Savings Summary Saturday - June 30

Due to vacation, this is for 2 weeks.  I have also added a new category - Items sent for.

Items sent for:
Free oranges (6/19/12)
Grocery University (6/19/12)
Free subscription to O Magazine (6/23/12) - Dailyfeats.com
Free $5 off of $35 at Walgreens (6/23/12) - DailyFeats.com

Grocery Shopping (and other savings) this week:

• Harris Teeter had Super Double coupons - double up to $2.  I did all of our shopping there and saved 51% (paid $97.09, saved $100.88)
• Kashi cereal - 3.89 - used $2 coupon = free
• Kraft Dressing - on sale for $2.29 - used $1 coupon, doubled = 29 cents
• Beggin' Strips- on sale for $2.50 used $1/2 coupon, doubled = 1.50 each plus used a coupon buy 2, get one free =  $1 each
• CVS - I stopped by to drop off a Redbox rental (which was free) and went in to get my coupons from the scanner
• V05 conditoner - 49 cents per bottle (clearance) - got 3 of them!

Gas Savings:

•  Hubby used Exxon card which gives us UPromise $.

Things we got in the mail:

• Target makeup bag with samples & coupons
• Entertainment Weekly (mycokerewards.com)
• Fitness Magazine
• notepad from animal charity
• License plate holder from Hyundai

Rewards programs:
MyPoints (personal account) - 13029 points (12787 points -last week)
MyPoints (coupon account) - 3465 points (3320 points-last week)
Swagbucks - 2667 points (2604 points-last week)
Listia - 17722 credits (14157 credits last week) $0 paid out (when buying credits it is $0.10/credit) - posted boxtops & Campbell labels this week - so I'll have to pay stamps on 8 envelopes
Postpoints -3005 points (2940 points last week)
mycokerewards - 5175 points (4859 points-last week)
Bondrewards - $26.21 ($25.91 last week)
Upromise - $17.44 ($16.03 last week) available for transfer
Capital One Rewards - locked out (3591 miles-last week) - haven't gotten around to unlocking the account :P
Thanks Again - 993 points (898 points last week)
Viggle - 55,165 points - last week - haven't really been checking in
NCP - 40390 points (39920 points last week)
Daily Feats - 526 points (0 points last week)

New Year, New Goals - (I need to get on this!!!!)

• Use rewards programs to get gifts and daily stuff - no action this week
• Use Restaurant.com coupons - no action this week.
• Buy a New Car - BOUGHT IT! (BTW - paid cash for this).
• Set up an Estate - no action this week
• Monthly Review/Net Worth (new as of 5/9/12) - I saw this idea on Couple Money. I don't take enough time to review our net worth and keep track on how we are doing.

Friday Fragments - June 29, 2012

Friday Fragments Episode 204

• I didn't think I would make it through the week this week at work - It was one of the busiest weeks in a LONG time.  I ached a lot and was exhausted every evening (from walking at least 10K steps on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday), but I made it.
• The Jeep made it 80,000 miles this week!
• Ever walk outside and smell smoke - like a house is on fire?  That happened this week.  Come to find out, it was from wild fires . These are over  90 miles from our house!  Crazy.
• Random compliments I got this week -
• That I'm a good public speaker - this was from our guest speaker at our tenant meeting
• That they loved my personality - this was from a tenant who met me for the first time.
• That I had the best A/R (accounts receivable) in the division - from the VP of our division & he said it with all but 2 (out of 11) airports on the call

Friday Fragments - June 22

Friday Fragments: Episode 203

Things I learned this week:

• There's no way that we will ever get hardwood floors with dog - all we heard all week was click, click, click of the toesnails on the floors.
• Zed doesn't do well at the beach - emotionally & physically.  He didn't finally relax until about Wednesday.  Before that he had to constantly be with us and did not just lay down.  Physically, he was constantly scratching.  Since we've been home (5 hours), no scratching.
• One day, we want to have a place at the beach.
• The more I'm not at work, the more I want to retire.  I need to really stick to the plan to pay off the mortgage.
• Read "self-help"/"learning" books even if you think you know all about it.  I had some ah-ha moments when I was reading "How to Shop for Free" this week.  It has been motivating.

Vacation Day 6 (Friday)

Last day at the beach - BBBBBOOOO!!!!!!

We went to Sonic on Milford for lunch.  Neither one of us had ever been to Sonic - seriously!

We then got 2 geocaches.  One two shopping centers over and then one on a path.  Just as I was heading back to the Jeep (Dan was still putting the geocache back), this guy walked by. I said hi and got to the truck.  Then I watched as Dan walked back towards me and the guy started talking to him.  When he got back, I asked what was said & he said the guy asked if that was his truck and he said his kids called him & was trying to go get his kids.  Then he asked Dan if he had a cell phone & Dan said not on me (which was true - it was in the Jeep).

Both of us were a little freaked out about that and it had started raining when I was walking back to the jeep, so we headed back to the house.  It's downpouring now.  At least it waited until the end of our vacation to start raining during the day!

