Archive for May, 2008
May 30, 2008 at 2:03 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged grocery shopping, Kroger Clearance
Went back to Kroger to pick up a few deals. I already received a Kroger coupon book, and I was itching to use them. I was especially excited about the $2 coupon off Private Selection pork b/c Kroger often has all of this meat on clearance. And I was right. The meat lady, aka Betty, pointed to one selection of the Private Selection. It was on clearance, but it wasn’t cheap enough. But then the manager walked by, and he told me that any Kroger pork. So I looked again, and found some butterfly pork chops that were already 2/3 off and now were only $2.04. So I got almost one and a half pounds for .04.
They also had shredded cheese half off, and I had another Kroger coupon for that.
For my last item, I didn’t have a coupon, but when VO5 shampoo is .27 from the 75% off table, I figured I didn’t need one.
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May 29, 2008 at 1:18 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged Kroger Clearance, saving money on food, saving money on groceries
For $20.37, this was my shopping list from Kroger: a pound of Twizzlers (.52), nearly two pounds of round steak (2.87), a pound a Bob Evans sausage (.99), a pound of already cooked meatballs (1.05), two packages of bagged spinach (.39 each), 12 ounces of bagged green beans (.60), two packages of cole slaw (.49 each), a half pound of organic Cheddar cheese (1.50), a six pack of yogurt (1.19), amost a pound and half of cherries (3.77), bean sprouts (.30), whole wheat English muffins (.35), French bread (.50), two loaves of Kroger multigrain bread (.33 each), three loaves of rye bread (.60), and two loaves of organic whole wheat bread (.88).
I bought most of these foods on clearance. The cherries are on sale this week; the yogurt was on sale and I had a coupon, which I factored in; the sausage was on clearance and I had a coupon.
Most of the bread was for my mother, but I kept the French bread, the English muffins and one loaf of the whole wheat.
The lesson: eat what’s on clearance and on sale. Make even more savings by using coupons and don’t forget to share the blessings.
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May 27, 2008 at 10:16 am
· Filed under grocery shopping ·Tagged Kroger, Memorial Day
We started out by going to a local parade, and we all enjoyed it until some of the marchers fired guns (in the air) and my little ones got frightened. So we left. On our way back to Meijer, we bought the pop that was on sale, 5 12-packs for $11 and the milk that was also on sale.
We went home, relaxed, and I worked on my coupon file.
Later on, I nipped out to Kroger, where I got great deals (75% off) on nature stuff—like Biokleen laundry detergent and organic, vegetarian worcershire sauce. I also bought some yogurt that was on sale and that I had coupons for, so I was getting six packs for a dollar!!
There’s a KMart across the street. I returned some bras that I got cheaper at Target (see Friday post) and in return bought the Scott bath tissue that was on sale, 24 rolls fro $5.
Why am I writing about thrift on Memorial Day? People for more than 200 years have served (and died) to vouchsafe to keep a democratic way of life. One of the ways we can do our part is to use our resources wisely so that we can vouchsafe our future: saving money to start a business, to get an education, to pay for car repairs so that we can keep working and being part of the economy and keeping America strong. By using thrift, we are extending the road that they have laid out often in blood.
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May 26, 2008 at 6:52 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ACO Hardware, Aldi, grocery shopping, lemon basil, Walgreen
Ah, Sunday, Sunday
I love Sunday. Today, when we went to church, my son received a lemon basil plant from his teacher,which is great b/c I was thinking about planting some basil, anyway.
After church, I ran out to Walgreen to get milk that was on special and pink salmon, which was also on sale.
After than, I ran out to Aldi to get crackers for .79 a package and few other things. Next to Aldi, there is ACO Hardware, which was having a big Memorial Day sale. I bought only the sale items, of course, including a little pot for the basil plant. After dinner, we had a planting ceremony for the plant, which looks somewhat bedraggled, but I hope it makes it.
