July BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2009.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5. No kids under 13.

CARONE'S
OOP $24.23
Qs/Ads $7.19
Value $31.42
Savings 23%

CVS
OOP $.86
Qs/Ads $54.89
Value $55.75
Savings 98.5%

FARM FRESH
OOP $26.48 **Just had to pick up some Smithfield Ham while in Virginia!
Qs/Ads $12.52
Value $39.00
Savings 32%

KMART
OOP $54.52
Qs/Ads $869.30
Value $923.82
Savings 94%

OLLIE'S
OOP $5.55
Ads $4.30
Value $9.85
Savings 44%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $57.11
Qs/Ads $139.67
Value $196.78
Savings 71%

RITE AID
OOP $86.95
Qs/Ads $356.06
Value $443.01
Savings 80.37% **This is before Single Check Rebate & Gift Cards earned.**

SHOP-RITE
OOP $23.34
Qs/Ads $131.45
Value $154.79
Savings 85%

TARGET
OOP $62.06
Qs/Ads $130.40
Value $192.46
Savings 68%

WALGREEN'S
OOP $24.01
Qs/Ads $126.56
Value $150.57
Savings 84%

WALMART
OOP $25.17
Qs/Ads $14.06
Value $39.23
Savings 36%

WEIS
OOP $130.41
Qs/Ads $530.45
Value $660.86
Savings 80%

TOTAL Out of Pocket.............................$520.69
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings....$2376.85
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2897.54
TOTAL Savings % for JUNE......................82%

I've decided NOT to track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons". Rebates will also show up in the Monthly Totals when spent, but I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.

REBATES RECV'D. IN JULY

Rite-Aid SCR........$54.18
Reynolds Foil........$2.99
Cheerios Check....$5.00
Dove Hair Repair Challenge...$4.69
Lysol......$3.00
Physician's Formula....$7.13
Subtotal........$76.99

FREE ITEMS
Kashi Bar Coupon
Starbucks Ice Cream Coupon
Soft Soap Body Wash Coupon
Candy Bar Coupon
Purex 3-In-1 Coupon

NO Gift Cards

TOTAL Value of Cash Rebates..$76.99

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Walgreens at 84%, KMart at 94% & CVS at 98.5%. If you figure the Rebate I am due back from Rite-Aid($85), then my Savings % there is 99.5%.
(I spent $86.95 OOP and will receive back an $85 Check and $50 in Gift Cards.)
This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
Well, I set out to keep the Grocery/HBA spending under $500 for July...something I haven't been able to do yet. I didn't quite make $500 but at only $20 over, this is my least food/toiletries spending for 2009!

And this amount was with very little fresh produce included from my garden! I figured keeping it to $500 for July but that amount was counting heavily on not having to buy much in the way of fresh produce. We just harvested the first of the squash and cukes a couple of days ago, so in July we only had fresh salad greens supplementing the menu. This makes that $520 spent an even better showing.

I know that some of you out there may spend way less than $500 a month on your Food/Toiletries Budget. I don't know how you do it(unless you are eating rice and beans all the time!lol). But for us, $500 is really low. ESPECIALLY if you consider that a year ago I use to grocery shop.....sit down for this revelation.....WITHOUT COUPONS!
Yes folks, I never even peeked inside the Newspaper inserts on Sunday. Just threw the coupons out when we were done reading the paper.

It wasn't always like that. I used to coupon years ago, when I was a young married woman & hubby and I were living off of a much smaller salary. As he started earning more and I brought in some extra money on my side hustles, and then the babies started coming in quick succession, I had no time or energy for saving money with coupons. Then the babies started growing and eating ALOT MORE!lol Soon that small food bill was double and triple and taking too big a bite out of the income.

Last year, I would just go to the store once a week and do a $150 shop. But that big shop would be supplemented with 2-3 little mini-shops during the week to pick up things I forgot during the big shopping trip. $20 here, $15 there....add on another $40-$80 a week to that $150 total=$200+ a week!
And for that $200+ we barely had enough to eat through to the next week. We certainly didn't have shelves of extras for an emergency situation like we do now.

