Last year my grocery bill for January was $792.67 and my monthly average was $733 for the entire year! My budget was...well...$550. This includes only the food that we purchased to eat in our house...it doesn't even include eating out.
Well...I didn't feel too bad because I was still spending less than the average family according to the government estimates. Afterall, I always bought what was on sale - so I thought I was doing just fine. How could I possibly save more $$ without headache and lots of time (which I obviously don't have).

Then in October 2008, I decided that I just wasn't challenging myself enough in this area. My goal...to actually be at or below my $550/month budget. I began collecting coupons and using free sites www.pinchingyourpennies.com (use it for grocery sales) and www.hotcouponworld.com (use it for CVS sales) to help me figure it all out.

My first month went really well. I stayed within my $550 budget! Additionally, I was able to "stock pile" many staples as well (like cereal, oatmeal, toilet paper, etc). It was such an awesome feeling!

In January 2009, my husband was laid off from his job. I decided to see how far I could really take this grocery saving. Using tips from my coupon101 post (see link on the right hand side of this blog), I begain seriously chopping away at my spending. I am happy to report that this month I spent $383.10 and saved almost $1000! $95.78 per week is great for a family of 4! My husband even had fun at a grocery trip where I gave him $1 and a bunch of coupons to purchase 2 cases of his favorite Mountain Dew (yes - that would be about .02 per can of pop - my effective cost was around .07 per can....see CVS blog post).

So...I happily continue to stockpile items that I can get for cheap or free and use my current stockpile in my meal planning daily. I'm aiming to do even better next month! My goal...$300 or less. We'll see!