236 Years Later....It's Still Too Hot!

Starting the July 4th party here a bit early.  Working on some cooking and cleaning today so except for the smoker duty tomorrow I can relax.

A drink or two will help speed along the work today....

It's always a good time of year to go watch "1776" or the HBO series "John Adams".

From the 1972 film....

If you prefer "live action" theater, here's the scene from the Broadway revival done in 1997 instead....



And this clip just proves nothing has changed in 236 years.......not in Congress or Philadelphia.....lol




Sluggy

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JUNE 2012.

I have posted June'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 June.  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(2-4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
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HOUSE OF NUTRITION(health food store)
OOP   $27.77

Value   $78.86

Savings 64.79 %

MAINE SOURCE(restaurant supply store)

OOP  $48.04

Value  $82.31

Savings  41.63%

RITE-AID

OOP  $1.97

Qs/Ads  $139.39

Value  $141.36

Savings   98.06%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $10.95

Qs/Ads  $10.49

Value  $21.44

Savings  49%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $270.12

Qs/Ads  $526.96

Value  $797.08

Savings  66.11%

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 June

Total...$0.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Rite-Aid $10 Gift Card for +Ups that didn't print

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$10.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

1 Free Box of Cereal--giveaway winning

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 98.06%,  Weis at 66.11% and  House of Nutrition at 64.79%.  l shopped at 5 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$358.85

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$762.20

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,121.05

TOTAL Savings of...................................68%

This closes out the June spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into June with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I was able to stay substantially below that amount.
Though I didn't actively coupon in June, by hitting up the Grand Opening deals at Weis and doing those Catalinas there and at Rite-Aid that gave me Free Money Coupons, I was still able to get close to my dream goal of a 75% savings rate.

This is much better than the 40% rate I've been tracking at for most of this year.

LOOKING AHEAD TO JULY.....

I will be setting my food budget at $300 for July.  #2 Son will be gone for at least another 2 weeks, maybe as long as the entire month.  This really cuts down on how much food gets consumed around here.

With the hot weather now, I plan to eat lighter and eat more fresh veggies as they come into season.  A new farmer's market has opened up here, one that is easier to get to and find parking near, so I'll be checking that out soon for prices.

I'll be on the look-out for meat deals but otherwise I plan to eat down the supplies in the freezer.

How did you do in June with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to it?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

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

Finished Spending the +Ups at Rite-Aid

Here's what I bought Sunday with the $30 in +Ups that were expiring on July 1......

1 x Whey Protein Powder 50% clearance=$17.99 (for daughter)
1 x Tampax on sale=$3.99 (for daughter)
1 x Reach toothbrush on sale=$2.99  (it was free after +Ups)
2 x Planter's NUTrition on sale=$8.00 (for me!)
3 x Zero candy bars 75% clearance=$.72  (for Xmas)
SubTotal.....$33.69

Coupons Used
1 x $1/1 Tampax ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Reach toothbrush tearpad Q(from dentist's office)=$1.00
1 x $1.50/2 NUTrition IPQ(from HERE-but this Q no longer available)=$1.50
Coupon Total.....$3.50

$33.69-$3.50=$30.19

I used my $30 in +Ups and put the .19¢ on my Rite-Aid gift card.
I also earned $4 in +Ups back($2 Reach, $1 Tampax, $1 WYB2 Planters)

As of now, my Monthly Rite-Aid Stats for JULY are....

Out Of Pocket....$0.00 cash
Value of items bought....$65.52

+Ups at beginning of month...$33+
+Ups used....$30+
+Ups received...$4+
+Ups currently...$7+ 

Sluggy

Food Spending June Week 4 & Meal Planning July Week 1

Some days I look at the my kitchen and see the above.  My kitchen just feels so old and out of date,  but not in a good way like this cute, vintage 1920's kitchen!
In a bad, dark way.
And I just don't want to have to go work in there.

This is just my way of saying having to do a Menu this week is a real chore and something I am not feeling.  But I am doing one anyway!
Why?
Because I am a big girl and I "should" do one, and we should eat at home(most of the time).
It's better for us and better for our bottom line too.

So let's suck it up and get on with this, shall we?

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And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

SUNDAY--Kielbasa on rolls, grilled Squash
MONDAY--Salmon w/maple bourbon glaze, crudite plate(radishes,celery,carrots)with dressing dip

TUESDAY--Spaghetti with Meatballs, Salad

WEDNESDAY--Leftovers

THURSDAY--BLT sandwiches

FRIDAY--Homemade Pizza, Salad

SATURDAY--Burger King, raw veggies in dip

After eating out a lot on the mini-vacation to OH, we ate at home except for Whoppers on Saturday.
I kept true to the plan until Wednesday.  We had adequate leftovers so I substituted them for the meal that evening.  And Thursday was too hot to cook so it was BLTs instead.

The weekly food spending was $25.33.  It was 3 trips(5 transactions) to Weis. You can see what I bought HERE. 
I have a couple of trips to Rite-Aid to spend expiring +Ups but I spent nothing out of pocket.

Reg. retail was $152.02 for all so we saved 83.33% for the week.  And I kept within my $400 monthly food budget for June.
Go me.....

We have a brand new month for food spending starting this week.

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This week's menu.....
SUNDAY--Steak, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Salad
MONDAY--Baked Potato Bar, Brussel Sprouts, Watermelon

TUESDAY--Lobster, Boston Baked Beans, Coleslaw

WEDNESDAY--BBQ Ribs, Macaroni Salad, COC, Pie

THURSDAY--Smoked Chicken, leftover sides from previous days

FRIDAY--Leftover BBBeans, Cornbread, Yellow Squash Casserole

SATURDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Salad

What I need to purchase for this menu?

Steak, Watermelon, Lobster, Cabbage, Red Bell Pepper, Corn, Squash

I know this menu is fairly decadent....steak, lobster and ribs.  The steak was on sale(bought it on Sunday).
The ribs were bought for $1 a lb. during the Weis Grand Opening a few weeks ago.  The lobster is a Price Chopper special this week($5.88 lb.).  We treat ourselves to cheap lobster at least once a year because we can....and the kids aren't home so we don't have to buy enough for them too.  ;-)

I'm dragging the smoker out to do the ribs, so I'll throw a whole chicken in there to smoke too and that will be the following night's dinner.
Since I have to run the oven for Cornbread, I am also doing a veg. casserole that evening.  If I run the oven in the heat, I want to pack as much food into it as I can.
The baked taters and beans will be done in the crockpot. 
The steak was done on the grill.
I have a method for doing the chicken parm on the stovetop, and the lobsters are done on the stovetop as well.
This means only 1 night of running the oven.


So what's on deck for your menu this week?
Do you have anything special cooking for the 4th?

And how was your food spending last month?

Sluggy

Yeah, I'm Going There.....

Some common sense talk from Dave Ramsey HERE.

Sluggy