Rite-Aid Trips.....December SCR Period--Last Week PART 1

Last Sunday was the beginning of the December Single Check Rebate Period.

My 1st trip of last week to Rite-Aid on Sunday has no photo.  It was on my computer when the machine went belly up so I lost it.
Can't recreate it now since half of the cookies/crackers have been vacuumed down the teenagers throats already.

The list of items I bought is easy to remember though...
10 cookies crackers for $1 each
1 Gilette Razor on sale
3 newspapers
2 Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap
2 Tugaboos Diaper Trial packs
Total Value...$41.82
Total Before Qs...$25.32
Total of Qs...$24.50
Total OOP...$.82 put on a Rite-Aid gift card
I used $8 +Up Rewards, received $7 +Ups back($5 Gilette, $2 wyb $10 of cookies/crackers).

While my computer was fried, I had nothing else to do.....so I went to Rite-Aid on Tuesday too, to use up those $5 off Olay wyb Secret deodorant, since they expired on the 30th....plus I had a Free Advil Q that was expiring that day as well.  Luckily this photo was still on the camera....

I won't get into the nitty gritty breakdowns on this since the deals are past.
Value of items....$43.19
Total before Qs...$28.96
Total of Qs...$28.19
OOP....$.77 put on a Rite-Aid gift card
I used $0 in +Up Rewards and received $0 back.
I forgot to use my $.50/2 Combos Q too, so it should have been $.27 on the gift card.  Oh well....my Gift of Savings total(which is like $5.00 for 8 trips!lol)can use the extra .50¢ boost. ;-)


Then this arrived in the mail.....

A free pair of No nonsense socks.
And attached to the hang tag thingy is a $1 off coupon for my next pair.
And Rite-Aid had No nonsense products BOGO last week!
I eventually went back on Saturday and got 2 more pair of socks using that coupon, and stacking the AdPerks/VV &/or Flu Booklet Qs, which made both 2 3-pair packages of socks cost me about $1.
A buck for 6 pairs of socks!
Oh yah....

The other FIVE trips last week will have to wait until later this week since my camera software won't work with this new computer(trust me, the camera is ancient!)so I have to download directly into a card reader now......as soon as I locate the card reader on the box here.  It's hell getting old and going blind.....lol



THESE TRIPS
Total Spent....$1.59 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$85.01
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$00.00
+Up Rewards earned...$7.00
+Up Rewards spent...$8.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$25.00

GRAND TOTALS--December Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......2
Total Spent....$1.59  put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$85.01
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Gift of Savings Reward...$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Dec. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 11/27.....$26.00
+Up Rewards spent....$8.00
+Up Rewards earned....$7.00
+Up Rewards left....$25.00
 

Sluggy

$30K Savings Challenge...November 2010 Totals

I have posted my NOVEMBER 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 November in the black....with a nice healthy addition!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of November with was.......$3,984.99.

Income
We had $3,954.49 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $3 of Rebates applied to the food expenses, along with $27.50 in rolled Coins and you have a deposit of $3,984.99 toward the Savings Challenge!

Our monthly target is an average of $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal.

Outgo
As for the expenses in November.....it was pretty much a 'normal bills' type month.   The credit card bill(which is paid off each month)was under $450.  There was a vet bill for the beagle this month and some smallish school related bills that are out of the ordinary but otherwise, it was a low spending month here.

The Food Budget costs for November are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in November was right on target, unlike October's out of control spending....egads, that was bad.lol

Looking Ahead to December....

As like most people who celebrate a Holiday in December, we will have some larger than normal expenses this month.
Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice....no matter which you celebrate, the extra spending will raise your monthly costs this month....unless your surname is Scrooge.
Since I operate on a budget for Christmas, our spending is planned & budgeted for months ahead so we have no surprises coming up with the cash to cover those expenses.
You know December is coming every year.....so make sure you figure how to pay for things in advance of it's arrival.  It just makes prudent financial sense, right?

The problem for us this December is the unexpected expenses that are coming up.  My car needed repair work done on it last month and the bill will be coming in sometime this month.  That will be in the neighborhood of $600.  Plus Daughter destroyed her orthodontic mouth guard and we need to pay $300+ this month for the new one that was made.  To add to the spending rampage, my computer died a few days ago and can't be fixed.  Since the monitor, etc. are fine still, we had to buy a new processor to the tune of $400(including back-up storage).  Then my machine was not compatible with my ancient printer so we purchased a new laser printer at a bargain price.  Not only was the price good but this printer will continue to save us money since the cartridges for it last a whole lot longer than the ones for inkjet printers....but I digress.
So just those 4 items will result in over $1400 in unexpected/not planned spending in December.
Even with those expenses, we should still be able to eek out a small savings for the Challenge in December though because of that 2nd extra paycheck for the year.  December has 3 pay periods for us since Hubs is paid on a biweekly schedule, so an extra paycheck this month....yippee!
And it's a very good month to have an extra paycheck coming in if I do say so myself!lol

I am just glad at this point that we have an ample income and can cover all our bills, no matter if they are expected or not....plus, we have enough to put some money away!
It's a very good feeling knowing you are solvent and living well below your means, especially in this economy.

