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Every Day

Thanksgiving Sales: Cheapest Time of the Year To Stock on these Products

Turkeys are the cheapest meat right now that you can stockpile for the coming year. The only prices that I have seen in my area so far this year are Butterballs at $ .97 a lb. at Walmart, Shady Brook at $ .84 a lb. at Walmart, and Farmers Choice at Aldi’s starting on Wednesday, Nov. 4th at $ .99 a lb. I have no idea what Top’s or Wegman’s will be. B.J.’s is running a deal for a free turkey if you spend: $150 or more in one transaction between October 31 and November 9, 2026 (in club, in the BJ’s app or on BJs.com) and you get a coupon for a free fresh or frozen Butterball turkey worth up to $25.

I do not need $ 150. worth of food from B.J.’s right now so I will pass on that free turkey. Spending that amount of money just to get the free turkey if you need nothing is a waste of money. I still have 2 turkeys in my freezer from the sales last year. So I will most likely only buy 1 Butterball turkey before Thanksgiving and perhaps 1 when Walmart clearances their turkeys out like they did last year at $ .49 a lb.

Butter should go on sale at Aldi’s or elsewhere soon. I usually buy 30-40 lbs. on these sales. However, I am stocked right now so I do not need to buy any for the next year. I have been buying it when I saw a sale and at B.J.’s where I can get it at $ 2.40 a lb.

Ground sausage rolls will be on sale. I will buy a lot if the price is right because I use it in stuffing all year long and I make patties out of it for our Sunday breakfasts that I cook for my family.

Hams are a priority for us this year. I only bought one last year and that was a mistake. Hubby loves ham and the bean soup I make with the ham bone. I thought they were too expensive last year but they were even more the rest of the year. So whatever the sale is, I will pay it. They slice up so nice on our meat slicer also.

We love the mini hot dogs for dinners and appetizers and my grandson loves them for breakfast so I will get a few of these.

Chicken broth and stock will be on sale. I no longer buy them because I make my own. But if you don’t, they will be a good deal.

Cream soups should go on sale especially the cream of mushroom to make that green bean casserole. I have enough to last us a very long time.

I am in need of cream cheese. I will buy enough for about 6 months. I just keep it the refrigerator. I don’t like the way it freezes. If you are only going to use it cook a recipe, it’s fine.

Egg nog should go on sale. It was expensive last year because of the egg crisis. I am hoping it is cheaper this year. I just buy enough to get us through New Year’s day.

Turkey gravy packets should go on sale. I make my own gravy but sometimes during the year I crave French Fries and gravy. So I pick up about 12 of them.

Stuffing cubes and stove top stuffing should go on sale. The cubes don’t last long so I would watch the expiration date on those. But the stove top stuffing will last so I usually buy 12 for the year. However I have enough right now.

Baking supplies will be at the best prices of the year. I will get enough flour to last a year. White sugar is a great thing to stock for at least a year. It lasts forever as long as you keep it dry. I keep it in an air tight 5 gallon bucket. I just fill up a smaller container to keep in the kitchen. I do need some baking powder this year.

Pie crusts will be on sale. If you don’t like making your own, these freeze well. Frozen pies also go on sale. We do not buy them because we make out own. But if you have the freezer space and like them, knock yourself out.

Dinner rolls and crescent and biscuit rolls should be a good price. I would probably only buy one extra dinner rolls. The crescent rolls I use to wrap the mini hotdogs and then bake them. The biscuits we use for breakfast sandwiches. I get enough so that they don’t expire.

Canned pumpkin lasts a couple of years. I usually buy a case. But this year I have almost a case left so I will skip buying this. We use it to make pies and quick breads.

Canned fried apples will be in the stores. I always get a case of these no matter what the price. We love them as a side with many meals especially with pork.

Canned pineapple will also go on sale. I have plenty this year so I will be buying none. We use it with hams, for a side dish, and to make upside down pineapple cake. I save the juice to make muffins.

Cranberry sauce and cranberries should be very good prices. I buy about 6-8 bags of cranberries and freeze them. I use them to make homemade sauce and to bake muffins. I no longer buy the canned because even if I cook for holidays, no one eats it anymore.

Pie fillings will go on sale. I buy a few cans for crisps and other desserts during the year after my fresh apples run out.

