Food Spending 2022....the August Report

Onward to August's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2022.

I have posted August'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 August.  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, Pet Food & tax where applicable. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
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FARM STAND

OOP  $1.00

Value  $3.54

Savings  71.75%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC/Gift Cards  $453.01

Value  $453.01
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE
OOP  $1.99

Value  $1.99

Savings 00%

WALMART
OOP  $18.93

Qs/free Gift Cards  $23.36
Value  $42.29
Savings 55.24%

WEIS

OOP  $24.03

Qs/Sales  $3.11
Value  $27.14
Savings  11.46%

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%,  Farm Stand at 71.75% and Walmart at 55.24%.

The worst rate was at Shursave at 00%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in August

TOTAL Spent in August................$45.95

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$29.01

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$74.96

TOTAL Savings of .............................38.70%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for August w/R-A..............$45.95

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards w/................$482.02

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid...$527.97
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items....................91.30%

This closes out the August food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....I only bought items that were absolutely needed to make meals for things that I didn't have on hand.  That means not buying on sale price for most everything bought which means my savings rate went into the toilet in August.  It is what it is.  I am grateful that my well stocked pantry/freezer meant keeping my OOP spending to under $50 for the month.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 43.87% in August 2022 to 38.70% compared to the July's 82.57% savings average.  Thank goodness for all that free stuff I got from Rite-Aid to boost my monthly overall savings rate! 8-)

With 8 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $1,826.77 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,826.77

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$9,964.60

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$8,138.13

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................81.67%

The average per month amount spent is $228.35 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To September 2022.......We are here 11 more days then gone so the only food spending will be for the bare necessities.  There will increased eating out as a result, especially after we leave for Louisiana.  No clue where the spending will end up when September is over.

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 August?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  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

This Week on the Dining Table

The "I Keep Telling Myself This" Edition....

Yep, this is where I am mentally now.  Meal planning and keeping to it is sooo far down my list of important sh*t to do right now.  By next Monday it might not even be on my radar. ;-)

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned.....

1. Sunday--Beef Pie

2. Monday--Liver and Onions, Mashed Potatoes, Harvard Beets

3. Tuesday--Fish, Collards

4. Wednesday--Mac and Cheese, ?

5. Thursday--Pecan Chicken, Veggie TBD

6.  Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Take-Out

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Beef Pie

2. Monday--Fish, Harvard Beets

3. Tuesday--Liver and Onions, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, leftover Beets

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Subway subs

6.  Friday--Chicken Strips, Corn on Cob

7. Saturday--Take-Out lunch, no Dinner

I have a good excuse for why I didn't cook the later half of the week.  Yah see, one of my Rite-Aid ladies belongs to a church that has an emergency food pantry and she said she'd take the bulk of the non-expired food we still have to get rid of.  I started piling her stash up on the chest freezer not realizing until later that her stash would be overwhelming and I wouldn't be able to get into the freezer until she came and got it all on Saturday.  She also relieved me of some freezer items as well as boxes of canning jars(for her neighbor).

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  Nothing

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  1 package of liver

*  1 package of bacon

*  1 package of Ground Beef

*  1 package of Fish

*  1 bag of Chicken Strips

*  Also butter and roll sausage that my R-A lady took

                                                   

I spent $17.25 on food/toiletries/HBA this last week at Weis.

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $43.96 for August.  

There are 2 shopping days left in August.

I've earned $39.98 on Ibotta in August(mostly at R-A).

I've earned $3.15 on Checkout51 in August.

I've earned $0 on Coupons dotcom in August.

I've earned 1,075 points from shopping on Fetch in August.

I earned 200 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in August.

I've earned $9.00 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in August.

That's $43.03 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $43.96 in grocery spending so in reality it's .93¢ spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 16.00%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 39.75% so far(w/out R-A).  

Leftovers going into this week.... beef pie, liver and onions, mashed taters, fresh baked bread(I got ambitious Friday night)and homemade pickles.

