Frugal Friday 11/15/24

 

Not exactly frugal, but I wanted to say Thank you to Belinda for sharing about the Softsoap she purchased. I'm not using mine as gifts, so (geek that I am) crunched the numbers on whether the small bottles or the big refill bottle cost less per ounce. The big bottle was the clear winner (Ibotta added a rebate for it after I already purchased mine & it was too late to submit my receipt). This bottle will last a whole year by using my foaming soap dispenser.  I absolutely love mint flavored things and this scent smells yummy. A few frugal things I did recently.

• Had an abundance of apples, so I decided to make apple muffins again. 
  
  
• Added more cereal 'crumbs' (the crushed parts that's usually at the bottom of the box) to my ziploc bag. I have a muffin recipe that requires crushed Bran Flakes, so I just add the crumbs to my stash every time I open a box of cereal then add it to my baking. 
  
  
• Used face scrub on my heels in the shower. The scrub works great and I just soften/moisturise the heels with Vaseline afterwards. I guess I created my own hack 😂 I had a pumice stone with brush that broke years ago and I never bothered to replace it. Good thing, cause I have lots of face scrub to use 😂
  
  
• Received some items I ordered in large poly bags, so I used the bags in my office trash can (it's a 13 gallon bin/trash can), which saves me money on trash bags. 
  
  
• Kohls had a BF sale last week, so I bought myself a spare coat for $50. Paid with earned gc (so free coat) and earned $15 Kohls cash. I still need to submit a ticket to Swagbucks, because I noticed that my cash back isn't pending. I normally use Rakuten, but Swagbucks had 6% cash back vs 1% at Rakuten. 
  
  
• Received 10 rewards for my birthday thus far. Hooray for more free money! 
  
  
• My CC once again had 15% discount on select gcs, so I used my points to get a BBW gc. I will use that during their semi annual sale (which is about the only time I shop there, unless they send me Qs for free items). I need to write a post about these discounted gcs. 
  
  
• Received a $15 Eddie Bauer Q. I wasn't planning on using it, because I didn't want to pay shipping. Then I found some good t-shirts for DS on clearance (they had extra 60% off clearance), so I decided to just order his items, pay shipping and score myself 2 free t-shirts (with Q) too. 
  
  I tell ya, retailers love me. They keep sending me free money. As long as they're offering free shipping, I'm shopping 😂🛍
  
  
• Replaced lots of HBA items (shampoo, deodorant, body wash, moisturiser) from my stockpile. I love being able to just grab items from my stockpile any time we run out. 

I know there's more, but that's all I can remember now. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

This week's Wags tripping 11/10/24

Hi everyone

I finally got my computer issues fixed. Huge sigh of relief, cause it took me almost 2 weeks to do so. 

So, back to the deals it is. 

PSA - FREE TRIDENT & DENTYNE this week

Buy 2 get $3 RR

Trident's on sale for 2/$3 this week. I didn't check the Dentyne price, but it might be the same.

2 x Trident $3.00

OOP $3.00

Earn $3 RR. 

This is not like a regular RR. You can ONLY use it on the gum, but it does not roll. If you purchase more gum & pay with the RR, you won't receive another RR. So, if you're looking to stock up on the gum, do a few deals and pay with cash, WC or any other RR. Then when you've had your fill, use the gum RRs to pay. 

I had $22 RRs expiring today, so here's what I did.

Trans 1

4 x Crest t/p $16.00

2 x Trident 3.00

Less Crest DQ (6.00)

Less RRs (11.00)

Tax 0.96

OOP $2.96

Earned $9 RR ($6 Crest, $3 Trident)

Wait a minute, no RRs printed. Cashier checked CAT machine and we notice that it wasn't even turned on 😡 So she tells me we'll use the other register. I asked her if she's gonna redo the transaction or just add my points. She said she'll add points, which I'm very happy about cause that gum RR doesn't roll. 

Trans 2

2 x Garnier $8.00

1 x Colgate t/p 4.50

1 x Colgate t/b 5.50

3 x Trident 4.50

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (3.00)

Less RR (11.00)

Less WC (3.00)

Tax 1.08

OOP $0.58

Earned $9 RR ($3 Garnier, $3 Colgate, $3 Trident)

My math was off on this transaction. I kept thinking my Garnier OOP would be $3 (instead of $5) 🤦and wanted to get my total over $11 to use my RRs. Yeah, my total was over $11 without that extra Trident 😂 It's been one of those days. I couldn't even clip DQs online, cause they did site maintenance in the middle of the day. When it finally worked, my other account had no Garnier Qs. It had just vanished into thin air.

I also wanted to do a GC deal (that earns bonus gcs), but the cashier couldn't tell me which Wags gc works for the deal and there's no sign by the gcs. Sigh. 

No breakdown yet, cause I'm not sure if I'm done shopping at Wags for the week. 

Happy shopping peeps!

Menu Plan Monday 11/04/24

Hi everyone

I'm still dealing with computer issues, but I can at least write posts without pics 😊, so here's our menu for the week.

Monday : Slow cooker roast beef, mashed potatoes, veggies, gravy

Tuesday : Pesto chicken casserole & rice (there's veggies in the casserole)

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Either Sams pizza from the freezer or a mexican dish

Saturday : Red Robin (DS)

Breakfasts :  Banana oatmeal muffins, bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs or omelets, toast, chocolate brioche or raisin bread french toast, bagels, cereal, muesli

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad 

Dessert : Still no dessert, but I was tempted to buy a pumpkin pie to 'taste test' 😂

There's always fresh salad fixings and a variety of fresh fruit & veg available. 

I had an abundance of overripe bananas, so banana muffins it is. I actually wanted cranberry muffins, but didn't want to freeze the bananas. 

The leftover roast beef will be saved to make beef pot pies next week. I always plan ahead this way when I buy a roast.

Has anyone had issues finding pie crusts at Aldi? I haven't found any in the past few weeks, but Sams saved the day with their Pillsbury crusts. 

As you can see I didn't bother much with cooking this week. The time change had me waking up an hour early today and I'm already dragging. 

Bon Appetit peeps!

Quick check in...

Just a short note to say that I'm still here. I've been experiencing computer problems - Again - for a week now. I'll be back to regular blogging (hopefully soon) as soon as I get everything fixed. 

Have a great week peeps!

Frugal Friday 10/18/24

Most of my savings were in the kitchen this week. With the constant increase in grocery prices, we are trying to waste less. Here's some ways we saved this week.

• Had some peppers that were getting old, so I washed, diced and sautéed that with some caramelized onions and have been using it in my omelets all week.
  
  
• Had some tomatoes that needed to be used up so I made smoortjie (mainly tomatoes, onions, peppers & garlic), a typical South African dish that you can add to most meat. We'll use this with Italian sausage.
  
  
• I was determined to eat all the bread heels (we had quite a few) and that's exactly what I did. I just made myself toast with my omelets all week & I'm happy to report that the heels are all gone. 
  
  
• Since I didn't use much of the regular bread and we have muffins too, I decided to freeze the bagels to prolong it's shelf life.
  
  
• About 2-3 weeks ago, I got notification that my printer toner was low. I immediately ordered a new toner, but I still haven't replaced the old cartridge. Why? Because it still prints perfectly. It said 'Toner low' not 'Toner cartridge empty' - that's my thinking 😂. I've always done it this way. I use my printer cartridges until I notice a difference in the printing. Only then do I replace it. 
  
  
• I have many rewards that stores have sent me (I really need to write a post about this), but let some of it expire. It's not worth it to me to pay $9-11 shipping on every free purchase (after rewards). I only use the ones that offer Free shipping.  Saving myself money on things I don't need. BF & I have big financial goals, so we're trying to save in whatever ways we can.

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

Run to Wags!

Wags is on fire🔥 this week! They have a really great P&G promotion running through 11/02/24.

Spend $15-29.99 earn $5 RR

Spend $30-$49.99 earn $10 RR

Spend $50 or more earn $15 RR

The good news is that the P&G Q rolls. So you can use it on more P&G items and will earn another P&G Q. 

The bad news is that the Q expires 3 days after printing

I'm so glad I saved last week's paper boosters. Here's what I did:

Trans 1

2 x Dove b/w $14.00

2 x Crest t/p 18.00

2 x Loreal shampoo 10.00

1 x Colgate t/p 4.50

1 x Colgate t/b 4.50

2 x Dawn 1.98

Less Dove DQ (5.00)

Less Crest DQ (4.00)

Less Loreal DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less RRs (10.00)

Tax 3.18

OOP $30.16

Earned $17 WC ($10 WYS $45 Digital Booster + $7 WYS $35 Paper Booster) + $5 WC (see below) + $21 ($3 Dove, $4 Colgate, $4 Loreal, $5 Crest, $5 P&G WYS $15+) + $4.50 Ibotta (Crest)

Total earned : $47.50

Everything went great at Wags until checking out. The cashier hit enter after scanning all coupons and the register froze. It was just hanging & hanging & hanging. Then it would slowly apply one coupon every minute. I kid you not. I was very cool about it, but a long line had begun to form and they opened another register. 

