Food Spending DECEMBER Week 1, Meal Planning Week 2

This nifty little gadget gives a whole new meaning to the term "Guitar Shredding".

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And here is what actually got served last week.... 

Sunday--Everyone was sick but Hubs, he had soup and sammie

Monday--Lasagna Casserole, Salad

Tuesday--Chicken and Gravy over Fried Stuffing, Cali blend Veggies

Wednesday--Leftovers

Thursday--Tuna Sub Sandwiches

Friday--Going Out for Dinner....woohoo!

Saturday--Breakfast for Dinner

Yes, we pretty much ate every meal I planned(except for the Rigatoni which moves to this week's plan) but we may not have had them on the designated day above.

The food spending last week was massive.  $110.48 in 3 trips to the local grocery stores and throw in that stock-up trip to Ollie's for olive oil and other sundries at $54.90 and I blew through $165.38 of the month's food budget. 

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Going into this week, I have leftover Lasagna Casserole to use up.  I'll take care of that for lunch one day.

This week's menu....

Sunday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Salad

Monday--Chicken Parmesan, Mashed Potatoes, Beets

Tuesday--Halushki and/or Leftovers

Wednesday--Salmon, Coleslaw, Green Beans

Thursday--Hot Dogs, Beans, Potato Salad

Friday--Beef Pie with carrots, green beans and cornbread

Saturday--Leftovers or Breakfast for Dinner

Last week was crazy here because of the school musical and Daughter finishing her college classes.

This week will be crazy here because of rehearsals for jazz and concert bands, music lesson, college finals and my own personal eBay Hell.  The evening schedules aren't conducive to having everyone sitting at the dinner table at the same time.  I've planned accordingly by having 3 casserole type meals that can be eaten whenever, 2 meals that can be made quickly by whomever is hungry.  The salmon night will be whichever night we can get everyone to eat together since reheating fish isn't how you want to eat it. 

I'll be glad when all this extra busyness is done and we can go back to the normal level of insanity in our home. ;-)

What I need to buy for this menu?

Cabbage, Potatoes, Carrots(I think?).  Everything else is on hand.

A quick glance at the ads and there isn't much I want this week other than what is needed for the menu.  Daughter will be spending about $15 on lunch items to take to work.  I hope to get by this week spending $30 or less.

What are your menu plans for this week?

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.
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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. ;-)

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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

Week 2 Food Spending for August & Cucumber P*rn

First the P*rn.....

Cucumbers, the gift that won't stop giving!
These cuke vines seriously think they are the mops in The Sorcerer's Apprentice movie.
Remember them?  Mickey keeps splitting them with an axe and they keep dividing and growing legs.
Well, I keep picking these cucumbers and the vines keep spitting out new ones!
The above photo is what is left of one week's crop after salad making, cucumber slices in vinegar making, tzatziki sauce making and filling a ONE GALLON jar with pickles!

I know I'll regret cursing these babies come January when I am forced to pay $1.50 for ONE half shriveled CUKE!
But come on......this is getting comical!lol

Not much food shopping last week.  Hubs picked up milk and pita bread early in the week.
I used the leftover smoked London Broil to make Gyros last week so we needed the pitas.  I was able to use up some cucumbers when I made the Tzatziki sauce for the Gyros.
Yay me!
On the way home from our adventure on Thursday(more on that later), we picked up some 'loupes and corn at a farm market.  Sunday I bought 3 dozen eggs at Kmart since they were on sale for $1 a carton and I was there already with Daughter college shopping.

Then on Monday, Hubs and I stopped again at the local independent grocer for fresh produce(g beans, squash, celery, peaches), more milk(geez!), OJ and I got snuckered into buying frozen pizzas for the teens.  That was almost $20 spent.
Altogether I spent $33.15 in Week 2 on the food shopping.

My savings percentage ran a pitiful 33.27% this week.

Besides the milk, everything was on sale.
I used no Qs because, besides the pizzas, nothing was "couponable".
bleh.