And that was a year ago.....since then, the price of everything has increased at least 6%. So I'd need $222.60 in today's dollars to buy last year's same $200 worth of food. Extrapolate out that weekly amount to a month and I was keeping a food/toiletries Budget equivalent to $964.60 a month in 2008.

So it blows my mind that I can spend LESS now on the Food budget and we have so much MORE foodstuffs than before!

Even with keeping the budget down to $520 in July, I was still able to take advantage of a couple of INCREDIBLE SHOPPORTUNITIES that came my way.

This $520 for July included 11 Trips to KMart during the Double Coupons Week in early July, a couple of trips to Target for cereal/cookies for the Kellogg's Rebate & a trip to Price Chopper to stock up on sale/clearanced staples(rice & spaghetti sauce mostly), as well as all the smaller food shopping trips & a splurge on that expen$ive Smithfield Ham we picked up at the Farm Fresh down in Virginia.

As for the total I am shooting for with my Food/Toiletries Budget for August....I am torn. The stockpile is looking quite healthy except for a few types of items, so I have a small percentage of things to stock-up on.
I have a Shopping Campaign all set to launch on Sunday for a really really good Cat deal at a grocery chain down the road from here. And then there is the return of KMart's Double Coupons Week later in August. There shouldn't be much I need by then, so I'll still check it out but I'll try to limit myself to things that will be free with the doubled coupons. I usually do free and items under $1 during these KMart Sales, so free only will be cutting back for me.

So I'm going to keep the Food Budget for August at $500 again. The kids will have returned from their summer jobs this month and the #1 son will be leaving for college too. I anticipate some irregularities with the menu(eating out and extra meals)this month, plus some farmer's market spending(to preserve for winter) so we'll leave some wiggle room in the budget for whatever pops up in August.

Sluggy

The Appliance Man Cometh....

Guess what is still lurking in my kitchen?

Yep!....the evil possessed Frigidaire Stove from hell!!
Like I recounted in a previous post, Hubby & I went out last Saturday and bought a new NON GLASSTOP Range. Oh, and it is NOT made by Frigidaire either.

Anyway, we pay and get the paperwork and arrange for a Thursday delivery. Thursday morning comes and the guys with the truck show up at the door with my new Range. The guy comes in and checks out the layout and to see the best way to wheel the thing into the house yadda yadda yadda, then he goes out to the truck to unload the Range.
I follow behind a few minutes later to go prop the screen door open so they can wheel the new machine in unimpeded.

I open the front door and see the nice shiny appliance, sitting on the road, shining in the sunlight.
The nice shiny WHITE appliance.
Ummm, I have a stainless and BLACK kitchen appliance scheme going on here.

Either the nimrod saleswoman in the store ordered the wrong color stove or the nimrod warehouse worker pulled the wrong color stove(IF it's the right model even)!

The delivery guy sees the look on my face and says, "Ya know, after I saw the appliances in your kitchen, I just KNEW this wasn't the right stove!"
Well, at least HE's got a few braincells left, huh?

So I told him, You got it, it's not right, load it back on the truck!
ARRRRGH.

I swear EVERY time we have had to deal with HOME DESPOT, they screw it up.
There is a real nice rant about them over on my old blog HERE. Just scroll down to the May 31st entry to read it.

For THREE YEARS we have avoided that hell hole they call HOME DESPOT like the plaque!
I guess THREE YEARS was long enough to temporarily forget how bad they are.
Or was it that we didn't want to go back to Lowe's since the Evil Range came from there. Between those two big box stores, there isn't much here in the way of Appliance choices....ok, maybe 1 stove at Best Buy and a few at Sears. It's very difficult to find an old school Stove with burners and NOT that glass top.
We were reduced to buying from the Despot and crossed our fingers that THIS TIME would be different.

It.
Was.
NOT!

It turns out the nimord saleswoman was the offending party in this dance of fools.
The BLACK RANGE has been ordered and we are awaiting it's arrival.

In the meantime I've been learning how to cook things on a gas grill that you wouldn't normally think to cook on one.
Like Grilled Cheese using a baking sheet. The sandwiches came out nice and crispy but it didn't do much for the baking sheet. Singed on the bottom and warped....the sheet, not the sandwich.
The grilled onions cooked up nicely in the cast iron pan I put on the grill. I've got a enameled cast iron Rachel Ray Dutch Oven that might work well for some chili or stew on the grill....as long as I don't put the lid on the pot(the knob is plastic-it might melt) and close the cover on the grill. Is that a stupid idea or what?.....putting a plastic knob on a cast iron Dutch Oven pot lid! Yes, you can still put this pot into the oven but don't let the temperature get above 350 degrees or the knob on the lid might melt.
Just another stupid design flaw OR is it a way for a manufacturer to cut corners(instead of using cast iron like the rest of the pot/lid!)to save money!
But I digress.....

I was suppose to have pasta and meat sauce Friday evening. I made the pasta sauce but until I figure out a way to boil pasta on the grill, we'll have to wait for the Range to make it's appearance. It's a good thing I have a couple of frozen pizzas in the freezer, to tied us over until Saturday.

Saturday we shall see what the HOME DESPOT truck comes bearing.
Tidings of great kitchen-y joy, or more screw-ups & stress....

Stay tuned.
Same bat station, same bat channel.

Sluggy

FREE HAIR PRODUCTS at RITE AID until Friday!

Can you use FREE HAIR PRODUCTS?
Of course you can!
Here's how to get some.....
Take the HERBAL ESSENCE Coupon for last Sunday's coupon inserts(the one that reads Buy One/Get One) & the HERBAL ESSENCE Coupon from the P&G July 5th coupon insert(the one that reads $1 off 1 Herbal Essence Product)and go to a RITE-AID Drug Store.

The Herbal Essence Shampoo, Conditioner and Styling Products are $3 each until Saturday.
Buy 2 Herbal Essence Products(one must be a Styling Product). Use the BOGO Coupon to get the Stlying Product free & use the $1/1 Coupon to get the other Herbal Essence product for $2 instead of $3.
Go home and submit your receipt for the Single Check Rebate Program online at www.riteaid.com.
There is a $2 Single Check Rebate on Herbal Essence Products this month.
The $2 you spent on the Herbal Essence products will be refunded to you after the month is over and you submit for your Single Check Rebate.

Easy Peasy, yes?

But HURRY! The sale expires on Saturday & the $1/1 Coupon expires on Friday, July 31st. Get to Rite-Aid before closing time on Friday to get in on this FREEBIE!

Sluggy

Walgreen's Convoluted Scenario, Spend $6.19 Get $8.50RRs & Lots of STUFF

So I am up Waaaaaaay too late this evening, er....morning. Can't shut the mind off for some reason, so why not give it a work out, right?

I was just perusing the upcoming WAGS RR deals for Sunday....

• Gum Toothbrush (2 pack) $3.49, use $1 coupon (6/21 RP) and get back $3.49 RR = $1 profit
• Suave Deodorant (2.6 or 6 oz) 25% off sale so $1.41 each ($1.89 regular price), buy 4 and get back $2 RR, buy 6 and get back $6 RR or buy 8 and get back $10 RR. Buy six and use six $0.50 coupons (5/17 RP) = $5.46 and get back $6 RR = $0.54 profit. Buy eight and use eight $0.50 coupons (5/17 RP) = $7.28 and get back $10 RR = $2.72 profit
• Vitamin Sham/Cond (13 oz) $3.99, get back $3.99 RR = FREE *Look for bottles with a Try Me Free rebate on them = $3.99 profit
• Spend $10, get back $5 RR. Includes Cheez Its (7.5 or 9oz) $2, Keebler Cookies (11.5 or 15 oz) $2, Cheez Its (4.5 oz) or Keebler Cookies (5.25 - 6 oz) $1, Rice Krispies Treats $2, Pop Tarts $2, Club Crackers/Sandies Pecan Shortbread $2.50, Fiber Plus Bars $2.50, Nutri-Grain Bars $2.50 and Special K Protein Bars or Shakes $5

Here is what I came up with for a scenario....try to stay with me, it's long.lol Follow the steps, don't skip any!

