June Savings Winner

You may remember that waaaaay back at the end of May, when we announced we were going to do a weekly round up of savings, we said there would be a prize for one of the people who participated all four weeks. We have another copy of Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover to give away.

And the winner is. . . . .Preethi!!!

Here were her contributions each week:

Week 1

• Bought food at the grocery store for our beach vacation instead of eating out. Because we were the last ones to leave, we ended up bringing home nearly as much in leftover supplies.
• Recalculated budget for the summer, including putting all of my summer internship salary toward student loans.
• Researched and found a great deal to replace our carpeting.
• Found my husband two all-wool suits from Macy's (he wears suits every day to work) for $60 each, marked down from an original of $450 each.
• Asked for and received a price adjustment for a purchase several days prior, saving $15. 

Week 2

• Made meal plan for two weeks and did most of grocery shopping, leaving a few produce items to be purchased next week. Stuck to list and found ways to use up extra veggies.
• Made dinner every night this week (except Monday... see next item). Made enough each night to pack both lunches for the next day.
• Used Restaurant.com gift certificate (purchased at 90% off) for a fantastic French meal for my birthday. 

Week 3

• Made dinner each night and packed lunches with leftovers. Used up produce before leaving for vacation.
• Didn't purchase a bag of cherries that would have ended up being $8.
• Used ready-to-expire birthday gift certificate for free meal.
• Piggybacked on husband's business trip. Stayed with friends for weekend days and used business stipend for lodging/travel/meals on business days.
• Stalked Southwest Rapid Rewards until a flight opened up on the way there. Continued to stalk and was ecstatic when one opened up for the way back. Canceled originally booked flight to keep in money as Southwest credit, and instead used Rapid Rewards (free) flight.
• Found rental car for $40 for two days including taxes and fees on Travelocity. Husband refrained from upgrading to a convertible even though it was only $25 more. :)
• Packed lunch for the travel day so we wouldn't need to buy stuff on the plane or in the airport.
• Had enough food that we were able to pack lunch to Disneyland. Delicious, healthy, and decidedly cheaper than buying the $8.99 veggie burger.

Week 4

•  Again, on the travel note - we chose to use our travel stipend to stay at a B&B with a really outstanding breakfast + free parking instead of a fancy schmancy hotel with no breakfast + paid parking. That way, we could use our daily stipend for other food during the day instead of using it for breakfast. Added bonus = the aforementioned really awesome breakfast.
• Contacted a company about a major customer service faux pas, and was offered $60 in credit. Awesome.
• Had several meals planned for our arrival home so we didn't have to eat out. 
• Oh, and went to Disneyland for free (!!) because friend works for Disney. 

Impressive, don't you think? 

Preethi, email us with your address and we'll get your prize in the mail! Thanks to everyone who participated!