$30K Savings Challenge JULY 2010 Totals.....Xtra Paycheck Time!

I have posted my JULY End of Month $30K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I have to report that we finished up July in the black....with a healthy addition!

The extra cash amount we ended the month of June with was.......$3,161.44.

Income
We had $3,066.46 left over of DH's salary after expenses were deducted. Add in $94.98 of Rebates applied to the food expenses and you have a deposit of $3,161.44 toward the Savings Challenge!

Seeing as our monthly target is $2,500.00 to reach our Year End Goal, this month will go a long way to keep us ahead of schedule.

Outgo
As for the expenses in July.....it was our most expensive month so far this year!

While this month saw the water bill drop to almost half and a nice decrease in the electric bill there were many 'out of the ordinary/non-repeating' bills this month.

Out-of-the-ordinary expenses in July...
Yet another car repair at $277.30.
A deposit for camp for next year for $50.00.
Dog licenses were due at $18.00.
That June Food Stamp Challange Food Bank donation for $100.00.
House insurance at $609.00.
And the whopper.....car insurance semi-annual payment of $1,482.63.
UGH!
That's $2,536.93 in out of the ordinary expenses.

The credit card bill(paid off each month)was $624.36, which was less than half of the previous month's total.

Even though July was a bad month for bills and spending, the thing that salvaged our goal this month was that extra paycheck that came this month.  If you gets paid on a biweekly basis, you know all about those 2 extra paychecks a year that sneak into 2 of your pay months.  This year for us it's July and December.  Did I mention that I love July and December?lol

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food/Toiletries spending in July was .94¢  under the budgeted $200.00 amount and our Savings percentage was 80.45% which is right about average for us this year so far.

Looking Ahead to August....
Well the first week of August wasn't very frugal as we were on vacation.lol
Most of the costs for the trip were budgeted for & taken out of monies we saved in last year's Savings Challenge.  No funds were taken out of this year's income to pay for this trip.  And for heaven's sake, we didn't take out a loan or use a credit card to finance this trip....but of course, you probably figure that already.  ;-)
There were some items I bought while on vacation that will come out of the food budget for August.  I'll explain fully in a later post.

August is college tuition time but that comes out of the college money account we have funded over the years.
It's still a heart stopper of a bill, even if you have the funds set aside to pay it....

Looking at last August as a guideline, I don't see any unusual or reoccurring large bills coming due this month.   We will have a large credit card bill to pay fully in August(from charges for the vacation trip)but that has been budgeted for & that part of the bill will be funded from sources besides the monthly income.  The only unusual charges will be for any of the various repairs/upgrades we need to do on the home and possibly for the purchase of a new freezer.

But I am determined to get through August frugally and meet our monthly goal of $2,500 saved this month.
It's going to be a challenge this month so cross your fingers I meet that goal!

YTD Standings....
We have a Year To Date Total of $19,782.91 in Savings.  To save $30K for the year, we need to put away $2,500 per month average, at this point in the year we need to have $17,500 saved. With the extra paycheck in July we are looking good for meeting our Savings Challenge for the year!

So how was your July financially?  Leave a comment and share with us what you did with your money, both the good and not-so good.   Do you have any tricks or tips that help you to end your month before the money runs out?    Let us know!
If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check you out too!


Sluggy

JULY Budget Results....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2010.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in July.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom information.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(between 5 & 2 at home this month) & 3 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $16.00
Value $62.94
Savings  74.58%

BIG LOTS
OOP $31.04
Value $52.66
Savings  41.06%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $61.25
Qs/Ads $37.81
Value $99.06
Savings  38.17%

FAMILY DOLLAR
OOP $21.19
Qs/Ads $11.19
Value $32.38
Savings  34.84%

FARM MARKET

OOP  $12.55
Value  $21.89(compared to same items' prices at grocery store)
Savings  42.64%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $6.95
Qs/Ads $16.93
Value  $23.88
Savings  70.90%

RITE AID
OOP $23.51 (whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads $412.55
Value $436.06
Savings 94.41% before gift cards/ 100% savings after gift cards

WALMART("that" store)
OOP $8.96
Qs/Ads $5.00
Value $13.96
Savings  35.82%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $126.39
Qs/Ads $127.74
Value $254.13
Savings  50.26%

I don't track CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN JULY

Kraft(2 different rebates)...$30.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$58.98
Subtotal........$94.98

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
MyBlogSpark Cheerios Giveaway $25 Visa Gift Card
Rite-Aid $35 in Gift Cards($25+$5 bonus Skin Care & $5?-can't remember for what)
Rite-Aid RX Transfer $25 Gift Card

Subtotal....$85.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$179.98

FREE ITEMS

Vocalpoint Crystal Lite Samples
DiGiorgno Pizza
Huggies Diapers Pack

COUPONS

$2/1 Bounty Towels
$2/1 Crystal Light (multiple)

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Bakery Outlet at 74.58% and Price Chopper at 70.90%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$294.04
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$724,25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1018.29
TOTAL Savings of..........71.13%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$94.98
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$199.06
TOTAL Savings of..................................80.45%

This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I stayed under my $200 budgeted amount for JULY by .94¢! after rebates were applied.  It was an expensive month as I bought alot of meat in July for stocking up purposes.

