August To-Do List......Update

Here's the update on my August To-Do List.  I post a To-Do list on the side bar of my blog's homepage every month.
Let's see how ol' Sluggy did this month on her list, shall we? ;-)

* Pay Bills  DONE  
Everything got paid and on time, as per usual.

* Bike Something  FAIL  
Well I did do 1 mile. lolz  Must get back on this in September.

* Read 2 Books  DONE
Finished the first book and read another one.  Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani and Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  First one was good, the second one was excellent.

Me reading Olive Kitteridge while in Maine, so apropos.....lolz

* Pick Produce and Use it  DONE
Besides the tomatoes we've eaten raw off the plants in salads and sandwiches I made a rustic tomato sauce with the bulk of the maters(2 x gallon Ziploc bags full)and used half of in the Manicotti I served for dinner on Tuesday.  I'll use the other half to simmer my homemade meatballs today.  The zucchinis have been used up(or grated and frozen for later).The acorn squash is in the root cellar mellowing and waiting until cooler weather to roast them.

* Go to Farm and buy produce to can  DONE
I only processed and froze 5 lbs. of green beans this Summer.  The farm no longer has PYO tomatoes so the price is too dear to buy canning tomatoes.  

* Can Produce  DONE Sort of
No canning since I froze the veggies.  I will be canning my Pepper Relish in September.

* 1 Doctor's Appointment  DONE
Waited 3 months to get that appointment with a specialist.  Lots of rx changes ensued.  The jury is still out on whether this will help.

* Pack College Boy  DONE
I was minimally involved this year and thus, CB forgot some items but not many.  Next Fall is his last Back-To-School so I hope I can just step back and he can handle it all himself.  Perhaps he'll heed my advise to make a list in 2017. ha!

Hubs does the actually "taking" in the rented cargo van.  I get to pick Hubs up from the rental location when he is done.  This year I got caught in a massive traffic snarl trying to get him.  The Rental place is right near the Arena and a Jehovah's Witness Convention was letting out at that time from that venue.
Thanks Jehovah!

* Take College Boy back to school  DONE
CB is back ensconced at college....after an hour delay locating CB's wallet.  His shirt is appropriate as I was about to "launch" this child after an hour of searching for his wallet.

* Sew Something  FAIL
Nope didn't have the urge to sew in August.  Perhaps September will see me pull out the supplies and have a go at making a shirt.  I really need to.....

Only 2 items I didn't get to.

On ward and upward to September!

How did you do with your To-Do list for August?

Sluggy

My Weis & Target Scores + Gift Cards for Xmas

I hit the meat department at Weis(PMITA)Markets on Thursday and found some good deals.
The actual cost per pound/per piece after sale/stickers is in parentheses.

1.24 lbs. Angus Bottom Round Steak for 6.19-$2 Instant Sticker=$4.19 ($3.38 lb.)
2 x Marinated Chicken Breasts(4.62 lbs.)for $6.14 total-2 x $2 Instant Stickers=$2.14 (.46¢ lb.)
.84 lb. Angus Cube Steaks on sale for $4.52=$2 Instant Sticker=$2.52 ($3 lb.)
2 x packages Uncured/No Preservatives Hot Dogs on sale for $8 total- 2 x $2 Instant Stickers=$4 (.25¢ per hot dog)

$12.85 spent OOP on $24.85 worth of meats.
Savings rate of 48.29%.
8-)


I don't go to Target very often, maybe twice a year, but Hubs and I went on Monday.
Target had a Spend $50 on Food/Get a $10 Gift Card Deal that was only for Sunday or Monday of Labor Day Weekend and I wanted to see the damage I could do. ;-)

I used sales, coupons, instant meat discount stickers, rebates and a free(cashed in credit card points)$50 Target gift card and bought what's pictured below.......

4 x Tyson Chicken Tenders(on sale $4.99)=$19.96
2 x State Fair Corn Dogs(on sale $6.69)=$13.38
2 x Market Pantry Apple Juice(after 5% off Cartwheel $1.70 ea.)=$3.40
2 x Crunch Master Crackers(on sale $2.50)=$5.00
3 x 8 oz. Cheese Chunks(on sale $2 ea.)=$6.00
2 x 1 lb. 73% Ground Beef($3.79 ea.)=$7.58
1 x 2 lb. 93% Ground Beef=$10.49
1 x 1.5 lb. Stew Beef Cubes=$8.99
Sub Total..........$74.80

Coupons and Discount Stickers
4 x $1/1 Tyson Chicken product IPQ=$4.00
2 x .55¢/1 State Fair product IPQ=$1.10
2 x $1/1 CrunchMaster product IPQ=$2.00
2 x $1 Instant Meat Sticker=$2.00
1 x $5 Instant Meat Sticker=$5.00
1 x $4 Instant Meat Sticker=$4.00
Total........$18.10

$74.80-$18.10=$56.70

I used my free $50 Target gift card and paid $6.70 OOP.  8-)))

Total saved was $46.23 + $50 on free gift card turns this into $96.23 saved, or a 94.60% savings rate.


I earned $25 in new Target gift cards--1 x $10 for Buying $50 of food in one transaction, 3 x $5 for buying 2 frozen meat products(4 x Tyson, 2 x State Fair).

Plus I earned a $1.50 Checkout51 cash Rebate for buying 2 boxes of Crunch Master crackers.

So in the end I brought home all that food and am out $5.20 cash and have $25 in new Target gift cards for later.

The breaded chicken was for the BF(and for emergency meals when I can't cook), the corn dogs and apple juice also for the BF.  The cheese was because, well, you can't live without cheeses, the crackers to pair with cheese, and all that meat-I'll blend the 73% and 93% and make meatballs to put into the freezer for later and the stewing beef will become chili one night soon when the weather cools off some more.

After meat sticker discounts, the 73% Ground Beef came to $2.79 lb., the 93% GB came to $2.25 lb. and the Stewing Beef came to $3.32 lb.  Of course I paid with a free gift card so the whole lot cost me pennies in the end. 8-)

I bring a calculator when food shopping and regularly calculate the cost per oz./lb. for meats/seafood.  It can help your food budget to have clear limits on how much you willingly pay for things(this is why you keep a price book too).   A hunk of meat may seem like a good deal on the surface, even with an instant meat discount sticker on it, but until you know exactly how much you are paying, you really don't know if in fact it IS a deal.  The 93% was an amazing deal at $2.25 lb. while the Stewing Beef was an ok deal at $3.32 lb.

As for the gift cards earned....
I'll add this $25 in new gift cards to the $30 in Target gift cards I have stashed at home(that were earned for deals while spending other Target gift cards earned with c/c points)and that's $55 in free gift cards I currently have tucked away for Christmas.

Since it's past Labor Day I need to drag out the Xmas box and go through to assess where I am at in the "acquiring process" for Holiday gifties.  After buying a few things while on vacation in August I should be mostly done with gifts.  Now it's a question of where to find the cash component without pulling from regular income for that.
More on all that later.......

I just had to share these Weis and Targets trip as I thought I did so well. ;-)

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "We Finally Got Around to Cleaning Out the Shed" Edition......

This shot was after Hubs had pulled out about half the junk in there already.
What a hot mess......
I'll blog about this ordeal later this week and show more photos, which I know, y'all are dying to see. lolz

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Leftovers for kids, Anniversary Dinner out for Hubs and I

2. Monday--Meatloaf, Zucchini Casserole

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Sauted Cabbage

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--maybe Leftovers again?

7. Saturday--not sure yet, maybe Take-Out

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Leftovers for kids, Anniversary Dinner out for Hubs and I

2. Monday--Meatloaf, Zucchini Casserole

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Baked Beans

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Roasted Chicken and Potatoes, Corn on Cob

7. Saturday--Chinese Take-Out(I had Cashew Chicken)

6 meals cooked at home, 3 of them nights of leftovers and 1 night of Take-Out.

As for the grocery spending.....3 trips to Weis Markets and 1 quickie to Shurfave market for bottled water bringing my weekly spending to $104.90 and my September food spending total to $104.90 with 25 days to go in the month.

Leftovers going into this week........meatloaf, zucchini casserole, kielbasa and cauliflower cheese soup.

Here is this week's "food plan".

1. Sunday--Leftovers
2. Monday--Steak, Veggie Ka-bobs, Baked Potatoes
3. Tuesday--Manicotti, Salad, Garlic Bread
4. Wednesday--Chicken Fajitas
5. Thursday--Leftover Meatloaf, Brussel Sprouts, Noodles
6. Friday--Apricot Glazed Pork Chops, Mixed Veggies, Corn Casserole, Applesauce
7. Saturday--Crab Cakes, Fries, Cole Slaw, Broccoli

This week will see 5 new meals cooked and 0 nights of Take-Out and 2 nights of Leftovers.

What we need to buy for this menu......steak, tortillas, peppers, mushrooms.  I got 1/2 off crab meat last week and a bag of potatoes so we are good on those items.  Garden grown tomatoes will go into the sauce for the manicotti and the salads.

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 great deals on food at your stores this week?


Sluggy

And the Winner Is......

The latest Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway winner is......

Pamela J!

pamela jAugust 23, 2016 at 8:20 PM

Just spent 2.5 hours waiting at my sons Dr. apt. and the pharm. Yippee!
pjames330 at aol dot com

Congratulations Pam!
Please contact me from the email addy you used in your entry with your full name and mailing address and I'll get your winnings out to you asap.

Thank you to everyone who entered and another Giveaway will be up on deck in the coming week or so.

Sluggy

Last Day to Enter

Today is the last day to enter the Giveaway.
Go HERE
Remember that besides what is pictured there is a second pair of white No-Nonsense socks and chocolate of some sort too.

Good Luck!

I am off to help clean out the shed.......rah! lolz

Sluggy