The Trolls are out again! Sigh

From time to time I get comments from Trolls. I just delete them, because I really don't have time for such nonsense.

Well, today I got this comment & thought I'd share. Comment is under my previous post.

you boomers are shutting down the entire economy because you're afraid of a flu. Seriously, can you boomers kill yourselves? You are the most selfish generation to ever exist. You don't give a shit about climate change, why should we young people give a shit if you get sick and die of some virus? I HOPE the virus gets much stronger and kills you all.

Do you boomers realize how universally hated you are? There is not one single demographic that does not hate you- white people, black people, asians, mexicans, indians, chinese, millennials, GenX, GenZ. Something tells me that you boomers are not going to have a very comfortable or easy retirement, especially once you end up in the retirement homes.

Can you baby boomers hurry up and fucking drop dead? Enjoy your retirement homes cause we younger people will not take care of you even if we wanted to, due to the shitty economy you boomers created. Do you boomers realize that the younger generation is simply waiting for you to fucking drop dead?

You are all going to end up in retirement homes and we all know that the elderly gets treated pretty badly in retirement homes. Well, that's what you get for ruining your own children's lives. Even if your children WANTED to take care of you, they couldn't, due to you boomers destroying the economy. So I hope you enjoy the retirement homes, boomer scum!

Dear Troll. I'll have you know that I'm far too young to be a boomer. And even if I was one, I don't give a flying fig about your opinion.

Also, it's clear to me that you're not tech savvy. Cause if you were, you'd know that it's very easy to track someone online, so you can hide behind that Anonymous name all you want.

What the hell is wrong with people? They really need to get a life. I sure don't have time for this. If they don't like someone's blog or posts, why don't they just move on?

Back to our regular scheduled program...lol

Let the stockpiling begin

I know I said that I would start stockpiling after the lockdown ends, but any couponer/stockpiler will tell you that it's best to grab a good deal when you see one.

On Sunday I went to Walmart, because we were low on dairy and produce. I haven't shopped in 2 weeks, so it was time to replenish some things again. The store was well stocked, so I decided to grab 2 cans of baked beans and 2 artichokes, instead of just 1. We love both items and I like to have it on hand. Bush's is our favorite and it's rare to find deals on it anymore. Many of my friends thought I was crazy when I found Bush's baked beans on sale for 99c at Meijer 2-3 years ago. Crazy, because I bought 30 cans (not all in one trip). I know that Checkout51 had a rebate on it and so did Savingstar (1% cash back). Boy do I miss sales like that. Those beans lasted us a little over a year.

Then on the way home, I decided to swing by Ollie's to see if they have any Fiber One Protein bars in stock. No Fiber One, but I did find the Heinz gravy for 99c. This is my preferred brand and flavor and this price is rare too. They had lots of it, but I only grabbed 4 jars. I don't like to clear shelves (even more so during this pandemic. I only get enough for our needs, because everyone's in the same boat right now). I'm hoping they'll still have lots by the end of the month, because I'd like to stock up once the stay at home order is lifted.

The crazy thing is that I found a book of one of my favorite authors (I currently don't have anything new to read). I mainly buy books at Ollie's, because a hardcover only costs $3.99. Well, no thanks to MI state law, we cannot buy any non-essentials, including books, seeds, etc. I was P.i.s.....d. I understand not wanting people to run out for non-essential items, but how does it makes sense when you're already at the store for groceries? Besides, people can run to the store for liquor and cigarettes (how are those essentials?). grrrr!

So here's my stockpiling breakdown.

4 x Heinz gravy $3.98 (regular price $1.69 or 1.79 each)
2 x Bush's beans 3.98
2 x Artichokes 3.84 (this is 67c less per can, than the Reese's brand at Meijer)
OOP $11.80

So you see, you don't have to buy a ton of items or spend large amounts of cash in one trip, to stockpile. Just try to do little bits at a time.  Make a list of things you use regularly and try to buy one or 2 extra every week. This is part of my plan. Of course the items will vary from week to week, but I'll be adding to our stockpile whenever I find good deals.

I also ordered 2 x 45 oz cans of Dunkin Donuts decaf at Sams. This is only available online and there was a 3c difference (I kid you not) in shipping price, so I decided to just get 2 instead. I had to pay $8 for a 12 oz bag at the grocery store recently. Yikes! This is the regular price. I have lots of regular DD coffee bags, that I picked up for free or near free at RA last year. Thanks for those $4 DD mailer qs RA! However, I prefer decaf and the drugstores only sell the regular. I like to mix the 2 (more decaf than regular). This is enough coffee to last me a little more than a year. DS doesn't drink coffee & DH drinks an Aldi brand.

