

The 1st photo was from Sat. and the 2nd photo was from Wednesday.
Hubs picked 2 more cukes Wednesday evening.  Because of this mountain of cukes, I have a gallon jar filled with this.....

Bread and Butter Pickles anyone? lol

Due to the 2 weeks of early humid and hot weather here, I also have this....

The First Turning Tomato of the Season!!
BLTs and 'Mater Sammiches are in my near future......

And I found the garden planting diagram last weekend shoved in behind my recipe sheets on the bookshelf.  Indeed yes, Hubs planted melons...I am guessing that means WATERmelons in the bed on the side of the house.  I have found cucumbers places that are NOT indicated on the planting diagram, so I am taking said diagram's voracity with a grain of the proverbial salt.
Wouldn't you? ;-)

Yesterday after I got out of the pool and did a bit of weeding on the back garden bed I saw this....

And then this, tucked waaaaaaaaaaay back by the deck railing....

2 more melons....in the back garden bed.....where there is NO indication of said melons being planted back in that bed.
?!?!?

I think Hubs is trying to gaslight me......
Well maybe not, at least until the kids are grown and outta the house.lol

Ok, I am off to debone some chicken, throw some rice into the crockpot and maybe take a quick nap.
I have already washed dishes, gone to Rite-Aid and used up my expiring +Ups, picked up #2 son's friend so they could hang out here for the day, run the Nephew off of MTV/VH1/LALA land, gotten Chinese food for everyone for lunch(and not a thank you from any of them...grrrr)and posted this.  I'm beat!

What frugal stuff is happening(or Not!)in your world lately?


Sluggy

Exchanging Blog Links

I did a little blog housekeeping earlier this week on the Blog Roll. 
I like to go through it a couple times a year and delete blogs that have been abandoned or haven't had any new material posted on them in 6 months.  I also try to post new blogs I've discovered and think my readers might also like to check out.

If you have a blog and I don't have you on my Blog Roll, please leave a comment here or send me an email(my email is listed under my blogger profile info)with your blog URL and I'll go check you out.
Perhaps, if you are willing we could exchange blog links and I could be on your Blog Roll as well.

Also, if you have any suggestions for Other Blogs, that aren't your own, for inclusion on my Blog Rolls, shoot me a comment or an email and I'll check them out too.

Thanks!

Sluggy

Giveaway Ends Tomorrow Night 7/28.....Enter it Now!

I hope everyone is having a great day.  I am super busy today and All of this week actually, so I'm just putting up a reminder to ENTER MY GIVEAWAY for a $25 WALMART GIFT CARD!!!

It ends tomorrow night, so be sure and click on the link to the right under "CURRENT GIVEAWAY POSTS" and go enter on that post.

Who can't use $25, seriously!?!?
If you don't believe in buying "stuff", they have food.
If you like buying crap-plastic or not-, they have TONS of that.
They are everywhere so no worries about finding one near you.
So what are you waiting for?

Sluggy

The Comedy of Errors Stockpile Sale.....The Results

Well, Hubs put out the signs(one at the main road and one at the end of our street)and I opened the garage door, just a tad before 8 am.

And there were 4 people waiting outside in their cars.  Local dealers is my guess since they walked up the driveway and scanned my 'spread' and walked back to their cars.

I guess they had no clue what a "Stockpile Sale" was(that's what my signs said)and it certainly wasn't old used stuff they could buy for a quarter and sell for much much more to someone else in their store or at the flea market or online.lol

We did a slow steady business until about 11 am, so 3 solid hours of buyers.  I made a point of asking how they found us since I had put 2 online ads up as well as the big signs on the road.  It seems most found us from the signs as a lot of the garage salers around here just drive around on Saturday morning looking for signs.  Luckily we are fairly close to the middle of town and on a main road.  If we were located farther out of town, the signs would have been less help getting us customers.
I am sure the horrible high temps also cut down on the garage sale shoppers last weekend.  Nicer weather would have helped the bottom line a bit more.

