Food Spending....the January 2025 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for January 2025.

I have posted January's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there. 
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.  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).
****************

ALDI

OOP  $3.69

Value  $4.99

Savings  24.59%

BROOKSHIRE'S

OOP  $10.91

Value  $14.87

Savings  26.63%

KROGER

OOP  $308.37

Qs/Gift Cards  $254.43

Value $562.80

Savings  45.21%

WALMART

OOP  $77.51

Qs/Gift Cards $38.54

Value  $116.05

Savings  38.54%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Kroger with a savings of 45.21%.  My worse rate was at Aldi with 24.59%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall though.

I shopped at 4 different stores in JANUARY.  

TOTAL Spent in January......$400.48

TOTAL Rebates Banked....$100.00

TOTAL Spending in January....$300.48

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$398.23

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$698.71

TOTAL Savings of........56.99%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....Most of our $$ was spent at Kroger(got the best deals there)and we had over a 40% savings rate at that store.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 6.50% in January to 56.99% compared to December's 50.49% savings average.

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 1 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $300.48 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2025 after rebates received.  Food prices have gotten to the ridiculous level, haven't they?

2025 Yearly Total Value of Items  $698.71

2025 Total Saved   $398.23

2025 Yearly Total Spent  $300.48

2025 Yearly Savings Total of  56.99%

The average per month amount spent is $300.48 in 2025 but that's after 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)and add it back into my food budget.  I have cashed out $100.00 in January so my January spending has gone down to $300.48.

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. 

Because I don't like to let money sit in these rebate accounts and Paypal, I send $$ to my bank account throughout the year.  I have sent $ from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 1 month point in 2025 comes in at $300.48 or $300.48 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 ShopKick or Fetch, which all comes out in gift cards.

LOOKING AHEAD TO FEBRUARY 2025....

After we went through and organized the freezer, I am trying to eat down freezer/pantry in 2025 in preparation for our move away from here.

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 January?

*  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

 

Food Spending.....the October 2024 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for October 2024.

I have posted October's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there. 
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in Octohyhhber.  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).
****************

BROOKSHIRE'S 

OOP  $30.16

Sales  $18.85

Value  $49.01

Savings  38.46%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $12.23

Sales  $20.47

Value  $32.70

Savings  62.60%

KROGER

OOP  $431.31

Qs/Gift Cards  $318.05

Value $749.36

Savings  42.44%

LOWE'S

OOP $19.52

Value  $26.00

Savings  24.92%

WALMART

OOP  $156.75

Qs/Gift Cards $83.76

Value  $240.51

Savings  34.83%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Dollar General with a savings of 62.60%.  My worse rate was at Lowe's with 24.92%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall though.

I shopped at 5 different stores in OCTOBER.  

TOTAL Spent in October......$649.97

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$517.67

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,167.64

TOTAL Savings of........44.33%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

On the surface our spending was a little high but that doesn't figure in all the rebating cash I got back.  Even so, we had a goodly savings percentage over regular retail anyway.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went Up by 4.14% in October to 44.33% compared to September's 40.19% savings average.  

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 10 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $5,984.68 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.  Food prices have gotten to the ridiculous level, haven't they?

2024 Yearly Total Value of Items  $11,829.88

2024 Total Saved   $5,845.20

2024 Yearly Total Spent  $5,984.68

2024 Yearly Savings Total of  49.41%

The average per month amount spent is $598.47 in 2024 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 $2,717.68 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 10 month point in 2024 comes in at $3,267.00 or $326.70 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 NOVEMBER 2024.....

After we went through and organized the freezer, I am trying to eat down freezer/pantry in November and it seems like most of my grocery spending lately has been for Food Bank donations.  I hope to spend less in November than in October but time will tell.  Inflation is still crazy high so spending is more than I'd like it to be.

Gone are the days of a $350 grocery budget.

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 October?

*  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

Food Spending.....the 2022 June Report

 Onward to June's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JUNE 2022.

I have posted June's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in June.  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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2-3 eating at home this month). No "kids" under 26. 
****************

ALDI

OOP  $18.24

Value  $25.85

Savings  29.44%

OLLIE'S

OOP  $29.53

Value  $55.94

Savings  47.21%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $802.44

Value  $802.44
Savings  100%

WALMART
OOP  $28.28

Qs/free Gift Cards  $33.57
Value  $61.75
Savings 54.36%

WEIS

OOP  $72.63

Qs/Sales  $30.58
Value  $103.21
Savings  29.63%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Walmart at 54.36%, and Ollie's at 47.21%.

The worst rate was at Weis at 29.63%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in June.

TOTAL Spent in June................$148.59

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$98.30

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$246.89

TOTAL Savings of .............................40.05%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for June w/R-A..............$148.59

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$900.74

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$1,049.33
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................85.84%

This closes out the June food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....As planned I stayed well un $350 for the month....heck, I stayed under $200!  Lots of eating from the freezer will do that for ya. ;-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 8.25% in June 2022 to 85.84% compared to the May's 77.59% savings average.  

With 6 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,581.22 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,581.22

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$8,291.34

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$6,710.17

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................80.93%

The average per month amount spent is $263.54 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To July 2022.......We'll continue to eat down from the freezer.  Not much left in the pantry so I know I'm making inroads there.  We'll be buying fresh produce/dairy as needed.  I've got to ramp up the eating down as we are shooting to put the house on the market later this month.

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 vs. 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

A Shopping Extravaganza Lately!

I bought 2 boxes of Cheerios on Saturday at Rite-Aid........

They were $1.97 per box and I used a $1/2 GM cereals Q so $2.94 paid in Bonus Cash on son's card(I had some BC expiring on that card soon).
I got $1 cash back on SavingStar for this purchase so these "cost" me .97¢ a box.

Friday was Fantastic Sale Day at Weis(PMITA)Markets.
Here is what I bought..............

3 x Utz Chips were B1G2Free=$4.29
3 x Club crackers minis on sale=$5.58
1 x Tabasco=$3.39
2 x Planters nut crunchers on sale=$5.98
2 x Green Giant veggies on sale=$3.00
2 x Birdseye veggies on sale=$3.98
2 x 1 lb. mushrooms on sale=$3.98 *not pictured*
1 x Johnsonville breakfast sausage on sale=$2.67 *not pictured*
1 x Kaukauna cheese ball on sale=$5.00 *not pictured*
2 x Lay's chips BOGOF=$4.28 *not pictured*
1 x Weis Garlic Bread=Freebie *not pictured*
1 x Stouffer's party lasagna=.99¢ *not pictured*
1 x 18+ lb. Butterball turkey=$9.04 *not pictured*
1 x Pecan Ring Danish 50% Bakery=$3.00 *not pictured*
SubTotal......$55.18

I got $3 off on the 6 Mix 'n Match items(veggies, nuts), $1Q on the Lasagna, $1Q on the Tabasco and 3 x $1.00 Qs for the Club crackers so $8.00 off so I paid $47.18 OOP.

I redeemed 100 points to get the Butterball turkey for .49¢ lb. and 100 points to get a party Stauffer's lasagna for -.01¢.  It was .99¢ after points and the cashier let me use a $1/1 Stouffer's party lasagna Q on it so I got paid 1¢ to take it home. 8-)))

I earned back $9.85 on Ibotta(.50¢ Tabasco, .75¢ Kaukauna cheese, 3 x .75¢ Club crackers, 2 x $1 Planters crunchers, $3 wyb Butterball turkey and 1 Lay's chips, $1.25 Johnsonville bfast sausage, .10¢ any item)and $9 in Bonuses(Turkey Trot, Gravy Train, Nov. Level 2)so totaling $18.85 in cash rebates and another $1 on Checkout51 for buy 2 Club crackers.

Hubs and I also went to Giant today to get the freebies there........

1 x Giant Butter=Free
1 x Doz. Giant Eggs=Free
1 x Box of Giant Stuffing Mix=Free
1 x Can of Giant Pumpkin=Free
1 x 35 ct. Bottled Water=Free *not pictured*
1 x 5 lb. bag of Russet Potatoes=Free
4 x Arizona Tea on sale=$10.00 *not pictured*
2 x Reddi Wip on sale=$4.00 *not pictured*
1 x Goya Jasmine rice=$3.19
3 x bags of Chiles=$5.37
SubTotal.......$22.56

I picked up the tea which was on sale, the Reddi Wip that we need for pumpkin pies and this Giant carries dried chiles and I was totally out so I bought 3 bags to restock my pantry.  I will get back .75¢ on Saving Star for the Goya rice and it tracks toward a $5 Goya cash rebate as well when you spend $25 on Goya.

We also hit Weis in the town Giant is in, since it was nearby and I still had Weis points to spend............

I had enough Weis points to get 3 more Holiday items-another large Lasagna for .99¢, a frozen turkey breast for .49¢ lb. and a smoked ham for .25¢ lb.
I also got a Well Yes! sipping soup which after my doubled coupon cost .17¢, a 4 pack of Bakery muffins which after my $1 coupon and 50% off cost $1.12, 3 x single OJs were $1.49 after my $1/3 Q, 9 x Pure Tea singles were $7.47, 2 x Goya dried pintos were $2.58, 2 x Goya tomato paste were $1.58.
I also did the Mix 'n Match Buy 6/Get $3 off...I got 1 x Dunkin Donuts Creamer, 2 x International Delight Creamers, 3 x Green Giant Veggies.  Those 6 cost me $9.47 after $3 Instant Off and the $1/2 International Delights ManuQ I used.
I also picked up 4 12-packs of Coke at 4 for $12.00.

I'll earn back another $1 on Ibotta and $3 on SavingStar for having now bought $12 worth of Pure Leaf tea singles bottles.
I am about $1.50 away from getting the $5 Goya rebate so I'll pick up another bag of dried beans or some Adobo.

I am now over $400 by about $35 for the month(sigh)but........

* I will have to buy very little food in December(milk, fresh produce).
* I have grown my cash rebates on Ibotta and SavingStar to $329.81 to cash out in Dec. to apply to groceries bought this year.(I am not even counting the Checkout51 since I am nowhere near the $20 cash out threshold.)
* These cash rebates doesn't even count all the refunds and "post coupon" cash I have accumulated in 2018 to also put toward the food bills. ;-)

Sluggy

Grocery Shopping this Past Week

Not much food shopping happened this week.  I was good and kept the spending low, only succumbing to 1 stock-up deal.

* There was a trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Sunday for 2 bags of collards and a day old French bread.  Total $5.15.

* There was a trip to the Shursave Market for a few items, mostly for stocking up on soups for Daughter's lunches.

10 x Progresso soups on sale .99¢=$9.90
2 x Corn Muffin mixes on sale .49¢=.98¢
1 x Daisy cottage cheese on sale=$2.00
3 x bananas=.38¢ *not pictured*
Total $13.16

* There was also a small trip to Ollie's on Sunday so Kim could behold the wonders of Ollie's. lolz

2 x Olive Oil=$7.98
3 x Pumpkin=$2.67
1 x Knoor rice side=.89¢
Total....$11.54

$29.85 spent this past week at the grocery stores.  It's almost the middle of October so I am doing well on keeping my grocery spending low this month.

Who knows what will happen next week..... ;-)


Sluggy

An Orgy of Food Shopping

So I went out this weekend to Big Lots.  I like to hit them when they hold one of their "Friends and Family 20% Off Everything in the Store" Event.  Usually it's held 3-4 times a year.
This past weekend was one of these events.

Here are the items I bought that are paid for out of our food/toiletries budget........

2 x Soy Sauce(less Sodium)
2 x Ritz generic crackers
1 x Sirachi Chili Paste
1 x Coconut cookies
1 x Welch's jelly
2 x Pretzel crackers
1 x Veggie crackers
4 x cans of corn
3 x veggie oil
1 x gal.of vinegar
1 x almond extract
2 x tomato paste
2 x rice wine vinegar
1 x mandarin oranges cups

1 x Hefty baggies
1 x Zote laundry soap
3 x Spray n' Wash
1 x box of wet dog food
2 x Swiss Miss dark cocoa mix
2 x seashell pasta
1 x 2 lb. Tyson chicken breasts(not pictured)
$56.80 spent OOP at Big Lots

Everything was a good price regularly(lower or the same as what I pay other places)plus 20% off.
The cocoa mix was a deal because it was 50% on clearance already and I got another 20% off too.

Then I hit Wegman's on the way home.  I don't go there often but they had pork shoulders/butts for cheaper than Maine Source so I went to pick that and a large tub of hummus up(for ex-College Boy).
I also bought a pack of Portabella Mushroom caps and a package of 6.26 lbs. of ground beef, a smaller olive hummus for me and 2 2 lb. blocks of cheddar(Walmart is cheaper for that I couldn't face also having to go to Walmart on a weekend). ;-)
No photos of all that but it came to $58.15 OOP.

Then I hit Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday for all this.......

1 x 2.70 lbs. steak on sale $3.99 lb=$10.77
2 x Nathan's hot dogs on sale $7 used 2 x .55¢/1 Qs that doubled-$2.20=$4.80
4 x stuffed chicken Florentine $11.54-$5 in meat stickers on packages=$6.54
2 x Dannon fruitside yogurt $2-2x .40¢/1 Qs that doubled-$1.60=$.40
3 x Yoplait mix-ins yogurt $3-3 x .40¢/1 Qs that doubled-$2.40=$.60
1 x cuke on sale=$1.00
4 x Value Time bacon 1 lb. packs $3.27=$13.08-5 x $1 off meat stickers=$8.08

I also bought(but not pictured)--
4 x Breyers ice cream on sale $2.99=$11.96
1 x Halo Top ice cream on sale=$4.49
1 x Ben and Jerry slices ice cream on sale=$3.99
The ice cream came to $20.44
I used a $2/1 CatQ on the Halo Top and a $2/1 IPQ on the BandJs, the $1 OYNO Cat I earned for buying 2 Breyer's before, plus got $6 off for buying 6 items so the ice cream all came to $9.44 after discounts/Qs/sale.
Plus I got a .75¢ rebate on the Halo Top on Ibotta which brings my OOP on the ice cream to $8.69
And I got .50¢ rebate on my Saving Star  account for buying the yogurts.

Everything came to $40.63(no tax)or $39.88 after rebate.
The bacon was the same stuff I bought last week with .50¢ meat stickers on them but this week they had $1 stickers and one pack had 2x $1 stickers on it so the bacon was $2.37, $2.37, $2.37 and $1.37.

A totaled the food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods shopping came to $155.58.
I still need to pick up a few things this week(mostly milk and produce).
I'm up over $234 for July and we are only 1/3rd of the way in. sigh.

Sluggy

Grocery Shopping This Week.....Weis, Surplus Outlet & Bread Outlet

Here are the best deals this past grocery shopping week.

Since we were in that town to take Hubs out for Father's Day last weekend, we hit the  Amish owned Surplus Outlet.

You never know what you are going to find and what price you will find something at.  Most of the items are dented or damaged packaging and out of the "use by" dates so you have to check each item carefully. That being said, I have never had to throw anything I bought there out due to it being spoiled.

Here is what I picked up last week there.....

Ken's Greek and Caesar salad dressing for .20¢ a bottle.

Panko crumbs for .50¢ a box.

Stove Top for .50¢ a box.

Velveeta Skillet dinners for $1.19 a box.

Jiffy corn bread mix for 3/$1.

The Skillet dinners are for College Boy to take back to school.  As he will be in an apartment with a kitchen this is something he just needs to add ground beef to, to have something approaching a home cooked meal. lol

College Boy's favorite flavor of coffee for $1.99 bag.

Massive jar of Spanish olives for $2.49(ShopRite brand).

No Sugar Added Vlasic B&B pickles for $1.29 a jar.

Contadina pizza sauce for .39¢ a can.

Massive bag of raisin bran for $2.99(Malt O'Meal brand $2 cheaper than Walmart price).

I love those no sugar added sweet pickles but the only place around here I can get them is at a Weis South of here(where I don't go very often).....and NEVER for $1.29 a jar!(At least $2.19 a jar at that Weis on sale.)  Needless to say I bought all that no added sugar variety they had on the shelf. 8-)

Bottles of Heinz caramelized onion & bacon flavor Ketchup for .50¢

Sometimes you can find different flavors of staple items if they are new, change packaging or are not popular with the grocery shopping general public.

I'll probably end up shipping these off with College Boy back to school in August as this is something he will love.  8-)

I also got a 42 oz. bag of frozen Hanover brand cauliflower, 3 large Enchilda TV Dinners, milk, 67 oz. jar of Prego sauce, flour, 2 jars of mandarin oranges, Totinos pizza rolls, Mtn. Dew, Little Debbie cakes, crispy M&M's(previous 4 things for CB), large jar of mustard seeds, Hubs got 3 packs of gum, and the family bought assorted lunch meats and cheese(about 2 lb. total)for sandwiches.

$70.82 OOP for all.

Loosely figured reg. retail would have been $136.20.

Then I did a Weis(PMITA)Markets shop on Wednesday.......

T-Bone Steaks for $5.98 lb.
3 lbs. of Smoke Sausage $8-$3 off Instant Discount Sticker
2 packages of Beef Sausage on sale $2.50-$1/1 IPQ
2 packages of Scrapple $3.49-$2 off Instant Discount Stickers
1 fresh made Mashed Potatoes $2.99-$2 off Instant Discount Sticker
2 bags of 8 oz. shredded Mozz. Cheese on sale $1.77 each.

8 boxes of GM cereals on sale $1.97(must buy at least 3)- .50¢/1 IPQs for each box that doubled to $1 off=.97¢ per box.
Again the Lucky Charms will go back to college with CB.

I also found this clearance Deal on large boxes of Kleenex facial tissues with the lotion in them.
Reg. $2.79 for half price of $1.39.  I used a .75¢/3 IPQ that doubled to $1 so these were $1.06 each.
I'll go back Friday evening to pick up 3 or 6 more if there are any left as CB goes through these lotion ones in the Winter at a rapid clip.

I also picked up some boxes of dried pasta for .67¢ each.  A good stock-up price but I don't need that much as I already have a good quantity and we've been eating less pasta lately.  But I did need some for my killer Macaroni Salad as it is Summer now. ;-)

I picked up this Lysol bathroom cleaner for CB too, on sale and using a doubled Q it was $1.50.

The clear bottle is a Weis brand daily shower spray which was $1.67 on sale.  I'll park that in the kids' bathroom and see if I can get them to spritz the shower/tub after using it so the cleaning of said shower/tub isn't such a chore(which they have to do, not me).  8-)

Rounding out this trip was a bag of salad mix(50% off sticker plus used a .50¢/1 Weis Q so $1.24 OOP), a box of mini croissants for 50% off, 2 boxes of dog biscuits for 50% off on clearance and a watermelon on sale.

$61.84 OOP

$126.27 reg. retail and a savings rate of 51%.

I also hit the Bread/Bakery Outlet again this month as College Boy is on a grilled cheese binge and between CB, Hubs and Daughter making lunch time sandwiches, bread is disappearing at an alarming rate in the house!  $11 OOP spent on 5 packages of assorted types of rolls/buns, 4 loaves of bread and 2 boxes of chocolate donut holes.  All this would have cost me $40.80, or a bit less if on sale, at the grocery store so I am good with paying $11 or $1 per item at the Bread Outlet.

Have I ever mentioned how much I "heart" my Bread Outlet? 8-)))

So with my Rite-Aid trip this is all the grocery/drug store/outlet shopping that's gone on around Chez Sluggy.

Almost at month's end and I've busted my $260 food budget.  Still under $400 though so it's all good.

Sluggy

Well I Lied & Other Randomness

*  I went out to Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!) yesterday for a mop but I didn't come home with one.

If I buy a mop I like to buy refills(sponge heads)that fit it.   Though they had some cheap mops, there were no refill heads and I won't buy a mop when I don't know where I can replacement heads for it.
I guess I'll continue to be the Queen of "spray the floor and use a rag/paper towel with my foot to clean" for awhile longer. 8-)

I did however, at Ollie's, buy FOUR books, a bath rug and a few food products(hummus dip/corn oil/dried refried bean mix/grated cheese shaker).  The food was $7.44 to add to my grocery spending.

Then I stopped at the Shursave grocery for a couple of things.....

1 x Flounder fillets on sale=$3.99
3 x mushrooms on sale=$5.00
6 x roma tomatoes=$2.26
Total.....$11.23

I used my last $10 store scrip from a deal I did in May so $1.23 OOP for this transaction.

I didn't go in for the mushrooms or fish but it was a good price so I snatched it up.
I went for slicing(sandwich)tomatoes but they all looked anemic so I got these roma ones instead.  Romas are known for being meaty with less seeds and goop so that suited my purpose for sammiches.

So another $8.67 bringing my weekly grocery spending this week to $56.78.  Just over 1 more week to go in June for shopping and I've spent $423.74 on food/toiletries.

*  I pulled a chunk of smoked brisket out of the freezer and dumped it into the crockpot yesterday, added a little barbecue sauce near the end and we had pulled beef bbq sandwiches with leftover cole slaw from the other night when I made flounder.
I also put that big pack of chicken leg quarters I got earlier in the week for .50¢ a lb. on the smoker yesterday late afternoon after I applied a dry rub and barbecued up those suckers.  Hubs doesn't know what he wants to do this weekend yet as the weather forecast keeps changing so if he wants to cook-out at some point all I need to do is heat those legs up on the grill and slap on some sauce and then worry about scrounging up some side dishes.

*  There is also 6 bags of mulch sitting on the front porch so if the rain holds off we'll hold Mulchfest 2015 sometime this weekend.  Come on over!

*  I am up to 46 miles on the bike so far this month with another 11 days to go.  Not bad considering I didn't bike 2 days out of the month to this point.  That's almost 2.5 miles a day average.  I'll reach my goal of 50 miles easy this month and will up the goal for July.

*  One of the books I got the other day is called "The 5 Years Before You Retire" which I have already finished.  While I get the premise, if you wait until 5 years before you retire to do ANY saving/planning for your retirement, man, are you screwed! lolz

There is a lot of helpful information in here, especially about Medicare and Social Security that is hard to find in a digestible way in any one place.  It's a good book to refer to as you wind down toward retirement.
Being a "worrier" about all things financial, parts of this scared the hell out of me(the SS and Medicare/Health stuff). 8-O

*  The weather here has been cooler than the last couple of weeks, more in line with June weather in these parts.  Cooler being in the 70's/80's as opposed to the high 80's/90's.  I'll take 70's any day over the latter.

*  My doctor's office pissed me off this week.
I had an appointment(routine semi-annual)on Thursday at 9am.  I get a phone message at 5:45pm on Wednesday from the office that they have to cancel/change my appointment and to call them back.
So I call them right back within 5 minutes and get the "the office is closed" message and you can't leave a message. grrrr

So I don't know whether I still have an appointment and now I still have to get up at the crack of dawn anyway to call them back in the morning.  The office opens at 8am so I start calling then and no one is answering the phones, they still have the "office is closed" message going.

It isn't until 8:30 when they actually start answering my calls!  So I get rescheduled for this coming Wednesday and she passes the buck as to who is too blame for this crap AND I don't even get an apology(even a half-hearted one).  I'll bring this up at my appointment with the doctor but I am sure he won't care either.  I want to know who the hell screwed up dammit!  And I want them to grovel.....  ;-)

*  Ok, I am off to take some giveaway box photos(new giveaway coming up soon!), finish putting the decluttering into bags so it can get hauled to Salvation Army and jump on that exercise bike for awhile.

What are you up to this weekend?

Sluggy


 

End of the Week Food Shopping With Video

I ended up going up to Weis(PMITA)Markets yesterday, Friday.

What I got.

53% savings rate!

I made a little video about my shopping trip.
It's located HERE.
If you are super bored go ahead and click on this link.

My camera battery was running low so I was trying to hurry but remember to talk about everything I bought, so of course I forgot to mention the Johnsonville Brats deal. lol

Those are $4.29 reg. retail, were on sale for $3.50 and they each had a $2 instant discount sticker on them, so $1.50 OOP each.
Not bad and this is something you can tuck into the freezer for Summertime grilling later.
If we still ate crappy hot dogs they have a killer deal on a 3lb. pack of Hatfield dogs....reg. $7.98, on sale for $4.98 and 1 of the packages had a $3 instant discount sticker so would have been $1.98!  I left that bargain behind for somebody else.

I forgot to use a $7 Weis gift card I got for the PowerAde products Catalina deal last month that didn't work correctly.  So when you add this to my .14¢ left in my April food money I have $7.14.

Ok, I am off today to get some things done(I hope!)so watch this video and let me know what is on your agenda for today.





Sluggy

Food Shopping This Week & Other Shopping Splurges

Went to Maine Source restaurant supply store this week for some produce.....

4 x assorted peppers
4 x English cukes
2 x cantaloupes
2 x hot house tomatoes
1 x package of hot dog rolls
1 x Arizona zero-calorie peach tea

$16.93 OOP
$28.85 regular retail


 Then it was to Weis(PMITA)Markets for milk and the mushrooms I forgot that I needed for fajitas on Thursday......