We use condensed milk and evaporated milk. They last about 1 year or even longer if the date is right on the shelf. We use the evaporated milk in recipes and in a pinch if we run out of milk for coffee. Just add equal parts of the evaporated milk and water. It is fine for baking. The condensed gets used to make fudge. I have enough of each.

Pickles and olives will be cheaper so I buy enough for one year.

Frozen veggies have good sales. If broccoli is one of them, I buy 12 to last us 1 year.

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions are good prices this time of year. If you have the space to keep them cool, dry, and in the dark, they should last until March. Take them out of those plastic bags though because they will not last in those. Put them in a box or basket where the air can flow and cover the top with a towel. Look at them every week to make sure that nothing is rotting. Just one will kill the others. Any signs of of rot, throw that one out. Basements and garages work well as long as your garage does not freeze. I have always wanted a root cellar but I have never had one.

Canned corn and green beans you can get on sale for about $ .50 a can. I have plenty for soups and meals.

Celery will be cheap. Get what you can use before it goes bad. Take it out of the plastic and wrap it in foil. It keeps a lot longer. If it goes limp, it just needs a drink. So put it in a glass of water and it will come right back.

Hubby and I love those crispy onions so I make sure to have about 6 cans of them. We put them on our hamburgers when we don’t feel like sauteing fresh onions. They will be on sale at the lowest price all year because of that green bean casserole.

Chex mixes and all kinds of nuts will go on sale because of people making party mix. I don’t need the Chex mixes because I already bought them. The sooner you get them, the better because they go out of stock here the closer to the holidays it gets. We buy our mixed nuts for the party mixes we make. We also buy all of the pecans, sliced almonds, and walnuts we need for a year and freeze them. They have oil in them and they will go rancid on the shelf.

Beverages and beer should be on sale also. We have plenty left from Hubby’s birthday party.

That is all I can think of right now. If you would like to add something to the list leave a comment.

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Every Day

This is a Very Difficult Economy for Many

So many people are trying to stretch their money to make ends meet. It is not only the minimum wage earners. I am seeing so many people who make six figures a year having the same issues. It is especially hard for people who are single and only have one income or seniors who are living on a fixed income. Prices just keep going up and eventually the money does not stretch any more.

Many have tried to get better jobs and have sent out hundreds of job applications with no response to any of them. Others have taken on a part time job along with their full time jobs. Many can’t even find part time jobs in their areas. Companies just aren’t hiring because their expenses have gone up also. This time of year you could always pick up a part time Christmas job. Not any more! The companies are trying to stay afloat too by downsizing their budgets.

People have not gotten raises for years now. If they have, they have been minimal and don’t even come close to keeping up with inflation. I know seniors have gone quite a few years over the past 15-20 without a raise. The January raises they do get do not keep up with inflation. Everytime you get that raise, your medicare cost goes up too. So if that is your only source of income in retirement, you are having a very rough time right now.

So what is important to pay when you are in any of these situations that I have mentioned. Your first priority is your mortgage or rent. You need a roof over your head or you will be homeless and living in your car. Food is your second priority. If you can’t afford it, go to the food banks. Hundreds of thousands of people are doing that right now. Many have incomes over $ 100,000. a year. Most food banks are not income based. You may not get food that is your favorite but it will sustain you.

If you still have money for food, buy the cheapest. Beef is out unless you can get it reduced for quick sale. Pork, turkey(this month) and chicken are your best buys when they are on sale. Buy whole chickens and break them down yourselves instead of buying chicken breasts. I can get a whole chicken for $ 1.64 a lb. and get a lot of soup stock from it too. Beans, eggs, and peanut butter are great sources of protein. Eating breakfast for dinner a couple of times a week will save you money. Toast and eggs make a great meal. Make a soup with leftovers. Never waste food. The food you throw away is the most expensive food you have purchased.

Health insurance is always a priority especially if you are over 50. One broken bone or operation will break you for good.

Your next priority should be life saving medications. Look for coupons online to save on these. Many manufacturers of drugs will give you coupons for your prescriptions. Most pharmacies will take these coupons along with your insurance. Look into Good RX or many other savings cards to see if it is cheaper than your insurance.

I would say heat if you are in a cold climate is your next priority. You do not want to freeze to death. Some states can’t shut off your power from November 1 to April 15. These are the dates here in New York. If you have a medical condition that requires power, they can’t shut you off. I am not saying “don’t pay your power bill” because eventually you will have to catch up. But if money is really tight one month, keep those dates in mind. If you are going to be late paying it, make sure you call them and make arrangements to pay.

Do whatever you have to do to keep the power bill low. No one needs more than one light on at night in the room they are in. Use a battery powered one if you have one. Or bring a solar light in that has soaked up the sun each night. If you have a choice between cooking with electricity or natural gas, the gas is cheaper. Use your outside grill if you have a full tank of propane, even in the winter.

Next priority is your car insurance and car payment. Those need to be paid no matter what. You need your car for work and to get groceries, etc. You don’t need to be paying delivery charges and tips to have food delivered.

Gasoline is your next priority. Buy it at the cheapest station which is usually B.J.’s or another warehouse club if you already have a membership. You can find your cheapest station by checking Gas Buddy.

Most importantly on all of your bills: Pay them yourselves. Do not let anyone take the money directly from your checking account unless it is absolutely necessary. If your checking account balance goes below zero, your will get a NSF charge when those bills hit. Then you will start a cycle that will never end. So shut off any direct payment that you can ASAP! Go! Do it now!

I know you won’t want to hear it but you know I am going to say it anyhow. Here are the things you do not need to be buying until you dig yourself out of this hole:

Do not buy fast food or eat out in a restaurant. No coffee while you are out and about unless you make it yourself and bring it. No costly entertainment like movies or streaming services. No cable tv. Get a Roku and watch You Tube or free streaming services. Do not buy junk food at the grocery store: no snacks, beer, liquor, or soda. Bake cookies, muffns or quick breads from scratch. Eat cheese and crackers. Hard boiled eggs are a great snack. No clothing or shoes unless yours are so worn out that you can’t wear them. I mean threadbare!

Your first priority when you dig yourself out of the hole you are in is to build an emergency fund and some savings so that you never end up like this again.

I really hope this helps someone. Please add anything that I haven’t thought of in the comments so that you can help these people too!

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Every Day

An Exhausting and Busy Day Yesterday

I was out of here early for my medical tests and a doctor’s appointment yesterday. Everything is good.

While I was in this town, I went to the bank to deposit 2 checks and get a little cash for the winter. I do not drive in the winter if I can avoid it. I now have almost all of my next appointments scheduled for the end of April.

I also have Hubby’s sister coming to visit us from Houston soon. So I had to go to one liquor store to replenish what was needed. I had not gone to this shopping plaza in over 2 years. I noticed when I pulled in that Paula’s Donuts was there. I did not know they had moved. So of course, I had to go in and get a couple of apple fritters. I will not be going again. They are delicious but not good for us.

My next stop was at Niagara Produce. They had the extra large eggs on sale again for $ .99 a dozen. I got two to fill up my 60 count box in the refrigerator. They will go fast with company here and I will be cooking breakfast for my son this weekend.

I got home about 11am. I was craving a cup of coffee and needed some food. I could have neither before my tests. So after eating a donut and having two cups of coffee, I went back out to run some errands north of me.

My round brush broke so I went to Sally’s Beauty Supply to replace it. Then I filled up our gas tank. Next I went to Top’s and just picked up some loss leaders.

It’s a good day when you save more than you spend. We were out of English Muffins and Hubby loves one for breakfast with my homemade sugar free peach jam. They were on B1G1F. I also had a super coupon to get a jar of Ragu Kettle Sauce for $ 1.77. With the price of tomatoes here, I can’t make homemade sauce for that price. I also purchased a large pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts at $ 1.88 a lb. They have been packaged up and frozen.

My last stop was another liquor store that had the wine I needed for $ 7.00 cheaper than the liquor store I went to this morning. When you are buying 4 bottles, that is a savings of $ 28.00 so it was worth the extra trip.

Shopping for 2 gifts that I need in November was also completed.

Finally I got home about 4pm. We ate dinner and then I called my sister.

I got a whole lot done but I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow last night. I was exhausted!

I still have to get my flu shot but I am going to have to schedule it. Walking in is a long, long wait.

