Centsable Saving Stories (and Struggles)

I think my story is a little bit different than most people. I was born being “cheap” and frugal! I’m an only child and my parents divorced when I was five. I always remember feeling like I wasn’t “entitled” to gifts and whatnot. I felt guilty that people spent money on me. My parents treated me wonderfully, and I have zero idea where this mentality came from.

I got engaged and married at the age of 21, exactly one week after I graduated college with a degree in Economics. Since I was so young and clueless, my mother planned most of my wedding. My one wish was for it to not be a big deal or flashy. I found a dress on a clearance rack. We used flowers from my grandmother’s yard. My engagement ring was small and simple. It’s exactly what I wanted, but I also felt like I was getting the “you need to spend more money” vibe from everyone. I just didn’t see the need.Coupon Clipping

My husband was in the Marine Corps, so after we got married, we moved to Hawaii. I was introduced to the commissary. Shortly after we arrived I noticed a big banner hanging overhead that read: “We Accept Manufacturer’s Coupons!” I thought, “Wow! The prices are so good here, if I had coupons, things would be dirt cheap!” So I started clipping some coupons and the commissary would have piles of coupons right at the front the door. It was great.

I was also in the military, and we both spent the next couple years moving and living military life of being separated and whatnot. It was finally my time to get out so we decided to move back to New England. We moved to a small apartment in Boston. I immediately subscribed to The Sunday Boston Globe. My justification was that if I used just $4 in coupons per week, it would more than pay for the Sunday paper. I re-discovered Shaw’s and started clipping coupons. From the time I could remember, I have always shopped the sales even if I didn’t have any coupons. Then I found out I was pregnant.

After my son was born in the spring of 2006, I was set on breastfeeding. It wasn’t hard for me and my son took to it. But I just didn’t like it. I told my husband I needed to switch him to formula. Then I saw how expensive formula was – wowzers! We lived one block from CVS, and I was there all the time. I was sort of getting into the ECBs at that time. My first real “Wow! This is great moment” for me came when I went to CVS, armed with a $4 off $20 purchase CVS coupon, a $5 Similac formula check, and my $2.50 in ECBs. I scored myself a can of formula for under $10 and it felt great!

From then on, I sort of made it a mission to use as many coupons as I possibly could. We decided the best thing for us was if I left work and stayed home with our child. So I had the time to sit around the house with a sleeping baby and look through the grocery circulars and do coupon match-ups. I still manage to find the time to plot out grocery trips with two toddlers running around driving me crazy!

My Grocery Goal

On January 1, 2009, I made a goal of spending $5,000 or less on groceries this year. Even though I am all gung ho saving, I had no idea what I was actually SPENDING on stuff. By blogging about my grocery trips, it has made me more aware of how much I was spending versus saving. I thought $5,000 was realistic, yet challenging at the same time. We’re almost half way through the year and I’m at about $2,100 spent on groceries. I think we can do it!

Thank you for reading!

Becky

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.