December Month End Budget Update for Shopping and Eating Out

I work every month to save money through our grocery shopping.  I budget $160 for groceries and $40 for eating out so that we are under $200 every month.  I shop sales, use coupons and as many deals as I can find to come in under budget.  We try to cook almost all of my meals at home from scratch and use all the groceries to spread the deals as far as possible.  We have tons of stuff in the pantry, fridge and freezer to use for the coming months but sometimes that doesn't always mean that I don't go over budget because of amazing deals that I find.

Below is what I got for the month which just so happens to be everything that I bought during the first half of the month.  Normally I break down the second half of the end of the month post but there this nothing new from when I posted here.  We took some time on vacation and enjoyed time with family without too much shopping.  Here is the quick summary of the month with link to more details here.

Harris Teeter $0.06

Harris Teeter $10.28

Harris Teeter $4.29

Harris Teeter $0.06

Harris Teeter $11.10

 

Harris Teeter $0.06

 

Harris Teeter $0.06

 

Harris Teeter $0.04

Bought two yeast but didn't take a picture...oops

Harris Teeter $2.30

Harris Teeter $0.13

Harris Teeter $9.87

Harris Teeter $6.45

Harris Teeter $0.18

Harris Teeter $1.76

Harris Teeter $9.59

Harris Teeter $2.15

 

Harris Teeter $0.89

 

Harris Teeter $15.83

Harris Teeter $6.16

Aldi $28.89

Aldi $30.28

Trader Joes $4.09 

Harris Teeter $4.08

 Harris Teeter $5.21

Total Retail $803.27

Total Savings $649.46

Total OOP $153.81

I went a little crazy at the beginning of this month with some splurges including laundry detergent, beef jerky, lotion, and cookies but I had $6.19 left for the month to spend and I actually stopped spending money.  I know that I got a ton of great values and stocked up on a lot of things so hoping that I made some good choices to get through the month even though I spent almost all my budget for the whole month in half the time. Lucky that I did!!

Eating Out

We got Pizza Hut at the beginning of the month for $10.60.  I had a gift card for $5 for Chik-Fila and I stopped and used it to get a sandwich which was a tasty treat in a busy day of running around and no money out of pocket.  We had a gift card which we used to go to lunch after furniture searching and we only left an extra $3 tip beyond the gift card.  We earned a free pizza which we used on a late night out to get a free pizza.  This brings us under budget for the month for eating out until the end of the month where we had a big family dinner and ordered Chinese food for $94.45.  My sister in law paid for half of it and we paid for the other half but it was more like a Christmas gift instead of eating out but $58.05 does make it over budget.  All together, I was only $11.86 over budget which really isn't that bad during the holidays.

Middle of the December Budget Update

I work every month to save money through our grocery shopping.  I budget $160 for groceries and $40 for eating out so that we are under $200 every month.  I shop sales, use coupons and as many deals as I can find to meet my budget.  We cook almost all of my meals at home from scratch and use all the groceries to spread the deals as far as possible.  We have tons of stuff in the pantry, fridge and freezer to use for the coming months.

Below is what I got so far for the month.  Each shopping trip is broken down below with details about how much things cost and how I used my budget.

Harris Teeter $0.06

I got these on sale and used a coupon so that I only had to pay tax.

Harris Teeter $10.28

The chips, yeast, bacon, Crest, band aids, and mug cakes were free.  The Vital Wheat Gluten was in the clearance rack so I got it for $0.49 which was better then sale and coupon I paid before but I think that they were clearing out stock so I won't be able to get it there next time.  The sugar was on sale for $0.97 each.  The Ortega was on sale for $1.25 so they were $0.25 after sale and coupon.  There was an additional rebate for $0.75 each from Ibotta so they were money makers.  The Energier batteries were on sale for $3.49 and I had a $1 printable coupon to make them $1.49 each and there was a rebate for $1.00 from Ibotta. Bonus was I got $0.25 any item rebate.

Harris Teeter $4.29

The chips, yeast and lotion were free after sale and coupons.  The beef jerky was my splurge for my husband at $2.49 each but I got some overage because the coupons fully doubled so I got $1.13 extra off.

Harris Teeter $0.06

I got these on sale and used a coupon so that I only had to pay tax. 

