"Earn" $75/hour by shopping for your family????

Today I went to the mega grocer about 10 miles from my home.

Before I went, I cut out coupons and looked over the sale ads for my area. When I got there, I matched the sale prices from other grocery ads, I used coupons, and looked for in store specials. My total bill before all discounts and coupons was near $300 and the actual cost that I paid from my pocket was $53.84. Of this amount, 7.32 was tax! I have decided to keep track of my tax separate from my spending, because not all states have tax, and it varies from city to city as well! :)

What did I buy? everything!!!!

milk, electrasol dishwasher tablets, vinegar, jello, chicken, ham steaks, oranges, baking powder, corn starch, chips,rice, macaroni, soup, tape, folders,cereal, muffin mix, dental floss, tuna, dish soap(hand wash), yogurt, 18 frozen meals/desserts, snacks, mac & cheese, "girl products", and so much, much more!!!  

I purchased 175 items to be exact, which makes the deal seem even sweeter if you figure average price per item in cash was  30 CENTS per item!!!  ($53.84/175items=.30 per item)

total saved through price matching: $54.59 (so actually should be added to the total)
total before coupons:  225.85 (or 280.44), total saved using coupons:  172.01 total out of pocket: 53.84

so, if a person walked in the store and bought everything I did, but was not frugal, they would have paid appx $280.44. With the 3 hours it took me this week to gather the coupons, go to the store, check out, etc, I saved $226.60.

this savings amounts to $75.53 per hour......($226.60/3hours) wow what a great paying Hobby!!!!!!

I also went to the local drugstore.  I bought 5- 12 packs of soda for $15 and two packages of Chips for $5 (sale prices). By reaching $20 of these certain products, I received a $10 "store reward" to use to buy other items in the store. I used it (with other coupons) to purchase razors, cookies, lip products, and paid only $3.99 after all coupons and discounts!!!  According to the receipt, I saved $76.84 in total savings!!!  I like this store because the receipt tells you exactly how much you save each time!  I heard through the grapevine that this receipt may make me eleigible for a refund..... that would make things even better!


I know there are a ton of numbers in this post and I apologize for that. I am trying to figure out the best way to show the savings.

What would you rather have? Price per item, percentage of savings, or total amount?
I am going to keep a savings list on the right side of hte blog to see how much I REALLY spend and what the savings would be.