**Hey everyone – I am posting this to keep you up-to-date on my schedule.  Robert Bassford has asked me to speak at his Financial Success in a Box Money Management Seminars.  It is an awesome opportunity for me AND you if you decide to attend.  You will learn how to save money in every area of your life – not just on groceries!  Below is the advertisement and registration link for the Money Management Seminar scheduled for Sunday, July 25th, 4:00 – 7:00 pm in Clearwater, FL.***

If you like saving up to 80% on your groceries with Addicted to Saving, then you are going to love what you can do with Financial Success in a Box – Money Management Seminar!  Learn how to reduce other monthly bills by $100’s, pay off your credit cards 5 times faster without paying extra and much, much more!

 Robert Bassford of Financial Success in a Box and Liza Ford of Addicted to Saving are teaming up for an awesome 3 hour fun seminar that can teach you how to Take Control of Your Finances. 

This is a great chance to bring friends to meet Liza and learn how to:

• Conquer the Grocery Store
• Save up to 80% on your groceries
• Learn How to Maximize Coupon Savings

It is also a chance for you and your spouse to take control of the other areas of your finances as Robert shows how to:

• Reduce Monthly bills by $100s
• Pay Off Credit Cards 5 Times Faster
• Follow a Step by Step Plan
• Build an Emergency Fund
• Build a Survival Fund
• Create a Simple Retirement Account
• Pay House Off Early
• Give on a Regular Basis
• Work Together with Your Spouse
• Keep Financial Info in One Easy to Find Place

This seminar is fun and packed with simple, practical tools that you can apply immediately.  Liza and Robert will be available to answer all your questions after the seminar.  Register today- seating is limited. 

See you there as we “Take It to the Next Level”!!

So many of you email me and ask me what certain abbreviations mean that I post on Addicted to Saving.  If you look to the top horizontal toolbar, you will be able to see I’ve added a new category called “Abbreviations”.  I will add more abbreviations to this list as I use them!  If you see an abbreviation I have missed, please leave a comment on this post and I will add it to the list!

B1G1 or BOGO = Buy One, Get One Free

B2G1 = Buy Two, Get One Free

Blinkies = Coupons that are in the coupon dispensers attached to shelves in your store.  Dispenser is often red and often blinking.

DND = Do Not Double (this applies to people who shop at stores that double coupons.  If you live in FL, most stores in FL do not double coupons)

ECB = Extra Care Bucks (instant rewards that print out when you purchase select sales items at CVS)

Hangtag = Coupons “hanging” around the necks of bottles, jars, etc at your store.

MAN or MFR = Manufacturer Coupon

MIR = Mail in Rebate

MM = Moneymaker

OOP = Out of Pocket

PG = Procter & Gamble Coupon Insert

Peelie = Coupon attached to items at stores that you have to peel off

RP = Red Plum Insert or printable coupons HERE

RR= Register Rewards (instant rewards that print out when you purchase select sales items at Walgreens)

SS = Smart Source Insert or printable coupons HERE

Tearpad = Coupons you have to tear off of pads at your grocery store

WYB = When You Buy

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary (this means that a deal that works for me at my store, may work differently for you at your local store)

I just realized how many people “Like” Addicted to Saving on Facebook!  Addicted to Saving has been on Facebook for only a little over than 3 months and to have over 1,900 fans is astounding!! Thank you so much for all of your support and for “Liking” Addicted to Saving!    I have a challenge for you.  If we can get to over 2,100 fans by Wednesday, June 23rd, I will have a give away that I promise ALL OF YOU would appreciate winning.  So, that’s my challenge!  Spread the word and if we are at 2,100 fans next Wednesday, you will have the opportunity to win a very generous gift 

Go HERE to “Like” Addicted to Saving on Facebook.

If you want to spread the word about Addicted to Saving’s Facebook page, while on Addicted to Saving’s Facebook page, click the “Suggest to Friends” link.  From there, you can send Addicted to Saving’ Facebook page info to all of your Facebook friends!

Many of you have asked about whether or not Addicted to Saving has RSS feed.  We do!  You may notice that there is now purple RSS image like the one pictured in this post on the top of Addictedtosaving.com.  If you are one of the many people who have asked about pulling Addicted to Saving posts on Feedburner, you now can!  Just click the purple image on the top of the site to begin getting updates in your reader!

**Disclaimer – while I am 300% more internet savy now than I was before I started this website, I do not know much about feedburner.  So, please do not email me questions.  Someday, when I have time to read up on this, I will post about it

My next Addicted to Saving 101 Class is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9th at 6:30 pm at Palm Harbor Community Church, in Palm Harbor, FL.  Go HERE to register yourself, your friends, your family, your neighbors, the more the merrier!  I look forward to meeting you!  Below is the class itinerary. 

Class Itinerary Includes:

- Introduction to saving

- Introduction to couponing

- Introduction to coupon organization

- Four types of Shoppers

- Changing how to view shopping

- Introduction to Publix

- How to save 75%+ each week at Publix

- Introduction to stockpiling

Have you noticed there are new icons on the bottom of each and every post I make on addictedtosaving.com?  I don’t want you to miss out on these icons because they will help you a TON!  In order to see the icons, you will need to click on the individual post.  At the bottom of each individual post there is a message that states “Share With Your Friends“.   Underneath the message is four icons:

Facebook Icon (use this to share great Addicte to Saving deals on your Facebook page)

Digg Icon (use this to share favorite posts on the web)

del.icio.us Icon (use this to bookmark favorite sites and pages for yourself and friends to see)

Print Icon – if you want to print out a list of all of the sales items I typed up, click the Print Icon and a new window will open.  You can then manually choose which portion of my post (a bit tricky in my opinion) or you can click PDF and you can print out the entire post!! How great is this for printing out your favorite store’s weekly ads!

I ended up having a pretty good month in May.  In previous months I had found that I was so diligent about keeping my savings down that I started refraining from buying fresh produce.  In May I was determined to buy more fruits and veggies.  Included in my numbers below is the $15.00 I spent on picking fresh blueberries at a local blueberry farm.  In June, I am going to be even more diligent about buying more fresh produce.  I love fruits and veggies and if it means that I will bring my spending up to $150/mth, so be it  

How did you do this past month?  Did you see any areas you wanted to improve?  If you are not yet keeping track of your spending and saving, start now!  It is impossible to really make changes in the future if you don’t know how you did in the past!

Below is how I calculate % saved (Beware, there is probably an easier calculation, but my mind works like a spreadsheet which isn’t always the easiest to explain…)

Amount Spent + Amount Saved = Total Value of purchase

Amount Spent/Total Value = a decimal (we’ll call the decimal “A”)

Multiply A x 100 = % Spent of total items purchased

100 – % Spent = % Saved of total items purchased

My goal for you – my wonderful readers – is that you will become empowered as you begin to save more and more money each month.  I have an Addicted to Saving 101 class that will teach you the skills necessary to save 75%+ each month on your grocery bills.  My next Addicted to Saving 101 Class is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9th at 6:30 in Palm Harbor, FL.  Go HERE to register yourself, your friends, your family, your neighbors, the more the merrier!  I look forward to meeting you!  Below is the class itinerary. 

Class Itinerary Includes:

- Introduction to saving

- Introduction to couponing

- Introduction to coupon organization

- Four types of Shoppers

- Changing how to view shopping

- Introduction to Publix

- How to save 75%+ each week at Publix

- Introduction to stockpiling

I just looked in my pantry and realized that I have so many bags of Fisher Fusions Nut Blends that I have more bags to count than the number of my fingers and toes.  AND, here’s the crazy thing, my hubby doesn’t like them (he dislikes any type of dried fruit).  So, I get to eat them all!  Woohoo!! My favorite bag is the Energy Blend b/c there isn’t a lot of extra additives and it’s full of protein    So, do you think I’m Addicted to Saving? 

Do you have any examples of  being Addicted to Saving?  I would love to hear what you all are up to and how you are saving big bucks!

**I am reposting this because at least every other day I have an email from all of you asking about how to best organize your coupons   One of the most common question I get asked is how to organize coupons.  It seems that this is a question I receive from newbie couponers all the way to experienced couponers.  Organization is a tough challenge.  Especially when you are receiving new coupons every Sunday, printable coupons, coupons in mailers, etc etc!  I’ve used two different organizational methods.  I started out with using a coupon binder (see Method 1 below).  I now file my inserts by category and date and only cut coupons when needed (see Method 2 below). 

Method 1: Coupon Binder

Step 1)  Buy a 3 ring binder.  Preferably a binder that has zipper to keep it closed (and to keep loose coupons from escaping!)  **UPDATE – An awesome source that sells coupon binders is Coupon Clutch.  Coupon Clutch takes care of all of the steps below by providing you with the tools you will need to have an organized coupon binder!  Best of all, they have given Addicted to Saving readers a 10% off code thru 6/30/10.  Go HERE to purchase a coupon clutch and use coupon code “ADDICTED” to receive your discount!

Step 2)  Buy Baseball Card holder sheets.  (There should be 9 holders on one sheet).  Use these sheets to put your coupons in.  I put coupons facing the front and the back of the sheet.  That way, I can hold 18 coupons per sheet.

Step 3: Cut each and every coupon on Sunday and organize your coupon sheets by category.  (Put multiple copies of each coupon in just one spot – that way all copies are together)  Some people organize the sheets by store aisles to make it easy to find as you are walking through your local stores.  I organize my coupons by category (i.e. pasta, side dishes, produce, dairy, protein, pet products, cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc etc).  That way, if I need cheese, I know to go to my dairy section of my binder and I can see all of the cheese coupons available.  You can use whatever categories work best for you.  The goal is to make your binder easy to use and more importantly easy to find specific coupons.

Step 4: In the inside front cover of my binder, I include important coupons that I don’t want to forget about (they are high value, maybe expiring soon, freebies, etc  etc).  I also keep a pair of scissors as well as envelopes for mail in rebates.

PRO’s:  

• You can easily carry all of your coupons into the grocery store with you. 
•  You won’t miss out on any great deals because you will always have your coupons on hand. 
•  It is easy to find any coupon that you need since they are all categorized in an easy to find manner.

CON’s:

• You have to cut each and every coupon from Sunday’s paper which takes a bit of time. (Why do you cut EVERY coupon?? Because you never know when an item will be dirt cheap, FREE or better yet a MONEYMAKER!)
• Carrying your binder in grocery stores is a bit bulky.

Method 2: Filing Inserts

Step 1)  Find a box or plastic container that is large enough to hold multiple inserts when they are standing upright.

Step 2)  Organize your coupon inserts each Sunday.  If you buy more than one newspaper, put all SS (Smart Source) coupons together, all RP (Red Plum) coupons together, P&G, etc etc.

Step 3: Combine multiple copies of the coupon sheets within each insert.  (See picture below).  You are doing this so that when you need a coupon in the 2/21 RP (Red Plum from Feb 21st), you will have each coupon next to each other within 2/21 RP.  You will only need to flip through the insert once and all copies will be there making it easy to find and easy to cut (you can cut all copies at once – although be careful that you don’t cut off the expiration date or barcode!)

Below is an example of my RP 1/24/10 insert.  I needed Good Life Cat Food coupons.  All I had to do was open my RP insert and turn the pages until I reached the Good Life coupons.  Then I cut all six cat food coupons at once since they were all organized together.

Step 4)  File Your Inserts By Date and Insert Name.  On the front cover of each insert, I put a sticky note with the insert date and name.  Otherwise, I would have to look at very very small print on the front binder of the front page to see what date the insert was from.  I file my inserts in a box with the most recent inserts in the front and oldest inserts are in the back.  In the very back I keep my All You Magazines, store flyers, etc.

Read the rest of this entry »

This morning the newspaper I had delivered to my house was missing the SS insert.  I get the S.P.Times delivered and this is the first time the delivered paper was missing an insert.  I went to buy more papers, like I do every Sunday, and when I was going through them pulling the inserts out to file, I found an EXTRA SS insert!  I can truthfully say this made my day.  Not only did I get two SS inserts in one paper (Oh Happy Day) BUT the extra SS insert made up for the missing one in my delivered paper.  I now have an even number of inserts which means I will be able to sleep better tonight.  Ha.

Since I’m not much of a blogger on Sundays, I thought I would pose the question to all of you… Have you had any situations lately that made you think, “Wow, I am really Addicted to Saving?”  It can be as simple as getting two duplicate inserts in one paper or as fun as scoring a great freebie.  Inquiring minds want to know!  And, it will be fun to see how many of us have experienced similar situations!

Happy Saving!

I get asked a lot how to calculate the percentage saved on any given bill.  I have an equation I have used for a while now.  There is probably an easier way to come up with the percentage saved, but this is what my spreadsheet like mind came up with.

Equation:

Step 1: Amount Spent + Amount Saved = Total Value of purchase

Step 2: Amount Spent/Total Value = a decimal (we’ll call the decimal “A”)

Step 3: Multiply A x 100 = % Spent of total items purchased

Step 4: 100 – % Spent = % Saved of total items purchased

Example:

Let’s say I spent $11.00 and saved $76.00

Step 1:  $11 + $76 = $87.00 (total value of my purchase)

Step 2:  $11.00 divided by $87.00 = 0.12

Step 3:  0.12 x 100 = 12.6% (this is the percentage of money I spent on the groceries – So I spent 12.6% of what the grocery bill would have been w/o sales and coupons)

Step 4: 100 – 12.6 = 87.4% saved (I saved 87.4% on my grocery bill)