Money Saving Challenge - November 30

Finally, I could upload these pictures in blogger. Most of the day it wouldn't let me. You are looking at my bargain of the day. I never got to  Walmart for cat litter yesterday because I got really busy here. So today I went  to Big Lots and used the $ 10.00 coupon  that I earned buying Christmas gifts there on Black Friday. I figured I might as well use it on something we really needed since my Christmas shopping is done.  So after coupon I paid $ 3.24 including tax for 40 lbs. of cat  litter. I and kitty love this cat litter. That is a lot less than I would have had to pay at Walmart.  

Today's mail brought a  couple of freebies:  a nice all natural sponge from Scotch-Brite that I signed up for on Facebook and  a whole group of coupons for  WW Smart Ones including a Free one.

I did make my homemade  pizza for dinner. I estimate with the cost of making the crust, a can of  pizza sauce, some turkey pepperoni, spices and mozzarella cheese that this pizza cost me about $ 3.00. That's about $ 18.00 less than  it would cost to get one from our favorite pizza place.  

The other things that I did today to save money are:

- Caught up my points programs - My Points, Recyclebank, Coke Rewards, etc. 

- Ran the dishwasher full on the energy saving cycle

- Since the electric toothbrush arrived today, I made out the $10. rebate to mail out tomorrow

- Cooked up some veal meatballs to freeze. They will get used in veal and peppers next week.

- Our medical plan sent us a letter that we received today informing us that one of the drugs DH takes they will no longer cover at all. DH researched to see if there was an alternative and there is one. So he will call the Dr. to get a new script for the other medication. Medical plans are getting really picky now that so many regulations have hit them for Obamacare this year.  

- Made out all of my Christmas cards and was happy that I had enough stamps so that I didn't have  to wait in line at  the Post Office this time of year. By cutting back my list I saved  about $ 9.00 in postage.

- Tonight, I will read for entertainment. Since so many shows are reruns, I am thinking about keeping the TV off.    

We have our house decorated outside for Christmas so I thought I would share.

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

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Money Saving Challenge

I know that it is hard to save money especially during the holidays. You can tell that just by the record breaking sales on Black Friday and the double digit increase in sales on Cyber Monday. Some would  like us to believe that the economy is getting better and that these increases prove it. Most of the media pointed to these sales and said that is why the stock market took a huge jump yesterday. More likely the stock market jumped because investors believe that Europe has  found a fix for the Euro. I want to see details if I am to believe that. More likely they  are just again kicking the can down the road. There has been a hint of the IMF( International Monetary Fund) bailing out Italy by lending up to a trillion dollars. Since the United States is the largest contributor to this fund, we as taxpayers will be on the hook for billions. Billions  that we don't have so we will have to borrow the money from China again. Meanwhile Italy is selling bonds which is boosting the European market. I wonder who is buying these bonds.  

Our government told the media yesterday that a bailout of Italy by the IMF is not true. However we find out yesterday because Bloomberg printed it, that our Federal Reserve led by Ben Bernanke bailed out the largest banks by giving them $ 7.77 Trillion  and kept it a secret. And we were only told that it was the Tarp billions that they got. We only find this out yesterday because Bloomberg and Fox News sued to get the Freedom of Information Request ( FOIL).  The worst part is that  some of those trillions went to banks in other countries. This plan was hatched by Geitner when he was head of the Federal Reserve. So if they would keep this a secret from taxpayers why would they admit that they are working on an IMF bailout of Italy?

What does this have to do with saving money you say? I believe that our country is in dire straits and that the government is spending money like drunken sailors. Because of the $ 7.77 trillion bailout of the banks, we have seen our dollars devalued.  Now you know why things including food have risen almost 25% in the past three years. If we ran our budgets at home like the government does, we would all be bankrupt. Just how much do you think prices will go up if we bail out a country? We will be on the hook for billions and bailing Italy out won't work in my estimation. The banks got $ 7.77 trillion  but some of them are saying they may need another bailout. 

Bottom line, until there is a change in the policies of the U.S., our hands are tied. We can write our politicians all we want and complain but they don't seem to listen. So all we can do is pay attention to  our own budgets. Spend, spend, spend and you will be as broke as the government. Save, save, save and you will protect yourself and your families. Everybody keeps telling us to spend or the economy won't come back. The truth is when the policies change, the economy will come back. Saving your money gives banks and credit unions more money to lend to small businesses to create the jobs that are so desperately needed in this country. That is what will help bring the economy back. 

So are two days of spending for Christmas presents a sign that the economy is coming back? I doubt it. More likely it is a sign that people have done without for so long that buying Christmas gifts makes them feel good. It may also be a sign that the sales up to Christmas, after these two days, may go down. Time will tell.  

So knowing that I can only take care of my own family, this is what I have done the past few days to conserve our money:

- DH has been asking for me to buy a refill head for his electric toothbrush. After googling prices, I determined the cheapest price I could get one replacement head for was approximately $ 18. plus shipping  Yikes! So instead I bought him a new toothbrush for $ 24.99 with a $10. rebate which will bring the final cost down to $ 14.99. This will also give me time to find cheaper replacement heads, I hope. I have plenty of free manual toothbrushes but DH and I both love our electric toothbrushes and they have saved us plenty of money at the dentist by faithfully using them.   

- DH is installing the trim around the door to my pantry in the basement. He is saving us a lot of money by doing this himself. Little by little everything is getting done down there for a lot less money than a contractor would have charged us to do it.  

- I purchased the Entertainment Book for cheap the other day which will save us money in the long run. I plan on faithfully checking it everytime I make a purchase. We will also dine out at those restaurants the majority of the time.

- Since DH and I like to go to Perkins for breakfast and we have company coming soon, I purchased the Perkins Groupon. It was $30.00 worth of food for $15.00. However I had a referral credit on my account for $5.00, so I only paid  $ 10.00.

- We drained our outside faucets so that they won't freeze and break over the winter. I don't want to have to replace them. 

- I cut up and froze some celery that was starting to get old. This will be great for stirfrys and casseroles.

- 99% of our meals have been and will be made from our stockpile. I  will continue building it and replacing it little by little when I see a great deal.

- I made  4 qts. of turkey stock from our turkey and froze 2 of them for future use. I used 2 qts. to make homemade turkey soup. 

- Did two loads of laundry in the HE's using minimal detergent and minimal drying time.

- All lights stay off until dark. TV's are also staying off until primetime. Computer usage is kept to a minimum of 1- 2 hours a day depending on how much research I have to do. The heat is being kept at 68 for now. When we get our electric blanket, we will drop the temperature a few degrees at night.  

- Outside Christmas lights are being kept on a maximum of 5 hours.  

- Today I will be making a trip to Aldi's for items that are needed that are much cheaper there than any market here. Things like orange juice, eggs, cranberries, and FF sour cream.

- I  desperately need cat litter. I usually buy it at Petsmart but I decided today I will buy it at Walmart.  It is not worth the gasoline to drive 24 miles round trip just for cat litter. We have a new Petsmart opening closer to me but the grand opening is not until Dec. 17th. So I will buy enough to last until then. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a great grand opening sale or at least some coupons in the mail. 

- We got our first Christmas card yesterday so I guess it is time to start writing them. I have cut back my list this year to people we actually still have a relationship with. No more sending a card to people who just keep sending them and we never see or hear from them the rest of the year. This will cut down on the cost of cards and the pricey stamps.

That is about all  for now. I am hoping to do more money saving challenge posts than I have been as we come to the end of the year and as I continue the Money Saving Challenge for 2012. Less shopping means I have more time for those posts.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of is what you have been doing to save money.       

Our Stockpile Menu This Week

Monday:

Breakfast - French Toast with pure maple syrup, orange juice, coffee

Lunch - Turkey soup,iced tea

Dinner - Sour Cream Turkey Casserole except I am using the end of the turkey. Also using FF cream soup and sour cream and cutting back the amount  of crackers;  spinach, milk  


Tuesday:

Breakfast - Oatmeal, pears, V8, coffee

Lunch - Egg salad on saltines, iced tea

Dinner - Leftover turkey casserole, leftover spinach, milk


Wednesday:

Breakfast - Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, orange juice, coffee

Lunch - Tuna fish sandwich, carrot sticks, iced tea

Dinner - Homemade pepperoni pizza, tossed salad, diet soda


Thursday:

Breakfast - Blueberry muffins, banana, V8, coffee

Lunch - Leftover pizza, diet soda

Dinner - Haddock for DH, shark for me, baked squash, corn, peaches for dessert


Friday:

Breakfast - Cheerios with milk, banana, orange juice, coffee

Lunch - Canned Healthy Choice soup, pears, iced tea

Dinner - Homemade mac and cheese, baked squash, milk 


Saturday:

Breakfast - Apple cinnamon pancakes with real maple syrup, banana, orange juice, coffee

Lunch - Salsa and chips, peaches, diet soda

Dinner - Smorgasboard consisting of all leftovers from the week, milk


Sunday:

Breakfast - Leftover apple cinnamon pancakes with syrup, V8, coffee 

Lunch - Tossed salad, mandarin oranges, iced tea

Dinner - Sirloin Tip Roast, roasted potatoes, broccoli, red wine 

Snacks this week will be  a choice of of celery and carrot sticks with homemade dill dip, apples, tangerines, pretzels, or blueberry muffins 

Sunday Shopping: Tops, Rite Aid & Walgreens

This morning I had a few things to shop for, not much. At Top's I purchased 20 Hungry Jack Pancake Mixes. They were $ 1.00 each and I had 10 - $ 1./2 MQ's so I paid $ .50  each. These are the perfect  size for DH  and I to get two meals out of. This way we can vary our flavors. I also picked up a 20 oz. loaf of white bread for $ .88 with Top's Super Coupon. The total after coupons was $ 10.88. I gave the cashier $ .88 in cash first and then the $ 10.00 balance allowed me to use a $ 10. prepaid Visa that I earned from a rebate.   

Next stop was Rite Aid where I purchased a 120 ct. bottle of St. Joseph's 81 mg. Aspirin for  $ 4.99. I used a $ 1./1 MQ and $ 3.50 in UP Rewards, so I paid $ .49 OOP. This purchase earned me a $ 4.00
UP Reward. I love moneymakers.  

The last stop was Walgreens where I purchased two Crest Complete Deep Clean Toothpaste on sale 2 for $ 6.00.  I used 2 - $ 2.00/1 MQ's, so I paid  a  total of $2.00 + tax. I also earned a $ 2.00 Register Reward. 

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us any good deals that you get today.     

Black Friday Shopping

I no longer hit the stores in the middle of the night for Black Friday deals.  If I can do it online, I will. Otherwise, I go out later in the morning after we get up. So that is what I did yesterday.

First I went to Big Lots for two  doorbuster items for my grandchildren. They actually had both of them plus I was able to pick up another toy for my grandaughter. I spent enough that  I was given a $ 10.00 off coupon to use in the next two weeks or so.

Next I stopped at Top's and picked up two more of those $ .17 liquid creamers. Then to Dunkin Donuts and  grabbed some lb. bags of their coffee that are on a limited deal right now.  They are B3G1F.  This is DH's favorite coffee so he has me stock up this time of the year when they run their deals. They were 4 bags for $ 20. in prior years but sadly those days are gone.