You will need 3 $1/1Gum Qs, 6 $1/2 Suave Deo Qs, 2 $1/2 PopTart Qs. (You can use 12 $.50/1 Suave Deo Qs but you'll need to buy a cheap filler 2 times in this scenario.)

*Buy the Gum Toothbrush for $3.49, use a $1/1 Q & Pay $2.49OOP, Get a $3.49RR(this will probably print as a $3.50RR)

*Buy a Vitamin Poo for $3.99, use the $3.50RR & Pay $.49OOP, Get a $3.99RR(this will probably print as a $4RR).

*Buy 6 Suave Deos for $8.46-3x$1/2Qs=$5.46, use $4RR & Pay $1.46OOP, Get a $6RR.

*Buy 1 Gum Tbrush & 1 Vitamin Poo for $7.48, use $1/1Gum Q=$6.48, use $6RR & Pay $.48OOP, Get a $4RR & a $3.50RR.

*Buy 8 Suave Deos for $11.28, use 3 $1/2Qs(11.28-3=$8.28), use both $4RR & $3.50RR & Pay $.78OOP, Get a $10RR.

*Buy 1 Gum Tbrush, 5 Pop Tarts($3.49+$10=13.49), use 2x $1/2 PTarts Q & $1/1 Gum Q(13.49-3=$10.49), use $10RR & Pay $.49OOP, Get $8.50RRs(3.50 & 5)

You now have....
14 Suave Deos
3 Gum Toothbrushes
2 Vitamin Poo
5 boxes Pop Tarts
That's $48.19 worth of products.
$8.50 in RRs($3.50/$5)
And you've spent $6.19 not including state sales tax & used 11 Qs.

Not exactly free(unless you count the RRs you now have)but pretty good.

What will you do with 14 Deodorants?
Hey, that's YOUR problem!lol

So can you come up with a better scenario? Let me know!

Sluggy

Back-To-School Shopping for the College Student

The back-to-school adventure is even more fun this year for me. Not only are all 3 of my kids going back to school next month, #1 son is heading off to college on the other end of the state. This translates into even more outlay of $$$ for him, as he will require a laptop computer and items for daily living in his dorm room.
What makes this a challenge is the fact that #1 son is living away from home this summer and after his summer job is over, he will only be home for 6 DAYS before having to leave for college, so it's been left up to me to pick out/up all these items he'll be needing BEFORE he comes home.

And you know I am all about being frugal, so the mission is to get what he needs for as little as I have to spend, while still getting him decent stuff.

He'll be sleeping on a twin sized bed at school. As he has a full size bed at home, I've been on the look-out for sheets for him. I finally found a deal on bedding.

I know these are NOT high quality luxury sheets but this is a college dorm situation for an 18 yr. old. It's highly probable that either #1 son will ruin these doing his own laundry or they will get 'lost' or just walk away at some point in the year, so I'm not wanting to spend big buck$ on sheets. I found these bedding separates at a local discount/discontinued item store.
I got 2 whole sheet sets(1 flat/1 fitted/2 pillowcased)for $18.16.....that's $9.08 per set.
I bought blue sheets. I figure this way, he won't have to deal with bleach as they aren't white sheets, so less chance of him ruining them. And the color will hide stains too.lolol
I may go back and get a couple more fitted sheets because they tend to wear out faster than top sheets.

I am all about buying used whenever possible. I was reticent about buying these WALMART Sheets, as they are made in China. But I figure buying them from a discontinued item store is as close to buying used as I want to get with sheets. Walmart got pennies on the dollar selling these items to my local odd-lot store so Walmart isn't seeing a profit on this purchase.

So I've gotten the bath towels and the sheets. I'll let #1 son pick out the comforter when he gets home.

Sluggy