Only 1 of the folks I asked also checked the newspaper classifieds for sales so I am glad I didn't spent the $25 per day, per ad, they charge here for garage sale advertising.

I had a couple of stragglers between 11 and 11:55 when I closed the door for the day.   That seems to be the pattern around here, be it yard saling or flea marketing.....come early and finish early and get on about your other business for the rest of the day.

So with all the angst I had over this endeavor and the stops and starts, we came out with a $347 profit for the day.  Not great but worth sitting in my garage for a few hours.
I like this plan--sit in the garage and have people come give me money!  Nice work if you can get it.lol

The flea market is much more profitable as there are more potential buyers but it's also getting up before dawn(a BIG drawback for me!lol), lugging tables/shelves/products and waiting in line for hours just to get in.  I'm good with opening the garage door and closing it when done and being finished and home already. 8-)

Here are the After Photos....

Still looks like a TON of stuff, doesn't it?lol
Well it is!  But we did make a perceivable dent in the volume.  Maybe 2 whole Rubbermaid tubs worth of stuff.

I sold most of the few food items I had(those were some of the first things to sell!)from .50¢ to $2.  Also big sellers were toothbrushes($1), cosmetics($1 to $4), Olay items($8 for eye rollers, $3 for body wash), shaving cream($1) and batteries(came out to .25¢ per battery-assorted sized packages)
.
Good sellers were toothpaste($1Colgate to $2 Pronamel), dental floss($1), higher end shampoos(Nexxus $4, Tresemme $3, etc.), soap($1.50-$3), dishwashing soap(.75¢ to $1), feminine pads($1) and Viactiv calcium chews($2).

Less good sellers were deodorant($1 to $1.50), body wash($1 to $3) and lotions($1 to $3)
.
What I couldn't give away......mid priced shampoos(Garnier and Herbal Essences($1.50), even Pantene($2), which usually sells out!), Gillette Razors($3), Airwick Spray kits($2 small/$4 large), Hair coloring($2) and Listerine mouthwash($2), Contact Solution($1) and Diapers($4).
$11 Gilette Razors for $3, Hair Color for $2.....C'mon!lolol

The funniest thing were the Duracell batteries.  Long dated packs of 4 AA batteries for $1 and 20 AA packs for $5.  Both deals come out to .25¢ per battery.   People would buy 5 packs of the 4 batteries instead of 1 pack of the 20 batteries.  Why buy 5 packs of one rather than 1 pack of the other if it's the same price in the end?lol

All-in-all it was worth doing. But I still have a LOT of stuff left!  Daughter said she'd help me do another garage sale when she gets home from her camp job.  I am thinking instead that I'll pack it all up into the Rubbermaid tubs by price and let her and her boyfriend do the flea market next month for me.
I'll make a deal with her that I'll use the profit from what they sell to put toward buying her some clothes and supplies for college.  A couple of hours selling toiletries with her BF in exchange for some paid for shopping will get her interest. ;-)

Next stop is to let BIL go shopping in the garage today, then pulling out a load to take to the Food Bank on Friday.  After that, everything gets packed up for the Flea Market and stacked in the corner so I can use the garage for a staging area to go through my storage unit boxes and begin the Great Decluttering of '11 again!
Yes, more Decluttering P*rn to follow sometime next week....WooHooo! 8-)

And I also need to get the glassware and furniture items up on Craigslist to sell. 

We also need to sell the dog run/kennel out back since our beagle girl doesn't like being out there anymore.  I think it's a combination of our boy beagle being gone now who always kept her company in there and her just aging and not liking being out in the heat as much.  Use to, she would spent the whole day out in the run, sitting on the doghouse like Snoopy from the comic strips(yes, beagles actually do doghouse sit!)

Sluggy

A Rite-Aid Quickie......Last Saturday!

Hubs drove me up to Rite-Aid after we shut down the Stockpile Sale at noon on Saturday.
Here's what I spent my expiring $4 in +Up Rewards on....

