Couponing Jan 2009: Was it Worth it?

One of my goals for 2009 was to learn more about couponing to get the best deals, particularly via CVS.

Base Price of Items Bought (before sale price): $577.63
I didn't start calculating sale discounts until the last third of the month. Even so, what I tracked was $111.41. Going forward, I'll keep better track of this.
Man Q $83.65
ECB (redeemed): $42.80
Store Coupons: $166.80
Ecoupons: 1.70
Rebates $63.95
Total Savings $460.28
OOP $95.89

Percent saved: 83.17%

Amount spent on newspaper inserts $9. I've been getting two papers most weeks since June 2008. Since 1/4 promised to be loaded with coupons, I got three that week.

I'm stocked up on hair color for four months, on the calcium I take for two months, on fish oil I take for four months. I'm stocked up on chicken breasts and South Beach cereal bars for quite awhile. I also got a new cosmetic bag, which was a long time coming.

These figures don't include my trips to the produce store, where produce tends to be better quality and cheaper than other stores, but their grocery items are higher (Laughing Cow there is $4.99, compared to $3.39 full price at Kroger).

Is it worth it? So far, I would say yes. Experiment continues in February.