Consignment Sale Success!

Today I went to a consignment sale at a local church, as I usually do this time of year.  And as usual, I found lots of great things....including two little cuties who just had to be in my picture.

I found 8 shirts and 1 pair of shorts for Quinn, and 5 shirts and 3 pairs of shorts for Jacob.  I also "splurged" and got Jacob a pair of summer sandals with squeakers in the soles.  I usually don't spend $10 on any one item at a consignment sale, but these sandals had never been worn, and in doing some research, the cheapest brand new ones I could find were at least $20 or more.  I'm pretty pleased with what I found for the boys.  I love finding a good deal!

Allow me to shed some light.....

A couple of weeks ago, I got 15 compact fluorescent light bulbs in the mail....FOR FREE!!

Anybody can do this, provided that you use Duke Energy for your home's power needs.

I went to this website from Duke Energy and put in just a few bits of information about our account to see if our home qualified for this program. If you do, Duke Energy tells you how many CFL bulbs you are allowed to get. We were able to get 15 and requested them to all come at once. I ordered them at the end of December, and they arrived in just a couple of weeks!

As you can see, we've already made use of a few of them. Some are the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb, and the others are the equivalent of a 75 watt bulb. They are best to use in lights you leave on for long periods of time, but can be used in any light socket, like a regular bulb.

Not quite sure why this picture rotated, but you can still see how many there are...and look at all the bubble wrap....very carefully packaged!

I had seen this offer advertised on our power bill for a few months but never took the time to look into it.  So glad I did, because the bulbs will last a long time, and we've got plenty to use!

Kid's Clothes for $0.38

When I told my Momma about my latest "deal", she called me "The last of the big spenders". I just call myself smart!

I got Quinn 4 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts for only 38 cents today! Yes, that's right....38 cents!

There is a thrift store not far from my house that I've gotten bargains from before. They are always running incredible deals, especially around holidays. Back in January, for MLK Day, everything was 50% off, so I got Quinn 8 pairs of jeans for $7.50. On some other holiday (maybe St. Patrick's Day), they had all kids' clothes for $0.99 each. I got him a bunch of summer stuff then.

I've recently found out that this store has a "recycling program". Basically you bring in a bag of clothes, books, knick-knacks, etc, and they look over everything. Then for whatever they keep, they give you up to a $5 coupon. Today I took some things of Quinn's that I didn't want to keep (and that haven't sold in the past few consignment sales), some maternity clothes I found in the back of my closet and a few other things to this store. They gave me the $5 coupon. The "sale" of the day was anything on a blue tag was 50% off. Everything in that picture was on a blue tag except the green shirt. A couple of things were regularly priced at 99 cents and those came up half off too! With tax, my total was $5.38. I used the $5 I earned, and paid them a whopping 38 cents to bring these clothes home!

I only wish they had places like this when I was younger. Momma says maybe there were and she just didn't know about them. I have her to thank for my love of finding bargains. She used to let me clip all the coupons on Sunday. I can remember doing this as far back as I can remember! I did it for my grandma too.

Anyways, I just had to share this bargain!

Fun Friday--Free Wipes!

One thing I love about being home in the summer (in addition to being with the sweetest boy in the world), is that I have more time to work my coupons and deals.

Earlier this week I had read on MoneySavingMom that Walmart had Pampers Wipes on sale for $1.97 each. I had several $2.00 off coupons for these exact wipes, so I went to Walmart to get some. I had to deal with a cashier who wasn't too pleased with my wanting to use coupons. I was buying 2 packs of diapers and 3 packs of wipes, and I had a coupon for each one. The cashier and her supervisor tried to tell me that I couldn't buy them all together because the coupon said "one per purchase." I pleasantly pointed out that the coupon did say "one per purchase" NOT one per transaction. The cashiers seemed a little bummed out that I was right and they reluctantly allowed me to use all 5. I politely thanked them and wished them both a good day!

So I got 3 packs of wipes at $1.97 each. I used three $2.00 off coupons, which actually rang up as $2.00 off. I earned $0.09 of overage that went toward the cost of the diapers. These wipes were FREE!!

Doesn't get much better than that!

Out with the old, In with the new

I've always used coupons. I can remember being barely old enough to use scissors, sitting in the floor clipping coupons for my mom on Sunday afternoons, then going down to my grandma's house and doing the same thing for her. I still do this on Sunday, only now I set aside coupons for Mom and mailing her what she uses. She in turn does the same for me. People at church even leave diaper coupons in Quinn's cubby in the nursery (thanks for those!!), and friends at work save me their whole coupon sections from the paper. I also pull coupons from the dispenser boxes in the aisles of the grocery store. I use websites like CouponBug.Com, and Coupons.Com to print coupons. Because of this, I have accumulated quite the stash of coupons.

So I've decided that my current way of keeping up with my coupons was not working for me anymore. Can you blame me?? Take a look at my coupon organizer, and see what I mean.

There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to what is going on in here. The only way you could say this is organized is that the coupons were in order by date. I kinda, sorta knew where certain coupons were based on date. For example, any Proctor and Gamble product (Pampers, Dawn, Cascade, etc) would be near the end of the month. Other than that, I would have to search through this humongous stack, hoping to find the right one. (And yes, that envelope does have several pockets, and no, I was not using all of them...just one!)

So after reading some coupon posts on MoneySavingMom and on Life As Mom, I decided it was time to re-organize.

I pretty much used the idea of MoneySavingMom as seen here. To make this coupon box, you need some small envelopes, some small index cards, and some sort of box. I used a leftover baby wipes box.

Basically what you need to do is tear off the flap of the envelope. Then take an index card and staple it to the inside. Also write the category of item on the index card as well. I discovered after I had stapled all the cards in that the lid of the box wouldn't shut, so I had to go back and trim the cards down. You may want to write the category just above the envelope and then trim the top of the card off.

Then I went through all my coupons and sorted them based on category. What did I use for categories? Well, if you go back up and click on the link of how Crystal (MoneySavingMom) did her box, I used many of her categories, as I thought she had broken them down really well. For example, she didn't just say "Cleaners". She had an envelope for all-purpose cleaners, bathrooms, furniture, glass, etc. I added some categories, took away some categories, and pretty much fit her list to our family's needs. Then I alphabetically organized all the envelopes. Then I organized the coupons in each envelope by date, so the most recent date is on top.

Now, my coupon box looks like this.

I am hoping this will resolve my coupon issues and will allow me to quickly find what I need.

If you do the "coupon thing", how do you organize your coupons?? If you don't coupon....tell me why! I can't imagine people not using coupons, but I know some do. Either way, I'd love to hear your methods!

For other Frugal Ideas, check out Frugal Friday hosted by Life As Mom.

Walgreens Paid Me!!

Walgreens paid me to take some items out of their store. How did that happen, you might ask? Well, let's just say I earned more money in Register Rewards than I spent.

Here's how I bought the items in the above picture.



Transaction #1: St. Ives body wash. $2.99
Had a $1.50 coupon, so that's 1.49, tax making it $1.69.
Earned $3 in Register Rewards on the St.Ives body wash.

Transaction #2: Suave Shampoo and Suave Conditioner. St. Ives body Wash.
Suave products were $1.99 each, buy one, get one 50% off.
$1.99 + $1.00 + $2.99
Had a $1.00/2 Suave coupon, and a $1.50 for St.Ives.
Total cost plus tax: 3.87.
Earned $3 in Register Rewards

All total, I spent $5.56. I earned $6.00 in Register Rewards that I can use between now and some time in July. I call that a sweet deal. Hopefully they will have a sale on diapers soon, and I can really maximize my savings.

Special shout-out to the cashier at Walgreens who deliberately rang up my purchases so she could save me some money! She actually said "Let's ring this up differently so that you can get a better deal!" WOW. Not often do you have a cashier so willing to help you score bargains.

My Bargains This Week

I found some incredible deals this week and can't help but share them with all of you.

First, let me explain the green beans, since the clear Mason Jars makes it pretty obvious I didn't buy these in a store. My parents are here for the weekend. They have a pretty decent sized garden and usually grow a lot of green beans. My mom and grandmother spend many days during the summer canning beans. We have done this my whole life....I cannot stand the taste of green beans bought in tin cans at the store. Anyway, I had run out of beans, so Mom brought me 6 pints and 6 quarts, making the beans FREE for me.

Ok, now let me talk about the deals I got this week. The groceries were bought at Food Lion, so all the sale prices I mention are for this store. (If only Food Lion did double coupons.....boo.)

Kraft Salad Dressing: 16 ounce bottles. Regular price $2.62 each.

On Sale 3 for $5, making them $1.66 each. I had 3 coupons for $1.50 off.

Final price......$0.16 each!!

Kraft BBQ Sauce: An 18 ounce bottle marked 55% more....actually makes it a 28 ounce bottle. Regular price $1.69.

On Sale for $0.99. I had a $0.75 coupon. Final price.....$0.24 (Would have been free if FL did double coupons.)

Kraft Cheddar Cheese: Regular price $2.85.

On Sale 2 packs for $4.00, making one pack $2.00. I had a $1 coupon.

Final price....$1.00

Tyson Chicken Patties: Regular price $6.99 per bag.

On Sale for $3.99 a bag. I had a $1 coupon.

Final price.....$2.99 per bag.

I bought other groceries, but these were my best deals this week.

For other great savings, visit Super Savings Saturday at MoneySavingMom!

I love consignment sales!!

Before I became a mom, I had never been to a consignment sale. In fact, I wasn’t really sure what one was. We never went to one when I was growing up (as far as I know). I don’t really do the yard sale thing either. I was pleasantly surprised last year at both the spring and fall consignment sales at my church, when I was able to buy 75% of what Quinn would need for fifty bucks or less!

I found out this past Friday that my church was not having the spring sale. I guess most of the ladies in MOPS knew about this, but since I’m not in that group, it came as quite a shock to me. I was counting on stocking up for Quinn’s spring and summer needs. Luckily, my friend Kim (who happens to be my pastor’s wife), mentioned that another local MOPS group was holding a sale at a different church, that was also nearby.

So I went Saturday morning, and look at what all I got!

It’s hard to tell in the picture, but I got 6 pairs of shorts, 4 shirts, a sweater vest, jeans, khaki pants (baby GAP), navy pants, and 2 complete outfits (shirt, shorts combo) for $32.00!

About a week ago, my neighbor across the street brought me a huge bag of clothes. Her friend’s son outgrew some things and she gave them to my neighbor. The clothes were too small for her son, so she brought them to me.

The bag had 2 pairs of swim trunks, 8 t-shirts, 2 golf-shirts, 2 button-up-collared shirts, khaki pants (Ralph Lauren), and green corduroys. All these were FREE!! The only problem is the sizes are all 2T and 3T, so it will be a while before Quinn gets to wear these.

I love being able to buy what my son needs at a fraction of the cost. He doesn’t know the difference, and I have the satisfaction of knowing I didn’t pay more than about 2 or 3 dollars for the whole outfit, especially since he will either stain it or outgrow it in a few months anyway!

You know I love a bargain!

I've never been ashamed to admit how much I like saving money or using my coupons. I've even been known to call my mom after leaving the store to tell her exactly how much I saved on particularly good days. So I just have to share this bargain because so many of you live really close to me. You might be able to take advantage of this.

Ok, here's the deal. I got all these diapers at Walgreens for $14.98. If you live near me, this is the Walgreens closest to our church. Right now they are running a deal where if you buy a Jumbo pack of Huggies, you get a trial size of Walgreen's diapers for FREE!! The Huggies are marked down to 9.99 each. Not a great deal, but cheaper than some places. Then you need to get the Walgreens savers booklet located at the front of the store. On the next to the last page there is a flyer where it says if you buy 2 of the same type of baby product you can deduct $2 from your total. Then I used a $1.50/1 coupon on each pack.

The Huggies were $19.98 for 2 packs.

Take off the $2 promotion, making it $17.98.

Take off 2 of the $1.50/1 coupons, for $3, making it $14.98.

The trial packs were $3.97 each, and were Free.

Total savings: $12.94

Total spent: $14.98 plus tax.

That makes each diaper about 14 cents apiece.

I don't know if this deal will work in all states, but it works for me!!

Growing like a weed

The whole time I was pregnant and buying things for Quinn before he was born, people told me if I liked something, buy it bigger because babies outgrow things so fast.

So back in September, I saw the cutest Halloween costume for Quinn at Target. A green dragon, complete with a spiky tail and wings. I bought a 0-9 month size, since he would be in the 9month range in October. I double-checked the tags and he fit right in the weight suggestion too. We put him in it and it fit, but seemed small. We assumed it was because he had on pajamas when we tried it on him.

We tried it on again tonight, just to make sure it still fit.

NOPE!! We couldn't get it over his shoulders. Oops.

So we rushed over to Babies-R-Us hoping to find something on clearance, since Target had no more dragon suits. We found a black spider costume for 40% off. We were telling the ladies at the checkout counter about why we were buying another costume. They told us the costumes would be on super-clearance tomorrow, but they felt so bad about the situation that they gave us the deal early! We ended up spending $4.50 on a $30 costume!

Stay tuned for pictures later this week!!

Super Savings!

A few weeks ago, my church's MOPS group held a children's consignment sale. My parents had come up to visit that weekend and while Buddy and Daddy went to do "guy stuff" (skeet shooting), Mama and I went to grab bargains and stock Quinn up on some fall and winter clothes.

Here is a picture of all the great things we bought. We found lots of things in his current size as well as some 12 month items that he will hopefully be able to wear in January.

Believe it or not, all these items cost me just under $30! And on top of the great price, I got some more expensive name brand items for $3 or less! I think we got a great deal, and it looks like Tillman thinks so too.

If you have kids, I highly recommend consignment sales. Why pay full price for clothes that they will just out-grow in a few months?