MIA The Last 5 Days.....What's Up?

Not to worry....I've been here but busy and not really chatty. 
Working on the End of August financials and trying to get everyone back into a school year routine.

So then the high school gave the kids a 4 day Weekend.  Oh, thanks for thwarting my evil plan school district!  I really appreciate that......

Hubs took the day off too so we took a ride to the Farm Stand on Friday and loaded up on ingredients for making Pepper Relish.

A bushel of peppers, 25lbs. of onions, 1 watermelon, 1 cantaloupe, 6 cucumbers and 2 zucchinis later I am $31.50 more broke-r.
But look at all those beauties.....


Friday was all about the opening football game of the year.  "Our" team hosted the #1 team in the conference so the Band had a bigtime food concession going which Hubs worked.  It wore him out so Saturday was spent icing muscles.lol  #2 Son worked hard at staying in formation during the marching band performance.  The Band was great, the football team?....not so much.....not that I care about football..... ;-)
Daughter helped me grocery shop on Friday.....let me rephrase that.....Daughter helped me overspend my grocery budget for August on Friday.  There, that's more accurate. lol

Saturday while Hubs was recuperating from his concession ordeal I had a Canning Day!  I was making Pepper Relish year.
This is such a labor intensive process that I like to make enough to last 2 years so I only have to do this every other year.  It would be great if someone around here would help out with this.
They are all great consumers of this product but as soon as I drag out the equipment and produce, you can't find a one of the family to take part in the creation of this heavenly foodstuff.
Why is that?

First I had to chop all my ingredients into tiny bits..............

I about filled a 5 gallon bucket with bits!  Next time stirring it with a boat oar rather than a puny little wooden spoon might be smarter on my part.

I must say that now that I have a food processor this part of the process only takes a quarter of a day instead of the full 12 hour day it use to take me when I had to do it all. by. hand.  That used $8 processor I won at the Church auction 2 years ago is paying for itself bigtime now!lol

Then it's time to salt the veggies and let the moisture leech out for an hour while I get the syrup ready and the jars and lids sterilized.
Cook down the liquid, plop the relish into the jars and boil in a water bath canning pot and you get this......

I ended up with 11 quarts, 1 pint worth.....

That's a 2 year supply with enough leftover for my sister in-law's Christmas gift.
The quart sized jars in back are for her, though 3 jars won't last her much past Feb. since she likes this stuff so much she eats it straight outta the jar with a spoon!
Ick.

That and a nap was basically my Saturday.
What a production!

Sunday I was up extremely early and took some photos out on the deck while my morning glories were open.

I haven't bought morning glory seeds in years now.  I just let the volunteer plants wither and drop seeds from their pods each Fall and every Spring I get beautiful new flowers.

 You can see the fuzzy ass of a bumblebee in that center bloom.  He was not amused at having his posterior photographed and let me know it when he came outta there! lol

 I'll miss these beauties in a few weeks when they start dying off.....sigh

I accompanied Hubs to an indoor flea market later Sunday morning so he could check out a New Age store there.  He decided to take the bypass as a "short cut" to get there.  Of course, he didn't know where to get off the bypass so the "short cut" ended up taking us on the scenic route through about 3 little towns, as we went waaaay past where the flea market was held on our "short cut".  I just turned my head to the window and rolled my eyes silently at the passing scenery.  Men.....

We went early before the heat got bad.  I got some exercise walking around and a new bumper sticker for my car.
We also picked up some COC at the FM and had it with our burgers, dogs and potato salad at our Sunday evening cook-out.

Monday was spent on more garden chores--Hubs had picked a huge amount of green beans on our vine plants the last few days.  He surprised me by blanching and bagging them all while I was napping Monday afternoon.  He filled 5 freezer bags.....thanks honey!

 I cut up, bagged and froze the rest of the red bell peppers, I didn't use in the relish, for use later this winter.
1 bag of diced peppers and 4 bags of slices.

We also got a few swims in, in the pool and some tomatoes picked.  Lunch on Monday was BLTs using fresh tomatoes from the garden. 
Horror upon horrors though when I saw that we were down to our last three packs of bacon in the freezer....EEK!
I haven't loaded up on bacon in ages.

Now I'm on a quest for a bacon deal.
Ya know.....it's always something, isn't it?

Tuesday's dinner was suppose to be Alfredo Primavera but I substituted Stuffed Green Peppers and Stuffed Zucchini for dinner.  I had a leftover Zuke after making 5 loaves of Zucchini Bread and I had 2 green bell peppers put aside from my bushel of peppers I bought to make stuffed peppers for Hubs.
I just forgot to put the peppers meal on the menu.  We'll bump something else on there off later in the week.

I still need to make pickles and cut up the watermelon we got at the farm stand.  That will be on today's agenda.  I'll also be making Lemon Crisp Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I don't know what's gotten into me......I'm all Betty Freakin' Crockerish suddenly!

Sluggy

Food Spending August Week 4+ & Meal Planning September Week 1

*****************************

And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

Sunday--Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw

Monday--Taco Bell-after music lesson

Tuesday--Dinner Out-30th Anniversary Date night

Wednesday--Pork Chops, Saffron Rice, Broccoli

Thursday--Pizza

Friday--Subway

Saturday--Leftovers 

 

 

The weekly food spending was $87.96. $31.50 of that was Farm Stand produce(part of which was for canning purposes).  The other part was 1 trip to the local market for canned tomatoes stock-up, snacks and convenience foods for the kids, milk, OJ, ranch dressing and spices for the canning.  The store was clearancing out some Hot Pocket type snack thing for 50% off so I picked up all 4 boxes left for the kids for "emergency rations"....aka "when they have to make something themselves to eat".lol

I went over my August food budget by $85+.  A little too much snack foods, red peppers to stock the freezer for winter and for making relish, and a large meat stock-up are mostly to blame.

