Starting in March, I decided to keep track of my grocery spending. Since April has come to an end I sat down and calculated everything. When I showed my husband the numbers he did a double take. He could not believe it and neither could I. It is truly amazing how much we have saved.
Now remember that I have 5 grown people in my family. Yes 2 are away at college, however I do send them with bags of groceries and health and beauty products. My son, who is still at home, is 6’3″ and eats the amount of 3 people (no kidding). He can literally eat 3 big plates full of food for dinner. With that said, my grocery bill used to be $225-$275 each week. I used to take advantage of some coupons that I would cut from the one insert I had from that week.
Here are my current numbers since I started keeping track in March:
March:
Total spent out of pocket for the month: $567.83
Avg $128.24 per week
April:
Total spent out of pocket for the month: $380.57
Avg $95.14 per week
At $95 per week compared to $250 that is a yearly savings of just over $8000. All I can say is WOW!!
And there is one thing I want to add. I have more food in my house right at this moment than I have every had since I have been married. I had to purchase a freezer (don’t worry, the $195 I spent on it I saved in a week and a half) which is filled with meats, breads, veggies, fruits and snack foods. My pantry was getting overrun with food so I had to find an overflow area which is filled with cereal, peanut butter, tea, foil, garbage bags, laundry det, cleaning supplies, dog treats, apple sauce, brownie mixes, canned goods, rice, etc. etc. And finally my linen closet is jam packed. My kids think they have died and gone to heaven. Anything they want/need is right there for them from makeup to Axe spray, it’s all there and lots of it. I have been supplying my extended family with toothpaste and soap for a few months now. So even though I have cut my grocery bill by so much the amount of food I have purchased has increased dramatically. And I would like to add that we have had the opportunity to donate a good amount as well. Are you sold on couponing yet?