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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2012.

I have posted April'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 April.  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 16.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP   $9.89

Value   $38.41

Savings  74.25%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $78.54

Qs/Ads  $47.11

Value  $125.65

Savings  37.50%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $142.60

Qs/Ads  $144.47

Value  $287.07

Savings  50.33%

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 APRIL

Rite-Aid SCR....$6.00
Subtotal........$6.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Nothing

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$6.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES
Nothing

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Bakery Outlet at 74.25%, Weis at 50.33% and Shursave Grocer at 37.50%.  Ok, so I only shopped at THREE STORES all MONTH!lol

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$231.03

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$220.10

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$451.13

TOTAL Savings of...................................48.80%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$6.00
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$225.03
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$226.10
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$451.13
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................50.12%

This closes out the April spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into April with $300 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I was able to stay well below my budgeted amount, even with hosting an Easter dinner for what turned into a Feast for 7 at the last minute.
I used very few coupons in April, though I did buy many meat items.   Using those store clearance meat dept. coupons assisted my budget there.  I didn't shop at any drug stores this month, especially Rite-Aid where I have or have close to 100% savings rate.  That is why my overall savings percentage is only 48.80% in April instead of 60-80%.  But even though the rate is much lower this month, I'll gladly take it.  Besides the paper products I bought this month, I bought no other HBA or non-food items.  An almost 50% savings rate on just food items is wonderful!  Especially when I only used 3 ManuCoupons, 2 PeelieCoupons and 2 CatalinaCoupons.

As for the discounts I used in April....
*3 ManuQs
*2 Catalina WYB Qs
*2 PeelieQs
*12 Meat discount Qs
*16 Store Qs(4 of which were Free item Qs)

Besides the few coupons I used, utilizing UTOF meats, in season produce, buying at lowest sale price in the cycle in the stores and finding alternate sources for groceries(outlets), helped me spend less of my cash in the grocery store than my neighbor on identical items this month.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY.....My Daughter will be coming home to stay in another week.  My oldest Son will be coming home for 10 days or so with his girlfriend in tow next week.  So we will be a family of 6 for 1/3rd of the month and then a family of 4 for the remainder of the May.  More people means more food spending.  My oldest has already asked me to make him some favorite foods while he is home and of course they are not cheap foods.  Most of them involve smoked meats so I'll be firing up the smoker soon. ;-)

I will be increasing my food budget to $400 for May.  As for the meats I'll need for the smoker, I'll be going to the restaurant supply store this month for the best deals locally.  I'll continue to seek out in-season produce, store loss leaders/lowest priced in the store cycle goods and keep my eyes peeled while in the store for instant discount Deals.

How did you do in April with your Food Budget? 

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

April Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan May Week 1

No vintage kitchen today folks.  I have depleted my stash of them and have to seek out more.  Maybe next week....

Onward to the meal plans!
And here is the meal plan that actually happened last week.....

SUNDAY--Leftovers 

 MONDAY--Tacos or Taco Salad

TUESDAY--Beef Pie
WEDNESDAY--Eggplant Parmesan, Garlic Bread
THURSDAY--Leftovers
FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out
SATURDAY--Burgers, Corn
I also made a Carrot Cake and a pan of Fudge with Nuts.
 

We ended up getting Take-Out one night, which wasn't on the plan.   4 nights of new meals and 2 nights of leftovers make for a week I am happy with.

The weekly food spending was $77.53 this past week.

There was my $29.04 trip to Weis I talked about HERE.  Hubs picked up sour cream, a head of lettuce and 2 bags of cheese during the week and spent $5.97.  I went to the local grocer on Saturday and spent $42.52 on Ginger-Ale, 12 packs of soda for #2 Son, Orange Juice, Whipped Cream, 3 lb. of Butter, Pie Shells, Milk, Taco Shells and more bags of Shredded Cheese.  I stocked up on Butter, OJ, Soda, Whipped Cream, Pasta, Napkins, Paper Towels & bags of Cheese. 

The bags of Cheese I bought this past week I used with the Jumbo Pasta Shells and Ricotta Cheese I had bought earlier in the month to make a large quantity of Stuffed Shells on Sunday.  I froze 54 on them and we had the rest for dinner on Sunday.  Figuring costs, each piece comes out to .25¢ counting the pasta sauce too, so approx. $1.00 per serving.

Value of food bought was at $135.53 so my savings rate was 42.80% for the week.

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

In terms of leftovers, I'm going into this week with leftover Eggplant Parmesan(and 1 helping of Shells from Sunday). 

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Stuffed Shells

MONDAY--Chicken Fajitas

TUESDAY--Leftover Eggplant/Fajitas

WEDNESDAY--Pizza
THURSDAY--Taco Bell, Salad
FRIDAY--Fish, Rice, Veg.(Son can have leftover Shells)
SATURDAY--Hot Dogs, Corn

This menu gives us 5 new meals and 1 night of leftovers and 1 night of Take-Out.

Hubs won't be home for dinner 2 nights so we are doing easy one night and take-out the other night.
 
As for items I need to buy for this week....red bell pepper, mushrooms, hot dog rolls.

We'll be buying milk as usual, along with some fruit.

Stock-up prices this week for me are taco shells($1.25), apple juice(.99¢), bagged salad($1.99),green chiles($1.25).

With what I "need" this week and the stock-ups, I'll be spending around $80.

So what is everyone else eating this week?

Sluggy

Of Menu Plans & September Food Spending Week 1

I set right to spending on food in September.

It took me all of 2 days to get to the store and go on a $50.56 spending spree.
I bought 8 pizzas(5 small, 3 big), 2 boxes of frozen fruit bars, a 2 lb. block of cheddar cheese, a box of pancake mix, 2 watermelons, 2 bags of salad, 1 container of sour cream, a package of  sweet Italian sausage patties and a bag of brown sugar.
I coupon & sale prices later and I had a savings rate of 31% over reg. retail.

Then on the 6th, I hit another grocery store and bought....1 roasting chicken, a bag of onion rings, another pizza(what can I say?lol) and 2 bags of Doritos for a grand total of $14.62.
Hubs also picked up a gallon of milk for $3.77.

Grand Total for the 1st week of September food spending is $68.95.
My Food Spending Budget is $250 per month so we are sort of on target for the week.

My menu last week ended up being this....

Sunday--Fish, French Fries, Snap Peas(all from freezer or pantry)
Monday--Chinese (take-out on Entertainment budget)
Tuesday--Meatball Subs, Salad(all but salad from freezer or pantry)
Wednesday--Roast Chicken, Roasted Carrots, Onions, Potatoes, Gravy(carrots, potatoes, onions from pantry)
Thursday--Kielbasa on Rolls, leftover Veggies(all from freezer or pantry)
Friday--Subway sammies (take-out on Entertainment budget)
Saturday--Leftovers or Burritos(all from freezer or pantry)

Miscellaneous--#2 son ate 6 pizzas and 1/2 bag of onion rings.  These are his 'snacking foods'.

As of today, I still have 2 of the 9 pizzas, most of 1 watermelon, most of the cheddar cheese, the sugar, the sour cream, 1/2 of a bag of salad, the sausage patties, the pancake mix, 1/2 bag of onion rings, both bags of Doritos(this is shocking that no one has eaten them yet!lol) and a couple of fruit bars(my vice)from last week's shopping.

So far this week my Meal Plan is this....

Sunday--Tacos(using up ground beef in fridge by adding some ground chicken from freezer and some of the huge block of cheddar)
Monday--Ravioli, Salad(using ravioli in freezer)
Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches(using garden tomatoes, bacon from freezer)
Wednesday--Mac & Cheese, Broccoli and Cauliflower(using some of that huge block of cheddar)
Thursday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(using meatballs in freezer and making fresh pasta sauce from garden tomatoes)
Friday--??
Saturday--??

I'll have to dig in the freezer and see what proteins I find and get inspired to use for Fri/Sat.  I don't plan on buying any meats this week unless I find a surprise deal.
I need bread badly as we are fresh out, onions(down to my last one), cauliflower, more milk and Hubs bought more lettuce on Sunday so we've spent on food this week already.

How much did you spend last week and how is your food spending shaping up for this week?

Sluggy

August Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2011.

I have posted August'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 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(3-6 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 15.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $4,78
Value  $22.74
Savings  79.98%

BIG LOTS
OOP  $27.72

Value  $43.97
Savings  37%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $71.63

Qs/Ads  $29.53
Value  $101.16
Savings  29.20%

DOLLAR STORE
OOP  $4.00
Value  $6.96
Savings  42.53%

KMART
OOP  $3.00
Qs/Ads $2.07
Value  $5.07
Savings  40.83%

MAINE SOURCE(restaurant/party supply store)
OOP  $59.30
Value  $128.03
Savings  53.68%

RITE AID
OOP  $3.13 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $125.61
Value  $128.74
Savings  97.57% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

ROEHNER'S PRODUCE MARKET
OOP  $4.75
Value  $9.98
Savings  52.40%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $105.22
Qs/Ads  $70.00
Value  $175.42
Savings  40.02% 

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
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$22.38

Subtotal........$28.38

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$28.38


COUPONS and FREEBIES

Coke.....Free ITEM Q
Drumstick Ice Cream....Free ITEM Q
Pantene.....Free ITEM Q x 3

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  the Bakery Outlet at 97.98% and the Maine Source at 53.68%.  I shopped at 8 different stores in August.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$280.40
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$341.67
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$622.07
TOTAL Savings of...................................54.93%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$28.38
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$252.02
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$370.05
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$622.07
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................59.49%

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.....$252.02
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$493.33
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....49%
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 just over 10%.



This closes out the August spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
With the crazy busy August here, I am thankful I only went over my food budget by $2.02. I would have stayed under budget if I hadn't supplied a day of Gatorade to the kids during Marching Band Camp, but I'm glad I did that even at the expense of my food budget.

Lots of fresh product and meat were purchased in August.  But not much stocking up on good deals since there were very few deals this month.  I also didn't shop much at Rite-Aid so I don't have lots of free to me items to boost my savings total for August.


What's ahead for September.....
The freezer is exhibiting signs of passing on to the "Big Freezer Place in the Sky".   I am trying to empty it out before the day comes when it won't get cold anymore so I won't be stocking up on any frozen food or meat deals until we replace it.
I'm hoping to keep September's food spending to $250 but if I go as high as $300 I won't complain.
With the higher food prices here I may be looking at $300 as my baseline going forward.  It doesn't make me happy one bit, but it is what it is.  Having just 3 of us at home this month might let me squeeze by on $250 one more month so cross your fingers on that! ;-)

How did you do in August with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for September?  Any family coming to stay....or are you trying to figure out a food budget for the new school year because your kids are in lots of activities and you need to eat "on the go" more? 
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

April Budget Results.....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2011.

I have posted April'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 April.  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 15.
******************

BIG LOTS
OOP  $4.20
Value  $5.38
Savings  22%


BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $20.45
Value  $74.02
Savings  72.37%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $4.51

Qs/Ads  $.48
Value  $4.99
Savings  9.62%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $10.69
Value  $20.52
Savings  48%

RITE AID
OOP  $6.77 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $770.79
Value  $822.27
Savings  99.17% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

SAFEWAY
OOP  $1.49($25 put on free gift card
Qs/Ads/gift card  $13.92
Value  $40.41
Savings  96.31%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $61.09
Qs/Ads  $52.31
Value  $113.40
Savings   46.13%

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 APRIL

Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$56.99
Subtotal........$62.99

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Subtotal....$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$62.99

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Ocean Spray.....sample and $1 Q

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  Safeway at 96.31% and the Bread Outlet at 72.37%.  I shopped at 7 stores in April.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$102.43
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$978.56
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1080.99 with Rite-Aid figured in
TOTAL Savings of...................................90.52%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$62.99

TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$39.44
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$1041.55
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1080.99
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................96.35%

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.....$39.44
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$258.72
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....84.75%

This closes out the April spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
We ate down the freezer/stockpile again this month.  Add in that there were few stocking up opportunities(aka great deals)so I stayed out of the food stores most of the month and thus didn't spend alot of the $250 food budget.  3 out of the 4 months in 2011 so far have come in well under that budgeted amount.
I could probably do another under $100 in food spending month in May since we still have enough veg and meat left in the freezer to only have to buy milk, fresh produce and a few items we run out of this month.

What's ahead for May.....
Since #1 son(aka the Eating Machine) will be home this month, I suspect I'll be sending more than $40 on food this month.  I also plan to get some bulk items at the restaurant supply store and take advantage of a 2 Catalina Deals this week at Weis(coffee/choc. milk mix and pet food).
I plan on spending all $250 of my food budget this month.

We also will be having a family Graduation Party in early June, so I plan on picking up some things ahead of time for that in the coming weeks.  Sort of spreading out the expenses for that over 2 months instead of spending it all in June.
This means I may go over my budget this month.
But I figure, since I've averaged only $130 per month each month in food spending in 2011 so far(I give myself $250 per month for food), I have $480 +/- in the budget money I've earmarked for food for the last 4 months but haven't spent yet.  That means I've only spent barely half of what is budgeted for food for the last 4 months!
I figure I've got some 'wiggle room' when it comes to spending on food next month.

How did you do in April with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for May?
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

December Budget Results.....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for DECEMBER 2010.

I have posted December's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2010 and updated the Yearly Totals.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in December.  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(4-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $19.45
Value $68.63
Savings  71.66%

BIG LOTS
OOP $5.70
Value $11.90
Savings  52.11%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $80.26

Qs/Ads  $73.88
Value  $154.14
Savings  48%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $5.00
Value  $15.45
Savings  67.64%

GERRITY'S
OOP  $47.85
Qs/Ads  $51.36
Value  $99.21
Savings  51.77%

REDNER'S(does not double coupons)
OOP  $70.38
Qs/Ads  $33.34
Value  $103.72
Savings  32.15%

RITE AID
OOP  $23.03 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads  $2.044.01
Value  $2,067.04
Savings  96.19% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

UNI-MART(local minimart/gas station)
OOP  $3.50
Value  $3.50
Savings  0%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $35.64
Qs/Ads  $52.18
Value  $87.82
Savings   59.42%

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 DECEMBER
Google Ad Revenue....$102.35
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR(various months)...$66.90

Subtotal........$175.25

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
MyBlogSpark Safeway Gift Card...$25.00

VISA Preloaded (Giveaway win)...$10.00
Rite-Aid Oral Care....$5.00

Rite-Aid GOS Certificates....$40.00

Subtotal....$80.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$255.25

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Tim McGraw CD.....Giveaway win

Hamburger Helper....Giveaway win
Fun Serving Dishes....Giveaway win
Pyrex Dish & Marinade....Giveaway win
Fiber One...Free Box Coupon
Rachel Ray....Free Dog Food Coupon
Food Should Taste Good Chips....Free Coupon
Rite-Aid Glam Bag Offer....Free Bag and Samples

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, The Bakery Outlet at 71.66% and The Dollar Store at 67.64%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$274.82
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$2,335.59
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$2,610.41
TOTAL Savings of...................................89.47%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$175.25

TOTAL Out of Pocket After  Rebates.........$99.57
TOTAL Savings of....................................96.19%

This closes out the December spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-

I went over my budget for December by $25.  With all the extras bought for the Holidays(soda, baked goods, appetizer type foods, etc.), it's no surprise I went over a little.  When you add the rebates received in December toward the food spending my out of pocket goes down to under $100 which is awesome!

What's ahead for 2011.....
I need to sit down with Hubs and analyze what went well and not-so-well in 2010.  Then I can decide if I want to publicly track our Food/HBA spending on the blog in 2011.
If you want any input on this, please leave a comment.
And stay tuned for further developments.....

With all 12 months of 2010 accounted for, we spent a total of $2,291.67 on food and toiletries in 2010.  That's an average of $190.97 per MONTH or $44.07 per WEEK after rebates for a family of 4-5 adults/teens + 2-3 pets.

Not only did $2,291.67 allow our family to eat well for an entire year, it also supplied our local food bank with 4 large food/hba donations during 2010, supplied a relative with approx. $500 in regular retail value of food during the year and we sold some excess items at a local flea market and banked $700!
So really, after putting $700 cash back into our pockets, we 'spent' about $1,600.00 Total for the year!

How did you do in December with your Food Budget?
Will you be tracking your food spending in 2011?  If so, what is the method you will use?
Please leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear about your progress in 2010!  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

The June Food Stamp Challenge.....I'm Doing it!

So, a fellow member of the Compact Group, named Katy, has a blog called The Non-Consumer Advocate.  It's located over HERE.  PS...Katy lives in Oregon.....

She is conducting a month long Challenge for June called The June Food Stamp Challenge.  She is attempting to keep her food spending for her family at the federal food stamp(or as it's known by the moniker of SNAP) benefit level for a family of 4.  Well, she is using the figure of $101 per person actually to make it simpler.  You can read the whole premise of the Challenge HERE.

