The year is ending, can you believe how fast it went? This month marks the two month anniversary of my site – I can’t believe two years has flown by. In that two years we have experienced everything from competitor coupons at Fry’s………. to now having the opportunity of overage at both Fry’s & Walmart. To the high of TLC’s “Extreme Couponing” – though I would rather think of couponing as “strategic planning” and not so much “extreme”.
Just this time last year, I came out with a Savings Spreadsheet, It did need a bit of tweaking for some of you – I started using it until about June, then realized I was hopeless at keeping recipes. I had them stuck in my car, purse, pockets, bra, baby carrier, and even in my nightstand. I’m hopeless at organizing, never mind inputting data, so I gave up :(
But I know many of you stuck with it – for those of you who did, feel free to share your joys of couponing this year in the comments:
What were your biggest scores that you can remember?
How much did you save this year? If you have to estimate, what do you think your “savings total” was?
Did you learn anything this year in your endeavors?
I hope you all have a wonderful day – and a safe evening with your family…. the day is pretty slow, and we are cleaning our garage, and getting the casita ready for a New Year – celebrating our Anniversary tonight at Olive Garden (6 months late!) and hopefully we’ll find some time to reflect on this year and set aside some goals for the next. ;)
I kept track all year using your savings spreadsheet and I saved $7672.75!!! That doesn’t include the savings from price matching at Walmart since their receipts don’t calculate the savings, so I’d say I easily saved $8000 this year thanks to you! Happy New Year Sheryl :)
Wow! Congrats!!!!
I started couponing in March of this year, I started out slow and I have learned so much over the past 10 months. I am finally at a point where the only time I really have to go to the store is for the great deals, and parishable items like fruit, veggies & meat. I kept track of pretty much every purchase I made, retail $14,557, I paid $5651 – so I saved $8904, which is 61.17%. I know that I can do better & I plan on it for 2012, but overall I am extremely excited. I have cut my grocery bill down from $1000 a month to around $300 – 400. I discovered this blog about four months ago & now I know I couldn’t have done as good as I did this year without it. Thank you so much for all of the help, tips, coupons, freebies, freacaps, etc. You are absolutley a God send for those of us on a budget! Happy New Year & here is to saving even more money in 2012!
I want to thank you again for this web site and all you do. I found this web site 9 months ago. I’m from Pa so we don’t have a frys, I shop at Giant,Walamrt,Target, and CVS. I miss out on the frys deals but make it up on Target,Walmart and CVS. I just told my husband this morning I want to move to Arizona so we can shop at frys, he said how about Texas since we have family there. Since I found this site I have saved $3000.00 just in food, and I have saved $500.00 in Health & Beauty (household). I do keep records of everything I buy and how much I saved at each store, last night I added and in 9 months the total was $3500.00 dollars. I have learned so much about couponing,savings,deals and matchups. Two years ago we had nothing, now I have a nice size stock pile and we donate monthly. So many cashiers ask if I’m one of those Extreme Couponers, I always tell them NO, I just a smart mom and shopper! Even if we had money to just spend on what ever we wanted I still would use coupons. My daughters drive me crazy when they say they went food shopping and didn’t use coupons. Sheryl I just want to say Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!
Terrie, Fry’s is a Kroger store, so if you have a Kroger-affiliated store, you might be able to compare to Fry’s. Won’t be the same, I know, but close.
Thank you I’ll have to check and see if we have one around here.
I was fantastic at tracking until DD was born in July but I figure that I must have saved north of $5,000-$6,000 buying only what our family consumes. Yipee!
My best deal of the year was the Wags diaper deal. I might have saved more on a percentage basis somewhere else but having a stockpile of $2.50 packages of diapers has been such a blessing! I just used my last raincheck yesterday for BOGO + the infant care q which expires today. I’m not sure if I will ever get diapers at that good of a deal again but I am so thankful for that deal every time I open a pack which is at least once a week! :)
Thank you Sheryl for all the money you help us save. God bless you and your family!
I’ve been following your site since April this year and I am proud to say that as a new mom I was able to afford all the necessities for my baby boy (now 9 months old) thanks to your dedication to couponing and sharing it with everyone! I have proudly saved about $3,000+ on food and health care items. I have a stock pile to last me and my boyfriend about 2-3 years on body wash, toothpaste and other necessities. I also gave alot to family and friends and also donated quite a bit. I recently inquired a couple shelves for my storage to help make some room. But I am ready for a new year and ready to really do some damage! Bring on the coupons! Again, I really appreciate what you do for everyone. I’ve followed several couponing sites and your’s by far, is the best and most ethical! Thank you Sheryl!!!
I’ve bee folloing your site since october. I have been using your savings spread sheet and have spent 300 since octber and saved 800. I a o very thankful for your site. I am unable to work but my husband and I were talking about trying to send me back..until I started couponing. My biggest deals had to be free pasta and protein bars along with 14 cent cans of veggies and 1.50 dollar All laundry detergent. My hubby who is an axe snob had enough to last a year…hopefully until next christmas sales. Thanks sooooo much for all you do!!!
I’ve been following you daily (sometimes it feels as if I stalk this site) for about 5 months. I have saved so much money on groceries, health and beauty and all of the wonderful Amazon deals that you post. You make my job of going to the grocery store so much easier.
This year I have created 2 stockpile closets one for health and beauty/cleaning supplies and one for food. I have scored big on many deals this year but perhaps the biggest was winning the photoshoot through your site. The pictures turned out beautifully and made outstanding Christmas cards! The second best deal I got this year was the Cover Girl make-up deal. I loved the $8.00 coupon which I was able to buy meat with at Fry’s and then CVS had a crazy deal in which I made over $50.00 in gift cards and rebates and now I have a stockpile of over $300 worth of make-up. My daughter was able to make some incredible gift baskets for her friends from all of our make-up deals.
Looking forward to saving with you again in the new year!
Happy Anniversary Sheryl! I have not kept track of the numbers but personally know i have save hundreds from all your board and dedication to us. Thank YOU!!!
Lauren from Surprise :)
I started couponing in March (2011) and I have saved around $4500 (this # is based off of what we HAD BEEN spending on groceries and what we are spending now). We are eating better foods….and our pantry, cabinets and closets have never had so much in them!
My best score of the year was probably a Tide deal at Walgreens a few months ago….that resulted in me having around 10 bottles of liquid Tide for around $20.00. We are just now finishing up that last bottle and I am happy to say I was able to stack coupons at Babies R Us yesterday (including the BRUs $-off next purchase coupons we got from our Christmas shopping) and scored HUGE bottles of the stuff on the freapity freap (but only 2 of them….so, hopefully, there will be another GREAT detergent sale coming up in the next 6 weeks).
We are swimming in Gilette deodorant & body wash for the men in the family. I have more razors than I could possibly use in my lifetime (although these get handed out in gift baskets, whenever the opportunity arises). Our school-supply closet is stocked. Our cleaning-product shelf is overflowing. I have more Evaporated Milk than I know what to do with (reminder to self: Google recipes that use evaporated milk).
I love doing the coupons. I love hunting for the deal. I love the feeling of knowing I don’t have to buy papertowels, toilet paper, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, body wash, COMET, handsoap, napkins or shampoo for months. Taking the expensive non-food items off my weekly grocery budget frees up my mind to focus on menu-planning based off of the specials and frees up our $$ to focus on what we are putting in our mouths and our kids’ mouths.
THANK YOU for all that you do. VERY APPRECIATED!
Sheryl, Thank you so much for your wonderful site! I found your site in March of 2010 and have been ‘stalking’ it ever since! I appreciate all you have done for my family and LOVE that you promote only ETHICIAL couponing! I also appreciate all the fun tips you give us along the way! My dishwasher and washing machine thank you too! They have never looked and smelled sooooo clean! May your new year be filled with lots of love and happiness! Cheers!
Be safe out there tonight with all the crazies!!!
I would like to say “Thank-You” for creating such a great website. I started couponing in April of this year and discovered your website from a shopper at Fry’s. Since then I have followed you daily. We are a large family of 7 and I used to spend almost $1600 a month on food and other beauty products. I have kept track of my savings and spending since I began couponing…and I am so excited to say that I saved $12,893.33 just since April. I feel so grateful and blessed to have found you and your website. I could never imagine paying full price for anything again. My family and friends were overwhelmed at how much I have stockpiled since I began…and my kids even framed my biggest savings on one shopping trip-a 98% savings ($636.55 savings). I look at it sitting next to my computer and just can’t wait to do it all over again! Thanks again for all you do.
Happy New Year!
CC of Gilbert, AZ
Sheryl, first of all I would like to say Happy Anniversary to you and Dave. Happy New Year’s to you and your family. I didn’t track my savings from this year since this was my first year of diving into couponing. This will be something I do this next year. A friend of mine told me about your blog about 3 months ago, and I’ve been glued ever since! I do know that I’ve saved in the hundreds of dollars this year, most definitely! I feel like I received a gift finding your blog! Keep up the great work Sheryl. You’re truly a blessing to me! I have shared your blog to with my family and friends and I know they’re saving money too! Thank you so much!
We were spending about $800 a month prior to coupons. Now we spend about $300 a month. I tracked receipts for about 3 months, and we were saving $500 a month roughly.
Thanks for all that you do.
Happy Anniversary!
I was out today using my 12/31 Q’s. A very nice woman came up to me and asked about my coupon book. I told her that I have been doing this seriously for three months, told her about this site and all that you do for us. She was in awe. I plan to keep a running tab for this new year. I am having so much fun. The people on the FB site are great. I just love chatting and comparing notes. I am making new friends and loving it. I have exchanged Q’s several times. I was embarrassed because some gals are extra generous … a complete surprise. I will remember them and help them any way that I can this year. Thank you Sheryl for hosting this site; you do such a great job. I wish you all the best in the new year.
Oh, my biggest score? The cake pops maker from Kohls … to make meatballs! LOL
I just discovered this site a few months ago, and since tracking my savings, I’ve saved over $600 a month. I’ve accumulated a HUGE stockpile, which I freely share with my daughter’s. I was bad about keeping receipts for awhile, then just grabbed one of my file folders from the file cabinet, put it right in my coupon binder, and can stick receipts in there, right at the store! No more having to do a “purse clean-out” to find them.
I also started tracking an additional savings…gas. Using Fry’s fuel reward points, I’ve saved over $200 on gas in the last few months. And this month will be HUGE, cause of getting 4X on fuel points for buying gift cards at Fry’s.
I’m adding in the Ebates and Shop Your Way $$ that I’ll get back too, along with other mfg. rebates I try to keep up on.
Thanks Sheryl for all you do. This can’t be easy with having a young family. Your dedication has helped SO much…and I’m referring people to your site all the time, easy to do when I’m in the grocery store and people comment about my coupon binder, shopping lists, etc, I tell them to visit your site and “get in on the great deals”.
Happy New Year!
I started my couponing on 3-27-11, and I have saved over $15,000 in 2011. Shery, I thank you, my friends and family thank you, and my church thanks you!!!!
I didn’t keep track, but if I do the quick math, we reduced our weekly food budget from $100 to $60, so that’s $160/month, times 12=$1920, plus all of the money I’ve saved with your amazing amazon deals, it has to be north of $3000…you’re amazing!
I can’t even begin to say what an awesome source of info you are to saving money. If someone doesn’t take your tips and use it, then their just throwing money down the drain. I came across your site about 3 months ago, and I started couponing in July, and I’m up to $707 I’ve gotten from rebates, and my couponing has saved me in the ballpark of almost $3000. I spent so little for my Christmas shopping because I saved beyond anything I thought I could. Kudoz to you and your website….it’s going to be an even greater 2012. Thank you!
I’m always excited when the end of the year rolls around and I can tally up my coupon savings! This year my grocery and personal supplies expenditures averaged $46.36 per week for a family of two. I saved 60% overall, totaling $3,560. Sheryl, yours is the only site I reference anymore. Thank you for all that you do. It’s greatly appreciated!
We just began couponing in April (thanks to this web site), and I just tallied up the receipts I was able to find … grand total in savings (using coupons, rewards cards, and rolling ECBs and RRs) = $5,250.33 … thank you, Sheryl! :)