Now that I have kept a pricebook for a few months and because I have built up a stockpile over the same time period, I believe that I can set a monthly budget once again. When we lived in Arizona, I couponed alot and prices on everything but meat and fish were lower. Meat and fish are a lot cheaper here but everything else is much higher. In Arizona, we were easily able to eat on $150. per month. That is not the case here in WNY. We do not have the advantage here of many competitive grocery stores. Two places I shopped that I miss immensely are the $ .99 store and the cheap Produce Market up the street from where I lived. That said, I have had to work out a plan to deal with the expensive prices here and the diet we must follow.
So for the month of September I have set a budget of $ 50. per week for the two of us. I think DH and I can live on $ 200. a month for food, cat food and litter, HBA, and cleaning products. In order to do this, I will have to watch every item that I buy making sure that it is both a necessity and making very sure that I am buying it at the cheapest price possible without sacrificing quality.
You have seen the analysis that I have put on many of my grocery posts. That analysis will stay and be even more explanatory as I challenge myself next month. Each month I take about $ 500. cash out of the bank to cover groceries, gasoline, eating out, haircuts and the few incidentals we may pick up during the month. The new budget of $ 200. will be included in this figure. I will be using cash only for our groceries and when it is gone, it is gone. If I use it all in the beginning of the month, then I am going to have to be very creative the end of the month. Two things that will not be included in our grocery budget is eating out and alcohol. We eat out very little these days because of health concerns and we are cutting way back on any alcohol consumption. An occasional heart healthy red wine and an occasional beer is all the alcohol that will we will have. We don't need the calories but we do like the heart healthy effects of an occasional glass of wine or beer. We also occasionally have a lot of company staying here with us. When that happens, we will spend extra from our entertainment budget because I believe the $ 200. a month for us and extra mouths at the table every once in a while is all that will cover.
I have just one cat and she eats mostly dry food with a can of wet food thrown in as a treat once in a while. She also has to have her treats before bedtime. It is a ritual! The biggest monthly expense for her is scoopable cat litter. She weighs 17 lbs. so we go through a lot of litter. I will be looking for deals on this at both Petsmart and other places.
Being pretty well stocked on HBA at the moment, there is really nothing I need but I will buy it if it ends up being free so as to not deplete my stockpile. The biggest expense for us here is vitamins, fish oil and 81 mg. aspirin which we both use every day.
I have some cleaning products stockpiled but I mostly use water and microfiber cloths and homemade all purpose cleaners with bleach for cleaning and sanitizing. I don't like the chemicals in most cleaning products. The ingredients to make homemade cleaners cost just pennies.
I will be posting every thing that we buy all month long and letting you know what we are spending.I will do a full analysis of what we are buying and why. You will know what my menus are because I post them every Monday. This is an experiment that I hope will work out. If not, then I will have to bump up the food budget at the end of the month. I can't afford to skimp on our health. But I do believe that this budget is very doable for us.
Some of you may be able to do this for less money and some of you it will cost more. It all depends on what the cost of living is in your area. If you have any tips for me on how you purchase your healthy food, I am all ears. Please leave a comment and share with all of us.
14 comments:
Cat litter is so high! I sent you an email also.
BTW, I am having a wonderful giveaway I bet you would love to have, either to keep for yourself or to give as a gift. Please stop by and enter!
Hi Lisa B.,
Thanks so much for the offer of the coupons. I sent you an e-mail!
I am off to check out your giveaway!
P, how much do you spend per month on cat food and litter?
I guess I'm a spender when it comes to the pets. Between the dog and the cat and his litter and meds, we're at about 3 bucks per day (including heartworm and flea/tick preventive). But I think the cats at about a buck a day. The dog prices out to a bit more because we of the heartworm/flea stuff.
But the cat's cost me $250 at the vet this year!!!
I am really struggling with my budget (or lack thereof!) myself these days. I am re-locating back to our small rural hometown in SW Louisiana, and the the grocery prices are shockingly high! No competition to speak of makes the bargains few and far between. I've been really lax on couponing, too, but I was clipping away earlier this week and I must, must, must, start watching for deals again. Prices are too high to leave it all to chance.
Hi Charlene,
I agree with you 100%! When you move from a large urban city to a small town, you get sticker shock with the prices. Especially here in the outskirts of Buffalo. The prices here are 50% higher than they were when I lived near Saratoga, NY. But we had lots of competition there. No real competition here!
Hi Alex M,
That $312.96 was for vet bills!
The cat food kills me! Our vet put our cat on a low carb diet, so we have to feed him two cans of wet a day plus 1 T of low carb dry with each meal. It's worth it for a healthy kitty, but it sure does drive up our grocery costs! I'm not sure I have any good tricks that you don't know for keeping healthy food costs low. We're at about $80 a week for the 3 of us plus 1 night of carry out at about $15 (not healthy). I can do $50 some weeks if I work hard, but it's not something I've been able to maintain long term. So, I'll be watching to see what you do.
Hi Lucky,
I think you do very well with your budget of $80. for three for 6days a week. You live in one of the most expensive areas of the country.
Our last cat had died when we moved to AZ. After 33 years of having cats, it was kind of nice not having a pet. But DH found this one about 2-3 years after we moved there. I kept refusing him to keep her. But finally relented. She for the most part is a good companion, but I have my moments when I wish I had no pets. She will be my last! Pets are expensive and a lot of work!
Hi Alex M,
I only use 1/8 cup of dry food morning and night for the cat. This is what the vet told me to feed her. She is overweight. She gets one can of wet food once every two weeks. I pay about $ 12. for a 16 lb bag. Since I use 2 oz. a day, that bag will last me about 4 months. That costs me $ 3.00 a month. Add a $ .39 can of wet cat food twice a month and I am up to $ 3.78. The litter is the expensive part. With the creative use of coupons, I can do that for about $ 6.00 a month! So about $10.00 per month. Vet bills do not come out of my grocery budget. But you are right; they are very expensive! I spent $ 312.96 just in April and June for her. Fortunately, I budget expenses for her.
I look forward to reading these posts as I'm also trying to get our food budget under control.
p.s. forgot to add about cat food/litter discussion - for those who think $10 a months is too much, place yourself into my shoes. Two cats, one has tummy issues that forces me to feed her at the minimum 4 times 1 can each time of food a day. Each can is .75 on sale (Medleys) so multiply .75x4x30days = $90 a month. And that does not count litter that constatly has to be changed because of her diarrhea or the dry food for my other cat (she can't eat dry food as she can't chew properly). Gives you a different perspective on yours, doesn't it :) but for my sweet baby girl it's all worth it.
Hi Jenny,
Wow! That is a lot of money for food for your cats. But I totally understand, we do love our pets!
Hi Precious and everyone else who has pets,
Check out Totallytarget dot com. She has listed some price cut deals on pet treats and pet food.
Chitra
Thanks Chitra!
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