So many of you email me and ask me what certain abbreviations mean that I post on Addicted to Saving.  If you look to the top horizontal toolbar, you will be able to see I’ve added a new category called “Abbreviations”.  I will add more abbreviations to this list as I use them!  If you see an abbreviation I have missed, please leave a comment on this post and I will add it to the list!

B1G1 or BOGO = Buy One, Get One Free

B2G1 = Buy Two, Get One Free

Blinkies = Coupons that are in the coupon dispensers attached to shelves in your store.  Dispenser is often red and often blinking.

DND = Do Not Double (this applies to people who shop at stores that double coupons.  If you live in FL, most stores in FL do not double coupons)

ECB = Extra Care Bucks (instant rewards that print out when you purchase select sales items at CVS)

Hangtag = Coupons “hanging” around the necks of bottles, jars, etc at your store.

MAN or MFR = Manufacturer Coupon

MIR = Mail in Rebate

MM = Moneymaker

OOP = Out of Pocket

PG = Procter & Gamble Coupon Insert

Peelie = Coupon attached to items at stores that you have to peel off

RP = Red Plum Insert or printable coupons HERE

RR= Register Rewards (instant rewards that print out when you purchase select sales items at Walgreens)

SS = Smart Source Insert or printable coupons HERE

Tearpad = Coupons you have to tear off of pads at your grocery store

WYB = When You Buy

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary (this means that a deal that works for me at my store, may work differently for you at your local store)

Many of you have asked about whether or not Addicted to Saving has RSS feed.  We do!  You may notice that there is now purple RSS image like the one pictured in this post on the top of Addictedtosaving.com.  If you are one of the many people who have asked about pulling Addicted to Saving posts on Feedburner, you now can!  Just click the purple image on the top of the site to begin getting updates in your reader!

**Disclaimer – while I am 300% more internet savy now than I was before I started this website, I do not know much about feedburner.  So, please do not email me questions.  Someday, when I have time to read up on this, I will post about it 🙂

My next Addicted to Saving 101 Class is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9th at 6:30 pm at Palm Harbor Community Church, in Palm Harbor, FL.  Go HERE to register yourself, your friends, your family, your neighbors, the more the merrier!  I look forward to meeting you!  Below is the class itinerary. 

Class Itinerary Includes:

– Introduction to saving

– Introduction to couponing

– Introduction to coupon organization

– Four types of Shoppers

– Changing how to view shopping

– Introduction to Publix

– How to save 75%+ each week at Publix

– Introduction to stockpiling

Have you noticed there are new icons on the bottom of each and every post I make on addictedtosaving.com?  I don’t want you to miss out on these icons because they will help you a TON!  In order to see the icons, you will need to click on the individual post.  At the bottom of each individual post there is a message that states “Share With Your Friends“.   Underneath the message is four icons:

Facebook Icon (use this to share great Addicte to Saving deals on your Facebook page)

Digg Icon (use this to share favorite posts on the web)

del.icio.us Icon (use this to bookmark favorite sites and pages for yourself and friends to see)

Print Icon – if you want to print out a list of all of the sales items I typed up, click the Print Icon and a new window will open.  You can then manually choose which portion of my post (a bit tricky in my opinion) or you can click PDF and you can print out the entire post!! How great is this for printing out your favorite store’s weekly ads!

I ended up having a pretty good month in May.  In previous months I had found that I was so diligent about keeping my savings down that I started refraining from buying fresh produce.  In May I was determined to buy more fruits and veggies.  Included in my numbers below is the $15.00 I spent on picking fresh blueberries at a local blueberry farm.  In June, I am going to be even more diligent about buying more fresh produce.  I love fruits and veggies and if it means that I will bring my spending up to $150/mth, so be it 🙂 

How did you do this past month?  Did you see any areas you wanted to improve?  If you are not yet keeping track of your spending and saving, start now!  It is impossible to really make changes in the future if you don’t know how you did in the past!

Below is how I calculate % saved (Beware, there is probably an easier calculation, but my mind works like a spreadsheet which isn’t always the easiest to explain…)

Amount Spent + Amount Saved = Total Value of purchase

Amount Spent/Total Value = a decimal (we’ll call the decimal “A”)

Multiply A x 100 = % Spent of total items purchased

100 – % Spent = % Saved of total items purchased