December BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for DECEMBER 2009.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in December.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home-all 5 home for 2/3 of this month)& 3 dogs. No kids under 13.

BIG LOTS
OOP $18.08
Qs/Ads $19.94
Value $38.02
Savings 52.45%

BOYER'S(local Independent Grocery)
OOP $13.76
Qs/Ads $15.25
Value $29.01
Savings  53%

CARONE'S(local Independent Grocery that doesn't take IP Qs)
OOP $28.06
Qs/Ads $43.34
Value $71.40
Savings   60.70%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $43.78
Ads/Sales $89.28
Value $133.06
Savings  67.10%

FIVE MOUNTAIN MARKET(local Independent Grocer)
OOP $6.05($26.05 spent, $20 on Gift Certificate)
Ads/Sales $14.00
Value $40.05
Savings  84.90%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $30.32
Qs/Ads $59.91
Value $90.23
Savings  66.40%

RITE AID
OOP $48.00 before rebates/$12.06 Moneymaker  after rebates qualified for
Qs/Ads $456.58
Value $504.58
Savings 90.50%(100%+ after rebates of $60.06 due)

TARGET
OOP $12.70
Qs/Ads $51.52
Value $64.22
Savings  80.22%

WALMART
OOP $17.97
Qs/Ads $9.79
Value $27.76
Savings  35.27%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $111.59
Qs/Ads $173.62
Value $285.21
Savings  60.87%

I've decided NOT to 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' & go toward Food/Toiletries budget purchases, 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 DECEMBER

Kraft Back2School.....$20.00

Kraft Jingle in Your Holiday...$10.00
Olay/Pantene......$20.00
Palmolive Dish Liquid....$1.49
Perdue Chicken...$5.98
Pinecone Research....$9.00
Real Simple....$10.00
Rite-Aid SCR........$132.30
Suave Lotion/Body Wash...$4.98
Venus Razor....$7.99
Zyrtec....$7.02
Subtotal........$228.76

FREE ITEMS

Chik FilA Sandwich
Little Debbie Cupcakes (a box)
Avery/Dennison Prize Pack I won

COUPONS

None Received 8-(

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

KMart Cereal Offer $5.00
Office Depot $25(part of the prize pack I won)
Rite Aid  $10.00
Rite Aid GOS Certificate  $40.00

SubTotal...$80.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$308.76

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 90.50%,  5 Mtn. Market at 84.90% and Target at 80.22%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$330.31
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$953.23
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1283.54
TOTAL Savings of..........74.26%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$228.76
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$101.55
TOTAL Savings of..................................92.08%

This closes out the December spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With the high amount of income from Rebates received I was able to have a low out of pocket for this month.  While an OOP of $330.31 for food spending for a month is good, just over $100 after the rebates are applied is GREAT! 
I was able to stay our of the grocery store for almost 2 weeks total this month and we ate through quite a bit of food in the freezer...food in the stockpile?....not so much.   I made headway in my USE IT UP CHALLENGE but we have more to use up.

What's ahead for January 2010.....
Since I have #1 son home for most of this month and my Sis-In Law is coming to stay for a week mid month, I should be able to continue to eat down in the Freezer and Stockpile.  The SIL though will prove to be problematic for my food budget as she eats from a very narrow selection of foods so the challenge for that week is to come up with meals that include these few foods but are acceptable to my family's palette as well.  I am trying very hard to avoid having to cook TWO meals each night!  Two meals will mean more waste and more cost.

The January 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget is set at $200 cash out of pocket.  Any rebates received this month will offset this OOP spending.  This means that I have UP TO $200 of regular income to spend on the food budget and any rebates that are received are added to that budget.  (IE; If $150 in rebates are received in Jan. so I'll have $350 to spend on food shopping this month.)If I don't spend all the money in the budget in January, I'll carry over whatever is leftover into February's food budget.

How did you do in December 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