I ended up paying $40.58 for 2 coffee canisters. The cost is 45c/oz compared to 67c/oz at Meijer.  I redeemed $10 Walmart gcs, but for some reason I couldn't check out when applying the gcs. I been struggling since yesterday. So I decided to remove the gcs and voila, checkout completed. This was very strange, but I can still use the gcs in store. I wanted to place the order before our membership ends. We usually do a big shop before our membership ends, then wait a month or 2 before renewing again. I don't know how we're gonna work that this year, because I like to buy my meat at Sams. Thankfully, we have enough meat to get us through another 2-3 weeks.

The best part is that I spent a little less than our regular weekly grocery budget ($120 this includes HBA & cleaning) on all groceries this week (including the coffee). I bought lots of other essentials too .....BUT....I won't be shopping for at least another 2 weeks. While I miss couponing and stocking up, I do enjoy the fact that we're spending far less on our groceries.

My stockpiling plan for after quarantine

I'm sure that many of us felt ill prepared for this virus. I'm one of those people. While we have a decent stockpile, I still wish that I had stocked up more. Not because we don't have enough for ourselves, but because it would have allowed me to help even more people.

Let the record show that I'm not gonna listen to DH where shopping is concerned. I'm gonna continue to trust my own instincts. He's not allowed to complain about stockpiling ever again either. This pandemic taught us a hard lesson. Yeah, we almost ended up low on t/p & perishables, had I listened to him. I want to make sure that we have a big enough stockpile to last 6-9 months. Yeah, DH might bitch about this again, but he has to admit that thanks to stockpiling, we didn't have to risk exposing ourselves to the virus by running around town for things constantly.

I know that many folks might not have extra cash to stockpile. However, there are many ways around that.

My plan is to use $5 (hopefully $10) of our weekly grocery budget to stockpile (I did that last year, but fell off the wagon)

I like to shop at Walmart, because of the super low prices. Yes, Walmart gets a bad rap, but I'll suck it up and shop there. It helps stretch our grocery budget. Also, I don't mind using their store brands. I stay far away from Meijer store brands, because I got food poisoning from it on 2 occasions. I know that I can stockpile at least 10 cans of veggies (weekly) with my $5 budget. However, there many other items I want to add.

I definitely need to up my game where paper products are concerned. We mainly need to stock up on t/p and p/t. We don't use much p/t, but t/p is at the top of my list. We prefer the Sams store brand. It's soft, strong and a great price. They have a 45 roll pack that usually lasts us 5+ months. I'd like to keep 3 of those big packs in stock. I want to do the same with cleaning products.While we always keep a bottle of bleach at home, I want to get several. We've made a nice water, bleach & Dawn mix for cleaning/disinfecting during the pandemic. However, the bleach soon made my allergies flare up. So Lysol it is. I usually buy the big refill bottles.

The other thing I really need to focus on, is a medical kit. We rarely use medication, but I do keep a few things in stock. I also have a decent cold/cough syrup stash from all the drugstore deals. Having an emergency medical kit available could come in handy, especially when you have to quarantine. 

The drugstores will be hit hard - all 3 of them. Between CVS & WAGS, I have $73 in rewards. I'm gonna put that to good use.

If anyone would like to join me in stockpiling, please feel free to do so. Make use of every single $$ that you can find/earn.

How am I gonna do this?

We have 3 trash bags full of pop cans. No we don't drink that much soda. I just like to save it up so I don't have to use the dirty recycling center at Meijer. Yep, I'm a bit of a germaphobe...lol.

Drugstore rewards. Please sign up. I know it takes some work, but there's some serious savings to be had. We haven't needed any personal care products during our quarantine

Gift card earning sites like Swagbucks, Mypoints, Instagc, Microsoft Rewards, Ibotta, Fetch, Savingstar, Checkout51 (yes, I use them all). The point earning sites normally give me an extra $110 per month. That's not including the grocery apps. Since we don't need much clothes, I'm just using that money for some stockpiling and some for saving.

If your grocery store offers rewards, sign up. Meijer has Mperks (it only gives back 2%, but its money in my pocket). Kroger also has cash back rewards on select items (kinda like Ibotta/Savingstar). Just select the items on your account.

