October Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2010.
I have posted October's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2010.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in October.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom Totals information.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $11.89
Value $64.66

Savings  81.61%

BIG LOTS
OOP  $33.46
Value  $57.00
Savings  41.30%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $75.47

Qs/Ads  $51.91

Value  $124.42

Savings  39.35%

FAMILY DOLLAR
OOP  $10.00
Value  $19.00
Savings  47.40%

FARMSTAND
OOP  $32.70
Value  $84.60
Savings  61.35%

FOOD LION
OOP  $16.88
Qs/Ads  $11.07
Value   $27.95
Savings  39.60%

PRICE CHOPPER(Northeast)

OOP  $77.85

Qs/Ads  $207.06

Value    $284.91

Savings  72.68%

REDNER'S

OOP  $83.92
Qs/Ads  $115.20

Value  $199.12

Savings  57.86%

RITE AID
OOP $9.30 after cash refunds(whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads  $1,094.06

Value  $1,103.36

Savings  99.16% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

SAV-ALOT
OOP  $25.97
Qs/Ads  $20.29
Value  $46.26
Savings  43.86%

TURKEY HILL MINIMART
OOP   $2.96
Value  $2.96
Savings  0%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP  $31.60

Qs/Ads  $10.65

Value  $42.25

Savings   35.21%


I don't track 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 RECV'D. IN SEPTEMBER
Home Depot/Behr Paint Rebate....$20.00

P&G/Back-to-School Olay Rebate....$10.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$30.99
Visine Maximum Redness TMF Rebate...$5.83
Subtotal........$72.82

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Rite-Aid Oral Care.....$10.00
Rite-Aid Kimberly/Clark....$10.00
Staples (Giveaway win)...$25.00
Subtotal....$45.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$117.82

COUPONS and FREEBIES
Advil.....Free Item Q
Cottonelle Wipes....Free Item Q
Greeting Cards(Giveaway win)...50 Free Cards
Kleenex.....Free Box
Pringles Chips.....Free Item Q x 2


My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, The Bakery Outlet at 81.61% and Price Chopper at 72.68%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$402.70

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1,653.79

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2,056.49

TOTAL Savings of..........80.42%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$72.82

TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$329.88
TOTAL Savings of..................................84%

This closes out the October spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-

I went waaaaay over on the budgeted $250 amount for the month, even after you add on the rebates received to offset the spending total.  Just so many good Catalina deals so I stocked up(think bacon).  It's nice to have 'wiggle room' in your monthly spending to take advantage of sales when they come around, without having to worry about being able to meet all your other bills.  Being frugal in other areas and living well below your monthly income gives you that freedom.

What's ahead for November 2010.....

Seeing as the freezer is stocked to the gills at the moment, we'll be eating down on the frozen items here this month.  Beyond onions, pumpkin, apples and peppers I didn't get to the farm early in October for more veggies to preserve and now it's too late.  Oh well....

I am keeping the November food budget at $250.  Though we won't need to spend the full budget amount, I will still pick up non-perishables if deals present themselves in November.  While we are good on flour and nuts, sugar is low so I'm looking for those baking sales to start.  I also might pick up items on sale now from the store that is running the gift certificate deal if you spend X amount by Nov. 14th.  Presently we are only 1/3 of the way to the $300 amount we need to get the certificate.  All other things being even(price this month or in Dec.)I'll buy it in Nov. to qualify toward the cert. instead of buying it in Dec.

As always, any rebates received in November will be added to the food budget to offset what we spend.

With ten months of the year behind us, we have averaged $194.27 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens + 2-3 pets.

How did you do in October with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  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

What's in Your Wallet?.....Sluggy Style

I saw this over at REAL LIFE LIVING and if it's good enough for Annie Jones to blog about, it's good enough for me! ;-)

Here is my Ultra-Exciting Wallet!

 OOoooo!
Isn't it......brown?!?
And old?
And not very exciting?lol

Sort of like me....except for the brown part....

But Wait!  There's more.....

