This Week on the Dining Table

The "More X-Rays" Edition..........

I limped back to the doc this past Wednesday and they did more x-rays and I'm still waiting on the results.  Not having fun this week so far and next week I get laser-ed open.

Good times!

Meal planning is the least of my worries right now. 8-(

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

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

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin sandwiches, TBD veggie for freezer
2. Monday--Applebee's Salads Take-Out using a gift card
3. Tuesday--Hubs Surprise

4. Wednesday--Hubs Surprise
5. Thursday--Hubs Surprise

7. Saturday--Hubs Surprise

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

1. Sunday--Pork Tenderloin sandwiches, Broccoli
2. Monday--Applebee's Salads Take-Out using a gift card
3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Cheeseburgers, Corn on Cob
5. Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie

6. Friday--Lamb Chop(for Hubs only), Sweet Potato Fries, Macaroni/Veggie Salad
7. Saturday--Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners(if you consider a frozen pot pie home cooking lol), 1 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.

Hubs made the Sun./Wed./Thurs./Fri.(the lamb chop)/Sat. dinners though I made the sweet potato fries and the macaroni salad on Friday.  He grilled his own lamb chop(I am so proud of him!)

What got put into the freezer last week....
* More bacon

* Popsicles

* Shredded Cheese

* Chicken Thighs

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* Pork Tenderloin

* Broccoli

* 3 pot pies

* 1 lamb chop

* grilled/bagged chicken strips

* 2 Kielbasa(for Hubs lunch one day

* 1 hot dog(for my lunch one day)

We spent $125.41 last week(through last Thursday), bringing our food to $144.21 so far this month.

Most of this was some canned goods stockpiling for Fall/Winter as I found some cheap canned veggie deals.

I've earned $29.20 on Ibotta in August so far.

My savings percentage for last week was 43%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August came in at 43% so far.(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week......macaroni salad, some taco filling and ground beef we didn't use on the cheeseburgers and browned up for meals this week.

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

1. Sunday--Steak strips, Brussels Sprouts, Baked Potato
2. Monday--BBQ chicken legs, leftover Macaroni Salad, Squash and Onions
3. Tuesday--?

4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--?

6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--?

Hubs was having an emergency dental visit when I wrote this up so I didn't know if he'd be eating regular food the rest of this week so I didn't put anything in the rest of the week.  We have plenty here to choose from so I'll play it by ear the rest of this week.  Most probably we'll get lobsters 1 night, 2 ground beef meals will happen and a pasta meal another night.

Come back to see what we did.

What needs buying for this menu? Lobsters, fresh produce as we are out, maybe some lunch meat or I'll just pull out some tuna cans for lunches.  And we are almost out of bread so we'll hit the Bread Outlet at some point.

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Scampi
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Breakfast for Dinner

* 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.

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

Frugal Friday.....the August 7th Edition on Saturday

 Here are the few things that happened here around Chez Sluggy that could be called frugal wins.........

* I earned a $10 Reward from buying some clothing online late Winter right before Covid hit.  This reward was expiring on Thursday 8/7 so I pulled up the website and saw they were having a one day flash sale on the type of knit pants I like-3 pairs for $33 total so $11 a pair which was a great deal and I need smaller pants come Fall/Winter.  My "reward" covered all the shipping plus $1.01 on the pants so I spent $31.99 total for all three pair + shipping.

*  We harvested veggies from the garden this week--lots more broccoli and some yellow squash.  Still no tomatoes. 8-(

* I grocery shopped this week and earned the Midweek Ibotta rebate too...........

At Weis I got.....

5 x Think! oatmeal cups on clearance for $1 ea. 

1 x Kraft mayo for $3.49

2 x Crack an Egg breakfast cups(for Hubs)for $2 ea.

1 x Barilla Vero Gusto spaghetti sauce on clearance $3.19

1 x OEP shredded cheese for $2.49

1 x Breakstone cottage cheese for $1.99

$20.16 spent at Weis

At Walmart I got....

4 x Bella wet dog food for .74¢ ea.

1 x Manwich can for $1.00

1 x Butterfinger candy bar for .88¢

3 x Banquet chicken pot pies for .94¢ ea.(Hubs cooked this week so easy foods)

2 x Mead 5 star folders for .97¢ ea.

