Posted By FarmerJ on January 3, 2010

When I started tracking my  2009 Monopoly Money Madness in January, I didn’t set out with any particular goal, other than to spend as much of my Monopoly money [save as much with coupons] as possible.

For the first few months ~ basically until the ground thawed and the garden consumed my life ~ I was crazed with running around scooping up every deal there was to be had.  I was spending more Monopoly money than Darling Husbie’s hard-earned real money, and it was great for stocking the pantry shelves with toiletries and cleaning supplies, but it also was fairly time consuming.  Time is not something that comes easy here on the Farmstead, particularly in the summer and fall, so I need to be mindful of how I spend it.

So, I am going to shift gears a little this year.  Because we are so abundantly blessed with ample supplies of toiletries and cleaning supplies, I am not going to worry about getting every free deal there is each week.  I am not going to spend time scouring the Walgreen’s ad and hunting down coupons for items that we already have 10 of on the shelf.  I need to better utilize that time researching something about gardening or seeds, or refurbishing that coffee/end table, or sewing those bedroom curtains, or writing my book(s).

Don’t get me wrong!  I’m still going to be diligent with my Monopoly money.  I am still going to watch my stock levels and note the items we’re getting low on so that I can keep an eye on the ads.  It goes against my grain to shop without coupons ~ I feel naked if I walk into a store without my coupon binder!  It’s just that my focus will be more like a spot light rather than a flood light, you know?

So, with that in mind, I think I will set a goal for 2010.  My goal will be to spend a minimum of $50 Monopoly money per month.  That’s quite a bit less than, say February, 2009 when I spent over $210 in Monopoly money.  But, again, my focus is going to be quite different.  And, keep in mind, if the stores around here accept coupons, they will only give you face value.  There is no doubling, tripling or matching of competitor coupons.

We’ll see how I do!  It should be interesting and another learning process for me in how I can perfect my stewardship skills.  Oh, that reminds me!  For the past couple of years, I’ve been tracking our grocery expenditures and Monopoly money savings in a very rudimentary spreadsheet I created.  I found a really cool spreadsheet free to download over at The Coupon Project.  If you’re interested in keeping track of your expenditures and savings, you may want to take a look at it ~ it’s the 2010 Savings Tracker.

Having said all that, I will close the books on my 2009 Monopoly Money Madness.  In all my craziness ~ perhaps crazy like a fox ~ I managed to spend $1,299.43 in Monopoly money [save with coupons].  Not too shabby for just handing the cashier an otherwise worthless piece of paper, don’t you think?!

Onward to 2010 Madness!  ♥

Categories: Simply Saving
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