December grocery shopping

OH december.
The month that costs the most.
Between tipping, gift exchanges, pot-lucks, donations, gifts, etc.  I feel like I should just hold my wallet open for the taking.
 
Here is my "Why we went over for December excuse list."
First of all, it is colder outside so we tended to stay home more on the weekends.  We've been making larger, heartier meals and tend to snack more when we are hanging out at home.  There were a few 'bring a dish' holiday parties, which means a few extra items added to our grocery bill.   We were all off of school and work for two whole weeks this month.  Add to it that we FINALLY got the cow and had to pay that bill..... yikes!

there was a trip to Kroger for about $125 (didn't get a pic).
A trip to costco for a few items -(lost this receipt but this was at least $50)

A shopping day to sprouts and central market $150.39

a Tom Thumb trip 89.42 (what the heck did I get for that ?? )

another small trip to central market $41.46 (that is a nice cut of salmon in the clear bag.  The salmon alone was $13 but kept us from eating out that night!)

and a Kroger run for $103.33

BUDGETED - $500 ($100 a week)

ACTUAL SPENT - $559.60

went over by about $60 - not as terrible as I was expecting, but still over.

As for the cow, we spent just over $300 for 150 pounds of beef.  That is just over $2 a pound.  It hit hard this month, but we knew the call was coming and were prepared.  Plus, it will last us for months to come!  I am not quite sure how to add that to the budget - it should be spread out for several months, I am just not sure how many?!    Luckily, since changing the way we eat, we have gotten used to not eating a lot of meat in general so it should stick around for a long time.