Food Spending.....the September 2023 Report

 Onward to September's Food Spending Report.....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for September 2023.

I have posted September's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in 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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
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DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $1.75

VALUE  $2.99 

Savings  41.47%

KROGER

OOP  $248.50

Qs/Gift Cards $200.96

Value $449.46

Savings  44.71%

SUPER 1 FOODS

OOP  $67.42

Value  $104.03

Savings  35.20%

WALMART

OOP  $145.12

Qs/Gift Cards $29.85

Value  $174.97

Savings  17.06%

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My best Store Savings Total was at Kroger with a savings of 44.71%.  My worse rate was at Walmart with 17.06%.  

I shopped at 4 different stores in SEPTEMBER.

TOTAL Spent in September......$508.12

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$293.52

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$801.64

TOTAL Savings of........36.61%

This closes out the SEPTEMBER food/toiletries/etc. spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....Well I didn't keep spending at $350 or less as I had liked to.  Blame Ibotta, store deals(I'm looking at you Kroger!), inflation and being hungry when I shop(well, nowadays it doesn't matter when I shop, I am ALWAYS hungry!lol).  I can't believe what things cost so I tend to want to stockpile when I see something we use on special(because in this economy you know the price is only going to increase with time).  I also can't believe with how little I eat since June that it costs so much to buy food(see comment above about inflation).  Plus I think Hubs is taking up the slack in the eating department. ;-)  I am just glad I don't have three ravenous children at home to feed anymore!

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 3.85% in September to 36.61% compared to August's 40.46% savings average.  Between all factors(and no Rite-Aid where I use to get "paid" to bring things home from there)it's nearly impossible to have a savings rate of more than 30%....and achieving that 30% is with trying very hard!  Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people)I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 9 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $3,774.20 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$3,774.20

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$6,286.93

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$2,512.73

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................39.97%

The average per month amount spent is $419.36 in 2023 at this point.

LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER......

Not predicting what I will spend but I'll be keeping tabs on the grocery bills in October. We'll be gone for a week this month and I won't be up to cooking much the week we get back(and maybe the following week).  Not sure if Hubs is up to filling in as cook or if we'll be getting takeout instead.  We'll see how much is spent on food this month.  I hope to have a low spending month, even with the crazy inflation these days.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Coupons dotcom, Shopmium, Checkout 51 and other miscellaneous rebates sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gives me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that.

At the end of the third quarter of the year, I've accumulated--$962.99 in Ibotta(most in my bank account as I don't like to leave Ibotta monies on the platform), $309.40 in Paypal from Shopmium ,Coupons dotcom as well as an odd rebate or two from another source, $43.35 in Kroger Cash Back I haven't spent, $36.78 in Shop Kick, $62.20 in Swag Bucks to redeem, $16.75 on Alexa for Amazon gift cards and some points on Fetch that aren't even worth considering at this point.  Without counting the Fetch that's $1,431.47 in cash or scrip total to put toward the grocery spending in 2023 which lowers my OOP on food spending to $2,342.73 give or take at this point in time.

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share your thoughts with us all.

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in September?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons versus buying at regular retail price last month, if you track that sort of thing?

*  What are your methods for keeping your food spending in check?

*  Is anyone out there up for tracking expenditures and trying to spend less but still eat well?

Sluggy

Food Spending.....the April Report

Onward to April's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2023.

I have posted April's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the Totals there.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in 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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
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CVS

OOP  $1.99

Value  $27.86

Savings  92.85%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $27.30

Value  $37.65

Savings  27.49%

KROGER

OOP  $314.76

Qs/Ads  $258.69

Value  $573.45

Savings  45.11%

SHOPPER VALUE

OOP  $62.16

Qs/Ads  $81.89

Value  $19.73

Savings  24.10%

WALMART

OOP  $146.32

Qs/free Gift Cards $38.21
Value  $184.53
Savings 20.71%

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My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at CVS at 92.85% and Kroger at 45.11% .  My worse rate was at Walmart at 20.71%.  Too bad that is the closest store to me.

I shopped at 5 different stores in April.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in April................$552.53

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$492.27

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,044.80

TOTAL Savings of ............................47.12%

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....another less than stellar month for food spending.  We spent more in April than in March. Lots of cherry picking deals for the freezer but prices still on the rise so YIKES! it was a lot of money spent.  We won't have a garden this year(not enough time to get one prepped and planted with us starting here from scratch)so I'll have to find a/some farm stands around where the prices aren't "artisanal-ly" priced.  As our first year here somethings come with a steep learning curve. 

The monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 12.22% in April 2023 to 47.12% compared to the March's 34.90% savings average.  Even still, spending was up but we got more bang for our buck in April.

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,882.46 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$1,882.46

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,080.74

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,198.28

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................38.90%

The average per month amount spent is $470.62 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to May 2023....We are going on a cruise this month so we'll be eating down any refrigerated items like dairy(which can't go in the freezer)and fresh produce.  We won't be buying food unless a screaming deal or a necessity before the trip and nothing during the trip.  I am hoping this reigns in the food spending.  No clue how much will be spent but it sure as heck had better not be $470.62! lolz

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?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons 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

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