Then I went to BonTon to look at a doorbuster toy which they did have but I didn't like it. I did buy myself a Miss Elaine bathrobe that I desperately needed. It was $ 60. on a 50% off sale.  I also picked up an 18 pack of Green Mountain K-cups for my son and  DIL. They were marked from $ 18. to $ 9.90 and then I was able to get another 20% off with my Rewards coupon. So the K-cups were $ 7.92. They are pictured above.  I  don't know a thing about K-cup prices but my sister did tell me that I got a great deal.  I also  got 20% off of the bathrobe so I ended up paying just $ 24. for that.

Lastly, I went to Rite Aid where I purchased 5 bottles of Diet Coke that  were on sale for 5 for $  5.00. I used the RA VV Q for $ .50 and I received a $ 1.00 UP Reward.  I purchased two boxes of Hersheys Pot of Golds for gifts for $ 3.99 each but I got $ 4.00 in UP Rewards. Always looking for some new toys for our toy basket here for when the  grandchildren come to play, I bought 8 Hot Wheels cars. They were two for $ 1.50 and I received $ .50 in UP rewards for each two I bought. My last purchase was the Planters 3 pack of nuts for  $4.99 and I received a $ 2.00 UP reward. I only had $ 4.00 in UP Rewards to roll so I had to put some money out of pocket but I ended up with  $ 9.00  in UP Rewards to roll the next time I need something there.

I also purchased about $ 105. worth of toys online  from Amazon at about 38% off. I was able to use $ 45. in Amazon GC's that I earned through using Swagbucks for searching. And of course of purchased the Entertainment book online that I posted about yesterday.

I  had 99% of my Christmas shopping done quite a while ago but I take advantage of sales after Thanksgiving for things that we need and for the grandchildren's birthday gifts.

That was the extent of my shopping. I  always love to hear how you did on Black Friday. Please feel free to leave a comment and share what you purchased with us.    

I Said I Wouldn't Buy An Entertainment Book This Year But....

I could not pass up today's deal. Entertainment.com is offering the books at 35% off plus free shipping. If you go to  Ebates and sign up and then continue to Entertainment.com  on  the  Ebates site, you will get an  additional 40% off back in cash. My Buffalo book was $24.50 after the 35% discount and I will get an additional cash rebate from Ebates of $ 9.80 for a final cost for my book of $ 14.70. Even for the few coupons I will use, this is a moneymaker for me.  

In full disclosure, this is my referral link.   

Our Thanksgiving

We had such a wonderful day with our family and what a feast my DIL and son put on. We were invited over to spend the entire day with them. First, we had breakfast. My DIL served homemade Swedish coffeecake, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread and bacon. The pumpkin items were from two different recipes. Until dinnertime, we had appetizers which were stuffed celery with cream cheese and olives, dates stuffed with cream cheese or pecans rolled in confectioner's sugar, olives, cheddar cheese cubes, shrimp and cocktail sauce, homemade guacamole dip with veggie chips and more that I can't remember. Dinner was turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with pecans and marshmallows, corn, cranberry sauce, black olives, sausage, apple and raisin stuffing, gravy, and squash soup. Too stuffed from all of this, we didn't eat dessert until after 7PM. My DIL made two different pumpkin desserts.....a pumpkin ice cream cake and a pumpkin cheese cake. The desserts were so delicious, I ate a large piece of both. Everything was so scrumptious including the eggnog with Baileys and Sam Adams  that we had throughout the day. Thanks to my DIL and son for such a wonderful day.

The best part of the day was being able to spend it playing with West. Here he is pictured reading a book with grandpa just before he went to bed for the evening. 

Today I am cooking my own turkey because DH and I miss the leftovers when we go out. I am just cooking a 12 lb. one.  My DIL was nice enough to give us leftovers......Swedish coffee cake, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, pumpkin cheesecake, and stuffed celery. So all I really have to do for dinner is roast the turkey, make gravy and add a vegetable. Thanks to my DIL for being so thoughtful. And thanks to both she and my son for letting us spend the  day with you and West.  

Later, I will write about my little bit of Black Friday shopping that I did. I hope that all of you had a great day  yesterday!         

Happy Thanksgiving

Most of us will be enjoying our turkey dinners and eating until we are stuffed. Many will be sitting back and watching football. And I would bet some of you will even be going to Black Friday sales in the evening. We will be spending our Thanksgiving with our son, DIL,and grandson. My other son, DIL, and grandaughter will not be able to join us. We will truly miss them! 

For me, Thanksgiving is all about family. I am so blessed to have the most wonderful husband, sons, DIL's, and grandchildren.  I am also blessed to have shared so many years with my only sister.  It brings back wonderful memories for me of my Mom coming to spend the day with us. My sons so looked forward to seeing her and playing the Bingo game for prizes that she would bring every year. And all of the years, as a kid, going to my aunt and uncle's home for a turkey dinner. There were so many cousins, my aunts and  uncles, Mom, my sister, and my grandmother and grandfather. The gathering was so huge that my aunt would set up the basement family room with wall to wall tables. I also remember playing many a game of ping pong afterward. Some of those people are no longer with us so I remember and honor them on Thanksgiving. My cousin, Sue, who passed away in February gave our family a tape of these gatherings when we were kids. It was from an original 8 track movie in black and white taken approximately 55 years ago. I try to look at it around this time every year.  

So tomorrow, I look forward to another wonderful Thanksgiving with family. It's going to be fun!  I will share our day with you and the menu later this week. 

I wish all of you and your families a day filled with love, laughter and memories. For those of you who are traveling,  I wish you a safe trip.  Happy Thanksgiving!        

Money Saving Challenge - November 22

These are the money saving things going on in my household:

- Breakfast was leftover roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and orange juice.

- Yesterday, I picked up a bottle of Bailey's for Thanksgiving. It had a rebate form for $ 10.00. When I got home, I realized that the cashier never gave me the receipt. So I called the liquor store today and the manager is mailing the receipt to me. I was not about to lose out on this amount of money. 

