I LOVE a good yard sale!

I went out yard saling for the first time this season. I was surprised by the number of sales there were for so early in the season. I had a short list of things I'd like to find this season and guess what I found almost ALL of them! I love to see what my change can get me! This time I was able to really stretch it and find a whole bunch of steals!

- Bumboo for Asher - the 2 1/2 month old joy I get to watch twice a week - $2!

- Fun rattles again for Asher - 3 for $1

- Laptop case for my husband - $2

- Star Stacker for Asher - $1

- Caterpillar that's about as long as Asher (24 3/4 in!!! His Dad's 6' 9" so we were not surprised to find him in the 97 % for height!) It has a measuring stick on the back of it! = ) - $0.50

- Pampered Chef rolling pin - $0.50

- Basket for Asher's new toys - $0.50

The only thing not on the list was the Rolling pin, but I couldn't pass that one up.

Also on the list was a nice/cheap baby swing. I had a couple of "wants" I wasn't sure I'd be able to find, but I thought I'd at least try.

Want #1 - smaller - travel size

Want #2 - match my current living room theme

Want #3 - must work! (I guess that was a need.)

Didn't find it on my morning run. However, a friend and I were heading home from a baby shower and happened to notice a yard sale along the side of the road that had a swing. Since it was after 3 and late into the day my friend decided to do a U-turn and check it out.

1.) Smaller size with open top - travel size? but it'd work

2.) Burgundy, Green, and yellow plaid - yep matches my living room... and I haven't ever seen one like that!

3.) Tried it out and it worked! May need a new battery though, the slow option was REALLY slow!

Best part is they took $8 for it. Now it needs a little...well okay... a LOT of cleaning, but it's all surface cleaning and shouldn't be that hard to do.

Wow and all on the first day of shopping! I guess I need to add to my list or just quit going all together. Nah....I'll still go it's the only window shopping I feel good doing! Hey I can pay those prices!

For now I'm off to clean some baby toys with a little bleach water. What's the ratio for that anyway? Guess I better google that....or better yet I'll use Swagbucks maybe I'll earn me something!

Spring is here!

Where we live we rarely see snow. If there's even a dusting the whole town shuts down. This year, however, we got lots of snow. More snow than this area has seen in 20 years, if I remember the weatherman's trivia right. Not near as much as Colorado, my old home, but I must admit I've become a weather wimp since moving here! I'm so glad we have finally gone from this.....

* I can't claim the cute snowmen/woman. These were the "best of show" Roderick and I found as we walked the neighborhood the day after the largest snowstorm of the season. (We saw more than 10!)

To this....

..."Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning..." Daniel 2:20b-21

Happy First day of Spring! I'm so thankful for seasons and for change. It certainly felt like Spring around here with a high in the upper 7o's, cloudless skies, gentle breezes, fragrant flowers in the area, daffodils gracing many yards.... Spring may just be my favorite season!

What does the first day of Spring look like in your part of the country?

Groceries for a steal

This week I purposely avoided the drugstores. 1.) The deals were not as good as I like and I didn't really need anything. 2) I planned on using a couple of the instant wins I won on Kroger's March Madness instant win game. I was also hoping to get some of my husband's favorite salsa - La Victoria - that I can only find at Kroger. I was able to use my reward's to print out 2 nice $4 off 2 coupons before I left. I was HIGHLY disappointed when they told me at the check-out that starting the previous Sunday (three days before I was shopping!) they no longer take Internet coupons for more than $1 off because they were having too much fraud! (The deals are great without cheating...come on guys don't ruin it for the rest of us. ) I decided to not get the salsa since I couldn't use the coupons, but I'm going to check on that. Any one else heard about this? Okay enough complaining, here's the deals I was able to get...

Kroger: $18.55

Saved $16.88 (48%)

Hot deals: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 1.99lb Strawberries 1.88 Hershey Syrup 1.76 -cheapest I've seen around town without coupons Freebies: Kraft cheese - won on the instant win game King size Reese cup - won on the instant win game Star Vinegar - free coupon from company survey

Farm Fresh: $4.21

Saved $6.00 (60%)

Received a $4 Catalina

Freebies - 6 Free boxes of cereal for Grace Supplies!

(Melody and I went before church to make sure we were able to get the deal. We were able to use the Catalina on our transactions later that day.)

Farm Fresh: $13.72

Saved: 21.49 (62%)

Hot deals:

Oreo Cakesters - .19 used $1 off 1 coupon

10 lbs of potatoes - 2.00 used BOGO coupon

Roma Tomatoes - .98 lb

Petite Sirloin - 1.98lb!

Toaster Strudel - .29 (2) - used 2 $1 off 1 coupons (Definitely not on the healthy list, but this is Roderick's favorite quickie breakfast. We splurge on this treat when the deal is this low!)

Red Barron french bread pizza - $2 used $1 off 1 coupon

Eddy's ice cream - 1.99 no coupon needed (Another splurge treat... should last us awhile though since we don't eat much sweets.)

Freebies:

Johnson & Johnson safety swabs (2) - used 2 $1 off 1 coupons

Viva towel - used .85 off 1 coupon (Our favorite brand!)

Harris Teeter: $4.85

Saved $6.15 ( 56%)

Hot Deals:

Large Cantaloupe 1.74

80% lean hamburger 1.47lb Organic Green Onion .50

Sudafed PE on clearance - .04 after $2 off coupon (another great Grace Supplies donation!)

Freebies:

Wishbone dressing (2) - used two .75 off coupons ( I felt like the Lord gave me this one. I recently heard that the Balsamic Vinaigrette is a great marinade. I wanted to try it out, but didn't want to pay the regular price when I know I can get it cheap. This was an unadvertised deal that I happened upon. Hey, little things make me happy!)

So I was able to get all of this.....For $41.83!

Total for month so far $120.26!

So far just a few cents over my $40 week/ $200 goal! Should be able to do that because we are very stocked up, even with the way my husband eats. He's 6' 4" and must have hollow legs. I rarely have leftovers even when I cook for 6- 8 people and there's only 2 of us. He doesn't have an ounce of fat on his body! ( Wish I could say the same about me!)

Why the deals posts?

A couple of weekends ago we had a Savvy Stewardship conference at our church. I taught a class on on-line resources and had lots of questions on what I'm actually able to get. So I'm going to start posting every week. It will also allow me to have one location where I can find how I'm doing and what I'm saving. Plus I promised the ladies that attended my class I'd do it! (Gotta keep a promise!!)

I still hope to do lots of personal post as well. Even though I'm WAY behind. Sorry Mom!

Super Savings

Farm Fresh -

Total: $37.51

Savings of $30.17 (46%)

Best Deals:

Dreamfield Pasta - Free

Keebler Dark Chocolate Cookies - Free **

Malt-O-Meal cereal - $0.50 *

*(Not pictured we didn't need cereal but Grace Supplies does. Here's the link if you are going to Farm Fresh later and you need cereal or want to donate it to Grace Supplies.) **(We didn't need this nor the Grasshopper cookies, but they are my weakness. I'll make them last a REALLY long time! For some reason St. Patrick's day just screams Grasshopper cookies to me! I rarely indulge like this and I almost feel guilty. BUT they sure do taste good! Like Thin Mints, but MUCH cheaper!) CVS - Total: $4.47 with $5 in ECBs to spend next time

Total for week:

$41.98

This month so far:

$78.45

(A little behind) Last weeks shopping

I definitely went to a lot more different stores than normal last week. Roderick and I needed to be out of the house Wed while some work was being done in our house. (The fumes were putting strong to say the least!) So we went to Walgreens for the Red Barron that was on sale and since its right next to Harris Teeter I decided to run in and get a couple of their deals. Then I went to Rite Aid on my own and then my usual Wednesday Farm Fresh run with Melody.

Farm Fresh

Total $20.17

Savings with coupons -43%

Best deals - Activia - Free Danimals - Free Softsoap - Free Glass Plus - Free Eddys - $0.50 (Not picuted - a gal of Milk.)

Rite Aid

$2.19 with SCR of $3.00 to come next month

Walgreens -

$5.81

Harris Teeter

$8.28

I also got 2 24 pks of Deer Park water, but they were still in the car when I took this picture. They were one of the best deals. eVIC price $2.88 and they were BOGO so I got 48 water bottles for $2.88. I send Roderick with water every day. I know not the best for the environment... I'm working on that. = ) I got all of this for less than the Finish's regular price of $10!

Total for week:

$36.45!

(I didn't include CVS this week since it went in to the February budget. Which had a final lower than I've ever gotten!)

My first CVS transactions

2/28 ~Transaction #1: Softsoap Body wash $4.49 * ECB $4.00 Ensure (4 pks) $4.99 each Powerbar $1.50 * ECB $1.50 Basil & Oregano(BOGO) $0.99 Coke $1.99 CVS Snack bags $2.99 J&J Baby Oil $2.19 25 Digital Pictures $7.25 Coupons: Softsoap -$1 Ensure(2) -$1 Ensure - Buy 3 Get 1 Free Johnson baby product -$1 CVS coupons Free Coke 2L $10 off $20 Free 25 digial pictures Free CVS product up to $3 Total: $10.81 (With CVS $ off coupons like the $10 off $20 it is my understanding that you must have the $20 after coupons. Otherwise I could have had a lower price. However, even with this stipulation I saved $31.25! And I had $5.50 for the next transaction.) Transaction #2 - Directly after the first - she actually ripped off the ECBS for me and used them Speed Stick (2) $2.75 = $5.50 *ECB $3.00 Coke 2L $1.99 Coupons: CVS Coupon - Free 2L of Coke ECB - $3.00 - $1. 50 Total: $0.24 (For some unexplained reason I also got a $2 ECB from CVS so I ended the day with $5 ECBS) *** SO I have a disclaimer. When I went in to the CVS I happened to notice on the top of the trash 2 CVS coupons neatly cut out. One for the Coke 2L, the other another 25 digital prints. I did got back later that week before the coupon expired and printed a few pictures of my sweet 2 month old buddy I get to watch two days a week. I was also able to get one of the "goodie" bags they were giving away. Boy were they full of goodies!