2019 Food & Toiletries Spending......the July Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2019.

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 5(3 at home this month). No "kids" under 23.
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BIG LOTS
OOP  $60.16
Value  $96.24
Savings  37.49%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $18.28
Disc.  $45.88
Value  $64.16
Savings  71.51%

MAINES
OOP  $79.55
Value  $146.57
Savings 45.72 %

MALACARI'S
OOP  $53.97
Value  $93.63
Savings  42.36%

P&R DISCOUNTERS
OOP  $33.98
Value  $103.10
Savings  67.04%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $41.01
Qs/Sales  $19.88
Value  $60.89
Savings  32.65%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $346.91
Value  $346.91
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE MARKETS

OOP  $17.58
Qs/Ads $20.99

Value  $38.57

Savings  54.42%

TARGET
OOP  $4.41
Qs/Ads/Gift Card  $56.65
Value  $61.06
Savings  92.78%

WEIS
OOP  $140.70
Qs/Ads  $133.82
Value  $274.52
Savings  48.75%

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Target at  92.78% and the Bread Outlet at 71.51%.  My worst savings rate was at Price Chopper with 32.65%.

I shopped at 10 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket for July.........$469.99

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.................$504.98

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.........$974.97

TOTAL Savings of ................................51.79%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for July w/R-A.............$469.99
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales w/R-A...................$851.89
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$1321.88
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items.....................64.45%

This closes out the July food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
We spent well OVER my $400 budgeted amount for food/toiletries in July.  Lots of extra trips to food sources I mostly only visit in the warm weather months and lots of good deals.  Hopefully this leads to less food spending in the cooler months.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 2.71% in July 2019 to 64.45% compared to the June 61.74% savings average.
While I spent more overall on food in July the percentage rate also went up because of all the awesome deals I got.


With 7 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $2747.28 on food/toiletries in 2018.


2019 Yearly Total Spent To Date....................$2747.28

2019 Yearly Total Value of Items To Date....$11,169.00

2019 Total Saved To Date...............................$8421.72

2019 Yearly Savings Total To Date of............75.40%

The average per month amount spent so far is $392.47 in 2019 which went up $12+ per month due to July's high spending amount.

LOOKING AHEAD To August 2019.......

Let's see....no trips, no company, just puttering around the house and trying to eat down some stocks.  I want to reign in the food spending a bit.
$400 is the grocery budget for August in case I find good fresh produce deals I can can/freeze.  Otherwise I want to stay closer to $300 this month. 

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

Frugal Friday......the August 2nd Edition

Another Friday, another look around to see what frugal wins we had at Chez Sluggy.

* Lots of goodies hauled home from Rite-Aid this week and no out of pocket spending.........

Plus I see those men's razors qualify for a $1 Ibotta rebate($3 total).

*  I received a $10 rebate for buying Allegra via Paypal.

*  I was going over our c/c statement and saw I had a $25 credit from Paypal.  Couldn't think for the life of me why ot was there so I called them(not that I was going to turn down $25 or anything! lol).
Turns out the charitable donation we made at Porcfest was to a Paypal account and was $75 or more so there was a deal involving this Mastercard we hold and Paypal and voila!.....we got back $25.

*  I found money!
* A penny at Rite-Aid next to one of the Clearance tables......

And a dime.............

This was at Weis(PMITA)Markets over by one of the self-checkout registers. There were empty coin wrappers in the small trashcan by the register and it looked like someone was restocking the coins in the machine or using wrapped coins to pay.  Either way someone let .10¢ go astray on the floor and didn't pick it up so I did! ;-)

And let's not forget about walking out of Rite-Aid on Wednesday with $4.85 more in cash than I went in with due to not well trained cashiers...............

*  I got the Weis Freebie last Friday............

A bottle of marinade.  They had a few varieties so I got the lemon garlic one that is good on fish.  We like that one and haven't had it in quite awhile and I just dug some catfish fillets out of the chest freezer so it will be used soon.

*  Fresh Green Beans finally went to a low price so I stocked up on 8 lbs. worth............

By day's end on Sunday I had 7 x 1 lb. bags in the freezer........

These may not be as cheap as store bought frozen but they will taste pretty good come Winter. ;-)

That's about it from here.
What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?


Sluggy

More Rite-Aid on Tuesday & Wednesday

On Tuesday  used that $3/$30 Q on Daughter's card buying this.......

3 x Tide detergent on sale=$17.97
6 x Pantene 'poo/conditioner on sale=$23.94
SubTotal........$41.91

Coupons Used
1 x $3/wyspend $30 CatQ=$3.00
2 x $2/1 Tide detergent/pods ManQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Tide detergent L2CQ=$2.00
2 x $5/3 Pantene items ManQ=$10.00
Coupon Total............$19.00

$41.91-$19.00=$22.91+$1.38 tax=$24.29 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $20 in new BC($20 wyspend $40 on select P&G items)so spent down BC by $4.29.

The down side was the new cashier kept putting payment through before she took my Qs. ugh.  So we did this transaction THREE times(along with two voided transactions)to get it right. 8-)))

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

2 x Allegra 30 ct. BOGO50%=$34.48
1 x Allegra kid's liquid 20% Wellness disc.=$11.03
SubTotal........$45.51

Coupons Used
2 x $4/1 Allegra 24Hr 24ct. or larger ManQ=$8.00
1 x $4/1 Allegra kid's ManQ=$4.00
Coupon Total........$12.00

$45.51-$12.00=$33.51 paid for with all my BC + .75¢ off an old R-A gift card.
I earned back $10 in new Bonus Cash(spend $30/Get $10).

While not a great deal getting only $10 BC back on a $33.51 spend, this transaction was part of a triple dip however.
Besides the $10 in BC back, I also submitted for a $10 Rebate(which comes as a Paypal deposit)from Chattem, the manufacturer when you spend $30(after Qs/sale prices)on at least 2 Allegra items in a single transaction.

I got an email that my submission was successful later Tuesday saying my Paypal reward would be arriving in 1-2 weeks.
Wednesday morning I awoke to a Paypal email that my $10 payment was already in my account!

PLUS I got $45.51 in points toward the "Spend $75/Get $20 BC Rite-Aid Allergy Rewards" which runs all year.  This card is now up to $67.52 toward that BC Reward with only $7.48 let to spend to get that $20 BC.

Triple Dip--
*Bonus Cash
*Rebate
*Points toward more BC

Then on Wednesday I bought this on Son's card........

3 x Schick mens razors on sale $5.99=$17.97
1 x Schick ladies razors on sale=$5.99
4 x e.l.f. brushes 20% Wellness disc.=$3.20
SubTotal......$27.16
1 x $4/1 Schick L2CQ came off so $23.16+$1.39 tax=$24.55 paid for in BC.

I earned $12 in new BC(2 x $3 Schick, 2 x $3 e.l.f.).

But here is the rest of this story...............

Another new cashier who is "push the payment button" happy.  I wanted to see if my $4/1Schick  L2CQ came off and she pushed the payment button without using my other 3 $4/1 Schick paper Qs so $24.55. sigh.
Then-GET THIS!-She looked at the 3 unused Qs and said, "Oh, these don't expire soon so you can use them next time.".
Imagine the look on my face at this point.......and me screaming in my head, "Bitch, I am using these Qs NOW!!!"
(BTW-the L2CQ did come off as you can see above.)

So we returned just the razors since there were no Qs used on the e.l.f. brushes.
Then I rebought the 4 razors and used 3 Qs, but now the L2CQ didn't come off(since it was "used" in the previous transaction).

So I pulled out a 4th $4/1 Schick Q after the transaction was finished and we did a "post coupon" and I got $4 in cash for it.
Again she didn't know how to do a post Q so luckily the manager was right there and showed her how to do one.

Plus when we returned the 4 razors the register told the cashier to refund me $24.55 in BC AND .85¢ in cash.
So I had $30.89 in Bonus Cash on this card BEFORE this transaction and ended up with $30.21 in Bonus Cash AFTER plus $4.85 Cash.

It's a head scratcher for sure! lolz
But any day I can walk out of a store with more BC and cash than I had when I walked in is a GOOD day.  ;-)

Then I bought this on Hubs card...........

3 x e.l.f. brushes $1, 20% Disc.=$2.40
1 x e.l.f. brush $2, 20% Disc.=$1.60
4 x Big Win candy bags on sale 2/$3=$6.00
SubTotal......$10.00

No Qs were used so $10+.24¢ tax=$10.24 paid with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $9 in new BC(2 x $3 elf, 1 x $1 Big Win candy wyb4 weekly, 1 x $2 Big Win candy wyb4 monthly)so spent down my BC by $1.24 on this transaction.

I may venture into Rite-Aid again before Saturday night if I get an itch to.  Will update my R-A hijinx if I do.


Sluggy

Weis Markets Hijinxs

Last week I did well at Weis and because some stuff didn't ring up correctly, I did even better! lol

Everything on the left side of the picture was 50% off on clearance......

* 1 can Campbell's soup .74¢
* 1 bag Uncle Ben's fancy rice mix $1.62
* 2 grape jelly .89¢
* 1 StarKist EVOO tuna $1
* 8 Carolina rice packets .37¢

(I also got a .50¢ Ibotta rebate for the tuna packet.)