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up.......2 portions of the lime citrus chicken which are being used tonight.

***********************

This week's menu.....

Sunday--Burgers, Dogs, Potato Salad, COC

Monday--Lime Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday--Alfredo Primavera, Caesar Salad

Wednesday--Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Cranberry Glop, Green Beans

Thursday--Stuffed Shells or Ravioli, Salad

Friday--Leftovers

Saturday--Chinese take-out

 

 

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....tortillas, mushrooms, romaine lettuce, a chicken.  We also need milk, eggs, deli meat this week.  Using the 1 leftover item in tonight's dinner....I'll stretch it to feed 3 people by making Fajitas.  I will also be hitting up the bread outlet this week.  I'm figuring on spending about $50 this coming week.

So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Sluggy

AUGUST 2012 Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2012.

I have posted August's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in August.  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(3-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

FARM STAND
OOP   $31.50

Value   $80.48

Savings  60.86%

RITE-AID

OOP  $.70

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $613.06

Value  $613.76

Savings   99.88%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $346.94

Qs/Ads  $269.18

Value  $616.12

Savings  43.69%

WALMART

OOP  $17.88

Value  $31.14

Savings  42.58%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $88.92

Qs/Ads  $73.01

Value  $161.93

Savings  45.09%

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 August

Total...$0.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$0.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Nothing.

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 99.88%,  the Farm Stand at 60.86%, and Weis at 45.09%.  l shopped at 5 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$485.94

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1,017.49

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,503.43

TOTAL Savings of...................................67.67%

This closes out the August spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into August with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I obviously blew through that mark plus another $85.94.  Having all 5 of us home for almost a week and having #2 Son(aka the Eating Machine)home full time helped push me over but I gave myself an extra $100 last month so I'll have to see where we went off course.  I suspect it's a little more junk food and extra spending on fresh veggies/fruits AND the almost $100 I spent on meats at the Meat Sale at the local market.  Also, the bulk of the farm stand purchases were either for canning pepper relish or for veggies to freeze for this winter's consumption.

So yes, now I see where that $185.94 went. ;-)

Again, I didn't use many coupons in August, not counting Rite-Aid, where I use many MANY coupons!lol 

At strictly grocery outlets, I used 2 coupons and 2 catalinas I earned to be exact.

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO SEPTEMBER......

I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for September.  #2 Son is home again.  I might be going back to the farm stand for Fall veggies and I want to leave myself some budget room for stocking up opportunities this month if they come along.

How did you do in August with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to it?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

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 August Last Trip & Wrap Up of Totals

I broke down Friday and went back to Rite-Aid to pick-up Daughter some supplies.  Yes, I sacrificed a wad of +Ups for her.......I must love her......

4 x Tampax tampons on sale $6.99=$27.96
1 x Oral-B Toothbrush on sale=$2.99
3 x Bic Markers on sale .99¢ea.=$2.97
SubTotal....$33.92

Coupons Used
4 x $2/1 Tampax ManuQ(July P&G insert)=$8.00
1 x $1/1 Toothbrush In-Ad Q=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Oral-B toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Oral-B Oral Care booklet Q=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$11.00

$33.92-$11.00=$22.92 + .04tax=$22.96

I used $22 in +Up Rewards and put the .96¢ on my Gift Card.
And I received 2 x $5 +Ups back(Spend $15 in Pantene/Oral-B/Tampax/something else, Get $5...I did it twice, so 2 +Ups back).
I've submitted the 3 Bic packs for the $3 Bic SCRebate as well.
In the end I spent down $9 of my +Up Rewards(spent $22 +Ups, got back $10 +Ups and $3 cash rebate)on this stuff so each of the 8 items ultimately cost me $1.13.

Here are the August Grand Totals.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$554.18
Savings Rate of  99.87%
Single Check Rebate due....$8.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$7.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$184+
+Ups received...$188+
+Ups currently...$18+ 

I paid OOP .70¢ in August for $554.18 worth of goods.
In addition I'll get back $8 in cash rebates and I grew the +Up Rewards I started the month with by $4 at the end of the month.

How could someone NOT like Rite-Aid? ;-)

Sluggy

Don't Make Me Stop This Car!

Thankfully I am no longer "in the weeds" like these parents are.
But I know I've used every single one of the mommyisms in this!lol

I thought this was a fun way to get your weekend started though.





Sluggy

It's a Southern Thang.....

Sluggy

Another Boring Blog Box Giveaway...Come Enter!

Time for another......

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY!

Here's how it works.....

I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

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

1.  1 bottle of Garnier Fructis Shampoo

2.  1 Dog Frisbee (from Purina Fit & Trim)
3.  1 box of Reach Dental Floss

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.  *As always, if you are located outside the US, you CAN enter and win but weight restrictions/shipping costs may mean your prize box will contain less items.*

***Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I close this post to entries.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.
Leave your name/email addy and a COMMENT on this post.  

This week I want to hear about your Fall plans.....
Do you take vacations in the Fall and where do you go and why?  Do you have any plans like home improvements to do in the Fall?  Or do you plan to just stay home and save money?  Do you like Fall and what activities do you enjoy during this season?

You can come directly to this blog post or find it through the link on the right side bar to leave 1 comment per day.  The current Giveaway Post will be linked right at the top of the side bar.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get 2 EXTRA entries on this and each new Giveaway Post.......

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with the URL of your blog so I can go check it out. **If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra entry comment once each week of this giveaway.

2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog with a link to this post.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with a link to your blog post so I can go view it.  You can do this extra entry once each week of this giveaway.


Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

And Speaking of Cars......

We are witnessing some extended family stuff involving cars and making unwise choices with money lately here, so I thought some recent mail I received was very apropos to what is going on.

I think the synchronicity of the Universe had something to do with me getting this mail at this very moment. ;-)

Sometimes I just have to laugh at stuff though.
Like the other day.
I got some junk mail.....you know, that stuff companies send you to try to get you to buy something they are selling.

Obviously whomever sold them MY name from some big database of suckers potential customers is actually clueless as to how futile and wasteful this attempt at selling me is!

Here's what showed up in my mailbox....in all it's full color, luxurious papery booklet goodness, enclosed in elaborate plastic packaging(which I did not photo before throwing out)........

And just in case you didn't catch the brand in that photo.....

These hunks of metal start at $41,300.
Like I would ever spent that kind of money on a car!
Not in this lifetime and not while I have my faculties about me.

Why?
Because a new car loses 20% of it's value by the end of the first year so I'd be out $8,260 after 1 year of ownership.
You can get a real nice used car for what this rust bucket car depreciates in 1 year.

Not only that but you are looking at a car payment in the neighborhood of $900+ a month if you have to finance it.

I guess Hubs and I are on some list somewhere of people who have cash so that is why we get offers for luxury cars, country clubs, cruises, platinum level credit cards, all kinds of vacation/resort packages/clubs, jewelers, designer this and that, etc.
And do you know why we have money?
Because we don't spend it on crap like this! lol

Yes, I choose to be inspired Infiniti....inspired NOT to waste money on stuff that doesn't matter.

Sluggy

A Personal Milestone Sort of Day

Today has been 30 years in the making.
Today is Hub's and my 30th Wedding Anniversary!

Here's a photo I snapped of us this past weekend......

Ok, maybe this isn't us but it IS how our kids "see" us and it's the card I am giving Hubs tonight. lol

30 Years.
Use to be that seeing your 30th Anniversary....(30 years with the SAME person)was not so much a milestone.
Use to be that being together 30 years wasn't very special in the world.
Ok, maybe it was special in that if you LIVED to be that old and that both of you lived to be that old, THAT was what made it special.
Not the part about being married for 30 years.

But in this modern world, 30 Years is "like forever!" if you are to believe what people say about it.
One person?.....for 30 years!!?!?
How old fashioned.
How boring.
How not modern society.

This disconnect between me and society was brought clearly into focus for me about 10 years ago when Hubs told me about some younger women at his office that he overheard chatting.
One of these women was planning her wedding and she was in her mid 20's.
She and her office pals were looking through wedding magazines and the bride-to-be was pointing out what gown and accessories she had chosen for her nuptials.  After some oohing and aahing  by the chums, the BTB then pointed out a second gown and proclaimed, "And this is the gown I am going to wear when I get married the next time!"
*face palm*

And she was dead serious about that.
She's not even married yet and she's planning on getting married to someone else at some point down the road!
Like, it's a given.....a fact of life......just normal that you'll get married early and often.

This is just another example of what our society has come to.
We are a disposable bunch.  Not only do we throw out all sorts of items(both non-disposable ones and disposables ones long before their time is over) but we marry on whims and we shed our partners like snakes shed skins.  (Not talking here about marriages that break up due to legitimate reasons like dysfunction of one of the partners).
We aren't encouraged anymore to work through our difficulties as a married couple.
When things get uncomfortable in any way and married life isn't that rose garden you were sold by all those magazines, you get a free pass from society to just move on and  try again.

It's normal and routine and when the BTB said that about her second marriage/wedding, not a single one of her gal pals laughed or took it as another other than deadpan serious.

It's sobering to think that 40% to as high as 50% of marriages end in divorce in this country.
And according to data if you married for the first time between the ages of 20 and 24 you are at the most risk of getting divorced, close to 40%.  Those who married at 35 to 39 years of age only have about a 6% risk.  Maybe this says a lot about how older people, who have experienced more of life, are wiser when it comes to taking the big steps.

And the statistics I saw on multiple marriages are not encouraging.......
The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%

So if you are considering tying that knot, take some advise from this old fool celebrating her 30th Anniversary today.....

* Don't go into any marriage without much forethought.  Get some premarital counseling if you can, preferably WITH your intended spouse.

*  Don't rush getting married.  Take your time.  You can't "know" someone from a few dates or within a few months.  It can take YEARS for someone to totally reveal what is behind that dating facade they show.

*  Marriage ISN'T just the Wedding Day.  Though the excitement of that one day occupies all your thoughts, it's a miniscule part of your life.  The actual marriage starts after the honeymoon.  And in keeping with this thought, don't spend all your money on your wedding!  You WILL be sorry if you do.

* TALK to your intended spouse BEFORE you get married about the "big issues" in life.
These include:
--Where/how to live, how close/distant you want to be concerning your families
--Whether you want children and when, how you want to raise said children(parenting styles/religion)
--MONEY(how to take care of it, how to spend it, what to save).

Yes your views on the big issues my change over the years but if you don't go into a marriage in the same ballpark on these, you face a long hard road and extra strife along the way.

So I'll be getting stinking drunk having one glass of wine tonight in celebration of making it to this 30th Year in my marriage despite family, kids, miscarriage, job changes, sickness, relocation and financial difficulties.

With any luck Hubs and I will make it to 40!

Sluggy the old married fart

Food Spending August Week 4 & Meal Planning Week 4+

Ok, so this photo doesn't have anything to do with cooking.  Though it is a reminder to slow down in life and enjoy the ride. ;-)

*****************************
And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

Sunday--Son's belated Birthday dinner out-Steak

Monday--Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw, Birthday Cake

Tuesday--Lime Citrus Chicken Quesadillas, beans

Wednesday--Leftovers

Thursday--Chinese take-out

Friday--burgers, green beans(from garden)

Saturday--Leftovers again

 

 

The weekly food spending was $79.30.  I stocked up on 100% juices again, butter, ravioli at rock bottom prices.  The needs were milk, cabbage(for coleslaw), 1 onion, small packet of ground beef, rolls, lunchmeat, deli cheese and 2 kinds of fruit.  The family's wants were crackers, ice cream, frozen fries, whack biscuits and Kraft mac and chemical cheese--all on sale.

I have $2.72 left of my $400 food budget for August and 5 days left in the month.  That's enough for 1 half gallon of milk.  I may be going over slightly for the month if anything comes up this week.

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up.......2 portions of the lime citrus chicken, 1 portion of barbecue pork(after Sunday's dinner), half a bowl of coleslaw, 1 portion of green beans.  I am figuring on using the chicken on Friday when it's only 2 of us at home.

***********************

This week's menu.....

Sunday--Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw

Monday--Taco Bell-after music lesson

Tuesday--Dinner Out-30th Anniversary Date night

Wednesday--Pork Chops, Saffron Rice, Broccoli

Thursday--Alfredo Primavera

Friday--Chicken Tacos(using leftover chicken)

Saturday--Leftovers 

 

 

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....rolls, some fresh veggies(for the primavera).

Basically 3 of my meals are based on leftovers and 2 are Eating Out, so only 2 new meals cooked this week.  This makes it an easy week for me in the kitchen, what with getting 2 students back in school and not running the oven since it's hot and muggy again here.

So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Sluggy

My Rite-Aid Trip Week of 8/26

Here are my "gets" at Rite-Aid this week....

2 x Herbal Essences Shampoo on sale $3=$6.00
1 x Scope mouth wash on sale($4.29)but 20% Wellness discount is less=$3.99
2 x Crest mouth rinse on sale $4.99=$9.98
SubTotal.....$19.97

Coupons Used
1 x $3/2 Herbal Essences ManuQ(8/5RP)=$3.00
1 x $1.50/1 Scope ManQ(8/26P&G)=$1.50
1 x BOGO ManuQ(7/29P&G)=$4.99
1 x $1/1 Crest Rinse ManuQ(8/26P&G)=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Crest/Oral-B item Oral Care BookletQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$11.49

$19.97-$11.49=$8.48 + .09¢tax=$8.57 OOP
I used $8 in +Up Rewards and put the .57¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.

I received back $12 in +Up Rewards($2 Herbal Essences, $2 Scope, 2 x $4 Crest mouth wash).
Use $8, get $12 back.....not bad! ;-)

*  If your reg. shelf price on the Scope is less than the $4.99 price at my store, AND you have the GOLD 20% discount, after +Ups and Q, the Scope will be close to free.  Mine was .49¢ after discount, Q and +Ups.

*  With the Crest rinses, be sure you buy 1 large 1Liter and 1 the 500ml(or similar sized) rinses in order to use the BOGO Q.  The white bottle smaller Crest rinse(like the one I bought above) will produce the $4 +Ups.
On the Crest bottle that was NOT free after the BOGO Q, I stacked a $1/1 Oral Care booklet Crest Q with a ManQ $1/1Crest rinse in Sundays P&G insert.
2 bottles were $9.98, I used $6.99 in Qs, paid $2.99 OOP in +Ups and got $8 in +Ups back.  Great little way to grow your +Ups this week.

*  Though I didn't do it, there is a good deal on Glad bags this week.  $3.99 per box.  There is a $2 Adperks Q(watch before Thursday!) and a $1/1 ManuQ IPQ on Glad's Facebook page(the tab for the wild animals game,etc)to stack with it, making each box $.99 this week.

BUT......if you don't need to roll expiring +Ups this week, hold these Qs for the week of 9/9 for a better deal!  The Glad bags will be $4.49 BUT you get a $3+Ups wyb 2.  Print 2 of each Q and the deal looks like this.....
2 x $4.49=$8.98-$6Qs=$2.98 and get $3+Ups back, so FREE bags!!

*  I may go back this week to do the $5 wyb various $15 worth of P&G items(limit 2 deals) on the back page of the ad.
I have $2/1 tampax Pearl Qs and could end up with 4 boxes of that plus 1 tube of Crest toothpaste for $2.19 each.  I have to see if Daughter needs these or not but $2 is a great price for tampax Pearl.


Here are the August Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$501.26
Savings Rate of  99.86%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$162+
+Ups received...$178+
+Ups currently...$30+

As for my Wellness cards and spending for this year......
My card hit 1000 pts. a month or so ago, so I am Gold 20% off for 2013 already.
BIL's card should hit 700 pts. with this transaction, so only 300 pts. to go with 4 months to get there to get him to Gold for next year.  Even if I don't buy anything else with his card for the rest of the year, just putting our prescriptions on it will get him to Gold easy by Dec. 31st. ;-)



Do you see anything you need/want to get this week at Rite-Aid?

Sluggy

My Mystery Peeps

If you are the family archivist, I implore you,  PLEASE LABEL YOUR PHOTOS!

While my mother was pretty good about labeling family photos, I do have scads of photos with no information about them....not the people, the place or the date.  But most of them I recognize the people peering out from those pieces of paper as I knew them at some point in their lives.

But there are some that reach back, way back into the past and I am clueless!

If any of my mother's relatives......the Baker, Vassar, Tucker, Harper branches of our tree are out there reading this, and you recognize this photo or these people, please leave a comment or email me privately!

Here's the first photo......

And then there is this family portrait.....

