This Week on the Dining Table

The  "There's Only 5 More Paychecks" Edition--

Every payday now I think to myself..."OMG, there are only X more paychecks until Hubs retires!"
And then I have a little hyperventilating fit before I calm down.
I guess I am not taking this well. lolz


Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Manicotti in Sauce(from freezer), Salad, leftover Garlic Bread

2. Monday--Quesadillas(using leftover chicken and/or taco meat), Corn

3. Tuesday--Kielbasa in Rolls, Beans

4. Wednesday--Mac and Cheese w/Ham, Brussels Sprouts

5. Thursday--Steak, Baked Potatoes, Sauted Veggie(TBD)
6. Friday--Breakfast for Dinner(Daughter is making this.)
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Manicotti in Sauce(from freezer), Salad, leftover Garlic Bread

2. Monday--Kielbasa in Rolls, Beans

3. Tuesday--Quesadillas(using leftover taco meat), Spinach Salad

4. Wednesday--Steak, Cuke and Tom Salad

5. Thursday--Mac and Cheese w/Ham, Brussels Sprouts
6. Friday--Breakfast for Dinner(Daughter is making this.)
7. Saturday--Teriyaki London Broil, Broccoli Tots, Rolls

We ate ZERO leftovers last week so 7 nights of making new dinners....except the Daughter made Friday's meal.
Even though I/we cooked 7 nights we have very few leftovers heading into this week.

Two trips to Weis, plus 2 small trips to the Bread Outlet and Dollar Tree earlier in the month that weren't recorded yet, put a dent in the food budget of $48.51.   This brought my April food spending total to $260.54.  There are 0 days left in the month.  

My savings percentages last week was 75.20%. 

Leftovers going into this week....... Ham bone, Rolls, Roast Chicken slices, Taco filling, Mac & Cheese, 1 Kielbasa, London Broil slices.

Here is this week's "food plan"....
* Denotes "complicated" meals

1. Sunday--Primo Hoagies(take-out)

2. Monday--Tacos, Salads or Burritos(using leftover filling+)

3. Tuesday--Pinto Beans w/Ham, Cornbread

4. Wednesday--Grilled Chicken Thighs, leftover Mac/Cheese, Salad

5. Thursday--Pork Chops, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Veggies
6. Friday--Leftovers or homemade Pizza
7. Saturday--Dinner Out(using a gift certificate)

This week will see 5-6 new meals cooked, 1 night of Take-Out/Eating-Out and 0-1 night of Leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu? Nothing at all.  Maybe I'll stay out of the grocery stores this week? hahaha

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

This Week on the Dining Table

The "We Have Heat Again & We Survived the COLDpocalyse!" Edition.....

 

The new compressor arrived courtesy of Our Installer Guy last Monday, just in time for the Polar Vortex CoLdpocalypse Event of last week.

First we got hot weather(well, HOT for January)and all the snow melted, then the winds picked up and the temps dropped to 0 degrees or more(or would that be less?), not accounting for the wind chill and then we got 50 degrees on Saturday.
Can we just go back to our regularly scheduled average of 20 degrees cold and 5 feet of snow for the year total Winter now?!?

 

 

On to the Meal Planning.

Here is what was planned last week--

 Sunday--Lamb Chops(have), leftover Roasted Cauliflower, leftover Corn Casserole
Monday--Leftover Pulled Pork Sammies, Coleslaw
Tuesday--Leftover Beef Stew, Biscuits
Wednesday--Mushroom(have) Parmesan, Green Salad, Pasta(have)
Thursday--Clam(have) Chowder, Cod(have), Sugar Snap Peas(have)
Friday--Pork Enchiladas(using leftover pulled pork), Green Beans(have)
Saturday--Pork Chops(have), Red Apple Kraut, Stuffing(have)

 And here is what actually happened--

 

Sunday--Lamb Chops(have), leftover Roasted Cauliflower, leftover Corn Casserole
Monday--Leftover Pulled Pork Sammies, Coleslaw
Tuesday--Leftover Beef Stew, Biscuits
Wednesday--Pork Enchiladas(using leftover pulled pork), Green Beans(have)
Thursday--Hamburger, Salad
Friday--Fend For Yourself Night
Saturday--Mushroom(have) Parmesan, Green Salad, Pasta(have)

Moved some meals around during the week, Hubs didn't eat one night so Fish got bumped to next week and I just had a fresh burger and salad and we finished some leftovers but not all.
I also made a big pan of Bread Pudding for desserts.
  

