The End of Last Week's Rite-Aid Shops

2 last shops at Rite-Aid for me to round out the week ending Saturday.

On Friday I bought this............

The Jergens trial size were .54¢ moneymakers per pair so I used the overage to cover some of the Dove Men's Bodywash cost, which was $2, meaning I only "spent down" my +Ups by $1(and under $1 OOP).
I earned $12 in new +Ups leaving me $22 +Ups gong into Saturday.
.94¢ OOP and $23.74 in products brought home that trip.


Saturday I did the Big Game snack foods Deals twice.  Sorry no picture. 

I bought 2 pizzas, 3 12-packs of soda, 3 cans of Pringles, 2 cases of bottle water and 1 G2 Gatorade, which came to $30.50
I had $8.50 in Qs which brought my total to $22.00.
I used ALL my +Up Rewards and paid $0.00 OOP.
I earned $10 in new +Ups(2 x $5 Big Game Deal)and a $1 Catalina OYNO Q(earned for buying 2 pizzas, good on any product), so I have $11 in +Ups/Cats going forward.
Zero OOP and $52.29 in products brought home.

The water and Gatorade was for us, the Pringles for College Boy and I will take the soda to the local Food Bank on my next trip.  The ladies there are always looking for "treats and condiments and such" for the clients that the food bank suppliers don't give them to hand out.  I can't drink most diet sodas because they contain aspartame so I'll give these away.
Hubs and I had one of the pizzas Sunday for dinner.  I got cheese only and after I dressed it up a bit with roasted peppers and onions and black olives it was quite good.

Not much worth buying at Rite-Aid this week......another light bulb and some toothpaste for free.  I might just avoid Rite-Aid this week(well the weather might make me avoid it!lol)and spend my +Ups next week if there are things that are a deal that I actually need then.


Sluggy
 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "The Groundhog is a Liar!" Edition ........

 

 

 

The Groundhog out in Punxsutawney LIES!!!  How on earth can he see his shadow in weather like this!  We've had no sunshine in a week.  He's lying or drunk, take your pick.....
Week 2 of snowy days and nights.
Not.
A.
Fan.

Here's what was planned last week.....................

1.  Leftovers(I had soup, hubs had hot dogs)
2.  Risotto with Chicken & Mushrooms  

3.  Leftover BBQ, Coleslaw

4.  Chicken & Dumplings, Carrots
5.  Bean and Ham Soup, Brussells Sprouts

6.  Tuna Noodle Casserole, Veggie
7.  Leftovers

 

And this is what actually happened--

1.  Leftovers(I had soup, hubs had hot dogs)
2.  Risotto with Chicken & Mushrooms  

3.  Leftover BBQ, Coleslaw

4.  Chicken & Dumplings, Carrots
5.  Chinese Take-out

6.  Leftovers
7.  Leftovers

I didn't feel well so Hubs got Chinese take-out one night(I had Egg Drop Soup)and with so many leftovers the Bean/Ham Soup and the Tuna Casserole didn't happen yet.

Last week I made 2 trips to 1 grocery stores here(just to get some deals) and spent $47.03 on $109.49 reg. retail worth of food.

My spending for January on food is $311.59 for $1202.64 worth of food/toiletries.(Counting Rite-Aid.)
Didn't make my $250 budget goal but a lot less than my usual $400 per month spending.

Leftovers going into this week are barbecue, coleslaw, lasagna, risotto w/chicken, chicken & dumplings, eggplant parm(that I found lurking in the back of the fridge that Hubs didn't finish while I was in VA).

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

1.  Pizza(frozen that I doctored up), Salad
2.  Leftovers Fiesta lolz

3.  Lobster Ravioli, Salad

4.  Bean and Ham Soup, Brussells Sprouts
5.  Kielbasa on rolls, Green Beans

6.  Leftovers
7.  Leftovers

The poor Bean and Ham Soup. 
If the leftovers hold out the soup may not make this week's line-up either.
 Can you tell I am not a big fan of this dish. 8-)
 

I can do this plan without buying anything this week.  With this week's weather forecast I might not even get a chance to go to the grocery store either.  Maybe Winter will keep me out of the stores. ;-)

 

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?

Sluggy

Food & Toiletries Spending.....January Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2015.

I have posted January's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2015 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.  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(2-3 at home this month). No kids under 18.

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

BIG LOTS
OOP  $3.00
Qs/Ads  $1.50
Value  $4.50
Savings  33%


HARRIS TEETER
OOP  $77.61
Qs/Ads  $88.80
Value  $166.41
Savings  53.36%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $0.00-used gift card that I didn't pay for
Value  $35.99
Savings  100%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $7.99
Qs/Ads  $7.99
Value  $15.98
Savings  50%

RITE-AID *(see below)
OOP  $6.48
Qs/Ads/+UPs  $541.67
Value  $548.15
Savings  98.75%

 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $26.46

Qs/Ads  $13.17

Value  $39.63

Savings  32.23%

SURPLUS OUTLET
OOP  $47.20
Value  $76.39
Savings  38.21%
 

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $142.85

Qs/Ads  $172.74

Value  $315.59

Savings  54.73%
 

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Ollie's at 100%, Rite-Aid at 98.75%, and Weis at 54.73%.  My WORST savings rate was Shursave Markets at 32.23%.

I shopped at 8 different stores this past month. 


* Let me explain my Rite-Aid total. The actual OOP(aka Out Of Pocket)spending was $11.33 for all of January.  Due to some returns and such I had a credit in December at Rite-Aid.  After applying as much of it to get my total spent to $0 in December I had $4.49 still to carryover into 2015.  After applying this amount to spending it brought my oop down to $6.48 for the month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........ $311.59

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$891.05

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1202.64 

TOTAL Savings of...................................74.09%
TOTAL Savings WITHOUT Rite-Aid.............53.38%

This closes out the January food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
While I wasn't under $250 for the month like I wanted to be, I was closer to that amount than my usual monthly $400 amount.
I'll call this a "Win".  ;-)

The monthly savings percentage went down by 5.84% in January to 74.09% compared to December's 79.93% average.
I'm not too concern by that since a 79.93% savings rate is unusually high.

LOOKING AHEAD To FEBRUARY.........
I want to continue to eat down some of our stockpiles of food and empty out the freezer a bit.  This means I don't need to spend as much at the stores(unless an incredible deal comes along).  Plus with the weather as bad as it is in February around here I am less likely to go out and shop, except at my 2 local stores(and Rite-Aid).  Staying home more means less chance to spend, so I am hoping to try for a $250 food/toiletries month in February.  Let's see how close I can get to that.
 

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 January?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?

 

Sluggy

The Plan for Food Spending in 2015

Food Spending.
The bane of my existence. 8-)

Here is a list of what I have spent since 2010(the year I started fully tracking where all the food/toiletries monies went).  Not too scientific as the number of persons being fed varied during these years from 5 to 2, depending on kids at college or not, and kids moving out or not.


2009--$6,254.84 +(I didn't track rebates and gift cards received that year)
2010--$2,291.67 + ($841.73 rebate checks/ $563.99 gift cards received)
2011--$3,080.59 + ($433.22 rebate checks/ $76.00 gift cards received)
2012--$4,196.36 +($67.48 rebate checks/ $5.00 gift cards received)
2013--$4,560.82 +($80.99 rebate checks/ $15.00 gift cards received)
2014--$4,989.49 +($44.54 rebate checks/ $10 gift cards received)

A little explanation of these figures--
I started couponing and deal hounding seriously in Feb. of  2009 so my full year's spending in food was even more than shown that year.  Yikes!
Obviously 2009 was the year I started stockpiling and learning how to coupon in earnest and by 2010 I had a system and ramped up the rebating.

As you can see a combination of rising food prices, a dirth of rebate deals/gift card deals in each succeeding year and a bit of "food lifestyle inflation" and even though I am feeding less people now than in 2010 my food costs have inched up every year since then.

LOOKING AHEAD for 2015.........
With some planning and watching the pennies better we should be able to keep the food/toiletries/paper goods/cleaning products spending at $4800 or less in 2015.
Here's how I am going to do that--

*  Buy Less.  Since we are looking at selling this house and moving within the next 2-3 years I will start reducing the size of our stockpile.  This means using up more of it in 2015 so I'll need to buy less.  Less $ spent + Less stuff to move=Success!

