What Food I Bought in August...A Big Boring List Only for Other Nerd's Eyes

My good blogging buddy, Annie Jones, over at Real Life Living posts what she buys every month. The way she tells it, it shows people that she really does get a lot of food for the little amount she spends each month. You can eat well and still be frugal.

I think it's helpful to see it all written down in one place so you can gauge how you are doing with the food money each month.

So I thought this was a real good idea and decided to steal borrow her idea and post all the food I buy in a month to feed my family of 4-5.
Besides, I am a big fat NERD who likes doing this!

For August, we had 3-6 people at home--2-5 adults and a 15 yr. old teen boy. 

 I stockpile items when they are rock bottom price, so besides the obvious fresh produce & dairy, this list is not necessarily ALL we ate in August.  We may have items on the list we didn't buy to consume this month and we may have eaten many items already canned or in the freezer from past stocking-up.  But it shows you how far you can make your money go by buying on discount, bulk, sale and paring coupons and/or rebates with the deals.

Here's the food items, including pet foods, I bought in August for an out of pocket of $252.02 after rebates.

This list doesn't include the toiletries I bought at Rite-Aid since I didn't pay 'real money' for them. ;-)

MEAT, POULTRY AND PORK

Ground Beef   10 lb.

Pork Butt   6 lb.
Spare Ribs   7.63 lb.
Ground Pork   6 lb.
Pork Chops  1 lb.
Cube Steak  1.5 lb.
Breakfast Link Sausage  1 lb.

SEAFOOD
Tilapia  2 lb.

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS

Salad   2 bags

Watermelon 2
Celery   1
Green Beans   1.5 lb.

Peaches  7
Yellow Squash  4 lb.
Lettuce   1
Onions  3 lb.
Bananas   2 lb.
Carrots   2 lb.
Potatoes   5 lb.
Strawberries   2 cartons
Mushrooms   1 lb. can

DAIRY
Milk gallon   5
Plain Yogurt  1 lg. container
Feta Cheese  1 sm. container
Swiss Cheese   2 lg. blocks
Eggs   3 dz.

PASTA, GRAINS, BEANS

0

BREADS
Pita  1

Steak Rolls  2
Bread   1
Kaiser Rolls   2
Hot Dog Rolls  1

BAKING/COOKING STAPLES

Nutella  2
Pancake Mix  1

CONDIMENTS/SPICES/HERBS

Mayonnaise  2

SNACKS
Tortillas Chips  4

Potato Chips  3

Pita Chips   2

Oreo Cookies   1

Fish Crackers   2

CANDY
0

BEVERAGES
Powerade  15
Gatorade   32
100% Juice  4
Orange Juice  3

PREPARED
frozen corn   1
frozen broccoli  2
frozen mixed veg.  2
frozen pizza  8
frozen pot stickers   1
whack biscuits   3
pie crust   2
red pepper hummus  1
frozen fish  2 bags
bakery dept. crustinis  1 container

DOG FOOD
0

I bought a lot of meat again, like last month.  I still have half the ground pork(made into sausage), half the pork butt(made a pork ragu and half was leftover and put into the freezer), the cube steak, the breakfast links, the pork chops, half the ground beef(big bag of meatballs in freezer and crumbles in fridge for tacos tomorrow)as well as 1lb. of the fish left.

I have celery, carrots, onions and potatoes left of the produce, a block of swiss, half the yogurt & 6 eggs left of the dairy and 2 bags of steak rolls left of the bread products.

Since #2 son got home in early July I have not bought any more soda.  But he has almost consumed ALL the soda I had stockpiled!
At one point, there were 14 12-packs in the garage.  It's down to 1 pack and a couple of cans.
Hubs does not drink it.
I drink maybe 3 cans a month.
That means he drank roughly 75 cans per month....that's over 18 cans a week.
Egads!

He's going to be miserable fairly soon since I told him I am cutting back on buying soda.  He has no self control around it.  I try to ration him but he sneaks it.
As a result, I can't stockpile it anymore.

So what foods did you buy in August?

Sluggy

September Decluttering P*rn....Bring it!

September is here.
That means Fall is in the air.
And what's that other thing in the air?
Can't you smell it?!
It's the smell of Decluttering....ok, if decluttering had a smell, it would be the cool breezes of Fall.
Work with me here people!

Here's what I culled last week and am sending off to charity this coming week.