Hubby also will have a total of 3 returns that Abbott Labs wants. We have gotten one replacement and 2 others are on the way. Until we have them and all the paid for boxes to send the others back, I will not go out to Fed Ex. So I will try to do that and schedule my flu shot for the same day.

I am happy that I have almost everything that we need to get through the winter. I still will shop for a turkey or two on a good deal and some other good Thankgiving deals as I see them. I will also get some baking items and some hams as I see them go on sale.

I almost forgot to tell you that I ordered 4 boxes of turkey stuffing mix from Amazon for $ .75 each. I believe that this deal is still available. They arrived yesterday. They will come in handy to go with the extra turkeys I have or to stuff pork chops or chicken breasts.

Please feel free to share any deals and at what stores to help others anytime.

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Every Day

Yep! I Made This For Dinner Last Night!

You all know that I have been trying to use up some of our stockpile over the past few months. Every once in a while, I see food that we no longer buy. But we spent good money on it so I don’t throw things out. I also don’t throw out food because it has passed it’s expiration date. I do a sniff and taste test and if it is a can, I make sure it doesn’t spurt when I open it. If it spurts, then I pitch it.

I grabbed a box of Tuna Helper to make last night. However, I did not want to use tuna in it. So I used some of the rotisserie chicken pieces that I had in the freezer. When it had been almost cooked, I added a couple of handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese from the fridge that needed to be used up. We had it with a small salad. Was it a great meal? Nope! But it was edible and filled us up. The leftovers will be eaten for brunch today.

Every month or so, I cook up a bunch of rice in my rice cooker. Yesterday was that day. When it has cooled I bag it up into ziploc freezer bags and freeze it for the next time I need rice. I flatten the bag so that it does not take much room in the freezer. When I use it, it thaws quickly in a bowl of water. Then I take it from the bag, put it in a microwave safe dish and sprinkle it with a bit of water and reheat it for 60-90 seconds. It is my version of those instant 90 second rice packets that we have all spent a fortune for. Making your own instead only costs you pennies, not dollars. These two bags that I put it in will give us 2 meals for the both of us. If I know that I will need more, I just do two more bags worth. It will get used within the month so no need to waste a foodsaver bag for it. I no longer buy 90 second packets at the grocery store.

I am finding that making our own convenience foods is saving us many dollars. I would rather keep those dollars in my own pocket than pay someone to do the work for me. I am cooking more like I did in the 1960’s to save money.

Today I have some medical appointments so I will combine those with some errands that need to be done. Since I will be out at least 1/2 a day, I will cook hamburgers for dinner. I will also make some French fries in my new 9 in 1 air fryer. Yes, I will be putting the 11 in 1 oven out for bulk pick up in a week or so. It is sitting next to the garbage can waiting to go. I will load up the hamburgers with some romaine lettuce and sliced tomato. I also purchased a regular toaster. We have not had one for 19 years. Hubby wanted one that would not only do toast but Texas toast, bagels, etc. He did a bagel yesterday and he was very happy with the way it turned out.

When I get home, I will throw a load of clothes in the washing machine for a cold water wash. They will be hung to dry.

After dinner, I will call my sister. I have not talked to her for 2 weeks because she was away on vacation. I am looking forward to it.

I hope you all have a great day!

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Every Day

A Little of This and a Little of That

Yesterday I went to the salon to have my roots done and a haircut. I usually go every 4 weeks to have either roots or highlights and a cut done. However I made my next appointment for 6 weeks to see how that works out. If that works out it would save me about 4 trips a year. I need to lower this monthly bill. She is doing a different cut for me and I am loving it! Two more cuts should have my hair just about perfect. I have a few layers that need to grow out.

I planned on getting a flu shot but the Top’s pharmacy had a long wait. I think I will make an appointment which will be quicker. Hubby got his at a doctor’s appointment this week. None of my doctors are giving them. It is covered by Medicare so there will be no cost to me except the amount I pay to have Medicare. I picked up a loaf of bakery rye bread on sale for $2.99 and provolone cheese slices on sale for $1.88 each while I was there. Limit 2. That is it for the loss leader sales this week at Top’s.

We had corned beef reubens for dinner. Hubby made them and they were so good. I have talked him into making them again tonight.

Hubby got up in the middle of the night last night with Eloise which let me sleep a few hours longer. As soon as the heat came up in the house at 7:00 am, I took my navy shower. I am sure after all this time you know what that is. With natural gas and water prices so high and continuing to go up, it is one of the best ways to save on those things.

Hubby informed me yesterday that he hates our 11 in 1 oven. That was a surprise! I hate the fact that the drip tray does not clean up well because it is aluminum. Otherwise I have no issues. He hates that it takes up so much space on the kitchen counter. He also isn’t enamored with how it toasts. The only thing he does love about it is that it cooks steaks beautifully. So If I can find an airfryer 9 in 1 or 6 in 1 that works as well or better with a smaller footprint, we will buy it as an early Christmas gift. I have been researching them but I am too cheap to pay $39. a year for Consumer Reports to see which one they say is the best.

We also need a dishwasher but we know exactly which one we want. I am waiting to see the Black Friday sales for that or if there are none, we will wait until February when they have most of them on sale. It is unbelievable how expensive the Bosch’s are now. The one we want is around $1500. We have loved our Bosch because it is quiet and cleans beautifully. It has served us well for 16 and 1/2 years. The panel with the controls is broken and it is very expensive to replace if you can actually find the part. I can still use it by hitting the back of the panel to turn the controls on but I never know when that will stop working. If it does, I will wash dishes by hand until we get a good sale price. I really don’t want to put a lot of repair money into this older machine. We have the money in our appliance fund for a new one. By saving ahead, there is no real stress when something breaks.

Talk about not working. The power went out yesterday for a few minutes. It was so dark in here because the sun hadn’t come up yet. I found our bright portable lantern and turned it on. The power came back pretty quickly. I hate it when they have these glitches because you have to reset all of the clocks. It also turned on both my washer and dryer. I took the lantern downstairs with me in case the power went out again. I had to check that both of my freezers were working. Fortunately they were. The cashier at Top’s told me it was a result of someone hitting a pole behind their store at 6am. The power company must have switched the power over to a different circuit to get it back on that quickly. I am grateful that they have that capability.

I needed to check for 9V batteries. I really did not think I had enough to change them out in our smoke detectors. But I have double what I need so I do not have to buy them again for a while.

Today, I am going to make up the Halloween baggies with the candy I bought a few weeks ago for the children of my next door neighbors. I will get those over to the parents sometime next week. We do not give out Halloween candy anymore at the door. With all the diseases kids pick up in school today, we don’t need to catch anything at our ages. So we don’t take the chance.

The laundry basket is calling me too so I will do one load. Then I am going to spend the rest of the day cleaning my house. If I have any time left after that, I will go through our medicines and pitch anything that is expired.

I hope you all have a great weekend. We will miss watching our Buffalo Bills because it is a bye week for them.

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Every Day

Winter, Bills, and Savings

Yesterday we got our $200. check from Governor Hochul to help pay our electric bills over the winter. Yup, it says that wording on it. Every person who filed taxes got some amount of a check depending on whether you were married or not and you qualified with your income. It makes no sense to me. A single person most likely didn’t qualify because their income was too high. They still have to heat their homes just like the rest of us. We got $100. for each of us. You think it is a bribe because she is up for election and she has been the one to raise all our bills because of her green energy program? Would she do that? Perhaps it was really based on how many votes were in the household. Just saying!

I got our electric and gas bill today for the past 29 days. It was $ 168.79. We used 410 kwh’s of electric and 32 ccf’s of natural gas. Not too bad considering we had company so extra showers were being taken. Out heat has pretty much been on the entire billing month too. Last year’s bill was $164.84 for 425 kwh’s and a little less ccf’s. So this bill was only $ 3.95 more. I suppose I could pay it with the $ 200. check. But we budget for such expenses so we already have the money to pay it. Since we have another check to deposit at the bank for $21.98, I will just deposit the $200. one also into our savings accounts.