I believe these are copies of photos my mother obtained at one of the Baker/Vassar Family Reunions she attended back in the 1990's in Charlotte County, VA.  She left no information about the photos or the folks in them.
I am assuming I am related somehow to these peeps but a few names would be nice to know.  ;-)

I also have a copy of a photo from the 1920's or early 1930's(I believe)of my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather with some of their children(and possibly a few spouses of their children and the children's children(my GGrands grandkids).
I'll post the photo here in case some of my Baker/Vassar relatives are reading this and can help me out by identifying the people I can't.......

My Grandmother is the older of the 2 girls kneeling in front holding babies(the one to the left not sticking her tongue out).
My Great Grandmother is to the right of the really old woman in the center. GGrand is wearing an apron.
Those are the ones I recognize definitely.

I think my Great Grandfather is behind and to the left of the really old woman in the center.
And I believe that the really old woman in the center is either my GGrandmother's Mother or my GGrandfather's Mother.
I believe the younger adult woman  to the left of the really old woman is Louise or Rosabel.
I believe the younger adult woman  behind and to the right of my Great Grandmother is Virginia.
I believe the adult man in front of her with the "prominent ears" is Lealon.
I believe the girl kneeling with her tongue hanging out is either Doris or Lula.
If the baby my Grandmother is holding is my mom, then one of the other babies may be Grandma's youngest brother Barry.....but that would only be the case if this photo was taken after 1934.
As for the men.....I really don't know my Grandmother's brothers by sight, so I don't know which are  brothers and which are spouses of her sisters.

It would have been nice to have had the folks labeled on this picture. *sigh*

So many questions I have! 8-)

Sluggy

Things That Grow That Are Green

Remember my bean vines that thought they were Kudzu?

Here is how it looks this week......

You can't even see the plant hook anymore! lol

This vine reminds me of the old segment of the movie CREEPSHOW.  The one where Stephen King plays Jordy Verrill, a not-too-bright Maine hick who ends up being swallowed up by strange vegetation that grows thanks to the alien slime that came out of a meteor he poked when it fell to Earth on his land.

I don't recall any meteors falling in the backyard so I think I am safe from that characters fate at least. ;-)

I did get the wind chimes taken off and moved before it totally enveloped the pole.
And now look at the plant hook pole on the other side of the deck where I moved the chimes to......

The wind chimes are starting to get swallowed up again.....this time by the volunteer Morning Glory vines on this end of the garden bed.

I have run out of places to hang the chimes now.
I guess I'll take them down until I can hang them up again on the other pole in a couple of weeks when the bean vines are done and can be pulled up.

What's new in your garden this week?

Sluggy

JB Fletcher Has Nothing on Me!

And if you get the reference in the title, you  are old and watched way too much TV in the 1980's!

The other day I was at Rite-Aid(of course I was!lol) picking up a prescription.
I commented to the pharmacist that my co-pay seemed ALOT higher than usual.
It was in fact almost double what I usually pay for the generic version I get of said drug.
We both shrugged our shoulders and I paid and when home.

Then Daughter picked up her prescriptions yesterday and when I went over the receipt to write her a check to reimburse her for paying for them, I noticed that 1 of her drugs was the exact same medicine in the exact same size with the exact same dosage.....and it did NOT cost almost double like mine did.

You probably can't make out my very bad, blurry photo but the receipt on the left says $18.72, the receipt on the right says $10.00 for the exact same meds.

So I dug out my old prescription bottle and my new prescription bottle and had my Eureka! moment......

Again, let me translate the bad photograph.....
The label on the right says "Take 2 tablets by mouth daily", the label on the left says "Take 1 tablet by mouth daily".
So my old bottle's 60 pill refill was for a month and my new bottle's 60 pill refill was 2 months worth.
Someone at Rite-Aid goofed when printing out the label.
And that goof  caused the insurance company to think I was getting 2 months worth so I got charged 2 month's worth of co-pay instead of 1 month's worth.

After 20 minutes of showing the evidence, explaining and wild gesticulating(see how I used a $20 word there?lol), the pharmacist checked my records, printed a new instruction label, changed some information in his computer and then handed me $8.72 back.

Not only do I get paid to buy toiletries at Rite-Aid but now I can claim that I get paid to get my drugs there too......well, at least this once, right? ;-)

While I was there, I took the opportunity to pick up a few more things and grow my +Up Rewards.....

2 x R-A Hand Sanitizer on sale $1=$2.00
1 x Max Freeze on sale=$7.00
2 x St. Joseph Aspirin on sale $4.99=$9.98
3 x $1 size R-A Juice drinks w/20% wellness discount.80¢=$2.40
SubTotal....$21.38

Coupons Used
2 x $2/1 St. Joseph Aspirin over $4.49 IPQ(HERE)=$4.00

$21.38-$4.00=$17.38
I used $17 in +Up Rewards and put the .38¢ on my gift card.
I got $18 +Up Rewards back(2 x $1 Sanitizer, $1 WYB 3 juice drinks, $7 Max Freeze, 2 x $4 St. Joseph).

I used $17 and got $18 back.

Analyze This!--
* The St. Joseph is part of a +Up Deal along with Anacin and something else that are each on sale for $4.99.  Each give a $4 +Up back.  Use the $2 IPQ and buy the St. Joseph's and it's a small moneymaker after +Ups.  I take a baby aspirin each day so I can score these larger pills.  I can stretch each 200 count bottle out to give me 2+ years worth of the baby aspirin dosage.
* The #2 Son can use these smallish juice drink bottles for Marching Band.
*  The R-A Juice drinks also qualify for a monthly $2+Up WYB $10 in R-A pantry items.  I believe it only runs through next week so you have to spend $10 quickly to get that $2 +Up.

