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Archive for June, 2021

20K Gift!

June 24th, 2021 at 12:49 am

My sister and BIL are visiting from Texas for 3 weeks. They are staying with me and we are thoroughly enjoying our time! They are here until just after 4th of July. I was overjoyed when they told us they were going to relocate back to Maryland in just a couple of years. They need to sell some real estate and a business they own in Texas first. 

I may have mentioned in a previous post that my sister and BIL are very, very wealthy. They have worked very hard, made smart investments, and have been active in real estate and other business ventures. They live modestly, in spite of thier wealth, and are committed to philanthropy and donating to causes and organizations that are important to them. They are just very down to earth, kind people. Much to my surprise they gifted my brother and I $20k each! This was completely unexpected and very generous of them. I will be putting this in savings, but have earmaked some for a family vacation in 2022. 

My expenses for June will be up a bit, but this was expected. We have been enjoying dining out, cooking out, a girl's shopping day and more. It has been quite a visit so far!

Free Food/ Senior Appreciation Day

June 10th, 2021 at 02:57 pm

I went to my grocery store last Tuesday to pick up a few things and to start taking advantage of my newly discovered 10% senior discount every Tuesday. They were also having a senior customer appreciation day, and every senior (60 years old or older who have the store club card) received a free bag full of products!  What a nice surprise. The bag itself is a very nice, very large reusable grocery bag. Inside I recieved these items:

1 pen 

1 roll of paper towels 

2 rolls of Scott toilet paper 

1 pack of cheese and peanut butter crackers 

1 nature valley granola bar 

nutrigrain mixed berry bar 

1 quaker oats granola bar 

1 box of stove top chicken stuffing 

1 box of cereal 

1 pound bag of white rice 

1 box of pasta 

1 jar of Prego pasta sauce 

1 can of green beans 

1 can of mixed vegetables 

1 can of mandarin oranges 

1 can of ravioli 

1 can of chicken soup 

1 can of vegetable beef soup 

3 individual packs of quaker oats maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal 

1 reusable grocery bag 

 

Anything I don't use I will donate but I think I will use most of it. I had a pack of the oatmeal for breakfast this morning and it was delicious! None of the food items were anywhere close to expiration and weren't damaged in any way.

 

I also used some of the digital coupons I am now using from the grocery store app on some things I bought, saving me $6.56. Some of these coupons are pretty high value. I am determined to do everything I can to keep my grocery spending down in spite of rising costs. 

 

I also discovered that I can earn 100 grocery reward (store card) points just by going on line and filling out the customer satisfaction survey that is printed on the receipt. You can do this once every 7 days. It only takes about 2 minutes to fill it out. Points add up for the month and expire on the 4th of the following month. Points can be used for money off certain products, or, if you have 500 points to use you can get $5 off your next $25 purchase. You earn one point for every dollar you spend during the month, but these survey points make it possible for me to get up to that 500 point mark. I will certainly take advantage of the $5 off. 

 

None of these ways to save are new, but they were new to me because I just hadn't taken the time to look into all the ways I can save just by utilizing what was available to me from my grocery store ,their club card, and the app.  All of these small savings can really add up.

Small Ways To Fight Inflation

June 5th, 2021 at 05:30 pm

None of these suggestions are new, but with food, gas, and other consumer prices on the rise I decided to refocus on some of these:

I have been trying out more of my regular grocery store, store brand foods. Some of these have been a pleasant surprise. I tried a jar of store brand pasta sauce (24 oz) that was on sale for $1. It was delicious!  I also tried the hearty vegetable soup (low sodium) 18.8 oz for $1.29. Also very good. There was a sale on certain canned food items for .50 a can. I tried the black beans, corn, diced potatoes, and baked beans. I liked the black beans and potatoes, but the baked beans and corn were not very good. I also now buy the store brand bread that sells for $2 a loaf if you buy 2. The multi-grain bread is really good. I had  been buying the Sara Lee bread but it is $2.99 a loaf at my store when it is on sale. So, while not huge money savers, it all adds up. I will be continuing to try other store brands as I need things. I know that Aldi has a lot of really good low priced items, but it's a bit of a drive to get there, and the fresh produce at that store has always been disappointing. 

I also decided to stop buying red meat. I didn't buy all that much anyway, usually just ground meat, but with prices rising I can do without it. I'm also no longer buying lunchmeat, again I didn't buy it a lot but yikes, in my last grocery circular the prices were really high.  

I took a closer look into my grocery store rewards card, app, etc. I have the store card that I swipe at the register and always save that way, but I discovered that I am eligible for the 10% off senior discount every Tuesday! I thought the eligible age was 65, but it turns out it is 60. I will be shopping on Tuesday from now on. I also finally downloaded the app which has a ton of digital coupons. I also have a better understanding of how the points system works and will be using those points more efficiently. All money savers!

I am eating more meatless meals, while still being sure to get enough protein, and not increasing my unhealthy carbs. I don't want to just start loading up on pasta and rice dishes so i've been looking for alternatives. I don't like meat substitute products, or tofu, so mostly veggie meals.

Because the price of gas is up, I'm no longer driving around to different grocery stores to save a little here and there. Unless I see a really incredible sale on something (like chicken, which I eat a lot of) I plan to do all of my grocery shopping at my one, very close store. They have good prices, the produce is really fresh, and they always seem to have decent sales. I'm also trying to run all my errands on the same day, if possible to save on gas usage.

These strategies are nothing new, but every little bit helps!

In other news, my sister and BIL will be arriving mid-month for a three week stay! I am sure my grocery spending will go up, even though they will certainly also pay for food. We have lots of activities planned so spending will be higher then usual, but I'm not stressing over it. The plan is to just have fun!