Finally, Home At Last

My road trip is finally over. I'm back home with my kitties now. I'm too tired to go the the grocery today. I'll have to go first thing tomorrow as I have no milk or bread. Basic stuff, right?

Every hotel where I've stayed since Saturday had a free breakfast. One place had free room service for dinner. The other meals I've eaten on the road I have used GC for which I received for no out-of-pocket. I'm really reaching here, but, also think about all the electricity I've saved by not being at home!

I received a free, full-sized box of Betty Crocker potatoes in the mail yesterday. Not only did I get free potatoes, the box had 3 BTFE on it. And a coupon. Is that like hitting a triple? Free potatoes, some BTFE, and a Q.

I received a $6.99 rebate while I was gone. That's going to help my grocery totals. I guess I'll use it tomorrow for some basics.

Still On The Road, Still Not Spending Any Grocery Money

I have spent $20.79 on groceries so far this month. It is the 11th, so, I'm looking good for now. I've been on the road working for the past few days and will get home tomorrow. I stayed in a very expensive hotel last night (on someone else's dime, I have to say!) and was able to order room service for dinner. I also had a complimentary breakfast that would have cost about $18. So, I guess I'm bragging a little when I say that not only am I not spending any grocery money, I'm also not spending any restaurant money, either. I also earned $100 in GC from my involvement with a company that collects junk mail from its members. That's the one for which I have offered referrals to you. If you haven't signed up, you can still do so. Just send me your name, address, and email address and I will get you signed up. You can email me at vickiburtonlives@bigfoot.com.

Please take a moment today to honor our veterans. If you see a soldier in uniform, buy him/her a cup of coffee or a soft drink. Spend a moment to thank them for their service. We are free because of their service to us.

Free Eggs, Free Food, Fun Stuff

Well, I found the "egg man" at the flea market Saturday and traded my egg cartons for 3 dozen eggs. I asked him if it was O.K. to do this every 3 or 4 weeks and he agreed. Oh, yeah, he sells roosters, goats, and rabbits there on the weekend. I think I know what happens to the rabbits. I'm not sure what fate awaits the goat. If it was a nanny, I'd suspect someone wanted it for its milk. The billy, though, I'm not sure about.

The wedding on Saturday was beautiful. We were treated to a 5-course, sit-down reception. The food was fabulous and all the wine served was from Chile. The bartender was busy making mojitos and another drink that I can't spell that is considered the "national drink" of Chile. The hotel where we stayed that night had a complimentary breakfast. It was rather complete, not just a continental.

The hotel I'm in now had a manager's reception yesterday evening with free drinks for 2 hours and a full, cooked-to-order breakfast this morning. I was able to get a rock-bottom rate at this hotel, probably 1/2 the regular rate. I just happened upon a good deal here. At any rate, free drinks, free breakfast, it works for me.

I'm Going To Cash In On Those Free Eggs Tomorrow

The flea market out of town near here goes on only Saturday and Sunday. I'm going to go see the "egg man" and trade in my cartons for free eggs. Later in the day, I'll be traveling to Atlanta to my cousin's wedding. I'll be on the road for 5 nights. I perform mystery shops for several companies at hotels and restaurants. That's what's keeping me busy for the next week. I will still be living "close to the bone" throughout my travels. I don't expect to spend much money while I am gone.

I've spent $20.11 so far this month. I have joined a group on HCW to spend no more than $50 in November. I think I can do it. I'm going to have to! The end of the year is a little ways off for now and I'm closing in on my budgeted amount.

Cheer me on. I need your support. I want to be accountable to you and show you that I can really do this.

November Is A New Month

I have only spent $17.64 so far in November. I realize it's only the 5th, but, I think this is pretty good. I have used $77.55 in Qs so far this month. I'm burning it up! I think I have found a way to post my progress on the blog. Not sure if I've gotten it right. We'll see. Amy was kind enough to encourage me to find a way to show my running totals. Oh, my local grocery store, Bi-Lo, has a survey invitation at the bottom fo each receipt. You can win $250 GC each month. Haven't won, but, they are offering a Q for free potato chips at the end of each survey. Sweet! That's something I don't usually buy, just because of the price. It's nice to have a bag or two around for snacking. Really, 6 oz. or so of potato chips for $3-$4. That's expensive.

A Good Deed Today

There's a spay and neuter clinic in my city that helps low income people have their animals altered. I think it's around $40 for a cat and $8 for a rabies shot. Dogs cost a little more. I have been deluged with the Qs for free Friskies cat treats lately. I took a sackful of 10 packages to the clinic today. Eileen, the director, said, "Why? Where did you get them?" It seemed to me like she's not used to having people donate things to the clinic. I just said, "Oh, I had some coupons." She thanked me warmly. I've had several animals altered there. It's the only way I can afford to have so many kitties.

I'm away from home on business tonight. I stopped off at a grocery, redeemed one of my free Michael Angelo's entree Qs, and took off. Luckily, I have a fridge and micro in the room. I guess I was assuming a lot there, you think? Maybe they wouldn't have that in the rooms. I knew, though, that they offered a continental breakfast and there's always a micro in the lobby with the breakfast area, so, I figured I could fix my dinner somehow. I paid .28 tax for the entree. I'm telling you, tax on food is a killer. Here, it's 7.75% on edibles and 9.25% on non-food items. I guess it's a trade-off. My state does not have an income tax and the property taxes are very reasonable. I was in Boston earlier this year and was told that their property tax rate was so high that they received their tax bills every QUARTER!! EEK! Can you imagine?

I have a bet going with a coupon friend for the World Series. I'm rooting for the Phillies and she's a die-hard Yankees fan. The bet? A 2 ounce envie of Qs to the winner. Ahem. If you've read the sports page lately, you'll understand that I'm working on pulling Qs out of my binder tonight! I have a funny feeling I'm going to lose this bet. Thank goodness it's not for real money. Oh, wait! Coupons ARE real money! What have I done?

I realize that it is only the 2nd day of the month, but, I'm feeling very confident that I can make it through November on $50. Truly, I'm going to have to do it to ever dream of making goal this year.

You know, I've been looking over my stockpile lately and I'm thinking that I may continue my challenge for 2010. I'm even thinking of cutting it from $1,200 to an even $1,000 for the year. That would be for one adult and 6-10 cats per day. Someone told me that if I knew how many cats I actually had, that I didn't have enough. There's no telling how few or how many show up for breakfast every day.

I'm still ticked off about losing that $5 rebate at CVS yesterday. It's a hard feeling to shake. Hopefully, in a few days, I won't be so hard on myself and can get over it. Gee! Five dollars! How could I have been so careless? Take a lesson from me, ladies and gentlemen. Make a list. Make notes. Follow notes. Don't make the same mistake I made. If only one of you learns the lesson, it will be worth telling you that I really messed up.

One rather big purchase on the horizon, but, it's gifts, not groceries. I make baskets for my clients and paralegals at Christmas. I always put in the Millstone coffee packets and hot chocolate envelopes. I'm going to have to spend about $40 on that to get my baskets done this year. Food items, yes, grocery spending, no. They are gifts. Do you agree?

Totally off topic, but, I am going to Orlando for my birthday in December. This year, Disney was giving a free ticket to any park on your birthday if you signed up. My birthday is within a week of Christmas and I've decided to go to Epcot Center. I don't have children, so, I've never had any real reason to go to Disneyworld or any of the other parks. I realize that the "free" ticket is going to cost me $500-$600 for travel, hotel, eating, but, you know, I'm getting old and there's things I should have done years ago that I'm just now getting around to. I'll be staying in a hotel with a full kitchen, so, I'm sure I'll be using free Qs for my dinners while I'm there. I can have a lot of fun on a small amount of money. Never had much money, always wanted to have fun, so, I learned how to do it on a shoestring without feeling deprived.

First Day Of The Month EEK! Spending Already

I had to pick up a few things from the grocery today. I spent $17, but, used more than $70 in Qs. Quite a %, don't you think?

I found some chicken drumsticks marked down, then, with a store Q, AND a man. Q. Awesome! I got 3 pounds of drumsticks for $1.77 plus tax. Sixty cents a pound sounds awfully good to me.

A funny thing happened to me at Target this morning. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but, I was itching to do the Glade Christmas scents deal again for another $5 Target GC. I ended up buying 10 items for the promo, using lots of really great Qs. At the register, the computer prompted the cashier to only give me (1) GC. I didn't want to argue with her, so, I went to customer service. After a lot of back and forth, even the supervisor said the deal must have ended. How can that be? The cashier gave me (1) $5 GC. She had no clue, so, I said, well, I'll just return 5 of the items. She was happy to oblige. Since I had used so many Qs and really worked at making it a great deal, the credit she put on my CC was actually more than what I had originally paid. I still haven't figured out how it happened. All in all, I came away with 5 Glade candle items, 1 bottle of shaving cream, I recieved $2.35 after all the charges and credits were done, I received a $5 Target GC, and I was able to send off for a $5 cash rebate to my cousin. She saves Coke codes for me. I try to do something for her as often as I can. Now, that is a seriously good deal!

CVS had an ECB deal on the Glade this week. I did one of those and besides using some good Qs, received $3 in ECB for the deal. I also bought the Softsoap hand soap in the designer bottles. Here's where I messed up. There is a $5 rebate on the Glade items and a $4 rebate on the Softsoap. I should have done 2 transactions so that I would have 2 cash tapes, but, messed up and put it all one one. It's not that bad. I've maxed out the $5 Glade rebates, so, I only "lost" a rebate I could have sent to my cousin. She won't know the difference, but, boy, does it nag me to have made that mistake.

I need to take a pledge right now to stay away from further Glade deals. I have a bag full of Glade candles. I don't usually buy stuff like that, but, when it's free or nearly so, with GC and rebates to go along with it, I guess I'm just weak.

I've got about $33 left to spend this month. Let's see if I can do it.

Oh, yeah, another great deal I came across. I know a woman who owns a bakery in town. She's been saving empty egg cartons for me and you can imagine how many she goes through with a bakery. I went to a local flea market today and found a man who sells eggs. I made an agreement with him to exchange 16 empty egg cartons for a dozen of fresh eggs. He didn't have any eggs left when I was there, but, next Saturday, I'm going to get 3 dozen eggs free for just 48 egg cartons. By the time I us all those eggs, I'll certainly have enough egg cartons to do it again. Please, ladies and gentlemen, give me a big hand for putting that deal together!