A few extra deals for the week.....

Another quick stop by Publix (the P) yielded a few good deals to add to the stockpile.

4 Ragu Sauce regularily $2.18 on sale for $1.09 each less MQ netting to .79 each
2 All Small and Mighty regularly $5.99 on sale for $3.50 less PQ netting to $2.50 each
1 Soft Scrub Gel regularly 3.29 on sale for $2.50 less MQ doubled netting to $1.50
1 Newman's Salsa regularly $2.59 on sale for $2 less MQ doubled netting to $1
2 Knorr Side regularly $1.29 on sale for $1 less MQ doubled netting to .50 each


Plus non-sale items: Publix fresh pizza dough,
broccoli and one tomato.
Net of non-sale items is $6.08.

OOP was $23.25 with a savings of $20.92. 

Gardening Begins

I started a few seeds today using some disposable pods and using a Chick-fil-a catering tray as a makeshift greenhouse. 

This is the same method I have used in the past, only this year, I'm starting my seeds much earlier.  The "greenhouse" sits in a south facing window close to a heating vent.  This should keep the "greenhouse" warm and bright.  I am hoping that by starting the seeds almost two month earlier than before, my plants will have a better head start before they go outside.  I may try to use something to keep the bottom of the greenhouse warm some of the time.  (Wonder if a warm towel or a heating pad might do the trick?)

I planted some Campbells' tomato seeds, banana peppers, bell peppers, jalapenos, spinach, and cucumbers.  There are five plants of each kind for a total of 30 plants.  If I can find another suitable container for a green house, I would like to plant a few more of each.

I also have a project I need to get completed in the next month or two to turn a large window into an outdoor greenhouse lean-to.  All I should need is one 2x4 and a sheet of plywood.  I want to make sides for the window so it can sit against the house to protect young seedlings before they are transplanted into pots.  I hope I can convince DH to build my second raised planter this spring.

This year's gardening resolution is to be more attentive to the plants.  Water more consistently and fertilize often.  I'm looking to have a better harvest this year.   

Menu Monday

Sunday - Beef Fajitas (from a London Broil on sale at Publix)
Monday - BLTs and Potato Soup (Zaycon bacon)
Tuesday - Grilled Chicken and side
Wednesday - Chef Salad
Thursday - Smoked Sausage and Red Rice
Friday - Pizza

We may have to shuffle some meals because the pizza dough I bought at Publix has begun "rising" in the fridge. 

Mmmmmm, Bacon!

I picked up my bacon order from the Zaycon (www.zayconfoods.com) truck Saturday morning.  I met up with the lady I shared the order with and gave her the second box.  (Each box contains 15 pounds of bacon on two separate sealed trays.  There were approximately 100 slices of bacon on the first tray.

I just didn't feel quite like tackling the bacon project Saturday so it sat until breakfast Sunday morning.  I opened one of the trays and fried up several slices for our breakfast.  We really enjoyed it.  It was not thin like the cheap bacon you find on sale at the grocery store and not as thick as the thick cut bacon.  Just right, as Goldilocks would say.

After breakfast, I packaged up two zip lock bags with five packets each containing 8 slices of bacon.  Each packet was wrapped in waxed paper so it is easy to remove from the rest of the bag.  I estimate that there is about 2.5 pounds of bacon in each bag.  I also baked about 20 slices in the oven for short term use.  (We're having BLTs for dinner tomorrow and salad later in the week.)

I plan on packing up the second tray of bacon tomorrow night after dinner.  I will likely do the same except that I plan on making 6 slice packets and bundling into the Ziploc bags that can be vacuumed.  These will go into the freezer and be used last.  I hoping that by vacuuming out the air, the bacon will stay fresher in the freezer.

Update:  Here's the result from the second packing.  Each vacuum sealed bag contains 30 strips of bacon or 120 strips total.

I was also impressed that the boxes/trays were marked with their pack date (1.22.2012) and were delivered to me only six days later.  Pictures when I pack up the next tray.

One more time....

I stopped back by the P tonight to pickup just a few more of their good sale items.

Along with a can of pineapple and a half gallon of milk, I got four more jars of Newman's Salsa ($1 per jar), one 4-pack of fruit in juice (.40), two bags of caramel buggles (.75 each) and two boxes of Superpretzels (.60 each).

The salsa was on sale for $2 each (not BOGOF but a good sale).  The fruit, bugles and Superpretzels were all BOGOF.  This is a great way to use coupons along with sale prices to get the rock bottom prices.

My OOP was only $10.66 with a savings of $17.51 (62%).

Deals, deals, deals

I made a quick stop at Publix this afternoon to pick up a package of ground sirloin.  While I was there, I checked out a couple of deals I missed over the weekend.

