This Week on the Dining Table

The "It's a Bright Shiny New Year" Edition--

Here's hoping that 2018 sees us all growing richer in so many ways!  Time to put up the 2018 calendar today.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Xmas Eve Chinese Out

2. Monday--Beef Roast, Mac and Cheese, homemade Rolls, Harvard Beets

3. Tuesday--Fried Shrimp(son's choice), Fried Potatoes, CA mix veggies

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Lftovers
6. Friday--Pizza, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers or FFY or ?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Xmas Eve Chinese Out

2. Monday--Beef Roast, Mac and Cheese, homemade Rolls, Harvard Beets

3. Tuesday--Fried Shrimp(son's choice), Fried Potatoes, CA mix veggies

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Pizza, Wings(using gift certificate)-Nobody wanted salad. lol
7. Saturday--Leftovers or one of the tv dinners in the freezer

Last week saw 2 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of take-out and 1 night of Eating out.
Two special meals for the Holidays this past week, 1 meal out and take-out pizzas/wings on Friday.  We had so many leftovers it didn't make sense to cook more than twice last week.

Trips to Weis and 1 trip each to Dollar General and Maines restaurant supply was the extent of the shopping last week and the bill came to $78.98 for all trips.  That brought December's food spending total to $516.48.
There are no more days in my shopping month.  December is the month I add back in all rebates/post coupons/rolled coins into the food budget so my "spending" from income was only $244.27 this month.

My savings percentages last week was 55.79%(before adding in all rebates/post coupons/rolled coins for the year) and the monthly savings so far ends up at 56.47%(without Rite-Aid trips and "found" money added in).

Leftovers going into this week.......chicken and dumplings, bbq pork, beef roast, mac and cheese, beets, rolls.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Cocktail Meatballs, Shrimp Toast, Cheese/Crackers, Dip/Celery, Pickles, Olives and Bubbly to drink

2. Monday--Ravioli in Sauce, Salad

3. Tuesday--Leftover Roast Beef, Asparagus, Mashed Taters

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--?
6. Friday--Homemade Pizza, Salad
7. Saturday--Chicken Fried Steak, Gravy Taters, Mix Veggie

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2? nights of leftovers, 0 night of Take-out/Eat-Out.

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is some milk I think.  I'll hit Weis for some loss leaders but that's about it 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 last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy

Food & Toiletries Spending.....December and YEAR END Update

* I am done food shopping for December so am posting this a day early.*

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for DECEMBER 2017.

I have posted December'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 December.  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 3-5(3-5 at home this month). No kids under 21.

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

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $13.00
Value  $57.38
Savings  77.34%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $10.94
Value  $18.00
Savings  39.23%

MAINES
OOP  $85.93
Value  $153.13
Savings  43.89%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PPs  $446.97
Value  $446.97
Savings  100%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $406.61

Qs/Ads  $551.51

Value  $958.12

Savings  57.56%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bread Outlet at 77.34% and Weis at 57.56%.  My WORST savings rate was at Dollar General at 39.23%.

I shopped at 4 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$516.48
TOTAL Cash Rebates(applied in Dec)...$343.96
TOTAL Out of Pocket for Dec.....$172.52

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales/Rebate Savings...$942.36

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1186.63

TOTAL Savings of ..................................85.46%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for Dec.....$172.52
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$1633.60
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales/Rebate Savings....$1461.08
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items..........89.44%

This closes out the December food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into December wanting to spend $400 on food/toiletries but went over by $116.48.

But I also have the following rebates/post Qs(otherwise known as the "free money")to apply toward the food bill in December---
SavingStar.......$31.05
Checkout51.....$79.25
Ibotta...............$27.25
Other Rebates/Post Qs....$134.91
Rolled Coins....$71.50
Grand TOTAL...$343.96

So I have $343.96 in checks on their way/cash here to put into the checking account to offset that much of our income spending toward groceries, so I "spent" $172.52 of our regular income on food in December.
This brings my savings rate to 87.58% for the month.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 8.49% in December to 82.42% compared to November's 73.93% savings average.  Over a 82% savings rate is great no matter how you slice it. ;-)

With 12 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $4126.25 on food/toiletries in 2017 which is a 70.76% savings rate for the year and averages out to $343.85 spent per month in 2017.

