Onward to September's Food Spending Report.....
Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for September 2024.
I have posted September'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 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, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
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ALDI
OOP $6.46
Sales $1.52
Value $7.98
Savings 19.05%
KROGER
OOP $351.35
Qs/Gift Cards $282.94
Value $634.29
Savings 44.61%
WALMART
OOP $176.17
Qs/Gift Cards $74.34
Value $250.52
Savings 29.68%
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My best Store Savings Total was at Kroger with a savings of 44.61%. My worse rate was at Aldi with 19.05%. Not a bad savings rate average overall though.
I shopped at 3 different stores in SEPTEMBER. Luckily I did most of my grocery shopping at Kroger in September. ;-)
TOTAL Spent in September......$533.98
TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$358.81
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$892.79
TOTAL Savings of........40.19%
This closes out the September food/toiletries/etc. spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....
On the surface our spending was a little high but that doesn't figure in all the rebating cash I got back. Even so, we had a goodly savings percentage over regular retail anyway.
The Monthly food spending savings percentage went Down by 17.23% in September to 40.19% compared to August's 57.42% savings average. A lot lower in September but still over 40%. That's ok by me.
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 9 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $4,381.76 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024. Food prices have gotten to the ridiculous level, haven't they?
2024 Yearly Total Value of Items $10,665.24
2024 Total Saved $5,330.53
2024 Yearly Total Spent $5,334.71
2024 Yearly Savings Total of 49.98%
The average per month amount spent is $592.75 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, Swag Bucks, My Points and other miscellaneous rebates-Aisle, Tremendous, etc. and have it 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 Cash Back), 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.
Because I don't like to let money sit in these rebate accounts and Paypal, I send $$ to my bank account throughout the year. So far I have sent $2,182.71 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank. If you add in all that my food spending at the 9 month point in 2024 comes in at $3,152 or $350.22 per month.
Besides all I sent to my bank account I have more $ sitting in these various rebating programs as well as in Paypal. This is not counting Alexa, ShopKick or Fetch, which all comes out in gift cards or Amazon credit.
LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER 2024.....
I am trying to eat down freezer/pantry in October and it seems like most of my grocery spending has been for the Food Bank. I hope to spend less in October than in September but time will tell. Inflation is still crazy high so spending is more than I'd like it to be.
Gone are the days of a $350 grocery budget.
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 September?
* 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
I really fear our food suppliers. So many recalls! It costs more to shop at local farms for meat and eggs, but at least they are not trying to poison us. Not everyone can have a garden.
ReplyDeleteI don’t track specifics but we spent $293 at Kroger and $273 at Aldi. This includes gas, some cat food, household items and sometimes random stuff like socks at Aldi. They tend to have really good socks.
ReplyDeleteWhat brand of sox do they carry that are good?
DeleteCrane is their brand for most things but they could be made by anyone. I highly recommend the wool blend socks if they show up in your store. I got rid of everything else and only wear these now.
ReplyDelete
DeleteWool socks in Louisiana are only useful about 1 week a year but thanks for the info. lol