This Week on the Dining Table

The "Holiday Candy/Treats found in the Stores" Edition..........

 Apple M&M's?

Holiday flavors of Jelly Beans?

Mike & Ike Minion flavors?

Hmmmm......anybody out there ever try any of these weird things?

 

 

 

Onward to the meal planning!

What was planned last week--

1.  Zuke Casserole
2.  Chicken & Dumplings(leftover)

3.  Lasagna or Ravioli(leftover)

4.  Zuke in Tomato Sauce, Kielbasa on rolls
5.  Trout, leftover Zuke Casserole

6.  Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Brussel Sprouts
7.  Leftovers

 

And this is what actually happened--

1.  Zuke Casserole
2.  Chicken & Dumplings(leftover)

3.  Ravioli(leftover)

4.  Chicken & Dumplings(again)
5.  Kielbasa on Rolls, Zuke Casserole(leftover)

6.  Lasagna(leftover)
7.  Fend for Yourself Night

 

We stretched out the leftovers over more meals than I had thought it would stretch, so the Stroganoff and Trout didn't happen.
    

Last week I made 9(!!!) trips to 5 different markets and spent $236.19 on $469.17 worth of groceries.
This includes what was spent at Target & Ollie's the week before since I forgot to include that.


I also did 2 transactions at Rite-Aid where I spent $1.87 on $56.71 of items there for the week.

Sit down for this one........
$537.46  total spent for the month so far in November including Rite-Aid spending.  My budget was $350 for November so yeah, it was a bust this month.
I've only spent $4,600.00 for the year so far on groceries.  Considering how well we eat I'm not going to beat myself up over a splurge month!

I have a $10 gift certificate/voucher to spend by Saturday at the local market so I'll try to spend as close to $10 as possible this week.  Goodness knows we don't NEED anything in the way of food right now! lolz

Going into this week, in leftovers we have........just some zuke casserole.  The plan was to use up most everything and clean out the fridge so I could fit a turkey in there.

Here is the plan for this week.........

1.  Spaghetti and Meatballs(in freezer)
2.  Trout, Zuke Casserole(leftover)

3.  Chinese take-out

4.  Mac & Cheese with Ham, Broccoli
5.  Turkey Day Meal

6.  Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Brussel Sprouts
7.  Leftovers

#2 Son is coming home for Thanksgiving Break so even though I'd like to not have to cook all week(isn't a Thanksgiving Fest ENOUGH!?!), I'll make a couple of his favorite meals for him before we send him packing back to school.

 

What I need to buy for this menu.........nothing.  I'll see what is on sale this week and spend that $10 voucher on things I can add to the stockpile.
 

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?
Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?
How much did you spend on food so far in November?

 

Sluggy

More Pig, Some Joe & Clothing Shops

Whoa is me.

Or rather Whoa is my November food budget......

I don't even want to add it all up this month.
It is going to be bad.
I may have topped $500 already this month and it ain't over. 8-(((

Dang Weis(PMITA)Markets for running this Kraft Deal and for all the other great sale prices this month!

I went back to Weis last night and got 3 more packs of OM bacon for $3.32 a pack as I updated on my last Weis post.

Then Hubs and I went back this morning......

I got 3 more packs of bacon, this time Reduced Sodium.  9 packs of bacon are now resting comfortably in my freezer.

And then Hubs went through the register and got 5 cans of coffee.
Since the Deal is based off the reg. shelf price if he got the $5.69 priced cans he only had to buy 5 to exceed the $25 threshold.  These were all on sale for $2.99 and after the $5 instant discount came off they cost us $1.99 each.
Sweet.

With the other items we also bought, I saved 56% and Hubs saved 65% over regular retail on our transactions.

It's all I can do NOT to jump in the car and go and run back for more coffee at that price! ;-)


Then we went to the local market and spent $35 to get a .47¢ a lb. turkey.  Their system wouldn't let me use coupons and still get the discount price on the turkey.  What a mess it was figuring that out since the staff can't do math in their heads!  They eventually had to enter things manually to override the computer, and it was a big brew-ha-ha and I STILL think I overpaid a bit but I left there with $93.07 in food for $37.37 so I can live with it.  8-)
This included 2 applesauce packs, 4 bags croutons, fried onion rings, 3 large cans of tomatoes, 2 brownie mixes, a MC pie, 1 pack of pumpkin cake donuts, a gallon of milk, 1/2 lb deli meat, 1/2 gal. OJ, sour cream, 3 whipped cream, a large bottle of sea salt, 6 bags of premium frozen veggies and a 16 lb. turkey.

Then it was off to Kohl's armed with $30 in Kohl's cash(which has to be spent before Turkey Day)and a 20% off discount pass.  We got Hubs a new pair of $75 dress shoes, after sale and discount and KCash cost us $11.99.  Then I got $185 worth of clothing for #2 Son on clearance for $47.99 and after the 20% discount paid $38.39 out the door for that load.

