Meal Plan Monday....the Aug. 11th Edition

Look Kim!  A doughnut puzzle.........lol

Onward to the meal planning!  Here is what was planned for the last week.....

1. Sunday--Nothing was planned

2. Monday--

3. Tuesday-

5. Thursday--

6. Friday--

7. Saturday

4. Wednesday--

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Salad w/Balsamic Dressing

2. Monday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke

3. Tuesday--Fried Zucchini 

4. Wednesday--leftover Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke

5. Thursday--Don't Remember

6. Friday--leftover Fried Zucchini

7. Saturday--Salmon, Roasted Broccoli

We shopped at Walmart and Shoprite this past week so everything was bought there.

What got taken out of the freezer.......

* Salmon

* Chicken Thighs

The last week we spent $78.76 on groceries and the savings rate came in at 31.34%. Spending for the month is $78.76 and the savings rate is 31.34% for August before rebate monies are added in.

Rebates earned in August--

$53.92 on Ibotta

$11.90 on Checkout51

$0 on Aisle and Misc.

$65.82 total in $$

Total spent after rebates is $12.94

for August. I need to find someplace other than Walmart to buy groceries here. We picked up loss leaders at Shoprite but it's crazy how much more food cost here than in LA.  I miss Kroger. 8-((

1,150 Pts. on Fetch

1,600 Pts. on Swag Bucks

0 Pts. on My Points

0 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

(I don't count these until I cash out for a gift card or cash.)

Before AND after rebates we had a very low spend month for groceries at least for us.

Leftovers going into next week...Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke.

Here is what was planned for this week.....

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Green Beans

2. Monday--me-Salad

3. Tuesday--

4. Wednesday--

5. Thursday--

6. Friday--

7. Saturday--

I don't plan right now as I am on a very restricted eating plan.  Some days I have a protein shake or bar for dinner and Hubs has whatever he wants.  I eat a good amount of sugar-free Jello and take in a lot of water to keep my stomach full midday.  Breakfast is usually strawberries and yogurt, Greek yogurt if I can find it.

I am trying to drop the last 15 lbs. to qualify for a Jiffy Knee replacement.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week.

Sluggy   

Food Spending......May Edition

Onward to May's Food Spending Report....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for May 2025.

I have posted May's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located  and have updated the Totals there. 
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in May.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
***************

SHOPRITE

OOP  $48.86

Qs/Gift Cards  $42.64

Value $91.50

Savings  46.60%

WALMART

OOP  $308.35

Qs/Gift Cards $

Value  $

Savings  %

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Walmart  with a savings of 48.29% with a similar amount of the grocery dollars were spent at Kroger with a savings rate of 46.60%. Not a bad savings rate average overall though and we spent less than $100 for the month.

I shopped at 2 different stores in APRIL.  

TOTAL Spent in April....$95.60

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$84.33

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$179.93

TOTAL Savings of........46.87%

This closes out the April food/toiletries/etc. spending.

pril

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....A

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 2.79% in April  to 46.87% compared to March's 49.66% savings average.  Still over 40% savings so I am good with that.

Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people-because I don't have to). I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,156.03 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2025.

2025 Yearly Total Value of Items  $2,110.98

2025 Total Saved   $954.95

2025 Yearly Total Spent  $1,156.03

2025 Yearly Savings Total of  45.24%

The average per month amount spent is $289.01 in 2025 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Shopmium, TaDa, Checkout 51, Swag Bucks, My Points and other miscellaneous rebates-Aisle, Tremendous, Sampoll  etc. and have it sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  I don't add in all the cashed out savings until the end of the year,

The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger Cash Back), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gave me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that and it's defunct now so I won't worry about that bit.

Because I don't like to let money sit in these rebate accounts and Paypal, I send $$ to my bank account throughout the year.  So far I have sent $652.30 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 4 month point in 2025 comes in at $503.73 or $125.94 per month.

Besides all I sent to my bank account I have more $ sitting in these various rebating programs as well as in Paypal.  This is not counting Alexa, ShopKick or Fetch, which all comes out in gift cards or Amazon credit.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY 2025....

As we are moving to a new area it will take me some time to get back into my frugal, money saving groove.  There are multiple grocery store and I need to find the best(lowest priced)one for our needs.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in April?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just keep your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons versus buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

*  Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?

Sluggy

  

Some of My Ancestral English Relatives

John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford are my direct Great Grandparents.(19th)

This means Henry VII(Tudor)is my 3rd cousin 17x removed and his son, Henry VIII is my 3rd cousin 16x removed.

Here's a video all about the founding of the House of Tudor.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the Aug. 8th Edition

 Not much frugal going on here other than not going anywhere.

*  Hubs went up to Shoprite, our local grocery store.  He got some needs and loss leaders.

*  We went to Walmart last Friday.  This was my first outing besides doctor appointments.

I found a dime in the checkout line.  Of course Hubs had to pick it up for me or I'd have gone ass over tea kettle. 8-)

Found Money The Past Week.... .10¢

Grand Total Found in 2025....$4.01

That's all I got.

Make sure to enter the GIVEAWAY.  You can enter once per day.

Sluggy

A New Giveaway!

 I'm up tp running a Giveaway again.  Some of you seemed to enjoy them so. ;-)

So come enter Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway!

Here's what's in the current box of goodies......

                                   

And some close up photos...........sorry if they are blurry.....

                                       

                                         

                                          

1 x Cover Girl eyebrow pencils

1 x Cover Girl eye shadow palette

1 x Revlon plumping lip creme

1 x Makeup Remover

1 x Fridge Magnet from Barcelona Spain

3 x Freeman face masks

2 x Specialty soaps

3 x hotel Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Lotion

3 x Hotel Conditioning Shampoo

1 x Fruity Mentos

1 x Bayer aspirin keyring holder

1 x Clorox wipes packet

1 x Conair Roller Pins

5 x K-cups

1 x Country Pen

1 x Glade fragrance holder

1 x Refresh car air fresheners

1 x Bingo themed t-shirt  size XL

All this can be yours if you are chosen the winner.

You can enter once per day until Thursday, August 14th at 11:59pm.

Please let me know in your entry what you have done for someone else lately.  It can be something big or small, just something you've done to help someone, make them smile or made their day better.

That's all.

Winner will be announced on the evening of August 15th.

Have a good week!

Sluggy 

\

Not Having Much Fun Right Now

The last month has been rough.

The cruise was nice, if not coldish.  But that's what you get when you go to Norway in June. lol   We did pack cold weather gear so it was ok.  Wearing a winter coat at the airport in NJ in June was odd but was glad to have it once we got to Copenhagen.

Just a few photos for now of our adventure to Norway.

We played the game show "Newlywed/Not-So Newlywed" and won.  Proving that being married almost 44 years is good for something.

I won/we won a ton of prizes and gave a lot of them away.(2 sets of clothing take up a lot of room in your suitcase).

We met a couple to hang out with on the ship.

I made it to Svalbard.

We got to know the airport in Iceland intimately(we were there 9+ hours).

Got on the plane to come home and were sitting directly in front of Typhoid Mary(or rather Covid Mary).  She was unmasked, sneezing, coughing and blowing her nose incessantly.

We had forgotten to pack masks for the plane so 2 days after getting home Hubs came down with what he though  was a Summer cold. He was better/over it in 3 days.  After he recovered suddenly I couldn't stand up.  That's when we knew it was not a Summer cold.

We had to call 911 for an ambulance to the ER since I couldn't get in the car.

At the ER they left me in the hallway for 24+ hours, not checking me in, then shipped me out to their smaller hospital where I was expected to spend 3 full days/nights before being admitted to a Rehab hospital.  Before leaving the ER they checked me for Covid and BINGO! that's what I had. I had evaded Covid totally until then. The gave me IV anti-viral drugs and then the OT and PT folks came in and said I was doing too well and the Rehab hospital wouldn't take me so they sent me home.  I relapsed 3 days later and spent 3 weeks in a wheelchair before anyone would send home health to help.

I've had home health for 1 week and I am doing better.  

Just a brief synopsis of life here lately.

