Boring is Good Sometimes

I am so glad I don't need to be traveling this next month.  I really need a break and to sit my fat ass home sometimes.
I am going to be a boring homebody until the tail end of September and that suits me just fine.
Hubs will be taking College Boy back to school on Sunday and I'll just stay home.  Hubs does the driving and the heavy lifting so I don't add anything but dead weight to that trip. lol
I've done/am doing all the prep work to get the kid's stuff together and that is where I add value.

I more item to buy(and to nag him about trying on a pair of pants before he goes back)and I am finished with the pre-move stuff.

We have to rent a cargo van(or minivan with fold down seats)to get the kid back to college since we don't have a minivan anymore.  We did bring him home with all his stuff in May using our 2 cars but why spend all that gas x 2 and wear and tear on our vehicles when renting something makes more sense?
I am putting the College Back-to-School in my rearview mirror now.

I've already spent $173.57 on food this week.
Gulp!

Hubs and I made a trip to Maine Source for produce on Sunday...........

They had a weekend special on cod fillets($3.99)I wanted to take advantage of.  They also had a good price on zuke(.99¢ lb.), tomatoes(.99¢ lb.), grape tomatoes($1.49), cukes(3/$1.29)and local green beans(.99¢ lb.).  I also was down to 1 onion so I got a 10 lb. bag for $7.99....not a great price but better than paying $1.49 lb. at local grocery stores.  I also got a bag of red potatoes($3.49, again a meh price).
I found a box of canning jar lids which are going to be needed very shortly for $1.99.  Much better than the $2.99 or $3.29! price I've seen them being sold elsewhere for.

What I didn't count on was a couple of packages of salmon at $5.99 lb. and a pork shoulder for $1.69 lb. 
$59.81 OOP on $104.14 worth of groceries was spent.

So the meal plan has changed a bit for the week to include barbecue pork sandwiches and salmon.
You'll have to check back with me on Monday to see how the meal plan shook out.  ;-)

Then on Monday while at Sam's Club picking up stuff for College Boy, stocked up on a few things in anticipation of getting rid of my membership early next month.

I got 2 x huge cans of cashews, 2 x 400 ct. packages of generic Claritin(which gives me enough pills for 2.19 years) and 10 double pack bottles of hydrogen peroxide(which I use in my laundry washing and is much cheaper than buying "Oxi" anything).  Then they had a nice large piece of Salmon for $5.88 lb. and I bought that too. Add in the rotisserie chicken and burger buns(for the barbecue)and I dropped $104.86 at Sam's place. Value was $441.44(mostly so high due to the generic Claritin purchase....the drugstores rake you over the coals paying for that one, even their store brand one!).

Then my thwarted $20 gift card for an rx fill at Weis(they didn't have enough of my meds to fill it and me get the gift card)meant I spent another $8.90 on $12.38 worth of groceries there.....of which .67¢ I'll be getting back as a full price paid rebate in my Saving Star account.

I know I have bought ahead(YEARS AHEAD for the Loratadine!)so it's not so bad if you figure some things I won't need to buy for quite awhile now.
But it's still miserable to me that I am up to $283.22 in food spending and we aren't even halfway through August!
And if I try to stay on budget I only have $66.78 left to spend this month in that kitty.
bleh.

I am seriously considering a "eat from the stockpile/freezer/pantry" and/or only purchase food with gift cards I have for Target/Walmart/Price Chopper/Weis Month for September.

My pantry in the kitchen is a disaster and needs a good organize/clean-out anyway(5 opened bags of Goldfish crackers anyone??!)but I'll wait until the offending party(ahem.....College Boy.....ahem)leaves the building for school to tackle that chore.

As for this sickness I picked up late last week......
I am still feeling it.  It seems to have migrated down into my chest a bit but I am still having nasal issues so it's just a full-on carnival of bodily fluids and gunk......"gunk" being a technical medical word.  8-P

I have resorted to my emergency Advair supply to fight this thing off and cause it a quick death and keep it from progressing into bronchitis or worse.  It sounds like this gunky head/chest thing is something that is making the rounds with a few blogger buddies lately and I wish them all well and full steam ahead to healing from it.
If I am not greatly improved by next week I'll seek out my doctor. In the mean time it's not keeping me from functioning some what so I'll soldier on and try to keep face-to-face contact here with others to a minimum just in case I am contagious still.

