- Baby items (diapers, wipes, pull-ups): 13.7%
- Treats (ice cream, cookies, etc.): 11.3%
- Milk: 9.9%
- Drinks (juice and juice boxes): 9.5%
- Snacks (includes both healthy and not-so-healthy ones): 9.1%
- Dairy items (eggs, cheese, cream): 8.2%
- Home (tissues, toilet paper, dishwashing detergent, etc.): 7.2%
- Staples (peanut butter, rice, pasta, etc.) 7%
- Produce: 5.7%
- Meat: 5.5%
- Condiments (salsa, sauces, dressings): 4.5%
- Health items (medicine, feminine products): 2.4%
- Breakfast (mostly cereal): 2.1%
- Beauty: 1.2%
I realize these are very general categories, especially staples and snacks! But, as I said before, I just wanted to get a general idea of what I was spending money on. One thing I noticed even before I did this was how much I spend on juice for my kids. I know juice is such a no-no and I admit that I use it as my crutch. Juice boxes are given for a treat in lieu of candy bars and chips, and my kids rarely drink soda, so that's how I rationalize it. I do know that I need to get them to cut back and I've started to do that already.
I'm happy that I spent more on produce than I did on meat (although just barely!). I would like to see my produce numbers go up and my meat numbers stay low.
I'm not surprised that most of my budget goes towards diapers! We are in the middle of potty training and hopefully I will see this number go down over the next few months!
The treats category was rather high this month, but I do have an explanation: (1) It was Valentine's Day this month so some of those items were treats for Husband and the tiny babes. (2) We hosted a Valentine's Day party and some of those treats were for the party. (3) It was also my grandmother's birthday this month and I picked up the birthday cake. Whew! A lot of celebrating!
I think it will be interesting to see how these numbers change as the year progresses. Have you ever wondered which categories your family spends the most money on?
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