This Week on the Dining Table

The "The End of Smoking Season" Edition................

Generally I have to do any meat smoking before the cold weather sets in because my little smoker can't maintain temperatures in the wind and cold.  An unplanned smoking session took place on Sunday as the weather hit 50F and I found some unexpected pork meat deals on Friday(see below)..........so this did happened.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Rigatoni w/Sausage in Sauce
2. Monday--Pecan Chicken, Roasted Carrots and Taters

3. Tuesday--?(We are working the polls until 8+pm)

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm w/Spaghetti, Salad

5. Thursday--Haluski(Cabbage, Noodles, Onions and Bacon)

6. Friday--No clue yet(maybe soup or chowder and cornbread as it's going to be frigid)
7. Saturday--No clue yet

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Rigatoni w/Sausage in Sauce
2. Monday--Pecan Chicken, Roasted Carrots and Taters

3. Tuesday--A Salad from McDonald's while working the polls

4. Wednesday--Apple Sausage, Sauteed Cabbage w/Onions

5. Thursday--Breakfast for Dinner(Pancakes, Bacon)

6. Friday--Fried Chicken, Au Gratin Taters, Sugar Snap Peas
7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners,  0 nights of leftovers/ffy, and 2 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out.

What got put into the freezer last week.....

*  1 London Broil
*  Most of the Ground Beef
* 1.5 lb. Pork Tenderloin
*  2 large bags Mini Cheese Raviolis

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 1 pack Italian Sausage
* 1 pack Apple Sausage
* 1 bag Sugar Snap

Two trips to Weis brought the current weekly spending to $72.92 and my November spending on food to $191.97 for this month.  I didn't plan on spending so much this past week but........I found discount sticker meats(chicken quarters and a pork tenderloin), London Broils were BOGOF(plus I had a $1.50/1 WeisQ), Ground Beef was $1.99 lb.(never that low here)and there were two Pork Butts with $3 off stickers on them.  $44.11 of that $72.92 spent was just meat. (Total should have been $70.32 but 2 items didn't ring up 50% off on clearance and I had to get a cash refund for that which went into my refund envie).
28.5 lbs. of meat for $44.11 ain't bad though.

My savings percentage last week was 41.63%(without Rite-Aid trips)and November's monthly savings total comes in at 38.98%(w/out R-A).

I have 19 more food shopping/spending days in November.

Leftovers going into this week......Fried Chicken, Sugar Snap Peas, Au Gratin Taters, Apple Sausage, Cabbage, Pasta Sauce w/Sausage/Beef but no Pasta for it.
None of the leftovers are enough for a full meal item so Hubs will most likely eat all this for lunches.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Fend For Yourself
2. Monday--BBQ on rolls, Cole Slaw

3. Tuesday--Beef Pie

4. Wednesday--Salmon, Asparagus, Rice

5. Thursday--Teriyaki Beef Stir-Fry

6. Friday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

As always this menu is subject to change or rearranging depending on what leftovers get eaten or not and what I am feeling like cooking(or not). lolz

What needs buying for this menu?  Salmon, Asparagus, Rolls, Snow Peas, Mushrooms.  Will hit the grocery store/produce market later today for these things.

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  

Grocery Shopping Last Week

I didn't do a whole lot of food shopping last week-a trip to the Shursave Market, the Restaurant supply store and Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!).
First the restaurant supply store.......

I got in on a "group buy".  Every so often they send out an email for a special deal.  The only catch is it's usually a large quantity of something.  This one was a deal on a 10 lb. box of breaded chicken tenders(not nuggets).  $9 for 10 lbs.
Being one of ex-college boy's favorite foods(and a "go to" if he needs a quick snack/meal)I jumped on this buy.
I also picked up some items we were out of--2 dozen eggs for $1.59 each(of course the Shursave started a .99¢ sale on eggs today!), 3 cukes for $1.99, a hunk of liverwurst for Hubs and a 2 lb. bag of shredded mozz for $3.99(at least half the price of reg. retail around here).
$20.68 OOP for this trip.

I picked up a few things at Shursave Market as well.  My local Shursave doesn't take IPQs so while I was at Maines there is a Shursave over there that DOES take them AND doubles them up to $1, so I bought this........

3 boxes of cereal on sale for $1.98 each, used 3 x .50¢ Qs that doubled to $1 so each box was .98¢.

I also happened upon 2 dairy instant discounts-4 packs of Oikos strawberry greek yogurt were on sale for $1.99 per pack and these ones had $1 off instant stickers on them making them .99¢ per pack. The sell by date was coming up quickly but I have found that yogurt keeps months past it's sell by date(ssshhhh, don't tell!).
Those tubs of French onion dip were $1.39 after .50¢ instant discount stickers and are good to have when folks here want something to dip their salty snack in.
I also bought 6 strip steaks at my local Shursave store last week as they were $4.99 per lb.
$33.87 OOP for both these Shursave trips.

I didn't set foot in Weis(PMITA)Markets last week which is highly unusual!  There ads have been very small(really, a 2 page ad!!)and not much that's worth stocking up on, let alone buying any loss leaders.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......The July 27th Edition

Let's see what frugal wins we had this past week...........

* The only grocery shopping so far this week has been a trip to Maine Source last Friday.  I  got some good produce deals-cabbage and bananas .49¢ lb., yellow squash and tomatoes for .99¢ lb., asparagus $1.69 lb. and sweet corn for .33¢ an ear.  I also picked up a 25 lb. bag of onions for $14.99, a 6.73 lb. bag of ground chuck at $2.39 lb. and 2 packs of roast beef deli meat at $7.99 lb.
The store had a $5 off wys $50 coupon so along with the good prices I saved an additional $5 too.

*  I found money!

1¢ in a Rite-Aid parking lot on Saturday.