Sluggy

Feeling Better

 I think I'm through the worse of this weird version of Covid I have but still have a ways to go.   The neurological issues I have are just making this worse.

I'll try to blog a bit when I am not doing PT, OT or sleeping.

I hope everyone is doing ok.

Sluggy

Iceland + Covid=No Bueno

 Sorry for the radio silence since we got back.

It's not everday that you fly home from Iceland and catch Covid. Ugh

I'll be back when I am feeling better.

Now I just want to sleep............

Sluggy

Kim's Bestie

 I found Kim’s Beastie at the Newark Airport  on Friday.....

Not the crazy lady but the one in the bottle.  lolz

It's 3am in Copenhagen as I write this.  Jet lag is a b*tch!

How will I survive this cruise without my Midnight 🥕 Cake Buddy??

Sluggy 

Copenhagen & New Living Quarters

 We're going to be in Copenhagen at the end of this week before we board the ship.

Has anyone been to Copenhagen?  Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do there?

I had a work partner when I was in my 20's named Tula who was much older than me, originally from Denmark,  She never really talked about her homeland and had lived in the US for decades.

I though erroneously that the Anne Frank house was in Denmark and not the Netherlands. duh. lol

All I know is that the Little Mermaid statue from Hans Christian Anderson is in the harbor there.

And the original Lego Land is there.

We'll probably visit the mermaid statue by the harbor but not the legos. 8-))

As for our new living accomadations--

The new place meets our needs, mostly.  It's a bit smaller than we need.  We'll need to rent a storage unit for the stuff I am selling and get it out of the garage,  This place is just temporary and gives us a year to find a place to buy.

There are 3 annoyances we have found so far here--
The main thing is the road behind the duplex runs down a hill and folks gun their engines and speed down(or up)the road.  The bedroom is in the back of the duplex.  It would have been expedient if the builder/owner had put a fence up to muffle the sound from the road as the backyard is quite small.
The other two problems are not going to ongoing.
The refrigerator makes beeping sounds at random intervals.  We have a work order in to get this addressed.  I had a dream last night about a robot that beeped. lolz
The third item is my sink in the master bath.  I noticed that it was slow to drain so Hubs hit it with some Drano.  But it still was slow to drain,  So I investigated and here is what I pulled out of one of those stoppers you can't remove.............

A big wad of hair, mixed with some dental floss and part of a Band-aid and something else I couldn't identify,
You would think that as part of the cleaning of the premises they do when a tenant leaves would include checking the sink drains in the bathroom,  This is stuff I pulled out with my fingers!  Hubs pulled out more gunk with tweezers besides this,  Just nasty!!

I don't know whether to bring this to management's attention or night.  I don' t want to be "that" tenant but come on!  these are relatively new duplexes(maybe a year or two old)this is something that should be cleaned.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table.....June 1st to 7th

 

Here's one of those invites to talks on signing up for Medicare Advantage plans you get before you turn 65 and are eligible for Medicare.

Only I got this one when I turned 66 and was still in Lousiana!lolz

Just a bit late you might say.....

Onward to the meal planning!  Here is what was planned for the last week.....

1. Sunday--Leftover Chicken Thighs, Brussels Sprouts

2. Monday--don't remember

3. Tuesday--don't remember

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Sweet Potato Fries

5. Thursday--don't remember

6. Friday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup

7. Saturday--Steak, Corn on Cob

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Leftover Chicken Thighs, Brussels Srouts

2. Monday--don't remember

3. Tuesday--don't remember

4. Wednesday--Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Fries

5. Thursday--Chicken Parm, Broccoli

6. Friday--Broccoli Cheese Soup, (Biscuits or Salad)

7. Saturday--Steak, Corn on cob

 We shopped at Walmart and Shoprite this past week so most everything was bought there.

What got taken out of the freezer.......

*  Ground Beef

*  Chicken Parmesan

*  Steak

The last week we spent $160.01 on groceries and the savings rate came in at 44.10%. Spending for the month is $627.16 and the savings rate is 30.93% for May before rebate monies are added in.

Rebates earned in May--

$123.43 on Ibotta

$18.00 on Checkout51

$42.67 on SwagBucks

$0 on Aisle and Misc.

$443.06 total in $$

Total spent after rebates is $443.06

for May. I need to find someplace other than Walmart to buy groceries here. We picked up loss leaders at Shoprite but it's crazy how much more food cost here than in LA.  I still miss Kroger even more.  We gave ShopRite a shot but it's not the same as when we shopped there in the old days, 8-((

16,932 Pts. on Fetch

3,177 Pts. on SwagBucks lol

353 Pts. on My Points

2,212 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

(I don't count these until I cash out for a gift card or cash.)

Here is what was planned for this week.....

1. Sunday--Out for Father's Day

2. Monday--Leftover Steak, Corn on Cob

3. Tuesday--Leftover Chicken Parmesan, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Leftover Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Biscuits or Sweet Potato Fries

5. Thursday--TV Dinners or whatever

6. Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

We have a much smaller fridge/freezer now so have to be more strategic with food purchases here.  It's going to take some getting use to.

We are cleaning out the fridge before our trip.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week.

Sluggy   

Frugal Friday....the May 30th Edition

Here are the frugal wins for this past week....

*  We didn't get take-out all week.

*  Entertainment this week was playing with the dogs and sitting out on the front porch when the sun was out.

*   I found money!

I only found 1 grimy penny in a parking lot somewhere this past week.

Found Money The Past Week.... .01¢

Grand Total Found in 2025....$3.91

That's all I got.  Not a lot to report this week.  Hopefully next week will be better.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy        

The Journey from LA to PA...What Could Go Wrong?

Before we left our house in LA we had to have work done on our cars(ouch).

We had the moving company show up and begin loading our belongings in their truck.

I had to leave before they were done as my bed went on the truck so I slept at a local hotel that night.  Hubs slept on an air mattress at the house that night.

Of course we didn't get all the cleaning we planned done so had to pay someone to finish the job.  That was money well spent. 8-)

As I wasn't there at the end I didn't see that everything didn't fit on the truck.  If I had known I would have made some different choices than Hubs made(like leaving 2 Rubbermaid tubs of laundry detergent/stain remover.  That one about made me sick.)

So the day we left I picked up Chester my dog and Hubs and I convoyed out of Louisiana.

We got outside of Shreveport and the skies opened up.  It was slow going and then the hailstorm hit us.  ugh  And this was ugly, big hail too so the going got even slower.  It took us twice as long to reach Vicksburg, the Mississippi border, as it usually does.  We stopped at Vicksburg MS at the rest stop to let the dogs do their business and by that time I was spent.  Between the hail storm and the meds I am on I was so tired and felt unable to safely drive.  I got some caffeine and we made it to Clinton, MS and stopped for the night.  

I let Hubs know I was struggling and I wasn't going to take those meds that make me sleepy on the rest of the trip.  It was the right thing to do .Besides the drowsiness my left knee was ailing me.  It's the knee I haven't had replaced but sure needs it.

So the next morning we left early and convoyed from rest area to rest area and made it to outside of Birmingham, AL before I ran out of steam again.

One of us had to be at the house the following day as the moving truck was going to be there and I was slowing us down a lot.  So Hubs took Chester and put a bunch of stuff in my car and left.  I made it to a hotel in Bessemer AL.  Of course I called "Anne in the Kitchen" to see if she was free as she lives in the area.

Anne had plans that evening but she had time to sit with me while I ate a "fine" Wendy's burger.  We talked, laughed and had a grand time.

Then it was back to the hotel for bed and resting my knee.

The next morning I left and drove and drove.  My little car made it impossible too get my left leg in a comfortable position.  I stopped at most rest areas to get out and  walk a bit if not use the facilities.  I never thought I'd get out of Tennessee. lol  I stopped at Bucee's briefly for a gift.  While waiting at the counter to be helped I struck up a conversation with a younger fellow about peppers.  Turns out he was from Allentown originally(a town near where we had lived in PA)and we waxed nostalgic about PA and we had a big hug before I left with my goodies.

By the time I hit VA I was beat and I went as far as my knee let me go before I stopped for the evening.  My knee was throbbing and I tried icing it to no avail.  I had one more day oif driving left but didn't see how I was going to do it.

I decided to go to the emergency room at the local hospital and see if I could get a shot in my knee or some other relief for it.

Since I couldn't drive my car at this point I called 911 for an ambulance.

Pretty quickly there was a knock on my door and I opened it up to find two people-both young and 1 certainly female while the other appeared androgynous but on the female side of things,  She/he was wearing "muck" boots, like she/he had just come from mucking out horse stalls and there was some straw bedding stuck to one boot, stuck there with what might have been horse poop. 8-((

So I hobbled down to the elevator and out the front door to the ambulance.  As we exited the lobby the androgynous ambulance attendant spit a rather large wad of sputum out like they had chewing tobacco in their mouth,  Yikes!

They got me on the gurney and loaded me into the ambulance and we took the 1 mile journey to the hospital.

Once in the ER it wasn't long onto the dr. on call saw me(after registering and all).  She couldn't give me a knee shot but she gave me 3 other shots so I could get a good night's sleep and finish my journey to PA the next day.  She gave me a shot for inflammation, a muscle relaxer(which I don't understand)and a morphine shot(that must have been so I slept well). 

I got to ride in the ambulance back to the hotel and pay $20 for the honor.(Some one had misplaced the car they used to give rides to folks who came to the ER unaccompanied.)

So the morphine kicked in and I fell into a deep sleep, waking at 4 am.  I gathered my bags and grabbed a banana and a granola bar, paid for a Coke Zero from the drink machine in the lobby and hit the road.

I drove from Rest Stop to Rest Stop the rest of the way up to the new house outside of Scranton.  It was a grueling drive but I made it here before dusk and collapsed in bed.

That's about all there is to say.  It was not a fun 1,350 miles but my knee and my car held up.  

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

Saw this door mat and had a chuckle.  "did you call first?" sounds about right for me. lol

Onward to the meal planning!  Here is what was planned for the last week.....

1. Sunday--Don't remember

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Chinese Takeout

4. Wednesday--Pasta w/Meat Sauce, Caesar Salad

5. Thursday--Pork Loin, Brussels Sprouts

6. Friday--Flounder, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Cheese Burger, Sweet Potato Fries

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Don't remember

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Chinese Takeout

4. Wednesday--Pasta w/Meat Sauce, Caesar Salad

5. Thursday--Stir-Fry Veggies w/Pork

6. Friday--Flounder, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Pork Loin, California Mix Veggie

Not a very inspired menu but it got the job done.  We shopped at Walmart and Shoprite this past week so everything was bought there.

What got taken out of the freezer.......

*  Pork Tenderloin

*  Ground Beef

*  Stir-Fry Veggies

*  Flounder

*  Ca Mix Veggies

The last week we spent $127.96 on groceries and the savings rate came in at 34.16%. Spending for the month is $467.15 and the savings rate is 24.87% for May before rebate monies are added in.

Rebates earned in May--

$88.95 on Ibotta

$7.00 on Checkout51

$0 on Aisle and Misc.

$95.95 total in $$

Total spent after rebates is $371.20

 for May. I need to find someplace other than Walmart to buy groceries here. We picked up loss leaders at Shoprite but it's crazy how much more food cost here than in LA.  I miss Kroger. 8-((

16,932 Pts. on Fetch

3,177 Pts. on SwagBucks lol

353 Pts. on My Points

2,212 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

(I don't count these until I cash out for a gift card or cash.)

Before AND after rebates we had a very low spend month for groceries at least for us.

Leftovers going into next week...Meatloaf, Brussels Sprouts, Carrots, Chicken Thighs.

Here is what was planned for this week.....

1. Sunday--Cheese Burger, Sweet Potato Fries

2. Monday--Leftover Meatloaf, Carrots, Brussels Sprouts

3. Tuesday--Leftover Chicken Thighs, Broccoli

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parmesan, Green Beans

5. Thursday--Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6. Friday--Mushroom Risotto, Salad

7. Saturday--Top Round Beef, Veggie TBD

We have a much smaller fridge/freezer now so have to be more strategic with food purchases here.  It's going to take some getting use to.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week.

Sluggy