2016 Food & Toiletries Spending.....April Update

* I've closed out the April books a couple of days early as I am done shopping.  Anything bought in the next 3 days will come out of May's funds. *

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2016.

I have posted April's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2016 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly 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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(2 at home this month). No kids under 20.

******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $4.75
Value  $20.45
Savings 76.77%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $20.00
Value  $54.64
Savings  63.40%


MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $62.56
Value  $84.00
Savings  25.52%


RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/gift card  $144.98
Value  $144.98
Savings 100%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $29.66
Qs/Ads $53.59
Value  $23.93
Savings  44.65%


TARGET
OOP  $.98
Qs/Ads  $3.00
Value  $3.98
Savings  75.38%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $131.07

Qs/Ads  $137.64

Value  $268.71

Savings  51.22%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, the Bakery Outlet at 76.77% and Target at 75.78%.  My WORST savings rate was Maine Source at 25.52%.  Other than Maine Source, all other stores were at least 44.65% savings.
I'll take it. ;-)

I shopped at 7 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$249.02

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$381.33

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$630.35

TOTAL Savings of...................................60.50%
TOTAL Savings without Rite-Aid...........48.70%

Value of items excluding Rite-Aid bought ones was $485.37
Rite-Aid goods brought home totaled $144.98.

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into April wanting to do a $250 food budget for the month.  I ended up staying under my goal just barely.
Yay me! ;-)

If you look at our Eating-Out Totals for April they are down from March's so we weren't buying food less and eating out more this month, which means we really were paying less to eat.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went down by 15.98% in April to 60.50% compared to March's 76.48% savings average.  Yes, this level of savings, though down from March's savings level is still a good problem to have! lolz

If you delete the items bought at Rite-Aid in April our savings percentage goes down to 48.70% which is still well above the 40% savings rate threshold I like to stay over.  We "brought home" less things from Rite-Aid this month so the difference between all savings % for April and not including Rite-Aid savings % in the April total is less of a range than in March when we "brought home" a lot more from Rite-Aid.

We did empty some freezer space even though the salmon and chicken sausage deals meant adding a bit more to the freezer, more food got used up than got added.  Some pantry goods also got used up and not replaced and the only new pantry goods that were added were items we had used up.

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a total of $1190.22 on food/toiletries so far in 2016 which averages out to $297.56 per month spent.  The average in March stood at $313.73 per month spent to that point in 2016 so we are down $16.17 spent per month from last month's year-to-date tally. Compared to this point in the year to 2015's totals we have spent $43.64 less on food and toiletries in 2016.

It would be so nice to continue this less spending trend back down below $4K for the year.  Now that my daughter is moving back home for a couple of years I know this low amount of spending on food will not continue and we most probably won't get under $4K spent on it all for 2016.
And I am ok with that.

LOOKING AHEAD To May 2016.........
College Boy returns home from college on Summer break 1 week into the month.  This means our food spending will increase in May.  But some of us will be out of town this month and not be eating at home, so that might counterbalance somewhat the increase in food spending that CB being home  will require.

I will continue with my usual shopping ways in May....buy loss leaders or great deals which we can use.  I will try to empty some more freezer space and eat down from the pantry as well this month.
I am going to try for a $300 food/toiletries spending month in May.  A slight $50 increase hopefully will be enough to cover 1 more mouth to feed and still be able to stay under budget.

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 April?
*  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

November Food Spending Week 3, Meal Plan Week 4

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
MONDAY--Spaghetti & Homemade Meatballs
TUESDAY--Teriyaki Salmon w/ Veggie Fried Rice
WEDNESDAY--Leftovers
THURSDAY--Kielbasa, Potato Salad, Cabbage
FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out
SATURDAY--Take-Out Pizza *at behest of Hubs and #2 son

No Breakfast for Dinner night, Chinese take-out instead.  No Squash casserole night because I never got to the Product market last week for said squash, so we had leftovers instead. And I was out voted on Saturday and a pizza was ordered(using a gift card).

Last week was all about many little food shopping trips revolving around....say it with me!....GRAVY!

8 transactions at Weis Markets(aka Evil Empire)and 1 trip to the RSS(aka Restaurant Supply Store)for blue cheese dressing(aka PRECIOUS).

 
Total for all the food shopping last week came to $91.07.

 

That sure sounds like A LOT of $$ to me, but look at what I got for that amount.....

93 cans of gravy

21 cans of soup

1 bag stuffing

4 bags of croutons

6 bags of frozen potato/onion rings

2 bags of salad

2 cans of pineapple

4 bags of cheese

8 containers of sour cream

2 cans of cranberry sauce

5 3-packs of yeast

11 single packs of yeast

2 boxes of broth

1 applesauce cups

2 boxes of pie crust

2 bags of green beans

1 gallon of dressing

1 14-cut cheesecake

1 turkey

The only thing missing is a Partridge in a Pear Tree.....

