Grocery Shopping-Vlog Edition

I went grocery shopping Friday.
Look at what I got/what I paid HERE.

I saved 50+% and only used 1 coupons.  8-)

Sluggy
 

Who Wants to Cook? Not I!

If you read my every Monday post this week you know I was going into the week without a meal plan fleshed out.
That is so NOT my usual modus operandi! 

But coming back from a 2 week vacation on Sunday afternoon, I just didn't "get it together" before Monday rolled around.
And add in that I still don't want to cook! lolz

Here's how the meal plan is playing out this week.

Sunday--Pizza take-out
Monday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(had balls in the freezer)
Tuesday--Smoke Sausage with Grilled Onions on rolls, mixed veggies(had sausage in the freezer)
Wednesday--Broiled Salmon, Pan Haggerty...thanks to Gill at That British Woman for the idea!(Had salmon in freezer and taters to use up in the pantry)
Thursday--take-out Chinese(no ideas, no energy to cook after a day of weeding)
Friday--Chicken something(TBD), Cauliflower Soup(got a head of cauliflower to use up, cook some of that chicken I bought on Wed.)
I've got 10lbs. of raw chicken breast I need to do something with.....any ideas?
Saturday--BLT sammiches,unless Hubs has a better idea(I bought tomatoes on Wed. too and have bacon in the fridge.)

I must confess I am having a hard time getting back into cooking mode after this trip. 8-(

What are some quick and easy(and relatively healthy)things you whip up when you don't feel like cooking a big production of a meal?
I need ideas people!!

Sluggy

May Goal List Results

Here's a run down on how I did on the May Goals--

* Clean House  Didn't happen
No motivation to do this.  I've been in vacation mode for too long plus my eyes are such(with only 1 cataract removed)that it's hard to see sometimes and/or to walk around without falling down.  Bending over and working would not have helped me stay upright.

* Get rx refills before trip  DONE
This is always a hassle, the timing of when meds need refilling/when insurance will cover the costs.  Not fun to run out of an rx when 1000 miles away from home and trying to transfer them to a local pharmacy......it eats into your day when you should be having fun!

* Bike 50 miles  Partially DONE

Well I got to 38 miles before we left for vacation on May 17th.  16 days working out so 2.375 miles per day.  There was no biking while away but I did swim 9 of the 15 days we were away so that's something.  It's been rough getting back into a routine on the bike but I have.  I'll be keeping my 50 miles of biking for June I think.

* Use Hand Weights 12 days Didn't happen
Still working(now reworking since vacation)on getting the biking to become a habit.  The hand weights can wait a bit longer.

* Pay the Bills  DONE
Two bills weren't paid as they weren't due while we were gone but they are paid now and on time.

* Lay in food for College Boy  DONE
I beat the heck outta the food budget before we left, but laying in provisions got done.  Funny thing is, he ate hardly anything I bought him.....except for Doritos.  lol

* Pack for trip  DONE
I usually wait until the last night to pack for trips but since Hubs was away on business until the evening BEFORE we left I got my tail in gear and got my packing done.  Of course I WAS still up the night before hemming a pair of pants I wanted to take on this trip.....it's always something with me. ;-)

* Cut out 2 Tops and Sew Them  Didn't happen
I got a pattern partially finished but didn't actually cut or sew anything yet.  It was going to be too warm in Louisiana anyway to wear anything but dresses.

* Gather info for College Boy  DONE

* Have FUN on trip  DONE
I always have fun on trips one way or another so yeah, I achieved this goal in spades! 8-)

* Write a letter  Didn't happen

* Apply for Passport  Didn't happen
I DID fill out the paperwork....just didn't submit it yet.

I'm still trying to get back into Non-vacation mode here so give me a few days to work on my June Goals List.

Do you make monthly goals?
How did you do on them in May?

Sluggy

$28K Savings Challenge......May Update

Every year I keep a close eye on our monthly expenses and our monthly income.

Our income is mainly the salary my Hubs draws from his job.  We have money taken off each paycheck from the top to put into savings, before we even get our hands on it.  This money that's taken goes into various pots....life insurance, health insurance premiums, long term care insurance premiums, investments and retirement savings.  It's automatic so we are never tempted to NOT put it into savings or these other categories.

Once the automatic savings amounts, plus taxes and medical/dental/vision premiums are taken out, it leaves what we get to "live on".  From this amount we budget for bills, both monthly and irregular bills(semi-annual, annual etc.) and our variable bills(like food, eating out, clothing  etc.)  Anything left over once our monthly expenses are paid, I put aside into an interest bearing Savings Challenge account. 

For 2015 I am continuing my Yearly Savings Challenge.  I am raising the Goal amount slightly to $28,000 this year, $4K more than my goal for last year.

On to the May report.....

I have posted my May End of Month $28K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the Savings Challenge page tab at the top of the blog for the specific numbers HERE.

I have 2 goals each month.....
The 1st is to actually finish each month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to hit the targeted savings amount of $2,333.33.

I have to report that we finished up May with a goodly amount of leftover cash.
The extra amount we ended the month of May with?.......$2,388.78

Income

We had $2,230.85 left over from our income after our monthly expenses were deducted.
 

Other monies received in May totaled $157.93.  This included interest made on non-retirement accounts and a per diem from Hub's work.

This brought us to our gain of $2,388.78
Since we have no debt, this goes into savings.