Here's a heads up if you need free shampoo at Rite-Aid the week of 9/2.
Go to the Video Values before Aug. 29th and watch the Infusium23 clip while it's still available.
Then print out the $2/1 AdPerks Q and take it to the store the week of 9/2.
Infusium 23 products will be $4.99 that week.
Use your $2 Q and pay $2.99 and you will receive a $3 +Up Reward back(limit of 2 per card on this deal).
This makes the Infusium 23 free after +Ups.

Here are the August Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$472.71
Savings Rate of  99.85%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$154+
+Ups received...$166+
+Ups currently...$26+

Sluggy

For My Friends Friday

For all my friends who are debt-free and all my friends currently on the road to debt-free, this one is for YOU!

And if you aren't debt-free, what is stopping you from trying to get there!? ;-)

Let's all get up and dance!!!....but put down the scissors first.....




Happy Friday!

Sluggy

The Bailey Building & Loan *UPDATE*

As of this afternoon, the ING deposits have arrived at The Bailey Building & Loan....aka my Credit Union.
And there was rejoicing in the Land of Sluggy!

Wow....it only took 5 days from ING sending the deposits and notifying me that they were working and received until the CU actually posted the deposits to my account.

I sure hope that TBBAL doesn't continue to use passenger pigeons and other outmoded means of communication to talk with other financial institutions and me in the future.....

Sluggy

The Bailey Building & Loan is Alive and Well in PA OR The Joys of Banking

No, I said Banking, not Baking......


Hubs & I have wanted to move our money to a credit union for some time now.
We finally pulled the trigger a few weeks ago.

We aren't the kind of folks you jump around from financial institution to financial institution.
If it's working for us somewhere, we stay put.

When we moved here in 2000 our huge national bank did not have a location closer than 30 minutes away.  While they had a branch near Hubs work it was darned inconvenient for me to do any banking.
So I opened up an account at the tiny local bank in our town so I could move the money between the 2 banks/accounts.

This worked ok for us until about 6 months ago, when our huge national bank was taken over by another huge national bank.
HNB #2 said we had to open up a different account in order to keep our old account since they didn't offer that old type of account anymore.
Otherwise, we'd have to pay fees for the honor of allowing them to hold and use our money.
How nice of them.....

So we opened the additional account with the min. they required of $100 and kept our real money in the old account.
If that was all it was going to take to make them happy, we figured we'd stick with them.
After all, they were one of the few big banks that didn't take TARP money.

Then they started pressing us to get debit cards for this "new" account.
I guess they figured they'd just keep at us and eventually make us start using this account as our main account, migrate our money over to this account and phase out the original account.
I don't like being pushed into anything, especially if I am not given a good reason to do so.
And then when we didn't ask for debit cards they mailed them to us anyway.  Hey, thanks for something I didn't want! lol

Next  they started calling here and dunning us via snail mail with great deals on stocks/bonds/mutual funds/cds/retirement plans/etc., as well as wanting us to come in to "speak with someone".....as in speak to someone who wanted to get control over investing our money.  No thanks!

I guess nobody ever heard of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and "don't annoy the piss outta your customers" at this company.
The old huge bank let us be but this new huge bank was annoying as hell.
Which surprised us, since we had used this new bank as our mortgage company and we had been very pleased with them back then in that capacity.

Anyway this pestering came to a head last month and we looked around to move our money and move it to a local institution if possible.
And we found a local credit union.

So we went in, had a look-see and opened a savings and a checking account there.
Everyone says that Credit Unions are full of sunshine and lollipops....or is that rainbows?
I never can remember.
At the moment we have 3 accounts(not counting the ING one)-2 at banks and 1 at the credit union.
Having our money all over the place is not a good thing.....it's driving me to distraction.

Eventually the plan was to close down one of the bank accounts and keep the CU account and the small regional bank account.

And things went well with the CU until this week.

I have an ING account so I went online to link the 2 accounts.
And ING notified me that the small deposits had been made to confirm the linking so I went to check them at the CU.
And there were no deposits.
For 4 days I waited for them to show up.
And the routing and account numbers were checked and double checked.
But still no deposits.
Great......

And I went into the CU and the teller couldn't fine the deposits either.

And then I tried to deposit a personal check at the CU this week.
And the teller told me that I can't deposit a personal check into the checking account if it is for a LARGE sum of money....a business check was a different story.
I would have to deposit it in my savings account, wait for it to clear and then come back and move the money from savings into checking.
WTF?!
And then I asked her what was the cut-off amount that constituted a "Large sum of money".
$200 or more.
WTFF?!
$200 may be a "large sum of money" in Dhaka, Bangladesh or Mogadishu, Somalia but in middle class American, not so much.

And then she said that I had to wait 2+ days after depositing a check to withdraw it.
WTFFF?!
It's not a case of we don't have other funds in that account to cover if the check in question was bad.
None of this was mentioned at any point when we set up these accounts at the CU.

I'm under the impression that this CU thinks it's the Bailey Building and Loan and Uncle Billy is running things!

There is only so much bullshit I can take before I close this CU account down too.  Maybe I'll just stick to my back-up bank....the small regional one.


So let me know.....how many accounts do you have and at how many financial institutions?
Do you use a credit union or a bank and are you happy with whichever you use?

Sluggy

My Weekly Rite-Aid Trip(s)

I got around to my Rite-Aid trip early this week so here are the long boring details in all their glory......

