Yesterday was great, put two g/c claims into the mail, received another g/c from Club Mom for $25. Had a break through moment when DH agreed to drop by PetSmart to return a dog toy, even without a receipt, that fell apart after five minutes. They only gave us $1.50 for it, but hey, that's $1.50.

While I was online, DH brought a Weis ad we received in the mail to me. DH NEVER EVER looks at the "newspaper" mail. I'm chasing after him to make sure he doesn't throw out rewards like g/cs as junk mail. But he proudly brought this ad to me while I was online to show me they had 6 coupons for TRIPLE coupons, and he was putting aside in the coupon box. SHOCK AND AWE.

So during the commercial breaks last night, we sat down and chatted about the savings we have seen. We've never been careless with money, but while we were working 20 hour days for the corporation, we didn't coupon or shop sales or worry about all the details. We made good money, we didn't blow everything on toys. But we weren't careful.

After we retired, well, we were 40 and there was cancer and assault and so much else to deal with that we just kept on that routine. Then last September, DH admitted he had not created a budget before he invested most of our cash assets, and we were in a bind until March. So I dug out my resources and started making cuts. And I found this site, SavingAdvice, which offered good advice, good people, and excellent reminders on things I needed to be doing to get through.

In the 4 months since then, DH figured we have SAVED over $10K just by doing things we should have been doing anyway. We shopped around and cut Rx costs from $2K a month to $1K; with our new insurance plan (and SO much research) those costs have dropped to $500 or so. $4K+ in four months right there.

We started shopping sales, using coupons, working deals and rebates, stopped most impulse buying, and started using what we purchased (esp. fresh produce) and our WEEKLY bills from grocery and Costco (food, cleaners, entertainment, light bulbs, etc.) went from $500 a WEEK (embarrassed!) to $150 a week. That's $1400 a month, or $5K+ in four months.

I canceled all those "auto renewal" magazines that were "free", and renewed at exhorbant prices that were hidden on my cc bills ("free" People was $150 a year!!!), and memberships that we didn't need, totaling over $3K all together. That savings will flow over the year, but it's a huge impact.

There are also all the little things. We had budgeted $1K for reinsulating the garage, but research revealed a way to upgrade to the same level for under $100, and we had a gift card, so it was FREE.


I've also started speaking up a bit more. The $20 can of burned peanuts would have simply been tossed last year. This year, a letter to the company, a free can. Also compliments for products I am impressed by; coupons and freebies.

The best thing is that I've been reminded to THINK about what I'm doing. Do I need this, is this the best deal, what can I change to lower costs even more?

As March approaches and our investments become cash again, I don't plan to stop the process. Saving is a way of life, and it feels GOOD to be back in control.

Thanks to ALL.