Food Spending....the February Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2023.

I have posted February'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 February.  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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

KROGER

OOP  $148.9

Qs/Ads  $86.90

Value  $235.88

Savings  36.84%

OLLIE'S

OOP  $10.49

Value  $22.73

Savings  53.85%

SHOPPER VALUE

OOP  $41.08

Qs/Ads  $9.63

Value  $50.71

Savings  19.99%

SUPER 1 FOODS 

OOP   $19.47

Qs/Ads  $22.97

Value  $42.44

Savings  54.12%

WALMART
OOP  $221.45

Qs/free Gift Cards  $108.71
Value  $330.16
Savings 32.93%

*********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at Ollie's at 53.85% and Super 1 Foods at 54.12% .

I shopped at 5 different stores in February.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in February................$441.47

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$240.45

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$681.92

TOTAL Savings of ............................35.26%

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....another less than stellar month for food spending.  I'm ok with it given my physical limitations at the moment.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 1.47% in February 2023 to 35.26% compared to the January's 33.79% savings average.   A slight improvement even with having Hubs doing 90% of the food shopping.

With 2 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $856.14 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2022 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$856.14

2022 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$1,308.20

2022 Grand Total Saved...............................$452.06

2022 Yearly Savings Total..............................34.56%

The average per month amount spent is $428.07 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to March 2023...

Still in recovery mode but looking to resume normal cooking activity later this month. 8-)

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 February?

*  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 "Would You Drink This?" Edition.....

I am so out of the loop I hadn't even heard of this--a Marshmallow Peeps flavored limited edition Pepsi drink.  It doesn't sound very appetizing to me and I know Kim would never drink this for two reasons, 1-it's not diet and 2-it's not Coke. lolz

Would you drink this?  I'd take a sip just to say I've tasted it but I'm not about to pay $2.18 for a whole bottle!

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Tempura Shrimp, Cole Slaw

2. Monday--leftover Lasagna, Salad

3. Tuesday--Collards, Chicken Parm

4. Wednesday--Zaxby Zalad w/Chicken

5. Thursday--Brats on Roll(or not), baked Sweet Potato Wedges

6.  Friday--Catfish, Sauté Cabbage

7. Saturday--Liver and Onions, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie TBD

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

1. Sunday--Tempura Shrimp, Cole Slaw

2. Monday--Zaxby's Zalad w/Chicken

3. Tuesday--Collards, Chicken Parm

4. Wednesday--Catfish Lunch w/Okra, Corn, Fries(no dinner)

5. Thursday--Brats on Roll(or not), baked Sweet Potato Wedges

6.  Friday--Fend for Yourself

7. Saturday--Hamburgers, Salad

The Catfish meal and the Liver meal didn't happen.  We had catfish out on Wednesday and the Daughter had to work Saturday so the liver is still tucked in the freezer hoping to get made this Saturday. 8-)  Everything else got made but not necessarily on the day I planned.

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

*  2 bags of broccoli

*  2 bags of stir-fry veg

*  3 Chicken Parms

*  2 bags of Chicken Teriyaki

*  2 bags of Burritos

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

*  1 box of Chicken Parm

*  1 bag of Shrimp

*  1 pack of Bratwurst

Last week Hubs picked up items at Shopper's Value Mart, Kroger and Walmart(I went to this one too)and spent a total of $116.46.  

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $441.47 for February so far.

There is 1 shopping days left in February.

I've earned $147.25 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $19.00 on Coupons dotcom in February.

I've earned 3,508 points from shopping on Fetch in February.

I earned 40 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in February.

That's $166.25in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $441.47 in grocery spending so in reality it's $275.22 in food spending after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 45.03% and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 35.26% so far.  

Leftovers going into this week.....a little Stroganoff but no rice, Collards and 2 or 3 Brats.  Hubs will take care of most of these for lunches.

