Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for SEPTEMBER 2012.
I have posted September'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 September. 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(3-4 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
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BREAD OUTLET
OOP $20.89
Value $73.21
Savings 71.46%
BIG LOTS
OOP $15.12
Value $21.79
Savings 30.61%
GERRITY'S
OOP $7.00
Qs/Ads $2.45
Value $9.45
Savings 25.92%
BIG LOTS
OOP $15.12
Value $21.79
Savings 30.61%
GERRITY'S
OOP $7.00
Qs/Ads $2.45
Value $9.45
Savings 25.92%
RITE-AID
OOP $38.65
Qs/Ads/+Ups/Gift Card $523.23
Value $561.88
Savings 93.12%
SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP $138.18
Value $231.24
Savings 40.25%
WEIS MARKETS
OOP $204.76
Qs/Ads $158.14
Value $362.90
Savings 43.58%
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 September
Rite-Aid Single Check Rebate for July
Total...$6.00
GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$0.00
COUPONS and FREEBIES
Nothing.
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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were the Rite-Aid at 93.12%, the Bread Outlet at 71.46%, and Weis at 43.58%. l shopped at 6 different stores this past month.
TOTAL Out of Pocket........$424.60
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$808.95
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$1,233.55
TOTAL Savings of...................................65.58%
TOTAL Out of Pocket after Rebates received this Month......$418.60
TOTAL Savings after Rebates of..........................66.07%
This closes out the September spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into September with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month. I obviously blew through that mark plus another $18.60. I know I did a bit too much stocking up on a few things and I bought a few too many snack foods for #2 son. It's nothing I can't live with though.
My grocery savings hovered at below 45% for September. I used very few Qs this month. This lack of coupon usage seems to be a theme with me lately. I do still buy on rock bottom price(or at least very good sale price) but don't find Qs much here for food items I want/need to buy.
TOTAL Out of Pocket after Rebates received this Month......$418.60
TOTAL Savings after Rebates of..........................66.07%
This closes out the September spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
I went into September with $400 budgeted for food/toiletries for the month. I obviously blew through that mark plus another $18.60. I know I did a bit too much stocking up on a few things and I bought a few too many snack foods for #2 son. It's nothing I can't live with though.
My grocery savings hovered at below 45% for September. I used very few Qs this month. This lack of coupon usage seems to be a theme with me lately. I do still buy on rock bottom price(or at least very good sale price) but don't find Qs much here for food items I want/need to buy.
LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER......
I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for October. We don't have any special dinners or holiday food spending this month. I've already bought the Halloween candy to give out, but that came out of another pile of money that isn't the Food Budget anyway.
I'm going to try to cut back on spending a little this month but I'll leave the $400 budget in place since I now give Daughter a portion of the food Budget each month for her to buy convenience foods to take to work for her meal there. The portion she spends is unpredictable so far. I'll try to keep track the next few months to see if I can pin down how much it needs to be monthly and adjust my spending accordingly.
Hopefully I'll have a little leftover from my budget when the month is over but it is not guaranteed.
I will be keeping my food budget at $400 for October. We don't have any special dinners or holiday food spending this month. I've already bought the Halloween candy to give out, but that came out of another pile of money that isn't the Food Budget anyway.
I'm going to try to cut back on spending a little this month but I'll leave the $400 budget in place since I now give Daughter a portion of the food Budget each month for her to buy convenience foods to take to work for her meal there. The portion she spends is unpredictable so far. I'll try to keep track the next few months to see if I can pin down how much it needs to be monthly and adjust my spending accordingly.
Hopefully I'll have a little leftover from my budget when the month is over but it is not guaranteed.
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