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $30,232.62 in Savings. 
With one month of savings to go, we have hit our goal of $30 Thousand Saved in November!
I am thrilled to pieces!!
Even though we reached our goal early I will still keep tracking our progress to see how far over our goal we can reach in December.

So how was your November 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

2 Nights Down, 6 to Go!

I'm a couple of days late here thanks to my computer difficulties but I wanted to take the opportunity to wish all my friends and readers a Happy Hanukkah!

The video below is especially for my friend Joe, if he reads my blog anymore...



Shalom,

Sluggy

November Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2010.

I have posted November's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2010 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in November.  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(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $8.56
Value $32.61
Savings  73.75%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $59.32

Qs/Ads  $28.32
Value  $87.64
Savings  32.31%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $10.06
Value  $24.30
Savings  58.60%

OLLIE'S(regional discount chain-takes no coupons)
OOP  $8.71
Value   $17.98
Savings  51.64%

PRICE CHOPPER(Northeast)
OOP  $30.99
Qs/Ads  $20.60
Value    $51.59
Savings  40.0%

REDNER'S(does not double coupons)
OOP  $70.90
Qs/Ads  $71.62
Value  $142.52
Savings  50.25%

RITE AID
OOP $21.61 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads  $1,405.67
Value  $1,427.28
Savings  98.49% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $63.78
Qs/Ads  $78.70
Value  $142.48
Savings   55.24%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nore 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 NOVEMBER
Pinecone Research....$3.00
Subtotal........$3.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

VISA Preloaded (Giveaway win)...$10.00
Dunkin Donuts(Giveaway win)....$5.00
Staples Ink Recycling Reward....$12.00

Subtotal....$27.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$30.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

DOVE....free Deodorant Sample
HEALTHY CHOICE...BOGO Free Coupon
MEGA RED....free 2 month supply
VOCALPOINT...Barilla Pasta Coupons(1 was for a free box)


My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, The Bakery Outlet at 73.75% and Weis Markets at 55.24%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$252.32
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1,674.08
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1,926.40
TOTAL Savings of..........86.90%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$3.00

TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$249.32
TOTAL Savings of..................................87.06%

This closes out the November spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-

I went over my budget for November by $2+, but with my WHOOPING HUGE Cash rebates this month(LOLOL)offsetting the spending, I kept the food/toiletries expenditures just under my $250 limit.  I was able to pick up some extra baking supplies for the stockpile and discounted meats in November and still stay close to my budget.

What's ahead for December 2010.....

I'm keeping the food budget set at $250.  #1 son will be home for a couple of weeks this month, plus there is the added costs for providing a Holiday meal(Christmas).  My blogging buddy Annie Jones is doing a Pantry Challenge for December HERE.  I might try to join in on this one.  If I do, I hope to spend alot less than what I've budgeted.  We shall see how this goes....

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

With eleven months of the year behind us, we have averaged $199.28 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens + 2-3 pets.
That's approx. $46.64 a week.  I'd call that pretty darn good for a family our size! ;-)
How did you do in November 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

Technology Shmechnology!

Well it's confirmed by an independent source.
My computer is gone.

Gosh I hate when that happens.

Even worse is the fact that I hadn't backed up a few things before it rolled over and died.
Like some emails with CSN gift codes I had won in giveaways & hadn't used yet!
Ugh!!!

I am using Hubs machine which is a dinosaur and it is throwing me so far off my game it isn't funny.
I feel like Alice swirling around down a rabbit hole....up is down and down is up.
I feel all off-kilter and topsy-turvy.

And I can't access my email program either.

Add in that I can't upload photos to my blog or to my eBay listings, which I really need to be writing and uploading.
Since I can't tend to eBay properly until I get a new machine, I have to shut down my store there....right in the middle of the high selling season!
Double Ugh!!!!!

And I just feel miserable.
It's so bad.......I don't even want to go to Rite-Aid!
Yep....that's bad.....

So somebody leave me some happy comments please?
I can use some uplifting words...like now! ;-)

Sluggy