Menu Plan Monday 03/23/25

It's crazy how time flies. It feels like I just wrote a menu plan post. Here's what I cooked for this week.

Monday : Lasagna, salad, mini garlic naan bread

Tuesday : Chicken pot pie, veggies, salad

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Haven't decided yet

Saturday : Red Robin (DS)

Breakfasts :  Blueberry pancakes, bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs or omelets, toast, chocolate brioche or raisin bread french toast, cereal, muesli

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad 

Dessert : Sams chocolate muffins

DS is on break, so we didn't bake any muffins this week. There's still a few left from last week, so we'll eat those.

I do enjoy having the food all cooked for the week. 

Bon Appetit Peeps!

Meal Plan Monday 03/17/25

Happy St Patty's day! I'm totally loving all this nice weather that we're experiencing lately. Herewith our meal plan for this week.

Monday : Frikkadel, baked beans salad, carrot pineapple salad, potato salad

Tuesday : Roti & chicken curry

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Haven't decided yet

Saturday : Red Robin (DS)

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

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad 

Dessert : Sams chocolate muffins

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

We enjoyed the salads so much last week that I decided to just do the same again this week. 

I had a craving for pancakes and it was oh so yummy! I haven't used syrup on my pancakes in years (I don't eat much sugar) and don't even miss it. I just add butter, cinnamon and top it with banana. 

Things are still hectic here, so please forgive me for not checking in on everyone's blogs.

Bon Appetit peeps!

This week's Wags shopping 03/09/25

Hi everyone

It's been a busy week at Wags. I had oodles of those item specific RRs expiring this week, so I had to come up with a serious game plan. Not an easy task, because I couldn't just redeem it on anything. I'm happy to report that it actually went well.  Here's how my week went. 

Trans 1

3 x OS b/w $21.00

1 x Crest t/p 4.00

1 x Oral b t/b 3.50

1 x Kinder chocolate 1.99

Less OS DQ (6.00)
Less Crest DQ (2.00)

Less Oral B DQ (1.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 1.71

OOP $3.20

Earned $9 RRs ($6 OS, $3 Crest/OB) + $1.69 Ibotta (Kinder)

Total earned $10.69

I added the Kinder to get my total to over $20, so I could redeem that amount in WC. 

Trans 2

1 x Neutrogena moisturizer sunscreen $13.99

1 x Neutrogena mascara 11.49

Less moisturizer DQ (7.00)

Less mascara DQ (3.00)

Tax 1.53

OOP $17.01

Earned $15 WC ($10 WYS $25 Beauty, $5 WYS $15 paper booster I picked up last week)

The beauty was supposed to print a $10 RR, but didn't. Got the manager who read the big sign that says it's after all deductions. I explained that it's after store Qs, not manufacturer Qs. I knew that it worked, because I added the items to my cart online before going shopping. That way I knew what would qualify for the reward. There I go having to educate Wags managers again 😂 Manager added WC instead, which works better for me. 

When I cleaned out my purse when I got home, I noticed that the rest of my RRs all expire 3/13. Nooooo! That meant I had to come up with another scenario to redeem $27 RRs

So back to Wags today

Trans 3

3 x Pantene shampoo $15.00

2 x Tresemme shampoo/conditioner 14.00

Less Pantene DQ (5.00)

Less Tresemme DQ (5.00)

Less RRs (12.00)

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 1.74

OOP $3.74

Earned $7 RR ($3 Pantene, $4 Tresemme) Thank goodness these are the old type that aren't item specific.

Trans 4

3 x Pantene $24.00

2 x Axe b/w 10.00

2 x Colgate t/p 10.00

Less Axe DQ (7.00)

Less RRs (15.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 2.64

OOP $4.64

Earned $6 RR ($3 Pantene, $3 Colgate) + $5 WC (see below)

Total earned $11

When I got my shopping list out of my purse's side pocket, I discovered another $4 item specific RR. So I added the Colgate, knowing that I clipped a Colgate Q earlier this week (no wifi in Wags to check my account). I did this, because I knew that the Pantene DQ wouldn't deduct, because it has different scents (Wags never keeps enough inventory on the shelf so our DQs can apply) and I wanted my total over $20 to use WC. Turned out my Colgate Q was for a different type of Colgate t/p. Ugh. 