As for today........
I have a pork to finish cooking today, a trip up to Weis(PMITA)Markets to get that rx and gift card and look for sunblock for CB, cole slaw to make, green beans to snap and blanch and then freeze, that large salmon fillet to break down portions for the freezer, plus 2 genealogy posts and another installment of my May Road Trip Saga to work on as well. 
And while I am out a trip back to the bank for coin rolls to fill AND to give them back $20.  My withdrawal Monday was full of brand new $20 bills and 2 stuck together when she counted them out so I got an extra $20.  Too bad I am honest like that, huh? lolz

Plus there is a nasty house that needs attention so I am off to get things done.

Sluggy
 

Working The Angles & Checking off The College List

This week is all about getting the College Boy ready to go back to school.
I bet you can see the big grin on my face after saying that, even through the computer screen, can't you?

This means having to shell out more cash, beyond the tuition and room and board I just paid the school.
Not so much grinning about this though.....
So if I can find an angle to work something for free or cheap, I am on it!


If you remember I transferred a few of my prescriptions to KMart's pharmacy from Rite-Aid when Kmart was offering $60 in gift cards to do so back in the Spring..  I also joined this Kmart Refill Club thingy.

Saturday I had an rx refilled at Kmart and since it was my 5th refill I got $10 in points back onto my Shop Your Way loyalty card.  I already had $2 in points on the card from a couple of months ago.

College Boy needed some PowerAde/Gatorade drinks to take back to school for Marching Band Camp and Kmart had Power Ades for .69¢ each so I loaded him up for some of those plus a pack of Ramen cups and 2 microwaveable Tomato Soup bowls.....

$0 spent on the College Boy stuff.

Then I hit Dollar Tree for a few more things for CB to take back to school......

Safety pins, 2 packs of dish sponge/scrubbies/, kitchen towel and 7 food items to help get him through Marching Band Camp.
$11.24 more OOP.

When CB got home in May we tucked all his college goods he wasn't going to be using over the Summer into a box in the garage so we knew where all that stuff was when the time came to dig it out.
Much saner plan that letting it all get swallowed up into the cesspool called his "room" in May and having to excavate for it in August.
Housewares, towels, linens and the toilet brush are now accounted for and in the living room.

On Sunday while out for a produce run to Maine Source Hubs stopped at Staples and we bought computer paper.....

While we are not quite out of printer paper we are down to our last box of 5 reams.

The last time I had to buy printer paper was in April of 2009.  Back then Staples had an awesome rebate deal on discontinued package design printer paper.  No limit on it either so I ended up buying 35 reams of paper and even with all my printing of coupons it has lasted 6 Years!  We may run out of this stash early next Spring so it would have lasted 7 years at that point. lolz

My Staples printer paper stash bought in March/April 2009.

Staples had a paper deal on Sunday and Monday only.  Pay $4.99 plus tax, get back $4.98 in the form of a gift card/prepaid debit card.  Limit of 4 reams. With the tax after rebate each ream came out to .31¢.  I've packed 2 reams with CB and I'll tuck away the other 2 for his use later.

I printed out the master College List last week.  The list we used last Summer to pack him off to college the first time.
On his day off last week we honed the list, deleting items he no longer needs to bring this year.

Then every time was pondered and if we had said item in the house/garage it got checked off.

When said item gets brought into the staging area(the living room), it gets crossed off as well.

This way we can see what is still needed and made(the hopefully short)"got to buy" list.


Monday we hit the store for the last time to get what was left from our list--batteries,  printer ink refills, a backpack/computer case, etc. $193.18 OOP plus the backpack Hubs picked up and the stapler I need to return as we found an extra one at home.

I also picked up a rotisserie chicken while at Sam's Club to serve for dinner last night. 8-)

We also hit the music store while out and about to pick up a conduction baton for College Boy.  He is taking conducting 101 this year.  Thankfully this item only cost $5.  By far the cheapest musical item we have EVER bought! lolz

I took a prescription up to Weis as well on Monday and planned to get a $20 Weis gift card for filling it, then use that gift card to pick up some groceries for this week.....but  they didn't have enough pills to fill it on Monday.  So I bought only the necessities on Monday and I'll go back Wednesday for the drugs and gift card and I'll buy the rest of the groceries.
I did buy sour cream and a box of Jif cornbread mix as I needed those to make dinner. BONUS-the Jif mix is the 100% rebate item on Saving Star so I'll get that .67¢ back. 8-)

Hopefully by the time I need my next rx refill, Rite-Aid will be offering Plenti points to transfer to their pharmacy and I can move my KMart and Weis rxs to them and get some point freebies.

After Monday's spending bacchanalia we are now down to needing 1 item.....sunblock for Band Camp which I'll pick up Wednesday when I am out at Weis or, if they want too much for it there, I'll give CB the money to go to Walmart and buy it himself.

Heck! What's another $10 on sunblock when I've already spent $11,716.66 on him this August(this isn't counting all the stuff I've picked up before now(notebooks, toiletries, tp, laundry detergent, food, snacks, drinks, etc.)
sigh......

Everything except College Boy's clothing, bed linens, tv, computer, his French press, toiletries he's currently using, cases of water and the "still need to buy" sunblock.

Stick a fork in me, I am done with this Back-to-School stuff!!
All that is required is to load this all into the vehicle and head west(and north)and drop it all off at school along with College Boy.

2 more seasons of having to slog through this ritual and I am done FOREVER!
There will be adult beverages and much rejoicing at that point.  ;-)

Are you working the deals and angles you can find getting your kid(s) ready to head back to campus?

Sluggy


 

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Struggling to Feel Better" Edition--

 

Lots of activity last week and Hubs was feeling under the weather by last Sunday night.  Of course by Thursday I was also feeling sick(head cold/sinus)....thanks Hubs!
While it didn't get so bad I resorted to eating Jello this time(old photo reused)this gives you an idea of how much I got done later in the week.

 

Onward to the meal planning!

 

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

1. Sunday--Marinated Steak and Grilled Veggies, Corn on Cob
2. Monday--Chicken Parm, Green Bean Saute
3. Tuesday--Crusted Tilapia, Yellow Squash and Onions
4. Wednesday--Pizza and/or Wings at local place(I have a freebie Q)
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
7. Saturday--Leftovers or Hot Dogs and assorted leftover fresh veggies

 

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Marinated Steak and Grilled Veggies, Corn on Cob
2. Monday--Chicken Parm, Green Bean Saute
3. Tuesday--Crusted Tilapia, Yellow Squash and Onions
4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--I don't even remember...how pathetic is that?  I know I didn't cook tho!
6. Friday--Chinese take-out(I had soup and eggroll.)
7. Saturday--Hubs at leftover take-out, I had a hot dog.

 

As for my grocery spending last week.....I went to Weis only. $47.93 OOP.  August food spending now stands at $109.65, $240.35 left in the budget this month.

Leftovers going into this week--squash, green beans.
 

Here is this week's food plan--

1. Sunday--Subway sandwiches(still not feeling well enough to cook)
2. Monday--Rotisserie Chicken, Veggies, Corn Casserole
3. Tuesday--Lasagna, Salad, Bread
4. Wednesday--Pizza and/or Wings at local place(I have a freebie Q)
5. Thursday--Burgers or leftovers
6. Friday--Various Seafood items in freezer, Veggies TBD
7. Saturday--Leftovers

What I need to buy for this menu?.....sour cream for the corn casserole, a rotisserie chicken, hamburger rolls(maybe).

I'll be hitting Sam's Club later today with College Boy in tow.  Will stock up on items before ditching my membership so the food budget will take a hit this week. 
 

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

Eating Out/Take-Out in July....YIKES!

Needless to say the months when we are traveling, the Eating Out costs pile up.
Back in May when we road tripped to Louisiana we racked up charges of $545.87 for eating out/take-out.  Add in $105.44 in "non-trip/regular" eating out/take-out that month(1 dinner out when picking up College Boy from school, 2 nights of Chinese take-out and 3 Subway sandwiches another night)and we clocked in at $651.31.

July wasn't much better either.  In fact it was worse!
With 2 short trips to Virginia to help Eldest son relocate the budget took a hit again.
Add in a few nights out while Eldest was home too....hey it was his birthday! lolz......and we ended up forking over $746.35 on Eating Out(including tips).
Gulp

The regular eating out spending came to $95.00 in July.  That was stuff like Chinese take-out and Subway sandwiches brought home.  We did dine out twice last month as part of our regular "normal" routine-1 trip to a Chinese buffet restaurant and 1 lunch out at Red Robin.
$95 is pretty typical for us in a month.  I like to keep it under $100 so this doesn't concern me.

The "extra" because Eldest was home came to $203.73.  This included dinner out at a steak house(4 steaks + drinks + dessert-we don't usually do the whole enchilada like this), a trip to the craft brewery(drinks + pizza)and a lunch out for me and him only.

Then we add in the 10 meals while traveling and it gets ugly.
And adds another $447.62.
Could we have spent less and not eaten at such expensive places?
You bet!
And believe me, some of what we had was NOT worth what it cost(I'm looking at you Poco Loco!)
But it could have been worse if not for "free" breakfasts at motels 3 times last month and that we were treated to lunch in Maryland when Eldest and I stopped to meet a fellow blogger on the way to Virginia. 8-)

So what did I learn from this?
Not much.
lolz
Possibly that I may find it helpful to the budget to keep a running tally during the month on variable spending like this, rather than waiting until the month is over to look at the numbers?
If I had seen how high these costs were running I may have opted for some lower cost meals out at some point.

And that eating out can bust your budget right quick these days if you opt for "real food" out and not just fast food all the time.

August should be a much calmer month in the Eating-Out arena around here.
No trips planned except a one-day "get College Boy back to school" run.  Hubs is doing this alone so I am figuring they'll eat a meal out after the load-in before Hubs comes home.
We've already made a dent in the Eating-Out/Take-Out budget for August as I've been feeling under the weather.  There has been Chinese take-out and a trip to Denny's so far this month.  Tonight might be Subway and then I am back in the kitchen cooking from scratch much to the relief of our budget. ;-)

So how much do you spend on eating out/take-out per month?

Trying to keep it under $100 for August,

Sluggy

Stuff This Week

* I hit the grocery store on Wednesday to pick up some items.

Powerades are .57¢ this week, limit of 8 at that price.
Assorted lettuces....iceberg, green leaf and baby spinach all on sale or I had a Q.
Spur of the moment from the bakery marked down table-a tub of croissants(for College Boy), a loaf of Italian bread(to make garlic bread for Wednesday's dinner)and 4 cinnamon twists(just because).
Also found 3 meat marked down packages-3 stuffed clams for $1 ea., $6.03 for 1.61 lbs.($3.74 lb), and local organic chicken thighs $2.40 for 2.34 lbs.($1.02 lb).
There was a 6 large containers of Little Debbie treats purchase, most of which will be going back to school with College Boy.(They were on sale plus a $5 off $20 purchase rebate through Saving Star.)
A gallon of milk also found it's way into my cart.

Used 1 coupon(for the iceberg lettuce)and that $3 Catalina earned 2 weeks back on all those paper products.
Paid $47.93 out the door(and will get $5 of that back with the rebate).
A mere 41% savings rate(rises to 47.37% after the rebate).
Reg. retail of all was $81.57.

