The grocery game challenge #1 July 1-7, 2013- Cleaning out the refrigerator
Keep The Refrigerator Clean And Organized
Cleaning out the refrigerator is one of those tasks most people don’t want to tackle, yet it’s necessary. I have a real problem when I see a dirty refrigerator inside or out because we should take pride in what we put in our bodies. If the space is not kept clean we are opening ourselves up to bacteria and general muck that you don’t want to see near the food you put in your mouth.
Keeping the box of baking soda inside to eliminate odours is only part of the solution and that box I’m afraid doesn’t send out an army of cleaning men and women to wash up the mess we make. Having a clean refrigerator also makes sure that you are using the food that you buy so there’s no waste.
You know what I mean when food gets tossed to the back never to be seen again until someone sticks their hands into a pot of furry mould. That makes fridge cleaning sound even more enjoyable doesn’t it now? Ewe, that is gross but keeping a clean refrigerator is your only solution.
I remember when I was a kid I would grab a chair and push it over to the refrigerator to see what was inside. I was trying to be a responsible mini Mr. CBB by making my sandwich. When I went to grab the mustard the lid popped off because I squeezed it too hard. Needless to say there was mustard everywhere inside the refrigerator and on the floor. Most people would clean this right up but there are people out there that don’t care when something spills inside the fridge. Whether it’s visible like yellow mustard or milk that you can hardly see a quick clean-up takes mere minutes.
Refrigerator cleaning chart
For that reason I created a refrigerator cleaning chart that we keep on the side of the refrigerator. You can keep it inside of a binder with other lists that you track which we do. Each time we give the refrigerator a full cleaning we mark the date of the cleaning on the chart, what was completed and who completed the task.
It’s that simple but it gives us a general idea of when and how frequent we are cleaning the fridge out. It’s not rocket science to clean your refrigerator but for those that have never done it you might want to just take it step by step, but it’s fairly straight-forward.
How to clean a refrigerator
We normally take everything out and set it on the counter while we clean. Generally it takes us 20 minutes to clean what we need to and then we put everything back inside. We can get it done even faster if we work as a team.
We wash everything with hot water and soap and scrub any little crumbs and stains that we see. This process includes the walls, ceilings and any joint or seam we can get the cloth into. We also clean the freezer part of our refrigerator but store all the food in the big freezer until we are done.
We are a bit detailed when it comes to our produce and fruit drawers and line them with either paper towel or cloths that we use only for the drawers. It’s important to make sure that you dry all the water up after cleaning and before putting all your food back inside.
We generally give our refrigerator a cleaning once a month inside and out and as needed with minor spills or leaks. Just last week our olives sprung a magical hole in the side of the package and I had black oil dripping down the drawers. I had to clean it up right away as I wasn’t going to wait until our monthly cleaning to do that.
We also make sure that everything has a place in the refrigerator and that all bottles are kept clean and free from food sticking to them. You know what I mean, inside the ketchup lid how it all builds up, we give that a cleaning as well.
OK, we may be a bit over the top but we just like to keep the space clean. It’s no different from buying food from a deli or food bar as consumers we want it to be clean as a whistle. I can already hear the mom’s cursing me saying, wait until you have kids. I know, I’m sure one day I’ll be back to say thank goodness for my refrigerator cleaning chart it’s kept us sane and our household chores in check.
How to clean refrigerator coils
Lastly, I unplug the refrigerator (this is a MUST for safety reasons) pull out the refrigerator once a month and give it a cleaning on the floor, the walls and hoover the back of the refrigerator coils where they can be build up of dust bunnies and hair as well as crumbs.
Depending on what model your refrigerator is your coils might not be in the back like ours are so check with your owner’s manual to see what they recommend. Don’t forget this process as it’s an important step in keeping the refrigerator clean and running at optimal efficiency, saving you money.
How often do you clean your refrigerator?
July grocery game recap
If you missed grocery game posts for this month just click on the links below and post your shops in the comment section.Each week I will add the previous weeks Grocery Game post below.
The grocery game challenge WINNER for June was Sarah M # 15. Congratulations Sarah!!
- This is the first post for July so there is no links posted in this section yet.
Grocery saving tips
Free Money Saving Downloads were lists that were created to get us on track towards reaching our goals. Get organized with a freezer inventory, meal plan, shopping list, price comparison list and much more!
Click, Save and Print. It’s that easy~ Also look back on previous grocery game posts for loads of grocery shopping tips and information.
- Let Your Coupons Expire And Save Money
- Knowing Your Prices Is The Key To Saving Money In The Grocery Budget
- Product Price Adjustments Don’t Miss The Savings
- Scanning Code of Practice In Canada (SCOP)
- How To Start Saving Money On Groceries In Canada?
- How Much Should My Grocery Budget Be?
- Top Ten Ways To Cut Your Grocery Budget
- Meal Planning For The Budget
- The Grocery Game Challenge and Our Grocery Budget
- Grocery Budget Saving Tips
- Food Shopping On A Budget
Yearly grocery budget for two: $2819.38
- Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $235.00 or $78.33 week with one no-shop week per month or $58.75 for 4 weeks per month. (During the months with 5 weeks we just make it work)
- Total Budget For July: $235.00- $52.25 (over-spend in June)= $182.75 to spend in July.