As for the food spending last week....
There was 2 trips to the grocery store & 1 trip to Rite-Aid and I spent a grand total of $98.58(including my Rite-Aid trip of $1.02 OOP)on $203.55 worth of groceries/toiletries at 3 different stores.  I am going to strive for another $300 or less grocery month for January and I have $127.89 left in the food budget for this month(or $64 for each of the net 2 weeks).

Leftovers going into this week--Pulled Pork(1 portion), Beef Stew(3-4 helpings), 1.5 Enchiladas(1-2 helpings), 4 Mushroom Parms(2-4 helpings), 2 portions of Spaghetti w/Sauce, Bread Pudding(2-3 helpings).

Here is this week's meal plan---

Sunday--Pork Chops(have), Red Apple Kraut(have, Stuffing(have)
Monday--Meatloaf(have), Garlic Mashed Taters(have), Collard Greens(have)
Tuesday--Leftover Pork, Enchiladas, Beef Stew(diner's choice)
Wednesday--local Italian food meal out *
Thursday--Clam/Corn Chowder(have), Cod(have), Roasted Cauliflower(have)
Friday--Leftovers Night
Saturday--?  More Leftovers if we have them

* Hubs & I are going out to local Italian place.  I have a free entrée for your birthday card and a gift certificate for a free pizza we won at the Church auction, so I'll get my b-day meal and Hubs will get a pizza and the leftovers will come home with us.  Cost out of pocket.....a tip and drinks on the Eating out Budget.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......nothing at all.  I bought everything I need for these meals last week or I have it at the house already.

I will go to 1 local grocer later this week to pick up--OJ, strawberries, Ramen noodles(at #2 Son's request) and a Turkey Breast on sale for .99¢ lb.

The turkey will be cooked/served either on Saturday(depending on whether the leftovers are gone or not)or Sunday of next week.  Leftover turkey will be used for lunch sandwiches for me the following week. 8-)


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

Sluggy

AUGUST 2012 Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2012.

I have posted August's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in August.  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(3-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

FARM STAND
OOP   $31.50

Value   $80.48

Savings  60.86%

RITE-AID

OOP  $.70

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $613.06

Value  $613.76

Savings   99.88%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $346.94

Qs/Ads  $269.18

Value  $616.12

Savings  43.69%

WALMART

OOP  $17.88

Value  $31.14

Savings  42.58%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $88.92

Qs/Ads  $73.01

Value  $161.93

Savings  45.09%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN August

Total...$0.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$0.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Nothing.

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 99.88%,  the Farm Stand at 60.86%, and Weis at 45.09%.  l shopped at 5 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$485.94

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1,017.49

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,503.43

TOTAL Savings of...................................67.67%

This closes out the August spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into August with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I obviously blew through that mark plus another $85.94.  Having all 5 of us home for almost a week and having #2 Son(aka the Eating Machine)home full time helped push me over but I gave myself an extra $100 last month so I'll have to see where we went off course.  I suspect it's a little more junk food and extra spending on fresh veggies/fruits AND the almost $100 I spent on meats at the Meat Sale at the local market.  Also, the bulk of the farm stand purchases were either for canning pepper relish or for veggies to freeze for this winter's consumption.

So yes, now I see where that $185.94 went. ;-)

Again, I didn't use many coupons in August, not counting Rite-Aid, where I use many MANY coupons!lol 

At strictly grocery outlets, I used 2 coupons and 2 catalinas I earned to be exact.

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO SEPTEMBER......

I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for September.  #2 Son is home again.  I might be going back to the farm stand for Fall veggies and I want to leave myself some budget room for stocking up opportunities this month if they come along.

How did you do in August with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to it?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy