The Paid for Groceries in December Plan

       Yeah, this just might be me above by the end of December. lolz

So here is where we stand going into December with "free money" for groceries......

Gift Cards.....$64.36
Cash Rebates--
 Savingstar...$134.42
 Checkout51..$41.25
 Ibotta..........$31.50
Rolled Coins...$87.50
Other Cash(post coupons)...$42.00

Total.....$401.03

If any more cash rebates are earned at SavingStar, Checkout51 or Ibotta during the rest of the month those will get rolled into the total above.

The Goal this month is to only spend these funds on groceries in December and not use any income this month to fund the grocery budget.

I also have some Target gift cards I can utilize if I need to.(Those were earmarked for Xmas giving but the prospective recipients didn't want them.)  I don't like buying groceries at Target but if push comes to shove I will to keep from spending the cash coming into the house this month.  The same goes for some old Kmart gift cards I have as well....I'll use those if I go over my $401.03.
I could also buy food at Rite-Aid and spend down some Plenti Points there instead of using cash so that's in my back pocket too.

I will cash out my rebates/refunds from Savingstar, Checkout51 and Ibotta before December ends to put with the coins and cash on hand above to spend on groceries this month.

This is all I have for the month to put toward food & toiletries.  Since I haven't had a monthly food shopping total below $400 since May, when the Daughter and the BF arrived this will be interesting.
The larders and freezers are stocked full going into this challenge(making it less of a challenge really).  The pantry staples are good as is the supply of frozen meats.  Fresh produce(as my frozen veggies are low)will need to be bought, as will some fruit and milk.

Let the games begin! 8-)

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....June 14th TUESDAY Edition Incorporating Leftovers

**This post is part of the June Food Stamp Challenge located over HERE.**

Planning your meals ahead but using the sale ads and incorporating any leftovers from the previous week's meals is a great way to save money and avoid food waste.  These are the main ideas I keep in mind when planning our menu.  While I won't be shopping much this week I do have alot of leftovers to use up.

Last Week's Menu Postmortem...

Most of the meals were served but not on the days I had planned.  That's ok in my book!
The chicken thighs didn't happen as we had a celebratory dinner out for #1 son since he will be away from home on his actual birthday.

Here's what I will be serving our family of 3 this Week.....our household presently consists of 2 adults and 1 teen at home this week. No children under 14.

MONDAY--Turkey(leftover)*, Mashed Potatoes, homemade Gravy, Peas
TUESDAY--Beef Enchiladas(using leftover chili)*, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Pulled Pork(leftover)*, Coleslaw, Broccoli
THURSDAY--Dinner Out using Gift Certificate
FRIDAY--Something Turkey(leftover)*, Veggies to be announced later
SATURDAY--Homemade Clam Chowder(using leftover corn)*, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Brussel Sprouts
SUNDAY--Leftovers

Here are the cost breakdowns...

Turkey Dinner--Turkey* free, Mashed Potatoes* free, homemade Gravy .10, Peas .30=$.40


Enchiladas--Beef $1.69, Sauce .79, Cheese $2.00, Tortillas $1.00, Rice .60, Sour Cream .50, Salad* free, Dressing .75=$7.33  This will make a double batch and I'll freeze half for another meal.


Pork--Pulled Pork* free, Sauce .50, Rolls .50, Coleslaw $1.25, Broccoli .83=$3.08


Dinner Out--Free with Gift Certificate


Turkey Meal--Turkey* free, Veggies to be announced later=$? but since the meat is free(leftovers) the cost will be low for the other ingredients

Chowder and Sandwiches w/Veggie--Clams $2.00, Corn* free, Bacon .50, Milk $1.59, Onions .25, Celery .25, Potatoes .50/ Bread .50, Cheese $1.63, Brussel Sprouts .83=$8.05


SUNDAY--Leftovers

Adding up what has already been spent and what I need to spend for this week's menu, I can serve this menu of 6 meals to a family of 3 adults/teens for a total of $20.86(figuring $2 max for the carbs/veggies to round out the unspecified turkey meal on Friday).  This cost also gives me a second Enchilada meal for another week.

Leftover nights have no cost as they were already figured in when the meal was served the first time. If you divide the meals' cost by 6 nights, you get an average cost per night of $3.48. That's $1.16 per person per night. And this is mostly a cooking from scratch menu. The only 'processed foods' are the salad dressing and the rolls/bread.
The items marked with the asteriks are free as they are leftovers and the cost was already paid.
Looking over this menu I've got leftovers going every night of the week that I am cooking!lolol

How am I being frugal with this menu?
*The Turkey meals are using the leftover roasted turkey from last week.  Between snacking on turkey last weekend(sandwiches)and the 2 meals this week, we should polish off all the turkey.*The Beef Enchiladas...No leftover Sloppy Joes this week but I have leftover Chili I can add to the filling to spice it up.
*The Pulled Pork is leftover boneless ribs I cooked when we grilled out the Friday before last.  I made them in case we ran out of food that night with the extra mouths here to feed.  Since we didn't need them, I'll make them into bbq this week.  By using sauce I can revive them even though they are a bit dry, being this old.  No one will know the difference....lol
*I also had leftover ears of roasted corn from that cookout.  I cut the kernels off the cobs and froze it.  That corn will be a nice addition to my clam chowder.

LAST WEEK'S FOOD SPENDING

I spent $37.76 at the store last week on groceries.
I 'spent' $8.60 in food items already in my pantry/freezer for a Food Stamp Challenge weekly total of $46.36. 
My total FSC spending for June is at $140.66.
I have an allotment of $410.72 to spend in June on food due to my participation in the June Food Stamp Challenge.
I have $270.06 remaining.

The only NEEDS for this week's menu are rolls, bread, cabbage, carrots, fruit and milk. Since I can't get the baked goods at the bakery outlet(they don't take EBT) I'll have to find a sale on bread/rolls at the reg. grocery store which will make those items cost me more.  I'm hoping to keep this list under $20 in price.
I don't see much in the stores this week that I want to stock-up on so I should be able to keep the food spending low this week.

FOOD WASTE REPORT

We had a waste casualty this week.  A bowl of something brown(most likely in the meat family)got pushed to the back and forgotten.  It was more mold than meat when found so we lost a tad more than 1 cup of food last week.
Food Waste sucks.....

Check out Organizing Junkie to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week.

Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge APRIL 2010 Totals.....Happy Dance!

I have posted my APRIL End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up April waaaaaaay  in the Black.

The extra cash amount we ended the month of April with was.......$6,366.78.

Income
We had $2,290.77 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in a gas voucher of $26.68 for some business traveling he paid OOP for in April, a hefty $159.33 in Rebates & our big fat Income Tax Refund of $3,890.00 which we received in April and you have a nice deposit of $6,366.78 toward the Savings Challenge!
The nice thing is that even if you take off the Tax Refund, we have $2,476.78 leftover to put toward savings.  That is just $24+/- short of the $2,500 estimate we need to save each month to reach a $30K Savings Goal for the Year!  So even without the tax refund, we are right on track.

Outgo
As for the expenses in April.....

The electric bill went down another $80 in April so that number is NOT causing me dread when I peek inside the envelope each month when it arrives.

 The credit card bill was down below $350, which is always a welcomed sight.

Out-of-the-ordinary expenses in April....our municipal/local tax bill was due(over $1K), the car needed it's yearly inspection and #2 son snookered me into buying candles(I need another candle like I need leprosy!) for the Marching Band fundraiser.  It was NOT a very bad month for extra expenses, which really helped boost the amount we could throw into savings this month.

The Food Budget costs for April are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in April was under the budgeted $250.00 even without throwing the rebate money that came in last month at this expense.  After the rebate money we only spent $38.86 on food/toiletries and our Savings percentage was a whopping 92.40%!

Looking Ahead to May....
#1 son aka the 'eating machine' comes home from college & we have a week long visit from a relative in May, so the food spending will no doubt go up.
The Credit Card bill as of May 3rd is already over $1,000 for May(due to 2 large purchases by DH).
The water bill will increase some as DH opens the pool for the season later this month.
We will have some bills for doctor's visits & prescription drugs as well and a $1,000 expenditure for #2 son's summer camp stay which needs to be paid this month. 


On the bright side, we have potential for some addition income in May as I plan on taking the extras in my stockpile to sell at the flea market.  Wish me luck on that! ;-)

I am hoping to be able to meet our monthly goal of $2,500 saved in May.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $14,890.50 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average.  We are almost 2 months ahead of our target as the 4th month savings total goal was $10,000!  We are 1/3rd of the way through the year now and our savings should be at $10,000.  It's actually almost at $15,000, which is the savings goal for the end of June(or halfway through the year)! 8-))

While I am thrilled beyond words! to be this far ahead of our projected goal, the doomsday naysayer in me is just waiting for the other financial shoe to drop.  There must certainly be economic disaster around the next bend or some GOTCHA expense lying in wait to blow our goals out of the water.
I am trying to remain cheerfully optimistic that this pile of savings is NOT a mirage. ;-)

So how was your April financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy