Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for FEBRUARY 2012.
I have posted February'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 February. 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(3-5 at home this month)& 2 dogs. No kids under 16.
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BIG LOTS
OOP $19.35
Value $35.50
Savings 45.50%
BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $7.45
Value $38.92
Savings 80.86%
PRICE CHOPPER
BAKERY OUTLET
OOP $7.45
Value $38.92
Savings 80.86%
PRICE CHOPPER
OOP $5.98
Qs/Ads $9.14
Value $15.12
Savings 60.45%
RITE-AID DRUG STORE
OOP $9.05 in cash($24.92 with $15.87 put on my free Rite-Aid gift card)
Qs/Ads/+Ups $412.71
RITE-AID DRUG STORE
OOP $9.05 in cash($24.92 with $15.87 put on my free Rite-Aid gift card)
Qs/Ads/+Ups $412.71
Value $437.63
Savings 97.93%
SHURSAVE STORES(small local independent affiliated stores)
OOP $173.69
Value $296.11
Savings 41.35%
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 FEBRUARY
Mondavi Wine.....$1.00
Pinecone...$6.00
Rite-Aid SCR....$14.49
Subtotal........$21.49
Subtotal........$21.49
GIFT CARDS and CERTIFICATES
Nothing
TOTAL Value of Cash/Store Checks/Gift Card Rebates Received...$21.49
COUPONS and FREEBIES
2 x Coca-Cola 12-pack Q
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My best 3 Store Savings Totals were Rite-Aid at 97.93%, the Bakery Outlet at 80.86%, and Price Chopper at 60.45%.
I shopped at 5 different stores in February.
TOTAL Out of Pocket........$215.52
TOTAL Coupons & Store Sales Savings...$607.76
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.28TOTAL Savings of...................................73.82%
TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$21.49
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$194.03
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$629.25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.28
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................76.43%
This closes out the February spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
We continued to eat down the freezer and didn't do any restocking on frozen foods....except for those whole roasters I bought. We spent well below our budgeted amount for food again in February. I think this was in part due to consistent meal planning and sticking with the menu, cutting down on our eating and sticking to simpler foods(not buying much processed or prepared foods and buying items closer to their natural state and buying a narrower range of items). A simpler diet will help to keep your food costs down.
I want to note something here.....while I used quite a few Qs at Rite-Aid, no Qs were used at Big Lots, Price Chopper and the Bakery Outlet, and I hardly used any Qs at the Shursave grocery store(since they don't accept internet printed ones). With most of the items I purchased, either they didn't have a Q available or the store didn't allow Q redemption. Even without using Qs, by just buying on sale, I was able to realize a savings rate of at least 40%. So if you arranger your purchasing so that you don't pay regular retail price, you can still save a very nice amount!
Of course everyone wants to save 70% or 80% off of their food bill. But even if you don't use Qs you can still save 40% if you shop strategically by buying items when they are at the lowest price point in the supermarket sales cycles.
TOTAL of CASH Rebates........................$21.49
TOTAL Out of Pocket After Rebates........$194.03
TOTAL Savings including Rebates...........$629.25
TOTAL Value of Items Purchased............$823.28
TOTAL Savings After Rebates...................76.43%
This closes out the February spending.
THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month.....
We continued to eat down the freezer and didn't do any restocking on frozen foods....except for those whole roasters I bought. We spent well below our budgeted amount for food again in February. I think this was in part due to consistent meal planning and sticking with the menu, cutting down on our eating and sticking to simpler foods(not buying much processed or prepared foods and buying items closer to their natural state and buying a narrower range of items). A simpler diet will help to keep your food costs down.
I want to note something here.....while I used quite a few Qs at Rite-Aid, no Qs were used at Big Lots, Price Chopper and the Bakery Outlet, and I hardly used any Qs at the Shursave grocery store(since they don't accept internet printed ones). With most of the items I purchased, either they didn't have a Q available or the store didn't allow Q redemption. Even without using Qs, by just buying on sale, I was able to realize a savings rate of at least 40%. So if you arranger your purchasing so that you don't pay regular retail price, you can still save a very nice amount!
Of course everyone wants to save 70% or 80% off of their food bill. But even if you don't use Qs you can still save 40% if you shop strategically by buying items when they are at the lowest price point in the supermarket sales cycles.
LOOKING AHEAD TO MARCH.....
We'll have an extra mouth or two to feed for 1/3 of the month. No Birthdays or special food occasions, except for St. Patrick's Day.
I'll try to pick up some corned beef briskets on sale for stockpiling. I like to get briskets and slice my own for corned beef sandwiches. Much less expensive than buying corned beef at the deli counter....it's about $9 a lb. around here these days! I can buy a 4+lb. brisket on sale in March for what they charge for 1 lb. of it sliced at the deli counter.
I will be keeping my food budget at $300 for March. I will hold the excess from Jan.($92.32) and Feb.($84.48)that I did not spend in reserve, which gives me an extra $176.80, should a great food deal come around this month.
We'll have an extra mouth or two to feed for 1/3 of the month. No Birthdays or special food occasions, except for St. Patrick's Day.
I'll try to pick up some corned beef briskets on sale for stockpiling. I like to get briskets and slice my own for corned beef sandwiches. Much less expensive than buying corned beef at the deli counter....it's about $9 a lb. around here these days! I can buy a 4+lb. brisket on sale in March for what they charge for 1 lb. of it sliced at the deli counter.
I will be keeping my food budget at $300 for March. I will hold the excess from Jan.($92.32) and Feb.($84.48)that I did not spend in reserve, which gives me an extra $176.80, should a great food deal come around this month.
How did you do in February with your Food Budget?
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
