2019 Food Spending Report.....the November Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2019.

I have posted November'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 November.  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(3 at home this month). No "kids" under 23.
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ALDI'S
OOP  $27.18
Value  $42.84
Savings  56.55%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $11.17
Value  $55.29
Savings  79.80%

MALACARI'S
OOP  $22.47
Value  $40.54
Savings  44.57%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $10.87
Value  $20.10
Savings   45.92%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $49.27
Value  $7908
Savings   37.70%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/BC  $1,231.36
Value  $1,231.36
Savings  100%

TARGET

OOP  $47.47
Qs/Ads $17.22

Value  $64.69

Savings 26.62%

WALMART
OOP  $12.64
Value  $13.64
Savings  7.33%

WEIS
OOP  $206.27
Qs/Ads  $267.44
Value  $473.71
Savings  56.46%

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bread Outlet 79.80% and Aldi's at 56.55%.   My worst savings rate was at Walmart with 7.33%.
I shopped at 9 different stores in November.

TOTAL Spent.........................................$387.07

TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales.................$402.82

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased........$789.89

TOTAL Savings of ................................51.00%

TOTAL Out of Pocket for October w/R-A........$387.07
TOTAL Coupons/Store Sales w/R-A....................$1673.89
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/Rite-Aid....$2060.96
TOTAL Savings with Rite-Aid items.....................81.22%

This closes out the November food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
We spent just under my $400 budgeted amount for food/toiletries in November.
Rah team.
I used some of my free and discounted gift cards, as well as store script this month to lower the out of pocket a bit.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 19.25% in November 2019 to 80.85% compared to the October's 61.60% savings average.
That was mostly due to all the free things I got at Rite-Aid on the Black Friday Weekend sales.
Without R-A the savings rate was a presentable 51.00% so it's all good.


With 11 months accounted for, I have spent a Year-To-Date Total of $4,295.63 on food/toiletries in 2019.


2019 Yearly Total Spent To Date....................$4,295.63

2019 Yearly Total Value of Items To Date....$ 15,675.79

2019 Total Saved To Date...............................$ 11,380.16

2019 Yearly Savings Total To Date of............72.60%

The average per month amount spent so far is $390.51 in 2019 which went down .34¢ per month from October's average.  That's a very slight decrease but I'll take it! lolz

LOOKING AHEAD To December.............
Ah Christmas time again!
The larder is packed full so I want to eat down pantry and freezers.  Other than family home for Xmas I don't plan any extravagant meals for December.  Daughter isn't here for her birthday so there will be no Birthday meal out then.  We've got no parties to attend and bring food to either.  I've already got a hunk of roast in the freezer for Xmas(plus 2 turkey breasts since I cooked the whole bird for T'giving)and a ham too.  We aren't a big baked goods/sweets eating family at the Holidays except for a couple of pies or cakes on Xmas and I stopped making Xmas cookies years ago as nobody ate them and I ended up throwing more than a few away. 8-(

I'll be cashing out all of my little pots of monies collected throughout 2019 so far during this month to put toward the December food budget.  I'll transfer it all to the bank account and when I buy food items with my cc I'll transfer the funds.  I hope I can cover all the food expenses in this way and not have to pull from income for it this month.

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 November?

*  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

Food & Toiletries Spending.....November Totals Update

Not that having to write THIS POST did anything to lower my blood pressure after yesterday's rant but some days it's the best one can do. ;-)
Onward to November's food spending report.......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2013.

I have posted November's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2013 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in November.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 5(3 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 17.
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BIG LOTS
OOP  $25.50
Value  $53.50
Savings  52.33%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $20.89
Value  $77.53
Savings  73.06%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $82.73
Value  $158.58
Savings  47.83%

REDNER'S
OOP  $18.91
Qs/Ads  $9.54
Value  28.45
Savings  33.53%

RITE-AID
OOP  $14.74
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $382.77
Value  $397.51
Savings  96.30%
 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $227.91

Qs/Ads  $

Value  $386.19

Savings  40.98%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $192.10

Qs/Ads  $

Value  $384.27

Savings  50%

I am no longer adding my rebates received into my food budget directly. I will use them on food on occasion and will note that when used.  I will keep track of rebates/gift cards/certs received here as before however.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN October.....$0.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES....$0

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$0.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Zero

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 96.30%, The Bread Outlet at 73.06% and Big Lots at 52.33%.  I shopped at 7 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$582.78

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$903.25

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,486.03

TOTAL Savings of...................................60.78%

This closes out the November food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into November with my usual $400 budgeted for food/toiletries purchases.
I went over by $182.78. 
Yikes!
Now this will only be ok if I can lower my food spending in December accordingly by about $180ish.
Spend more in November?.....spend that much less in December.

As you can see my Savings Rate skyrocketed in November for the 40's to the 60's, because of my Rite-Aid shopping.
Without the Rite-Aid totals added in, my November Savings Rate is 48% which is more in line with my track record this year.  Add in Rite-Aid totals and my overall Savings Rate is 60.78%.

You will notice though, Rite-Aid shopping aside, that my savings rates in November were REALLY good!  My lowest rate was 33.53%.  Some months 33% is my best savings rate! lol  I got some really really great deals on prices in November so I am NOT going to whine about overspending too much. 8-)
 

Looking ahead to December---We are not holding a big Christmas gathering here so we won't be having much extra food spending.  And if I can keep from buying a Prime Rib Roast like I did last year, the Christmas food spending shouldn't get out of hand.  We will be doing our traditional Christmas Even dinner out but that cost comes out of the Christmas budget. 
To get to the spending threshold to earn the Thanksgiving Gift Certificate in November I have stocked up on quite a few items I won't have to spend on in December.  I am going to try to eat from the stockpile this month and keep Food Spending in December to between $250-$300. 

 

And here is the run down of my Food & Toiletries Spending for 2013 so far this year--
 

2013 Total Saved $3,426.65

2013 Yearly Total Value of Items  $7,702.36

2013 Yearly Total Spent $4,275.71

2013 Yearly Savings Total of  44.49%

 

In November, total savings percentage for the year has gone UP 3.89% over October's year-to-date total of 40.60%, to 44.49%. 
Holding steady in the mid 40%s with one more month of food spending to go.  I would be very happy to end the year with a savings rate in the 40's.

The average monthly food/toiletries spending so far this year stands at $388.70.
Let's see if I can keep the average monthly spending below $400 for the year after December is done.

 

How much did you spend on food in November?
 

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Thank Goodness Marching Band Season is Over" Edition.......

 

 

 

 

#2 Son is happy that his last season of Marching Band finished up on Sunday.  Now he just has 2 Concert Band concerts, 2 Jazz Band concerts and Pitt Orchestra for the School Musical and ALL the rehearsals for each to go before he graduates in the Spring.
The photo is of some of the band kids after a meet performance back in October that our group hosted.  #2 Son is standing on the track(behind the fence)right above the drum in this shot.

Here are the meals that were planned last week--
 

Sunday--Chinese Take-Out  Treating ourselves tonight
Monday--Mushroom Alfredo shells with leftover London Broil, Spinach Salad(Hubs is craving pasta)
Tuesday--Baked Fish(in freezer) and crab cakes(freezer), coleslaw, some veggie(freezer)
Wednesday--Lasagna(leftover-then the rest gets put into the freezer for later)
Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie(using leftover chicken, carrots, potatoes + fresh broccoli)
Friday--maybe Domino's pizza using one of my free coupons + a big salad for me
Saturday--leftovers or something scrounged around the house

Everything eaten as planned except Friday's dinner was Saturday's and vice versa.
I used the leftover Broccoli Soup from weeks ago in my pot pie instead of making a sauce/cream from scratch or opening a can of soup to use.  I am so proud of me......!

And I ended up eating too much pizza.  I hadn't had any in so long and it was so good that I just couldn't eat one slice. lol

As for food spending last week....you might want to look away as it's going to be bad(spendy).  There were 6 trips to the store and I spent $287.01 on $554.87 worth of groceries at 5 different stores.  I've spent $385.79 of my $400 November food budget so far and there are 17 days left for this month. 
bleh.
Hubs made a stop after work at a store we don't often go to.  There was the monthly trip to the Bakery/Bread Outlet and I had a 15% off discount card for Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)I had to use or lose and they had some good food buys, even before that discount.  So we blew through a bit of money on foodstuffs last week.

Not to worry though as we have extra funds each month plus I am stockpiling last week and this week so we spend enough to get our Thanksgiving gift certificate at one of my stores.  Might as well buy the items that will keep now and they count toward our spending rather than buying them next month and not having them count, right?  I am hoping that my December spending will reflect these buying ahead deals and be lower than my usual.
We shall see.....

Leftovers going into this week--1/2 a large family-sized chicken pot pie and a whole pizza(but that will most likely be scarfed down between meals or as lunches).

Here's this week's meal plan---

Sunday--Burgers on Rolls, Collard Greens
Monday--Mushroom Parmesan, Salad
Tuesday--Roasted Chicken, Carrots, Stuffing
Wednesday--leftover Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday--Steak, Roasted Asparagus & Potatoes
Friday--Baked Fish, Coleslaw, Green Beans
Saturday--Chicken & Dumplings

What I need to purchase for this menu?......
I still need to spend about $55 this week to get to our Turkey Day gift certificate.
I'm going to try to keep the spending to $55 but even so, that will put us over budget in November by $40+ and that's not counting buying a turkey.
bleh again.
Oh what the hell......I am going to fly the white flag this month.
I give up. ;-)

What got fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Tired of Coming Up with Meals this Week" Edition.......

 

 

I had to get out of the house this weekend as I was going stir crazy.  Hubs and I went to Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!)and looked at all their Holiday stuff as I haven't been in Ollie's since the Summer.  I bought this Holiday CD for $4.99....I don't usually spend that much on them but what can I say?.... I love me some Harry Connick, Jr.
It's not even December but I did play it already.
Good stuff! 8-))

Here are the meals that were planned last week--
 

Sunday--Clam Chowder
Monday--Tacos(I'll probably have a chicken sandwich and a part of a bag of frozen veggies.)
Tuesday--leftovers
Wednesday--Lasagna, Salad
Thursday--leftovers
Friday--London Broil, Asparagus
Saturday--leftovers

Everything was eaten as planned except the London Broil was served with a Tossed Salad(didn't get to the store with the sale on asparagus)and Brussel Sprouts were served with the Lasagna.  

As for food spending last week.....there were 4 trips to the store and I spent $98.78 on $162.58 worth of groceries at 3 stores.
I have $301.22 left in my November food budget.

Leftovers going into this week--1 bratwurst(I put it into the freezer for later), leftover chicken pieces, carrots and potatoes, taco fixings, lasagna and London broil.  So many leftovers that I shouldn't have to cook but 3 days this week.
Go me! lol
I am not planning a meal around the leftover taco stuff since #2 Son will probably end up devouring that over the next few days. ;-)

Here's this week's meal plan---

Sunday--Chinese Take-Out  Treating ourselves tonight
Monday--Mushroom Alfredo shells with leftover London Broil, Spinach Salad(Hubs is craving pasta)
Tuesday--Baked Fish(in freezer) and crab cakes(freezer), coleslaw, some veggie(freezer)
Wednesday--Lasagna(leftover-then the rest gets put into the freezer for later)
Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie(using leftover chicken, carrots, potatoes + fresh broccoli)
Friday--maybe Domino's pizza using one of my free coupons + a big salad for me
Saturday--leftovers or something scrounged around the house

What I need to purchase for this menu?......cabbage for slaw, some milk and fruit.  I'm going to buy a rotisserie chicken at Weis(on special $3.99 this week)and slice that up for my lunch sandwiches.  I bought mushrooms and spinach salad last week.
I still need to spend about $125 in the next 2 weeks to get a Thanksgiving gift certificate at the Shursave market.   So I might buy some things ahead this coming week(baking goods mostly and some to use the next week plus fresh produce that will not go bad in the few 2 weeks).
I'm going to try to keep the spending to $80 this week.

What got fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy