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A Small Grocery Haul

I ran a few errands this morning one of which was stopping at Top’s. They had a few good deals that I wanted to take advantage of.

We like these Knorr sides especially when we have had a busy day. They were 8 for $ 10.00 which is only $.80 each. When you bought 8, you got the rotisserie chicken for free. I checked the price at Walmart for the Knorr sides and they were $ 1.12 each and no chicken. This was one of the biggest chickens that I have ever seen at my Top’s. I was surprised because they are usually very small. We will be having some of this for dinner since I have had a very tiring day. If I have to go out for any other reason this week, I may do this deal again.

I purchased 4 Cabot cheeses for $10.00 and 2 Crowley cottage cheese for $3.00 each. This deal also gave me 200 free gasoline points or $ .20 off a gallon.

The blueberries were $ 1.99 using a Super coupon. Tillamook Ice Cream was on sale for B1G1F. I bought 4 at a cost of $15.98 for all. This will be our stash for when the grandchildren visit this summer.

It was Senior 6% off Discount Day which gave me $ 2.73 off my order. My order total was $ 42.82.

I have another cost cutting post that I am working on for tomorrow. For the first time ever I am going to tell you what goal I am working on and how much I have left to save to reach it. It is a hefty amount but we can do it! Because of this, you will be seeing many cost cutting posts.

Did you get any good good deals this week?

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Every Day

Grocery Haul and Saving Money

I went to Top’s this week using a 3 day sale coupon. I got Italian bread that was on sale for $ 2.00 and then used a $ 2.00 off Monopoly Q to get it free. I got Porterhouse steaks on sale for $10.99 a lb. and used a $ 2.00 off Monopoly Q for a total cost of $ 42.07. There were 3 steaks in the package totaling 4.01 lbs. The shrimp was pricey but I needed it for a dinner I am making in a few weeks. It was on sale for $ 12.99 and I used a digital coupon for $ .40 off so it cost me $ 12.59. The total for all was $54.66 minus a 3 day sale Q of $5.00 off a $50. purchase for a total of $49.66.

The mayonnaise you just see in the corner of the picture was not bought on this trip. I just took it from my storage to put in the fridge when Hubby empties the jar that has just a little bit in it.

Then I went to Dollar Tree to get 6 qts. of shelf stable milk. We seem to be going through a lot of it between baking, making scrambled eggs, and making puddings for snacks and desserts. Some does get used for cereal once in a while too. These were $ 1.25 each totaling $ 7.50. I really like the whole milk but they had none. The 2% is just fine for what I need it for.

We continue to cut as many costs as we can around here. I started washing my own windows on the inside and one door on both sides and cleaning the blinds in the breakfast room. I have to be really careful because the windows are very tall so I have to climb on a ladder. I am using glass cleaner and microfiber cloths. I did not want to pay to hire someone to do it because it is so expensive. Hubby will pressure wash the outsides when I am done. I will take the screens out and clean them also. In the same room, I cleaned all of the walls and the door. We have a cathedral ceiling in there so that was not easy either. I could not reach our ceiling fan even on a small ladder. So Hubby cleaned that light and all of the fan blades. Onto another room tomorrow.

Hubby has been trimming bushes and weeding. We hired the landscape company to do the spring cleanup and some plantings. But Hubby is hoping to keep up with the maintenance throughout the year. That will save us a fortune. If it gets to be too much, then we will just hire them again.

Our cherries will be ripe in about 2 weeks. We will pick what we can reach and leave the ones at the top for the birds. They love them.

I did our net worth statement yesterday because I do it a few times a year. We are getting very close to our goals.We are so happy about that.

Besides the things we do every day like cook from home, do wash in cold water, cook outside on the grill or in the small oven, etc., that is about it for this week.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

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Every Day

Grocery Hauls Today

It was errand day. Besides picking up a prescription at the drugstore. I stopped at Aldi, Walmart, and Top’s.

For months I had been trying to get this orange sauce at Aldi’s. They were out of stock. I used my last bottle which was not a good thing because Hubby really likes orange chicken. Last night my sister told me that it was back in stock at her store downstate. I was so happy to find it today and picked up 3 bottles at $ 2.19 each. When the hams were on sale for $ 1.49 a lb. for Easter, I did not get one. We were kind of sick of ham from having a large one in January. I was hoping that either Aldi or Walmart would reduce them for quick sale. Neither had. So I decided to get one at the $1.49 sale price at Aldi’s today. This one cost me $12.05. It is the best price we have had in this area. I will keep checking to see if they reduce them. If they do, I will get 2 more. Hubby loves ham sandwiches, ham salad, ham on salads, fried ham with eggs for breakfast, etc. Buying chunks of ham or sliced ham when we want it, is very expensive. So I have instead spent the $ 1.49 a lb. and this afternoon I cut it up into meal size portions and froze most of it. I have slices, chunks, and dices ready to use when we need it. I spent $ 18.62 for all at Aldi’s.

Also pictured is a bag of Tyson chicken strips that I purchased at Walmart for $ 8.77. I have been wanting a KFC chicken bowl. But I did not want to spend the $ 5.99 for it at KFC. So instead I purchased the bag of the strips which will make about 8 bowls for about $ 1.10 each. I just add some homemade mashed potatoes( about 1 potato with shelf stable milk and some butter( $ .65), canned corn( a tsp. of corn $ .04), and chicken gravy ($.33). Hubby does not like them. The total cost for the bowl was $ 3.12. It had been years since I had one and it was so delicious.

When I went in to get the chicken strips, the employees at Walmart were just reducing the price of all of the Easter candy down by 50%. I got enough for us, West, and Alexa for an entire year. The candy came out of our gift budget. The $ 8.77 for the chicken strips came out of our grocery budget.

My last stop was at Top’s where I purchased:

2 Steak-Umm’s that were BOGOF = $ 5.79 for both( I love these with eggs and I had finished our last box over a week ago.)

1 Top’s large eggs= Free Instant Win Monopoly coupon( -$ 2.99)

1 Bag of Lay’s chips =$ 1.99 with Monopoly coupon

1 Bag of Top’s cough drops=Free Instant Win Monopoly coupon – ($1.59)

1 Bison Dip on sale for $ 2.49. I needed this for one of our recipes.

It was senior discount day so I got $ .62 off. My total spent at Top’s was $9.65.

For dinner tonight we had all of the leftovers again from our Easter leg of lamb dinner. There is just enough left for Hubby for brunch tomorrow.

Have you found any grocery deals this week?

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Grocery Shopping Today

This is my grocery shop from Aldi’s this week. I got 3 jars of Specially Selected Premium Marinara Sauce. They were $ 3.89 each. We really like Raos but it so expensive. This sauce is as close to being Raos as you can buy. It has very clean ingredients and is delicious. I make my own most of the time but when I in a hurry, this is what I grab. The two packages of breakfast sausage is what I use for Sunday family breakfasts. They were $2.19 each. I picked up 6(the limit) pounds of butter. These and what I purchased last Thanksgiving should give me enough until next Thanksgiving.

I finally found a head of cabbage that wasn’t the size of a baseball. It was $ .49 a pound. I paid $ 1.57 for 3.2 pounds. Hubby does not like cooked cabbage so I will only cook 1/2 of it and he can make his Waldorf coleslaw from the other half. I have a corned beef so these things plus potatoes will be our St. Patrick’s day dinner.

The 3 packs( 4 lbs.) of Organic ground beef were on sale again. They totaled $ 18.99 which is $2.00 more than I am used to paying. But this meat is so good I am willing to pay that increase.

I also purchased 1 bar of white cheddar cheese at $ 2.75, 1 package of fresh mushrooms at $ 1.39, 1 pound of hot pork sausage at $ 2.29, 1 bag of Italian Style Meatballs for $ 5.99( our dinner tonight: meatballs and sauce) 1 Mexican shredded cheese at $ 2.89, 1 package of salami for $ 3.49, 1 bottle of Cocktail sauce at $.79, and 1 bottle of General Tso’s sauce for $2.19. My total for Aldi’s came to $ 74.53.

At Dollar Tree, I bought 5 packages of John Morrell Smoked Sausage for $1.25 each. They come two in a package. One package sliced and mixed into a Mexican dish like Spanish rice or a Louisiana dish like red beans and rice is perfect for the two of us. I picked one of these up a while ago and they were really good in the red beans and rice. Since then they had been out of stock until this week. You can’t beat $ 1.25 for meat for one meal. I also purchased 2 of the oven ready lasagna pasta for $ 1.25 each. Total here was $ 8.75.

Next I stopped at Walmart to use up my last free coupon for the Indiana popcorn.

My last stop was at Top’s gasoline station to fill the car up. I paid $ 2.86 a gallon after using my gasoline points for $ .40 off a gallon. My total was $21.35.

Did you get any good deals this week?

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Every Day

What I Did To Save Money The Past Few Days

On Monday we had a high of 71 and on Tuesday we had a high of 73. As soon as the sun came up, I had the shades and blinds up on the sunny windows to warm it up in here. We followed the sun around the house all day each day.

I took our car yesterday to the car wash while I was out running errands. It was filthy from the road dirt and salt from the snowstorm last week. It was a perfect day to do it. Our car wash gives out coupons each time you get the car washed. They never expire. I now have collected 5 of them so my next car wash will be free.

I tried an experiment on Monday morning. I use reusable cups in my Keurig. I added some more grounds to the first cup pod and brewed a second cup. The second cup was perfect. I will be doing this all the time now. I used to do this when I made pots of coffee. Why I never thought to do this with the pods I don’t know.

On Monday I took my navy shower. While the water was warming up, I caught that water in a pail. I used it to wash the bathroom floors.

I ran a lot of errands yesterday in a circle. I started with a doctor’s appointment and some testing in the next town where I got really good news. The doctor also gave me a sample of the drug I take. That sample will last me 30 days. Then I went to the bank to deposit some checks. Next I went to Niagara Produce and purchased about 3 lbs. of fresh asparagus for $ .99 a lb. and 2 boxes of canning lids for $ 5.29 each. These are getting very hard to find so I pick them up when I see them. I also purchased a large value pack of fresh chicken tenders for $ 1.99 a lb. I will be doing them up for the freezer with the food saver today. I got 2 lbs. of strawberries for $5.00, 3 pints of blueberries for $ .99 each, 5 lbs. of carrots for $ 3.69, and a 10 lb. bag of onions for $ 4.99.

Next I went to the drug store to pick up a prescription for Hubby and then to Top’s for some loss leader items. They were out of stock on all them and it was senior citizens discount day. I was shocked at how empty the store was. Since I was there and could get the discount I picked up some hot dogs that were on sale but not by much because we are low on them.

My last stop was because of exhaustion. I was out of the house all day and I forgot to thaw something. I stopped at Subway and got two 12 inch subs with a coupon for $ 12.99 and $1.04 tax. I said to the person making them, do you have a way to put the dressings on the side? She said yes and I was thrilled because it was 3pm when I was getting them and we would not eat until 5pm. I never knew they could do this. I did not want them soggy plus I knew that Hubby and I would only eat 1/2 of each of them so we now have dinner for tonight too.

Today I will be dicing up some gallon bags of onions along with cutting up some apples in the refrigerator that are getting old. I will bag up some of the blueberries and strawberries and all of these things will go in the freezer. Waste not, want not!

Most of the day will be spent reorganizing my pantries and updating my inventories.

What have you done to save money?

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My Last Grocery Haul Of The Month

This morning I went to Top’s for badly needed fresh items and my last 2 fresh meat items for the month. We were down to our last half and half so I picked up 2 cartons for $5.99 each. I drink a lot of coffee so I try to stay stocked with at least 3 cartons. They are dated in April so they will be used before they go bad.

I also got 4 Cabot cheese chunks for a total of $10.00. These are my go to snack items. Hubby wanted grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch and we were almost out of American cheese so I bought one for $3.19.

I stumbled upon these NY strip steaks on sale for $ 8.99 a lb. for a total of $ 21.98. These will give us at least 2 meals but possibly 3. Usually when we have leftover steak, we saute it in a fry pan with butter and garlic and serve it with scrambled eggs. My last purchase was a lb. of Oscar Mayer bacon that was on sale with a Super Coupon for $ 5.99.

My total was $ 53.14.

This past weekend and today, we have been cleaning out some more items. I have taken everything out of my kitchen cupboards and rearranged them to make things easier to find. Some items that we haven’t used in a few years were put in the sell box. Things make more sense to the both of us now.

Our clock that we purchased from a relative’s jewelry store in 1967 died this past weekend. The clock always chimed every 15 minutes. It was made in Germany. I hate to throw it out because it has been with us for so long. Hubby looked to see if he could fix it and the mechanism that he thinks needs replacing is over $400. We would hate to buy the part and find out that it didn’t fix it. So he is going to tinker with it and see if he can fix it. His sister gave him the name of an organization who fixes clocks such as these. So he is going to contact them also. If it can’t be fixed, we will have to let it go.

Tonight I am making homemade pizza using the Naan bread that I buy at Aldi’s. I will bake it in the 11 in 1 oven that I bought recently.

Not much else going on. Have you saved on your groceries this week?

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Every Day

Walmart Grocery Delivery

I had this Walmart grocery haul delivered a couple of days ago:

  • Frozen Sliced Mushrooms $ 2.74
  • Pepper Jack Cheese Slices $ 2.22
  • Turkey Burgers, 2 lbs. $ 10.72
  • French Style Green Beans $ .64 a can
  • Pitted Olives $ 1.94 a can
  • SF Cool Whip $ 1.98
  • SF Ice Breakers $ 2.82 each
  • Equate Stomach Relief $ 4.38
  • Carb Balance Wraps $ 4.88
  • Tyson Chicken Patties $ 6.22

Total for all was $51.22 including a $6.00 tip for the delivery driver.

I love buying the frozen mushrooms. That way I can just take a handful out when I need them and not worry about the fresh ones going bad before I can use them. They taste so much better than the canned ones.

The pepper jack and the French style green beans are some of Hubby’s favorites. It is hard to get him to eat veggies so any that he will eat, I will buy.

The chicken patties are for quick lunches once in a while. I make a knock off Chic Fil A with these, some tomato and lettuce, and Chic Fil A sauce. The GV chicken dipping sauce is exactly the same as the Chic Fil A sauce and a lot cheaper. I also make them with grilled chicken breasts( which is the restaurant version) when I have them already cooked. The Chic Fil A is a long drive to get to. I loved when I was in AZ that I could go to one within a mile. I miss that. But I do save money by making our own.

The wraps and turkey burgers are always in my freezer because we love them. We use a lot of black olives in salads and Mexican dishes. The Cool whip is for SF jellos and puddings for desserts.

Hubby asked for the SF Ice Breakers. I am always stocking medicines that we might need because they have been so short in the stores. So when I can get them, I do.

Just a small haul this week but things that were on my list that were cheaper than Top’s.

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Every Day

Rounded Out My Week With Some Grocery Hauls

This was my Top’s haul this week. The toothpaste and mushrooms were on sale for $ 1.00 each. The bacon was on sale with a super coupon for $3.99. The Ben’s rice were $2.50 each. The Crystal Light were $ 3.49 each. The whipped cream cheese were $4.49 each. The Tim Horton’s Decaf was on sale for $ 6.49. The coconut milk was $ 2.99. The 1/2 gallon of Half and Half was $5.99. Lastly, the shrimp was on sale for $ 8.49. I had a Top’s $5.00 off coupon. The OOP total was $ 47.91.

This was not one of my best hauls but I am going to be tied up with some things for Hubby for 6 weeks very soon. Don’t worry, I will have time to blog. So I needed some things that would be time savers for me like the rice and Crystal Light. I won’t have to make iced tea nor fuss making rice.

The same goes for this Aldi’s haul. I needed some easy things. The tomato sauce were $ .43 each. The Asian stir fry sauces were $ 2.49 each. The applesauce were $ 2.95 each. I have been using a lot of applesauce as an egg replacer in baking. So my stockpile needed some more. Raisins are one of Hubby’s favorite treats. They were $ 3.89 each. The ranch dressing was $ 1.95. The total for all was $ 27.31.

My last stop was at Niagara Produce. I purchased two more extra large eggs at $ 1.99 each. I also got another whole beef tenderloin cut into filet mignons. The total for all was $74.00. When I brought the tenderloin home last week, Hubby asked why I didn’t buy 2 of them cut into filet mignons. I told him if they were still on sale this week, I would get another. Sure enough they were.

We did make a large purchase this week for something for the house. It was expensive but it will save us a lot of money in the long run. It has arrived and son and Hubby will install it tomorrow. But more about that next week.

