November Totals

I am pretty excited about this month. If you remember, last month I decided to cut back my budget from $430/mo (or $100/week) to $365.50 (or $85/week). I am trying to slowly cut myself back and hope to work my way to $50/week. $50/week, all by itself, is an amazing feat...but you have to remember, I have a family of FIVE, including TWO in diapers (hopefully not for long!) and this includes EVERYTHING I buy to keep my household running.

Things that ARE included in my totals:

*Food (not including dining out)
*Diapers (for two kids)
*Formula (I breast feed, but supplement with formula)
*ALL cleaning supplies (air fresheners, household cleaners, laundry items, etc.)

*Toiletries (hair products, deodorant, feminine products, paper products, etc)
*Make-up/Cosmetics
*Medicine & health related items (non-prescription)
*Office Supplies (including school supplies)

Items NOT included in my totals:
*Any of the above items that are purchased with the sole intent of being a gift
*Clothing
*Dining out
*Prescription Meds
*Toys

Here is my breakdown of weekly spending:

:Week 1:

Total for items purchased: $219.57

Total OOP (out-of-pocket): $120.77

Total savings: $98.80 or 45%. That is SUPER low savings for me! :( However, I stocked up on my husband's favorite soda when it was at a great price and now hopefully won't have to buy more for quite a while. That stuff is expensive! This was just one of those times when I had to buy more to save more...

:Week 2:

Total for items purchased: $208.95

OOP:$108.71

Savings: $100.24 or 48%. Again, a super low savings week, but...I stocked up on a lot of great seasonal items (stuffing, chicken broth, sweetened condensed milk) that will last my family the rest of the year. I also purchased a lot of my Thanksgiving items at the end of this week.

:Week 3:

Total for items purchased: $218.98

OOP: $63.98

Savings: $155.00 or 71%. That's more like it!

:Week 4 (plus the extra two days at the end of the month):

Total for items purchased: $60.89

OOP: $23.12

Savings: $37.77 or 62% (I really didn't buy much this week, just the last minute stuff I needed for Thanksgiving and my parishables like milk, eggs, and bread)

The total for all of the items I purchased in November SHOULD have cost me $708.39.

I spent a total of $316.58 OOP for November, however, I also received $21.26 in rebates, so my adjusted OOP is $295.32. I saved $391.81 or 55%! That really is a pretty low percentage of savings for me, as I generally save at least 65% and usually closer to 75% or more. However, this month, as I said, I stocked up on some things that will last me all year, PLUS that included a lot of items that were not necessarily at a rock-bottom price, but that I had to purchase for Thanksgiving dishes I was making.

Even though my percentage of savings wasn't as great as usual, I still came in under budget! My budget for this month was $365.50, so I came in $70.18 under budget! Woohoo! So far I'm doing really well maintaining and even staying far below my budget. I also saved $3.43 on gas by using Albertson's Gas Rewards.

Alright, so I know I can stay under $365.50 for the month (avg. $85/week), so now, for December, it's time to slash it again and see if I can do it! My budget for the month of December will be $301.00 or $70/week. I'm inching my way closer to being at $50/week!