Yikes! My (HUGE) grocery mistakes...

I have always considered myself to be a frugal person. I felt as if I never wasted money and was doing "the best I could." That was when I started to read books about saving money, spending less, budgeting, etc. What an eye opener! I just recently started using coupons. I knew about the possibilities in the past and I had used them some in the past, but never to their full potential - and I know I am not now. I was inspired by reading Money Saving Mom and decided this would be a fun hobby. Of course now I am addicted to getting a great deal - even the best deal possible - free or with overages. I have had a few decent success stories. I decided that I would (and could) start spending much less on groceries. Crystal from Money Saving Mom spends $35-$40 per week on her family of 4. Because I am also a family of 4 I decided to try. I looked back at my grocery spending (I use Quicken) and gasped - for the past year this is what I have spent on groceries:

August '07 - $563.91
September '07 - $610.53
October '07 - $634.52
November '07 - $559.33
December '07 - $114.65 (great month!)
January '08 - $457.67
February '08 - $499.57
March '08 - $582.95
April '08 - $559.81
May '08 - $666.50
June '08 - $989.16 (YIKES!!!!)
July '08 - $443.36
August '08 - $211.21

Overall total for the past 12 months - $6,893.17!!!! I have been throwing our money down the toilet!

I do have to mention that those prices included all household products, baby formula, and diapers for 2 kids - but still! This is ridiculous. The numbers speak for themselves. So now, my current goal is $60.00/week, which is kind of high from what I've seen on other blogs (see my link list), but I have to start somewhere. So, my frugal journey has begun - thanks for being here for the ride!