Food Spending....the March Edition

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

Here are my FOOD BUDGET spending totals for March 2025.

I have posted Maarch's totals on the Total Grocery Savings Page located  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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BROOKSHIRE'S

OOP  $2.77

Sales  $1.52

Value  $4.29

Savings  35.43%

KROGER

OOP  $226.99

Qs/Gift Cards  $242.42

Value $469.41

Savings  51.64%

SHOPPER'S VALU

OOP  $1.21

Value  $3.15

Savings  87.81%

WALMART

OOP  $70.41

Qs/Gift Cards $51.39

Value  $121.80

Savings  42.19%

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My best Store Savings Total was at Shopper's Valu with a savings of 87.81% but most of the grocery dollars were spent at Kroger with a savings rate of 51.64%.  My worse rate was at Brookshire's with 35.43%.  Not a bad savings rate average overall though.

I shopped at 4 different stores in MARCH.  

TOTAL Spent in March.....$301.38

TOTAL Coupons/Sales/Gift Cards....$297.27

TOTAL Value of Items Purchased.....$598.65

TOTAL Savings of........49.66%

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

THOUGHTS & COMMENTS for this month....Nice job this month.  Didn't spend a lot, for us, in our situation, but got some good deals and lots of savings.  We are continuing to eat down the freezer and the pantry in preparation for the move.

The Monthly food spending savings percentage went DOWN by 49.66% in March to 6.25% compared to February's 43.41% savings average.  When savings percentage goes down it's a good thing.

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 $1,060.43 on groceries/HBA/paper goods/etc. in 2025.

2025 Yearly Total Value of Items  $1,931.05

2025 Total Saved   $870.62

2025 Yearly Total Spent  $1,060.43

2025 Yearly Savings Total of  45.08%

The average per month amount spent is $353.48 in 2025 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, Sampoll  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.  I don't add in all the cashed out savings until the end of the year,

The other savings apps like Fetch, Shop Kick, Kroger Cash Back that let us get free gift cards(or $ off your grocery total-Kroger Cash Back), those are added back in when I cash those points in along the way.  Alexa app gave 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 and it's defunct now so I won't worry about that bit.

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 $489.82 from various rebating programs and through Paypal to my bank.  If you add in all that my food spending at the 2 month point in 2025 comes in at $269.23 or $134.62 per month.

Besides all I sent to my bank account I have more $ 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 APRIL 2025....

I have just under 1 month to finish using up what we have in the freezer.  We can take canned goods with us but not the frozen/refrigerated food.

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

  

Frugal Friday....the April 4th Edition

Here are the frugal wins for this past week....

*  I love finding marked down foods at Kroger(this really doesn't happen at Walmart).  The lure of Ibotta sucked me back in so I bought some items for the food bank that had Ibotta offers.  I also got some marked down produce, salads and I found these three catfish fillets....

Not only were they marked down but they were also part of the Mega sale(buy 5, get $1 off each)so that made them $1.93 each.  I also bought 2 6-packs of Gold Peak tea which I'll need when we are moving, making it 5 items(and the tea was on sale and had an Ibotta rebate too!

*  We used up some pantry items as well.  The less we have to move the better. I'll be going through the pantry this weekend and culling a donation to the food bank.

*  There was no eating out this past week.  

*  Made a sale locally of a ton of laundry detergent.  The people here are so flaky about showing up so I was glad to make this sale.

*  It's been warm here so the heat had been off during the day.  We actually had to put the a/c on a couple of days too.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv, YouTube watching, sitting on the deck reading or doing genealogy.  Still slogging my way through the Jesse James tome.

*  Played Bingo at Group Therapy on 

Thursday and I won a pair of socks. 8-)

*  I found money!

Found a nickel at Walmart on 4/1, Tuesday.

          

Found .56¢ in the Walmart parking lot when  we went to pick up a new Rx.

Found Money This Week..... .61¢

Grand Total Found in 2025....$2.10

That's all I got.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy     

This Week on the Dining Table.....March 31st

"It's That Time Again!"

Walmart had a big sign on one of the poles outside the door urging you to pre-order your mudbugs.
This will be the last time I have to see these signs.\ as I am not a fan.  I'd rather have a juicy Maine lobster. 8-))

Onward to the meal planning!

Here is what was planned for the last week.....

1. Sunday--Steak, Salad, leftover Corn Casserole

2. Monday--Fish, Cabbage

3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala, leftover Veggies, Mashed Potatoes(optional)

4. Wednesday--Poultry Pot Pies, Salad

5. Thursday--Scallops, Leftover Green Beans

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Leftovers(if no leftovers, we'll think up something else)

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Steak, Salad, leftover Corn Casserole

2. Monday--Mushroom Parmesan, Asparagus

3. Tuesday--Cheeseburger(bun optional), Sweet Potato Fries

4. Wednesday--Fish(Salmon or Trout), Green Beans

5. Thursday--Chicken Marsala, Saute Cabbage

6. Friday--Big Lunch out(no dinner)

7. Saturday--Leftover Cheeseburgers, Leftover Veggies(Asparagus and  Sweet Potato)

Most everything happened(except the pot pies and the scallops)but not necessarily when planned.

