2016 Food & Toiletries Spending......September Update

* I've closed out the September books a day early as I am done shopping.  Anything bought in the next day will come out of October's funds. *

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2016.

I have posted September'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 at home this month). No kids under 20.

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

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $3.00
Value  $9.77
Savings   69.29%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $15.65
Value  $42.36
Savings  63.05%

FARM STANDS
OOP  $23.25
Value  $52.86
Savings  56.02%

MALACARI'S PRODUCE
OOP  $5.55
Value  $12.55
Savings  55.78%

PANERA
OOP  $6.99
Value  $9.99
Savings  30.03%

RITE-AID
OOP  $2.99
Qs/Ads  $350.42
Value  $353.41
Savings  99.15%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $93.30
Qs/Ads $54.12
Value  $147.42
Savings  36.71%

TARGET
OOP  $6.70
Qs/Ads/Gift Cards  $86.23
Value  $92.93
Savings  92.79%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $564.08

Qs/Ads  $658.74

Value  $1222.82

Savings  53.87%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 99.15%, Target at 92.79% and the Bakery Outlet at 69.29%.  My WORST savings rate was Panera at 30.03%(for the bagels I bought there).  For all but 2 stores shopped at, the savings rate was at least 53.87%.
I shopped at 9 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$721.51

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1222.60

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1944.11

TOTAL Savings of...................................62.89%


This closes out the September food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into September wanting to do a $400(then changed to a $500)food budget for the month.
Things went waaaay off budget this month!  $221.51 over my revised higher budget.
What can I say?  Lots of awesome deals on items we use/need(cheese, pantry staples, facial tissue, etc.) and meat discounts so I loaded up.
My spending total also included supplies for making/canning my pepper relish so I'd be at about $700 without those costs.  Still high though.

It is looking like I won't need to shop much in October.  My budget may get a well deserved rest in the coming month.  ;-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went up by 14.84% in September to 62.89% compared to August's 48.05% savings average.
That's a big difference!  It seems that when I spend more on my budget I save a much higher percentage comparatively.  Crazy.

With 9 months accounted for, I have spent a total of $3658.00 on food/toiletries so far in 2016 which averages out to $406.45 per month spent.  This is $51.89 higher per month than the average in August was.  Yikes.  But then again I spent A LOT more in September.  At least the savings percentage rate was better meaning I paid less for what I did buy in September compared to August.


LOOKING AHEAD To October 2016.........

Other than chicken I am well stocked on every item I possibly could be stocked on(not counting fresh milk and produce and bread).
Maybe I will take a break from the grocery stores in October except for necessities.
That would be different, right?  8-)

If I am not planning on stocking up(and will try to avoid any Deals I find)I could try for a $300 budget on food in October.  Hey! Stop laughing out there.  It could happen......

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 September?
*  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

2016 Food & Toiletries Spending.....July Update

* I've closed out the July books a couple of days early as I am done shopping.  Anything bought in the next 2 days will come out of August's funds. *

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2016.

I have posted July'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 July.  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(5 at home this month). No kids under 20.

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

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $11.93
Value  $35.72
Savings 66.60%

BOYER'S MARKET
OOP  $39.50
Value  $77.17
Saved  $37.67
Savings  48.81%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $11.18
Value  $18.18
Savings  38.50%

FOOD LION
OOP  $24.93
Value  $36.55
Saved  $11.62
Savings  31.79%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $52.29
Value  $89.46
Savings  41.55%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Value  $19.29
Saved  $19.29
Savings  100%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $85.78
Qs/Ads $144.54
Value  $230.32
Savings  62.75%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $348.96

Qs/Ads  $376.40

Value  $673.94

Savings  55.85%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, Bakery Outlet at 66.60% and Shursave Market at 62.75%.  My WORST savings rate was at Food Lion at 31.79%
I shopped at 8 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$574.57

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$489.95

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1064.50

TOTAL Savings of...................................46.02%

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased w/R-A.....$1082.79
TOTAL Savings including Rite-Aid shopping....46.94%


This closes out the July food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into July wanting to do a $450 food budget for the month.  I ended up going over by a whooping $124.57.
Ouch.

