February Savings

I finally got all my receipts together for February. Here's how I did:

February-at-a-Glance
Total Shelf Cost:	$ 796.02	Monthly Budget:		$ 400.00
Total Coupon Savings:	$ 173.30	Variance:		$ (44.83)
Total Savings:	$ 351.19	Tax Paid		$ 10.89
Amount Paid (after rebates):	$ 444.83
Savings Rate:	44.12%	Amount Paid (exc. Rebates)		$ 444.83

Wow! I only went $44.83 over what I had wanted to spend. That was awesome - especially considering that last month's budget was twice as large as this month. I figured out my secret - I need to take out the money for my spending as soon as possible and NOT use my debit card. The reason I went over was because I did use my debit card. The reason it was only $44.83 over was because I took the money out and used my debit card in extreme cases.

Otherwise, here's how I'm doing so far this year:

Month	Shelf	Coupons	Discounts	Savings $	My Price	Savings Rate	Goal	Variance
January	$ 1,199.97	$ 207.94	$ 253.54	$ 461.48	$ 738.49	38.46%	$ 800.00	$ 61.51
February	$ 796.02	$ 173.30	$ 177.89	$ 351.19	$ 444.83	44.12%	$ 400.00	$ (44.83)
TOTALS	$ 1,995.99	$ 381.24	$ 431.43	$ 812.67	$ 1,183.32	40.72%	$ 5,200.00	$ 4,016.68