If I saw it all sitting out together I'd think I did good.  I need my visuals people!lol

My savings percentage was 72.40% last week, as the reg. retail was $329.84 on the groceries I brought home. 

My running total spent for the month is now at $213.52, which leaves me $36.48 to stay within my $250 monthly food budget.  Ok, I "really" have $39.48 since I have $3 in rebates this month to throw into the food kitty....which is how I handle rebate $. 8-)

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Pot Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions w/Gravy
MONDAY--Tilapia, Squash Casserole, Sweet Potato Fries
TUESDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Pasta, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Tacos, Veg.
THURSDAY--Turkey Thanksgiving Dinner
FRIDAY--Chili or Leftovers
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Items needed for this menu.....Yellow Squash, Bell Seasoning, Rutabaga, Sweet Potatoes, Celery and Milk.  I have $20 in store Rewards I have to spend by Saturday or lose them, so I'll get as much of this as I can at the ShurSave store.  

This is the last food shopping Week in the month.  Between the free $20 rewards and the $39 I have left, I think I'll be able to stay under budget for November...yay!

 

Unless of course, I start jonesing for some more Gravy! lol

So have you run out of food budget yet this month?

Or do you have lots of cash left?

Sluggy

November Food Spending Week 2, Meal Plan Week 3

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Pork Chops, Cabbage, Sweet Potato Fries
MONDAY--Cheeseburgers, Green Beans
TUESDAY--Chicken Quesadillas, Corn
WEDNESDAY--Chinese Take-Out

THURSDAY--Lasagna, Salad *Lasagna is in the freezer leftover from previous meal
FRIDAY--Leftovers(I finished up my Crab Soup, Hubs had his Chinese.)
SATURDAY--Light Lunch out w/Hubs(salad) and Scrounging for Dinner(I had a can of Beefaroni)


Basically the meal plan was adhered to except for the Salmon, which was moved to this week's menu.

I come into this week with leftover grilled chicken from Tuesday's dinner.  I used it in this Sunday's dinner.

See my previous posts with my food shopping for last week.  Besides what I posted about I also hit another ShurSave store(one that takes IPQs)and finished off the spending needed to get my gift certificate reward.  I bought pie crusts, cranberry sauce(used IPQs), 7-Up, chips, baking cups, cookies(used ManuQ) and 2 big bags of dog chow(used IPQs)and spent $36.01.  6 of these items also counted toward the store making a $5 donation to the Wounded Warriors Project in my name.  That's a win/win as far as I'm concerned. 8-)
Total for all the food shopping last week came to $65.66.

My savings percentage was 75.10% last week, as the reg. retail was $263.69 on the groceries I brought home.  That $42 on the gift card went a long way toward lowering my OOP for the week.

My running total spent for the month is now at $122.45, which puts me right on target to stay within my $250 monthly food budget. 

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
MONDAY--Spaghetti & Meatballs
TUESDAY--Teriyaki Salmon w/ Veggie Fried Rice
WEDNESDAY--Kielbasa, Potato Salad, Cabbage
THURSDAY--Squash Casserole & Leftovers
FRIDAY--Breakfast for Dinner
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Items needed for this menu.....Cabbage, Squash, Eggs and the weekly ubiquitous milk purchase. 

If I find anything to stock up on for cheap this week I have about $60 to play with this week plus $25 in free money from a Catalina Q and 2 Store Rewards.

How about you? 
Do you have your Turkey Day menu set yet?

I am having trouble finalizing mine.  I am having 7 over for the meal but Daughter's BF is a picky eater I am told, #2 son is sort of picky, the Nephew is very picky and Daughter is probably on a diet after eating at the college dining hall for the last 2+ months.  She tells me they put laxatives in all the food because there is no fiber or vegetable matter and it's all highly processed junk so they have to, to keep everyone from being constipated and wreaking havoc on the schools plumbing.
Okay......lol

I have a turkey and I'll do stuffing.  I might fore go mashed potatoes and do baked sweet potatoes instead.  Rutabagas are a definite seasonal thing I fix at the Holidays and I'll make corn for the picky BF(because it's the only veg he'll eat).  I'll probably make a green veggie too, cranberry sauce, rolls and pie.  I will just do a crudité plate(raw veggies and dip)beforehand.

So what's on your menu for next Thursday?


Sluggy

September Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2011.

