Shopping, Dinner, etc.

We have company arriving this afternoon. They will be here most of the week. So I got  my shopping for the week done this morning. This is what I purchased:

Rite Aid( done in two separate transactions to be able to use Up Rewards):

1 Bag Planters Almonds- Used Free MQ = Free

1 Glade - $1.00 - Used Free MQ = Free

3 Bags of  PF Milano Cookies - $1.00 each - 20% Discount = $.80 each - Used  $ 1.00/1 MQ = All Free

2 Covergirl Natural Luxe Foundation - on B1G150% off = one was $ 13.99 and one was $ 6.99 = $20.98 - Used (2) $5.00 MQ = $ 15.98 for both

1 Excedrin - $1.99 - $1.00 MQ and $ 1.00 RA VVQ  = Made $ .01 and I received $ 1.00 Up Reward

1 Zantac -$ 8.99 - Used $ 5.00/1 IPQ - Used $ 2.00 RA VVQ  = $ 1.99 and I received $ 2.00 UP Reward

1 BenGay - $ 5.49 - Used $ 3.00 MQ and $ 1.00 RA VV Cpn = $ 1.49

1  Veet - $8.99 - Used 20% discount = $ 7.19 -  Used $ 2.00 IPQ & $ 1.00 RA VVQ & $ 2.00 In Ad Cpn = $ 2.19 and I received a $ 1.00 Up Reward

6 Wheat Thins - $ 1.00 each - $ 1./2 MQ's = $ .50 each or $ 3.00

2 - 6 pack Lance Crackers -$ 1.00 each - Used $ 1./1 IPQ's = Free

3 Boxes PF Milano Cookies - $ 1.00 each - Used $ 1./1 MQ's = Free

Used $7.00 in Up Rewards

Total OOP was $20.01 and I have a $ 1.00 UP Reward leftover.


Tops:

2 Budweiser BBQ Sauce - $2.00 each = $ 4.00 and I received a Catalina for $ 2.50 OYNO

2 Bar S Turkey Hot Dogs - $ 1.00 each - Used $1./2 MQ = $ .50 each

4 Crystal Light - $ 2.50 each = $ 10.00 - Used (4) $1.00/1 MQ's = $ 6.00 or $ 1.50 each

8 Bailey's Creamers - $ 2.19 each - Used $ 1./1 MQ's = $ 1.19 each or $ 9.52 for all

2 Pillsbury Brownies Mixes - $ 1.25 each - Used $ .50/1  IPQ's Doubled = $ .25 each

4 Athenos Greek Yogurts - $ 1.00 each = $ 4.00 - Used $ 1./2 IPQ's = $2.00 or $ .50 each

1 Santa Cruz Lemonade - $ 1.50 - Used $ .75/1 IPQ Doubled = Free

3 Bags Chex Mix - $ 1.00 each - Used $ .50/1 IPQ's Doubled = Free

Total OOP was $ 23.26 and I have the $ 2.50 Catalina good on my next order.

Analysis:  Since we are having company, I got some snacks and cookies. The Covergirl was desperately needed and I love this kind. In my 60+ years, this is the best foundation I have ever used.  I thought the Crystal Light was $3.00 each but they rang up at $2.50 so I was thrilled. DH loves this. He also loves the Bailey's Creamers so I am stocking. 

DH wanted to grill these pork loins for dinner for our company so I purchased them last week out of our entertainment budget. I have had them marinating all night and all day today. DH will baste them with the marinade while he grills them. This is the best pork recipe that I have ever had so I am sharing it:

3 Tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp. Dark Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce
3 Tbsp. Honey
1/2 Tsp. Five Spice Powder
2 Tbsp. Chinese Wine
3 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
1 Pinch of Black Pepper

Mix together and marinate overnight. Baste with marinade on grill or you can cook it in the oven at 450 for 30-35 minutes.

I made a double  batch because of the two pork loins. We will be serving this with corn on the cob and applesauce.

Lastly, I couldn't resist showing you one of our beautiful gardens that DH maintains.

I don't know how much time I will have to post until my company leaves. So I will be on vacation until at least Friday. If I get time to post I will but no promises. All of you have a great money saving week.  

Money Saving Challenge - June 24

This is how I saved money today:

- Finally I was able to snag the $5.00 Bounty coupon on Facebook.

- Breakfast was free strawberries, free  cottage cheese, and cheap diced pineapple.

- I got my haircut on a reduced cut price of $12.00+ tip instead of the usual $ 22.00+ tip. It's a special they are running right now.

- DH's camera and accessories arrived today. This will save us money in the long run because we will be using it to make gifts. He is so pysched. He is running around the house taking pictures of me and I hate my picture taken.

- The cereal and coupons in the picture arrived today compliments of Pssst.

-  I needed to buy some liquor and wine since we have company arriving Sunday. I will get back $14.00 in rebates.

- I had 4 more International Delight coupons so I stopped at Top's and got 4 while they were still on sale for $ .90 each.  We drink a lot of coffee so we go through a lot of creamer.  

- Doing  a load of wash in the HE while I write this.  I am using cold water for wash and rinse. I will hang it to dry.

- I have tons of paper plates stockpiled, so we have been using them and not running the dishwasher as often.

- We will be cutting back on what we spend on groceries next week. Since I have been going to  PT, it has been costing us $60.00 a week in co-pays. Now DH has to start going for his back and that  will be an additionl $60.00 a week. So I have to find a way to cut back on groceries and other areas to pay the total 4 week tab of $ 480.00.     