4 x Dixie Plates BOGO sale($4.49)=$8.98
1 x Fat Foam hair coloring on sale(but 20% discount is lower)=$8.23
2 x R-A brand hand sanitizer($1)=$2.00
1 x Sleep Sheets on sale=$5.00
1 x Max Freeze on sale=$7.00
1 x Sting Ease w/20% wellness discount=$3.43
6 x NYC nail polish w/20% wellness discount(.79¢ea)=$4.74
SubTotal.....$39.38

Coupons Used
1 x $5/1 Fat Foam IPQ=$5.00
1 x $6/1 Fat Foam Store-ad Q=$6.00
1 x $1/1 Sleep Sheets ManuQ in box=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$12.00

$39.38-$12.00=$27.38
I used $27 in +Up Rewards and put the .38¢ left on my Rite-Aid gift card.

I received back $26 in +Up Rewards($2 wyb $6 in Dixie items, 2 x $1 R-A Hand Sanitizer, $5 Sleep Sheets, $7 Max Freeze, $4 Sting Ease-monthly Up+, 2 x $3 wyb 3 select nail polishes).

So all this stuff cost me $1 in +Ups I spent down and .38¢ on my gift card.

* If you buy the Sleep Sheets you might want to open the box and check for a $1 off Q inside....but only if you are buying it for sure!  Or if you have a problem opening it before you pay for it, buy it, THEN open the box and take the Q out and get your cashier to do a 'post coupon' transaction to use the Q.

* The Sting Ease is a monthly +Up deal so continue to look for it on the shelf.  With Wellness discount, you pay less than the value of the +Up Reward you get back.

* Select nail polishes are generating a $3 +Up when you buy 3.  The NYC .99¢ bottles qualify for this deal so there are Free after +Ups or a small moneymaker if you have the silver or gold Wellness discount.

* The Dixie plates/cups are a good deal but not free.  They are BOGO this week so if you buy 4, 2 are free and the 2 you pay for come to $8.98 and after the $2 +Ups you get back, they end up costing you $6.98 or $1.745 each package.  They can be almost free if you also buy......

* The Samy Fat Foam hair color.  With stacking the In-Ad Q and the $5 IPQ you get at least $2.01 in overage to put toward the Dixie plates or anything else you want to buy.

I was planning another trip today but Hubs car(again with the CARS!?ugh)is having work done on it so he has my car today.
So I sneaked back up to Rite-Aid yesterday evening and got more of the same....

More Polish, Sanitizer, Hair Color and Paper Plates.
But I got 6 Dixie products this time because it made more sense.  If you buy 4 with the BOGO sale, you are spending enough to get the $2 +Ups WYB $6 worth AND you are halfway to spending enough to get a second $2 +Ups(because you have spent $9 and the second +Ups triggers at $12 total spent).  So buy a set of 2 items with the first 4, spend another $4.49 OOP for both AND get another $2 +Ups.  Instead of being OOP $1.745 for each item, when you buy 6 at the same time, you are OOP $1.578(after the +Ups are applied).
If you already bought 4 items, you can't go back and buy 2 and get the second $2 +Ups to trigger because this +Ups Deal is NOT tracking.

Anyway, this second trip was $17.58(with .04¢ tax), I used $17 in +Ups to pay and put the .58¢ on my gift card.
I received $12 in +Ups back(2 x$1 Sanitizer, 2 x $2 WYB $6 of Dixie items, 2 x $3 WYB 3 Nail Polish).
I spent down $5 of +Up Rewards this trip but I don't mind since it's stuff we need/use and you can't beat $5 for $49.95 worth of stuff! ;-)


Here are the August Grand Totals so far.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$438.86
Savings Rate of  99.84%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$137+
+Ups received...$148+
+Ups currently...$25+ 

 Sluggy

Guess How Many Cars We Now Own!?

If you said 4, you would win the prize!

Oldest son came home for a few days.....ok, technically he was here for 2.5 days from the moment he stepped into the house Sat. night, until he left a few minutes ago.

I put the blog on auto-pilot mostly for the last 5 days because we've been dealing with buying another car.
Ugh.....didn't we JUST BUY ANOTHER CAR?!?!

This one if for oldest to use this year at school and then he will "buy" it from us when he leaves school, gets a job and can afford his own insurance policy.

So we've been busy finding a car the past 5 days.
And here is what we got.....

 A 2002 Hyundai something or other.
Yah see how interesting I am in cars?
I can't even remember what it's called.lol
* I've been informed it's a Sonata....thanks TANNER!

Anyway, we got a good deal from a local dealer we trust.  Out the door it was $5650 with tax, tags, registration and they give a 90 day warranty.
And it has 53K miles on it.

Technically this car didn't cost Hubs and I anything. The car and the extra in insurance for the next year  for it was all taken out of oldest's college fund $.  It's technically his car....we just hold the paper on it until he is graduated and working.  The remaining college money was divided into 2 halves and he gets 1 hunk to live on this semester and the other hunk to live on next semester.  And then the money is gone and he is on his own.

I also have been cooking.
Oldest wanted some barbecue so Sunday was spent on the porch with the smoker for a good piece of time.  We had his birthday meal out Sunday night at a steak house.
Monday he ran errands and packed, then we had the barbecue for dinner and the cake I baked him for his belated 21st bday....

Here's the backup shot with him pretending he just blew out the candles.....

What a ham.....

We sat down and went over his money situation and gave him half of what is left in his college fund.....Jan. he gets the other half and then the Bank of Mom & Dad is closing his account....permanently!lol

I printed out a budget form and when he gets back he and his girlfriend are going to sit down and budget the money.
I impressed upon him how good it would be to live on less than he had left for the next 4 months and to throw some money each month into a car account in case the car needs a repair, because we are NOT paying for anything else.  I hope he takes my advice.

Anyway, he was out the door bright and early this morning so he can get back to school for his girlfriend's birthday on Wednesday and to get settled into their new digs, buy groceries, get his books for this semester, etc.
But not before I could load him up with 2 big boxes of food/toiletries/laundry detergent from the stockpile too.

So that's what I've been doing the past 5 days.....when I wasn't going to Rite-Aid.

I can't wrap my head around the fact that we own FOUR CARS.  One for every licensed driver in this house.....until #2 son gets his license later this year.....eeshh!
Anybody want to come pick me up after I faint dead away when I get our next car insurance bill?!

What's going on in your life?

Sluggy

Food Spending August Week 3 & Meal Planning Week 4

*****************************
And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

Sunday--Salmon with maple glaze, Stir-fried mixed veg, mashed potatoes

Monday--BLT sandwiches with tomato from our garden...slurp!

Tuesday--tuna helper, Caesar salad

Wednesday--Leftover Rigatoni, Broccoli

Thursday--Meatloaf(leftover), Mashed Taters, Snow Peas

Friday--Taco Bell

Saturday--Leftovers

 

The weekly food spending was $9.91.  I was tempted to do the Kimberely/Clark Cat Deal at Weis(which would have stocked me up on a few things but would have meant spending alot more OOP) but in the end I resisted.  I used $12 in Cats to pay last week for the few needs we had which is why I spent so little.

I didn't stay within the $8 limit I set but it was close. None of what I spent was for items needed to make dinner.....it was all milk purchases and items for the Daughter's work lunches.

I have $82.02 left of my $400 food budget for August and 11 days left in the month.  I think we can make it to the end of the month before the end of the money. ;-)

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up.......a portion of snow peas(I'll polish those off for lunch one day).

***********************

This week's menu.....

Sunday--Son's belated Birthday dinner out-Steak

Monday--Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw, Birthday Cake

Tuesday--something Chicken, Rice, Green Beans(from garden)

Wednesday--Taco or Taco Salad

Thursday--Leftovers

Friday--burgers, baked beans, cuke salad

Saturday--Leftovers again

 

 

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....rolls, cukes, maybe more lettuce.

So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Quickie!

Finishing up the "gots" for last week.....

More Stayfree and Oral-B/Glide floss and something new for me, 2 Duck brand mailers.

SubTotal....$12.08
Same coupons as I used on the Stayfree and Glide floss when I bought them before......$5.00
$12.08-$5.00=$7.08 and I used $7 in +Ups and put the .08¢ on my gift card.

I got back $8 in +Ups($2 Stayfree, 2 x $2 Glide, 2 x $1 mailers).
AND the mailers qualify for SCR #51(Duck brand), so there's another $3 in cash I'm getting back.

So I spent $7 in +Ups, Got $8 +Ups back and $3 cash.
Not bad, huh?lol

The mailers were awesome!  Reg. price of $1.49 and my Gold Wellness discount brought that down to $1.11.  Then each one generated a $1 +Ups, so .11¢ OOP at this point.
And I get $3 cash back next month on my SCR, making them a $2.78 moneymaker....sweet!
These aren't generating a $1 +Ups this week but if you have the Wellness discount it is still a MMer after SCR to pick them up.
8-)

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$324.87
Savings Rate of  99.78%
Single Check Rebate due....$5.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... -$4.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$93+
+Ups received...$110+
+Ups currently...$31+ 
 
**Don't forget to go to Rite-Aid this week for the FA+UR(free after +Up Rewards)items.
There are 4 of them I think......Max Freeze or Max Heat topical pain rub, Sleep Sheets sleep aid(dissolving sheets), Restless Leg Cream and RA brand Hand Sanitizer.

Sluggy

Guess What Everyone is Getting for Christmas This Year?

After this week, Christmas 2012 "hair" at my house will be all about the Brush....hair brush that is! ;-)

I might catch heck for posting this so late in the week but so be it...lol
I had $9 in +Ups expiring this Sat. so up to Rite-Aid I trotted again and got this stuff....

1 x Stayfree on sale=$3.00
1 x Purel Sanitizer on sale $3.99 but 20% Wellness disc. less=$3.43
2 x Conair Hair Brushes on sale BOGO=$9.19
2 x Oral-B/Glide Dental Floss on sale $3.49 but one was cheaper w/Wellness disc.=$6.92
SubTotal.....$22.54

Coupons Used
1 x $1/1 Stayfree IPQ(HERE)=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Purel ManQ(All You Aug. ed.)=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Oral-B/Glide product ManQ (P&G insert)=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Oral-B/Glide product Oral Care Booklet=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$6.00

$22.54-$6.00=$16.54
I used $16 in +Ups(9+ expiring 8/18 + 7+ expiring 8/26 and 9/2).
$16.54-$16 +Ups=$.54 + $.16 tax=$.70 OOP.
I paid .70¢ cash since not only did I NOT bring my calculator this trip, I also forgot my R-A gift card.

I received back $13 in +Ups($2 Stayfree, $2 Purel, 2 x $2 Glide, $5 WYB $10 Conair brushes).
$36.24 in merchandise for .70¢ cash and spending down $3 in +Ups. ;-)

You'll notice my conair brush didn't quite cost $10, but that comb I bought last trip gave me $1.60 or so left to combine with this $10 worth of stuff.  It brought me over $10 and triggered the $5 +Up Reward.
This Conair deal is a limit of 2, so I am done with it now.

If you have the Oral Card book of Qs and the P&G insert Glide Q, each Floss is at least a .51¢ moneymaker after $2 +Ups.
IF you can find the floss in your store at this point in the week.

August Grand Totals so far this month.....

Out Of Pocket....$.70  cash
Value of items bought....$308.82
Savings Rate of  99.77%
Single Check Rebate due....$2.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket....Still -$1.30
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$14+
+Ups used....$86+
+Ups received...$102+
+Ups currently...$30+ 



Sluggy

Happy Friday!

Sluggy