Weis, Redners and More Weis Shopping Last Week

Daughter went to Weis for me on Friday......

I did the $5 Pepsi Catalina Deal again by buying...
2 x 20 pack Pepsi drinks=$12
1 x Tostitos Chips=$3.00
1 x Tostitos Dip=$3.00
1 x 2 ltr. Diet Pepsi=$1.25
$19.25

I used...
$2/2 Pepsi 20 packs Q
$1/2 wyb 1 Tostitos & 1 Dip
Free Diet Pepsi wyb 1 Tostitos & 1 Dip
$5 Catalina from last deal
Coupons-$9.25

Paid $10.00 OOP and got another $5 Catalina Q

I did the GM $4 off wyb 8 instantly Deal 2 x....
4 x Green Giant Veggies=$3.00
4 x Progresso Soups=$5.00
1 x Progresso Broth=$2.00
3 x Whack Biscuits=$3.75
4 x Totino's Pizzas=$5.00
$18.75

I used....
1 x $1/4 Progresso Soups
1 x .40/1 Progresso Broth doubled=$.80
1 x $1/3 Whack Biscuits
1 x $1/4 Totinos Pizzas
2 x $4 Instant discount Q=$8.00

$18.75-$11.80=$6.95 OOP

I also bought 2 x Northland Juices for Daughter to take back to school=$6.00 OOP
With tax of .50¢ my total should have been $23.45.
The receipt says $27.21.
Hmmmmm.

Moving on to Saturdays's outing to Redner's Market....

 I had a $10 off a $50 purchase Coupon I wanted to use.  Redner's policy is that with all Catalina deals that required $XX purchase, you have to hit that $XX amount AFTER coupons.  The $10/$50 coupon is similar in that your total has to be $50 or more AFTER coupons.

There was also a General Mills $10 Catalina Deal wyb $25 in GM products.
To get to $25 with my coupons I bought....
16 x Muffin/Cookie Bar/Brownie mixes for $2 ea.=$32.00
I used $5.90 in assorted Qs on these items= $26.10 OOP. *Qualifying for the $10 Catalina Q.

I bought 3 boxes of Tuna Helper on sale for $1 a box with a $1/3 Q made it $2 OOP.

I bought 2.08lbs. of salmon for $6.98 lb.=$14.38 OOP  Regular retail around here is $11.99.  I portioned the fillets into 3 meals worth.

I bought 2 dozen eggs*not pictured* on sale for .99¢=$1.98 OOP  Reg. retail here is $1.79 dz.

I bought 15 Powerade drinks for #2 son's band practice.  They were on sale for .69¢ AND there was a coupon for Buy 10/Get 5 Free in the flyer, so I paid $6.90 OOP for $15 reg. retail on these.

I bought lunchmeat, 1.5lbs. for $9.99 OOP.  They have a deal were you can buy 3 assorted packages for $9.99.  If you stick with the meats it's a good deal as the meats are the premium deli counter brands and each package is approx. 1/2lb.  The packaged cheese is not a great deal as it's not premium brands and it's about the same size portions.  Reg. retail on premium corned beef is $8.99 lb. so this was a bit cheaper.

I also bought 4 12packs of Coke.*not pictured*   It was on sale for $11 for 3 and there was a Q in the flyer for a free 12 pack if you bought 3, so 4 12-packs for $11 OOP.  Not a stupendous deal but ok for getting and hiding in my bedroom closet until the Holidays. lol

With sales tax my subtotal was $73.65 and after the $10/$15 I paid $63.65 OOP for everything.

Regular retail on the Redner's haul is $121.31.
I paid $63.65 & got $10 in Catalinas.

So last night #2 son and I went back to Weis to do the Pepsi Catalina deal & the General Mills Instant discount deal 2 more times.
No photos for these trips, sorry.  It's just a bunch of the same old, same old as before anyway.lol

First we bought 6 bags of assorted Frito-Lay snacks.
Reg. retail was $3.49 ea or $20.94 total.
The sale prices made them $15 total.
The $5 Catalina we rolled and the $3 in additional Qs brought out total down to $7 for all 6 bags.
And we received another $5 Catalina Q to use.

