Keeping Track of Savings

I have been trying to get started to keep track of the savings I make with my coupons and sales shopping.  Yesterday it dawned on me that on the receipts they always tell me how much I save.  I decided to put 10% of the saved amount away.  I may have a jar labeled 10%, one labeled 20% on up to 50%.  Then I will start a savings account with my savings but also know how much I saved.  This seems less bulky than saving all the receipts and less tiresome than writing the savings   down.  At the end of the year I should know how much I saved.  I want to get started for the 2012 year for sure. 

Auctions

We have been having fun going to auctions.  Recently we went to an auction where the man had been a hoarder and collector.  His backyard was full of sheds of stuff. My son got several items that could be valuable, like $1000. ea.  I bid on a lot of stuff for $5.  It included an old wheel barrow and a huge pressure canner along with misc other useful items.  I could pick and choose what I wanted out of the lot and the rest would go to the garbage.  The canner is complete with the little rocker weight that goes on the steam outlet and my son took to hard tires from a broken cart I had and replaced the wheel.  It works wonderful.  We also got another lot for $3. and that includes a market unbrella with wooden spokes and many chairs.  Auctions are a way to get many useful items and collectables for a small pricetag. 

I Feel Rich

When you have enough without being stressed there is a feeling of being rich.  A tree trimmer has a 5 acre lot where he dumps all his chips and he gave us permission to get as much mulch as we want.  Among the mulch are many wood branches, firewood that makes me warm and comfy as I sit in front of the fire.  I feel rich.

Goats

I have three doe goats that I wanted to have bred.  Kids and fresh milk are always nice.  Here most people want $50 a breeding which seems like a lot to me.  That would be $150 for the three.  An ad in Craigs list stated , goats, so I phoned and they had young billies for $30.  3 months old.  After looking at the mother of the young billy, it was a go for me.  We now have a billy for breeding and hopefully he will do his job and we will have kids and fresh milk this Spring.  We are not aiming for purebreds at the moment but we want meat and fresh milk and possibly cheese from the goats.  We also like adding the milk to chicken feed for their diet. 

Walmart in a pinch

K Mart had an advertised special on potatoes 10# for ,98 cents but when I went in on Tuesday to do my coupon shopping they were out.  Yesterday we had to run to town to find fittings for the fence and so we popped into Walmart for earthworms.  I remembered the K mart ad and so got 10# of potatoes plus sweet potatoes for .44cents # and celery for .88 cents.  It is good to pick up sales at Walmart if it is closer as they honor their competitions prices.  I read that in some areas Walmart has 1 day a week when they do double coupons.  I'm going to call and see if our store does this. 

This Week

I was able to get some smuckers jams for $1.50 each, small jars.  I also got canned olives at Walgrens for $1.00 and wheat thins for $1.50 each.  K Mart had 10# potatoes for .98 cents but they were all gone.  I have a week so hopefully they will get more.This week there may be potatoes on sale at other stores as well.   It's cool enough now for them to keep.

I learned that Family Dollar has Folgiers coffee on sale for $7.50 so I will use my $1.00 coupon to make them $6.50 a can.  Those were my shopping buys except a head of romaine lettuce for .88 cents

Price Book

I used to follow Amy Dacycyn  books, The Tightwad Gazette.  I realized this week that it would be good to have a price book as a reference to prices.  Simply put you go to various stores that have products you use and write down the prices at each store of those products.  Get the per ounce price as well.  That way when you see sales you can check the price book, check your coupons and decide if it is really a good stock up price. 

From reading a number of coupon blogs I learned that many people like to keep track of their savings so they can see how much they save each year on their coupons and sales ventures.  I thought I would get one of those books that have calender pages with room to write on each day. I could then staple the receipts to the weeks page and write in my savings, then total them up each week, and  each month.  At the end of the year you will know your savings and can toot your horn.  : P

I am not into big time couponing so one of those big binders seems a bit too much for me.  I keep my coupons in one large envelope. Once a week I look through to get rid of any outdated coupons and make a mental note of what I have.  I keep this envelope next to my purse for easy pickup. My best strategy is to check the local sales on Wednesday morning, decide what is on sale I need and then go to ebay and see if there are any coupons for those items. 

I also went to google search and put in my state, coupon blogs. I found several fairly local blogs that gave the stores I shop at, their specials and coupon matchups, plus freebees.  Some give email alerts you can subscribe to.  I also like Krazycouponlady.com for an overall informative coupon site.