Catalinas (coupons that print out at the register). I mainly use self checkout, because I like having control of what I do (I can easily spot when an item rings up incorrectly). Many folks leave those CATS behind. If I find any, I take it home with me. I often find ones that I can use. Heck, I even scored a $10 one and free bread once. I doubt folks would be so eager to leave hard cash behind. Those CATs are as good as cash to me, so I'm not ashamed of picking them up. The cashier just throw it away anyway.

I'm only gonna start stockpiling once it's safe to go out. In the meantime, save those extra stockpiling cash every week. By the time it's safe to be out & about again, you'll have a decent amount to start your stockpile.

It looks like some businesses might open on May 1st here, which I think is a huge mistake. This is Michigan and our numbers are through the roof. We're just gonna continue social distancing for a few extra weeks.

Stay safe & healthy everyone!

My first big grocery shop since the lockdown

Last week I decided to hit Meijer & Sams for a big grocery shopping trip. We still had enough food (especially meat) to last another week or 2, but I told DH that with the new lockdown date, people might just clear the shelves again. My last big shopping trip was just before chaos ensued at the stores.

So I made my shopping list and headed to the stores on Thursday. I know that Meijer (usually, under normal circumstances) get their trucks on Thursday mornings, so I figured the shelves would be pretty much stocked.

First I stopped at Sams. I figured that whatever I can't find at Sams, I can look for at Meijer (or even Ollies, since it's close by). I get to Sams and there's a 50 meter (approx 150 ft) line outside. What the heck! No way am I gonna wait in that long line. So I headed to Meijer and did my shopping. The store was well stocked and I got everything on my list. People even found t/p (limit 1). I didn't buy any, because we still have more than enough. I'd rather leave it for someone who really needs it.

However, when I got to Meijer, they had NO cart wipes. Ugh, this is so typical of them. This is why I carry a tub of Clorox wipes in my purse. So there I was, handing out Clorox wipes to everyone who grabbed a cart at the same time I did. There was a man with a toddler, wiping the cart down with the spray and paper towel Meijer left out. He was the first person I offered wipes to, because I didn't want his child to pick up any germs. We keep a tub of Clorox wipes in each of our vehicles too, even though I always keep Wet Ones in our cars. We just wipe our hands with the Clorox wipes after grocery shopping, cause I wanted to make sure those germs are killed. Some of you might think I'm nuts, but I'm not taking any chances.

I bought some Italian sausage and smoked sausage at Meijer. My plan was to get chicken and ground turkey at Sams. Meijer had no limits, but I just grabbed 2 packs of each. I don't have too much freezer space anyway.

Then I went back to Sams (hoping that the line would be shorter) and whaddya know. No line at all. I just breezed into the store. I sure am glad I trusted my instincts to hit Meijer first. Hooray, I found chicken breasts. I guess not many people buy the non GMO chicken, cause they had plenty. However, there was a limit of 1. No problemo. We still have some chicken in the freezer. I only saw regular chicken legs. No other kinds of chicken in store. No ground turkey or beef either. We're not big red meat eaters, but I grabbed a package of London broil too. Last time I did that and cook it in the instant pot with peppers & onions and made beef pies (pasties) instead. So I'll do the same again. I also picked up a rotisserie chicken that we had for dinner. Now how is Sams sold out of chicken, but they have tons of cooked rotisserie chicken? Doesn't make sense!

I also found the last pack of broccoli at Sams. I don't know why broccoli is so hard to come by the last few months. I did get 2 bags of the seasoned ones at Meijer, but I prefer the plain ones.

Sams however had no t/p, bleach, bottled water, wipes. DH will pick up eggs and bread at Aldi. I asked him to look for pie crusts too. Aldi has limits, so he's always able to find those things for us. On weekends we support our local restaurants.

Now that we have almost everything we need, I'm staying put for the rest of the month. When I got home from grocery shopping, I went straight to the shower and dumped all my clothes and shoes in the washer. I didn't allow anyone to unpack the groceries, because I wanted to wipe everything down.

The one silver lining to this monthly shopping trips, is that we spend far less on groceries than we normally do. I spent less than half of our normal grocery budget last week. That's also due to me not going to the produce store. Boy do I miss that place! DH agreed that it's too risky to go to, because the place is small and usually crowded. There's no way to do the social distancing thing in that store. Not to mention everyone and their mother touching all the open produce.