Then we bought....
2 x 20 packs soda
4 x 2 liters of Sierra Mist
This was $20.54 reg. retail or $17 with sale prices.
We used the $5 Catalina and 2 x $1/2 Sierra Mist 2 liter Qs and 1 x $2/2 Pepsi 20 packs Q and bought our OOP down to $8 for all this.
and we received another $5 Catalina Q to use in the coming weeks.

We also bought...
5 x Totinos Pizzas=$6.25
4 x Progresso soups=$5.00
6 x Green Giant veggies=$4.50
1 x Green Giant veggies=$1.00*One of the types of corn was higher priced but still qualified for the $4 instant discount deal.*
This lot came to $16.75.
I used....
1 x $1.10/4 Totinos Pizzas IPQ
1 x $1/4 Progresso Soups ManuQ
1 x FREE ITEM Totinos Pizza HomemailerQ
2 x $4 Instant Discount for buying 16 qualifying items
So $11.60 off and $5.15 OOP for all 16 items.
*Except the soup that was $1.14 off on sale only rang up .20¢ off!!*  Looking back at Daughter's trip's receipt on Friday, those 4 cans only rang up .20¢ off also.

I also bought 5 bags of candy for halloween.  WYB 5 bags it's $2 a bag, so $10.
I had a $1/3 Q so the candy came to $9 OOP.

and #2 son wanted Taquitos NOT ON SALE....THE HORROR!!!lol so that was another $6.99 OOP.

Sat. Weis trips totaled $29.86 OOP and $5 in Catalinas left to spend in the coming weeks.
So I have to go up to Weis and get at least $7.52 back for being overcharged on 8 cans of soup.
I wonder how many I'll get the full price back on since they are suppose to refund fully on the 1st overcharge on a receipt on like items....it's two different trips/receipts so I *should* get back $4.78 for 2 cans of the soup and .94¢ on each of the other 6 cans of soup.  It will all depend on if some teenager is working CS today or a real fulltime management person I guess. ;-)

So at the end of my shopping week I have spent $163.19 OOP and have $15 in Catalinas to use going forward.
*Update*
I got another $2.50 off (for full refunds on 2 of the cans of soup), so my OOP is $160.69.
The regular retail is $358.90.
The savings rate is now 55.23% (not counting the $15 in Cats and any full price soup refunds).

Analysis--This is all stuff we need/want and will use.  The crap food is for #2 son primarily(except for some chips that Hubs will eat and I am known to eat a pizza and brownies now and again). 8-)  #2 son is into muffins lately and if I have a mix on hand, he will make them for himself after band practice so I stocked up on that for him.  I'd rather have him home eating muffins than fast food...a "little" better.lol
Canned veggies are for going into soups or stews, the soups and the broth are nice to have on hand, the whack biscuits are my convenience luxury item.  The eggs, salmon and lunchmeat and beef from earlier in the week HERE were needed and good prices.  The candy is for Halloween trick or treaters and the taquitos is payment for getting #2 son to come to the store to help me in my injured state. ;-)

It's already the 9th and I've spent $163.19 in one week!  I'll be blowing past my $250 monthly food budget sometimes this coming week I think. Geez....lol
But I have to take advantage of the deals when they come around, right?  Then I can stay out of the stores like I did earlier this year in FEBRUARY, MARCH and APRIL.

Sluggy

What I Bought in September.....A Big Boring List

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 3-5.
Besides, I am a big fat NERD who likes doing this!

For September, we had 3 people at home--2 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 September.  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 September for an out of pocket of $249.12 after $22.99 in rebates.

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

MEAT & POULTRY

Chicken, Whole 4.5 lbs.
Chicken Breast  2 lbs.
Ground Beef   4.5 lbs.
Sweet Sausage Patties  3 lbs.
Turkey Lunchmeat  .33 lb.
Lebanon Bologna  .5 lbs.

