I had a great month of July. I focused on increasing the amount of fresh produce that I purchased and I did a great job as Winn Dixie had a lot of amazing produce deals. Looking at my numbers below, I’m thrilled by the amount of money I spent but I can tell that I didn’t do too many drugstore deals. While CVS and Walgreens have had a ton of awesome deals and I’ve posted the deals, I haven’t taken advantage of as many of them as I would like. Maybe in August I will try to focus on getting more CVS deals under my belt 🙂 (Note – I will not be going to my local CVS though since they do not accept printable coupons!)
JULY 2010 Spent: $71.69 Saved: $661.72 Percentage Saved: 90.2%Remember that we all have different needs. I have a HUGE stockpile so I focus only on dirt cheap items and produce. (I still have a ton of meat stored away in my freezer). If you are a newer couponer, then you won’t have as much of a stockpile and you will have to buy more each week than I. So keep that in mind. How are your stockpiles doing? Are you reaching your spending goals? Would love to hear from all of you to find out where you are in your savings journey!
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..
wow
I am doing great for a beginner. I set a $300 a month budget to spend on anything that comes out of a store besides clothes. I have been stockpiling for 3 months and I think I reached my goal with todays purchase of ragu & spaghetti! I am lowering my food budget to just enough for bread, milk, eggs, dog food and produce after just 3 months!!! Thanks for all you do Liza!
I forgot to mention that I have saved over $3,000 over the last 3 months, about a 75% savings.
I have been couponing since 2nd week of June so about 2 months now. I think my stockpile is decent for toiletry type items. I did a lot of that in the beginning. It’s hard to get food stockpiled to me. It’s like it’s not clicking in my mind quite yet. It’s me and my husband and our 18 month old. I may need to come up with a good number I am okay spending each week. I have one friend who has been couponing for a while and she does $40 a week and that’s for 3 1/2 in her family and another friend that does about $60 a week for a family of 5. So that’s kind of frustrating but I know I can get there! I want to go part-time so I must get there!! Do you have a separate eating out budget? Basically we have a budget per 2 weeks for groceries and eating out. Maybe I should split those.
Oh, I totally gave up shopping at Wags. I was leaving there so frustrated. They don’t take printable coupons at either of my stores and will finding filler items, it was like canceling out my savings. I left there a couple of nights ago super frustrated. I told my husband that if I said I was going to Wags, I want him to look me in the eye and ask me if the deals were really worth it. And I am sure I will say no! 🙂
I agree that finding filler items “cancels” my savings as well! I have to find either fillers that I might use (but can get cheaper elsewhere) or buy cheaper items that I’ll never use. I know a lot of people get the jello as a filler even though they don’t eat jello!
I’ll stick with Publix & then CVS for 90% of my retail items (I get produce from the farmers market or once in a while take a trip to the U-Pick farms)
The customer service at the Wags closest to my home was horrible so I am using another and it is much better. Nice that they are on every corner practically. Here is a tip… If any one is a teacher or works in a classroom teachers get 15% the entire purchase the 1st Tuesday of the month. That makes the trip worth it on that day for me but Ive only been going on that day. I get frustrated with them too.
I’ve been couponing since April and have saved a fortune!! I have a huge stockpile on toiletries, cleaning products, and detergent! My pantry is stuffed…I’m actually coming home with tons more stuff then I used to and am spending probably 15-20% of what I used to on groceries. I don’t let anything expire or go to waste!
I’ve also been sending in for EVERY rebate I’m eligible for and love the Publix Gift Card Rebates….just got a $10 one in the mail today and sent in for one today.
I do my most of my shopping at Publix and also use CVS for some of their deals.
Thank you again Liza for opening up my eyes and shaking me into reality! A little time and organization will save you a fortune 🙂
I would like to hear from those who have their stockpile in place, the amount they spend monthly and for what size family. Include spending for food, pet food, toiletries, laundry/cleaning. Thanks ahead of time!
We had a stockpile in place before I started couponing not quite 2 months ago.
I buy for 2 adults (including bringing food/ supplies to parties/ game nights) 2 large dogs (85 pound & 75 pound great dane/ black lab mix- hi to all my dog park friends!) and 2 house cats.
Last month I spent less than $20 on everything I bought at the store. My husband has made a tombstone pizza every day for the last week & a half! Pre- coupons, that would have never happened! June was at $30. I don’t know if I will ever need deodorant or razors again! LOL
On top of that, I am buying the Tampa Tribune for 10+ copies each week to help continue a stockpile for us. So, $5 a week on that. I did order some Smart milk coupons & have ordered random ones throughout the last 6 weeks as well, since I had no back issue inserts to start with. I also picked up an extra yard sale computer for when I want an extra 2 printable coupons. Sounds silly, but it was $30 and nice to have if my computer ever ends up in the shop for DAYS again.
I used to buy items on sale or clearance from places like Aldi & SaveALot & the DollarTree & Dollar Store, but now I buy name brand items & BoarsHead deli meat and things that I would consider a SPLURGE for pennies on the dollar! The quality of our food has gone up, but the budget has gone way down!
OH! I do get some produce at the farmers market or a you pick it farm, so about $20 maximum each month.
So:
July less than $40
June $50
Newspapers/ coupons each month $30+ (something that wouldn’t change if our family was bigger)
This includes all food, pet food(will need more soon), toiletries, laundry, cleaning, Tons of McDonald’s Wild Berry smoothies and a free meal for dressing like a cow at chick-fil-a!
HTH
Sorry, that seemed less long before I hit send!