Thursday, December 31, 2015

My Uber Thrifty Month In Review - December

 

At the beginning of December I paid all of our monthly bills before they were due.  I also paid the mortgage two weeks early as I have been doing for almost a year and a half now.  Just paying the mortgage a half month early saves me interest and it will really add up in the long run.

I paid a full year of insurance for the new car.  In doing so my insurance company offers an additional discount.  If I paid semi annually, quarterly or monthly payments not only would I miss out on the discount but I'd also be charged a service fee each time I made a payment.

I received my annual Christmas bonus at work and have put that in savings for the time being.

Despite some extra expenses this month, Christmas and otherwise, I still made all of my financial and savings goals.  I was thrilled to pay off one of my larger debts in full.  I had been working diligently on it all year.

I kept grocery and personal spending in check.  Since I had already finished my Christmas shopping in November I didn't need to worry about that.  I did, however, need to get the girls new school shoes.  Thankfully I found a wonderful sale.

I bought one tank of gas this month and used my rewards card to save an extra 10¢ a gallon.  Since I didn't buy a whole lot at Fred Meyer this month I did two store surveys to add bonus points to my card.

I went through all the cabinets, drawers, freezers and the pantry so I know what I have and then I made a list of the items I feel I will need in the coming year.  I also started a grocery list for next month.  Short-term planning for the future helps me to stay on top of things and seek out the best prices for the things we need.  My goal is to spend as little as I can on the things we need.

I am ready to take 2016 on by storm.  I have new goals and big plans.




Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Grocery Budget Update - December


I decided to change my grocery budget dates to calendar months rather than based on my scheduled paydays beginning in the new year.  In order to do that I needed to extend this month to include the final eleven days in December.  I added an extra $50 to the budget to compensate.  That being said, I still think I did really well.


Our nonfood items came in at a whopping $7.00 for a few toiletry items and food storage bags.


Here is the list of all the food items I bought last month.  The items highlighted in red are my stock up items and I managed to add quite a few of them this month:



Groceries

 $$$





Pinto beans

             1.00
Dollar Store
Black beans

             1.00
Dollar Store
Corn syrup

             1.00
Dollar Store
Coconut

             1.00
Dollar Store
Mini pretzels

             1.00
Dollar Store
Coconut milk (2)

             2.00
Dollar Store
Sour cream

             0.99
Store Coupon
Cottage cheese

             0.99
Store Coupon
Cream cheese (2)

             1.98
Store Coupon
Onion bagels

             1.49
Markdown
Lettuce

             1.29

Cole slaw mix

             1.79

Chips (3)

             4.94
Sale/Coupon
Olives (2)

             2.00
Sale
Cool whip (4)

             3.16
Store Coupon
Tortillas (2)

             2.98
Sale
Flour - 5#

             1.29
Sale/Coupon
Marshmallows

             1.49
Sale
Yogurt (12)

             3.00
Store Coupon
Milk

             1.99

Tortillas (2)

             2.19
Sale
Lemon juice

             1.29
Sale
Bagels (2)

             1.98
Markdown
Summer sausage

             3.98
Sale
Spice packets (2)

             0.74
Sale
Almond bark

             1.98
Sale
Buttermilk - quart

             1.48

Margarine (3)

             2.34
Sale
Cream - pint

             1.58
Sale
Egg nog - quart

             2.18
Sale
Oregano

             0.31
Bulk Bin
Garlic powder

             0.86
Bulk Bin
Basil

             0.49
Bulk Bin
Pecans

             4.68
Bulk Bin
Onions

             0.91
Bulk Bin
Dried apricots

             2.10
Bulk Bin
Peanuts

             1.20
Bulk Bin
Pasta(6)

             1.92
Sale
Olives - green

             1.78
Sale
Olives - black (2)

             1.98
Sale
Horseradish

             1.29

Chili paste

             3.36

Tomato sauce (3)

             1.74
Sale
Chipotle peppers

             1.26

Pesto

             2.34
Sale
Shrimp (2)

             4.86

Potatoes - 5#

             0.98
Sale
Cole slaw mix (2)

             1.98

Bean sprouts (2)

             2.16
Sale
Water chestnuts (2)

             0.96
Sale
Ham - 11#

             9.50
Sale
New York strip steak

            13.12
Sale
Cream cheese (4)

             3.88
Sale
Chips (2)

             2.00
Sale
Dip

             1.50
Sale/Coupon
Ham - 10#

             8.12
Sale
Potatoes - 10#

             0.99
Sale
Broccoli

             1.50
Sale
Cauliflower

             1.50
Sale
Bananas

             0.82
Sale
Bell pepper (2)

             1.77
Sale
Milk - 1 gal.

             1.88
Store Coupon
Ice cream (2)

             3.98
Store Coupon
Black beans (2)

             2.00
Dollar Store
Pinto beans

             1.00
Dollar Store
Rice (3)

             3.00
Dollar Store
Peppers (2)

             2.00
Dollar Store
Steak

             3.13
Markdown
Crab

             5.99
Sale
Crackers (2)

             2.78
Store Coupon
Egg roll wrappers

             1.99

Lettuce (2)

             0.98

Cole slaw mix

             1.29

Lettuce

             1.49

Mushrooms

             2.00
Sale




Total

 $       171.49


$171.49 ÷ 42 days ÷3 people = $1.36 per person per day!


My total spent on groceries in 2015 came in at $1674.00 even.  I went over budget this year by $174.00.  I'll work much harder to stay within budget in 2016.  As it stands we are very well stocked to begin the new year.



How did you do preparing for Christmas?  Were you able to find some good sales and stock up on anything?


This budget month runs from 11/20/15 through 12/31/15.




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