Here it is the end of 2010…it has been a fabulous year!!  I am more than pleased with how we did from a budget standpoint.  I set some pretty lofty goals for 2010.  My goal for 2010 was to increase our savings and complete our basement without digging into savings.  I am happy to report that we achieved both goals!!

Our savings account continues to grow and once again I will set a new goal for 2011.  I am thinking that I want to set a big goal as I seem to do better when the bar is raised extra high!  I tend to re-think a lot of those impulse purchases when I hold myself accountable.
I think I am most proud of the fact that we were able to finish and furnish our 2,500 square foot basement without touching our savings account at all!!  This was a very tough thing to do. My husband did much of the work himself but there was so much that we ended up paying for in an attempt to get it done in a reasonable amount of time!  My husband works all week and it started feeling like when he was not at work he was working on the basement!!  So for our sanity as a family we called in a few pros.  With the help came a few more expenses than we anticipated.  Of course I bargained, interviewed and got lots of proposals until we were able to find what we needed and still stay within budget.  There are still a few finishing touches that need to be done (my husband is grouting the shower as I type 🙂 ) We are loving this space and I am just thrilled with how it turned out!  The boys have their own space to play and all the toys are no longer on the main floor! My husband has his own space and I have an awesome new office with lots of space for coupon clipping 😀
Our project for 2011 is the backyard! We built our home 4 years ago and the backyard looks exactly the same as the day we moved in!  Well, minus a bunch of trees thanks to the tornado a few years ago.  It is just a huge uneven lot of dirt, rocks, trees and bushes and is not attractive at all.  It is such a mess!!  Earlier this year I happened upon a blackberry bush I didn’t even know we had!!  I want a fenced in backyard where I can let the boys run free and play without worrying they will get hurt.  While this may not sound like a big deal…this is a huge project and may cost more than the basement!!  There is very little that we can do ourselves so we will depend on others for the majority of this project!  I am still working up the numbers on this one and getting various proposals to see how much this one will actually cost.
As for my grocery budget.  My goal is to average about $40 a week…I set aside $2,100 per year for all groceries, toiletries, health, beauty and cleaning supplies.  So how did I do this year?? Well, I am just slightly over budget…but not by much 🙂  This year I spent $2, 189.38 which is an average of $42 per week!  I still consider that a victory since that $42 per week got me almost $9,200 worth of products!! That means I saved 77% this year which I consider a total success!!
For 2011, I am going to try to continue to work towards an average of $40 a week.  I think this is still a good number AND I like a challenge!  I started thinking about all the great deals this year and there were several that were memorable!  I loved that $2/1 Ovaltine coupon…I think I am just now using up the last canisters from those coupons.  I know the Knox coupon was quite the hit as well!!
I would love for you all to share your favorite deals, your weekly/yearly totals.  Feel free to link to your post or just leave a comment.

I am excited to see what 2011 will bring.  I wish you all happiness, health and wealth for 2011!