March Food Spending......2024

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for March 2024.

I have posted March's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located HERE and have updated the 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 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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DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $7.74

Sales  $7.71

Value  $15.45

Savings  49.90%

KROGER

OOP  $546.02

Qs/Gift Cards $546.23

Value $1,092.25

Savings  50.01%

SUPER 1 FOODS

OOP $14.00

Sales  $11.11

Value $25.11

Savings  44.25%

WALMART

OOP  $347.11

Qs/Gift Cards $203.43

Value  $550.54

Savings  46.95%

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My best Store Savings Total was at Kroger with a savings of 50.01%.  My worse rate was at Super 1 Foods with 44.25%.  Not a bad savings rate.

I shopped at 4 different stores in MARCH.

TOTAL Spent in March......$914.87

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$768.48

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$1,683.35

TOTAL Savings of........45.65%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....What a mess March was financially as far as food spending goes!  Folks, it just keeps getting worse and worse.  If I remove all the stuff I bought to give to the food bank my spending would be much more reasonable.....but it would still be high.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by .34% in March to 49.07% compared to February's 49.41% savings average.  Not much of a change from last month so I'll take that, as it's still a high savings rate.

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 3 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $2,227.39 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.

2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,227.39

2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$4,373.44

2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$2,146.05

2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................49.07%

The average per month amount spent is $742.46 in 2024 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 and other miscellaneous rebates 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.  The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gives 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.

LOOKING AHEAD TO APRIL 2024.....

Who the hell knows where prices will be in a month!  I have no crystal ball and the government just keeps printing money willy-nilly which makes our dollars stretch even less further.  Case in point, the 1.2 Trillion $ spending bill the Congress just passed without vetting it.  Where do you think the $ to fund this is coming from?  Taxpayers and the government will just print money to cover what we don't cough up, thus our dollars are worth less.  Economics 101.  We need a line item veto!  And we need to decrease the debt-it's so out of control!  *Off my soapbox now.*

I'll keep an eye on what we spend, rebate and coupon like a mad woman when I have to step foot in a grocery store and shop from my pantry when I can.  I won't be food shopping for more than half of April so that will help with the spending. 8-)

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 March?

*  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

March Food Spending Week 1+, Meal Plan March Week 2

I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by. These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's-1970's or earlier.

This week I give you the dream kitchen from 1955.....
Well you'll have to go HERE and watch a short film to see it.  It's a 13 minute film ad selling appliances and new homes from 1955.  It's very cute!  Then we can discuss what you saw.

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)

Last week's meal plan is in the books. Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Leftovers
MONDAY--Tacos or Taco Salad, Corn
TUESDAY--Veal Parmesan, Pasta, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Birthday Meal out-Red Lobster
THURSDAY--Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
FRIDAY--I can't remember what we had...leftovers?....but it wasn't take-out as I had planned
SATURDAY--Hubs got Burger King, he didn't like my plan lol

Friday Hubs picked up Daughter from college for Spring break.  I think we had leftovers.  I know we didn't get Chinese take-out as planned. 

The weekly food spending was $91.43. $20+ of that was stocking up on corned beef briskets at $2.29 lb.  No $100+ shopping trips for me this week!  

It's the 12th day of the month and I've already spent $250.63 my food budget for the month!  I have $49.37 left from my original $300 kitty for food.  I do have $176.80 leftover from Jan. and Feb.'s kitties which I will dip into if I need it, but I'll try my hardest to avoid spending that.


Going into March Week 2+ I have many leftovers.  Mostly it's just one helping of something and not enough for an entire meal plus 1 big dish of the casserole I made last week and now a good sized amount of leftovers from Sunday's dinner.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Roasted Turkey, Stuffing, Potatoes, Green Beans, Cranberry Glop
MONDAY--Leftovers
TUESDAY--Daughter's making dinner
WEDNESDAY--Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potato
THURSDAY--Leftovers
FRIDAY--homemade Pizza, Salad
SATURDAY--Chinese take-out

This menu gives us 4 new meals, 1 take-out(at Daughter's request) and 2 nights of leftovers. 

