Frugal Friday....the August 3rd Edition

Let's take a look at what "frugalness" we accomplished this past week......

* I found a penny in the Rite-Aid parking lot...........

With my luck though it was a Canadian penny and I don't think they even use those anymore. lolz

*  I had Hubs get the Weis Friday Freebie last week since it was something we could use......

Free hamburger rolls?  Yes, please!

*  I went online to Coupons dotcom on August 1st to snag coupons I thought I might use this month.
Coupons are only available in a limited quantity online so best to print them at the first of the month. (Use to be totally true but nowadays some brands put their coupons online during the month too so best to check back at the coupon sites later in the month too.) In addition with some brands, when there is a good sale using those particular coupons coming up, some coupons may be pulled before the week of the sale so it's good to look at coming week's sales flyers for the stores you shop at so you can print them before they are taken down.
It's a game folks and you need to be a step ahead of the stores and the manufacturers.

*  I got paid to bring some things home from Rite-Aid..........

 I got paid $1.56 after Bonus Cash used and earned back to bring all this home.

*  I sent away for a free $50 Target gift card so I can pair it with that $10 when you spend $50 coupon Target mailed me. The gift card is paid for with c/c points.

*  I picked lots of veggies from the garden last week........

 one squash....

 2 squash and 2 zukes

 4 squash and 3 zuke(including the behemoth one)

1 squash and 1 zuke
Do you think we have enough yellow squash and zucchini now? lololz

*  And quite out of the blue since it's been a while and I forget I have things up there, I sold something on eBay!

This set of unopened 7 miniature Star Wars Lego vehicles sold.  After fees and what I paid I should net $103+.  These all cost me under $22(with tax)when I bought them years ago at Walmart.
Go me! 8-))

*  I also earned $2.00 on Ibotta for various things.  Actually this was for the previous week but I forgot to put it on there. 
I really need to start making a list and adding to it as something frugal occurs so I stop forgetting things by Friday. ugh.


And that's all for me this week.

Remember the words of The Most Frugal Man in the World.......

What frugal wins did y'all have this week?

Sluggy

2018 Food & Toiletries Spending......July Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2018.

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 4-5(4-5 at home this month). No "kids" under 22.

*****************
BIG LOTS
OOP  $56.80
Value  $93.59
Savings   39.31%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $20.79
Value  $77.72(retail bread is expensive!)
Savings  73.25%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $55.28
Value  $100.36
Savings  44.92%

MALACARI'S(produce)
OOP  $9.14
Value  $16.99
Savings  46.20%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PP/BC  $564.27
Value  $564.27
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE
OOP  $16.89
Qs/Ads  $20.10
Value  $36.99
Savings  54.34%

WALMART
OOP  $36.93
Value  $80.64
Savings    54.21%

WEGMAN'S
OOP  $58.15
Value  $82.21
Savings    29.27%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $179.77

Qs/Ads  $178.89

Value  $358.66

Savings  49.88%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bread Outlet at 73.25% and Shursave Markets at 54.34%.  My worst savings rate was at Wegman's at 29.27%.

I shopped at 9 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket for July..........$433.75

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales...$413.41

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$847.16

TOTAL Savings of ................................48.80%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for July.....$433.75
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$1411.43
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.........$977.68
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items........69.27%

This closes out the July food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
July was almost on target spending wise.  I gave myself an extra $50 over my $400 budget since Eldest son was home for 5 days so we didn't have to "skimp" on dishes he likes.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went Up by 3.88% in July 2018 to 69.27% compared to June's 65.39% savings average.
The free stuff from Rite-Aid skewers my averages but without R-A I am at 48.80% savings.  So even without R-A we are doing well on the "savings" front.

With 7 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $3071.08 on food/toiletries in 2018 which is a 72.78% savings rate for the year so far and averages out to $438.73 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 August.......
Keeping with a $400 food budget for August.  No company is coming and no trips are planned.  The Daughter will be out of town for a few days but otherwise things will be "steady as she goes" here with the grocery spending.

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 July?
*  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

CT MOM Update

If you wrote to me about CT MOM's blog and getting an invite and I haven't responded yet please be patient.  This is turning into a massive job and I'm a bit busy myself right now in Real Life.
I've forwarded about 37 emails/name to her and we are working on getting everyone in.  This may take a few days.

Those having problems emailing me, it's..... arcure(at)ptdprolog(dot)net.

thanks,

Sluggy

About CTMOM...Please Read

Ok, so CT Mom at CT on a budget has been having some troll issues lately.
Since Blogger won't let you block a particular user(thanks a lot Blogger!), and being tired of dealing with this stuff, she has decided to take her blog private for awhile.

So if you were a reader of her blog and want access you have to be on her approved reader list so she can invite/approve you.
But she can only send you an invite if she has your email addy and name. 

I've agreed to act as her gate keeper here.  If you want to be invited please email me directly(the email addy is on my sidebar under my "About Me" blurb)with your email addy and name and I will forward the information to CT Mom and she can put you on the invite list.

That's it for now folks.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "The Zucchini that Ate Cleveland" Edition--

It always seems to happen.  There's always one zucchini that you can't find in the garden until it's a mammoth size!  Who decided that zukes had to be a color to blend in so well with it's foliage anyway?   Serious design flaw that!

So this 14.5 inch behemoth weighed in at 69.7 ounces or 4 pounds and 5.7 ounces.
Yikes!!!

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Pork Barbecue on Rolls, Cole Slaw

2. Monday--Chicken Enchiladas, Rice, Beans

3. Tuesday--Cheeseburgers, Mac Salad

4. Wednesday--Pork Ragu over Pasta, Salad

5. Thursday--Fried Zucchini and Leftovers

6. Friday--Squash Casserole and Leftovers
7. Saturday--BLTs or Chicken Salad Sandwiches

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Pork Barbecue on Rolls, Cole Slaw

2. Monday--Chicken Enchiladas, Rice, Beans

3. Tuesday--Fried Zucchini

4. Wednesday--Grilled Asparagus(and Assorted Leftovers)

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Squash Casserole, Hamburgers
7. Saturday--Zucchini and Sausage Rissotto

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out. 
The Pork Ragu didn't happen(and the BLTs/Chicken Salad Sammies happened for Lunch not Dinner last week). With so much zucchini coming in fast and furiously I had to punt and come up with more ways to use it up. 
I only made a veggie dish on 2 nights and if that wasn't enough for some they were free to also eat some leftovers.

Trips to Maines, Walmart, Shursave Markets and Weis brought the weekly food spending to $112.02 and the monthly total to $433.75.
I have 1 day left in my shopping month for July(though I am done grocery shopping for the month)and have closed out the budget for this month.  I wanted to do $400 but gave myself another $50 if needed due to company in July so I'll call $433.75 a win. '-)

My savings percentage last week was 48.15%(without Rite-Aid trips)and July's monthly savings total comes to 48.80% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......2 Enchiladas, a little bit of Barbecue Pork, and a LOT of Zucchini Risotto.

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Lemon Pepper Chicken and Zuke, Rice

3. Tuesday--Grilled Steak, Grilled Zuke and Squash

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie

5. Thursday--Pork Ragu over Pasta, Salad

6. Friday--Tacos
7. Saturday--Leftovers

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?  Steaks that Shursave market will have on sale this week.
I have everything else here to make these meals.

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