I hope everyone's staying safe & healthy and that all your needs are met.

Remember that this too shall pass! We're starting week 4 of quarantine. Hopefully the next 4 weeks will fly by.

Online Drugstore Shopping

I still haven't been anywhere near any drugstores, but managed to place some online orders to roll my rewards. WAGS has announced that they will freeze point expiration dates for now. Many folks have asked CVS about accepting expired EBs and received absolutely no response.

I placed my CVS order on Sunday and my EBs showed up in my account the next day. I will wait until the last possible date (it shows that it expires on 4/5) to print them. I know that they'll be good for one month from the date that it's printed (which should be 5/5). I also placed an order the week before.

Sorry no pics as nothing has been delivered yet. I noticed that one of my CVS packages is coming from NY (Yikes!), so I'm gonna spray disinfectant all over that box and let it sit in the garage  for 2-3 weeks. Not taking any chances.


CVS week 3/22

1 x Maybelline face powder $8.59
2 x Maybelline eyeshadow 8.38
1 x Schick mens razor 11.79
1 x Schick women's razor 12.79
2 x Crest t/p 9.18
Less Maybelline face CRT (2.00)
Less Maybelline foundation CRT (4.00)
Less Maybelline cosmetics CRT (2.00)
Less 2 Schick razor CRTs (8.00)
Less 3/12 shave CRT (1.41)
Less Crest CRTs (8.00) I had 3 different CRTs that all applied
Less EBS (33.00)
Shipping 5.49
Tax 2.47
OOP $8.69

Earned $20 EBs ($10 Schick, $10 Maybelline)

Had I known that the shipping is free BEFORE (not after) EBs, I would've added a small item, cause I was so close to $35 to score free shipping. Lesson learned.

Week 3/29

2 x Covergirl Cheekers $12.58
1 x St Ives face mist 6.99
2 x Maybelline makeup remover 11.58
1 x St Ives lotion 6.99
1 x Garnier micellar 9.29
1 x Garnier micellar 12.49
Less 3/8 Covergirl CRT (3.00)
Less 3/12 Cosmetics CRT (1.36) Don't know why it's adjusted down
Less 4/25 Face care CRT (0.81)
Less St Ives face care CRT (2.50)
Less 2 x Garnier Micellar (6.00)
Less EBS (37.00)
Tax 3.17
OOP $4.09

Earned $27 EBs ($6 Covergirl, $6 Maybelline, $5 Garnier, $9 Beauty, $1 Winter spending).

I really don't care about spending down EBS or earning extra. I just don't want these points to expire. I'd rather buy things we don't need (j/k).....lol than throw away $37.

The Beauty was a nice bonus. I first received $3 (I'm guessing it's from last week, then another $6 today).

WAGS

2 x Softsoap b/w $9.98
2 x Irish Spring b/w 9.98
1 x Tide Pods 4.99
2 x Rimmel brow pencils 5.98
2 x Rimmel bronzer 7.98
1 x Rimmel bronzer 1.99 (B1G50% off)
Less Rimmel face IVC (6.99 ) Supposed to deduct $4/2, so I don't know how they came up with that amount. These drugstores sure have strange math.
Less Softsoap DQ (1.00)
Less Softsoap DQ (0.75)
Less Irish S DQ (1.00)
Less Irish S DQ (0.75)
Less Rimmel DQs (4.98)
Less Tide DQ (2.00)
Less BR points (20.00)
Tax 2.03
OOP $5.46

Should get back $15 BR Points ($5 Softsoap, $5 Irish Spring, $5 Beauty). My order hasn't shipped yet, so hoping everything works out.

I added the Tide so I could use $20 in points. I'm not a big fan of Pods, but they weren't shipping any liquid detergent.

Total OOP for 2 weeks = $18.24

Man I hate paying sales tax. $7.67 of this total was sales tax. Ugh! In my native country we paid VAT (which was already included in the price. So the price you see on an item, is the price you pay. Companies just had to work back the numbers to calculate the VAT amounts they needed to pay).

If anyone needs anything at the drugstores, WAGS offers FREE shipping on any order. CVS FREE shipping on $35 orders (after CVS coupons, but before Manufacturer coupons and EBs).

Shipping will be a bit slower, because everyone and their mother's doing online shopping these days, but it sure beats a trip to the store.