This Week on the Dining Table

The "Super Moon" Edition--

I went outside about 9 pm and took this photograph of the Super Moon with our Thanksgiving flag also in the shot.  Can't say that the moon looked closer than it ususally is at this time of year but it certainly was significantly brighter.
I'll try another shot tonight.

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Meatloaf, Broccoli, Au Gratin Taters

2. Monday--Chicken Parmesan, Corn Casserole

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Teriyaki Flank Steak with Stir-Fry Veggies(leftover taters for BF), Rice

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Meatloaf, Broccoli, Au Gratin Taters

2. Monday--Chicken Parmesan, Corn Casserole

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Hubs got Take-Out(I was sick.)

5. Thursday--Spaghetti w/Meatballs and Sausage, Garlic Bread(nobody was up for a salad too)

6. Friday--Fried Chicken(take-out), Mashed Taters, Macaroni Salad

7. Saturday--Spinach Salad and Leftovers

5 meals cooked at home, 2 of them a night of leftovers, and 2 nights of Take-Out.
I was fighting a cold/sinus thing all week so we got Take-Out twice and I used 2 premade meals from the freezer(meatloaf and meatballs)plus another dinner that was easy to prepare(chicken parm using breaded precooked patties).  I got a good deal on lovely spinach Friday at Weis so we had a big old Spinach Salad on Saturday and the Teriyaki Flank Steak meal moved to this coming week(I actually made that last night.).

As for the grocery spending.....3 trips to Weis and 1 trip to the Shursave market and free drinks at Kmart using a free gift card and $3 spent at Dollar Tree(18 ct. eggs for $1!)brought my weekly spending to $173.24 and my November food spending Total so far is $322.05.
I've got another $130+/- to spend next week and I am done spending actual $ on food in November.

So far, so good in my savings percentages in November at this point.  This week the savings rate average was 43.15% and the month-to-date stands at 50.44%.

Leftovers going into this week.......chicken thighs, salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, chicken parm, spaghetti, meatballs, sausage.  Leftover barbecue got put into the freezer.
Some of this will be eaten for lunches and some for dinner on Leftover Days.

Here is this week's "food plan".

1. Sunday--Teriyaki Flank Steak, Stir-fry Veggies, Fried Rice
2. Monday--Macaroni and Cheese, Broccoli
3. Tuesday--Kielbasi, Pierogies, Sauted Cabbage
4. Wednesday--Fajitas, Refried Beans
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Tacos
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 0 nights of Take-Out and 2 nights of Leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu?  Not a thing.  I earned $20 in free food chits last week so I'll be buying items to fill out the Thanksgiving menu-cranberry glop, whipped cream, etc.

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?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy

NOVEMBER 2012 Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2012.

I have posted November's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in November.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

BREAD OUTLET
OOP   $10.89

Value   $25.42

Savings  57.16%

KEYCO(restaurant supply store)

OOP   $37.55

Value   $70.88

Savings   47.02%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP   $32.39

Qs/Ads  $35.96

Value   $68.35

Savings   52%

RITE-AID

OOP  $1.25

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $491.38

Value  $492.63

Savings   99.74%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $269.64

Qs/Ads  $244.16

Value  $513.80

Savings  47.52%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $26.85

Qs/Ads  $69.90

Value  $96.75

Savings  72.25%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN November

Rite-Aid Single Check Rebate.......$10.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES...$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$10.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

1 Giveaway wins--Progresso Lunch Set with 2 free cans of soup, Green Giant apron and bowl set with FREE veggie coupon

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 99.74%,  Weis at 72.25%, and the Bread Outlet at 57.16%.  l shopped at 6 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$378.57

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$889.26

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,267.83

TOTAL Savings of...................................70.14%

TOTAL Out of Pocket after Rebates received this Month......$368.57
TOTAL Savings after Rebates of..........................70.92%

This closes out the November spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into November with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I was able to keep under my food budget with more than $20 leftover.