I thought I would play along too.  You can find links to other bloggers who are trying this as well, on Katy's website(or at the link above directly).

So first thing I need to do is figure out how much food money I will have to spend.  As assorted teens will be here and not be here at various times in June, I really need to do a per day break down for them.  $101 divided by 30 days is $3.36 per day.  The combined days for all 3 teens is 57, plus we had a live-in guest for 5 days in June, so that's 62 days--or 2 whole persons worth+2 days.  $202.00+$6.72=$208.72.
Add in a full $101 for myself and hubs and we get a grand total of..........
$410.72 for 4.06 people, which is technically how many I will be feeding. 8-)

Anybody who has been a longtime reader of my blog knows that I regularly spend less than that every month on food--including toiletries, cleaning, pet food and the few paper goods that I buy.  I may have to throw some other obstacles into my take on this challenge to, er....challenge me more.

Plus I am in eating down the freezer mode so I don't plan on spending much in June(once the kids leave!lol).  If I am using what I have, then I am not buying and it is silly for me to buy things that I already have here and eat that and not use the older items in the freezer or stockpile.
So to make this more challenging for me, when I use something I have in the freezer, I'll purchase the same item to restock my supply and count the cost of that even though I am cooking/serving the older already bought item OR I'll deduct what I paid for the already bought groceries that I use this month.  Since I have all my grocery receipts this won't be hard to find the price paid and add into my spending.  I hope that makes some kind of sense..... ;-)


I am off to do my first real grocery shop for June......I'll check in tonight!

Sluggy

Making a Food Budget 101...A Month of Homework in May will Reap Rewards in June

I am posting this a few days before the new month begins so everyone can give this Budgeting Idea a try.  You will need to start doing this really EASY Homework from the 1st of May until the 31st. At that point, you need to bookmark this post and come back to finish this assignment.
-sluggy

One area where every household in the World spends a big chunk of money on is FOOD.  If you aren't controlling this piece of your money, then this money is controlling you!  Get a handle on your food spending today by making a Household Food Budget.

 The best 1st step to go about making a food budget is to simply do this......

Save all your receipts you get from buying food for 1 month in an envelope.  I don't care if you use coupons or only buy on sale, Everyone should try this for at least 1 month.  I am sure it would open many people's eyes up to how they actually spend their food money!

If you buy some food and don't get a receipt, write down the amount you spent & what it was for on a sheet of paper and put that with your receipts.
Personally, I have a loose leaf notebook...

Whenever I buy food/toiletries I throw the receipt into this notebook.  At the end of the month I write down all my receipts(date/store name/amount spent/amount saved)and add up what I have spent and saved.

This way I can instantly see if I stayed within my budget, where the money went and how much I saved using sales and coupons.  It helps me plan next month's shopping better.

Bookmark this Post and when the month of saving your receipts is over, come back here, take all those receipts out and add them up.  This is the basis for your 1st working Food Budget.  Whatever you spent last month on food, use this as the baseline for this month's food budget.

Now, go on over HERE and see where your food spending lines up compared to the Federal governments guidelines for what you 'should' be spending.  The USDA keeps a current list of 4 food spending plans--from thrifty, to low to moderate to liberal.  
So where did your monthly spending put you?

What are your thoughts when you see your monthly food totals?
Are you happy?
Does it make you nervous to see how much cash left your wallet last month?

Compared to your total monthly income, what percentage of your spending was on food?
The USDA says the average family spends just under 10% of it's income on food.

Now looking at your food spending for the month....are you comfortable with that figure?
Did you spent more or less than 10% of your income last month on food?
Are you comfortable with how much you spent?
Or do you want to spend less?
If you are like most people these days, you want to or even NEED to spend less!

If you want or need to spend less on food you will need to make different/better choices on what you bought last month.
In order to figure out where/how you can cut the spending, get those last month's food receipts out and a new sheet of paper.
Make 3 columns labeled....BASIC, CONVENIENCE & EXPRESS.
Take each item you purchased on each receipt one at a time, and write it down in one of those columns.

A BASIC Food is something like milk, eggs, butter, salt, dried beans, rice, pasta, meat, fresh fruits or produce, oatmeal, frozen fruits or produce, cheese, canned tomatoes, flour, coffee, tea, bacon, sugar, spices, oils, bread, etc.  A food that is used to make something you eat or a basic form of a food.