Grand Total Grocery/Toiletries Savings 2107

2017 Yearly Total Value of Items  $14111.24

2017 Total Saved  $9984.99
2017 Yearly Total Spent  $4126.25

2017 Yearly Savings Total of   70.76%

Average Spending per Month-to-Date  $343.85

LOOKING AHEAD To 2018........
I need to sit down with Hubs and see what we want to set as a food budget for the year.  I'll do this in the next week or so.  Personally I'd love to keep the food spending at $4K for 2018.  But this means I have to be the primary food shopper for the year as no one else here wants to/or will try to get the best deal possible when food purchasing like I do.

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 December?
*  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

December 26th Festivities

Besides hitting up Rite-Aid and Weis on the Day after Christmas, I made an early dinner/late lunch.

I usually make a special dinner on New Year's Day but since eldest son was leaving on Dec. 27th I made it on Tuesday the 26th.

Eldest had been in a long term relationship until the end of Summer this year with a woman who is deathly allergic to shrimp.
One of Eldest son's most favorite foods is shrimp so he hasn't been able to have it in years(since he use to always eat with his ex-fiancée).
So I whipped up a huge plate of shrimp tempura and fries.

Later the day we went to a new brewpub.....

Benny Brewing Company

Cute logo glasses

It still feels weird that all my kids are now of legal drinking age and I drink with them. lol

By the time the giant pretzel got to the table I was loopy!

But I kept up with my beer guzzling family until I had that 10% ABV Bourbon barrel aged chocolate stout.
Oh my.......

The crab bisque was very good....spicy but good.

I don't want to even THINK about how high the bill would have been had we not gone during Happy Hours. lolz

Nice try at a selfie outside the pub.  Daughter purposely jumped out of the frame before I snapped the photo.  She is a big shit sometimes......

The next day around noon Eldest drove home..........

I guess 5 days with us was more than enough for him.  He had plans for New Year's(hot dates!)and also wanted some down time back at his place in VA.  He's a high school teacher and has to report back Jan 2nd.

That's the end of our 2017 holiday festivities at Chez Sluggy.
Now I am in clean up/clear out mode.

How about you?

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....the December 29th Edition

Here are our frugal moves this last week of 2017......

*  When in Rite-Aid this week I found money!

Two pennies in the foyer and a dime sitting in one of the candy bar boxes by the register.
Free 12¢ is Free 12¢.

*  8 bags of coffee were procured at Weis(PMITA)Markets(in two separate transactions)this past week for a total OOP of $5.96 or .74¢+ per bag.

*  Now I can show some of the Xmas gifties I picked up cheap this year since Christmas is over.  I shop during the year and throw items into my gift box when I can get something for little cash.

These Red Hot Chili Peppers CDs for College Boy were found for $1 each at a thrift store in IL.

These items for College Boy were also bought this past Summer on our road trip--a RHCP shirt for $5, a bag of specialty coffee for $1, a pack of candy cigarettes for .50¢.  Also the large bag of M&Ms for $1 at a grocery outlet in MO.  The bottles are vape juice I picked up for $5 each in Pierre, SC at a convenience store.  The company that makes the juice changed it's name in 2017 and the "old" label bottles were on clearance for $5, regularly $15.  That was an awesome score I didn't know was so awesome until later. lolz

My brother smokes cigars.  We stopped at a tobacco shop on the Nez Pierce Reservation in Idaho and I picked him up some stogies for cheap plus no sales tax.

Daughter got an "Abraham Drinkin'" shirt, specialty coffee, candy cigarettes and a pack of cute socks from Shopko in ID.  I signed up for a Q and got these items plus CB's shirt/coffee/cigs above for less than $15 after that Q.  The Jackalope t-shirt was bought in Rapid City, SC in Walmart there since they had a souvenir section because they are so close to Mt. Rushmore.
The lip gloss balls were $1 at a thrift store in IL.  Two small bottles of vape juice gotten at the Nez Pierce Rez tobacco store too for $5(smaller bottles so not as good as the other vape juice deal).

I also got my brother's wife some Bath and Body Works eucalyptus aromatherapy body wash during a sale last Spring for cheap for her Xmas gift.  Eucalyptus is her favorite scent.

* I saved money on Christmas dinner too.  While I got a free smoked ham(10+ lbs.)at Weis with Points I earned on my card we didn't use it for Xmas dinner.
Instead we used this 7.37 lb. whole eye roast.  I bought two of these roasts November 2016 when it was a Fantastic Friday Weis deal then.  We used one of the roasts last Christmas but I super wrapped the second one and tucked it into the depths of my little chest freezer.  Took it out and it was just as good as when I bought it in 2016(the ham would have been the backup meat for dinner if this had gotten freezer burned).  Why pay $9 or more a lb. for a roast at Christmas when I had this $2.50 lb. eye round bought on a great sale?

* I refilled all my prescriptions I could before December ended.  January 1st means a new year and having to satisfy a $3K deductible(including Rxs)before we see a healthcare benefit.  Some of these Rxs I don't use every day/month so I will be ahead of the game in co-pays for 2018.

* On Dec. 18th I sold an expensive item on eBay and shipped it out the next day.  A 15 year old Star Wars lego set.  I bought it on clearance at Walmart after Xmas in 2002 and meant to resell it on eBay but soon after purchasing it I stopped selling on eBay so it has sat unused/unopened in the garage since.
I wanted to wait until the legos arrived and the buyer was happy(and wasn't going to back out of the sale and/or return it)to mention this sale.
I can safely add this to my side money total for 2017 now.  After fees, extra shipping insurance and what I paid I have $323.85 in extra income to report to the IRS.
$323.85 in my pocket instead of something sitting in the garage still.  ;-)

* I've got a 70 cents discount at Weis(PMITA)Markets gas station.  We'll take all 3 cars here up and get 20 gallons of gas between all 3 cars before the discount expires Sat. evening.

So what frugal wins have you had recently?
Here's to a frugal 2018!

Sluggy

Dec. 26th Rite-Aid & Weis Spending

Ok, first the Rite-Aid shopping........

I got an Oral-B toothbrush that was on sale for $3 and was suppose to give back $2 in Plenti Points.
Well I had two different Load2Card Qs on this account(one for $1 off, one for $2 off)an Oral-B toothbrush.
Both coupons came off making it free! lolz
And I received no Plenti Points for the purchase as you may be able to see on the receipt.
WTF?
Not sure whether I'll call Corporate to protest not getting my PPs or not since if the $1 L2CQ had come off AND I had received my PPs it would be free and it was free after both Qs came off anyway.   I may just call this one all good.   8-)))

Then I went to Weis to get more inexpensive coffee and found some meat instant sticker discount deals too............

4 x 8 O'Clock coffee BOGO=$10.98
Used $6 in stacked Qs + one of my MM OJ $2 Catalinas on those and paid $2.98 OOP for all 4 bags.
2 x packages of brats(1 buffalo chicken flavor, 1 spinach and feta flavor)on sale for $4 each had $2 off stickers on them, so $2 per package.
2 x sliced boneless chicken breast(will use for enchilada filling)had $3 off stickers on it so $1.94 and $2.39 per package for almost 2.07 lbs. total or $2.09 per lb.
3 x packages of boneless pork chops, regular price totaled $24.51, on sale for $13.60-3 x $2 instant stickers($6 off)=$7.60 for 4.34 lbs. of pork or $1.75 per lb.

4 more bags of 8 O'Clock coffee that Hubs picked out, using the last of my stacked coupons meant I paid $4.98 for this lot of coffee.  I also got a $2 Ibotta rebate on the Infusions type bag so $2.98 OOP for these 4 bags.  Nice.

This will most probably be the last $ I spend in 2017 on food things so I'll get my December food spending totals done this weekend and posted a bit early.

Sluggy