The Palmolive dish soap was a Friday only special for $1.49 each plus I had a $1/2 ManQ.
The bottle of marinade was the Friday Freebie(it's laying down next to the tuna).

The Chi-Chi's salsa and chips and the Ben and Jerry's pints below were a clusterfuck situation.......

Ok so there were 2 signs on the end cap by the Chi-Chi's items....Buy 2 Salsas bet a bag of chips free.  I had 2 x .55¢/1 Chi-Chi IPQs(which double to $1.10).
The chips rang up $3, the salsas rang up $3.89 each and the Qs came off.  Not good as the chips should have been free.

Then this variety of ice cream above was on clearance 2 for $4.50 instead of $4.50 each but rang up $3.99(Ben and Jerry's is part of the Mix and Match "Buy 6/Get $3 off Deal" plus they are .51¢ off on sale).

There were no bags of chips that were 12 oz.(the free ones for this deal)and none of the salsas on this endcap were 16 oz.(15.6 oz or something like that).
*I have since solved the mystery here.....the Deal was for a totally different set of salsas in a different part of the store but there were still NO  12 oz. bags of chips in the store to get them free.

The sign on the shelf for the ice cream.  Notice there are more of that variety on clearance in the back of the shelf.

The Customer Service person just kept shaking her head and ended up refunding me $11.28 for the incorrect prices.
Weis has recently done away with their "if it rings up wrong you get it free" policy(it's not a state mandated law)and if something rings up wrong you just get the difference now.

I should have paid $10.08 for these 5 items but was charged $16.56 the first time(counting the Qs coming off)so she should have refunded me $6.48 but she put a $11.28 refund back on my c/c.
I still can't figure this one out but hey! her error is in my favor so no worries.  ;-)

It's always an adventure at Weis(PMITA)Markets, isn't it??

Do you have a store that regularly screws things up and you have to have an eagle eye out at the cash register?

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Last Friday & So Far This Week

So I had another .50¢/1 Colgate toothpaste ManQ, a B2G1Free Wet n' Wild ManQ and a $1/1 Wet n' Wild IPQ so I did this on Friday.........

4 x Wet n' Wild nail polish BOGO40% off=$3.16
1 x Colgate toothpaste on sale=$3.50
SubTotal......$6.66

Coupons Used
1 x B2G1Free Wet n' Wild ManQ=.99¢
1 x $1/1 Wet n' Wild IPQ=$1.00
1 x .50¢/1 Colgate Toothpaste ManQ=.50¢
1 x $3/1 Colgate In-AdQ=$3.00
Coupon Total......$5.49

$6.66-$5.49=$1.17+.10¢=$1.27 paid for with BC.

On Monday I bought this on daughter's card.........

2 x SoftSoap liquid soap on sale $2.99 but Gold Disc. better $2.71=$5.42
3 x e.l.f. brushes $1 Gold Disc. .80¢=$2.40
1 x e.l.f. brushes $2 Gold Disc. $1.60=$1.60
SubTotal........$9.42

Coupons Used
1 x $1/2 SoftSoap ManQ=$1.00
2 x $2/1 SofSoap In-AdQ=$4.00
Coupon Total.......$5.00

$9.42-$5.00=$4.42+.27¢tax=$4.69 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned $6 in new BC(2 x $3 wyb2 e.l.f. items)so a $1.31 moneymaker.

I also had this spit out of the Catalina machine....

A $3 off wyspend $30 Q.
Yippee!  I haven't gotten one of those in quite a while.

Then I bought this on my card.......

4 x e.l.f brushes $1 price point Gold Disc. .80¢=$3.20+.20¢tax=$3.40 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $6 in new BC(2 x $3 wyb2 elf items)so this was a $2.60 moneymaker.
Unfortunately no $X/$30 Q printed for my Wellness card. *whomp whomp*

$1 Brushes I know that earn back BC--
#1802 Lash & Brow Wand
#1807 Brow Comb and Brush
#1803 Blending Brush
#1821 Concealer Brush

I was going to do that Spend $40/Get $20 BC Deal(PandG items)on my son's card but with that $3 OYNO Q that printed on Daughter's card I'll do it on that card instead(and get that extra $3 off).

The BIG NEWS is that effective July 28th Sunday all new Bonus Cash expiration dates move from 60 Days to 30 Days!!!

This is what is printing on all Rite-Aid receipts now.

Yikes.
So if you carry a BC balance on your card you've got a mere 30 Days to use it or lose it.
Now is the time to spend down my BC so I'll be doing a few more transactions this week.

Stay tuned........

Sluggy