MARCH Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MARCH 2010.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in March.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home) & 3 dogs. No kids under 14.


BOYER'S(small local chain in next town)
OOP $38.01
Qs/Ads $71.09
Value $109.10
Savings 65.10%

CVS
OOP $.57 ($2.64 put on Gift Card)
Qs/Ads $37.39
Value $40.60
Savings 99.20%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $9.00
Ads/Sales $16.74
Value $25.74
Savings  65%

PRICE CHOPPER Northeast
OOP $3.92
Qs/Ads $21.48
Value $25.40
Savings 84.57%

RITE AID
OOP $3.93 ($42.48 put on Rite-Aid Gift Card/Prepaid Visa Card)
Qs/Ads $717.25
Value $759.73
Savings 99.48%

SHIEL'S(local Independent Grocery that doesn't take IP Qs)
OOP $0.00 ($8.00 put on Gift Card)
Qs/Ads $7.15
Value $15.15
Savings   100%

WALGREENS
OOP $8.02
Qs/Ads $49.33
Value $57.35
Savings  86%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $158.95
Qs/Ads $497.58
Value $371.49
Savings  81.70%

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 MARCH

Lypsyl Rebate....$2.00

Naked Juice....$10.00

Olay Regenerist Rebate....$15.00

Olay Quench Rebate...$11.23
Olay 2 Cleansers Rebate.....$15.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Renpure Shampoo....$3.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$80.73
Schick Razor....$7.64

Subtotal........$150.60

FREE ITEMS

Barilla Pasta Q
Heluva Good Item Q x 2
Reese's Pieces Candy Bag Q
Sugardale Bacon Q

Yogi Tea Q x 2

COUPONS

Betty Crocker/Pillsbury Qs
Price Chopper Catalinas  $20

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Rite-Aid $5 Wellness Gift Card

Rite-Aid $5 Nivea Gift Card

Rite-Aid $25 Heart Healthy Gift Card

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$185.60


My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Schiel's at 100%, Rite-Aid at 99.48%, and CVS at 99.20%.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$222.40
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1182.16
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1404.56
TOTAL Savings of..........84.17%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$150.60
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$71.80
TOTAL Savings of..................................94.89%

This closes out the March spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I think I did quite well this month, especially considering all the Catalina Deals I did!  The spending before rebates was $222.40 but with rebates added to the budget of $277.77($250 + carryover from last month of $27.77), we had $428.37 to use, so we have $205.97 left to carry over into April's $250 food/toiletries budget.  With that amount leftover I almost got through the month without spending any of the $250 March food/toiletries money!
I may NOT roll this $205.97 leftover into next month's food budget(since I have proven to myself I don't need to spend that much on the monthly supplies), but put it aside instead for buying a part of a steer or free-range chickens, or even for a bulk buy of veggies at the farm this summer to put up for next winter.

What's ahead for April 2010.....

The April 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget is set at $250 cash out of pocket.  Any rebates received this month will offset this OOP spending.  I have $255.14 in Rebates outstanding, so anything that comes in this month gets thrown into the food budget kitty.

How did you do in March 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