Items needed to buy for this menu are...cabbage. I've got everything else here already in the freezer or the pantry, except for the unknown meal Daughter is fixing.

I am trying to get Daughter to limit what she cooks to items we already have the ingredients for.  I did buy some red and yellow peppers on Saturday and she wants to make "something" chicken so I am pulling for Fajitas.  We would need to pick up mushrooms and sour cream for that though, but I have the onions, cheese(found more cheddar stashed in the freezer so I am not out yet), spices, tortillas.....oh, and the chicken too. ;-)

My mission this week on leftover nights is to make sure the turkey leftovers get eaten.  I am not a fan of leftover turkey but the others will eat it.

We'll be buying milk as usual.

So far I don't see any stocking up opportunities, except for more corned beef.  

So what is everyone else eating this week?

Sluggy

March Budget Results.....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MARCH 2011.

I have posted March'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 March.  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(4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 15.
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BIG LOTS
OOP  $6.80
Value  $12.28
Savings  44.62%

BREAD OUTLET
OOP  $14.23
Value  $70.89
Savings  80%

CARONE'S(small local independent store)
OOP  $89.67

Qs/Ads  $98.85
Value  $188.52
Savings  52.44%

DOLLAR TREE
OOP  $11.18
Value  $18.00
Savings  38%

RITE AID
OOP  $5.79 (whole amount put on free Rite-Aid Gift Cards)=$.00 actual OOP
Qs/Ads/+Ups  $770.79
Value  $776.58
Savings  99.35% before gift cards/ 100% savings after free gift cards

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town/doubles up to $1 total)
OOP  $82.10
Qs/Ads  $115.62
Value  $197.72
Savings   58.50%

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 RECV'D. IN MARCH

Lypsyl.....$2.39
Rite-Aid SCR...$68.98
Subtotal........$71.37

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Subtotal....$0.00

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$71.37

COUPONS and FREEBIES

Chef Boyardee.....Free Ravioli Q
Herbal Essence 'Poo...$1/1 Q & Free Item Q
NeilMed......Free Neti Bottle
MegaRed....Free Supplement Sample
Orbit.....Free Pack of Gum Q
P&G....Q Booklet
Purina.....Free Bag of Dog Food Q

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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Rite-Aid at 100%,  The Bread Outlet at 80% and  Weis Markets at 58.50%.  I only shopped at 6 stores in March.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$203.98
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1060.01
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1263.99 with Rite-Aid figured in
TOTAL Savings of...................................83.86%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$71.37

TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$132.61
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$1131.38
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1263.99
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................89.50%

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.....$132.61
TOTAL Value of Items Purchases(w/out Rite-Aid items)....$487.41
TOTAL Savings After Rebates(w/out Rite-Aid items).....72.80%

This closes out the March spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
While I didn't set out to do a "No Spend Month", my grocery spending was under $120 until the last week of March.  I did the Kraft Cheese Instant Discount Deal a second time on the 26th at the local ShurSave affiliate store, plus my Daughter went to the store with me and she needed quite a few items so she could make quick, easy lunches and dinners on the nights that she worked.  So I spent almost $40 on her needs alone on that trip.
We did eat down some of the veggies, meats and ice cream in the freezer this month, as well as quite a few canned goods.
In the end, we kept the spending under $140.00 for the month which was very good.

What's ahead for April.....
We'll need to make another trip to the Bread Outlet this month to restock.  I can't make bakery items as cheaply as I can get them on deep discount at the Outlet. 
I'll also be buying a 5lb. block of Cooper Sharp Cheese at the Restaurant Outlet since we haven't done that since last year.  By slicing my own, we save the large mark-up on the deli sliced cheese.
The only meat I plan to buy in April will be any marked down packages that are at or under my Price Book amount for various meats. 
I'll be on the look-out for sour cream and ricotta cheese on sale/discount as we are also out of those items.  No stockpile items are low at this point but I'll keep my eyes open for 'stockopportunities' where combining my Qs and loss leader sale prices will get me some 'extreme couponing' deals.
Again, I hope to accomplish this for not more than $250 for the month.

How did you do in March with your Food Budget?
What are your challenges for April?
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

MARCH Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for MARCH 2010.
I am listing subtotals for each store I purchased from in March.
These Totals include Food, Toiletries/HBA, Pet Supplies, Cleaning Products & tax where applicable.We are a family of 5(4 at home) & 3 dogs. No kids under 14.


BOYER'S(small local chain in next town)
OOP $38.01
Qs/Ads $71.09
Value $109.10
Savings 65.10%

CVS
OOP $.57 ($2.64 put on Gift Card)
Qs/Ads $37.39
Value $40.60
Savings 99.20%

ENTENMANN'S OUTLET
OOP $9.00
Ads/Sales $16.74
Value $25.74
Savings  65%

PRICE CHOPPER Northeast
OOP $3.92
Qs/Ads $21.48
Value $25.40
Savings 84.57%

RITE AID
OOP $3.93 ($42.48 put on Rite-Aid Gift Card/Prepaid Visa Card)
Qs/Ads $717.25
Value $759.73
Savings 99.48%

SHIEL'S(local Independent Grocery that doesn't take IP Qs)
OOP $0.00 ($8.00 put on Gift Card)
Qs/Ads $7.15
Value $15.15
Savings   100%

WALGREENS
OOP $8.02
Qs/Ads $49.33
Value $57.35
Savings  86%

WEIS (local chain Grocery store that doesn't take IP Qs in my town)
OOP $158.95
Qs/Ads $497.58
Value $371.49
Savings  81.70%

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 MARCH

Lypsyl Rebate....$2.00

Naked Juice....$10.00

Olay Regenerist Rebate....$15.00

Olay Quench Rebate...$11.23
Olay 2 Cleansers Rebate.....$15.00
Pinecone Research....$6.00
Renpure Shampoo....$3.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$80.73
Schick Razor....$7.64

Subtotal........$150.60

FREE ITEMS

Barilla Pasta Q
Heluva Good Item Q x 2
Reese's Pieces Candy Bag Q
Sugardale Bacon Q

Yogi Tea Q x 2

COUPONS

Betty Crocker/Pillsbury Qs
Price Chopper Catalinas  $20

GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES

Rite-Aid $5 Wellness Gift Card

Rite-Aid $5 Nivea Gift Card

Rite-Aid $25 Heart Healthy Gift Card

TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received..$185.60


My best 3 Store Savings Totals were from Schiel's at 100%, Rite-Aid at 99.48%, and CVS at 99.20%.


TOTAL Out of Pocket...............................$222.40
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$1182.16
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.............$1404.56
TOTAL Savings of..........84.17%

TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$150.60
TOTAL OOP After  Rebates....................$71.80
TOTAL Savings of..................................94.89%

This closes out the March spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month-
I think I did quite well this month, especially considering all the Catalina Deals I did!  The spending before rebates was $222.40 but with rebates added to the budget of $277.77($250 + carryover from last month of $27.77), we had $428.37 to use, so we have $205.97 left to carry over into April's $250 food/toiletries budget.  With that amount leftover I almost got through the month without spending any of the $250 March food/toiletries money!
I may NOT roll this $205.97 leftover into next month's food budget(since I have proven to myself I don't need to spend that much on the monthly supplies), but put it aside instead for buying a part of a steer or free-range chickens, or even for a bulk buy of veggies at the farm this summer to put up for next winter.

What's ahead for April 2010.....

The April 2010 Food/Toiletries Budget is set at $250 cash out of pocket.  Any rebates received this month will offset this OOP spending.  I have $255.14 in Rebates outstanding, so anything that comes in this month gets thrown into the food budget kitty.

How did you do in March 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