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

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Crazy Neighbors" Edition-- 

The scene of the "crime".

 

I think next year I am going to get my doc to prescribe me some anti-anxiety drugs before the 4th of July rolls around again.
First off we had 4 SOLID DAYS AND NIGHTS of fireworks.  They ranged from 1 professional display down the road that I can see from my front porch, to everybody and their brother buying between exploding caps to full fledged "take your arm off if you don't do it right M-80's etc." craziness.  The noise started 9 am on Thursday and didn't fully end until 11pm on Sunday.  I was on my last nerve by Friday.

The thought of how much $$ was spent by all my neighbors on this loud crap boggles my mind!  I am betting whole paychecks were sacrificed at the altar of "let's blow shit up".
Leave this sort of thing to the professionals people!

Secondly our next door neighbor went bat shit crazy on Saturday night.  Quite a few years ago some hooligan kid threw a rock through his car's back windshield.  Since we had 3 teens living home at the time and we live next door AND we park our spare car on the road in front of the house right next to his car parked on the road, he just assumed it was one of our kids who did this dastardly thing.
First off, if you wanted to make mischief, would you do it to a person living right next to your house?
No.....you'd go to someone else's street or neighborhood and chuck that rock.
He asked our kids at the time and we asked them and they all denied doing this thing.
Personally I think it was the Russian guy's kid(who was the area drug dealer).....they live in the next development and that kid and his gang of "friends" use to cut through the end of our cul de-sac to this development to sell their wares here.  The were always leaving garbage down our road and yelling obscenities.

Well CB, his friend and friend's GF went outside on the road in front of our house on Saturday night( 9ish) and shot off a couple fireworks(really lame ones because after all, they are broke).  One of them shot over neighbor's car parked on the road.  Next thing I know he's tearing out of his front door screaming at the kids that they have damaged his car, specifically they have busted out his front headlight.
First off, the firework shot OVER the car, from the back end of it to the front end.  In order to bust our a headlight, it would have had to have stopped mid air and made a 180 degree turn and gone down into his headlight.
Personally I think this guy and his wife(she was out there screaming too)have aged into Dementia Land.
CB tried to go over there and apologize for upsetting them after the crazy ass neighbor moved his car but they just kept screaming over him so he gave up and came home.  They kept screaming about the broken windshield from years before too and newly accused CB of doing it.
I was sitting on the front porch and heard all of it.

We looked at the car in the morning when you could actually see and the headlight as well as the rest of the car is not damaged.
The Crazy Town has come to my street and truly should have drank more this past weekend.  8-(

 

Onward to the meal planning!

 

Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Beef Enchiladas(leftover sauce), Corn Casserole
2. Monday--Salmon, Potato Salad(leftover), Cauliflower(freezer)
3. Tuesday--Burgers and/or Dogs on Rolls, Zucchini, homemade Pickles
4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--FFY(Fend For Yourself) or BFD(Breakfast for Dinner)
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--July 4th Cook-out

 

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Rigatoni with Mushroom Sauce, leftover mixed veggies
2. Monday--Beef Enchiladas(leftover sauce), Corn Casserole
3. Tuesday--Burgers and/or Dogs on Rolls, Zucchini, homemade Pickles
4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--Salmon, Potato Salad(leftover), Broccoli/Carrot Stir-fry
6. Friday--Leftovers(I had Stroganoff, Hubs had Enchiladas)
7. Saturday--July 4th Cook-out(the usual suspects...lol)

Everything as planned except no Breakfast for Dinner(pasta instead).

As for my grocery spending last week.....
I spent $98.55 on $264.87 of reg. retail food.

The food spending is up to $98.55 for the month of July and we are a mere 6 days in. bleh.

Leftovers going into this week--enchiladas, salmon, stir-fry broc./carrots, rigatoni in sauce, all the cook-out food(burgers, hot dogs, ribs, macaroni salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, chips, dip). I planned for a much bigger crowd but some of College Boy's friend never showed up so we have lots of leftovers.
 

