Food & Toiletries Spending........November Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2015.

I have posted November's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2015 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly Totals there.  I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in November.  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(2-3 at home this month). No kids under 19.

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BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $21.00
Value $88.80
Savings  76.35%

BIG LOTS
OOP  $10.90
Value  $18.50
Savings 41.08%

BOYER'S
OOP  $12.85
Value  $18.69
Savings 31.25%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $29.68
Value  $50.50
Savings  41.23%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $6.99
Value  $16.95
Savings  58.76%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.05
Qs/Ads/gift card $677.79
Value  $677.84
Savings  99.99%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $36.34
Qs/Ads $30.79
Value  $67.13
Savings  45.86%

TARGET
OOP  $0.00
Value  $61.99
Savings  100%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $178.15

Qs/Ads  $230.00

Value  $408.15

Savings  56.35%

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Target  at 100%,  Rite-Aid at 99.99% and the Bakery Outlet at 76.35%.  My WORST savings rate was Boyer's Grocery at 31.25%.

I shopped at 9 different stores this past month.  

TOTAL Out of Pocket........ $295.96

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1112.59

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1408.55

TOTAL Savings of...................................78.99%
TOTAL Savings without Rite-Aid...........59.50%

This closes out the November food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into November wanting to do a $300 food budget for the month and I only spent $295.96 leaving me with $4.04 leftover in the budget.  I met that goal. rah!

The monthly savings percentage went up by 19.65% in November to 78.99% compared to October's 59.34% savings average.  Anything over a 40% savings rate is a win in my book.  70+% is very rare and only happens now and again if I have a free store gift card to use.  8-)

The savings rate for the whole year so far now stands at 61.85%.  That's an increase of 2.64% in savings over October's YTD total(59.21%).  It's still hanging in well over a 40% savings rate for the year which is awesome!

I have spent a total of $4,019.37 on food/toiletries in 2015 so far at this point in the year. That averages out to $365.40 per month.  We are still under $400 per month average spending for the year.

LOOKING AHEAD To DECEMBER.........

We'll try for a $350 food budget for DECEMBER.  College Boy will be coming home the second week of the month when exams are over and will be home until the third week in January.  I suspect more money will be spent on food while he is home so I am not going to limit myself to $300 in December like I did in October and November.  I am planning on a Roast Beef dinner for Christmas and we all know how expensive beef is so there goes my $50 extra in the budget for this month. 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 November?
*  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?


Sluggy

November Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for NOVEMBER 2011.

I have posted November'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 November.  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(3-4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 15.
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BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $17.89

Value  $72.44

Savings  75.30%

LUCAS FARMS(local produce market)

OOP  $13.02 

Value  $27.33

Savings  52.36%

RESTAURANT SUPPLY STORE
OOP  $32.50

Value  $75.90

Savings 57.20%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $104.43

Qs/Ads  $173.15
Value  $277.58
Savings  62.38%

WALMART 

OOP  $3.60

Qs/Ads  $0
Value  $3.60

Savings  0%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $99.66

Qs/Ads  $261.51
Value  $361.17
Savings  72.40% 

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 NOVEMBER
Pinecone...$3.00
Subtotal........$3.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
$0.00
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$3.00 * a pathetic month*

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Zero  *more pathetic-ness*

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Bakery Outlet at 75.30%, Weis at 72.40% and the Shursave Stores at 62.38%.
I shopped at 6 different stores in November.....well really it was 8 but 3 of them were Shursaves so I counted them as the same store. ;-)


TOTAL Out of Pocket........$271.10  soooo close!lol

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$546.92

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$818.02
TOTAL Savings of...................................66.86%


TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$3.00
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$268.10
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$549.92
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$818.02
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................67.22%

This closes out the November spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-I came very close to staying on my $250 food budget in November.  I cashed in a grocery store gift card and did a couple of different Catalina Deals(can you say GRAVY?lol)this month.  I also bought a second turkey in November and did a wee bit of stocking up on dairy/baking supplies.

Oh! Wait a minute.....actually if you look at my October food budget post I set a $300 budget for November so I came in UNDER!

