September 1st Net Worth

We are actually up $17k from July 1st's net worth overall(only liquid cash/investments, as I don't count housing or car values).  The retirement accounts were up $12K+ for September 1 from July's calculations and the cash reserve/non-retirement accounts were up almost $5K.
I didn't calculate an August 1st Net Worth as we were on vacation then so September 1st's net worth is two months worth of gain, not one.

We are up $86,178.38 from one year ago, in the September 1st of 2015's net worth snapshot. 

Once Hubs retires I will miss these little monthly look backs, when we move from acquisition mode with money to spend-down mode. ;-)

Sluggy

And the Deals Keep Coming.......

I just keep finding instant discount sticker meat deals lately......not that I am complaining about that! lolz
But it does mean I've spent a lot of time hopping over to the stores for groceries this week-Target, Weis, the Bread Outlet, Panera(Tuesday discount bagels), Malacari's Produce, Dollar Tree, Weis again, and Weis yet again again. And that was only from Monday to Wednesday!  ;-)

A few of the highlights--

I went up to Weis on Monday for steaks to grill out and stumbled upon this Deal on some Pork Roasts......

Center Cut Pork Roasts were on Buy One/Get One offer so I picked these two up for the price of one, $11.78.
Each of them had a $3 off instant Sticker on the packages so they cost me $5.78 for 4.70 lbs. of meat.
That's $1.23 per pound.  Much better than the package price of $4.99 lb.

One package will be sliced up into chops for tonight and the other goes into the freezer for later.

I also picked up a long weekend special at Weis..........

A large pack of chicken thighs for .75¢ lb.  Half of these will be grilled and teriyaki-ed this week and the other half, into the freezer they go.

I had to run to pick-up some onions and mushrooms Wednesday and picked up 9 cans of baked beans at Weis.

Weis had them for $5 for 3 cans and we were totally out.  I like to keep baked beans on hand for easy dinner sides(when I can't make my own from dried beans).

I had a $1/2 IPQ for the Grillin' Beans variety so this lot cost me $12.34 out the door with that $1 off Q.
But.....I already earned a $1.10 cash rebate on Checkout51(.55¢ wyb2 Grillin' Beans and another .55¢ wyb2 other varieties of Bush's), so I'm now $11.24 OOP.

And in about a week I'll get another $3.00 cash rebate from SavingStar for purchasing over $12 in Bush's bean products, so I am looking at $8.24 for all 8 cans.  Not spectacular but at $1.03 per can which is almost half price off what these go for($1.99)at regular retail around here I'll take it.


I plan on sitting home today to cook, and maybe I'll clean and ride the exercycle too.
Tomorrow I'll be running over to Weis(PMITA)Markets again as the new sales ads starts today and I need to pick up Panko for cheap.
Then to the Farm Stand to get pepper relish making supplies-red and green bell peppers + maybe another large bag of onions(if the price is right).

What homemaking activities are you partaking in this week?

Sluggy

August To-Do List......Update

Here's the update on my August To-Do List.  I post a To-Do list on the side bar of my blog's homepage every month.
Let's see how ol' Sluggy did this month on her list, shall we? ;-)

* Pay Bills  DONE  
Everything got paid and on time, as per usual.

* Bike Something  FAIL  
Well I did do 1 mile. lolz  Must get back on this in September.

* Read 2 Books  DONE
Finished the first book and read another one.  Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani and Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  First one was good, the second one was excellent.

Me reading Olive Kitteridge while in Maine, so apropos.....lolz

* Pick Produce and Use it  DONE
Besides the tomatoes we've eaten raw off the plants in salads and sandwiches I made a rustic tomato sauce with the bulk of the maters(2 x gallon Ziploc bags full)and used half of in the Manicotti I served for dinner on Tuesday.  I'll use the other half to simmer my homemade meatballs today.  The zucchinis have been used up(or grated and frozen for later).The acorn squash is in the root cellar mellowing and waiting until cooler weather to roast them.

