Sunday Coupon Inserts

Free tool

Did I actually save?

You saved $96 according to the receipts. Then three bags of salad went off, you drove to a second store, and none of it turned into dinner on Thursday.

This works out what really stayed with you. It is not a test, and there is no score at the end.

What you spent

What you spent

Last month, or a typical month.

Roughly is fine. Nobody is checking.
Include the nights you meant to cook.
The "you saved" line at the bottom.
Where it went

Where some of it went

Leave anything blank if it does not apply to you.

Count each purchase once.

Put discarded food under waste, usable unopened extras under stock, and other unneeded purchases under impulse buys.

So a $10 jar bought on offer and thrown out unopened goes in the first box for $10, and nowhere else.

Only what was actually discarded. Best guess at what it cost.
Not on the list, and already used or opened. Do not count anything above.
Still usable and still in the cupboard. This one comes back to you.
Trips you would not have made.
Per trip, roughly.

Your answer

The receipts said$96

Estimated to have stayed with you

$8.80

That is 9 percent of what the receipts claimed.

The one thing worth changing

Food that did not get eaten is your largest entered cost

Of everything you entered, this is the biggest, so it may be a useful place to start. Checking the fridge before you write the list is the usual first step.

The full working

Every number here came from you. Check any of it.

  • Food that did not get eaten−$45

    You paid for it, so a discount on it did not save you anything.

  • Bought only because it was on sale−$21

    Half price on something you were not going to buy is still money spent.

  • Driving to 2 extra stores−$12.60

    About 18 miles at roughly 0.70 a mile in fuel and wear.

  • Still sitting unopened−$8.60

    Not lost, only not used yet. It comes back to you as you get through it.

Difference$87.20

This is an estimate built from the figures you entered, not a measurement. A receipt’s “you saved” line is itself a comparison against a price the store chose, so treat the starting number as approximate too. Driving is costed at about 70 cents a mile for fuel and wear. Nothing you type here leaves your browser or is saved anywhere.

Why this is the question

Most savings advice measures the discount. The discount is the easy part. What matters is whether the money stayed with you afterwards.

Four things usually take it back. Food that does not get eaten. Trips made to chase a price. Things bought because they were cheap rather than needed. And a cupboard full of stock that has not been touched.

None of those mean you are doing this wrong. They mean the receipt was never the whole story.

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