This Month's Grocery Spending 2023 - December & YE Totals

 

With the holidays, Christmas and New Years, as well as a change to our weather, I did the bulk of my shopping at the first of the month.  I carefully crafted a list over a period of a few weeks, checked the sales ads at my grocery stores and prices online (although I’ve discovered online prices are often incorrect) and then made my decisions as to exactly what I truly needed and where I was going to purchase those items.

 

My large shop at the beginning of the month

Most of what I picked up this month was to fill in gaps in the pantry and refrigerator as well as to replace some of the items I had removed from my long term food storage (LTFS) to rotate out and use.  If I run out of something in my regular pantry I will then shop for it from the LTFS and then plan add them to my list to replace those items on my next shopping trip. I purchased dairy and produce plus a few pantry items.  On my wish list last month and again this month was a ham but there were no good sales so I added it to this month’s wish list and managed to get one.  I have A LOT of plans for that nearly nine pound ham.  It was originally priced $22.34 but I with a digital coupon offer I was able to get it for 97¢ a pound so the final price was only $8.79!  My patience won out.

 

A wish list item!  Score!

This year, for the most part, I’ve been able to restock groceries solely on items that were either on sale, special offer or had been reduced and marked down for quick sale as their end dates approached.  I personally have no problem purchasing marked down produce, dairy or items from the meat department.  I’ve been doing so for ages with little issue with the quality of those products.  Only a few times have I come home with something that was off and the stores have always been very good to refund me when that had happened.  They don’t want to sell me bad products anymore than I wish to buy them.

 

My chickens are currently not laying
Ground pork at $1.99 a pound

I start my grocery lists well in advance of my actual “big” shopping trip(s) so that in the meantime I can watch the sales flyers at my grocery stores each week.  Should something go on sale that is on my list I go ahead and buy it then rather than waiting and since the sales are rather cyclical I can plan ahead for most items to go on sale and wait to purchase them at the reduced prices.

 

Loss leaders plus I had a coupon for
the mandarins and the cheese

Loss leaders (items that are drastically reduced in price to tempt you to shop at their store) are the best way for me to stock up on certain items I use on a regular basis so I do take advantage of those offers, even if it means I am only stopping in to buy one or two items.  As long as I stick to that and don’t purchase anything else that is not on sale it saves me a huge amount of money overall allowing me to stick to a rather low monthly grocery budget.

 

Replacement items for my LTFS

Before leaving the store I will take a moment to thoroughly read my receipt and check it over to make sure I was charged correctly and was given the correct sales prices.  All too often I’ve found mistakes in the pricing, but once I brought it to the customer service counter they have refunded the difference or in some instances one of my stores will refund the entire overcharge and you get the item for free.

 

As much as possible I try to match up my digital and paper coupons with items on sale for even more savings.  I am also signed up with two of my grocery store’s rewards programs so I am frequently offered FREE products, cash back offers on certain products, as well as additional coupons throughout the year.  My Fred Meyer rewards program also offers me a discount on gas determined by how much I spend in their store each month.  If I do a survey of my shopping experience they give me an additional fifty fuel points.  Since I don’t buy a lot of groceries at one time I do the surveys to make up for that and boost my total points.  I can typically earn a 10¢ per gallon discount at each fill up and that adds up quick over the course of a year.

 

I cut the packages of ground pork in half
and wrapped them for the freezer

By watching the sales and stocking up ahead I was able to keep my nonfood purchases to a minimum as well.  I replaced a few laundry supplies, some toothpaste and that sort of thing.  I kept my nonfood purchases pretty minimal, especially as I was on a big decluttering journey this year and didn’t want to bring in anything I truly did not need.  My total nonfood purchases this year rang in at a grand total of $28.00!  Since my monthly budget for nonfood items is $25.00 a month I’m pretty darn happy with that total.

 

My goal in 2023 was to do a big year long pantry challenge to use up some items that had been hanging around for a while, pare down some items I was overstocked on and save money on my overall grocery bill without completely depleting my stock and still eating healthy meals.  I’m quite pleased with how that turned out.  While I made a pretty good dent in my freezers and pantry I was also able to replace what I used up and maintain my supplies without spending a whole lot of money.  In fact, I was able to keep myself in groceries all year long for less than what the average family of four spends in a month.

 

You would think I’d be pretty satisfied with that final total this year and I am, believe me, but I still want to challenge myself to do even better which is why I decided to do the $50 a month grocery challenge in 2024.  I know that in order to be successful I am going to have to get even more creative, especially as the price gouging at the grocery stores seems to show no end in sight.  I am eager to see how it works out.