Thrifty Thursday-Cereal for $1.00 Edition

I was struggling yesterday to think of what I did that was frugal to include in this mornings post. I stopped at the Dollar Tree on the way home last night for cotton pads and face wipes for DD2 and drink mix packets for me. I'm trying to drink a lot of water, but I've still not gotten used to the addition of chlorine in the water since the E-Coli scare back in late September. The drink mix covers it up a bit. I knew we were pretty much out of cereal and I didn't want to make a stop at the grocery store so took a peek and thought I'd just bag a $1.00 size of Malt-o-Meal frosted flakes for my kid. I instead, might have hit the cereal jack pot. These two full size brands of General Mills were on the shelf! I've never heard o either, so I guess they tested poorly somewhere, but if they are even moderately successful, it is a win. I know she likes Cookie Crisp, Reeses Puffs, and shredded wheat, so should like both. At $1/00 a box, I didn't hesitate to buy three of each. When DS is home, they will come in handy as he can eat 1/2 a box himself as a late night snack. Counting the cereal, here are five thrifty things for Thursday.

• As  harped on above, I bought six full size (18 ounces and 20 ounces) of General Mills Cereals for $1.00 each. I found out online both were released last spring/summer at Walmart and sold for around $3.64. Both have best by dates of March and April 2019. At that price, it comes to a $13.24 savings.
• A customer of DH's gave him a $25 Applebee's gift card. While not fine dining, I find the food perfectly acceptable for a casual dinner.
• Even though these were paid for as part of our former wine club membership, we finally picked up the case and 1/2 at the wine bar. I'm counting as thrifty as we will not need to buy any wine for the holidays.
• I'm about 15% ahead of my Christmas budget. At this rate, I will be bringing it more in line with where I think we should be capped. I am also pleased with the nature of the gifts in terms of quality and how much I think the recipient will like the item. It's hard getting a deal all the time. 
• Low cost and free entertainment the past week included $4.00 holiday orchestra concert tickets,  drive into the country-nearby village and looked at lights, and a movie, hot chocolate, and wine at home instead of going out.   

It was a stretch this week to come up with five things-I know I took liberties. Things that were not thrifty, oh yes there were plenty of those. DH decided to cook a copy cat Noodles and Company pasta dinner. $11 of new groceries later plus using the last of the chicken, he may have succeeded, but sure cut into my budget. We as managers treated our division to breakfast of yogurt parfaits and breads. I was on paper product detail, but had to buy fruit last minute as my colleague got sick. For today's meeting, I picked up some quick breads and coffee. It just feels wrong to expect people to come from all over the state in December and not offer them at least a cup of coffee and a little snack! (We cannot use our funding for food.) Between the two meetings, I spent $44 out of pocket, and though I share this fact, I'm not complaining. These relatively minor expenses go a long way in building teams and having a positive work environment. And that my friends, is a bargain. 

Prologue: Neither DD2 or I liked the Dippin Dot's very much. It was tolerable. I'll add those to the food shelf donation and hope someone with a younger palate might like them. We'll finish the box. I'm hesitant to open the other now but think that one could be turned into a sweet snack mix if we don't like it as a breakfast cereal. A bargain is not always a bargain.