Food Spending.....the April Edition

Onward to April's Food Spending Report....

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for April 2025.

I have posted April's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located  and have updated the 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 Sum.  My spending includes Food, Toiletries/HBA, Cleaning Products, Paper Goods, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
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KROGER

OOP  $48.86

Qs/Gift Cards  $42.64

Value $91.50

Savings  46.60%

WALMART

OOP  $45.74

Qs/Gift Cards $42.71

Value  $88.46

Savings  48.29%

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My best Store Savings Total was at Walmart  with a savings of 48.29% with a similar amount of the grocery dollars were spent at Kroger with a savings rate of 46.60%. Not a bad savings rate average overall though and we spent less than $100 for the month.

I shopped at 2 different stores in APRIL.  

TOTAL Spent in April....$95.60

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$84.33

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$179.93

TOTAL Savings of........46.87%

This closes out the April food/toiletries/etc. spending.

pril

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....A

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went UP by 2.79% in April  to 46.87% compared to March's 49.66% savings average.  Still over 40% savings so I am good with that.

Since we have an adequate income and food should be a pleasure in life(no way am I going to eat unseasoned rice and beans for my remaining days like some people-because I don't have to). I will buy quality food and pay the price at the register.  I may not like the price but I will deal with it.

With 4 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,156.03 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2025.

2025 Yearly Total Value of Items  $2,110.98

2025 Total Saved   $954.95

2025 Yearly Total Spent  $1,156.03

2025 Yearly Savings Total of  45.24%

The average per month amount spent is $289.01 in 2025 so far but that's before all the rebate monies are added in.

Remember that I withdraw all my cash rebate monies(Ibotta, Shopmium, TaDa, Checkout 51, Swag Bucks, My Points and other miscellaneous rebates-Aisle, Tremendous, Sampoll  etc. and have it sent to my Paypal)at the end of the year and add it back into my food budget, so at the end of the year my food spending will go down.  I don't add in all the cashed out savings until the end of the year,

The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger Cash Back), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gave me Amazon credit onto my account but I don't buy food on Amazon(sometimes I buy dog food there)so I really don't know how to count that and it's defunct now so I won't worry about that bit.

Because I don't like to let money sit in these rebate accounts and Paypal, I send $$ to my bank account throughout the year.  So far I have sent $652.30 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 4 month point in 2025 comes in at $503.73 or $125.94 per month.

Besides all I sent to my bank account I have more $ sitting in these various rebating programs as well as in Paypal.  This is not counting Alexa, ShopKick or Fetch, which all comes out in gift cards or Amazon credit.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY 2025....

As we are moving to a new area it will take me some time to get back into my frugal, money saving groove.  There are multiple grocery store and I need to find the best(lowest priced)one for our needs.

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

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

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just keep your receipts and either track it in a notebook or on a spreadsheet.

*  What was your savings percentage buying on sale and/or with coupons versus 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

   The "WTF?!?" Edition....

I've been meaning for some time to take a photo of this to share with y'all.  This monstrosity is at the discount grocery outlet I go to sometimes.  It's a giant banana lady with bananas on her head ala Carmen Miranda.  There's a button and when you push it(please don't!)this thing plays the Chiquita Banana Song.  They display their bananas under it(when they have bananas).  And 9 times out of 10 they have no bananas so she should sing this classic song from the 1920's.....

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-

This is what was planned....

1. Sunday--Leftover Mac and Cheese w/added Ham, sauteed Cabbage

2. Monday--Leftover Stroganoff, Rice, Spinach Souffle 

3. Tuesday--Seafood/Mushroom/Asparagus in Pastry w/Cheese Sauce, side Salad

4. Wednesday--Chicken Chow Mein w/added Veggies, Rice, Crunchy Noodles
5. Thursday--Leftover Beef Stew and Biscuit

6.  Friday--Not sure what ExCB wants for his Birthday Dinner yet on his day off, Cake

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Leftover Mac and Cheese w/added Ham, sauteed Cabbage

2. Monday--Leftover Stroganoff, Rice

3. Tuesday--Chicken Chow Mein w/added Veggies, Rice, Crunchy Noodles

4. Wednesday--Scallops/Mushroom/Asparagus in Pastry w/Cheese Sauce, Spinach Souffle 
5. Thursday--Leftover Beef Stew and Biscuit

6.  Friday--Chinese Take-Out, Cake

7. Saturday--FFY(I had a bowl of strawberries)

Last week saw 2 nights of home cooked dinners, 4 nights of leftovers/planned overs or FFY, 0 night of frozen pizza and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.

Mostly everything planned was cooked/served except some meals happened on different nights.  The seafood in pastry became just scallops in pastry since the sea legs I took out of the freezer had burn and smelled "funny" so those got tossed.

What got put into the freezer last week....

* 2 lbs. raw shrimp

* 1 carton of ice cream

* 1 hunk of coho salmon

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*  1 lb. of Scallops

*  1 package of Pastry Shells

*  1 Spinach Souffle

We spent $68.12 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week-2 small trips to Weis, 1 trip each to the Produce market, the Bread Outlet and Walmart. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $211.97 for February.  

There are 0 shopping days left in February.

I've earned $84.67 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $00 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $4.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.

I've earned 11,766 points from shopping on Fetch in February.

I've earned 6,001 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in February.

My savings percentage for last week was 56.01%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for February and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 58.76%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week--beef stew, biscuits and scallops in pastry..  Hubs ate the chow mein and mac n' cheese w/ham for lunches and finished those off. 

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Tossed Salad

2. Monday--Chicken and Dumplings w/Carrots

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie
5. Thursday--Leftovers

6.  Friday--Broiled Salmon, Sweet Potato Wedges, Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Cheeseburger, Fries(maybe), assorted leftover side dishes or a Salad

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Maybe some milk.  That's it as I bought salmon and sweet potatoes last 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 last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  Not such great deals here unless I go to the discount food outlet.

Sluggy

Weis Markets on Friday & Dollar General on Saturday

I broke my resolve for a low spend week this past week.  I went to Weis on Friday for their one day sale on Ground Beef for $1.99 lb.  

Plus the Ibotta Weekend Warrior $3 Bonus on 6 offers was just too good to resist doing.  I already had 1 offer toward it by getting the Nivea men's balm the second time at R-A last week so I only had to do 5 more offers for the Bonus and I had some good coupons to pair with it.  ;-)

2 x Dove clearance shampoo/conditioner($1.89)=$3.78
3 x Lean Cuisine dinners $2 ea. wyb3=$6.00
1 x Truvia sweetener=$3.79
1 x Campbell's slow kettle soup on sale=$2.00
1 x Quaker oatmeal cup=$1.00
1 x Jif peanut butter(not an Ibotta offer)on sale=$2.00
Subtotal.........$18.57

Coupons Used
1 x $1/1 Dove item Weis digitalQ=$1.00
2 x $1/1 Dove hair product IPQ(emailed link by company)=$2.00
2 x Free Item Q from manufacturer(cashier took off full $3.99 value)=$7.98
1 x $1.50/1 Truvia ManuQ=$1.50
1 x .75¢/1 Jif digital Q that doubled=$1.50
1 x .50¢/1 Jif IPQ that doubled=$1.00
Coupon Total........$14.98

$18.57-$14.98=$3.59 OOP.

Ibotta offers submitted for......
2 x $1 Dove=$2.00
1 x $1 LC power bowl=$1.00
1 x $1.50 Truvia=$1.50
1 x $2.49 Campbell's slow kettle freebie=$2.49
1 x .25¢ Quaker oatmeal cup=.25¢
Total........$7.24+$3 Weekend Warrior Bonus=$10.24 back on my $3.59 spending.

With my other non-Ibotta spending at Weis that receipt came to $13.46(ground beef, a pancake mix cup-got .10¢ any pancake item on Ibotta for that too unexpectedly, and 2 cucumbers).  Even with ALL my spending at Weis(PMITA)Markets on Friday after sales/Qs/Ibotta everything in the order came to $3.22 so I'll take that win! 8-)

I also went to Dollar General on Saturday.  I didn't need/have to but they had some good digital Qs and a $5 off $25 shopping trip Q.  This is also the ONLY store that sells cinnamon toothpaste around here(love it!)and a few digital Q were glitching(making some things a better deal)so I caved.......