- Total Coupons Used this Week : $0
- Total Discounts this Week: $0
- Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
- Total Rewards Points Used: $0
- Stockpile Budget: $20.00 Used $0
- Total Spent This Week: $0
- Total Spent So Far for (July) $
- Total Over/Under spend this shop: $
- Total Over/Under spend for the month of (July): $
- Total Left to Spend for the Month: $
- Total Coupons Used This Month:$
- Total to Carry Over Next Month: $
- Total Spent To Date This Year: $206.95 (Jan)+ $160.77 (Feb) + (March)$169.62 + (April)$397.74+(May) $155.68 + (June) $216.01=$1306.77
- Rendezvous Account: $65.38 This is money saved if there is any leftover at the end of a month of grocery shopping for a date night for the wife and I.
Weekly Overview: We didn’t go shopping, enough said 🙂
Canadian coupons found in July
Oh ya, gotta try me some Playboy shower gel… lol.
- Save $1.00 on any Playboy Shower Gel or Body Spray UPC #06404068 Expiry August 31,2013, Found at Shoppers Drug Mart
- Save $0.75 off any Arm and Hammer toothpaste UPC #65334257 Exp October 31,2013, Found at Shoppers Drug Mart
- Save $1.00 off any Gay Lea Nordica Cottage Cheese UPC #02707945 Exp November 31,2013, Found at Metro
Frequently Asked Questions
Grocery Game Challenge RULES….. Read the rules first and if you have any questions email me or comment on this post with your question and someone will answer you as soon as possible.
- Do I have to be Canadian to post my Grocery Shop? No, you don’t have to be Canadian to post your shops only to win a monthly prize. We have a few players from around the world.
- When does the Grocery Game Close each month? The Grocery Game Challenge Closes at Midnight of the last Sunday of the last post for the month. You can post your shops all month-long.
- Does Your Grocery Budget Include Health and Beauty and Laundry? Yes our Grocery Budget includes such items as shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, fabric softener, dish soap etc. We don’t mind stockpiling items that won’t be affected by expiry dates or have long expiry dates but not so much food any more. It’s just one way to help cut your budget to save money.
- Where can I find Canadian Coupons? Here are your latest Coupon Match-ups of the week including Checkout 51 from 25 Newspaper Inserts around Canada compliments of Save Big Live Better that you can use to help you save money in the Grocery Game Challenge.
- How Do I Know what stores accept coupons? You can find all your store coupon policies here. If you are not sure it’s always best to call the store and ask.
- How Do I Grocery Shop?– I can tell you about grocery shopping and what we do in terms of shopping to save money and how it works for us. There are no wrong or right answers, just smart choices.
Over time you will gradually learn where you should and shouldn’t go in the grocery store or at least how to say no, I’m on a budget I don’t need to buy this or that. You may also substitute items in order to stick to your budget to make it work. Nobody is perfect, heck we struggle with this part of our budget like many people do and this is why the grocery game challenge was created.
If you have just joined The Grocery Game Challenge get ready to dive deep into your grocery budget and learn just where you are spending, how much you are spending and what you are saving. You’ve made a wise decision.
Are you NEW to Canadian Budget Binder?
- Follow Me on Social Media: Twitter, Facebook , Pinterest , Stumble Upon, Reddit and Google+
- Don’t forget to Subscribe to the blog so you get my daily email.
- If you need to get in touch with me the best way is on Facebook.
Our weekly budget is $100 a week making this month $500.
Safeway
.99 french bread
$3.49 5lb carrots
$4.50 total oop
H&WProduce
.51 tomatoes
.43 garlic(4)
$1.33 jalapeno
2/.99×2 cucumber
$1.61 bananas
.85 apples
$1.85 grapes
.57 nectarines
$2.10 apples
$1.99 blueberries
$13.22 total oop
Superstore
.87 kidney beans
$1.88 croutons
$1.71-.75C coffee cream
$4-$1C dill havarti cheese
$1.28 mushrooms
$4.96 blueberries
$2.50×2 peppers
.05 bag 🙁 I always bring one!!!!
$18 total oop
$1.75 total coupons
sobeys
$1.69-.50C instant noodles
$1.12×2 juice
$6.69 sushi
$2.49 corn tortillas
$2.99×6-$2Cx6 delissico pizza
15% tuesday shop
$2.50×2 special k cereal
$3.99-$3.99Cwub2 special k cereal
$1.99 3pk romaine hearts
$3.99×2-$1Cx2 cb cheese slices
$3.29-free instore promo wub2cheese 12pk hamburger buns
$2.99×2-$1.50Cwub2 top dogs
$1.29-free instore promo wub2td 2Lpop
$2.49-.50C&$2CO51 potato thins
$5.29-fpc naturals turkey
$5.31 4L milk
$3.99 5lb onions
$4.99-fpc spreadables butter
$2.88×2 2lb strawberries
$3.83,$3.34,$3.15-$5C,.50Cx2C prime dijon chicken clearance
$5.43,$5.56 whole chicken clearance
$8.76,$11.58 top sirloin steak (4meals)
$56.45 total oop
$41.35 total coupons
$14.12 total 15% discount
$111.03 total weekly oop
$57.22 total weekly coupons/discount
Bought lots of vegs and fruit this week and our freezer is loaded 🙂
It’s so funny you are sad about bags when this next weeks GGC is about packing and bags lol. I see you bought sushi. I love sushi but want to learn to make it. Wow, you did awesome this week even though you over a tiny bit, you can make it up easily. These are the types of shops I like to see where the money goes a long way but on good fruits and veg etc. It’s not easy to do and meal planning does help. I see you use checkout 51 as well another great savings. Well done. Keep up the great work. You get ballot #7
Mr.CBB the sushi was for my girl! I have made it at home a few times and came out okay but we don’t have the “right” rice or what you need to add to it to make it sushi rice. But even without all the stuff they came out okay and may do a sushi night at a friends house since the hubby doesn’t really like it and I only like veggie ones but myy girl will try almost any kind. It is a treat that’s for sure and the hubby diffently got sweet talked into!! I just requested my first ck51 cheque for $31 last week and we will see when it comes 🙂 The meal planning thing usually works well for us when the kids are here and helps us keep to a plan but it is the last minute stuff or unplanned moments that have been popping up for us these last few weeks but we had already had money saved for those reasons and after a few years we learned to have that money saved.
Mr CBB… I had my post awaiting moderation and now it seems to have disappeared. Are you working with it or do I need to upload my post again? Thanks. 🙂
Never mind… it just re-appeared. Very weird. 🙁
I have 9 GGC in mod right now. I will do them in the morning 🙂
Cleaned out my fridge this morning and then cut up strawberries, broccoli, cucumber and romaine to keep on hand while Ken cooked up bacon to freeze 🙂
I shop for 2 adults and a 2 ½ year old boy. Our budget is $90/week or $360 for this month and includes laundry, health/beauty, etc.
RCSS
NN marshmallows $1.99
Milk $3.97
Almond milk $3.48 – $.75 coupon
Cucumber $.67
Carrots $1.27
Coupon folder $2.00 – 50% pink sticker – $1.00
CD $.90
Coupons $.75
OOP $11.08
RCSS
Kraft dressing 2 x $1.97 – $1.00 wub2 coupon
Redpath sugar (PM NF) $1.47
Soy milk $2.39 – $.75 coupon
Almond fresh milk $3.48 – $1.00 coupon
So Delicious coconut yogurt $4.59
Philadelphia cream cheese (PM FC) $2.99
Hummus $3.57
Wonderbread (PM NF) $2.17
Apples $1.72
Cucumber (PM FC) $.79
Strawberries $2.47
Broccoli $.98
Celery (PM WM) $1.00
Romaine (PM FB) $.67
Baby carrots $1.27
Bananas $.66
Rubbermaid water bottle $3.77
John Frieda hair colour 6 x 12.49 – 6 x FPC
Glade car décor scents 3 x $3.99 – 3 x FPC
No tax day $10.77
CD $10.52
Coupons $89.66
OOP $24.66
Food Basics
Goldfish 3 x $1.99
Whole wheat 10” tortillas $2.00
OOP $7.97
Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year : $4,680 ($90/week)
•Total Grocery Budget for the Month: $309.50 (I went over last month)
•Total Coupons Used this Week : $90.41
•Total Coupons Used This Month : $90.41
• Total Coupons Used this Year: $1096.72
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this week: $0
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this month: $0
• Total Checkout 51 rebates this year: $97.00
• Total Colleague Discount (CD) this week: $11.42
• Total Colleague Discount (CD) this month:$11.42
• Total Colleague Discount (CD) this year: $310.98
• Total SCOP this week: $0
• Total SCOP this month: $0
• Total SCOP this year: $3.41
•Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0
•Total Spent This Week: $43.71
•Total Spent So Far for July: $43.71
•Total Over/Under spend this shop: N/A
•Total Over/Under spent for the month of July: N/A
•Total Left to Spend for the Month: $265.79
•Total to Carry over Next Month: I do not carry over to the next month.
•Total Spent To Date This Year: $2106.64
•Weekly overview: I did much better this week!!! I’m pretty impressed with my hair colour score 🙂 Each box made me $1.25 because of the employee discount. I hope this means that I’m back on track!
I’m pretty impressed as well, you killed it this week. I am offering you a challenge Jen, actually both you and Ken. I want to see you buy a bag of dry chick peas, some tahini paste and the rest of the ingredients to make hummus at home. I swear you will NEVER buy it again it’s so easy to make… that’s my challenge to you. You get ballot #2
OK here is my shop for the week. I was all over in town here and didn’t even use the truck!!! Foodland, Canadian Tire and the drug store…. good deals and I got a treat. Hubby got a phone call from the head HR guy at the plant, he’s been there 36 years now so last year was his 35 yr anniversary. He was supposed to get a gift card but didn’t… hear tell a few were missed and the guy was running around making good on that little issue. I used part of the gift card for a grocery shop and finished it off this week so that helps my bottom line here….Every little bit helps!!!
Canadian Tire, June 29
3 bags sugar @1.48- 4.44
1 package garbage bags, 30 count- 7.49
2 packs Royale TP @5.99, 2-1.00 coupons
2 bags kitty litter@ 2.91- 5.82
tax- 3.29
Total $31.02, 2.00 in coupons
Foodland, June 29
2 tomato paste@ .50- 1.00
2 cans tomatoes@ .99- 1.98
1 12 pack bottled water- 1.00
3 Powerade @1.66- 4.98
bananas- 1.03
1lb margarine- 1.79
1 can pasta sauce- 1.79
1 package lasagna noodles- 1.98
3 packages pasta @1.99- 5.97
green beans- 2.61
2 packages buns@ 2.79- 5.58, 2- .50 coupons
2 packs wieners@ 2.79- 5.58
2 raisin bread @2.99-5.98
1 pack breakfast sausage- 2.99, 50% discount- 1.50
1 icing sugar- 2.99
tomatoes- 1.08
1 loaf W/W bread- 3.49
1 pack coffee filters, 400 count- 3.68
1 yogurt- 3.79, 1.00 coupon
1 10 lb bag potatoes- 4.49
2 4l milk@ 4.79- 9.58
3 blocks cheese @4.99- 14.97
1 jug water- 5.49
1 box Cheerios,MG- 7.99
1 pack smokies- 9.69
tax- 2.39
Total $110.39, $3.50 coupons/discounts
Foodland, July 3
1 12pack bottled water- 1.00
1 baking soda- 1.29
bananas- .45
1 jar pickles- 1.79
1 unsweetened apple sauce- 1.98
1 cranberry cocktail- 2.98
1 bag frozen peas and carrots- 2.99
1 raisin bread- 2.99
1 Mini wheats cereal- 2.99
1 pack parmesan cheese, grated- 3.42
1 yogurt- 3.79, 1.00 coupon
1 can whip topping- 3.99, 1.00 coupon
2 4l milk@ 4.79- 9.58
1 2l frozen yogurt- 4.99
1 block cheese- 4.99
1 Kashi cereal- 6.49, 1.50 coupon
1 2l ice cream- 6.99
1 pack smokes- 9.69
tax- 1.26
Total $68.15, $3.50 coupons
OOP $0.00, gift card $68.15
Jackson’s Pharmacy, July 3
2 cases ginger ale@ 3.33- 6.66, 2.00 coupon
1 newspaper- 1.00
tax- 1.00
Total-$6.66
Total budget for month-$600.00
Total coupons this week-11.00
Total spent this week- $148.07, under-1.93
Total for Month- $148.07
Over/under for week- 1.93
Total over/under for month- N/A
Left for month- $451.93
Total coupons this month- 11.00
Total carryover- $519.82
Gift card use- $68.15
Total YTD- J$818.08+F$598.07+M$770.12+A$938.07+M$650.13+J$876.78+J$148.07=$4799.95
So I came in under this week for a change and thanks to the $100.00 gift card from the plant. I won’t argue, it was nice to have it that’s for sure!!! The Canadian Tire run was for cat litter and garbage bags which we needed. The bags were not a sale price but they are nice big ones that fit the can nicely and at one per week they will last a while…Stuart was almost out of cat litter so that was nice timing and I used the last of my Royale coupons for the TP. The sugar was too good a price to leave as I was a little low after making jam….down to my last 4 bags!!! Lol!! Normally I don’t get the bottles of water but hubby is talking about going up to visit a friend and that will be around a 6 hr drive… if the traffic is in our favour, I’m not holding my breathe there and it does get dry driving all that way. This is cheaper than finding a Timmies every couple of hours. The friend and his wife live in Perth ON. so I’ll be cursing Toronto traffic…as all 3 routes we googled have us on the 401…..not happy about that… So far so good this month……
Hey!
Looks like that gift card came in handy and for everything you purchased I’d say you did quite well. I was impressed with how well you were able to make use of your coupons this week once again. The water will be much cheaper than finding a Timmies but if it were me I’d try and find a Timmies.. but I get that way when I’m on the road.. lol.. bad habit I guess. Keep up the good work You get ballot 3.
Hubby and I have stainless steel travel mugs that we load with ice and water before we leave. Hubby watched for a sale and picked them both up for under $10. I freeze a 4 L jug of water and by the time we want a top up, there has usually been enough that has melted. 😀
That’s probably the smart thing to do so when you are done you still have cold water waiting for you.