- I will be making this recipe for dinner:  Creamy Chicken Enchiladas . Thanks Prudent Homemaker. I will be making my own cream soup substitution, cooking my own chicken and dicing it,  and using up an odd lot of leftovers of regular and whole wheat tortillas from Ortega dinner kits. This recipe will make at least 4 meals. So we will eat it tonight and tomorrow night and  I will freeze the other two meals.  

- DH and I will have movie night tonight. We will be watching "The Joneses" and enjoying some popcorn made cheaply in our hot air  popcorn popper.

- Remember, in a post earlier in the week, I told you that DH was fighting a medical bill that we shouldn't owe. Well, he got the Dr.'s office to send us a letter stating that our $20. co- pay was all we have to pay. Since we already paid it, they are eating the other $100. of the bill. We found out that the Dr's office forgot to send in the proper paperwork(which is done every year) for them to stay participating with our plan. They have since done it but DH's appointment fell within the gap. However they never made him aware of this on the day of his appt. and took his $20.00 co-payment like nothing had changed. 

So what did you do to save money today? Leave a comment and share it with us.        

  

Price Chopper Supermarkets in the Northeast

Michelle just told me that she saw on their Facebook page that effective June 26, they will be doubling coupons up to $ .99.  While most of us are having our coupon policies changed, Price Chopper is making theirs better. It may have something to do with the fact that Shoprite and Wegman's are moving in on their territory.  

Here is their new policy:

http://www2.pricechopper.com/coupons/coupons.shtml

Thanks Michelle  for telling me so that I could let my readers who shop there know.

New Coupon Policy at Top's Supermarkets: UGH!

Top's Supermarkets has instituted a new coupon policy. The two changes are:

You can no longer use a B1G1F coupon along with another coupon.

They will no longer accept internet B1G1F coupons.

I would suggest that since so many markets and drugstores are changing their coupons policies as a result of TLC's Extreme  Couponing show that you stockpile as much as you can while there are still some deals out there.  I believe that you will see even  more stringent coupon policies in the future. I have  read that many places are now also limiting the number of Sunday newspapers that  you can  buy.

When the policies get more and more stingent, I will be going back to the way I used to shop in the 1970's and buying in bulk and all of the ingredients to make everything from scratch.  

Money Saving Challenge - June 21

I told you I was going to Aldi's  and Walgreen's today. Well I did not go to Aldi's because the only thing that I was getting there was strawberries. One of my neighbors picked strawberries yesterday and gave DH a quart last night. It was so very nice of her and it saved us some money. 

However on the way home from PT, I did stop at Walgreens and purchased 2 packs of  Charmin Basic on sale for $2.99 each and I used a $1./2 MQ. It is impossible to get free toilet paper here so I am doing the best I can to stockpile when it is on sale. I would like to have at least a 2 year supply so that I don't have to think about purchasing it. I also picked up 4 cans of the Geisha Mushrooms for $ .50 each with the in ad coupon.

I made homemade waffles and served it with turkey sausage for breakfast today. We had salsa and whole grain tortilla chips for lunch. Our easy dinner was BLT's.

We received our gas and electric bill today and it was only $ 97.77 for 32 days. That is the lowest bill we have had since we moved in this house. I was pleasantly surprised.  It will be on the rise next time because it has turned hot and humid so we turned the air conditioning back on. So I will be trying even harder to use as little power as possible on other things besides the A/C. 

Today I did manage to get a load of wash done in the HE washer. It is hung to dry as I write this. 

The mail brought my free Better Homes and Garden magazine so I will be reading that tonight. DH and I watched a Netflix DVD last night: The Little Fockers. I didn't like it as well as the other ones but it does have quite the cast of characters.  It is so nice not to have to spend gasoline to go out and rent a  movie everytime we want to  watch them.

I  didn't do much else except rest. This bursitis is really a pain ( no pun intended ) and cuts down what I want to do every day which is really ticking me off.  I thrive on activity.   

But I do want to share a photo with you. As you all saw from my post, my grandaughter had a birthday last Sunday. One of the gifts we gave her for her party the weekend before was a sand table. We were so busy when we were there that none of us had time to put it together. Well it is now up and has the sand and digging toys and molds in it. My wonderful DIL, Michelle, sent me a picture today. My grandaughter loves it and I am so happy that she does. Don't you just love her braids? You can just imagine how long her hair is when it is down. It is so beautiful and curly. I told her when I was a little girl, my Mom used to put my hair in braids too. I have a picture of me with them that I will share with her when she visits next time. 

Feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us anything you did today to save money.

Another Top's Trip, etc.

On my way home from PT this morning, I made another Top's run.  This is what I purchased:

4 Dozen Eggland's Best Eggs - $2.00 each ( Raincheck) - Used (4) $55./1 IPQ wyb Kikkoman Soy Sauce Doubled = $.90 a doz. = $ 3.60

4 Kikkoman Soy Sauce  - $ 1.39 each - Used (4) $ .55/1 MQ = $ .29 each = $ 1.16

4- 12 packs of Diet Coke = $10.00 - Used $ 1.25/4 MQ = $ 8.75

2 Santa  Cruz Strawberry Lemonades - $ 1.50 each - Used (2) $ .75/1 IPQ Doubled = Free

3 Nestle Crunch - $ .59 each = $1.77 - Used (2) $ .35/1 IPQ Doubled and a B2G1F Q) = 3 Free

4 Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips - 3 for $ 5.00 - Used (3) $ .55/1 MQ Doubled and (1) $.75/1 IPQ Doubled = $ .86 for all 4

