A lot of people wonder if couponing is worth the effort. For me it is. Before I started couponing, our grocery bill was over $500 a month (for a family of 8). After couponing for a year, I have brought that amount down to about $350 a month. Even though the amount I am spending each month has gone down, I am getting a lot more food than I was before. This has allowed me to a nice food storage using a fraction of what I was spending before.
Now that $350 is just our food budget. All of our other household items (toilet paper, cleaning products, garbage bags, etc.) would cost us another $200 a month on top of our grocery bill. Our household budget is now cut in half at just $100 a month.
Total spent on coupons $16.00 (8 Sunday papers delivered each week from the Idaho Statesman $.50 each)
Total value of coupons used $109.35 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet Printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $23.49 in rebates sent in December and January see Hasbro Rebate here and Olay Rebate here, and sent in $15 this month for another Olay rebate.
Groceries
Budgeted- $350
Actual- $356
Household
Budgeted $100
Actual $100
Total
Budgeted $450
Actual $456
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $180
Winco $160
Walmart $59
Fred Meyer $30
Walgreens $15
Eddy's Bakery $10
To see previous monthly expenses go here.
Showing posts with label Monthy Budget Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monthy Budget Review. Show all posts
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
January Budget Review
It's a week into the new month, and I haven't posted my Monthly Budget Review, mostly because I went way over budget on groceries in January. My husband and I started the new year on Weight Watchers, and I had to stock up on foods that were low in calories and fat. Some of the foods that I stocked up on are: low fat deli sliced meats, Walmart's Great Value brand sugar free gelatin (only 20 calories per box), Skinny Cows (bought 10 boxes at Costco with a coupon at a great price), Lean Pockets, Lean Cuisine meals, fresh fruits and vegetables, Weight Watchers yogurt (found at Walmart), and low fat popcorn.
I haven't spent this much money on groceries since I started couponing, but I had to basically rethink everything that I was buying in the past. Some of the items were on sale or were bought with coupons, but some of it had to be bought at full price (60 boxes of Walmart's gelatin at $.38 apiece). So, now that I have more healthly foods stocked up, February should get back to normal. The good thing though is that our eating-out expenses were only a fraction of what they had been in the past. Normally we have $100 set aside each month to order in pizza on Friday nights, but we only spent $40 of that in January. Instead of ordering in pizza, we have been making the kids frozen pizza, while we have a Lean Cuisine or Lean Pocket.
Total spent on coupons $23.35 ($20 for 8 Sunday papers for 5 weeks and $3.35 on Quaker coupons from Ebay)
Total value of coupons used $145.70 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet Printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $15 in rebates sent in December see here, and sent in an additional $10 in rebates this month see here
Groceries
Budgeted $350
Actual $666
Household
Budgeted $100
Actual $43
Total
Budgeted $450
Actual $709
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $250
Winco $180
Costco $120
Walmart $111
Eddy's Bakery $5
I haven't spent this much money on groceries since I started couponing, but I had to basically rethink everything that I was buying in the past. Some of the items were on sale or were bought with coupons, but some of it had to be bought at full price (60 boxes of Walmart's gelatin at $.38 apiece). So, now that I have more healthly foods stocked up, February should get back to normal. The good thing though is that our eating-out expenses were only a fraction of what they had been in the past. Normally we have $100 set aside each month to order in pizza on Friday nights, but we only spent $40 of that in January. Instead of ordering in pizza, we have been making the kids frozen pizza, while we have a Lean Cuisine or Lean Pocket.
Total spent on coupons $23.35 ($20 for 8 Sunday papers for 5 weeks and $3.35 on Quaker coupons from Ebay)
Total value of coupons used $145.70 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet Printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $15 in rebates sent in December see here, and sent in an additional $10 in rebates this month see here
Groceries
Budgeted $350
Actual $666
Household
Budgeted $100
Actual $43
Total
Budgeted $450
Actual $709
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $250
Winco $180
Costco $120
Walmart $111
Eddy's Bakery $5
Monday, January 4, 2010
Monthly Budget Review
Total spent on coupons $12 (8 Sunday papers delivered 3 of the 4 weeks)
Total value of coupons used $67.10 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet Printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $15 in rebates sent in November see here and here, and sent in $30.54 in rebates this month see here and here
Groceries
Budgeted $350
Actual $351
Household
Budgeted $100
Actual $101
Total
Budgeted $450
Actual $452
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $82
Winco $156
Walmart $115
Costco $49
Eddy's Bakery $6
This month, I did a better job of sticking to the budget. Also, I didn't shop at Albertsons as much as I usually do, so I didn't use as many coupons as most months. Albertsons has a great ad that lists most of the sale items available in their store, so it's easier to do coupon match-ups with sale items. Whereas, Walmart only lists some of their items on sale, and WinCo has no ad at all. So, I take my coupon binder with me in the store so that I can take advantage of unadvertized sale prices.
It is easier to make a budget then it is to stick by it, but I am getting better about that. I keep ALL of my receipts and calculate my numbers as I spend money to help keep me on the right track. But, inevitably there will be a great sale at the end of the month that I have to try not to indulge on in order to stick to the budget. This is a work in progress.
Leave a comment if you have any tips for staying on budget.
Total value of coupons used $67.10 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet Printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $15 in rebates sent in November see here and here, and sent in $30.54 in rebates this month see here and here
Groceries
Budgeted $350
Actual $351
Household
Budgeted $100
Actual $101
Total
Budgeted $450
Actual $452
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $82
Winco $156
Walmart $115
Costco $49
Eddy's Bakery $6
This month, I did a better job of sticking to the budget. Also, I didn't shop at Albertsons as much as I usually do, so I didn't use as many coupons as most months. Albertsons has a great ad that lists most of the sale items available in their store, so it's easier to do coupon match-ups with sale items. Whereas, Walmart only lists some of their items on sale, and WinCo has no ad at all. So, I take my coupon binder with me in the store so that I can take advantage of unadvertized sale prices.
It is easier to make a budget then it is to stick by it, but I am getting better about that. I keep ALL of my receipts and calculate my numbers as I spend money to help keep me on the right track. But, inevitably there will be a great sale at the end of the month that I have to try not to indulge on in order to stick to the budget. This is a work in progress.
Leave a comment if you have any tips for staying on budget.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
November Budget Review
Is couponing worth it?
A lot of people wonder if couponing is worth the effort. For me it is. Before I started couponing, our grocery bill was over $500 a month (for a family of 8). After couponing for 6 months, I have brought that amount down to about $350 a month, while accumulating a nice food storage along the way.
Now that $350 is just our food budget. All of our other household items (diapers, toilet paper, cleaning products, garbage bags, etc.) would cost us another $200 a month on top of our grocery bill. Our household budget is now cut in half at just $100 a month.
So our grocery and household budget together are now $450 combined, and my goal is to get that number down to $400 a month. This is a work in progress and I will keep you updated. Below is a rundown of my November budget numbers:
Total spent on coupons $20.49 (8 Sunday papers delivered each week- $16, plus 35 coupons purchased from e-bay- $4.49)
Total value of coupons used $117.19 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $10 in rebates sent in October, and sent in $23 this month (not reflected in numbers below)
Groceries $412
Household $62
Total $474
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $162
Winco $69
Walmart $42
Costco $130
Fred Meyer $2
Eddy's Bakery $7
When compared to October's numbers, I spent more on groceries and less on household goods, but the total was about the same.
A lot of people wonder if couponing is worth the effort. For me it is. Before I started couponing, our grocery bill was over $500 a month (for a family of 8). After couponing for 6 months, I have brought that amount down to about $350 a month, while accumulating a nice food storage along the way.
Now that $350 is just our food budget. All of our other household items (diapers, toilet paper, cleaning products, garbage bags, etc.) would cost us another $200 a month on top of our grocery bill. Our household budget is now cut in half at just $100 a month.
So our grocery and household budget together are now $450 combined, and my goal is to get that number down to $400 a month. This is a work in progress and I will keep you updated. Below is a rundown of my November budget numbers:
Total spent on coupons $20.49 (8 Sunday papers delivered each week- $16, plus 35 coupons purchased from e-bay- $4.49)
Total value of coupons used $117.19 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $10 in rebates sent in October, and sent in $23 this month (not reflected in numbers below)
Groceries $412
Household $62
Total $474
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $162
Winco $69
Walmart $42
Costco $130
Fred Meyer $2
Eddy's Bakery $7
When compared to October's numbers, I spent more on groceries and less on household goods, but the total was about the same.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monthly Budget Review - October 2009
Is couponing worth it?
A lot of people wonder if couponing is worth the effort. For me it is. Before I started couponing, our grocery bill was over $500 a month (for a family of 8). After couponing for 6 months, I have brought that amount down to $350 a month, while accumulating a nice food storage along the way.
Now that $350 is just our food budget. All of our other household items (diapers, toilet paper, cleaning products, garbage bags, etc.) would cost us another $200 a month on top of our grocery bill. Our household budget is now cut in half at just $100 a month, but we have a year supply of toothpaste, toilet paper, feminine products, etc.
So our grocery and household budget together are now $450 combined, and my goal is to get that number down to $400 a month. This is a work in progress and I will keep you updated. Below is a rundown of my October budget numbers:
Total spent on coupons $18.49 (8 Sunday papers delivered each week, plus 20 coupons purchased from e-bay)
Total value of coupons used $184.60 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $50 in rebates sent in September, and will send in another $15 for this month (not reflected in numbers below)
Groceries $360
Household $118
Total $478
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $186
Winco $114
Walmart $95
Costco $40
Walgreens $39
Fred Meyer $4
A lot of people wonder if couponing is worth the effort. For me it is. Before I started couponing, our grocery bill was over $500 a month (for a family of 8). After couponing for 6 months, I have brought that amount down to $350 a month, while accumulating a nice food storage along the way.
Now that $350 is just our food budget. All of our other household items (diapers, toilet paper, cleaning products, garbage bags, etc.) would cost us another $200 a month on top of our grocery bill. Our household budget is now cut in half at just $100 a month, but we have a year supply of toothpaste, toilet paper, feminine products, etc.
So our grocery and household budget together are now $450 combined, and my goal is to get that number down to $400 a month. This is a work in progress and I will keep you updated. Below is a rundown of my October budget numbers:
Total spent on coupons $18.49 (8 Sunday papers delivered each week, plus 20 coupons purchased from e-bay)
Total value of coupons used $184.60 (only includes newspaper coupons, does not include Internet printable coupons that I don't pay for)
Rebates- received $50 in rebates sent in September, and will send in another $15 for this month (not reflected in numbers below)
Groceries $360
Household $118
Total $478
Where the money was spent:
Albertsons $186
Winco $114
Walmart $95
Costco $40
Walgreens $39
Fred Meyer $4
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