This is going to be a savings winter. We will be concentrating hard on doing that. Not only do we want to keep our electric and gas bill down but we want to save every penny we can. It is the best time of the year for us to do that because we stay inside more often. We also don’t have landscaping and fertilizer bills nor do we have sprinkler system maintenance bills or high water bills which cost quite a bit of money for the spring and summer. We have already paid our snow plow guy for the winter. With the price of gasoline, I expected that that bill would go up quite a bit. But he only raised it by $25. for the entire season. $ 525. for the winter plowing is a bargain especially here on the Buffalo area. Plus he does a great job even coming back multiple times during the day when it is snowing all day.

We have a few birthdays coming up and Christmas which will cost for gifts but that money has already been set aside.

We are pretty well stocked for meals for the winter. About the only meat I will buy for dinners are turkeys, whole chickens, and any beef that I deem a rock bottom price. BTW, I saw Butterball turkeys for $ .97 a lb. and Shadybrook turkeys for $ .84 a lb. on sale here at Walmart. So I will get a couple once I know what other store prices are. I don’t expect the beef prices to go down very often. I will also buy bacon and sausage on loss leader when I need it to cook for most of our Sunday breakfasts here with family. Kalamata’s will have to be a special treat and will not happen often. It costs us about $100. including tip for breakfast now for the 4 of us.

Not this coming weekend but the following weekend, our son will get the snow tires down from the ceiling so that Hubby can get them changed over at the garage we use. He will also help us put away the patio furniture. I am also hoping he will have time to change out all of our smoke alarm batteries too before he goes home to watch the Buffalo Bills game. He does so much for us and we are grateful.

BTW, I think I just had my last dental appointment at the expensive dentist. My denture is still under warranty until the end of February. My next appointment won’t be until April. I will start with the new dentist then. Hubby will be starting next month. However, I told them on this last appt. no X-rays or fluoride. Those things will be covered under the new plan at the new dentist. They would have cost me over $200. last week. The new dentist is close to my home so there will be a big gasoline savings too.

That’s it for today. Organizing work is calling my name. I will do that after I make eggs on toast for breakfast.

How are you going to save this winter?

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Every Day

Grocery Haul, etc.

After a dentist appointment last week, I went to BJ’s because it was right down the street. I purchased 2 more rotisserie chickens for $ 4.99 each and 4 lbs. of butter for $9.59 which worked out to about $ 2.40 a lb. That is the cheapest price I have seen in my area in a couple of years.

I also picked up a 32 oz. block of cheddar cheese for $ 7.79 which is about $ 1.95 for 8 oz. That is a rock bottom price here for good cheese. I shrink wrapped half of it and that is in my refrigerator for snacks. The other half has been shredded and put in the freezer to top casseroles or for tacos. I mix in just a tiny bit of cornstarch before I freeze it to keep the shreds from sticking together. This is healther than the cellulose they put in shredded cheese that you buy at the grocery store.

As you can see on my receipt, I also purchased 10 lbs. of 90% lean ground beef for $ 32.90. They had a limit of 2- 10 lb. packages of ground beef on this 42% off sale. I had already purchased one of the 80/20 the week before I got this. So I have reached my limit. I put the beef in the fridge before I took this picture to keep it cold until I could shrink wrap it. I made a small meatloaf with some of it on Wednesday. That lasted us two days. I now have about 26 lbs. of ground beef in my freezer and that should be enough to get us to the Memorial Day sales.

When Hubby had his birthday party, our friends gave him these balloons tied to 6 large cans of his favorite beer. That was a few days before the end of September. I took this picture 3 days ago and look how long they have lasted. I enjoyed them on my birthday 2 weeks later. It is Sunday October 18th and they are still inflated. I am wondering just how long these will last. In case you were wondering where they were purchased, it was Dollar Tree for $1.25 each. The next time I need to get birthday balloons, I will definitely purchase them there.

I did 3 large loads of laundry this week. I pre-treated any stains on our clothing with Dawn dish liquid. It takes all of the stains out and it is cheaper than buying those stain products that are made for the laundry. Those are expensive and most of them don’t work. Our electric blankets have been put on our beds for the winter. So all of the other blankets needed to be washed and stored away. All of the clothing was hung to dry but I did use my dryer with my wool balls to dry the blankets and our towels.

Winter will be here before we know it so we are getting ready. Snakes for the bottoms of doors of the rooms that we will not use over the winter have been taken from storage and put out. Coats and gloves have been brought upstairs to our coat closet. Winter clothes have been put in our closets and lighter weight clothing has been put in a closet we don’t use. Our boots are in the bench in the garage. The seat lifts up and we have lots of storage in it. We are keeping the heat lower by a few degrees than we have done before. That is because Hubby now has a lot of sweaters and sweatshirts to wear in the house. I am happy because not only should our heat usage be lowet but I won’t have to wear shorts in the house all winter while the heat is on. I was always sweating.

We will be getting our monthly electric and natural gas bill this week so I will again be reminded of how expensive these bills have gotten. UGH! I will report on it when I get it.

So I am off to get some work done in the house before the Buffalo Bills game. I hope you all have a great day!

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Every Day

A Little of This and A Little of That

On the way home from getting my stitches out on Monday, I stopped at B.J.’s. They are having a 42% off Birthday Celebration sale. I had no Bubba Burgers left so I picked up the 12 count box for $ 31.49. These are Hubby’s favorites. Since they are $ 19.99 elsewhere for a 6 count box, this was a great deal. Of course, I had to pick up a rotisserie chicken for $ 4.99. We had chicken sandwiches for lunch and then I picked all of the meat off and ended up with 2 bags worth for other meals. The carcass is in the freezer with others waiting until I have time to make broth next week.

The 43.5 ounce coffee was $ 15.89 after a $ 2.40 digital coupon. But the best deal of the day was the 80/20 ground beef. I only had about 3 – 1 lb. packages of ground beef left in my freezer. It ended up costing me about $ 2.71 a lb. for 10 lbs. after the 42% birthday discount. It cost me $ 27.09 total. I bought one but I am having second thoughts. I will pick up another 10 lb. roll next week when I have to travel down that way. There is a limit of 2. Twenty pounds should last me until summer when we see sales again. I food savered it up into 1 lb. packages. I don’t think I have seen a price this low in a couple of years.

On Tuesday, I finally had the time to roast my turkey. Hubby and I had a nice turkey dinner that night. Last night I ate some leftovers and Hubby ate a Chef’s salad using some of the turkey. After dinner I picked the carcass clean. We have enough meat left for 3 more meals and some to make soup. So the carcass will cook tonight in the crockpot to make the broth.

Earlier this week, the $ 90. deposits from the government to help with Medicare costs hit our bank account. That was sure quick. So any seniors who are expecting that money, check your account for the deposits.

When we had company staying here for Hubby’s birthday weekend, we kept our bedroom door open so that Eloise could sleep in with us and still get to her food and her litter box. I was concerned that she would keep us awake all night. Nope she didn’t but she did still get me up a little after 3. Then the next night, she didn’t get me up until 5:45am. This seems to work and I am getting more sleep than I have in over 2 years. Some nights it is longer and others shorter. She sleeps on the foot of one of our beds and seems to be content with that even though she has her own comfortable bed in our room. This is working and proved to me just how sleep deprived I was. I was always so tired. Now I have energy and can get many things done each day again.

I am so looking forward to later today. A very good friend is treating me to lunch to celebrate my birthday early. We are going to a town I loved when Hubby took me there years ago. We will also do some shopping.

I hope you all have a great day!

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Every Day

Thanksgiving Sales and My Turkeys I Purchased Last Year

Last year I purchased 5 turkeys during the Thanksgiving sales. I purchased 2 Butterballs at $ .99 a lb., a Honeysuckle White at $ .48 a lb., and 1 Shady Brook at $84. a lb. and 1 at $ .55 a lb. I cooked 1 for Thanksgiving and 1 in January. I went down to the freezer a couple of days ago and pulled out the Honeysuckle White to thaw. I will cook that tomorrow. It is 13 lbs. They were all cheap prices. The $ .55 a lb. Shady Brook was a markdown at Walmart 2 days before Christmas. If I had had the freezer space, I would have purchased more. But alas, I didn’t. Another turkey will get cooked for Thanksgiving. That leaves one to cook sometime in January- March.

I purchased so many because I was sure the prices would go up for this Thanksgiving season and I know you can freeze them for 2 years. It looks like I may be right on the prices. Chris told me that her Kroger has them on sale for $ 1.24 a lb. That is not too bad of an increase. However our Top’s is advertising them on sale this week(says many brands) for $ 1.99 a lb. That is a huge increase! I am hoping that they will do a deal before Thanksgiving where if you spend $ 25. or $ 35. you get a turkey cheap. But I am not counting on it. It will be interesting to see what Wegman’s. Walmart, B.J.’s, and Aldi have them priced at over the next weeks. I think this is very early for Kroger and Top’s to advertise a sale on turkeys. It’s 4 weeks before Halloween. UGH!

However, I can tell you that I will not pay $ 1.99 a lb. for a turkey. Yes, I know it is cheaper than most meats. But I can buy 3 lb. rotisserie chickens at B.J.’s for $ 4.99 that are already cooked. I can also buy uncooked whole chickens for $ 1.64 a lb. So if the turkeys are high priced this year, I will purchase those two chicken items during the year. They will both give me gallons of broth too. I will also be watching Walmart for turkey markdowns just before Christmas.

So was buying 5 last year too many? I think not!

I will be cooking the turkey that I am thawing for a couple of dinners, to cut up the meat on my food slicer and freeze for sandwiches, and to make turkey soup some of which I will freeze in single portions.

Are you seeing turkey prices already where you live? What are they charging?

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Every Day

Loss Leader Shop and the Party

Hubby had such a good time at his party on Sunday. My oldest son came on Friday and stayed until Monday. Chris, who has been reading my blog since the beginning, and her Hubby arrived on Saturday afternoon and went home on Tuesday. My youngest son, his wife and my grandson and my wonderful new friends from the neighborhood came in time for the Buffalo Bills game at 1pm. We had a blast rooting for our team.

The best part was that family was here and our friends, who feel like family were too. My neighbor made a very nice chaccuterie board and Chris made her Skyline party dip for the game. I want to give a special thanks to them for doing the dishes after the party. I was so tired after working so hard to make this nice for Hubby. He just loved everything about the day.

Hubby got lots of giftcards, food and drinks from everyone. Chris came loaded as usual with beer, wine, cookies, Buckeyes, etc. and a gift for Eloise which she is loving. My new neighbors brought Hubby’s favorite beer with all of these balloons. There were 5 of them and today is Friday and they are still inflated.

My daughter in law worked very hard making a notebook for Hubby that has every crossword puzzle from his birthday each year since he was born. They are from the New York Times. He is really enjoying them. He loves crosswords.

My oldest son made banana bread at home and brought it to us. It was enjoyed as part of the breakfasts every morning.

Dinner was his birthday celebration. I went to the catering at Wegman’s and had a large cold cut( I chose which ones) platter made along with 4 different kinds of fresh rolls from their bakery. I made homemade potato salad and a macaroni tuna fish salad. We put out chips. pickles and condiments. There was beer, all kinds of liquor and mixers, and soda of your choice.

I had Hubby’s cake made at the bakery in town owned by my neighbors. It was beautiful, delicious and had Hubby’s favorite filling which is raspberry. His name was on it but I erased it to keep it private. Thanks to Chris’s Hubby for taking many pictures for us.

Thanks to everyone who made his day perfect! If I forgot to mention anything, I am sorry. The only regret that I have is that we couldn’t all sit together for dinner. My table wasn’t big enough. So 6 were in the breakfast room and 4 of us were at the game table in the great room.

I have spent the last few days getting my home cleaned from the party and washing sheets and putting them back on the guest room beds and towels, etc. When I wasn’t working, I was napping! It was badly needed.

Now for the loss leader haul this week. I went to Top’s and purchased 2 cans of Top’s petite diced tomatoes and 4 cans of regular diced tomatoes on sale for $1.00 each. I also got 2 Rao’s spaghetti sauces on sale for $ 5.99 each. BTW, this company has sold to Campbell’s so I am watching that the ingredients don’t end up with a lot of junk in them. So far they haven’t. My son made me aware. He is now buying Carbone’s from Walmart because it is clean. The last items were 2 PICS cranberry stuffing mixes on sale for $1.50 each. My total was $ 20.98.

Many items in my stockpile have been eaten or donated so I need to spend a few days reorganizing the shelves. The same goes for my freezer.

BTW, Chris has made me aware that Kroger’s has turkeys on sale this week already for $ 1.24 a lb. Seems early!