No nit-icky breakdown 'cuz the sale week is over.
I had an old raincheck for the plates($1.97)so with the $2 in Qs, each package was .97¢.  The juice was $2 after the $1 wellness AdPerks/VV Q.
My total with cherry filler at .26¢(see it on the top of the juice bottle?lol) came to $4.20.  I used the $4 in +Ups and put the .20¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey!

Tuesday is the last day for the July Single Check Rebate Period and I 'might' get to Rite-Aid then so I won't close out the totals for July yet.


 THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.20 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$13.60
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$0.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$4.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$22.50
And I have $38.49 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--JULY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......12
Total Spent....$3.25 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....77
Value of Items purchased....$364.58
SCR qualified for....$22.38
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for July SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 7/18.....$26.50
+Up Rewards spent....$98.69
+Up Rewards earned....$63.88
+Up Rewards left....$22.50  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

Sluggy

FINALLY!!! Thanks for the Fun Filled Day of Aggravation Amazon & Blogger!

You both totally suck.....

Sluggy

Testing, Testing.....

Just ignore me cuz I am about to go MAD!

Sluggy

They Took the Amazon Associate Thingy off Now, Here's Hoping I Can Post Content Along WITH a Title!

Nope, I Still Can't Post any Content....I Give Up! I'll Try Again Tomorrow...UGH!!!

Trying One More Time Since the Amazon Links ARE Showing Up Now

If You Are Reading This, Try To Leave a Comment, Ok? 8-)

I Tried to Add an Amazon Link to Dante's Inferno and It Will Only Let Me Link "Help"...That's Certainly Appropriate Too, Is it Not!LOL

The Help

Which Circle of Hell Am I On Now?!?!

HELP! I'm Trapped in Blog Title Hell.....Where is Dudley DoRight When I Need Him?

I Added Amazon Assoc. and Now I Can Only Post Titles & No Content....WTF?!?!

Anybody Know How to Ditch Amazon Associates?

July Food Spending Week 3.....3 Shopping Trips but Frugal

I am going to update each week in July on my food spending. After the last 2 months of going over, maybe this will help me stay on track more if all of y'all are watching me.....watching me in a good way, not the bad, creepy way. ;-)

Between July 15th and 23rd I made 3 trips to the grocery store!  I know it's a bit more than a week but I need to include an extra couple of days in the last 2 weeks of July as the month has 31 total, not 28. ;-)

I spent a total of $61.76.  The 1st trip was that small OOP one to Price Chopper(northeast)where I used my Catalina Q.  The 2nd trip was to the local independent grocer where I spent $10.50 on a watermelon, 2 cukes, a cantaloupe and 3lb.s of yellow squash.
Then yesterday I spent $47.62 on 2 large London Broils(BOGO deal!), a gallon of milk, 3 blocks of cheese, 18 eggs, a package of clearance steak(which came out to $2lb.), 2 lbs. of tilapia, a head of lettuce, a lb. of broccoli and 1.5 lbs. more of yellow squash. Almost 33% savings rate on that last trip but still pretty good considering all the meat I got.

I've eyeballed the sales this week and mostly it's the dreaded "house brands on sale" week so not many items you can stack sales and coupons upon to get some inexpensive food.
I'll post my Meal Plan tomorrow, but for today I'll let y'all know I have a trip to the bakery/bread outlet(we are out of bread)and 1 trip to Weis Markets on my agenda for the last week of July's spending.  I've got $1/1 Cabot Cheese IPQs to combine with a sale on Cabot Cheese at Weis($2.50)so there is $1.50 a package cheese in my future, as well as 1 $1.25 package house brand cream cheese.  I may head to the farm this week for some veggies and fruit but I don't foresee much OOP in the food spending category in Week 4.  I predict $20-$30.

With the $61.76 spent last week, I have a grand total spent in July so far of $136.49 for food.

How about you?  Are you eating from your pantry/stockpile this week?

