$60K Savings Challenge JUNE Totals...Halfway There!

I have posted my JUNE End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I am once again able to say that we finished up JUNE in THE BLACK!
The Savings for June was under $1000. Not great but good. At least we didn't Live Beyond Our Means this month, which is NEVER a good plan.

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just over $1584.33 this month. We had some big unusual purchases like the CAR RENTAL(while my van was in the shop due to daughter's accident), the purchase from the local nursery for the garden & #1 son needing new pants & shoes(that boy is so compact that I haven't bought him clothes in 1.5 yrs!). Those 3 purchases alone account for $973.62 of the cc bill.

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but I am still sitting out on eBay for now.
I do plan on having a Yard Sale soon. I'll be selling some of my stockpile to raise some cash.

On the recurring utlities front, we saw a $1.20 reduction in the cost of the electric bill from May. We did have a couple of days early on in June where the A/C was run but this hasn't had any impact on the electric bill. The water bill was an identical amount to May's bill which is freaky. Last month water usage was up because of opening the pool for the season. Hubby has been dealing with pool problems in June, where he's had to partially empty and refill the pool so usage is still up. Gas purchases went up, as the price of gas at the pump rose.

The Food Budget costs for June are in another post, which is located Here. Food/Toiletries spending in June was my lowest monthly total for the year. I am determined to bring that total down even more in July. No stockpiling is needed & the garden should start producing this month, so if I can stay out of the grocery stores I can have a VERY low monthly food spending for July.

We are Six Months into this Challenge. At the HALFWAY MARK, we have a Savings Total of $12,146.75 for the year.

Not the $30 Thousand(halfway to the $60 Goal) I was shooting for at the halfway point, but still, $12 Thousand could have a significant impact on anyone's life.

What's ahead for July.....I plan on a much lower Food/Toiletries Spending. We also have a bonus week in the pay schedule so a 3rd paycheck is coming this month. Between those 2 things and the normal amount we usually save in a given month, I am hoping to realize approx. $4000 toward the Savings Challenge for July. It might have been a higher number, except for some CC charges coming due(4 pair of prescription eyeglasses, hotel stays, food & gas bought for the 970 mile trip we had to take last week)later this month.
If I get around to doing the Yard Sale too, that should add to my Savings total for July.

Check out Money Saving Mom's Blog May Financial Update Post to see how others are saving money and living more frugally Here.

Sluggy

June BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JUNE 2009.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in June.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5. No kids under 13.


BIG LOTS
OOP $97.04
Qs/Ads $?
Value $1?
Savings ? They don't take Coupons. The prices are discounted but no way to figure reg. retail.

BOYER'S
OOP $42.61
Qs/Ads $92.76
Value $135.37
Savings 68.5%

CARONE'S
OOP $16.21
Qs/Ads $3.38
Value $19.59
Savings 17.75%

CVS
OOP $11.58
Qs/Ads $222.67
Value $234.25
Savings 95%

KMART
OOP $113.43
Qs/Ads $390.45
Value $503.88
Savings 77.50%

OLLIE'S
OOP $12.29
Qs/Ads ?
Value ?
Savings ? They don't take Coupons. The prices are discounted but no way to figure reg. retail.

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $17.30
Qs/Ads $98.62
Value $116.57
Savings 85.50%

RITE AID
OOP $72.55
Qs/Ads $281.12
Value $353.67
Savings 79.50% **This is before Single Check Rebate & Gift Cards earned.**

SHOPRITE
OOP $112.81
Qs/Ads $146.95
Value $259.76
Savings 57%

WALGREEN'S
OOP $8.38
Qs/Ads $688.71
Value $697.09
Savings 98.75%

WALMART
OOP $49.36
Qs/Ads $54.28
Value $103.64
Savings 52%

WEIS
OOP $130.14
Qs/Ads $768.74
Value $898.88
Savings 85.50%

TOTAL Out of Pocket.............................$699.91
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings....$2703.19
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$3403.10
TOTAL Savings % for JUNE......................79%

I've decided NOT to track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons". Rebates will also show up in the Monthly Totals when spent, but I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.

REBATES RECV'D. IN JUNE

Rite-Aid SCR......................$138.68
Hatfield Ham Rebate...........$3.00
Unilever Ham Rebate.........$17.79
Unilever Ham Rebate(bil).....$17.70
Sure Rebates.....................$5.98
Pert Rebates......................$5.00
Peter Pan PB Rebate...........$2.25
SubTotal............................$190.40

Gift Card Rebates
Rite-Aid Gift Cards............$50.00
Kmart/Kellogg's Gift Card..$5.00
SubTotal..............................$55.00

TOTAL Value of Rebates..$245.40

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were at Weis and Price Chopper tied at 85.50%, CVS at 95% & Walgreens at 98.75%! If you figure the Rebate I am due back from Rite-Aid, then my Savings % there is 95% also.
This closes out the June spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
Well, I set out to keep the Grocery/HBA spending under $600 for June. I didn't meet that goal but I did keep it under $700 which is my best Montly OOP Total for 2009!
I was heading toward a total of under $600-Waaay under-until a couple of those INCREDIBLE SHOPPORTUNITIES I talk about presented themselves to me.

I.
Have.
NO.
Willpower.

Seriously.

How could I say NO....
to all that GILLETTE for almost nothing out of pocket?
Or all that Almost FREE Toilet Paper and Facial Tissue?
Or Kmart Double Coupons again?
Or the Shop-Rite Kraft/Unilever/General Mills Catalina Deal?

For July, I am down 1 kid, so we are 4 in the house now. IF I can stay out of the grocery/drug stores I have a shot at keeping the Grocery/HBA Monthly spent under $500....I think.lol
So I'll shoot for $500 or less this month.

That being said, KMart is having a Double Coupons Event AGAIN this week. My longtime readers know that I can't resist the Siren Song of Mr. BlueLight. I'll try to keep my trips to KMart this week down to 6. I've already made 4 trips but thanks to some Gift Cards, I have ZERO OOP at the moment. With $0 spent, I am doing well so far for July.

I do need to take a hike to Shop-Rite in the next 10 days to use my $44 in free food coupons before they expire.
I'm going to try to spend as close to ZERO OOP as I can on that grocery trip.

I have hopes that the garden will help to keep the total down this month. We have Salad for Days!! at the moment. By the end of July other veggies should be pick-able.

Cross your fingers for me that I can stay under $500 this month!

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....July 6th Edition Eat from the Stockpile & Leftovers Mostly

Here's what our family of 4 will be eating this week...

Monday--Stuffed Shells(leftover), Salad(from garden), Garlic Bread
Tuesday--Grilled Fish, Grilled Summer Squash, Potato Salad
Wednesday--Asparagus & Bacon Quiche(leftover), Cantaloupe
Thursday--Boston Baked Beans(from scratch),Cornbread
Friday--Grilled Chicken, Potato Salad(leftover from Tues.), a yet to be determined Veggie
Saturday--Fettucine Alfredo Primavera(using leftover squash from Tues.)
Sunday--Pork BBQ(from freezer), a yet to be determined Veggie, Coleslaw

You will notice that I'm utilizing 3 leftover meals--the Stuffed Shells & Quiche I made extra of last week before leaving town and the Pork BBQ was extra I made in May from the freezer.
When I make friday's grilled chicken, I will grill enough chicken for 4 meals. I plan on using 3/4 of the chicken grilled for 2 meals next week...a chicken ranch pizza & for chicken enchiladas(also using leftover enchilada sauce I made awhile ago) and the last 1/4 will be used to make Burritos for the freezer. I plan on having a burrito making session this weekend.
The Baked Beans will be made in the crockpot from scratch. Here's the recipe. Tuesday's fish is from the freezer and I have everyting for saturday's alfredo meal, except for some broccoli.

As for grocery shopping, I'll need to pick up a Mega pack of Chicken & see what veggies are in season and looking good at the farm stand mid week. I think I'm stocked with everything else needed for this menu. Unless something else comes up, I should be able to get by on spending approx. $20 or less for the weekly menu.

Of course, I am continuing in the "Clean out the Freezer & Pantry Challenge" this month, since my freezer still has buried treasures from month's past in there. The fish & assorted frozen veggies will be used and older noodles & beans from the pantry too.

Food Waste Report.....some salad mix that went slimy while we were out of town. Not wasted, just composted.

Check out Organizing Junkie's Website Here to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week!

I'm off to go snip some salad greens from the garden for tonight's dinner. I am so excited!! I didn't think we'd see any greens big enough to munch on until Oct. at the rate things were growing(or NOT growing). All that rain finally stopped and we had some decent heat last week while away and all the baby plants decided to do some growing. ;-))

Sluggy

Rite Aid.....BOGO MANIA! Free StayFree with Qs this week!

I rolled out of bed on Sunday morning.....Nay, I LEAPT out of bed Sunday morning!
Why?
Because I wanted to get to Rite-Aid bright and early to take advantage of a really nice couponing opportunity there this week.

