Every year, during the last quarter of the year, I stop and ponder what I've spent on food for my family for the year so far.
In 2016 I spent a grand total of $4696.81 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods. You may recall that Daughter and her BF moved in with us halfway through that year.
Up until June we were on track to do a $3809.30 food spending for 2016(Jan-Jun spending was $1904.65). We spent $887.51 over what the food was tracking at once Daughter and BF moved here. Had they been here the entire year we could have topped $6K in food spending!
Then the BF moved back to Louisiana at the end of Jan. 2017 and over the next 4 months our food spending tracked at under $300 per month. Hmmm.
I guess this is accurate as I was A--Cooking more food each night when he was living here, as there were more mouths to feed, B-- more food got thrown out as Daughter and BF didn't cotton to eating leftovers and C--I was buying foods I don't usually buy as the BF had particular eating habits(or should that be peculiar?lol). He had a preference for convenience foods and we all know that those cost more than what I call "basic" foods.
Anyway, with the BF no longer eating here the food spending has returned to a level I am more comfortable with. We are currently at $3852.18 with 1.5 months to go.
Let's take a look at monies(other than regular income)I have to apply to the food budget for the rest of 2017. I generally cash everything in(the cash rebates/cash refunds from the stores/post coupons/rolled coins saved)and apply it to December's food bill.
Rebate Apps--
* SavingStar $27.55
* Checkout51 $79.00
* Ibotta $19.25(though I can't cash out until I hit $20, but I'm close now)
* Walmart Savings Catcher $4.23
TOTAL.....$130.03
Rebates & "Post Coupon" Refunds/Unexpected Cash
* Liquor $15.00
* Schwarzkopf hair products $9.62
* Right Guard Deo $7.29
* Can't figure out what I wrote lol $5.35
* Rite-Aid Post Coupon $14.00
* Weis Refund $4.00
* Rolled Coins $55.00
* Nielsen $1(they tucked into a "come back" letter)
* Cash for selling free TRU gift cards $42.00
* Carry over from 2016 that didn't get spent $9.15
TOTAL......$162.41
Food Store Gift Cards/Store Script
* Giant $25.00
* Target $77.68
* Catalinas-Minute Maid $4.00
TOTAL.....$106.68
All the above comes to $379.12 of "free" money to grocery shop.
If needed I also have the cash I have from selling stuff here like excess toiletries/diapers and unwanted items around the house......
Cash Sales
* Selling Toiletries $89.00
* Selling Items around the house $20.00
* eBay Sales $81.44(net after fees/cost of goods sold)
TOTAL.....$190.44
So basically I am in good shape to not have to spend a penny of our regular income on food/toiletries in December and theoretically I could stay at or under $4K in food/toiletries/paper goods spending for 2017. I'd love to be able to be under what was spent in 2016.
How about you?
Do you track your food spending for the year?
Do you apply any cash rebates/catalinas/rebates toward your food budget?
Sluggy
In 2016 I spent a grand total of $4696.81 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods. You may recall that Daughter and her BF moved in with us halfway through that year.
Up until June we were on track to do a $3809.30 food spending for 2016(Jan-Jun spending was $1904.65). We spent $887.51 over what the food was tracking at once Daughter and BF moved here. Had they been here the entire year we could have topped $6K in food spending!
Then the BF moved back to Louisiana at the end of Jan. 2017 and over the next 4 months our food spending tracked at under $300 per month. Hmmm.
I guess this is accurate as I was A--Cooking more food each night when he was living here, as there were more mouths to feed, B-- more food got thrown out as Daughter and BF didn't cotton to eating leftovers and C--I was buying foods I don't usually buy as the BF had particular eating habits(or should that be peculiar?lol). He had a preference for convenience foods and we all know that those cost more than what I call "basic" foods.
Anyway, with the BF no longer eating here the food spending has returned to a level I am more comfortable with. We are currently at $3852.18 with 1.5 months to go.
Let's take a look at monies(other than regular income)I have to apply to the food budget for the rest of 2017. I generally cash everything in(the cash rebates/cash refunds from the stores/post coupons/rolled coins saved)and apply it to December's food bill.
Rebate Apps--
* SavingStar $27.55
* Checkout51 $79.00
* Ibotta $19.25(though I can't cash out until I hit $20, but I'm close now)
* Walmart Savings Catcher $4.23
TOTAL.....$130.03
Rebates & "Post Coupon" Refunds/Unexpected Cash
* Liquor $15.00
* Schwarzkopf hair products $9.62
* Right Guard Deo $7.29
* Can't figure out what I wrote lol $5.35
* Rite-Aid Post Coupon $14.00
* Weis Refund $4.00
* Rolled Coins $55.00
* Nielsen $1(they tucked into a "come back" letter)
* Cash for selling free TRU gift cards $42.00
* Carry over from 2016 that didn't get spent $9.15
TOTAL......$162.41
Food Store Gift Cards/Store Script
* Giant $25.00
* Target $77.68
* Catalinas-Minute Maid $4.00
TOTAL.....$106.68
All the above comes to $379.12 of "free" money to grocery shop.
If needed I also have the cash I have from selling stuff here like excess toiletries/diapers and unwanted items around the house......
Cash Sales
* Selling Toiletries $89.00
* Selling Items around the house $20.00
* eBay Sales $81.44(net after fees/cost of goods sold)
TOTAL.....$190.44
So basically I am in good shape to not have to spend a penny of our regular income on food/toiletries in December and theoretically I could stay at or under $4K in food/toiletries/paper goods spending for 2017. I'd love to be able to be under what was spent in 2016.
How about you?
Do you track your food spending for the year?
Do you apply any cash rebates/catalinas/rebates toward your food budget?
Sluggy
I'll most likely use some Target cards towards household and griceries, but I don't have the stash you have. I will estimate well be at about $6000, but I didn't track so well. This includes jousehild cleaning and basic personal care but not meds or school supplies/expenses.
ReplyDeletehope to win your giveaway...
ReplyDeletemerlinsfamily@outlook.com
I collect Loyalty points for one particular grocery store here in Canada, plus one Drug Store. The grocery store has bought out the drug store and the loyalty cards will be combined as of February 1st and the manner of saving & cashing in will both be improved. So far this year I've cashed in about $15 from the drug store and $80 from the grocery store - and I currently have another $40 dollars worth of points to cash in for Christmas groceries.
ReplyDeleteI also buy (or I'm given) the occasional gift card - at the moment I have $20 worth of cards for the grocery store and $35 for the drug store. I am also looking at cashing in some Air Miles for Gift Cards to another Supermarket here in town - should have nearly $100 available by now.
Coupons are not a big thing here - certainly not like in the US so they don't make much of a difference to costs.
I also save a coin jar and normally cash it in every 6 months or so - I cashed it in this past Friday and received $53 dollars - which I'll spend on baking supplies for Christmas.
Things will be rather tight financially going forward so I am looking to track my costs. I am going to try to stay under $175/month for all groceries, cleaning supplies & toiletries. This comes out to $2100 per year for one person. But please remember, costs are much higher in Canada and this actually comes in under the US level for frugal spending for a woman my age. I am actually hoping to come under even this amount some months but we'll see.
I spend on average about $100 a week but that includes almost everything. And I have four cats so a good chunk goes to litter. But cat food is prescription from the vet. Dog food is also a special type. Pretty sure the animals eat better than the people. 😊
ReplyDeleteJen
What I learned from this is keep away from BF, they are expensive to provide for.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot your suitcase full of Qs :)
ReplyDeleteYour "{basic" foods are things like lobster, which most people don't call basic. Daughter seems much more frugal now that he is gone. She eats leftovers now? I think I remember that from a few weeks ago. I dated a guy who was expensive to feed. He did not live here, and he DID have to contribute if he wanted to eat high on the hog like he did. Exbf is a frugal guy who likes the way I cook and economize. Maybe your daughter will look for a frugal guy next time.
ReplyDeleteI started tracking and then became ill and all that went out the window. Maybe I can figure it out since I still have the receipts.
Since I got a smart phone, I am going to implement the same trackers/savings you use. That will help.
My food and toiletry budget has gotten pretty out of whack this year. Teens will do that! Appetites have increased and their personal care needs have certainly increased. Lol. I thought babies were expensive.
ReplyDeleteI do take advantage of as many $ saving apps as possible. Savingstar, Checkout51, ibotta, shopkicks, swagbucks, Kellogg's rewards. Also Pinecone surveys. They go a long way towards paying for Christmas and earning gift cards to cover pet food and supplies monthly. And the occasion Starbucks gift card for me. :)
While I really SHOULD be better, I tend to know the rough estimates of what is or is not acceptable and just go from there. Exact tracking fails me every time.
ReplyDeleteIt would be too depressing to figure it out for this year so I am just going to live in la la land for the next month and REALLY be on top of things next year. Ds moved back home so our food bill has definitely gone up - for example, he eats 4-5 drumsticks at 1 sitting - so I am going to look for really good deals (I get most of my meat from Zaycon) and stock up and most importantly, EAT AT HOME!!!!
ReplyDeleteI've been tracking our food spending for the year, and we're down 10% from last year, so that's a win. https://thehawaiiplan.blogspot.com/2017/11/can-i-cut-10-off-our-2016-food-spending.html
ReplyDelete