2010 Grocery Savings!

So I finally finished going through all my receipts and here are my totals that I spent and should have spent in groceries last year.


Shelf Price $17923.72
Out of Pocket Expense $2308.89
Saved $15614.83 85%

...Should have cost each week $344.68
Actually cost $44.40

Now I do factor in the cost of papers and the cost of my grocery game as well. So if you take off $8 a week on average for papers and the $2.50 a week for the Grocery Game its not looking too bad at all.

I am experimenting with a new site thanks to TLC's Extreme Couponers..

weusecoupons.com

This site is free and I am still getting used to it, a lot of friendly people and advice but I am not ready to give up my lists yet through Grocery Game as it does the work for you. I currently use it for Albertsons, Frys and Safeway but will use WUC for Target, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart etc.

This year I want to expand my stockpile and save even more money. I am currently working on getting paid to buy diapers from Target and I think I will pull it off.

TLC's Extreme Couponing

So TLC made a documentary called Extreme Couponing, focusing on four shoppers who used coupons to save money. Now I cant help but feel from the previews that they were looking to spin this into a negative; after all using coupons I have seen the issues where cashiers treat you like dirt because you pass them a stack of coupons, I have been accused of stealing from the store because I saved too much money.

So I Dvr'd the show and sat down to watch it expecting to finish the show with the realization that I need to slow down that this may be a problem/addiction. That within days support groups would be popping up where you meet in darkened hallways introducing yourself with:

"My name is Karen and I am a coupon addict!"

Where would the 12 step program begin? How many would admit to this shameful behavior?

So cautiously I pressed play and took an intake of breath, after all my friends and family think that I do go overboard.

As I watched, a smile crept across my face, the light bulb bouncing around with new and creative ideas. Now I have no intention of jumping into dumpsters to get coupons (although my mind entertained the thought for about 35 seconds) but I need to get back to using the clipping services and get my printer up and running again. I already buy 10 papers a week for the coupons and use my Grocery Game to save tonnes, can I do more? Can I save more? Can I be more frugal? Yes, Yes I can!!!

I saved the show with the intention of watching with pen and paper in hand...

My name is Karen and I am proud to be a Coupon Addict!!!!

Samples

So these are all my freebies I have received in the last 2 weeks. Currently I am using 5 different sites plus using sites such as Swagbucks, freegifts4kids and inbox dollar (use links on page) to earn money and get samples. I have earnt $30 this month for reading emails on inbox dollars and it probably takes me 2 mins a day, plus they give you 10c for every coupon you print from them and redeem. So far in 2 weeks I have earnt $10 in amazon gift cards through Swagbucks!!!

The question is would it be useful for my readers for me to post all the freebies here in one place?

This weeks freebies by mail

So in the mail this week we got 2 samples of Wisk, 2 months of Shape magazine, 1 sample of Eucerin, 3 pampers, $27 coupons from Safeway, $30 coupons from Frys, American Baby, Family Circle, Bazaar, Womans Day, Post stick samples, Oxy samples, Free energizer batteries by coupon, free trix race car from Fisher Price, Ever pure sample, Root awakenings and a quaker banana nut bar!

I will try and start posting all these freebies up as they come. Its just been a hectic week with the storm.

So many updates!!!

Wow I have been away forever - Just look at how much he has grown!

When I started this blog it was basically to understand how me, a career driven woman could become a stay at home mom to alleviate child care costs. Well the first part didn't seem so hard, after all its kinda the dream world of its not really hard work and the most stressful thing of the day is what to have for dinner. Can we say rude awakening? Well not really as I was never expecting that, not really anyway.

Well now I want to cover more than that, life is an amazing challenge and not only am I blessed with a loving husband, I am blessed with a adorable child and we have decided that we want more. In fact we want to look at having eight beautiful children, yet we will entrust the Lord as I know that nothing is without him.

I actually joke and say that we are going to give the Duggars' a run for their money, even though there are individuals that criticize what they do, I respect them as they have well mannered children that have provided contributions to the world and are decent citizens.


We want to home-school as we have very little belief in the Arizona School System. I have already began teaching Xavier to read as well as his home curriculum began at three months old. My goal is to have him graduate his Associates Degree by eighteen before he goes on a mission. The same will be the goal for all our children.

I love to save money, I do this with freebies, coupons, discounts and samples. I am even attempting a little garden. Consignment stores are amazing for babies, just please spend the extra money on things like car seats, a new mattress and personal items. I am just tired of using several sites to get these things for the price I get them at.

I am making a little money on the side by reading emails and I have the link in my side banner, I am also playing with eBay. All while trying to be a Stepford Wife. (j/k)

So this is going to be about love, family, faith, home, cooking, freebies, saving money, teaching and hope. Hope to not only raise my family but to raise them with the courage, desire and love to achieve their dreams.