Go me!!lol

Now I'm sure that if I had remembered I gave myself a $300 food kitty last month, wanna bet I would have spent $320?  8-)

What's ahead for December.....
As always I'll keep an eye out for Catalina deals I can use.  I am going to try to use up some meats/proteins in the freezer this month before we get to Christmas.  The freezer needs a good defrosting and clean out.  Using up will help keep the food spending in check since I foresee a big Ham purchase in 3 weeks or so for a big Christmas Dinner and that hunk o' meat will cost mucho coinage!

With 1 month left in the year, we have spent a total of $2,772.85 of our income on food/HBA in 2011.
That comes out to $252.08 per month.
We brought home items with a reg. retail value of $13,287.59 so far this year.
That's a savings of $10,514.74 or 79.07%.

How did you do in November with your Food Budget?  Did the Turkey Holiday dinner bust your budget(not to mention your belt!lol)

What are your challenges for December?  Any family coming to stay....Holiday Celebrations?..  Do you throw parties and how do you budget for that?...or is your/the childs'/the spouse's school/work/Holiday extracurricular activities 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

And Then She Went Back to the Store......

Well I didn't get nearly enough done yesterday as I had planned....especially the number of eBay listings.
But I did make it back to the stores for food shopping.

First it was to the restaurant supply store....afterwards to be referred to as RSS.  Since I had to be over at the Orthodontic office to get #2 son's new retainer(grrrr), I went looking for the other location of my RSS.  Yes, I was pleased to see that there is a second location on the opposite end of town from the one that was flooded out in September. 8-)
So we found the store and I picked up "My Precious....My Precious".....cue Gollum music......

I know the fat & the chemically things in it will probably kill me but this brand is the BEST BLUE CHUCKINGFEESE DRESSING that I have ever eaten!
If I wasn't such a tightwad, I'd buy enough gallons of this to fill my bathtub and I'd roll around nekkid in it.
Seriously.
That.
Good.

I would steal pennies out of small children's piggy banks for the money to buy this dressing.
I would divorce my man if he made me choose between him and My Precious......
If I ever end up on Death Row, THIS will be part of my Last Meal before hitting the big Electric Chair, and I hope they wet the sponge that goes on my head under the headgear with this instead of water.

Luckily, all I had to do was fork over $18.55 to get some this time. ;-)

I just wish they sold it in something a bit smaller than industrial sized drum!  A gallon of Dressing lasts a very long time and takes up serious real estate in the fridge.  It is a bargain with the Devil I am glad to make.

On the other hand, large sized containers DO save you serious money in the long run.

Speaking of which, it's Fall so I had to pick up this as well.......

It's a jar of Pumpkin Pie Spice and yes, it was $4.99.  The local store buys and prepares their own huge containers of spices at a discounted price.
Why mess around with having to buy ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove when I can just buy them already mixed together for dumping into pies?

$4.99 seem high to you?
Well when you show this jar next to the jars you usually buy/see in the spice aisle at your local food mart, you see why I will spend $4.99 on this.....

Yes, that 1 ounce sized jar costs around $3.  I spent $2 more but I got 6 times the amount!
So which would you choose.....1 jar for $4.99 or 6 jars for $18?

And yes, it will ALL get used before it gets old.  Not only will I become a squash piemaking factory between now and New Year's but this blend is good in many other things like savory squash sides, in chili(believe it our not!), in tea, coffee, hot cocoa, oatmeal and more.

And I was able to drag myself out after dinner last night to Weis "let's turn your upside down and steal the change that comes pouring out of your pockets" Markets.  I spent my $5 Catalina Q on a 14.25lb. turkey.  At .58¢ a lb. and after my $5 Cat, this bird cost me $3.26.
Then it was off to the gravy display........

I lugged home 18 more gravy cans.
Between these and the 5 cans of soup not pictured, I spent $1.50 OOP.  I am keeping the soup. 
The gravy only transaction was .50¢ OOP.
The gravy/soup transaction was $1.00 OOP, so those 12 cans came to .08¢ a piece, making the gravy part of it .58¢ OOP.

I am keeping the 8 cans I bought last Friday and on Monday, so I have 40 cans so far to donate, at a total cost to me of $2.08.

I'll be trotting back to Weis later today for more, well.....you know....lol

Sluggy

November Food Spending Week 1, Meal Plan Week 2

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

SUNDAY--Chicken & Dumplings
MONDAY--Sloppy Joe on Rolls, Cauliflower
TUESDAY--Ravioli, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Sausage Sandwiches on rolls, Corn
THURSDAY--Chinese Take-Out
FRIDAY--leftovers & Crab Soup
SATURDAY--leftovers again

*The Crab Soup was a surprise treat Hubs brought home for me from a local Seafood Restaurant.  It is to die for!

Basically the meal plan was adhered to, except for the Pork Chops I had planned, which were put on this week's menu.

I spent...$56.79 at the grocery stores last week.

Since Weis wimped out of the $5 Cat Promotion that would give you FREE PUFFS(Hey Weis! YOU SUCK!!lol) after your initial $5 purchase I talked about HERE, I ended up rolling my $5 Cat Q with this on Saturday before the sales week ended....

4 x Bounty napkins on sale $2.50=$10.00 * we were out of napkins.
1 x Herbal Essence Conditioner on sale=$2.99 *for my man child son with the flowing locks of hair
SubTotal....$12.99


Coupons Used
2 x $1/2 Bounty ManuQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Herbal Essence item ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $5 OYNO Cat Q=$5.00
Coupon Total.....$8.00


$12.99-$8.00=$4.99+$.78tax=$5.77 OOP
And I received another $5 Cat Q for purchasing 5 qualifying P&G items


This week Weis Markets has a Campbell's/Swanson/Pepperidge Farms $5 OYNO Cat Deal when you purchase $15 of qualifying products.  Remember that the $15 is based on regular shelf price, not sales prices so between Qs and sale prices you don't actually have to purchase $15.
I'll probably buy some PF cornbread stuffing & chicken broth to use in my Turkey Day meal later this month and roll my Cat.

I also spent $10.27 on almost 3lbs. 93% ground beef that was marked down to $2.99lb. at Weis last week and some chicken meatballs that were on clearance.  The lean ground beef is up to $4.99lb. around here!
Ack!


My other food spending last week was at the local ShurSave affiliate grocer to up my total for that gift certificate deal.  Mostly it was some non-perishable goods, dairy, fresh produce, bottled water(a necessity around here in the winter)and a bit of frozen veggies.  This week is the last week of the program and I need to spend another $100 to qualify.  This store also have a special this week for .49¢ lb. turkeys when you spend $35.  So my $35 and the price of a 24lb or so turkey will get me almost $50 toward that $100 mark to also get my gift certificate.  Walnuts are on sale this week so I'll probably stock up on those as part of my other $50 that I need to spend.

I need to spend .18¢ more on selected baking items and I'll get a $10 gift certificate to spend at this store as well.  I just need to make room in the freezer first for the turkey before I go shopping there.

My savings percentage was only 42% last week, as the reg. retail was $97.88 on the groceries I brought home. 

This week's menu.....
SUNDAY--Pork Chops, Cabbage, Sweet Potato Fries
MONDAY--Cheeseburgers, Green Beans
TUESDAY--Teriyaki Salmon w/ Veggie Fried Rice
WEDNESDAY--Noodle Casserole, some kind of veggie dish TBD
THURSDAY--Lasagna, Salad *Lasagna is in the freezer leftover from previous meal
FRIDAY--Chicken Quesadillas, Corn
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Items needed for this menu.....Salad Greens and the weekly ubiquitous milk purchase.  I'll probably go to the Bakery Outlet this week too as we are low on bread  products, as my last trip was 10/14.

At present, my November food spending stands at $56.79.  I plan on spending between $100-$150 this week.

How about you?  Any MUST HAVE deals where you are?

And do you see any good Turkey Deals?  There are no Free Turkey Deals to be had in this part of PA and we haven't had one in more than 3 years.....sigh

Sluggy