A CONVENIENCE Food would be something that comes in a box or a mix or a frozen meal or food that's either already prepared that you just heat up or partially prepared.  Examples are Hamburger Helper, Kraft Mac & Cheese, sugared cold cereals, Beefaroni, Biscuit dough in a tube, pancake mix, cake or brownie or muffin mix, instant oatmeal, frozen tv dinners,  canned or boxed soups or soup mixes, frozen meatballs or burritos, breaded chicken strips, battered anything, pre-made hamburger patties, hot dogs, canned beans, fresh pasta, spaghetti sauce, yogurt, veggies in cheese sauce, pastries or pies, chips, cookies, soda, etc.

An EXPRESS Food is anything that's ready to eat like take-out Chinese, Sushi, McMuffin's, Burgers and Fries, Pizza, Roasted Chickens or the Salad Bar at the Deli Counter, Prepared Cups of Coffee, Donuts, etc.

Now add up the numbers in each of these columns.
Where are you spending most of your food budget?

I bet you are shocked at either how much or where you are spending your money, huh?

Where you want the bulk of your food budget to be is in Column 1, BASIC.
This is the healthiest overall category to spend on.  This category will give you more 'bang for your budget spending buck'.

Some of your spending can be in the CONVENIENCE Category.  Some people lack the cooking skills or don't have the facilities or time to make some things so if you have a decent food budget amount you can spend a bit more overall by buying the premade biscuits in the can rather than making them from scratch or canned beans instead of dried beans if you don't have time to soak and boil them.  Just remember that most convenience foods will cost you more of your budget than the basic form or the basic ingredients that make that food and most convenience foods will have added ingredients that you might not want in your food.

Look at the EXPRESS Category and tell me how many meals out of the 90 to 93 breakfasts/lunches/dinners you ate each month did this category's spending supply?
And then figure how high a percentage of the overall food spending was used on items in this Column.
Can you see how this Category of food spending can supply you with so little in terms of number of meals compared to how much of your budget it gobbles up?

What you want to shoot for...
The bulk of your food spending should be on BASIC type foods with some CONVENIENCE type foods mixed in.
Think of the EXPRESS type foods as the 'condiment' of your food budget....if you have some wiggle room in the budget then include some special 'treats' now and again like homemade calzones from the local mom & pop Italian joint or fish tacos from the local mexican restaurant.
But spend your food dollars sparingly in this Column.
If you do, you'll find that you will overall eat healthier(as you have more control over what goes into your food) and your food dollars will stretch further.

Once you have an amount set for your 1st Food Budget it's time to go spend that money.

But before you set foot in the grocery store, you have some homework to do.

Get a copy of the current sales flyer from wherever you plan to shop, or get flyers from  two or more different stores if you wish to comparison shop.
Get a copy of a coupon insert &/or find an online coupon site where you can print coupons.

Now grab a sheet of paper and write down the foods that are on sale that your family will eat.  Remember to try to choose Basic foods first over Convenience ones.

After you have a list of sale priced items, now you need to come up with meals using those items that you can prepare.  Check your food pantry at home for any ingredients you already have too and then add onto your shopping list any items not necessarily on sale that you also need to fix these meals.

Now check if there are any coupons available for any of the items on sale or not, that you wish to buy and take those coupons with you to the store with your shopping list.
Do a quick preliminary calculation on approximately how much your list of groceries will cost you so you can make sure you take enough cash to the store.  Nothing will ruin a trip to the grocery store if you are short on money at the register after all your hard work shopping.

Now shop for your items and KEEP TO YOUR LIST!
Yes, I know those cookies in the bakery look yummy....but they aren't on your list.  I do give you permission IF you have some spare money in the food budget, to pick up unadvertised specials or deals like discounted produce, canned goods or meats that you know you will use.  Remember, it's NOT a deal if you end up throwing it away!

Bring your groceries home, put them away and save that receipt in an envelope so that next month you can add up your food spending for this month and see how you did.  If you go over your budget this month, you either need to adjust how much you budget for food or reduce your costs in some area(s) by choosing less expensive alternatives or more basic foods.

So get an envelope now and get into a habit of saving your grocery receipts.  This is the 1st step to getting a handle on your Food spending!

Sluggy