2018 Food & Toiletries Spending.....June Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JUNE 2018.

I have posted June'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 May.  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 4-5(4 at home this month). No "kids" under 22.

*****************
ALDI
OOP  $29.85
Value  $58.72
Savings   49.17%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $5.50
Value  $17.96
Savings  69.38%

BOYER'S
OOP  $43.97
Value  $98.82
Savings   55.50%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $57.53
Value  $126.52
Savings  54.53%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $23.11
Value  $42.18
Savings  45.21%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PP/BC  $303.38
Value  $303.38
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE
OOP  $85.60
Qs/Ads  $69.07
Value  $154.67
Savings  44.65%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $128.50

Qs/Ads  $278.49

Value  $406.99

Savings  68.42%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bread Outlet at 69.38% and Weis at 68.42%.  My worst savings rate was from Shursave Market at 44.65%.  If your worst savings rate is over 40% things are going well.  8-)

I shopped at 8 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket for June..........$417.92

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales...$486.27

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$904.19

TOTAL Savings of ................................53.78%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for June.....$417.92
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$1207.57
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.........$789.65
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items........65.39%

This closes out the June food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
June was almost on target spending wise.  It's a good thing after May's budget buster.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went Down by 4.11% in June 2018 to 65.39% compared to May's 69.50% savings average.
The free stuff from Rite-Aid skewers my averages but without R-A I am at 53.78% savings.  So even without R-A we are doing well on the "savings" front.

With 6 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $2637.33 on food/toiletries in 2018 which is a 73.28% savings rate for the year so far and averages out to $439.56 spent per month in 2018.  We are heading back down toward my $400 a month average target again and that's a good thing.

LOOKING AHEAD To July.......
Keeping with that $400 food budget for July.  If I go over as mush as $50 I am good with it since eldest son is coming home for a few days so we might splash out a bit more on food things.

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

Rite-Aid to Roll the Bonus Cash & Heads Up! for Sunday

I was able to roll/spend down some of the Bonus Cash on two of our Wellness cards this week.

I had gone to my R-A earlier this week and couldn't find the item I wanted to buy/roll BC with.  I didn't think to ask anyone who worked there if they knew where it was located(because I pretty much know the layout of that store).  I went back on Friday while Hubs and I were out and did ask.

Silly me, thinking the sleep aid product would be with all the other sleep aid products on the pain reliever aisle.
No, this item was over with the vitamins?

Okaaaaaay....at least I finally found it, right? ;-)

2 x Nite Thru sleep aid on sale=$12.00

2 x Neutrogena acne bar on sale BOGO50%=$4.93

SubTotal.......$16.93

Coupons Used

2 x $3/1 Neutrogena products(coupons dotcom)IPQ=$6.00

$16.93-$6.00=$10.93

I paid with BC and earned back $10 in new Bonus Cash(2 x $5 Nite Thru)so "'spent down" the Bc by .93¢.

There was $1.07 in overage using the Neutrogena Qs on those bars.

While in town we stopped at a different Rite-Aid, a smaller store which didn't carry the Nite-Thru but did have the Neutrogena soap so I bought this on a different card.......

4 x Pringles on sale=$6.00

2 x Neutrogena acne bars on sale BOGO50%=$5.38(these were priced higher at this store)

SubTotal......$11.38

Used 2 more $3/1 Neutrogena Qs and a $1/4 Pringles ManuQ so $11.38-$7.00=$4.38 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned $2 in new BC($2 wyb4 Pringles)so I "spent down" $2.38 in BC on this card.

This Sunday's ad is a great opportunity to roll your Bonus Cash!

There is a Proctor and Gamble "Spend $30/Get $15 BC" Deal(limit 2 Deals per card/account).

Pair it with the P&G coupon insert due in Sunday's paper for some cheap/free stuff like shampoo, laundry detergent, tampons, etc.

Also, if you are a Gold level Wellness members there is a special Deal from Sunday to the 4th of July....for every $25 you spend you get $5 in BC with no limit to how many times you can earn this.

Rumor is that it may show on your account/receipt right away like it did make in April(I think it was that month)OR it may show up at a later day like the last time they ran this promo.  Sunday we'll all know more.

So if you plan on doing the P&G Deal,if you do it before Thursday and you are a Gold level you'll get an extra $5 for every $25 you spend on that deal.

This is not just a weekly P&G Deal, it runs all month but the sale prices are only good this week.

There looks like there are some Crest double dips running in the July 8th ad........

These Crest items are included in the "Spend $30/Get $15 BC" Deal but next week they also give BC independent of that Deal so double dips.

No way to know for sure if these particular Crest items are part of the monthly Deal until Sunday when they will be marked as part of the deal or not...but if you don't finish off your Deals this coming week you can always add the Crest the following week to max out your Deal.