  Inside we have a Driver's License(it's under the flap so you can't see the lovely mug shot of me on it), 2 grocery store cards and a discount/clearance store card.  I generally operate off of the keyring grocery store card thingys and not the big cards but Hubs has my keyring cardlet for one of these and the other keyring cardlet won't scan anymore so I have to use the fullsized card.  All the other store cards(and there are a mess o' them!)are stowed away in the outside pocket of my purse.
To continue....I also have my 1 credit card(for gas purchases)and my ING card(which gets used like twice a year). 
Now we get to the exciting parts!!
There is a wad o' cash since that is how I always pay at the grocery store.
And there are 4 Rite-Aid Gift Cards(well one is a prepaid Visa but I got it from Rite-Aid), and they were all free from either previous SCR deals there or from Prescription transfers.  The top card has about $1.50 left on it(it started with $25).  I have used that particular card since September 14th to cover any Out of Pocket on transactions at Rite-Aid.  That's over 35 transactions since that date.  It's hard to spend $25 at Rite-Aid when your average OOP to put on a card is about $.75 a trip.lolol

I also have my very old Rita's Italian Ice card....Buy 10 Get 1 Free.  I am on Ice #4.  I may get that free Ice by, oh.....June of 2012 at the rate I buy them.lol

My wallet does have a change compartment. 
It is always jam packed.
It is also very dark in there and when I need change I have a hard time finding the correct coins.  My next coin compartment should come with a built-in light that goes on when you open it, like a closet.
Either that or I need eye transplants.

The best thing in my wallet though is that Dollar bill.
I received it in change somewhere about a month ago.  I noticed the writing on the back before I tucked it into the bill fold.
It says...."August 2010.  I'm everywhere you go baby!  You can run but you can't hide!  LOVE YA  Another day Clean & Sober  8 months & 9 months"
I folded and put this bill in my coin purse.
Why?
I find it very life affirming. 
There is someone out there, anonymous to me, who is doing the right thing.  Proud(I hope)of their accomplishment and living a 'real' life. 
They know where they came from and they know where they are going and by G*d, I hope they get there! And the least I can do is cheer them on.

Everytime I open my coin purse to search for a blasted nickel or a dime in that dark hole I frown.  Then I see that dollar and smile.  And I think about what this person has accomplished, what they have changed and I can't in good conscience continue to gripe about not being able to see my change.
And I silently give up a little prayer for them that they make it through to 9 months & 10 months and beyond.

So dear readers, what's in YOUR wallet this grey November day?

Sluggy

Hormel Compleats....a Review of My Lunch

So a couple of weeks ago I purchased a bunch of these Hormel Compleats at Rite-Aid, since with coupons and store sale and +Up Rewards I received back, they were basically free.
I had gotten them with the thought that Hubs could take them to work for lunch, since they do have access to a microwave in the cafeteria.  It would save us some $$ if he didn't have to buy lunch everyday and could eat these instead once in a while, right?

So I thought I would play the guinea pig and try one before I insisted he take them for lunch.  I chose the reduced-calorie Sesame Chicken meal.
Looks fairly good, doesn't it?

Now let's get a close-up of that dish, shall we?.....

Now let's take a gander at what this Sesame Chicken dish really looks like.....

Mmmmm.....
Makes you wonder how many Hormel would sell if they put THIS PICTURE on the outside of the package?

I'm gonna guess about.....zero packages! lol
If you can get past the dog food appearance(just shut your eyes and eat it!), it doesn't taste that bad.  Much better than it looks is what I'd say!

The 'sauce' is a tad sweet for my taste but acceptable.
The worst thing is the texture of the noodles.  They are waaaaay overcooked and almost at the "mush" stage.  This dish would be alot better if Hormel didn't boil the noodles to death before adding the veggies and sauce.  On a better note, there were much more hunks of chicken than I expected and the pieces were firm and meaty.  You could tell you were eating chicken.
I believe that if you dressed this Sesame Chicken meal up with rice, or chinese noodles or even more stir-fry type veggies(or all 3), it wouldn't be a half bad lunch meal.

In the end, I have mixed feelings about this Hormel product.  It's quick and easy to fix but lacking a bit in the flavor/presentation.  At free, the price was right but doesn't totally overcome the shortcomings.
I doubt if I'd pay money for this product unless the other varieties are better.

Have you ever tried these Hormel Compleats?  How was your experience with them?  Leave a comment and give us your feedback!