I have posted September's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2011 and updated the Yearly Totals.
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 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 15.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $8.78
Value  $38.11
Savings  77%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $89.28

Qs/Ads  $81.70
Value  $170.98
Savings  47.78%

RITE AID
OOP  $.50 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $3.79
Value  $4.29
Savings  88.35% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $174.05
Qs/Ads  $93.89
Value  $267.94
Savings  35.05% 

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN SEPTEMBER
Rite-Aid SCR...$22.99
Subtotal........$22.99

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
$0.00
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$22.99

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Nothing.
Nada.
Zilch.
*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  the Bakery Outlet at 77% and Carone's at 47.78%.  I shopped at 4 whole different stores in September.....wow. lol


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$272.11
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$209.21
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$481.32
TOTAL Savings of...................................43.46%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$22.99
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$249.12
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$232.20
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$481.32
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................48.25%

Since my Rite-Aid shopping(which contains No OOP)always skews my savings percentages, I like to figure my Totals without the Rite-Aid numbers also.
TOTAL OOP after Rebates.....$249.12
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$477.03
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....47.78%

My food savings percentage seems to run about 50%-60% for the strictly food items only.
Those Rite-Aid purchases always boost up my savings total about 20% points.  This month Rite-Aid purchases only boosted my Savings Percentage a half of a percentage, since I only bought 1 item from there in September.lol
This closes out the September spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With my rebate check added into my food budget I came in at right on my $250 target.
Yay me!lol

I confess that a lot of what I bought was junk this month, mostly bought for #2 son's after-school snacks and for his sleepover.  It I had held strong and not succumbed to his pleadings I would have only spent about half of my $250 budget.
Soda, pies, chips, pizzas......bleh!
What can I say?
He is my last one left at home and I am an old softee. 8-))

What's ahead for October.....
No big holidays this month, no birthdays either.  Daughter is coming home for 1 weekend though so more mouths to feed temporarily.
Yes, I have a COLLEGZILLA on the way home this coming weekend!lol

I am thinking about giving myself $300 per month going forward until the end of 2011 instead of $250.
Why?
First we can afford another $50 per month for food.
Second I plan to use the extra to stock up for Thansgiving/Christmas Holiday essentials since I don't think I can do that and my regular monthly foods for $250.  Somebody has to pay for the cost of remodeling at Weis Markets so it might as well be me! ;-)
Besides, I am just tired of keeping such a tight rein on the food expenses after the last 9 months of doing so.

Heck, I might just say to heck with the food budget for the rest of the year and just spend what I want but with an eye toward frugality.

What do y'all think?
Should I stick to the food budget?....but make it a bit larger?....or just go on a 3 month long binge?
I need help here people!!

With 3 months left in the year, we have spent a total of $1,907.69 of our income on food/HBA in 2011.
That comes out to $211.96 per month.
We brought home items with a reg. retail value of $11,198.72.
That's a savings of $9,291.03 or 83%.

How did you do in September with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for October?  Any family coming to stay....Holiday Celebrations?.....or is your school/work schedule too busy to shop/cook/eat as a family?

Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.

Sluggy

Food Spending Week 2.5-3.5 & Meal Plan

So here is what I planned on serving for dinner last week....

Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs
Monday--Chicken Biscuits, Corn
Tuesday--Trout, Fries, Pan Roasted Summer Veggies
Wednesday--Pork Chops w/Apricot Glaze, Potato Salad, Brussel Sprouts
Thursday--Meatloaf, Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Friday--Leftovers
Saturday--Hot Dogs, Leftover Veggies/Potato Salad

And here is what actually happened....

Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad
Monday--Chicken Biscuits, Corn
Tuesday--Trout, Fries, Brussel Sprouts
Wednesday--Leftovers
Thursday--Meatloaf, Potato Salad, leftover Corn
Friday--Chinese take-out, Pizza(sleepover night)
Saturday--Hot Dogs on rolls, leftover side dishes

We got takeout on Friday since there was a surprise Teen Sleepover & I didn't have enough Pork Chops thawed to feed everyone.

Groceries bought last week....
$33.87
And most of that($25.09)was crap/snacks bought on Friday for the sleepover....ice cream, chips, soda and pies.  I never went grocery shopping last week. The only 'real food' I did buy were a container of ricotta cheese, a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs.

This week I want to stock up on some salmon which is on sale.  This hasn't been a good price in ages so I'm spending what I have left in the budget for September on fish for the freezer.  I should have enough for about 5 lbs. worth.

So here is what I am planning on serving this week for meals, working solely on what I have already.

Sunday--Pork Chops, California veg. medley, leftover Potato Salad, Applesauce
Monday--Lasagna(using crumbled leftover meatloaf from last week in the sauce)
Tuesday--Fried Mac & Cheese(using up leftover mac/cheese), Mixed Veggies
Wednesday--Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Broccoli
Thursday--Beef Pie Casserole w/carrots and green beans
Friday--Chicken Cheese Quesadillas, Green Salad
Saturday--Leftovers

No take-out this week.  And I know that Tues. meal is lame but it's the only thing I can think of to get them to eat the leftover mac and cheese!lol  I look at this unhealthy choice this way....the Fair they hold this week is canceled this year due to the flooding....and they ate far worse stuff at the Fair so Tues. meal is my homage to fair food.lol

I've got most everything to accomplish this meal plan except I will have to buy carrots and salad greens along with our usual milk purchases for the week.
And some fresh fruit as we are all out.

I'm at $215.34 spent for September so far.
I've got $34.66 left in the food budget with 5 days left to go.

Sluggy

September Food Spending Week 2.5 and Menu Plan

 I love this little Flow Chart from Summer Tomato to help you find REAL FOOD in the grocery store.
Check it out!lol

Speaking of supermarkets, I made 3 trips to the grocery store last week...really 1 trip last week and 2 trips into Week 3 or Week 2.5.lol  I can't seem to line up the weeks with the menu plans.  I need to come up with a better system for reporting in.

The local market had some BOGO sales so I stocked up on basic things like onions, potatoes, bread and bagels(as I didn't get over to the Bread Outlet yet).  I bought a number of items for #2 son for snacking including 1/2 off muffins, juice, pizza and chicken strips. Also some Gatorade for band practice, and sweets like ice cream and pie.
I picked up some deals.....a package of trout, a package of hot dog rolls, frozen veggies, as well as a General Mills Promotional Deal when you bought 8 items you received $4 off your total.  For that I bought 4 boxed veggies, 1 sack of flour and 3 rolls of whack biscuits.  Total w/sale prices was $11.59....total after $4 and $2 in Qs off=$5.59 for 8 items.
I also used a $10 gift card I won ages ago to pay for a part of this order so my $20.84 total was $10.84 OOP.
Sweet!

My meal plan for last week ended up looking like this....
Sunday--Tacos
Monday--Ravioli, Salad
Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches
Wednesday--Mac & Cheese, Cauliflower
Thursday--Leftovers
Friday--Chinese take out
Saturday--Pecan Crusted Chicken, Cream of Spinach

The only items I needed to buy to accomplish this menu?.....A loaf of bread

So this week, using what I bought last week and what was already in the freezer/pantry, is looking like this.....

Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(fresh sauce from garden and homemade balls for the freezer)
Monday--Chicken Biscuits, Corn(roll of biscuits, frozen chicken patties and corn in freezer)
Tuesday--Trout, Fries, Pan Roasted Summer Veggies(trout and taters I bought, veg. in freezer)
Wednesday--Pork Chops w/Apricot Glaze, Potato Salad, Brussel Sprouts(chops in freezer, taters and sprouts I bought)
Thursday--Meatloaf, Roasted Potatoes and Carrots(beef in freezer, taters I bought)
Friday--Leftovers
Saturday--Hot Dogs, Leftover Veggies/Potato Salad(dogs in freezer, rolls I bought)

Left to buy for this menu.....Carrots.
I know it's heavy on potatoes but 2 of us ate a lot of rice last week for snack meals and for lunch, so I'll make #2 son happy and serve fries instead of rice with the trout.

Last week I spent $116.29 at the store on $217.74 worth of items, for a savings rate of 46.60%.
I only used $4 in Qs.  Seriously, I can't find a coupon deal unless I want to buy a bunch of processed stuff lately.

I have spent a total of $181.47 so far for September in 2.5 weeks.  $68.53 left in the food budget with 11 days to go so I am short about $20 at this point in the month.

This week we need some dairy and eggs and I'll pick up what is on special and work it into a menu for next week.
If I find some good deals I won't worry about that $20 overage.

At this point, I'll hold off going to the bread store until next week or October.
I'm debating doing the Campbell's Catalina at Price Chopper(for the Prego sauce) as it will put me over the budget if I do.

What are y'all eating and buying this week?

Sluggy

Week 3 Spending for August....Hitting the Food Spending Ceiling

My food spending seems different this month.  I have been ignoring most of the "deals" at the grocery stores.  I can't recall the last time I bought a boxed, processed item....well, except for those frozen pizzas that kids want.lol
I have just been buying ingredients as needed these weeks along with produce, meat and dairy buys I find.  Throw in a trip to the bread outlet and I've spent $88.18 of food in Week #3 of August.

I spent $4.78 on 6 bread items at the outlet that would have run me $22.74 at the grocery store.
$4 at the Dollar store in snacks for daughter to take to college later this week. 
$20.10 at the local market for hot dog rolls, OJ, lettuce and frozen pizzas(at the kid's requests)and 4lbs. of ground beef for lunch burgers.

My big expenditure last week was at a new restaurant/party supply warehouse on Saturday.  Daughter requested I cook ribs in the smoker for her before she leaves for school, so I got ribs, as well as 5 more pounds of ground beef, a big bag of onions, 2 lbs. of bananas, a 40 count bag of pot stickers and a pork butt.
Cost?....$59.31.
I made 42 meatballs with half of the ground beef and browned/crumbled the other half for tacos/beef pie/sloppy joes. I now have 5 meals + leftovers worth of meats ready to go from that ground beef.   I smoked the ribs on Sunday, along with making baked beans and cornbread from scratch, and we have enough left for another full meal.  The pork butt will be made into a Pork Ragu this week at #1 son's request when he gets home in a couple of days. This pork/pasta meal will supply another full meal in leftovers. The pot stickers are a quick lunch item for this week.
Next month I'm hoping to see some chicken and/or fish deals since we have been light on chicken and fish the last month.

