This Week on the Dining Table

The "More Veggies From the Garden" Edition...............

More ripe tomatoes that the critters didn't get first.  We've been getting one or two at a time, not a deluge.  I need to not eat a lot of tomatoes so Hub has been slicing them for lunch sandwiches mostly, though I did make myself a BLT last week with one and it was heaven. 8-)

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--FFY(I had oatmeal for dinner)
2. Monday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Carrots
3. Tuesday--Grilled Salmon, Salad

4. Wednesday--? Not making dinner so who knows??
5. Thursday--Meatloaf(I'll make ahead for Hubs), the rest TBD and Hubs responsibility

6. Friday--Chicken Pot Pie
7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--FFY(I had oatmeal for dinner)
2. Monday--Leftovers(Pork Teriyaki Stir-Fry w/Veggies
3. Tuesday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Carrots

4. Wednesday--We went to Bob Evans in Hershey(I had a big salad)
5. Thursday--Meatloaf(Beef/Chicken), Corn on Cob, Strawberries

6. Friday--Lasagna Hamburger Helper, Chopped Asian Caesar Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers(Stroganoff, Rice, Strawberries)

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.

I made a meatloaf on Tuesday for later in the week so Hubs fried/browned slices up in a skillet and he grilled local corn from Sharp Shopper we hit on Wednesday after the surgery.

I mixed the leftover pack of ground beef w/what was left of the pack of ground chicken(after making a meatloaf w/veggies shredded into it)and browned it.  Part of that went into the Helper meal and part into this past Sunday's meal.

That last chopped salad from Price Chopper we got the previous week was still good so we had it Friday(though I had oil and vinegar on mine as the dressing included was too spicy!)

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 4 tv dinners

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* a small London Broil

* ground Chicken

* ground Beef

We spent $56.48 between CVS and Sharp Shopper bringing our food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods to $354.64 so far this month.  So much for a low spending month. ;-)

I've earned $91.96 on Ibotta in August so far since last week.  $10 more from Rite-Aid and $11.76 from the Cash Pool Bonus. I've got more coming from Sunday's Weis(PMITA)Markets shop too(will add that in the next report when I add that shop in too).

I've earned $4.25 on SavingStar in August so far but am closing in on a $5 wys $25 GM cereal rebate there as well.

My savings percentage for last week was 72.29%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 57.44% so far.(w/out R-A).  Much better than last week's percentage because of the CVS shop mostly which was over 80%(though the Sharp Shopper shop was over 40% too).

Leftovers going into this week......Beef Pie, Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Meatloaf, Hamburger Helper.

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

1. Sunday--Sloppy Joes, Strawberries
2. Monday--TV dinners
3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--TV dinners
5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Anniversary Dinner out or more Lobster from PC?
7. Saturday--Grilled Salmon and whatever fresh produce I can find

What needs buying for this menu?  Might get Lobsters again as they are still cheap(not as cheap as last week but close).  I don't feel like cooking(and Hubs doesn't either)so we'll eat all those tv dinners this week.

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Scampi
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Breakfast for Dinner

* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

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

$20K Savings Challenge Report for May 2012

Ok, here is my May Savings Challenge Update post for 2012.
This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against "unconscious" spending.

Just to update, My Savings Goal for the Year in 2012 is $20,000.  It's well below what I've saved in previous years I know.  But we also have a goal of paying for 4 home improvement projects at Chez Sluggy this year.  We plan on cash-flowing these projects with the additional money we save and/or our income tax refund.

On to the May report.....

I have posted my MAY End of Month $20K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up May in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of May with?.......$2,832.03!

Income
We had $2728.26 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $2.00 in Rebates applied against the food expenses, $101.31 in blog ad revenue & $.46 in interest(HAHAHAHAHA!) and  you get a total of $2,832.03.

Outgo
Traditionally May has been a fairly normal month as far as spending goes.  No big tax bills or lump payments. 

As for the expenses this May......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill was boringly the same.

*  The mild winter temps continued, which decreased our heating/electric bill by about $25.  The second consecutive month for a decrease....yay!

*   The credit card was $400 less than last month's bill.  It was still over $1K though. bleh!
*  No car maintenance/repairs bills this month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  Credit card bill was fairly high at $1000+.

*  We bought a new dishwasher.

*  The new dishwasher meant hiring a plumber to install it(our house is weird)....that was $265!!!

*  Another vet bill for 1 of the dogs.  Not large but it's still unusual spending.

*  Cash spending(my food money and Hub's WAM money)was WAY HIGH!  I'm going to have a talk with him about reigning it in this weekend.

The Food Budget costs for May are in another post, which is located HERE.

YEAR-TO-DATE GRAND TOTAL.....
With 4 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2012 is $9,422.83.

We hit our monthly goal in May and then some, so now we are ahead of where we need to be

With 5 months done, we should be at $8,333.35 saved for the year, so $1,089.48 ahead for the year!

As for a look ahead at JUNE.....
* There will be another vet bill for surgery the beagle had this week.(It was put on the credit card.)
* The quarterly garbage bill will be due.
* Mini-vacation will cost money but most charges will be put on credit card so not due until July.(Good for June's figures but not for July's.)
* A 3rd paycheck in JUNE!!!  We will NOT use it toward our saving challenge goal however.  This check will go toward paying the home improvement projects that NEED to begin soon.

I figure I should be able to meet the monthly savings goal for this Challenge in June, barring any money fiascoes.

So how much did YOU save in May?  Did you spend all your income or did you put something aside?

Do you have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses?
Do you have debt?

Start living below your means NOW and put some money away for emergencies and/or start paying down your debt.
And once you get debt-free, continue to throw that debt repayment money into savings.  You won't believe how fast you can accumulate wealth once you have no debt!

It is NEVER too early or too late to SAVE SOMETHING.
And the amount you save is NEVER too small!
Anything you can spare will go a long way to make you more financially secure in this crazy unstable world we live in.

So come along and Challenge Yourself to Save Money each Month Toward a Realistic for YOU Savings Goal or Debt Goal!

Not everyone can shoot for $20K, I fully get that!
But everyone can shoot for some number, right!?

Find a money goal that works for you and put that number out there for everyone to see.  Put it into paying down your debt, put it into savings, invest it or put it toward the principle in your home mortgage....just get busy and do this!

It will help keep you accountable to your goal if other eyes are on you.
Put it out there online and let us all stalk your money too. ;-)

So how was your May financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
How much did you save in May?

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