New Year's Resolution Update: Save $5k in Coupons/Sales

As I mentioned in my New Year's Resolution post, one area I'm trying to focus on is creating a decent price book and saving $5,000 in sales and coupons. I've had a few shopping trips with much success.

Here's my savings so far for January (stated savings on receipts):

Date     Store          Total Spent          Savings (coupons and/or sales)
Jan. 1     Michael's     $27.23                 $4.40
Jan. 1     ShopRite     $121.93               $94.85
Jan. 2     CVS           $0.16                   $12.40
Jan. 7     CVS           $2.00                   $4.78
Jan. 8     ShopRite     $154.15               $109.07
Jan. 9     CVS           $25.73                 $37.20
Jan. 9     Vitamin Shoppe   $23.98         $5.00
Jan. 11   Old Navy    $11.40                 $50.99
Jan. 12   CVS           $2.52                   $6.80
Jan. 13   ShopRite    $0.98                    $7.00
Jan. 15   ShopRite    $111.58                $63.23

TOTAL SPENT TO DATE = $481.66
TOTAL SAVINGS TO DATE = $395.72

I still have some work to do to get my grocery shopping under $400 per month. But with a goal of saving $400+ per month to reach $5,000, I'm pretty much on track.

As I may have mentioned, I've started following My Frugal Adventures and Living Rich With Coupons. Both offer a variety of coupons, sales match-ups and other great info for the frugal-minded (i.e., me). If you're new to couponing, or a seasoned couponer looking for a few new tricks, I highly recommend checking out these sites. They've been a huge help when it comes to matching up grocery sales and coupons.

New Coupon Tactic
My husband is convinced that I'm buying items we don't need just because I have a coupon. This got me to thinking. Could he be right? *Gasp* The horror! Now when I shop, I really think about whether I'm buying an item that I would not otherwise buy just because I have a coupon. It has actually kept me from buying products on more than one occasion. Now the other side to this is that if an item is extremely discounted (70-90%) or free, I'm getting it regardless! Do you have parameters when it comes to using coupons?

Do you set savings goals for using coupons or sales? I'd love to hear about them!