New Years Resolutions

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hope that it is treating you right so far! I'm not the type of person that makes resolutions because all I end up doing is breaking them and then feel depressed about it. But I will, however, try my best to keep up on a spreadsheet I've created to keep track of my savings / spending. The above image is a screen shot of my proto type. Click on it to see it clearer - it is a jumbled mess as you're seeing it right now!

It's a lot of work inputting all the totals, but because of the way I do my shopping lists, it's more of a data entry process than a mathematical challenge. Coupons obviously, are not the only things that save us money. Weekly sales do. And weekly sales in conjunction with the right coupons are what really saves us money. So this spreadsheet not only keeps track of the coupons involved, but the sale prices too. I included in 3 NYE purchases I made (using up the last of my 12/31/11 expires!) and ended up with some wicked deals too.

Walmart was a great stop and I'd say that 70% of my cart was all grocery products! I got great deals on Campbell's soups, Bagel Bites, Glade & Airwick Airfreshners, Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer (I <3 that stuff!), and some cereal. I got a ton of fresh produce and some Maple Leaf meat that was on clearance as well.



Shoppers Drug Mart was another great find! My side of the family hasn't met up to exchange Christmas gifts yet, so I was able to finish off 4 of my cousins kids gifts with a Leap Frog learning pad for less than $15 each. AND! I bought more diapers for cheap... why would I need more diapers after the Unicorn Diaper find? Because these ones were the Nighttime diapers. I'd previously been using the Huggies nighttime diapers because they are lower priced and in conjunction with the $1-2 dollar off coupons I'd find - it was more feasible to go the Huggies route. With Big B recently going up a diaper size, I did not have any of his new size on hand. Well, I think it's safe to say that I have his night time diaper needs covered until he is out of them. I bought 13 packages of Pampers nighttime diapers that were originally $15.99 each, on sale for $9.88 with a $5 off coupon (and no, I was not using the $5 WUB2 - I traded for a stash of $5 coupons from a lady who got them right from the manufacture). There are far less diapers in these packs than regular ones. Size 4's have 27. Size 5's have 23 and Size 6's have only 20. They are a 'luxury' diaper as per say, so you're going to end up paying more for it. Big B seems to pee the most at night, so it is well worth it for me to have these and save my time and money on laundry costs. When I entered in the Gifts to Grow code from the inside of one of these packs, I was shocked to see that they are worth 47 points each - which is quite high in comparison to normal diapers in my opinion. To top it all off - it was a 20X the Points event! I had just over $10 worth of points on my card when I walked into the store. When I walked out, my receipt is telling me I'm 4000 points away from the $85 level and currently have $60 worth of redeemable points right now! I haven't ever really used my SDM Optimum card until as of late and am finally understanding why people rave about how great of a rewards program it is!! My goal is to save all my points until Christmas time next year (or the last Mega Redemption event before Christmas) and get some great gifts for those on my list!

So - what are your New Years Resolutions? I hope that this year is a great one for you and your family!