July Totals

Alrighty, so I've tallied up my totals for the entire month of July! These totals include the amount spent out-of-pocket, the total amount that all of the items I bought SHOULD have come to, and the amount and percentage I saved.

Before I give you the totals, however, I want to let you know a few things...

The things that ARE included in my totals:
*Food (not including dining out)
*Diapers (for two kids)
*Cleaning supplies (air fresheners, household cleaners, laundry items, etc.)
*Toiletries (hair products, deodorant, feminine products, etc)
*Make-up/Cosmetics
*Medicine & health related items (non-prescription)
*Office Supplies (including school supplies)

Items NOT included in my totals:
*Clothing
*Dining out
*Prescription Meds
*Toys (unless it was part of a clearance/mark-down or was bought with gift cards/RR's received by promos)

So...my total OOP for the month of July was $515.77. Now, before your jaw hits the floor at how much I spent, you have to realize a couple of things. 1.) You haven't seen how much I saved yet (I'll get to that in a minute). 2.) This includes ALL household items! ANYTHING needed to keep my household running--food, make-up, toiletries, diapers, etc! 3.)I was probably already spending this much per month before anyway and was getting SOOO much less. I could easily walk out of Walmart every week spending anywhere from $100-$150+! 4.)I have begun to build a truly great stockpile of my families most frequently used and basic necessities. There are now many, many items I will not have to buy for months, a year, or more! (I will give you a list of a few of these items in a minute) So my total OOP spent per month will continue to go down and down each month as my stockpile grows and there are less and less things I have to buy each week.

Ok, so I already told you that my total OOP for July was $515.77. Are you ready to hear how much the items I got SHOULD have cost me? Here goes...the grand total for all items purchased is $1563.70! I saved 67%! I also have $27.35 worth of rebates processing that I should receive in the next month, but I am not counting that in figuring my total saved. I will count them as I actually receive them (therefore I DID include a $4.29 rebate I received this month). I can't wait to see what my savings are as the months go on!

Now, like I said, you have to understand that I have built a great stockpile (and am in DESPARATE need of more shelving and more space! Lol) of many of my families most frequently used items...here are a few examples...

Items that I am stocked up on and will not have to buy for weeks or more:
*shredded cheese
*yogurt
*soda for the hubby (if you only knew how hard it is to stay ahead of the game when it comes to buying him soda...he drinks a TON! Lol)
*toothpaste (haven't found a screaming deal to completely stock up on that stuff, yet)

Items that I am stocked up on and will not have to buy for the rest of 2009 or longer:
*spaghettie sauce
*sloppy joe sauce
*mac-n-cheese
*cereal (I am to a point where I only buy cereal if it is at a super great price and it's a variety we don't already have that we want)
*hamburger helper
*rice/pasta sides
*sugar
*paper towels
*dishwasher tablets
*snacks galore! (fruit snacks, chex mix, cookies, etc)
*tea for me (snapple, tea bags, to-go packets, etc...I'm a big tea person!)
*cookie/brownie mix
*Dr. Pepper (Lol)
*Body wash and shampoo for me
*Razors
*Lotion for me (haven't stocked up on the kind my hubby likes yet...I'm sure it will happen eventually)

Items that I am stocked up on and will most likely not have to buy for atleast a year:
*bbq sauce
*deodorant (for both the hubby and I)
*peanut butter
*dry drink mix (crystal light, country time lemonade, kool-aid, etc)
*air fresheners
*laundry detergent

Items that I will not have to buy for a LONG, LONG time:
*q-tips! Lol.


So there ya go...there is an example of some of the things that I will not have to buy for quite some time. This is by no means a complete list...just a few examples to show you that even though I spent a LOT this month...it truly is not as much as it seems when you think of everything I bought!

Lastly, I thought I would go over exactly how I figure my savings, so that it will be completely clear and maybe even help you in figuring your own. Most importantly...I do NOT factor in tax. When I give my total amount spent, that is BEFORE taxes added on. I do this because when you look at your receipt and it says you saved $X.XX (whatever amount) that number is not including tax. It only tells you how much you saved off of your subtotal (the amount before taxes), and therefore, it is only fair that I do not include taxes when figuring how much I paid. Make sense? Hopefully it does. Lol.

Also, I know a lot of blog sites give their totals or give scenarios and factor in RR's/Cats/Gift cards/ECB's/Rebates/etc. For example, they might say..."I paid $7.59 and got $5 back in RR's, so paid $2.59 after catalina!" I do not do it this way. I would, for example, say "My OOP was $7.59 and I still have $5.00 in RR's to use!" I prefer to calculate my savings based on ACTUAL OOP. So, in order to factor in the $5 RR, I would do so when telling of the future visit where I actually USED the $5. That way I am never "doubling" my savings by giving you the "factoring in the rebate amount" but also knocking that amount off of my future visit's OOP. For example, if I used the first example and said that my OOP was 7.59 but got $5 back in RR's and, therefore, paid $2.59 after catalina, but then on my next visit used the $5 to knock my OOP down from $6.00 to $1.00 and I then told you my OOP was $1.00...I would have essentially "saved" $5 TWICE. That is why I only give the true amount I pay out of my pocket at the register, whether or not I used or received catalinas. Hopefully this makes sense, too. I am probably being super confusing, huh? Lol.

As far as figuring out the total percentage of savings, it's super-easy. I just thought I would mention it in case a few of you are as rusty at math as I am. :) You add the amount you spent and the amount you saved to get a "total." This is the amount that the items you purchased should have cost you if you bought them at full price. Once you have your total, you simply take your amount saved, divided by the total amount. That will give you your percentage saved! Here's an example:

I paid $5.07 OOP. My receipt says I saved $25.48. I add these two numbers together to get my "total," which equals $30.55. I now take the amount saved ($25.48) divided by the "total" ($30.55) and get .83404255. Round it and my savings is 83%. That simple. :)

I guess that it's for now...again, I cannot wait until the end of August to see what my totals are...it will be fun to watch the decrease over time!

If you are new to couponing or new to this blog, be sure to click HERE to learn more about this system and how you, too, can dramatically decrease your grocery spending!