November Food Budget....Spending Update for This Week

I went into this week with $56.12 left in my $300 November Food Budget.

On Monday I hit Maine Source for onions, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, mushrooms, butternut squash, a gallon of apple cider and 2lbs of mozzarella cheese for $29.68 OOP, a savings rate of 41.23% over reg. retail.

I then hit the local Shursave market for celery, 1 gal. of milk and 5 bags of assorted Hanover frozen veggies(.99¢ a bag!).  This all cost me $10.23 OOP, a savings rate of 44.50% over reg. retail.

And on Saturday I went back to Shursave to get more frozen veggies, ginger ale, ice cream, a can of "glop" and canned yams and spent another $12.12 OOP, a savings rate of 55.42% over reg. retail.

Total spending this week was $52.03 on $96.12 worth of reg. retail groceries and a savings rate of 45.87%.
And I have $4.09 left in my November budget, even with the $28.42 I spent on food bank donations I stayed under target.
Yay me! 8-)

I am done grocery shopping for this month.  Tuesday we start December(geez, already?!?)and I'll be back then with my November Food Spending Totals.

Sluggy

July Food Spending Week 2......Low Spend Finally!

I am going to update each week in July on my food spending. After the last 2 months of going over, maybe this will help me stay on track more if all of y'all are watching me.....watching me in a good way, not the bad, creepy way. ;-)

In the 2nd 7 days of July I made NO trips to the grocery store!
No trips to the store between July 3rd and 14th and we've been eating from the stockpile so our spending for July remains at $66.72.

Last week I cooked Ribs, a Pork Roast Dinner and something else I can't recall now.....gee I sure miss my brain some days.
Hubs was out of town for 2 days so I got #2 son Taco Bell and other crap and I had whatever I could scrounge here.  The other nights were Leftovers meals.

Here is what we are having this week....

SUNDAY--Sloppy Joes, Squash Casserole
MONDAY--Leftovers
TUESDAY--Tacos, Watermelon
WEDNESDAY--Ham Steak, Potato Salad, Cantaloupe
THURSDAY--Chicken Casserole
FRIDAY--Leftovers
SATURDAY--Salmon, Potato Salad, Braised Green Beans

Though I hadn't shopped for food from July 8-14, I did go out on the 15th and I do need a few things for this week's Thur-Sat. meals so I'll have shopping to report in on after the 21st.  I need to buy Broccoli, Cucumbers, a head of Lettuce and Salmon today or tomorrow.  We haven't had salmon in a long time here because of the price.  It's on special this week so I'll buy some extra to throw into the freezer.  Not a lot extra since a "special" on salmon is still not cheap.lol  I'll also pick up Eggs this week for the quiche I plan on making next week, since eggs are on sale this week.
I figure I'll spend $20 on these things, maybe less is I can get to the farm and they have the produce I need.

How about you?  Are you eating from your pantry/stockpile this week?

Sluggy

AUGUST Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending Totals

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for AUGUST 2010.
I have posted August's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2010.

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 information.

These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(between 5 & 2 at home this month) & 3 dogs. No kids under 14.

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $11.56
Value $53.87
Savings  78.54%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $26.53
Qs/Ads $3.99
Value $30.52
Savings  13.07%

RITE AID
OOP $49.90 (whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads $15.86
Value $188.10
Savings 73.48% before gift cards/ 100% savings after gift cards

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $117.24
Qs/Ads $46.50
Value $163.74
Savings  28.40%

VACATION SHOPPING(assorted discount outlets in Maine)
OOP $133.48
Value $332.50
Savings  59.85%


I don't track 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 AUGUST

Pinecone Research....$6.00
Subtotal........$6.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
WalMart Gift Card(Giveaway winnings)...$25.00

Gillette Razor Survey Gift Card...$5.00

Subtotal....$30.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$36.00

FREE ITEMS
I love Bacteria Shirt(Giveaway winnings)

Purina Feed Trucker Hat
2 x Almond Milk Coupons(Giveaway winnings)

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Bakery Outlet at 78.54% and the Vacation Outlet Shopping at 59.85%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$288.81
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$501.84
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$784.65
TOTAL Savings of..........63.19%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$6.00
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$282.81
TOTAL Savings of..................................63.96%

This closes out the August spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
While on vacation we ate out alot(which came out of the money put aside for the vacation and NOT from the food or entertainment budget).  I don't even think I used a single coupon this month....EGADS!lol

Very little produce was bought at a store since the garden is giving us an ample supply of goodies right now.  Our refrigerator is having problems so I've been reticent about stocking up with fridge/frozen foods this month as we need to get it repaired or replaced.  Not having it crammed full is preferable right now, so I am holding off on large purchases of food that need freezing or refrigeration.  I did spend almost half of my August food budget amount on the vacation, stocking up on shelf-stable foods(along with wild blueberries).
Yet I was still able to come in $17.19 under budget for the month. 8-)

What's ahead for September 2010.....

I am setting the September 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget at $250.
Why?
Because we have 4 family members home again.
And if the fridge issue is cleared up quickly I still plan on making my farm bulk buys early in September.

We are still full with shelf-stable stockpile items but if any good buys present themselves I'll take advantage of them.  I am figuring $150 for regular monthly purchases and the other $100 for the stocking on farm buys and any good deals.

As always, any rebates received this month will be added to the food budget spending.  I have few outstanding rebates at the moment so there will be little extra cash to cover food expenses in this way for September.  I did get  6 rebates out into the mail recently(and have some more to do soon) so the rebate amounts should pick up a bit in the next 2 months.

With eight months of the year behind us, we have averaged $184.40 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens.

How did you do in August with your Food Budget?  Leave a comment or link to your post and let us hear!  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