Onward to February's Food Spending Report.....
Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for February 2024.
I have posted February's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in February. 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, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
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ALDI
OOP $47.59
Sales $27.74
Value $75.33
Savings 36.82%
CVS
OOP $1.29
Saving $14.67
Value $15.96
Savings 91.92%
KROGER
OOP $267.42
Qs/Gift Cards $245.26
Value $512.68
Savings 47.84%
OLLIE'S
OOP $32.78
Sales $30.59
Value $63.37
Savings 48.37%
WALMART
OOP $310.50
Qs/Gift Cards $147.73
Value $458.23
Savings 32.24%
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My best Store Savings Total was at CVS with a savings of 91.92%. My worse rate was at Walmart with 32.24%.
I shopped at 5 different stores in FEBRUARY.
TOTAL Spent in February......$659.58
TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$647.16
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,306.74
TOTAL Savings of........49.41%
This closes out the FEBRUARY food/toiletries/etc. spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....Well so much for closing the purse strings in February. lol Inflation is real folks and hits everyone at the grocery store(as well as in utility bills and at the gas pump). Our government just ignores all these high prices and doesn't even include them in the Consumer Price Index. Well what the hell DO they include because last time I looked most folks need to eat, pay for heat and/or ac and need cars to get to work! *Getting off my soap box now.*
The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 3.39% in February to 49.41% compared to January's 52.80% savings average. Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people-because I don't have to). I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register. I may not like the price but I will deal with it.
With 2 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,312.52 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.
2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,312.52
2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$2,690.09
2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,377.57
2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................51.21%
The average per month amount spent is $656.26 in 2024 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.
Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Shopmium, TaDa, Checkout 51 and other miscellaneous rebates sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down. The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way. Alexa app gives me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that.
LOOKING AHEAD TO MARCH 2024.....
Who the hell knows where prices will be in a month! I have no crystal ball and the government just keeps printing money willy-nilly which makes our dollars stretch even less further.
I'll keep an eye on what we spend, rebate and coupon like a mad woman when I have to step foot in a grocery store and shop from my pantry when I can.
If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.
* How much did you spend on food/toiletries in February?
* Do you track your yearly food spending? It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.
* What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons versus 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
I have stopped buying steak and shrimp at least for now. Kid has finally decided he will occasionally eat chicken so I substituted the shrimp and rice for chicken thighs with skin (kid will eat chicken that way) and rice. Gas kills me because of the work drive. I spend $250 a month on gas for work alone. The house insurance ( because of increased value) and taxes going up have not helped. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteI admit to buying some food items on Amazon, but only if it is an odd purchase that I cannot find in my 3 main grocery stores here.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been shopping at whatever store has the best fruit sale. Fresh Thyme has strawberries for $.99 per pound so I loaded up yesterday. I typically eat the same thing every day (tofu scramble, hummus wrap, some kind of bean soup) so stock up on sales to make those items.
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