Wags Tripping

 

It's been a while since I posted Wags deals. I actually had fun at Wags (I know this is unheard of for Wags 😂, but things actually worked perfectly).  I had 2 paper boosters from my gc purchases last week, so I decided to put them to good use. 

12 x Kids candy B1G2nd 4% off $26.76

2 x Lindt B1G2nd 50% off $8.98

2 x Ghirardelli B1G2nd 50% off $8.98

Less Lindt DQ (1.00)

Less Ghirardelli DQ (1.00)

OOP $42.72

Earned $22 WC ($10 WYS $40 Digital Booster, $7 WYS $40 Paper Booster, $5 WYS $20 holiday candy).

So total cost (after rewards) for 16 gifts = $20.72

You can use code GIFT15 to save 15%  if you place your order online (for store pickup). Make sure that your pretax total is $40 after this discount, in order to earn the $10 WYS $40 reward. 

Be sure to check your receipts if you do this deal. I first added everything online to see what works. After shopping in store, I noticed that I never received the $5 for the candy. A quick Live Chat and the points were added to my account. 

My high OOP was intentional. I could've just split my transactions and paid with all that WC I have, but I wouldn't have earned back anything. 

I scored a great deal on another Christmas gift, but can't post about it. 

The kids candy are all clearanced and it's B1G2nd 40% off this week (might continue next week. I need to check the ad preview). I don't eat Hershey candy, but I wanted to get something Christmassy for the kids. They watched the Grinch movie last month, so they'll totally relate to the candy. These are for special needs kids, so I don't get any hard candy or anything that can easily be swallowed like M&Ms. They had lots of candy cane ones (contains skittles, kit kat & m&ms) clearanced too.

The chocolate bags will accompany teachers' gcs (I might get more on my other account. Deal works next week as well).  I couldn't find any good nuts gifts. I miss those Planters holiday 3pks we used to get at RA every BF. They make great gifts and were always free with BC (well, I always had BC to cover the cost). Everyone else just has regular nuts cans for $6+. WTH? Am I this out of touch, because I'm so used to paying next to nothing for things? Why are these small containers so pricey? I can get big ones at Sams for $10-11. I'm going to get nuts there instead. 

I hit 6 stores yesterday and was pooped by the time I got home. I still haven't found a card for BF. I tried different stores, but there was nothing that tickled my fancy. He knows that I like the deep, meaningful cards. I'm a hopeless romantic 💘😊 The search for the perfect card continues. Then I'm done shopping. I'm seriously over shopping & spending now. I don't want to spend any more money, except on groceries. I need to get eggs. Can't bake without eggs.

Next time I'll talk about the 3 dresses I scored for $36 total. Ms G doesn't play when it comes to a good sale 😂 I'm hoping everything ships 🤞

Have a great weekend peeps!

T minus how many days?

I can't believe  Christmas will be here in 12 days (or fewer if you start celebrating on Christmas eve) and I still don't have my ducks in a row. Totally unheard of for me. 

• Is it just me or has anyone experienced delays with orders this year? Things I ordered 2 weeks ago, either still haven't shipped or is only being shipped now. Don't retailers know that it's Christmas? Who wants to receive their gifts After Christmas? Oy vey. Talk about stressing a girl out. 
  
  
• Many of my orders have arrived. One store (can't mention here yet) went above & beyond. I ordered on Sunday and it arrived today. After checking everything, I noticed that it was missing one of DS's gifts. Noooooo! The box had a hole on the side and I assumed the item either fell out or just wasn't shipped. So I logged into my account, started Live Chat. As I'm waiting, I noticed that the order showed multiple packages were shipped. Turns out the item is still in transit. 🤦😂 Thank goodness I was still waiting for a CS rep. That would've been embarrassing 😂 Can y'all see how messed up I am? 
  
  Well, I was happy that BF's items arrived in perfect condition. I at least know of one gift he will like. I don't know about the rest. I'm a mess. I keep second guessing myself. Did I get him enough gifts? Is it too much? Is he going to like it? What if he doesn't like it? 
  
  
• I need to talk to BF so we can finalize our Christmas plans. What I need to bring. Do I need to cook? Bake? I don't like to shop the week before any holiday, because the stores are crazy. Well, I am going to bake, but do I need to bring cookies? For how many? 
  
  
• I need to get up early tomorrow and run some last minute errands.  How did I forget to buy Christmas cards for school? I like to place a gc inside a card and add some candy or nuts to their gifts. I need to buy BF's card too. I didn't forget about his one though.  I need to redeem rewards and get the candy too.
  
  Sluggy please help! I have RA rewards expiring tomorrow (12/14). Can I still use it tomorrow or does it expire the day before (like some stores do?)

• DS is still home. He had a setback and I know what caused it, but it seems to be healing well again. So I'm still taking care of him full time. We have another Dr appointment on Monday and I hope it all goes well and that he'll be healed in time for Christmas. I'm determined to spend Christmas with BF. We already missed out on our birthdays and I'm not going to let anything or anyone ruin our Christmas. Besides, I have all these gifts for him. Boy, I'm mad at the school all over again now and DS is upset that he's been stuck with an injury for so long. My poor baby. This too shall pass. 
  
  
  
• Well the weight loss is the only thing that's been going well. I'm off my usual schedule, so I'm not eating like I used to, especially when I take DS out for a drive. Yesterday, we got stuck in school & work traffic on our way home and only had 'lunch' at 4pm. That means I'm too full to have dinner. I'm not complaining about skipping dinner, cause I'm seeing lower numbers on the scale every day. Yay!
  
  

I'm ready to start wrapping gifts, but I need to wait until I have everything. That way I can see exactly what I have and if I need anything else. I have everything packed in 2 big boxes, so I don't forget anything. There's been years where I hid some gifts from DS so well, that I couldn't remember where I hid them, when it was time to wrap 😂 

I crunched the numbers and I'm still under budget. Phew! Thank goodness, because I had to make several changes due to some gifts not being delivered, arrived damaged or were just not up to par. I'm thankful that I save up for Christmas. I can now start saving for next year again, since I'm practically done shopping. 

Happy shopping & wrapping peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm!

Things are finally coming together

Oy, it's been a rough week, but things are finally looking up. I only had one good night's sleep this week & it's only because I knocked myself out for the night. I should try that again tonight, cause I was awake for hours last night. 

Thank you everyone for the stocking stuffer suggestions. I have used some of those ideas. 

We had lovely sunshine this week, so I took DS out for a drive every day. We both enjoyed just getting out again. He's healing nicely and it looks like he might go back to school next week. Fingers crossed. 

Today was another busy day, but productive. I hit several stores to do grocery & other shopping. I picked up 2 more gifts for BF & one for DS. That replacement gift I worked on for BF till 11pm the other day, shipped within 2 days. Happy dance! 💃 I was so pleased with it that I ordered more gifts from the same place for both him & DS. I was really worried about this item, because I'm trying to create something special for us. I don't want to say too much, because it's supposed to be a surprise. And in typical Ms G fashion, that coming in under budget is no longer working 😂 I'm holding off on crunching the numbers again, but I'm pretty sure I'm still under budget. 

I'm just crossing things off my list now. I'm just waiting on things to be delivered now. I seriously don't know why I panicked. It's not my nature. I normally just take a deep breath, then figure out how to tackle the problem and execute it. Easy peasy. That's what I did. An hour or 2 every day to order things and voila! Shopping's almost done. 

DS wanted burgers & fries last night, so that's what he got. I only had some fries, cause I'm still on this weight loss kick. I mean, I lost 1.2 lbs the day before. No way was I going to mess that up with a burger. I just added some fries to my leftovers dinner. 

I skipped carry out for him tonight, because he already had burgers last night. I bought a rotisserie chicken at Sams and added that and veggie/salad fixings to a sub roll with leftover fries. Dinner's done and the chicken only cost $5. That will give us at least 3 meals. Maybe 4. Far better than fast food. I did buy him some discounted fast food gcs, but we don't have to use it every week. I've read many stories lately about how expensive fast food has become. A McCrappels (aka McDonalds) meal for $15! I would never! I've only eaten McC twice in my life & hated it both times. When they first opened in SA and then once when we were out in a small town & McC was the only fast food place. I didn't even finish that chicken sandwich I ordered. Yuck!

