Loopy Monday.......The Drugged Up Edition

Forgive me if I space out and lose my train of thought this week.
The doctor put me on a muscle relaxer and a heavy duty painkiller.  The painkiller makes me so loopy that I can only take it if I am going to lay down.  So I take the muscle relaxer during the day when I have to be sort of coherent and/or have to drive.
Most of the weekend is a blur at the moment.  The only things I can remember are in the posts I published the last few days.lol
Rumor has it that Daughter was home for 2 days and we went out to dinner on Saturday.
Other than that and some grocery shopping & a little blog reading, my weekend was spent knocked out in bed....better than knocked UP in bed I guess.lol

Today the garage guy is suppose to come replace our opener between 2 & 4.  I timed my drugs accordingly(so as not to be on the pill that makes me stagger and slur like a wino on a bender when he's here and I have to be alert and be able to write him a check).  Of course, they just called at 2 to say he will be late.....late as in between 4 and 6pm!
So much for my drug timing efforts.....

Why didn't anybody tell me there was no high school today either?!?!  So I've got a sullen teen here nagging me for an advance on his allowance so he can buy a phone, even though my policy is NO advances on allowances since from past experience it never ends well for the payer.  I gave him extra work I need done in the yard to earn some cash but he'd rather complain that I won't advance him allowance money than go outside and do the job for 'fresh money'.
Where are my ass kicking boots?

I sat down to start my October receipts list and found I didn't report in a trip to the local Shur Save Market on the 1st yet.  A trip to the tune of $64.68 for $97.52 worth of regular retail foodstuffs including ground beef, chicken, frozen veggies, breadcrumbs, juice, lettuce, bananas, apples, sherbet, milk, cheese, chocolate chips and cornstarch.

Then I went to Big Lots on Sunday, as they had a 20% off One-Day sale.  I got $90.33 worth of food and with the discount prices and 20% off additional(as well as some of the food was on clearance for 50% too), I paid $50.33.  Some of it was junk food for #2 son but I did get some good deals on 'real' food.

And my grand plans for this coming Weekend, involving the Grand Toy Sale in the garage?
Hubs had to move everything in the garage so the Opener Guy could get in there and remove/replace the dead Opener.  I wasn't able to get ready for the sale last week due to my back and not being able to get to the toys and shelving in the garage(waiting on the repair/replace guy)and now the whole garage is disorganized and a HOT MESS.  "IF" he shows up and gets the opener replaced today, that gives me Tuesday-Friday to get everything together.  And I can't bend over and carry heavy stuff which means Hubs and #2 son will have to do most of the organizing now so that cuts down the amount of time left to get it done.  And now it looks like rain is due in on Saturday....ugh!
I just don't know if this Toy Sale is going to happen at this point.
I don't want to stress out and be frantic over this but if I commit to this weekend, it's gonna be STRESS-CITY here!
And the work I've already put into prepping for this has me just crazy and depressed and wanting to through in the towel.

I think the pain is talking at this point, don't you? ;-)
As soon as the Repair Guy leaves and/or Hubs gets here, I'm taking a big old Loopy Pill and crawling into bed and not thinking about any of this Sale again until tomorrow.

So what's on your plate this week?

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday...Same Old, Same Old Edition

Here is what I have planned for this week's Dinner menu...

SUNDAY--Burger King-Hubs was not home, #2 son had a sleepover so I used a coupon to get fast food for $9.99 + tax for the teens.  I had whatever leftovers where in the fridge.
MONDAY--Grilled Reuben Sandwiches
TUESDAY--Tacos, Corn, Refried Beans
WEDNESDAY--Hot Dogs on buns, Boston Baked Beans
THURSDAY--Pork Chops, Roasted Potatoes and Veggies
FRIDAY--Tuna Helper(#2 son at football game), Salad
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Of course, I reserve the right to change the nights I serve whatever.
The only needs to purchase for this menu are sauerkraut and rye bread.
Add in the weekly milk purchase and we need to spend approx. $8.

Yep, a boring meal week to use up stuff we have.
Between that and my back still on the mend I'm not up for involved or creative cooking this week.

What's cooking at your house this week?


Sluggy

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