Now it's time to pick up a little and pack. :(  Not looking forward to going back to work.  I need to figure out a way to pay off the house - FAST! : P

Vacation Day 5 (Thursday)

Hanging out AGAIN!  YES!

It has been ssssooo hot that we have been staying inside or just hanging out on the balcony reading.  This evening we will probably head out and get a few geocaches after walking the pups.

I started to post some items on Listia - told you that the How to Shop For Free was inspiration!  My goal is to get things listed on Ebay, Yardsellr & Listia.  It's a lot of work, but it will be worth it if I can get rid of stuff.

I'm working on gettimg my IPod up to date.  Yes, I still buy/swap CDs but because I know have a new stereo in the Jeep, I play my IPod ALOT.

We ended up going to the store & getting some geocaches in Milton.  Then the gas light went off - needless to say, the closes Exxon was 13 miles - the Jeep gets about 15 MPG.  The GPS sent us to Lewes and when we got there, the Exxon was closed (as in out of business).  Luckily, there was a Sunoco across the street, closed (after hours) but the pumps were on.  This is when you know you are in a small town - everything closes early!  I am so not used to this anymore!  Anyway, made it and drove back to the house.

When we got back, Esa had gotten into the bathroom trash.  Note to self:  close the bathroom door next time.

Vacation Day 4 (Wednesday)

Hanging out again - WOOHOO!

We sat on the beach for about 30 minutes while Dan tried to get in the water & the pups weren't happy with the hot weather.  Zed was done in about 20 minutes so I took him & Esa back to the house.  I thought they would go to the balcony, but just stayed down stairs in the garage/entry part.  Then I just took them upstairs so they could hang out in the A/C.  Yep - A/C today with the temps up to the 90s!

Zed finally seems to be calming down.  Not as needy/by our side all the time so far today.

I started reading "Alice Cooper, Golf Monster" - really good!  I should have it finished by tomorrow.

We did some geocaching tonight on the way to the store.  I used my Iphone while Dan used the handheld GPS.  This was the first time I used the phone for geocaching and it worked out well.  Almost better than the handheld!

One of the virtual caches was a Furturo House.  Pretty cool!

We have been watching movies in the evening - Tuesday was "Men Who Stare At Goats" and tonight was "White Noise 2".

Vacation - Day 3 (Tuesday)

Another lazy day - which is all good!

We turned over horseshoe crabs on the walk this morning and I got some video of the pups reacting to the crabs moving.

I finished "How to Shop for Free" and originally, I thought I would post this back on paperbackswap.com but I might just keep the book for inspiration! 

The pups got to be off leash a little bit in front of the house.  They both did well.  Zed is very much a homebody.  He was out there for a few minutes and then was ready to go back into the house.

We walked the beach this afternoon and went towards the Broadkill Beach store.  Across the street was a geocache, so that is our first geocache in Delaware!

first geocache in Delaware

Zed is very anxious - like he's afraid we are going to leave him or it might be all of the sounds - the waves and the hard wood floors that he's not used to.  He doesn't seem too relaxed.  Esa on the other hand....

Vacation - Day 2 (Monday)

1:30 PM
Just hanging out today.  Working on catching up on e-mails, reading, napping & walking on the beach.

5 pm
Ended up going to Walgreens and to Family Dollar in Milton.  Note to self - Family Dollar is cheaper.  I did get a coupon for a $25 gift card when I transfer a Rx to Walgreens though, so maybe it was worth it.

Vacation! Day 1 (Sunday)

At last, a long needed vacation!  We are at Broadkill Beach in Delaware.  The reason we picked this beach - dogs are allowed all year round.  I found this house though dogfriendly.com, which lead me to homeaway.com.

Today has been a long day.  Mostly because we went out last night to Brody Bash - but it was all worth it.  We had a great time (except for the smoke-filled bar).  I still feel like I'm trying to catch my breath from that.

We headed out around 10 am this morning & got to the beach around 1 pm.  We stopped in Stevensville, MD at the K-Mart.  We were just looking for somewhere to walk the pups a little, and they had a great open area next to them.  Anyway, Dan went in and I started walking the pups around & what did I find? A $20 bill!  WOOHOO!

This house is great.  It's the perfect size for us.  We unpacked and walked down to the beach store & got drinks and subs for a late lunch.  Then we figured out what we needed for the week and Dan went to the store.  We weren't sure about leaving the pups by themselves to get food, so I stayed home.  I think it was a good move.  Both of the pups were anxious while Dan was gone.

Once he got back we went for a walk on the beach.  We saw a bunch of dead horseshoe crabs, but we also saw two mating (at least we think)!  We saw finger sponges and a dead puffer fish.  Most of the beach is covered in pebbles.  It must be just from being inland/a bay area.

Mating (???) Horseshoe Crabs

Tonight has just been hanging out and trying to catch up on e-mails and such.  The pups finally laid down and we hope they will sleep in tomorrow.

Zed's first time on the beach (that we know of)

"Hell, No! I'm not getting in that water!"