1 x Hormel turkey snack for $1.67

$9.05 at Walmart

$29.21 OOP on all this(plus .12¢ tax on the Mead stuff)and $11.20 in Ibotta earned back plus $2.25 on Savingstar so $15.88 w/sales tax OOP on all that shopping.

* I also hit Rite-Aid this past week on Wednesday.........

2 x Neutrogena acne soap $2.87 w/Gold discount=$5.74

1 x Neutrogena acne wash w/Gold discount=$7.19

1 x Neutrogena acne cleanser w/Gold discount=$7.19

2 x Bic razors $3.99 w/Gold discount=$7.98

Subtotal.....$28.10

Coupons Used

4 x $3/1 any Neutrogena acne product IPQ=$12.00

2 x $3/1 Bic select razors In-AdQ=$6.00

1 x $3/1 Bic Flex/Comfort3/Soleil razor IPQ=$3.00

Coupon Total..........$21.00

$28.10-$21.00=$7.10+.23¢ sales tax=$7.33 paid for with a combo of Bonus Cash and R-A gift card.

I earned back $7 in new BC($6 wys $20 Neutrogena, $1 wyb2 Bic razors) so almost free. 8-)

* I found money!

I didn't even have to leave the parking lot and go inside at Rite-Aid to find this dime.  Found next to my car when I got out of it.

And Hubs gets the credit for this penny.  He accompanied me to Weis(PMITA)Markets on Tuesday and found this coin on the way to the check-out.

Total Change found this week. .11¢
Total Change found this year....$47.20

* Ex-College Boy has been moved out for 1 week now and we have already seen our daily electricity usage go from over $6 per day to under $5.50.  I'll take that as a win any day! lolz

It will be interesting to see how much the water bill goes down too. ;-)

That's about it from here.

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

Sluggy

The August Giveaway.....Something a Little Different

The Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway Box I had planned for August will have to be delayed until cooler weather sets in as there are Dove chocolates in it so it's the perfect occasion to help out a friend and former blogger instead.

Remember my cousin and dear friend Sonya Ann?

Well since she stopped blogger, moved and had her life turned on it's ear she's been writing again.

And she's got a new book out on Amazon which is HERE.

It's called "Their Hellfire".

If you have Kindle Unlimited you can download it for free but otherwise it will cost you only $2.99 to get the download.

Sonya also has a nifty website HERE though she hasn't done much with it yet.  McVal helped her create that online presence. 

So here's the Giveaway part.........

1. Go to the book's Amazon page and check it out.

2. Leave a comment on this post that you did.  You can enter once per day this way.

3. If you buy the book, you get an extra entry AND you can get that extra entry each day you enter on this post. *We are using the honor system here about buying the book.  Please be honest.

4. You can also get an extra entry PER DAY for sharing this Giveaway post on your own blog, website, Facebook, Instagram or other social platform.  Please leave a link to your share in that comment/entry.

5. Make sure you either leave your email address in your entry/have your email address connected to your Blogger/Google account or I have you on the "Master List" of giveaway entrant emails.

That's it.

Easy-Peasy.

The prize for this Giveaway is a $25 Amazon gift code which I will sent to the winner.

This giveaway starts today, August 6th, as soon as this post goes live and will end on August 15th, Saturday at 11:59pm EDST(Eastern US time)so that gives you over a week to dig into this new novel and enter.

As always, the winner, once announced will have 48 hours from that announcement post to contact me via email to receive their prize code.

Who doesn't want free Amazon money??

So get cracking on this one and Good Luck to all!!

Sluggy

Income & Spending 2020.....the July Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

  I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the July report---

I had 2 goals for July.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2020.

I can report that we finished up July in the black.
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....$2241.06

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,883.76
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $507.19

* Some of my excess WAM cash to cover my Ancestry subscription and a cash birthday gift to Eldest so=$200.00

Total "Income" for July.....$5813.19

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,883.76(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in July were $89.00
* Variable Expenses in July came to $3483.13
Total Expenses....$3572.13

$5813.19-$3572.13=$2241.06
Slush into June of $27,118.01 in that Fund, add the $2241.06 overage brings Slush to $29,359.07 going into August
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $2241.06 for July.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this July, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Phone charges and internet were the same as last month.
*  The water bill was $3.37 lower than in June.
* The Amazon c/c bill was $99.93 lower than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c bill was $136.05 lower than in June.
*  The WAM was the same amount taken in June

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The electric bill was $14.31 higher than last month.

*  The gas bill was $52.45 higher than in June.

*  Dixie Belle needed her rabies shot and a parasite check so that was $39.00 paid we didn't plan for.

* A cash birthday gift was given in July.

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on July---
Two small irregular bills last month so that was good but I did spend what I consider a lot at the grocery stores.

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2020----
The house insurance is due mid-August as far as irregular bills go.  The Mastercard c/c bill will be high due to the new love seat we purchased for the den.

So how was your July financially?
  

Did you spend less than the income you had in July?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!


Sluggy

Dollar General & Rite-Aid Last Saturday

On August 1st I made a quick run to the Dollar General Store in town and tried to put together a transaction to use my $5 off $25 Coupon.  I've been watching some YouTube DG vloggers to see what would be free or cheap using mostly digital DGQs.

Of course my store didn't have certain of those free/cheap after Q products or I didn't get certain DG digital Qs so I had to make it up as I went along.

Let me add that Ex-College Boy had moved out the previous day taking with him a portion of my stockpile for him and his new apartment mate.  Mostly it was foodstuffs we don't eat(or only eat sporadically)but he also took a part of my toilet paper and facial tissue stockpile(the boy can go through paper goods like nobody's business!lol)so I was looking for a deal on tp especially.

Here is what I got...........

3 x Scott 12 roll tp $5=$15 *$3 off Instantly when you spent $15 on Kimberley-Clark paper goods so it was $12 total

2 x Rice Chex boxes $2.25 ea.=$4.50

3 x select GM cereals $3 but $2 ea. wyb3=$6.00

1 x Ivory body wash aloe scent=$1.50

1 x 32 pack Arm and Hammer laundry pods on sale=$3.95

2 x travel size Head and Shoulders $2 ea.=$4.00

SubTotal...$31.95 *with the tp instant discount*

Coupons Used

1 x $5 wyspend $25=$5.00

1 x $1/2 GM cereals DGQ=$1.00

1 x $1/2 GM cereals IPQ=$1.00

1 x $1.25/1 Ivory body wash DGQ=$1.25

1 x $2/1 Arm and Hammer laundry pods DGQ=$2.00

1 x $3/2 Head and Shoulders DGQ=$3.00

Coupon Total........$13.25

*And $16.25 with the $3 Instant Discount on tp*

$31.95-$13.25=$18.45+.45¢ sales tax=$18.80

I restocked on tp and cereals(the Reese's will go to the local food bank or Ex-CB), the little Head and Shoulders were .50¢ each and will be stocking stuffers come Xmas, the 32 pack of laundry pods was a great deal at $1.95 after DGQ(the smaller 17 ct. packs were the same price after DGQ!) and the body wash was .25¢ after DGQ(some stores this body wash is only $1.25 reg. price but not mine so it might be free after Q at your store).

I didn't get the Bic pencil DGQ that would have made those free, and my store doesn't stock the $1 Denta Life dog sticks I had IPQs that would have made those free, the 7 oz. Dawn for $1 that would have been 75¢ after DGQ or the $1 Crest variety that their $2/1 DGQ was attaching to which made it a $1 moneymaker.

But I think I did ok considering 3 big packs of tp! ;-)

Then I went to Rite-Aid for a quickie...........hehehe

4 x Cold-Eeze drops 75% off(reg. $8.49)$2.12 each=$8.48

I used 4 x $2/1 Cold-Eeze IPQs from their website so $8 off, making my total .48¢ which was paid with Bonus Cash.

Hubs loves this stuff for when he gets colds in the Winter so we are well supplied now.

Lots of cold and flu OTC meds are on clearance at R-A right now.

It seems like they are slowly resetting all the shelves at Rite-Aids, department by department this Summer so check out all the clearance in your store.

That's the extent of my shopping so far this month.

Sluggy