2 Pkgs. of  250 ct. Marcal Small Step Napkins - $ 2.50 each = $ 5.00 - Used $1./2 MQ = $ 4.00 or $ 2.00 each

1 KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce - $ 1.50 - Used $ 1./1 MQ = $  .50

1 Pkg. of Pork Ribs - $ 4.90 - Used  $ 2.00/1 IPQ wyb 1 KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce = $ 2.90

1 - 4.86 lb Pkg. of  Split Chicken Breasts on sale for $ .99 a lb. = $4.81

2 Fresh Dole Pineapples - $ 2.99 each - Used (2) $ 1.25/1 IPQ = $ 1.74 each

4 Ball Park Bun Size Hot Dogs - $ 3.99 each on B1G1F sale - Used (2) $ .75/2 IPQ's Doubled =  $4.98 for all 4

Total OOP was $ 38.70 including sales tax and bottle deposits.

We are having family visit next week so I am stocking on certain items. The soda amd meat which I consider extras, at this point, totalled $ 21.44 and came out of my Extras Envelope. The last time I posted about Extras I had $ 15.45 in that envelope. I have since gotten $ 13.99 in rebate checks that I added to that envelope for a total of $ 29.44. I used $ 21.44 today so that leaves $ 8.00 in that Extra envelope. 

I plan a small shop at Walgreens and Aldi's tomorrow on the way home from PT. You see there are advantages to having to go to physical therapy. You pass a lot of stores on the way home.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us any good deals or money saving you did today.   

Quick Shops at Rite Aid andTops

Two quick stops at Rite Aid and Tops this morning. This is what I purchased:

Top's:

6 Jennie-O So Easy Turkey Breast Roasts - on sale for $ 2.99 each - used $1.00 off coupons = $ 1.99 each

2 cans Friskie's Tasty Treasures - $ .50 each - Used B1G1FQ = $ .50 for both

4 Activia Crunch Yogurts - $ 1.00 each - Used $ .30/1 IPQ's Dbld = $ .40 each = $ 1.60

3 jars of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce - 3 for $ 5.00 - Used $ 1.25/1 MQ = $ 3.75 for all or $ 1.25 each

4 International Delight Creamers - $2. each - Used $ .55/1 IPQ Dbled = $ .90 each or $ 3.60 

Total OOP was $ 21.43. 

The Jennie O coupons were sent by the company because of an opened product. Not their fault but I was afraid to use it.  I was waiting for a great sale. I have never seen the So Easy this cheap. We love them and they are 99% fat free. They come in handy on nights that we have been out all day. Not only are they dated for Sept. but they also freeze well. I hated paying this much for creamers but my stash is down to almost nothing and DH has been begging for Amaretto.

Rite Aid:

3 Buffalo News - $2.00 each - less 20% RA Wellness Discount = $ 1.60 each or $ 4.80

1 Kid's Alligator Chair - $ 9.99 - less 20% Wellness Discount = $7.99 ( For my patio so the little ones  have a place to sit)


2 St Joseph's 81 mg. Aspirin - $ 1.50 each = $ 3.00 and I received $ 1.50 in Up Rewards for each one

Used $ 3./15. RA Survey Q

Total OOP was $  13.19 and I received $ 3.00 in UP Rewards.   

Feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us any great deals you got today. 

Question For The Buffalo Area Readers?

Do any of you  belong to the www.grocerygame.com ? What stores do they have in our area? Is it worth the cost?  I am thinking it is rather expensive.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you know  about it. Thanks in advance. 

Money Saving Challenge - June 17

Today is a quiet day since the Dr. has me pretty much resting. But I have done a few things. I made homemade blueberry pancakes from scratch this morning. That frozen bag of blueberries is getting used up so in so many different things around here. I will have to make my blueberry cake over the weekend.  I served the pancakes with a couple of turkey sausage links.

I have many books about saving money in my library collection and it never hurts to refresh your memory. So I am rereading "Shop Smart, Save More" by Teri Gault while I am taking it easy.

DH has been wanting a Canon Rebel T2i Camera for quite a while now. My son sent us a link to a refurbished one today which will not only save us $50. but give us a Free SD card and a Free refurbished Rebel gadget bag. Along with that he sent us a link for a larger SD card which would save us $10.00 instantly.  So I ordered it all as a Father's Day gift for DH. Since I went through
Ebates , I will get 2.5% back from Canon for the camera and 1% back from NewEgg for the SD card.

If anyone is interested in the camera or the larger SD card, here are the links:

 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161396&cm_re=wintec-_-20-161-396-_-Product

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_267070_-1

DH is mowing the lawn again. It just keep growing and growing. Instead of buying bottled water to give him, I gave him water from our refrigerator putting it in an insulated cup. 

After he  is done with the lawn, he will be taking our Stihl weedwacker down to the John Deere dealer. There is a recall on the gasoline cap so it will get repaired for free.

We are fighting another Dr. bill. We got notified by our insurance company yesterday via a bill that DH's specialist who he goes to every 3 months is no longer participating in our plan. When DH called the  Dr's office he was told they are. So he calls the insurance company who tell us the Dr. was no longer participating as of 3/26/11. But when DH went in May, the Dr's office took his co-pay like nothing had changed. Something is not right here. So the billing office is trying to find out what is going on. So we get a bill for $ 120. of which $20. we have already paid which is not noted on the bill. Just weird! I will let you know how this one turns out. DH likes the Dr. but we will have to look for another one if this one is no longer participating.  

I did one load of laundry washed in cold water with minimal detergent. This time I used the dryer and used express dry.    

I  ran the dishwasher on energy saving mode using 1/2  dishwasher detergent tablet and let the dishes air dry.

DH and I are going to watch The Joneses on Netflix later today. We are loving all of the movies we get to watch every month for just a small monthly fee. It is especially nice now that regular TV is mainly reruns.

DH will be grilling round ground burgers for dinner while I cook up some sweet potato fries. I will cut up some fresh tomato and sweet onion for the burgers.  Our beverage will be homemade iced tea. 

I am starting to look for canning jars on Freecycle and Craigslist. I plan on putting up lots of veggies and fruits this year. I haven't a clue how to do it but I will teach myself.

That is about it for today for us. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what money saving thing you are up to today.

Money Saving Challenge - June 16

I was up at 4AM this morning because I couldn't sleep. So I got my day started early. All the dusting and vacuuming is done for the week. An early navy shower with free body wash and shampoo got me moving pretty quickly. The drugstore deals really help with all of these personal care items that I don't have to spend money on.

Breakfast was cantaloupe ( $ 1.49) and oatmeal( free). Next I always check to make sure my dinner is all taken care of. Since I had 2 doctors appts. today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, I wanted to make sure that was all set. Yesterday DH grilled honey terriyaki chicken and made extra. So tonight we will have romaine salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet onion, carrots, celery, and sliced chicken.

My electric and  gas company sent me a reminder to read the meters so I have done that. It is actually a month when the meter reader should do it. But I like to read it to make sure it is being read and read correctly. The one month I left it up to the meter reader, he never did it and the bill was estimated. If that happens again, I can give the company the readings and make them correct the bill.  

On my way to my first doctors appt., I stopped at Top's and filled the car up with gasoline getting $ .60  off a gallon with my Top's card. So I paid $ 3.299 a gallon. Every little bit helps especially since we have already purchased 2 extra tanks of gas this month for the trip across the state. I also was passing CVS so I stopped to pick up the free Hersheys candy bar with the coupon that I printed off their site. It is never too early to start thinking about my Halloween stash.  

Knowing that I was going to be spending a great deal of time sitting around Dr's. offices today, I brought my magazines that piled up while I was away to catch up on and cut the coupons out of. 

While I was down in the basement today getting something I needed, I changed the filter in the furnace so that we are all set when the A/C goes back on. Hopefully that won't be soon.

Before going to my first appt., I boiled some eggs to make egg salad  for lunch and to use later in the week. 

I also received $ 9.00 in rebates in the mail today which I will add to my Extras envelope.

Please feel free to leave a comment and tell us what you did to save money today.

Money Saving Challenge - June 15

These are the things I have done the past two days to save me money: 


- Washed a load of laundry. Because we have soft water, I only used 1/8 cup of HE detergent in cold water. I hung the clothes to dry in the basement.


- A medical practice decided to bill DH 7 months after the bill was incurred.  DH found that they overbilled us. We have a statement from our insurance company telling us that this company was out of network but that they had agreed to a smaller payment. By saving all of our medical records from last year instead of shredding them, we saved 33% of the bill amount that they were asking for. 


- A/C is off. Keeping the hot sun out by closing blinds and shades as the sun moves around the house. Using ceiling fans only when necessary.


- Made trail mix for snacks from the itmes in my Nutty Buddy order that arrived while we were away.


- Cut herbs from our garden to use this week. Any that don't get used will be frozen for the future.


-  Weeded flower and perennial gardens to keep them in good shape. I watered all of them that are in pots.


-  Followed up on $20.00 that a bank owes us for closure of a checking account we had in AZ. Of course they had sent it to the wrong address even though they had our new address!!! They are mailing a new check within 5 days.


- We are watching our water usage cutting down every way that we know to make up for the extra watering we are doing outside.


- Don't plan on going out in the car today so no gasoline will be used. When we do drive, we drive our 10 and 1/2 year old van that we keep well maintained so that it will give us many more years of service.  


- Used leftover broccoli from dinner last night in my omelet, I made from cheap eggs this morning. We each had 3 strips of that $ .35 turkey bacon along side of the omelets.


-  Made a pitcher of peach iced tea using teabags and the liquid from canned peaches.


- Exercising on our own treadmill.


- Checked the fridge to see what needs to be used up in the next few days. Planned my menu accordingly.


- Brushed the cat and gave her a bath which is always fun...NOT! Dried her. Clipped her nails.


- Did some mending and sewing of loose buttons.


- Did my weekly shopping yesterday buying on sale and using coupons.


- Caught up my points programs for the last few days that I was away.


- Cable went out again so I called Time Warner and got credit.


- Marinated chicken and DH will grill it for dinner tonight. I doubled up on what we usually grill so that I will have it for future meals.


- We continue to watch our electric consumption by turning off lights when not in a room. We try not  to use lights until dark.


-  Washed a few baggies that we keep snacks in to reuse.


- Filed coupons in my binder from the last seven days.


- Spent some time taking stock of my gift closet and seeing what I have for Christmas and noting who I still need to buy for.


- Printed out many coupons using the backs of junk mail letters.


- Using bar soap which I have a lot of instead of refilling liquid soap bottles. Why buy liquid soap to refill when I have so much bar soap.


- Using cloth napkins at the table.


- Opened a new sponge for the kitchen sink today and put the old one in the garage bucket to use when washing the litter box.  


Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you did  today to save some money. 

Just Getting To The Weekly Shopping

Tuesday is not a good day to shop here. I wanted to pick up the free Sharpies at Office Max but they were all out of stock. Two of the items( Bayer Advanced and the Lip Care) I wanted at Walgreens were also out of stock. There will always be other sales. :-)

But I did get a few things at other stores. The above picture is what I purchased at Top's:

2 Pkgs. of Bakery Hamburger Rolls - on sale  BOGOF = $ 2.89 for both

3 Idahoan Potato Pouches  - $ 1.00 each = $ 3.00 - Used $ .75/1 IPQ Doubled = $ .50 each or $ 1.50 for all

4 Dozen Eggs - $ 1.00 each = $ 4.00

2 Pkgs. of Funky Monkey Fruits - $ 1.00 each - Used $ .75/1 IPQ's Doubled = Free

2 cans of Chicken of the Sea Solid White Tuna in Water - $ 1.00 each - Used $ .50/1  IPQ's Doubled = Free

1 Smart Balance - $ 3.00 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 2.00

2 Soft Scrub Total All  Purpose - on sale 2 for $ 5.00 - Used BOGOF Mfrs. Cpn = $ 2.50 - Used $ .75/1 IPQ Doubled = $ 1.00 for both

3 Ortega Taco Seasoning - $ .89 each = $ 2.67 - Used $ 1.00/3 MQ = $1.67 for all 3

4 Boxes of Sugar Free Popsicles (Not Pictured) - $ 1.25 a box = $ 5.00

Total OOP was $ 18.44.

Next stop was at Aldi's where I purchased a 2 lb. Bag of Vidalia Onions for $.99 and a 4 Pack of  Sweet Corn for $ 1.49 for a total OOP of  $2.48. 

The last stop was at Walgreen's where I purchased:

1 Dial Body Wash - $ 2.99 - Used $2./1 MQ = $ .99

4 Diet Pepsi on sale for $.99 each = $ 3.97

3 Ajax Dish Liquid - $ .79 each with Walgreens Cpn = $ 2.37

1 can of Geisha Pear Halves - $ .89 with Walgreens Cpn

2 Bags of Lay's Chips - $ 1.50 each = $ 3.00 

Since they were out of the Bayer and the Lipcare, I had to improvise to use my RR's. So I got the soda which DH has been craving and I refuse to spend money on and the chips for picnics. So I paid with  $10.99 in Register Rewards and a $ 1.17 in cash of which $ .75 was sales tax.  

I am still trying to get some paperwork and laundry done since we got home. But tonight, we will have broiled sea scallops that were in the freezer, sweet potato fries and  broccoli for dinner. 

Please feel free share with us any deals you got this week. 

We Just Got Home From Vacation This Afternooon

Just wanted to let you know that I am still alive. Last Thursday morning, DH and I went to visit with our son, DIL, and granddaughter who celebrated her 4th birthday on Saturday. We had a wonderful time.

Sorry that there were no posts but we were very busy with all of our family the entire time we were there. I am sure that you all understand.

I have unpacking, laundry, mail, and the gardens to catch up on. I hope to be back posting tomorrow.  

Trip to Save A Lot and Top's: I bought an EXTRA.

I had to go pick up prescriptions this morning at Rite Aid. On the route from there to Save A Lot, I pass the Cash Back Bottle Place where I get my bottle deposits back. I stopped with a large bag that has been in the garage for a while. I received $ 4.55 for those bottles. Since, I used to just recycle them until recently, I added this money to my Extra's Envelope. So that envelope now totals $ 16.55. 

 I did two orders at Tops. My Temptations cat treats coupons were expiring in a couple of days. I priced the cat treats out at Walmart, Wegmans, Petsmart and Petco and none of them could beat the sale of 3 for $ 5.00 at Top's. So I picked up 5 of them at Top's this morning using a $ 1.00 MQ on each.  I also worked a Solo Catalina Deal. The 20 ct. plates were on sale for $ 2.50 each. I bought 4 packages and I had $ .75/1 IPQ's that doubled  to $ 1.50 so I paid $ 4.00 but I got a $ 4.00 Catalina good  ONYO  back.

My second order was a package of cooked shrimp that was on sale at the seafood counter. I bought .73 lbs. for $ 5.10. I used the $ 4.00 Catalina to pay along with $ 1.10 from my Extra Envelope which leaves that envelope with  $ 15.45.  My prior post explains how I am paying for expensive meats and seafoods, along with other treat items that I consider Extras. 

My last stop was at Save A Lot where I used my last 15 - $ .65/1 MQ's  to get this turkey bacon for$ .35  a package for a total  of $ 5.25.   I have ended up with a total of 40 packages of this turkey bacon for a total  of $ 14.00. I estimate that it will last us a little over 9 months.  

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us any great deals you got today.  

How Do You Buy The Extras?

How do you buy  your extras? By extras I mean, beer and soda, expensive meats and seafoods, special chocolate and the other extras that just make you happy. The items that are not really necessary but are nice to have once in a while.

I told you in my last post that I will be saving my rebate and survey checks for those extras. I have never done that before. For the past 20 years or so, I have just deposited them into our savings. Then I just spent whatever was needed from our monthly money to buy those extras.  But I have never felt a sense of accomplishment that I am making any kind of money for those items. 

Back in the 1970's and 1980's, I saved the rebate money for dining room chairs and eventually an entire dining room set. I also bought DH his first Lazy Boy with them. When DH graduated with his Masters in Electrical Engineering, I surprised him with a riding lawn mower purchased with money I saved from rebates and excess grocery money. That was not an easy purchase since there wasn't a lot of extra grocery money back then. I remember how excited and proud I was. Rebates were definitely more popular back then. I don't see as many rebates as I used to.  So now, I just hunt down as many as I can online and print them off. I then file them by date and try to make sure that I use them by their expiration. But only if I find a great sale and have good coupons. Of course, today we have the Rite Aid SCR's and places like Ebates to easily obtain rebates. I love being able to just do them online.

But now that grocery prices are rising and I have such a great stockpile of meat and other foods, I have decided to save them towards the food and beverage extras that we like but that are not really a necessity.  I love my Sam Adams but it is something that could easily be done without. I don't need to buy filet mignon, shrimp, clams, scallops and other things. We can just as easily eat hamburgers,  haddock ( yes with our diets this is  necessity) and chicken. Water and iced teas are cheap beverages around here. I have a special envelope that I have started for that money and so far I have $ 12.00.

Of course, there are many other ways to get those extras. You can buy your meats and seafood with winetags with no wine purchase necessary.. But they have gotten pretty scarce over the past few years. I know that some people are able to find them but I don't see that happening here in NY. If you have that resource, you are very lucky.  I used to be able to buy lots of food and meat with them when I was in AZ.    

You can also work those Catalina deals where you buy for example:  $25.00 worth of certain products and you get a $ 10.00 coupon good OYNO.  If you have good coupons, you can  just keep rolling this deal. These are the money makers that I love. But they seem to be scarce at my stores. In AZ,  I used to be able to rack up serious money with these.

You can work those coupons like $ 3. off a $15. purchase by buying $15.00 worth of items that are free after coupons, and adding $3.00 worth of soda or whatever extra you want. That way the $3.00 pays for it. You can use your coupons at Walmart,  since they now give overage,  and use the overage to pay for those items.

None of it is easy. You have to use some brainpower and time to come up with creative ideas. But if you do take the time, it will pay off in the long run. I have been working with Penny showing her how  to work her deals at her stores and showing her how to do rebates. She is catching on really quickly. Way to go Penny! 

I will be updating you when I spend any of this rebate or survey money to buy those extras. I am sure that there are many other ideas that you very creative readers have, that I haven't thought of at the moment.  Please leave a comment and share your ideas with all of us.  We all need each other's help!

Lots of Errands This Morning

I was up and out early since I had so many errands to run. I stopped at CVS along my route to use a $ .99 ECB that was expiring soon. Since there was nothing I really needed there I picked up a small package of SF chocolate wafers for DH that was on sale for $ 1.00, so after the ECB I paid $ .50.

Then I stopped at Orville's Appliance Store. They had a Frigidaire Dehumidifier on sale for $ 177. that will work in our basement. I was happy that they still had one in stock.

Next was a Wegman's shop which is pictured above. I did two separate orders so that I could get all of the MQ's doubled on the ketchup. My Wegmans will only double 4 in an order. There was a special sign in front of the ketchup that said $ 1.49 each. I was expecting them to be $ 1.89. They did ring up at $1.89 but when I mentioned the sign, the manager reduced all of them to $ 1.49 each. I would bet that the sign is no longer there.   This is what I purchased:

5- 40 oz. Heinz Ketchup at $ 1.49 each minus $ .50/1 MQ doubled = $ .49 each

1 Purex Complete with Zout- $ 4.99 - minus Free MQ won on Tiffany's Blog = Free

1  Soft Scrub Total - $ 3.79 - minus Free MQ ) Thanks Tiffany! = Free

So the total out of pocket was $ 2.45.

On to Petsmart where I purchased 2-  7 lb. bags of Purina Cat Food. They were on sale for $ 9.99 per bag and I used (2) $ 2.00/1  MQ making each of them $ 7.99 plus tax. Kitty is happy because I used up her last bag this morning.

In the same plaza is the Super Walmart. I had 7 items that I wanted to look for and price out. They had not one of the 7 items. I have found that this Super Center in Williamsville is very small  and  carries no real selection.  This is not the Supercenters that I am used to in Arizona.

Last stop was at the bank to get the monthly cash. I also cashed some rebate checks totalling about $12. while I was there. I  am doing something different as far as my grocery budget goes. I used to deposit those checks in our savings. Instead I am now going to be cashing them and I will use them for meat, beer, and goodies. I have a spreadsheet where I am keeping track of those rebate and survey checks. All of that money will be kept in a special envelope for those things. When I purchase something with that money, I will let you know. To me it is free money that I would not have had if I hadn't had the foresight to find the rebate and send for it.

On the way home it was lunchtime. So I picked up a Ted's Red Hot Texas Hot Dog for each of us. We had never had one. DH did not like them so I guess we won't be having them again.

I am off to make turkey soup for dinner from the last of our leftovers. Have a great day everyone.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us any great deals you got today.          

Sunday Shopping

You are going to see a lot of posts like this over the next couple of weeks because I am trying to show Penny how to shop the deals. Today I went to Tops and Walgreens for a couple of deals on things that we needed. This is what I purchased:

Tops:

1- 200ct. Bounty Napkins - $ 2.99 - Used $ 1./1 MQ from today's insert = $ 1.99

4 Ore Ida Sweet Potato Fries - $ 3.00 each - Used $ 1./1 MQ's  = $ 2.00 each

6 Pkgs.  of Temptations Mix Ups - On  sale 3 for$ 5.00 = $10. - Used $1./1 MQ's = $4.00 or about $.66 each and I received a $ 1.00 Catalina good OYNO  

Total was $15.02. I used the last $ 13.27 on my free giftcard from my sister so cash  paid was $ 1.75 and I have the $ 1.00 Catalina  for next time! I screwed this one up though. I should have separated the Temptations into 2 orders of 3 and I would  have had (2) $ 1.00 Catalinas good OYNO. Sometimes my brain just isn't functioning.

At Walgreens, I got much needed fish oil and a Sobe:

1 Omega Smart Super Critical Fish Oil - $ 10.00 - Used $ 2.00  IPQ = $ 8.00 & I received a $10.00 RR, so this is a $ 2.00 moneymaker.

1 Sobe Lifewater - $ .99 - Used $ .99 Catalina from a deal last week = $.00 and I received a $ .99 RR

Total OOP was $ 8.08 and I have $ 10.99 in RR to roll next time.

Feel free to let us know if you got any great deals today by leaving them in comments. 

My Steals of The Day

Our town and the city have a garage sale day every year. Today was it. Too bad it rained for most of the day. But my DIL and I went anyhow and did a few. Look what I got for $ 10.00 for when my grandaughter comes out to visit. 

I also filled up our gasoline tank at $ .40 off a gallon at Top's paying $3.499 a gallon. Still too high in my estimation.

And I picked up 5 more packages of turkey bacon for $ .35 each after MQ at Save- A- Lot. 

But the best picture of the day is of West while he was eating lunch here. He is the happiest little boy!

Feel free to leave a comment and share with us any deals that you got today. 

Last Minute Weekly Shopping

DH and I use a package of turkey bacon a week. When I saw that Butterball was on sale at Top's I was delighted until I realized that the coupons were DND. Top's were $ 1.50 each but Save- A -Lot had them for $ 1.00 each. So I made a quick run to Save a Lot and purchased 20 packages. I had $ .65/1 MQ off each one so I only paid $ 7.00 for 20 packages. This will keep DH and I from paying full price for quite a while. 

Next stop was at Walmart  to pick up 4 more Nexcare Bandages that were a $ 1.00 each but I used $ 1./1 IPQ so they were free. I also picked up a Reach Floss at $ .97 and used a $ 1./1 MQ which gave me $ .03 overage towards the plastic wrap. I was totally out of plastic wrap so I paid $ 1.56 including tax for this order.

Last stop was at Top's where I purchased 5 Jello Temptations on sale for $ 2.50 each and used 5 MQ  for $ .55 each. Four doubled to $ 1.10 each and one did not. Tops has a limit of 4. However if you bought 5, you got $ 2.00 taken off  instantly at checkout. So these 5 cost me $ 5.55 for all 5.  I also purchased  4 Goya Low Sodium Beans at $ .69 each minus $ .60/2 MQ doubled on each so paid $.09 per can. Plus I got 2 Goya Rice Mixes on sale for $ 1.29 each minus $ .55/1 MQ doubled  on each so paid  $ .19 per package. Lastly, I got a free International Coffee Breve Creamer with a free coupon that one of my readers sent me.  So my OOP would have been $ 6.11 but I used my Top's giftcard to pay which was a gift from my sister.

Plesse feel free to leave a comment and share any good deals you got today.

A Message For Alex M. at the Living Without Money Blog

I received this in a blog comment from  Didicoffeegirl:

"Totally off topic, but I can post on your blog and I know that "Alex" from Living Without Money does indeed read your blog.
I can't post to her blog. AT ALL! It's not only hers, it's like 3 blogs that I follow that I can no longer post to.
Thier format is different than yours and some others that I follow.
What happens is I get looped when I try to post. It asks me for my "google ID, or what have you", then it asks me to sign in. Then it asks me to put in the authentic code... once I put it in, it loops me back to sign in. I noticed (3 boards for me) that as long as they have the "choose your identification" something is going on w/ blogger.

I contacted blogger help and they told me to "email my blogger", but I honestly don't know how to email them since I've never personally contacted them other than the blog...

I hope she reads this and thank you so much for allowing me to post this on your blog my friend!!"

Alex, I am having the same issues.  I have not been able to post comments to your blog for days. I get into this unending loop. It is so frustrating. I had the same issue with " Making Your Own Luck". I let her know and I don't know what she did, but I can post comments on hers now."

So if anyone can tell Alex M. or us how to fix this, we would be most appreciative. Please leave a comment if you can share what do with us. 

Managing The Stockpile: The Upstairs Freezer

Today I inventoried the freezer that is part of my side by side refrigerator. Spaghetti0625 mentioned in the comments on yesterday's post that she would keep the list taped to her freezers. I do the same except I keep the list for the refrigerator freezer in the drawer next to it.  I try to cross things  off as I use them but sometimes I forget or DH forgets. But I will do my best this time. It makes it so much easier to make menus when you know what you have. So this is what I inventoried today:

Meat, Poultry and Fish:

20 Chicken Breasts
2 Tuna Steaks
1 lb. Sea Scallops
1/2 Bag of Tilapia Filets ( about 4)
6 Smoked Garlic Sausage
1 Pkg. of Brown and Serve Turkey Sausage
1 Pkg. of Italian Turkey Sausage
1 Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon
2  Cooked Hamburgers ( I crumble them up into soup or spaghetti sauce)
3 lbs.  Ground Round
4 Kobe Burgers
1 lb. Ground Chuck
1 lb. Turkey Hot Dogs   

Dairy:

6 Pkgs. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Heavy Whipping Cream
2 FF Cool Whip
1 Pkg. Mozzarella Sliced Cheese
1 Pkg.  of Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 Pkg. of Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
2 Coffeemate

Vegetables:

3 Bags of Sliced Green Peppers
6 containers of Cooked Sliced Mushrooms
1 Bag of Green Beans
4 Bags of Steamfresh Corn
1 Bag of French Fries
3 Bags of Sliced Red Peppers
1 Bag of Simply Potatoes
1 and 1/2  Bags of Niblet Corn
1 Pkg. BE Steamfresh Multi Grain Blend with Spinach, Tomatoes and Onions
3 Pkgs. of Broccoli and  Carrots
1 Pkg.  of Peppers and Onion Mix
1 Pkg. Sugar Snap Stir Fry Mix

Fruits:

3 Pkgs. of Sliced Bananas
1 can Orange Juice
1 Pkg. Strawberries
3 lbs. of Blueberries
1/2 Bag of Fresh Whole Cranberries

Bakery:

5 Plain Waffles
10 Blueberry Waffles
1 Pkg. of 4 Hawaiian Rolls
1 Box Super Pretzels
13 Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

For Baking:

2 lbs. of Lt. Brown Sugar
2 Pkgs. of Nestle Milk Chocolate Chips
1 Bar Peppermint Bark
1/2 Bag of Toffee Chips
2 Bags of Walnuts
1 Bag  of Slivered Almonds
1 Bag  of Nestle Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 Bags of Hersheys Kisses
1 Bag of Hersheys Bliss

Prepared Foods:

3 containers of Beef Broth
4 containers of Chicken Broth
1 Meal of Spaghetti  Sauce and Meatballs
1/2 Bag of Cheese Ravioli
2 Personal Size Cheese Pizzas
1 Pkg. Morningstar Farms Chicken(veggie) Nuggets

So all of my future meals for a while will be made from my freezers filling in with fresh veggies and fruits and some pantry stockpile. I don't think I will have to buy meat for a long while. Although I will be buying turkey bacon.

Actually I am making a turkey dinner tonight. I thawed the 14.44 lb. turkey yesterday and overnight in cold ice water. It goes into my convection oven in about an hour.  It is cool here today, so the A/C is off. So I decided to cook in. I love using the convection oven for turkey because it keeps the meat juices sealed in and it cooks using 25% less gas. I am not stuffing it. I have stove top to use up so I am making that with chicken broth instead of butter. The unstuffed turkey will only take 2 hours and 50 minutes in the convection oven and then it will need to rest for a while when it is done. So it should be just perfectly done when we sit down to dinner. I have invited my son, DIL, and West for dinner. We also will be having green beans, cranberry sauce, roasted potatoes, rolls and FF gravy. Dessert will be cantaloupe with strawberries and blueberries and whipped cream if anyone is still hungry.  

As you can see, most of this meal is coming from the  freezer so I had to update my inventory already.

So I hope that all of you and Penny are updating your inventory lists.
  

Managing The Stockpile: Taking Freezer Inventory

Penny told me that she has a full freezer. She  told me she has no idea what is in it especially in the bottom of her chest freezer.  One of the first things she needs to do to manage her grocery  budget is take inventory of that freezer. So as an example, I took inventory of mine this morning. I only have a small chest freezer which needs to be defrosted because it is starting to build up ice. So the picture above shows me dragging out most of the contents onto a card table so that I could do the inventory. The de-icing will have to wait until most of the food is either gone or moved to my upstairs freezer. I did this pretty quickly so that nothing would start thawing.

These pictures above show of the bottom of the freezer with turkeys and turkey breasts and items that were heavy for me to take out. I easily got the information off of them to add to my list.  

After I wrote everything down, I was able to get everything back in with room to spare. But I will not be  putting anything in until most of it is gone. I not only want to be able to defrost it but I need room to put up some veggies and fruits by the end of the summer. One of the whole turkeys I purposely left on top so that I can roast it in my Nesco out on the patio soon. 

Here is my inventory list of what is in this freezer:

Meat and Poultry:

18 Chicken Breasts
1.74  lb. Pkg of Chicken Drumsticks
1 Pkg. of 10 Chicken Thighs
1 Pkg. of Perdue Carved Italian Style Chicken Breasts
6 - 7 &8 lb. Turkey Breasts
1 - 17.42 lb. Whole Turkey
1- 14.37 lb. Whole Turkey
1- 14.44 lb.  Whole Turkey
1 Pkg. Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey
1 Pkg. Of Sliced Cooked Turkey( from when I roasted a turkey breast)
2 Pkgs  of Jennie- O Turkey Meatballs
10 Jennie- O Lean Turkey Burgers
3 Pkgs of Ground Round - about 1 lb. each
6 Kobe Burgers
1- 14.85 Semi  Boneless Whole Ham
3 Pkgs. of Brown and Serve Turkey Sausages
1 Pork Loin
1- 7.97 Leg of Lamb

Bread, Bakery, and Rolls:

3- 12 Grain Wheat Bread
1 Rye Bread
4 Hamburger Rolls
4 Hard Rolls
4 Italian Submarine Rolls
1 English Muffin
5 Bagels
1 Pkg. of Pie Crusts
15 lbs. of Flour

Dairy:

1 lb. Butter
8 Pkgs. of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
7 Tubs of Cottage Cheese

Vegetables:

1 Pkg. of Broccoli and Rice 
2 Bags of  Green Beans
1 Bag of Sliced Carrots
2 Bags of McCains Purely Potatoes

Fruits:

10 Bags of Fresh Whole Cranberries

Prepared:

1 Meal of Beef Stew

Tomorrow I will take the second step and inventory my freezer that is part of my side by side refrigerator. 

This takes a bit of work. But you can't make menu plans if you don't have a list of what you have on hand so I believe it is a very necessary step to get your budget under control.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us your thoughts.