Some odds & ends

 Hi everyone

I'm still here. Things have been crazy busy around here. The days just seem to fly by. Just a few things that have happened around here.

* I haven't done any drugstore shopping 2 weeks ago. There just wasn't enough good deals for me to venture to the stores. I just did a quick CVS trip last week. Nothing spectacular

* I've heard that WAGS will be changing their rewards program AGAIN. Oy vey. No details yet about how it will work in future. All I know is that we'll have to sign up for new accounts to have our points transferred. Between DS & I, we have $63 in rewards. I'm just going to spend those rewards. There have been fewer and fewer deals, so I'll just spend it on things that we need.

* I had a nightmare trip to WAGS a few weeks ago. The cashier messed up my entire order and I was charged $9 for toothpaste, she never bagged! grrr. It was the wrong toothpaste too (placed on wrong spot on shelf), so I didn't even earn my rewards on it.  This was a store that's about 20 minutes from my house. Live Chat CS was unhelpful (told me to drive back to the store. Like I'm gonna waste an hour of my day for their mistake. Eventually got hold of a different CS dept and they forwarded everything to the store. Its been a month and no contact from store manager. I contacted CS about this again, but got no response from them either. That's why I've decided to take a WAGS break.

* Our stockpile is basically complete. I shopped hard for 2 months (July & August) from the time our state reopened and I can finally heave a sigh of relief. I'm still adding a few small things every week and our grocery budget is now way down. I'm hoping to keep it at or around $60 per week, because we eat lots of fresh produce.

What's concerning is that I'm still seeing half empty shelves at Walmart. I've been to different locations and they all look like this. I haven't seen a Prego sauce sale yet, so I've been adding a jar to my shopping trip every week. I also need bread flour. I do have 10 lbs stockpiled, but if I'm gonna bake our bread during the entire winter, then I'm gonna need more bread flour. Now if I can only find bread flour in store. 

* I'm so happy to see most stores accepting cash again (I really prefer cash over a card, even though we pay our cards in full every month),  so I went to the bank and withdrew $300 for this month. I'm adding a little cushioning, because the monthly produce market trip always makes me broke...lol

* I've started freezer cooking again. With me being so busy, it's just easier to have some things already cooked. It's so nice to just heat and eat most nights. I did so much cooking last week, that I really don't need to cook this week. I might just make some veggies on the side. 

* We've also cut down on Friday night carry out a lot. I've been making my veggie pizzas again and we're loving it. This is why I stock up on pesto and artichokes (my favourite). I use pesto instead of pasta sauce on our pizzas, then top it with mozzarella and veggies of choice. Our favorite is artichoke, mushroom, peppers & onions.

* I found more disinfecting wipes. We don't need any more wipes and I'm not even looking for it. I was at Walmart last week and as I neared the cleaning aisle, I noticed people had big wipes containers in their carts. So I rushed to the wipes aisle only to find the shelves empty. Then a woman showed me that the end cap still had 4 tubs. I was in such a rush, I didn't even notice the end cap...lol. There were no limits, but I only bought 2. The crazy part is that when I found wipes at Sams the last time, I told myself that I'll buy some for my close friends (in other states) if I found wipes again. So now I'm planning on surprising them with wipes and other essential items. 

* I'm almost done with Christmas shopping. We've decided to just have a low key Christmas this year. None of us really need anything. I actually paid full price for a gift for DS last week. I did it, because I didn't want to wait on a possible sale (who knows if that will happen this year) and risk it being sold out by the time holiday season rolls around. I need to pick up 2 more items for DS, but I have Target gcs for those. I'm hoping for some sort of discount on those items before the end of next month.

* I bought my own Christmas gift at 80% off. DH and I have an agreement (actually it was all my idea...lol). I buy my own gift, because he hates shopping. This way he doesn't have to stress about what to get me (he insists on getting me gifts) and I get exactly what I want. The best part is that I ALWAYS buy my gift on clearance. He just pays for it and wraps it at Christmas time. I never have a set item in mind. If I find something I like during the year, I buy it and save it for Christmas. My gift was  originally $328 (excl tax) and I got it for $70 (incl tax). I also earned cash back through Rakuten (I think it was 2%. I'm not quite sure now).

* I also picked up a Christmas gift for $5.05. Originally $60. Item was marked down to $4.99 and I get a 5% discount and free shipping. Also got 2% back through Rakuten.

I know that many people say they unsubscribe or delete store emails. I do the complete opposite. I sign up for whatever stores I can. I have an email address specifically for that. So when I see a really good deal on something (y'all know I mean 80%+ off 😊) and I know it's perfect for someone on my list, then I buy it. This has saved me thousands over the years and it's usually really good items. I don't believe in buying a cheap gift, just because it costs so little. I still want a good, quality item, just without breaking the bank. 

* I'm not sure what's gonna happen with BF this year. I usually only shop Kohls online. I never venture to the stores, except CVS and RA. Most stores have announced that they'll be closed for BF, but no word on whether they'll still have an online sale. I'm just hoping that the Kohls sale will still happen. Who knows if they'll have enough inventory for a BF sale. I just want our athletic shoes that I buy every year. We all still have an extra new pair or 2 from last year, but I always stock up enough for when one pair breaks or the thread is worn down. I'm keeping fingers crossed.

* Business has been good and I am swamped. I've been busy since this pandemic started. We've been so blessed throughout this pandemic, that I actually felt overwhelmed by it all at one stage. I'm so thankful for it, but some days I'm so busy that I don't even know my own name....lol

I hope that everyone stays safe and healthy. I'll try to post again within a week or so.