Food & Toiletries Spending....July Update

*I'm a bit late getting July's food spending wrapped up due to our trip.  But here it is now.*

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2017.

I have posted July's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3-4(4 at home this month). No kids under 21.

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BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $4.75
Value  $15.36
Savings  69.08%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PPs  $390.51
Value  $390.51
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $85.18
Qs/Ads  $29.42
Value  $114.60
Savings  25.67%

WALMART
OOP  $49.25
Qs/Ads  $23.48
Value  $72.73
Savings  32.28%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $186.29

Qs/Ads  $152.52

Value  $338.81

Savings  45.02%

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bread Outlet at 69.08% and Weis Markets at 45.02%.  My WORST savings rate was at that Shursave Market at 25.67%.

I shopped at 5 different stores this past month.  Or rather my Daughter and I shopped at 5 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$325.47

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$216.03

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$541.50

TOTAL Savings of ..................................39.89%
Total Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$932.01
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items..........65.08%

This closes out the July food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into July wanting to spend $250 the first half of the month and left the Daughter $120 for the rest of July, making my goal $370 for food spending for July.  I spent $224.42 in July before leaving for our trip and Daughter came in at $101.05 for the rest of the month.
We came in under $370 spent by $44.53.
Rah.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 1.08% in July to 65.08% compared to June's 66.16% savings average.

With 7 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $2,426.40 on food/toiletries in 2017 which is a 70.64% savings rate for the year to-date and averages out to $346.63 per month spent in 2017. 8-)


LOOKING AHEAD To August........
Hubs and I weren't home half of the month.  I assumed the Daughter would spend the other $120 I left her for groceries in August before we got home.  I will probably have to restock some items in August.  I am going to say $300 for the second half of August so $420 total for the entirety of the month to spend on food.
It would be good if I spend less than $300 this month but we'll see how things go.  There are only 15 days left in August so how many trips to the grocery store can I really make? lolz

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 June?
*  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?
*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

Quick Update-Mostly About July's To-Do List

We made it home yesterday afternoon.
So glad to be home in many ways, but then again..........lolz

There is so much work to be done and all I want to do is go to bed. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

And I LOVE my bed!  Especially after 28 nights of sleeping in other beds, some not so bad but others not so good.
I need to figure out a way to bring my bed along on my next trip.....or start paying for expensive hotels that have Tempur-pedic mattresses. Ha!, like that will happen.  ;-)

So I remembered that third book I read in July.
It was this one..........

It's a hardcover album of rarely or never before seen Kennedy Family Photos.  Not much text but enough to make it interesting.  The photos range from Rose Kennedy's youth to just before JFK won the Senate seat for MA in 1952.
A couple of interesting families them Fitzgeralds and Kennedys.

And that's all I got now.
Still slogging through receipts and such.
Might have the July Food/Toiletries Spending Update ready for tomorrow.
Stay tuned.....

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The  "Rating Breakfasts" Edition--

We've spent this trip rating our daily breakfasts.  Most have been provided at the various motels we've stayed at but we've had a few at friends' homes.  This was Monday morning's meal at a reader's home.  By far rated as a 5 Star Offering and better than any motel breakfast we've had on the trip.  There was another 5 Star rated breakfast at Kim's house as well.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Huhot 

2. Monday--Home cooked meal at SAM's house?

3. Tuesday--Something at Sonya Ann's house?

4. Wednesday--Ditto or Eating Out

5. Thursday--Ditto or Eating Out
6. Friday--Taking Hubs' sister out to eat
7. Saturday--Something in OH where we are staying

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Huhot(Mongolian BBQ)

2. Monday--Chicken Sandwiches, Bean/Pasta Salad, Sweet Potatoes

3. Tuesday--Roast Chicken, Brown Rice, Corn on Cob

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin, Salad, Mashed Taters, Mixed Veg

5. Thursday--Greek Salad, Bread
6. Friday--Steak, Salad, Baked Potato
7. Saturday--Chinese Buffet 

Last week saw 2 nights of home cooked dinners(Monday and Tuesday), 0 nights of leftovers and 5 nights of Eating-Out.

I made 0 trips to the Weis Markets or any other store at home and I didn't buy anything at grocery stores while out on the road last week.

My savings percentages last week and for the month so-far?    No clue. 

Leftovers going into this week........again, no clue.  We don't have leftovers while traveling, we just have to dump or leave what we don't finish.

Here is this week's "food plan"....not that I am cooking any of it anyway. lol......

1. Sunday--Meal at Chris' house

2. Monday--Eating-Out

3. Tuesday--Easy Meal at Home

4. Wednesday--No Clue Yet

5. Thursday--No Clue Yet
6. Friday--No Clue Yet
7. Saturday--No Clue Yet

This week will see ? new meal cooked, 0 nights of leftovers and ? nights of Take-Out/Eating-Out.

What I need to buy for this menu?  No clue.  I'll probably get to the grocery store on Thursday after accessing what we need.

A full update on grocery spending, etc. probably next Monday once I've had some time to catch my breath and get updated.

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

Almost Home......3 More Sleeps!

We are closing in on the tail end of this Awesome Summer 2017 Road Trip.  Only 3 more sleeps and we will be home in our own bed!
The photo above sums up how I've felt many days lately, being trapped in a car hurdling down the interstate. ;-)

After leaving Hubs' sister last night, we spent the night at a motel nearby, then drove 5 hours today and then did a Hubs activity.

An OUTDOOR activity, but luckily the temperatures haven't climbed into the triple digits the last 10 days or so.
Rah.

Another Hubs activity tomorrow morning and then it's onward to meet and spend some time with a blog reader of mine and her DH and then on Monday meeting another blogger and her family.
Then just one more sleep and we set off for home on Tuesday.

We haven't chanced Chinese food for meals(except for the night in Fargo ND when we ate Mongolian BBQ)but we threw caution to the wind tonight and ate at one of those buffet deals near the tiny town we are staying this evening.
I say "chanced it" because Chinese type foods seem to have an affect on my digestive tract that necessitates being near a restroom an hour or so afterwards and beyond. lolz

I also have a long history of being very susceptible to food poisoning while traveling.(Oh, the stories Hubs could tell!)  So I am often wary of eating establishments, even chain restaurants.
Knock on wood we have avoided any "incidents" thus far.

Not only is this trip winding down but so are Hubs' and mine energy and enthusiasm.

A full month out of our comfort zone.....it's been fun, scary, tiring, thrilling and about 50 other adjectives all at once. lolz
Hubs and I are both in agreement that 4 weeks together in a car traveling probably won't happen again.  It got ugly a couple of times. ;-)
2 Weeks appears at this time to be our limit and staying civil and sane.  Thank goodness we had folks to spend time with(and act as a buffer at times)so we didn't kill each other. 8-)))

I am looking forward to regular blogging again as soon as I get caught up on financial things, laundry, cleaning, dog wrangling, Weis(PMITA)Markets and Rite-Aid frequenting.
I've got a backlog of FIVE, Count 'em Five, trips of various sizes to blog about now(from last July, last August, last September, this May and this Summer).
Between all that and my regular nonsense I've got plenty of ammunition for the blog.

Here's hoping everyone is having a good Weekend and I'll talk to y'all soon. 8-)


Sluggy

When in Wisconsin......

Buy CHEESE!

Sluggy