For an OOP of $12.38, I got a pound of ground sirloin, frozen Texas Toast, three 4-packs of Dole Fruit in 100% juice, one box of Superpretzel, one jar of Newman's Salsa and a container of Dishwasher Magic.  I used coupons on the Dole fruit, pretzel, salsa and dishwasher cleaner.  My savings was $14.53.

I found even more coupons for the Dole fruit and salsa when I got home.  (I'm a little unorganized this week.) I'll be making another stop either tomorrow or Wednesday before the sale ends.


(I have a picture but I can't find my cord.  See what I mean about being disorganized!)

Weekly Menu

I tried to purchase as little meat this week as possible along with a few produce items and a couple of staples.  Best deal was the Dole fruit in a 4-pack (perfect for lunch).  These are usually $2.79 on BOGOF for $1.40 less a .50 coupon doubled.  Net .40 for a four pack.

This week's menu:

Sunday - Crockpot Roast with potatoes and carrots
Monday - Spaghetti
Tuesday - Ham Steak with Spanish Rice
Wednesday - Salad with fresh pears and mozzarella
Thursday - French Dip and Onion Soup (leftover Roast)
Friday - Homemade Pizza


I saw a post this morning say that the Newman's Salsa is BOGOF.  I need to run back over and check that out.

How's that Budget Going?

OK, here's the recap I promised on Grocery Budgeting.

2011

My budget for 2011 was $4535.00.  This was for $85 per week with a small increase for 6 weeks.  I spent just over my budget at $4660.56.  My savings for the year (groceries only) was $2,263.91.  (That's 48% of OOP and 32% of the retail value.)  Not exactly your extreme savings!

In the interest of full disclosure, there were a few gas cards included in the totals above and there were some purchases at Walmart that were not included.  Also, for 2011, I had one purchase from Zaycon Foods of $58 that was not included.  Probably, it all equals out. 

2012

For 2012, I left the budget at $85 per week because I want to do a better job of saving money but I also anticipate that groceries as a whole will increase in price by 5-10%.  I figure if I can keep the totals about the same, I will be saving money.

I will also be purchasing more chicken from Zaycon and I have an order pending for Bacon.  I have a fairly healthy pantry and a full freezer.  My ongoing goal for 2012 is to limit our dining out to once (or twice maximum) per week. 

Lunch Budget

Last year I had a $10 budget each week for lunch (Monday - Friday).  I was able to make this work most of the time but as the year ran down - and I got lazy - I found myself buying lunch more and more.

One of my goals this year is to reduce this budget to only one purchased lunch per week.  Usually, my lunch in the cafeteria is just over $3 with $5 being the absolute maximum I will spend in our cafeteria.

I know we are only a week or so into the new year but so far, I've hit it.  The first week I only purchased lunch one time and the second week, I purchased only two sides making my expenditure less than $3 for the week. 

My daughter and I were talking today about the people we work with and how likely they are either to go out to eat lunch frequently OR heating up a frozen entree.  (Ironically, this conversation took place while we were out eating lunch :).  We have very few opportunities to 'lunch' during the week due to our work schedules.)  Ultimately, bringing leftovers or sandwiches/salads for lunch each day is frequently more healthy than what is otherwise available and always more frugal.

I've even gotten DH into the brown bag habit. 

Weekly Shopping and Menu Monday

I made my weekly trek to Publix this afternoon.  Mostly, I purchased items for lunch, produce (potatoes, broccoli, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes), cheese, deli (meat and bread), and meat (top sirloin on sale and bacon on sale).  I did have a few coupons but very few BOGO deals.  My OOP was roughly $70 with a $36 savings.  I was able to stock up on some chips for lunches and snacking and picked up a few extra cans of kidney beans and green beans.  No bad, but not great either.

Here's what we're looking at for this week's menu:
Sunday - K-bobs with peppers and onions, rice, broccoli and veggies
Monday - Spaghetti
Tuesday - Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Wednesday - Pancakes or Salad
Thursday - Italian Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
Friday - out

Looking back at 2011

January:  In January 2011, we dealt with some house issues.  We replaced a garbage disposal and made adjustments to a garage door.  We also had some plumbing issues that required a plumber. I also mentioned the squirrel hole in the top of our chimney.  While we wanted to get this repaired right away, we were unable to find a repair man until this past December.  We also spent almost four days dealing with snow and ice.  That was both fun and frustrating but we were grateful to have everything we needed right here.

February:  February is always a very busy month for me and added to all that is Publix's Viva Italia sale.  I love this and it's a great time to stock up.  I shared a couple of tips:  pantry storage in repurposed spaghetti jars and using a safety pin to help speed up changing sheets.

