$32K Savings Challenge for 2011.....April Totals

I present to you April of the 2011 $32K Savings Challenge!

I have posted my APRIL End of Month $32K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have 2 goals really 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 $2,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up April in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of April with.......$6500.35.

Income
We had $1823.86 left over from our income after our expenses were deducted.
Add in $62.99 of Rebates applied against the food expenses and the Tax Refund of $4613.50 you have a deposit of $6,500.35 toward the Savings Challenge!

Our monthly target is an average of $2,666.67 to reach our Year End Goal.  We came in well over that amount due to the tax refund mostly.  Since we've been short of our monthly goal for all 3 of the previous months, this month's total sure helps to boost our yearly total so far!

Outgo
As for the expenses in April....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS
*The credit card bill was just over $600.
*The electric bill went down another $73.
*We ONLY spent $244 on car repairs/maintenance.  Unfortunately, this amount is great for us. ugh
*Dr. and test copays were only $13.83 this month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS
*Hubs took out way more WAM than normal this month.
*The real estate taxes were due this month(municipal and county).
*We had a vet visit for the beagle with the bad back.  She cost $77 for that one visit.
*We had a dental payment of $82.

Mostly the cash withdrawals and the annual taxes paid this month were the worst "bad things".


The Food Budget costs for April are in another post, which is located HERE.  The actual Food/Toiletries spending in April was more than $140 under budget.

What's ahead for May.......
Unless something comes up(and doesn't it always seem to!lol), it's just the usual suspects this month--electric, water, phone, cable, food, prescriptions, dr. visits, etc.
We do have the yearly dogs' vet visit this month but it shouldn't be as bad as it has been in the past because we are down to 2 dogs now and we kept them on heartworm meds all year so there won't be any re-testing fees for that this year.

So If I can keep the food spending on budget(in the face of having all 3 teens home in May), we should be able to put away a good sized amount into savings this month.

YEAR-TO-DATE TOTAL.....
With 4 months behind us, our Savings total to-date for 2011 is $11,636.88.
We finally are ahead of schedule with the Savings goal for the year!
Before April's addition we were running about half of what we need to save to this point, to meet our goal for the year.

And if you need to start putting money into savings......What's that you say?  You don't have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses!!??....consider playing along in 2011 with me and Challenging Yourself to Save Money each Month Toward a Realistic for YOU Savings Goal!
Not everyone can shoot for $32K, 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.  It will help keep you accountable to your goal if other eyes are on you.
Ooo, that sounded kind of creepy didn't it? ;-)

So how was your April 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

Meal Plan, Smeal Plan....Sometimes You Have to Abandon What You Do in the Short Term

I haven't been posting meal plans lately because well, my plans have been concocted on a daily basis.
Mostly they have been daily "what can we throw together today" plans, not weekly well thought-out plans.
Yeah, I could post a weekly plan but it would look something like....

Sunday--meat TBA, veg TBA, carb TBA
Monday--meat TBA, veg TBA, carb TBA
Tuesday--carb sub for meat TBA, veg TBA

You see what I mean?lol

Since I've been trying to eat down what is here already, here's how I've been creating my meals.
I'm not scouring the grocery ads and planning meals and buying specific foods.

I've gone to the freezer each morning and dug out a hunk of animal protein I already have here.  Then I figure out what treatment to give it(roast, grill, saute, etc.), what sauce it needs(if any from the stockpiled items), and then I pop my head back into the freezer around noon and find a veggie to go with the hunk of protein du jour, either as a side dish or to throw into a casserole treatment.  I'll head into the stockpile about an hour before dinner time and grab a carb item(rice, taters, rolls, pasta, etc.).
And Voila!.....it's dinner.
I guess I've been operating in 1950's housewife mode because this is what she must have done each day.
And if she didn't have a hunk of something frozen(and since freezers were sketchy things back then and not temperature reliable she probably didn't keep much frozen on hand), she went to the store to pick up something fresh every day or so.

If I lack something I have Hubs stop on the way home and pick it up but mostly I try to make-do with what is here.
Not very creative or labor intensive but it's sort of homemade and it's frugal.
At least it isn't fast food or tv dinners.lol

This have been working on many levels for us lately.
Hubs has been getting home at different times each evening.
#2 son has had various Band rehearsals so he's been home at irregular hours and not on solid food for the next few days after his Orthodontic visit.
Daughter often doesn't eat here and I never know from one day to the next or even 3 hours ahead if she will be dining at Chez Sluggy or not.
So doing a pre-set weekly plan hasn't been a good fit for us this past month.

So this 1st week in May, the Meal Plan is going to so something like this....

Sunday....leftovers DONE
Monday....Teriyaki Barbecue chicken thighs, mac and cheese, brussel sprouts DONE
Tuesday....whatever I feel like eating(no one else will be eating here this evening but me)
Wednesday.....another last minute meal thrown together from what is on hand and/or leftovers(possibly 2 eating home this evening, but most likely just me again)
Thursday....Ravioli, Tossed Salad
Friday....leftovers or Soup & Sandwich
Saturday....Burritos and Chili

Next month, after #1 son(who is on a strange eating schedule as well)gets home from college, I think I am going to go with a weekly plan where I will cook large meals 2 or 3 days of the week only.  This will give us a dinner for that day plus I'll cook extra so we can eat off of the leftovers for a day or even two more. 
For example, a large pot of chili, which can last for 3 dinners or more......a large pot of Pork Ragu which can see us through 3-4 meals.......a large pan of Chicken Enchiladas which can stretch out to 2-3 meals...these would be good choices and keep me out of the kitchen for long stretches. 8-))

Ok, this has turned into a rambling stream of half ideas with no point to it all so I'll stop now.

The point to take away from this is that you shouldn't come looking for Meal Plans here anytime soon.
If you can find a better more frugal point to this please let me know! ;-)

Sluggy

April Budget Results.....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2011.

I have posted April's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2011 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in April.  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 15.
******************

BIG LOTS
OOP  $4.20
Value  $5.38
Savings  22%


BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $20.45
Value  $74.02
Savings  72.37%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $4.51

Qs/Ads  $.48
Value  $4.99
Savings  9.62%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $10.69
Value  $20.52
Savings  48%

RITE AID
OOP  $6.77 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $770.79
Value  $822.27
Savings  99.17% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

SAFEWAY
OOP  $1.49($25 put on free gift card
Qs/Ads/gift card  $13.92
Value  $40.41
Savings  96.31%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $61.09
Qs/Ads  $52.31
Value  $113.40
Savings   46.13%

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 APRIL

Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$56.99
Subtotal........$62.99

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Subtotal....$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$62.99

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Ocean Spray.....sample and $1 Q

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  Safeway at 96.31% and the Bread Outlet at 72.37%.  I shopped at 7 stores in April.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$102.43
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$978.56
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1080.99 with Rite-Aid figured in
TOTAL Savings of...................................90.52%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$62.99

TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$39.44
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$1041.55
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1080.99
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................96.35%

Since my Rite-Aid shopping(which contains No OOP)always skews my savings percentages, I like to figure my Totals without the Rite-Aid numbers also.
TOTAL OOP after Rebates.....$39.44
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$258.72
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....84.75%

This closes out the April spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
We ate down the freezer/stockpile again this month.  Add in that there were few stocking up opportunities(aka great deals)so I stayed out of the food stores most of the month and thus didn't spend alot of the $250 food budget.  3 out of the 4 months in 2011 so far have come in well under that budgeted amount.
I could probably do another under $100 in food spending month in May since we still have enough veg and meat left in the freezer to only have to buy milk, fresh produce and a few items we run out of this month.

What's ahead for May.....
Since #1 son(aka the Eating Machine) will be home this month, I suspect I'll be sending more than $40 on food this month.  I also plan to get some bulk items at the restaurant supply store and take advantage of a 2 Catalina Deals this week at Weis(coffee/choc. milk mix and pet food).
I plan on spending all $250 of my food budget this month.

We also will be having a family Graduation Party in early June, so I plan on picking up some things ahead of time for that in the coming weeks.  Sort of spreading out the expenses for that over 2 months instead of spending it all in June.
This means I may go over my budget this month.
But I figure, since I've averaged only $130 per month each month in food spending in 2011 so far(I give myself $250 per month for food), I have $480 +/- in the budget money I've earmarked for food for the last 4 months but haven't spent yet.  That means I've only spent barely half of what is budgeted for food for the last 4 months!
I figure I've got some 'wiggle room' when it comes to spending on food next month.

