What Do You Get.....

...when you mix this.....

And this.....

We will find out in a few hours from now.

Hopefully it doesn't look something like this by midnight......




Gawd, now I do NEED A DRINK!lol
Off to party 2011 out!!!

Sluggy

December Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for DECEMBER 2011.

I have posted December'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 December.  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(3-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 15.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $22.45

Value  $106.19

Savings  78.86%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $9.98

Qs/Ads  $

Value  $23.94

Savings  58.30%

RESTAURANT SUPPLY STORE
OOP  $78.03

Value  $119.77

Savings 34.85%

RITE-AID DRUG STORE
OOP  $27.35(with an additional $17.04 put on my free Rite-Aid gift card)
Qs/Ads/+Ups $341.26
Value  $368.61
Savings  92.59%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $109.26

Qs/Ads  $93.10

Value  $202.36

Savings  46%

TURKEY HILL

OOP  $3.66

Value  $3.66

Savings  0%

WALMART 

OOP  $8.98

Qs/Ads  $0
Value  $10.99

Savings  18.30%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $50.56

Qs/Ads  $53.65

Value  $104.21

Savings  51.50% 

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 DECEMBER
Pinecone...$6.00

Toluna.....$20.00
Subtotal........$26.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Burger King(giveaway I won)......$25.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$26.00 cash/$25 food

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Zero  *pathetic*

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 92.59%, the Bakery Outlet at 78.86% and Price Chopper at 58.30%.
I shopped at 9 different stores in December.


TOTAL Out of Pocket........$313.74

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$632.76

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$946.50
TOTAL Savings of...................................66.85%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$6.00 *I don't use my Toluna $ for food budget.
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$307.74
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$638.76
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$946.50
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................67.49%

This closes out the December spending AND the YEARLY Spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month & the Year.....
I went back into Rite-Aid in December and did some of the better deals there.  While I did spend cash there in December(as I had NO +Up Rewards to start with), I still had a 92% savings rate over regular retail!  And I still have +Up Rewards and FREE Gift Card money going into 2012.

I was able to stay close to my $300 food budget limit.  While I didn't really stock up at all in December on anything, we were able to eat well and do a good sized Christmas dinner.  I had to spend a bit more on the Hunk of Meat to barbecue but we are still eating on that a week later.  1 more meal with the Christmas ham tomorrow and then I'll divide up what is left and freeze it for later.

In Total, we have spent $3,080.59 Out of Pocket on food/HBA in 2011.
That comes out to $256.71 per month for our family of 5.
We brought home items with a reg. retail value of $14,234.09 for the year.
That's a savings of $11,153.50 or 78.36% for all of 2011.

Before you think I've done something remarkable, remember that my food budget does Not include eating out $.  And we do our fair share of eating out around here. ;-)

This closes the books on Food Spending for 2011.  I think we did pretty well sticking to a budget overall without having to live on ramen noodles. lol

How did you do in December with your Food Budget?  Did the Holidays drive you over the edge with food spending?  Or were you able to celebrate within your means?


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

Hopes/Goals for 2011 ......Final Report on How We Did

We are hours away from 2012 as I type this.
Wow.
Another year gone and almost in the books.

Let's stop and look back at what went on in last year first before we drink the New Year in, shall we? ;-)

Here is the Overview of my Goals/Hopes for 2011.....

1. Put more Money Into Savings.
2. File all the Paperwork that needs filing  and completing it on time.
3. Declutter my entire house and garage, and storage unit(and then stop renting the storage unit).
4. Read 30 books this year, with 75% of them being non-fiction.
5. Finish ALL in progress sewing projects and alter ALL clothing that needs it or give it away.
6. Cook more foods from scratch and phase unhealthy options out of my stockpile.
7. Grow more of the food we eat or source our food from non-grocery chain stores.
8. Use my skills to step up what I do for Others.
9. Be more "in the Moment" for my Family.
10. Organize the running of my Home. 

And here is how I graded myself on meeting those goals....

1. Put more Money Into Savings.
PASS--I undertook a $32K Savings Challenge in 2011 and was able to surpasss that total! *Post coming soon on the specific amount I tucked away.

