Coupon Tip Tuesday

This isn't so much a coupon tip per se, but, I highly encourage people to keep a spreadsheet of their grocery receipts. I just have a simple one on Excel, and every time I get back from the store(s), I type in a general description of what I bought, what I paid Out Of Pocket and what I saved. Most stores (with the exception of Wal-mart!) have your savings printed at the bottom of the receipt. That's what you would be paying if you were buying retail and using no coupons or sales.

I do this for a few reasons:

1.) To track my spending to ensure that while I'm getting good deals, I'm not going going over budget getting them. No sense in putting yourself in debt to save money, eh?

2.) To prove to any doubters that couponing is totally worth it!

3.) To encourage myself when couponing and trying to be thrifty is burning me out. Because, while it's a total high to walk out of a store with $100 worth of merchandise for 1.27, it's also a lot of work to hunt the deals, organize the deals and keep them straight so that they actually are deals. Despite that coupon high, there are some days when I just want to throw the towel in, put whatever the heck I want into my basket and not clip a single coupon! But, well, that's just silly! Fortunately, those days don't come too often. But looking at my spreadsheet helps to remind me of what I could be paying and what I actually am!