December + Year End Savings!!

2010 has come to a close and I managed to track my savings through the entire year!!  Last January, I stumbled on this savings tracker and decided to give it a try.  I really wanted to see how much I was saving but I was afraid it would take too much time to enter in every receipt.  To my surprise, it was pretty easy and, unless I saved up all of my receipts until the end of the month, it didn't take long either!

December Savings
Amount Paid: $226.53
Total Savings: $451.14
66.57% Savings
$45.31/week
Of that total savings, $209.57 was from coupons!


The best part of the savings tracker is that I am able to see how much I saved throughout the year!!  Our goal for the year was to spend between $40 - $50 per week on groceries.  This includes food, toiletries, diapers, and household consumables.   Another goal was to consume more fresh fruit and vegetables and to begin adding some organic foods to our diet.  And we were still able to stay within our budget!!  In 2011, we spent $2430.81 on groceries.  This comes out to $202.57 per month and $46.75 per week!!  Our 2011 savings.......$7890.53!!

Did you track your savings this year?  Share, share!!  If you haven't started tracking, consider starting this month!  It is a great motivator and its nice to see what you can accomplish with your hard work!!

November Savings and Earnings

Have you started tracking your savings! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!



November Savings
Amount Paid: $128.36
Total Savings: $492.87
79.34% Savings
$32.09/week
Of that total savings, $262.76 was from coupons!
I really didn't do a lot of shopping this month - just small trips each week.  We did use a lot of our stockpile though!

November Earnings

Swagbucks
Search Engine with Benefits
(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards
3830 Swagbucks remaining
Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Check out these tips!

Opinion Outpost, $17.00
Survey Site
I didn't get a chance to do many surveys this month at all.  In fact, I think I only logged in twice this month.  So, most of these earnings were from referrals.  And quite a few of the referrals were friends of mine from Facebook.  They have a new Facebook connect and it lets your friends know when you have cashed out! 

MySurvey, $10 Amazon Gift Card
Survey Site
I did actually do a few surveys with MySurvey this month.  One of the surveys was from the 12 week product testing I've been doing!!

My Coke Rewards
(5) Coupons for a FREE 12 pk

Rebates Received
$1 BeeMD - and it was actually a $1 bill!

How did you do this month?

October Savings and Earnings

Have you started tracking your savings! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

If you are tracking your savings, I would love to hear how it's going!  Have you noticed your grocery bill going down?  Have you seen some significant changes?

October Savings
Amount Paid: $167.07
Total Savings: $1059.36
86.38% Savings
$33.41/week
Of that total savings, $510.87 was from coupons!

October Earnings
Swagbucks
Search Engine with Benefits
(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards
$50 Amazon Gift Card
703 remaining
Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Check out these tips!

Opinion Outpost, $23.00
Survey Site
Opinion Outpost is by far my favorite site.  I do seem to have peaks and valleys (this month definitely being a peak) but I always manage to get the minimum (50 points = $5) to cash out each month!  This month I did receive $10 in referrals and $7.50 for a very tasty product test.  The rest was from taking surveys. 

My Coke Rewards

Rewards Program
(5) $5 Chili's gift cards (for 140 points)
(3) $5 Chuck E Cheese gift cards (for 140 points)
Snapfish Flipbook Credit (for 100 points, I believe)
(2) FREE coupons for 20oz pop (for 30 points)
You can only get one gift card per account but several family members have signed up for accounts.  And, yes, I drink Coke but no, not that much.  I get a lot of codes from family!

Rebates Received:
Kikkoman Free Gift - Grilling Apron

Rebates Sent Out:
Renpure: $6.99
Bee MD: $1
Office Depot: $5.99 gift card
TENA: $11.99

Craigslist, $25
Sold 2 items

Garage Sale, $175
Very last minute so I was very excited at how much we made!

September Savings and Earnings

Still tracking my savings! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

September Savings

Amount Paid: $222.06

Total Savings: $586.36

72.53% Savings

$55.52/week

Of that total savings, $279.96 was from coupons!