Seems Rite-Aid had StayFree pads on a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE Sale this week.
And having glanced through the list of coupons coming out in the Sunday newspaper inserts I noticed a BUY ONE GET ONE COUPON for StayFree Pads.
Hmmmmm......BOGO Sale+BOGO Q=FREE Stuff!

So grabbed the insert from the newspaper hubby had bought that morning before I got up & going, 2 $5 off $25 Rite-Aid IP Qs I had printed off, and my trusty scissors and headed out the door with my coupon binder.

Having seen this week's Rite-Aid sales flyer online, I pulled a few Qs from my binder before heading into the store.
I grabbed 3 newspapers to purchase and pulled out the inserts and clipped those StayFree Qs.
Yes, I have no shame.
Here is what I bought....


Transaction #1
3x Newspapers @$1.50=$4.50
8x StayFree Pads on sale BOGO($3.99)=$15.96
1x Degree Clinical on sale $6.99
Subtotal $27.45
Tax $.36

Coupons Used
$5 off $25 Rite-Aid Q=$5.00
4x StayFree Pads BOGO=$15.96
1x Degree Deodorant $1.00
Total $21.96

$27.45-$21.96=$5.85OOP

Hauled this out to the car and went back in....

Transaction #2

3x Newspapers @$1.50=$4.50
6x StayFree Pads on sale BOGO($3.99)=$11.97
2x Carefree Pads on sale BOGO($3.99)=$3.99
1x Degree Clinical on sale $6.99
4x Band-Aid(antibiotic ones) BOGO($4.49)=$8.98
Subtotal $36.43
Tax $.36

Coupons Used
$5 off $25 Rite-Aid Q=$5.00
3x StayFree Pads BOGO=$11.97
1x Carefree Pads $1/2=$1.00
1x Degree Deodorant $1.00
4x Band-Aid $1/1=$4.00
Total $22.97

$36.79-$22.97=$13.82OOP

The actual OOP was $.00 because I used Rite-Aid Gift Cards I had from previous Single Check Rebate deals I had submitted.

I will get back $10 for the 2 Degree Deodorants I bought(2x$5 SCRs) and the StayFree, Carefree & Band-Aids all qualify toward SCR #160(purchase $50 of select J&J products and get a $25 Gift Card). I have $40.90 already so only $9.10 more to purchase to get that Gift Card. Maybe some more StayFree(I have 1 more BOGO Q left)or some more Bandaids or some Listerine, which would also get me another SCR of $1 besides qualify toward the $25 Gift Card. I'll have to figure which is the least cost vs. most return for the money.
I've still got about $10 left on 1 Gift Card so whichever I pick, I'm playing with FREE Money! ;-)

I'll update later this weekend when I get the time to get online.
I've got important family business to deal with the next few days so I won't be hanging around online.
See ya'll soon!

Sluggy

CleanseFest....Thar She Blows!!!

What can I say?
The CleanseFest at Chez Sluggy has been prematurely ended.
I was doing well with Phase One-the Slim Fast Week.
No Problems there......well, except for all the sweetness.
After 4 days of what was to be a WEEK of Phase One, because of conditions beyond my control, we moved to Phase Two-the Lemon Cleanse Week waaay ahead of schedule.

I lasted 2 DAYS.....ok, a few hours shy of 2 FULL Days on Phase Two before I threw in the Towel.

I rather enjoyed subsiding on nothing but pure water & lemon or lime with water. The hunger pains got to me a tad but I could deal with that.
I could also take the maple syrup added to the lemon water, no problem.
I didn't care for the cayenne pepper I was suppose to add(just a pinch!)to the lemon water but I could put the cayenne into capsules and take it that way to get around having a perpetual mouth on fire.
Straight pepper and I don't get along too well....
But.....

This whole deal of a Sea Salt Oral Enema first thing each morning was the deal breaker!!!
Yes, I was required to mix 2 teaspoons of sea salt into a quart of water(lukewarm)each morning upon rising and drink it down. It is suppose to shoot through your system and get 'things' moving, if you catch my drift.
O.
M.
G.

I tried.....really I did!
I got it down the first morning. Then I sat for 2 hours trying NOT to throw up. I kept it down but I was soooo nauseous for most of the day. Which made me a tad crankier than usual and did NOT lead me to get things done as planned.

And without getting too graphic, let's just say it had no ENEMA AFFECT on me, as it was suppose to.

The morning of Day Two I started feeling queasy just thinking about having to down another quart of tepid sea salt water. Daughter came downstairs on Day Two, took one look at me sitting there about to drink that glass of briny hotness and declared that she was quitting!
What a rat!!! So much for the Cleansing Buddy system!
She said she would cheer me on though......gee, thanks......what a kid! 8-P

Since my brain knew what was coming, every time I tried to put the glass to my lips, my gag reflex would kick in.
So, I tried putting some sea salt on the back of my tongue and washing it down with some plain water. I figured it would mix and dissolve on the way down my gullet and have the same affect down below(or not have the affect, as it didn't the day before). It was a little easier to stomach getting the salt and water down this way for me.
After 15 min. or so I had polished off the quart of H2O and the salt.
So I sat......and waited.......and waited......waited for those all too familiar waves of nausea. And they came and they screamed at me, "I'm not staying down!"
And I bolted for the bathroom and hurled FOUR quarts & swamped Mr. Tidy Bowl Man's little boat.

I stayed on the Lemon Water Concoction for the rest of the day before sending up the White Flag of surrender.

Lemon Cleanse 1
Sluggy 0

So, I'm going back to my Phase One regime for now and will contemplate another method to irrigating my innards that isn't something out of the Marquis de Sade Playbook.

I don't have a scale so I don't know if or how much actual weight I lost(if any), but I do feel better....not from the experience of drinking sea salt water but from the whole giving my gastrointestinal tract a bit of a break. The fasting part of this ordeal is something I want to do again and for a longer time when things here settle down a bit. We've got some stuff going on which is not going to let me doing any fasting for the time being.
We'll continue with this Project in some other form, in the near future hopefully.

Sluggy

Shop Rite Week of 6/21 Kraft,Unilever & General Mills PROMO DEAL Results

Shop Rite is running a Promotional Deal that calls for you to buy up to $120 of Kraft, Unilever &/or General Mills products. Depending on how much you purchase, you get a $off Coupon good on your next order. The most you can get is $40 worth of catalinas(you will get them in $5 increments). You don't have to complete the deal in one trip and you have 2 Weeks(until July 4th)to make your purchases. You can read more about the details Here.

Anyway, all the coupons I had traded for had arrived, so daughter and I took the hike to Shop Rite on Friday.
I purchased more than just the Cat Promo items, as there were some other good deals & I had coupons for those too.
Here's the big list of everything we bought. Everything was bought in 2 trips/transactions....except for 2 bottles of barbeque sauce.(More on that later.) I have highlighted the items that qualified for the Kraft/Unilever/General Mills Deal in green.

Items purchased & not pictured below are...10 Kool-aid packets, 13 produce items, 4 packages of hot dogs & 30lb. of fresh meat.




8 Kraft Mac&Cheese on sale .86¢=$6.88
2 Country Time Lemonade Mix on sale $1.99=$3.98
30 Knorr Rice/Noodles Sides on sale $1.25=$37.50
1 Fiber One Yogurt 4 pack on sale $2.00
2 Cheerios Cereal on sale $2.50=$5.00
2 Chex Cereal $3.49=$6.98
2 Fiber One Cereal on sale $2.99=$5.98
3 Fiber One Chewy Bars on sale $2.99=$8.97
12 Barbeque Sauce on sale $.89=$10.68
8 A-1 Sauce on sale $2.99=$23.92
2 Taco Bell Shells on sale $1.99=$3.98
8 Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade on sale $1.39=$11.12
3 Hefty Kitchen Bags on sale $5.99=$17.97
4 Bumble Bee Tuna on sale $1.00=$4.00
10 Kool-aid Packets on sale $2.00/10=$2.00
1 5lb bag Sugar on sale $2.99
4 Marcal Facial Tissue $1.59=$6.36
2 Schick Razor 15 Packs $6.99=$13.98
12 Limes on sale $1.99
1 Coconut on sale $2.00
1 Sausage Patties $2.49
1 Ground turkey $2.67
4 Ground Turkey $2.65=$10.60
2 Ground Turkey $2.63=$5.26
1 Ground Turkey $2.61
1 Ground Beef $11.52
1 Ground Beef $11.80
4 Hebrew National Hot Dogs sale $2.50=$10.00
Subtotal.....$235.23
Tax.....$3.05
$238.28

Coupons Used....
2 Kraft Mac&Cheese B3G1=$1.72
1 Country Time Lemonade Mix $1.50/2=$1.50
10 Knorr Rice/Noodles Sides Asstd. Qs/some doubled=$6.00
1 Fiber One Yogurt 4 pack $1/1=$1.00
2 Cheerios Cereal $.55/1 doubled=$2.00
2 Chex Cereal $1/1=$2.00
2 Fiber One Cereal $1/1=$2.00
2 Fiber One Chewy Bars $.45/1 doubled=$1.80
12 Barbeque Sauce $.75/1 doubled to $1.00=$12.00
8 A-1 Sauce $2/1=$16.00
8 Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade $.75/1 doubled to $1=$8.00
3 Hefty Kitchen Bags $1/1=$3.00
4 Bumble Bee Tuna $1/1=$4.00
1 Kool-aid Packets $.50/10 doubled=$1.00
4 Marcal Facial Tissue FREE Item Q=$6.36
1 Schick Razor B1G1=$6.99

I also had these DOUBLE DIP & Other Coupons....
1 $2.00 off Sugar Purchase when you buy 10 Kool-aid Packets=$2.00
6 $2.50 off Meat Purchase when you buy 5 Knorr Sides=$15.00
10 $2.00 off Meat Purchase when you buy 2 Kraft Items=$20.00
And there was an Instant Savings on the Schick Razor Packs of $1.50=$3.00
$2.00 off OYNO Q for buying the Razors, used on trip #2=$2.00
$5.00 off OYNO Q from the K/U/GM Deal, obtained on trip #1, used on trip #2=$5.00
Coupon Total.....$122.37

$238.28-$122.37=$115.91 TOTAL Out of Pocket

And I have $35 in OYNO Catalinas(the balance of the $40 in Cats I got for the K/U/GM Deal) & 2 FREE Gallon of MILK Coupons(for buying 6 GM cereals) to use for my next trip to Shop-Rite.

Add that $44 worth of future free products and I got a Total Value of $282.28 worth of groceries for $115.91!

I was .88¢ short of the $120 needed to get the $40 in Catalinas for the K/U/GM Deal after 2 trips, so I sent daughter in to buy 2 more BBQ Sauces for Zero out of pocket, so my grand total OOP for the K/U/GM items was $63.38.
Add the $44 of FREE $$ Cats I still have for buying the K/U/GM things, and I am technically OOP only $19.38 for that $120 of product!

I misread the Fiber One deal and bought 3 Chewy Bars but they didn't count toward the 4 items to get the free Chewy Bars, so I didn't get the free Chewy Bars.argh I might have to return the 1 Chewy Bars that I didn't have a coupon for.....the one I thought would be free.
Lesson to self.....read the fine print!
And the Coconut was rotten.....lesson to daughter, don't buy fresh coconuts in PA.

The best deals were the free items.....Marcal Tissues, Tuna Fish, Kraft BBQ Sauce. Also very good deals were the Santa Cruz Lemonade(.39¢), the A-1 Steak Sauce(.99¢), 5lb. sugar(.99¢), Kool-Aid(.10¢ea.),Cheerios($1.50 for a BIG box), Kraft Mac/Cheese(.64.5¢), & all that FREE MEAT! ;-)) The best "Get Meat when you buy" deals were pairing the meat Q with buying 2 BBQ Sauce, since the Qs I had for the Sauce made both the Meat and the Sauce FREE! Gotta love that.....

Be sure to get to Shop-Rite this week and pair your coupons with the sale prices to get some awesome deals!

Sluggy

CVS Shopping June 21-27 Week Soy Joy & Always

Daughter & I made various stops at assorted CVS stores this week. I think we hit 8 stores in our travels during the week so we didn't wipe out any one store of Infinity pads. We did take the last 2 boxes at one store tho.... 2 stores were already wiped out of them before we got there.
We have TONS of CVS stores around here....I never realized until this week just how many!lol
For brevity's sake, here are the totals only. We had a card each so it's all combined for both cards.
I had 20 BOGO Qs for all the Soy Joy Bars, so 10 of them were free and didn't use any ECBs.
Also had $4/1 Infinity Qs and $1/1 ThermaCare Qs for the Heat Pads that gave ECBs. Everything else purchased beyond these things was filler so we could use ECBs instead of cash.

40 Soy Joy Bars
4 Therma Care Wrap
9 Always Infinity Boxes
**Not Pictured**
1 T-Shirt on clearance $1.49
1 Arizona Iced Tea $.99
1 Stride Gum 3 pack on sale $2.00
1 Cayenne Pepper clearance $.99


Total Spent OOP...$3.46
Total Coupons Used...$60.00
Value of Items bought...$169.63(reg. prices)
Savings of......98%
ECBS Used...$36.40
ECBs Received...$49.96

So I was able to roll most of the ECBs I had and I don't have to worry about darkening the door of a CVS until July 18th or so.lol

Sluggy