Garden Update

Last time I showed the garden it looked like this in early June.....

 Along the back deck

 one oak barrel with lettuce, oregano and 3 volunteer tomato plants

2 basil plants, 2 Japanese eggplant plants and morning glory seeds sprouting

Well a month later, it looks like this.........

 Along the back deck and the barrel with lettuce, tomato and oregano

The other barrel with eggplant, basil and morning glories.  Two more volunteer tomato plants also emerged in this barrel and I left them there.

 We've got 4 baby eggplants now.

 Some baby yellow squash and I found a BIG zucchini yesterday too.

Lots of baby tomatoes as well.

The morning glories seem to have seeded themselves all along the back deck last Fall and I had vines mixed in among all the veggies now.  The heaviest concentration is on the one end of the deck in the garden and in the oak barrel and the vines are just now reaching the bird feeder poles and climbing high.

I'll update what we've harvested along with a recipe in a later post....probably this weekend.

Sluggy

Wellness Wednesday Scores

So Wellness Wednesday at Rite-Aid this month was yesterday not on July 4th(which was the first Wednesday in July)because the 4th was a holiday.

I gathered a few Qs, loaded a few Load2CardQs onto the only account that works(Daughter's)and went up to do a transaction that I heard might or might not have gone off well.
Mine went exceedingly well.........

1 x Boost 6 pack 20% Discount=$7.99
3 x Ice drinks on sale=$3.00
1 x Crest Scope mouthwash on sale=$4.00
1 x Centrum 100 ct. vitamins 20% Discount=$9.99
1 x Crest toothpaste on sale=$4.00
1 x Colgate toothpaste 20% Discount better than sale price=$3.43
SubTotal.......$32.41

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Boost IPQ=$2.00
1 x $4/1 Boost WWQ=$4.00
1 x $4/1 Boost WW/L2CQ=$4.00
3 x $1/1 Ice drinks WWQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Crest mouthwash L2CQ=$2.00
1 x $4/1 Centrum WWQ=$4.00
1 x $3/1 Centrum L2CQ=$3.00
1 x $4/1 Centrum WW/L2CQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Crest toothpaste L2CQ=$2.00
1 x .50¢/1 Colgate toothpast L2CQ=.50¢
1 x $3/1 Colgate RA In-AdQ=$3.00
Coupon Total.....$31.50

$32.41-$31.50=.91¢ OOP paid with Bonus Cash pts.

And I earned back $6 in new Bonus Cash($3 Crest mouthwash, $2 Crest toothpaste, $1 wyb3 Ice)making this a $5.01 moneymaker.
I also applied for and received a .50¢ rebate at Checkout51(buy 2 Ice drinks on the same receipt and get .50¢ back)so it's now a $5.51 moneymaker.  8-)))

The WW one day Qs were available in the store AND could be loaded to your Wellness card/account online so I got double off on the Centrum and the Boost items.  Plus there were two regular Centrum L2CQs on this account/card($4, $3)and BOTH came off!!  8-))

The Colgate, Crest items can be picked up all week for free and/or free after BC(if you have the L2CQs for the Crest and the Colgate ManuQ or IPQ-coupons dotcom).  And these Crest items double dip with the P&G monthly long Spend $30/Get $15 BC if you haven't finished that deal off yet.


I had another Colgate Q and the Mitchum Q from the inserts on Sunday so I also did this transaction on my card.........

1 x Mitchum deodorant 20% discount=$4.39
2 x Colgate toothpaste 20% discount less than sale price=$6.86
SubTotal.........$11.25

Coupons Used
1 x $2/1 Mitchum ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Mitchum In-AdQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Colgate toothpaste ManuQ=$1.00
2 x $3/1 Colgate toothpaste In-AdQ=$6.00
Coupon Total.......$11.00

$11.25-$11.00=.25¢+.03¢tax=.28¢ OOP paid with Bonus Cash.
No BC earned so I didn't roll the Bonus Cash, just spent it down by .28¢ here.
Toothpaste was negative .14¢ after stacked R-A and ManuQ and deodorant was .39 after stacked Qs so .14 applied to .39 left .25+.03tax due or .28¢.

I'm glad to roll those $6 in BC since the rest of July looks pretty dismal at Rite-Aid.  I need some good deals to roll BC by mid August.

Sluggy

An Orgy of Food Shopping

So I went out this weekend to Big Lots.  I like to hit them when they hold one of their "Friends and Family 20% Off Everything in the Store" Event.  Usually it's held 3-4 times a year.
This past weekend was one of these events.

Here are the items I bought that are paid for out of our food/toiletries budget........

2 x Soy Sauce(less Sodium)
2 x Ritz generic crackers
1 x Sirachi Chili Paste
1 x Coconut cookies
1 x Welch's jelly
2 x Pretzel crackers
1 x Veggie crackers
4 x cans of corn
3 x veggie oil
1 x gal.of vinegar
1 x almond extract
2 x tomato paste
2 x rice wine vinegar
1 x mandarin oranges cups

1 x Hefty baggies
1 x Zote laundry soap
3 x Spray n' Wash
1 x box of wet dog food
2 x Swiss Miss dark cocoa mix
2 x seashell pasta
1 x 2 lb. Tyson chicken breasts(not pictured)
$56.80 spent OOP at Big Lots

Everything was a good price regularly(lower or the same as what I pay other places)plus 20% off.
The cocoa mix was a deal because it was 50% on clearance already and I got another 20% off too.

Then I hit Wegman's on the way home.  I don't go there often but they had pork shoulders/butts for cheaper than Maine Source so I went to pick that and a large tub of hummus up(for ex-College Boy).
I also bought a pack of Portabella Mushroom caps and a package of 6.26 lbs. of ground beef, a smaller olive hummus for me and 2 2 lb. blocks of cheddar(Walmart is cheaper for that I couldn't face also having to go to Walmart on a weekend). ;-)
No photos of all that but it came to $58.15 OOP.

Then I hit Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday for all this.......

1 x 2.70 lbs. steak on sale $3.99 lb=$10.77
2 x Nathan's hot dogs on sale $7 used 2 x .55¢/1 Qs that doubled-$2.20=$4.80
4 x stuffed chicken Florentine $11.54-$5 in meat stickers on packages=$6.54
2 x Dannon fruitside yogurt $2-2x .40¢/1 Qs that doubled-$1.60=$.40
3 x Yoplait mix-ins yogurt $3-3 x .40¢/1 Qs that doubled-$2.40=$.60
1 x cuke on sale=$1.00
4 x Value Time bacon 1 lb. packs $3.27=$13.08-5 x $1 off meat stickers=$8.08

I also bought(but not pictured)--
4 x Breyers ice cream on sale $2.99=$11.96
1 x Halo Top ice cream on sale=$4.49
1 x Ben and Jerry slices ice cream on sale=$3.99
The ice cream came to $20.44
I used a $2/1 CatQ on the Halo Top and a $2/1 IPQ on the BandJs, the $1 OYNO Cat I earned for buying 2 Breyer's before, plus got $6 off for buying 6 items so the ice cream all came to $9.44 after discounts/Qs/sale.
Plus I got a .75¢ rebate on the Halo Top on Ibotta which brings my OOP on the ice cream to $8.69
And I got .50¢ rebate on my Saving Star  account for buying the yogurts.

Everything came to $40.63(no tax)or $39.88 after rebate.
The bacon was the same stuff I bought last week with .50¢ meat stickers on them but this week they had $1 stickers and one pack had 2x $1 stickers on it so the bacon was $2.37, $2.37, $2.37 and $1.37.

A totaled the food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods shopping came to $155.58.
I still need to pick up a few things this week(mostly milk and produce).
I'm up over $234 for July and we are only 1/3rd of the way in. sigh.

Sluggy

Half Year Small Finances Review

So we are halfway through 2018.
How did that happen so fast?? lolz

I went through the various small pots of monies and here is where it all stands as of June 30th.
I save up all my rebates/spare change/refunds to apply toward the food bill in December.
(I don't put monies from things I sell during the year into this kitty.)

*  The spare change was rolled and counted June 30th......

$38.50 to put toward the food budget come December.  Now that Hubs isn't working and doesn't have as much WAM we don't get as much change accumulating at Chez Sluggy.

*  Here are the current cash rebate app totals for 2018 thru the end of June.......
   Ibotta  $55.40
   Checkout 51  $6.25
   Savingstar  $26.25
A total of $87.90 in cash rebates to put toward food spending in December.

*   My Weis Refund envelope has $19.81 in it.

*   My Rite-Aid Post Q/Refund envelope has $98.47 in it.

Altogether I have $244.68 at the halfway point in the year to apply toward food spending in December.  If this pace keeps up I may be able to fully cover food shopping in December with these odds and ends I save up.  8-)))

*   Not part of the grocery monies but here is my leftover WAM from the first 6 months of the year.....

I've still got a little over half of my WAM for the year so far, $366.
Almost enough to buy a plane ticket outta here! lolz

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Starting to Produce, Produce" Edition--

The veggies in the garden are starting to ripen and be ready to pick.  I've harvested lettuce three times now and there is more out there.  Usually by this time it's gotten too hot for lettuce but it's still going gangbusters this year.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

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

And this is what actually happened--

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

2. Monday--Garlic Pork Roast, Brussels Sprouts, Quinoa w/Kale

3. Tuesday--Pizza(take-out)

4. Wednesday--Cook-Out Foods(burgers, dogs, sides, corn)

5. Thursday--Chicken Tenders, Grilled Squash, Mac and Cheese

6. Friday--BLTs
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Everything planned was served pretty much.  I used up a boxed meal thing and reserved a bit of macaroni I cooked up for the mac salad to make a small pan of mac and cheese(also using up leftover cheese sauce).

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  

A trip to the Bread Outlet, a Produce Market and two trips to Weis brought the weekly food spending to $78.96 and the monthly total to $78.96.
I have 22 days left in my shopping month for July.  I went to Big Lots this past weekend and got some food items but I haven't had time to go through the receipt to separate the food from non-food and add it to my food tally for July so that will show up on next week's report.

My savings percentage last week was 55.14%(without Rite-Aid trips)and July's monthly savings total comes to 55.14% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......Chicken Casserole, Garlic Pork Roast, 4 Hot Dogs, Potato Salad and Macaroni Salad.

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

1. Sunday--Hamburgers and leftover Cook-out sides

2. Monday--Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

4. Wednesday--Eggplant w/Garlic Sauce, Rice

5. Thursday--Mushroom Parm(and Chicken Parm for someone), Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Something w/Pasta

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? Portabello Mushroom caps, Ground Beef, maybe Eggplant.
Don't need much but I'm going to Wegman's and there's the Big Lots trip too to add into this week so spending will top out at $100+.

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