Great Deals Lately at the Grocery Stores

 The end of Last week I picked up a few deals at Kroger .....

It was time again for free Rock Star Energy drinks.  Bought at Walmart for $1.88 each these were a .24¢ moneymaker.  The Mac & Roni mixes were $1 each and I got .50¢ back from Ibotta on each box. rah.  All this is bound for the food bank so not coming out of my food budget.

Then it was off to Kroger.....ugh......

The coffee drink was free after Ibotta and KCB(and I actually got the KCB!), The 5 boxes of Cheezit Snap'd were on sale for $2.50(when you bought at least 2)and I got $1 back on Ibotta for each and $1 back on KCB for each, making them .49¢ for each back.  We may keep a couple if Hubs wants them but otherwise they and the coffee drink are food bank bound.  We also picked up asparagus, min cukes, blueberries and strawberries on sale, some clearance produce(mushrooms, 2 Salad kits, a piece of Salmon and refrigerated Buitoni Ravioli)for us to eat.

The 4 Dove body washes, the Dove deodorant, the Crest toothpaste and the Scope mouthwash were all part of the "Spend $15/Get $5 Off Instantly Deal".  Total for all was $37.93 after Qs and the Spend $15/$5 Deal.  I got $28 back from Ibotta and $12 back from KCB(which I got!!), making this a $2.07 moneymaker.

I was suppose to get a $3 On Your Next Order Catalina and here it what came out of the Catalina machine....

Seems my Kroger doesn't bother to put ink in their Catalina machines at the checkout machines. 8-(  So I am awaiting an email response from the Catalina Corporation.  If I get this Q for the Cheez-it Snap'ds that would make them a small .55¢ moneymaker.

Moving on.......

After PT on Tuesday we hit up Kroger and I found 2 1lb. packs of meatballs marked down to $3.05(can't make meatballs for that price!), a pack of hamburgers for $3.36(20 oz.).  Hubs is on that low fiber diet this week so I picked up a bag of potatoes on sale(one of the few veggies he can eat)and I got myself a bag of sweet potatoes on sale.  I also picked up 2 salad kits for me and bananas for Hubs, as well as some "Nut Juice" for him to have in his cold breakfast cereal and it had an Ibotta rebate. ;-)

We found these clearance items too.....

2 large jars of Olives for $1.91 each, a bottle of Kinder Peach Bourbon Sauce for $2.49(I had a $1 digital coupon so $1.49 for that)and a large canister of Potato Starch(can use in the place of Corn Starch)for $2.92.

I picked up these two Chobani Creations on clearance and they had a .75¢ rebate on Ibotta so after that they cost me .43¢ total.  

Today I picked up a salad bowl on clearance and all this........

The only things we are keeping is the small wet dog food pack and the Wild Turkey bourbon(for Hubs).  All the feminine products, the 2 deodorants and the 4 candy packs are headed to the food bank.  All that was $92.90.  I used a free Shop Kick $25 gift card making it $67.90 OOP.

I earned rebates as follows--

*$34.50 Ibotta
*$8.00 Shopmium
*$3.00 Checkout 51
*16.52 Swag Bucks
*4.49 Aisle
*21.60 worth of Pts. on Shop Kick
That's $88.11 in rebates on $28.25 worth of items we are keeping. 
Nice.

Sluggy

Income & Spending....the May 2024 Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals, personal savings and social security payments, 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.

We went into retirement in June of 2017 with no debt, no mortgage, nor a car payment.

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 May report--

I had 2 goals for May....

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 fund may be applied 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 2024. 

*  I do not include/report on our retirement accounts here, just the non-retirement ones.

 

I'm happy to report that we finished up May in the black.

The amount extra we ended the month of May with?....$1,465.66

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in May---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $2,530.11

*  SS income of $3,828.70

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $1,012.32

Total "Income" for April....$7,371.13

Expenses in May---

*  Irregular bills in May were $3,251.00

*  Variable Expenses in May came to $1,947.04

*  Medical Premiums in May were $707.43

Total Expenses....$5,905.47

$7,371.13-$5,905.47=$1,465.66

Slush Fund coming into May of $61,222.22 and the addition of $1,465.66 in May, our end of May 2024 Slush fund comes to $62,687.88

The Slush Fund on it's own page(tab at the top of the blog)shows an addition of $1,465.66.

Outgo

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

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The water bill was the same as in April.

*  The WAM was $200 less than last month.(We took out $300 more for the cruise.)

*  The electric bill went down in May by $89.09

*  Hubs Amazon c/c bill was $55.00 lower than last month.

*  The Mastercard was $1,517.03 less than in April.

*  The American Airlines c/c was $649.19 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  We had 2 irregular bills in May--

*  We paid the yearly car insurance bill of $1,805.00.  It went up quite a bit from last year. 8-(

*  We paid the State Taxes of $1,446.00.

*  My Amazon C/C was $313.87 higher than last month.

The Food Budget costs for May are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payments(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS for May 2024---We stayed within our means for the month.  Even with two large irregular bills we came out ahead.  It was a month.

 GOING FORWARD INTO JUNE 2024--The only irregular bill due in June is the Long Term Care Premiums.  And of course, Hubs premium went up since he had a birthday since the last LTC bill. ugh  Not much going on here in June other than the usual and hoping that sensor in my car stays off and we don't have to have it replaced.  And the dogs aren't due for a grooming again until July.  And I'm trying to use up some freezer and pantry staples instead of buying more at the grocery store. hahaha  We should be under our means again for June unless something untoward happens.

Go.

Us.

Here's hoping 2024 treats us all even better financially! 8-))

So how was your May financially?

Did you spend less than the income you had in May?

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 down/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 all your excess monies after bills were paid 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

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