The only problem with the Crest is that the cost after Qs show the Load2Card Q and not the insert Q values which may be lower.  If you can't/don't have L2CQs attached to your Wellness card then this won't help you(I can't access L2C on two of my cards so won't help me there.) sigh

Just a little heads up for those out there who need to roll Bonus Cash like I do.  8-)))

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.....The June 29th Edition

Not a lot to report on that was frugal this week but here goes.......

*  No Weis Friday Freebie last week.  I wasn't feeling well and nobody would go get it for me so I missed out on free cottage cheese. Bummer!  But we did get some freebies and almost freebies this week at Weis........

Better than free Chobani flips after doubled Q and a Yoplait mix-ins for .20¢ after doubled Q.
I just got .40¢ back on SavingStar for the Yoplait one so now all 5 of my yogurts were better than free.
Woohoo!

A Weis loss leaders made even cheaper with a doubled Q.  I paid .72¢ each for these bags of sugar.

*  I found money again!

A penny in the parking lot at Rite-Aid and .06¢ on the top of the garbage receptacle in the Weis lobby.  I can't fathom the mind of people who throw away change!  I guess I am an old fart.

*  I sold 6 more packs of diapers.....

 $33 more dollars to tuck away makes $98.50 total made for selling this lot so far.

*  Remember that mayo I bought at Weis this week?

When you bought the Kraft you got the Weis brand free?
Well I still had an .80¢ Ibotta rebate on my account there so I got .80¢ cash back for this purchase which brought my OOP for both down to $1.70 or .85¢ per jar.
Nice. 8-))

*  I received a coupon I sent away for in the mail a couple of weeks ago..........

A free 20oz. bottle of Lipton Iced Tea.
Now I just have to find this item in a store around here before this Q expires.

*  We finally received the balance of our electric company deposit from Louisiana this week. It's actually an electric cooperative based in Texas but it covers this small piece of LA too.  They took our last bill due in April/May out of the deposit and then we had to wait another month for the balance of this deposit back.  Still waiting on the water company down there to settle up and refund us part of our deposit for H2O service as well. sigh

That's about it for us this week since I haven't gone anywhere really and bought nothing at Rite-Aid(that's going to change big time on Sunday though as I need to roll a LOT of BC).

What frugal wins did you have lately?

Sluggy

Random Stuff Lately at Chez Sluggy

* I haven't been feeling well lately.  I had my semi-annual primary doc visit last week and all my bloodwork/tests are great!   I am in good health for a woman of my age in my condition......besides my symptoms of aging(shaking of my right hand, arthritis and pain in my neck/shoulders/hands)and on top of my chronic HS symptoms which ebb and flow in no predictable manner.

But lately, I've been battling anxiety as well.  So after a long talk with my M.D. he put me on an anti-anxiety med and it's knocked me for a loop.  Fatigue, dizziness and muscle pain and soreness have kept me from getting much done for the last week.  I went to the grocery store a few days ago and it wore me out and I had to take to my bed for the rest of the day. ugh.
Hopefully these side effects will go away with time....if not, I'll talk to the doc and try a different medication.
A different doc put me on Prozac years ago when I was having a really rough patch and it about made me crazier than I felt so maybe these mood changing meds aren't for me and my body chemistry?
I am not ready to dismiss this new drug out of hand though because it seems to be helping some of the arthritis/shooting pains I get.
Like I've been told, "Getting old isn't for sissies!".  Truer words were never spoken! ;-)
So if I miss a day or two posting it's just that I'm feeling poorly here and there.

* I think I won't be buying anymore diapers to resell locally.  Not having a problem selling them but MAN!....the assholes you have to suffer along the way to the actual buyers!  People flaking out and not communicating well with you and then not showing up(those get reported to the moderators).

And then there are the down right creepy ones.  I had a guy message me about diapers a couple times and then he said he was at a party(this was a Sat. night)and he wanted to meet me at midnight after he left this party to do the deal. WTF?!?  We worked it out and met in the afternoon at the Weis parking lot(lots of people around)but I did take Hubs with me in the car just in case.  It was a youngish guy(well of course if he has a baby in diapers)but he still gave off a creepy vibe. lolz
And then there are the messages I get that go like, "I want diapers, are they available?"  Ok....what size/type do you want? Give me a CLUE so I can tell you if I still have that size!  And when you respond they either don't answer or they ask you 300 questions about the diapers like they have never bought diapers before.
Maybe this is feeding into my anxiety, dealing with these nimrods. 8-)
What I have left I think I'll put away until Summer is over and then sell them in the Fall.

* I was all out of Dill Weed so I told the Daughter to write a note on the erasable calendar on the fridge that I needed to buy some.
Here's the note she wrote.......

Yeah, she's a smart ass.....

*  Speaking of weed....hehehe.....I had a strange looking plant pop up amongst the tomato plants in the garden.
Anybody know what this is?

It's a vining plant  and the leaves are sticky.

*  Back in May, after Daughter put the window a/c unit in her room she noticed banging behind the screen that accordion's across the window, attached to the sides of the a/c.
Seems a birdie built a nest on the windowsill next to the unit.  You can see part of it in this shot I took....

 The eggs hatched and daughter got this shot of the almost grown babies in the nest before they flew away.

I encountered one of those baby birds the day they left the nest.  I was out in the garage doing something and had the door open when I heard a chirp chirp in the garage.  One of the babies was standing on a might unsteady pair of  legs at the front of the garage.  I shooed him out and he hopped under the evergreen tree out front before trying his wings again and he flit up onto the branch of a maple tree and disappeared.

*  The night we had steaks I gave Chester a bone to see what he'd do with it.

Well let me tell you, after sniffing it a bit and poking it, he thought that was the best thing since sliced bread! lolz

I watched him of course to make sure he didn't chew off a fragment and swallow it(he's got tiny teeth so little chance like the Shepherd/Husky who would have chewed it up lickety-split).

After he had pretty much stripped it the Daughter tried to take it from him and he actually GROWLED at her!  It's the first time Chester has threatened anyone like that.
So we let him take it outside, where he promptly found a hiding spot for it under a pile of leaves next to the side of the house and left it there for later.  After he went inside I retrieved it.  Yeah, I spoil all his fun......

I'll be over here working on closing out June's financials, working on my To-Do List some more and getting the July giveaway ready to launch.

Sluggy

Shopping Lately

I'm a bit behind on my shopping posts.  C'est la vie, right?

Here is stuff I bought at Rite-Aid last Friday....or was it Saturday?

3 x 12 packs Diet Pepsi on sale=$9.99 *not pictured*
2 x Mitchum deodorant on sale BOGO50%=$6.73
1 x Russell Stover chocolates on sale=$5.99
SubTotal........$22.71

Coupons Used
1 x $1/3 Pepsi 12 packs R-A in-adQ=$1.00
1 x $2/3 Diet Pepsi Catalina Q=$2.00
1 x $5/2 Mitchum R-A receiptQ=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Mitchum ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 R/S chocolate box ManuQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.....$11.00

$22.71-$11.00=$11.71+.27¢tax=$11.98 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned $2 in new BC(on the R/S chocolate box) so "spent down" $9.98 on my Bonus Cash.

The Diet Pepsi Catalina spit out after the cashier scanned all 3 12-packs and got used right away to make my sodas $2.33 each 12 pack, which is a good price.
The chocolate was $1.99 after sale/Q/BC earned and the deodorants were .73¢ for both.

I needed to spend down some BC on this card and this transaction got the job done.  Keeping track of BC and having to roll it is just too time consuming with this 60 until expiration limit now.

I also made one trip to Weis(PMITA)Markets this week.
Here are the highlights.....

Pretend you see 4 Flip yogurts and 1 Yoplait mix-in yogurts in the photo. (A Flip got eaten before I got around to taking this shot.)
Flips were on sale for .87¢ each and I had 4 x .50/1 Qs that doubled to $1 so I was paid .52¢ to take those yogurts home.  The Yoplait was $1 and I had a .40¢/1 Q which doubled to .80¢ so that one cost me .20¢ OOP.
I'll pick these up when they are cheap enough to have as a treat(the yogurt makes them healthy, right?lol)

 I bought these 6 items as part of the Mix and Match/Buy6, Get $3 Off instantly Deal.
2 x Daisy cottage cheese on sale=$3.98
2 x Silk milk on sale=$5.98
2 x Cool Whip on sale=$2.98
SubTotal.......$12.94
I had 2 x .55¢/1 DaisyQs($1.10)and 2 x $1/1 SilkQs($2)so $3.10 off plus the $3 instant discount and all 6 were $6.84 OOP.
Hubs is using nut juice in is cereal and coffee now so I pick these up when I find a deal.  The Cool Whip is needed for the 4th of July cook-out pie recipe and we can always use cottage cheese for something here.

3 items this week Weis had a deal, buy a brand name and get the equivalent Weis brand for free.
I only did the mayo deal(I don't buy frozen waffles and we have enough bbq sauce)so both jars cost me $2.50(Kraft on sale for $2.50 and the Weis brand was free)making each jar $1.25.  That's a good price for mayo.

And Domino sugar was a loss leader at $1.47 a bag.  I had a .75/2 Q which doubled fully to $1.50 off so my two bags of sugar cost me .72¢ each after Q.

And that's it for me lately.
What have you gotten a good deal on where you live?

Sluggy