March Budget Results.....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MARCH 2011.

I have posted March's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2011 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in March.  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 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 15.
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BIG LOTS
OOP  $6.80
Value  $12.28
Savings  44.62%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $14.23
Value  $70.89
Savings  80%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $89.67

Qs/Ads  $98.85
Value  $188.52
Savings  52.44%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $11.18
Value  $18.00
Savings  38%

RITE AID
OOP  $5.79 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $770.79
Value  $776.58
Savings  99.35% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $82.10
Qs/Ads  $115.62
Value  $197.72
Savings   58.50%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor 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.....$2.39
Rite-Aid SCR...$68.98
Subtotal........$71.37

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Subtotal....$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$71.37

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Chef Boyardee.....Free Ravioli Q
Herbal Essence 'Poo...$1/1 Q & Free Item Q
NeilMed......Free Neti Bottle
MegaRed....Free Supplement Sample
Orbit.....Free Pack of Gum Q
P&G....Q Booklet
Purina.....Free Bag of Dog Food Q

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  The Bread Outlet at 80% and  Weis Markets at 58.50%.  I only shopped at 6 stores in March.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$203.98
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1060.01
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1263.99 with Rite-Aid figured in
TOTAL Savings of...................................83.86%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$71.37

TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$132.61
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$1131.38
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1263.99
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................89.50%

Since my Rite-Aid shopping(which contains No OOP)always skews my savings percentages, I like to figure my Totals without the Rite-Aid numbers also.
TOTAL OOP after Rebates.....$132.61
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$487.41
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....72.80%

This closes out the March spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
While I didn't set out to do a "No Spend Month", my grocery spending was under $120 until the last week of March.  I did the Kraft Cheese Instant Discount Deal a second time on the 26th at the local ShurSave affiliate store, plus my Daughter went to the store with me and she needed quite a few items so she could make quick, easy lunches and dinners on the nights that she worked.  So I spent almost $40 on her needs alone on that trip.
We did eat down some of the veggies, meats and ice cream in the freezer this month, as well as quite a few canned goods.
In the end, we kept the spending under $140.00 for the month which was very good.

What's ahead for April.....
We'll need to make another trip to the Bread Outlet this month to restock.  I can't make bakery items as cheaply as I can get them on deep discount at the Outlet. 
I'll also be buying a 5lb. block of Cooper Sharp Cheese at the Restaurant Outlet since we haven't done that since last year.  By slicing my own, we save the large mark-up on the deli sliced cheese.
The only meat I plan to buy in April will be any marked down packages that are at or under my Price Book amount for various meats. 
I'll be on the look-out for sour cream and ricotta cheese on sale/discount as we are also out of those items.  No stockpile items are low at this point but I'll keep my eyes open for 'stockopportunities' where combining my Qs and loss leader sale prices will get me some 'extreme couponing' deals.
Again, I hope to accomplish this for not more than $250 for the month.

How did you do in March with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for April?
Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  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