Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2013.
I have posted February's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2013 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February. If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.
My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
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OOP $20.57
Value $42.09
Savings 51.13%
RITE-AID
OOP $0.00
Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card $97.63
Value $97.63
Savings 100%
SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP $138.50
Qs/Ads $84.61OOP $138.50
Value $223.11
Savings 38%
WEIS MARKETS
OOP $204.23
Qs/Ads $112.20
Value $316.43
Savings 35.46%
I am no longer adding my rebates received into my food budget directly. I will use them on food on occasion and will note that when used. I will keep track of rebates/gift cards/certs received here as before however.
REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN February.....$16.99
GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES....$15.00
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$16.99
COUPONS and FREEBIES
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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 100%, Ollie's at 51.13% and Shursave affiliate market at 38%. l only shopped at 4 different stores this past month. 8-)
TOTAL Out of Pocket........$363.30
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$315.96
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$679.26
TOTAL Savings of...................................46.52%
This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into February with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month. I have $36.70 leftover in my February food envelope.
I didn't count the number of Qs that were redeemed in Feb. but I do know it was quite low. The little I bought at Rite-Aid for no money greatly affected my savings rate this month. This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into February with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month. I have $36.70 leftover in my February food envelope.
Looking ahead to March---We'll stick to our $400 food budget again
this month. It seems to be working for us at this amount.
2013 Yearly Total Value of Items $1,423.09
2013 Yearly Total Spent $653.54
2013 Yearly Savings Total of 54.08%
How much did you spend on food in February?
Sluggy
I am proud to say I was BELOW my budget, and spent $627.00. Sounds like a lot compared to you, but it's much lower than I usually spend. March's budget is $600, and someday I hope to strive to get to $500 for the month! Here's hoping!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on getting so much for FREE! Wow! You are really good at this!! :)!
Good going Sharon! I'll be anxious to see if you can shave it down to $600 in March.
DeleteI like playing the Drugstore Game but it does get tiring and I do need to take breaks from it. It is getting harder and harder to get the FREE stuff anymore sadly, but you do as best you can, and whatever you can save on the price of things is always a WIN! 8-)
So what rebates do you usually do?
ReplyDeleteLena,
DeleteI haven't done much in rebating the last year or two. It's been mostly Rite-Aid Single Check Rebates lately but they discontinued that program the end of 2012.
Proctor and Gamble does gift card rebates(you get a cash loaded debit card), some of which can be done for little or no cost(after you factor in the amount of the gift card). When I shop(most at the drugstore)I look for TMF tags(Try Me Free), which are rebate forms stuck to new products. Basically you buy the product and submit for a full price you paid rebate, so after the stamp, you pay nothing for the item. Sometimes you can find and use coupon on the item too and they reimburse you for the full price BEFORE the coupon, which makes these truly free or moneymakers. Of course if you live where there is high sales tax on these items, you need to figure in that cost as well.
There are also beer/wine rebates. Some states, you are not required to purchase the alcohol to send for the rebate(not in my state unfortunately). These rebates require you to buy various items(food or food related items mainly)and are usually found mostly in the warmer weather months. An example is a beer company has a rebate for grilling foods--you have to purchase a 12 pack of their beer and $30 in meats you can grill(steak, burgers, chicken, shrimp, hot dogs), submit your receipts totally at least $30 in meat products and receipt for the beer and get back $25 in cash. If you lived in a state that does NOT require the beer purchase, you buy $30 in meat and the beer co. sends you a check for $25. $30 of meat for $5 OOP. Not a bad deal, right? lol
The beer/wine tags are found on the alcohol in the stores usually or off of eBay.
I have to say that the rebate deals have tightened up a LOT in the last few years, even the beer/wine deals aren't as plentiful.
The companies just aren't using them in this economy as much to market products. But you can still find some good ones. Sign up to a Deal/Rebate Blog or check out slickdeals dotnet.