saving money by living on a budget...

I have had several comments and questions about my budget and how I'm able to not spend very much money but still feed our family...and not just eating rice and beans. My goal is to spend $40 a week on groceries. I also give myself $50 per month for stockpiling items I use on a regular basis. A big question I get...do you really save a lot by using coupons? Absolutely! My biggest savings comes from using coupons and buying things when they are on sale.

I like to go once a week to my Farmer's Market Grocery Store and load up on fruits, veggies and dairy products. Here is what I got, minus some missing fruit that my husband and little lady already ate. I spent $22.41. I only buy what is on sale as far as my fruits and veggies are concerned. Which helps keep the cost low. Once we buy our own house, I will grow a lot of stuff, so hopefully this amount will go down even more. But for now, its working!

Here was my trip to Target this week. I did 2 transactions. The first one was all of the Scrubbing Bubble cleaners- 6 total. The total was $9.25 after coupons, PLUS I receive 3- $5 gift cards for buying these products. Basically, I got paid to by them, since I only paid $9.25 and got $15 in gift cards that I used on my second transaction. The second transaction came to $16.69 after coupons but then I used my $15 in gift cards and only paid $1.70 out of pocket. I got all the first aid kits and pens for free using coupons!

Lastly, I went to Safeway and scored some great deals! My total came to $22.26 after coupons and I also received a $5.00 Catalina for buying all the Glad products and can use on my next purchase. Basically, its like a $5 gift card.

I was able to really get quite a bit of stuff! My total for all 3 places was $55.62
However, the 6 cleaners and Veggie tales Movie don't come out of my grocery budget which totalled $16.24. So, if I take that away from my total...I spent only $39.38 out of my $40 weekly grocery budget! The only thing I did buy that wasn't on my list was the M&M's. I really do better keeping to my budget, when I only buy what is on my list. I hope this will inspire you to save on your shopping too!