I made the leftover steak from a week ago Thursday into Beef Stroganoff on Saturday night.  We have almost another full meal of this for leftovers.

So here is what I am starting this week with in leftovers or precooked  foods.....
1-Beef Stroganoff w/Rice
2-Taco meat
3-Meatballs
4-Beef Pie meat
5-Sloppy Joe meat
6-Ribs(from last night)
7-Squash Casserole
8-Green Beans
9-Baked Beans
10-Cornbread
11-Pickles, always!lol
Plus I have the Pork Butt.

Here is my Meal Plan.....

Sunday--Ribs, Baked Beans, Cornbread, Pickles  done
Monday--Sloppy Joes, leftover veggies(squash/g beans)
Tuesday--Leftover Ribs meal and/or Stroganoff
Wednesday--Pork Ragu, Salad Greens
Thursday--Dinner out before kids leave for school
Friday--Assorted Leftovers
Saturday--Spaghetti Meatballs or ?, Zucchini

I have frozen veggies to add in where needed, so the only items I need to buy for this menu are more salad greens and zucchini.
Imagine that?...I need to BUY zucchini!lol
Along with milk, some more fruit for snacking(I'm thinking watermelon and peaches)and we are done with shopping for the week and hopefully the month.
$20-$25 should do me.

I've spent $262.33 up until now in August on food.
If I add in my $14.19 so far in rebates and my Toluna check for $20 into my food budget, that gives me $284.19 in the kitty.  If I can spend $21.86 or less for the rest of August, I'll still be on budget.

I am feeling the frugal burnout lately.  Inflation has made it harder to find deals and stay on budget. 
I am just tired of working so hard on this. 

We will be down to feeding 3 people again after the oldest 2 leave for college, so I am hoping I can still keep my $250 food budget for awhile longer.  Or am I being unrealistic in this economy to spend so little on food?
What do you think?

Sluggy

Week 2 Food Spending for August & Cucumber P*rn

First the P*rn.....

Cucumbers, the gift that won't stop giving!
These cuke vines seriously think they are the mops in The Sorcerer's Apprentice movie.
Remember them?  Mickey keeps splitting them with an axe and they keep dividing and growing legs.
Well, I keep picking these cucumbers and the vines keep spitting out new ones!
The above photo is what is left of one week's crop after salad making, cucumber slices in vinegar making, tzatziki sauce making and filling a ONE GALLON jar with pickles!

I know I'll regret cursing these babies come January when I am forced to pay $1.50 for ONE half shriveled CUKE!
But come on......this is getting comical!lol

Not much food shopping last week.  Hubs picked up milk and pita bread early in the week.
I used the leftover smoked London Broil to make Gyros last week so we needed the pitas.  I was able to use up some cucumbers when I made the Tzatziki sauce for the Gyros.
Yay me!
On the way home from our adventure on Thursday(more on that later), we picked up some 'loupes and corn at a farm market.  Sunday I bought 3 dozen eggs at Kmart since they were on sale for $1 a carton and I was there already with Daughter college shopping.

Then on Monday, Hubs and I stopped again at the local independent grocer for fresh produce(g beans, squash, celery, peaches), more milk(geez!), OJ and I got snuckered into buying frozen pizzas for the teens.  That was almost $20 spent.
Altogether I spent $33.15 in Week 2 on the food shopping.

My savings percentage ran a pitiful 33.27% this week.

Besides the milk, everything was on sale.
I used no Qs because, besides the pizzas, nothing was "couponable".
bleh.

As for a Meal Plan....last week was very free form, meaning, I had some sketchy ideas but Hubs would want to get take-out or go out for lunch(while the teens were still asleep).  After a big lunch I wasn't about to make a big dinner, so the teens would have to make their own "food".  I say "food" because though they ate at 2 in the afternoon, it was really their breakfast and then #2 son would snack/graze again around 7pm(while Daughter would go with her friend and eat while out), and then Daughter would break out a bowl of cereal around midnight and #2 son would end up banging around in the kitchen around 1am again, making another meal for himself.
I just said to heck with plans and let everyone do their own thing last week.  When Hubs and I weren't out lunching it, we'd scare up some scrambled eggs or sandwiches or just throw some leftovers together for ourselves.  The day we came home with the corn on the cob from the farm market,  I pulled some steaks out of the freezer and we did grilled corn and steaks on the spur of the moment that evening.

