Life of Val » thrifty thursday

Restraint

Val — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:38:16 +0000

A nice, quiet, low-key weekend usually gives me the chance to do some garage sale hunting, or at least make a trip to the farmer’s market. Well this was the perfect weekend for some bargain shopping. Not only has the weather up here been amazing, but I have a very willing husband who helped watch the babe and even accompanied me on a few of my ventures.

Garage sale-ing Saturday AM, for a grand total of $6, I found: 2 pairs of pants, a bat costume and a space heater (all for C Monster).

I had to keep my lips tightly sealed at one point. Having hosted a few garage sales myself, I like to think I have some experience on the other side of the fanny pack. One of the hostesses at the sale where I found C’s pants was frugal beyond compromise. There was a man there trying to buy a bag of clothes for his daughter and this saleswoman demanded he pay $35! Her argument was “Do you know how much I payed for my daughter’s clothes?” Ridiculous.

Next, we took a break from bargain hunting and went out to lunch. I have been craving sweet potato fries for about a month (BTW-I’m pregnant!). I found a restaurant near my preschool called The Filling Station that has a nice outdoor patio and SPFs. It was wonderful. It reminded me a lot of Cafe’ Gardens, back home (RIP).

The Filling Station is in this cute downtown-ish area of Winston-Salem called West End. Right around the corner is my new favorite consignment shop, Re-tale. I could let the owner of this place decorate my house. I really think, if I had the money I would have walked out of there with every household/furniture item that was for sale. Instead, with the $30 I did have, I bought a hamper to contain all the sporting equipment floating around our house and 2 cute candlesticks.

Here comes the best part…

On a thrifty kick, I decided to head to Goodwill and look for a shower curtain. That’s right. After 5 months of living here, we still don’t have a real shower curtain. I didn’t find what I was looking for, BUT, I did find a vase/bowl that I had just been eyeing at Re-tale for $2 (it was for sale at Re-tale for $8). I was so excited. I also found a Pyrex lemonade pitcher and a small wooden lamp base that one might find on Apartment-Therapy .

So I didn’t clean or grocery shop like I had intended. But, hey, when I do dust those shelves, now there will be a lot of cute items to decorate them with.

Free Apple Sauce

Val — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:02:50 +0000

Did you know that apple baby food and unsweetened applesauce have the same ingredient list, but that the baby version is usually at least twice the price per ounce? Most applesauce brands make a 6-pack sold in 3.5 ounce servings, perfect baby proportions.

If that news wasn’t good enough already, and you live near a Publix, or another store that accepts competitor coupons, you’re in luck! Use this manufacturer’s coupon to get $1 off Mott’s and this Food Lion coupon to get another $1 off. Since Mott’s 6-packs are on sale for $1.66 at Publix this week, your applesauce will be free! Some stores even give an overage. Mine doesn’t, but I’m going to print several of the Mott’s coupons (they don’t have a print limit, the FL ones do) and stock up on some extra applesauce for $0.11 a cup!

Free ShamWow

Val — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:47:57 +0000

Have you seen the infomercial for ShamWow? Megan told me about this survey that gives you 2 free ShamWow cloths. I’m thinking Young Life Christmas exchange.

It is now 9:20 AM and Carver is still asleep. I keep going in to check on him because he has never slept for 13 hours before. I need to go take advantage of this by doing something crazy, like getting dressed.

Free Portrait Package

Val — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:33:58 +0000

Picture People is offering a free portrait package! We’ve had some really cute photos of Carver taken there. Of course, I’m bias…

And don’t forget to get your free McAlister’s tea today!

Thursday: Free Tea @ McAlister’s!

Val — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:38:00 +0000

Next Thursday, July 23rd is free tea at McAlister’s deli. I know its a whole week from now, but I didn’t want to post this next Thursday and risk being too late.

Thrifty Thursday: Free Chick-Fil-A

Val — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:59:00 +0000

Tomorrow (Friday, July 10th) is Cow Appreciation Day. Dress like a cow and get a free Chick-Fil-A meal! Click here to get the details.

Also, Snapfish is doing 100 prints at $0.04 each! Check it out.

As always, Southern Savers (link to the right) has some great Publix deals, including a $10 rebate.

Thrifty Thursday: Cool Whip for $0.24 each!

Val — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Cool Whip is BOGO (get one free, buy one, as Dan likes to put it) at Publix, starting today. It costs $1.49. Get a $1 off coupon here and $0.49 will buy you enough Cool Whip to make one of these:

Speaking of thrifty, guess what we spent on groceries during the month of June. $176.09! Now that’s a lot better than the $300-400 a month we used to spend. Although that does include about $40 in quarters for laundry, it doesn’t include all the random stuff I get at Target (vitamins, paper goods, cleaning supplies, etc.). That’s my next goal.