July – Week #1 of 5 – July 1-7, 2013
2013 GROCERY BUDGET / STOCKPILE BUDGET AND US RESERVE:
•Total Grocery Budgeted For Year: $142.50 x 12 = $1,710.00 for 2 adults
•Total Stockpile Budgeted For Year: $47.50 x 12 = $570.00 for 2 adults
•Combined Grocery Budget for 2013: $190.00 x 12 = $2,280.00
———————————————————————————————–
OUR “CANADIAN” SHOPPING THIS WEEK:
Extra Foods – Maple Ridge
.265 kg Lychee Fruit = $1.16
1 kg bag of kiwi = $2.47
2 clamshells 2 lb ea of blueberries = $4.96 ea = $9.92
1 Reeser’s Potato Salad = $3.77
1 Reeser’s Coleslaw = $4.69
4 No Name Tomato Paste @ 2/$1 = $2.00
1 head Cauliflower =$3.28
2 pkg 907 g Romaine @4.98 =$9.97
GST $0.42
•Total OOP: $37.67
• Grocery Budget OOP: $35.67
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $2.00
Safeway – Mission
1 Butchers Cut All Beef Wieners ($4.99-$2.50 COUPON) = $2.49
•Total OOP: $2.49
• Grocery Budget OOP: $0.00
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $2.49
Save On Foods – Maple Ridge
2 Mitchell’s Sliced Bacon ($15.38-$9.40 Loyalty Savings) = $5.98
2 Maple Leaf Prime Chicken Breasts ($39.44-$19.56 COUPON) = $19.88
•Total OOP: $25.86
• Grocery Budget OOP: $0.00
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $25.86
Safeway – Maple Ridge
2 avocadoes ($3.58-$1.60 Loyalty Savings)= $1.98
1 bag Whole Mushrooms ($7.68-$2.49 Loyalty Savings) = $5.19
1 Butchers Cut All Beef Wieners ($4.99-$2.50 COUPON) = $2.49
1 Gluten Free Udi’s Bagels = $6.99
6 Club House Sloppy Joe Mix = $13.56
•Total OOP: $30.21
• Grocery Budget OOP: $7.17
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $23.04
Haney Farms Market – Maple Ridge
1 Cantelope $1.75
•Total OOP: $1.75
• Grocery Budget OOP: $1.75
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $0.00
Safeway – Maple Ridge
4 Motts Clamato ($17.00-$7.00 Loyalty Savings) = $10.00
Deposit = $0.80
Recycle Fee = $0.24
•Total OOP: $11.04
• Grocery Budget OOP: $0.00
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $11.04
Safeway – Maple Ridge
2 Motts Clamato ($8.50-$3.50 Loyalty Savings) = $5.00
1 GF Nanaimo Bar ($13.19-$6.60 Coupon) = $6.59
Deposit = $0.40
Recycle Fee = $0.12
•Total OOP: $12.11
• Grocery Budget OOP: $0.00
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $12.11
Safeway – Maple Ridge
2 Safeway Medium Black Pitted Olives = $4.40
10 Sprite Zero ($26.90 – $4.30 Loyalty Savings -$11.00 Rain check) =$11.60 incl. $2.00 deposit fee & $0.60 recycle fee
2 Lucerne Cottage Cheese = $8.44
2 loaves Whole Wheat Garlic Bread = $4.00
1 Extra Lean Ground Beef ($5.17-$2.07 Loyalty Savings) = $3.10
1 Extra Lean Ground Beef ($5.17-$2.07 Loyalty Savings) = $3.10
1 Extra Lean Ground Beef ($5.06-$2.03 Loyalty Savings) = $3.03
1 Extra Lean Ground Beef ($5.01-$2.01 Loyalty Savings) = $3.00
2 Bunches celery$3.38
1 Red Onion $2.17
1 large sweet onion $1.01
2 Avocados $3.58
2 English Cucumbers ($3.98-$2.02 Loyalty Savings)= $1.96
8 Tomatoes on the vine = $5.11
4 Red Peppers ($5.07-$1.32 Loyalty Savings) = $3.75
5% GST $1.03
•Total OOP: $62.66
• Grocery Budget OOP: $62.66
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $0.00
Save On Foods – Maple Ridge
1 Lite Feta Cheese ($4.49-$0.50 Loyalty Savings)= $3.99
1 Western Family Greek Dressing ($3.49-$0.50 Loyalty Savings) = $2.99
•Total OOP: $6.98
• Grocery Budget OOP: $6.98
• Stockpile Budget OOP: $0.00
———————————————————————————————–
OUR “US RESERVE” SHOPPING THIS WEEK:
NO SHOP WEEK in USA
———————————————————————————————–
2013 Y-T-D GROCERY SAVINGS:
•Total Loyalty Card Price Reductions This Year:
(Jan $40.04) + (Feb $44.48) + (March $98.35) +
(April $50.00)+ (May $3.00) + (June $0.00) +
(July $1.00+$21.80+10.50+4.09+$9.40=$46.79)
= $282.66
•Total Coupons Used This Year:
(Jan – $60.46) + (Feb – $0.00)+ (March $11.79) +
(April $12.48)+(May $1.50) + (June $54.54) +
(July $11.00 Rain check +$6.60 Cpn+$2.50 Cpn++$2.50 Cpn +
$19.56 Cpn = 42.16)
= $182.87
•Total More Points Earned This Year:
(Jan 265) + (Feb 248)+(March 151) +
(April 26)+(May 0 ) + (June 59) +
(July 7)
= 756 Points
•Total Air Miles Earned This Year:
(Jan 57) + (Feb 10) + (March 30) +
(April 83) + (May 0) + (June 161) +
(July 20)
= 361 Air Miles
———————————————————————————————–
2013 Y-T-D GROCERY SPENDING:
•Total Grocery OOP Spent So Far This Year:
(Jan $217.50) + (Feb $198.39)+ (March $72.90) +
