Food Spending....the July 2024 Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for July 2024.

I have posted July'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 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, Pet Food. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

ALDI  

OOP  $44.02

Sales  $15.44

Value  $59.46

Savings  25.97%

CVS

OOP  $15.17

Sales/Free CVS Script  $19.87

Value  $35.04

Savings  56.71%

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $21.60

Sales/Coupons  $43.83

Value  $65.43

Savings  67.00%

KROGER

OOP  $159.33

Qs/Gift Cards  $116.12

Value $275.45

Savings  42.11%

TRADER JOE'S

OOP  $27.70

Qs/Sales  $8.22

Value  $35.92

Savings  22.88%

WALMART

OOP  $143.95

Qs/Gift Cards $91.87

Value  $235.82

Savings  38.96%

********************
My best Store Savings Total was at Dollar General with a savings of 67.00%.  My worse rate was at Trader Joe's with 22.88%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall though.

I shopped at 6 different stores in JULY.

TOTAL Spent in July......$411.77

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$292.85

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$704.62

TOTAL Savings of........41.56%

I spent $219.71 in Virginia, $152.22 in Louisiana and Hubs spent $39.84 here while I was gone in July.  I was basically providing all my meals in VA and they had to be  easy/premade/etc.

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....

On the surface our spending was high but that doesn't figure in all the rebating cash I got back.  Even so, we had a goodly savings percentage over regular retail anyway.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went Down by 10.32% in July to 41.56% compared to June's 51.88% savings average.  A lower savings rate but still over 40% which is what I like to see. 8-)

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 7 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $4,381.76 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2024.  Food prices have gotten to the ridiculous level, haven't they?

2024 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$4,381.76

2024 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$7,270.74

2024 Grand Total Saved...............................$2,888.98

2024 Yearly Savings Total..............................39.74%

The average per month amount spent is $625.97 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, Swag Bucks, My Points and other miscellaneous rebates-Aisle, Tremendous, 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.  

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.

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 $2,182.71 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 7 month point in 2024 comes in at $2,199.05 or $314.15 per month.

Besides all I sent to my bank account I have another $677.78 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 AUGUST 2024.....

I am back home and trying to get back into the groove again.  August may be a heavy food spending month as I restock the freezer and take advantage of the deals of Summer.

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 July?

*  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

Food Spending.....the May 2023 Edition

Onward to May's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for May 2023.

I have posted May'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 May.  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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $18.75

Value  $37.50

Savings  50.00%

KROGER

OOP  $85.68

Qs/Ads  $63.86

Value  $149.54

Savings  42.70%

SUPER 1

OOP  $56.98

Qs/Ads  $46.54

Value  $103.52

Savings  44.96%

WALMART

OOP  $128.70

Qs/free Gift Cards $46.60
Value  $175.30
Savings 26.58%

********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at Dollar General at 50% and Super 1 at 44.96% .  My worse rate was  Walmart at  26.58%. 

I shopped at 4 different stores in MAY.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in May................$235.11

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$230.75

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$465.86

TOTAL Savings of ............................49.54%

This closes out the May food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....not bad since we weren't home for 2/3 of the month.  I picked up some deals(meat)in May for the Summer.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 2..42% in May 2023 to 49.54% compared to the April 47.12% savings average.  

With 5 months accounted for, I have spent a Total of $1,882.46 on groceries/HBA /paper goods in 2023.

2023 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,117.57

2023 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$3,537.60

2023 Grand Total Saved...............................$1,420.03

2023 Yearly Savings Total..............................40.39%

The average per month amount spent is $423.51 in 2023 so far.

LOOKING AHEAD to June 2023...I have already taken off any weight gained on the trip but I am continuing to restrict food intake to get down to the BMI needed by the surgeon to get my knee replacement.  Hubs will mostly be fending for himself the rest of June, especially as there is a family crisis he is going to PA to deal with so I haven't a clue what he'll be spending.

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 April?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 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

Income & Spending....February Edition

Now that we are living on an annuity, 401K$ withdrawals and social security payments, I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the February report---

I had 2 goals for February......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2022.

This month I also had a goal to survive the move and have a little fun.  So far, so good.;-)

I can report that we finished up February in the Red.

The amount we ended the month of February with?...-$4,626.81

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in February---

*  Monthly annuity payment of $3,235.81(after tax withholding)

*  SS income of $3879.00

*  Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $174.04

*  Check payment from Checkout51 of $50.94

*  Medical refund of $40.00

Total "Income" for February....$7,379.79

Expenses in February---
* Irregular bills in February were $7,277.72

* Variable Expenses in February came to $2,457.89

* Health insurance premiums totaling $2,270.99

Total Expenses....$12,006.60

$7,379.79-$12,006.60= -$4,626.81

Slush into February of $65,810.06 in that Fund, subtract shortfall of $4,626.81 in February and we get $61,183.25 into March 2023's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a subtraction of $4,626.81.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this February here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  The cell phone, WAM, Health Premium and internet were the same as last month.