*  And speaking of Rite-Aid after we hit a brew pub to celebrate Eldest son's birthday I hit two different Rite-Aid on the way home and picked up all this free candy......

8 bags of Jolly Ranges and Twizzlers varieties that double dipped with a Buy2/Get $1 BC weekly Deal and a Buy2/Get $2BC monthly Deal.  So every 4 bags on sale for 2/$3 cost me $6 in BC and gave me back $6 in BC.
I did 4 bags on each of two cards and rolled $6 of BC on each of those cards.
If the kids don't want this, look for it to come to a Giveaway Box near you.  ;-))

*  I baked Eldest son a birthday cake............

Here he is pretending to blow out his candles so I could take a photo. lolz
I could have bought a cake from the local bakery or the Weis Markets bakery department.  I had a cake mix and frosting in the stockpile and made his favorite type of cake(German Chocolate)so no additional $$ spent.

*  Also on Friday I hit the Bread Outlet since we were down to our last loaf of bread;
3 packs of hamburger rolls(for bbq and burgers), 3 loaves of bread and 2 boxes of chocolate donuts later I spend down my WAM by $10 instead of putting it on the c/c which is usually how I pay for groceries(to keep track-c/c charges are paid off monthly).

*  I received a Target mailer/ad with this coupon on it..........

It was a Back To School ad but this coupon can be used on anything in the store, not just typically BTS items.
I can send for a $50 Target gift card using c/c points for free and pair it with this Q making it an even better deal.

*  More garden goodies got picked on Thursday.......

75.8 ounces more of zuke and Summer squash.
There will be more zuke and squash on next week's menu I think.  ;-)

What frugal wins did you have this week?

Tell us all about it.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the July 13th Edition

It's been a slow week here at Chez Sluggy.
Not a lot going on other than some food and toiletries shopping.

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

* Weis last Friday's Freebie

A bottle of ketchup(or catsup).  We can always use this, if not as is, then in making some sauces.

*  We finally got the balance of the water service deposit from Louisiana this past week.  They charged us a $2.50 late fee for one month of service out of it.....late fee for a bill they NEVER SENT US!!  And they also sent the refund to the LA house and not here and those morons who bought the house sent it back to the water company even though they have our PA address and could have forwarded to us.  Hubs is so over everything having to do with that house and LA so we aren't going to fight them for that $2.50.  Washing my hands of that whole episode of my life. ;-)

* Getting paid in Bonus Cash to bring stuff home from Rite-Aid........

*  Big Lots haul plus 20% off prices, restocking some staples plus a splurge on clearance of hot cocoa mix and a sleeve of cookies..........

* Weis haul.............

Cheap meats(steak, good hot dogs, stuffed chicken and bacon)and a cuke, almost free yogurts, plus 6 containers of ice cream(not shown).

* I earned back $1.75 in cash rebates this week on the yogurts(Saving Star), Halo top ice cream(Ibotta) and the Ice drinks(Checkout51).  The Ice drinks rebate was especially sweet since they were free already.  ;-)

* The Wegman's haul which I didn't photograph.  The 6+ lbs. of ground beef became burgers on Day One, then I made 42 meatballs and a small meatloaf.  We had half the meatballs on Day Two.  The meatloaf and other half of the meatballs went into the freezer for future meals.  The pork butt I got will be smoked this week and be turned into a LOT of pork bbq by next weekend when eldest son is slated to come visit.

*  Gardening.........

I picked more lettuce this week as well as basil.  I also gave Brother in-law and Nephew some of both when they stopped by on Thursday.

Been staying home otherwise and enjoying the yard and doing a bit of gardening.  Here's the front bed with our jungle of tomato plants.  The flowers haven't done much filling in this season yet.

We planted petunias and coleus.  The only petunias that are really blooming are the magenta/purple ones though.  These striped ones we put in this year are pretty fabulous.

*  Already paid for food........

Tonight we'll use these gift certificates for food from a local restaurant.  These were won at a Church auction last fall so I paid well under what they are worth and it doesn't add to this year's spending.

That's about it for us this week.

What frugal wins did you have this week?


Sluggy

Wednesday Shopping

A quick trip to Rite-Aid and I brought this home.........

4 x Ziploc bags(I was out of quart size)on sale 2/$6=$12.00
2 x Revlon emery boards BOGO50%=$2.83
2 x Freedent gum 20% Wellness Disc.=$2.06
SubTotal.....$16.89

Coupons Used
2 x $1/2 Ziploc IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1/1 R-A Wellness Wednesday 1 Day ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$4.00

$16.89-$4.00=$12.89 + .76¢=$13.65

I used $13.65 in Plenti Points to pay so ZERO OOP.
I earned back $7 in new Plenti Points(2 x $2 Ziploc wyb2, $3 Revlon wyb2)so spent down $6.65 in PPs.
I also applied for a Cash e-Card rebate wyb3 Ziploc HERE.  It says it's a $5 Gas e-card but really from reading about it, this is just a $5 cash code they send you so you can spend it anywhere on anything, not just gas.
So after my $5 e-code I am "down" $1.65 for these items.

The 4 Ziploc packs came to $1 + .76¢ tax for all 4(.44¢ each), the Freedent gum was .03¢ per pack and the emery boards were straight up free even after tax.

Then I went up to Weis(PMITA)Markets for this lot.........