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

1. Sunday--Stuffed Red Peppers, leftover Collards

2. Monday--Big Salad w/Chicken on top

3. Tuesday--Pork Tenderloin on Bun, Corn

4. Wednesday--Lunch out or Take-out

5. Thursday--FFY

6.  Friday--Catfish, Sauté Cabbage or Cole Slaw

7. Saturday--Liver and Onions, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, either Green Beans or Beets

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  I am almost out of flour so that's something to pick up.  Hubs can make the Monday to Thursday meals(and half of the Friday meal).  It is more difficult for me to walk/stand as the doc has increased the compression on my leg(wound).  It is painful to walk due to the compression dressing on my ankle and foot so I'll be more sedentary for the next little while until they discontinue this compression. ugh.  So meals need to be simpler or things Hubs can prepare as I can't be walking around much.

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?  

Sluggy 

Frugal Friday.....the February 24th Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are a few Frugal win this past week......

*  Didn't go anywhere except to wound care, Walmart and lunch on Wednesday this past week.  We went to a Catfish house after my appointment.  Some much food we didn't need dinner so that's a win, right?

*  While we were out Wednesday I had Hubs swing by Ollie's to return a curtain I had bought there on the 1st of Feb.  Remembering to make returns before the 30 day window closes is a win.  I figured I had fabric already to make a curtain for the front door glass(and I've picked it out from my stash)so that's frugal!  Now I just have to finish setting up my sewing stuff and make it. ;-)

*  The freebies/moneymakers or almost freebies from last week's grocery trips---

*  A free Gatorade branded energy drink and a vegan cream cheese at Walmart.

*  An almost free/cheap razor.  After digital coupon and Ibotta rebate it was .67¢.

*  And 2 Air Wick refills for better than free after a $7 digital coupon and $8 in Ibotta rebates.

Nice.

*  Hubs bought new interior door handles for 2 of the bedrooms to replace the exterior door handles there were on those doors.  Inexpensive to replace ourselves vs. paying a handyman to do this.

*  I found money!
Oh yes I did!

A penny by the check-in counter of the seedy motel at the Chinese restaurant.

And another penny at the Walmart self-checkout on Wednesday after the Wound Care appointment.

Total Found in last Week.... .02¢
Total Found this Year....... .38¢ 

That's all for this past week.  

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

Sluggy   

To-Do List January Edition

Here's what was on my list of things to do in January...........

*  Pay Bills--DONE  All paid, early or on time.

*  Go to many Dr. appointments--DONE  All related to my injury in Maryland.  Six appointments in January counting the stitches removal.

*  Clean and Organize stuff in House--PASS  Though I'm not making much progress as I am restricted on walking around now, Hubs has made great strides in setting up his room.  He's made the bulk of purchases(curtains, rod, bookcases, a locking cabinet and a file cabinet)too and has his room finished.  Go him!  I think I bought a curtain rod and a set of curtains for the bedroom only in January.

*  Clean out Coupon Envie--DONE  Not that this is the monthly chore it use to be as we don't buy the local newspaper for the coupons.  The only coupons I get are printable ones I decide to print or the few that come on Wednesday with the weekly ads.

*  Edit More Photos--PASS  I've kept up with current photo editing.  I need to get some old photos done though.  I could do better here.

*  Post about Old Trips--FAIL  Haven't done any posting on those in January.  Just didn't do it.

*  Work on Genealogy--PASS  I've done a bit in January.  Nothing major.

*  Go to Dentist--DONE  Hubs and I finally got out teeth cleaning scheduled and done in January.  I received bad news on the tooth front(thanks for the bad teeth dad!)so over the next 3 months I'll be spending a lot of time in the dentist's chair before we lose dental insurance at the end of April.

*  Organize Clothes--PASS  With my injury and not being very mobile right now I still have tubs of clothing not hung up or organized.  I had 2 large closets in the PA house to use but haven't figured out where/how to organize my clothing here yet.

*  Move $$ around--DONE  I didn't get the money I wanted to shift around shifted.  This  moves to February.  Not a "big" deal but will result in a little more interest income once it's finished.

*  Celebrate my Birthday--DONE  It was low key but lovely.  I heard from both my sons and my daughter here took me out for the day.

 

Considering I am limited on movement I had a pretty productive month.  

How was your January?

Sluggy

Your Name Is Important

This is just my way of telling y'all I'm gonna be a Grandma!!!

I.

Can't.

Wait.

Sluggy Grandma To-Be or Mimi or ?