Here it is the end of 2010…it has been a fabulous year!! I am more than pleased with how we did from a budget standpoint. I set some pretty lofty goals for 2010. My goal for 2010 was to increase our savings and complete our basement without digging into savings. I am happy to report that we achieved both goals!!
Our savings account continues to grow and once again I will set a new goal for 2011. I am thinking that I want to set a big goal as I seem to do better when the bar is raised extra high! I tend to re-think a lot of those impulse purchases when I hold myself accountable.
I think I am most proud of the fact that we were able to finish and furnish our 2,500 square foot basement without touching our savings account at all!! This was a very tough thing to do. My husband did much of the work himself but there was so much that we ended up paying for in an attempt to get it done in a reasonable amount of time! My husband works all week and it started feeling like when he was not at work he was working on the basement!! So for our sanity as a family we called in a few pros. With the help came a few more expenses than we anticipated. Of course I bargained, interviewed and got lots of proposals until we were able to find what we needed and still stay within budget. There are still a few finishing touches that need to be done (my husband is grouting the shower as I type 🙂 ) We are loving this space and I am just thrilled with how it turned out! The boys have their own space to play and all the toys are no longer on the main floor! My husband has his own space and I have an awesome new office with lots of space for coupon clipping 😀
Our project for 2011 is the backyard! We built our home 4 years ago and the backyard looks exactly the same as the day we moved in! Well, minus a bunch of trees thanks to the tornado a few years ago. It is just a huge uneven lot of dirt, rocks, trees and bushes and is not attractive at all. It is such a mess!! Earlier this year I happened upon a blackberry bush I didn’t even know we had!! I want a fenced in backyard where I can let the boys run free and play without worrying they will get hurt. While this may not sound like a big deal…this is a huge project and may cost more than the basement!! There is very little that we can do ourselves so we will depend on others for the majority of this project! I am still working up the numbers on this one and getting various proposals to see how much this one will actually cost.
As for my grocery budget. My goal is to average about $40 a week…I set aside $2,100 per year for all groceries, toiletries, health, beauty and cleaning supplies. So how did I do this year?? Well, I am just slightly over budget…but not by much 🙂 This year I spent $2, 189.38 which is an average of $42 per week! I still consider that a victory since that $42 per week got me almost $9,200 worth of products!! That means I saved 77% this year which I consider a total success!!
For 2011, I am going to try to continue to work towards an average of $40 a week. I think this is still a good number AND I like a challenge! I started thinking about all the great deals this year and there were several that were memorable! I loved that $2/1 Ovaltine coupon…I think I am just now using up the last canisters from those coupons. I know the Knox coupon was quite the hit as well!!
I would love for you all to share your favorite deals, your weekly/yearly totals. Feel free to link to your post or just leave a comment.
I am excited to see what 2011 will bring. I wish you all happiness, health and wealth for 2011!
The Knox coupon was one of my favorites all year long! The kids and I have done all kinds of projects with the geletin! I ended up with 42 boxes of it over the course of that coupon, and that means I saved nearly $90 on other groceries!!
Michelle that really is fantastic! Congratulations on reaching your 2010 goal! I am sure you will reach your 2011 goal too…
That is grocery budget that will have many family’s be amazed… We spent about $3000 for a family of five.
Happy New Year to you and your family…
JR
Frugality Is Free
what a good example you show here, i am setting a weekly budget starting tomorrow! Im sure it will help me save even more.. Im wondering what your total expenses were for any newspapers or clipping services you used. For me, that will have an impact on how much i spend each week, because i am on a really limited budget at the moment.
Do you have a spreadsheet that you can share that depicts how to capture how much we spend/save each week? I love your goal of $40! Congrats!! I’m going to set my budget at $50 (I think).
Does this number factor in gifts, christmas, etc….Just wondering if I should pay for this stuff separate so my totals are affected? What do you do?
My favorite moneymaking deal this year were the Sundown vitmins! These seemed to be on sale every other month and were money making with the Vitamin D and B varieties.
I just started doing this in October, so my totals dont really compare right now, but I average about 70-80% each week, usually around $35 or so.
My Goal for 2011 is to average $40/week for food and household items for a family of 4 with 2 pets….well, maybe $50…we’ll see =)
Im going to try to put the amount I save each week into our wedding fund, because our wedding is going to be in November 2011 and most of the bills are due between September and November. I have a separate savings account set aside for it =)
Totals groceries/toiletries/clothing/cleaning-health-beauty supplies
OOP $1,371
Saved $10,456
Before sale $11,827
I have only been couponing for 16 months, and think I did a pretty good job this year thanks to winning gift cards, sending in rebates. Thanks to you also for your website!
Picture of the basement please.
Michelle, could you share with us the spreadsheet you use? Maybe in a template format that could be easy to download? With the New Year kicking off tomorrow, this would be great way to start for all of us and keep us organized to boot! Thanks for all you do!
My year end totals: Spent $1,165.44 for $8,275.13 worth of products, saved $7,123.61 = 86% average over the past year. My budget for the year was $150 per month (about $33-35 wk) for a family of 3 adults, I actually only spent about $22-23 per week. Haven’t decided on a new goal yet…
I would love to see anyone’s spreadsheet that worked for you last year. We are setting some pretty high goals this year and if I can see it on paper visually then I do better at sticking to my goal. Thanks for keeping us inspired as always!!
Ditto I would love to have a copy of the spreadsheet so I can keep track of what I spend. I used to have one but it was set for CVS but i would love to have one for everything.
Michelle, Do you only shop at Publix or so you shop at Target, CVS, Rite Aid?
Here are my year end totals: Total value of my purchases-$15,800, Total savings-$13,044, Total $ spent OOP-$2,756 for an 83% overall savings for 2010!
Publix, CVS, Wags, Winn Dixie, Albertson’s and an occasional Walmart trip.
I have a great spreadsheet I use, but I cant remember which of these sites I found it on….it includes Publix, target, Walmart, WAGS, CVS and a Misc page as well as a Totals page.
Its GREAT and super easy to use. Give me your email addree and I can send it while its still blank! Its for Excel and someone made it blank again for me so I could use it again for 2011. You can delete the store you dont use by right clicking on the tab for it on the bottom.
I would like a copy. Please send to srhine85@verizon.net Thanks!
missmandy9276@yahoo.com
I would love a copy! Thanks!
If you don’t mind, I would love it too!
I can email it to you, if you give me your email address =)
i would love to have this
mama2kaylabug@aol.com
Thanks!
I would really appreciate the spreadsheet! What a motivator.
I would really appreciate the spreadsheet! What a motivator. Oops, forgot to add my email.
ropp.derenda@gmail.com
Me too, please!! Thank you SOOOOO MUCH!
amandasloan (at) gmail (dot) com
I would love it too…melissad2@bellsouth.net Thanks!!!
Me, too please!!! kbookercpa@bellsouth.net
I would love to have the spreadsheet too!! Thank you 🙂 Happy New year!!
I’d love to have the spreadsheet. nhmosley@uga.edu
A spreadsheet would be AWESOME!!! Please. =)
Congratulations on keeping to your budget and good luck this coming year!
Happy New Year!
My favorite coupons last year were all the wonderful, high value Kraft coupons and the Publix/Kraft store coupons that matched up with them…..I was so happy when I found out you can freeze cheese!
Since this was the first year I was serious about couponing and keeping track of my spending my totals aren’t as great as some others but I’m proud of them.
Value of items purchased: 7736.74
Total OOP: 3760.22
Only a 48% savings but now that I’ve tracked everything for year I have a better plan and an actual goal for 2011.
That is awesome, Michelle. Your web site is the best. Thank you for everything that you do. We love your web site because it really is the best as far as matchups go. Love it! Thanks 🙂
I was actually going to ask for the same thing. I would love a copy of your spread sheet. Or anyone’s for that matter. Am setting my goal a little high to start with at $50/ per month. Email is jewel74@junk.com. Thanks!
the ivc q for gatorade is $1/5
I would like to have the spreadsheet pls 🙂
pittynursemont@hotmail.com
thanks