End Of The Month Truth To Tell

I have spent 178.03 so far this month. I really blew it. I bought that sirloin tip. Killed my budget. My yearly total is $1,121.50. I have left to spend $78.50. I've joined a group on HCW to spend no more than $50 for the month of November. I really think I can do it. There won't be any more purchases in October. I'm going with my dad to a football game tomorrow. No time to go to the grocery. I CAN do this. I can really clamp down next month. No problem. I won't fall for the Glade promotions, I won't fall for any goofy deals. I'm going to make it in November with $50. Please pull for me. I want to make this goal.

I'm Really Glad I Splurged On The Sirloin Tip

I had that sirloin tip ground and when I got home, cooked most of it up and put it in approximately 1 lb. portions in the freezer. Last night, I wanted something warm to eat while watching the baseball game and I thought about that. So, with a pouch of meat, an envelope of taco mix, and some jar cheese and Tostitos, I had a fabulous plate of nachos. I liked it so much I did it again for lunch today. The jar of Tostitos queso was free when I bought 2 bags of chips. I still had sour cream from the last taco merry-go-round. I'm flush with taco seasoning envelopes (at least 2 dozen, I guess)and jars of salsa. I think when I was accumulating so many envies of taco sauce, I made it a rule to never spend more than a dime for each one. Tacos! Nachos! Hablo espanol!

Well, I've Really Got My Butt In A Bind Now

Over at HCW, I joined the November challenge. I said I could do it with $50. What?! I must be crazy. I do have a 16 lb. bag of cat food laid back, but, I need litter. Other than milk, bread, coffee cream, and a few fruits and veggies, I think I can make do with what I have. Seriously, though, how am I and 10 cats going to make it on $50 for the month? According to the rules, that includes eating out, too. I have a fair amount of restaurant GC to use, but, I do have a habit of driving through Mickey D's for a cup of coffee. I have Starbucks GC, but, their coffee tastes like swill! I guess I'll burn those GC next month when I'm out and about.

I think I have enough Cokes to make it through November. That's my weakness, I admit. I may have to make more iced tea and drink fewer Cokes. That's O.K. I have PLENTY of tea and enough sugar and the no-calorie sweetener (why can't I remember the name?) to make do. Oh, Splenda. That's it. I have several (maybe a dozen) boxes of Splenda for practically nothing.

I have to do a lot of traveling in November for business. Most places I'll be staying have a microwave available and I have a dozen free Qs for Michael Angelo's entrees. Guess I'll be eating in most of the time. One place I have to visit allows me $50 in room service. I'm loving that! Also, I think every place I'll be staying has a free breakfast. I think I can make it.

Cheer me on. I'm looking for any support.

Oh, yeah, has anyone joined the Eight O'Clock Accumul8 Rewards program? It ends, as it currently stands, on Dec. 31. I think they are rolling out a new program next year. Let's see if it's worth fooling with. Another rewards program, Stouffer's, is also ending Dec. 31. Maybe they'll roll out another program next year. I've gotten a few free Qs for food from that program.

Great SC Johnson Deal

http://www.scjohnson.com/en/products/coupons.aspx

Go here to download a rebate form for SC Johnson products. Those include Glade, Ziploc, Windex, Scrubbing Bubbles, Pledge, Shout, Fantastik, Drano, Raid, Off, Saran, Nature's Source. Buy 3, send in your receipt dated no earlier than 10/1/09 (yeah, kick yourself like I did for buying a bunch of them on 9/30) with the UPC written on the form. You can send up to 3 of these $5 rebates per household, separate envelopes. Since I save all my receipts from everything, I found this morning that I already had enough for $10 in rebates. Went to Target and did the Glade deal today. Got enough for another $5 rebate, received a $5 Target GC, and pretty much just did a great deal on Glade, especially the Christmas fragrances.

The Target deal, in case you're just getting up to speed like I am, is buy 5 of the Christmas fragrances, get a $5 Target GC free. You can do several of these. You can also use all those great Glade Qs you're holding onto.

So, yeah, I spent some of my precious money that I have left on the Glade stuff today, although, in my defense, I also had to have cat litter. I didn't really spend too much on the Glade and I'm getting $15 back. I hope I get that back before the end of the year to help my totals.

There are, according to my fingers, exactly 10 weeks left in this year. I have $105 left to spend on groceries. I know I'll have to have more cat litter, so, I'll actively be looking for a good deal on that. I may have to buy one more large bag of cat food before the end of the year. Otherwise, milk, bread, coffee cream, and a few fruits and veggies. I'm gonna make it.

I Think It Was A Smart Buy

I went to Food Lion this morning to get in on the great deal on sirloin. What I found was that it was priced at $1.77 per pound, but, you had to buy a whole one. I found a 9 lb. + size for $16.XX. They also had boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.99 per pound. I picked up a couple of packages of that, as well. In all, I spent $24.36 and saved $29.97 with my store card. Now, I just have to spend the rest of the day portioning, frying, packaging, and finding space in my freezer for all of this!

I also did well at CVS today. They had 12-pack cokes for $13/4. That's not a great buy, but, I had 3 free Qs and I got $3 ECB back. I also used a $3.50 Q on the Glade candle which was $6.99 and got $6.99 back in ECB.

My favorite CVS does not yet have the bag tags to receive ECB credits. Th assistant manager told me that she was expecting them any day and had already made an empty space on the front counter for them.

Sirloin Tip Roast

I thought I got a great deal on sirloin tip roast @ $2.99 per lb. Food Lion has it for $1.87 per lb. this week. Wow! I'm going to have to dip into my remaining $155 for the year and buy some and have it ground. Who can walk past this deal?

Just An Update

I went a little crazy on some BOGOF stuff this week at my local grocery. They had All laundry detergent BOGOF and there are $1 and also .40 coupons out there. I ended up buying 6 bottles (32 load size) at a cost of $2.16 ea. I probably could have talked myself out of doing it if I'd just gone into the pantry room and looked at all the bottles and boxes of detergent I already had! Anyway, I'm admitting to some stockpiling. I know, some days I fall off the wagon on this challenge.

I only have $155 left to spend for the rest of the year. Of course, there's only about 11 weeks left in the year. If I completely ignore the Walgreens and CVS ads, I think I can do it. Of course, I have about $35-40 in CVS GC right now. I still have about $5 in Rite Aid GC. Other than those GC, I'm having to actually pay for stuff. Doesn't that bite?

I'm pleased to tell you that I've used $2,722 in Qs, store cards, and non-purchased GC so far this year. That looks pretty good next to the $1,045 I've actually spent.

I'm still able to refer a few people for the "GC for junk mail" program. If you would like to get in on this, please email me at vickiburtonlives@bigfoot.com, giving me your name, address, and email address.

Oh, yeah, I was able to redeem my Accumul8 Rewards points for a coffee free coupon. I guess that's all I'm going to get out of the program before it shuts down Dec. 31.