Well I've tallied up the numbers from the last 6 months, and the last year, and here we go!
July-December 2010
Out of Pocket = $1846.52 ($307.75 average per month)
Retail Value = $3347.49 ($557.92 average per month)
Money Saved Using Coupons = $671.94 ($111.99 average per month)
Total Amount Saved = $1500.97 ($250.16 average per month)
Average of 44.8% savings!!
And here it is, the grand totals for my first year as a coupon gal:
2010
OOP = $4,035.04 (Average of $336 a month)
Retail = $7,129.04 (Average of $594 a month)
Coupons = $1,320.64 (Average of $110 a month)
Total Saved in 2010 = $3,094 (Average of $258 a month)
A grand total of 43.3% savings!!
According to a study by the USDA, the average family of 2 in the US on the "thrifty plan" spends $345.60 a month on groceries. So last year we were coming in under that number!! AWESOME!!
I obviously did a way better job in the second half of the year than the first, and was spending on average about $60 less a month on groceries! This year I'm going to try to stick to the goal of $300 a month. It will be tough, but I learned a lot this year and think i can do it!! I'm also going to try and buy more organic and healthy foods!
We cut down on our eating out budget a ton this year, but I want to continue to do so this year!!
How is your budget looking?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Monday, November 1, 2010
weekend, come back :(
I was SO excited for this weekend...Halloween party...4 straight days off to recover and ready myself for holiday season...and lots of time to wedding plan!!
Halloween party - was ok. Made more food than normal since we've run out the last few parties and of course we had a lot left. Made more jello shots than normal since we've run out the last few parties and of course we had a lot left. The only disappointing part about that is that the money raised from the jello shots is going to be donated to Susan G. Komen, and we could have raised more..but $40 isn't bad, and plus I'm adding $20 to that. Every little bit counts I guess. There were also not as many people as we had planned and a lot of people left early...party was pretty much over by 2. It's all good, we've thrown some pretty rad parties so oh well :)
The party ended MUCH earlier for me...I started to feel like crap playing drinking games..and no not drunk crap, but I just felt REALLY full. I stopped drinking before midnight I'm pretty sure, and eventually had to go lay on the couch because I felt so bad. Well, needless to say I barely made it to bed, and then seriously spent the rest of yesterday vomiting. At one point I actually took a nap on the bathroom floor for at least an hour. I think I ate a piece of toast, a few forkfuls of rice, and not quite a whole glass of water...luckily started to feel slightly better at night and kept down a small bowl of mac and cheese. Definitely not 100% yet, not even close. Takes a lot of energy just to be upright at the moment, so work will definitely be fun tomorrow...thank goodness I have Wednesday off!
There are officially less than 7 months until my wedding...oh...my...god...I can't even handle that. I have NOTHING DONE!! I'm realizing I can't do this by myself, and it sucks. Drew isn't entirely too interested in any of it, and he pretty much is like just let me know what I have to do. I'm working on getting addresses of people that I don't know or talk to and am not having a ton of cooperation there. I'm not 100% sure on the wedding funding at this point - I have been told certain amounts that would be contributed by different people and I'm not the type to say HEY where's my money..but at the same time I need to seriously change the guest list and direction this wedding is going if I don't have this money!! We've been trying really hard to save up which we haven't been doing good at in the past few months (a few things came up earlier this summer we hadn't planned on) and we are trying hard, so hopefully down payments will be made early this month on the dj and the cake, and i still need to contact the church we've been looking at as well as a few other places. But I am just overwhelmed and over my head. Blah.
Anyways, enough of that rant, time for me to get to bed, gotta get through tomorrow!!
Halloween party - was ok. Made more food than normal since we've run out the last few parties and of course we had a lot left. Made more jello shots than normal since we've run out the last few parties and of course we had a lot left. The only disappointing part about that is that the money raised from the jello shots is going to be donated to Susan G. Komen, and we could have raised more..but $40 isn't bad, and plus I'm adding $20 to that. Every little bit counts I guess. There were also not as many people as we had planned and a lot of people left early...party was pretty much over by 2. It's all good, we've thrown some pretty rad parties so oh well :)
The party ended MUCH earlier for me...I started to feel like crap playing drinking games..and no not drunk crap, but I just felt REALLY full. I stopped drinking before midnight I'm pretty sure, and eventually had to go lay on the couch because I felt so bad. Well, needless to say I barely made it to bed, and then seriously spent the rest of yesterday vomiting. At one point I actually took a nap on the bathroom floor for at least an hour. I think I ate a piece of toast, a few forkfuls of rice, and not quite a whole glass of water...luckily started to feel slightly better at night and kept down a small bowl of mac and cheese. Definitely not 100% yet, not even close. Takes a lot of energy just to be upright at the moment, so work will definitely be fun tomorrow...thank goodness I have Wednesday off!
There are officially less than 7 months until my wedding...oh...my...god...I can't even handle that. I have NOTHING DONE!! I'm realizing I can't do this by myself, and it sucks. Drew isn't entirely too interested in any of it, and he pretty much is like just let me know what I have to do. I'm working on getting addresses of people that I don't know or talk to and am not having a ton of cooperation there. I'm not 100% sure on the wedding funding at this point - I have been told certain amounts that would be contributed by different people and I'm not the type to say HEY where's my money..but at the same time I need to seriously change the guest list and direction this wedding is going if I don't have this money!! We've been trying really hard to save up which we haven't been doing good at in the past few months (a few things came up earlier this summer we hadn't planned on) and we are trying hard, so hopefully down payments will be made early this month on the dj and the cake, and i still need to contact the church we've been looking at as well as a few other places. But I am just overwhelmed and over my head. Blah.
Anyways, enough of that rant, time for me to get to bed, gotta get through tomorrow!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
is it done yet?
Uuuuuugh I just want this week to be over. I ended up dragging myself to boot camp in the morning, and I was the only one who showed up. Which ended up being sweet, because it basically turned into a free hour long personal training session so thats cool. But we did a lot of free weights and I am feeeeeeeling it today!
It makes up for missing my workout today though. Off to work in a few, thank GOODNESS I don't have to close again! Then we are heading to my mom's to help her move all night. Luckily I'm off tomorrow....except i have to work 4 hours in the morning at another store (I mean, I volunteered to help out, but still...yuck!) Friday is another day of closing, then OFF on Saturday!
Except we have a lot to get done on Saturday. It's Drew's nieces last football game, and of course we haven't gone to see her cheer, and of COURSE its at 9am in Fowlerville, which is like 45 minutes away. GROSS!! Hopefully meeting our DJ sometime that day too and maybe signing our contract. Lots of other odds and ends to get done that day, and then a trip to Uncle John's Cider Mill!!
I won't even get into next week cuz it's crappy too, but at least I have a 4 day weekend for Halloween! Speaking of which, what should I be? Oy vey.
Time to get ready for work, have a wonderful day :)
It makes up for missing my workout today though. Off to work in a few, thank GOODNESS I don't have to close again! Then we are heading to my mom's to help her move all night. Luckily I'm off tomorrow....except i have to work 4 hours in the morning at another store (I mean, I volunteered to help out, but still...yuck!) Friday is another day of closing, then OFF on Saturday!
Except we have a lot to get done on Saturday. It's Drew's nieces last football game, and of course we haven't gone to see her cheer, and of COURSE its at 9am in Fowlerville, which is like 45 minutes away. GROSS!! Hopefully meeting our DJ sometime that day too and maybe signing our contract. Lots of other odds and ends to get done that day, and then a trip to Uncle John's Cider Mill!!
I won't even get into next week cuz it's crappy too, but at least I have a 4 day weekend for Halloween! Speaking of which, what should I be? Oy vey.
Time to get ready for work, have a wonderful day :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
random
a nice BIG glass of wine and some chocolate was what i needed tonight...however tomorrow i have bootcamp at 7am...to go or not to go, that is the question. i know i need to, but i just want to sleep til noon before work for reals.
drew and i started a weight loss challenge...10 weeks long, person w/the most percent of weight lost wins. i want to win so bad, today was just a baaaaad day to start. i already have a list that i'm giving up/doing once the new year hits...but i need to get my ass in gear now so its not a huge struggle once 2011 gets here...
possibly have a church to get married, and hopefully meeting w/our dj this weekend to finalized a contract there. pretty much down to the 7 month mark which is so crazy and starting to become ohhhh so stressful...
ok i am tipsy and this entry made no sense. time for some beds!
drew and i started a weight loss challenge...10 weeks long, person w/the most percent of weight lost wins. i want to win so bad, today was just a baaaaad day to start. i already have a list that i'm giving up/doing once the new year hits...but i need to get my ass in gear now so its not a huge struggle once 2011 gets here...
possibly have a church to get married, and hopefully meeting w/our dj this weekend to finalized a contract there. pretty much down to the 7 month mark which is so crazy and starting to become ohhhh so stressful...
ok i am tipsy and this entry made no sense. time for some beds!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
back again
Well football season has started, which means every Sunday will be spent with Drew in his chair watching the Lions lose, and me being bored. Since I will evenutally run out of things to do on the internet, I suppose I can start writing in this again!!!
My life these days is work, working out, taking care of the house, and planning our wedding! Yes, actually working out. I've lost a total of 8 lbs, which isn't much, but in the past 2-3 weeks I've really started to buckle down. Come on, I only have 9 months (from next Saturday!) to get my ass in gear!! People have been making comments that I look like I have lost weight, and trust me, thats all the motivation I need!! Since I love planning (wedding planning, meal planning, etc.) I've been trying to plan out my week ahead of time and actually sticking to it (gym-wise that is). Here is the plan for next week:
Tomorrow: work 12-8. Gym in the morning before work, then taking my first public shower (thank god they have shower curtains) at the gym and heading straight to work
Monday: off. Jewel is going to the vet at 11, so I will probably walk the dogs in the morning and then go to the gym at night w/Drew
Tuesday: work 1-close. work meeting 9-10am. Lets be real, I'm not working out in between!
Wednesday: work 8-6 . walking the dogs after dinner, maybe some arm workouts at home
Thursday: work 8-6. Begging to get out by 5 so I can make spin class, but if that doesn't work there is a class at the Dewitt YMCA I can take. I just can't remember what class it is, haha
Friday: off. nice long workout at the gym in the morning (boot camp wooooo) then plans at night.
Saturday: depending on how hard we party Friday, either gym first thing in the morning, or later on and then straight to work 1-close after. We'll see :)
So for sure 3 workouts, possibly 5. Not bad.
Ok well I have a kitchen to clean up and I'm starting to feel sleepy!!! I promise I'll be around more ;)
My life these days is work, working out, taking care of the house, and planning our wedding! Yes, actually working out. I've lost a total of 8 lbs, which isn't much, but in the past 2-3 weeks I've really started to buckle down. Come on, I only have 9 months (from next Saturday!) to get my ass in gear!! People have been making comments that I look like I have lost weight, and trust me, thats all the motivation I need!! Since I love planning (wedding planning, meal planning, etc.) I've been trying to plan out my week ahead of time and actually sticking to it (gym-wise that is). Here is the plan for next week:
Tomorrow: work 12-8. Gym in the morning before work, then taking my first public shower (thank god they have shower curtains) at the gym and heading straight to work
Monday: off. Jewel is going to the vet at 11, so I will probably walk the dogs in the morning and then go to the gym at night w/Drew
Tuesday: work 1-close. work meeting 9-10am. Lets be real, I'm not working out in between!
Wednesday: work 8-6 . walking the dogs after dinner, maybe some arm workouts at home
Thursday: work 8-6. Begging to get out by 5 so I can make spin class, but if that doesn't work there is a class at the Dewitt YMCA I can take. I just can't remember what class it is, haha
Friday: off. nice long workout at the gym in the morning (boot camp wooooo) then plans at night.
Saturday: depending on how hard we party Friday, either gym first thing in the morning, or later on and then straight to work 1-close after. We'll see :)
So for sure 3 workouts, possibly 5. Not bad.
Ok well I have a kitchen to clean up and I'm starting to feel sleepy!!! I promise I'll be around more ;)
Friday, March 19, 2010
that didn't quite work...
SO the whole working out every day in March thing? THAT didn't so much work out like I had planned. This has been a long stressful month at work, with my job very much in jeopardy. I was sick, my grandpa was in the hospital and I was spending every day off home visiting him...I mean I have a thousand excuses, but in the end, I just didn't do it.
But that was then. This is now. I just realized it was hard to go from not working out super regularly to working out EVERY day. A good theory yes, but yikes. Luckily for me, my dad got me just what I wanted for my birthday - 6 half hour personal training sessions at the Y. YES! I told my spin class friends I was really excited cuz I wanted someone to scream at me, haha. I haven't had that since I was training on the crew team, and I NEED it. I'm the one who usually has to drag Drew to the gym, and none of my friends in Lansing are really huge on working out. Therefore I've been kinda on my own in that sense, and I really just wanted someone there to really help jump start me, and get me into a routine. (side note: the parkwood Y is giving away FREE PT sessions for this recipe contest they are having...i so plan on winning those!)
I'm not going to start next week, since we're moving to our temp. store and I know I will be working some crazy and stupid shifts. I'm thinking the Monday after, the 29th-ish? Will keep everyone posted!
My plan for the next week?
Tomorrow: work 12-7, going to go for a short jog with Maximus in the morning before work, and then that evening going to do some dumbbell work on my arms
Sunday: going to be a long work day, 10-7. maybe walk the dogs when I get home.
Monday: off, but probably spending a few hours at work planning out the big move. don't have a set plan yet. not really any good classes at either Y to drop in on, so I will probably just hit the treadmill at some point (OMG race for the cure is a month away!)
Tuesday: work til 5, bill's fitness fusion (kickboxing/aerobics/sculpting) at the westside for 1:15
Wednesday: work til 5, if i can get out early then zumba at parkwood. if not, then possibly a hip hop class at westside
Thursday: walk dogs in am. being crazy and going to spin class for 45 min. then heading straight to work for an overnight shift til 7am. YIKES.
Friday: recover. possibly gym at night, but hopefully it will be nice out and a nice long walk with the dogs
Saturday: probably taking the day off of working out, then working 1-close.
I'll let you know how next week goes :)
-Carli
But that was then. This is now. I just realized it was hard to go from not working out super regularly to working out EVERY day. A good theory yes, but yikes. Luckily for me, my dad got me just what I wanted for my birthday - 6 half hour personal training sessions at the Y. YES! I told my spin class friends I was really excited cuz I wanted someone to scream at me, haha. I haven't had that since I was training on the crew team, and I NEED it. I'm the one who usually has to drag Drew to the gym, and none of my friends in Lansing are really huge on working out. Therefore I've been kinda on my own in that sense, and I really just wanted someone there to really help jump start me, and get me into a routine. (side note: the parkwood Y is giving away FREE PT sessions for this recipe contest they are having...i so plan on winning those!)
I'm not going to start next week, since we're moving to our temp. store and I know I will be working some crazy and stupid shifts. I'm thinking the Monday after, the 29th-ish? Will keep everyone posted!
My plan for the next week?
Tomorrow: work 12-7, going to go for a short jog with Maximus in the morning before work, and then that evening going to do some dumbbell work on my arms
Sunday: going to be a long work day, 10-7. maybe walk the dogs when I get home.
Monday: off, but probably spending a few hours at work planning out the big move. don't have a set plan yet. not really any good classes at either Y to drop in on, so I will probably just hit the treadmill at some point (OMG race for the cure is a month away!)
Tuesday: work til 5, bill's fitness fusion (kickboxing/aerobics/sculpting) at the westside for 1:15
Wednesday: work til 5, if i can get out early then zumba at parkwood. if not, then possibly a hip hop class at westside
Thursday: walk dogs in am. being crazy and going to spin class for 45 min. then heading straight to work for an overnight shift til 7am. YIKES.
Friday: recover. possibly gym at night, but hopefully it will be nice out and a nice long walk with the dogs
Saturday: probably taking the day off of working out, then working 1-close.
I'll let you know how next week goes :)
-Carli
obsessed with coupons
My trip to Meijer tonight :)
2 beef pot pies
1 carton of eggs
1 gallon chocolate milk
1 container of whipping cream
6 boxes green giant frozen vegetables
1 green giant steamer
1 tub land o'lakes butter
2 lbs of ground turkey
2 boxes of bagel bites
2 bags of dole lettuce
1 lysol toilet cleaner
2 lysol bathroom cleaners
2 lysol all purpose cleaners
12 yoplait yogurts
2 bottles of old orchard juice
1 steamfresh frozen meal
1 package johnsonville brats
2 bags of chex mix
2 boxes betty crocker potatoes
4 cans of diced tomatoes (and obvi forgot coupons for them...grr...oh well, only a dollar each)
1 can kidney beans
1 package of english muffins
are you ready? ALL THAT for only $33.41. me=awesome. that is all.
2 beef pot pies
1 carton of eggs
1 gallon chocolate milk
1 container of whipping cream
6 boxes green giant frozen vegetables
1 green giant steamer
1 tub land o'lakes butter
2 lbs of ground turkey
2 boxes of bagel bites
2 bags of dole lettuce
1 lysol toilet cleaner
2 lysol bathroom cleaners
2 lysol all purpose cleaners
12 yoplait yogurts
2 bottles of old orchard juice
1 steamfresh frozen meal
1 package johnsonville brats
2 bags of chex mix
2 boxes betty crocker potatoes
4 cans of diced tomatoes (and obvi forgot coupons for them...grr...oh well, only a dollar each)
1 can kidney beans
1 package of english muffins
are you ready? ALL THAT for only $33.41. me=awesome. that is all.
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