I'm still working on this week's Meal Plan.
Sunday was Taco Hell Bell since Hubs was still on vacation and I spent all day with Daughter collecting college things.  Monday was leftovers since Hubs and I used a gift certificate at a local restaurant for a late lunch so I wasn't cooking dinner.

Dishes I am definitely making this week:  Squash Casserole and fresh Green Beans with Bacon.
In the leftover department, I have two ears of corn which will make an appearance in Clam Chowder, and a steak which will become Beef Stroganoff with the addition of mushrooms, onions, sour cream, a lot of paprika and other spices.
Depending on if/when Daughter will be home for meals this week and if #2 son wants dinner when he gets home at 9pm after Marching Band Camp each night, I'll try to just fill in the gaps with something from what is already in the house.

I've spent $174.15 of my $250 food budget with half the month left to go.
I have $75.85 left in my funds.

Is it me, or has the price of food gone up so much for what we normally buy that it's getting very difficult to stay under our old food budgets?

I don't drink coffee and I have quite a large stockpile of it for Hubs currently but I've heard that this item has dramatically increased lately in a very short time frame.  Is this true?

I have heard that the drought in much of the country, it is leading to cattle and poultry being taken to slaughter early.  The cost and availability of feed grain is making it hard to keep herds/flocks at their current sizes.  This is going to make for some cheaper prices in these food items short term, but will eventually lead to higher prices the next year or two since there will be less animals for market.
This makes me want to load up on meats now.
What do you think?

Sluggy

July Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2011.

I have posted July's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2011 and updated the Yearly Totals.
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 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 15.
******************

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $31.91

Qs/Ads  $36.31
Value  $68.22
Savings  53.23%

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $22.45
Value  $105.14
Savings  78.65%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $21.51
Qs/Ads  $12/43
Value  $33.94
Savings  36.62%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $10.67
Qs/Ads  $140.75
Value  $151.42
Savings  93%

RITE AID
OOP  $7.83 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $399.04
Value  $406.87
Savings  98.08% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WALMART
OOP  $7.21
Qs/Ads $0.00
Value  $7.21
Savings  00%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $105.16
Qs/Ads  $117.80
Value  $222.96
Savings  52.83% 

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECEIVED IN JULY
Pinecone Research....$9.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$6.99
Snapple....$8.98
Subtotal........$24.97

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$24.97


COUPONS and FREEBIES

Glidden......Free Qt. of Paint
Kotex....$2/1 Q
Pantene.....Free ITEM Q

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  Price Chopper at 93% and the Bakery Outlet as 78.65%.  I shopped at 7 different stores in July.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$200.24
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$795.52
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$995.76
TOTAL Savings of...................................79.89%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$24.97
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$175.27
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$795.52
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$995.76
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................82.40%

Since my Rite-Aid shopping(which contains No OOP)always skews my savings percentages, I like to figure my Totals without the Rite-Aid numbers also.
TOTAL OOP after Rebates.....$175.27
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$588.89
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....70.24%
My food savings percentage seems to run about 50%-60% for the strictly food items only.
Those Rite-Aid purchases always boost up my savings total about 20% points.  This month Rite-Aid purchases only boosted my Savings Percentage 12.16%.



This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I kept my food spending well under my $250 budgeted amount.  I have been buying more produce in July but not from the farmstand yet.  And we've been eating down some proteins in the freezer.
The only stocking up I seemed to do in July was on soda, soap and chips type snacks foods.


What's ahead for August.....
Well be up to 4 at home and then 5+ at home at the end of this month as the kids(and their friends)come back and then leave again for college.  It's a crazy month here.....busy with Band Camp, Summer Jobs, getting ready for school/college plus trying to can/freeze fresh produce for the winter.  I am going to try to keep up the cooking at home/no eating out schedule we've been following in July.  There may be a few meals out however in celebration of everyone home.  Our eating out does not come out of the food budget so I'll have a full shift of meals to pay for with the food kitty.
Hopefully I can stay around the $200 mark for August(before any rebates)and then use that $75 I didn't use last month and about $50 of the $250 budget for Aug.(giving me $125 combined)and put that toward my fresh farmstand purchases to preserve for winter.

How did you do in July with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for August?  Any family coming to stay....or are you trying to figure out a food budget for a vacation? 
Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.


Sluggy

July Food Spending Week 3.....3 Shopping Trips but Frugal

I am going to update each week in July on my food spending. After the last 2 months of going over, maybe this will help me stay on track more if all of y'all are watching me.....watching me in a good way, not the bad, creepy way. ;-)

Between July 15th and 23rd I made 3 trips to the grocery store!  I know it's a bit more than a week but I need to include an extra couple of days in the last 2 weeks of July as the month has 31 total, not 28. ;-)

I spent a total of $61.76.  The 1st trip was that small OOP one to Price Chopper(northeast)where I used my Catalina Q.  The 2nd trip was to the local independent grocer where I spent $10.50 on a watermelon, 2 cukes, a cantaloupe and 3lb.s of yellow squash.
Then yesterday I spent $47.62 on 2 large London Broils(BOGO deal!), a gallon of milk, 3 blocks of cheese, 18 eggs, a package of clearance steak(which came out to $2lb.), 2 lbs. of tilapia, a head of lettuce, a lb. of broccoli and 1.5 lbs. more of yellow squash. Almost 33% savings rate on that last trip but still pretty good considering all the meat I got.

I've eyeballed the sales this week and mostly it's the dreaded "house brands on sale" week so not many items you can stack sales and coupons upon to get some inexpensive food.
I'll post my Meal Plan tomorrow, but for today I'll let y'all know I have a trip to the bakery/bread outlet(we are out of bread)and 1 trip to Weis Markets on my agenda for the last week of July's spending.  I've got $1/1 Cabot Cheese IPQs to combine with a sale on Cabot Cheese at Weis($2.50)so there is $1.50 a package cheese in my future, as well as 1 $1.25 package house brand cream cheese.  I may head to the farm this week for some veggies and fruit but I don't foresee much OOP in the food spending category in Week 4.  I predict $20-$30.

With the $61.76 spent last week, I have a grand total spent in July so far of $136.49 for food.

How about you?  Are you eating from your pantry/stockpile this week?

Sluggy

Quick Trip to Price Chopper for Coupon Doublers and Edy's Catalina Deal

After getting a gold star this morning at the dentist.....8-))....I made a dash down to Price Chopper to roll my $5 Catalina Q from 2 weeks ago for buying all that Dove Men's Soap.
PC had 3 Coupon Doubler Qs in the ad here on Sunday and there is an Edy's Ice Cream Catalina Deal(Spend $12/Get $4 Cat Q)so I pulled a few Qs and went deal hunting.

4 x Texas Toast Croutons BOGO sale($2.29)=$4.58
2 x Edy's Fruit Bars on sale $3=$6.00
2 x Edy's Ice Cream on sale $3=$6.00
2 x Heluva Good Cheese on sale $2=$4.00
2 x Bic Comfort 3 Razors on sale $2.99=$5.98
SubTotal.....$26.56

Coupons Used
2 x $1/2 Texas Toast Croutons ManuQ(used 2 Doubler Qs)=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Edy's Fruit Bars IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/2 Heluva Good items ManuQ(used 1 Doubler Q)=$2.00
2 x $3/1 Bic Comfort 3 Razor ManuQ(price modified down to $2.99 each)=$5.98
1 x $5 OYNO Cat Q=$5.00
Coupon Total.....$18.98

$26.56-$18.98=$7.58+.06¢tax=$7.64 OOP
And my Edy's Catalina didn't print!
Went to the counter and seems nobody's Cat for this is printing at this store, so the CSM gave me $4 cash instead.
Deduct that $4 and my OOP today was $3.64.
$37.68 worth of items gives me a savings rate of 90.34%.

Analysis.....


* The cheese was $1 a block after Qs.
* The croutons were 14&1/5 cents a bag after Qs.
* The razors were free.
* What's left OOP is $1.00(plus 6 cents for tax)for 4 containers of ice cream/popsicles which breaks down to 25 cents for each container.
 * In a way I'm glad I got cash today instead of a Catalina Q to roll.  I don't go to PC much in the summer so now I don't have a Cat that has to be used in 2 weeks hanging over my head.

This brings my food spending for July up to $78.37.  Half the month is over and we have $171.63 left in the budget.

How is your food spending, or NOT spending going so far in July?
Any great deals you had to have so far this month?
Or are you trying to eat down your pantry?

Sluggy

July Food Spending Week 1....Keeping on Budget Finally!

I am going to update each week in July on my food spending. After the last 2 months of going over, maybe this will help me stay on track more if all of y'all are watching me.....watching me in a good way, not the bad, creepy way. ;-)

In the 1st 7 days of July I made 10 transactions at the grocery stores.
Actually, I made all 10 transactions/8 trips in TWO DAYS and I haven't been to the store since last Saturday(except for my trip to Rite-Aid on Sunday).
Ok, so 4 of those 10 were at Price Chopper(Northeast)doing the Unilever Catalina Deal(plus 1 more to PC where I didn't buy any Unilever stuff because they were out and I got other things).

I went to Dollar General last Saturday because they had that 1 day Q for $5 off $25 purchase. I bought ALOT of packs of soda and some Flavor-aid packets. I had $1/3 Coke Qs to use along with the $5/$25 Q and was all set for a total of around $18 + tax, HOWEVER, I forgot that these $5/$25 $General Qs are ALWAYS on $25 of items AFTER ALL OTHER QS ARE APPLIED!
Still got a good deal but Argh!
I hate when I forget stuff like that.....and I hate their policy too.
So my Cokes and Flavor-Aid came to $21.51 w/tax.