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

1. Sunday--Pork Teriyaki stir-fry, Rice

2. Monday--Salmon, Collards

3. Tuesday--Mac and Cheese and Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--BBQ sandwiches, Cole Slaw

5. Thursday--Hot Dogs and whatever else I find in the freezer

6.  Friday--Beef Stroganoff, some leftover Veggie

7. Saturday--Pecan Chicken and whatever else I can scrounge together

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  More milk for the mac and cheese, a bag of slaw mix.  One trip to the grocery store on Tuesday for a few items to close out August.  The plan is to spend about $4 on that.

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 deals on food at your stores this week?  I have barely been IN a grocery store in weeks and I haven't even looked at an ad in that long either. 8-)

Sluggy 

Happy 40th!

So today Hubs and I had our 40th Anniversary.

Ex-College Boy came over to give us this card.......

I've always said this family is bilingual....we speak English and Sarcasm. lol

Inside the card was a gift card to a fancy pants restaurant located near where we are going to be living that all three of them contributed to purchase.

My idea of celebrating a 40th wedding anniversary is NOT going through all your earthly possessions and either packing them up or pitching them into the trash but that's how we got to celebrate it.  We bug out of here in 2 weeks and 1 day.

Go us.

Sluggy

Frugal Friday....the August 26th Edition

Here's what went on this past week at Chez Sluggy........

*  Another 2 loads went to Salvation Army this week.

*  I used the Bonus Cash on one card to buy a cool mist humidifier since we had to trash our old one after last Winter.  I still have a little bit of BC on that account to use up.

*  A load went to the food bank.

*  I gave away a bunch of stuff to my friends at Rite-Aid this week.

*  I did a post coupon for $3 on Monday at Rite-Aid.

*  I found money this past week!                  

I found this at the Arby's I stopped at on the way home on Friday to get a sandwich for lunch.....

I found this penny at R-A on the floor Monday.......

And then this change in the foyer on a ledge at R-A that same day.........

This dime was found also at Rite-Aid by the nail polish on Tuesday........

And on Wednesday another dime was found in front of the register and a penny on the counter where else? Rite-Aid!lol

Total Found in last Week.... .29¢
Total Found This Year.....$14.89

I also saw 2 pennies at the Burger King drive-thru but my back hurts too badly to lean out of the car to pick them up. 8-((  A worse back is not worth 2 cents.....

*  Been staying home(other than going to Rite-Aid)and going through stuff to give away, trash or move with us.

Sorry but my life is boring as far as frugality goes.

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

And have a good weekend!  And stay cool.

Sluggy  

Moving is Hard!

I'm not talking about the actual physical labor part of it(well, that's HARD too!)but all the emotions and such it brings out.

We've been here 22 years as of this week.  We raised kids here and now are empty nester here.  I've got a few friends here(not many)but Hubs never made an effort to find friends here.  He had co-worker/friends whom he hasn't made an effort in the last 5 years since he retired to hang out or even stay in contact with.

Side Note-When we moved here our kids were 9, 7+ and 4+.  He promised me he'd find someone to babysit so we could have time out alone.  22 years later I am still waiting him to fulfill that promise. 8-(

Anyway as I go through the detritus of our lives(and the crap the kids left here when they grew up and moved out)I am feeling all kinds of emotions.  I go from smiling at memories to full on crying jags.  Sorting out the stuff of 22 years of living is hard.  Saying goodbye to and trying to find good homes for cast-offs still with life in them is hard.(Hubs says just throw it away but I find that very difficult.)  

From one moment to the next I don't know what emotion will come bubbling up from my soul.  Sadness at closing out a chapter of my life means that many less days left in my journey toward death.  Dealing with medical shit and having to find new doctors is the biggest PITA right now.  Some days it's gut wrenching and some days it's "ok". Going into the unknown is scary!  Moving to a place so different from where I've lived is scary, even if I've been there many times and I have a grown kid living there.

Sunday is Hubs and mine 40th Wedding Anniversary.  You know what we're doing to celebrate this  achievement?  We are getting a dumpster delivered to fill up. 

Good times.

Sluggy