Did you save any money on groceries this week?

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It’s Been A Long Time Since I Have Been Able To Be Here

Spending time flat on your back is not fun! That is what I have been doing since I last wrote. Sitting is the worst thing for my back and hip, so the doctor told me to stay flat or get up and walk around.

The day after I last posted, I was coming up the stairs from the basement and I had the worst pain in my back that felt like my back was collapsing. So between rest and painkillers, I have been taking it easy and trying to recover. I can’t lay around the rest of my life. I had planned on getting started on my Federal and State taxes last week but that thought went out of the window. Fortunately I have until April to do them.

I started to feel a little better the end of last week, so I took it really easy over the weekend and today I actually was able to go out for a quick grocery shop.

At Aldi’s, I purchased 2 lbs. of carrots , 2 Parmesan Crisps( for snacks), a large bag of pistachios, a bag of coleslaw, a head of cabbage, a cantaloupe, celery, a cucumber, and 3 peppers. I spent $ 19.36. We were in desperate need of fresh fruit and veggies after two weeks. The cashier charged me for 3 Parmesan crisps so I will have to get that straightened out the next time I go. When I first looked for the head of cabbage, I couldn’t find it. So I picked up the coleslaw mix. Then I found the cabbage head. But I decided to keep them both because I was running out of steam. The store was extremely hot and I was starving because I hadn’t had breakfast. I finally ate it about 12:45pm. The head of cabbage will keep for a long time so we will eat the coleslaw first. But it will be the last time we buy the coleslaw mix. We will get the head of cabbage while it is in season and shred it up with our attachment for our Kitchen Aid mixer. We do the carrots that way too.

At Top’s I got some items that were on sale. I got two Rao’s spaghetti sauce for $ 5.99 each and 4 Top’s shredded cheese(2 mozzarella and 2 taco blend). They were 4 for $9.00. Hubby and I love eating meatballs cooked in the sauce with mozzarella cheese melted on top. The taco cheese will go on our taco salads for dinner tonight. Hubby cooked enough for 2 nights last night.

Hubby has been a huge help to me the last couple of weeks. He has done most of the cooking and dishes. He has done all the errands that absolutely had to get done. He has been working on organizing the garage. He also has done a bit of cleaning and laundry. He even sewed some buttons on a shirt. I have done a little when I have been standing up but it takes a toll on me after a while. So as I continue to get better, I will be on here when I can. I best sign off now before my hip starts hurting.

What have you guys been doing frugally the last few weeks? I have missed you all.

I will catch up on comments a little later today.

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Every Day

My Weekly Grocery Haul and Upcoming Posts

Yesterday, I went out and did my weekly grocery shopping. I needed the berries and the avocados which I purchased at Aldi. The berries were $1.99 and the avocados were $ 2.69. The avocados will be eaten with my eggs for breakfast. The berries will be put in sugar free jello for dessert.

My best deal was at Top’s. They had sirloin tip roasts for $ 4.99 a lb. The larger one will be cut up into stew meat which will give us 8 meals. The smaller one will be ground into hamburger with my Kitchen Aid mixer grinder attachment. That will give us 5 meals. I paid $ 11.03 and $ 19.41 for the roasts.

The bacon cost me $4.99 and will be used for a Sunday breakfast when my family comes. The tuna was on sale for 3 cans for $ 5.00. I bought 6 cans.

My total was $ 50.11.

While I was out I filled our SUV up at the Top’s station using $.30 off a gallon in Top’s points. I paid $ 3.40 a gallon after the points. The per gallon price was cheaper after the points than my cash station.

I also finished my Christmas shopping. It feels good to have that done.

This week we have no appointments which is amazing. So I plan on doing some laundry, cleaning, and a lot of work on my finances and budgeting for the 2023 year. I hope you all are working on your budgeting for next year also. Posts on what we are doing will be coming up in December. It has been a rough year for all of us with inflation. I want to save as much money as possible next year and stop giving it to these large businesses who are making ridiculous profits. They are getting rich while the rest of us are getting poor. We are experiencing the largest transfer of wealth that I have ever seen. We can’t do a lot about what they and our government are doing but we can tighten up our households and hang onto some money.