Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2011.
I have posted July'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 July. 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 15.
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CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $31.91
Qs/Ads $36.31OOP $31.91
Value $68.22
Savings 53.23%
BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $22.45
Value $105.14
Savings 78.65%
DOLLAR GENERAL
OOP $21.51
Qs/Ads $12/43
Value $33.94
Savings 36.62%
PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $10.67
Qs/Ads $140.75
Value $151.42
Savings 93%
RITE AID
OOP $7.83 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups $399.04
Value $406.87
Savings 98.08% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards
WALMART
OOP $7.21
Qs/Ads $0.00
Value $7.21
Savings 00%
WEIS (local chain Grocery store in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP $105.16
Qs/Ads $117.80
Value $222.96
Savings 52.83%
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 JULY
Pinecone Research....$9.00
Rite-Aid SCR...$6.99
Snapple....$8.98
Subtotal........$24.97
GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
$0.00
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$24.97
COUPONS and FREEBIES
Glidden......Free Qt. of Paint
Kotex....$2/1 Q
Pantene.....Free ITEM Q
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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Price Chopper at 93% and the Bakery Outlet as 78.65%. I shopped at 7 different stores in July.
TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$200.24
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$795.52
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$995.76
TOTAL Savings of...................................79.89%
TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$24.97
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$175.27
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$795.52
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$995.76
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................82.40%
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.....$175.27
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$588.89
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....70.24%
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 12.16%.
This closes out the July spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I kept my food spending well under my $250 budgeted amount. I have been buying more produce in July but not from the farmstand yet. And we've been eating down some proteins in the freezer.
The only stocking up I seemed to do in July was on soda, soap and chips type snacks foods.
What's ahead for August.....
Well be up to 4 at home and then 5+ at home at the end of this month as the kids(and their friends)come back and then leave again for college. It's a crazy month here.....busy with Band Camp, Summer Jobs, getting ready for school/college plus trying to can/freeze fresh produce for the winter. I am going to try to keep up the cooking at home/no eating out schedule we've been following in July. There may be a few meals out however in celebration of everyone home. Our eating out does not come out of the food budget so I'll have a full shift of meals to pay for with the food kitty.
Hopefully I can stay around the $200 mark for August(before any rebates)and then use that $75 I didn't use last month and about $50 of the $250 budget for Aug.(giving me $125 combined)and put that toward my fresh farmstand purchases to preserve for winter.
How did you do in July with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for August? Any family coming to stay....or are you trying to figure out a food budget for a vacation?
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
