My Grocery Budget - December Update

December turned out to be my lowest grocery spending month of the year.  Our pantry and freezers have been so well stocked I was able to shop only a few times to pick up produce and a few dairy items.  I did stop at Albertson's on the way home one evening to stock up on cream cheese and green beans on sale.

I came in way under budget and I was really happy about it.  While I did go over budget for the year, this month certainly did help me to make a dent in our yearend total deficit.

7-Up, cookies & caramels were free!

I was under budget on the non food items I purchased too as the only thing I bought was a 16# bag of cat food on sale for $10.29 and a bag of litter for $3.19 for a whopping total of 13.48.

Here is the list of food I bought.  The items highlighted in red are my stock up items:

Lettuce (2)		1.76
Mixed vegetables		3.98
Tomatoes		0.54
Coleslaw mix		0.98
Parmesan Romano (2)		3.96	Sale
Jumbo shells		1.38	Sale
Manicotti		1.68	Sale
Salad dressing		1.58	Sale
Salad dressing		1.98	Sale
Buttermilk		0.58
Cream - 1qt		3.18	Sale
Garlic bulb		0.58
Onion powder		0.84	Bulk
Garlic bulb		2.20	Bulk
Pumpkin pie spice		0.52	Bulk
Oregano		0.31	Bulk
Parsley		0.50	Bulk
Pickles		3.48	Sale
Shortening		3.51	Sale
Lettuce (2)		2.08	Markdown
Bell pepper - red		0.99	Sale
Milk - 1/2 gal (2)		1.58	Sale
Salami		1.00	Sale
Smoked sausage		3.89	Sale
Cream cheese (4)		3.96	Sale
Green beans (6)		2.34	Store Coupon
Pasta (2)		1.00	Store Coupon
7-Up		FREE	Store Coupon
Cookies		FREE	Store Coupon
Caramels		FREE	Store Coupon
Milk - 1 gal		1.79	Sale
Lettuce		0.99
Spinach		1.99
Coleslaw mix		1.49
Tomatoes		0.58
Bell pepper		0.99
Limes (2)		0.67
Lettuce		1.29
Lettuce		0.99
Broccoli		0.74	Sale
Sour cream		1.25	Sale
Cottage cheese		1.25	Sale
Salami		1.00	Sale
Bologna		1.00	Sale
Tortilla chips		1.00	Sale
Total		$       67.40

$67.40 ÷ 31 days ÷3 people = $.73 per person per day!

We ate really, really well this month and got our holiday baking done, to boot.  

Cookies!

Savvy shopping throughout the year has allowed me to pretty much stay on budget with just a little bit of overage.  Next year I will be striving to keep it in line and not go over at all.

Year End Totals:

Food Budget $1650 ($125/month Jan - Jun; $150/month Jul - Dec) 

Total Spent $1748.45 (over $98.45)

Non Food Budget $300 ($25/month) 

Total Spent $304.45 (over $4.45)

As we head into 2017 I am thrilled that we still have a gob of food in the freezer in our garage, the pantry is still quite full and we have a lot of odds and ends in our kitchen freezer.  I'll be working on clearing out the kitchen freezer in the weeks ahead so those things get used up and nothing goes to waste.

This budget month runs from December 1 through December 31.