Sluggy

A Good Fall Day....at The Farm

I finally got a chance to get to a local farmstand last week to pick up some produce before the Winter sets in here.
It was a nice sunny, albeit chilly, day.
I hit a roadblock, literally, before I got there.  Seems PENNDOT also thought it was a nice day and chose the intersection of the road the farm is located on, where I needed to turn onto it as a great place to repair and replace the asphalt road...ugh!
So I had to find a new, scenic route to get to the farm.

But with only a short detour I did hook up with the road I needed to be on.
Usually by the end of October our trees are well past the fall peak color time and naked due to the winds.  But there have been little wind or rain this Fall, so there was some pretty foliage, like this tree I saw on the way....

It was much more striking in person I think.

Our destination is up ahead....

They have a big enclosed Pumpkin Pen here in back of the farmstand, where you can choose your squash.  That part is geared toward the little kids and it's decorated and there are things for the wee ones to do.  In order to draw the customers in, you have to cater to the kiddies....

Oh look!  One of those rare "squash-epillars"!

I hear they are hard to find in captivity....

Here's a "Self-Service" Pumpkin grader.  Find the hole your gourd fits through and pay that price.
I was in search of pumpkins for pie making so I got a wagon and help picking out my selections in a different section of the pen.  Can't you just imagine me pulling a red wagon loaded up with orange gourds?lol  I needed a nap when I got home...ugh

Instead of guessing the weight on this bad boy, they should have had a "Guess How Many Pies He Will Make?" contest. lol

After procuring my batch of pumpkins, a bushel of onions, a big batch of apples and red peppers, it was time to go pet the baby animals....

This guy let me snap his photo but wasn't interested once he found out I didn't have a snack for him.

Another standoffish customer.....what's this world coming to when the petting zoo animals are worldly and jaded?

This calf was very friendly though....and so soft since his long shaggy winter coat was coming in.
His horns were sprouting too so I don't think he'll be in the petting zoo again next year.lol
They also had a brooder of baby chicks.  Oh, to be able to bring a few of those home to raise my own eggs.  Someday......

And here's the brains of the operation....the one who keeps everyone in line and keeps things running smoothly--the farm dog.
This old boy followed me everywhere and then sat keeping guard on my car until I was ready to leave.

Business started to pick up for the afternoon as I left.  I was glad to see more support for this local farm!
I opted to take an alternate route home since the PENNDOT guys would still be stretching out the 2 hour asphalt job for the rest of the day.

Just some scenery I passed along the way home.

Not much color now but it sure beats staring at the 4 walls in the house, right?

There's nothing like a leisurely drive down a country road on a sunny day to clear your head.  Especially when you know by next month, the weather will be keeping you homebound for the forseeable future.
And the bonus is that you can bring home a bunch of fresh local produce that's a more frugal deal than buying the stuff the grocery stores truck in from much further away!

Now who's coming here to help me make pumpkin puree?

Sluggy

Garden Harvest....Picking Before the Hard Frost

I had Hubs go pick what was still left in the garden, except for the Collards on Sunday morning.  We experienced the first frost of the season this past week so all the plants(besides the collards and eggplant)are dead.
Here is our next to last harvest for the year.....

That's a mess of jalapenos, some green bell and Italian roasting peppers.
The vine holding our last lone butternut squash had a surprise baby squash on it.  The baby is only about 4 inches tall so we'll see if we actually get anything edible from it once it's peeled and all.lol

I had picked about 14 tomatoes, the last for the year, in between this harvest and the one mid-October.  I used some when I made a batch of fresh pasta sauce, but things got away from me here and I ended up letting some of them go bad, so back into the garden bed they went with the rest of the compost.  I'm not counting those in the garden totals, nor the ones that went into the sauce since I didn't think to weigh them first.

Update on the Eggplants....
The plants are still alive and kicking.  Since the temperatures have dropped significantly here in the last few days, I'm not sure how much more time I've bought those eggplants to grow but anything helps, right?

I'll be picking them in the coming week I think, along with the collard greens.
*Update*
I just went out to check on the eggplants and the temps. last night did the plants in so I had to pick them.  More on them in a day or so....

This Harvest----
56.4 oz.
TOTAL....3 lbs.  8.4 oz.

Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....91 lbs.  3.02 oz.

Sluggy