2 Cherished Teddies figurines
1 Coleman ceramic trinket box
1 Garfield the cat necklace
2 Johnny Lightning die-cast cars
1 Hot Wheels car
1 Yahoo baseball cap
1 Curious George keychain
1 Kinder Egg toy
1 Monster stamp pin

12 Matchbox cars
1 camera w/camera case
2 Hallmark ornaments
3 Cherished Teddies ornaments
1 T-shirt
1 Emeril Cookbook
1 Lost in Space book
1 Boyds Bears pin
1 set of Cat Stationary
1 snail Flower Pot spike
1 vintage silver Serving Dish(it's collapsible, too cool, but I don't want to polish it)

5 Cherished Teddies
3 packs of Gift Wrap
2 R2-D2 Pez dispenser Toys
1 Got Beer? baseball cap
1 Dr. Seuss watch
1 set Wilton Halloween Cookie cutters
66  vintage Micheal Jackson pins(in the white bag)

Yes, I possess a big bag of vintage MJ pins from the "Thriller" album era.....back from when he had a nose. Check out the 4th pin for the nose.  Ok, so it isn't his 'original' nose but it's a pretty fine looking nose.

I bought them for a low price and have sold them on eBay now and again over the years.
I am tired of trying to unload these 4 at a time so I am letting them go to Salvation Army.

116 Items leaving the building...woot!
And I already have another load started.....more clutter busting coming up later this week.
Stay tuned.....

Sluggy

August Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2011.

I have posted August'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 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(3-6 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 15.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $4,78
Value  $22.74
Savings  79.98%

BIG LOTS
OOP  $27.72

Value  $43.97
Savings  37%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $71.63

Qs/Ads  $29.53
Value  $101.16
Savings  29.20%

DOLLAR STORE
OOP  $4.00
Value  $6.96
Savings  42.53%

KMART
OOP  $3.00
Qs/Ads $2.07
Value  $5.07
Savings  40.83%

MAINE SOURCE(restaurant/party supply store)
OOP  $59.30
Value  $128.03
Savings  53.68%

RITE AID
OOP  $3.13 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $125.61
Value  $128.74
Savings  97.57% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

ROEHNER'S PRODUCE MARKET
OOP  $4.75
Value  $9.98
Savings  52.40%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $105.22
Qs/Ads  $70.00
Value  $175.42
Savings  40.02% 

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
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$22.38

Subtotal........$28.38

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$28.38


COUPONS and FREEBIES

Coke.....Free ITEM Q
Drumstick Ice Cream....Free ITEM Q
Pantene.....Free ITEM Q x 3

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  the Bakery Outlet at 97.98% and the Maine Source at 53.68%.  I shopped at 8 different stores in August.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$280.40
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$341.67
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$622.07
TOTAL Savings of...................................54.93%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$28.38
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$252.02
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$370.05
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$622.07
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................59.49%

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.....$252.02
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$493.33
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....49%
My food savings percentage seems to run about 50%-60% for the strictly food items only.
Those Rite-Aid purchases always boost up my savings total about 20% points.  This month Rite-Aid purchases only boosted my Savings Percentage just over 10%.



This closes out the August spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With the crazy busy August here, I am thankful I only went over my food budget by $2.02. I would have stayed under budget if I hadn't supplied a day of Gatorade to the kids during Marching Band Camp, but I'm glad I did that even at the expense of my food budget.

Lots of fresh product and meat were purchased in August.  But not much stocking up on good deals since there were very few deals this month.  I also didn't shop much at Rite-Aid so I don't have lots of free to me items to boost my savings total for August.


What's ahead for September.....
The freezer is exhibiting signs of passing on to the "Big Freezer Place in the Sky".   I am trying to empty it out before the day comes when it won't get cold anymore so I won't be stocking up on any frozen food or meat deals until we replace it.
I'm hoping to keep September's food spending to $250 but if I go as high as $300 I won't complain.
With the higher food prices here I may be looking at $300 as my baseline going forward.  It doesn't make me happy one bit, but it is what it is.  Having just 3 of us at home this month might let me squeeze by on $250 one more month so cross your fingers on that! ;-)

How did you do in August with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for September?  Any family coming to stay....or are you trying to figure out a food budget for the new school year because your kids are in lots of activities and you need to eat "on the go" more? 
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

Finally Getting My Donation Act Together

Summer has almost come and gone here and I am finally getting my donation act together.
That only took me since late June to get back into my decluttering groove again.

Hauling a donation up to the local Food Bank is problematic for me.
Ya see, they are only open on Friday mornings....for 3 whole hours.
Add in that I don't "do" mornings, plus it was summer so there was no other reason like school in session to get me up at the unearthly hour of anytime before noon.
Do you see the problem now?

So here I am up at almost 3 am on Friday morning, blogging about this problem and typing up the list of stuff I am taking in later today.  At this point, I'll just stay up, deliver the goodies when they open for the day and come home for a nap.

Moving on to the goodies....here are the Stockpile Sale leftovers I'm hauling up today.  Our food bank also takes non-food donations of personal hygiene products, paper goods(napkins, toilet paper, etc.)and cleaning products(laundry detergent, dish soap, etc.)

10 Shampoos
5 Body Washes
10 Deodorants
6 Toothbrushes
6 Feminine Products
25 Toothpaste Tubes
20 Diapers *not pictured*

Unfortunately, I have no food to add to this donation.  I have hardly done any deals this summer and the stockpile as well as the freezer is emptying out at an astonishing rate!  There was an awesome Catalina Promotion deal at Redner's a couple of weeks ago that would have let me get an embarrassing number of bottles of ketchup for a very low price.  But it coincided with the college packing and prep craziness week and I just couldn't make the trip all the way over to Redner's in time.
And ketchup is one thing that is always on the food bank ladies list of wants.
*sigh*
So this little collection of goodies will have to do for now.

Have you made a donation to your local food bank or shelter lately?
If you stockpile, go on and spread the deal love in your community, won't you?
Pick up an extra something when you go to the store and help feed those local folks struggling in this economy.

Sluggy

Just Plain Filthy.......or Digging Out & Taking My House Back!

With the departure of Daughter to college last Friday, I gained a new project here at Chez Sluggy.

When my kids leave home for college, I get their bedroom back.

Oh, they still get to stay in their rooms when they are home for the brief period of times between semesters and summer employment, but I get to rearrange/decorate/commandeer/refashion/repurpose  their bedroom.
This includes moving all the crap they leave behind.

No, I am NOT leaving their bedrooms as a shrine that is left undisturbed just as it was when they left home.  I plan to sell and move from this house in 3-7 years from now.  While I'm still in it, I plan to take back this room and use it.

When #1 son left home for college he didn't leave behind much for me to deal with.  He got the "cleaning bug" when he hit 14 or so, and he kept his room quite clean and tidy.  He is also not a "saver" so he regularly threw or gave away old stuff he no longer wanted/needed.
When he left home, I gathered his belongings he didn't take with him and fit them into the bedroom closet, all nice and tidy.
Then Hubs moved in his massive collection of books and it became a study.   There's a futon in the closet that #1 son can roll out for sleeping when he is home.

#1 son's sister on the other hand IS a saver.
She is such a saver that I was compelled to go on Facebook yesterday and post about it.  This is what ensued....

Write a comment...

Public

Denise Arcure

Attention Holly Caroline Arcure>After cleaning out your dresser I have decided that you are NOT allowed to EVER call me a Hoarder again.

· · Tuesday at 10:55am

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  Marsha Adams, Julia Park Tracey and Pamela Webber like this.
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    Holly Caroline Arcure Chut up, mom. i needed all those things!
    

    Tuesday at 11:28am ·
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    Denise Arcure When confronted by the psychologist, that's what all the Hoarders say on those shows.lol
    

    Tuesday at 12:07pm · · 1 personLoading...
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    Sonya Mott Laughing
    

    Tuesday at 12:22pm ·

    
    And to legitimize my claim, here is a shot of her bed with everything I pulled out of ONE of her dressers. You will note that there is NO CLOTHING in this shot...
    

     

    
    

    And this doesn't include what was ON TOP of the dresser!
    
    Here is what the top of the card table she was using as a desk looked like.....
    
    

    

    
    The card table is black under all the layers of dust there.
    
    And here is what the wall behind the card table looks like......
    
    

    

    There is a mysterious black/brown stain where was once a newly painted wall 4 years ago.
    
    If you are reading this daughter, you have some cleaning and repainting to do when you come home for break.
    
    For now, the dresser I just cleaned out will be moved to in front of this wall so I don't have to look at it for the next 3 months.
    
    I have just begun to dig out in there.  There is a very long closet with crap filling it too.
    Ugh.
    
    In conjunction with the bedroom clean out I have undertaken a bathroom cabinet clean out too but more on that later.
    
    I am sorry if you are embarrassed by this post Daughter.  But after all the ribbing you do on me about being a hoarder, and all the picking on your little brother you do about his room being a pigsty you deserve at least this.
    
    Sluggy