As you can see I also ran into some instant discount stickers for salad greens, bakery products and tube-type meats. lolz

1 x Baby Greens 50%off sticker=$1.99
1 x Asst. Salad 50%off sticker=$1.49
.63 lb. mushrooms=$1.88(cheaper than buying the containers of mushrooms)
1 x Kaiser rolls 50%off sticker=.99¢
1 x Sourdough bread 50%off sticker=$1.69
3 x Bob Evans sausage $2off sticker(and on sale)=$1.99 each
1 x Smithfield smoked sausage $2off sticker(and on sale)=$1.34
1 x Hebrew National reduced fat franks $3off sticker=$3.69
1 x 1/2 gal. milk=$1.72 *not pictured*

Total after sales/discount stickers=$20.76 OOP
Regular Retail total=$40.81
Savings rate of 49%......

And what am I doing with all those cukes?
Why pickles Watson!......

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles with Red Onions

Total spent on groceries this week.....$37.69
I know it's more than the $20 I wanted to stay under but this is how I shop and frankly spending an extra $18 on food during a week isn't going to bankrupt us. ;-)

You never know when those lovely discount stickers will appear and on WHAT they will appear.
When they do(and it's something we eat), I buy them and either change the menu to use something up fresh or I freeze them(if they can be frozen like meats) for later use.
It doesn't usually add much to my food bill and it keeps me from having to pay full retail to buy it when it's needed later on.
So in the end, shopping a little now saves me more later.

Do this long enough and you may never have to pay retail for food again(except for a few items around here like milk which, thanks to the strong PA dairy lobby, never goes on sale and is price controlled).
I did pay full retail for the loose mushrooms too at Weis.  I wanted to make chicken fajitas this week because Maine Source had peppers on a good sale but they didn't have 'shrooms on sale.  Weis had containers of 'shrooms on sale but the bulk loose 'shrooms are cheaper at full retail than the boxed stuff on sale.
Go figure!....so these are my "go to" 'shrooms.

As of today we have spent $208.21 and have meals planned/food for though April 18th of this month.
$91.79 left to spend on food and 12 days left in April to eat.  That's highly do-able.

I want to mention that we went out the weekend before Easter and bought "non-food stuff".
I don't often buy stuff/wants, but we did at the beginning of April.

Macy's had their "lowest price of the season" sale going on.
Funny but they don't say which season it is the lowest price of.....lolz
Anyway, I bought this..........

A toaster oven
Don't ask me why.
Ok, ask......lol
It was under $18 and everything being equal I prefer a toaster oven to a toaster.
Toaster oven is more of a multi-tasker and seem to last a bit longer than any of the toasters I've owned.
Our toaster is still humming along but once it goes to the great small appliance heaven, we will be ready to unpack this bad boy.

As it was an awesome sale on some kitchenware stuff and we have 2 young adults who can use said kitchenware stuff we also bought the older 2 kids these.....

A 10 piece set of stainless steel cookware.
After a coupon, sale and tax, they were each under $50 for a reg. retail of $180 set.
Nice cookware for 74% off?
Yes, please!

Macy's had a cheaper SS set(their house brand)for under $40 BUT this one is heat safe to a higher temperature and I know my kids.......they only know 1 heat setting....HIGH!
So we laid out an extra $10 for these puppies.
'Nuff said. ;-)

These and the 12 bottles of mead we bought at the Meadery the end of March have been our big spurges lately.

No shopping at Rite-Aid this week, except to pick-up Rxs.

How is your food shopping going this week?

Sluggy
 

$70.59 Later.....

I just went hog wild at Weis Markets on Saturday!
They were celebrating their 150th year in business and had some deals I wanted to pick up.
I also wanted to stock up on a few things that were on sale this past week.
In addition, I got talked into buying junk food that was part of the Pepsico Spend $25, Get $5 OYNO Catalina.

Things that were part of the One Day Anniversary Sale.....
Meat Hot Dogs--$1  I bought 3 packs.
Asparagus--$1 lb.  I bought 1.03 lbs.
Tomatoes on the Vine--$1 lb.  I bought 1.02 lbs.
Potato Chips--$1  I bought 2 bags.
Cold Cereal--$1  I bought 2 boxes.
Pork Ribs--$1 lb.  I bought 7.26 lbs.

I bought up to the limit on all but the hot dogs.
This portion came to $16.31.

The Pepsico stuff I bought....
2 20-packs of soda @ $6 each
2 bags of Sun Chips @ $3 each
2 bags of Tostitos Chips @ $3.50 each

$25, used $4 in ManuQs, paid $21 for this portion and got a $5 OYNO CatQ.

My stock-ups were....
8 cans of green chiles at $1.25 each
4 boxes of taco shells at $1.25 each
2 cans of organic tomato paste .39¢ each after $1/2 StoreQ from Weis Healthy Bites magazine
1 bottle Weis Olive Oil for $2.99 after sale and $1 StoreQ from Weis Healthy Bites magazine
This portion came to $18.77.

Other things I bought that were on sale and I had Qs for....
2 DiGiorno Pizzas on sale $4.99(Must buy 2), used $1.50/2 IPQ making them $4.24 each.
2 2-ltr Polar Seltzer on sale .99¢, used $1/2 WinetagQ making them .49¢ each.
4 1-ltr Polar Mixers on sale .80¢, used $1/4 WinetagQ making them .55¢ each.
This portion came to $12.21.

Things I needed that were on sale.....
1 12-pack hot dog rolls for $1.50.

Add in .80¢ for tax and I'm OOP $70.59.
I got a $5 Catalina Q and I also got a $2.50 WYSpend $40 CatQ.  Both expire on 19 May.  I'll try to use them both if I can come up with a planned $40 order.

Here's why I bought what I bought.....
*  #1 son requested I make some barbecued meats when he comes home soon so the ribs are destined for dinner in the next 2 weeks.
*  The tomatoes are for a quick easy dinner of BLTs sometime this coming week. I've got the bacon and bread, just need some lettuce.
*  The frozen pizzas are for a quick easy dinner(just add salad)when all the kids are home in the next 2 weeks.
*  The asparagus are part of dinner for Monday.
*  I'll be needing the soda mixers when I start drinking again while the kids are home.lol
*  The hog dog rolls are needed for Sunday's dinner.
*  The hot dogs are for when #2 Son's friends descend and swarm in the kitchen this summer looking for food.(long range planning)
*  The cold cereal and all the junk food/soda are for the kids who are all coming home.(anticipating kitchen raiding at night)  This should last as long as they all will be home....crossing fingers since 1 of the bags of chips has already been hit hard. lol
*  All the stock-up items are things I stockpile.....tomato paste, olive oil, taco shells, green chiles.(long range planning) #2 Son, if he had HIS WAY, would eat tacos 3 x a week for dinner.  I can never have enough taco shells.lol

Even adding in my trip to the independent market earlier in the week, I spent only $93.79 for the week for food.  And that included quite a bit of stocking up so I'm happy with it.
I don't know.....psychologically if I can keep my food spending for our family size under $100 in any given week,  I feel like we are doing well to keep costs down.

How about you?....Is there an amount you like to stay under for food expenses per week, even if you know you have more than that to spend?

Sluggy

February Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan February Week 4+ & March Week 1

I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by.  These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's-1970's or earlier.

This week I give you another kitchen of 1945.....

 Even though it's post-war there is still heavy linear design influence from the Art Deco styling of the 1930's.  The color scheme is very period, but in a pastel palette played against pops of black detailing.  There is a coordinating breakfast nook or morning room past the sliding glass door on the left.
The big deal here is the massive "picture window" located over the sink.  This feature became the standard into the 1950's and beyond for most any suburban tract home kitchen.  Moms across North America could now watch their precious kids playing in the back yard while still taking care of kitchen drudgery like hand washing dishes.

This nifty feature sort of distracted homemakers from complaining about not having an automatic dishwasher that was touted heavily in those "kitchen of the future" ads during the 1920-1930's.  We know the technology was developed so why the gap in production once the war was over?  I am sure if men stayed home in the traditional homemaker role of that era, automatic dishwashers would have been standard in every kitchen! ;-)

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Toasted Chicken with Veggies, Stuffing(boxed)

MONDAY--Quiche, Tossed Salad

TUESDAY--Pork Chop with Maple Glaze, Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

WEDNESDAY--Red Robin Free Meal for #2's birthday

THURSDAY--Breakfast for Dinner(Hash and Pancakes)

FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out for Hubs/I, #2 Son was out with friends
SATURDAY--homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Most everything as planned but on different days.  Instead of leftovers night I took the leftover roast chicken and veggies, added a bit more veggies to it and made a large pot pie.  Hubs finished it up on Sunday for lunch.

The weekly food spending was $51.51. Most of that was buying whole roaster chickens at .88¢ lb.  Approx. $20 of stuff at Big Lots, some apples and onions and a gallon of milk and that's about it.

Almost 4 Weeks in and I've spent $207.26 of my $300 February food budget.  $92.74 left for the month plus $92.32 leftover from January that didn't get spent.  I've got 3 days left in the month so I doubt at this point if I'll exceed my budget for February.  Yay me! ;-)

Going into February Week 4+/March Week 1 have NO leftovers!  Imagine that?lol

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Hubs/#2 Son had Burger King, I had a big salad with nuts and fruit

MONDAY--Ravioli, Salad

TUESDAY--Pecan Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower/Carrot blend

WEDNESDAY--Meatloaf, Green Beans, Smashed Potatoes

THURSDAY--Fish, Rice, Teriyaki Veggie Melange

FRIDAY--homemade Pizza, Salad
SATURDAY--Leftovers

This menu gives us 5 new meals, 1 eating out and 1 night of leftovers.  The fish meal moved from last week's menu since it wasn't cooked/served.  Meatloaf is Hubs request and Pecan Chicken is #2 Son's request.

Items needed to buy for this menu are... salad greens.  I've got everything else here already in the freezer or the pantry.
We'll be buying milk as usual. The only stocking up opportunities I see so far this week are salmon for $5.99lb., and tilapia for $3.49lb.(and I have Qs for the tilapia, so $1 less per lb.)

Those bagged salad kits are on sale for $1.99 this week, so I'll be eating those a lot for lunch and serving them with 2 dinners.

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

Shopping Last Week, Meal Plan This Week & My Weis Deal

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Baked Catfish, Crab Cakes, Hush Puppies, Coleslaw
MONDAY--Kielbasa, Onions, Sauerkraut, Rolls
TUESDAY--Hot Dogs, nothing else*
WEDNESDAY--Subway subs*
THURSDAY--Frozen Pizza and Fritos*
FRIDAY--Tuna Noodle Casserole, Brussel Sprouts
SATURDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Pasta, Broccoli

B-IL though I showed him all the good stuff I had stocked up for him to cook, he didn't make much of an effort feeding them all while we were gone. (The * meals were while we were gone.) No veggies at all were consumed, just processed food. Pizza and Fritos?.....really??lol
I left $30 cash too, that he used for the subs and 1 gallon of milk he bought.  There was no money left so either he pocketed the rest or they also had Chinese or burgers somewhere as well.
Whatever.

I spent....sit down for this...... $144.69 at the grocery stores last week.
Ack!
$61 of that was grocery shopping on vacation.  The rest was 1 trip to the local ShurSave affiliate and 4 trips to Weis to do the Catalina deals. There was a Kimberly-Clark Buy $21/Get $7 OYNO Cat Deal and a Heinz Buy $20/Get $7 OYNO Cat Deal.
Among the K-C products that qualified were Huggies baby wipes.  I know this falls under TMI(=too much information)but I "heart" baby wipes for those times when you do #2 and you want something wet and soothing against your bum.  Ya know what I mean?lol  I started using baby wipes 20 years ago when I had my first baby and I haven't stopped. ;-)
Because of couponing deals, I haven't had to pay for baby wipes in 2+ years.  And my stockpile was down to 3 boxes of wipes so I was soooo glad(nay, RELIEVED!lol)to see this Cat Deal included Huggies wipes.
I bought 9 packages last Monday, paid $16.91(used 1 $1 Q)and got the $7 Cat and we were off to the races!
Of course, we left town for 3 days and then the Blizzard on Saturday so I was only able to roll this deal 2 more times.  I did 1 pack of TP and 5 boxes of wipes on each roll using Qs for the TP so I was OOP about $8.44 for each roll and ended up with 19 boxes of wipes and 2 mega packs of TP.
The last $7 Cat I used to do the Heinz deal once since the only items that qualified that I needed was pasta sauce and ketchup.  4 bottle of each came to $10.16 + another $7 Cat to use this week or next.  $1.27 for each pasta sauce and 40oz. bottles of ketchup was pretty good.


And yes I did go back to Weis and complain about being overcharged 1 penny on those packs of burritos!  The CS person looked at me just like Hubs did....that "you have GOT to be kidding me!" look.
I told her, "Weis advertised these 3 for $10.  I was charged $10.01.  The price guarantee policy says I get 1 item for free and my penny back for being overcharged, so yes, for $3.34 and a free item I AM going to complain!"lol
Hubs says I am exploiting the store and if everyone took advantage of this policy they would go out of business.
I say if they have a policy, and they are in the wrong and have to correct the error, then who am I NOT to hold them to their own policy!  Now you would think they store would have the computer error corrected after having to pay out, right?
Nope.  I went back to the store on Friday and the signs are still up and I am guessing that the price is still ringing up wrong.  If they pay out because of this policy and then don't even go to the trouble of fixing the system error, it either means the corporate management is incompetent or is making so much profit that it doesn't matter that they are giving out free product.
A smart person, with a lot of time on their hands, should have gone to Weis every day and bought 3 packages of burritos and then demanded $3.34 in cash back.  Maybe next time I find an error in pricing I get a bus load of friends to go to the store and have each of them buy an offending item and then hold the store to the price guarantee.  Maybe about 30 people in a row demanding refunds would make them actually FIX the ERROR next time.....or maybe not.lol

My savings percentage was only 37.86% last week, as the reg. retail was $232.86 on the groceries I brought home.  The items I bought at the ShurSave affiliate weren't all on sale but I am still trying to up my total there for the Turkey Day gift certificate.

This week's menu.....
SUNDAY--Chicken & Dumplings
MONDAY--Sloppy Joe on Rolls, Cauliflower
TUESDAY--Ravioli, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Sausage Sandwiches on rolls, Corn
THURSDAY--Pork Chops, Cabbage, Sweet Potato Fries
FRIDAY--leftovers
SATURDAY--leftovers again


At present, my October food spending stands at $604.51 with 1 day left in the month.
This will increase a teeny tiny bit as I am rolling a next Cat Deal at Weis today.

Taking my $7 Cat from last week and I did this first thing this morning.....

6 x Puffs facial tissue on sale $1=$6.00
1 x 12 pack of rolls=$2.19
SubTotal was $8.55 w/tax.

I used ...
1 x $1/6 Puffs ManuQ
1 x $7 OYNO CatQ
Coupon total.....$8.00
$8.55-$8.00=$.55 OOP
And I got a $5 OYNO Catalina Q.


The Puffs are part of a P&G Catalina Deal this week.  Buy any 5 qualifying P&G items and get a $5 CatQ.  I got 6 to use the coupon.  The Q made that extra Puffs free so why not buy 6 for free rather than 5 for free, right?lol





Now I can take that $5 Cat and roll it for 5 more free Puffs, over and over again until there are no more Puffs in the store or I have no more room for them, whichever comes first.lol


I also had 70 points for Gas at Weis so I got $25 of FREE gas for the Savings Mobile on Friday before the storm hit.
Sweet!

Other than this Puffs Deal at Weis and spending at the ShurSave affiliate to get to my Turkey Day gift certificate(there are 2 weeks left to qualify), I don't see much food shopping in my future this week.

How about you?  Any MUST HAVE deals where you are?



Sluggy

Weis, Redners and More Weis Shopping Last Week

Daughter went to Weis for me on Friday......

I did the $5 Pepsi Catalina Deal again by buying...
2 x 20 pack Pepsi drinks=$12
1 x Tostitos Chips=$3.00
1 x Tostitos Dip=$3.00
1 x 2 ltr. Diet Pepsi=$1.25
$19.25

I used...
$2/2 Pepsi 20 packs Q
$1/2 wyb 1 Tostitos & 1 Dip
Free Diet Pepsi wyb 1 Tostitos & 1 Dip
$5 Catalina from last deal
Coupons-$9.25

Paid $10.00 OOP and got another $5 Catalina Q

I did the GM $4 off wyb 8 instantly Deal 2 x....
4 x Green Giant Veggies=$3.00
4 x Progresso Soups=$5.00
1 x Progresso Broth=$2.00
3 x Whack Biscuits=$3.75
4 x Totino's Pizzas=$5.00
$18.75

I used....
1 x $1/4 Progresso Soups
1 x .40/1 Progresso Broth doubled=$.80
1 x $1/3 Whack Biscuits
1 x $1/4 Totinos Pizzas
2 x $4 Instant discount Q=$8.00

$18.75-$11.80=$6.95 OOP

I also bought 2 x Northland Juices for Daughter to take back to school=$6.00 OOP
With tax of .50¢ my total should have been $23.45.
The receipt says $27.21.
Hmmmmm.

Moving on to Saturdays's outing to Redner's Market....

 I had a $10 off a $50 purchase Coupon I wanted to use.  Redner's policy is that with all Catalina deals that required $XX purchase, you have to hit that $XX amount AFTER coupons.  The $10/$50 coupon is similar in that your total has to be $50 or more AFTER coupons.

There was also a General Mills $10 Catalina Deal wyb $25 in GM products.
To get to $25 with my coupons I bought....
16 x Muffin/Cookie Bar/Brownie mixes for $2 ea.=$32.00
I used $5.90 in assorted Qs on these items= $26.10 OOP. *Qualifying for the $10 Catalina Q.

I bought 3 boxes of Tuna Helper on sale for $1 a box with a $1/3 Q made it $2 OOP.

I bought 2.08lbs. of salmon for $6.98 lb.=$14.38 OOP  Regular retail around here is $11.99.  I portioned the fillets into 3 meals worth.

I bought 2 dozen eggs*not pictured* on sale for .99¢=$1.98 OOP  Reg. retail here is $1.79 dz.

I bought 15 Powerade drinks for #2 son's band practice.  They were on sale for .69¢ AND there was a coupon for Buy 10/Get 5 Free in the flyer, so I paid $6.90 OOP for $15 reg. retail on these.

I bought lunchmeat, 1.5lbs. for $9.99 OOP.  They have a deal were you can buy 3 assorted packages for $9.99.  If you stick with the meats it's a good deal as the meats are the premium deli counter brands and each package is approx. 1/2lb.  The packaged cheese is not a great deal as it's not premium brands and it's about the same size portions.  Reg. retail on premium corned beef is $8.99 lb. so this was a bit cheaper.

I also bought 4 12packs of Coke.*not pictured*   It was on sale for $11 for 3 and there was a Q in the flyer for a free 12 pack if you bought 3, so 4 12-packs for $11 OOP.  Not a stupendous deal but ok for getting and hiding in my bedroom closet until the Holidays. lol

With sales tax my subtotal was $73.65 and after the $10/$15 I paid $63.65 OOP for everything.

Regular retail on the Redner's haul is $121.31.
I paid $63.65 & got $10 in Catalinas.

So last night #2 son and I went back to Weis to do the Pepsi Catalina deal & the General Mills Instant discount deal 2 more times.
No photos for these trips, sorry.  It's just a bunch of the same old, same old as before anyway.lol

First we bought 6 bags of assorted Frito-Lay snacks.
Reg. retail was $3.49 ea or $20.94 total.
The sale prices made them $15 total.
The $5 Catalina we rolled and the $3 in additional Qs brought out total down to $7 for all 6 bags.
And we received another $5 Catalina Q to use.

Then we bought....
2 x 20 packs soda
4 x 2 liters of Sierra Mist
This was $20.54 reg. retail or $17 with sale prices.
We used the $5 Catalina and 2 x $1/2 Sierra Mist 2 liter Qs and 1 x $2/2 Pepsi 20 packs Q and bought our OOP down to $8 for all this.
and we received another $5 Catalina Q to use in the coming weeks.

We also bought...
5 x Totinos Pizzas=$6.25
4 x Progresso soups=$5.00
6 x Green Giant veggies=$4.50
1 x Green Giant veggies=$1.00*One of the types of corn was higher priced but still qualified for the $4 instant discount deal.*
This lot came to $16.75.
I used....
1 x $1.10/4 Totinos Pizzas IPQ
1 x $1/4 Progresso Soups ManuQ
1 x FREE ITEM Totinos Pizza HomemailerQ
2 x $4 Instant Discount for buying 16 qualifying items
So $11.60 off and $5.15 OOP for all 16 items.
*Except the soup that was $1.14 off on sale only rang up .20¢ off!!*  Looking back at Daughter's trip's receipt on Friday, those 4 cans only rang up .20¢ off also.

I also bought 5 bags of candy for halloween.  WYB 5 bags it's $2 a bag, so $10.
I had a $1/3 Q so the candy came to $9 OOP.

and #2 son wanted Taquitos NOT ON SALE....THE HORROR!!!lol so that was another $6.99 OOP.

Sat. Weis trips totaled $29.86 OOP and $5 in Catalinas left to spend in the coming weeks.
So I have to go up to Weis and get at least $7.52 back for being overcharged on 8 cans of soup.
I wonder how many I'll get the full price back on since they are suppose to refund fully on the 1st overcharge on a receipt on like items....it's two different trips/receipts so I *should* get back $4.78 for 2 cans of the soup and .94¢ on each of the other 6 cans of soup.  It will all depend on if some teenager is working CS today or a real fulltime management person I guess. ;-)

So at the end of my shopping week I have spent $163.19 OOP and have $15 in Catalinas to use going forward.
*Update*
I got another $2.50 off (for full refunds on 2 of the cans of soup), so my OOP is $160.69.
The regular retail is $358.90.
The savings rate is now 55.23% (not counting the $15 in Cats and any full price soup refunds).

Analysis--This is all stuff we need/want and will use.  The crap food is for #2 son primarily(except for some chips that Hubs will eat and I am known to eat a pizza and brownies now and again). 8-)  #2 son is into muffins lately and if I have a mix on hand, he will make them for himself after band practice so I stocked up on that for him.  I'd rather have him home eating muffins than fast food...a "little" better.lol
Canned veggies are for going into soups or stews, the soups and the broth are nice to have on hand, the whack biscuits are my convenience luxury item.  The eggs, salmon and lunchmeat and beef from earlier in the week HERE were needed and good prices.  The candy is for Halloween trick or treaters and the taquitos is payment for getting #2 son to come to the store to help me in my injured state. ;-)

It's already the 9th and I've spent $163.19 in one week!  I'll be blowing past my $250 monthly food budget sometimes this coming week I think. Geez....lol
But I have to take advantage of the deals when they come around, right?  Then I can stay out of the stores like I did earlier this year in FEBRUARY, MARCH and APRIL.

Sluggy

Food Spending from Saturday.....and Eating on Sunday

I went to use my $10 Catalina Q at Weis Markets last Saturday.
They had an unadvertised special on Hillshire Farms Smoke Sausage for $1.99 lb, so I picked up 2 as this is my "buy price" for kielbasa/smoke sausage.

I also found a $3.53 priced piece of steak with a $2 instant discount sticker on it, so $1.53 for just under a lb. of steak.  This will go into the freezer to use in chili, beef stroganoff or something else at a later date.

The main item was the hunk of ribs I picked up.  They were $1.79 a lb. and I got a 5.04lb. hunk that cost $9.02 total.  $1.79 was the best per lb. price around here.

My bill total was $14.53 but after the $10 CatQ I paid $4.53 OOP.  Not a bad price for almost 12 lbs. of meat. ;-)
That's an 81.18% savings rate.

Since the ribs were 'previously frozen' I used them on Sunday.
We fired up the smoker.  Here is my baby......I call her "Precious"......yes, she is the "one ring that will feed us all".....

After 4 hours "low and slow" with an applewood chips smoking, here is what  the ribs looked like....

And after another 3 hours in the smoker, I sauced them up and glazed them up for 20 minutes in the oven and ended up with this....

Not quite fall off the bone but with a pink smoke ring clear to the bone.  Just enough char on the outside but tender and moist inside.
Look good enough to eat, don't they? 8-)

There is one serving left and Hubs has put 'dibs' on them for tonight's Leftovers Night.

I am liking my Precious this summer.  It's one way to cut down on electricity use and generating heat in the kitchen in this hot weather.  And it turns out scrumptious meats! ;-)
Now I have to find me a beef brisket that isn't corned to fill my smoker.....

So do you like real barbecue?  Are you a dry smoked meat lover or do you like em sauced?
What's your favorite barbecued meat?

Sluggy