Harris Teeter $11.10

I got free yeast, chips, toothpaste, olives and tea bags.  The oatmeal was on special and my son's favorite and my friend gave me coupon that made them free so it was my best find.  The  beef jerky was because my husband ate a whole bag when I brought them home the other day so they were $2.49 each.  The Tide was $2.47 each which I was going to pass on because I had so many but my friend talked me into it.  The super glue was a need but got them on sale with a coupon for $0.99 each.  We have already used it for a bunch of projects.

Harris Teeter $0.06

I got these on sale and used a coupon so that I only had to pay tax. 

Harris Teeter $0.06

I got these on sale and used a coupon so that I only had to pay tax. 

Harris Teeter $0.04

I got these on sale and used a coupon so that I only had to pay tax. 

Harris Teeter $2.30

I got free lotion, bacon, yeast, spices, chips, tea and meat balls.  The Cheez Its were $0.49 per box with the coupon from Kelloggs Family Rewards.

Harris Teeter $0.13

These were all free so I only paid tax.

Harris Teeter $9.87

I got lots more freebies with the ranch seasoning, bacon, noodles, soup, sweet chili sauce, and biscotti.  The corn was on sale for $0.88.  The Dimatapp was $6.99 so I paid $2.99 after coupon but there was $2 Saving Star, $2 Ibotta and $0.25 any cough syrup so it was a money maker.  The batteries were an even better deal because I found a coupon for $1.25 so it doubled to $2.50 so they were $1 each and then I got back $1 from Ibotta and I got an any item $0.20 too.

Harris Teeter $6.45

Free band aids, spice packets, bacon, noodles, and biscotti.  The Cabot cheese was $0.99 each and the Nutella was $1 each.

Harris Teeter $0.18

Free after coupons and sales so I only paid tax.

Harris Teeter $1.76

I got free ranch seasoning, iced tea, noodles, meatballs and cheese raviolis.  The cranberry sauce was $1.49 which I grabbed because I thought I needed it for Christmas dinner but turns out that I am not cooking this year so I guess we will have a big meal eventually.  This was a crazy trip to the store with amazing meat clearances for sausage for $0.49 each.  I came home and cooked it all and froze it to use later. Some coupon was over doubled because it should have been more like $3.50 but I don't know what happened even after looking at the receipt.

Harris Teeter $9.59

I got free ranch seasoning and meatballs.  I thought that the cheese raviolis were free too but they were  $0.24 each because the price at this store was different...oops!  The cube steak was on sale for $2.35 so that was a tasty dinner.  The batteries were $1.50 for two packages and $1.00 for one package and then I did rebates for $1 back each. The Neutogena face wash was $6.99 shelf price and sale and coupon brought it down to $1.59 each bottle.  There was a rebate for $2 each so it was a money maker.  Two electronic coupons came off of the meatballs so I think that this came in cheaper then expected too.

Harris Teeter $2.15

I got the beef raviolis for $0.99 per bag and the ranch seasoning for free.

Harris Teeter $0.89

This is when I finally realized that the pricing wasn't the same at my normal Harris Teeter but I got the ranch seasoning for free and the ravioli were $0.24 each.

Harris Teeter $15.83

It was the end of super doubles and I went a little crazy.  I am still not sure what happened but I got free noodles, soup, bacon, and meatballs. I got the beef ravioli for $0.99 and the cheese manicotti for $0.99.  The All Detergent was on sale and I had two coupons left so they were $1 per bottle.  The eggs were on sale for $0.87 a dozen so I grabbed two to stock up for baking.  My last items were the Aveeno lotion was $3.19 after sale and coupon.  There was $2 Ibotta rebate.  The other was the expensive Neutogena face lotion which was $6.15 after sale and coupon but the price was different on the app so I went to customer service and they gave me around $0.78 cash back.  There was an Ibotta rebate for $4 back.  I also got $0.25 any item rebate and $1 Aveeno/Neutogena bonus.  Super happy to have my SPF lotion that I need for every day.

Harris Teeter $6.16

My husband was out of lunch meat so I grabbed two packs with the coupons that I printed from the website so they were $2.49 each.  We were totally out of of lettuce too so I grabbed a head for $0.99.

Aldi $28.89

I went to Aldi in Manassas after a doctors appointment.  I got $0.59 pretzels, $0.75 nacho chips, $0.99 salsa, $1.69 skim milk, $0.85 margarine, $2.29 Parmesan cheese, $1.25 corn tortillas, $1.55 cookies, $0.89 corn starch, $0.89 mini marshmallows and $1.45 blocks of cheese.  The chicken was on clearance but the scanner didn't work so it should have been $13.81 less $2 but they charged me $8.72.  In addition, there was a coupon for $5 off a $30 purchase so I got lots of great deals!

Aldi $30.28

I went to the store to stock up on frozen chicken with my $5 off coupon to use.  I also grabbed popcorn kernels because we were running low.  My husband also wanted hamburger rolls for the hamburgers he just got for Christmas.  My husband also picked the special kettle corn.  We also grabbed a big mad libs for my son for Christmas so I might have to figure out if I have to subtract $5 at the end of the month.

Trader Joes $4.09 

We went shopping for new furniture and my husband decided to get this treat after shopping.

Harris Teeter $4.08

My son needed a can of frosting for a school project and the rest is for my son's birthday party since he loves store bought frosting. They were $0.99 each after sale and coupon.

 Harris Teeter $5.21

They were on sale for $1.27 so I got the limit and stocked the cupboard.

Total Retail $803.27

Total Savings $649.46

Total OOP $153.81

I went a little crazy at the beginning of this month with some splurges including laundry detergent, beef jerky, lotion, and cookies but I have $6.19 left for the month to spend but I don't think that we are going to need much of anything.  I know that I got a ton of great values and stocked up on a lot of things so hoping that I made some good choices to get through the month even though I spent almost all my budget for the whole month in half the time.

Eating Out

We got Pizza Hut at the beginning of the month for $10.60.  I had a gift card for $5 for Chik-Fila and I stopped and used it to get a sandwich which was a tasty treat in a busy day of running around and no money out of pocket.  We had a gift card which we used to go to lunch after furniture searching and we only left an extra $3 tip beyond the gift card.  We have left some money to eat out again during the holidays in case we have too many things going on and need to fit in a meal on the go.  I have $26.40 left for the rest of the month.

May Grocery Shopping Spending and Eating Out Totals

My family budgets $160 per month for the 3 of us to purchase all of our household goods including groceries, paper goods and personal care items.  I shop sales, use coupons and do the best that I can to stretch that budget as far as I can through the month by paying the least for items that I can.  In addition, I have a $40 budget for eating out for the month.  It often is very challenging but I do my best to stay under budget with under $200 total per month for all our food.

I make most of our food from scratch including meals and baked items like our bread, rolls, breakfast treats and desserts which helps stretch foods between trips to the store (or towards the end of the monthly budget).  We like to use everything that comes into the house so stale chips, pretzels and bread turn into bread crumbs.  Ends of veggies go into the freezer to make chicken broth when I get enough chicken bones.  The best is turning leftovers into new meals to make sure that they are all used up.  We try to use all these low prices items from these monthly trips to make lots of yummy meals.

Below are all the trips that I made to the store this month and a picture of what I got in each one.  The pictures at the beginning of the month just have the total because I described them all in this post here.  For the rest of the month, the amounts I spent and breakdown of how much I spent on each item is in the description.  For some reason, I missed a beginning of the month picture and breakdown so I included that as well.

Harris Teeter $9.23

Aldi $2.04

Safeway $0 

Giant $0.29

Harris Teeter $8.87- $4.46 (removing diapers for gift)= 4.41

Harris Teeter $1.88

Harris Teeter $8.36

Harris Teeter -$0.90

Harris Teeter $7.19

Harris Teeter $8.40

Harris Teeter $0.69 

Shoppers $0.08

Harris Teeter $28.18 

Harris Teeter $19.52

Giant $0.32

Harris Teeter $5.19

I went to the store to get the free pineapple and Lindt chocolate bar.  They were out of the other freebie so they gave me a second free chocolate bar.  I had a coupon and clearance on the Old El Paso which made them $0.39 each on yummy taco shells.  I went a little crazy with the olive oil but it was $1.89 and we love to dip bread in seasoned oil in the summer so I decided it was a great price to stock up (saving over $4 each).

Safeway $0

Target $0 (used pay pal)

Harris Teeter $6.38

Harris Teeter $3.41

Harris Teeter $3.41

Harris Teeter $3.41

Aldi $6.32

We were out of milk, butter and shortening so I went to the store to grab the minimum.

Giant $0.37

There was a freebie on the Body Armor Sports drink so I figured that my husband and son would like it so I grabbed it.  I was hoping for overage but I didn't get any but I grabbed two bananas anyway.  My husband enjoyed them the next week for his breakfast and snack.

Trader Joes $3.58

We love our blue cheese and Trader Joes has the most flavorful one so I always grab theirs because the container lasts me months!!  We were totally out so I had to grab some more to restock.

Shoppers $0.08

Another freebie day with Fage yogurt and Power Crunch.  I tried to get the Fage that I loved but they said that I could only get the circle kind like the picture even though the other one was all variety and 5.3 ozs which was all the instructions.  I gave up and ran all the way back to get the circle one and forgot to pay attention to the rebate that I was trying to get so I didn't pick the one that went with the rebate but I will use this so I give up!!

Harris Teeter $3.81

I went a little crazy at the store and got 4 six-packs of soda, Chloe's Popsicle, Ken's Salad Dressing, and LaBrea bread all for free!!  I got three lemonade for $0.50 each and Quaker granola bars for $1.50 per box.  I did a return of a bottle of water that I got before that opened and the credit was put towards this meal.  I turned it in for $3.35 in Ibotta rebates.

Harris Teeter $0.16

I went to get my yummy taste and tell free tea.  I also planned on picking up free bread and free Popsicle so I was super glad to see that they had both! I paid only tax.

Harris Teeter $0.14

Great freebie and paid only tax!!  YEAH!

Shoppers $0.06

I love this candy so I was excited to get it and even shared it with my husband.  YUM!

Giant $31.47

I went a little crazy and grabbed all of the chickens that added up to a little over $30 to get the $5 off coupon with the already great price of $1.99 per pound.  After getting it all, it worked out to $1.69 per pound so we will have plenty of chicken to last the next few months (as soon as I cut and freeze it all).  We also grabbed the two freebies of Chobani yogurt and Happy Baby food.  There was Ocean Spray for $1.88 limit one sale, I never understand those sales but I grabbed our one to put in our stockpile.  I was a little worried with how much I spent but then I realized that I still hadn't subtracted the diapers so I was grateful to still be under budget and keep shopping.

Harris Teeter $5.24

I still had ton of money left in my budget ($2.52) so I went to grab more of the freebies for the week with the Chloe's Pops and Sour Dough Bread!!  I decided that I was going to get the Dominos sugar which was on sale for $1.97 limit 4.  I thought that I only had one coupon so I was only going to get two but I found a second coupon so I decided to go crazy and get 4.  I used the $0.75 off 2 coupon so that they were $1.22 each after sale and coupon.  I shot through my budget for the month but I figured it was worth the extra sugar.

Harris Teeter $0.14

I decided that I needed to get a few more boxes of Chloe Popsicles that were $0.01 after sale and coupon on the last day of the sale.  

Total Retail $874.09

Total Savings $711.23

Total OOP $162.86

Overall I think that it was a great month even if over budget $2.86!!  I got a ton of deals and stocked up on a few things that we needed while getting a few rock bottom deals.  I am most excited about the ice cream, Cran Grape juice, McCain frozen potatoes and Cheez Its because we will really enjoy them.  I loved free bread, candy, butter and Frank's sauces.  I know that all of my purchases will go far over the summer to make lots of meals to share with friends and family.  I also have less time to spend at the store in the summer since I have my helper at home so great news that I got lots of great trips to the store to stock up on lots of things.

I went a little crazy this month with the rebates and have gotten $30.35 in rebates and bonuses.  I will also get some for the Cheez It and Pringle purchases through Saving Star through my 1% bonus but it is so slow that only $0.56 has been added so far this month.  I am still waiting on $1 for the Barilla pasta through Saving Star and maybe some more of the smaller rebates.  The even better news is that I finally pressed the button and got my rebate check from Checkout 51 for $73.55.  I also transferred $41.85 from Ibotta to PayPal.

Eating Out

We got a take out pizza from Pizza Hut after spending the whole day out with my son's race and then an event at my husband's school.  We enjoyed our pizza and spent $8.47.  I thought that it was tasty treat with a really low price so we enjoyed it on two aspects. Super low under budget and happy to end the month on that note which makes up a little for my grocery overage.