Retailers must be struggling real bad. Everybody and their mother keep sending me rewards. I only cash in the ones that offer free shipping. I'm not going to pay shipping for things I don't need. 

My WHBM sheath dress arrived and I'm over the moon. That dress fits perfectly and even makes my butt look good (I have a big butt) 😂 I thought "this dress was worth every penny of  that $1.05' 😂 If I had to pay the $55 sale price, I would still have felt this way. That's how happy I am with this dress. 

Here's a good Target deal if you need laundry products (ends tomorrow 12/9) Spend $50 on select PG items, earn $15 gc. There's also a $15 PG rebate on select items and it includes the Target cleaning products. Not a double dip, but triple because Ibotta has a $5 Downy Unstoppables offer (limit 1). Here's what I did

2 x Downy $31.98

1 x 24 oz Bounce sheets 9.99

1 x  92 oz Tide 12.99

Less Downy DQ (2.00)

Less Bounce DQ (2.00)

Less Tide DQ (2.00)

Tax 2.40

OOP 51.36 Paid with a gc 

Earned $15 Target gc + $15 PG rebate + $5 Ibotta + 5.13 (I bought the discounted gcs, so saved an extra 10% on this order). Submit for 200 PG points and Fetch

Total earned : $40.13

I needed the dryer sheets, that's why I decided to do this deal (After all discounts and rewards, the entire order costs the same price as I would have paid for just the dryer sheets). Then I spotted the Downy deal this morning and the limit was 5. So I decided to buy 2. When I submitted my receipt, the limit said 1. WTH Ibotta?!  I hate when they change or pull deals while you are shopping. I would've bought more Tide instead. I placed that $15 gc into my savings jar for next Christmas. I'm trying something new. More on that next time.  I'm adding one of last month's Old Spice receipts to get my total over $50 for the PG rebate. 

I also cashed in some of my coins for an Amazon gc and need to order another gift as soon as I'm done here. Then I'm doing an early night again. I prefer to go to bed early and get up early. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

It's been that kinda week!

... and it's only Tuesday. I feel like I  don't have my shit together all my ducks in a row. I'm behind with Christmas shopping. I'm so frigging behind, it's not even funny and it's causing me stress. I normally have all gifts wrapped by this time. 

Yesterday I had to go grocery shopping - again.  Halfway to the store, I realised that I forgot my glasses at home. Those same glasses I left on the kitchen counter, next to my phone, so I wouldn't forget it 🤦 There was no way I was turning around to get it. I was already stuck in too much traffic. So I decided to take my chances. Between the shopping list being a blur and my chicken scratch handwriting, I managed to get almost everything on my list. Phew!! I did forget one of the important things, so I need to make another trip. Ugh.  What's up with all the high prices? I haven't been to Walmart in ages and was shocked, just plain shocked by how expensive food has become. A store brand can of mixed veg is now 98c. What happened to that 50c price tag? This isn't even a name brand. Sigh. Sure, I can mix my own veggies, but it's not worth my time. The price tag is actually better than me having to spend time making my own, but I hate that prices have doubled. Yikes, I've seen lots of high prices on things I use regularly. My pantry is empty. I haven't done any food stockpiling, because I was waiting to move. Well, I still need to move, but we need to eat too. There were only 6 boxes of my favorite cereal on the shelf, so I grabbed 4. I need this cereal for my health. I wanted to get bacon, but I'm the only one who eats it, so I decided to just skip it. Saving myself $9. I caved and bought $5 blueberries at Aldi. Ouch! There goes the $9 savings 😂 Yeah, we pay $1.50 for blueberries during summer. Then I reminded myself that $130 a week on groceries for 2 people is not bad at all. I did buy some baking stuff too, so I actually think I did pretty well. 

DS started unpacking the groceries as soon as I brought it inside, so that was one less thing to do. I love it when he volunteers to do chores. Then cooked dinner and made taco meat too. Ugh, I need to get back to Sunday cooking. I hate having to cook every night, especially after I've been out. 

I was so excited about a custom made surprise I ordered BF for Christmas. Well, that excitement was short lived once I opened the package. The item looked horrible. Not half as good as I expected and it can't be returned. I was so mad. This was something I was hoping he'd like, because he'll understand the significance once I explain it to him. So I took a deep breath and decided to give myself an hour after dinner to just take care of Christmas things (I'm going to take an hour every day to get some holiday things done). Well, that turned into me going to sleep at 11pm (I normally go to bed at 9 and watch tv - at least I try to, cause I sometimes fall asleep shortly after getting into bed - until 10), but I got that Christmas gift done. Now let's hope it arrives in time and that he likes it. 🤞

I have more gifts that I ordered that won't be arriving in time. I can already tell it's not gonna arrive in time, so it's on to Plan B. No use stressing about it, because it's not going to change the shipping speed.  I've always said that if you want things done right, do it yourself, but I sometimes have to depend on other people. Unfortunately, they don't get things done ASAP like I do.  Now you all know why I like to shop early. 

Well, guess who woke up at the butt crack of dawn again? What was I supposed to do up at 5am? I didn't want to get up, but by 6:30 I knew that I was just wasting time laying in bed. So I brewed coffee (and darn it's mostly decaf, so no caffeine jolt. I need to add more regular coffee to my mix), started a load of laundry, back to Plan B Christmas shopping, checked in with BF. Then showered, mixed dough for a double batch of bread rolls (wheat rolls and cinnamon raisin rolls), started dinner and had breakfast. Then cleaning and finished all the cooking. My back hurts from all the stress, so I'm going to take an aromatherapy bath and have dinner. That always helps me to relax. I'd like to go to bed early,but I can tell it's going to be a late night again. Too much to do. 

I still need to contact Macy's because they totally messed up my gc order. They undercharged me for a  gc purchase. Now I have to waste my time with CS, because I'm all about doing the right thing. There's no way I would just chalk it up to it being their mistake. 

I need some help please. So I've been working on BF's stocking. I need ideas on what to add to it. I already have a few items, but I've never done this before so I'm not sure what goes into a stocking. Any ideas would help. Also, do I need to fill the whole stocking or just add whatever I feel is enough? I want to get this right. 

Well, the cooking's done for the week, the laundry's done (just need to fold and iron, but the ironing's not happening today) and my Christmas shopping's practically done. I just need to get gcs for school (I'm still a little ticked off at school over what happened to DS, but I won't hold it against them. I'm more upset about the situation we're still in) & buy a card for BF. 

I'm going to try my best to make some time to read everyone's blogs this week. 

Have a wonderful week peeps!

My Birthday Freebies

PSA - Target has 10% off their store gcs 12/2-12/3 only. Limit $500.

I will admit that I scored really good deals for my birthday this year. Without further ado, here's what I 'bought' with birthday & other rewards. Please excuse the poor photo quality. Someone changed all the lightbulbs to those yellow ones and I can hardly see. Not everything is pictured. I was still awaiting delivery of some items when I took the pics. 

3 x Jeans

4 x Shorts

3 x Tops/Blouses

1 x Shirt

5 x T-shirts

1 Blazer

2 x Dresses

1 x Sweatpants (DS)

1 x Hat

Total items = 21

Total OOP : $24.73 (see more below)

Retail value : $1407.94

I had to pay $8 shipping at one store or forfeit my $45 reward. This was a no brainer for me. Just pay that shipping cost. You also have to spend at least 1c over the Q value at some retailers, so I went ahead and made them happy 😂 Even DS got a free item with one of my rewards. 

I'm a little disappointed in the blazer quality. The quality's not as nice as my teal blazer in the same style. The color is beautiful though. It's a rich/deep green with a navy blue lining. I can at least still roll up the sleeves for the surprise lining color. That's my favorite part of these blazers. 

The hat is 100% wool. Well it's made in China, so I'm taking that with a pinch of salt 😂 I love wearing hats 💖

This was not a birthday reward, but about 2 weeks ago I spotted this Lace dress on sale for $34.99. I ordered the exact same dress in Indigo a few months ago & it was cancelled as OOS 😭 So when I saw the black one on sale, I just had to have it. Never mind that they didn't have my size in stock. They only had 2P and I wear a regular size 4. No way! I WANT this dress. I normally go a size up when I order petite, but there wasn't any 6P either. Imagine my surprise when I tried on the dress and it was a perfect fit. Whoo hoo! I paid $37.08 OOP, but I'm not even worried about that. I received a $15 Rakuten check and made over $200 on our personal items this month, so that more than covered the cost of the dress.  So this was my birthday treat to myself 😉

I really struggled to use my $50 birthday reward. There just wasn't anything that tickled my fancy. WHBM sent me another $5 reward, so I had $55 to spend. Days before BF, they had an extra 30% off clearance for rewards members. So I added  a few things to my cart (totaling around $50), but their weird math turned it into me having to pay $7.xx OOP after rewards. Huh? I thought I was shopping at Wags. Confused much. So I decided to just wait until BF, because everyone runs good sales then. Wrong! Not WHBM. They increase their prices instead. Sigh! So I was a little upset with myself for not purchasing those items earlier in the week. So BF & Cyber Monday came and went and I needed to spend $50 by the end of the month. Then yesterday, they had a different sale and I spotted this LBD . I am totally in love with this dress. It is so me!!! 😍😍😍 You can give me sheath dresses, heels (pumps), boots, blazers and hats any day of the week. THIS is my style. Total OOP $1.05!! Heck yeah! I checked out as fast as I could. I have so many shoes, jackets and wraps I can wear with this dress. Let's hope they ship it soon, cause this is a MUST HAVE for me!  I've included a photo of my order, just in case anyone ever thinks I make up numbers 😂I really should know by now that when I don't find anything I like, it's because there's something better for me. The LBD is proof of that. I friggin LOVE this dress (It's rare for me to love something at first sight, cause I'm extremely picky). I can't wait for it to arrive. Let's hope it fits 🤞

I didn't redeem any of my food rewards or all my other clothing rewards. Some were just not worth it and I couldn't find good enough deals for others. 

Happy Birthday to me! 🥳😂

Have a great evening peeps!

Quick check in

Hi everyone

I'm still here. DS is still home with his injury. We were both hoping he would be recovered and back at school yesterday, but no such luck. I finally started getting better sleep this weekend - if you can call waking up at 6am better 😂 Well, it sure beats being wide awake at 4am. 

Yesterday & today were icy cold and windy. I kept most of the blinds closed to help keep out the cold. Brrr. I didn't feel like going out in the cold, but needed to do grocery shopping yesterday. I wanted to get some blueberries at Aldi since they have the lowest price, but got serious sticker shock. $4.99 for a pint. WTH are they smoking? There's no way I'm paying $5 for just one pint. That's just crazy!

I also saw 2lb organic strawberries for $12.xx at Sams Club. Who on earth pays that much for strawberries? What makes it worth $12? I'll take my chances with the regular strawberries. Thank you very much. This makes me even more determined to get a freezer once I move. 

When I got home, I still had to fix dinner. I didn't cook on Sunday, because I needed some ingredients. Then sanitize and pack away all groceries. This germaphobe still wipes down all groceries. I can't unlearn it. I actually remember my mother teaching us to wipe or rinse certain grocery items when I was young, especially the milk. So this whole sanitizing groceries is nothing new to me. 

• I did zero grocery shopping last week. I went to Sams the Friday before and bought 2 pumpkin pies. I've been eating pie ever since. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was out pied 😂 I froze the leftover slices. Thank goodness I didn't gain any weight from all that pie. 
  
  
• I did zero BF drugstore shopping. None of the drugstores had any freebies. I remember going to all 3 first thing in the morning years ago, cause they were loaded with free items. I miss those days.
  
  
• I'm practically done with Christmas shopping. I'm just working on BF's stocking stuffers (I'm making progress), then I'm done shopping. I need to figure out what else to add. DS is easy. He only wants one thing in his stocking. He's definitely his mother's child 😂 If you give us one meaningful gift, we're happy. We don't need a bunch of stuff. I really don't need anything. If I just have BF & DS with me (and I can put smiles on their faces 🧧🧧) for Christmas, then my holiday is complete. I'm outshopped and I picked up so much free stuff for my birthday. I didn't even redeem all my rewards. I'll write a post tomorrow. I did really well this year. 
  
  Between working the deals, using earned & discounted gcs & rewards, adding extra clearance items to resell to recoup some of our cash, earning freebies on some purchases, I came in under budget. Yay!! And thank you Rakuten for those 12-20% cash back offers. It makes shopping so much more fun. 
  
  I had to make myself a list of retailers I shopped at, to ensure that everything gets delivered. Then I can start wrapping. 
  
  
• When I was looking for a gift at one store,  I noticed that the price of something I purchased 2 days prior, had been reduced. So I did Live chat and within 3 minutes my refund was issued for the price difference. Many retailers are good with price adjustments. So when I make large purchases, I add the items to my cart again (after checkout), just in case the price gets reduced. Some stores will actually email you about a price drop. 
  
  
• I bought my/our bedroom lamps for $14.90 OOP, thanks to reduced gcs redeemed with my CC points. I've had my eye on these lamps since Spring or Summer and the price was finally low enough to purchase. I haven't told BF about it yet, but I know he'll like it (we have similar taste). I want him to see the finished product (the entire room). That way he'll be able to see how I can easily decorate a room without breaking the bank. I'm a simple, clean lines girl. Less is more, but the room will still have warmth.

• I don't know what's happening with L'oreal skincare. They keep having big sales and I can hardly find the cleansers anymore. I'm still buying it every time I find it. I stocked up on moisturiser at Target, because they have 25% off this week and I also had a 5% off birthday Q. Rakuten had 15% cash back (rare, since Target is usually only 1% back), so I bought 3 sets (day & night cream). 
  
  While I was checking out, I noticed the OS Captain (b/w) is clearanced. Target displays your previous purchases at the bottom, asking if you'd like to purchase it again. Well, as I was packing 2 days ago, I thought to myself that I need an OS b/w intervention 😂 cause I have a lot. I'm hoping the Captain isn't being discontinued, but I'm now thankful that I stocked up when I did. BF & DS have nothing to worry about. I have them covered for at least a year.
  
  
• I'm in baking mood. I'm ready to bake holiday cookies, but it's way too early for me. I like to take one day shortly before Christmas to do all my baking. I need to make a list of ingredients I need.
  
  
• I'm pooped. I've done nothing other than clean, laundry, cook and take care of DS the past few weeks. Every day feels like groundhog day. I take him for a drive sometimes (since he can't really go anywhere), so he can get sun and fresh air. 

I need to go deposit all those bills I saved ($1, $5). I'm thinking of rolling the leftover cash into next year's Christmas budget. That will give me a head start on Christmas savings. 

Is anyone else done with Christmas shopping? 

Have a wonderful evening peeps!

Latest odds & ends

Hi everyone

I apologize for my lack of posts and response to comments. DS sustained an injury at school (not going into detail) and I've been taking care of him round the clock (well, except for when he sleeps). I haven't been sleeping well either and I am plumb tuckered out. I'm awake at 4 or 5 am every single day (I'm worried about him), no matter what time I go to bed. I am just physically drained, but I just want him to get better. He's in very good spirits and was acting all goofy with me last night, but he wasn't feeling too well today. 

For the first time ever, I don't even have a Thanksgiving plan or food. We have lots of food, but I haven't purchased or prepped anything for the holiday. I'm going to try and find a pumpkin pie. DS can currently only eat select foods, so it's no use cooking for just myself. All I need is pie 😊 Right now, I'm just focused on DS's recovery. I hate seeing him suffer. I'm sure all mom's feel that way when their children are ill. 

What else has been happening. 

• Received a $50 WHBM Birthday reward. 
  
  
• Ordered 3 free pairs of jeans with another reward. I need more jeans like I need a hole in the head, but it was the best thing to purchase with free money. 
  
  
• JCP sent me an email about a $20 reward expiring soon. Puzzled me didn't even know I had a reward. They never notified me of it before. You bet I used that free money 😂
  
  
• Krispy Kreme has gotten stingy. They used to offer a free dozen original glazed donuts for birthdays (since the pandemic started), but I only received an offer for 3 free original glazed donuts this year. Not that I need the donuts. I should tell BF to pick it up for himself before the 1st (all he needs is my phone number at checkout), since I'm trying to look good for him 😂 I don't need the temptation
  
  I have lots of other offers to redeem. I should probably just do a post of freebies I received. I'm over shopping. I feel like I just got a free wardrobe for myself, I got so much stuff. 
  
  
• Red Robin has also gotten stingy. You can now only redeem your birthday offer in store. I like to dine out, but prices have gotten ridiculous. If you add in the drinks and tip, you end up with a hefty bill. I like to pick up our food, because I fix a side salad for each of us and save my fries for DS to enjoy the next day. We always have a variety of drinks available and it's much less than the restaurant prices. Add in the 20% tip and that Free birthday burger is now costing way more than expected. 
  
  I'm not a cheapskate or stingy. I gladly tip over 20% when I get great service. However, I'm trying to watch my spending cause I have a house and furniture to pay for and everything is crazy expensive these days. 
  
  
• Well it looks like my Loreal Revitalift Cleanser has been or is being discontinued. The Wags cashier told me that they're getting new Loreal cleansers, but they no longer have shelf space for the Loreal. When I checked online, it says that it's no longer sold at my local store. Meijer has had different Loreal sales every week, so I've been stocking up whenever I can find it. They only have 2 on the shelf at a time. Very strange, because Meijer normally has lots of inventory. It seems like only Meijer, RA & select Wags still sell this item. Even worse, Wags now charges almost $10 a tube, whereas Meijer's price is $6.99. What a rip off!!
  
  
• I went to the dentist 2 weeks in a row. I decided to just get the filling they recommended the last time, so it doesn't get worse. The dentist (different person from the last time) did a very thorough job though and I told him so. Well, I couldn't feel my top lip and nose for over 4 hours. Have I mentioned how much I hate needles? I'm not afraid of it. I just don't care for it. Once the anesthesia wore off, the rest of my teeth hurt. I couldn't fall asleep that night.
  
  So after the dentist visit, I decided to stop at RA because I had $80 BC expiring that day. Yikes! Stopped at my local RA and the store is already closed. WTH happened to closing down sales?! So I drove to my favorite RA and they are permanently closed too. *&^#@% Did RA bother to notify us about these store closings so we could spend our BC? Heck no!! So I drove to a store about 4 miles from my house (this is far for me 😂 cause everything's on my doorstep) and decided that if it's closed too, then I'm just going to shop online and call it a day at RA. Parking lot is full and the store is open. Phew! Walk in the door and there is one of the cashiers from my favorite store smiling at me. I asked her if everyone's been transferred to other locations and she said Yes. I was so happy to hear that they didn't lose their jobs, cause RA has been struggling for years. I'm going to try and keep my BC low, because there are very few RA's around here and I don't want to lose any money/BC. 
  
  
• A few weeks ago, I realised that I was on my last RR gc. So I added some discounted gcs to my Costco cart the Friday night, but couldn't bring myself to check out. The next day, I used the last gc and reminded myself to check out, but still couldn't bring myself to do it - gut feeling. The Sunday morning I received a Costco email about new offers and the RR gc was an extra $5 off (one day only). I immediately went ahead and checked out a bunch. 25% off is far better than 20% off. My gut never lets me down 😊
  
  
  
• Purchased another Christmas gift for DS and 2 gifts for BF. I'm so far behind this year, but I'm slowly making progress. BF also has a birthday coming up and I have no clue what to get him. 
  
  
• I haven't really done any other drugstore shopping. The deals have been lackluster. I did go to Wags, because the OS b/w were on sale again last week. I just did a small transaction.

2 x OS b/w $14.98

Less DQ (3.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 0.90

OOP $2.88

Earned $4 RR + $5 Ibotta

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

What on earth? I thought the OS was on sale for $7. I checked the ad when I got home and saw that it stated $7-8.29. WTH?! They used to have fixed prices for the weekly sale items. Oh well, $1.49 per bottle is still a great price and I have points to burn. I was very happy to find 2 bottles of Captain, because some locations usually only keep one bottle on the shelf. If you mix & match the scents, your DQ doesn't deduct. Ugh! 

Does anyone else hate not having a paper ad in their hand when shopping? My favorite RA used to prints a few copies of the ad for those who can't look up deals on their phones. I love this! Wags wifi doesn't work half the time, so it's not easy to pull up the ad or DQs on your phone. Plus it drains my phone battery. 

I checked the Kohls BF ad and there isn't a single thing I need & they're only offering $10 KC, instead of the usual $15 (I've seen lots of changes at various retailers this year and it's not good!). I only ever shopped Kohls BF online and the drugstore freebies. There is no way on earth that I would join the BF craziness (getting up extra early, standing in long lines, fighting other people for items).  The deals aren't all that good anyway. This is the first time that I don't need anything. I used to stock up on our athletic shoes, but that style is no longer available. Besides, DS has 6 pairs in his stockpile. I'm so very thankful, because it's been discontinued an I'm not liking the new brand I'm trying. I can only wear it for short periods, because it hurts my arches. 

I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on.

Have a wonderful week peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm. 

Menu Plan Monday 11/06/23

Hi everyone

Here we go again with jet lag savings time. Can we just leave the clocks alone, cause I'll feel jet lagged for a week again. I woke up (early) yesterday to a text from someone close to me (in SA), about a death in their family. So I was dealing with that first thing in the morning. 

I spent a good part of the day doing my weekly cooking. I considered taking a nap, but decided to just have an early night instead. I was out of sync from the time change and had back pain. So I grabbed a good book & took an hour long aromatherapy bath to relax. That helped a lot. 

Woke up an hour early this morning (as expected) and my phone lit up at 5am. Not again. So I grabbed the phone (I can hardly read anything on my phone without my glasses, but managed to make out the name). It wasn't my family or BF, so I heaved a sigh of relief (and decided to read that text later) and tried to get back to sleep. I knew I was fighting a losing battle 😂

The school bus arrived 15 minutes early, but we were ready. I've always stressed to DS that we have to be ready early, in case the bus arrives earlier than expected. Mama knows best, cause the bus arrived early on quite a few occasions. 5 Minutes after he left, I received a text from school to say that school is closed for election tomorrow. Ugh again. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. Why do they tell us things at the last minute? I hate last minute things. I'm a planner. Then I heard from BF and my day was right side up again. He knows how to make me feel special 💖 And how was your Monday? 😂

On to our menu plan.

Monday : Beef pot pie & veggies

Tuesday : Chicken a la king, yellow rice & veggies

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Mexican - burritos, nachos or quesadillas with beans, pico, guac

Breakfasts : Cranberry almond muffins, bagels, cereal, eggs, toast or french toast (wheat, chocolate brioche bread), breakfast sausage, cranberry orange pancakes

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad

Dessert : Still sticking to no dessert

There's always a large variety of fresh fruit, veggies & salad fixings available.

I was so happy to find fresh cranberries. I prefer to bake with fresh instead of dried or canned (too much sugar in the canned cranberries). I've never made cranberry almond muffins (I normally make cranberry lemon muffins, but forgot to buy lemons to zest) & they were a HUGE hit. I've outdone myself. Since I was on a roll, I made cranberry orange pancakes too. I left some out for the week and froze the rest. I'm thinking we should probably just bake holiday flavored muffins until the end of the year. We can add our favorite gingerbread and pumpkin muffins to the rotation. I think we'll also add our Bran apple (it's Fall after all 🍎🍏) to the mix.

We've been doing really well with eating at home on Fridays. I just get fries to add to our meal & DS is happy. 

Have a wonderful week peeps!

I have to ask...

Has anyone had the experience of being misjudged or misunderstood, because people don't really know you or bother to get to know you? I've had that experience quite a few times in my life. More so since I've moved here. The truth is that nobody here knows me. No that it's everybody else's fault. As you all know, I'm a very private person. The rest. Well, they just never bothered to get to know me.

I've mentioned many times that I've been raised with strict British ways. What that means is that I've been raised with proper etiquette. Now, we have never ever used the E word in my family. It's a big no no. Anyone who's been raised this way will tell you that it's not something you talk about. Most people don't know that there's way more to etiquette than just using the proper utensils at the dinner table. It's basically a way of life. Not gonna lie. I am very very proper (my oldest closest BFF {who I've know most of my life}will confirm this. she gets quite a kick out of it 😂) I've had a few people think that I'm a snob over the years (of course they're people who didn't know me that well). Once they got to know me, they actually apologized for misjudging me because they come to find out that I'm just a fun, friendly, laid back kinda girl. 

I will admit though that I do hold the utensils in the wrong hands. I've always wanted to be left handed. I thought that it was one of the coolest things when I was a kid 😂 I even tried to write with my left hand, but my already ugly handwriting was even worse with my left hand 😂 We are taught to eat with the proper utensils from an early age. I was about 6 or 7 when my father finally caved (gave up on trying to teach me the correct way to eat 😂 I should mention that he had the patience of a saint) & let me eat like a left handed person - knife in left hand, fork in right hand. I at least eat the right way 😂 My mother would sometimes switch her utensils (cut the food with knife and fork, then put down knife and switch the fork to the other hand. I don't know why she did this sometimes, because she knew the proper way to eat) and I could see my father cringe inwardly. I cringe when people do that too. To me, it's just wrong. 

So my personality is that of very reserved & polite, yet friendly (to those who aren't close to me). I don't just let my hair down or share my personal life with anyone, until they get really close to me. I don't do this intentionally. It's just who I am. You will always see me doing the right thing too. I'm totally against stealing anyone's thunder - weddings, showers, presentations or any other special event or occasion. It's in very very poor taste to do that. It's that person(s)'s special day. You always have to dress & act accordingly. If I unintentionally do the wrong thing or misunderstood the assignment, I immediately correct it. It would bother me (drive me nuts) if I didn't.  In fact, I hate the spotlight. I'm really uncomfortable with attention. I've had it for most of my life and never cared for it. I'll just politely take whatever pat on the back/praise people want to give me and move on. I prefer to be behind the scenes. I'll push everyone else into the spotlight (whether I'm helping them or just encouraging or motivating them) and let them enjoy the praise. I've lived in a fish bowl for most of my life and didn't care for it. I'm not ungrateful for who I am/we are. I just don't like all the attention and I especially don't like all the judging. To this day, people still judge us and hold us to a higher standard. Never mind that they're doing far worse things than we are. 

I'm not gonna lie. There are many things that I'll frown upon, but you will never know about it. Why, because it's in poor taste to call anyone out too. There are many things about my mannerisms that I can't explain here. Just know that I'll always choose to do the right thing. I always put my best foot forward. People might not always understand it, but it's what I do.  My father would've been proud of me. I took all those lessons heart 😂

I have many close friends who still don't know all that much about me. No, I'm not secretive or hiding anything. There is a HUGE difference between being private & being secretive. Heck, my BF knows a lot more about me than they do. That says a helluva lot about what he means to me, because I don't share my personal life with just any old body. So when I'm closed off to others, it's nothing personal. It's just how I was raised. 

Now, the other thing is that most people jump to all kinds of wrong conclusions about me, because they never bothered to get to know me. I'm not gonna lie, it hurts when people do that (boy I'm being very vulnerable right now), because I never treat others that way. I always believe in getting to know people and not judging them for anything. I actually don't go around judging others. It's not my nature. I choose to believe the best in others. I will also not judge someone based on whatever bad things anyone told me about them. I don't play that game. I will get to know that person for myself. 

I really don't want to be too vulnerable here (I really don't like to show my weaknesses to others), but I wanted to ask. Has anybody had the experience of being misjudged by people who won't bother to get to know you. I can understand people judging others (not that I agree with it), because they don't know you. I just don't care much for those who misjudge you because they CHOOSE to not get to know you. 

In my experience, I've found that the BEST and/or nicest people (those who make the best friends and/or partners) are the ones who are misjudged or misunderstood. I wish that people would take time to get to know others, because they might just find them to be real gems.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. I need to catch some beauty sleep peeps 😴

Menu Plan Monday 10/23/23

Hi everyone

It's been one of those days. Anyone have days where you are really busy (a lot to do) or have to go out & everyone & their mother wants to talk to you? Today was one of those days. Then my new juicer arrived with the box completely covered in something sticky. It looks like someone else's package had leaked all over mine and I just hoped it didn't get into the box, because it arrived in the Manufacturer's box. Thankfully Ninja double boxes their items, so my juicer was unharmed inside another box. Phew!! So very thankful for my BF. He didn't just make my day. He made my whole year! 💞, so I decided to not let anything or anyone ruin my Cloud 9 high. What's on the menu this week?

Monday : Korean BBQ beef stir fry with brown rice

Tuesday : Baked BBQ chicken breasts, baked potatoes & veggies

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Mexican - burritos, nachos or quesadillas with beans, pico, guac

Breakfasts : Banana oatmeal muffins, bagels, cereal, eggs, toast (wheat, raisin, chocolate brioche bread. we need to finish the raisin bread, so I'll make french toast with it), breakfast sausage.

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad

Dessert : Sticking to our no dessert for the week

There's always a large variety of fresh fruit, veggies & salad fixings available.

We're back in the zone with our muffins. I bought fresh baking powder and the muffins turned out great again. Thank goodness. I don't like my baked goods to flop. 

DS didn't want to go out yesterday again, so I took a nap. You know you're exhausted when your one hour nap turns into 3 hours. I went to bed at my usual time last night and feel so much better today. I needed that sleep, cause I woke up extra early all week long.

I forgot to add that I also earned $15 Swagbucks on my Kohls purchase, so that entire trip (incl my juicer), cost me $6.50!! Go me! 😂

I'll post drugstore deals tomorrow. There's not much happening this week, but a few items some of you might be interested in. 

Have a wonderful evening peeps!

This week's odds & ends

Hi everyone

Please excuse the spacing. I don't know why blogger spacing is so weird in the bottom half of this post. 

I can't believe it's weekend again. This week sure flew by!! 

Not much to report. I've done a bit of shopping, because rewards & Qs needed to be used. I also did more cooking. I made BBQ chicken breast & frikkadel for the freezer and some more applesauce. 

• Kohls sent me a 40% off Q last weekend (perfect timing), so I bought DS some new sweatpants, a Ninja juicer (I've wanted a new juicer for a long time and I love Ninja products), 13" Pyrex dish. Paid with those RA gcs and earned $30 KC. Well, the Pyrex dish was just dumped into the box with all the other items (excl juicer) - no bubble wrap or any other protection 🤦 Surprisingly, the dish arrived in perfect condition, but the lid was cracked/damaged on one end, so it won't seal. So I went online and they have Live Chat. Hooray! You are number 49 in line. A rep will be with you in about 20-30 minutes. Not Hooray! 😠 I don't have time to wait in line.  Then I forgot to contact them. So I need to try again. 
  
  I used the KC to purchase a bunch of clearance items (at extra 50% off) to resell. That should add another $90 to my pocket. So here's the breakdown.
  
  Paid $150 OOP for the gc (I only used $150 at Kohls)
  Earned - $30 BC at RA
  Earned - $4.50 CC (3% cash back)
  Earned $30 KC that I will turn into $90, so $90 earned
  Earned $5 monthly KC
  Total earned : $129.50
  
  Total cost for all my items after earnings = $21.50. Not a bad deal for a new Ninja juicer 😊
  
  
• Purchased a new top with my WHBM rewards. Total cost : $0.00
  
  I've just been adding new clothes to my storage containers as they arrive. About 80% of my clothes have been packed for months and I haven't worn anything new this year, except when I went to the fair. I decided to wear a brand new outfit from my hat right down to my shoes. 
  
  
• Pre-ordered a Christmas gift for DS and paid with a gc. I don't usually pre-order things, but I'm afraid this item might sell out since it's in demand. The pre-orders were already sold out at one retailer. 
  
  
• Redeemed a $20 Ibotta gc that I used at Sams. 
  
  
• Kroger finally had the Mission tortilla chips (my preferred brand) on sale. I've been waiting for this, because I'm out of chips. I did the following deal
  
  5 x chips $9.95
  1 Doz eggs 1.29
  Oscar Mayer smokies 3.29
  Less eggs mailer Q (0.50)
  Less OM mailer Q free  (3.29)
  Less KC (4.25) I forgot I had this on my account
  OOP $6.49

Target had $10/40 Beauty Q for Circle users. I really needed bar soap, but nobody seems to have had a good sale on it for weeks. So I decided to put a deal together that would give me the best bang for my buck (and wait for a better deal on the soap). Of course, I had to get Old Spice. The drugstores usually just stock one or 2 bottles and Target only had 5 on the shelf. So yeah, I'm stocking up whenever I see the Captain ones.

 

12 pk Bar soap $9.49 (sorry, I already opened and packed it away when I took pic)

2 x OS b/w 14.78

2 x OS deodorant 11.98

1 x 750 ct Qtips 5.39

Less 10/40 (10.00)

Tax 1.90

OOP $33.54 - Paid with a gc so $0 OOP

Earned $10 Ibotta ($5 b/w, $5 deodorant) and submitted to P&G for points

I wasn't in the mood for drugstore shopping this week. I think I'm burned out from drugstore shopping. First RA sent me a mailer that arrived on the day that the $10/40 Q they included, expired. Grrr. I don't know why the Qs arrived so late this month. Then I received an email with 10/40 Birthday Q, so I decided to complete 2 more BC Challenges. I needed to spend another $6 on Colgate, but RA also has a $10 BC WYS $50 this week. No need to not go big! None of the items were needed, but I might as well take the free stuff. 

4 x Colgate $15.96

6 x Scunci elastics 21.54

1 x Joint Flex 19.99

Less Colgate DQ (4.00)

Less 10/40 Q (10.00)

Tax 2.85

OOP $46.34 Paid with BC, so $0 OOP

Earned $36 BC ($10 WYS $50, $10 Joint Flex, $10 Scunci, $6 Colgate)

Earned $11 BCC ($5.10 Colgate, $5.30 Scunci). RA rounds it to the nearest $, so I'll earn $11

Total earned $47.00 So a teensie MM. I thought I had 2 Colgate DQs. I was seeing double, because their site seems to show you the same Qs over and over as you scroll, but there are no extra Qs. Oh well, it was still a MM deal. 

I just read that my local RA is closing (This is the one where the manager refused to scan my Q). I'm not surprised. It's across the street from a CVS that's in a strip with other busy stores. RA is always empty, whereas CVS gets lots of traffic, due to it's location. I feel bad for the employees though. I hope they get transferred to other locations. On another note. I need to keep checking this store for good store closing sales. 

Stopped at Aldi for mainly bread & bagels. I bought 3 packages of the harvest bagels, because I know this item is hit & miss (expires 11/28, but it won't last longer than 2 weeks with both DS & myself eating it). They only had 3 Harvest ones and tons of Cinnamon raisin, blueberry & pumpkin. The blueberry has a weird taste (fake) so I stay away from that. The pumpkin is underwhelming (I had it a year or 2 ago). I paid $4.29 for a pint of blueberries at Aldi (this is the lowest price. Meijer's price was much higher). I bought DS & myself a pint each. That's $8.58!!! Yikes. I miss those $1.50/$2 summer prices. Next year I'm stocking my freezer with all kinds of summer produce (blueberries, kiwi, peaches etc). I made burritos for dinner and just ordered fries (no other junk food for DS), so I was happy to add his chocolate brioche bread to my shopping trip. 

Between the 4 stores, I spent $41.28 OOP. 

I actually found a receipt in my Aldi cart (that someone left behind) and the total was $326.xx. I thought 'Who on earth spends that much at Aldi?' I don't even spend that much in one trip at Sams!! It's not like they bought a truckload of food. There was lots of produce and also paper products on the list. I'm not judging anyone's shopping. I just wanted to point out how crazy grocery prices have become. I buy my t/p at Sams, because the price & quality are great! I stick to the drugstores and Target for HBA and cleaning, but I use earned gcs for Target and rewards at the drugstores to keep my OOP low. Holy cow! I can understand why most people are struggling with grocery bills. The prices are ridiculously outrageous!!

That's all I can think of right now. I still need to redeem more clothing rewards before the end of the month. I don't even know what to 'buy'. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps! Stay safe & warm

CLEARANCE SALES ALERT & Menu Plan Monday!

PSA! PSA! PSAAAAAA!!!!!!

The following stores currently have great clearance sales. I always shop opposite seasons. I bought summer things for next year. Now is the best time to purchase summer stuff, because the discounts are deep - especially since people aren't buying much. I found items for $3! If you have kids, buy the next size or 2 up and save it for upcoming seasons. I've always shopped this way for DS and we've never had to do Back to school shopping. We just did BTS shopping from our spare closet. It saves lots of $$$.

MEIJER

Extra 90% off pink ticket clearance items. Not much available at my store, but check the shoes & accessories section. Selection varies by store. 

Also, Meijer currently has a Spend $100 get $10 Cat deal. The good news is that Meijer always calculates the total BEFORE all other discounts. I bought DS some clearance shoes (paid $1.80 OOP per pair) and also did the Buy 5 get $5 off instantly deals and, to my surprise, a $10 CAT printed (I wasn't expecting it).  Whoo-hoo for free money! I spent a little over $60 OOP, but the register calculated the total based on the original shoes clearance prices and the grocery discount deals. 

Also, you can stock up on Kraft salad dressing. It's on sale for $1.99 (sigh, the old sale price was 99c) and there's an Ibotta rebate for 65c (amount might vary per user). Limit 5. A great stock up price. Check expiration dates. I always look for the later expiration dates. The ones I bought only expire April 2024.

JCP - ends 10/22

B1G1F pink sticker clearance. This is the store to hit, cause they have tons of clearance at very good prices. You can purchase an odd/uneven number of items. Everything rings up at 50%, so the discount will be applied to all items. Be sure to check all departments, as they seem to have great sales on just about everything. 

Kohls

Extra 50% off clearance items. My store didn't have much clearance the last time I was there, but I have KC to spend, so I'm going to double dip with the clearance items. Fingers crossed that they've added more clearance items.

I'm pooped. I was out half the day. I didn't even hit all the stores that I wanted to. I need another day or 2 of shopping as I need to squeeze in some drugstore deals too. Ugh, why do all stores have good sales at the same time? This always happens when I plan to stay home to get things done. 

I got home just before DS did. Threw all the breakfast sausage I bought into the pan (then froze), put garlic bread into the oven and put a salad together. This is why I cook on Sundays. I was very happy to not have to worry about dinner. Here's our meal plan for the week. 

Monday : Ravioli with meat sauce, garlic bread, salad

Tuesday : Spinach feta quiche, salad, veggies

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Mexican - nachos or quesadillas with beans, pico, guac

Breakfasts : Cereal, oatmeal, eggs, toast (wheat, raisin, chocolate brioche bread), breakfast sausage, breakfast burritos, bagels with cream cheese

Lunch : I'm eating all and any leftovers that's in the fridge to avoid waste

Dessert : Nada! 

There's always a large variety of fresh fruit, veggies, salad fixings & yogurt available. 

I'm giving myself a Big Fat F for failing the weight loss last week. Between the bread rolls (man, those rolls were good), cookies, apple pie & ice cream, I gained a pound 😭So no dessert & no muffins for this week. I bought both Cinnamon raisin & Harvest bagels at Aldi, so we can have that in place of muffins. I really like the Harvest bagels (seasonal). 

I really wanted that lasagna, but how do you make lasagna without lasagna sheets? 😂 Plan B. There was still ravioli in the freezer, so instead of buying lasagna sheets, I used the ravioli. Easy peasy. 

I'll respond to comments when I get a chance. I need an early night 💤

Bon Appetit 🥘& Happy shopping 🛒 Peeps!

This & That

Happy Friday everyone!

Not much happening at Casa Goose. Here's just a few things

• I redeemed Microsoft rewards for a $10 Target gc
  
  
• Checked all my printed Target gcs and saw that I have $60 in gcs. That, plus the leftover discounted ones I purchased last year plus my Circle earnings, total $163.20. Enough to purchase 2-3 gifts for DS. I'm a happy mama! I've set aside $300 of my Christmas fund for the rest of his gifts. It sounds like a lot, but BF will understand why I'm spending so much. I have something special in mind for DS.  That leaves me with $700+ for BF and whoever else I need to add to my list. I'm in good shape. Hoping I'll still have some change left over. 
  
  I actually need to go through my entire gc folder to see what I have. I have lots of little bits left over for some retailers and need to use those.
  
  
• DS ran out of mousse, so I pulled a new one from my stockpile. 
  
  
• I put new systems jackets together for DS (I just mixed and matched the old inners with the outer ones that still work) and he now has 3 complete jackets to use. That's besides the 2 new ones in the stockpile. I'm so thankful for that, because these jackets are really hard to find and if you do find it, the inner is now a puffer jacket instead of a warm insulated jacket like the old ones.

• Got this free off the shoulder linen top from Chicos with my $20 reward. 
  Retail price - $109.00 (I took pics to show you the crazy retail price)
  My price - FREE, Gratis, Verniet, $0000000 😂
  
  When I clicked on my account to copy the rewards code for checkout, I saw an extra $25 Birthday reward. So I now have another $30 to spend before the end of the month. Chicos actually called to remind me of the rewards. This has never happened before. Besides, they sent me email, snail mail & the rewards is in my account. Retailers are struggling, so take advantage of whatever free money they send you. They're hoping to lure consumers with rewards to get us to spend more. That trick doesn't work with me though. I like free too much 😂
  
  
• Received $10 Loft Birthday reward which I used immediately since they had free shipping. I ended up paying $4.16 OOP for a top, but that's okay. 
  
  
• Ordered a lace top that was cancelled, so WHBM is refunding my reward. 
  
  Received a $50 WHBM semi-annual reward and bought this blazer. I've had my eye on it for a while, but didn't want to spend that much on a blazer. However, select sizes were selling out fast, so I decided to just go ahead and buy it. It's free money after all 😂 I used $50 + $5 rewards and paid $4.98 OOP. Pre-pandemic, I would've been able to purchase 4-5 items with that reward. 
  
  I already own a velvet blazer in this color. However, velvet can't be worn year round and doesn't always work as a casual item. Now BF & I can easily coordinate, because he wears the exact same color. He looks much better in green than I do. 

• I signed up for 2 more retailers that I learned offer birthday rewards. We'll see how that goes. I already earned $35 from one of those (they offer rewards for completing your info & text messages). I'm still experimenting with these sites and will post more info if it's worth it/works out. I have a total of $95 to spend on myself by the end of the month. Oh what fun 😂 I haven't even received half of my birthday rewards yet. To be quite honest, I'm sick of shopping. I don't need anything. 

I really hate to sound like a broken record, but I can't say this enough. Please sign up at retailers that offer rewards. You'll be surprised at how much free or near free stuff you can get. Americans don't realise how blessed they are to have all these perks. Take it from someone who lived in a country where zero coupons & rewards were available (Canadians will agree). You just had to rely on that once or twice a year sale from your favorite stores. I'm not trying to turn anyone into shopaholics. Why am I asking you to do this? It's because times are tough. We all know that there's not much we can do about the ever increasing grocery prices. So my advice is to save in any other area that you can, to help offset the high grocery prices. We all need clothes, shoes and HBA. I know that I can work the deals in these areas and I take full advantage of it. 

I'll be the first to admit that I have A LOT of clothes and shoes. BF is in for a shock surprise when he sees how much I have (he's stylish too, so I have no worries 😁). However, he will come to learn that I know exactly what I am doing. Just last week I read some comments on a deal seeking site and one commentor mentioned how clothing is just made of cheap polyester and other poor quality fabric, lately. I've been saying the same thing for a long time. I've actually experienced that poor quality recently. I pulled some hoodies (since the weather changed) that I purchased online for DS. When I picked up one of the hoodies, I immediately knew that it was junk. I could tell by the fabric texture. It's the really cheap stuff. We used to complain about all those 'Made in china' stuff, but the latest quality is even worse. Trust me, I know quality (I have very high standards).  I was not happy. Many retailers are now offering this junk (I know exactly why it's happening and might have mentioned it before - not sure). The UA pants that I bought on clearance for DS at Kohls, are all too short.😭 The pair I bought myself is so small, the waist looks like it will fit a child. I have a 27" waist and this is a men's size Small that I purchased for myself. I know that Men's size small is much bigger than a Women's small. So I've decided to get him new pants and wear the ones that are too short for him. I only wear sweats at home, so it's no biggie. 

I also saw that WHBM now offer recycled polyester items. If you shop this store, you'll know that they're not cheap. I saw this beautiful blazer and couldn't believe that they were charging $225 for recycled junk. Now, there are people who will pay the full retail prices (they offer sales from time to time, but that price keeps going back to the original), but not me. No sir! I have more than enough clothes that I bought at their $10-20 sales (way before the crapola hit the fan). In fact, I have a houndstooth blazer that I paid around $20 for and it's not recycled fabric. About 90% of my stuff were purchased pre-pandemic, so the quality is so much better. I'm just over here laughing all the way to the bank (or is it the closet? 😂), cause I don't have to spend any money on cheap junk. So do yourself a favor & grab whatever free stuff you can. 

2 Weeks ago, WHBM had a huge sale. They had over 2000 items on sale and most of it was old inventory. I know this, because I already own many of those items. However, the prices were 2-3 times as much as I paid for it before. The black suede pumps I bought at a deep discount last year, was full price - $150!! Bloody crazy! This is the new normal. Much, much higher prices on everything. It's not just grocery prices that have increased. 

About a year ago, I considered listing my North Face systems jacket (I only wear systems jackets in winter) & down jacket (I bought these at the outlet years ago), because I didn't wear it as much, cause neither are as warm as my regular systems jackets. I never got around to listing it though. I'm so glad I didn't sell it, because the zippers on the newer jackets keep breaking. So I've decided to save my jackets in case my new jackets' zippers break again. The old stuff still work great, even if they're not as warm. I can always wear layers. 

Some of you might think I'm excessive, but there's always method to my madness. Remember how people mocked Noah for building an Ark when there wasn't a rain cloud in sight? I'm thinking I should do a Clothes Shopping Challenge next year, where I give myself $50-100 for the year (I could easily have done it for $10-20 a few short years ago, but times have changed - a lot!) to see how much I can purchase by just using all kinds of rewards and free gcs. I'm adding a $ amount, cause I have to pay tax and at least 1c over the Q value at select retailers. I know that I can do it! 😊 It should be interesting. 

Save your $$$ wherever you can peeps! There are possible food shortages in the forecast too. I'll have to work on a post about shortages. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

This week's Wags tripping

Hi everyone

I had no plans to go to Wags this week, because we don't need anything. I realised that the Old Spice b/w (our favorite 😍) was too good a deal to pass up, so here's what I did.

Trans 1

2 x OS b/w $14.00

2 x Colgate t/p 9.00

2 x Pringles BOGOF 3.49

Skintimate razors 6.99

Less OS DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (4.00)

Less Skintimate DQ (4.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 1.80

OOP $4.28

Earned $7 RR ($3 OS, $4 Colgate) + $6 Ibotta ($5 OS, $1 Pringles)

Total earned $13

Trans 2

2 x OS b/w $14.00

2 x Colgate t/p 9.00

2 x Pringles BOGOF 3.49

Skintimate razors 6.99

Less Colgate DQ (4.00)

Less Skintimate DQ (4.00)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 1.80

OOP $7.28

Earned $7 RR ($3 OS, $4 Colgate) + $3 WC (OS DQ that didn't deduct) + $6 Ibotta ($5 OS, $1 Pringles)

Total earned - $16

BREAKDOWN

Total items purchased : 14

Total Qs used : $19.00

Total rewards used : $20.00

Total rewards earned (RRs, WC, Ibotta) : $26.00

Total OOP $11.53

Retail value : $88.06

I had boosters to turn these deals into a MM, but I didn't want to spend $50+ OOP just to earn a few extra $$. I've decided to spend down my points instead (I have oodles). I'm adding to the stockpile (even though we don't need anything), because the prices of everything keep skyrocketing (saving where I can). If we don't use some things, I will just sell it to recoup my $$.

I added the Pringles & Skintimate as fillers so I could redeem $20 WC. You can only redeem the following amounts (I know. This is stupid Wags rules 🙄)

$1

$2

$3 

$4

$5

$10

$20

$50

My OS DQ didn't deduct on my 2nd transaction, so CS added points to my account. I might go back to get more OS (since the Q is still available), because it cost $1 each after rewards. Here's my plan

2 x OS b/w $14.00

Less DQ (3.00)

Less WC (10.00)

OOP $1.00 

Earn $4 RR + $5 Ibotta

If you don't have WC just do the following:

2 x OS b/w $14.00

Less DQ (3.00)

OOP $11.00  + tax

Earn $4 RR + $5 Ibotta

Don't forget to submit your receipts to Fetch & P&G too.

I don't see anything good at Wags next week, but that might change. There is a good diaper deal at RA next week, if anyone needs any.