2 x London Broil BOGO=$11.58
3 x San Giorgio pasta(.67¢)=$2.01
1 x French's dijon mustard=$2.19
2 x Lysol toilet bowl cleaner 50% off=$2.69
*Mix and Match 6 items/Get $3 off items
2 x On-Cor frozen meals on sale=$5.98
2 x Muuna cottage cheese on sale=$2.98
1 x Glad trash bags on sale=$4.99
1 x Palmolive dish soap on sale=$1.49
SubTotal........$33.91

Coupons Used
1 x .75¢/1(doubled to $1)French's dijon ManuQ=$1.00
2 x .50¢/1(doubled to $1)Lysol toilet cleaner hangtagQ=$2.00
2 x FREE ITEM On-Cor Q=$5.98
1 x $1/2 Muuna cottage cheese IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Glad trash bags IPQ=$1.50
1 x .25¢/1(doubled to .50¢)IPQ=.50¢
1 x $3 wyb6 M&M items=$3.00
Coupon Total........$14,98

$33.91-$14.98=$18.93 + $2.36 on almost 1 lb. of loose mushrooms(not on sale)=$21.29+.31¢=$21.60 OOP

The 6 items for the Mix & Match Deal cost $3.45 total or .58¢ each after Qs/$3 off/sale prices.

I also applied for a $1.50 French's rebate on Checkout51(making the mustard a moneymaker)and I got .50¢ back for buying it through Ibota so I am down to $19.60 OOP for this shop
63% savings rate after sale prices, Qs and rebate over regular retail.

Did you find any good deals this week at the grocery/drug stores?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday or How I Saved My Family $600+

Here are a few ways I've saved our family some money this past week.
The last one is a biggie too.  ;-)

* No take-out or eating-out this week.

* Doing laundry during off-peak hours only.

* 1 trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets this week where I picked up 6 discount sticker meat packages, 4 packs of tortillas for $1 each after sale and coupon, $50.93 reg. retail worth of frozen pizzas for $26.88 OOP after sales/points/stacked Qs and 4 containers of Weis brand OJ and Grapefruit juice for 39% off during a sale. (Having all that pizza on hand will help me not get take-out on nights I just can't cook due to exhaustion.)

* I took a small chunk of leftover Xmas roast and with the addition of potatoes, onions, red bell pepper(from the freezer)and spices I turned it into Roast Beef Hash. This along with a large quantity of cheesy scrambled eggs was dinner on Monday night.

* Regular readers will know that our oven/range crapped out on Christmas day which led to the hilarity of having to transport large amounts of food back and forth to my brother in-law's place so as to cook it.

By Xmas evening Hubs was browsing new ranges on his phone and had picked one out that the local big box hardware store could have delivered by New Years for $550 + tax and $75 delivery fee.

Instead I figured out that the lower heating element needed replacing, found the part # and jumped on the internet and ordered it.(You wouldn't believe the price range between websites for said part!) I did splurge an extra $1.60 and have it mailed Priority rate instead of parcel post rate.
The part arrived in 3 days and on New Year's eve between my 2 kids and I(and a You Tube video)we got the new element installed.

And while we had the range pulled out from the wall I got behind there and cleaned.
Now this baby works good as new, both inside and outside!

Cost of part w/shipping.....$16.70
Labor........FREE
Savings from not buying a new range(+ tax and shipping).....approx. $641.00

This past week was an epic frugal win week at Chez Sluggy.

Sluggy

Got My Turkey + More Deals from Weis

So I cashed in my Reward Points at Weis(PMITA)Markets for my free turkey last week.
Only my turkey wasn't exactly free.
It cost me .58¢.

The free turkey deal was for a frozen Weis brand 20 lb. or less turkey for 50 Reward Points.
The only turkeys that met this criteria in my store were 15+/- lbs.
There was 1 turkey that was 20.50 lbs, thus over the weight limit for free.
So instead of getting the free 15 lb. one(and losing almost 5 lbs. of free turkey)I took the 20.50 lbs one and paid .58¢ for the price of the 1/2 a pound over 20 lbs.
Works for me. lolz

I also got.....

* Two Mrs. Smith's pies(apple and cherry)for $4.49 total.
They are on sale at Weis BOGO and I used two .50¢/1 coupons which doubled to $1 off each.
$6.49 x 2=$12.98-bogo=$6.49-$2Qs=$4.49, or $2.25 per pie.

* Four boxes of Chex cereal for $3.52 total.
They are on sale at Weis for $1.88 per box when you buy 4 and I used four .50¢/1 coupons which doubled to $1 off each.
$1.88 x 2=$7.52-$4Qs=$3.52 or .88¢ per box.

* Six cans of Furmano's tomatoes for $3.22 total.
They are on sale at Weis for .87¢ per can and I used two $1/3 coupons.
$.87 x 6=$5.22-$2Qs=$3.22 or .54¢ per can. (If you have this coupon wait until the 11/24 ad as Furmano's will be .67¢ a can.)

* Three bags of Birdseye frozen veggies for $1.61 total.
They are on sale at Weis for .87¢ a bag and I used a $1/3 coupon.
$.87 x 3=$2.61-$1Q=$1.61 or .54¢ per bag.

* Two rolls of Gwaltney sausage(for my stuffing)for $1.00 total.
I found 2 rolls clearanced to .50¢(discontinued item). 8-)

* Two 12 packs of Lipton Iced Tea for $3.99 total.
They were on sale(Friday only)half price($5.99 reg. price).
I also had a $2/2 Weis coupon book Q so $3.99 or $2 each.

Total was $19.67, value of $85.17 and savings of 76.90%.

The turkey, one of the pies and the sausage are for Thanksgiving.  The rest were good deals of foods/drinks we consume around here.

Sluggy

Food Budget Spending Lately

This is the only "putting up" of produce I've done so far this Summer........

I spent a good 2 hours this past weekend prepping, blanching and freezing 5+ lbs. of green beans.

All this work yielded 5 quart sized bags of beans for the freezer.

I also bought almost 6 lbs. of Summer squash but I'll use all that up for meals this week and not put any of that up.  If I get another load of it in the next two weeks I'll blanch and freeze that batch for later.

On Sunday I made a trip to Maine Source.  I like to go on Sunday was you can double dip the Weekend only Deals with the Weekly Deals that begin that day.  I spent $96.57 on that trip but got lots of goodies.
I picked up 23 lbs. of ribs and 9+ lbs. of pork butt.  The ribs were fixed yesterday for dinner and there are a fair amount leftover.  This leftover will NOT go to waste. lolz
The pork butt is in the freezer for now and will be turned into a big batch of bbq pulled pork for sammiches in the coming weeks.
Other meats purchased at Maine Source were 3lbs. of steaks(on tonight's menu)and 2 lbs. of shrimp(was Tuesday's dinner). Eggs were .69¢ dozen so I got 3 containers of those, mushrooms were $5 for 3-12 oz. containers and those went into Sunday's Beef Stroganoff dinner.  Also bought was cabbage, a red onion, 2.31 lbs. of grapes, a beautiful large head of Romaine lettuce for .99¢, a gallon of milk. lunch meat and sliced cheese.  Comparable regular retail on all this would have been $164.56 so I don't feel so bad having spent only $96.57. Hahaha....how often do you use the qualifier "only" with that dollar amount? lolz

I also made a trip to the Bread Outlet and they were practically wiped out of good bread products.  1 loaf of bread for Hubs and 2 packages of hot dog rolls cost me $3.00.  3 boxes of chocolate chip cookies and 2 boxes of mini-donuts jumped into my cart as well. (The "kids" here love these Entenmann's little cookies and can inhale a box a piece in a sitting....same for the mini-donuts.  I don't usually buy this stuff but spent the $5 and got them as a treat. And I have been good and not had my fingers in those boxes.)  $8 OOP at the Bread Outlet.

I spent $19.27 at Weis(PMITA)Markets earlier this week.  They were out of the breakfast Hot Pockets so I got a rain check but I did do the Spray N' Wash Deal..........

Spend $20/Get $5 off Instantly.  The regular retail price costs toward the $20 total but the items are on sale, meaning I spent $18.45 only and got $5 off so this lot cost me $13.45 + tax.  These refill jugs were the same price as the much smaller spray bottles of Spray n' Wash so it just makes sense to buy the refill and use the spray bottle I already have to dispense the product, right?  Spray N' Wash is part of my laundering trinity........any brand of laundry detergent, then 15 squirts of Spray N' Wash and a few glugs of Hydrogen Peroxide per load(whites also get some chlorine bleach).
They stopped making Spray N' Wash for awhile a few years back and that made me sad until they brought it back.  I swear by this stuff and have used it ever since 1981.

All in I spent $19.27 OOP at Weis.
A quickie to the local Shursave Market for Veggie Oil and 2 loaves of "good" bread(both on BOGO Deals) and there goes another $10.37 out the wallet.

$126.21 spent this week on food so far.

Next week will be austerity food spending I think.  I'll dig out proteins from the freezer and we'll have some cheaper meats like kielbasa(I've already got the hot dog rolls for it)and chicken I think, so I don't run out of grocery money before the month ends.  Maybe a pasta and shrimp dish too as there is shrimp in the freezer.
College Boy doesn't leave for school until 4 days before the month ends so I won't save any money not feeding him in August.

I do feel happy that I've avoided take-out and eating out since we've gotten back from Maine.  I don't mind spending some more on groceries since we aren't spending on prepared meals.

What have you been buying this week at the grocery stores/farm stands/food outlets?

Sluggy

Weis Markets Run on Thursday

I went up to Weis(PMITA)Markets yesterday to check out the instant sticker discounts.  Found some surprising good deals while I was there that didn't even necessitate that I bring any coupons with me.

I usually check out the Weis ad online which they release on Tuesday, and gather my Qs and see what Deals I want to get when they go live on Thursday.  But Weis' online site was down Tuesday and Wednesday so I went in without knowing what I was going to do....other than check for instant sticker discounts.

It wasn't the frugal-est of shops since I bought a snack type thing and sodas but things went aok.

Here is what I came out with.......

As usual everything was on sale(except the milk which is never on discount here in PA).

First I picked up a cuke and BOGO free grape tomatoes.  I also had a Weis Q they mailed me for .75¢ off the tomatoes.  I like to make a cuke and tom salad with a splash of Italian Dressing on it.

Then I found in the refrigerated case of healthy drinks a 50% sticker on a small POM bottle, as well as 50% off stickers on the 3 Bolthouse juices you also see in the photo.  Each Bolthouse juice bottle also had a hangtag with a $1/1 Bolthouse juice Q on it.  I don't usually buy these pre-made juice concoctions but for $.64, $1.49 and $1.99 each I'll be drinking some healthy juice/smoothie drinks this coming week.  The "Healthy Greens" doesn't look very appetizing but it's full of veggies so I'll just close my eyes when I swig that one down. lolz

Next it was over to the fresh meat counter but they didn't have any sticker deals today that tempted me, so I was off to the frozen foods case where I found Halal(kosher) chicken maple breakfast sausages with $1 off instant stickers.  These usually go for $5.99 a 14 ounce pack but were on sale for $3 a pack, after the $1 off sticker, they were $2 each.  I would have bought more but I don't know if Hubs will eat these(chicken for breakfast?loz)so I only bought 3.  I intend to open one up this morning and try them.  If they pass the taste test, and if the rest that had stickers on them are still there, I'll go back on today and scoop them up as well.

Following around the perimeter of the store I found those large burrito-sized tortillas on clearance for $1.50(only 1 pack left)and I got the milk over there as well.

I fancied some popcorn so picked a 3 pack box up that was on sale.  While in the drink/snack aisle I saw Powerade Zero drinks were on sale for .88¢ each so I bought a rare flavor I never see in sugar-free, Strawberry.  Then I had a craving for that good dark ginger-ale, it was on sale so into my cart it jumped.  Also a bottle of Polar Soda half & half was on sale so it accompanied the ginger ale.

I found a pack of in-store bakery made bagels for 50% off in the bread area and then nearby they had a display of that 1893 Pepsi I've seen ads for on tv.  It was on sale and they had a tear pad of coupons on the display(which doubled to $1 off 2 drinks)so I had to get one of each flavor to try.  I wouldn't buy this for the reg. price of $1.99 a can but with sale/Q I'll spend .75¢ a can to check it out.  Even if it's tasty I won't be buying it as a regular part of my shopping, but sometimes you have to break out of your comfort zone and try new things.

The last thing that caught my eye was 6-pack bottles of Pepsi branded sodas were on sale for $2.50 each when you bought 4.  The diet Dr. Pepper ones all had $1 off this 6-pack coupons stuck to them, so I got $15.96 worth of DDP for $6($1.50 a 6-pack of bottles)after sales and Qs.
Summer drink supply?
Heck ya!

My little shop cost me $33.53 OOP after discounts.
Regular price of my groceries was $77.53 making this a savings of 57%.
And I am still under $250 food spending for the month.
Yeah Baby!! 8-)

I'll be going back today for the Friday specials as they have some fresh produce on discount today only, including watermelon, strawberries and corn on the cob.  Dinner tonight might just be watermelon and roasted COC and nothing else.
Yah, I could go for that.......

Sluggy

Grocery Shopping This Week & I am Finished

Well since Hubs went out on Sunday for a new computer mouse and was going right by the store,  I had him go back into Big Lots while that 20% off sale was going on to get 3 more jars of minced garlic, 4 more cans of tuna and 4 more cans of Spaghettio's for College Boy.

Another $8.76 spent on the food budget.

On Monday I made my grocery store rounds after PT where I picked up the items I had planned plus a few other items....

I bought 3 boxes of pasta at .67¢ each, used $1.25 in Qs and paid .76¢ for all.
I bought 4 cans of evaporated milk at $1.50 each, used $2 in Qs and paid $4 for all.
I bought 3 jars of Prego spaghetti sauce at $3/$5, used $1 in Qs and paid $4 for all.
I bought 6 large cans of Hunt's tomato products at B1 for $2.19/Get 2 more Free so they came to .73¢ per can.(They were the good 'no salt added' varieties too!)
I bought 7 cans of Homestyle soups at $1.66 each, used $3 in Qs and paid $8.65 for all.

I also found a 2lb. bag of flounder fillets 25% off($8.24)so I had to purchase that.  $4.12 a lb. for flounder?  Yes, please!
I also bought a 1lb. bag of baby carrots for $1(sale price and not pictured).
All this cost me $31.05 after sales/Qs for a savings of 28.40 or 47% off of reg. retail price.

I also submitted my receipt to Checkout 51 and have already received a .75¢ rebate into my account-.25¢ for buying the carrots and .50¢ for buying 2 cans of evaporated milk.
All those Homestlye soup cans qualify toward a $5 SavingStar rebate as well once I have spent $15 on select Campbell's items.  Only $3.31 left to spend to earn that $5 back.

Then I ran into the local Shurfine Market and bought this.......

I bought 2 cans of Furmano tomato puree(Weis was out of the Hunt's puree).  These were .88¢ per can so not as good as the Weis cans but still a good value.
I found 2 cans of Beefaroni in the clearance bin for .75¢ each.
I bought 2 containers of cottage cheese for the crockpot lasagna I made Monday night(so not pictured)on sale for $2 each.
I bought a head of romaine lettuce(again used on Monday so not pictured)on sale for $1.49lb.
A bunch of celery for $1.49(reg. price)and 3 bags of salty snacks(those were half price)rounded out this shop and brought my total OOP here to $16.09.
42.41% savings over reg. retail price and no coupons used.

I am now up to $77.90 spent on my October food budget and I am finished grocery procurement for the week.
I am still loving the price on that flounder I got..... ;-)

Sluggy


 

This Week on The Dining Table

The "I Got Nothing" Edition.......

No photos and no snazzy updates on my life.

Feeling rather empty and uninspired this morning.

Let's get on with the Meal Update, shall we?

 

 

And here is what was planned last week---

 

Sunday--Beef Roast, Yellow Squash Casserole
Monday--Broiled Teriyaki Salmon(freezer), Asparagus, Roasted Potatoes with Onions
Tuesday--Slices off Leftover Roast, Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots
Wednesday--Lasagna(from freezer), Brussel Sprouts
Thursday--Either Roast Beef Hash or French Dip Sammies from leftover Roast, and leftover Veg
Friday--Breakfast for dinner
Saturday--Chicken & Pot Pie Noodles

 

And here is what actually happened---

 

Sunday--Beef Roast, Yellow Squash Casserole
Monday--Broiled Teriyaki Salmon(freezer), Asparagus, Roasted Potatoes with Onions
Tuesday--Slices off Leftover Roast, Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots
Wednesday--Lasagna(from freezer), Brussel Sprouts
Thursday--French Dip Sammies from leftover Roast, and leftover Veg
Friday--Fend for Yourself
Saturday--Roast Beef, Asparagus, Mac & Cheese

Everything as planned except Friday(nobody wanted BFD)and Saturday.

Chicken with Pot Pie noodles gets moved to this week.

 

The big project, well, what turned into a big project!, last week was using up that Beef Roast.  You'll see that we ate off of it every other night(4 nights)last week.  And I still have a small portion to use up tonight.  There was no way in hell I was throwing away even a scrap of that!  The scraps went to our beagle and she was quite happy about it. 8-))

 

 

As for the food spending update, this will be easy.....I spent a total of $0 on groceries last week.

Never even went into a grocery store all week.  We ran out of milk on Saturday and are now out of fresh produce to I'll be heading out this week to restock on those items.

 

I did spend $ on March 1st....$146.00 worth at the Restaurant Supply Store, the Dollar Store and Ollie's.  I didn't post it last week since it was March spending and not February spending and technically it wasn't last week(within  the last 7 days).  Man, sometimes I am a goof.

Let's just say I've spent $146 of the March food budget so far this month.

This week's shopping will be light as I will be out of town a few days and the family will be left to their own devices......might be a good thing but probably will be a bad thing but as I won't be here and be implicated I really don't care. lolz
  

No food waste last week either.

 

Going into the new week here are the leftovers we have......1 helping Mac & Cheese(which #2 Son will have eaten before the sun sets tonight), a hunk of Beef Roast, a package of Sandwich Rolls and some Asparagus.

 

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Chicken with Pot Pie Noodles, Carrots
Monday--Beef Stew with onions, carrots, potatoes and I might throw in the leftover asparagus too!
Tuesday--Fend for Yourself(Hubs not home for dinner)
Wednesday--Burgers or Sloppy Joes, Sugar Snap Peas
Thursday--?
Friday--?
Saturday--?

 Since I will be off in Delaware partying the end of the week, I have no clue what Hubs and the son will be eating.  I have fixings for meals Hubs is likely to make, like pasta and/or ravioli and sauce(and homemade meatballs in the freezer), a meatloaf in the freezer he just needs to thaw and reheat, slices of quiche(also in the freezer).  There is also a pork roast he can put in the crockpot and make pulled pork sammies and the grocery even has premade coleslaw on sale to go with it if they want that.  I just have no clue what they'll fix or if they'll just go out for Chinese, Pizza or FF Burgers.

Place your bets and check back next Monday! lolz

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......ground beef for Wednesday's dinner.  I'll be picking up some milk, fresh fruit and produce, as well as any loss leaders I find.

 

As for March's grocery budget--I'm going to try to keep it closer to $300 than $400....how's that for hedging? lolz

I want to eat down some of what is in the freezer and clear out some old stuff so when we go on our trip in April, there is room to stock up on frozen pizza and chicken nuggets for #2 Son to eat while we are gone.

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

 

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "My Baby Turned 18 on Saturday" Edition.......

Here he is with his gifts--

 

And here is is with his gifts after I forced him to smile for a change......

 

 

And here is what was planned last week---

 

Sunday--Leftovers
Monday--Dinner Out using gift card
Tuesday--Cheese Steaks w/peppers and onions
Wednesday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Mushroom Parmesan, Asparagus
Thursday--Fish, Sugar Snaps, Roasted Potatoes
Friday--Chicken Risotto, Salad or Leftover Asparagus
Saturday--Leftovers Again

 

And here is what actually happened---

 

Sunday--Leftovers
Monday--Dinner Out using gift card
Tuesday--Cheese Steaks w/peppers and onions
Wednesday--Fish, Asparagus
Thursday--Rigatoni in Meat Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas
Friday--Pizza(I had Eggplant Parm)*Hubs got 2 med. pizzas free with a gift card.
Saturday--Leftover Eggplant Parm

Everything served as planned except the Risotto because I bought some Eggplant Parm on Friday which was on sale at the store.  The Risotto moves to this week.

 

I spent a total of.......$65.01 on groceries last week, including the $1 I spent at Rite-Aid.  Evidently I didn't try very hard to only spend the $9.28 left in my February food budget.

Food spending for February to this point is $355.83. 
 

We had food waste last week.....a bit of Chicken Fajita filling.

 

Going into the new week here are the leftovers we have.....Rigatoni and Meat Sauce, 1 helping of Fish, 2 slices of pizza.  Fresh produce left are 2 bundles of asparagus.  It was on special last week and I'll eat this every day for lunch until it's gone if nobody wants it for dinner again.  I "heart" asparagus....

I also have a frozen turkey breast(bought on special last week)in the fridge which will be cooked by midweek(after it thaws), giving me 1-2 dinners(it's a real small one), or 1 dinner and meat for lunch sandwiches.

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Leftovers(I had a big plate of Asparagus.)
Monday--Chicken Risotto, Asparagus
Tuesday--Birthday Dinner Out
Wednesday--Roast Turkey, Carrots, Potatoes of some sort
Thursday--Dinner Out(last of gift card & coupon)
Friday--Beef Roast and some sort of fresh veggie I buy this week
Saturday--Leftovers

That makes 3 new meals, 2 meals out and 2 leftover or planned over meal.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......Beef Roast, a fresh veg, Carrots.  Everything except Sun. and Mon. meals are subject to change this week.  The turkey will be cooked and served but other than that, this is all tentative.

 

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

 

Sluggy

FEBRUARY 2013 Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2013.

I have posted February's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2013 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February.  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(4-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

OLLIE'S

OOP  $20.57

Value  $42.09

Savings   51.13%

RITE-AID

OOP  $0.00

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $97.63

Value  $97.63

Savings   100%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $138.50

Qs/Ads  $84.61

Value  $223.11

Savings  38%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $204.23

Qs/Ads  $112.20

Value  $316.43

Savings  35.46%

I am no longer adding my rebates received into my food budget directly. I will use them on food on occasion and will note that when used.  I will keep track of rebates/gift cards/certs received here as before however.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN February.....$16.99

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES....$15.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$16.99

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Zero

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 100%,  Ollie's at 51.13% and Shursave affiliate market at 38%.  l only shopped at 4 different stores this past month. 8-)

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$363.30

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$315.96

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$679.26

TOTAL Savings of...................................46.52%

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into February with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I have $36.70 leftover in my February food envelope. 

