Wise Words

While I never cared much for Penn & Teller's act, I think Penn Jillette is a very intelligent thinking man who, at his core, gets the big issues in life right.

You may not agree with him on the religion thing(as most of mainstream America still  isn't very open minded or accepting yet when it comes to that realm), but I encourage everyone to look up some of his writings on most any other subject.
He has a lot to say and he articulates it much better than I!

Sluggy

Getting to $100 Spent at Rite-Aid Last Week

Well, I did go to Rite-Aid last week and try to get to $100 of tracking so the $20 +Up Reward would kick out.

If you remember the Daughter gave me a box of chocolates for my Birthday, using my Wellness card to pay, so the $5.99 she spent tracked toward the 50th Anniversary +Up Reward Promo and I gained a $2 +Up Reward too.

So I began last week with $13.50 in +Ups and $54.40 in tracking toward the $20 +Up Reward.

I bought....

2 x 12 pack Coke(not pictured)=$8  I had 2 Free Coke Qs from my Coke Reward Pts. left, and the cashier let me use the $1 In-Ad Coke Q as well. 8-)
2 x GE Energy Smart CFL light bulbs $3.99=$7.98 and I used 2 x $1/1 Qs.
2 x Mam bottle nipples BOGO40%=$8.46 and I used 1 x $2/1 Q.
2 x Ragu Sauce RAINCHECKS ($1.00ea.)=$2.00.
Subtotal was $26.44.

After $13 in Qs leaves me with $13.44.
I used $11.50 in +Up Rewards and put the $1.94 left on my gift card.
I received back $12 in +Ups(2 x $3 GE lightbulbs, 2 x $3 Mam nipples).

That made my +Ups total $14($12 new + $2 leftover from before).
All the items bought tracked for the Reward so $54.40 + $26.44=$80.84 toward the $100 goal.

Daughter needed bottled water so I bought 2 cases at Rite-Aid last week.
2 x 24 pack of Nestle's water=$7.98
1 x Cella cherry w/Gold discount=$.26
Total of $8.24.  I used $8 in +Ups and put the .24¢ on the gift card.

I received $2 in +Up Rewards back(2 x $1 Nestle) so my Ups+ going forward total $8.
The water counted toward the tracking so $80.84 + $7.98=$88.82 total.


So I bought some qualifying items on Saturday to put me over the $100 mark, even if I didn't have any Qs to use! lol

2 x Scott TP on sale for $3.99=$7.98
2 x Jif Peanut Butter w/RAINCHECKS($1.99 ea.)=$3.98

Total was $11.96+.12¢ tax=$12.08
I used my $8 of +Up Rewards left and put the $4.08 on my gift card...actually 2 gift cards with small amounts left on them and most of it on my "Merchandise Return Card" from a return I made some time ago.  I've got to haul out my last gift cards from 2010 pretty soon.  When they are gone it's back to spending out of pocket at Rite-Aid. sigh

$88.82 + $11.96 spent in qualifying items=$100.78
I received my $20 50th Anniversary Promo +Up Reward.....yay!

Other than the baby nipples this is all stuff we needed/can use.  I was happy to get those light bulbs as they are the right strength and size for my desk lamp, and I had just put my last replacement bulb in my lamp.  And who can't use TP and food? lol
The baby items will be given a proper home in the coming months--either in a donation to the food bank, making up a basket of baby stuff for a fundraiser locally or maybe to a Boring Blog Giveaway box in the near future. ;-)

These trips to Rite-Aid--
OOP....$0.00
Value of items.....$71.66
+Ups coming into this trip....$13.50
+Ups used....$27.50
+Ups earned......$34.00
+Ups at the end.....$20.00

 
**GRAND TOTALS FOR JANUARY-so far**

Out Of Pocket....$0.00  cash
Value of items bought.....$211.55
Savings Rate of  100%
Rebates due......$16.99(Neosporin 2x)
Savings Rate after Rebates.....100% +

+Ups at beginning of month...$32.50+
+Ups used....$64.50+
+Ups received...$52.00+
+Ups currently...$20.00+  




Sluggy

Well No Wonder!

I finally realized why I was in a bad mood all day Monday.

First off, I'm in mourning.....

R.I.P. Lady Sybil Crawley Branson

And even worse, the semi-annual car insurance bill arrived.
They couldn't even wait until February to stick that sucker in the mail to me.....
Grrrrr.

Some days it barely pays to get out of bed! ;-)

Sluggy

Meal Planning Feb. Week 1 & Food Spending Jan. Week 4

Our silly Beagle rolling in a recent snowfall.

                                                                      

And here is what actually got served last week......

 

 

Sunday--Leftovers or Fend For Yourself

Monday--Taco Bell or Fend For Yourself

Tuesday--Beef Tips in Gravy over Noodles, Ginger Carrots

Wednesday--Fish, Beets, Mashed Potatoes

Thursday--Halushki

Friday---Cheese Steaks, Broccoli

Saturday--Leftovers or Fend For Yourself or Birthday burger out(bday freebie for me!)

 

I actually served the whole menu as planned.

Rah.

The food spending last week?

2 trips and $61.36 total spent.  $12.37 of that was unplanned spending, as a good deal popped up while I was in the local Shursave affiliate market.
And speaking of DEALS, here is most of what I got for that $12.37....

The store was holding an Instant Discount promo $5 off when you bought $15 worth of select house brand items.  I wasn't particularly interested in it until I went down the cereal aisle and saw that the house brand instant oatmeal packet boxes were included AND some had $1 Peelie Qs on them....squeal!!!
I bought 7 boxes of oatmeal($1.66 ea. on sale) + 3 bags of house brand frozen veggies($1.25 ea., not pictured), which subtotaled $15.37.  After 7 x $1 Qs and the $5 instant discount($12 off), I paid $3.37 for 7 oatmeals and 3 veggies(or .34¢ for each of 10 items).

While I was down the cereal aisle, store employees were changing around the coffee section located across from the oatmeal section.  By the time I was finished shopping and headed to the register, the clearance bin I walked by at the front of the store to check out was filled with bags of coffee.  I don't drink this stuff but Hubs is addicted to it so I nosed around in the bin.  New England Coffee, Starbucks and Eight O'Clock brands were marked down to $3 a bag.  Sell by/Use by dates were 2 years out.  I went back to the coffee section and it looks like the New England brand has changed the color of the bags and they were no longer carrying this particular Starbucks and the Eight O'Clock varieties(very small store with limited selections), so that explains why it was in the bin.  I also wanted to check the regular price to make sure that $3 a bag was a "deal".....I told you I don't know anything about coffee!lol
They sell for $7.95 a bag at this store.
So I "scooped" up 3 bags for Hubs and dinged my grocery budget for $9.

Now I know everyone is thinking, "Gee Sluggy, why the heck did you buy 7 boxes of oatmeal, since you won a year's supply from Price Chopper last Fall?  Isn't that enough for you??"
Actually, it's not enough.  I gave boxes to the B in-law and #1 Son, plus we've gone through a case already.  The only oatmeal we will have left when the year is out will be some of the canisters of whole oats since nobody thinks to make those for breakfast and I don't have a wide repertoire of recipes using oats.

So the food spending for January as of Saturday, sits at $261.21, leaving me $138.79 to get through the rest of the month......ok, the rest of the month would be 5 days. lol

As for leftovers rolling into this week--there are beets, ginger carrots, beef tips and gravy and noodles.  Not much to use up.

***********************

Here is what is getting served this week.....

Sunday--KFC chicken

Monday--Pizza or Leftover KFC or Beef Tips

Tuesday--Steak dinner out(birthday meal)

Wednesday--Italian dinner out(birthday freebie)

Thursday--Chicken Fajitas

Friday--Ham and Bean Soup, homemade bread

Saturday--Not sure, leftovers, fend for yourself

Only 2 meals this week, since we are finishing the Birthday freebies this week.  The KFC is courtesy of a gift certificate for a 12 pce. meal I won at the Church auction.  Wed. dinner is courtesy of a local Italian restaurant birthday club and I get a free appetizer on Tues. when I have my Birthday dinner out.  There will be money spent but from the Entertainment budget.

Needed at the store to serve the 2 meals I am making this week?

I'll need celery, potatoes, mushrooms(Daughter bought on Sunday), and I might need more onions. 
Not much needed this week but there is a Pet Food Catalina Deal at Weis which I need to do, so there goes $30 up front after Qs(will give me a $10 Cat for later too).  I'll try to keep the spending under $50 this week.

I'll be going to my 2 grocery stores this week to note prices for the new Price Book. 

What's on your menu for the week?  Any good deals at the grocers this week?
Did you have any food waste this week?

Sluggy

Week 3 Price Book Numbers & Noticing Some Trends

Here are my Price Book numbers with the Week 3 data included.


Ground Beef...2.28/3.69  3.79/3.99   2.79/2.99
Chuck Roast....3.99/3.99  2.99/3.99     3.79/3.79
Hot Dogs....4.99/5.99  4.99/5.99    4.99/3.00
Pork....3.99/3.00  3.99/2.99   3.49/2.99
Bacon....2.98/3.50  3.99/3.50   3.99/3.00
Chicken Breast....2.99/3.09  2.99/3.49    2.99/3.99
Chicken Whole.... .78/1.69  1.39/1.89    1.59/1.49
Salmon....10.00/7.99  0.00/7.99   9.99/7.99
Cheese....1.77/2.99  2.00/2.00    1.75/2.00
Butter.....3.00/3.50  3.49/3.98    2.50/2.50
Eggs....1.93/1.50  1.79/1.89     1.83/1.53
Carrots.... .90/1.00  .75/1.29    .90/1.69
Potatoes....1.48/2.50  2.99/2.99  1.50/2.00
Celery.....1.69/2.59  1.99/1.89    2.99/1.50
Onion..... .49/.75  1.69/1.00  .59/1.69
Salad Greens....2.50/1.95  2.50/1.85   2.50/1.85
Pasta..... .88/1.00  1.00/1.00   1.00/1.00
Spaghetti Sauce.... .88/1.00  1.33/1.25    1.50/2.00
Coffee....5.65 lb/5.12 lb  5.65 lb/4.16 lb   (4.00)5.65/4.85*
Soup Tomato...1.05/.75  1.05/1.00   .50/.69
Soup Cream....1.00/.75  1.29/1.39    .99/.75
Flour.....2.19/2.19  2.19/2.19   2.00/2.19
Sugar.....2.69/2.69   2.69/2.69   2.50/2.69
Brown Sugar...1.89/1.69  1.89/1.69    1.89/1.69
Honey.....4.00 lb/3.45 lb  4.00 lb/3.45 lb    4.00 lb/3.32 lb
Deli Ham...5.99/7.99  4.99/5.99   4.99/7.99
Deli Provolone...7.99/8.99  4.99/8.99   5.99/8.99
Frozen Pizza...4.49/4.99  5.00/3.33   5.00/3.33
Ice Cream...3.00/3.00  2.50/3.00   3.50/3.00
Frozen Broccoli...1.88/1.50  2.19/2.00    2.09/1.25
Soda....4.99/4.00  4.00/4.00   3.66/3.25
Chips....3.00/3.00  3.00/2.50   2.15/2.15

*I have to make a special note on the coffee prices at Store #1 this week.  The best price was still $5.65, however, they had some bags of coffee in the clearance bin @ $3 for a 12oz. bag, which came out to $4 lb.(and I bought some).  As this was a clearance special/a small quantity and not a regular sale item available at all their stores, I still used the $5.65 lb. price for my data.  Using this unique special price/opportunity only would skew the cycle prices for this item in this store's week and not have given me the real picture on the pricing trend.

Having half our data in the book now, let's take a look at our numbers.

Looking at the items you put in your book, can you see that some of them are quite volatile in terms of prices and how much they vary from week to week?  

Take the Deli Dept. cheese on my list--in 3 weeks time it's been a low of $4.99 to a high of 8.99.  That's a $4 difference for the same item!
If you are buying items when they are higher/highest in the sales cycle, you are spending money you really shouldn't have to if you just pay attention and time your purchases right.

Can you also see that some of the items' prices seem not to change(go on sale)at all or only infrequently?
My baking supplies--flour, sugars, honey prices haven't varied at all.  The flour and reg. sugar at Store #1 went on sale for .19¢ less last week and the honey at Store #2 had a .13¢ price reduction the same week.  I'll hazard a guess that these items maintain their regular prices for the next 3 weeks.

You may also notice that some of the same items at your 2 different stores go on sale during the same week.  Stores tend to keep an eye on what the other one is up to and will put the same types of foods on sale as their competition.

Another trend is the same name brands will go on sale simultaneously at both of your different stores.  This is due to special pricing and deals the manufacturers run to their clients, the grocery stores.  This trend will be very noticeable starting this week, Week #4 of our price cycle.  Party, Snacking and Finger Foods are being pushed in the Week leading up to Super Bowl.  You will notice the same items featured in the different grocery store chains at identical(or almost identical)special pricing.

Another trend you can start to notice with this many weeks charted is how one of your stores will usually be lower on the regular prices on items than the other store.  Neither of my stores have put the brown sugar on sale in the last 3 weeks, and Store #2 always has a lower regular price than Store #1.  If this trend holds true for the next 3 weeks, I can then make a note that if I need brown sugar and no stores have it on sale, I should always buy it at Store #2, because this automatically saves me .20¢ per bag.

 Now let's make a hypothetical shopping list up.....

2 x 5lb. chickens
3 x 2lb. ground beef
1 x 1lb. salmon
1 x dzn eggs
2 x bags of cheese
1 x 1lb. butter
1 x celery
1 x 2lb. onions
2 x salad greens
1 x 1lb coffee
2 x frozen broccoli
1 x potato chips

If we had bought these items at the store in the week when the prices were highest, we would have paid $77.10 for all.
If we had bought these items at the store in the week when the prices were lowest, we would have paid $41.96 for all.
That's a difference of $35.14 for one shopping list of items!

If we were to extrapolate this out and say we purchased this shopping list of items every 2 weeks for a year, if we always bought at the highest priced week for each item, we would overspend in a year to the tune of......$913.64.

This should make it crystal clear to anyone how the timing of your food purchases can either save you or cost you money.

Onward to Week #4.......

Sluggy