Add in a trip to Weis, a trip to the Bakery Outlet and 2 small trips to the local ShurSave affiliated market and I spent $66.72 in the 1st week of July.

No trips to the store yet since last Saturday and we've been eating from the stockpile.

SUNDAY--Leftovers
MONDAY--Hot Dogs, Green Beans, Watermelon
TUESDAY--Beef Enchiladas, Corn
WEDNESDAY--Chinese take-out
THURSDAY--Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce, Salad, Watermelon
FRIDAY--Leftovers again, Homemade Pickles
SATURDAY--Homemade Pizza, Salad

I will be going to Weis tomorrow to spend a $10 Catalina Q. I'll probably buy some ribs on sale to cook in the smoker on Sunday and hopefully won't spend any money. 8-)

I'm off now to go figure out a partial menu for next week that let's us eat mainly from the stockpile again.

How about you?  Are you eating from your pantry/stockpile next week?

Sluggy

January Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2011.

I have posted January's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2011 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.  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(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 14.
******************
AMELIA'S FOOD OUTLET
OOP  $32.80
Savings  over Reg. Retail $26.85
Value  $59.65
Savings  45%

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $24.67
Savings over Reg. Retail   $53.57
Value $78.24
Savings  68.47%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $75.53

Qs/Ads  $37.93
Value  $113.46
Savings  33.43%

CVS
OOP $42.00
Qs/Ads  $211.93
Value $253.93
Savings  83.46%

DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP  $3.85
Qs/Ads  $8.02
Value  $11.87
Savings  67.56%

GERRITY'S
OOP  $20.36
Qs/Ads  $38.10
Value  $58.46
Savings  65.17%

KEYCO(Restaurant Supply Store)
OOP  $23.60
Savings over Reg. Retail  $28.40
Value  $52.00
Savings  54.61%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $17.03
Qs/Ads  $25.42
Value  $42.45
Savings  59.82%

REDNER'S(does not double coupons)
OOP  $45.96
Qs/Ads  $37.35
Value  $83.31
Savings  44.83%

RITE AID
OOP  $19.62 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads  $1,445.55
Value  $1,465.17
Savings  98.66% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WALGREENS
OOP  $4.36
Qs/Ads  $19.37
Value  $23.73
Savings  81.62%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $67.43
Qs/Ads  $124.15
Value  $191.58
Savings   64.80%

I don't track Rite-Aid's +Ups here, nor CVS's ECBs & Walgreen's RRs. They will be included when used on purchases under "Coupons".   I'll keep track of what rebates are received monthly.  Rebate money/gift cards will be considered 'income' & will go into the Food/Toiletries budget, offsetting the Out of Pocket. Cash will go immediately into the Budget kitty, while Gift Cards will be calculated in when spent.

REBATE CHECKS RECV'D. IN JANUARY
Heartguard Dog Meds....$18.00
Pepperidge Farm TMF Rolls...$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$48.98
Sure Deo RMF...$2.63
TENA TMF...$11.99

Subtotal........$87.60

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Office Depot Online win...$30.00

Staples Ink Rewards Credit...$6.00

Subtotal....$36.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$123.60

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Coke Rewards....Free bottle

Coke Rewards....Free 12 pack

Excedrin....Free Bottle ManuQ x2

Garnier....Sample and $1/1 ManuQ x2

Lowe's....Assorted Qs

McNeil....2 x $1/1 Motrin ManuQs

Purina...Free bag of Dog Food ManuQ

Ruffles....Free bag of Chips ManuQ

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, CVS at 83.46% and Walgreen's at 81.62%.
Yep....a drug store clean sweep...lol

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$357.59
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$2,076.26
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2,433.85
TOTAL Savings of...................................85.30%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$87.60

TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$269.99
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$2163.86
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$2433.85
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................88.90%

This closes out the January spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-

I went over my budget of $250 per month.  The month I take part in a Money Diet I bust the budget bigtime!
Go figure.....
But I can take solace in the fact that after rebates were figured in I broke budget but a mere Andy Jackson!
I found a few nice stockpile opportunities in January along with some really good deals on meats so I am not gnashing my teeth over what I spent.  It's not like I overspent on crap like chips and soda....ok, maybe a teeny tiny bit.lol

What's ahead for February.....
I would really like to eat down some things we have here this month.  I am taking this week to eat from the pantry and not go grocery shopping(unless it's a bit of free food from Rite-Aid)beyond milk and a couple of needed items.....all totaled about $10 worth of stuff.
The weather is facilitating me staying out of the grocery stores most of this week.  I am going to try for a second week of no shopping later this month as well.
I'll shoot for spending half of my usual budget, or $125.00 for February.


How did you do in January with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for February?
Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress!  By sharing our struggles and efforts we can help each other stick to our budgets and learn to be better guardians of our resources.


Sluggy