SEAFOOD
Salmon  3 lbs.

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
Salad Greens   3 bags
Watermelon   2
Lettuce   1
Onions   4 lbs.
Grapes  3 lbs.
Potatoes  10 lbs.

DAIRY
Milk gallon   1
Sour Cream   1
Cheese   2lb. block
Ricotta Cheese  2lb.
American Cheese Slices  2 packages

Ice Cream   4
Gorgonzola Cheese  .5lb.
Eggs  1 dozen


PASTA, GRAINS, BEANS

0

BREADS

Bagels  2
Bread   6
Hamburger Rolls   1
Hot Dog Rolls  1
Muffins   3 containers

BAKING/COOKING STAPLES
Brown Sugar   1lb.
Pancake Mix  1
Flour   1

CONDIMENTS/SPICES/HERBS

SNACKS
Doritos   3
Pies   4
Potato Chips   4
Popsicles  1

CANDY
0

BEVERAGES
Gatorade   16
100% Juice  2
Soda   2 12-packs

PREPARED

Frozen Pizza  13-most were small/individual sized
Frozen Onion Rings  1
Whack Biscuits   3
Frozen Veggies   11 bags
Frozen Chicken Strips  5
Ravioli   4 bags

DOG FOOD
0

So what foods did you buy in September?

Sluggy

Shopping Trip to Weis for The Deals This Week

I waited for the pain pills to wear off so I could drive, and headed up to Weis to do the Pepsi Catalina and the General Mills Instant Discount deals......

The Pepsi Catalina Deal
2 x 20 pack of Mtn. Dew($6.49) on sale=$12.00
2 x Cheetos($3.49) on sale=$5.00
1 x Pepsi Max bottle($1.89) on sale=$1.25
(qualified for $5 Catalina)

2 x General Mills $4 Discount wyb 8 Deal
8 x Progresso soups($2.39) on sale=$10.00
3 x Whack Biscuits($2.19) on sale=$3.75
1 x Progresso Broth($2.49) on sale=$2.00
4 x Green Giant canned veggies($1.29) on sale=$3.00
(qualified for 2 x $4=$8 Instant Discount)

1 x Bakery muffins=3.49 *not pictured*
1 x Bakery muffin=$4.49 *not pictured*
1 x Yeast strip on sale($1.79)=$1.29
4 x 1 lb. Beef cubes marked down($16.90)=$14.54
1 x 2.45 lb. Ground Beef=$7.47
Sales Tax......80¢

SubTotal....regular prices  $90.13........sales prices   $69.08

Coupons
1 x .40¢/1 Yeast ManuQ doubled=$.80
1 x $2/2 Pepsi 20 packs ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Cheetos ManuQ=$1.00
1 x Free Pepsi Max WYB 2 Cheetos ManuQ=$1.25
2 x $1/4 Progresso Soup ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/3 Whack Biscuits ManuQ=$1.00
1 x .40¢/1 Progresso Broth IPQ doubled=$.80
$9 in Instant Discounts on Meat Qs=$9.00
50% off Bakery items=$4.00

Coupon Total..... $21.85
$69.08-$21.85=$47.23

Deduct the $8 in Instant Savings for the GM items bought.....$47.23-$8=$39.23 OOP
$90.13 for $39.23 & a $5 OYNO Catalina PLUS....I spent over $50(before discounts)so I got a .10¢ of gas discount too.
Savings rate of 56.50% not counting the Cat Q.

I did the GM deal twice in one transaction and both $4 discounts came off with no problem.
The meat came out to $2 a lb.(and most of it was cubed steak)so that was a good deal.
#2 son loves me for getting the junk and soda. If I roll this catalina deal to get a small soda stockpile again, I'll be hiding the soda in my closet.  That's the only way I can keep #2 son from sucking it all down too quickly. lol
The GM Instant Discount Deal is a good one.  Nothing free but if you buy items with coupons available or the cheaper items(like veggies, soup, cake mix, etc.)you can get some deals there this week.  With Qs the Progresso comes out to .50¢ a can and if you buy 8 Green Giant veggies it comes out to .25¢ can w/out Qs....of course, they only have 3 different veggies to choose from. 8

Back to bed and more pills for my back.....


Sluggy

$32K Savings Challenge......SEPTEMBER 2011 Results

Ok, here is my Savings Challenge Update post.
This post is NOT about bragging or showing off....especially this month's update!lol
And here is the great photo from last month's post again.
I LOVE a special on crap, but I don't think this price is frugal enough for me......how about you?

The theme this month is some months you can tighten the belt and save better than others, and then other months?....well.....you are lucky to just get through it without dipping into the red.

On to the September report.....

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

I have 2 goals 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 September in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of September with?.......$975.52.

Income
We had $940.47 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $22.99 of Rebates applied against the food expenses, $2.19 in Interest on the Checking Account, and a Dividend payment of $9.87 toward the Savings Challenge for a total of $975.52

Our monthly target is an average of $2,666.67 to reach our Year End Goal.
Obviously we didn't meet that target.
If you added our amount saved for both August and September together you'd get a little more than what I need to save for one month.

Ugh.

On the bright side, at least we aren't negative money. 8-)

Outgo
As for the expenses in September......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS
* We paid the Sewage bill for the year a couple of months ago, so no quarterly payment this month.
* The electric bill held steady.
* I stayed on the food budget.
* The Marching Band expenses were very low for a change.  September is usually a high spend month for this activity.

HERE are the BAD THINGS
* The credit card bill was over $1500.... the cost of Daughter's new laptop hit the bill as well as other things.
* The water bill went up $12+ in Sept.  I am still trying to figure out WHY!
* The school taxes were due...ouch.
* There was a car repair bill.
* The WAM & cash withdrawals were high.  As usual Hubs won't track his spending and get receipts so I have no clue where some of that money goes....sigh.
* I paid ahead for monthly garbage pick-up through the end of 2011.  One bill I don't have to worry about paying as we get into the Holiday Spending Season.
* And I hate to have to say this but.....the car repair place didn't get my check in time so I actually had to pay FINANCE CHARGES on it. ACK!  I don't know if having to tell y'all or having to pay $19.00 in FINANCE CHARGES hurts me more.  This is the first time in "I don't know how long" I've thrown perfectly good money away like this because I missed a deadline.  I think I need to take to my bed shortly before I faint. ;-)

The Food Budget costs for September are in another post, which is located HERE. Once I applied my rebate check total of $22.99 I was able to stay on budget with the food spending.
Go me!  8-)

What's ahead for October.......
* There are the usual suspects: electricity, water, phone, cable, credit card bill, food cash, etc.

* We've got a short trip planned so some fun spending is on deck this month.
* The credit card will be killer this month.  It's already up to $1300 and the billing period doesn't close until Sunday.  Most of these charges are for replacements due to the lightning strike we suffered. To make this worse, we are having a problem with being reimbursed by our home insurance carrier for this lightning strike that took out electronics and damaged our house's electrical system.  I'll go into this rant another time....

YEAR-TO-DATE TOTAL.....
With 9 months behind us, our Savings total to-date for 2011 is $23,536.37.
We are $400+ off in our monthly average to reaching our final goal at this point in the year. We should have $24,000 heading into October so we are now behind the Eight Ball to catch up over the next 3 months.


So how are your savings growing so far this year?
Do you have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses!  You really should, you know.
With the current financial climate in this country, you should try to put away into savings as much as you can each month.

So come along and Challenge 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.  Put it into savings, invest it or put it toward the principle in your home mortgage....just get busy and do this!

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 September financially?
Did you spend less than you made?
Did you stay within your budget or not?

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

Pink Together Giveaway!

If you are a woman, or you know women, then you are bound to have Breast Cancer affect you at some point, in some way, during your lifetime.

My mother had 2 breast cancer scares with tumors that turned out to be benign thankfully.
But I do have a few friends who have battled and are survivors of this disease.
Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, one of my online friends lost her 5 year battle.

So when MyBlogSpark asked me to post about the 2011 Pink Together Campaign I was more than happy to oblige.

Visit PinkTogether.com to share your personal story and messages of hope and read about others’ personal journeys. To encourage personal connections, General Mills will donate $1 to the Komen organization for each Message of Hope that is sent to someone who has shared their story on PinkTogether.com (up to $25,000) during October. This is in addition to a $2 million donation General Mills is making to the Komen organization.  This year, for the first time in its five-year history, at PinkTogether.com consumers can choose how $1 million of this donation will be shared between two important Komen programs: the Treatment and Assistance Program, which assists women in securing care they otherwise may not be able to afford, and Prevention Research, which helps unlock the keys to preventing breast cancer. Visit PinkTogether.com from September 19, 2011 through April 14, 2012 to make your choice. Results will be announced on Mother’s Day 2012 – Sunday, May 13. Meet the 2011 Pink Together Survivor Ambassadors, and hear their amazing stories of courage and survival on PinkTogether.com and the Pink Together YouTube Channel. General Mills will also be turning the packaging of participating products pink in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October.

I have been supplied with a Prize Pack as part of my participation in this Pink Together Campaign.
MyBlogSpark has also supplied an identical Prize Pack for a Giveaway to one Lucky Don't Read This; It's Boring! Reader.

WIN IT!

Here is what you can Win...

Your prize pack will contain:
• A 16 oz. box of Total cereal
• VIP coupons valid for one box of Cheerios and Multigrain Cheerios cereal and one cup of Yoplait yogurt
• Betty Crocker Living with Cancer Cookbook Pink Together Edition, which includes a collection of more than 150 delicious recipes with complete nutrition information and a 32-page Pink Together Survivor Ambassador bonus section that shares inspirational personal stories of survival as well as recipes
• Water bottle and removable silicone awareness bracelet
• Drawstring sport backpack
• Rhinestone ear buds

And Here is Your Mandatory Entry.....

•  Leave a comment about "How you have been touched by breast cancer".  Be specific or be vague, whatever you are comfortable sharing.
 

For additional entries....Go to PinkTogether.com and check it out.

•   Then leave a comment on "How you have interacted with the community on PinkTogether.com" for one additional entry.
• Leave a comment about what you find most inspiring about the Pink Together community for another additional entry.
• Leave a comment on which Susan G. Komen program you feel most passionate about at PinkTogether.com for another additional entry.
• "Like" Pink Together on Facebook then come back and Leave a comment that you did that for one additional entry.
• "Follow" Don't Read This; It's Boring! by clicking on the FOLLOW Bar on the righthand side bar, then Leave a comment here for one additional entry.
• Post about this Giveaway on your own Blog or a Message Board/Online Community then Leave 3 separate comments here for three additional entries.
• Follow me on Twitter.  Here I am.  Leave a comment on this post that you are a Follower with your Twitter name/id for an additional entry.
• Tweet about this Giveaway on Twitter.  Leave a comment on this post with your status link for an additional entry.  This entry can be done once a day for more entries.

There you go.....11+ ways to gain entries!  Do one, do them all or something in between.  It just depends on how much you want to win this. ;-)

This Giveaway will be open from the moment I hit the publish button until Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 11:59pm ET.
On October 16th, I'll borrow some extra fingers and toes to tally up all the entries and use Random Org to pick a winner.

And this is open to those with US mailing addresses only please.

Here is the Legal Mumbo Jumbo.....“ The Pink Together prize pack, information and coupons have been provided free of charge by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”
I have not been paid to promote this campaign or feature this giveaway, but I did get some cool prizes.

So get busy and Good Luck!


Sluggy