What's ahead for August 2010.....

I am setting the August 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget at $300.
Why?
Because we have 4 at home now and all 5 family members by the latter part of the month.
Because there may be a family picnic lurking at the end of the month which will add to the food expenses.
Because I plan on packing the freezer with farm bought bulk buys of some veggies for the winter and this month is when things will be ready for harvesting and purchasing.

As always, any rebates received this month will be added to the food budget spending.  I have few outstanding rebates at the moment so there will be little extra cash to cover food expenses in this way for August.

With half of the year behind us, we have averaged $170.35 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens.

How did you do in July with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

I'm Back....From the Sea(Food)!

       Photo courtesy of LOL Dogs(http://ihasahotdog.com/)

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."

"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?

-excerpt from "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll


Yep!
Like the Walrus & The Carpenter and the pup above, I eated it......I eated allll over Maine and I eated it ALL....but it was NO Hot Dog!lol

Not quite Oysters tho.....
But....
It was clams....

and scallops....

and clams....

and haddock....

and clams.....

and lobster....

and clams....

and shrimp....

and did I mention CLAMS yet?

And not those nasty rubber band tasting/texturing clam strips you get frozen in the grocery store.

It was whole, full bellied Ipswich clams!
Mmmmmmm......


Oh and then there was the excitement on the trip home....
and then the *fun bonus* after I got home later that night, which stretched into even *MORE FUN* for the next 2 days.
I will spare you the lovely pictures of the Fun Bonus Times later in the week(when I get around to recounting the trip and it's aftermath).

So I'm back online and slowly getting up to speed and getting laundry done and my bad self's head back in the game called REAL LIFE.
And I'm doing it kicking and screaming in protest the entire way!!!
Ayuh....

So bear with me as I move rather slowly with new posts and tying up old business from last month, and most importantly as I catch up with all my online friends' blogs and lives.

It was so nice to get away but it's always nice to come home....
Stay tuned for more. ;-)

"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"


"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.


"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

Sluggy

Swimming with the Loons

Hello from an undisclosed location!.....the photo & the post title should give you some hints. ;-)

I bet ya'll had thought I had fallen off the face of the Earth.
Nope.

I am alive and well somewhere near the location of the photo above.

I finally got internet access for awhile and thought I'd check in.

I still have seafood to eat and Rite-Aids to pillage but should be home and back online by Saturday.
So keep on keepin' on being frugal and I'll be seeing ya'll soon.

Sluggy

Picking Time #2....Some Variety Finally!

Go figure......as soon as we decide to hit the road on a vacation, our garden starts producing!
Ack...
Why didn't we think to tell it that we were leaving it weeks ago!!lol

We harvested our 1st whopper of a tomato about a week ago.
Here it is....

Purty, huh?
Now look at it again, with the object beside it to show the scale.....

And no, it is NOT suppose to be a cherry tomato.lol
It's an Early Girl or some such nonsense.

This BEHEMOTH added another 2 ounces to our production total.

Moving on-
Here are some goodies we picked yesterday....

4 yellow summer squash
3 tomatoes(around the size of the last one/off of the same set of plants)
1 Italian roasting pepper(or so the nursery guy called it)
1 small light green pepper(the stem broke off the plant and it was either take it now or let it rot)

All together this crop and the behemoth were 3lb. 7oz.

Since I'm leaving shortly, I'll cook up the squash today and throw everything else into the freezer and deal with it when I get back.
Some of the cauliflower needs picking soon as well as some green beans & pickling cukes.  I've got someone to pick things while I am away so nothing will go to waste.
No zucchini here....waiting on the female blooms still.

Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....15 lb. 5.4 oz.

What's new in your garden?


Sluggy

Shopping & Decluttering & Donating....Oh My!

We had a busy Tuesday here.
First off I had to go have blood drawn.  The nurse couldn't find my vein so I got stuck in both arms...ugh.

Then I finally hauled this off to the local Food Bank....

7 x Feminine Pads
4 x Kids Soap
14 x Cat Treats *Not pictured
1 x Cat Litter *Not pictured
12 x Hot Sauce
2 x Pasta Noodles
2 x Pasta Sauce
4 x Peanut Butter
10 x Canned Peas
2 x Canned Pasta
3 x Barbecue Sauce *Not pictured

Donation Total....61 Items
Plus I gave them a check for $100 per my JUNE FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE pledge.

Yearly Food Bank Donation Total....227 + $100
April....78
May....88
July....61

I didn't get a chance to lay it all out nice on the table this time before it went into the car but here is what Hubs hauled up to Salvation Army....

And more on the backseat....

ALL NEW ITEMS
9 Cube World Toys
3 packs Halloween Make-up
2 Lamps
1 Set of 4 Glass Goblets
2 Boyds Glass Xmas Ornaments
2 Boxes of Beanie Baby Cards
1 Book on Tape/Audio Book
2 Matted Art Prints
1 Homer Simpson Talking Cookie Jar
1 Small Soldiers Animated Bank

USED ITEMS
5 Halloween Costumes
Metal Folding Plant Shelf
Gettysburg Army Men Set
Baseball Glove
Dog Dish
10 Theater Books
Fisher Price Pirate Ship and Accessories
8 Stuffed Animals
10 Mark Twain Books

Total Items for this Donation....62

April Total....96
May Total....72
June Total....45
July Total....107
Yearly Total to Date....320 Items.


Yearly Total for all Donations(Salvation Army & Food Bank) so far.....547 items + $100


#2 son had a sleepover last night so I had to hit the grocery store for 'necessities' like chips, pepperoni for the pizzas I made them, milk, popcorn, to the tune of $12.20.  Add in the bag of healthy chips I wanted to try(I did have a coupon) and the bag of dog food for $1.99(again, with a coupon.lol)and the bill came to $16.42.

And a trip to Rite-Aid, probably the only one for this week's sales since we have packing and stuff to do before we leave for vacation.

2 x StayFree Pads on sale $3.00=$6.00
2 x Nivea Men's Body Wash on sale $1.99=$3.98
1 x Olay Total Effects Body Wash w/20% discount=$3.99
1 x Ivory Soap 4 pack w/20% discount=$2.63
1 x Colgate Total Toothpaste on sale $3 but 20% discount greater=$2.95
1 x Reach Dental Floss on sale=$.99
1 x Reach Toothbrush on sale $3.99 but 20% discount greater=$3.59
SubTotal....$24.13

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase AdPerks(my only one! sniff)=$5.00
1 x BOGO StayFree ManuQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 StayFree ManuQ(from some magazine I had)=$1.00
1 x $4/2 Nivea Body Wash IPQ=$4.00*
I x $4/1 Olay Total Effects ManuQ=$4.00
1 x Buy One OlayTF/Get One Ivory Product free ManuQ=$3.00**
1 x $1/1 Colgate Toothpaste ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Reach Floss or Toothbrush IPQ=$1.00*
1 x $1/1 Reach Toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$23.00

$24.13-$23.00=$1.13 OOP put on free Rite-Aid Gift Card so ZERO out of pocket

I qualified for SCR#80 $2.99(Reach Toothbrush)=$2.99
The Reach Toothbrush, Colgate Paste and Reach Floss also qualify toward SCR #556, so I have $7.53 toward the $15 needed to earn a $5 Rite-Aid Gift Card.

I also earned +UPs in the amount of $8 for this transaction....2 x $1(Nivea), $1(Reach Tbrush), $3(Colgate), $2(J&J-StayFree).
Yes, each Nivea Body Wash triggered a separate +UP in the same transaction.

*Both the Nivea and the Reach IPQs beeped as the amount of the item was 1 cent below the coupon value. The cashier had to manually imput them into the register.
**The cashier insisted on marking the Ivory Soap Q for $3.00, even though I told her twice the soap only rang up $2.63 because of my Wellness discount.  Well you can't say I didn't try....lol

So $1.13 on gift card/oop and getting back $2.99 in rebates and $8 more in +UPs to spend.
It's a fine way to start the new SCR period for August.

MONTHLY TOTALS-AUGUST Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......1
Total Spent....$1.13--all put on free Gift Cards/Certificates 
Value of Items purchased....$37.21
SCR qualified for....$2.99 in cash and $0 in Gift Cards
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0
+Up Rewards earned=$8.00

Total 'Spent'...$1.13(on gift cards)
Total Cash I'm getting Back=$2.99
Total Gift Cards I'm getting=$0
+Up Rewards left to spend=$24.00(including the $9 that didn't print last week)

Today, Wednesday, is more packing, cleaning the car EGADS!, gardening and making lists for the trip, for the kids chores and last minute checklists, cooking, cleaning, laundry and then a dip in the pool & probably a nap since nobody got much sleep here last night...hmmm, I wonder if 3 teenage boys tromping around until 3am had anything to do with that.....ya think??lol

So what do you have up on deck today?

Sluggy

For Donna....As Promised!

A few weeks ago I won a blog contest over at Donna Freedman's blog, Surviving and Thriving.
Part of my win included a cute little alien critter that says various alien-like phrases when you whack him on the head.  I sort of like that whacking on the head thing, but I digress.

I had asked Donna to autograph the Alien before she sent him packing to PA.  I have a small collection of autographs, both photos and objects.  The signatures range from famous people to the even better type of people, those I consider my friends. ;-)
I promised Donna that if she signed old green butted Alien dude I would put her/him right next to my Bruce Willis.  It's only appropriate because Donna and Bruce are fellow Jerseyites and they are both "hot" babes.

Well my Alien dude arrived late last week-Thanks Donna!-but alas, without a signature as his alien form proved to be 'unsignable'.
But he arrived holding a card attesting to his unsignability, handwritten and autographed by Ms. Freedman.  That is good enough for me and my collection!

So without further ado........Donna meet Bruce....Bruce, Donna.....

May you dwell together happily for many years to come in my dining room hutch.

Be sure to check out Donna's frugality/personal finance blog.  She's one smart tough cookie!

Sluggy