My Monthly Budget Review: December 2009

Last month I started reporting my monthly budget review for my family of five; you can see how I did in November here. The month of December was different, in regards to what I purchased. I shopped each week, yet for the most part, I didn't do a lot of stocking up like I normally do. Each month I try and stick to a $200 a month budget while feeding my growing family and adding to our food storage.

The total amount I spent on groceries and toiletries for the month of December was $327.23.

My first though was- wow, I totally screwed up! I didn't add to my food storage, what on earth did I buy?! However, I do have a reason why my spending was seemingly off the charts: I hosted Christmas this year and had to plan for meals for 8-19 people for a week! Like most family gatherings, we committed a meal planning faux-pas and instead of planning all our meals around what was in my pantry, we did some fun, family meals that we all love like salmon, tempura and of course, we ordered pizza.

I did try and balance the more expensive meals with a couple of meals I planned ahead that cost about $5 each- so only about .37 per person! I did this by purchasing a 23-lb turkey for Thanksgiving, when I only had 4 adults and 5 small children to cook for...which meant I had a lot of leftovers! I was able to freeze two large meals for Christmas from that one turkey. I turned them into Lime Turkey soft tacos and Coconut Curry turkey- both of which were recipes that originally called for chicken, but tasted just as good with turkey.

Also, in an effort to alleviate the financial burden of hosting Christmas, our family members each pitched in to cover some of the cost, so I was reimbursed $130 for the amount I spent. The amount each family contributed works out to about $25-$30, which for a week's worth of food is a great deal!

Also, of that $327.23, I spent a total of $32.12 at RiteAid. My rebate check for December was $34.49, so that means I actually made $2.37 off all my purchases in December! That doesn't even account for my $20 gift of Savings check  or the free Huggies voucher I'll receive soon!

With those things in mind, my adjusted amount for December was only $165.11, which actually puts me under budget! Not too bad considering all the extras I purchased to ensure our family had a nice vacation!

For those of you who missed it, my January budget review next month should be smoking hot! I've challenged myself to eat out of my pantry this month and only have $60 to spend for my family of five. I'm 5 days in and doing well! I'll give you more details on Friday, when I hit my one-week mark. I have 5 eggs left and only 1/2 gallon of milk, but am trying to make it to Saturday before shopping! {I did mix up a quart of dry milk tonight to help us get through...}

How did you do in December? I hope everyone was able to take advantage of the amazing coupons and sales we had and spent less money while maintaining the fun traditions of holiday baking!