Outgo

As for the expenses this May, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

 

*  Phone charges, internet and  were approximately the same as last month.
*  Electric bill went down $122.62 from April's bill mainly because we turned off the heat.
*  Water bill went down by $10.23 from April's bill.
*  Gas card went down $139.00 from April's bill.
*  The credit card bill went down $366.73 from April's amount.
 

HERE are the BAD THINGS
.
*  Cash withdrawals went up by $910.00 mostly due to vacation spending.
*  We had a $737.55 semi-annual car insurance bill due in May.
*  The c/c charge for the new freezer was paid.  Glad it was bought and now it's paid for. 8-)

 

The Food Budget costs for May are in another post, which is located HERE.  I was surprised the May food spending wasn't worse than it turned out to be.
 

The 2015 TOTAL.....
With 5 months accounted for, our Savings Challenge Grand Total for 2015 is $17,427.99.
That averages $3,485.60 a month put into savings so far.  With this much saved already we only need to put away $1,510.29 each of the next 7 months to reach the $28K goal for the year and that's highly doable for us.  ;-)

THOUGHTS going forward into June----

No irregular bills coming in June, which is good.
But on the bad side of things, I am figuring our "nut" this month will be about $4,000+ considering our credit card bill for the trip will come in at around $3K.  Ouch.
There may be very little left over cash in June to put into savings.

With 5 months behind us we have $17427.99 down and $10,572.01 left to save in 2015.  That means we are over HALWAY to our yearly goal!

Besides that $10572.01 I need to save out of the income this year to meet my Savings Challenge goal, I also have to find the cash to redo a bathroom this year.  The bathroom redo is our big home project this year and we have yet to begin it.  bleh.

Luckily we still have a chunk of Hubs bonus left, even after paying cash for his car.  I am hoping that leftover chunk covers the bathroom project fully.
If not, I may have to scale down my Savings Challenge goal as the bathroom needs doing and soon!
If you have ever shared a bathroom with a teenage boy, you KNOW what I mean....... ;-)
 

 

So how was your May financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in May?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?
 

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

Sluggy

2015 Food and Toiltries Spending.....May Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2015.

I have posted May'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 March.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals SumMy spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(3 at home this month). No kids under 19.

******************
MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $6.78
Qs/Ads $14.39
Value $21.17
Savings  67.97%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $19.11
Value $35.11
Savings   45.57%

RITE-AID *(see below)
OOP  $11.67
Qs/Ads  $23.63
Value  $35.30
Savings  66.94%

SAM'S CLUB
OOP  $26.64
Value  $37.07
Savings  28.14%

 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $159.20

Qs/Ads  $61.44

Value  $220.64

Savings  27.85%

TARGET
OOP  $5.76
Qs/Ads $12.20
Value $17.96
Savings  67.93%
 

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $286.61

Qs/Ads  $278.80

Value  $565.41

Savings  49.31%
 

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Maine Source at 67.97%, Target at 67.93% and Rite-Aid at 66.94%.  My WORST savings rate was the ShurSave store at 27.15%.

I shopped at 6 different stores this past month. 

TOTAL Out of Pocket........ $515.77

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$416.89

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$932.66

TOTAL Savings of...................................44.70%
TOTAL Savings WITHOUT Rite-Aid.............43.82%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into May without a firm food budget because the College Boy came home the beginning of the month and  there were many items I don't usually buy that had to be bought for him......essentials like Doritos, TastyKakes, Goldfish crackers, Cream soda, Chicken strips, canned Chili, stuff like that, that makes up the nutritious part of a teenage boy's diet. ;-)

Due to some "deals" at Weis(PMITA)Markets in May, we are stocked to the gills on pickles, salad dressing, flavored yogurt, popsicles and ice cream now.

The monthly savings percentage went up by .22% in May to 44.70% compared to April's 44.48% average.
A 44.70% is a bit better than a 44.48% savings rate so I'll take it.

You'll notice that without the +Ups Rewards at Rite-Aid my savings rate there went to hell-66.94%.  My usual R-A savings rate hovered in the 98% neighborhood until this month.  Yeah, my neighborhood is not so lush anymore.......

The savings rate for the year so far now stands at 60.72%.  That's a 4.28% decrease in savings over April's YTD total.  It's still hanging in well over a 40% savings rate for the year but will be going down further since I am not robbing Rite-Aid blind any longer. *sad face*

I was feeling out of sorts over my total spent on food/toiletries in May....it seemed really high for some reason.
Then I went and looked at 2014's May spending and it was $524.63(even more than what I spent this year)and 2013 was $500.35, so I am only slightly higher that that year.
I feel a bit better about it all now. 8-)

I have spent a total of $1,749.63 on food/toiletries in 2015 so far.  That averages out to $349.93 per month.
May's Grocery Spend Fest  raised the average monthly spending by $41.47 per month for the year-to-date.
meh.

LOOKING AHEAD To JUNE.........

Since College Boy is eating dinner at the restaurant he works at(and he is now working 5 nights a week)I won't be making dinner for him mostly.  He usually gets up at 2ish pm and has coffee and breakfast(cereal, a breakfast sammich or bagel).  He sometimes eats late at night after work but not always at home.
Other than stocking a few basics he requires(chips, tastykakes, breakfast foods, cereal, milk, burritos, chicken strips, burgers)my grocery spending should be fairly normal(under $400)this month. I'll be using down stores from the pantry and freezer this month.  No guests, parties or vacationing going on in June so we are back to the usual eating routine again.

We'll try for a $400 food budget for June.
Last year's June spending was $463.75 so I am sure I can do better than that this June.
 

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 May?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?
*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?
 

Sluggy