Here is this week's food plan--

1. Sunday--Picnic leftovers
2. Monday--leftover Salmon, stir-fry veggies
3. Tuesday--picnic leftovers
4. Wednesday--maybe Subway sammiches
5. Thursday--more picnic leftovers
6. Friday--smoked bbq chicken legs(in freezer), picnic sides
7. Saturday--either take-out or eating out(eldest comes home)

This week I planned for "easy peasy".  My eye surgery is Wednesday so we'll attack the leftovers this week with a treat of Subway the evening of the surgery(since I won't even want to heat up leftovers).
Friday my eldest son comes for a visit so I'll haul that bbq chicken leftover out of the freezer(along with the pecan pie I made him for Christmas but forgot to take to Pittsburgh in December)for dinner that night and we'll either go out or get take-out on Saturday for his Birthday depending on how I feel.

What I need to buy for this menu?.....nothing at all.  And it's a good thing because the grocery ads are miserable, as they usually are after a big holiday weekend.

I may actually NOT step foot into a grocery store this week.
 

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? 

Sluggy

July Food Spending

After the trips to Target and the Bakery Outlet on Monday I finally set my menu for the cook-out on the 4th--

burgers(have)
hot dogs(have)
rolls(have)
leftover smoked bbq chicken(have)
smoke bbq ribs(have)
pasta salad(need stuff)
chips and dips(need stuff)
roasted corn on the cob(need)
cherry cheesecake pie(need stuff)
zucchini bread(have)
soda(have)
tea(have)
lemonade(have)
seltzer(need)
condiments(have)

With that in mind I hit the food stores yesterday......

A quickie at Dollar Tree(nothing for the picnic but stuff we need/use)

2 x Pot Stickers=$2.00
2 x taco shells=$2.00
2 x salad dressing=$2.00
2 x Fudgsicles=$2.00
2 x Hormel pepperoni packs=$2.00
1 x Palmolive dish soap=$1.00
SubTotal....$11.06(tax on the dish soap)

I used--
1 x .75/2 Kraft dressing ManuQ=.75¢
1 x .25¢/1 Palmolive IPQ=.25¢
1 x $1/2 Hormel pepperoni IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total.....$2.00

$11.06-$2=$9.06 OOP

I also had a $1/2 Ortega taco shells IPQ but it beeped so the cashier wouldn't take it.  I might have waited on the taco shell purchase but they were still a good deal at $1 a box rather than .50¢ a box.

I also hit a low priced produce market on the way home that I don't go to often.  It is always so busy and you usually can't get a parking space, but on Wednesday I did.....

2 x 3lbs. Onions $1.49 ea.=$2.98
1 x Celery bunch=.99¢
Total....$3.97 OOP

I was down to my last 2 onions and needed more.
The celery will go into my macaroni salad for the cookout on the 4th.

Then it was off to Weis(PMITA)Markets for other needs for my cookout menu.
I won't bore you with photos and the long laundry list but everything I bought was on sale or a loss leader this week.

For the cookout I bought 2 chips($1.77), 2 cukes($1), 3 peppers($1), 2 cool whip($1) and 2 graham cracker pie crusts($1).  I have the other ingredients to make 2 cherry cheesecake pies for the picnic.
The soda was 5 for $12 at Weis so even though I bought soda at Target earlier this week, I bought 5 more 12 packs.  Included in the soda was Polar brand seltzer so I got 2 of those amongst the 5 packs.  Plus II had a $1/2 Polar packs ManuQ so my 5 packs came to $11 instead.

Non-cookout needs I also picked up......1 sirloin steak sticker discounted to $3.33(almost a full lb. of meat), 2 bags of fresh veggies 50% off(for tonight's dinner), a jar of Vlasic pickles ($1 after Q), 2 bags of Croutons(.75¢ ea. after Q), 2 gallon jugs of zero peach Arizona tea(my favorite)for $1.77 ea.(I may go back for more of those as it NEVER goes this low!).

Rounding out the bill was 1 bottle of Sparkling Ice brand soda(on sale for $1 and I'll get that back as it's the full refund item on Saving Star this week)and 4 bananas(with will get me 20% of that purchase back at Saving Star this week as well).
Spend $41.91(.72¢ tax)and saved $42.53 with sales/Qs so just over a 50% savings rate.

Except for more tea and the corn I need to pick up on Friday or Saturday morning I am done shopping for the week.  I am up to $62 + change spent for July at this point($25 of which was purely for the cookout).

I got a bag of these chips at Weis for when eldest son gets here.....

They are made with hot sauce made with beer.....two of his favorite things! lolz
I need to hide them for another week+ as he is suppose to be here next Friday.

Next week I have my eye surgery and then eldest son arrives that weekend so I won't be food shopping much at all next week.  I foresee a few nights of take-out while I am out of commission if no one else steps up and cooks.

How is your shopping going this week?
How much do you spend on July 4th picnics?
Do you buy ahead on sale for some of your picnic needs?

Sluggy


 

Food and Toiletries Spending.....JULY Update

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2014.

I have posted July'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 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 4(3 at home this month)& 1 dog. No kids under 18.

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

BIG LOTS
OOP  $50.57
Value  $80.74
Savings  37.36%

MAINE SOURCE(restaurant supply store)
OOP  $150.29
Value  $207.80
Savings 27.67%

PEPPERIDGE FARM OUTLET
OOP  $1.32
Value  $4.98
Savings  73.50%

RITE-AID
OOP  $15.73
Qs/Ads/+UPs  $87.42
Value  $103.15
Savings   84.75%

 

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $71.34

Qs/Ads  $39.40

Value  $110.74

Savings  35.58%

SURPLUS OUTLET(discount food store)
OOP  $27.91
Value  $51.12
Savings  45.40%

WEGMAN'S
OOP  $40.93
Value  $53.55
Savings  33.56%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $44.06

Qs/Ads  $22.75

Value  $66.81

Savings  34.05%
 

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 84.75%,  the Pepperidge Farm Outlet at 73.50% and Surplus Outlet at 45.40%.  My WORST savings rate was at Maine Source 27.67%(which IS surprising!).
I shopped at 7 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$402.15

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$276.74

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$678.89

TOTAL Savings of...................................40.76%

This closes out the July food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I came close to a $400 food month, going over by $2.15.
But looking back at last month's post I see I had hoped for a $350 spending month.
Oh well.....we can try again next month, right?  ;-)

The yearly savings percentage went down .75% in July compared to June's average.    Savings is still in the 40's which is good.

LOOKING AHEAD TO AUGUST......

I am going to try for a $300 food budget in August.
This is the month the teen who is still at home goes away to college mid month, so our food costs "should" drop in August.
Crossing my fingers this happens. ;-)
 

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 after 7 months.....$2,901.99.
The average monthly food/toiletries spending to-date for the year so far is $414.57.
Maybe August will be the month I get it down under a $400 per month average again.

 

*  How much did you spend on food/toiletries in July?
*  Do you track your yearly food spending?
*  If so, how are you doing thus far in the year?
 

Sluggy

This Week On The Dining Table

This is the "Not Doing Much Cooking" Week.

 

Here's what was planned last week--

Sunday--Potato Crusted Flounder, Roasted Potatoes and Onions, Brussel Sprouts
Monday--Tacos, Corn
Tuesday--Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad
Wednesday--Chicken medallions, Spinach, Squash or Zucchini
Thursday--Pork Chops, Green Beans(from last Summer's garden), Mashed taters, Applesauce
Friday--homemade Pizza-maybe barbeque chicken pizza(using more of that mozzarella cheese & cooked chicken), Green Salad
Saturday--Leftovers

 

We were good with this plan until Wednesday.

Thursday and Saturday we had Sausage Sandwiches(one night w/Coleslaw, the other night w/Corn on the Cob).  The local market had a new brand from NJ on special for $1.99 lb. so I picked up a few packages.  Making those was quick and easy and didn't involve the oven and I jammed 2 pkgs. in the freezer for later.  Friday I took the rest of the chicken breast meat from that 8.5lbs. I got for less than .99¢ lb.(After using some for fresh chicken sandwiches for lunches....), and made chicken and dumplings.  I threw in baby carrots that were getting old that needed using up.

 So Pork Chops and Pizza are moving to this week's menu....again. lolz

 

 I spent more anticipated last week because of the sausage patties on sale, the son wanted a frozen pizza and I hit the produce stand in town on Saturday morning and spend an additional $10 on fresh produce.  So last week,  I spent  $56.36 on  $83.78 worth of groceries at 1 store & 1 produce stand.

If I don't buy any more groceries until Thursday, August 1st, I will have spent $357.86 for food in July.

 

**We did have some food waste this week.......Sluggy hangs her head in shame.......

We hardly ever have food waster anymore here so I'm not too broken up over this happening.  I just don't want it to become a regular thing, ya know?

A small portion of Coleslaw and a bigger portion(2 maybe?)of Fajita filling mix went to Food Waste Heaven last week.
  

Leftovers, that are still aok, going into this week's plan......1 portion of Lasagna, 2 sausage patties, 3 helping of Chicken & Dumplings.

 

This week is Band Camp so #2 Son won't be here for dinner all week.

I can't eat Thursday, due to Colonoscopy prep(yuck!)so I am not cooking and Hubs is on his own.

(I told him to get fast food because I don't even want to smell food cooking that day. lol)

 

(I've made bold the leftover items I've used in the menu below.)

 Here's this week's meal plan--
 

Sunday--Leftovers or Whatever you can Find in the Fridge
Monday--Leftover Lasagna for me, Sausage Sammies for Hubs
Tuesday--Chicken & Dumplings
Wednesday--Pork Chops, Green Beans, Roasted Taters
Thursday--Fend for Yourself night, I can't eat. eek!
Friday--Probably Chinese Take-Out as I won't feel like cooking but will be ravenous lol
Saturday--No Clue yet....maybe that grilled Pizza I never made ?

On the shopping list for these meals--turkey deli meat(for my lunches), bread and possibly more fruit.

There are a few Catalina deals at Weis PMITA Markets this week I might be tempted to do(Unilever and Purina)but I'm not sure yet if I will.  I might hit up the bread outlet this week as we are low on all bread products.

 

I'm figuring about $20 for the list above.....more if I do the Catalina deals.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy.  Not much cooking or shopping going into August.

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

JULY 2012 Budget Results.......Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2012.

I have posted July's totals on the right side bar under Total Grocery Savings for 2012 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(2-4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
******************

BAKERY OUTLET
OOP   $9.89

Value   $33.92

Savings 70.84%

BIG LOTS

OOP  $26.00

Value  $47.39

Savings  45.14%

RITE-AID

OOP  $17.71

Qs/Ads  $423.33

Value  $441.04

Savings   95.98%

SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP  $51.77

Qs/Ads  $34.17

Value  $85.94

Savings  39.76%

WALMART

OOP  $13.67

Value  $22.10

Savings  38.15%

WEIS MARKETS

OOP  $117.39

Qs/Ads  $75.81

Value  $193.20

Savings  39.24%

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

Total...$0.00

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$0.00

COUPONS and FREEBIES

1 Free Deodorant--giveaway winning

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 95.98%,  the Bakery Outlet at 70.84%, and Big Lots at 45.14%.  l shopped at 6 different stores this past month.

TOTAL Out of Pocket........$236.43

TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$540.90

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.59

TOTAL Savings of...................................71.30%

This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....

I went into July with $300 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month.  I was able to stay substantially below that amount.
Though I didn't actively coupon in July I was still able to get close to my dream goal of a 75% savings rate.  This was mostly due to paying next to nothing for what I bought at Rite-Aid and for "buying" a substantial number of items at Rite-Aid in July. It's not the way I wanted to hit the mark but I'll take it. lol

I didn't buy many meats this month, mostly produce/fruit, bread products and some dairy.  The only stocking up I did was on cream cheese, 100% juices and drinks for #2 Son for band camp. 

LOOKING AHEAD TO AUGUST....

I will be setting my food budget back to $400 for August.  #2 Son is home again.  #1 Son will also be coming home mid month for a week or so.  Between the 2 of them, I'll need to buy more groceries than last month.  I also need to stock up on dog kibble and at the end of the month restock on meats and there will be fresh produce for cheap to be frozen.

We ate down the freezer stock a good deal in July and I'll continue to eat it down in August so I can clean it out and restock later in August. 

How did you do in July with your Food Budget?
Did you stick to it?
Did you find any good rock bottom prices to stock up on groceries?

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

July Food Spending Week 3.....3 Shopping Trips but Frugal

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. ;-)

Between July 15th and 23rd I made 3 trips to the grocery store!  I know it's a bit more than a week but I need to include an extra couple of days in the last 2 weeks of July as the month has 31 total, not 28. ;-)

I spent a total of $61.76.  The 1st trip was that small OOP one to Price Chopper(northeast)where I used my Catalina Q.  The 2nd trip was to the local independent grocer where I spent $10.50 on a watermelon, 2 cukes, a cantaloupe and 3lb.s of yellow squash.
Then yesterday I spent $47.62 on 2 large London Broils(BOGO deal!), a gallon of milk, 3 blocks of cheese, 18 eggs, a package of clearance steak(which came out to $2lb.), 2 lbs. of tilapia, a head of lettuce, a lb. of broccoli and 1.5 lbs. more of yellow squash. Almost 33% savings rate on that last trip but still pretty good considering all the meat I got.

