by Dana on November 6, 2010
in
Welcome to The Coupon Challenge! This site is dedicated to providing coupons, freebies, store matchups, recipes, free/cheap events and much more! Don't want to miss any of the great deals or money saving tips? Subscribe to my RSS feed or get FREE daily updates via email . Thanks for visiting!
Hi! I’m Dana, the writer behind the scenes of The Coupon Challenge. Are you looking for ways to save your family money? The Coupon Challenge provides
coupons to help you save on groceries, restaurants, clothing, and everything in between. You’ll find
store matchups to help you get more bang for your buck as well as links to score
free products. I’ll keep you appraised of
free/cheap events, give
frugal advice and even offer chances to
win giveaways!
Take a look at my getting started series if you’re new to the world of coupons. You may also be interested in my weekly menu plans and freezer cooking as a way to save time and money in the kitchen. Look around to find out how I can help you lower your monthly budget, so you can spend your hard-earned dollars on what is most important in your life.
More About Me:
I have been with my wonderful husband, Derrick, for 11 years. We have 2 energetic kids that keep me on my toes. Moneyboy is 6 and LuLu is 3. We live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I welcome you to meet my family and learn about our spending habits.
After my son was born, my coupon usage became more of an obsession. I’ve always enjoyed finding a good bargain and watching my grocery spending become less each month. I have taken this further into frugal living by cooking more, wasting less, shopping for the best deals, and much more. I have found that I can put more money into things that are beneficial and enjoyable to my family by changing my spending habits.
I started blogging in January 2010. I used to send out emails to family and friends with all the deals I was finding. I felt like I was bombarding their inboxes with deals (which I was). I wanted a place where they could go at their leisure to find coupons and deals, thus The Coupon Challenge was born!
I love comments and getting to know my readers. Leave a comment or send me an email to say hi! I’m always looking to improve The Coupon Challenge, so let me know your thoughts, needs or questions.
Thanks for reading!
Contact Me
Have a Question or Comment? Want to Share a Deal or Event?
I’d love to hear from you!
Email me
thecouponchallenge @ gmail (dot) com
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
by Dana on August 14, 2010
in Budget
I realize that this post is way overdue! We had a 5 week month in July, so my month didn’t actually end until August 5th. Harris Teeter Super Doubles news came not long after that, so I got behind. I’m actually amazed with how well I did in July! I usually get nervous and have to work extra hard to keep within my $300 monthly budget. You’ll notice from past months that I give myself $75 a week to spend on groceries. However, I don’t allow an extra $75 during a 5 week month.
Want to learn more about my family and our spending habits? Read THIS post
I’d be interested to know how others handle a 5 week month. I give extra money to the cash envelopes as follows and the rest goes into savings:
Holiday: $100
Eating Out: $100
Dana Allowance: $20
Derrick Allowance: $20
July Breakdown:
Total Shelf Cost: $652.15
Total Savings: $460.22
Total Rebates Owed: $23.99
Savings Rate: 70.59%
Total OOP in July: $215.92
5 week month: $43.18 per week!
Total Remaining from Budget: $84.08
I even had a fun, no coupon trip to Traders Joe’s! Derrick requested steak after I told him my July total 
How did you do in July?
How do you handle 5 week months?
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
by Dana on June 9, 2010
in Budget
I know this is rather late, but I wasn’t here to get it posted. I came in way under budget this month! You would think it was because I wasn’t here for a week but I actually splurged on a lot of things for the kids before we left-mostly without coupons. Gasp! My grocery bill was about $35 less.
I really didn’t do too much shopping in May. I’m waiting to go over budget when I restock some of the items that I’m out of or running low on, but overall my pantry is pretty stocked.
My weekly budget is $75. See past months HERE
Total Shelf Cost $551.33
Total Saved in Coupons $313.20
Total Spent $149.36
Savings 72.91%
Average per Week $37.34
What to do with my extra $150?!?!
How did you do in May?
Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.