2 x big Goldfish containers=$7.00
1 x Powerade=.95¢
2 x Gold Peak tea=$3.20
1 x Crest cinnamon toothpaste=$3.00
1 x Mucinex sinus 8 pack=$5.50

1 x Air Wick starter kit=$3.50

1 x Centrum vitamins=$5.25

Subtotal......$28.40

Coupons Used

1 x $5/$25 DGQ=$5.00

1 x $4/2 Goldfish DGQ=$4.00
1 x $1/3 Coke single beverages DGQ=$1.00
1 x BOGOFree Gold Peak DGQ=$1.60
1 x $2/1 Crest toothpaste DGQ=$2.00
1 x $5/1 Mucinex DGQ=$5.00
1 x $2.50/1 Air Wick item ManuQ=$2.50
1 x $4/1 Centrum DGQ=$4.00

Coupon Total.......$25.10

$28.65-$25.10=$3.30+ tax on the AirWick OOP
I had to add the Air Wick because I was .10¢ short of $25 otherwise so wouldn't have gotten the $5 off the total order.

The Powerade, Goldfish crackers and Mucinex will go to Ex-College Boy.  We can always use more vitamins(I was almost out anyway)and the Air Wick will go up in the guest room to be used.  Toothpaste goes into my personal stash. ;-)

BTW-that Gold Peak blueberry tea was pretty good(you can see I had already drank one before I got a photo..lol).  A bit sweet so I'll cut the other one with unsweetened tea before I drink it. 8-)

I spent a tad more than I planned on for the week but I got great value for my $$s so I'm ok with how the week's spending turned out.

What deals are on your radar this coming week?
I need to go to CVS this week(ECBS expiring...bleh)so if you know of any deals there let me know! lolz

Sluggy

No Spend February.....Not Going as Planned

Well I was doing fairly well on trying to only spend HALF of my usual $250 Food/Toiletries Budget in February.

The 1st week of Feb. I did great until I took the BIL to the grocery store and went inside.lol  I only spent about $83 that week total.
The 2nd week of Feb. I did GREAT!  I didn't spend a penny of the budgeted $!!
The 3rd week the funeral happened so I broke down and bought some hot foods and baked goods at the grocery store to serve while Hub's family was here.  I consider this week unusual circumstances but I still spent about $60 on food.
For the 4th week I am trying to stay out of the grocery store again to salvage my $125 goal.  At the moment I am at $115.27 spent on food in February.  So I have just over $9 left in the budget.
Saturday we are eating out for #2 son's Birthday so I only have 6 days to meal plan.

MEAL PLAN  Feb. 20th-Feb. 26th

Sunday--BAKED ZITI & SALAD  *This used up stockpiled cheese, pasta, sauce and sour cream I had gotten on dairy dept. clearance a few weeks ago.  I also added some ground beef(stockpiled in the freezer)to the sauce. I make a double batch so we'll be eating this another meal too.
Monday--LEFTOVERS  *We finished up some Chili, some had more of last night's meal, and some leftover Chinese take-out from the weekend
Tuesday--CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS   *I'll be using up the leftover Baked Chicken Hubs bought at WeisMarkets that we served on Wednesday to the relatives before the funeral.  I'll add some more stockpiled chicken to make this dish and make the Dumplings from scratch.  We'll have enough for another meal or for leftovers.
Wednesday--BOSTON BAKED BEANS AND CORNBREAD  *One of my crockpot meals that makes more than 1 meal's worth.
Thursday--LEFTOVERS
Friday--FISH, FRIED ZUCCHINI, FRENCH FRIES  *Using up some potatoes, stockpiled frozen fish and digging into a large bag of breaded zuke rounds.
Saturday--Birthday meal out for #2 son

Lots of filling, hearty comfort foods due to the weather here and the apres funeral comforting needs of my family. ;-)
The only item that I need to buy for these meals is some carrots for the Chicken and Dumplings.  I'll probably buy some salad greens as I like to have them on hand and some lunch meat for sandwiches.
That will take care of my $9 that is left.

As for not spending on non-food items, all the toiletries have been free from Rite-Aid, as I've been using my +Up Rewards and free gift cards there.
I am not one to shop for non food/toiletries much so I don't have a problem staying out of those kinds of stores.  Except, with the funeral we had to buy #1 son some dress slacks and #2 son some slacks and a dress shirt, since they didn't have anything appropriate to wear to the service.  We did do some shoe borrowing so nothing was spent on footwear, but we did spend $60 on the clothes.  If I had had more time to find the stuff, I would have hit the thrift store and saved money of these things.  Oh well.....sometimes you have to spend in an emergency.

So are you doing a No Spend or Low Spend February?
How is it working out for you?
Has it been easy or difficult to stay the course?
Leave a comment and let us know!

Sluggy