But I am getting good at it.
I have to be, being a single man who supports himself these days. It's becoming a new ritual for me. I get the Sunday paper, sit down with a cup of coffee and my scissors, turn up the radio, and clip away the items I know I will use, and the occasional items I think I 'might' use someday in the future.
I also signed up for my grocery store's electronic rewards program where I get an email about 3 times a week for items coming up on sale.
I average around 35% savings every Sunday when I grocery shop for the week. That's a combination of paper coupons, electronic coupons, and a little pre shopping stragegy for the week. It's not uncommon for me now to plan out dinners based on weekly ads and how much I'll buy.
The lowest I think I've saved is around 24%. That's when I first started. My personal best record is either 47 or 48%, but like I said, it's generally around 35-37% for the most parts these days. On a single income, that's quite substantial. I'm spending roughly only $.65 on the dollar. So what used to cost me $100 in grcoceries, now only costs me around $65. This is generally pretty good as I figure I'm saving about $100 a month (probably more like $125-150), or $1,200+ a year.
I wish I could say this also translates into eating healthier....but alas, it doesn't. I don't buy candy bars, sugar cereal, soda pop, or heavily breaded or fried fare...but I do get an occasional frozen pizza now, or some other 'rich' skillet meal with cheese sauce (maybe some Haburger or Tuna helper). I could still cut back on the carbs I suppose, and eat more veggies or 'natural' products. I'm aware of this, and do try, sometimes with better results than others. I also note that I ingest a little too much sodium though from frozen meals or cup of noodles I take to work for lunch.
I'm getting good at noting marketing patterns as well. I don't think most guys pay any attention to this, and perhaps women do but they just don't discuss it or find it interesting as I do. What I'm saying is that I can predict pretty well now when certain items will go on sale based on upcoming holidays, or coupons in the weekly paper, commericials, or even judging marketing/sales cyles (Ex: Oscar Meyer lunch meats have not been on sale the past two weeks, but Hormel and Johnson Farms has, so Oscar Meyer is due for a sale either next week or the week after). That's a lame example, but it holds true. If Coke is on sale this week, Pepsi products usually are the following, and I save coupons for my next trip.
I even bought myself a coupon organizer from Amazon sometime back, and it really helps.
These savings also translate into me bringing more bagged lunches at work. Not only is this a savings from going out to lunch a few times a week, it also save me money on gas. I noticed that over the last few months, my estimated MPG in my car has crept up from 19 MPG to 20.2 MPG these days. I'm actually making my tank stretch a little further nowadays as well, which is really important since gas prices in my area just spiked again ($4.29 a gal for 87 octane today).
Going to CR on Friday nights, or just staying home has also helped. I'm not hitting the town throwing away $25 for friday night dinners and drinks. If I am going to have a beer or a mixed drink, I do it at home. I can get a whole bottle of Jack Daniels on sale for around $15, whereas a single Jack & Coke's at the local watering hole is now $6 each! There was a while I was having a few beers every Friday night after work. Generally that was $20 give or take afew every Friday...probably closer to $85 - 100 a month. Now I don't. That's a huge saving right there if you think about it.
Video games? I buy used or wait until they are 3-4 months old, because they usually drop in price afetr an appropriate cycle in time like most software. Why buy a game on day 1 for $59.99, when I can get it for $29.99 or $39.99 4 months from now?
Lastly, this mentality has carried over to my utilities as well. I may have mentioned it before, but when I am gone to work for the day, I don't have fans running in the house 24/7 as 'we' did under the old regime. I unplug certain appliances if not in use (toaster, electric shaver chargger, oscilating fans, etc.) and make sure the lights are all off. With her out of the house, my utilities have actually dropped to 1/3rd their former level...yes..this is fact.
I get a kick when the checker behind the cash register looks at me and says, "Pretty good for a guy. I'm impressed."
So call that a silver lining if you will.
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