This is complicated calculating yearly totals since there are so many factors that everyone uses differently. My yearly totals include all household products that are consumed, including gasoline for the vehicles. I pretty much only shop at Publix, I went to Sweetbay three times and Winn Dixie twice. I did not shop at CVS, Walgreens, or Target. Using manufacturer, store and competitor coupons matched with sales and occasional rainchecks we were able to get all our household products essentially free this past year.
- We had 444 transactions and purchased $32,729 worth of products and gift cards.
- Of that amount purchased; $3755 was gift cards ($1005 Publix, $2750 gas cards).
- Total spending was $2951, for a profit of $803 in gift cards plus all the product was essentially free.
- On average, we spent $245 a month to purchase an average of $2727 worth of product.
- The largest transaction was $179 spent for $384 worth of product including $200 in gas cards.
- This does not include rebates and gift card offers received - I didn't track those.
You may notice we purchased a lot of product. We consume a normal amount of product and have stockpiles of paper goods and non expiring products to last years. With food and products that expire, we determine our usage and purchase enough to have through expiration. If items are free or very cheap (less than $0.25 ea) we will buy to get our totals up to use a $/$$ coupon, or to use up the coupons I have. We donate a lot of product, and also have a yard sale to move any products that are extra and we cannot consume before they expire. The cash we earn from the sale goes into my coupon envelope and is used when we need to get gas cards, so the months with lots of cash spent - it is yard sale money. We are still learning how to manage a stockpile and determine what is appropriate amounts to keep. It is very frustrating to sell extra laundry detergent at a yard sale, and then the good deals disappear and we come perilously close to running out of a household item.
| TYD totals | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | |
| $ 1,925.47 | cash spent | $ 546.48 | $ (3.28) | $ (23.34) | $ 438.88 | $ (4.65) | $ 219.26 |
| $ 1,025.82 | GC spent | $ 97.14 | $ 136.30 | $ 75.24 | $ 121.32 | $ 92.96 | $ 76.04 |
| $ 2,951.29 | Total Spent | $ 643.62 | $ 133.02 | $ 51.90 | $ 560.20 | $ 88.31 | $ 295.30 |
| 32,729.70 | Value of Goods | 4,322.47 | $2,729.67 | $ 2,534.65 | $ 3,856.14 | $ 2,458.57 | $ 3,212.34 |
| $3,755.00 | GC purchased | 890.00 | 270.00 | 145.00 | 910.00 | 65.00 | 520.00 |
| $803.71 | <---earnings | 750 Gas | 50 Gas | 750 Gas | 400 Gas | ||
| JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | YEAR AVG | |
| $ (42.62) | $ 1.32 | $ (5.04) | $ 562.52 | $ 42.07 | $ 193.87 | $ 160.46 | |
| $ 83.84 | $ 33.57 | $ 55.93 | $ 32.98 | $ 108.04 | $ 112.46 | $ 85.49 | |
| $ 41.22 | $ 34.89 | $ 50.89 | $ 595.50 | $ 150.11 | $ 306.33 | $ 245.94 | |
| $ 2,366.35 | $1,308.27 | $2,529.04 | $ 3,323.63 | $ 1,860.68 | $2,227.89 | $2,727.48 | |
| 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 705.00 | 0.00 | 240.00 | $1,005.00 | Pulbix CG |
| 700 Gas | 100 gas | 2750 | Gas CG | ||||
There were a lot of coupon policy changes in 2012 and a lot of the usual coupon offerings dried up - Publix booklets weren't as good, MQs are smaller value, and limits on usage make it tougher. I expect it to continue to be a challenge in the future. It does seem that empty shelves aren't a problem as much now and there are less opportunities for rainchecks. We have had to decrease the size of our orders and increase the number of transactions to take most advantage of the $/$$ coupons. My goal with every shop is to pay less than a dollar. I don't really like to have my orders go negative and have them pay me. It does happen occasionally, but I don't plan it that way. I spend my overage on non coupon items. One advantage of frequent transactions is that you are in the store almost every day and usually get the coupon booklets before they are gone, or you can ask CS each time you're in the store and get the amount you need.
My strategies for the upcoming year - continue multiple Sunday newspaper subscriptions, multiple computers to print coupons, frequent smaller transactions, review forums for deal ideas, use GroceryTracker app for planning each shop.
Hoping for good coupon karma in the upcoming year!
4 comments:
You are such an inspiration. We looked at our totals for 2012 and we've spent a little over $2100 in grocery + gas cards, but we haven't kept super close track. We've only regularly been using coupons a few months, but can already see a huuuge difference in comparison to last year.
Out of curiosity, how do this year's totals compare to last years? Is it a lot different because of the stricter policies?
Thanks for the post and the inspiration! =)
In 2011 we spent $4592 for $30K in product including 6K in gift cards. So this year was less earned, but still in the ballpark.
I don"t understand how this works at all. I live in Canada and coupons don't work this way. All the coupons that we get are mostly for junk food or stuff that I wouldnt normally buy anyway. Whenever I watch tv about couponing, they people get so much stuff, but they wouldn:t be able to put a healthy meal together (ie" powdered gravy, paper towels, lunchables, etc). There is never a coupon for broccoli, green beans, tofu or fresh unseasoned chicken. Please explain to me what I am missing, bc I really dont understand. (I am not judging, I am just trying to figure out how I can relate this savings strategy into my own life).
I am with you, Sara, I am not in the loop here. I go through the coupons and there is mostly nothing I would buy. Also, what is the scoop on gas and gift cards? Do you have a post about this? Thanks for this information!
Vicki
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