Savings Goals for 2010

My savings goals for 2010 were:

To save money and maintain the lifestyle that DH and I enjoy. We have changed grocery stores (from Vons to Ralph's) and right there with that one change, there has been a noticeable savings, even on items that I do not have coupons for.

We only dine out with a coupon and/or a giftcard (that usually comes from Mypoints or SBKC).  We purchase an Entertainment book and use the coupons to our advantage- combine them with Happy Hour prices, the daily special, or we buy one entree and split it.  The Ralph's coupons in the Entertainment book have also helped us save money on groceries too!  The coupons for services are great!

I joined lots of E-clubs and started following more blogs- that really helped me keep abreast of savings, upcoming sales, and freebies galore.

Use all of the HBA in our house. Not to buy any more unless we had run out of a specific item that we *had* to have.  Looking into my HBA cupboard yesterday, I am down to 3 sets of shampoo and conditioner.  I started the year with 9 sets.  I did have to buy Deo., but with a great sale at target, Bogo q's and the secret clinical buy 5 get 1 free deal, they were less than $4.00 each (which is a great deal since they are usually $9.99/each!! I know, but when you have sensitive armpits, you do what you gotta do!!)  I am going to keep the momentum going and starting in January 2011, I will only be bringing home free HBA. We won't need deo for probably another year, body wash or hair dye for 6-8 months.

Enjoy more free stuff. I have requested hundreds of free samples this year.  I have been using them as they come in and a need arises.  I also put them in our travel toiletry kits, and participated in a freebie swap on HCW.  I have tried to share the links either on the blog or by posting them in my twitter feed. We also enjoyed more free activities, such as potluck dinners with friends, evenings with friend in our home (or theirs)- playing games, watching movies, just hanging out.

Shopping at new stores to discover new  bargains. I am not really a Target fan, however, the closest Target to our house just opened it's expanded grocery section.  With coupons and their sales, many of the items we regularly use are free.

A Fresh and Easy opened a few months ago, less than a mile away from our home.  I really enjoy their philosophy of fresh food at low prices and the prices aren't bad.  I try to go right as the open to hit up the mark down section to save a little extra.  They also have $10/$30 or $5/$20 coupons available most of the time. The only down fall is they do not accept manu. q's.

I have also started a spreadsheet to help me track all of the money that has come into the house with rebates and bonuses earned (Mypoints, SBKC, Misc. Surveys, Synovate, E-club rewards, Office Depot WorkLife rewards, etc.).  Seeing the total saved really puts all of the work I do to keep us on budget in perspective.  To date, we have received $847.20 in cash and giftcards!

I'd love to hear how you all have kept on track with your savings goals, and what those goals are!  Please leave a comment and share your goals.  I will choose one tip on December 10th, and the winner will receive a holiday savings gift from me, which will include coupons, a $10 gift card and other goodies!

Your goal can be as simple as, "I will save $10 from each paycheck to fund our annual vacation." to "I want to save $10k for a new car and here is how I will do it."  Sharing our savings goals can inspire others.

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