Last month I told you that No Fast Food November was in effect due to a St. Louis Cardinals playoffs/World Series induced spending spree. I am happy to report that it was a success...kind of.

The good news I went from spending $237 in the month of October on fast food/meals out to only spending $74 during November...so it wasn't completely no fast food but it was a 69% decrease in money spent on fast food. Go me!

From E-Pins.com

However, with eating at home came an increased grocery bill for the month - usually we spend around $200 for the month for meals at home but it November we topped out at right around $350, a 75% increase spent on groceries. So even though we have may spent a little more, I definitely feel better about cooking more at home. My body felt better too, my pants fit a little looser and far fewer tummy troubles.

The plan is to continue with "No Dining Out December" however I am finding the holiday season to already be tough on the schedule, meal plan, and the pocket book. It my hope that sending my intentions about  not eating out into the blog world will help keep me committed to my goals.

I have also become completely coupon obsessed this last month with shopping for groceries, not "Extreme Couponning" obsessed but I definitely go on the hunt for coups when I know I am about to shop. One Target trip I saved $30 because of coupons, my 5% off Target debit card, and sales running in the store. I was so giddy after that trip!

Also, I tend to holiday shop on-line just because of convenience, so far I have made purchases from Sephora, Bare Escentuals, HP, Amazon, The Limited, Finish Line and a few other places with coupon codes found on RetailMeNot - usually saving the cost of shipping to as much as $70 (The Limited) all because I took 5 seconds to look and see if there was a code. If there is a promo/coupon code box on the checkout page, it it worth looking around for one...you never know what you may find!

So what about you, any good savings tips to offer? Great deals scored? Let me know!