I didn't count the number of Qs that were redeemed in Feb. but I do know it was quite low.   The little I bought at Rite-Aid for no money greatly affected my savings rate this month. 

Looking ahead to March---We'll stick to our $400 food budget again this month.  It seems to be working for us at this amount. 

 

And here is the run down of my Food & Toiletries Spending for 2013 so far--

2013 Total Saved $769.55

2013 Yearly Total Value of Items  $1,423.09

2013 Yearly Total Spent $653.54

2013 Yearly Savings Total of 54.08%

How much did you spend on food in February?
 

Sluggy

Did You Do Your Price Book This Week? & Newbie Grocery Store Tips

Just a reminder to get those Price Book Week 2 prices recorded before the Sales week at your store(s) is over.

I did 1 store so far this week but I still need to get the prices at Weis "PMITA" Markets recorded.

**A quick note in regard to sales cycles at the store for newbies**

As you go through these weeks jotting down prices you may notice that at your store there is 1 week per month where your store is advertising "house brands" mostly and not the name brand products.  House brands are the store brand equivalents of all those name brand products they carry.  Your store may have 1 house brand or they may have lots of house brand names they use.  For example,  my local Shursave affiliate market carries Shursave or Shurfine branded products.  These are the brands that are always lower than the identical products that they carry under a name brand.
But if I shop at Weis or Price Chopper, both of these chains feature more than 1 name for their house brand.  And then there are stores like Aldi's that only carry their house brands and Sav-A-Lot which carries their house brands and a very limited selection of name brands.

Some people can taste a difference between name branded and store branded items.  I have found the quality of house brands vs. name brands range from identical to "are you kidding me?!".  8-)
You really need to try a house brands before you dismiss it as not worth buying because it tastes bad.
House brands of basic items like canned tomato products, flour, sugar, etc. are usually on par in quality with the name brand ones.  Once you are into the higher priced items.....like coffee, frozen veggies, the ingredients in the house brand may be far below that of the name brand equivalent.  Sometimes it IS all about "you get what you pay for".

In order to get the lowest priced of identical items, and without shopping the weekly sales and/or using coupons, you are probably buying the house brand(s).  House brands don't go on sale very often usually, compared to name brands.  A store will push their house brands in their sales ad 1 week of each month.  Around here, that week is usually the 3rd week of the month.  The "house brand week" generally will fall in your area when the majority of employees who are paid monthly or twice a month are at the end of a pay period.  The assumption is that everyone runs out of money the closer to payday, so they push the less expensive brands, the house brands.  "HBW" might be the last week of the month instead, as the govt. sends out support checks at the beginning of the month.

Usually, again in my area, advertising of house brands does not mean the house brand items in the ad are on sale.
If you are trying to figure out when to buy/what to buy to get the best deal, take note of when your store pushes the house brands, and when they feature the house brands in their ads, if they are actually a better deal that week compared to the rest of the month.
A favorite "trick" of grocery stores is to feature an item in a sales ad at the regular price if they need to unload extra stock of that item.  You see the item in the ad and assume it is on sale, yet it is not.  The store will try this trick to sell items it is overloaded with first, before it reduces the price.  So when perusing your sales ads, it helps to know the regular prices of items.

I'll be back tomorrow night with my Price Book Week 2 prices.

Sluggy

Price Book Week One....Complete!

Ok, so I didn't get to the store yesterday, but I did get there this morning and finished my Week One prices....

That's just the first page(I've got 2 pages of items), and you can't read my chicken scratching so here is the list.  Oh, and I decided to always put Carone's prices first and Weis prices second each week, so I don't need to mark each price with a "C" or a "W" to tell which store it was from.

Ground Beef...2.28/3.69
Chuck Roast....3.99/3.99
Hot Dogs....4.99/5.99
Pork....3.99/3.00
Bacon....2.98/3.50
Chicken Breast....2.99/3.09
Chicken Whole.... .78/1.69
Salmon....10.00/7.99
Cheese....1.77/2.99
Butter.....3.00/3.50
Eggs....1.93/1.50
Carrots.... .90/1.00
Potatoes....1.48/2.50
Celery.....1.69/259
Onion..... .49/.75
Salad Greens....2.50/1.95
Pasta..... .88/1.00
Spaghetti Sauce.... .88/1.00
Coffee....5.65 lb/5.12 lb
Soup Tomato...1.05/.75
Soup Cream....1.00/.75
Flour.....2.19/2.19
Sugar.....2.69/2.69
Brown Sugar...1.89/1.69
Honey.....4.00 lb/3.45 lb
Deli Ham...5.99/7.99
Deli Provolone...7.99/8.99
Frozen Pizza...4.49/4.99
Ice Cream...3.00/3.00
Frozen Broccoli...1.88/1.50
Soda....4.99/4.00
Chips....3.00/3.00


When I write prices down, I always write them as price per same unit of measure.  If I price the honey per lb. at one store, I break down the cost per lb. at the other store., If I price out the potatoes as price per 5lbs. at one store and all the bags at the other store are 10 lb. bags, I figure the cost of half that size bag so I am measuring like with like.

I know there are cheaper hot dogs at both stores, but I have to be honest and stick with tracking the higher priced dogs, since I don't buy the cheaper ones no matter the price.  Our budget allows me some luxuries and we don't like the taste of many of the brands(which happen to be cheaper),so we spend on the good dogs.  If we had more financial challenges, I'd price out and buy those less expensive dogs in a heartbeat.  But we have some flexibility with what we spend on so we prioritize.

On the other hand, there are private label or house brand items that I think are comparable quality with the name brands.....brown sugar for instance.  Everyday price the store brand is cheaper so I buy it and I detect no discernible difference.  About the only time the name brand is as cheap or cheaper is if it's on special AND there is a coupon for it.

