Onward to April's Food Spending Report.....
Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for April 2024.
I have posted April'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 April. 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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CVS
OOP $.15
Sales $13.03
Value $13.18
Savings 98.84%
KROGER
OOP $254.38
Qs/Gift Cards $271.51
Value $525.89
Savings 51.63%
SHOPPERS VALU
OOP $11.32
Sales $10.24
Value $21.56
Savings 47.50%
WALMART
OOP $272.70
Qs/Gift Cards $149.73
Value $422.43
Savings 35.44%
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My best Store Savings Total was at CVS with a savings of 98.84%. My worse rate was at Walmart with 35.44%. Not a bad savings rate overall.
I shopped at 4 different stores in APRIL.
TOTAL Spent in April......$538.55
TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$444.51
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$983.06
TOTAL Savings of........45.22%
This closes out the APRIL food/toiletries/etc. spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....
The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 3.85% in April to 45.22% compared to March's 49.07% savings average. A substantial decrease in savings rate but still over 45%
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 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $2,227.39 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.
2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,765.94
2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$5,356.50
2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$2,590.56
2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................48.36%
The average per month amount spent is $691.85 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 MAY 2024.....
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I am going to attempt to not grocery shop in May*gasp*. I know I won't spend anything. I have an impossible Ibotta Big Bonus($35 for 95 items!!!)so I really have no motivation to rebate this month(unless there are things for the food bank and I don't count those items in my grocery budget any longer). I have a packed freezer(and thankfully it was packed when the power went out, which helped keep the temperature down, but we did lose some ice cream *RIP*)plus lot of canned/boxes goods so the only thing I'll try to spend on this month is fresh produce.
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 April?
* Do you track your yearly food spending? It's really not that hard or time consuming; just keep 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
Between my son and I, were aiming for $475 a month grocery and household. That doesn't include eating out. My daughter's are frequently here for a meal or two during the week and I send prepped meals with the youngest a lot. My son does not eat much if any processed or convenience foods, and he will cook. So, I think that's helping to keep what I consider a low budget without running to too many stores or doing a lot of rebates. We rely on seasoning to turn simple ingredients into really good meals and several favorite foods are based on rice and beans, because we enjoy them( dal, bean and rice burritos and bowls, chili over rice, etc.) . I agree- I don't want to just exist with food, but enjoy with my family.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember to bring my lunch to work or get a pharm rep in I save a lot of money by not eating out at lunch time.
ReplyDelete