Sluggy

My Comedy of Errors Stockpile Sale

So if you remember correctly, I talked awhile back about cleaning the garage and such HERE.
Well that was May something-or-other.

I did get the living room cleaned before the relatives arrived for the Graduation festivities.
And I got all the stockpile extras into the garage, as well as cleaned out all the 'extra stuff' from the garage.

And I had #1 son put all that 'extra stuff' into my more than half empty storage unit before he left in June for his summer job on Lake Erie.
And here is what my storage unit looks like at the moment......it is NOT pretty.....

Yes, you can't even step into it right now.
I would be embarrassed by this mess, except that I know that #1 son, not giving a shit about where he placed things, just started piling the boxes up any which way, all 'willy-nilly like' as soon as you step into the unit.  There is a practically empty large area behind this wall of boxes. 

Here are the boxes of stuff to sell in the garage and my beginning of organizing/shelving items in June.....

I didn't get things together to hold the sale before all the kids left home for camp/jobs.  I spent the last week #2 son was at camp setting up more shelving and stocking them.

Finally, last week, I had most everything organized and ready.  Yes, it took me an additional 2 weeks after #2 son got home.
I started pricing/marking stuff and started setting up advertising last week.  Here is what it currently looks like....

I was going to place an ad on a local YahooGroups Sale site and then put a Craigslist ad up.

For some reason(I am hoping it wasn't deliberate on the part of the list owner), my YahooGroups ad never got posted.  For 3 days I saw her post many many other for sale ads up.
I sent it in on Thusday morning, surely that would be enough time for her to get it posted!?
When the ad didn't post I waivered on putting the Craigslist ad up, waiting for the Yahoo ad to go through, until it was too late and I had to call off my plans for last Saturday.

And of course the weather was PERFECT last weekend for a Sale.
Ugh.

So I set my mind on this Saturday.  And I set about looking for some more things to throw into the sale.
And on this Wednesday, my ad for the Yahoo group list posted for LAST SAUTRUDAY'S SALE!lolol
Yes, it took her 6 days to post the ad I had sent her the preceding Thursday. 

I don't want to say anything about her at this point since I am still waiting for her to answer my email about this whole situation, which she also has not answered.  I think she sabotaged me on purpose, since she also owns another Yahoo group and she's been asking everyone to send her coupons so she can extreme coupon and, as she says, buy things to give away to needy people on this other list.
She has also posted a big lot of those items she couponed for on the Yahoo list to sell them. Hmmmm....it just appears to me like I threatened her little kingdom and 'losing' my ad is intentional.

At any rate, I am moving past all this drama and I posted my Craigslist ad and I'll have Hubs put some signs up bright and early tomorrow morning and forge ahead with my sale.

All I have to do is open the garage door and sit on my ass for 4 hours and collect money if anyone shows up.  If they don't, I'll sit on my ass for 4 hours and stay as cool as I can and then figure out what to do next.  I am done worrying about how this will go! ;-)

Hubs says I should give it all to the food bank.
I think a lot of it might end up there eventually but they don't have the storage space for me to haul it all over there in one fell swoop.

So wish me luck and I'll report in when it's all over.

Sluggy

Dante's Inferno

I don't know about you but the weather lately here has been something from the Third Circle of Hell!

Another 95 degree day in the armpit of Pennsylvania is predicted.
Ugh.

Didn't I move away from the South to get away from these temperatures?lol

For anyone also suffering from the Heat Dome Effect, here is a photo of what the weather will be here in 3 months from now.....

Feel better now?
I know I do....

Sluggy

Who Wants to Win a Gift Card?.....Take a Look!

Even though we are in the Dog Days of Summer now, the stores are gearing up for "Back-To-School Season".

Crazy early, right?  But you know it's coming every year so get ready!

Everywhere I look when I go shopping it's aisle upon aisle of school supplies....from backpacks to those little erasers that fit on the end of your pencil.  And there are also the food related Back-To-School items like snack or sandwich sized plastic bags, single serve fruit cups and juice boxes.