(April $215.04)+ (May $70.12) + (June $49.97) +
(July $62.66+6.98+$1.75+$7.17+$35.67=$114.23)
= $938.15
•Total YTD Grocery Budget So Far:
(Jan $190.00)+(Feb$190.00)+ (March $108.79) +
(April $142.50)+(May $142.50) + (June $50.00) +
(July 142.50-32.50=$110.00)
= $933.79
•Total Over/Under on the YTD Grocery Budget: $4.36 OVER
———————————————————————————————–
2013 Y-T-D STOCKPILE SPENDING:
•Total Stockpile OOP Spent So Far This Year:
(March $81.21) + (April $77.55) + (May $17.45) + June ($82.86) +
(July $11.04+12.11+$23.04+28.56+$2.49+$2.00= $79.24)
= $338.31
•Total YTD Stockpile Budget:
(March $81.21) + (April $47.50) + (May $47.50) + (June $82.86) +
(July $47.50-17.50=$30.00)
= $289.07
•Total Over/Under on the YTD Stockpile Budget: $49.24 OVER
———————————————————————————————–
2013 RE-STOCKING RESERVE:
•Total 2013 Borscht Stockpile Budget:
(March $0.00) + (April $0.00) + (May $0.00) + (June $0.00) +
(July $17.50) =
•Total 2013 Re-Stocking Reserve: $17.50 AVAILABLE
———————————————————————————————–
2013 Y-T-D BORSCHT STOCKPILE RESERVE:
•Total 2013 Borscht Stockpile Budget:
(March $0.00) + (April $0.00) + (May $0.00) + (June $120.00) +
(July $32.50) =
$152.50
•Total 2013 Borscht Stockpile Budget: $152.50 AVAILABLE
———————————————————————————————–
• TOTAL GROCERY FUNDS SPENT IN 2013: $1,276.46
———————————————————————————————–
REMARKS FOR THE WEEK:
I decided to take the bull by the horns and transfer $32.50 right off the top out of the grocery budget into my 2013 Borshch fund… seeing as I am actually going to go up country this August. I also ordered a supply of pyrahi for hubby, so he gets a nice treat from my trip as well. He’s not a fan of the Borshch, but he sure does love those tarts slathered in melted butter.
I also made a transfer of $17.50 out of the stockpile budget into the re-stocking budget. If it takes us a year or so to eat up the meat/fish/seafood supplies in the freezers, we’ll have $210.00 set aside to re-stock at least a portion of the freezer. That will make the budgeting easier.
This week we used one of my Safeway rain checks for Sprite Zero before it expired but we also added a rain check for 3 packages of fresh raspberries for $5.00!! We scored some good prices on extra lean ground beef at Safeway so we are enjoying lots of beef this week and even tucked a pound away in the freezer.
My plan is that next week will be a NO SHOP WEEK. I am over on both the regular grocery and the stockpile budget but it’s not by a lot … $53.60 in total. I am not sweating the small stuff. LOL
I will straighten things away in August. For now, I have my Safeway gift card and my hiding spot cash to cover anything I might want/need like milk or eggs.
———————————————————————————————–
CLOSING POSITIONS FOR JULY:
AVAILABLE CANADIAN FUNDS
Groceries: ($4.36)
Stockpile: ($49.24)
2013 BORSHCH: $152.50
Safeway Gift card: $20.00
Cash Hiding Spot: $18.65
Re-Stocking Funds: $17.50
AVAILABLE US FUNDS
Our Reserve: $165.89
US Cash Hiding Spot: $65.00
———————————————————————————————–
My current rain checks I hold are as follows:
Thrifty’s:
– 4 x small green salad @ $1 per bag (Good until July 26th)
– 4 x bag of yellow onions @ $1 per bag (Good until July 26th)
Safeway:
– 2 x Butcher’s Cut St. Louis style pork spareribs @ $7.99 per package (Good until Aug 30th)
– 2 x Butcher’s Cut Thick Sliced Bacon @ 50% Off (Good until Sept 13th)
– 2 x Coast to Coast Sausage Buns (8 per pack) @ $2.50 per package (Good until Sept 13th)
– 3 dozen Lucerne Large Eggs @ $1.33 per dozen (Good until Sept 21st)
– 3 x 170 g pkgs fresh raspberries for $5.00 (Good until Oct 1st)
Hi Mary,
It’s great that I start at the bottom of your post and it’s about rain checks just what I’ve talked about today in the GGC post. I picked up a couple myself this week which will come in handy. What are Lychee fruit like and how do you eat them? Wow you stocked up on tonnes of meat and some great deals too. You are all set for a while I think. I like how you have so many fresh vegetables and all that lovely tomato juice which is so healthy. I don’t mind tomato juice myself but I never buy it. I probably should. I agree after what you got I wouldn’t sweat the small stuff. I’m sure you will get it all back on track. Keep up the awesome work and finding those great deals, wow! You get ballot 1 for July!
The lychee fruit you just peel the nasty prickly shell and just pop the white centre in your mouth much luck a cherry. 🙂 Actually the juice is clamato… far more expensive usually than tomato. I can pick up tomato dirt cheap in the US but I don’t buy it often. 😀
It sounds interesting Mary. Does it taste like a cherry? Clamato ah you are correct sorry. My father in law enjoys the same as you, clamato.
By the way… it really was a pot of tea post wasn’t it?
I won’t tell a lie, I had a cup of tea and a mug of milk….. shhhh with a cookie!!!!
Here is my shop Mr CBB! Hope you are out enjoying summer.
24 beers $9.87
24 beers $9.87
0.87lb lentil $1.15
3 soaps $1.56
5lb flour $4.18
3.7lb tomato $1.55
2.47lb potato $1.25
0.73lb jalapeno $0.79
1 carrot $0.21
3.94lb banana $0.66
3.26lb onion $1.26
5 small apples $1.4
bunch spinach $0.3
5lb flour $4.18
1 roasted chicken $6.66
olives $0.58
olives $0.58
100gr butter $1.48
meat (2lb lean ground, 2lb lean beef, 2lb lean pork, 4.5lb pork ribs) $30.66
15 gallon water 6
total $84.20
Weekly overview: stocked up on cheap beer! They are usually 10% more expensive, not a big deal but they don’t get any cheaper. I can’t believe butter is over twice as expensive as in France and we are surrounded by cows. I baked some good bread and was feeling like honey and butter toast. For recipes I replace with oil or it costs too much. Apples are also a treat, usually they are $0.5 or more a piece when that gets you 3lb of bananas but this time they were cheaper.
I am not trailing the $238 overspend of June but will try to average $200 per month for the year.
Total Grocery Budget for the Month:$200 $50 pw
Total Coupons Used this Week : none
Total Spent This Week:$ 84.20
Total Spent So Far for (July): $84.20
Total Over/Under spend this shop: $34.20 over
Total Over/Under spend for the month of (July): $34.20 over
Total Left to Spend for the Month: $115.8
Total Spent To Date This Year: $1,322.54 for two
I wonder if the beer goes on offer here If I can tell my wife, hey they are cheaper I need to load up hahaha.. I don’t know if I’d be finding a second job or working harder to get my site up to make extra money lol. Still, your beer is pretty cheap. The meat seems reasonable to me but what I love about your shops is you eat fairly clean besides the beer and the odd icecream etc. You cook homemade and I really like that. I wish more people would jump on board and experience what they can do in the kitchen with a bit of patience. Keep up the great work and have one of those beers for me.
I know, I really need to start making homemade beer too! Consumption doesn’t go up with the sale so it is ok, and it’s nice to have some stored in case we have visitors.
Ha.. a mate of mine does that and it’s not too bad. I might consider it if the cost is worth it to me. I don’t drink lots but lately in the summer I find I drink more than normal.
Week 26
Walmart
Lost Receipt $71.73
Total Out of Pocket $71.73
Total Grocery Amount Budgeted For the Year: $4000
Total Grocery Budget for June: $357.40
Total Coupons Used this Week: $0.00
Total Gift Cards Given Used this Week: $0.00
Total Spent This Week: $71.73
Total Spent for June: $455.15
Total Underspend this shop: -$71.73
Total Overspend for the month of June: -$97.75
Total Left to Spend for the Month: $0.00
Total Coupons Used This Month: $0.00
Total to Carry Over Next Month: -$97.75
Total Spent To Date This Year: $ $2,239.26
Hi Dr. Sheba!
Oh oh.. you lost your receipt. How will you avoid that for the future? We’ve all done that. Is this your first shop for the month of July then as I still see June in your chart. Either way you’re off to a decent start. I hope your next shop will be well detailed. Cheers Mr.CBB
Yes, this is supposed to be a July post. I felt so annoyed when I couldn’t find my receipt. One of my issues is that I hardly carry a purse. I have to make it a point to put my receipt in my special place as soon as I get home.
That’s what the wife and I do. The minute we walk through the door with the groceries we take the receipt first and stash it in a folder in our office. It’s the only way otherwise shhhh (my wife would lose them all)
I agree that cleaning out your fridge is a good thing to do frequently, although I don’t use a chart or anything…I just, well do it every once in awhile. It always goes along with my desire to eat well because there is just something about a clean fridge which inspires that. Nothing grosses me out more than seeing a nasty one.
That’s just it, if we see a disgusting refrigerator we are less likely thinking fresh, clean eating.
Ugh…thanks for reminding me that I need to clean out our refrigerator. I hate doing that…but I love the grocery game challenge!
Yeah, we’re due for a fridge cleaning day too. Not my favorite task, but a necessary one. 🙂
This has been a goal of mine this summer and one way we clean the fridge out is stir fry Monday….cook up all those leftover veggies from the weekend! YUM! Great post!
I like that, stir-fry Monday. That’s a smart idea Karen.
My fridge is due for a cleaning… Thursday might be a good day. Garbage goes out to the curb for Friday morning pick up so it won’t be around outside long enough to attract the critter population. The two big freezers need work too. The thought might be to do the three cleanings on 3 Thursdays so I don’t overload the garbage bin. The worst times I had for cleaning the fridge were thanks to some one going fishing and putting the left over worms in my fridge…. so not impressed… especially when the darn things died in there!!!!!! Dead worms tend to smell rather nasty…… I have since set limits on how long they are allowed in the fridge before I toss them in the garden, like it or lump it. Yeah I know I’m such a miserable witch for not letting him leave his worms in the fridge until they die and stink up the place….
When I clean the fridge I just put stuff on the table as it’s close enough and do one shelf at a time. I will sometimes pull one of the crisper drawers out and use that to hold my soapy water for cleaning the rest of it…. it works quite well and the drawer gets washed as well, then rinse, dry and replace. For the freezers I use a picnic cooler or two to hold things while I work at the ice build up. We have 3 coolers and they are all sitting downstairs in front of the freezer there acting as a shelf to put things on while I’m freezer diving for dinner……
That’s pretty much all we do Christine. It’s a matter of getting it out, cleaning it up and getting it back in. It’s a great feeling when it’s all nice and clean.
This served as a great reminder that I should definitely do a fridge-cleaning day ASAP! I went on a big grocery trip last monday, and so far I´ve only had to buy some mushrooms for a pizza, so I´m hoping I don´t have to buy anything more this week!
We took the week off so we could slim down the contents of our refrigerator as well.
Ha, ha ha… a NO SHOP WEEK! I even brought my cup of tea to sip on while I checked out how your week went & low and behold… nothing to check out. 🙁 You must feel the same way when we post a no shop week for you to read. 🙂 I generally find if I throw in a no shop week at the beginning of the month and again towards the end of the month, I can get back on track after one of my grocery binges… and I really do know how to binge don’t I?
Never fear Mr CBB… I have shopping! Oh boy do I have shopping! 🙁 I am heading to the US on my gluten free bread pilgrimage tomorrow plus I will be taking in a chicken breast sale locally on my return! That wouldn’t be so bad but I sent hubby off to use a “soon to expire” rain check I was holding this the weekend. And while he was there, he got us a new rain check for fresh raspberries (3 packages for $5). Mmmm! I am really glad they were out of raspberries though because I have some cantelope and apples to use up before we pick up any more fruit. Since hubby was taking care of the groceries anyway, I had him stock up on some extra lean ground beef while it was on $2.99/lb. so I can make a Roughneck Chili later this week. We haven’t had a nice pot of chili in some time and the weather is dropping back into the 70’s so I don’t mind a nice, hot supper. Hubby even picked up a couple loaves of whole wheat garlic bread on sale (two for $4) to have with his chili. I’ll have mine with some raw veggies instead.
My approach to July seems to be the exact opposite of yours… I am spending like crazy in the first week! It’ll be interesting trying to manage the rest of the month within our grocery budget. This week, I am seriously recommending a whole pot of tea to review my shop once I put it up. A cup of tea simply won’t cut the mustard this week!!! LOL 😀
Ha, thanks for the heads up about the pot of tea. Since we have been away for a couple of days we took the opportunity to make this a no-shop week. We have more than enough food to get us through the week. I really hope we can get back on track this month as I am anticipating some major expenses on the horizon. Have fun in the USA and I look forward to that shop.
Woo hoo!! I won. Very exciting!! If I read correctly does that mean I get coupons? Let me know what I need to do if that is the case.
About this week’s topic – I don’t clean my fridge as often as I maybe should, but I do make a point to do it every couple of months. It will be much easier now that my fridge isn’t as packed as it was prior to starting to be very mindful of meal planning and tracking grocery spending. The freezer compartment in particular needs to be done very badly now and I am putting that on the job list for July – just have to figure out how to get the drawer off so I can get in to clean it!
On a separate note – I went to RCSS this week for the first time in a very long time. As I was wandering around trying to find what I needed there was a girl giving out samples of Tide Pods, two types of paper towel and dishwasher pods. She was so happy I stopped, since most people were walking by. I thought I had won the sample lottery that day with 4 samples and a book of coupons! Best part is that I needed an small or individual pack of the Tide Pods to take on vacation so I could do a load of laundry part way through the week (since I use liquid at home, which really isn’t great for transporting).
Hi Sarah!!
Yes, just email me your address and I will send you off some coupons. Pretty good since you just started… but if you post once a week you get an entry each week. That was great with all the samples you picked up as they always come in handy. What were the coupons for?
Thank you for talking to my inner procrastinator Mr CBB. We’ll do that this week, with the heat the bacteria gets even worse. I have a special shelf where I put half vegetables or the ones about to go bad, and use those first to make sure they don’t get forgotten in a drawer.
Do you not have a refrigerator to keep your vegetables inside? That’s what we do, well for most of them at least. I’m on my way to read your post update about the little house in Guatamala now.