Results of my money saving efforts...

So I thought I'd share how much money I was able to save. It's not as good as serious couponers, but considering I only get one Sunday paper and don't keep every coupon in every paper...

I spent a total of $261.15 and saved $275.35. That's over 50%. Some of that savings was club/vip card savings; some of it was ad matching at Walmart; $52.33 of that was in coupon savings. I figured that's pretty good for a baginner.

So here's some of what I got:
35 lbs of flour 40 lbs of sugar
2 lbs of brown sugar 1 lb of powdered sugar
15 lbs of potatoes 3 jars of peanut butter
48 boxes of mac n cheese 48 cans of tomato sauce
12 cans of fruit 12 cans of chili
12 cans of spaghettios 6 cans of evaporated milk
12 4-packs of pudding 8 1/2 gallons of milk
2 cases of bottled water 4 cans of Pledge
4 cans of Scrubbing Bubbles 4 bottles of Lysol bathroom/kitchen cleaner
2 containters of Lysol wipes 2 bottles of Windex
6 Glade Scented Oil warmers 6 Glade Scented Oil refills

I also bought some other things we needed, but this was the bulk of my purchases. We're stocked on cleaning supplies for a LONG time. I'm sure it's more than a year supply of that. We also have a lot more food in our food storage. We still need to stock up more of toiletries and a few other essentials like that, but it's a start.

We are considering extra copies of the newspaper for more coupons and I've been spending time online printing coupons from the Internet and doing research into how to save money. I told Clayton I guessed if it was his job to make money, my job is to save as much of it as I can.

I'm completely addicted...

I've always been a reasonable frugal shopper. A year or so ago, I started clipping a few coupons here and there. Then I got the itch... The money-saving itch. It could have to do with the economy in it's current state of chaos or just my frugality. I'm not sure which. But thanks to a gal in my ward (Connie), I'm getting really addicted. A few websites that I frequent to find out the deals and how to save and which coupons to use are listed in my "Places We Go Often" list on the side of my blog. I figure if it's Clayton's job to make money, it's my job to save as much as I can. Clayton thinks it's great. And it gives me something constructive to do with my time. So I'll start letting everyone know how it goes. Tonight should be a good trip. I'm actually, for probably one of the first times in my life, excited to go grocery shopping. I HATE grocery shopping. If Clayton doesn't go with me, it more likely than not won't get done at all. If anyone has and great ideas...let me know! I'm always open to new ideas. And I'll share any tips and tricks I get!