RA 

Spend $50 get $10 BC

Spend $25 select items (including Huggies) earn $10 BC (limit 2)

2 x Huggies box diapers @ 24.99 = $49.98

1 x Huggies wipes 3.89

OOP $53.87

Earn $30 BC ($10 WYS $50, $10 WYS $25 x 2) + $5 Ibotta (select diaper box - limit 1)

Total earned : $35 

There are printable Qs available on coupons.com

Also check your RA account for DQs (may vary by account)

Also check Fetch as they usually have diaper rewards

You can also join Huggies rewards to earn points for your purchases. 

Happy shopping peeps!

Menu Plan Monday 10/09/23

Brrr, it sure got cold fast. The wind we had this weekend made it so much worse. I LOVE Fall, but not so much when it's so windy. Cold weather means cooking & baking, so here's what's on the menu this week.

Monday : Pesto chicken casserole, mashed potatoes, veggies

Tuesday : Meatloaf, mashed potato, veggies

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Mexican - nachos or quesadillas with beans, pico, guac

Breakfasts : Carrot pineapple muffins, cereal, oatmeal, eggs, toast (wheat, raisin, chocolate brioche bread), breakfast sausage, breakfast burritos.

Lunch : Leftovers or protein from freezer with salad

Dessert : Glazed apple cookies

There's always a large variety of fresh fruit, veggies & salad fixings available.

I really wanted the bread rolls. There's nothing like eating homemade bread or rolls fresh from the oven. Mmm, the taste of freshly melted butter on it....pure bliss!! It was so good that I ate 2.

I decided on guilt free dessert - sugar free apple cookies. I always tweak recipes to suit our taste. I replace the sugar with crushed raisins (just add raisins to blender to crush. This way the sweetness spreads evenly throughout the batter). I also don't add glaze. We don't each much sugar and we don't even miss it. You won't even notice that it's sugar free, cause the raisins more than make up for it. These cookies are not supposed to be pretty. You just drop the batter onto a cookie sheet. No cookie cutters involved. They are so yummy and they're good for you (fibre - not a typo. I have a British vocabulary, so spell everything the English way). 

A tip - I don't bake everything with butter. I used ICBINB for many things, except cookies (cookies absolutely have to be made with butter) and it all turns out great. I also replaced the shortening with ICBINB. I stopped buying shortening when I stopped making my own pie crust. It's easier and cheaper for me to buy my crusts at Aldi. Just unroll & bake. Easy peasy!

Another tip : Belinda mentioned eating up the bagged salad before it goes bad. I buy the big spring mix and spinach containers at Sams every week. We love salad, but I also using it on sandwiches instead of lettuce. Lettuce doesn't have as much nutritional value anyway. I also like to add it to our smoothies. You don't even taste it in the smoothie. It might change the smoothie color, but you won't even know it's there. So there's 2 easy ways to use up your bagged salad. 

Meijer has apples on sale this week, so I bought some more and made more applesauce. It's an easy snack and something DS enjoys. 

I wanted to make spinach & feta quiche, but will add it to next week's menu instead. You'll notice that our dinner menu has little carbs this week. I'm aiming for 5 lbs weight loss this week, so I need to kick things into high gear. Portion control has worked well for me. I've never been a big eater. When I was busy at work, I'd skip lunch and just eat a snack in the afternoon. In 2 decades here, I've never finished a dinner out. I always ate half the meal and brought the rest home. It's just too much food for me. I remember when my parents were visiting us here. At dinner one night, my mom told me that I was overfeeding DS. I didn't understand what she was getting at, because he got his regular food portion. It was only when I visited SA the last time that it clicked. I stayed at my brother's house and made coffee for myself one morning. I remember getting the mug and teaspoon out and told my nephew that the mug & teaspoon look really small 😂 (he's visited us before, so he knew what I meant). It was then that I realised that everything is smaller in SA, so the portions are naturally smaller too. So I'm back to eating that way again & it's working. Trust me, I'm not depriving myself. This girl likes to eat. 

Buuuuuttttt, then Meijer sucked me in again. They sent me a Q for 50% off my total Breyer purchase. Do they know how good that darn Banana Split ice cream is? 😂 Guess who had milkshakes for dessert 😂 I added some frozen fruit to help with the guilt. I paid the price on the scale today. That's cause I had a big milkshake, then had the leftover milkshake (couldn't waste 😂 and it's not the kind of thing you can just refrigerate - ice cream). Then I had to have a few bites of the ice cream too, cause it's so good! Back to reality & better eating for me. 

I had planned on taking DS out for dinner once done with cooking, but he didn't want to go out. So after all the cooking was done, I took a nap. This waking up at the butt crack of dawn on weekends, is for the birds. 

Bon Appetit Peeps! Have a wonderful week!

Easy Wags deal

 

Hi everyone

The day started off great. I got on the scale this morning & saw that I lost 1.6 lbs since yesterday!! I was shocked, because I even had a small piece of apple pie yesterday and I eat carbs too (the day before was only 0.6 lbs). I'm a small woman, so this is huge for me. I even weighed myself again 2 hours later to make sure that I wasn't seeing things 😂 Nope, the number is right.  I haven't seen that number in years, so I'm on a high today 😁

I had 2 RRs expiring, so headed to Wags for a quick deal

2 x Old Spice deodorant $13.00

2 x Kit Kat 2.58

Less OS DQ (3.00)

Less RRs (11.00)

Tax 0.78

OOP $2.36

Earned $4 RR (OS) + $5 Ibotta

Total earned $9

The plan was to buy OS & Loreal cleanser, but there were no Loreal products on the shelf. I asked the cashier & she told me that they're getting new inventory. Thank goodness, because it's my preferred brand. I've been using it for over 2 decades. I'm going to be checking the sizes, because items keep shrinking every time manufacturers revamp their packaging. 

The Old Spice is 50c each after Qs and rewards, so I'll go buy another 2 on my other account. If you have points, you can use $10 in points to pay

2 x OS deodorant $13.00

Less DQ (3.00)

Less WC (points) (10.00)

OOP Tax only

Earn $4 RR + $5 Ibotta

I bought the candy as fillers, so my DQ would deduct and to get my total over the RR amount (otherwise I could only use one of the 2 RRs that were expiring). I gave one candy bar to the cashier. DS can eat the other one tonight, cause it's bothering me. I'm not gonna be weak 😂

Well the Wags Days is a huge let down this time. Not much good to buy. The only good day is Saturday, but there's not many good deals. So here's the best ones I could find.

UPDATE - DO NOT use Points/Wags cash to pay for below deals. You won't earn the $20 reward if you pay with points. You CAN pay with RRs though. 

Scenario 1

Spend $45 get $20 WC (points added to your account)

4 x Huggies diapers $42.00

2 x OS deodorant 13.00

Less Huggies DQ (1.00)

Less OS DQ (3.00)

OOP $51

Earn $20 WC + $10 RR WYS $35 Huggies + $4 RR OS + $5 OS Ibotta 

Total earned $39

That's like getting all your items for $12 + tax. 

Be sure to scan your receipts to Fetch & Ibotta. Ibotta has rebates for Huggies pull ups & wipes only (not regular diapers). You can mix & match the diapers with 3 diapers + wipes + old spice to lower your OOP. 

Scenario 2

3 x Huggies diapers $31.50

1 x Huggies wipes 3.99

2 x OS deodorant 13.00

Less Huggies DQ (1.00)

Less Huggies wipes DQ (1.00)

Less OS DQ (3.00)

OOP $43.49

Earn $20 WC + $10 RR WYS $35 Huggies + $1 Huggies wipes Ibotta + $4 RR OS + $5 OS Ibotta 

Total earned $40

Scenario 3

4 x Gain/Bounty/Charmin @ $5.49 = $21.96 (mix & match)

2 x OS deodorant 13.00

2 x Dove b/w 14.00

Less Gain DQ (1.00)

Less OS deodorant DQ (3.00)

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

OOP $42.96

Earn $20 WC + $4 RR OS + $5 RR Bounty/Gain + $5 OS Ibotta

Total earned $34

There's a few different Gain Qs (liquid/pods/softener). You can mix & match these items to lower your OOP. 

There's also a BOGOF Dove paper Q that will lower your OOP even more ($7) if you have Sunday's Q insert. 

Remember, this deal is valid SATURDAY ONLY. The $20 WYS $45 is one time use - unless you have more than one account (you can do it once per account). 

Happy shopping peeps!