Feb Savings- The Result

Okay so as you could probably tell by the shopping habits and the fact that I did not post last week I went over my 300 dollar challenge for the month. And yes, I did. I became a victim of my coupons and well over bought just for the sake of the deal but I did get a some awesome deals and learned a lot in the process. So here is last weeks total. I got 365.98 dollars worth of groceries and beauty products for 198.41. The best day in that adventure was getting 134 dollars worth of groceries for only 50 dollars. I did also take advantage of CVS Olay ECB promotion and stocked up on those because combining that with the buy product and get body wash free coupons in the paper made and the 15 dollar rebate from Olay it worth it. I now have about 30 dollars in ECB for March. and 15 dollar check on the way. All of which I did not count in the savings.

This brings my Feb spending total to 464.20. The breakdown for the month looks like the following:
I spent 464.20 dollars in groceries and beauty products
I got a total of 835.11 dollars worth of groceries and beauty products
For total monthly savings of 44%.

The goal for March don't give into my coupons just for the sake of the deal, and continue to work to reduce my bill down to 300 a month. I am already on a good start. I've even been to the grocery store once this week.

Oh and must share this steal of purchase: I got 7 yards of 100% raw silk in a print that matches my living room for only 4 dollars a yard. The silk was originally 30 dollars a yard. A great deal and lucky find. New curtains are the works.

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Feb Savings Part 3

So my total this week: brought 202 dollars worth of groceries and only paid 119.30 this week. Brings my monthly total to : 265.69. We had few non-coupon purchases this week in preparation for valentines and vistors. Looks like I probably won't make my 300 dollar goal but I am defintely going to try.

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Feb Savings Part 2

This weeks grocery total. I know I said I wasn't going but couldn't pass up a few deals that I had coupons for. I hope I am not becoming a hoarder of food. I already am of fabric. So my total this week: brought 76.97 dollars worth of groceries and only paid 36.65 this week. Brings my monthly total to : 146.39. And on another amazing note we have not eaten out all week. Not even lunch at work this week. Now to start making this a habit.

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Feb. Savings Part 1

My Feb Challenge: Spend only 300 dollars on Groceries & Drug Store Purchases......Total to Date: 109.84

Total spent out of pocket this week on groceries and personal care items: $109.84, Total saved after coupons and store specials: 186.61. Except for milk, eggs, bread and some incredible deal I shouldn't need anything else this month. But we'll see how it goes.

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Pottery Barn by Me

Okay, so over the weekend I ventured to our local Pottery Barn store in search of pillow ideas for my tired old orange couch. I saw several pillows I loved but at 40 bucks a cover I wasn't doing it. So I decided to make my own pillow out of  two Pottery Barn Napkins. Total cost of the project for two pillows 25 dollars.

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Saving Money

Okay so this weekend I went to coupon workshop at my son's new school and I have to say I am now hooked on extreme couponing. The workshop was held by two sisters, you should visit their blog TwoThirftySisters especially if you are CVS and Publix shopper like I am. It is mostly designed for the SAHM that can really spend time amidst the kiddos working on it but I am thinking I can at least give it go as a full time working mama. I just might not save as much due to time constraints.

I must say going in I was little skeptical that I could cut my bill down even more. I felt I was doing well  with my current plan.  I am primarily a big box shopper (Sam's Club) and I do small visits to Publix on Penny Coupon day. We average for a family of 4 about 400 a month on groceries. I've always been anxious to save more but since we are fairly healthy eaters I really couldn't see how. This workshop enlightened me that you can save and not just on snack foods.  The key is couponing on B1G1 items and at stores where they accept competitors coupons and double coupons. Many of you probably already had this figured out but for me it had always seemed like a wash until I put it to the test.

So this weekend tried my hand at it. I feel I did a pretty good job at my first shot. I bought 214 dollars worth of groceries and only paid 123 dollars out of pocket and in addition to that I made back 26 dollars in CVS extra care bucks (which is like free money at CVS).  So in total I got 214 dollars worth of groceries for 97 dollars. The key now will be perfecting even more and figuring out how to combine my Sam's Club shopping with my Publix and CVS shopping. I need to figure out which items are always a savings at Sam's with or without coupons and which are best to wait to purchase at Publix under B1G1 deals w coupons or at CVS when I can earn Extra Care Bucks back.  I hoping for the month of Feb I can get my bill down to 300 dollars for groceries. Wish me luck. Now if only could figure out how to get great deals on Fabric...

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