September Grocery Spending Recap

In September, I had budgeted my usual $75 for groceries (food only, no paper goods, cleaning supplies, pet food, etc.; eating out - $25 - is also budgeted for separately) plus $2.95 leftover from August, which was carried forward to September.

So, my September grocery budget was $75 + $2.95 from August = $77.95

Week 1:

I grocery shopped twice in Week 1.

Week 1 Groceries, Part 1 (Sept. 6)

Total spent on Sept. 6 = $10.93
Less price of mini smoked sausages (bought for prayer gathering dinner and budgeted for separately) = $10.93 - $5.07 = $5.86

Week 1 Groceries, Part 2: Sept. 7

Total spent on Sept. 7: $4.80
Total spent on groceries in Week 1= $5.86 + $4.80 = $10.66
 
Amount left in the September grocery budget at the end of Week 1: $77.95 - $10.66 = $67.29

Week 2:

Again, I shopped twice in Week 2.

Week 2 Groceries, Part 1: Sept. 11

Total spent on Sept. 11 = $4.83.

Week 2 Groceries, Part 2 (Sept. 13)

Total spent on Sept. 13 = $9.49

Total spent on groceries at the end of Week 2 = $5.86 + $4.80 + $4.83 + $9.49 = $24.98

Balance left in budget = $77.95 - $24.98 = $52.97

Week 3:

Week 3 Groceries (Sept. 18)

My grocery total came to: $29.48 - $13.10 = $16.38.  That includes $6.16 for the bottles of soda I had bought for the prayer gathering.  I forgot to deduct it from the grocery budget when I was doing the original post, so I will just keep it in (and I'll explain why further down).

Total spent on groceries at the end of Week 3 = $5.86 + $4.80 + $4.83 + $9.49 + $16.38 = $41.36

Balance left in budget = $77.95 - $41.36 = $36.59

I didn't go grocery shopping after that, in September!  Never did a Week 4 grocery shopping trip!  I didn't need to.  I ate from the freezer and fridge and pantry.

I did go out to eat - well, actually, I bought take-out food, which I brought home to eat - twice, in September.  Eating out/take out is not a part of my grocery budget; I budget $25 a month, separately for it.  I spent a total of $10.17 on eating out in September.  $8 for Thai beef fried rice with salad, which I had for 2 meals, and $2.17 for a chili dog (I know, not at all healthy, but I had a craving for it).

So, I ended September with $36.59 left in the grocery budget.  What I am going to do is add that to my budget for the October prayer gathering, which is why I didn't bother about deducting the cost of the sodas from the grocery budget.

I usually budget $150 for the prayer gathering for hors d'oeuvres , drinks, and dinner for approximately 25 guests, plus things like paper napkins, plastic spoons and forks, etc.  I usually use glass plates, but this year, I might use paper plates just to cut down on the amount of washing up, afterwards.  The extra $36 from the grocery budget will augment the $150 already in the budget.  It all evens out, as there are usually leftovers from the prayer gathering dinner, which get incorporated into future meals and help out the monthly grocery budgets.  I will be doing more posts about my preparations for the prayer gathering, later.
  
How did you manage with your September grocery budget?  Were you able to keep to your budget?  Did you go over or come under?

If you go over the budgeted amount (assuming you had the funds to do so), how do you account for it?  Do you deduct that amount from the next month's budget?  Do you cover it from a different budget category?  I generally deduct it from the next month's budget.  Occasionally, I cover it from the "Miscellaneous" budget (yes, I have a line item called "Miscellaneous" in my monthly budget!)

If you come under, what do you do?  Do you carry it over to the next month, as I usually do?  Do you use it for stocking up, perhaps?  Or towards another function as I am doing this month?  Or do you put it into savings and start each month with the same amount?

Do share...inquisitive minds, and all that!  *smile*