As for a Meal Plan....last week was very free form, meaning, I had some sketchy ideas but Hubs would want to get take-out or go out for lunch(while the teens were still asleep).  After a big lunch I wasn't about to make a big dinner, so the teens would have to make their own "food".  I say "food" because though they ate at 2 in the afternoon, it was really their breakfast and then #2 son would snack/graze again around 7pm(while Daughter would go with her friend and eat while out), and then Daughter would break out a bowl of cereal around midnight and #2 son would end up banging around in the kitchen around 1am again, making another meal for himself.
I just said to heck with plans and let everyone do their own thing last week.  When Hubs and I weren't out lunching it, we'd scare up some scrambled eggs or sandwiches or just throw some leftovers together for ourselves.  The day we came home with the corn on the cob from the farm market,  I pulled some steaks out of the freezer and we did grilled corn and steaks on the spur of the moment that evening.

I'm still working on this week's Meal Plan.
Sunday was Taco Hell Bell since Hubs was still on vacation and I spent all day with Daughter collecting college things.  Monday was leftovers since Hubs and I used a gift certificate at a local restaurant for a late lunch so I wasn't cooking dinner.

Dishes I am definitely making this week:  Squash Casserole and fresh Green Beans with Bacon.
In the leftover department, I have two ears of corn which will make an appearance in Clam Chowder, and a steak which will become Beef Stroganoff with the addition of mushrooms, onions, sour cream, a lot of paprika and other spices.
Depending on if/when Daughter will be home for meals this week and if #2 son wants dinner when he gets home at 9pm after Marching Band Camp each night, I'll try to just fill in the gaps with something from what is already in the house.

I've spent $174.15 of my $250 food budget with half the month left to go.
I have $75.85 left in my funds.

Is it me, or has the price of food gone up so much for what we normally buy that it's getting very difficult to stay under our old food budgets?

I don't drink coffee and I have quite a large stockpile of it for Hubs currently but I've heard that this item has dramatically increased lately in a very short time frame.  Is this true?

I have heard that the drought in much of the country, it is leading to cattle and poultry being taken to slaughter early.  The cost and availability of feed grain is making it hard to keep herds/flocks at their current sizes.  This is going to make for some cheaper prices in these food items short term, but will eventually lead to higher prices the next year or two since there will be less animals for market.
This makes me want to load up on meats now.
What do you think?

Sluggy

July Food Spending Week 1....Keeping on Budget Finally!

I am going to update each week in July on my food spending. After the last 2 months of going over, maybe this will help me stay on track more if all of y'all are watching me.....watching me in a good way, not the bad, creepy way. ;-)

In the 1st 7 days of July I made 10 transactions at the grocery stores.
Actually, I made all 10 transactions/8 trips in TWO DAYS and I haven't been to the store since last Saturday(except for my trip to Rite-Aid on Sunday).
Ok, so 4 of those 10 were at Price Chopper(Northeast)doing the Unilever Catalina Deal(plus 1 more to PC where I didn't buy any Unilever stuff because they were out and I got other things).

I went to Dollar General last Saturday because they had that 1 day Q for $5 off $25 purchase. I bought ALOT of packs of soda and some Flavor-aid packets. I had $1/3 Coke Qs to use along with the $5/$25 Q and was all set for a total of around $18 + tax, HOWEVER, I forgot that these $5/$25 $General Qs are ALWAYS on $25 of items AFTER ALL OTHER QS ARE APPLIED!
Still got a good deal but Argh!
I hate when I forget stuff like that.....and I hate their policy too.
So my Cokes and Flavor-Aid came to $21.51 w/tax.

Add in a trip to Weis, a trip to the Bakery Outlet and 2 small trips to the local ShurSave affiliated market and I spent $66.72 in the 1st week of July.

No trips to the store yet since last Saturday and we've been eating from the stockpile.

SUNDAY--Leftovers
MONDAY--Hot Dogs, Green Beans, Watermelon
TUESDAY--Beef Enchiladas, Corn
WEDNESDAY--Chinese take-out
THURSDAY--Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce, Salad, Watermelon
FRIDAY--Leftovers again, Homemade Pickles
SATURDAY--Homemade Pizza, Salad

I will be going to Weis tomorrow to spend a $10 Catalina Q. I'll probably buy some ribs on sale to cook in the smoker on Sunday and hopefully won't spend any money. 8-)

I'm off now to go figure out a partial menu for next week that let's us eat mainly from the stockpile again.