My $5 Crest DQ didn't deduct so CS added $5 WC to my account. Ugh, what a pain. I got someone who can't speak a lick of English. I told her I don't understand what she was saying. She must've transferred me to someone else, because I finally got someone who I could understand and who knew what I was talking about. 

I added the Dawn as fillers, because this is Wags 😂 I wanted to make sure all my DQs deduct. Well, so much for that 😂

Trans 2

2 x Dove b/w $14.00

2 x Crest t/p 18.00

2 x Loreal shampoo 10.00

1 x Colgate t/p 4.50

1 x Colgate t/b 4.50

2 x Dawn 1.98

Less Dove DQ (5.00)

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less Crest DQ (4.00)

Less Loreal DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less RRs (10.00)

Tax 3.18

OOP $25.16

Earned $17 WC ($10 WYS $45 Digital Booster + $7 WYS $35 Paper Booster)  + $21 ($3 Dove, $4 Colgate, $4 Loreal, $5 Crest, $5 P&G WYS $15+) 

Total earned : $38.00

Thankfully, the register didn't hang this time and my $5 Crest Q applied. I wonder if it's cause the system was messed up during the first transaction, because I did the exact same deal. I'm waiting to see if Ibotta will reset. I doubt it will, because it never reset the Crest offer I used last week. Either way, it's still a MM transaction for me.

Trans 3

1 x Gain $15.99

Less DQ (4.00)

Less P&G RR (5.00)

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 0.96

OOP $2.95

Earned $5 P&G RR

The P&G is a Store Q (see top of coupon), so you can stack it with a Manufacturer's Q

So I decided to hit another store to roll the P&G RRs.

Trans 4

1 x Gain $15.99

Less P&G RR (5.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 0.96

OOP $1.95

Earned $5 P&G RR

Well shucks. There was a line at this store and another lady ahead of me with a pile of Charmin in her cart. I knew that she was there for the P&G deal 😊They opened another register for her and then it was my turn to go to the first register. Thank goodness, because the CAT machine didn't work at her register. I really wasn't in the mood to wait on a manager to explain how much they owe me if the RRs didn't print. My RRs printed just fine. Phew!

But ugh, I just noticed that I didn't have the $4 DQ clipped. Double ugh. Oh well, I can now still use it next time and I had points to use.

Trans 5

2 x Pampers $21.00

Less DQ (3.00)

Less P&G RR (5.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 1.26

OOP $4.26

Earned $9 RR ($4 Pampers, $5 P&G)

And then the register hung again. Sigh. Despite the few issues, Wags was fun. I'm ready to go back for more 😂

Here's a list of products that have been reported to work for rolling the P&G RR.

Gain - liquid & pods

Tide - liquid & pods

Pampers

Charmin

Charmin essentials

Bounty

Downy -priced $12.99 & $15.99

Old Spice 

Gillette

Always - the always have been reported to print a $5 off next feminine care Q instead of P&G, so you can't use that RR on just any other P&G items.

I'll do a breakdown at the end of the week. 

Happy shopping peeps!

Menu Plan Monday 10/14/24

Yesterday was a full day of cooking, but I'm glad I got everything done. It's so nice to be able to just heat dinner for the rest of the week. Here's what we're eating this week.

Monday : Sheet pan chicken & veggies with brown rice

Tuesday : Spaghetti & meatballs, salad and garlic naan bread

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Undecided. 

Saturday : Red Robin (DS)

Breakfasts :  Bran apple muffins, bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs or omelets, toast, chocolate brioche or raisin bread french toast, bagels, cereal, muesli

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad 

Dessert : Still no dessert and we don't mind

There's always fresh salad fixings and a variety of fresh fruit & veg available. 

I also made smokies sausage rolls for DS for lunch. 

I'll probably make meatloaf subs on Friday. The spaghetti & meatballs turned out to be a big batch, so I froze half. 

I love the mini garlic naan. I absolutely love garlic bread, but with the naan I can just pull one or two from the freezer whenever we want some. I don't have to bake a whole garlic loaf and then eat it all week long. 

I hope everyone stays safe & warm. Prayers for all those affected by the hurricanes/storms. 

Bon Appetit peeps!