Saved 82% This Week

Every week, I shop at 4 or 5 different stores. I don't think I spend significantly more time shopping than I did before my frugal ways, but I know I spend significantly less money.

Before I knew you didn't have to spend money on toothpaste, I would put a few items that we needed on a list, and maybe a few ideas for dinner. I spent a lot of time at the store wandering around without a plan. I also spent a lot of time running back at to the store at 5 p.m.to pick up a few additional items to make dinner with.

Now, I go in with a list, hit only the parts of the store I need to, check out the places where I might find coupons or rebates, don't make impulse buys, and I'm out of there. I can easily stop at two stores in the time I used to spend in one. And, no more 5 p.m. trips.

CVS

I was hoping for a $5 off $15 coupon from the coupon machine that so many readers have reported getting, but no such luck for me. I won't complain about what I spent; I started with $11.98 in ECBs and ended with $15. CVS is so fun to shop at.

Before sales & coupons: $53.86
Total spent: $5.17
Total saved: $48.69 for 90%

Shop 'n Save

I had a great week at Shop 'n Save even though I spent more money than I needed to. Between the $10 off $50 Thursday, the $5 coupon from the Entertainment Book, and Catalina coupons from last week, I had $29 off my total before I started shopping. I had a few items on my list and wanted to pick up some other things that I needed. Somehow, I went $4 over $50. I'm usually good at keeping my total right at $50 to maximize my savings. Oh well, it is not like I didn't need what I bought.

Before sales & coupons: $87.63
Total spent: $10.26
Total saved: $77.37 for 88%

Schnucks

This is actually last week's sale items. I didn't get to Schnucks until the weekend. And I learned something new. The oyster crackers rang up wrong, so when I went to Customer Service to get a refund for the overcharge, they gave me one package for free. If something rings up incorrectly, the first item is free and they will adjust the price for any additional items.

Before sales & coupons: $36.45
Total spent: $7.62
Total saved: $28.83 for 79%

Dierbergs

I didn't save a great amount at Dierbergs, but if I can get Dierbergs meat at half price, I'm happy.

Before sales & coupons: $33.44
Total spent: $15.21
Total saved: $18.23 for 55%

Aldi

Comparable Schnucks price; $19.96
Total spent: $9.26
Total saved: $10.70 for 54%

My Splurge

$5.28 for sourdough bread from Deirbergs and buns from Schnucks. I really should learn to make bread.

Weekly Totals
Before sales & coupons: $231.24
Total spent: $47.52 - $6 in rebates I receive this week = $41.52
Total saved: $189.82 for 82%

Year to Date Totals
Spent: $291.32 ($42 weekly average)
Saved: $995.42 ($142 weekly average

For those who don't read my blog on a regular basis, my splurge funds are the difference between what I've actually spent and my $50 budget. They are for those items I never find on sale or that I don't have coupons for.