Thursday, November 3, 2016

2016 Food & Toiletries Spending.....October Update


Onward to October's food spending report.......



Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2016.

I have posted October's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2016 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly Totals there.  I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in September.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 5(4-5 at home this month). No kids under 20.

******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $4.00
Value  $13.64
Savings   70.74%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $87.90
Value  $166.74
Savings  47.28%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PPs  $166.10
Value  $166.10
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $174.48
Qs/Ads $91.73
Value  $266.21
Savings  34.46%

TARGET
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/Gift Cards  $15.92
Value  $15.92
Savings  100%

WEIS MARKETS
OOP  $250.34
Qs/Ads  $279.69
Value  $530.03
Savings  52.77%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Target at 100% and the Bakery Outlet at 70.74%.  My WORST savings rate was Shursave Market at 34.46%.  For all but 1 store shopped at, the savings rate was at least 47.28%.
I shopped at 6 different stores this past month.


TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$516.72
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$641.92
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,158.64
TOTAL Savings of ..................................55.40%
TOTAL Savings w/o Rite-Aid of ..............47.94%


This closes out the October food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into October wanting to do a $300(then changed to a $400)food budget for the month.
I actually spent $516.72, $116.72 over the extended goal amount.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went down by 7.49% in October to 55.40% compared to September's 62.89% savings average.
Still over 50% savings over regular retail is mighty fine though. 8-)

With 10 months accounted for, I have spent a total of $4,174.72 on food/toiletries so far in 2016 which averages out to $417.47 per month spent.  This is $11.02 higher per month than September's average.  My savings rate for the year is holding now at 60.99%.  This is a number I can easily live with. ;-)

LOOKING AHEAD To November 2016.........can it really be November already?.......
I've got a free meat item coming this month for Thanksgiving so Turkey dinner will just require some fresh produce purchases mostly as I've been gathering all the other fixings for that big holiday meal....unless I get a free ham instead to use for Christmas which makes sense frugally since Turkey is cheaper than Ham, so go for the one that is worth the most.  That means I'll have to buy a turkey but I am sure I can get a good price on one as other grocery stores around here have deals on them.

We will try to eat down some of the frozen assets here in November.  My food/toiletry spending will probably in the $400+ range but I'll try to keep it under $400.  No promises though with all the adult mouths I need to fill plus more on Turkey Day as we host the family dinner.

I'm going to put it out there now that I wish to stay under $5K total for food/toiletries spending in 2016. My thought was to do a $4K or lesss food year but then we gained two more adults fulltime in the household so that's that.
Staying at $5K means I have $825.28 left to spend this year on food.
Did I mention that there are still 2 months left in the year too?
Gulp!

To augment what I can spend out of the food budget, I have a $25 Weis gift card, a $20 Giant gift card, about $17 left on a Visa gift card too, so another $60+/- in "free" money to use beyond the $825.28.
Plus I have many Holiday foods/ingredients already acquired and a well stocked pantry/freezer to boot.
This will still be a struggle to mean everyone's needs here and not skimp on Christmas/Thanksgiving and stay under this mark.
But I am up for the challenge.....

Let the Holiday Food Games Begin!!  8-)))

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in October?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?
*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons vs. buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?
*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?


Sluggy

8 comments:

  1. I would still choose the turkey over the ham. Of course, since I should not eat ham, that's a good thing. I bought so little in October!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish sometimes I could buy nothing but the people living here with me would complain if I didn't feed them. lolz

      Delete
  2. I love frozen assets. I have tons of that!!!
    Your totals are great. ANd target is pretty impressive but my love for RA will never waver.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I live to feed your RA addiction my dear....

      Delete
  3. Since it is the 3rd already and I have not bought anything I am going to track my total November food expenses to the penny. I am afraid it is going to go through the roof because of the additional people and their weird demands. I just want to be able to look back and see how far off the rails I actually went.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well come December we can sit back and have a drink or five and compare "off the rail" notes.....is it a date?

      Delete
  4. NOMB but something I've been thinking about- does BF contribute to the household? Buy any food? Do chores? Do you thnk he is a keeper? i know you can afford it but an unrelated person in the house just wouldn't fly for me unless he/she was very helpful and contributed. My sis and nephew lived with me and she bought groceries, paid half the utilities, cooked, cleaned and had a job. The only minus was my lack of privacy! I didn't charge her rent because she was saving for a house which she bought and moved out within a year. We're still best friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As far as Daughter is concerned he is HER "keeper". He's a good guy, quiet and helps if asked. They are responsible for their own laundry and keeping their room and bathroom clean. He buys his own snacks and soda, etc. I don't ask rent or food $ b/c both are trying to get on their feet by living here. Daughter works 10 hours a week when not in school to pay her car insurance and BF works full time but it pays low and most of his low paying wages go to paying for his health insurance as he gets no benefits.

      Delete

Hey there! Thanks for leaving a comment.
All Anonymous commentors will be deleted.
Please include your name in your comment, or choose the 'Name' option and put your name or whatever you call yourself, in the box. Thank you.

Though I moderate it's partly to keep trolls at bay but also partly so that I read every comment. I don't often respond to comments so if you need me to answer you please write me at my email addy posted on my "About Me" page, linked on the side bar.