How about you?  Are you eating from your pantry/stockpile next week?

Sluggy

Here's the Plan....Meal Plan, that is....and Food Spending so Far in March

Here is what is on the menu this week at Chez Sluggy....

SUNDAY--Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots, Biscuits *Using a corned beef from the freezer so I can fit the 2 new CBs I got for $1.29lb. on Sat. into the freezer.
MONDAY--Chicken Parmesan/Chicken Tenders, Salad *Using old chicken cutlets from the freezer.  Salad fixings I bought on Sat.
TUESDAY--? *The only ones home for dinner this night are #2 son and I so we'll be creative with something here. 
WEDNESDAY--Lasagna, Spinach  *Using the ricotta I got awhile back and the lasagna noodles from the Dollar Store last week...spinach from freezer.
THURSDAY--Beef and Bean Enchiladas, Corn, Rice  *Using tortillas I got in Jan. and ground beef for $1.33lb. I got on Sat.
FRIDAY--Macaroni and Cheese, Broccoli  *I cleaned out the fridge last weekend and found lots of odds and ends of cheese blocks I need to use up.  Mac and cheese is perfect for this!  Broccoli from the freezer.
SATURDAY--Leftovers  *Since Hubs was out of town the beginning of the week and Daughter wasn't home much for dinner, we'll have lots of leftovers.  Sunday may also become a leftover dinner night as well.


I spent $26.39 at Weis last Saturday on 2 rolls of biscuits, 2 marked down tubs of lunchmeat(.99¢), a gallon of milk, 2 marked down 50% bakery items(muffins and scones), a head of lettuce, a tub of marked down organic mixed greens, 3lb. of ground beef for $1.33lb. and 2 corned beef briskets for $1.29lb.  I wouldn't have gotten the bakery items and the biscuits except that you had to spend $25 to get the sale price on the corned beef briskets.  I saved 44% over reg. retail on the order.

Add this trip to the Dollar Store and Bakery Outlet trips earlier in the week and I spent a total of $51.80 on groceries last week.

We are at the halfway mark for March today and my total grocery spending is right at $89.63 for the month.
Not sure if I'll break out and spend a big hunk of grocery money in the next 2 weeks or not.  If I want to stock up on something I have $160 left this month to play with.

What is everyone else's grocery spending looking like so far this month?

Sluggy

Money Saving Challenge 2011....Get Busy with Your Coupon System!

This post was inspired by Precious' Money Saving Challenge series.  You can check her blog out at Frugal Makes Cents.




Now that 2011 is here, it's time to get going on preserving your family's income.

Let me say how I hate, yes-HATE! to give our family's money away.
...To much to the Government(who is quite inefficient in how they use it and waste quite a bit).
....To businesses and stores for their overpriced products.

While some of this spending is necessary(and required by law to boot), with the discretionary spending, I try to do what I can to reduce the amount we let leave Chez Sluggy.  

One of the areas where you can slow the money hemorrhage each month is by controlling your food spending!
One way to reduce your food spending is by using coupons.
If you do use coupons, now is the time to do a little maintenance on your system before you get inundated with the beginning of the year flood of coupons!

So I spent a little piece of my time today going through my Coupon Inserts from the latter part of last year and clipping out any coupons that have not expired by 12/31/2010 that I think I may use/need in the coming months.
I spent 2010 labeling my inserts and filing them.  I only clipped coupons as needed each week.
So I had quite the stack of inserts to sort through.

For now, I'll put each pile of coupons into one of the pencil cases I have, with all the Jan. expiring coupons in one case, the Feb. expiring coupons in another case, etc.

I'll reconsider going back to using a coupon binder for my system this month.  If the amount of actual FOOD coupons picks up I probably will.  2010 was a very poor year for manufacturers releasing Food coupons(except for the junkier food ones)into circulation.  I found I used far more internet printed coupons than manufacturer's coupons printed in the newspaper inserts.  It was so one-sided I am considering no longer buying the Sunday paper for coupon inserts and using a clipping service instead for the few coupons I would require.

Do you plan on using coupons more or less in 2011?
Do you have a system to keep them organized that works well for your?
Please leave a comment or question.

Sluggy