Many of you know that I set a financial goal for myself in 2009. I wanted to see if I could earn more money doing what I do in my spare time as a stay-at-home mom than I spend for the year on groceries and toiletries. I have now extended this goal into 2010 and I thought I’d take a look (I try not to pay attention) now that we’ve finished the first quarter of the year. Here’s where things stand:
Toiletries/Diapers (CVS, Walgreens, Target, and Kmart): I spent a total of $138, while saving $823. That’s a total savings of 86% for January, February, and March. This savings total is a little lower than it was last year and the year before because I’ve been doing so many moneymakers at Walgreens in order to save at Jewel.
Groceries (Jewel, Dominick’s and Butera): I spent a total of $321, while saving $1,299. That’s a total savings of 80% for for January, February, and March.
Total Spending for the first quarter: $459
Total Savings for the first quarter: $2122
I earn money in a variety of different ways. It is all a little bit at a time, but it definitely adds up. Included in my list for the year so far are mystery shops, focus groups, sweepstakes cash winnings, surveys, Swagbucks, You Data, prescription coupons, cash back programs.
Overall this year, I have earned a total of $746. I try not to compare the two numbers very often so that I don’t try to add more earning or saving ideas to my schedule. The whole point is to earn when I can. And it’s not a bad start to the year!
In addition to my earnings and cash winnings, by entering all of the sweepstakes listed on my site and Sweeties Sweeps, I’ve also won a few prizes with a total value of $479. Some months are very dry, but it ultimately does pay to play every day.
My whole point in breaking this down for you is to let you know that you can do it too! Buy things when they’re free. Do moneymaker deals whenever you can. Stock up on the things you use a lot of when they’re super cheap. Enter sweepstakes. You can do this! For