This month was a bit higher than most months.  I did purchase the meat for this month and next month's meal swaps and I think that definitely made it higher.  We have a pretty good stockpile right now so I anticipate that next month will be considerably lower.

September Earnings

Swagbucks

Search Engine with Benefits

(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards

2686 Swagbucks remaining

Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Check out these tips!

Opinion Outpost, $8.50

Survey Site

This is my favorite survey site! I am able to cash out every month!

My Survey, $25 Amazon Gift Card Code

Survey Site

Quite a bit of this was from referrals.  I think you guys were as excited as I was about my 12 week product trial!

My Coke Rewards

Rewards Program

(3) $5 Chuck E Cheese Gift Cards

Shop At Home, $23.78

Cash Back for Shopping Rewards Program

Craigslist, $60

Sold 2 things this month

Rebates Received:

Kellogg's TMF: $2.50

Kellogg's TMF: $2.50

Sure for Women: $2.99

Visine: $7.19

Just for Men: $7.03

Keebler: $3.16

Aveeno: $20 (finally!)

Dishwasher Magic: $3.98

Embark: $4.96

Rebates Sent Out:

Dishwasher Magic, $3.98

Kikkoman Gift Rebate

Have you been tracking your savings and earnings?

August Savings and Earnings

Still tracking my savings! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

August Savings

Amount Paid: $ $243.77

Total Savings: $901.17

78.71% Savings

$48.75/week

Of that total savings, $341.23 was from coupons!

August Earnings

Swagbucks

Search Engine with Benefits

(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards

1334 Swagbucks remaining

Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Check out these tips!

Opinion Outpost, $7.50

Survey Site
This is my favorite survey site!  I am able to cash out every month!

Mindfield Online, $5.00
Survey Site
This is the first time I've cashed out with Mindfield!

Ebates, $63.68
Cash Back Shopping Site
I earned $13.68 myself and $50 was from referrals.

Rebates Received:
Gerber: $2.99

$25 Visa Card from McAfee
$10.39 Zegerid

Rebates Sent Out:
Embark lunch box $3.99
FiberPlus Cereal $2.50
Sure for Women $2.99

Have you been tracking your savings and earnings?

July Savings and Earnings

Still tracking my savings! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

July Savings

Amount Paid: $266.83

Total Savings: $650.35

70.91% Savings

$53.37/week

Of that total savings, $299.77 was from coupons!

June Earnings

Swagbucks

Search Engine with Benefits

(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards

$50 Amazon Gift Card

125 Swagbucks remaining

Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Go here for some tips!

Opinion Outpost, $7.50

Survey Site
My Survey, $20

Survey Site

Blockbuster Express FREE Rentals: 1

Rebates Received:

Armor All: $5.99

Gerber: $2.49

Rite Aid Gift Cards: $5, $5, $25

TENA: $10.39

Schick: $6.99

Rebates Sent Out:

Kellogg's Cinnabon: $2.50

Visine: $7.19

Just for Men: $7.03

Have you been tracking your savings and earnings?

June Savings and Earnings

Still tracking my savings! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

June Savings
Amount Paid: $202.16

Total Savings: $757.77

78.94% Savings

$50.54/week

Of that total savings, $374.49 was from coupons!

Just wait until you see all of the rebates I did this month as well!  Since I don't count those rebates until I receive the check, I should have a low month once those start rolling in!

June Earnings

Swagbucks

Search Engine with Benefits
(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards

5,162 Swagbucks remaining

(Ugh, so close to a $50 Amazon gift card!!)

Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Go here for some tips!

Opinion Outpost, $5.50

Survey Site

My Coke Rewards

Rewards ProgramFREE 8x11 Classic Photo Book from Snapfish

(5) FREE 20 oz Coke coupons

Blockbuster Express FREE Rentals: 4

Rebates Received:

Olay: $7.77

Rite Aid P&G Coupon booklet

$10 Kraft Summer Rebate

Rebates Sent Out:

Armour All: $7.99

Rite Aid Skin Care Gift Card: $30 in RA gift cards

McAfee: $25 Visa gift card

Kellogg's Fiber Plus: $2.50

Schick: $6.99

Zegerid: $6.99

Gerber: $2.49

Sears: $50 Gift Card for Men's Apparel

I went crazy with rebates this month!  And most of them were moneymakers!

