One of the most important things in saving is to keep track! Are you really saving money using coupons or are you just buying a whole lot of things that you would not normally buy just because its a "good deal"? My husband is real good about reminding me that just because I only spent $5 at the store, does not mean I am saving if I went 20 times in a week! 

The more familiar you become with coupon shopping you will realize what is called price points. This would be the amount you are willing to purchase an item for. For me, my price point on health and beauty items is $1 or less, most of the time if it is not free I am not interested. The price point for me and cereal is no more than $0.75 a box. As you begin to stockpile, you will not need the items that are not within your price point. 

I found a great savings tracker that keeps track of all your spending. It is in Excel format, if you are not familiar with Excel no worries! I had no clue how to use it either! It is super simple to use and there is an downloadable instruction sheet. If you are wanting to organize your spending and ensure that you are saving more than you are spending then this would be a great program to use! I used it for the month of January and my results were amazing! 

January-at-a-Glance Total Shelf Cost:  $  1,735.86  <-------Total brought into home

 Total Coupon Savings:  $     828.58      <------- Total saved with coupons

Total Savings:  $  1,358.52                       <--------This is store sales amounts

Savings Rate:   78.26%        <---------- Created my own 78% sale!!!    

Amount Paid (exc. Rebates)  $         438.29 <------Total paid for the month! (This included $100 at the meat market to stock up on meats for two months!) 

The tracker is awesome! It does all the calculations for you! Its kinda exciting to see your progress! 

Here are the links to the tracker and downloadable manual, I hope this helps you keep track of your spending! 

Downloadable Savings Tracker the manual is at the bottom of the post! Good luck!

Happy Savings!

Melissa

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