2016 Food & Toiletries Spending.....October Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2016.

I have posted October'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 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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 5(4-5 at home this month). No kids under 20.

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

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $4.00
Value  $13.64
Savings   70.74%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $87.90
Value  $166.74
Savings  47.28%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/PPs  $166.10
Value  $166.10
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $174.48
Qs/Ads $91.73
Value  $266.21
Savings  34.46%

TARGET
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/Gift Cards  $15.92
Value  $15.92
Savings  100%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $250.34

Qs/Ads  $279.69

Value  $530.03

Savings  52.77%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Target at 100% and the Bakery Outlet at 70.74%.  My WORST savings rate was Shursave Market at 34.46%.  For all but 1 store shopped at, the savings rate was at least 47.28%.
I shopped at 6 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$516.72

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$641.92

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,158.64

TOTAL Savings of ..................................55.40%
TOTAL Savings w/o Rite-Aid of ..............47.94%


This closes out the October food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into October wanting to do a $300(then changed to a $400)food budget for the month.
I actually spent $516.72, $116.72 over the extended goal amount.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went down by 7.49% in October to 55.40% compared to September's 62.89% savings average.
Still over 50% savings over regular retail is mighty fine though. 8-)

With 10 months accounted for, I have spent a total of $4,174.72 on food/toiletries so far in 2016 which averages out to $417.47 per month spent.  This is $11.02 higher per month than September's average.  My savings rate for the year is holding now at 60.99%.  This is a number I can easily live with. ;-)

LOOKING AHEAD To November 2016.........can it really be November already?.......
I've got a free meat item coming this month for Thanksgiving so Turkey dinner will just require some fresh produce purchases mostly as I've been gathering all the other fixings for that big holiday meal....unless I get a free ham instead to use for Christmas which makes sense frugally since Turkey is cheaper than Ham, so go for the one that is worth the most.  That means I'll have to buy a turkey but I am sure I can get a good price on one as other grocery stores around here have deals on them.

We will try to eat down some of the frozen assets here in November.  My food/toiletry spending will probably in the $400+ range but I'll try to keep it under $400.  No promises though with all the adult mouths I need to fill plus more on Turkey Day as we host the family dinner.

I'm going to put it out there now that I wish to stay under $5K total for food/toiletries spending in 2016. My thought was to do a $4K or lesss food year but then we gained two more adults fulltime in the household so that's that.
Staying at $5K means I have $825.28 left to spend this year on food.
Did I mention that there are still 2 months left in the year too?
Gulp!

To augment what I can spend out of the food budget, I have a $25 Weis gift card, a $20 Giant gift card, about $17 left on a Visa gift card too, so another $60+/- in "free" money to use beyond the $825.28.
Plus I have many Holiday foods/ingredients already acquired and a well stocked pantry/freezer to boot.
This will still be a struggle to mean everyone's needs here and not skimp on Christmas/Thanksgiving and stay under this mark.
But I am up for the challenge.....

Let the Holiday Food Games Begin!!  8-)))

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 October?
*  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

January BUDGET RESULTS-Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2010.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in January.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home-all 5 home for 2/3 of this month + an extra relative for 1 week)& 3 dogs. No kids under 13.

BIG LOTS
OOP $20.60
Qs/Ads $9.90
Value $30.50
Savings 32.50%

CARONE'S(local Independent Grocery that doesn't take IP Qs)
OOP $8.82
Qs/Ads $0
Value $8.82
Savings   0%

CVS
OOP $1.98
Qs/Ads $150.31
Value $152.29
Savings 98.70%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $12.89
Ads/Sales $23.61
Value $36.50
Savings  64.70%

RITE AID
OOP $135.42 before rebates
Qs/Ads $188.91
Value $1324.33
Savings 89.78%

WALGREENS
OOP $23.75
Qs/Ads $16.99
Value $40.74
Savings  41.70%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $182.21
Qs/Ads $333.06
Value $515.27
Savings  64.64%

I've 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 JANUARY

Ducolax.....$5.00

Pinecone Research....$6.00
Raisin Bran Extra(Kellogg's)...$4.39
Rite-Aid SCR........$40.78
Subtotal........$56.17

FREE ITEMS

Stacy's Chips
International Delights Creamer

COUPONS

None Received 8-(

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Nothing this Month.

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$56.17
This was a very light month for Rebates.....

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from CVS at 98.70%, Rite-Aid at 89.70%, and the Entenmann's Outlet at 64.70%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$385.67
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1722.78
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2108.45
TOTAL Savings of..........81.70%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$56.17
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$329.50
TOTAL Savings of..................................84.37%

This closes out the January spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With the extra mouths to feed in January coupled with the dirth of Rebates coming in during the month, the Food Spending was high for me and I waaaaay overshot my $200 goal. I see now that it was unrealistically low.  

What's ahead for February 2010.....

The February 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget is set at $250 cash out of pocket.  Any rebates received this month will offset this OOP spending.  I sent away for $65.38 in Rebates in January and am still waiting on $26 in Rebates from December, so hopefully some of those will come in this month and augment my food budget.
If I don't spend all the money in the budget in February(HAHA), I'll carry over whatever is leftover into February's food budget.  I've already spent $90+ at Price Chopper on Catalina Deals last week and I'm going to be doing some Catalina Deals this week at Weis so I'm crossing my fingers that some rebates come in. 

How did you do in January 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