*  Hubs Amazon c/c was $1,255.74 lower than in January.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $2.37 higher than last month.

*  The electric bill was $59.42 higher than in January.

*  My Amazon c/c was $131.47 higher than last month.

*  The Mastercard c/c was $69.21 higher than in January.

*  We had irregular bills due in February too--

  *   I paid off the rest of the May/June cruise bill to NCL.

  *  Paid off the American airlines c/c for our checked bag fees for last year's cruise.

The Food Budget costs for February are in another post HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on February 2023---Other than the cruise payment it was an ok month financially.  All that 401K withdrawal in January(and that overage last month)went toward that cruise bill and was planned for.  Our regular bills($2,457.89)were slightly less than they were in January so that's a win.

THOUGHTS going forward into March 2023--

Still having limited mobility so we still need to unpack stuff. ugh.  This has got to be the slowest unpacking and setting up a household I've ever been a part of! lolz  I think the house insurance payments are all done for the year so that's one good thing.  But we are still nickel and dime spending on miscellaneous repairs on the house and haven't even addressed the big ticket items that need to be purchased./fixed.

So how was your February financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in February?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!

Sluggy   

Food Spending 2023....the January Report

Onward to January's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for JANUARY 2023.

I have posted January'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 January.  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. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

KROGER

OOP  $146.62

Qs/Ads  $122.14

Value  $268.76

Savings  19.40%

SHOPPER VALUE

OOP  $9.89

Qs/Ads  $6.08

Value  $15.97

Savings  38.07%

SUPER 1 FOODS 

OOP   $41.55

Qs/Ads  $29.67

Value  $71.22

Savings  41.66%

WALMART
OOP  $216.62

Qs/free Gift Cards  $52.14
Value  $268.76
Savings 19.40%

*********************
My best 2 Store Savings Totals were at Super 1 Foods at 41.66% and Shopper Value at 38.07%

I only shopped at 4 different stores in January.   8-)

TOTAL Spent in January................$414.67

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$211.61

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$626.28

TOTAL Savings of ............................33.79%

This closes out the January food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....well my spending/percentages went up as I wasn't able to grocery shop much due to having to stay off my injured leg.  Having Hubs shop isn't the best way to keep spending down and I couldn't be in the store to snag clearance deals as Hubs sticks to a list I have to assemble for him. ;-)

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 9.39% in January 2023 to 33.79% compared to the December's 43.18% savings average.  It's really not a great comparison between these 2 months as we weren't home and cooking for most of December and largely housebound in January. 

With 1 month accounted for, I have spent a Total of $414.67 on groceries in 2023 so far.

2022 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$414.67

2022 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$626.28

2022 Grand Total Saved...............................$211.61

2022 Yearly Savings Total..............................33.79%

The average per month amount spent is $414.67 in 2023

LOOKING AHEAD to February 2023...

Still in recovery mode and can't stand to cook for long so it's limited grocery shopping and meal choices.  The word for February is perseverance.

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 January?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 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

Food Spending 2022....the October Report

* Again, I am still not up and running as normal.  So busy with life here but I pop in when I can with an update.*

Onward to October's Food Spending report......

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for OCTOBER 2022.

I have posted October'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 October.  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 & tax where applicable. We are a family of 2(and 2 dogs).
****************

DOLLAR GENERAL

OOP  $51.42

Qs/Ads  $29.04

Value  $80.46

Savings  36.09%

DOLLAR TREE

OOP  $1.25

Qs/Ads  $.54

Value  $1.79

Savings  30.16%

KROGER

OOP  $92.35

Qs/Ads  $58.53

Value  $150.88

Savings  38.79%

SUPER 1 FOODS 

OOP  $90.66

Qs/Ads  $66.29

Value  $156.95

Savings  42.24%

WALMART
OOP  $327.44

Qs/free Gift Cards  $151.19
Value  $478.63
Savings 31.59%

*********************
My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Super 1 Foods at 42.24%, Kroger at 38.79% and Dollar General at 36.09%.

The worst rate was Dollar Tree at 30.16%.  
I shopped at 5 different stores in October.

TOTAL Spent in October................$560.11

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards...$315.29

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased....$875.40

TOTAL Savings of .............................36.02%

This closes out the October food/toiletries spending.

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....well I knew that when we got a house to set up the food spending would explode and it did.  Very little food was brought 1,431 miles with us(a little canned food and dog food but none of the open stuff and the refrigerated or frozen food)so the this past month and the next few will see large food expenditures to restock.  Under $600 isn't too bad considering I have no Rite-Aid any longer(sniff)and no Aldi.  I am doing the best I can.  We are still not in full on cooking mode as we are still finding kitchen stuff(or not finding it.....hello? pots and pans!)so easy and/or premade dinners are being subbed out.

The monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 6.22% in October 2022 to 36.02% compared to the September's 42.24% savings average.  

With 10 months accounted for, I have spent a Grand Total of $2,557.94 on food/toiletries in 2022.

2021 Yearly Grand Total Spent....................$2,557.94

2021 Yearly Grand Total Value of Items.....$11,198.19

2021 Grand Total Saved...............................$8,640.25

2021 Yearly Savings Total..............................77.16%

The average per month amount spent is $255.79 in 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD To November 2022......I am continuing to rebuild our food stockpile when I see a deal.  I suspect the spending will be high as the price of groceries is rising weekly it seems nowadays.  Spending on food should level off in December as we won't be shopping much due to life circumstances then so November is my time to add to the stockpile.

I know that all my Rite-Aid freebies really kept my OOP spending low and my savings percentage high and I am really missing it.  But such is life and I am trying not to dwell on the higher numbers as this is my new reality.

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 October?

*  Do you track your yearly food spending?  It's really not that hard or time consuming; just have 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 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

Income & Spending 2021....the July Report

Now that we are living on an annuity and 401K$ withdrawals(some months), I am still going to keep track of our monthly spending and income, and hopefully we'll still be able to live BELOW our means and I'll have some leftover monies each month to tuck aside.

I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how much is coming in and how much is going out.  8-)

On to the July report---

I had 2 goals for July.......
The 1st is to actually finish the month in the black and not the red.
The 2nd is to try to have a little cash leftover at the end of the previous month to tuck back into a slush fund.  This slush fun may be to apply toward unforeseen bills that are coming due in subsequent months, to spend on "extras/wants" during the year or to just sit there and grow until the end of 2021.

I can report that we finished up July in the red.
The amount we ended the month of July with?.....-$2,978.08

Income or Funds We Can Access

The "income" in July---

* Monthly annuity payment of $3,222.24(after tax withholding)
* RMSA(Healthcare account)reimbursement of $1,971.99
* Interest earned on non-retirement accounts of $214.19

Total "Income" for July.....$5,408.42

Expenses in July---

* Healthcare Premium for July was $1,971.99(paid for with RMSA reimbursement)
* Irregular bills in July were $3,405.86(Clothing, Cruise, Airline Tickets)

* Variable Expenses in July came to $3,008.65
Total Expenses....$8,386.5

$5,408.42-$8,386.50= -$2978.08

Slush into July of $42,011.60 in that Fund, subtract the $2,978.08 in shortage and we get $39,033.52 going into August's Slush Fund.
The Slush Fund on it's Page(tab at the top of the blog)shows a reduction of $2,978.08 for July.

Outgo

As for the variable expenses this July, here are the good and the bad side of things....

HERE are the GOOD THINGS

*  Internet was the same as in June.

*  The WAM was the same amount taken as last month.

*  The electric bill was .25¢ lower than in June. lol

*  The gas bill was $32.66 lower than last month.

HERE are the BAD THINGS

*  The water bill was $6.48 higher than in June.
*  The cell phone bill was higher by $91.96 in July.  This is due to Hubs getting a new phone.

*  The MC c/c was $1,532.94 higher than in June.(Not much was charged to that card in June.)

*  My Amazon Visa was $2,730.89 higher this month(Alaskan cruise  and plane fare to Seattle x 2 anyone?)

*  I also paid for some clothes to the tune of $74.97 in July.

The Food Budget costs for July are in another post, which is located HERE.  Food costs are included in the credit card payment(mainly but sometimes our WAM cash too).

FINAL THOUGHTS on July---I knew July's financials wouldn't be pretty as the Slush Fund took a big hit what with taking the cruise/flight costs from that fund instead of withdrawing money earning "real" interest.  I am ok where we landed on spending in July.
 

THOUGHTS going forward into August 2021---Most of the vacation is paid for already but I suspect there will be incidental costs to cover still plus the dog boarding bill when we return.  Until the trip we are just going to concentrate on staying home, not spending money we don't have to, planning the next house project and using up some foodstuffs.

*Sluggy chants, "I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta, I will NOT do Ibotta.....". ;-)

So how was your July financially? 

Did you spend less than the income you had in July?
Did you stay within your budget or not?
What did you do with any money leftover at the end of the month?
Did you pay off any debts or put extra toward your mortgage principle or into savings, in an emergency fund or a retirement account?
Or did you blow it on a want?

If you posted your financial progress on your own blog, leave a link in the comments so we can go check out your progress too and celebrate or commiserate with you!


Sluggy