This Week on the Dining Table

The "It's Too Hot to Cook" Edition--

This week(since Friday)has been a scorcher here and it's suppose to continue until the weekend.  The humidity didn't ramp up until yesterday at least so I did do some cooking.  Today the crock pot will be called into service and we'll not be running the oven(Tuesday's pizza may turn into a take-out situation because of the heat instead of homemade).
Do you think I can get away with cereal for dinner for 4 nights? lolz

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Paella

2. Monday--Chicken Parm(leftover), Pear Gorgonzola Salad

3. Tuesday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken

4. Wednesday--Seafood Enchiladas, Rice, Beans

5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Cuke Salad

6. Friday--Assorted Things(Stuffed Peppers, Salad, Etc.)

7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Paella

2. Monday--Chicken Parm(leftover), Pear Gorgonzola Salad

3. Tuesday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken

4. Wednesday--Seafood Enchiladas, Rice, Beans

5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Salad

6. Friday--Assorted Things(Stuffed Peppers, Salad, Etc.)

7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had seafood enchilada)

Everything planned was served.
Last week saw lots of cooking although Daughter did some of it. yay!

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  

A trip to Weis brought the weekly food spending to $17.08 and the monthly total to $417.92.
I have 29 days left in my shopping month for July.

My savings percentages last week was 65.32%(without Rite-Aid trips)and June's monthly savings total came to 65.39%(or 53.78% w/out Rite-Aid).

Leftovers going into this week......Paella, 3 pieces of Chicken Parm, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice and 1 Pork Tenderloin.

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

1. Sunday--Chicken w/Queso and Noodles Casserole, Salad

2. Monday--Garlic Pork Roast, Brussels Sprouts, Stuffing

3. Tuesday--Pizza

4. Wednesday--Cook-Out Foods

5. Thursday--BLTs

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Chicken Tenders, leftover Cook-Out sides

This week will see 6 new meals cooked, 1 night of leftovers/FFY and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Potatoes, peppers, watermelon, tomatoes, corn, milk and we need bread.
I'm hoping to get through this week on $50 or less.

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

Rolling the BC at Rite-Aid

Here's how I rolled my Bonus Cash at Rite-Aid so far.
I had to change my plan on the fly because our area didn't get the $3/1 Tide Q in the insert....just a message to go online to the P and G site to download that Q and of course, the site only let's you download one of each Q. sigh.

First on Daughter's card.........

2 x Tide on sale=$11.88
4 x Head and Shoulders on sale=$23.96
Subtotal.......$35.84

Coupons Used
2 x $3/1 Tide(1 IPQ/1 L2CQ)=$6.00
2 x $4/2 HandS ManuQ=$8.00
Coupon Total.....$14.00

$35.84-$14.00=$21.84+$1.31 tax=$23.15

Except that I had five shampoos and my $2/1 Head and Shoulders Load2CardQ didn't come off so I returned it.  Tracking still gave me credit for that $5.99 so I am ahead a bit if that tracking stays.
What I actually paid remains the same as the refund returns BC not cash.

Paid with BC, earned back $15 new BC for spending $30.
I also earned a bonus $5 in BC for spending $25 but those BC will be put onto my card by 7/21 per the email informing me about this special deal for Gold Members.
So eventually I'll have earned $20 BC and my "spend down" will amount to $3.15 on this transaction.

I need to wait until Monday when these $15 get credited to this card to do this Deal again as I don't have enough BC on this card until then.
I have $11.83 tracking toward my second $30 Deal so only have to spend $18.17 next time.

Then I did this transaction on my son's card........

2 x Head and Shoulders on sale=$11.98
3 x Pantene on sale=$10.50
2 x Tampax on sale=$8.00
SubTotal.........$30.48

Coupons Used
1 x $4/2 HandS ManuQ=$4.00
1 x $5/3 Pantene ManuQ=$5.00
1 x $3/2 Tampax ManuQ=$3.00
Coupon Total.......$12.00

$30.48-$12.00=$18.48+.81¢ tax=$19.27
Paid for with BC, earned $15 in new BC(plus $5 in bonus BC by 7/21).
After the bonus BC gets on my card this is a .73¢ moneymaker.
I have .48¢ tracking toward my second $30 Deal.

Then on my card I did this.......

1 x Bounty towels on sale=$6.94
3 x Pantene on sale=$10.50
2 x Febreeze on sale=$5.98
2 x Tampax on sale=$8.00
SubTotal......$31.42

Coupons Used
1 x $1.50/1 Bounty IPQ(higher value than the one in the insert)=$1.50
1 x $5/3 Pantene ManuQ=$5.00
1 x BOGOFree Febreeze ManuQ=$2.99
1 x $3/2 Tampax ManuQ=$3.00
Coupon Total....$12.49

$31.42-$12.49=$18.93+.82¢ tax=$19.75
Paid with BC, earned back $15 BC(and $5 bonus BC by 7/21).
After that comes in this becomes a .25¢ moneymaker.
I have $1.42 tracking toward the second $30 Deal so have to spend $28.58

So I went ahead since I had enough BC left on my card and did the Deal again......

3 x Pantene on sale=$10.50
3 x Puffs tissue on sale=$2.97
2 x Febreeze on sale=$5.98
2 x Dawn on sale=$1.98
2 x Tampax on sale=$8.00
SubTotal.....$29.43

Coupons Used
1 x $5/3 Pantene ManuQ=$5.00
3 x .50¢/1 Puffs ManuQ=$1.50
1 x BOGOFree Febreeze ManuQ=$2.99
2 x .25¢/1 Dawn ManuQ=.50¢
1 x $3/2 Tampax ManuQ=$3.00
Coupon Total......$12.99

$29.43-$12.99=$16.44+.69¢ tax=$17.13
Paid for with BC, earned back $15 in new BC(and $5 in bonus BC by 7/21).
Once the bonus BC is credited to the card, this transaction becomes a $2.87 moneymaker.

Altogether I am $3.83 moneymaker and spent down $3.19 in BC so overall I have a .64¢ moneymaker on all this so far, even with paying sales tax so I am all good with this. 8-)))



Sluggy

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