What's on the Dining Table.....June 3rd Edition

The "Life Will Be Different This Week" Edition.....

Hubs has a colonoscopy a week from today so this meal plan is very strange.  We were on a high fiber diet of fresh produce and salads along with meats/fish with very few carby/starchy foods.  This week will be different for him but I'll be sticking with our usual menu.

      

Here's a photo Hubs took of me all decked out in the clothing from Talbot's Sissie curated for me last December when we visited.  I was sorely in need of new clothing after losing a lot of weight.  Those pants are suppose to be capri length but I have shrunk in height so much that they are long pants on me. lol

And my dog photo bombed the picture too. 8-)))

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

1. Sunday--Steak, Leftover Green Beans

2. Monday--Hamburgers on Buns, Corn on cob, Pasta Salad

3. Tuesday--General Tso Chicken, Green Beans, Leftover Rice

4. Wednesday-Salmon, Sauté Yellow Squash

5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Broccoli, Red Cabbage(Hubs)

6. Friday--Catfish dinner, Cole Slaw, other Leftover Veggies

7. Saturday--Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Steak, Leftover Green Beans

2. Monday--Hamburgers on Buns, Corn on cob

3. Tuesday--General Tso Chicken, Green Beans, Leftover Rice

4. Wednesday-Salmon, Sauté Yellow Squash

5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Caesar Salad

6. Friday--Some Nasty Hamburger Helper Concoction, Roasted Broccoli

7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had General Tso Chicken, Green Beans in Hoisin Sauce, Rice)

Friday's dinner was something we had in the pantry and wanted to use up-a BBQ Hamburger Helper?  We added corn and cheddar cheese to make it better.  Don't think anything could have improved it! lolz  But we ate it.

I never did make the Pasta Salad for Memorial day and Hubs forgot to have his Red Cabbage thing from Aldi on Thursday.  I might make Pasta Salad next week as Hubs likes it.  Hubs had to do a low fiber diet the week before his Colonoscopy(I didn't have to do that last year but I guess it's his butt doctor's way lol)but I don't think he can have Pasta Salad because there is raw veggie in it.  

I had lots of fresh veggies in the fridge so trying to use them up before today when the Low Fiber thing starts.  We may be eating very different things this week when it comes to veg. ;-)

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

*  2 Steak

*  Hamburger

*  Bag of Aldi General Tso Chicken

*  Hunk of Salmon

*  2 Pork Tenderloin steaks

*  1 lb. Hamburger

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

*  3 lb. Ground Beef

*  4 bags Mozzarella shreds

*  3 packs breakfast Sausage Links

Last week we spent $96.43 on grocery shopping for June.  No big week for grocery shopping but lots of little stops and they added up.

Total shopping comes to $96.43 for June.   There are 27 shopping days left in June

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $45.40 on Ibotta in June.

I've earned $3.00 on Shopmium in June.

I've earned $0 on Alexa app in June.

I've earned $19.00 on Kroger Cash Back in June.

I've earned $13.04 on TaDa in June.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in June.

I've earned $8.86 on Aisle, etc. in June.

I've earned 2,946 points on Fetch from food shopping in June.

I've earned 2,870 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in June.($11.48)

I've earned 0 Points on My Points in June.($)

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

That is $70.30 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/KCB/Alexa)on $96.43 of grocery spending so in reality it's $26.13 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending.

My savings percentage for the last week was 57.65% and the monthly savings total for June comes in at 57.65% spent.

Leftovers going into this week...Green Beans(1 helping)Roasted Broccoli(2+ helpings).

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

1. Sunday--Roasted Asparagus, Chicken Tenders

2. Monday--Asparagus Risotto,(plus Caesar Salad for me)

3. Tuesday--Lasagna with Italian Sausage/Ground Beef sauce,(plus Salad for me)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers for me, Mashed Potatoes & Hamburger for Hubs

5. Thursday--?

6. Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

With this low fiber diet Hubs has to follow he'll be eating a lot of meats/fish/mushy veggies/potatoes/pasta.  Except for the meats/fish, I will not. ;-)  We'll be making it up as we go the later part of the week.

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    

Louisiana Never Stops Giving You Laughs

 You know you are in Louisiana when you see this.........

Sluggy

Food Spending.....the May 2024 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for May 2024.

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

ALDI

OOP  $41.74

Sales  $23.64

Value  $65.38

Savings  36.16%

CVS

OOP  $.98

Sales/Free CVS Script  $13.00

Value  $13.98

Savings  92.99%

KROGER

OOP  $388.87

Qs/Gift Cards $702.55

Value $1,091.42

Savings  64.37%

WALMART

OOP  $84.85

Qs/Gift Cards $46.12

Value  $130.97

Savings  35.21%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at CVS with a savings of 92.99%.  My worse rate was at Walmart with 35.21%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall.

I shopped at 4 different stores in MAY(if you can call what I did at CVS shopping lol).

TOTAL Spent in May......$516.44

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$785.31

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,301.75

TOTAL Savings of........60.33%

This closes out the MAY food/toiletries/etc. spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

Well so much for my Grand Plan to NOT Grocery shop in May. lolol  Sluggy plans and the shopping gods laugh, right?  I did do well with my clearance finds and deals however in May.  I got a lot of meat/seafood and fresh produce clearance deals in May.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP! by 15.11% in May to 60.33% compared to April's 45.22% savings average.  A substantial increase in savings rate and well over 40% which is what I like to see. 8-)

Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people-because I don't have to). I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $3,282.38 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.  Food prices have gotten to the ridiculous level, haven't they?

Let's Go Brandon!!!

2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$3,282.38

2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$6,658.25

2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$3,375.87

2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................50.70%

The average per month amount spent is $656.48 in 2024 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

Just a rough off-hand calculation of all the rebates I've gotten for the year is $1,876.40.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Shopmium, TaDa, Checkout 51 and other miscellaneous rebates sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gives me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that.

LOOKING AHEAD TO JUNE 2024.....The deals seem to be slowing down so I'll try to concentrate on using up what's in the freezer.  If Kroger ever fixes my KCB account that will free up some script that should be in there to pay for about $70 worth of groceries.  It's ridiculous that a major food corporation won't fix an obviously broken system and hold it's customers funds due them as hostage.  If this keeps up, I'll be carting lots of items back to them(may need a truck)since I have every receipt from when I bought this stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to shoot for $400 as a budget this month.  Can't grow anything here to supplement the food budget, except wasps, weeds, and mudbugs so it's pointless to try to garden...the ground goes from too wet and boggy to everything planted dies in the extreme heat and turns into crispy vegetation.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in May?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just keep 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 versus 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 31st Edition

There are a few Frugal wins over the past week.

*  Had two PT sessions this week.  Again, no co-pays.  Man, this gal works me hard too but I think I am getting stronger in my shoulders. 8-)  I've got 2 more sessions with her next week and then I continue doing these at home by myself(well the ones that don't require a big machine!). I start another round of PT for a muscle in my back the following week.  If it ain't one thing it's another, right?  The therapist and I had a talk about what the Pain Management folks wanted her to try but A-it's sort of dangerous to do this as the muscle is over my kidney and B-Medicare no longer reimburses them for this procedure/therapy so I'd be paying out of pocket.  We'll be trying deep tissue massage and exercises instead which Medicare does pay for and then will see how that works out. ;-)

*  Hit up Walmart on two days........

2  cans of Culture Pop soda, one had a BOGO free rebate from the manufacturer and I got $1 Ibotta rebate so both cost me .88¢  Has anyone tried this product yet?

The Curad wrap was $1.97 and I received 560 Shop Kicks back for buying it($2.40)so a moneymaker.

The bottle of Zero sugar Pure Tea was $1.98 and I got a $1 Ibotta rebate on that.

The All detergent was .97¢  after Shop Kicks and Ibotta rebate.

The small Max Fresh Colgate toothpaste was a $1.03 moneymaker after Ibotta.

Same for the Colgate small size toothpaste, a $1.03 moneymaker.

The Cover Girl face make-up was $1 OOP after a $3 Shopmium.

The 2 bottle of Olay body wash was $1.83 each after Ibotta rebates and Shop Kicks.  (I generally don't spend that much but this Olay is good stuff.)

The Tazo tea was on clearance and after the Ibotta rebate was $2.25.

The Small Spaces was .94¢ OOP.

The Old Spice trial size body wash was .97¢ after Ibotta rebate.

(The detergent, both toothpastes, face make-up, Old Spice and maybe the sodas will be going to the food bank.)

So either $5.52 or $4.64 OOP for what I am keeping(depending if I keep the Culture Pop).

Then I picked up this at a different Walmart.........

The crackers were a $1.52 moneymaker after Ibotta rebate.

The toothpaste was  a .03¢ moneymaker as well.

The 3 hand soaps were $1.89 total after Shop Kicks or .63¢ each.

Toothpaste and the hand soaps will be going to the food bank as well.

So a $1.52 moneymaker OOP for what I am keeping.

A $4.00 OOP for both trips is I keep that Culture Pop and a $3.12 OOP if I don't.

At any rate the Food Bank wins.  The lady last week when we dropped off our offerings requested toothpaste specifically and more toiletry type items so I am on a mission(even without a Rite-Aid).  ;-)

*  We hit Kroger near PT too yesterday and I scored a few deals......

I got 3 packages of breakfast sausages marked down to $4.40, so $1.47 each.  The Kraft mozzarella shreds were $1.99 per bag(If they had been marked down before Tuesday and part of the "Buy 5, Get $1 off each item" then they would have been .99¢ per bag.  Oh well....still a good price.

I also found a 3 lb. package of 80/20 Ground Beef*not pictured*marked down to $8.66 which makes that $2.89 per lb.

But the best deal was the 16 lb. bag of Kingsford Charcoal briquets.  On sale for $10.99 and I had a $5 off digital coupon so paid $5.49 OOP.  Then I submitted my receipt to Ibotta and got $4 back, making this big boy only $1.49. 8-)))

*  As for Kroger and my KCB account...go read last week's Frugal Friday rant on this....still no resolution and the Technical Team has still not contacted me or anyone else from Kroger.  I have been a bit busy this week with other stuff so I didn't have an extended period of time to call them and find out where we are with this.  They still "owe" my KCB account that missing $1 when they "gave" me a store credit plus  I am missing $21.55 for 8 items I purchased on 5/17 and 5/19 so the saga continues.

Once I get all this straightened out(IF it gets straightened out)I will think twice before I do any deal involving KCB.  IMHO, They feel it's not worth the time or energy to fix that system and just throw store credit at anyone who complains.

*  I got a check from the cruise line this week.......

It's an odd amount and neither Hubs or I can figure out what this refund is for and the stub only says "net refund".  I even called my "guy" at NCL and he could see it was issued to me but he has no idea what it's for either.  It's not like it lines up with any shore excursion we paid for or anything else!  Those cheap bastards only gave us a 10% off a future cruise for stealing an entire day of our trip where we got to ride a bus hours to the Gibraltar border, got turned away from entry and then rode said bus back to the port all because the Cruise Line did NOT do the paperwork/passport stuff they needed to do.  You would think this was the first time NCL had an excursion from Spain to Gibraltar. This piddily little check is not enough to compensate for that! I'm cashing it anyway. 8-(

*  After PT Tuesday we were near BK and they had a National Hamburger Day Deal--get a free hamburger when you spent .70¢ on any item.  Of course they have NO items on their menu priced that low. lol  I bought the smallest bag of Onion Rings they sell which was more palatable than ordering the equivalent sized French Fries so I spent $2.09+ tax OOP.

*  We have been using food here and eating all the leftovers(except the small burger and rings on Tuesday).  No "real" eating out so far this week.

*  I got good news on the Essential Tremor front.  Scheduled to see a doctor in VA and will be staying with my brother and his wife while there.  These medical people seem more on the ball and I could have the procedure before Summer is out(if I qualify).  Medicare and Supplement pay for this.  I will had to drive to VA and back(the gas won't be frugal)but I won't have to make multiple trips like to the place in Dallas and I have a free place to stay while in VA. 8-)  And if it works, I won't be on these seizure meds for the rest of my life just so I can perform normal  ADL(activities of daily living).  More on that saga later....

*  I found money!

I went up to Walmart to pick up some Rxs on Sunday and found this penny.

That was my only find for the week even though I seemed to be going out most days of last week.  Pennies are thin on the ground here right now.....

Total Found last week.... .01¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$4.55 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.  

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

Sluggy     

 

Meanwhile, in Louisiana

 

Sluggy