What got taken out of the freezer.......

*  Salmon

*  Steak

*  Trout

*  Ground Beef

*  Chicken Breast

Last week we spent $91.06 on groceries and the savings rate came in at 40.17%. Spending for the month is $301.38 and the savings rate is 49.66% for March before rebate monies are added in.

Rebates earned in March-

$84.08 on Ibotta

$19.75 on Checkout51

$3.99 on Aisle and Misc.

$107.82 total in $$

Total spent after rebates is $193.56

2,495 Pts. on Fetch

2,133  Pts. on SwagBucks

346 Pts. on My Points

3,554 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

(I don't count these until I cash out for a gift card or cash.)

Before AND after rebates we had a low spend month for groceries at least for us.

Leftovers going into next week...

Here is what was planned for this week.....

1. Sunday--Beef and Broccoli

2. Monday--Leftover Mushroom Parmesan, Salad

3. Tuesday--Leftover Chicken Marsala, Leftover Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Poultry Pot Pies, Salad

5. Thursday--Scallops, Green Beans

6. Friday--Leftover Beef and Broccoli

7. Saturday--Leftovers(if no leftovers, we'll think up something else)

I won't be cooking much this week as we'll be packing things up in between doctor appointments.  Next week we'll be emptying out the freezer more.

Just trying to eat down what is here when I'm not getting great deals.  I chose my meals by cherry picking the deals and building meals around those items, combined with what is in my freezer.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week.

Sluggy   

Can It Be? Another Giveaway??? Why yes, yes it is!

I have decided to start up the Giveaways I used to do.  Some of you seemed to enjoy them so. ;-)

So come enter Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway!

Here's what's in the current box of goodies......

And some close up photos...........

18 Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares

2 small bottles of hotel shampoo

2 small bottle of hotel conditioner

2 small bars of hotel soap

2 make-up remover pads

1 pair of ear buds

1 deck of Norwegian Cruise Line playing cards

1 bottle of chill the f*ck out(gag gift)

1 coffee pod

1 package of Soft dental picks

2 packs of green tea bags

1 package of Goody hair pins

1 Cover Girl Outlast Illumina Lip color(Celestial Coral)

1 Hello brand deodorant

1 Cover Girl eyebrow pencil

1 pack of Biscoff cookies

1 local realtor key chain with light

1 Norwegian Cruise Line belt clip

1 tube of mini peanut butter M&Ms

1 Norwegian Cruise Line pencil

1 Norwegian Cruise Line T-Shirt(size Medium)

All this can be yours if you are chosen the winner.

You can enter once per day until Monday, April 7th at 11:59pm.

Please let me know in your entry what you have done for someone else lately.  It can be something big or small, just something you've done to help someone, make them smile or made their day better.

That's all.

Winner will be announced on the evening of April 8th.

Have a good weekend!

Sluggy 

Frugal Friday.....the March 28th Edition

Here are the frugal wins for this past week....

*  I love finding marked down foods at Kroger(this really doesn't happen at Walmart).  I only did a small shop at Kroger and Walmart so far this week....a couple of marked down salads, some marked down shredded asiago cheese, a big marked down can of tuna, and some beef brisket patties on clearance.  I also picked up a bakery treat for my group therapy gang(and some clearance cinnamon no sugar added applesauce cups for the 2 diabetics in the group).

I also found some thermal base layer top and pants marked down to $1 each, a zippy jacket for 

$9 and a 3 pack of heavier Dr. Scholl's socks for $3 at Walmart.  I'll be needing these for our cruise in June in Svalbard near the Artic Circle. 8-)

I found something for Hubs birthday which is coming up as well.

*  We used up some pantry items as well.  The less we have to move the better. ;-)  

*  There was no eating out this past week.  

*  It's been warm here so the heat had been off during the day.  We actually had to put the a/c on a couple of days too.

*  Entertainment last week was free tv, YouTube watching, sitting on the deck reading or doing genealogy.  Finished the Roger Daltrey book and am slogging my way through the Jesse James tome.

*  I sent $25 from Swagbucks to my bank and used some of my Ibotta rebate monies to cash out for gift cards to pay for groceries.

*  I got a $3.99 full rebate for Schar gluten-free cookies I bought for the food bank.

*  I found money!

Found a quarter in the closet on 3/21.

I found this dime in Kroger on 3/24.

I found this penny in Walmart under a drink cooler on 3/26.

          

Found Money This Week..... .36¢

Grand Total Found in 2025....$1.49

That's all I got.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy