This Week on the Dining Table

The "Worn Out of Cooking/Planning" Edition..........

This is just a gratuitous photo of boiled peanuts for Sonya Ann I took at Dollar Tree. Jalapeno Garlic flavor anyone?  hehehe

I've gotten to a point(I get there a few times a year usually)where I just don't want to plan meals, prep meals, cook meals, and shopping has become such a chore too with all the precautions/uncertainty/rules/etc.  It's just hard to get enthused about any of it right now.

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin Sammies, Squash and Onions
2. Monday--Cook-out:dogs, burgers, salads, beans
3. Tuesday--FFY

4. Wednesday--Leftover Cook-out Foods
5. Thursday--Pizza take-out, Salad

6. Friday--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Green Beans
7. Saturday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Salad

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin Sammies, Squash and Onions
2. Monday--Cook-out:dogs, burgers, salads, beans
3. Tuesday--FFY

4. Wednesday--Leftover Cook-out Foods
5. Thursday--Pizza take-out, Salad

6. Friday--FFY
7. Saturday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Salad(I just had the salad)

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out.

The only thing that didn't happen last week was the Stroganoff as we had so many leftovers to eat through.  Plus it was unseasonable HOT here so nobody wanted that dish.
 

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 1 package of beef liver

* 1 pack of hot dogs

* 1 package burritos

* 1 lb. butter/

* 1 roll bkfst sausage

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 4 pork chops

* 2 packs of hot dogs

* 1 pack of bratwurst

* 1/2 of the frozen meat sauce

1 trip each to Malacari's, Walmart, the Dollar Tree stuff I forgot to add from previous weeks and the delivery from Walmart dotcom had me spending $113.86 total this past week and brings my May Grand Total spending on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods to $560.90. ouch.  I am not complaining though because A-in the past I've had a few high spending months like this and B-pandemic(need I say more?).

I am at $40.99 total earned in Ibotta rebates in May. Not too shabby for me. ;-)

My savings percentage last week was 40.39%(without Rite-Aid trips)for May and the monthly savings total comes in at 39.72%(w/out R-A).  

As it's June 1st I haven't spend anything on food in June yet so I have no savings rates for this month yet.
I have 30 more food shopping/spending days in June.

Leftovers going into this week........stuffed shells(2 left), beef and broccoli w/rice, 2 pork portions, tiny bit of potato salad, 3 helpings of macaroni salad, 5 of so helpings of beans(they weren't very popular at the cook-out lol).

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers(I had a deli chicken sandwich)
2. Monday--Kielbasi on rolls, Sweet Potato fries, leftover sides
3. Tuesday--Beef Stroganoff, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Fend For Yourself
5. Thursday--Chinese Take-out(or maybe FFY as it's Hershey medical appt. day)

6. Friday--Hungarian Goulash, Noodles
7. Saturday--Leftovers

What needs buying for this menu? Other than the take-out food, nothing needs purchasing to make this menu.  It's going to be a cool-ish week here so I'll knock two meals off my list that we don't want to eat in hot weather(Stroganoff, Goulash).  And they will be done in the crock pot anyway.

If the cool-ish weather holds out I might put Chicken and Dumplings on the menu Wednesday too.  That way I got use up some carrots too as I always put those in my Chick and Dumplings. ;-)

I might hit "Sharp Shopper" on Thursday when we go down to Hershey so there may be food spending this week.  I am not planning on darkening Weis(PMITA)Market's door this week. ;-)

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's here...........
*Shrimp Tempura
*Tuna Casserole
*Roasted Chicken
*Chicken and Dumplings
*Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
*Cheese Ravioli

*Spaghetti and Meatballs

*Breakfast for Dinner

* Grilled Chicken  new

* Grilled Steak  new

* Salmon Dinner  new
*Haddock Fish Dinner  new
*Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

I really need to redo this list once I go through the freezer again in June and inventory.

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

I Have No Words......

One of my friends shared this on FB and I just can't stop laughing............

Sluggy

Food Spending Report.....the May Edition

* Doing this Monthly Report a couple of days early since I'm finished food shopping for May. *

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2020.

I have posted May'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(3 at home this month). No "kids" under 24.
*****************

CARONE'S/SHURSAVE
OOP  $9.98
Value  $15.46
Savings   35.45%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $4.00
Value  $6.98
Savings   42.69%

MAINES

OOP  $32.82

Value  $50.67

Savings  33.23%

MALACARI'S

OOP  $25.65

Value  $43.89

Savings  41.56%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $31.87
Value  $44.20
Savings  27.90%

PandR DISCOUNTS
OOP  $80.01
Value  $171.17
Savings  53.26% 

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/GCard  $188.34
Value  $188.34
Savings  100%

SURPLUS OUTLET
OOP   $77.41
Value  $146.08
Savings  47.01%

WALMART(+ online one)
OOP  $91.42
Value  $157.11
Savings  41.81%

WEIS
OOP  $207.74
Qs/Ads  $87.28
Value  $295.02
Savings  29.58%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, P and R Discounts at 53.26% and Surplus Outlet at 47.01%.   My worst savings rate was at Price Chopper with 27.90%.  Except for the "discount/surplus" stores and R-A of course my rates other places were a lot lower than usual.  I suspect it's because of the pandemic(both higher food rates at "regular" grocery stores and me not bothering to wait for a better price and grabbing some things when not a great deal for fear of not being able to find it later on?).  Who knows?

I shopped at 10 different stores in May.

I also earned $40.99 in cash rebates in May which helps offset the spending once I cash those in at the end of 2020.

I also took out any spending on food for the Memorial Day cook-out as that goes in the Entertaining Category(what little we do).  That was an additional $74.56 you don't see reflected in the numbers below.

TOTAL Spent........................................$560.90

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales................$369.68
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$930.58

TOTAL Savings of ................................39.72%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for May w/R-A........$560.90
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales w/R-A....................$188.34
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$188.34
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items.....................49.87%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into May having no clue where we'd land on the spending since we didn't really alter our way of eating/what we ate last month.  Said spending was high, there's no debating that.  But given the circumstances lately I'll embrace still being under $600 for May. ;-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by .42% in May 2020 to 49.87% compared to the April 2019 rate of 50.29% savings average.  A very insignificant jump down in savings rate.  I'm all good with that!

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $1770.52 on food/toiletries in 2019.

Going into 2020 before the pandemic blew the wind out of my sails I wanted to stay at or under $4K for the yearly food spending.  At this point I don't think that will happen but we'll keep plugging along anyway.


2020 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1770.52

2020 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$4875.66

2020 Grand Total Saved...............................$3105.14

2020 Yearly Savings Total............63.69%

The average per month amount spent is $354.10 at this point in 2020 which went up some from April's average.  As long as I'm around $400 per month it's all good.

LOOKING AHEAD To June 2020.............

Except for fresh produce(we do have some)we have good stores of food right now heading into June.

June is when I try to do less cooking(oven type)and more stove top, crock pot or grilling.  I also don't like to eat as much cooked foods preferring cold foods(salad season!).  If I can stay away from buying crappy snack foods the grocery budget should be a-ok.  Can I stay under $400 in food spending?  Maybe, maybe not.  Can I shoot for under $500 in the current conditions?  I hope so!


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 May?

*  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 May 29th Edition

Let's look at what passed for frugal this past week around Sluggy's World...............

* I broke down after 8 weeks of finding no yeast locally and ordered some(Thanks to Gerlyn for the link!).....

This the same brand I usually get at the Restaurant Supply Store here and I got it from Walmart dotcom.  Of course I paid a little more than usual but nowadays cost be damned! lol

I added sensitive band-aids for my HS flares for sensitive areas and this too to my order to get the free shipping........

8 cans of Hormel chili((Hubs and Ex-CB's favorite brand).  The chili was cheaper thaan buying it not on sale at Weis(PMITA)Markets.

* I found money!

A penny on the floor over in the pharmacy area..............

And then another penny in front of the register counter half tucked under the floor matt under the candy racks.

Total Found Money this Week.... .02¢

Total Found Money this Year........$45.20

*  I did some Rite-Aid shopping this week..............

Between two cards/accounts I spent down $4.17 in Bonus Cash.  See those Rite-Aid posts for the details.

*  I did some more grocery shopping to finish off the $10 Bloomin' Bonus Rebate on Ibotta.  I already had 1 item that qualified for both the $5 Essentials Bonus and this $10 Bonus so I needed 14 more items to hit that mark.

I was in Dollar Tree and was able to pick up 2 candy items for $2 total(for Ex-CB) and got back $1 in rebates total for those gave me 3 items toward the 15 needed.

I headed out to Walmart Thursday early when they weren't crowded yet and got all this to finish that deal.........

1 x Silk half & half $4.18(for Hubs)

1 x Capri Sun $2.22 (for Ex-CB)

1 x Lean Cuisine Bowl $2.47

1 x Pringles $1.44(for Ex-CB)

2 x FR sauce $2.48 total

1 x Challenge Butter $3.47

1 x Yogurt $1.24(for Hubs)

1 x Breakstone cottage cheese $3.14

1 x Rumma beef liver $2.82

1 x McCain's dippin wedges $2.48(for Ex-CB)

1 x Dave's English muffins $4.56

1 x Ballpark hot dogs $2.84

No coupons used so $33.34 Total OOP 

I earned back $11.34 plus 2 x .50¢ Bonus(May Level 1 and Dave's Brand)so $12.34 in rebates.

Total spent on all 15 items was $49.34($14 of that was ice cream cake)and I earned back $25.84($1 DT, $2.50 Weis, $12.34 Walmart+ $10 Bloomin' Bonus).

And the ice cream cake was bought for the cook-out so technically that didn't come out of the food budget but the take-out budget anyway. ;-)

After Ibotta rebates the total spending was $23.50.

I've earned $40.99 in rebates in May on Ibotta.  Not bad.

*  This arrived in the mail on Thursday as well.....

Two more $4 off $20 Qs-one for each of the cards I am currently using for our family(and for giveaway stuff).  Look for them if you are on Rite-Aid's mailing list.  They are good May 31st through June 27th.

That's about it for the report from here.

As much as possible during this insane time, stay frugal my friends.

Personally, I don't even want to add up my grocery spending this month....geez! ;-)

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid This Week

Before I head off to run errands this morning here's what I picked up at Rite-Aid yesterday...........

I forgot I still had a $4 off wyspend $20 snail mailed Q from R-A so bought--

1 x Midnite sleep aid on sale=$9.00

1 x Salonpas roll-on on salee=$9.00

2 x Wild Organics coffee 50% off clearance($3.39)=$6.78

SubTotal=$24.78

I used that $4 off $20 Q and a $1/1 Midnite IPQ so $5 off making all this $19.78, paid with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $16 in new BC(2 x $8 Midnite/Salonpas-same deal).

So essentially the Midnite was free after BC and Q, the Salonpas was $1 after BC back, one of the coffees was free after $4/$20 Q and I got .61¢ off the other coffee.

I would have preferred 2 Midnites as both would have been free after Qs and BC rolled(plus I like this stuff!)but they only got one package in this week's delivery. *whomp whomp*

Be sure and look around Rite-Aid for some food clearance, mostly this newish organic line(plus some beverages too).

Ok, I am off for the day.  I'm trying out this NEW blogger format and it's weird and I'm finding it difficult at times to change this old geezer's ways.  

I know I sound like an old person but "why do they have to keep fixing shit that ain't broke"?!? lolz

Sluggy