Savings Summary Saturday - June 16, 2012

So, I've missed another week posting, but it doesn't mean I haven't been shopping & saving!  Below is for the week of June 9 & June 16.

Grocery Shopping (and other savings) this week:

• Petsmart
• used Petco $5 coupon and a $3 Blue Buffalo coupon.
• instore coupon for a free can of Blue Buffalo food when you buy a bag of dry Blue Buffalo dog food.
• free shoe shine at work (my tenants are good to me).
• Saved an additional $10 on my Rx with a discount card from my doctor (regular $33 - insurance co-pay, $22 with discount)
• Giant
• Daisy cottage cheese - $1.10 - on sale for $2, used 45 cent coupon that was doubled
• Harris Teeter
• Kellogg cereal - buy one get from free - $2.09/$2.12 each plus coupon $1/2 - approximately $1.59 - $1.62 each - to be donated
• saved 62% - they had a GREAT sale - bogo & b2g3 sales!

Gas Savings:

•  I saved 60 cents per gallon at Shell with my Giant Food card & used the Shell SuperSaver card which also saves me 2 cents per gallon.
• Hubby used our Exxon credit card, which will have points towards Upromise.

Things we got in the mail:

• Notepads from several different animal charities
• a cd from swapacd.com
• Entertainment Weekley (from Mycokerewards)
• Living magazine (free from rewardsgolds.com)
• Box from Little Black Bag - retails for over $150 - paid $64

Rewards programs:
MyPoints (personal account) - 12787 points -last week)
MyPoints (coupon account) - 3320 points-last week)
Swagbucks - 2604 points-last week)
Listia - credits 14157 credits last week) $0 paid out (when buying credits it is $0.10/credit) - I haven't posted anything on here lately.
Postpoints -2940 points last week) - I keep forgetting to log on this daily!
mycokerewards - 4859 points-last week)
Bondrewards - $25.91 last week)
Upromise - $16.03 last week) available for transfer
Capital One Rewards - locked out (3591 miles-last week) - haven't gotten around to unlocking the account :P
Thanks Again - (898 points last week)
Viggle - 55,165 points - last week) - haven't really been checking in
NCP - 39920 points last week)

New Year, New Goals - (I need to get on this!!!!)

• Use rewards programs to get gifts and daily stuff - no action this week
• Use Restaurant.com coupons - no action this week.
• Buy a New Car - BOUGHT IT! (BTW - paid cash for this).
• Set up an Estate - no action this week
• Monthly Review/Net Worth (new as of 5/9/12) - I saw this idea on Couple Money. I don't take enough time to review our net worth and keep track on how we are doing.

Friday Fragments - June 15

Friday Fragments, Episode 202

• There was a family of geese walking across Waxpool Road on Wednesday.  I was worried all day that they didn't make it across.  Going West, there was a break in traffic, but going East, there was a ton of traffic.  I was hoping that the cars behind me woud stop - they must have.  No injured geese in the road when I came home : )
• I cannot wait for the beach on Sunday!
• I am looking forward to going to Brody Bash on Saturday and seeing The Excentrics.
• I watched The Lost Boys: The Tribe.  OMG - so cheesey.  Storyline was basically the same as the first movie.
• Thank you to the new visitors (and one turned follower) to my blog:  Mrs 4444 (who runs the Friday Fragments blogroll), Tami, and Ellen.

Friday Fragments - June 8, 2012

Friday Fragments

Episode #201

I found out about this blogroll from my online friend, Nani.    This is a great idea - just things that have happened during the week that don't fill a whole entry.

Here goes -

• I started using Instagram this week.
• I've been really stressed this week - which lead to me going off on a tenant.  That only happens once in a blue moon.
• Someone new commented on my blog this week - Wayne Smith.  Thanks for stopping by!  It's great to know that someone else is at least looking at my blog!
• It's nice that I am able to joke around with my boss's boss.  GC, you are the man!
• I got a chemical peel for the first time - all week my face has been peeling.  I'm not sure about this....I have 2 more sessions that I paid for through Groupon.

Wordless Wednesday

Meet Me On Monday/Monday Quiz About Me

Heather at Acting Balanced has filled in for Java at Never Growing Old on the Meet Me on Monday blog hop.  So - here goes the first Monday Quiz about Me.  You are supposed to add a 5th question, but I'm going to skip that this time.

1. Finish this sentence - The first thing I do in the morning is...

     Turn over and see if Zed is between me & hubby - if he is, I usually cuddle with him.

2. What is your favorite kind of pie?
     Apple


3. Do you have pets?  
     Yup - as in the name of this blog - pups, Esa and Zed.

4. What is your favorite chair in your house?    

     I usually sit in the corner of our sectional.

No Saving Summary Saturday this week

With me being out of town and off from work, I haven't really done any shopping.

I am trying to get caught up on my coupon filing - I'm still about a month behind.  For me, the best way for organizing my coupons is cutting and filing in a binder.  Keeping the coupons uncut, like some couponers do, does not work for me.

Even the mail portion was slow this week.  I did get a DVD from swapadvd.com - Breaking Dawn Part 1 and it was brand new!