And Back-To-School Time also means what?

Box Tops for Education Time of course!
It's time to think about supporting your local schools by buying those General Mills products and cutting the Box Tops off  to earn cash for your kid's school.

And where is someplace you can satisfy your Back-To-School shopping needs and find products with those Box Tops for Education?

Why WALMART of course!
Starting in mid July, head over to your local Walmart to find up to 70 participating products that each have 4 Box Tops!

For a limited time, you get more Box Top Bang for your buck on General Mills products at Walmart.

HERE is a list I found of participating products that sport the Box Tops on their packaging.


Walmart supplied me with a $25 Gift Card to do some Back-To-School shopping.  I'll be picking up some General Mills products there as well, that have those Box Tops for Education on the packaging.
Myself, I love the fresh product products and the GM Flour.  #2 son is all about the Pizza Rolls however. ;-)

MyBlogSpark and Walmart have also supplied an additional $25 Walmart Gift Card for me to giveaway to one of my readers.

If you would like to be in the drawing for this gift card, please leave a comment on this post about which Back-To-School item(s) you will be buying your child(ren) this year.  If you don't have any children, then tell us about which is your favorite product to buy that sports Box Tops for Education.
Be sure you leave your email addresses in your comment if it is NOT accessible through your Blogger/Google profile information.

You can earn 2 additional entries by blogging about this Giveaway or posting it on a Message Board if you don't have a blog.  Leave 2 more separate comments if you blog/post my giveaway and a link to that post.

I'll leave this Giveaway open until 11:59pm on July 28th.  At which time, the comments will be closed and I'll randomly draw an entry to win the $25 gift card.

So don't just sit there, enter my Giveaway!

Sluggy

*"Disclosure: The information and $25 gift card to Walmart has been provided by Walmart and General Mills through MyBlogSpark."

July Food Spending Week 2......Low Spend Finally!

I am going to update each week in July on my food spending. After the last 2 months of going over, maybe this will help me stay on track more if all of y'all are watching me.....watching me in a good way, not the bad, creepy way. ;-)

In the 2nd 7 days of July I made NO trips to the grocery store!
No trips to the store between July 3rd and 14th and we've been eating from the stockpile so our spending for July remains at $66.72.

Last week I cooked Ribs, a Pork Roast Dinner and something else I can't recall now.....gee I sure miss my brain some days.
Hubs was out of town for 2 days so I got #2 son Taco Bell and other crap and I had whatever I could scrounge here.  The other nights were Leftovers meals.

Here is what we are having this week....

SUNDAY--Sloppy Joes, Squash Casserole
MONDAY--Leftovers
TUESDAY--Tacos, Watermelon
WEDNESDAY--Ham Steak, Potato Salad, Cantaloupe
THURSDAY--Chicken Casserole
FRIDAY--Leftovers
SATURDAY--Salmon, Potato Salad, Braised Green Beans

Though I hadn't shopped for food from July 8-14, I did go out on the 15th and I do need a few things for this week's Thur-Sat. meals so I'll have shopping to report in on after the 21st.  I need to buy Broccoli, Cucumbers, a head of Lettuce and Salmon today or tomorrow.  We haven't had salmon in a long time here because of the price.  It's on special this week so I'll buy some extra to throw into the freezer.  Not a lot extra since a "special" on salmon is still not cheap.lol  I'll also pick up Eggs this week for the quiche I plan on making next week, since eggs are on sale this week.
I figure I'll spend $20 on these things, maybe less is I can get to the farm and they have the produce I need.

How about you?  Are you eating from your pantry/stockpile this week?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid This Week.....So Far

Rite-Aid on Monday.....

2 x Oreos on sale $3=$6.00
1 x Samy Foam hair color on sale but 20% wellness discount is lower=$8.23
1 x Lipton ice tea single w/20% wellness discount=$1.27*
2 x U liners on sale $1=$2.00
2 x Oral-B crossaction Toothbrush on sale $2.99=$5.98
2 x Renpure Shampoo(Rain Check makes it free)=$0.00**
SubTotal....$23.48

Coupons Used
1 x $1 any purchase AdPerk/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Oreos AdPerk/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $3/1 Samy Foam hair color IPQ=$3.00
1 x Free Item Q Lipton 20 oz. bottle single=$1.59
1 x $1/1 any U Kotex item IPQ=$2.00
1 x BOGO Oral-B toothbrush ManuQ=$2.99 ***
Coupon Total....$11.58

$23.48-$11.58=$11.90 + .20¢tax=$12.10
I used $12 in +Up Rewards and put the .10¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card so I had no OOP.
I received $10.50 back in +Up Rewards($5 Samy, 2 x $2 Renpure, $1.50 Oral-B toothbrush).

I still have $4 in +Ups to use this week.

*Though the bottle of iced tea was $1.27 after discount, the coupon rang up $1.59.  This sort of makes up for being overcharge a couple of weeks ago for the Amp drinks. ;-)
**This is the week to use your Renpure Rainchecks....remember the ones you got a few weeks ago that made them free since you couldn't get the +Up Rewards that week?  Use them this week and not only is the shampoo free but you get $2 in +Ups back as well!
*** I've seen some deal blogs tell you to use the $2/1 Oral-B toothbrush Q.  Somehow I don't think that is the right Q to use here?  There is a BOGO Oral-B Q also, which is the one I used(even though I only got the +Ups for 1 of the toothbrushes since it's a Limit of 1).  The BOGO Q specifically says it's for a "manual" toothbrush, while the $2/1 does not, though both Qs say good on a "crossaction" type toothbrush.  If you've had success using the $2/1 Q I'd like to know please.  Success as in, "the Q scanned into the register with no beeps and didn't have to be manually entered". lol

 THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.10 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$50.40
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$10.50
+Up Rewards spent.....$12.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$26.50
And I have $38.69 left on my gift card.


Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--JULY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......11
Total Spent....$3.05 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
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Sluggy

The Hard Hard Road of The Artistic Student

*The post where I ramble on ad nauseum about education, debt and the arts.*

#2 son finished up with school for the term last month.
His grades for the year?
Maybe I shouldn't go there.lol

It was a mixed bag of A's through C+'s.
Besides French which he loves and puts a consistent effort toward and gets A's, every other academic subject ran the gamut from high to low marks.  It's not like he has certain subjects he struggles with, since he managed an A at some point in the year in every course.  He just can't sustain interest enough for an entire year to give a crap to do well.

His older brother had certain subjects he had to work harder at throughout school.  He always had to work much harder at math and foreign language, but subjects like history and literature came much easier for him.

His sister sailed through with A's on everything, until this last year in which Physics kicked her in the ass.  She says the teacher was inadequate to the challenge of teaching this subject and from what others have said and her classmates have said, I tend to believe that some of that C+ she earned in Physics was NOT all her fault.

Anyway, if you have more than 1 child, you know that they each learn differently and perform well or not so well in a school setting.
#2 son has had a totally different learning/schooling trajectory than either of his siblings.
I am taking pause on how to approach/encourage/guide/threaten him to maintain a high level of effort in his academic subjects.

As we send off his brainiac sister to college, I am coming to the realization that #2 son may not be cut out to be college material.
Well, let me rephrase that......he may not be cut out for the life of an intellectual academic.

Hubs is/was an intellectual.  He went on a large merit scholarship to Johns Hopkins University.  He got his MA from the University of Virginia and was going on to get his PhD there as well.  His plan was to become a tenured professor of Medieval Literature at some high falootin' prestigious University.
As Southern comedienne Jeanne Robertson says, he is a "left brain" man and he was on the way to over degree-ing himself.

On the flip side of his greatness, Hubs can barely dress himself and he'd starve if I wasn't here to feed him.  He was writing checks for cups of coffee when I met him in college but couldn't balance a checkbook.

I was not a stellar student in high school.  I did well in the sciences & history, got through the math but I excelled at all the art subjects.....art, music, drama, dance and literature.   I went to a small expensive Women's college nearby Hub's Johns Hopkins U.  I was not an academe but I did well in my studies and had a blast doing many of the arts for 4 years.  I learned a lot but nothing there prepared me to get a job in my field that would pay enough to support me.  Making the connections in the field of my choosing during the summer and after college was the more valuable thing I achieved.  Luckily, my 4 years of college didn't leave me with loans I would be ill prepared to pay back.

#2 son is an 'arts' kind of guy.   And for me, unless you are one of the rare artistic type people who has the talent to make it 'big', college may not be the best choice for you if you don't have cash ready to pay for school or at least the bulk of the costs of it.

Yes, colleges have tons of programs for the arts.  And some of them are highly regarded. 
But unless you are attending one of the prestigious schools with an equally prestigious arts program
you might want to rethink attending with the help of large student loans.


Don't get me wrong.....no one's schooling is EVER a waste of time!  And you will benefit from college in many ways and you may actually refine your artistic skills and be able to land a job that supports you.

But with the kind of income the arts person will see over their lifetime, the arts person who isn't at the 'top' of the talent/skills for the profession, they will have a hard time paying back all those loans on top of supporting themselves on their income level unless they hit it lucky.  There use to always be the fallback profession of teaching the arts for the artistically inclined graduate if other jobs didn't pan out.  But nowadays with the cut backs in education, the arts are the first types of programs to get the ax. 
I'm just saying that if you need to go into massive debt to attend school in an arts field, you really need to think hard about being able to earn a living in that field that will let you also pay back all that debt.

Most arts students would be better off, instead of going to that expensive college with an arts program they can't afford w/out large loans, to live at home and taking classes at a community college along with finding work or internships in their career field to do simultaneously.  You don't necessarily need a school setting once you have mastered some basics to learn your craft in the arts.  It's more about practicing, honing your skills and forging the connections that will get you work.  My best advice is to find a mentor in your field and etch everything they say into your brain!  Hounding and picking the brain of someone you respect in your artistic field and getting some unpaid on-the-job experience might be the most useful and cheapest education you will find.

The arts community is rather small no matter which artistic discipline you go into.  In this line of work, it really is about who you know and making a name for yourself among your fellow artisans.  Artists tend to recommend people they know and have worked with in the past...unless they let their egos get in the way, but that's a whole other topic for another day! ;-)

So Hubs, #2 son and I will be talking and pondering in the coming year, what makes the most sense for #2 son in terms of advanced schooling.
Should he go to a 2 year community college and then intern/apprentice in his field?
Should he go to a 4 year liberal arts school?
Should he go to a conservatory or art school?
Should he take classes independently and work?

And the questions #2 son needs to start addressing....
Will he be able to sustain his livelihood in an artistic field?
Will he learn a 'back-up' profession so he has something to fall back on if the arts gig doesn't work out?
Or will be have to get a 'real job' and practice his art on the side either paid or unpaid?

Life can be so complicated for the artistic soul!

So tell me about you or your kid(s).....
Did/do you earn a living in an arts field?
Did you go to college and major in an artistic discipline but don't earn a living in that field?
Where you talented in the arts but didn't follow your heart?
And do you regret that you didn't pursue your passion?

Sluggy

PS-All opinions here are my own and you are more than welcomed to disagree with me. 8-)

Wise Words for a Monday

In these days of Graduations and Graduation Speeches here are a couple of videos with awesome advise to impart.

First, the original video of THE SUNSCREEN SONG.  The lyrics are based on a column written by Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune in 1997.  The real title of the work is "Advise, like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young".  In the introduction Ms. Schmich noted that were she called upon to give a commencement speech, this would be it.  Baz Luhrmann set her words to music in 1998.




And here is the Commencement Speech delivered by Conan O'Brien to the Class of 2011 at Dartmouth this past May.
It's long but it's worth watching the whole thing.




Sluggy