* I sold 17 pieces of fabric on Etsy earlier this week to one buyer.  rah!
I have 49 listings left in my store and they all expire on Saturday, August 8th.  Debating whether to relist stuff and/or put up what is left of my Fall/Winter fabrics.  I'm thinking "no" at this point.  Maybe just give the rest of it away or take it to Salvation Army?
I need to go take a photo next time I'm up in the "Stash" room of what is left of all the fabric I've been trying to get rid of.
I'm not going to talk about the tubs of stuff to sell on eBay still sitting in the living room and Lorraine, you are not allowed to mention that either!  ;-)

* I met someone local yesterday to sell some pet boarding certificates I got at that church auction last October.  Can't use them before they expire now because all our doggies are passed away and we won't be getting another one this year.  I'm selling them for half of what they are worth so that's $50 back in my pocket(and I don't even think I paid that much for them, so a slight profit).  8-)

* Hubs paycheck hit the account this morning so I've been moving money around and getting ready to pay some bills as soon as they come in.  Irregular bills for the House and Car insurance will be first on that list.  Might even go into the insurance guy's office today and pay them in person(save a stamp).

* Another massive summer squash was picked in the garden on Thursday.  One plant seems to be giving us all this squash.  There is another squash on this plant I'll be picking by the end of this weekend and another one on another plant almost ready....

Once I get all 3 picked I foresee another squash casserole in our future. ;-)
I've kept track of the weight of all the garden goodies harvested so far and it's up to 4.39 lbs.  And most of that's been yellow squash! lol



* My 1 year Sam's Club membership ends early in September and I have a decision to make regarding whether to continue it.  I had won a gift card to pay for the regular membership years ago with I finally used.  But I upgraded to the premier membership so it cost me something out of pocket and it came with a credit card and earning cash back on purchases when I pay with that c/c.
Looking back we really didn't use it much.  If the kids were all still at home it would have gotten used more but I really don't need to buy mega-sized containers of foodstuffs at this point in our lives.
If I cancel the premier membership before it expires I can get my money back.....that's the deal, if you are unhappy with it, your membership paid back.
I'll probably go in later this month and store up on the few things I buy there before I cancel-giant tubs of cashews, huge bottle of hydrogen peroxide(for laundry), large bottles of generic Claritin and maybe some salmon(good price but you have to buy A LOT!).

* Hubs and I need to plan out our October mini-vacation and our September trip to the Reunion.  We had wanted to have Hubs take the week off either before or after the Reunion and combine a visit to my brother with the family reunion since we were going to be down there in VA anyway(with a side trip to see Eldest son thrown in).
However Hubs has some meetings and off-site things he can't get out of at work both the week before and the week after our Reunion trip.

Crap.
I have also been trying to get my brother and sis in-law to come to Ocean City when we go and stay with us at the hotel for years now!  Something always comes up but maybe this year it will work out.
Fingers crossed....
If it doesn't I'll just have to go down to their house sometime this Winter.

* A freebie arrived in the mail today!  This Spring/Summer the Choice Hotels are offering 16,000 pts. if you stay 2 x at one of their hotels to Choice Privileges members.  With all the traveling I've done this year we fulfilled that offer 4 x over.....unfortunately we can only get it once over. ;-)
So typically 16K pts. are enough to redeem for a $50 gift card.  Well a few of the gift cards require half that amount of points(8,000) to redeem a $50 gift card right now.  Since I can get Walmart cards(the other lower pts. gift card)through our c/c reward plan I selected 2x $50 Amazon gift cards and the first one showed up on Wednesday............

I need to reserve College Boy's books for school at the campus bookstore but if they are out of any of what he needs I can use this(and it's mate, arriving soon)to buy them on Amazon and have the books shipped directly to him at college.
If we don't end up needing to use these gift cards for that then they will get tucked away to use at Christmas.

Ok, that's about it for the week.  I am feeling like I am coming down with something(a cold, sinus?)and am about ready to hack up a lung, so I'm going to run the errands I MUST complete, have a bowl of soup and crash into bed for the rest of the day.  Hubs can figure out dinner when he gets home.....we've got leftovers and there is always take-out if he wants to go out to pick it up.  Just leave me to die alone in my bed please.....

Sluggy