*  Seek out the best deals I can find on what I need to buy.  Stick to my price book principles and think twice before splurging on items I "want" but don't "need".  Make better decisions with the food dollars.

*  Preserve our garden harvest.  We need to get serious about the garden again and can or freeze what we grow.

*   Make more of an effort to find rebates to send for to offset food spending.  Around 2010 saw the end of the Glory Days of rebating/refunding.  Add in that in PA we can't even do the liquor rebate deals most of the rest of the country can participate in. sigh.

*  Food Waste.  While we have minimal food waste most months I could do better.  I will do better.  Successful meal planning goes hand in hand with food waste(or the lack thereof).  By planning you are halfway to eliminating the waster.  8-)

I am hoping that with these measures I can get the spending down below $4800, even though I was $200 over that in 2014 and food prices are predicted to go up 2-3% in 2015.

So what do you spend on food/toiletries a year if you track those expenses?
What measures do you take to keep your food/toiletry costs down?

Sluggy
 

I Finally Have Some Goals for 2015

After much ruminating over this subject I have come up with a set of Goals for My 2015.

Here they is......


*  Save $28K of our income this year.  This is my Savings Challenge for 2015.  I've upped the goal $4K from last year's goal.  While January isn't off to a great start financially speaking, my eye is on the prize.

*  Sew and COMPLETE 8 Projects.  Last year I completed 2, count 'em 2, sewing projects.  I started another 4 and they sit untouched so far this year.  Sewing is something I can't schedule, I have to be in the 'mood' to sew.  I just never got in that mood much in 2014.

*  Lose 40 pounds.  For the rest of 2015 this means losing 3 & 2/3 lbs. each month.  slow and steady and changing up your diet is the way to go with this one.  I must do this for my health!

*  Have eye surgery.  My trip to the optometrist in January was not good.  That teeny tiny cataract that he saw in Dec. of 2013 has taken off into a full blow one.  I noticed on my roadtrip to the Midwest last July things with my eye weren't right.  I don't know how soon but I will be having cataract surgery in the coming months.

*  Go on at least 5 trips for pleasure.  This is an easy goal. lolz  We already have 1 trip taken to Virginia to visit my brother.  September will be the Family Reunion also in Virginia and October we go to Ocean City MD.  I am planning on going down to Louisiana soon after my eye surgery so that leaves 1 more trip to plan.  Date and place are still to be determined.

*  Have 2 House Repair/Improvement Projects completed.  2 years to go until we start dealing with selling this house so we have a few items to repair/replace in anticipation of that event.  Still figuring out which projects we should tackle this year and the cost.

*  Get rid of 6 boxes of possessions plus some larger items that need disposing of.  I have been in decluttering mode for years now and I am still not done.  That should tell you just how much crap I owned! lolz  The decluttering will continue in 2015, though we are getting real close to having nothing left to ditch.  I think I can ferret out at least 6 more boxes of "stuff".

*  Complete 1 crochet project.  I bought yarn awhile back for a project so I need to get on it.  I finally found the pattern I want to use so this will commence shortly.

*  Reorganize our Personal Files.  Hubs was in charge of filing stuff.  After seeing the mess up in the file room last week I have already begun to tame that paper dragon this week.  I have purged about half of the files and begun on reorganizing all that is left.  I need a better system and I think I'll be taking over this chore because it just drives me crazy when he leaves piles of paper everywhere in that room!

*  Start an exercise program and do it every month.   I will begin slowly with riding the exercycle and snow shoveling.  Once I build up some stamina(and I unbury the dreadmill in the garage)I'll start walking.  I've got some hand weights and need to come up with a routine I can do.

*  Gardening.  Not sure how much of a garden(veggies)I will attempt this year.  At least a few plants so I can make my relish in the Fall and can some tomatoes.

Ok, I think that's a nice big list.
Now I need to break this all into bite sized chunks so I get it accomplished.

Wish me luck because I'm going to need it with some of this! ;-)

Sluggy