Last week I wrote about Savings.com adopting 5 families for the holidays.  We were divided up into 5 teams and we were given a $1,000 budget for each family.

Because we are a company based on helping consumers save money, we made this special occasion a friendly challenge on how much money we could save and in turn, give more to our families. 

The teams were judged on:

• Largest % savings overall
• Most grocery items purchased with $100
• Largest $ value left on gift card
• Largest % savings on one item

Everyone worked really hard to make the most out of their $1000 and it was really down to the wire purchasing items on the need and want list for the families, plus groceries.  The final results were:

• Largest % savings overall: Winning team saved 55% off total purchase.
• Most grocery items purchased with $100: Winning team saved $229.07.
• Largest $ value left on gift card: Winning team left over $375.50.
• Largest % savings on one item: Winning team saved 95% on Desitin.

Not only did we save a lot of money during our friendly challenge, we were able to provide our families with things that they really needed and some things they would ask Santa for (including the bikes pictured above).  It was such a fulfilling experience on many different levels.  Happy Holidays!