Savings Dilemma

Here is the dilemma: my savings percentage.

I try to keep good track of my receipts so I can look at all that I am spending, and all that I am saving. I know I am saving by spending less, but I know that it helps me to look at the bottom of a receipt (one from a store that keeps track of how much was saved based on sales and coupons, etc) and track how much I saved versus how much I spent.

I am getting ready to finalize all my spending from the month of May and officially write out my goals for June. As I have been looking over my last month of spending, I know I have done a lot better at spending less money (while still getting everything we need) but my savings percentage has gone down a good bit this last month. I know a part of this is that, ultimately, I do a lot of spending at Wal Mart because I feel like I can find the best deals there. And more than that, I often end of buying store brand because it is cheaper than buying a name brand with a coupon. So I didn't really "save" money that would be recorded into my savings, but I did save because I spent less. And I was able to buy more over the course of the month because I spent less on individual items.

But I like to SAVE. I like to see that my savings percentage is more than 50% because then I feel like I have definitely saved more than I have spent...although in the end I am probably able to buy more for my dollar if I am picky about how I spend it instead of just looking to use more coupons.

Oh, the dilemma...I guess it's not really a dilemma, I think I just don't feel as good about May as I should, even though I know I did good, it does not look as good on paper...

Oh, well...