SEPTEMBER 2012 Budget Results....Food & Toiletries Spending

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.
******************

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%

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

Qs/Ads  $93.06

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.

 

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.

How did you do in September with your Food Budget?
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

Judy's BACK & Precious is Still MIA!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post to bring you breaking news......Judy is Back!

You can go find her here at When I Get Where I'm Going.
Tell her Sluggy sent ya! ;-)

In other news.....Precious's  Frugal Makes Cents blog is still showing that "Invited Readers Only" Message.  Has anyone gotten invited to read her blog and/or has anyone heard from her that she is ok?
We would appreciate knowing if you have, thanks!

Now I need to go outside and wrestle with a massive green bean vine or seven!  The vine is done producing beans so it's time to tear it out before it starts decaying and kills my allergies.(I am allergic to dead leaves.)
Then there are Rite-Aids to pillage........*sigh*....my work is never done. ;-)

I might or might not be back later with my Meal Planning Post today.
If not then I'll get it up on Tuesday.

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway HERE.  You can enter it daily until it closes on Sunday, October 7th at 11:59pm.  There are $50+ worth of toiletry products in there so get going!!  You gotta be IN IT to WIN IT.  ;-)

Sluggy

The Boring Blog Box Giveaway.....FINAL WEEK TO ENTER!

Time for another......

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY!

Here's how it works.....

I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Week 4  and here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  Crest Clinical Mouth Rinse

2.  2 x Johnson & Johnson Soap Buddies bars
3.  Visine Eye Rinse

If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.  *As always, if you are located outside the US, you CAN enter and win but weight restrictions/shipping costs may mean your prize box will contain less items.*

***Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until the end of this Giveaway which will be October 7th at 11:59pm Eastern Time.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.
Leave your name/email addy and a COMMENT on this post.  

This week I want to hear about if you put up any fruits or vegetables, as in canning.  What type of foods do you can.  How long have you been canning?  Do you do both water bath and pressure canning?
Me?....I put up Pepper Relish this year.  Years past I've also canned assorted jams and tomatoes.  I only know how to do water bath canning as I've never had access to a pressure canner.

You can come directly to this blog post or find it through the link on the right side bar to leave 1 comment per day.  The current Giveaway Post will be linked right at the top of the side bar.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get 2 EXTRA entries on this and each new Giveaway Post.......

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with the URL of your blog so I can go check it out. **If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in an extra entry comment once each week of this giveaway.

2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog with a link to this post.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST with a link to your blog post so I can go view it.  You can do this extra entry once each week of this giveaway.

Remember-this Giveaway ends nest Sunday,  October 7th at 11:59pm Eastern Time.  I will draw a winning entry randomly from all valid entries received on Monday, October 8th and post the winner.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond via email.  If they don't I'll pick another winner at random until someone claims the prize.

Here is everything that is now in the box that's up for grabs.....Yes, you get it ALL!

1 bottle of Garnier Fructis Shampoo
1 Dog Frisbee (from Purina Fit & Trim)

1 box of Reach Dental Floss

1 tube of Colgate Toothpaste

1 Air Wick air freshener
1 Halloween miniature stuffed M&M plush

3 sample sized products--Colgate wisps, Eucerin lotion, Pledge wipes

1 tube of Pepsodent Toothpaste

1 Oral-B battery powered toothbrush

1 Scotch pop-up wrist tape dispenser1 Crest Clinical Mouth Rinse
2 x Johnson & Johnson Soap Buddies bars
1 Visine Eye Rinse

That's over $50 in total retail value.  Don't believe me?.....go check out the prices in the stores. ;-)

Any questions on the Giveaway?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

Finishing Up This Week at Rite-Aid

Ok, since it's Saturday, the last day of the sale so nobody needs/wants to see the big honking long breakdown of what I bought and what I paid, etc. PLUS.....after the week I had, the week of buying and returning crap because I couldn't figure out which toothpaste qualified to which deal(Yes! I am THAT dense some days.), I don't even think I can remember how it all went down. 
So I am just doing 1 big lovely photograph and summing up the totals for what turned out to be 7 separate transactions over the course of 4 days.

But first.....to refresh your memory of what I bought on Tuesday.....

And now, for your viewing pleasure, as Paul Harvey would have said, "Here's the rest of the story.".....

7 tubes of Crest Toothpaste
6 boxes of Kotex Tampons
6 bags of Brach's Sugar Crack
4 sleeves of Incense
2 packets of Sashet
2 Oral-B Toothbrushes
2 bottles of Scope
1 box of R-A brand Tea Bags(only $1!)
2 bottles of Nexxus Shampoo
2 bottles of Clean & Clear Face Wash
4 tubes of Olay Cleaners (thanks Sheila!)
I also got a blue step stool(a house full of short people can always use another step stool)on 75% clearance that isn't pictured.  It qualifies for the $5 wyb2 items Gracious Living SCR EXCEPT I can't find any more Gracious Living items to buy to get to 2 items purchased to get the rebate.  It was honestly the LAST Gracious Living item in a 4 store area.  bleh.
But I'm keeping it anyway....

Total spent OOP......$3.09 put on my Rite-Aid gift card
Total value of items....$173.71
Total +Ups used.....48.00+
Total +Ups gotten.... 59.98+
Total +Ups left.....25.98+
Plus I got $1.50 cash back after a transaction when a coupon was missed.
AND the $20 Nexxus purchase will get me a $5 cash rebate from SavingStar.

I think I actually spent more than $48 in +Ups but my head hurts already from staring at these receipts so I am going to call it all good and leave it at that. lol
I just know I have $25.98 in +Ups left now & I didn't spend any cash. 8-)

I am so done with Rite-Aid this week!
Next week for me will be light--some lunch meal thingys for Hubs, some Puffs facial tissue, dish soap, Comet, Herbal Essence shampoo, chili, chips, R-A brand paper towels....on second thought, next week might not be so light!lol
I don't see anything that will be free so far.   Just cheap and/or cheaper than getting it at the grocery stores here.

Have you decided what you'll be popping into Rite-Aid for next week?


And now the Grand Total so far for September.....

Out Of Pocket....$38.65  cash
Value of items bought.....$561.88
Savings Rate of  93.12%
Single Check Rebate due....$10.00
Other Rebates due......$3.00
After SCR applied, Out of Pocket.... $25.65
Savings Rate  95.43%

+Ups at beginning of month...$18+
+Ups used....$160+
+Ups received...$167.98+
+Ups currently...$25.98+

Sluggy

Is It October Yet?

September has kicked my butt in the financial realm of things.
When we finally bid it adieu on Monday, I won't be longingly looking back at it....no siree!

I am known far and wide for my skinflint ways.
But even as uber frugal as I can be, the expenses were out of hand for September!
The ones that I could plan for I did, but there were unplan-able ones as well.
It all converged into the Perfect Storm and wiped my budget out!
ugh

Yes, having a month where you bring in LESS than you need to spend happens.
Even too me.....
Shocking I know, right?!?! lol

But you know what?
It's not the end of the world around here.

Mostly because we don't make a habit of it.
We don't spend every blessed nickel we make each month, every month.
We put aside a nice chunk of our income each month.
So that when something happens in any given month....like this one!.....we have money to spare to get us past the ugliness of spending more than we made in September.

Having a bad month or three can happen, even if you do everything right.
Having bad months happen on a regular basis though, means you need to rethink what you are doing with your money.

Sometimes the Universe IS out to get you.....and sometimes you are your own worst enemy and create your own problems by not planning and sticking to that plan.

The take away for me on September?
Using it as a reminder that given the choice, living below ones means is always the best plan.
And how!

Well everybody come on back in a few days when I have to do my Savings Challenge Post for September and you can gawk at just how badly the month was for our finances.

Sluggy