New Resolutions in 2012

I began this year by making a few resolutions. One of them was to save as much money as possible. I have always been an extremely frugal person but I wanted to see how much I could really save if I made it a number one priority. I set a goal to save at least $500.00 per week. So far this year I have been able to achieve this goal. Sure, there have been weeks when I only saved $200-$300 and some weeks when I saved $600. But averaging out the last four months, my total amount of money saved so far is $8,068.51.

One of the ways that I have been able to save this much money is by using coupons. I had no idea the amount of money that I could save by just devoting an hour a day organizing and clipping coupons. By using coupons and minimizing any “last minute” grocery shopping, I have been able to lower my grocery bills by 80-90 and sometimes 100%. Sure it takes some planning on my part and sometimes I postpone buying certain items because they are not on sale AND I don’t have a coupon to use with the sale but it’s totally worth it when I add up my weekly savings. In addition to couponing, I have been able to save so much money by using gift cards, reward points, discount cards, and Mail In Rebates.

Over and over again, I see moms and dads in the grocery stores having to take items out of their shopping carts because they do not have enough money. It breaks my heart and makes me want to walk over and explain to them the benefits of couponing.

I would suggest to start couponing slowly. Don’t try to get every deal that is offered at every store. Pick one or two stores that are nearest you and start reviewing their weekly ads to see what items are on sale. At the same time start buying at least two copies of your local Sunday paper. Many times deals are offered as BOGO’s-Buy One Get One Free. If you have two coupons you can literally get both items FREE.

I will begin posting my weekly savings here to show you how I manage to get such great savings