March:  This month was filled with shopping updates, birthdays, and taxes.  I also finished working on my paralegal certificate.  I posted a recipe for chicken tortilla soup - I may try that again soon.

April:  We purchased a motorcycle for DH and fortunately, we were able to pay cash.  No payments, no debt.  I posted about several Publix deals and re-fashioned a pair of lamps on the cheap.  I instituted a freezer week to use some of the items we have on hand.

May:  I killed the microwave!  I started my vegetable garden.  (I must do this earlier in 2012.)  I also compared some grocery prices to those of 2003.

June:  Publix had a great price on canned vegetables so I stocked up.  We scored a $199 margarita machine for only $59 simply by being in the right place at the right time.  We paid off a consumer loan.

July:  Free tea at Chick-fil-A and we started on our project to rebuild, repair and paint our front porch railing.  I scored $90 from the sale of some stock I didn't know I had.  I stocked up and froze a bunch of cherries.  (That reminds me that I need to bake something!) I continued to grow my stockpile.

August:  My DS reconstructed a new drawer for me after mine literally fell apart.  I lamented about the poor performance of my garden.  DH built me a simple frame to store my bottled water off the conceter floor.  Still working on the porch.

September:  I was in desperation mode to clean out my freezer.  I ordered 80 pounds of chicken from Zaycon.  We also went apple picking.  With over 40 pounds of apples it was a busy month.  I canned picked pears, canned pears, canned apples, applesauce, and figs.  Still working on the porch.

October:  I finally finished up my canning and packaged up 80 pounds of chicken.  I was able to get my half into the freezer.  Still working on the porch.

November:  Had an awesome shopping trip at Publix (OOP $88 with a $120 savings) and got a free turkey at BJs.  I blogged every day this month.  I crocheted two baby blankets, made cookies and a cake for a baby shower and started decorating for Christmas.  Thanksgiving was fun.  Finally finished painting the porch railing and front door frame.  Painted half of the hinges in the kitchen to match the knobs. 

December:  I worked on organizing my sewing closet.  Made lots of cookies and goodies for Christmas.  My Christmas shopping was done ahead of time.  Tried to post every day but with all that was going on,  it was hard to keep up with.  We got the chimney fixed and cleaned.  Enjoyed a fire on Christmas eve. 

One week in....

So here we are one week into the new year.  I've spent a fair amount of time cleaning out things and trying to reorganize.  I was able to organize my appliance cabinet, some of my kitchen drawers, etc. making my day to day life just a little easier.  I've also taken the tree down (mostly, it's undecorated and just needs to be put away), the decorations are boxed up and very little remains of the Christmas Holidays except lovely memories.

My DS made a pull out shelf that fits under my coffee cabinet to hold K-cups.  This is great because it frees up my drawer to get some kitchen towels back in there.  I'm hoping to get it painted over the next few weeks so it matches my cabinets.

Yesterday, I picked up 40 pounds of chicken from Zaycon.  It looked great just like last time and the pieces may have been even larger this time.  We packaged these up in one and two breast packages and a couple of packages of sliced strips.

Unfortunately, my grocery trip this week was not a big savings event.  I spent about $110 which included a $50 gas card.  (Don't tell anyone but I only had $1 in coupons!  Shameful.)  Mostly, I purchased some ground beef, cheese, deli items, milk, produce and a few staples. 

I have a small roast in the crockpot and I'm cooking it as Chipolte Shredded Beef (recipe from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures).  I will let this cook through the night and put in the fridge in the morning.  We may use this on Thursday night when we have tacos.

Now for the menu:

Saturday - Homemade Chili
Sunday - Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans
Monday - Chili and Noodles
Tuesday - Chicken Kiev and side
Wednesday - Potato Soup and BLTs
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Homemade Pizza

My goal is to reduce our weekend restaurant spending by half since it had gotten out of control over the holidays.  One dinner and one breakfast is the goal.  Ultimately, I'd like to have it at one meal out per week but we're not there yet.

Menu Monday - First of the Year Edition

I've fallen down on the menu planning over the last few weeks.  I'm going to blame it on the holidays.  My first objective this week is utilizing what we have on hand and focusing on the items available in the freezer.  (I have an order from Zaycon Foods arriving next Saturday and I need to get half of it - 20 pounds - into the freezer.)

Sunday - Traditional Dinner Black-eyed Peas, Cornbread and Ham
Monday - Omaha Steaks, Baked Potatoes and Green Beans
Tuesday - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (freezer supplied meat)
Wednesday - Pancakes and Bacon
Thursday - Chicken and Dumplings (freezer chicken, vegetables on hand)
Friday - Homemade Pizza