- We got our electric and gas bill today. It was for $ 128.80 which was $ 29.00 less than last year even though there had been a rate increase this year. Turning the heat down 4 degrees has made a difference.  

- Did one load of laundry and hung it to dry.

- Ordered 3 replacement pads for our furnace humidifier online last week. The cost of three pads at Amazon.com with shipping was less than buying two from Honeywell. It pays to compare prices.

- Lunch was leftover meatloaf. We made sandwiches. The meatloaf was made last night using marked down ground chuck and marked down ground pork.

- I have a raincheck for a certain item. Rather than drive 9 miles to find they don't have the item in stock yet, I called the store. They didn't have it so I saved a trip and the gasoline. 

- Rode 3 miles on the exercise bike today. It is nice to have the equipment in my own home and not have to buy a gym membership.

- The mail brought a $ 7.00 rebate check.

- I ran out of facial cleaning towelettes that I had purchased for pennies a couple of years ago. While, I wait on a good price to purchase more, I will be using free samples and then just a washcloth and Ivory soap.

- I am starting to write Christmas cards. I have cut my list way down from prior years due to the cost of postage. 

- Stayed home today which cuts the gasoline bill.
     
- Returned 3 bags of deposit bottles  yesterday to Fast Cash. Received $ 2.90.

- Printed a coupon from facebook for Valu Home Centers for a free snowbrush and  scraper. It always pays to have a spare when one breaks. Thanks Amanda! 

- I am researching the best price on a kingsize electric blanket.

- Dinner tonight are homemade chicken strips, tossed salad and bacon and cheddar potatoes. We are craving a restaurant meal so I am making it at home.

- Tuesday night is my very favorite for TV. The NCIS's and Body of Proof will be my entertainment.

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

Sunday Shopping

I was out shopping at 8 AM. The wind here is horrible so I was glad to get home. My first stop was Walgreen's where I did two separate transactions but I will put them together for expediency.
I purchased 6 boxes of the Bayer 81 mg. aspirin with the in ad Q's for  $ 1.99 each. I used $ 1.00/1 MQ's on each so paid just $ .99 a bottle.  I was so happy to see these on sale since we take an aspirin a day around here and we were on our last bottle. 

And then I was off to Top's where I purchased:

2 - 100 ct. Pkgs. of Vanity Fair Napkins - $ 2.00 each - Used $  .55/1 IPQ's D = $ .90 each

4 Dole Mandarin  Oranges  - $ 1.00  each - Used $ .50/2 MQ'sD = $ .50 each  

4 Bird's Eye Vegetables  -  $ 1.00 each - Used $ .50/2 MQ's D = $ .50 each 

4 International Delight Creamers - on sale 3  for $ 5.00 - Used $ .75/1 IPQ'sD = 4 for $ .50 or about $ .16 each

1 Zone Perfect Bar - $ 1.00 - Used $ .55/1  MQD = Free

Total OOP was $ 6.30.

I have  these black canvas organizer bags that keep my grocery bags from falling over in the back  of the van. They also allow DH and I to carry more groceries into the house at once. We put them on the floor in the kitchen and then I unload them. After I did that this morning I went to pick the bag up and put it back in the car and found the surprise pictured below:

She had made herself quite at home and was not happy when I removed her.  The rest of my day will be spent relaxing and making a birthday dinner for my son and his family.

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

Money Saving Challenge - November 15

These are the things that we have been doing to save money the past few days:

- Put up mesh fencing around our gardens to keep the deer and rabbits from eating our bushes this winter.

- DH has been building the wall in my pantry and he put in a new door. So this pantry will be it's own room down in the basement.  I can now enter it from the stairs.  This has cost about $ 150. but a lot less than having a contractor build it. Next we will decide whether we want to tile or re -carpet the floor between the two doors down there. I will take pictures when it is all done.

- We have been covering our grill and outdoor furniture with covers that we purchased so that they can stay outside this winter.

- DH finished cleaning the garage so it's all ready for the winter.

- I have been using up leftovers this week. Since they are finished, I will cook kobe beef burgers for dinner tonight accompanied by homemade French fries.

- The mail has brought a Crest toothpaste sample and $ 43.88 in rebate checks. I have also gotten about 12 magazines that were free subscriptions.

- One pair of my jeans were faded, so today I dyed them with RIT dye. They look like new.

- While trying to repackage things in my freezer, I realized that I have 2 turkeys and 3 turkey breasts in the bottom of it so I may not be buying many turkeys this year.

- Took a roasting chicken from the freezer to the refrigerator so that it will thaw and  I can roast it  tomorrow.

- I had to read the electric and gas meters today and submit them to the company to avoid an  estimated bill. Looking at last years bill, we have cut our KWH just a little but we have cut our natural  gas CCF usage by 30 CCF's from the same period last year.This is a significant drop. Keeping the house at 68 during the day and 65 at night instead of 72 all day seems to be paying off.  

- Hand washed a couple of  sweaters and laid them out to dry.

- Did 3 loads of wash using cold water in the HE washer and minimal drying time in the HE dryer.

- I cleaned the inside of my dishwasher including all filters and screens to keep it functioning at peak performance.

- My son brought me 2 more butternut squash so I will be cooking those in the microwave later. I have been so enjoying these. To me they are a treat!  

- I have been hunting high and low for the Christmas cards that I got Free last year. I finally found them.

- We were out of Italian dressing so I made some using oil, vinegar, about 1/3  cup of grated onion, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp. each of oregano, basil and celery seed, and grated black pepper to  taste.

- I baked a batch of walnut chocolate chip cookies this morning.

- Our Netflix movie arrived today so that will be our entertainment after dinner tomorrow night. Tonight we will be watching the NCIS's.

- Out automobile  policy is up for renewal and we decided to  drop the collision insurance since the car is just about 10 years old. This will save us $ 178. a year.  

That's about it. I have been doing a lot of uncluttering in the house. I find by doing this 3-4 times a year that everything stays neat and organized and things that we don't use get tossed or donated.

Please feel free to leave  a comment and share with all of us what you have been doing to save a little money lately.      
     

Top's Trip Yesterday

I did a little Top's shop yesterday. This is what I purchased:

8 cans DelMonte Diced Tomatoes - $ 1.00 each - Used $ .75/2 MQD = $ .25 each

4 Coffeemate Creamers - $ 2.00 each - $ .50/1 MQD = $ 1.00 each

2 Heluva Good Dips - $ 1.66 each - Used $ .50/1 IPQD = $ .66 each

Total OOP was $ 7.32.

This was all I could use this week. Tomorrow I will be back with the Money Saving Challenge.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us any good deals you have gotten this week. 

My Walmart Trip, etc.

I made a quick trip to Walmart today to pick up 11 packages of Pepcid AC before the $ 4.00 coupons expired today. They cost $ 4.38 a package so I paid $ .38 each. I also did a Top's shop too but my camera has decided to give me a problem. So if I get that working, I will post my Top's shop tomorrow.

Last night we did something that we haven't done since West was born. West, his Mommy and Daddy and DH and I went out to dinner to a favorite local restaurant called Wagners.  The last time we went out to dinner with his Mommy and Daddy was 2 days before West was born. West was so patient last night waiting for his dinner keeping busy playing with his Play Dough and crayons. He was sporting his new haircut that his Daddy gave him. He was a joy to be out with. Beer and wings was on the menu along with sweet potato fries and regular fries and gravy. When I was in high school many, many, many years ago, one of our hangouts was a place named Paul's Restaurant. The specialty that we all ordered was French fries with gravy. I have tried this dish at restaurants from here to Massachusetts, here to Florida, and here to Arizona.  Never was I able to get what even came close to Paul's fries and gravy until I ordered them at Wagner's. They are just about the same. So delicious that now whenever I go there, I will be ordering them.

While I was at Walmart, I also picked up this necessity. West is getting so big that he has outgrown the high chair I have. So now he can eat at the table with us with his new booster seat. 

Feel free to leave a comment and let us know what deals you got today.    

Waste Not, Want Not

Well, it is Saturday again. So it is time to check the refrigerator for leftovers from the week. I do this every week before I shop. I do not want to waste food expecially since it is so expensive.

I keep one shelf in my side by side refrigerator for leftovers only and food that I know will expire soon. That way I know to check that shelf first before I cook for the day to see what I can incorporate into another meal.

As you can see, we have quite a bit left this week. The containers on the left hold leftover Caesar dressing and chicken from Chicken Caesar wraps. The large container in the front holds about 3 meals worth of cooked butternut squash. Behind those are leftover pizza sauce and leftover whole wheat spaghetti. The pitcher has leftover chicken broth in it. Also there are two cans of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits that must be used by Nov. 14th.  There is also a jar of applesauce that is 3/4's full and a jar of mixed fruit that is 1/4 full.

So my dilemma is what do I do with these today? I will bake one package of Grands this morning. We will use a couple for turkey bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits for breakfast. The others will be used for sandwiches and meals the next two days or so. Since these freeze well, I will freeze the second can for another day.  

The chicken and Caesar dressing is enough to make a wrap with romaine lettuce for DH for lunch. I will finish the mixed fruit for my lunch today. The squash will be used as a vegetable with meals today, tomorrow and Monday. The applesauce will also be used for meals the next few days. 

And lastly, I will be making a pot of Mexican soup using up the whole wheat spaghetti ( cut up into small pieces), the pizza sauce, and the chicken broth. I will add some black beans, taco seasoning and veggies. This will be our lunch the beginning of the week.

Now that I know that I have a plan for my leftovers, I can feel confident in making my menu for the next week. 

Do you keep a shelf just for your leftovers? Do you check it often to see what you can incorporate into a new meal? Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us how you handle your leftovers.   

A Quick Shopping Trip

Since oil goes on sale this time of the year, I like to stock up for the rest of the year. So I did that today.

Here are my two little shopping stops:

Top's:

4 Pillsbury Brownie Mixes - $ 1.25 each - Used $ .35/1 MQ'sD = $ .55 each

4 Crisco Canola Oil - $ 3.49 each - Used $ .50/1 MQ'sD =  $ 2.49 each = $ 9.96 - Received $ 4.00 off Instantly for buying the oil and brownie mixes = $ 5.96

2 Idahoan Mashed Potatoes - $ 1.00 each - Used $ 1./1 Facebook Q's = Both Free

Total OOP was $ 8.16.


Valu Home Center:

6 Pkgs. of AAA & AA Eveready Gold Batteries - on sale B1G1F ( one pkg. was $ 1.97) = $ 5.91

1 - 9 inch LED Flashlight - Free with Facebook Q = Free ( it's in the picture behind one of the Idahoan; double click the picture if you want to see it better ) Since our small ones just bit the dust, this was quite a steal for me. Many Thanks to Tricias Frugal Finds  for posting this coupon.

Total OOP was $ 5.91.

Finally the two squash were free from my son and DIL. They are in a weekly organic co-op so get lots of vegetables. We have been the recipient of their excess produce many times this summer and fall. Many thanks to them for thinking of us.  

DH and I are going to have our last steak cookout of the season tonight. I am so looking forward to our last two strip steaks, garlic mashed potatoes and a nice tossed salad for dinner. Add a glass of red wine and I am thrilled.

Please feel free as usual to leave a comment and share with all of us any great deals you got this week.      

The Dipping Sauce for the Potstickers

Yesterday I forgot to tell you how I make my dipping sauce for the potstickers. It's easy and makes them so tasty. These are the ingredients:

- 6 Tbsp. of Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

- 1 Tsp. of Ginger

- 3 Tbsp. of Rice Cooking Wine

- 1 Tsp. of Red Pepper Chili Oil

- 1/2 Tsp. of Splenda

- 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

Mix together and refrigerate.

Making It Cheaper: Potstickers

We love Chinese food. DH's favorite dish is potstickers. We have not found a great Chinese restaurant since we moved here. Usually we get Chinese take-out food when we visit my son in the Albany area.
But in between those visits, DH craves potstickers.

I can buy a 12 oz. bag of them ready made at Wegman's. It is a 12 oz. bag that costs $ 5.49. However, we have made them ourselves before.  I made lamb ones back in January 2010. DH and I have even made our own wrappers but they are a lot of work.

Since I had wonton wrappers in the refrigerator, I decided to make up a batch today for a few meals. I was also curious to see if I could make them cheaper than buying them.

So I used two of the chicken breasts that I deboned yesterday, cut them into strips and ground them with my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment. 

Next I added the other ingredients( prices after each of them) which were 8 diced water chestnuts ( $ .22), 3 diced green onions ( $ .43), 1/2 tsp. five spice powder ( $ .05),2 Tbsps. soy sauce which was free for me but if you had to pay ( $ .07), 1 tsp. sugar ( $.10), and 1 tsp. sesame oil ( $ .08).

Then both DH and I filled the wonton wrappers ( .06 each) with the filling and folded them into potstickers. 

Next I boiled them in water and took them out while I changed the water so that I can fry them in oil just before we ate them. 

The final cost for 48 potstickers, including the cost of the chicken($1.03) was $ 4.97. The bag of Wegman's only had 24 potstickers so I made double the amount ( 48) for $ .52 less than buying 24 of them. DH and I ate 1/3 of them so we have two meals frozen to reheat when the craving for potstickers starts again.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us an item that you make cheaper than storebought.  

My Chicken Experiment

Years ago it used to be that if you bought chicken breasts with the bone and they cost 33% less per lb. than boneless, that you were getting a good deal. This is an old formula that I used from weighing them myself 30 years ago. In recent years they seem to leave more skin on the breasts than they used to and the bones seem larger. So I decided to do an experiment this morning to see if that still rings true.

So I took this package of chicken breast on the bone that I bought yesterday at Top's:

 
It weighed 4.68 lbs. and cost $ .99 a lb. which made the entire package cost $ 4.63. Then I took a boning knife and cut the breasts off of the bones. The boning knife allowed me to get almost every ounce of chicken off as you can see below:

Then I weighed each piece using my small food scale:

Using my calculator, I added up all of the boneless chicken weights and determined that it weighed 2.59 lbs. Taking the $ 4.63 that it cost me for this package of chicken and dividing it by the 2.59 lbs.that the boneless chicken cost, I determined that the boneless cost me $ 1.78 a lb. That is about 80% more per lb. than the bone in cost. So I can throw the 33% formula out the window.

The reason I did this today was to determine if I should go buy many more packages to stock my freezer. Since I can buy boneless chicken at Niagara Meat and Produce for $ 1.59 a lb., this is not a good deal for me. However, I do have to buy a 40 lb. box when I purchase it there.

If I did not have a freezer with the space to buy the 40 lb. box, then the bone in chicken would be a good deal for me. Usually I can not buy boneless chicken by the package for under $ 1.99 a lb. So if I was just buying a few packages at a time, these packages of bone - in chicken at $ .99 a lb. would be a great deal.

You can do this with any bone in or boneless cut of meat to see if you are really getting the deal that you think you are. It is definitely worth doing the math, especially at today's prices.   
   

Sunday Shopping

I was out before 8 am this morning filling the van up with gasoline & getting $ .90 off a gallon with my Top's points. I spent $38.10 to do so. Then I was off to do lots of shopping. This is what I purchased:

Wegman's:

5 lbs. Wegman's flour - $ .99

1 - 64 oz. Wegman's Orange Juice - $ 2.49

2 Smart Balance Milk - $ 3.79 each - Used $ 1.50/1 IPQ on each = $2.29 each

2 cans of Wegman's Coffee - $ 2.49 each

2 Wegman's Peanut Butter - $ 1.29 each

1 Kikkoman Panko Bread Crumbs - $ 1.99 - Used $ .75/1 IPQD = $ .49

2 boxes of Zesta Saltine Crackers - $ 2.50 each = $ 5.00 - Used $ 1./2 MQ = $ 2.00 each

1 bunch of Green Onions - $ .85

Total OOP was $ 20.96.


Niagara County Produce:

1 Celery - $ 1.29

3 Reduced Price Bananas at $ .19 a lb. = $ .17

Total OOP was $ 1.46


Top's:

1 Pkg. of Chicken Breasts with bone - $ .99 a lb = $ 4.63

2 pkgs. of Sargento Shredded Cheese - $ 2.00 each - Used $ .55/1 MQD = $ .90 each

1- 32oz. Smuckers Strawberry Jam - $3.00 - Used $ 1.50/1 IPQ = $ 1.50

7 Pillsbury Cakes Mixes - $ 1.25 each = $ 8.75 - Used (3) $ 1./2 Tearpad Cpns = $ 5.75 - Received $4.00 off Instantly for buying these and the Smuckers) = $ 1.75

4 Nestle Hot Cocoa - $ 1.00 each - Used $ .55/1 IPQ's D = All Free

1 Kleenex Cool Touch Tissue - $ 1.50 - Used $ .40/1 MQD = $ .70

1 Can of Water Chestnuts - $ .99

3 Nissin Super Meals $ 1.00 each = $ 3.00 - Used $ 1./3 MQ = $ 2.00

1- 250 ct. Small Steps Napkins - $ 2.50 - Used $ 1./1 MQ = $ 1.50

Total  OOP was $ 14.87 + tax.


CVS - 2 separate orders:

8 Softsoap - $ .99 each - Used $ .75/1 MQ's = $ .24 each

Total OOP was $ 1.92 + tax.


Walgreen's :

2 Clabber Girl Baking Powder - $ .50 each with In Ad Cpn - Used (2) $ .50 IPQ's = Both Free

1 Schick Hydro 5 Ct Razor - $ 9.99 - Used Free Cpn = Free

Total OOP was just tax.

Rite Aid:

2 - 8 oz. Purell - $ 2.99 each - used $ 1./1 MQ's and $ 1./1 RA Q's from Flu Shot Books = $ .99 each

Total OOP was $ 1.98 + tax.


For people in my area, I noticed the frozen turkeys this year are $ .49 a lb. with $ 25. minimum purchase at Wegman's and  $ .48 a lb. with $25. minimum purchase at Top's.

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

Are You Comatose When It Comes To Your Money? (Final Thoughts)

We also budget $ 100. every two months for haircuts for the both of us. I also get my hair colored.

Travel and vacations runs another $ 200. a month.  Stamps, Christmas cards, the Sunday paper, and other odds and ends run about $ 45. a month. 

The last thing in our budget that I haven't mentioned is spending money. DH and I budget $ 100. each per month for this. This is money that we can use and not have to keep track of what we spend it on. We may use it for whatever we desire. I use mine mostly for extra coupons that I need. 

So our total monthly expenses run $ 4296. a month or $ 51, 552 a year(after tax money). This is about all we spend on. As you all know, we are retired and there are just two of us. So we have no commuting or job related expenses as most of you would have.  

Categories that are not in our budget that you may have are mortgage payments or rent, student loan payments, credit card payments, automobile payments, credit card payments or 401K payments.

Our home is paid for and we have no outstanding debt. We use our credit cards as a convenience but pay them when the bill comes. We have no car loan. We still try to keep as much of our retirement money in investments or savings as possible.

Bottom line is we spend as little as possible and if we have money left over at the end of the month, we just roll that category into the next month. If  we decide after a while that we are budgeting too much or not enough, we will adjust our categories.  

I did want to show you what we spend but only as a guide for categories for your own budget. Plus your categories may differ from ours. Your families will be different sizes and hence your expenses may be different.

Some of you asked me how we decided how much a month we needed? We keep track of our expenses  yearly and just divided those amounts by 12. The grocery budget is a little different depending on how stockpiled we are. I also want to cut how much we are spending there by making things cheaper from scratch. My current pricebook which I am faithfully keeping updated is a great resource for always getting the best deal.

The other two things that I wanted to relay to you who are still working is that retirement is not cheap. It is a priority for you to save for retirement. The longer period you have to save, the less money you have to put away every month. If you wait until you are 40-50, you have to put a lot more away every month. So save while you are young. 

Secondly,make it a priority to be debt free by the time you retire. It is so stress free to not have to worry about how you are going to make your mortgage payments. It is hard enough in retirement to pay the taxes on your home. Owning it outright makes that so much easier.

Could we live cheaper? Sure we could!  We could drop the cable and use dial up internet. We could only pay for either a house phone or a cellphone. We could stop taking vacations. We could severely cut our spending money.  I could color my hair at home or go gray again.  We could stop going out to dinner or anywhere else. We could stop giving gifts and give up the security service. There are lots of ways to cut but we choose not to and fortunately because we planned well, we don't have to. However, if the day ever comes, we could do it and survive very nicely. 

So please work on your budgets so that you know where your dollars are going. Don't just turn a blind eye and then wonder why there is more month than money. It is so important always but especially with the costs of goods and services rising so rapidly.  I would like to see all of you reach your goals in life and be able to retire in your golden years. But you can't do it without working your goals out for a year, 5 or 10. You need a plan for the next year and down the road.

Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. I will do my best to answer any.
          

   

Are You Comatose When It Comes To Your Money? ( Continued)

Well, talking about QE3, the Fed yesterday afternoon decided not to do it. Will wonders never cease? I wish they hadn't done 1 and 2. But I am of the thinking that our economy would be better off if the government had not bailed out the banks and just let things take their course. I believe we would be further ahead now without spending all of that wasted stimulus money. But that is just my $ .02!


So back to my thinking on our budgeting. As of November 1st, we have put a new budget in place. I took $ 160. out of the bank for grocery and drugstore shopping. Of course that does not include drug co-pays for prescriptions. But it is all of the money that I have to spend for one month. With my stockpile built up, this should be all I will need to spend a month for the next year. When the cash is gone, it is gone. I will learn to make substitutions when it is necessary. I will find ways to either buy it or make it cheaper. I do have turkeys to stock on but they will have to come out of my November budget.


We have budgeted $ 150. a month for gasoline. That figure may be high but it will give us leeway if gasoline prices keep rising. Plus DH and I have Dr's that are quite a distance from us so we took that into account.  It will also prevent me from making trips for just one or two items. We will have to really think about where we are going and what we are buying.


We had to budget $190. a month for cable, internet, telephone and netflix because of the increase for all. This really bothers me spending this much but DH enjoys the TV and I like the internet so we will just have to pay for them. The telephone is a necessity for us and the netflix saves us a fortune on movies. DH and I watch at least 8-10 movies a month on DVD alone. 

Entertainment such as eating out, sightseeing, museums, zoo's etc. is set at $ 100. a month. We can do many things or enjoy fine dining once during the month.

Utility rates keep going up so taking into account that there will be an increase again in a few months, we have budgeted $ 200. a month for natural gas and electricity. Heating season is upon us and that is when our costliest bills are. Higher in the winter and lower in the summer. But you better believe that I will be working hard to make sure that the bills are lower than this. 

We must budget $ 700. a month for medical premiums, co-pays and dental expenses. This amount is a necessity. 

The budget for gifts for all birthdays and  Christmas will be $ 150. a month. This is doable if I watch for sales and make more gifts.

Our security service costs us $30. a month and it is a necessity for us. Automobile and homeowner's insurance comes to $191. a month and is also a necessity. 

Clothing is budgeted at $ 40. a month. We both have a good size wardrobe and it is just a matter of replacing things as they wear out.  

We have the money saved to replace our car but we do budget $ 250. a month for oil changes and repairs. 

Right now, we pay only $10. a month for our cellphone but that could go up to $40. a month in the next year so that is what we have budgeted. 

Household items and garden maintenance comes in at $ 600. a month. That amount includes replacement costs for appliances and furniture as they wear out. Since we just spent $ 245. for  outdoor furniture covers for our patio furniture, it doesn't take long to spend it.

School and property taxes are budgeted  for the next year at $ 950. a month. Not much you can do about this but hope that they aren't higher than this when everything is passed for 2012.

As you can see, we are up to $ 3751. a month and I am not finished yet. I will continue this tomorrow and explain how we knew what we needed to budget.

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


      

Are You Comatose When It Comes To Your Money?

Do you really know where your money is going every month? Or does it just drip out the door in small amounts and you have no clue what you are really spending?  I suspect that most people have a general idea but really don't know the full picture.

Being that it was getting close to the end of the year, I was getting uneasy that a lot of our money has been dribbling out for stockpiling and the holidays. It is so easy not to pay attention and then be shocked when you actually add it up. Add to that the fact that so many costs have escalated the past few months besides food costs. For us, utility rates went up and now Time Warner which provides cable, internet and telephone is raising their rates on December 1st for the SECOND time this year. I wish we had Verizon Fios here. I would switch in a minute because it is $44. cheaper.

And of course there are medical costs that are rising faster than anything for us. The co-pays up to $90. a prescription is more than enough to make me sit up and look at our money situation.

Then there are school and property taxes here in New York which are some of the highest in the nation. I am not complaining because we chose to move from a low tax state to a high tax state. Being near our grandchildren has made those high taxes worth it. But we still have to budget for those increases. 

All of these increases have happened so fast over the past few months that I decided to take a look at our budget now instead of waiting until January. You see we have been retired well over 10 years and needless to say our money does not go as far as it used to in 2001. Before we retired, we could almost count on a pay raise every year or two. That is not the case when you are retired. When we saved for retirement, we took into account that we would have a small amount of inflation every year. What most retired people did not expect was the ugly inflation that is a result of our government printing money out of thin air constantly. They have done this twice already and now are getting ready to do a QE3.  Every time they do this your money is devalued and massive inflation rears it's ugly head. Of course, they tell you this is not the case because their figures do not include food and gasoline costs - the two things that hurt Americans the most.

This period in our lives reminds me of the 1970's when inflation was also rampant and gasoline prices were out of sight. The only difference I see is that by the government printing money, they have artificially kept mortgage rates low. When this is no longer the case, you will see mortgage rates sky rocket.   

A lot of you are not retired and do not get raises either because the economy is so bad. Even if you do get a raise or did get a raise this year, I am pretty sure that, for most of you, that raise did not make up the difference of rising costs. I am sure that some of you actually got reductions in pay since many companies are cutting salaries just to be able to keep people employed.

So we felt now is the right time to look at the money situation for the next year, 5 years and even 10 years. Looking now before we go overboard for the holidays was the right time for us. We have pretty much finished our Christmas shopping. Did we cut back this year? Yes, we did because we had to take into account all of the increases in everything else. Will we still give generously? Of course. But we had to cut back on the amount of money we will spend. But then again, you have to remember that the best part of the holidays is sharing time with your families, not how many gifts you give. 

So take a look at your money situation with your spouse or significant other or even do it yourself if you are responsible for your own bills. Just make sure that if you have a spouse that they are on board with the budgeting. I have seen too many people over the years hide bills from each other and never get on the same wave length as far as budgeting. Recently, an old friend died and his wife was in shock when she found out that he had run up thousands of dollars in credit card debt without her knowledge. He just kept telling her that everything was fine. She never saw a bill. While she holds the blame for never opening her eyes, she is left with many debts and hardly any income. You can never enjoy a debt free life with enough money to live on until you die if you hide things from each other. That is the biggest sabotage to a rich life.

To be continued....................               

Young Hearts Day at Top's

Today was the day for my 6% discount at Top's. Every little bit helps with these rapidly escalating prices. I was especially happy to find ground chuck reduced for quick sale at $ 1.99 a lb. I stopped by Dollar General on the way home even though I did  not have any coupons.

This is what I purchased:


Top's

4 Pkgs. of Ground Chuck at $ 1.99 a lb = $ 8.76

6 Mission Wrap Kits - on sale at 50% off = $ 1.74 = Used (6) $ 1./1 MQ's = $ .74 each

1 Ritz Crackers - $ 3.69

2 Taster's Choice Coffee Sticks - $ 1.00 each - Used (2) $ .65/1 IPQ'sD = Free

4 Boxes Honey Nut Cheerios - $ 2.50 each - Used ( 2) $ 1./2 MQ's = $2.00 each

2 Pkgs. of Top's English Muffins - $ 1.50 each

2 Muir Glen Pizza Sauce - $ 2.39 each - Used $ .75/1 IPQD = $ .89 each

6 cans Hunt's Diced Tomatoes - $ 1.00 each - Used (2) $ .45/3 MQ'sD = $ .70 each

10 cans Hunt's Tomato Sauce - $ .50 a can

Received $ 3.05 Discount

Total OOP was $ 36.82.

Dollar General

3 boxes Of Chex Cereal - on sale B1G1F = $ 5.00 for all 3( I am stocking for party mix)

2 Boxes Velveeta Shells and Cheese - $ 2.00 each

1 can Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup - $ 1.00

Total was $ 10.00 but nothing OOP because I paid with a Free $ 10.00 Prepaid Visa Card from the Cars 2 Cottonelle Deal.

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