What Happens.....Things I Can't Believe!

.....when you bring a 16 year old boy grocery shopping with you?
You over spend and buy crap, that's what!

Though #2 Son had his birthday over a week ago, we still hadn't had his birthday cake.
He couldn't make up his mind between a cheesecake or an ice cream cake.
Well he finally decided on the ice cream cake so I took him with me to Weis "Pound me in the ass" Markets on Friday to get it.....amidst much eye rolling.  While we were there, I wanted to see about using some IPQs I had that were expiring that day.....cue MORE eye rolling when I told him this.

The ice cream cake was $17.99.

Walking over there we go past a display of Pepsico/Frito-Lay snacks, as Weis is having a "Spend $25/Get $5 off your order instantly" Deal.  The only snack we had left in the house was popcorn, so #2 Son talked me into buying Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos and 3 boxes of Capn Crunch cereal.  After sale prices, Qs and $5 discount that came to $13.50
Then he wanted JD breakfast biscuits.
Next he saw the White Castle sliders.....they must have jumped into the cart while my back was turned.
Then he asked me to get him some deviled crab cakes for $3.87.  At least this was 'food' and I said yes.
2 containers of muffins from the 50% rack was next to fall into the cart.
And then there was that Marie Callendar pie on sale for $5.99.
Unplanned kid suggested spending was $38.62...plus the ice cream cake....sigh.....
Maybe I should have sent him to wait in the car after getting the cake.

I did get some things I wanted and had come there for....salmon, boxed GG veggies, whipped cream in a can, Greek yogurt, a block of Cheddar cheese.

And I used my expiring Mighty Dog Q on 12 cans of dog food for $4.60 after sales/Q, 2 bottles of Welch's 100% juice for $2 each after Qs and my Hormel chili Qs for 4 cans of chili at $1.17 can.

I did have a Happy Accident--I spied a whole rack of Hormel pepperoni that had $2 store discount stickers on them as they were close to the sell by date.  Weis was hiding the pepperoni from me.  We found a rack of some off brands and of course, there was NO pepperoni by the deli meat/hot dog/bacon case OR down by the pizza supplies. Weis hates me and likes to hide shit from me, but I outsmarted them and found a rack of Hormel in the middle of the frozen food aisle....now that's logical.....WTF!?!.....

They were regular price of $3.99 so were 50% off with the $2 discount Q....plus I had Qs that took an additional .50¢ off each package, making each one $1.49.  I got 6 packages to put in the freezer.  The good thing about sliced pepperoni is you can freeze it for years and when you need some you don't have to thaw the whole package, just pull out what you need.  Since it's sliced it's easy to just pull off a handful or so.

And the bacon you see in the photo is an expensive brand from Lancaster PA that goes for $4.99 reg. retail.  It was on sale this week for $4 a package this week and I found 3 packs with $2 store discount Qs on them, so $2.00 each for these 3 packages.  Score!

I left the store $121.53 poorer.
I saved $69.93 or about 36%.
And I got 30¢ off a tank of gas.  I NEVER spend enough in one transaction to qualify for gas points....well, until now! lol

I can't remember the last time I spend into the 3 digits at one time at the store.  And I went and checked my records and I can't find a record of spending $100 or more in one transaction since I started this blog and started keeping track of my spending in March of 2009.  I haven't done that in at least 2 freaking years!!
And yes, I am that nerd that has a record of all her grocery and drug store receipts since March of 2009.


Go on!
Give me a date and I'll tell you where I shopped and how much I spent.

I.
Am.
Seriously.
Pathetic.

And I STILL can't believe I spent $121+ at ONE TIME in the grocery store!!

Sluggy

$20K Savings Challenge.....FEBRUARY Results for 2012

Ok, here is my February Savings Challenge Update post for 2012.
This post is NOT about bragging or showing off.  It's just what we are able to save given our income and being able to hang tough against "unconscious" spending.

Just to update, My Savings Goal for the Year in 2012 is $20,000.  It's well below what I've saved in previous years I know.  But we also have a goal of paying for 4 home improvement projects at Chez Sluggy this year.  We plan on cash-flowing these projects with the additional money we save.

On to the February report.....

I have posted my FEBRUARY End of Month $20K $AVING$ 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 $1,666.67.

I have to report that we finished up February in the black!
The extra cash amount we ended the month of February with?.......$1,889.15!

Income
We had $1,867.30 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
Add in $21.49 in Rebates applied against the food expenses & .36¢ in interest and  you get a total of $1,867.30.

Outgo
Traditionally February has been a very tight month for the money.  Besides the usual expenses we have  semi-annual car insurance payment in Feb.  Add in that February is usually the highest electric bill of the year and this makes for heavier expenses.  Most years if we do not go into the negative in February I am happy.  Having leftover cash this year is thrilling! 8-)

As for the expenses this February......

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  While the electric bill was high(as our heat is electric and it IS Winter!), the mild temperatures in Jan./Feb. kept our bill over $100! lower than the previous year's bill.

*  The cash withdrawals were relatively low and I underspent on the food budget in February.

*  The credit card bill(which is paid in full each billing cycle)was under $700 this month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

* Car insurance premium.  #2 Son just turned 16 in Feb.  I am dreading how much it goes up once he goes to get his Learner's Permit....bleh.

* I wrote a check for our state taxes as we always end up owing a bit on the state form.

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post, which is located HERE.  I underspent my food budget by about $93, as we ate down supplies from the freezer/stockpile last month and I stayed out of the grocery store for the most part.

YEAR-TO-DATE GRAND TOTAL.....
With 2 month behind us, our Savings Grand Total for 2012 is $2,993.91.

We surpassed our monthly goal in Feb. so now we are only $339.43 behind for the year.

So how much did YOU save in February?  Did you spent all your income or did you put something aside?

Do you have an emergency fund of 6-8 months worth of expenses?
Do you have debt?

Start living below your means NOW and put some money away for emergencies and/or start paying down your debt.
And once you get debt-free, continue to throw that debt repayment money into savings.  You won't believe how fast you can accumulate wealth once you have no debt!

It is NEVER too early or too late to SAVE SOMETHING.
And the amount you save is NEVER too small!
Anything you can spare will go a long way to make you more financially secure in this crazy unstable world we live in.

So come along and Challenge Yourself to Save Money each Month Toward a Realistic for YOU Savings Goal or Debt Goal!

Not everyone can shoot for $20K, 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 paying down your debt, 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.
Put it out there online and let us all stalk your money too. ;-)

So how was your February 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

A Piece of My Youth Fades Away....

Well us Boomers that grew up in the late 1960's got a kick in the head yesterday, when news came that Davy Jones, late of the musical group, The Monkees, died at age 66.
Suddenly a whole lot of us are feeling quite old and vulnerable.

I was a big Fan.  I had much older brothers so in our house, The Beatles reigned supreme but with my little 7 yr old teeny bopper self, I was all about The Monkees, The Jackson 5, The Partridge Family and Bobbie Sherman.
This is the only album I could find yesterday when I dug out my vinyls....

I believe at one time I had all their albums....I wore out a copy of "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd." and I broke my "The Monkees Headquarters" album. I could only play the songs closer to the center of the disc, after I broke a piece off of the record.lol

Here's one of my favorite songs from THE MONKEES album. I tended to gravitate to the funny songs.....

Though they had many detracters, there was talent in that group.
Watch this funny clip and listen closely....



Now listen to it again, done by the artist who made it famous....



Yep, a Monkee wrote that.

Here he is singing it, back in the 1990's.



My Fav. of the 4 was Mickey.
But here is one of my favorite songs that Davy had the lead vocals on...



He played a mean tamborine, didn't he? ;-)

And to put a personal spin on this, Davy Jones has a home about 1.5 hours from where I live in PA. He kept and raced horses there and enjoyed blending into the community there. People left him alone and he would spent time there out of the spotlight.

And for Bonus points tell me what was the Hit A Side to this B Side tune on one of their 45rpm record Singles?

 R.I.P. Davy Jones.  You helped a generation of youth sing.

I'm off to watch this video below and go work on my Monkees Walk.......



Sluggy

February 2012 Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2012.

I have posted February's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February.  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 16.
******************

BIG LOTS
OOP  $19.35

Value  $35.50

Savings  45.50%

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP   $7.45
Value   $38.92
Savings  80.86%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $5.98

Qs/Ads  $9.14

Value  $15.12

Savings  60.45%

RITE-AID DRUG STORE
OOP  $9.05 in cash($24.92 with $15.87 put on my free Rite-Aid gift card)
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $412.71

Value  $437.63

Savings  97.93%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $173.69

Qs/Ads  $122.42

Value  $296.11

Savings  41.35%

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 FEBRUARY

Mondavi Wine.....$1.00
Pinecone...$6.00

Rite-Aid SCR....$14.49
Subtotal........$21.49

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Nothing

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$21.49

COUPONS and FREEBIES

2 Knives--Giveaway win
2 x Coca-Cola 12-pack Q

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 97.93%, the Bakery Outlet at 80.86%, and Price Chopper at 60.45%.

I shopped at 5 different stores in February.


TOTAL Out of Pocket........$215.52

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$607.76

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.28

TOTAL Savings of...................................73.82%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$21.49
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$194.03
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$629.25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.28
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................76.43%

This closes out the February spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
We continued to eat down the freezer and didn't do any restocking on frozen foods....except for those whole roasters I bought.  We spent well below our budgeted amount for food again in February.  I think this was in part due to consistent meal planning and sticking with the menu, cutting down on our eating and sticking to simpler foods(not buying much processed or prepared foods and buying items closer to their natural state and buying a narrower range of items).  A simpler diet will help to keep your food costs down.

I want to note something here.....while I used quite a few Qs at Rite-Aid, no Qs were used at Big Lots, Price Chopper and the Bakery Outlet, and I hardly used any Qs at the Shursave grocery store(since they don't accept internet printed ones).  With most of the items I purchased, either they didn't have a Q available or the store didn't allow Q redemption.  Even without using Qs, by just buying on sale, I was able to realize a savings rate of at least 40%.  So if you arranger your purchasing so that you don't pay regular retail price, you can still save a very nice amount!
Of course everyone wants to save 70% or 80% off of their food bill.  But even if you don't use Qs you can still save 40% if you shop strategically by buying items when they are at the lowest price point in the supermarket sales cycles.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MARCH.....
We'll have an extra mouth or two to feed for 1/3 of the month.  No Birthdays or special  food occasions, except for St. Patrick's Day.
I'll try to pick up some corned beef briskets on sale for stockpiling.  I like to get briskets and slice my own for corned beef sandwiches.  Much less expensive than buying corned beef at the deli counter....it's about $9 a lb. around here these days!  I can buy a 4+lb. brisket on sale in March for what they charge for 1 lb. of it sliced at the deli counter.

I will be keeping my food budget at $300 for March.  I will hold the excess from Jan.($92.32) and Feb.($84.48)that I did not spend in reserve, which gives me an extra $176.80, should a great food deal come around this month.

How did you do in February with your Food Budget? 


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

One Last Bit of February Decluttering Porn & Short Fat Ken Dolls

Let's close out February on this Leap Day in style, shall we?
How do we do that?
Why with Decluttering Porn, that's how!

Micro Machines Star Wars Action Fleet vehicle set
Micro Machines Star Wars Playset
McDonald's Playset
Lord of the Rings Mt. Doom Figure set
Star Wars role playing card game
Set of Miniature Teddy Bears
GI Joe action figures Keychain set
Power Rangers Trans-Armour Cycle with figure
Micro Machines Star Wars Endor Playset
4 x Micro Machines Star Wars vehicle sets
Small Soldiers stuffed toy
Power Rangers Card game
2 x 101 Dalmatians pens
101 Dalmatians cookie cutters
Hot Wheels truck

Set of John Wayne Racing Champion Cars
Small Soldiers Chip Hazard Room Defender figure
Star Wars Ep.1 Anakin's Pod Racer
2 x Micro Machines Star Trek Vehicles sets
Power Rangers mini Megazord figure
Power Rangers Zeo Ranger figure
2 x 101 Dalmatians mini pillows
2 x 101 Dalmatians water globe toys
Set of Dilbert magnets
2 Throw Blankets
12 Political Beanies

Star Wars Micro Machines Endor playset
Beast Wars Micro Machines playset
Numi blooming tea set
Pink & Yellow Power Ranger Dolls Set
20 Posters
4 Johnny Lightning cars
Drew Carey Doll
Small Soldiers Archer figure
Power Rangers playing cards
3 hand dyed Beanie Babies
Set of Power Ranger cupcake papers
Hot Wheels set of Reggie Jackson cars

81 more items outta here!!

Yes, turns out this was NOT the brilliant idea I thought it was years ago.
The Drew Carey Doll has not become a much sought after object of desire.....

...unless I want to take the doll out of the box and sell him as a "Short Fat Ken in Suit".  Which is what this guy does....he's hit on a formula to unload a buttload of these dolls.  Check out  one of his auctions HERE.

And speaking of Drew Carey, has anybody seen him lately?  I dare say he's looking mightily hot....

He's single, funny, rich, a Libertarian, is a close personal friend of Craig Ferguson and he gives money to libraries. 
Damn.....some days it's too bad I'm married! ;-)

I'm sure Drew would be thrilled to know he was included in a blog post about porn.....

But I do love his tv work.
And the various openings to each of the 8 Seasons of his tv series.....

Sluggy