I am going to continue with the goals I had set for myself last month.  While I improved, I didn't quite meet any of them!

1) Surveys - At least twice a week.

2) My Coke Rewards - Enter in codes once a week.

3) Contacting Companies - Write to 10 companies each week.

How did you do this month?

May Savings and Earnings

I continued tracking my savings and earnings in May! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

May Savings

Amount Paid: $213.67

Total Savings: $756.32

77.97% Savings

$53.40/week

Of that total savings, $313.49 was from coupons!

Huge difference from last month!!

I did go over my $40-$50 per week budget but this month should be on the low side.  I've received a few gift cards from Rite Aid promotions that have finally arrived so that will help bring my out of pocket down!

For the year, I am at $46.38 per week!  I am very happy with that!

May Earnings

Swagbucks

Search Engine with Benefits
(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards

2,026 Swagbucks remaining

Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Go here for some tips!

Opinion Outpost, $8.50

Survey Site

Rebates Received:

P&G Coupon Book

Rebates Sent Out:

$10 Kraft Rebate

I haven't done a lot in the earnings category for the last few months.  I would like that to change though so I am making a few goals for myself:

1) Surveys - At least twice a week.

2) My Coke Rewards - Enter in codes once a week.

3) Contacting Companies - Write to 10 companies each week.

I will keep track of these and let you know how I do at the end of the month.  If I stick to it, I imagine we'll see quite a bit more in the June Earnings section!

Are you keeping track of your spending?  How's it going?

April Savings and Earnings

I continued tracking my savings and earnings in April! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

April Savings

Amount Paid: $192.86
Total Savings: $326.21

62.85% Savings

$48.25/week

Of that total savings, $138.44 was from coupons!

See what happens when I don't shop at Rite Aid for a month (even though this week's trip was in April, I included it in May since it is part of May's SCR).  All of those moneymakers bring my "amount paid" down and my "total savings" up!  Plus, I did not plan ahead the way I should have for the birthdays this month!  Oh well......

April Earnings

Swagbucks

Search Engine with Benefits(5) $5 Amazon Gift Cards

$50 Amazon Gift Card

355 Swagbucks remaining

Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Go here for some tips!

Opinion Outpost, $15.00

Survey Site
This was a great month for surveys for me!  $6 was from referrals but the rest was from taking surveys!

Redbox Credits: 1

Rebates Sent Out:

Olay $7.77

P&G Coupon Book

Not much this month!  Between vacation at the beginning of the month and birthdays at the end, I have been busy, busy, busy!  I am hoping this will look different in May!!

March Savings and Earnings

I continued tracking my savings and earnings in March! If you haven’t started doing this, I would recommend it. It truly doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great motivator! I have been using this savings tracker, in case you are interested. Very easy to use!

February Savings
Amount Paid: $150.17

Total Savings: $782.66

83.90% Savings!!

$37.54/week

Of that total savings, $325.03 was from coupons!

**As you will see in my earnings section, I received a lot of rebates this month! I don’t add my rebates back into my budget until I receive the check (except for the Rite Aid Single Check Rebates). My out of pocket in February was higher than normal ($59/week) because I took advantage of a lot of moneymaking rebate opportunities. Many of these rebate checks were received this month which was why my weekly spending was so much lower!

February Earnings

Swagbucks

(5) $5 Amazon gift cards

$50 Amazon gift card

3,226 Swagbucks remaining

I have enough for a $25 Amazon gift card but I am waiting for the $50 gift card since that is a better deal!

Many of you have asked how I earn so many Swagbucks. Go here for some tips!

Opinion Outpost, $5.50

Survey Site

I only checked my survey email 3 times this month so I had the potential to make more!

ShopAtHome, $26.54

Online Shopping Cash Back Program

This was my first check from ShopAtHome! I earned $5 as a signup bonus, $5 from a referral, and the rest was from shopping! Check out how I saved $50 on my contacts by going through ShopAtHome!

My Coke Rewards:
Rewards Program

1 Year Subscription to Golf Digest

(9) FREE 20 oz Cokes

Redbox Credits: 1

Rebates Received:

$15 Olay

$11.23 Olay

$15 Olay

$2.50 Sure for Men

$14.97 Diapers.com

$15 Olay

$8.99 Schick

$20 Nabisco/Kraft

February's Savings and Earnings

I continued tracking my savings and earnings for the month of February!  It is truly amazing to see the results of couponing and bargain hunting.  Definitely a huge motivator!  If you are interested in tracking your savings, here is the tracker that I have been using!  Very easy to use!

February Savings

Amount Paid: $238.51

Total Savings: $506.81

68.00% Savings!!

Of that total savings, $292.81 was from coupons!

February EarningsSwagbucks

(5) $5 Amazon gift cards

4, 246 Swagucks remaining

I am saving up for the $50 Amazon gift card because it is a better deal than the $25 gift card!

Opinion Outpost  $5.70

Survey Site

I haven't been nearly as consistent in taking surveys this month.  I just checked my account and I have 7 surveys waiting for me!  Oops!

Ebates  $18.01

Online Shopping Cash Back ProgramThis was my first check from Ebates!  I earned $5 as a signup bones, $5 from a referral (my mom) and the rest was from shopping!

Inbox Dollars  $31.82

Survey Site

This is the first time that I have been able to cash out with Inbox Dollars.  It takes awhile but is super easy!  For each email you "read," you earn $.02.  Not much but over time it adds up and takes only seconds!  You can also earn through surveys, various offers, shopping, and games.

Redbox Credits: 2

Craigslist: $50

Sold 2 items

Rebates Received:

$11.98 Olay

Rebates Sent Out:

$14.97 Diapers.com

$8.99 Schick

$15 Olay

$20 Nabisco/Kraft

$35 P&G Visa card through Rite Aid

$5 Rite Aid gift card

**This is part of the reason that my OOP for the month of February was over our budget.  Since all of these, except the diaper deal were moneymakers, we decided to spend the money up front.  We plan to make up for this overage in the next few months as these rebates trickle in!

January's Savings and Earnings

At the beginning of the year, I decided that I wanted to keep track of how much I am saving and earning with all of my couponing and bargain hunting.  Fortunately, I found this great savings tracker to make things much easier!  Here's how I did this month:

January Savings:

Amount Paid: $178.82

Total Savings: $619.49

77.60% Savings!!

Of that total savings, $367.16 was from coupons!!

I am very happy that I decided to track this.  Wow!  It just amazes me what can be done with coupons!

January Earnings:

Swagbucks:

$25 Amazon gift card

(5) $5 Amazon gift cards

100 Swagucks remaining

My Coke Rewards:

(2) Snapfish calendar credits (our gift to the grandparents every year for Christmas)

Coupon for a FREE 12 pack

(4) Coupons for FREE 20 oz

Opinion Outpost - $18.50

(survey site)

Redbox Credits: 6

Rebates Received:

$5 Dulcolax

$20 Nabisco Back to School

**I did include these in the budget results for January.

Rebates Sent Out:

$15 Olay (x2)

$11.23 Olay

$11.98 Olay

$2.50 Pert Plus for Men

Miscellaneous:(2) $5 Babies R Us gift cards

(both my husband and I became Facebook fans)

I wasn't sure exactly how to present my earnings.  Some companies don't pay out every month or require a certain amount before payout so, although I have earned, I didn't receive a check in January for some things.  I decided to only list what I have received.

My intention with this is to show you the different ways that I earn a little extra.  Some of it might interest you and others may not.  I am always interested in learning about new ways as well!  If you have specific questions about any of it, please let me know!