I've eyeballed the sales this week and mostly it's the dreaded "house brands on sale" week so not many items you can stack sales and coupons upon to get some inexpensive food.
I'll post my Meal Plan tomorrow, but for today I'll let y'all know I have a trip to the bakery/bread outlet(we are out of bread)and 1 trip to Weis Markets on my agenda for the last week of July's spending.  I've got $1/1 Cabot Cheese IPQs to combine with a sale on Cabot Cheese at Weis($2.50)so there is $1.50 a package cheese in my future, as well as 1 $1.25 package house brand cream cheese.  I may head to the farm this week for some veggies and fruit but I don't foresee much OOP in the food spending category in Week 4.  I predict $20-$30.

With the $61.76 spent last week, I have a grand total spent in July so far of $136.49 for food.

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

Sluggy

JULY Budget Results....Food and Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JULY 2010.

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 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 $16.00
Value $62.94
Savings  74.58%

BIG LOTS
OOP $31.04
Value $52.66
Savings  41.06%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP $61.25
Qs/Ads $37.81
Value $99.06
Savings  38.17%

FAMILY DOLLAR
OOP $21.19
Qs/Ads $11.19
Value $32.38
Savings  34.84%

FARM MARKET

OOP  $12.55
Value  $21.89(compared to same items' prices at grocery store)
Savings  42.64%

PRICE CHOPPER

OOP  $6.95
Qs/Ads $16.93
Value  $23.88
Savings  70.90%

RITE AID
OOP $23.51 (whole amount put on Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads $412.55
Value $436.06
Savings 94.41% before gift cards/ 100% savings after gift cards

WALMART("that" store)
OOP $8.96
Qs/Ads $5.00
Value $13.96
Savings  35.82%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $126.39
Qs/Ads $127.74
Value $254.13
Savings  50.26%

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 JULY

Kraft(2 different rebates)...$30.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$58.98
Subtotal........$94.98

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
MyBlogSpark Cheerios Giveaway $25 Visa Gift Card
Rite-Aid $35 in Gift Cards($25+$5 bonus Skin Care & $5?-can't remember for what)
Rite-Aid RX Transfer $25 Gift Card

Subtotal....$85.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$179.98

FREE ITEMS

Vocalpoint Crystal Lite Samples
DiGiorgno Pizza
Huggies Diapers Pack

COUPONS

$2/1 Bounty Towels
$2/1 Crystal Light (multiple)

My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%, Bakery Outlet at 74.58% and Price Chopper at 70.90%.

TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$294.04
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$724,25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1018.29
TOTAL Savings of..........71.13%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$94.98
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$199.06
TOTAL Savings of..................................80.45%

This closes out the July spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I stayed under my $200 budgeted amount for JULY by .94¢! after rebates were applied.  It was an expensive month as I bought alot of meat in July for stocking up purposes.

What's ahead for August 2010.....

I am setting the August 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget at $300.
Why?
Because we have 4 at home now and all 5 family members by the latter part of the month.
Because there may be a family picnic lurking at the end of the month which will add to the food expenses.
Because I plan on packing the freezer with farm bought bulk buys of some veggies for the winter and this month is when things will be ready for harvesting and purchasing.

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 August.

With half of the year behind us, we have averaged $170.35 per MONTH after rebates on food/toiletries spending for 2010 for a family of 4-5 adults/teens.

How did you do in July 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

July Food Shopping....15 Days Down

In order to make pickles with my pickling cukes I got at the farm on Sunday I needed to get some vinegar and mustard seeds at the grocery store.

 I picked up...
1 gallon of white vinegar on sale for $1.99
1 jar of mustard seeds for $2.19
1 package of ground beef on sale for $3.73
2 bags of frozen veggies on sale for $2($1 each)
1 gallon of milk for $3.32
3 frozen lasagna on sale B1G2free so $3.59 for 3
2 bags of chips on BOGO sale for $3.78

Total was $20.60.
Retail Value of $34.75.
Saved $14.15.
40.72% saved.

So $12.55 at the farm and stand & $20.60 on Tuesday.

July Food Spending to Date....$150.90

How is your food budget holding up for July?

Sluggy

July Food Shopping....9 Days Down **Amended**

I was finally able to go to Ollie's again since the June Food Stamp Challenge is over.  Remember, Ollie's doesn't accept EBT so that is why I hadn't gone in June.
They still had some of the Olive Oil I wanted to get......so I got some!lol

3 x EVOO from California $1.99=$5.97
2 x Enchilada Sauce $.79=$1.58
1 x Juicy Juice (cherry)=$1.69
1 x Act II Popcorn=$2.29
SubTotal.....$11.53

Everything in the store was on sale the week of July 4th for 15% off so I got a $1.73 discount off the already discounted prices! 8-))
$11.53-$1.73=$9.80 OOP
Reg.Retail Value....$21.33

I also went to Price Chopper(NE) last week.  I had 9 doubler coupons from the Sunday paper(you could only use 3 per trip).
I had a very hard time finding stuff I wanted that was cheapish that would be free or cheap after coupons were doubled.  You could only use sunday insert or magazine/etc. coupons with the doublers not Internet printed coupons so that cut down even more on what I had to pick from to buy.
The 3 things I planned on buying with the doublers were either out of stock or they didn't carry to begin with....crap!
So I ended up with....
1 bag of Herr's chips...used a $1/1 Q+a doubler=$1.49
2 containers of BestLife Butter Spread(for daughter)...used 2 $1/1 Qs+2 doublers=$.29 ea.=$.58
1 can of Chef Michael Dog Food...used free item Q=$.00
2 tubs of Grands(on sale $1.91)....used 2 $1/1 instant dairy store Q=$.91 ea.=$1.82
2 packs of AlFresco Chicken Sausage(on sale $3.50)...used 2 $2/1 Qs=$1.50 ea.=$3.00
SubTotal...$6.89+$.06 tax=$6.95 OOP
Reg. Retail Value...$23.88

I hit the Bakery Outlet as well...
Total....$10.00 OOP
Reg. Retail Value...$39.70 + a free loaf of bread for spending $10=$42.69


This week I picked up a few things Tuesday when I took the nephew up to the grocery store....
6 x jars of organic applesauce on sale $1 ea.=$6.00
1 x Cantaloupe on sale=$1.98
1 x Iceberg Lettuce on sale=$.98
1/2 lb. of Turkey Pastrami on sale=$1.90
1 Gallon of Milk=$3.32
3 Cream Cheese on sale $.99=$2.97
2 x TV Dinners(for #2 son)on sale $1.25=$2.50
Total....$19.65 OOP
No coupons used.
Reg. Retail Value....$28.25


On Wednesday I hit up Weis checking for clearance meats....

14lbs. chicken breast=$33.31
4.96lb. steak/stew beef=$28.90
1.58lb. pork chops=$6.30
1lb. ham slices=$1.98 marked down already
SubTotal....$70.49
DISCOUNTS
BOGO on the chicken -$16.52 & Instant Meat Dept. Discounts  -$18.75=$35.27
$70.49-$35.27=$35.22 for 21.54lbs. of meat

I also bought a 2lb. bag of Shrimp on sale for $13.98($6.99lb.)
I also used a Free DiGiorno Pizza($3.00) and a Free McCormick Spice Sensations Q($1.99).
#2 son needed a pack of tiny spiral notepads for Band Camp...$.99

Total....$50.19 + $.06 tax=$50.25 OOP
Reg. Retail Value...$88.70


Then I hit Family Dollar for junk food/drinks for #2 son.  We had gotten a flyer in the mail with coupons and a $5 off a $25 order coupon too.

4 x 12pk. soda  w/Q $2.50ea.=$10.00
3 x Koolaid Mix w/sugar w/Q $2ea.=$6.00
1 x Lipton Tea Bags $2.00--there was a $.50/1 ManuQ tearpad next to the bags but the cashier somehow rang it up twice so they ended up=$1.00 instead of $1.50
2 x Cornbread Mix $.45=$.90
1 x Gravy Train Dog Food=$5.25  went looking for the larger bags on sale for $8...
1 x Ramen Noodles=$1.00 the kid lives on these in the summer...I need to buy stock in the company!
1 x Small Spiral Notepads (3 pack)=$1.15
After discounts and coupons total came to....$21.10 w/tax
Reg. Retail Value....$31.80


July Food Spending to Date....$117.75

Sluggy