AUGUST 2012 Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2012.

I have posted August's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in August.  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(3-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
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FARM STAND
OOP   $31.50

Value   $80.48

Savings  60.86%

RITE-AID

OOP  $.70

Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card  $613.06

Value  $613.76

Savings   99.88%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $346.94

Qs/Ads  $269.18

Value  $616.12

Savings  43.69%

WALMART

OOP  $17.88

Value  $31.14

Savings  42.58%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $88.92

Qs/Ads  $73.01

Value  $161.93

Savings  45.09%

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 August

Total...$0.00

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

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Nothing.

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 99.88%,  the Farm Stand at 60.86%, and Weis at 45.09%.  l shopped at 5 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$485.94

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1,017.49

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,503.43

TOTAL Savings of...................................67.67%

This closes out the August spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into August with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I obviously blew through that mark plus another $85.94.  Having all 5 of us home for almost a week and having #2 Son(aka the Eating Machine)home full time helped push me over but I gave myself an extra $100 last month so I'll have to see where we went off course.  I suspect it's a little more junk food and extra spending on fresh veggies/fruits AND the almost $100 I spent on meats at the Meat Sale at the local market.  Also, the bulk of the farm stand purchases were either for canning pepper relish or for veggies to freeze for this winter's consumption.

So yes, now I see where that $185.94 went. ;-)

Again, I didn't use many coupons in August, not counting Rite-Aid, where I use many MANY coupons!lol 

At strictly grocery outlets, I used 2 coupons and 2 catalinas I earned to be exact.

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO SEPTEMBER......

I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for September.  #2 Son is home again.  I might be going back to the farm stand for Fall veggies and I want to leave myself some budget room for stocking up opportunities this month if they come along.

How did you do in August with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to it?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

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

AUGUST Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending Totals

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2010.
I have posted August's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2010.

I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in August.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom information.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(between 5 & 2 at home this month) & 3 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $11.56
Value $53.87
Savings  78.54%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $26.53
Qs/Ads $3.99
Value $30.52
Savings  13.07%

RITE AID
OOP $49.90 (whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads $15.86
Value $188.10
Savings 73.48% before gift cards/ 100% savings after gift cards

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $117.24
Qs/Ads $46.50
Value $163.74
Savings  28.40%

VACATION SHOPPING(assorted discount outlets in Maine)
OOP $133.48
Value $332.50
Savings  59.85%


I don't track 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 AUGUST

Pinecone Research....$6.00
Subtotal........$6.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
WalMart Gift Card(Giveaway winnings)...$25.00

Gillette Razor Survey Gift Card...$5.00

Subtotal....$30.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$36.00

FREE ITEMS
I love Bacteria Shirt(Giveaway winnings)

Purina Feed Trucker Hat
2 x Almond Milk Coupons(Giveaway winnings)

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Bakery Outlet at 78.54% and the Vacation Outlet Shopping at 59.85%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$288.81
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$501.84
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$784.65
TOTAL Savings of..........63.19%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$6.00
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$282.81
TOTAL Savings of..................................63.96%

This closes out the August spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
While on vacation we ate out alot(which came out of the money put aside for the vacation and NOT from the food or entertainment budget).  I don't even think I used a single coupon this month....EGADS!lol

Very little produce was bought at a store since the garden is giving us an ample supply of goodies right now.  Our refrigerator is having problems so I've been reticent about stocking up with fridge/frozen foods this month as we need to get it repaired or replaced.  Not having it crammed full is preferable right now, so I am holding off on large purchases of food that need freezing or refrigeration.  I did spend almost half of my August food budget amount on the vacation, stocking up on shelf-stable foods(along with wild blueberries).
Yet I was still able to come in $17.19 under budget for the month. 8-)

What's ahead for September 2010.....

I am setting the September 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget at $250.
Why?
Because we have 4 family members home again.
And if the fridge issue is cleared up quickly I still plan on making my farm bulk buys early in September.

We are still full with shelf-stable stockpile items but if any good buys present themselves I'll take advantage of them.  I am figuring $150 for regular monthly purchases and the other $100 for the stocking on farm buys and any good deals.

As always, any rebates received this month will be added to the food budget spending.  I have few outstanding rebates at the moment so there will be little extra cash to cover food expenses in this way for September.  I did get  6 rebates out into the mail recently(and have some more to do soon) so the rebate amounts should pick up a bit in the next 2 months.

With eight months of the year behind us, we have averaged $184.40 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens.

How did you do in August with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  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