Again I am still trying to find the spending sweet spot.  Some of my spending in July was due to picking up good deals which we'll use later on in the year and there were many good deals to be had since July 4th was this month.  I picked up more meats/proteins for the freezer than I used in July so the freezer is fuller at the end of the month than it was at the beginning.

At least my savings rate is up again to 46.94%(only a bit of that was due to Rite-Aid shopping)while in June it had dropped to 39.80%.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went up by 7.14% in July to 46.94% compared to June's 39.80% savings average.
I'll take that savings rate all day long!

With 7 months accounted for, I have spent a total of $2379.22 on food/toiletries so far in 2016 which averages out to $339.89 per month spent.  This is $39.11 higher per month than the average in June was.
But then again, I am feeding 2 extra people this year so that increase is not so bad.


LOOKING AHEAD To August 2016.........

I will continue with my usual shopping ways in August....buy loss leaders or great deals which we can use, use a few coupons, cash in points for gift cards or buy discounted gift cards to food stores when possible.
I am going to give myself $500 for August.  Not sure if this amount will work for August as Hubs and I are going away for 9 days and I'll need to leave some cash here for the kids to buy groceries and you know they won't be as careful with their purchases as I am.  ;-)

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 July?
*  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

2016 Food & Toiletries Spending.........February Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2016.

I have posted February'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 February.  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 at home this month). No kids under 19.

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

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $5.00
Value  $20.95
Savings  76.13%

CVS
OOP  $4.55
Sales/Qs  $28.69
Value  $33.24
Savings 86.31%

RITE-AID
OOP  $0.00
Qs/Ads/gift card  $521.87
Value  $521.87
Savings 100%

SHURSAVE MARKET
OOP  $54.57
Qs/Ads $41.78
Value  $96.35
Savings  43.36%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $294.97

Qs/Ads  $379.86

Value  $674.83

Savings  55.74%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 100%, CVS at 86.31% and the Bakery Outlet at 76.13%.  My WORST savings rate was The local Shursave grocery at 43.36%.

I shopped at 5 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket..........$359.09

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$988.15

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1347.24

TOTAL Savings of...................................73.35%
TOTAL Savings without Rite-Aid...........56.49%

Value of items excluding Rite-Aid bought ones was $825.37.
Rite-Aid goods brought home totaled $521.87

This closes out the February food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into February wanting to do a $250 to $300 food budget for the month($250 for family spending and $50 for deals).  I also separated out monies spent on food bank donations from my food budget for Feb.
I didn't meet that $250-$300 goal this month, going over by $59.09.

The monthly savings percentage went down by 2.17% in February to 73.35% compared to January's 75.52% savings average.
So we are still well above a 40% savings rate on groceries for 2016.
While saving 3/4 on food every month is unsustainable I'll take it while it lasts. lolz

With 2 months accounted for, I have spent a total of $709.06 on food/toiletries so far in 2016 which averages out to $354.53

LOOKING AHEAD To March 2016.........
Ok, since College Boy will be home for a week this month, I can't do a super tight budget for March.
I'll shoot for a $250-$300 month in March.  I won't be buying much extra this month for CB as I already did some stocking up for his needs in February(compleats and coffee).
I will continue to anticipate our needs and buy them while on sale instead of paying full regular retail for these items(except for milk as that doesn't do on sale here in PA).

If you have other ideas or guidelines you follow please leave a comment and share yours with us all.
Here's hoping y'all had a great year for spending less on food in 2016.

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

2015 Food and Toiltries Spending.....May Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MAY 2015.

I have posted May'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 March.  If you aren't interested in that much detail, just skip to the bottom for the Totals SumMy spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 3(3 at home this month). No kids under 19.

******************
MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $6.78
Qs/Ads $14.39
Value $21.17
Savings  67.97%

OLLIE'S
OOP  $19.11
Value $35.11
Savings   45.57%

RITE-AID *(see below)
OOP  $11.67
Qs/Ads  $23.63
Value  $35.30
Savings  66.94%

SAM'S CLUB
OOP  $26.64
Value  $37.07
Savings  28.14%

 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $159.20

Qs/Ads  $61.44

Value  $220.64

Savings  27.85%

TARGET
OOP  $5.76
Qs/Ads $12.20
Value $17.96
Savings  67.93%
 

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $286.61

Qs/Ads  $278.80

Value  $565.41

Savings  49.31%
 

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Maine Source at 67.97%, Target at 67.93% and Rite-Aid at 66.94%.  My WORST savings rate was the ShurSave store at 27.15%.

I shopped at 6 different stores this past month. 

TOTAL Out of Pocket........ $515.77

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$416.89

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$932.66

TOTAL Savings of...................................44.70%
TOTAL Savings WITHOUT Rite-Aid.............43.82%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into May without a firm food budget because the College Boy came home the beginning of the month and  there were many items I don't usually buy that had to be bought for him......essentials like Doritos, TastyKakes, Goldfish crackers, Cream soda, Chicken strips, canned Chili, stuff like that, that makes up the nutritious part of a teenage boy's diet. ;-)

Due to some "deals" at Weis(PMITA)Markets in May, we are stocked to the gills on pickles, salad dressing, flavored yogurt, popsicles and ice cream now.

The monthly savings percentage went up by .22% in May to 44.70% compared to April's 44.48% average.
A 44.70% is a bit better than a 44.48% savings rate so I'll take it.

You'll notice that without the +Ups Rewards at Rite-Aid my savings rate there went to hell-66.94%.  My usual R-A savings rate hovered in the 98% neighborhood until this month.  Yeah, my neighborhood is not so lush anymore.......

The savings rate for the year so far now stands at 60.72%.  That's a 4.28% decrease in savings over April's YTD total.  It's still hanging in well over a 40% savings rate for the year but will be going down further since I am not robbing Rite-Aid blind any longer. *sad face*

I was feeling out of sorts over my total spent on food/toiletries in May....it seemed really high for some reason.
Then I went and looked at 2014's May spending and it was $524.63(even more than what I spent this year)and 2013 was $500.35, so I am only slightly higher that that year.
I feel a bit better about it all now. 8-)

I have spent a total of $1,749.63 on food/toiletries in 2015 so far.  That averages out to $349.93 per month.
May's Grocery Spend Fest  raised the average monthly spending by $41.47 per month for the year-to-date.
meh.

LOOKING AHEAD To JUNE.........

Since College Boy is eating dinner at the restaurant he works at(and he is now working 5 nights a week)I won't be making dinner for him mostly.  He usually gets up at 2ish pm and has coffee and breakfast(cereal, a breakfast sammich or bagel).  He sometimes eats late at night after work but not always at home.
Other than stocking a few basics he requires(chips, tastykakes, breakfast foods, cereal, milk, burritos, chicken strips, burgers)my grocery spending should be fairly normal(under $400)this month. I'll be using down stores from the pantry and freezer this month.  No guests, parties or vacationing going on in June so we are back to the usual eating routine again.

We'll try for a $400 food budget for June.
Last year's June spending was $463.75 so I am sure I can do better than that this June.
 

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 May?
*  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?
 

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Holiday Candy/Treats found in the Stores" Edition..........

 Apple M&M's?

Holiday flavors of Jelly Beans?

Mike & Ike Minion flavors?

Hmmmm......anybody out there ever try any of these weird things?

 

 

 

Onward to the meal planning!

What was planned last week--

1.  Zuke Casserole
2.  Chicken & Dumplings(leftover)

3.  Lasagna or Ravioli(leftover)

4.  Zuke in Tomato Sauce, Kielbasa on rolls
5.  Trout, leftover Zuke Casserole

6.  Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Brussel Sprouts
7.  Leftovers

 

And this is what actually happened--

1.  Zuke Casserole
2.  Chicken & Dumplings(leftover)

3.  Ravioli(leftover)

4.  Chicken & Dumplings(again)
5.  Kielbasa on Rolls, Zuke Casserole(leftover)

6.  Lasagna(leftover)
7.  Fend for Yourself Night

 

We stretched out the leftovers over more meals than I had thought it would stretch, so the Stroganoff and Trout didn't happen.
    

Last week I made 9(!!!) trips to 5 different markets and spent $236.19 on $469.17 worth of groceries.
This includes what was spent at Target & Ollie's the week before since I forgot to include that.


I also did 2 transactions at Rite-Aid where I spent $1.87 on $56.71 of items there for the week.

Sit down for this one........
$537.46  total spent for the month so far in November including Rite-Aid spending.  My budget was $350 for November so yeah, it was a bust this month.
I've only spent $4,600.00 for the year so far on groceries.  Considering how well we eat I'm not going to beat myself up over a splurge month!

I have a $10 gift certificate/voucher to spend by Saturday at the local market so I'll try to spend as close to $10 as possible this week.  Goodness knows we don't NEED anything in the way of food right now! lolz

Going into this week, in leftovers we have........just some zuke casserole.  The plan was to use up most everything and clean out the fridge so I could fit a turkey in there.

Here is the plan for this week.........

1.  Spaghetti and Meatballs(in freezer)
2.  Trout, Zuke Casserole(leftover)

3.  Chinese take-out

4.  Mac & Cheese with Ham, Broccoli
5.  Turkey Day Meal

6.  Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Brussel Sprouts
7.  Leftovers

#2 Son is coming home for Thanksgiving Break so even though I'd like to not have to cook all week(isn't a Thanksgiving Fest ENOUGH!?!), I'll make a couple of his favorite meals for him before we send him packing back to school.

 

What I need to buy for this menu.........nothing.  I'll see what is on sale this week and spend that $10 voucher on things I can add to the stockpile.
 

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?
Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?
How much did you spend on food so far in November?

 

Sluggy

Food & Toiletries Spending.....April Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for APRIL 2014.

I have posted April's totals on the Total Grocery Savings for 2014 Page located HERE and have updated the Yearly 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 Summary.

My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable. We are a family of 4(3 at home this month)& 1 dog. No kids under 18.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP  $13.98
Value  $44.56
Savings   68.63%

BROOKSHIRE'S
OOP  $23.94
Qs/Ads  $11.35
Value  $35.29
Savings  32.16%

MAINE SOURCE
OOP  $62.34
Qs/Ads  $44.02
Value  $106.36
Savings  41.58%

PRICE CHOPPER
OOP  $91.77
QsAds  $60.89
Value  $152.66
Savings    39.88%
 

RITE-AID
OOP  $3.46
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $98.73
Value  $102.42
Savings  96.40%

SAM'S CLUB
OOP  $42.77
Value  $68.37
Savings  37.44%
 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $75.47

Qs/Ads  $65.41

Value  $140.88

Savings  29.44%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $156.84

Qs/Ads  $56.80

Value  $213.64

Savings  26.59%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 96.40%,  the Bread Outlet at 68.63% and the local Grocer at 46.43%.  My WORST savings rate was Weis(PMITA)Markets at 26.59%.
I shopped at 8 different stores this past month. (2 of them new ones while on vacation.)

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$470.57

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$393.61

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$864.18

TOTAL Savings of...................................45.52%

Without counting the Rite-Aid shopping, my savings rate was 38.39%.

This closes out the April food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into April with no expectations, which was a good thing since we spent well over $400 this month.  We did a bit of stocking up on loss leaders and took some food/toiletries to my daughter in Louisiana. I shoot for a monthly savings rate over regular retail of 40% and we surpassed that with the Rite-Aid spending included.
While I get good value for what I spend(my OOP vs. the regular retail price)I am finding it difficult to keep the actual spending low.
I sucked at being frugal on food/toiletries in April.
bleh.



LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY......

After a runaway food spending month in April plus the road trip expenses I'll be trying to reign in the outgoing cash in May.  I want to try to keep food spending to $300 or so.
We don't have any celebrations with food related costs for May so let's see if I can keep the spending down.

Of course after saying all this, I went out and spent $89.54 at the grocer store this week.
I suck.

 

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

Total spend on food/toiletries so far this year.....$1,511.46

The average monthly food/toiletries spending this year so far is $377.87.

 

How much did you spend on food/toiletries in April?
Do you track your yearly food spending?
 

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Thank Goodness Marching Band Season is Over" Edition.......

 

 

 

 

#2 Son is happy that his last season of Marching Band finished up on Sunday.  Now he just has 2 Concert Band concerts, 2 Jazz Band concerts and Pitt Orchestra for the School Musical and ALL the rehearsals for each to go before he graduates in the Spring.
The photo is of some of the band kids after a meet performance back in October that our group hosted.  #2 Son is standing on the track(behind the fence)right above the drum in this shot.

Here are the meals that were planned last week--
 

Sunday--Chinese Take-Out  Treating ourselves tonight
Monday--Mushroom Alfredo shells with leftover London Broil, Spinach Salad(Hubs is craving pasta)
Tuesday--Baked Fish(in freezer) and crab cakes(freezer), coleslaw, some veggie(freezer)
Wednesday--Lasagna(leftover-then the rest gets put into the freezer for later)
Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie(using leftover chicken, carrots, potatoes + fresh broccoli)
Friday--maybe Domino's pizza using one of my free coupons + a big salad for me
Saturday--leftovers or something scrounged around the house

Everything eaten as planned except Friday's dinner was Saturday's and vice versa.
I used the leftover Broccoli Soup from weeks ago in my pot pie instead of making a sauce/cream from scratch or opening a can of soup to use.  I am so proud of me......!

And I ended up eating too much pizza.  I hadn't had any in so long and it was so good that I just couldn't eat one slice. lol

As for food spending last week....you might want to look away as it's going to be bad(spendy).  There were 6 trips to the store and I spent $287.01 on $554.87 worth of groceries at 5 different stores.  I've spent $385.79 of my $400 November food budget so far and there are 17 days left for this month. 
bleh.
Hubs made a stop after work at a store we don't often go to.  There was the monthly trip to the Bakery/Bread Outlet and I had a 15% off discount card for Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)I had to use or lose and they had some good food buys, even before that discount.  So we blew through a bit of money on foodstuffs last week.

Not to worry though as we have extra funds each month plus I am stockpiling last week and this week so we spend enough to get our Thanksgiving gift certificate at one of my stores.  Might as well buy the items that will keep now and they count toward our spending rather than buying them next month and not having them count, right?  I am hoping that my December spending will reflect these buying ahead deals and be lower than my usual.
We shall see.....

Leftovers going into this week--1/2 a large family-sized chicken pot pie and a whole pizza(but that will most likely be scarfed down between meals or as lunches).

Here's this week's meal plan---

Sunday--Burgers on Rolls, Collard Greens
Monday--Mushroom Parmesan, Salad
Tuesday--Roasted Chicken, Carrots, Stuffing
Wednesday--leftover Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday--Steak, Roasted Asparagus & Potatoes
Friday--Baked Fish, Coleslaw, Green Beans
Saturday--Chicken & Dumplings

What I need to purchase for this menu?......
I still need to spend about $55 this week to get to our Turkey Day gift certificate.
I'm going to try to keep the spending to $55 but even so, that will put us over budget in November by $40+ and that's not counting buying a turkey.
bleh again.
Oh what the hell......I am going to fly the white flag this month.
I give up. ;-)

What got fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy