Update on My Spending

Just as I suspected, I am not able to buy everything on sale or with coupons, BUT this challenge to myself has made me work a little harder at saving money. At first, I jumped in with both feet and made a big splash! I was scouring everywhere for deals and coupons but found it was taking me a lot of time. As I always try to find balance in all things (which is always a work in progress as I tend to be a little OC about things!), I took a deep breath, a step back and calmed myself. I want this to be a lasting endeavor not another flash in the pan thing for me. So, I spend only a certain amount of time a day (not much at all really!) looking for bargains and coupons. Then I make a list of what we need and the stores I plan to by the items at (the items I don't have coupons for or can't find on sale, I buy at the store where I know it will be least expensive). I then look for coupons and when I'm in the area of the store, I run in & buy what I have planned to buy there. Tip: I've found it handy to keep a collapsible cooler in the trunk of my car to hold cold food items while I run other errands if need be thus making the best use of my time & gas mileage.

Anyway... here is what I spent the second week on food and personal care items at grocery stores and drug stores: $121.12. And since I've gotten a bit behind (thanks for bearing with me *blush*) in my reporting, here is the grand total for weeks 3 and 4:

week 3- $91.65
week 4 -$70.98

Any tips you would like to share?

Thanks for stopping by!