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May 26, 2008 at 6:47 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged loss leader, Meijer, parks
Stopped at Meijer b/c of its big sale on pop. Bought pop. Nothing else. I’m sure they liked me cashing in on their loss leader, but, hey, that’s their problem.
Then when I got back, the whole family went to the park. We’re really lucky that there are so many parks in this area. Nice free entertainment. Better then spending money to go to an indoor amusement facility.
Mall playareas can be nice, too, although they often get really crowded.
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May 26, 2008 at 6:43 pm
· Filed under thrift shopping ·Tagged dr bronner, garage sales, opi nail polish pen
Usually, my inlaws take my children every Friday, and I run around like a chicken with its head cut off to run errands. This week, they took my son. My daughter is not the greatest at going on errands with (my son loves shopping and especially garage sales, so we compromised. We went to one main place and visited a few garage sales on our way back.
First, we went to Target. I nabbed a bra on sale, as well as Equal and canned vegetables from one of the clearance areas. I bought a fingernail cutter for my daughter, but didn’t buy the whole grooming kit, as we didn’t need it. I must admit I did splurge, stockings for me, a trial size of Dr. Bonner’s soap, which I have always wanted to try, and a new nail polish pen from OPI. I chose red, b/c I already have a very pale pink which should be easy to put on in the conventional way. It’s the darker shades which are more problematic. That’s why I got a pen! Hopefully, I’ll be able to save money on manicures.
Target is located on a major street. My house is also off the same street, and on our way back to the house, we stopped at a few garage sales that were on our way. Great score! Big vehicle toys for a dollar each. Nice children’s clothes (Children’s Place for .50)
Links: www.drbronner.com. Fascinating site, with tons of info about an environmentally friendly soap with a huge fan base.
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May 25, 2008 at 4:56 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged child with special needs, dollar stores, early on
My daughter’s only two, but she’s in public school. She’s in Early On. If your child isn’t school age yet, and you kind of wonder about his/her development, call your local school district and ask for an Early On evaluation. If the child qualifies, you get free professional help for your child, which often includes preschool. It’s federally mandated…and it’s free!!!
So today, the other three mothers and I who have children in this Early On program have to “contribute to the gift.” I’m taken for $20. Remember those cards I bought yesterday for everybody? Well, I got five dollars back for the cards and for balloons, after I assured them that dollar stores really carry balloons for ALL OCCASIONS.
Hey, I might not be able to economize on the gift, but I sure can on the trappings.
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May 25, 2008 at 4:56 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged Dollar Tree, greeting cards, teacher gifts
Today was son’s last day of preschool in his co-op. I try not to buy gifts. It’s expensive, and how do I know what teachers really want? But I do like cards for teachers. Earlier that morning, I ran to Dollar Tree to pick up a whole mess of cards for his teachers today, my daughter’s teachers, cards for the other parents, a card for an expectant mother. As you know, I try to save gas and time by combining errands and purchases. So, today, I bought all the cards I need for the next couple of months.
While I was at Dollar Tree, I found something very rare—a plastic hula hoop, made in the USA! I had to buy it.
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May 25, 2008 at 4:55 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged thrift shopping, value world
YAY! I got a comment. The comment from KRIS was about where do you find Value Coupons. They occasionally surface in the Metro Times and in the regular Detroit News/Free Press. Usually, they’re just half-off coupons on clothes, but these coupons were half-off everything, which made them really valuable.
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May 25, 2008 at 4:53 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged frugality, stamps
Today, I did the mail. I took all of those new five and ten cent stamps and applied to older stamps. It was kind of a blast from the past, looking at all of those stamps. I used my whole paycheck from the internet work to go on the roof, for example. Paid more than the minimum on the credit card debt from the old non-frugal days.
I know this doesn’t sound that exciting, but frugality is often made up of small things.
I remember reading one of my favorite novels, In this House of Brede, in which one nun tells another new nun (the novel is set in a convent) that the best nun isn’t the one that’s having religious ecstasies. It’s the nun who is unnoticed, because she is simply doing her duties.
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