Total value of goods today....$429.43
Cash OOP......$118.14
72% savings rate on all.

Now I'm off to go record my spending in the notebook and have a stroke after I add it all up. lolz

Sluggy


 

Don't Believe Everything They Tell You at Weis

This in regard to the Kraft Deal(spend $25 get $5 off instantly)running through Saturday at Weis(PoundMeInTheAss)Markets.

I asked 2 different employees at the Customer Service Desk if you had to spend $25 on the sale prices or the regular shelf prices.
They both said they were positive it's off the sale prices.

So I went and got 3 packs of OM bacon(mmmm, bacon!).
Reg. retail is $8.99(!!!)so that's $26.97.
But it's on sale for $4.99 this week, so that's $14.97 and not enough to get the discount......at least that it what I was led to believe.

So I threw 3 cans of Maxwell House coffee and 1 box of Stove Top into my cart, to get me over $25 IF the Deal was truly based on sale prices.

After ringing up the OM Bacon I watched and I got a $5 deduction on my receipt.
So this Deal is based on the regular price, not sale price!
The coffee and stuffing went back on the shelf needless to say......

This means the bacon cost me $3.32 a package.
Too bad it's a limit of 1 Offer for this deal.

***UPDATE***

I went back to Weis last night and tried the Kraft Deal again with 3 packs of bacon.
Got the $5 off again so it's a limit of One Offer on EACH Transaction not EACH Card.

I may be going back today in that case and drag Hubs along too so he can do the Deal as well.  8-)

Sluggy

Dollar Tree Deal

 

I know many folks who read my blog shop at Dollar Tree stores too.

On Sunday Dollar Tree will be holding a Customer Appreciation Day.
Go HERE and print out the page that is a discount card for 10% off a minimum $10 purchase on that day.

I'm not too proud to say that I shop at the Dollar Tree.
In fact some items are a much better bargain than buying them at the drugstore or grocery store.......unless of course you can get them for almost free at Rite-Aid.  ;-)

Go HERE to see a list of items you should always buy at the Dollar Store.

Personally I buy some frozen foods(pot stickers and fruit), eggs, some canned foods(like chili), pasta and dried beans, on a semi-regular basis there.  

What do you like to buy at dollar stores?


Sluggy

 

Looking Back at my Stockpiling Efforts

Someone recently asked about stockpiling in a comment on the blog.
This got me thinking about back when I started stockpiling products.
I found my first blog post on the subject from March of 2009(I had been stockpiling at this point since mid-February of 2009) so I thought I'd post it again as I am feeling nostalgic.  ;-)

I'll be doing more posts on and revisiting the stockpiling theme in the coming weeks.

Sluggy

************************
From Blog Post called  "I'll Show You Mine".

I've been clipping coupons and practicing the Art of the Coupon now for just over 6 weeks.

On Saturday, I put all my toiletry steals & deals together and took this picture. I guess you would now call this a Stockpile.....

This is only the stuff I got for free or pretty darn close to free, up to March 12th. This doesn't include the armloads of stuff the family is now using and it's ONLY Toiletries(except for the 3 packs of gum on the bottom right side). There is also the PAPER Products Pile, the CLEANING Products Pile and the humongous FOOD & DRINK Pile.

With calculator in hand, I figured a rough estimate of $788.00 retail value on this, as they call it here, turlitrees lot. I paid approx. $20 out of pocket cash for all this and that included all the taxes.

I need to make some plans to utilize some of this now. Like taking the glucose meters to the free clinic & some of the toiletries to the local women's domestic violence shelter. Seriously, no one needs 14 tubes of toothpaste!

I've found that over these weeks, I've gotten a little more picky about what I try to score. I no longer try for the Glade products, Scenty Sprays & things like Fabric Softeners usually, as those are somethings we just don't use. Also Tums and Gastro-type medicines. This family has indestructible gastrointestinal tracts it seems.lolol
I don't wear make-up but I've gotten a bit(not pictured)for #1 daughter. She snatches that away right quick!

So, how am I doing with the Hounding??



And more importantly, WHERE do I put all this stuff??!!??!!
I really really need my dining room table back.
Every crevice is filled in my house and garage! My pantry is filled, the trunk of my car is packed, the shelves in the garage are groaning under the weight of too many canned goods ready to topple over.....I need to organize it all and FAST!!
I may have to evict a child and take over their bedroom.
Hey, now there's an idea.....
Evict the surly teen du jour, gain some storage space.
Hmmmmmm.

"Sorry hon....it was a choice between you & your stuff or the Bic Razor Stash. The razors keep my legs silky smooth & you keep my blood pressure up by arguing with me. Sorry, you'll have to find someone else to stress out for the next 2 yrs."
***Poof! Sluggy wakes from her dream.***

Seriously though, how much space does your total stash take up in your house?
I've seen other people's stash photos but tell me how much space you use for yours.

Sluggy-Stash Challenged