How did you do in April with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for May?
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

End of April Rite-Aid Trips...Playing Catch Up

More shopping from the end of last week below.
Boring stuff.
Feel free to skip it and move along. 8-)
This is the only shopping I have to report in with since I didn't go to the grocery store AT ALL last week.

This past weekend, I ended up with 2 $20 GOS Certificates from last Decemeber to use(mine and BIL's)by Saturday, the day they expired.
Here is what I got with mine.....no nit picky details since these deals are past......

The good things I did were to combine some Herbal Essences Shampoo Free item Qs with a BOGO Q that was expiring on Saturday to get 3 bottles of  'Poo abso-freaking-lutely free. I also paired rainchecks for Mortin PM(and used expiring Sat. Qs), Toothpaste and Toothbrushes to get all that free as well.
The rainchecks for Glad bags and Coffee made those items very inexpensive.   The Veet was free plus overage and the Easter candy was 50% off.
Though it pains the 'green' in me to buy it, the plastic wrap was my love gift to Hubs....lol

And I stocked up on Saline Spray at .99¢ instead of the regular retail of $5.99......$5.99 really?!?....for salt water?!?!  Puhleez Rite-Aid!
After using the $20 Gift of Savings Certificate, I put the .04¢ left to pay on my free gift card.

I got over $161 in products with this Certificate so that pleased me. ;-)

And here is what I got with BIL's certificate.....

4 bottles of 100% juice for Daughter
2 cans of hash for #2 son
1 pack of TP and even at this sale price it was waaaay over priced!
1 more bottle of saline spray...no way I am being caught without some and have to pay $5.99!
1 flat of bottled water--which I HATE paying for but I have to keep some on hand in the summer
2 candy bars for the $1.76 in +Ups they gave(free after the +Ups)
All this cost me .42¢ on my gift card after using his $20 Certificate.

Unfortunately I didn't plan these trips all that well.  I had wanted to grab a bunch of TP for my stash but nothing was on sale for cheap and had Qs I could use this last week.  I should have bought the TP & used this Certificate in an earlier week....oh well!
But I did manage to get a bunch of things we need or will be needing shortly.

And then I realized I didn't buy the free after +Ups candy bars with my card, so I bought 2 bars and a single Reese's Easter egg so I could get over $2 to use my last $2+Ups that was expiring.  I put the .02¢ leftover on my gift card. 
(Those 3 little candies off to the side on the right in the last photo made up that last transaction.)

Even though these trips were in April, they are during the May SCR Period, so here is the beginning of the May tallies.


THESE TRIPS
Number of Transactions.....3
Total Spent....$.48 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$207.13
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$6.52
+Up Rewards spent....$2.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$55.52 And I have $47.50 left on my gift card.


GRAND TOTALS--MAY Rebate Period so far

Number of Transactions......3
Total Spent....$.48 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$207.13
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for May SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 4/23.....$51.00
+Up Rewards spent....$2.00
+Up Rewards earned....$6.52
+Up Rewards left....$55.52  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

So what did y'all buy last week at Rite-Aid?
Did y'all wait until the end to use your Gift of Savings Gift Certificate too?

Sluggy

April SCR Period Rite-Aid Totals....Free Stuff Feels Great!

Here are the particulars from my last trip to Rite-Aid(on 4/23) during the April SCR Period.
No photo but I bought 3 12-packs of Pepsi products(which gave $3+Ups), a Little Noses saline spray(which gave $3+Ups and a $1 SCR) and 4 candy bars.

THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.85 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$23.76
SCR qualified for...$1.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$6.00
+Up Rewards spent....$13.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$51.00
And I have $47.50 left on my gift card.

And here are my Final Numbers for the April Single Check Rebate Period.....

GRAND TOTALS--April Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......16
Total Spent....$6.99 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$704.86
SCR qualified for....$59.91
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for April SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 4/20.....$58.00
+Up Rewards spent....$161.96
+Up Rewards earned....$99.96
+Up Rewards left....$51.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

I used $6.99 of my free Rite-Aid gift card and got over $700 worth of products.
I'll also receive just shy of $60 back in cash rebates for buying these items.
I also have $51 in +Up Rewards left to spend in the coming weeks.


Not bad, huh? 8-))

Sluggy