The big Pantene bottle purchase was intentional. I've discovered that I really like the Classic Clean scent. I've liked & used Pantene since I lived in SA, but they keep changing the fragrances. Well, the big bottles (27.7 oz) are on sale for $8 vs 12 oz bottle for $5. Good thing I'm such a geek, because it's a better deal per ounce (not that much when you figure in rewards, but a deal's a deal 😂) and I've always calculated unit cost. CS added $5 WC for my DQ that wasn't applied.

When I got home and put all my RRs together, I discovered that there's a $4 RR expiring on Saturday (3/15) and $5 (3/17). Bloody hell. Do I really need to make another Wags trip? Good thing I had to run more errands, so I stopped at a store on my way.

Trans 5

2 x Axe B/w $10.00

2 x Crest t/p 8.00

2 x Maybeline baby lips 11.98

Less Axe DQ (7.00)

Less Crest DQ (3.00)

Less Maybelline DQ (5.00)

Less RRs (9.00)

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 1.80

OOP $2.78

I knew I wouldn't earn anything, because someone reported that the RRs no longer roll and that $4 RR had to be used on Crest or Oral B only. Double ugh! I added the Maybelline to use that $5 Beauty RR, because I knew it had a $5 DQ. I spent a lot of rewards this week, but that's what it's there for 😊

When I got home again (2nd trip out today), I told BF that I'm so happy to be able to take a 2 week break from Wags. Well, that was short lived. Cleaned out my wallet and discovered RRs that expire next week. You've got to be kidding me!! I can't stay away from Wags. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. Wags have had very little inventory on their beauty/personal care products shelves. I've also learned that the company's been sold, so who knows what changes the new owners will bring. So I'm stocking up while the going is still good. 

Breakdown:

Number of items purchased: 26

Total Qs used : $51.00

Total Rewards used : $86.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $43.69

Total OOP : $31.37 ($1.21 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $191.74  (excl tax)

Happy shopping peeps!

Menu Plan Monday 03/10/25

Happy Jet lag savings week everyone! That time change hit me hard when my alarm went off this morning, but I've had a great day (thanks to BF) so I'm enjoying all this energy 😊

Monday : Korean BBQ Beef stir fry with brown rice

Tuesday : Garlic parsley chicken 'sausage' rolls, baked beans salad, carrot pineapple salad, potato salad

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Haven't decided yet

Saturday : Red Robin (DS)

Breakfasts :  Lime blueberry muffins, bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs or omelets, toast, chocolate brioche or raisin bread french toast, cereal, muesli

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad 

Dessert : Sams chocolate muffins

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

We're having really nice temps and sunshine all week, so I decided to make salads for a change.

I've been using lime zest instead of lemon in our muffins and boy what a difference that makes. It started when I didn't have a lemon to zest for the muffins one day and used lime instead. It's so delicious! We are hooked 😊

I started buying organic chicken breasts at Aldi and what a huge difference that is. I've been so sick of the so-called non-GMO chicken at Sams that looks like a string of something (it doesn't even look like meat anymore). The best part is that there's no funky smell to the organic chicken. I'm guessing that smell is from the 'broth' that they inject into the meat. I sure as heck don't miss that junk. The organic chicken only costs $1.71 more per lb than the non-GMO Sams chicken. I'll gladly pay that price, cause I'm a food snob. I feel a whole lot better about eating the organic chicken. I've checked the price at Kroger and they charge $6.99 lb! Crazy! Aldi for the win!

Bon Appetit Peeps!

Two weeks of Drugstore shopping

Hi everyone

I apologize for my lack of posts and responses to comments. I've just had a full plate lately. Here's what I did at the drugstores the past 2 weeks. 

Last week 

Trans 1

3 x OS b/w $21.00

2 x Pantene conditioning spray 12.00

1 x Pantene heat protector spray 5.00

2 x Colgate t/p 10.00

Less OS DQ (6.00)

Less Colgate (4.00)

Tax 2.88

OOP : $40.88

Earned : $10 WC (WYS $45) + $5 WC (Pantene - see below) + $13 RR ($5 OS, $5 Colgate, $3 Pantene)

Total earned : $28.00

Trans 2

3 x Pantene shampoo $15.00

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 0.90

OOP $5.90

Earned $3 RR + $5 WC 

My Pantene DQ didn't deduct on either transaction, because of the mixed scents (stupid Wags rule). The problem is that they didn't have enough inventory on the shelves to purchase enough of the same scents. I contacted CS and they added WC to both my accounts. 

This week

Trans 1 & 2 - I did the same transaction twice

2 x Garnier shampoo $8.00

Less DQ (3.00)

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 0.48

OOP $0.48

Earned $3 RR

Trans 3

2 x Garnier whole blends shampoo $8.00

Less DQ (3.00)

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 0.48

OOP $0.48

Earned $3 RR

The regular Garnier & whole blends are part of the same deal. I had to split the transactions to earn the reward each time. If you purchase multiples of the same deal's items in one transaction, you'll only earn the reward once. 

Trans 4

2 x Tresemme shine spray $14.00

2 x Garnier whole blends 8.00

2 x Colgate t/p 8.00

2 x Crest t/p 8.00

1 x OS b/w 7.00

Less Tresemme DQ (5.00)

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (2.00)

Less Crest DQ (3.00)

Less B/W RR (5.00)

Tax 2.70

OOP $29.70

Earned $7 WC (WYS $40) + $15.00 RR ($4 Tresemme, $4 Colgate, $4 Crest, $3 Garnier)

Total earned $22.00

Wags now has a new way of printing RRs to be item specific 😡 The $5 B/W RR is from last week's OS deal, so I just decided to buy another OS item.

I hit 2 stores today. The first store had half empty shelves. I don't know what is happening there, but most of the shelves were bare and they didn't even have all the sale items marked, so I only purchased the Garnier. I hope this store isn't closing. 

I actually had a plan to purchase all of the above items, minus the Tresemme and use $20 WC to pay. After I got home, I realised that I could just add the Tresemme (cause it had a high value Q and reward) to get my total to over $40 to earn the booster $7. My total cost after rewards is actually lower on this new transaction, so I guess I should thank that store for not having everything in stock 😂 Otherwise, Wags worked slick as snot today. I told BF It's a miracle that Wags worked so well. 

When I left the 2nd store, I saw a RR laying on the ground. All I could see was $5, so I scooped it up. It's a $5 WYS $15 Booster Q that someone threw away. Whoo hoo!  This will be nice to stack with next week's digital booster, cause I have oodles of RRs to redeem. I'm all for free money. 

Breakdown:

Number of items purchased: 26

Total Qs used : $32.00

Total Rewards used : $30.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $64.00 - haven't scanned all my receipts yet

Total OOP : $77.92 ($3.00 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $166.94  (excl tax)

I'm not too bothered by my high OOP. You'll notice that I earned $64 rewards vs only spending $30 rewards. That's leaves me a difference of $34, which would bring my total cost to $43.92 ($1.70 per item). However, I don't like to count my rewards twice (I count it when I spend the rewards), so I'll stick to my actual OOP cost. 

It's been a minute since I've been to CVS. We actually needed the Softsoap (we use it as foam bath), so I was very happy to find a good deal (I can't believe Softsoap now costs the same price as Old Spice b/w).

2 x Garnier shampoo $8.00

1 x Irish Spring b/w 6.99

1 x Softsoap b/w B1G40% off 2nd 3.95

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less IS DQ (2.00)

Less Softsoap DQ (2.00)

Less EB (0.06) I had a whopping 6c on my account 😂

Tax 1.13

OOP $13.01

Earned $7 EB ($3 Garnier, $4 IS/Softsoap)

As y'all can see, I'm still stocking up despite us having a big HBA stockpile. There's just too many unknowns and that empty Wags store has me on edge. Wags is my go to store. I'd hate to see any of my local stores close. 

I hope everyone stays safe, healthy & warm

Have a wonderful evening peeps!

Is minimalism worth it lately?

I would just like to say that this post is not an attack on anyone who decides to live a minimalist lifestyle. I'm, personally, a 'less is more' person. I'm not even sure if the post title is correct for what I'm about to explain. 

As many of you know, I'm a stockpiler. The last 5 years have been crazy for everyone worldwide. Many folks thought that things might improve based on the elections, but it seems that things just keep getting worse for the consumer. Prices of everything keep increasing, while quality becomes poorer. Add tariffs to that list and we have another recipe for disaster.

About 2 weeks ago I read an article about products we can expect tariffs on. When I saw that shoes were on the list, I jokingly told BF that I'm not worried about that, because I have about 50 pairs of shoes 😂 (excessive, but please bear with me). I've always purchased quality items, especially genuine leather & suede shoes. Paying a little more for it didn't really matter to me (of course I still purchased it on clearance), because I know that I can get long wear out of it. I recently purchased new designer shirts for my guys and noticed that the quality is far more inferior than what I purchased before (of the same brand). I've noticed this with many things that I've purchased recently. I could probably go without buying new clothes and shoes for the next 10-15 years. Think of the huge savings amount. I told BF that there will be no clothing budget for us, because we have more than enough and stores keep sending me free money. I don't even know what to spend it on half the time. I guess it's a good problem to have. 

Before my divorce was finalized, I started buying household items whenever I found a good clearance sale (and used rewards and gcs to help offset the costs), because I knew that I'd need everything new for my/our house. Looking back, I'm now thankful that I did that, because Tariffs and poor quality (you all get the idea). I told BF to hold on to all his current furniture and big appliances (he has his own home), because it would be costly to purchase everything new now and big appliances are junk these days (I learned that the hard way when we got a new washer not too long ago). Between the 2 of us, we already have everything we need (and more) for a new house. 

But that's not all. Remember my gut feeling about going back to drugstore shopping? Am I ever thankful for that. At the time I didn't know that there would be another port strike and tons of store closings. The drugstore deals have been so poor lately (everyone in my coupon group complain about it), but I still try to take advantage of whatever's available. Every little savings helps. 

It gets worse though. Has anyone noticed that some of your personal care (HBA) items have been discontinued since the pandemic started? The one thing most people don't understand is that if one ingredient is unavailable for an item, the product can't be manufactured, especially HBA. This is why some items have been discontinued. If you check some of your HBA items, you will notice it say "made from US and other IMPORTED ingredients". Uh oh, tariffs strike again, cause the cost will be passed on to the consumer. Either that or the item will be discontinued. 

Not too long ago, I was looking for something totally unrelated, when I decided to check on OS Captain b/w (another gut feeling). Imagine my surprise (or should I say shock) when I discovered that the item is OOS at most stores & only available at Walmart. So I did what I do best, I stocked up. I already had a decent amount in my stockpile, so I didn't need to add too much. I still buy it whenever I can find it at Wags (it's hit or miss), because there's always a coupon and reward included, which add extra savings. Lets just say that my guys are fully stocked for at least 2 years. I also checked the back of the b/w bottles and noticed it says, 'Imported for P&G Toronto'. I somehow knew this from before, because I remember the Captain sprays were only available in Canada before being sold here. So once again, I'm glad that I stocked up on the item, because even if it wasn't discontinued, it would've either been OOS here or we'd be paying an arm & a leg to get it from Canada.

I did the same with BBW during their semi annual sale. I stocked up on my favorite scent (that's now discontinued) and used a discounted gc to pay for it. I'm not ashamed to say that I have 3 boxes full of BBW and I couldn't be happier. I have sensitive skin and can't just use any personal care items. I tend to stick to the brands that work well for me. Yes, it seems like I'm excessive at times, but I know better. I know that it's not excess, but preparation instead. I've had more than enough experience with God to know that I should always trust my gut. It's never failed me. 

So my question is. With everything going on in the world the past few years, Is minimalism really worth it lately? I know that if I didn't shop the way that I do, we might've been in a tough spot financially. Not to mention really trying to make things last a long time, because everything breaks so easily these days. You constantly have to replace items that keep breaking due to inferior quality or poor workmanship and fork out ridiculous amounts for said items. 

I'm my humble opinion it once again pays to be a stockpiler. I'm so thankful that our needs are more than met. I pray for all the folks who are struggling to make ends meet. I can't begin to imagine what their grocery bills look like. 

Has anyone else prepared for all these changes we keep experiencing? Please feel free to share your thoughts and/or ideas.

Have a wonderful day peeps!

Target & Wags Fun

It was one of those weeks. I was sick for 5 days, schools were closed until yesterday due to polar vortex & now DS is sick too. Thankfully, I'm feeling better. 

Target

This week Target has a great B2G1F deal on select laundry detergent. This deal couldn't have come at a better time, because I opened my last bottle of Tide earlier this week. I have lots of Gain, but Tide is my preferred brand. I also had a $10/60 Target Circle Q, so here's what I did

6 x 132 oz Tide @ $19.99 = $119.94

Less B2G1F deal (36.64) Target has always had weird math when a Q is used on sale items

Less $10 Q (10.00) 

Tax 4.40

OOP $77.70 Paid with a Target GC

I purchased those 10% off gcs in December, so here's the breakdown of my transaction

10% off gc $7.77

1.5% through CC used to pay for gc ($69.93 after 10% off) = $1.05

Total discounts $8.82

Total cost after discounts = $68.88 for 6 jugs or $11.48 each. That's 42% off the retail price. Well, the price includes tax, so the savings is slightly higher. 

I'm very happy with this deal, because deals are scarce these days. Even Wags has slim pickings lately, so I'm grabbing whatever good deals I can. More on that in another post. 

 

Wags

Well shucks, everything worked perfectly at Wags today. Even I was in shock 😂I told BF 'you know it's gonna be a good shopping day when Wags works well'. And it did turn out to be a great shopping day. Wags was my first stop & everything else went well afterwards. I had $12 RRs expiring today, so here's what I did

Trans 1 & 2

2 x Dove b/w $14.00

1 x Colgate t/b 4.00

1 x Colgate t/p 5.00

1 x Crest t/p 4.00

1 x Oral b t/b 4.0

1 x Dawn 0.99 (filler item for my RR to attach to)

Less Dove DQ (6.00)

Less Colgate t/b DQ (2.50)

Less Colgate t/p DQ (2.50)

Less Crest DQ (1.00)

Less Oral B DQ (1.00)

Less RRs (6.00) 

Tax 1.92

OOP $14.91

Earned $7 WC (WYS $30) + $8 RR ($3 Colgate, $3 Crest, $2 Dove)

Total earned : $15.00

I did the same deal twice. One on each account. 

Breakdown:

Number of items purchased: 14

Total Qs used : $26.00

Total Rewards used : $12.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $30.00 - haven't scanned my receipts yet

Total OOP : $29.82 ($2.13 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $82.86 (excl tax)

I still need to check the CVS ad to see if there's anything good. My $10 EBs expired on Sunday, because I was too sick to venture out. 

Happy shopping peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm!