More Rite-Aid.....Will It Ever End?!?

Actually yes, this is the last Rite-Aid post for this week.
Now don't y'all get too excited, ya hear? ;-)

On Thursday I did 2 more transactions.

First on my card the Dove/Unilever Deal and the second part of the Lindt choccie Deal(remember I have $6 tracking toward the Lindt Deal).........

2 x Clear 'Poo on sale=$10.00
1 x Dove Deo on sale=$5.00
1 x Dove Body wash on sale=$5.50
1 x Dove Bar soap pack on sale=$6.50
1 x Dove 'Poo on sale=$3.00
2 x Lindt's choccie bags on sale=$6.00
SubTotal......$36.00

Coupons Used
2 x $1.50/1 Clear ManuQ=$3.00
2 x $1/1 Clear Video ValuesQ(Oct.)=$2.00
2 x $1/1 Clear In-AdQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Dove Deo IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Dove Deo Video ValueQ=$2.00
1 x $1.50/1 Dove body wash IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$1.50
1 x Free Dove 'Poo wyb Body Wash ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Dove bar soap packs ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Dove bar soap packs Video ValuesQ=$2.00
2 x $2/1 Lindt's choccie bags IPQ(facebook)=$4.00
Coupon Total.......$22.50

$36.00-$22.50=$13.50 + .03¢tax=$13.53
I used $13 in +Up Rewards and paid .53¢ OOP.

I received back $13 in +Up Rewards(2 x $5 wyb $15 Dove/Unilever, $3 wyb $12 Lindt's).


Then I bought this stuff on the BIL's card........

 

4 x Palmolive dish soap on sale $2.50=$10.00
2 x Clorox bleach on sale $2.50=$5.00
SubTotal....$15.00

Coupons Used
2 x $1/2 Palmolive ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/3 Palmolive Video ValuesQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Clorox ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$4.00

$15.00-$4.00=$11.00 + .63¢tax=$11.63

I used a $10 Prepaid M/C(gotten in a deal from Rite-Aid in August) and paid $1.63 OOP.
I received back a $5 +Up Reward for buying $15 of select Cleaning Supplies.


Going into Friday I had $19 in +Ups to roll/spend.
Things didn't go quite as planned.....what's new, right? lolz

I did the Dove/Unilever Deal on my son's card......

1 x Clear 'Poo on sale=$5.00
2 x Dove Deo on sale=$10.00
1 x Dove Body wash on sale=$5.50
1 x Dove 'Poo on sale=$3.00
2 x Tresemme 'Poo on sale=$8.00
SubTotal......$31.00

Coupons Used
1 x $1.50/1 Clear ManuQ=$1.50
1 x $1/1 Clear Video ValuesQ(Oct.)=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Clear In-AdQ=$1.00
2 x $2/1 Dove Deo IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$4.00
2 x $2/1 Dove Deo Video ValueQ=$4.00
1 x $1.50/1 Dove body wash IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$1.50
1 x $2/1 Dove body wash Video ValuesQ=$2.00
1 x $5/2 Tresemms 'Poo ManuQ=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Dove 'Poo Video ValuesQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.......$21.00

$31-$21=$10.00 and I was going to pay with 2 x $5 +Up Rewards so Zero OOP.

But that old goblin LOAD2CARD kicked in, and somehow the register loaded a $1.50/1 Dove L2CQ onto my receipt, which the cashier couldn't remove so I could use the better $2/1 Dove paper Q.
And without letting me know, he just added the $2 Q so my total coupons came to $22.
This meant my after Q total was now $9.00 so I couldn't use both $5 +Ups to pay.
I had another $9 in +Ups to use on a second transaction, so I just gave him a $5, a $3 and a $1 +Ups instead.
My new total was still Zero after +Up Rewards used so still no OOP.

I received back $10 in +Up Rewards.

Great.
But now I didn't have the right amount of +Ups to use for transaction #2.
I had have to add another .50¢ to what I was buying in order to use my 2 $5 +Ups that were left.

So I got a brilliant idea while mulling over what to do while sitting in the car.

Here's what I did, on BIL's card.......I already had tracking of $1.98 on this card for buying 2 Dawn dish soaps earlier in the week.

2 x Tide detergent on sale=$11.88
2 x Dawn dish soap on sale-$1.98
1 x Palmolive(small size)Rain Check=$.97
SubTotal.........$14.83

Coupons Used
2 x $2/1 Tide detergent ManuQ(Sunday inserts)=$4.00
2 x .25¢/1 Dawn IPQ(coupons dotcom)=$.50
Coupon Total.......$4.50

$14.83-$4.50=$10.33
I used my $10 in +Ups and paid .33¢ OOP.

And I received back $5 in new +Up Rewards(wyb $15 Tide/Dawn/Bounty).

Total Spent OOP this week.....$5.89
Total value of items brought home.....$393.96

We are good to go on 'Poo, Soap, Deo, Body Wash and the such until sometime in 2016 I think. lolz

I now have $15 in +Up Rewards going forward.
Slowly I've spent them down and I'll be out of them in the next week or so and the Rite-Aid posts will end.
Now stop that cheering!!

That is, until the Christmas Holiday Deals start up at Rite-Aid.  ;-)

Sluggy

 

Food & Toiletries Spending......September Update

 Onward to September's food spending report.......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2014.

I have posted September's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2014 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in September.  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 3(2 at home this month)& 1 dog. No kids under 18.

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

FARM STAND
OOP  $28.00
Value  $60.95
Savings  54.07%

GIANT
OOP  $27.86
Qs/Ads  $15.20
Value  $43.06
Savings  35.30%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $15.09
Value  $23.19
Savings  34.93%

SAM'S CLUB
OOP  $51.22
Value  $73.50
Savings  30.31%

TARGET
OOP  $18.78
Qs/Ads  $79.97
Value  $98.75
Savings  81%

RITE-AID
OOP  $8.48
Qs/Ads/+UPs  $449.50
Value  $457.98
Savings   98.15%

 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $95.22

Qs/Ads  $35.98

Value  $131.20

Savings  35.98%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $107.88

Qs/Ads  $85.33

Value  $193.21

Savings  44.17%
 

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 98.15%,  Target at 81% and the Farm stand at 54.07%.  My WORST savings rate was Sam's Club at 30.31%.
I shopped at 8 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$306.67

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$850.80

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,157.47

TOTAL Savings of...................................73.50%
TOTAL Savings WITHOUT Rite-Aid.............57.37%

This closes out the September food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I came close to the $300 budget I shot for this month.
$6.67 over that target.

The monthly savings percentage went up by 9.50% in September to 73.50% compared to August's  64% average.

In addition the savings percentage went up for the year by 3.67% because of the great savings month that was September.  After August my yearly % of savings was 49.12% and after adding Septmeber in it stands at 52.79% for the year.
8-)
But I am not expecting it to stay that high.....though 2013's yearly rate was 46.77% so who knows where it will end up in 2014.  8-)

Even if I remove my Rite-Aid shopping out my September totals that monthly total is $298.19 spent with a 57.37% savings rate. 
Awesome.

Total spend on food/toiletries so far this year after 9 months.....$3,634.86.

The average monthly food/toiletries spending to-date for the year so far is $403.87.  We brought it down from $416.03 which is where it stood after August's spending was added in.
I saw a decrease in the monthly average by $12.16 so far for the year.

While September wasn't the month we got the average monthly food spending back under a $400 per month average, but we got it within $4 of there.
I'll take it!

LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER......

I am going to try again for a $300 food spending budget this month.  It's just Hubs and I here this month again and I don't foresee any company coming for meals.
Since we have an extra 3rd paycheck this month it's tempting to loosen the spending in October and buy some food treats.....lobster, steak, and even paying full price for other items.
Shocking, right? lolz
Tempting but it isn't going to happen here!  We will stay the frugal course this month......
 

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

 

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in September?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?
*  If so, how are you doing thus far in 2014?
 

Sluggy

Meal Plan so Far This Week

Here was my dinner plan for this week......

1.  Leftovers

2.  Fish fry, leftover coleslaw, veggie of some kind from the freezer

3.  Leftovers

4.  Leftovers

5.  Pork Chops, Red Cabbage w/Apples
6.  Chili over Rice or with Burritos
7.  Subway sandwiches

 

Here is what has happened so far.....

 

1.  Leftovers

2.  Subway sandwiches(my points were expiring 9/30, had to use)

3.  Fish fry, leftover coleslaw, steamed broccoli

4.  Me-leftover lemon chicken and zuke, Hubs-leftover stuffed peppers w/rice

5.  Hubs-leftover lemon chicken and zuke, Me-large salad

 

We still have 2 servings of lasagna and leftover taco filling.  I think I'll turn the taco meat into chili today(add some stew beef to it as well)and we'll have the lasagna on Saturday.

I had more leftovers than I thought when I made this plan up, so the pork chops will move to next week's plan.

Hubs and I went to Sam's Club and spent $81 this week.  I got a few premade items I don't usually buy---

* a 2.5 lb. tub of Pecan and Cranberry Chicken Salad.  It was reduced to $6(near expiration date).  I wouldn't have bought this at the regular price of $12.98 especially since I've never tasted this brand before.  Who wants to take a chance on something that expensive?  Thankfully I really like this chicken salad, though it is a tad sweet to the taste.  I've been having this all week for lunch and at $6 it's been cheaper than a week of deli meat.

* I bought some Marie Calendar pot pies.  I usually make my own pot pie from scratch but we use to have these when the kids were younger and liked them.  And the big box of 8 was $12.18($1.51 each)and this will give us 4 meals.  It's just a quick meal(add a salad)in the freezer if we need one.

* We also bought a large pan of Chicken Marsala to try.  I made a mistake on this one.  The sign was the per pound price, not the total price.....so basically I paid double what I thought I was paying for this item.
Ugh.
Oh well, it won't break us and I'll be more careful next time.

We also got a large tub of salad greens, a large sack of apples, a large pack of 9V batteries(time to check those smoke detectors!), a box of fresh muffins(for Hubs breakfast)and a box of apple turnovers(snack stuff).
I am not convinced that buying in bulk will really save us any money but I'm willing to give it a try.

Sluggy

Giveaway.....Go Enter!

My buddy Sonya Ann is holding a giveaway for a $25 Restaurant dotcom gift certificate.

You know you want it!

So go on over and enter it HERE.

Sluggy

Empty Nest Financials....September's Results

So we have finished a full billing cycle of expenses without kids at home and the results are in and they look good. 8-)

Since #2 Son left mid August I will use July's bill to compare what we paid before he left with the September bill showing what we paid after he left for school.

The cable and phone bills stayed the same as was expected and him being here or not didn't impact the bottom line on those services.

Then we turn to the water and electric bills......

*  The water bill went down from $74.24 in July to $47.68 in September.  The difference in activity was 1 less person showering and less clothing and dishes needed washing.  In the first 4 weeks after #2 Son left I did 3 loads of laundry.  And no, I didn't just get lazy and let the dirty clothes pile up for a month. lolz  Likewise the dishwasher didn't need to be run as often either.  And there are now 14 less showers taken every week.   #2 Son usually took 2 a day minimum, sometimes more in the warmer months.
A decrease of $26.56 in water usage costs.

*  The electric bill went from a high of $173.44 in July to $95.47 in September.  Overall, part of this decrease was due to little to no a/c use in September while July saw moderate usage.  #2 Son has a window a/c unit in his room so since he was not here late Aug./early Sept. that electricity drain wasn't turned on, thus less kilowatts used.
We also turned off the upstairs computer he use to use.  That machine has a faulty ON switch so it was kept on 24/7 and wasted electricity every danged day.  I am sure this was also making the electric meter spin extra too.
A decrease of $77.97 in electricity costs.  I don't expect this is going to be an ongoing/usual savings but I will continue to compare it against the same month's usage in 2013, when #2 Son was home to add to the consumption of this utility.   Who knows?  It just might be the new norm.

There were also 2 other categories we saved money in as well due to #2 Son being away at college.....

*  We no longer pay for private music lessons.  This amount ranged from a low of $80(the last 2 weeks he was home)to a high of $200 per month.  It was usually in the $160 a month range.

*  We pay less for our car insurance.  Between #2 Son being an "away at school" driver without a vehicle(meaning he doesn't drive much, if at all) and donating the 3rd spare car to charity our insurance has gone down by $1,332.82 a year.  Another $800 or so should be added to that savings once the insurance carrier processes the removal of the minivan from our policy as well, which will give us a savings of approx. $2,132.82 per year.
I look forward to paying in the neighborhood of $1,277.16 a year instead of our old $3,409.98 bill per year.  At the moment(before the minivan gets removed from our coverage)we are paying $173 per month for insurance instead of $284 per month, a $111.00 decrease in costs.

And then there is food.....

*  The jury is still out on whether we will see significant savings on the food/toiletries/pet food/paper goods budget long term.
Yes, I was able to bring the spending down $95+ in September from July's amount.  But August, when #2 Son was only home for half the month I spent $24 MORE than in July?
I hope the downward trajectory of September's food spending continues but I won't call it a "win" in the decreased expenses column until I see how I do in October and November too.
And all bets are off in December on the decreased food spending since #2 Son will be home on a school break more of that month than not.

All totaled in September we realized a $470.53 savings on water, electric, lessons, insurance and food spending.
Can you see me smiling from here?!?

Of course we are saving hundreds in the running of our home, but now are spending thousands on college expenses.
Looking at it that way, these savings don't thrill me quite as much......lolz
Not to worry since the kid's college bills are coming out of his College Account and not our regular income or savings.  We finished putting this money away for him earlier this year.

I don't expect all of these savings to continue or stay at this level but I will monitor it all in October and hope for the best.

Electric use will go up when the heat goes on in October, but by comparing it to the electric bill from last year(when #2 Son was here), I can still get the gist of how much we are savings this October vs. last October.

Overall, I am surprised at how much the bills went down and am eager to see if we can maintain or lower the costs even more going forward.
After all, every dollar I can hang onto and put into savings means it's that much closer until Hubs can retire and we don't have to worry about running out of cash in retirement.

How did your expenses fair once your kids left home?
Did you see a noticeable decrease in costs?

Sluggy