Onward to July's Food Spending Report.....
Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for July 2024.
I have posted July'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 July. 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 $44.02
Sales $15.44
Value $59.46
Savings 25.97%
CVS
OOP $15.17
Sales/Free CVS Script $19.87
Value $35.04
Savings 56.71%
DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP $21.60
Sales/Coupons $43.83
Value $65.43
Savings 67.00%
KROGER
OOP $159.33
Qs/Gift Cards $116.12
Value $275.45
Savings 42.11%
TRADER JOE'S
OOP $27.70
Qs/Sales $8.22
Value $35.92
Savings 22.88%
WALMART
OOP $143.95
Qs/Gift Cards $91.87
Value $235.82
Savings 38.96%
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My best Store Savings Total was at Dollar General with a savings of 67.00%. My worse rate was at Trader Joe's with 22.88%. Not a bad savings rate average overall though.
I shopped at 6 different stores in JULY.
TOTAL Spent in July......$411.77
TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$292.85
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$704.62
TOTAL Savings of........41.56%
I spent $219.71 in Virginia, $152.22 in Louisiana and Hubs spent $39.84 here while I was gone in July. I was basically providing all my meals in VA and they had to be easy/premade/etc.
This closes out the July food/toiletries/etc. spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....
On the surface our spending was 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 10.32% in July to 41.56% compared to June's 51.88% savings average. A lower savings rate but still over 40% which is what I like to see. 8-)
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 7 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 Grand Total Spent....................$4,381.76
2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$7,270.74
2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$2,888.98
2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................39.74%
The average per month amount spent is $625.97 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), 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 7 month point in 2024 comes in at $2,199.05 or $314.15 per month.
Besides all I sent to my bank account I have another $677.78 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 AUGUST 2024.....
I am back home and trying to get back into the groove again. August may be a heavy food spending month as I restock the freezer and take advantage of the deals of Summer.
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 July?
* 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
