Smith's Savings 12/30/09

It is always fun to look at my receipt when I get home from the grocery store to see how much I saved, so for 2010 Ben gave me the idea to track my savings on a spreadsheet and see the savings add up! Also this year we are setting a strict budget to help us keep our finances in order so we can buy a house. I got an idea from moneysavingmom.com to take actual cash to the store. The idea is that when you have actual cash you feel more responsible with your spending than when using a credit/debit card. So each month I will take out money from the bank and set it aside, and that will be our grocery budget for the month. That is all the money we will have, and any leftover will go into a 'date night' fund! We are starting with a budget of $200.00 each month which will include groceries, toiletries, diapers, etc. Another way to help us stay on budget is by going to the store as few times as possible. That way we don't pick up as many impulse items!

Anyways, last night I went to Smith's to get the majority of our groceries for January. We do most of our grocery shopping there, because they have great prices and are really close to where we live. Also they have a rewards program where you can earn points for every dollar that you spend. The points accumulate quarterly, and they send you a check. You earn $5.00 for the first 500 pts. and $1.00 for each additional 100 pts. They are having some great sales right now, including a really sweet Proctor & Gamble promotion! For this promotion you earn 500 bonus points for every $25.00 you spend on participating products. Since we use Pampers diapers, and I use Herbal Essences hair products, which are both P&G brands I was stoked about this promotion!

My total 'out of pocket' spending last night was $139.39. My total coupon savings was $41.78 and my total FreshValues savings was $34.12. I also earned 1360 bonus points, so that is like getting an additional $13.60 off! So that makes my total savings $89.50!!!

$139.39 may seem like a lot of money, but I was able to get enough food to last us almost a month, and about a months worth of diapers and wipes, plus over a months worth of shampoo and conditioner! We should only need to buy milk, bread, and some fresh produce when we run out. I'm really excited because it looks like we will be coming in under budget for January! We have a pretty good stock-pile of non-perishable items so my cupboards and pantry were pretty much already bursting before this shopping trip!

Here are a few pictures of what I was able to get. Keep in mind this doesn't include my milk and eggs, plus all of my frozen food (two bags of chicken, veggies, pizza, and potatoes).



I just want to point out that a lot of people think that when you live on a budget, you have to buy crap. That is so not true! As you can see we are able to buy mostly 'name-brand' items. When you watch for sales and combine them with coupons, you can almost always get things cheaper than buying store brands!