* Go to Farm and buy produce to can  DONE
I only processed and froze 5 lbs. of green beans this Summer.  The farm no longer has PYO tomatoes so the price is too dear to buy canning tomatoes.  

* Can Produce  DONE Sort of
No canning since I froze the veggies.  I will be canning my Pepper Relish in September.

* 1 Doctor's Appointment  DONE
Waited 3 months to get that appointment with a specialist.  Lots of rx changes ensued.  The jury is still out on whether this will help.

* Pack College Boy  DONE
I was minimally involved this year and thus, CB forgot some items but not many.  Next Fall is his last Back-To-School so I hope I can just step back and he can handle it all himself.  Perhaps he'll heed my advise to make a list in 2017. ha!

Hubs does the actually "taking" in the rented cargo van.  I get to pick Hubs up from the rental location when he is done.  This year I got caught in a massive traffic snarl trying to get him.  The Rental place is right near the Arena and a Jehovah's Witness Convention was letting out at that time from that venue.
Thanks Jehovah!

* Take College Boy back to school  DONE
CB is back ensconced at college....after an hour delay locating CB's wallet.  His shirt is appropriate as I was about to "launch" this child after an hour of searching for his wallet.

* Sew Something  FAIL
Nope didn't have the urge to sew in August.  Perhaps September will see me pull out the supplies and have a go at making a shirt.  I really need to.....

Only 2 items I didn't get to.

On ward and upward to September!

How did you do with your To-Do list for August?

Sluggy

My Weis & Target Scores + Gift Cards for Xmas

I hit the meat department at Weis(PMITA)Markets on Thursday and found some good deals.
The actual cost per pound/per piece after sale/stickers is in parentheses.

1.24 lbs. Angus Bottom Round Steak for 6.19-$2 Instant Sticker=$4.19 ($3.38 lb.)
2 x Marinated Chicken Breasts(4.62 lbs.)for $6.14 total-2 x $2 Instant Stickers=$2.14 (.46¢ lb.)
.84 lb. Angus Cube Steaks on sale for $4.52=$2 Instant Sticker=$2.52 ($3 lb.)
2 x packages Uncured/No Preservatives Hot Dogs on sale for $8 total- 2 x $2 Instant Stickers=$4 (.25¢ per hot dog)

$12.85 spent OOP on $24.85 worth of meats.
Savings rate of 48.29%.
8-)


I don't go to Target very often, maybe twice a year, but Hubs and I went on Monday.
Target had a Spend $50 on Food/Get a $10 Gift Card Deal that was only for Sunday or Monday of Labor Day Weekend and I wanted to see the damage I could do. ;-)

I used sales, coupons, instant meat discount stickers, rebates and a free(cashed in credit card points)$50 Target gift card and bought what's pictured below.......

4 x Tyson Chicken Tenders(on sale $4.99)=$19.96
2 x State Fair Corn Dogs(on sale $6.69)=$13.38
2 x Market Pantry Apple Juice(after 5% off Cartwheel $1.70 ea.)=$3.40
2 x Crunch Master Crackers(on sale $2.50)=$5.00
3 x 8 oz. Cheese Chunks(on sale $2 ea.)=$6.00
2 x 1 lb. 73% Ground Beef($3.79 ea.)=$7.58
1 x 2 lb. 93% Ground Beef=$10.49
1 x 1.5 lb. Stew Beef Cubes=$8.99
Sub Total..........$74.80

Coupons and Discount Stickers
4 x $1/1 Tyson Chicken product IPQ=$4.00
2 x .55¢/1 State Fair product IPQ=$1.10
2 x $1/1 CrunchMaster product IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1 Instant Meat Sticker=$2.00
1 x $5 Instant Meat Sticker=$5.00
1 x $4 Instant Meat Sticker=$4.00
Total........$18.10

$74.80-$18.10=$56.70

I used my free $50 Target gift card and paid $6.70 OOP.  8-)))

Total saved was $46.23 + $50 on free gift card turns this into $96.23 saved, or a 94.60% savings rate.


I earned $25 in new Target gift cards--1 x $10 for Buying $50 of food in one transaction, 3 x $5 for buying 2 frozen meat products(4 x Tyson, 2 x State Fair).

Plus I earned a $1.50 Checkout51 cash Rebate for buying 2 boxes of Crunch Master crackers.

So in the end I brought home all that food and am out $5.20 cash and have $25 in new Target gift cards for later.

The breaded chicken was for the BF(and for emergency meals when I can't cook), the corn dogs and apple juice also for the BF.  The cheese was because, well, you can't live without cheeses, the crackers to pair with cheese, and all that meat-I'll blend the 73% and 93% and make meatballs to put into the freezer for later and the stewing beef will become chili one night soon when the weather cools off some more.

After meat sticker discounts, the 73% Ground Beef came to $2.79 lb., the 93% GB came to $2.25 lb. and the Stewing Beef came to $3.32 lb.  Of course I paid with a free gift card so the whole lot cost me pennies in the end. 8-)

I bring a calculator when food shopping and regularly calculate the cost per oz./lb. for meats/seafood.  It can help your food budget to have clear limits on how much you willingly pay for things(this is why you keep a price book too).   A hunk of meat may seem like a good deal on the surface, even with an instant meat discount sticker on it, but until you know exactly how much you are paying, you really don't know if in fact it IS a deal.  The 93% was an amazing deal at $2.25 lb. while the Stewing Beef was an ok deal at $3.32 lb.

As for the gift cards earned....
I'll add this $25 in new gift cards to the $30 in Target gift cards I have stashed at home(that were earned for deals while spending other Target gift cards earned with c/c points)and that's $55 in free gift cards I currently have tucked away for Christmas.

Since it's past Labor Day I need to drag out the Xmas box and go through to assess where I am at in the "acquiring process" for Holiday gifties.  After buying a few things while on vacation in August I should be mostly done with gifts.  Now it's a question of where to find the cash component without pulling from regular income for that.
More on all that later.......

I just had to share these Weis and Targets trip as I thought I did so well. ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "We Finally Got Around to Cleaning Out the Shed" Edition......

This shot was after Hubs had pulled out about half the junk in there already.
What a hot mess......
I'll blog about this ordeal later this week and show more photos, which I know, y'all are dying to see. lolz

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Leftovers for kids, Anniversary Dinner out for Hubs and I

2. Monday--Meatloaf, Zucchini Casserole

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Sauted Cabbage

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--maybe Leftovers again?

7. Saturday--not sure yet, maybe Take-Out

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftovers for kids, Anniversary Dinner out for Hubs and I

2. Monday--Meatloaf, Zucchini Casserole

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Baked Beans

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Roasted Chicken and Potatoes, Corn on Cob

7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out(I had Cashew Chicken)

6 meals cooked at home, 3 of them nights of leftovers and 1 night of Take-Out.

As for the grocery spending.....3 trips to Weis Markets and 1 quickie to Shurfave market for bottled water bringing my weekly spending to $104.90 and my September food spending total to $104.90 with 25 days to go in the month.

Leftovers going into this week........meatloaf, zucchini casserole, kielbasa and cauliflower cheese soup.

Here is this week's "food plan".

1. Sunday--Leftovers
2. Monday--Steak, Veggie Ka-bobs, Baked Potatoes
3. Tuesday--Manicotti, Salad, Garlic Bread
4. Wednesday--Chicken Fajitas
5. Thursday--Leftover Meatloaf, Brussel Sprouts, Noodles
6. Friday--Apricot Glazed Pork Chops, Mixed Veggies, Corn Casserole, Applesauce
7. Saturday--Crab Cakes, Fries, Cole Slaw, Broccoli

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 0 nights of Take-Out and 2 nights of Leftovers.

What we need to buy for this menu......steak, tortillas, peppers, mushrooms.  I got 1/2 off crab meat last week and a bag of potatoes so we are good on those items.  Garden grown tomatoes will go into the sauce for the manicotti and the salads.

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 last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy