Frugal Friday....the June 9th Edition

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!   

There are very few Frugal wins this past week and not everything here wouldl be considered frugal but here goes......

*  Hubs did some minimal grocery shopping this week for himself as I am on a minimal food plan to move these unbudgeable pounds off.  Usually a cruise sees me gain 10+ lbs. which I can take off within the first week back.  This time I only gained 7-8 lb. and there were gone again in 2 days time.  Now it's doubling down time and another 5 lbs. are in the rear view mirror in the last 3 days.  We aren't stopping until enough is off so I can be approved for knee replacement surgery.  Taking no prisoners time!

*  After being forced to stay onboard due to an unexpected last minute tender I made the most of it and did lots of activities plus since it was the warmest day of the cruise I took a dip in the pool........

 

Hubs had just returned from the Wales shore excursion and snapped this photo.  I looked at the drunk people next to the pool in the hot tub and called them a bunch of pussies for not even trying the pool.  I think the whole trip me and one other gentleman even went into the pool the whole cruise.

*  Having a wonderful Hubby who was able to climb to the top of Caernafon Castle and taking great photos for me, including this shot from the very top of one of the parapets.......

 

*  I won a large branded tote bag and a t-shirt on the cruise(plus 3 sets of those little hotel toiletry bottles from 3 hotel stays. 

*  My happy place(one of many)in Cobh(cork)at the gift shop....

A few of these Guiness branded items *may* have made their way into my luggage home. ;-)

*  I found money!  

We only strolled through the casino one time and I fouund an abandoned machine with 6 cents of credit not cashed out so we cashed it out and took it to the casino desk and I "found" .06¢.

Total Found in last Week.... .06¢
Total Found this Year.......$2.10

That's all for this past week.

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

Sluggy   

Pride Month All the Time

Hubs and I made it to Cork, Ireland a few days ago-the land of my paternal lines except for my 3 x Great Grandfather, which DNA testing indicates he may have been originally from Germany.  Crossing the street in the downtown of Cork I noticed this crosswalk....

I thought my friends who don't do Facebook where I posted this photo originally might appreciate seeing it.  Post pandemic, the Pride flag was painted fittingly on Patrick St.(or Padraic in the Gaelic)in 2022 for #Pride Cork(which was celebrated in July that year).

I am happy to report that the crosswalk is still there thought "it be needin' a refresh".

As the article HERE says(if you can't get it to load)...."Cork was the first city on the island to formally raise the Rainbow Flag on a civic or public building and the first to illuminate its City Hall in rainbow colours. The design of the new crossing is unique to Cork, incorporating as it does both the 6 bands of the traditional Rainbow Flag and also the progressive chevron representing people of colour, transgender and intersex identities."

I am proud that the home of my paternal ancestors is a safe space of acceptance as am I.

So go see Cork, Ireland, if the fates and with ya!

Or as my distant Virginia cousin, singer William Kenneth "Big Kenny" Aplphin on my maternal sied, part of the country duo BIG and RICH has as his motto "Love Everybody".

 

Inclusive Sluggy 

Food Spending.....the May 2023 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for May 2023.

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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $18.75

Value  $37.50

Savings  50.00%

KROGER

OOP  $85.68

Qs/Ads  $63.86

Value  $149.54

Savings  42.70%

SUPER 1

OOP  $56.98

Qs/Ads  $46.54

Value  $103.52

Savings  44.96%

WALMART

OOP  $128.70

Qs/free Gift Cards $46.60
Value  $175.30
Savings 26.58%

********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at Dollar General at 50% and Super 1 at 44.96% .  My worse rate was  Walmart at  26.58%. 

I shopped at 4 different stores in MAY.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in May................$235.11

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$230.75

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$465.86

TOTAL Savings of ............................49.54%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....not bad since we weren't home for 2/3 of the month.  I picked up some deals(meat)in May for the Summer.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 2..42% in May 2023 to 49.54% compared to the April 47.12% savings average.  

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,882.46 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,117.57

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,537.60

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,420.03

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................40.39%

The average per month amount spent is $423.51 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to June 2023...I have already taken off any weight gained on the trip but I am continuing to restrict food intake to get down to the BMI needed by the surgeon to get my knee replacement.  Hubs will mostly be fending for himself the rest of June, especially as there is a family crisis he is going to PA to deal with so I haven't a clue what he'll be spending.

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 April?

*  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

Feeling like Catherine of Aragon today

Feeling very Catherine today.  Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife, who happens to be my 3rd Cousin 17 x removed.  We are both descended from John of Gaunt, the 1st Duke of Lancaster but through different wives of his.

 Women have been putting up with men's patriarchal shit long before her time but after what he did to her, she should have planted a 5 inch high heel in the middle of his forehead, if given the chance.  

Funny how history changed so due to Henry's older brother, Arthur, having died 6 months after wedding Catherine of Aragon, thus forming a strong alliance with Spain against France and Scotland so Henry married his dead older brother's wife.

How would the House of Tudor have played out if Henry had never gotten the kingdom?

Here's Catherine of Aragon's number from the musical "Six".

If you raise a daughter you'd be doing the worldwide  matriarchy a favor to make her as strong as Catherine was.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table for 2 Weeks

 The "You Know You Are Back From Vacation" Edition

We returned on Monday to home.  Oh what a tale I have to tell but not now.  Jet Lag was bad on both ends of a less than stellar cruise and 1.5 days in London.  But more on that later.

I am still in the land of sleep deprivation and this prettier than me representation of me should have drool hanging out of her mouth. lol

I am sorry if I've already forgotten items consumed or muddled the days as this a 2 week report.  I'll do the end of the cruise food eaten next time if I can get my brain working again and spell better. 8-

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned the first week.......

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Yellow Squash

2. Monday--Beef Pie

3. Tuesday--Riced Cauliflower, other Veggies and Beef Stir-fry

4. Wednesday--Trivia night at different place so no clue

5. Thursday--Applebee's Salad(late lunch)

6.  Friday--Tempura Shrimp and Zuke, Spinach Soufflé, maybe Cole Slaw

7. Saturday--Chicken in Peanut Sauce, Noodles and Veggies

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

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Yellow Squash

2. Monday--Beef Pie

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Tempura Shrimp and Zuke, Spinach Soufflé

6.  Friday--More Leftovers

7. Saturday--In n' Out Burger for lunch, no dinner

Lots didn't happen as I've been having a gastrointestinal issue all week.  Hubs had to fend for himself mostly. He made the Beef Pie and finished it all as a lefttover as I was not up for food running through my intestinal system most of the week. TMI but true.

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

*   sweet potato I cooked up so I could freeze it.

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

*  1 lb. Ground Beef

*  1 container of Chicken Parm

Last week we spent $0 on grocery shopping

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $0 for June.  

There are 16 shopping days left in June.

Here is the second week's "food plan".....

*Sunday to Saturday there was no plan. Duh.

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

Sunday--I had a small Caesar Salad for lunch, Hubs had his first ever Poutine in the Montreal airport(*cue the hu hu hu" French attitude)during out 6.50 hour layover(after leaving the hotel before breakfast was to be served).

 Then  a less than stellar Air Canada dinner at about 3 am  and then at 5 am they served a flavorless cup of yogurt(which was suppose to be flavored but danged if I could tell other than sugar what the flavor was suppose to be) and a soggy croissant before kicking us off the airplane at Heathrow airport on Monday morning at 6:30 am.  The cruise line arranged for a man in a van to take us to the hotel in the Kensington section of downtown London(which took ages as it was Monday morning rush hour into London).  Not being able to check-in to said hotel until 3pm we checked our bags with the front desk and skiddadled to Westminster Abbey for the verger tour we had booked there and made it just in the nick of time.

Monday-- We checked in to the hotel at 3pm and had a beer each and I had 2 appetizer plated(roasted mixed veggies plus a plate of olives at the hotel bar then fell into bed for hours(jet lag IS real people!)

Tuesday--Hotel breakfast buffet  with lots of different and strange English and ethnic food(there is a reason people refer to London as "Londonistan" lol)

Then Lunch/Dinner at a the Paul cafe near the Tower of London(I had a  Coronation Chicken" sandwich which was dry as dirt on a small tooth breaking Baguette roll with another Coke Zero.

 There was a half pint of Samuel Smith Extra Stout at a pub in the West End before the show we caught Then cabbing it back to the hotel.

Wednesday-another hotel Breakfast buffet forage 

Where I ate a "real meal" because we'd not eat dinner until late on the ship.  I discovered that I LIKE breakfast beans and Cumberland sausage!
then to the cruise ship and the traditional lunch of carrot cake, water and Guinesss.

Then a late dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse on the ship.  Best item on that menu was the grilled pineapple they brought to the table on big skewers like the meats to serve you.  I think I ate mainly pineapple there.  So good!

Thursday-- Breakfast was a Coke Zero and oatmeal.

The rest of the week breakfast was a drink(Coke Zero, Hot Tea often with Lemon and Honey or the English way with cream plus a banana in the cabin on 2 of the mornings.

Lunch in Edinburgh was Irn Bru......

And Haggis, Neeps and Tatties in a pepper cream sauce with flavorless bacon on top(which was not eaten).  More on this meal later on another post.

Dinner on the ship was an appetizer of 2 ravioli(with the tomato scraped off)

And a main of Eggplant Parmagiana(and Hugs took the spaghetti)

There may have been more carrot cake and water with lemon in the pub onboard later that evening but no dessert in this main dining room.

Early excursion that day so I ate one of the bananas for breakfast in the room.

It slipped out of the peel in two pieces.  I learned to do that magic trick as a kid but had no needle with me so it was a magical bananas I guess.

After walking around Belfast, we stopped in a coffee shop(I had water and about 1/4 ofra beetroot salad and Hubs had COFFEE. For lunch bad on the ship Hubs has Penne pasta with Arribbiata sauce which was not spicy at all as it should have been.

 I had pork Asian sliders and Coke Zero and some salad green on the plate.

These were very good.

I decided to push my luck at lunch and had a sliver of cheesecake with peanut butter flavor.  The only problem the ONLY PB flavor was that 1/3 of a miniature Reese's cup on top.  Most of what's pictured stayed on that plate.  

Dinner as the Asian restaurant(we ate there two nights).  Same name and menu as the last ship Kim.
This is Hubs with his dessert -Green Tea Ice Cream and Red Bean and Hazelnut filled triangles.

I had 5 spice Ginger Chocolate Cake

We also had LOTS of Calamari appetizers there because Kim was not there.  I hope a photo of it doesn't give you allergies. lol

The first visit I had Char Siu and was was nothing like that same dish on the other boat.  The second visit I had a lemon pepper chicken entreé which was so good.  So this was Friday dinner not the first visit.  I am so confused on what nights we ate where. lol

This was fish and chips in the pub one night.  I found a guy too Kim who kept me lubricated with Coke Zero.

 One morning Dan bought a breakfast coffee before excursion time using the ship credit on my card so they put my name on his cup. lolz

This was taken in Cork at the Frisky Whisky Bar.  We were there for the top tier Guinness(and Beamish) draught stout they serve in Ireland. The second tier Guinness goes out to the rest of Europe and the Shite stuff in cans goes to America.  Now that I've had the best how can I drink Guinness again here over the pond?  My life is ruined!

We ate one lunch in the buffet on the last day of the cruise.  I was in singing prep mode so I ate little of lunch and waited until after the Karaoke Finals that evening to have a late dinner in the smaller of the two main sit-down dining rooms with one of our favorite waiters serving us.  Got tiny grilled scallops without the fennel cream sauce(Hubs also had this appetizer but he said the sauce had no fennel taste so when he was finished I scraped my scallops onto his saucy plate.  For the entreé I had a lackluster steak(overcooked but asked for Rare)with au jus, pomme frites(french fries)and something green I can't recall.

We ended the night later with a Guinnes toast and  Kim and I's carrot cake tradition.

There was also boat load of fish(with a few chips consumed), a good Rueben Sandwich(with the smallest sliver of dill pickle I've ever seen), some Bulgogi with was drier than a dry county in Tennessee and some really good Pecan Chicken that looked dry but had flavor abounding.

Me with the infamous pickle "spear".  You couldn't  harm a sardine with that pickle *said in my best Billy Connelly accent.

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

*  Not a damned thing as I wasn't home

Last week we spent $0 on grocery shopping

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $0 for June 

There are 25 shopping days in June

I've earned $0 on Ibotta in June.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in June.

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

I've earned $0 on Shopmium in June.

I've earned $0 on Kroger Cash Back in June.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Fetch in June.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in June.

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

That is $0 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $0 of grocery spending so in reality it's $0 in food spending after the 5 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 0% and the monthly savings total for June comes in at 0% so far.  0% spent...Hooray, I win!!

Leftovers going into this week...nothing

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

1. Sunday--me-Asian Green Beans, Hubs- Burritos

2. Monday--No Clue

3. Tuesday--No Clue

4  Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Beats me.  I am still trying to fight off jet lag from the trip home and have serious brain fog.

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