2. File all the Paperwork that needs filing and completing it on time.
PASS--We got the taxes and the college paperwork finished and submitted on time in 2011.  I let the filing pile up however on the back end of the year and didn't get it filed every 2 months as I had wanted.  This was partly me being passive aggressive, as Hubs NEVER files any paperwork and I get damned tired of having to do it all.  So I purposely let it pile up until he gave in(yes!lol)and broke down and started it.  It was touch on go there whether I'd crack first tho...lol

3. Declutter my entire house and garage, and storage unit(and then stop renting the storage unit).
PASS sort of--While not everything is gone(sold or given away), considering what else was going on this year, I am very close to being totally done!  The GREAT PURGE of 2011 will continue as The GREAT PURGE of 2012....at least for a few months into the new year.  I have loads in the garage for Salvation Army(just need to get it hauled off) and the last of the eBay-able stuff is in tubs in the living room.  The storage has empty boxes(for shipping stuff), as well as boxes of stuffed animals to haul away to Sallies.  Besides that the only things left in there are my extra toiletries and my fabric stash.  After I close up the eBay shop, I start weeding through the fabric stash.....but that's a 2012 goal, so more on that in another post.
I'd say I am 75% of the way to totally completing this Goal!

4. Read 30 books this year, with 75% of them being non-fiction.
FAIL--Yah, I totally blew this one.  I read 8 books and am halfway through #9.  While I am not a voracious reader, I do read a lot.  I guess I just had an off year.  It didn't help that some of the books I had were Not compelling in the least.

5. Finish ALL in progress sewing projects and alter ALL clothing that needs it or give it away.
FAIL--Sewing took a backseat AGAIN in 2011.  I did get a little more completed but it was mostly alterations and/or hemming pants.  Nothing much creative.  I just didn't feel inspired.  Once I get my fabric stash out in 2012, I'm hoping I'll feel more in the sewing groove. 

6. Cook more foods from scratch and phase unhealthy options out of my stockpile.
PASS--The stockpile has evolved in 2011.  No more nasty foods bought(well, except for brownie/muffin mixes for #2 son), and you won't find processed foods in my freeezer(unless I get something free or cheap for the kids ever so often).  I'm down to a soda about 1-2 times a month and I've reduced #2 son's intake as well(but not that little a month because he'd just plotz!lol) 

7. Grow more of the food we eat or source our food from non-grocery chain stores.
PASS--We did finally get the garden going late and we ate from it for a few months.  I really didn't have much extra to freeze though for the winter months and we lost nearly our entire tomato crop in September with the Flood, so no canned maters or pepper relish....sniff....sniff....
I did shop veg from produce markets instead of the grocery store when I could.  Still looking for a reasonably priced source for 'clean' meats that isn't store based.

8. Use my skills to step up what I do for Others.
FAIL--As for the local food bank....I wasn't able to do MORE food bank donating using coupons and deals in 2011, but I believe I did about on par with what I donated in 2010.  The deals were harder to find, the coupons were not as useful toward my goals and I just didn't put the extra effort into getting more items to donate.  I was also heavily helping 2 family members with food/toiletries the 1st half of  2011 so that counts too.  And I also was the transportation for the same family members for 1st quarter of the year as they lost their car to a wreck.
As for the Christmas Help List--I did a little better with that.
I need to face facts that I am NOT the great humanitarian I set myself up to be. 8-(


9. Be more "in the Moment" for my Family.
PASS--I feel I was more there for my family in 2011.....well, when they actually WANTED me there, which isn't always the case when dealing with teens.lol  I spent more time with Hubs one-on-one and tried to make him feel more appreciated.

10. Organize the running of my Home.  
PASS--Since there is less crap lying around, the house is more organized by default, isn't it?lol

We still suffer from HSS....Horizontal Surface Syndrome.  We see a clean surface and we are COMPELLED to put something on it.
It's a chronic condition with no cure I'm afraid.lol

The house is more organized but there is still lots of room for improvement.  Getting back a big chunk of storage space within the home when Daughter went off to college helped a lot with organizing the upstairs spaces.  The kitchen and pantry could still use some organizing help.

I am feeling positive about the changes I made in 2011.
I hope you had good stuff happen to you last year as well.

Now it's onward and upward to 2012!
I'll be taking the next week or so to ponder where I want to direct my energies from here.

Have you thought about what you wish for in 2012?
More income?
More health?
More time with your loved ones?
Blogland domination?
Now is the time to figure out what steps you can take to turn those wishes into reality!

Here's hoping your 2012 life is your best one yet!
 
Sluggy

Christmas 2011 Budget/Spending Autopsy

Do you like this picture?  It's a Renaissance era painting of a medical autopsy.  I thought it was quite Christmas-y due to the red and green colors used.

Ok, so calling this an Autopsy is not very festive or cheerful.
So call it "The Post where I talk about what I was Going to Spend for Christmas and what I Actually Spent for Christmas".

I budgeted $1300 for Christmas spending.
$1300 in money we HAD already, so no putting Christmas spending on Credit Cards to pay off sometime next year.

Here is where the funds were allocated at the start.....

Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $50.00
Gifts for family  $600
Cash for Kids  $300
Secret Santa Gift  $20
Charity  $100
Electricity for lights  $5
Alcohol  $100
A Christmas eve meal and show or movie  $125


And here is where the money actually went.....


Shipping gifts/mailing Holiday Cards  $39.43
Gifts for family  $452.24
Cash for Kids  $150
Secret Santa Gift  $17.94
Charity  $0
Electricity for lights  $5
Alcohol  $64.21
A Christmas eve meal and show or movie  $122.50

TOTAL SPENT...$851.32


Here are the Spending Details....


$39.43  *Shipping/Mailing Holiday Cards & Gifts----
We sent out 5 cards.  2 were mailed and 3 shipped inside of gifts that were mailed so the cost of 2 stamps.  We mailed 3 gifts(and I paid shipping for part of my Secret Santa gift bought on eBay)so that covers the bulk of our shipping expenses.  I knew we'd have a substantial amount to spend on shipping as we weren't traveling anywhere to visit family this Christmas, so we couldn't hand deliver any presents.

$452.24  *Gifts for family----
Last year I spent $369.70 on gifts for family.  I budgeted a much larger figure for this Christmas($600)but I still came in under that amount.  I know that my kids basically at their ages just want cash or gift cards, but I still have a hard time with nothing to wrap under the tree.  Plus it's one of the few times a year I get to shop since I really don't buy things anymore except for food.
Just having a pile of envelopes under the tree just doesn't do it for me...what can I say!lolol  But I do shop carefully and thoughtfully when I buy the kids 'things'.  I no longer buy silly or useless or things they don't want.  Heck, this year, I took #1 son shopping and let him pick out all his 'things' I bought him and then wrapped them up for him to open Christmas morning.  Since I don't see him but a few weeks every year now, this was the only way I could do it and make sure things fit him and were his 'style'. The money and gift card were still a surprise for him.

While I spent $452.24 on gifts, the regular retail on the gifts I bought was $1036.73.
Now how did I save over 56% on the cost of my gifts?

*First I used my credit card points to purchase $175 in Gift Cards, which were given to 4 of my recipients.  Next year, I may give these gift cards again AND 'buy' more cards and use them to pay for gifts I give as well.
*Second, I utilized 'social coupon' sites to locate great deals.  I got cheap movie tickets, free item coupons for fast food, cheap gift cards and used a wine deal to purchase wine for 2 of my recipients.
*Third, I shopped online on certain days to get % off deals on items and/or free shipping.  I shopped brick & mortar stores only 4 times.....1 trip to Kmart, 2 trips to Kohl's and 1 trip to Rite-Aid.  Just a few items(mostly for #1 son and he was with me)and I was totally done by last Wednesday.
*The Fourth way I spend so little on so much, was to pick up items all year long.  This works for both larger items and small stuff, the filler stuff.  By hitting sales, clearance racks and outlets you can save a lot of money over the course of the year by buying ahead strategically.  If you are dealing with growing kids or teens, I don't recommend buying clothing ahead because it may not fit and/or it might not be in style according to the whims and fancies of your teen.  But you can buy ahead staples like underwear, socks, gloves, hats, etc., or things like pens, notebooks, backpacks, gadgets, favorite snacks, etc.  #1 son loves fruitcake so when we go to Ocean City, MD in Oct/Nov, I get him a fruitcake at Rose's for $3-$4 then, instead of ordering the same item from the manufacturer's website in Dec. from GA at double the cost plus $6 shipping.  Daughter loves peaches so when I found peach flavored throat drops for $1 at the Dollar Store instead of the $3 they charge at the grocery store(IF I can find this flavor!), I bought them ahead for Christmas.  When I found a ginormous can of MONSTER drink for $1.50 at Big Lots I bought it for #2 son because he loves this stuff and I don't buy it normally.  Many of the toiletries I get for free at Rite-Aid(after sales/coupons/+Up Rewards/rebates)end up under the tree or in someone's stocking.
All these strategies help me spend less out of pocket and put goodies under the Christmas Tree for less.



$150  *Cash for Kids----
Last year, the first year I actually tallied up what we spent on each kid at Christmas, I was aghast to see $200+ on average spent on each kid.  I had given them each $100 cash(since they like to spend the money themselves)but I had also bought each kid over $100 worth of stuff.  I hadn't realized we had spent this much until I tallied up all the "little stuff" too.....like stocking stuffers and filler items and those 'darn cute things nobody needs but they are irresistible' things.  Believe me when I say Stockings are KILLERS!   Even if you shop for them at the Dollar Store, stocking stuffers can add up quickly to big money.  Each kid needs to be stuffed and then times it by 3 and it gets to be substantial money!
I've decided to go totally with 'necessaries' next year in the Stockings.  Things my kids need and I would have to buy anyway and things I can get for free at the Drug Stores....like socks(we already do socks in the stockings), underwear, batteries(Hubs got D batteries since he is always looking for them for his flashlights), pens/pencils, earphones, toiletries(daughter got shaving cream in her stocking this year), candy bars/gum.
So I reduced the cash given by half, to $50 per kid.  With an average spending of $80 on actual gifts of things/experiences/gift cards, $50 in cash kept the spending per kid to under $150.  I am happier with that figure than the $200+ of years past.

$17.94  *Secret Santa Gift----
I had #2 son's name.  I found a t-shirt he wanted on eBay I won for $7.99 and I had picked up a nice $25 leather wallet he wanted while down in Ocean City MD for $9.95.  We try to keep the Secret Santa gift spending around $20-$25 so I did well this year with 2 items he liked while spending below average.

$0  *Charity----
Before you call me the Grinch, I did something different this Christmas to help those in need.  I am on a YahooGroups help list.  It operates year round and is only for those physically located in PA.  Every year at Christmas time people who are in need of help providing for their families at the Holidays can post for help.  And then those who are in a position to help, the Angels they are called, either adopt a family or persons in that family and buy them gifts or food or whatever they ask for.  Other Angels who aren't in a position to do an adoption will offer items they have-mostly these are gently used items-to whomever can use them.
Since I still have eBay inventory items to downsize here, mostly of the toy variety, I took a large load of them and offered them up on this List for Christmas to anyone local to my area in PA, instead of selling them or donating them to Salvation Army for a tax write-off.  A little direct charity for a change, if you will. ;-)
I was able to put some smiles on kids' faces for Christmas and get some more items out of my house.
A win/win with no actual cash involved!

Ok, so maybe I AM a grinch since I didn't throw money in the kettles or send a check to the food bank or such.  Hubs just informed me he threw money in the bell-ringers' kettles when he was out Christmas shopping, so my no-money-spent guilt is assuaged....I think.lol
Seriously though, AM I grinchy this year for not giving cash somewhere at Christmas?....Even though I gave over $500 worth of food to the local food bank over the course of 2011?.....I gave about $4K worth of stuff to Salvation Army?....Hubs had about $600 taken from his paychecks for AFAA(a charity we have monetarily supported since 1986).  Tell me if I am a big old Bah-Humbug, I can take it. ;-)

$5  *Electricity for Lights----
Hubs strung 2 strings of lights outside and lit the Wreath on the door.  They were only up 2 full weeks and lit for a few hours each night. 


$64.21  *Alcohol----
I generally don't buy liquor at Christmas but felt the need this year.  Don't judge. ;-)  I bought 2 bottles of champagne(1 for NYE, 1 for Christmas dinner), a couple of small half bottle of JD and Kahlua, 2 bottles of Vodka and a bottle of Grenadine.  The vodka was a spur of the moment decision because it was on sale(and there was a rebate.lol).  I thought I'd make some martinis but if I didn't like the brand of vodka I could always use it to make some Vanilla Extract. 8-)

$122.50  *A Christmas eve meal and show or movie----
We had our immediate family and daughter's boyfriend for our traditional Chinese restaurant meal.  We sprung for sushi as well so the bill was a bit high, but whattheheckitschristmas!lol



Yay us.....

So looking forward to Christmas 2012 for me--
* I'm basically happy with what I ended up spending.  I came in under budget but there was still enough bought and spent on everyone.
* With our schedules(and 2 kids away at college)it's difficult trying to find activities to do as a family(plus the kids don't want to 'hang' with the 'rents), but I'm going to try to find 1 thing to do as a family, besides eating out.  I'd love to find a concert for free or cheap here that we can attend.
* I'm happy with using some of my inventory to give directly to those who needed it.  Next year I am going to make an effort to get involved in a local Santa organization and give the gift of my time too.
* I cooked/bakes a LOT less this Holiday season and the world didn't end.  I think I'll plan on spending about the same reduced amount of time in the kitchen for Christmas 2012.

If you kept track of your spending for Christmas, how did you do?
Did you spend more. less or right about what you planned on spending?
Did you have any money epiphanies(epiphany? epiphani?)when you looked back at the Holiday plan?
Do you see anything you'll change about your spending for Christmas 2012?

Leave a comment and let us know how ya did and what you learned about yourself & money this year!!

Sluggy

2011 Review Extravaganza......October to December

I'm taking part in this 2011 Review Extravaganza from over at Mimi's Place, Living in France.
Here is the link to The Rules.
If you want to take part go read the rules and then link up each Friday in December.
And to read the folks participating, go click on the Extravaganza Button on my side bar.


Onward to my 4th installment of the  Review of 2011...the October to December months.






OCTOBER

Hubs and I took a trip to an Elk Farm.

I spent a good part of October in my garage getting ready to hold a big Toy Sale/Garage Sale. I dug through all my junk in Storage in preparation for this sell off, showing photos and talking about it HERE.
Since the Flea Market got swallowed up back in September when the Susquehanna River flooded the area, hauling all my toy merchandise there to sell was no longer an option, so the sale was going to happen in the garage instead.
Unfortunately, due to many factors, including pulling my back muscles out and being loopy on painkillers for the better part of 2 weeks,  the sale just didn't happen at ALL. 


 

I talked about me and Hub's trip to Ocean City MD and the unconventional souvenirs I buy when on vacation HERE.
It was 65 degrees and sunny the day we left.  A couple days later I woke up to this at home.......

I'm still scratching my head and mumbling WTF?!? over that......

NOVEMBER

The word for November was Insanity!
I reopened my eBay Store early on in November.  Oh, those crazy eBay buyers...need I say more?lol

So my month was fairly insane between dealing with eBay stuff and the kids' stuff and various band schedules AND Thanksgiving.   I was MIA online a lot or I was complaining.

The strange weather continued and the Forsythia started blooming in November.....NOVEMBER people!!ack

What do polygamists, spam and windmills have in common?   They are some random things I think about.  I gave readers a taste of what it's like inside my head HERE.  And HERE is another Brain Dump post that was very popular.

The grocery store ran a Catalina Deal that gave almost free Gravy right before Thanksgiving.  This caused me to try to get 81 cans of gravy for the local food bank Thanksgiving Dinner baskets.  The grocery store started moving the display around the store to thwart MY PLAN.  But in the end, we were victorious!

In between all this, I even found the time for more DECLUTTERING P*RN and I finally went back to Rite-Aid after a 2 month long break.

And Wall Street was NOT the only place being Occupied in November....

DECEMBER

Gee, it seems like only yesterday that we were living the December life. lol

My dining room could have been mistaken for a UPS STORE.  It's been cleaned since this photo.

I found some strange keyword searches that brought readers to my blog HERE.

I talked about some funny &/or annoying  eBAY BUYERS.

I couldn't help myself even at Christmas to go off on another RANT.

We got the Christmas tree up by mid month but it stayed basically nekkid until all the kids were home from college.

Read about how my family can't take me anywhere without embarrassing them HERE.

And we ended the year with our CHRISTMAS PHOTOS and a look around our CHRISTMAS TREE.

I hope y'all had fun reliving some highlights(and lowlights)of my 2011 experience. 
Come on back next week to see what's in store for us in 2012!


Sluggy