Couponing

I have been using coupons for almost 28 years now. This is the first time I have ever really kept track of how much I am spending/saving. It is a real eye-opener. Since the week of May 15Th I have saved 40% on my groceries. I usually buy health & beauty items, paper goods, and sometimes even make-up (if it's cheap enough) at my grocery store. I have compared the items to the items at Wal-Mart and I know that I could get somethings a few cents cheaper at Wal-Mart, but I can't go in there for just what I need, and can't seem to walk out of there without over spending.

This week I have spent less than $35.00 on groceries. Today at Kroger, (my normal grocery store) I spent $11.91. I bought 2 Purex Complete 3-in-1 (on sale for $4.99) 2 Kraft BBQ Sauce ($1.08) 2 A-1 Steak Sauce-10oz. ($2.99) 3 Keebler Cookies ($2.69-2.75), and 3 McCormick's Spices (10 for $10). I had a coupon for everything I purchased. My total before Q's came up to 29.31 (sale price) I saved 14.17 using my Kroger Plus card and another $18.00 using coupons.

Here is the breakdown of what I actually paid:
2 A-1 Sauce $.99 ea=$1.98
2 Kraft BBQ Sauce $.08 ea+$.16
3-McCormick's Spices Free
2 Keebler Cookies $1.25 ea= 2.50
1 Keebler Cookies$.69 ea= $.69
2 Purex 3-in-1 $2.99 ea=5.98

Grand total $11.31 +$.60 tax=$11.91 that is a 73% savings!

I know there is really nothing to eat on this list, but it is all things that I use and since every penny counts, I saved quite a few pennies today. $32.17 worth of pennies is nothing to sneeze at.

I have always looked at coupons as money. Now that I am keeping track of my savings it is really helping me realize what I am saving and spending. My goal is to keep my grocery budget to $75.00 a week. It is getting time for me to average out the last month's spending and see how I did. I think I'll be close.

I would like to encourage you to use those coupons!

Mae