The first rule in deal hunting and couponing is NO Brand Loyalty!  If you always want the best deal you have to be open to buying whichever brands are the lowest price when the sale(or sale and coupon combined)are involved.  But you have to do what works for you and your situation.  Kids and spouses can be picky so you need to remember to price book items that your tribe will eat.

Just looking at my Week One prices and knowing how prices run here, I'd say that this would be the week to buy ground beef, whole roasters, bacon, onions, pasta and spaghetti sauce at Store #1.  At Store #2 the soups and frozen broccoli are a good deal this week and if I needed Salad Greens this week, I'd get them at Store #2 if I couldn't wait until Sunday to buy those.

 Now tuck your information away until next week's shopping trip.  Be sure to use a different color ink for next week's prices.  I'll be going with blue next week.

Sluggy

Food Spending OCTOBER Week 2, Meal Planning Week 3 & A Bit More

 Need I say more?

***********************************

And here is what passed for meals around here last week....

Sunday--Salmon, Asparagus, Coconut Milk Rice

Monday--Hot Dogs, Corn, Beans

Tuesday--Tuna Helper, Brussel Sprouts

Wednesday--Chicken Parmesan, Caesar Salad

Thursday--Chinese Take-Out

Friday--Subway Sammies

Saturday--Leftovers

Can you tell I ran out of steam at the end of the week? lol

Last week I was good.  One trip to the grocery was it for me.  I spent $45.57.  Reg. retail would have been $72.57.  I used no coupons but just bought loss leaders and sale items.  I did an Instant $5 Discount Deal(on Betty C/Gold Medal/Green Giant/etc. items) which made my spending total higher, but it was all things I would need in the weeks coming.....pie crust mix(cheaper and easier to store than the frozen crusts), bags of flour(holiday baking and we were almost out), OJ for $1.88(!), a couple of Healthy Choice TV dinners for $1.88(for when #2 son doesn't want what I cook), 100% Juice for $1.66(!), some sugared-up yogurt, apples, grapefruit, milk and chicken(thighs on sale) and ground beef(was all out of this/needed it for Sunday's dinner/good sale price).

I've spent $247.63 of my $400 monthly food budget so far this month.  That leaves me $152.37 for the second half of October....or to break it down, approx. $75 for each of the next 2 weeks.
It's very do-able I think....considering the sales ads here SUCK this week! ;-)

I am going into the new week with these leftovers......NOTHING!   I am cooking a tad less  in quantities overall, so we are having fewer leftovers.  What little leftovers we had this past week got used.  1 helping of Tuna Casserole, 1 helping of Salmon and Asparagus and 1 helping of Chicken Parm each gotten for lunches or on leftover night.  Hubs used some of the leftover rice with his leftover Chinese food for lunch yesterday and he's used more of it up for lunch today by throwing some chili over it. Mmmmmm

***********************

This week's menu.....moving 2 meals we didn't serve last week to here.

Sunday--Tacos(that we didn't have last week)

Monday--Crockpot Garlic Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Collards(from garden)

Tuesday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice(using leftover rice), Sugar Snap Beans

Wednesday--Rigatoni with Sauce, Garlic Bread, Caesar Salad

Thursday--Barbecue Chicken Thighs, Veggie I dig out of the freezer, Cornbread
Friday--Pizza

Saturday--Leftovers

 

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....lettuce, mushrooms, sour cream and frozen pizzas.  I figure I'll be out of steam by Friday and there is a good deal on Freschetta pies this week(plus a $1.50 Q)so I'll just break the bank here and buy some pizzas.  I can dress them up once I get them home if I want them to taste almost homemade.  I want to pick up some fruit this week as well.  Add in the milk and we can do this for about $30.

So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Let me tack on a quick run to Rite-Aid this morning too because that's not enough for a post unto its self.  My store runs out of 12 packs quickly when they go on sale, especially the Dr. Pepper.  If I wanted any I had to jump on this or have to go all the way downtown to do the deal later in the week.  And why spend the gas going downtown if I don't have to, right?

3 x Coke Product(Dr. Pepper) on sale Have to buy 3=$12.00

1 x Coke Product(Dr. Pepper) w/Wellness Discount=$4.71

SubTotal.....$16.71

Coupons used were....

2 x $1/2 12 packs Dr. Pepper IPQ=$2.00

2 x $1/2 12 packs Dr. Pepper VV AdPerks Q=$2.00

$16.71-$4.00=$12.71 + .04¢tax(on the .71 I didn't use +Ups to pay)=$12.75

I used $12 in +Ups to pay and put the .75¢ on the trusty gift card.

I received $3 +Ups for buying 3 coke product 12 packs, so I spent down my +Ups by $9.

I had to get that extra pack so I could use the 2nd of the AdPerks and the IPQs.

After everything this deal worked out to $2.25 per 12 pack which is a good price for here.

I'll hide 2 of these away for the kids until Christmas time, because I figure now that I'm done buying soda for this year, they'll be out by then.

Having this unexpected surprise will help keep them in a good mood when they are home trapped all day with me.  It's my "eye rolling" insurance.  lol\

And can you believe what Rite-Aid is charging for 12 packs of soda now, their regular price which I NEVER buy it for?

$5.89.....$5.89!!

For colored sugar water. 

Are WE insane or are THEY for thinking anybody would buy this product for that price?

Grand Totals for October so far......

Out Of Pocket....$0.00  cash
Value of items bought.....$202.46
Savings Rate of  100%
Single Check Rebate due....$0.00
Other Rebates due......$0.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... $0.00
Savings Rate  100%

+Ups at beginning of month...$25.98+
+Ups used....$58.98+
+Ups received...$53.00+
+Ups currently...$20.00+

Sluggy