My grocery savings hovered at just below 71% for November after rebates.  If you take the Rite-Aid purchases out of the equation, my savings percentage falls to around 52%, which is quite good actually.  I'm usually around 33% savings for just the food stores.

I continued to shop the loss leaders and sales and stocked up when things were at rock bottom price in the sales cycles.  I also continued to not use many coupons at all at the food shops but I did take advantage of Catalina Deals and Store Instant Savings Promotions that were offered for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Of course, the small pile of coupons used at the grocery stores does NOT include the vast amounts I utilize at Rite-Aid.  I am indeed the Coupon Diva at Rite-Aid. ;-)

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO DECEMBER......

I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for December. We will be doing a fair amount of eating out in December after my oldest comes home for Christmas, but that money doesn't come out of the Food Budget.  It will come out of the money put aside for Christmas.
There will be some Holiday cooking and extra baking but at this point I have already picked up many of the supplies for that in November.
So $400 should be adequate for our needs in December.

How did you do in November with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to your budget?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

OCTOBER 2012 Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2012.

I have posted October's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in October.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

BREAD OUTLET
OOP   $6.89

Value   $22.44

Savings  69.30%

BIG LOTS
OOP   $67.12

Value   $127.54

Savings   47.37%

DOLLAR STORE
OOP   $7.00

Value  $16.00

Savings  56.25% 

DRUG STORE In MD

OOP   $7.47

Qs/Ads $7.92

Value   $15.66

Savings   50.57%

FOOD LION

OOP   $24.94

Qs/Ads  $12.00

Value   $36.94

Savings   32.49%

KMART

OOP   $1.50

Qs/Ads   $.39

Value   $1.89

Savings   20.63%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP   $32.66

Qs/Ads  $19.95

Value   $52.61

Savings   37.92%

RITE-AID

OOP  $0.00

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $322.35

Value  $322.35

Savings   100.00%

SAV-A-LOT

OOP   $22.56

Qs/Ads   $9.88

Value   $32.44

Savings   30.46%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $157.47

Qs/Ads  $82.11

Value  $239.58

Savings  34.27%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $134.08

Qs/Ads  $115.39

Value  $249.47

Savings  46.25%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN October

P&G Prepaid Visa Card Rebate.....$5.00

Rite-Aid Single Check Rebate.......$8.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$13.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Nothing....well not really, but I have a separate post about that, so until then it's a secret. ;-)

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 100%,  the Bread Outlet at 69.30%, and The Dollar Store at 56.25%.  l shopped at 11 different stores this past month, 4 of them only because we were on vacation far from home.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$472.36

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$658.23

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,130.59

TOTAL Savings of...................................58.22%

TOTAL Out of Pocket after Rebates received this Month......$459.36
TOTAL Savings after Rebates of..........................59.37%

This closes out the October spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into October with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I blew through the $400 mark again this month, by $59.36, even after rebates received were applied to the food budget.

My grocery savings hovered at below 60% for October after rebates.  If you take the Rite-Aid purchases out of the equation, my savings percentage falls to below 44%.

I continued to shop the loss leaders and sales and stocked up when things were at rock bottom price in the sales cycles.  I also continued to not use many coupons at all at the food shops.  I only counted 26 coupons and 4 store coupons on my receipts.

Of course, the small pile of coupons used at the grocery stores does NOT include the vast amounts I utilize at Rite-Aid.  Yes, Rite-Aid is all about the coupons for me! lol

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO NOVEMBER......

I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for November.  I am set for most of what I need for the Turkey Day meal this month so I don't need extra cash in the food budget for that.

I do plan on stocking up on some non-perishables/shelf stable items this month so I can earn a turkey gift certificate, as well as a $10 certificate for buying baking products at the Shursave independent grocer.  Between that, the little I need for the Thanksgiving meal and some weekly fresh purchases(milk, fruit, produce)and some things for Daughter's work meals I should be able to stay below $400 this month.

The wild card is we don't know how many are coming for Thanksgiving dinner and what price turkey will be here when the time comes for me to buy the poultry.  If more come, we'll just all have to eat less. ;-)

How did you do in October with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to your budget?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy