Easy Homemade Costumes

For my family, part of our Halloween celebration is the celebration of All Saints Day, where we remember the holy Christian men and women who've gone before us over the centuries.  We went to a little All Saints party this morning, and I thought I would share the easy homemade costumes that I came up with:

LuLu was St. Helen (the mother of Constantine, the Roman emperor - she was reputed to have found the cross of Christ).  (Sorry you can't see the whole costume too well - you know how wiggly one-year-olds are!)

I used my mom's old pillowcase tunic technique.  I just took an old pillowcase and cut a small semi-circle out of the middle, and then snipped off the corners to make arm holes.  Since the pillowcase was way too long, I pinned one end to the opposite shoulder, which made it look kind of like a toga.  Then I embellished it with a brooch.  I added one of our many princess crowns and a wooden cross to complete the costume.

GiGi was Mary, the mother of Jesus.  I started with a pillowcase for her too!  I tied it in the middle with a tie from a blue bathrobe.  For the veil, I pinned a large piece of blue fabric to a one of those stretch cloth headbands.  It stayed on her head pretty well. 

The best thing about these costumes - they were completely free, using items I already had around the house.  These techniques couuld be modified for any ancient historical character costumes or for costumes for a Christmas pageant!

See more Frugal Fridays here.

Preparing for Christmas

Today is October 28, and Christmas is in two short months, whether you're ready or not!  As much as I sometimes deplore the Christmas music in November and other signs of rushing into the season, at the same time, I do believe in preparing early so that you can truly celebrate the holiday when it comes.

Like many others, I love and cherish Christmas time, and as my girls are growing old enough to appreciate it I am trying to make it more of a holy and peaceful time and less stressful.  I love of all the trappings of Christmas that make it special, but we only have a limited amount of money to spend and a lot of family members to buy for and things we'd like to do.

My solution is to try to make a plan for Christmas now, including my budget, gift idea lists, visiting plans, and decoration and baking ideas.  For the past few years I've kept a little Christmas notebook, to keep all these lists in one place.  I take it with me when I shop, and it keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.  It also helps me focus on what my priorities for the season are and what I think I can accomplish.

Of course, my planning is far from perfect, and I'm usually scrambling for some things at the last minute.  But I try to improve every year!  I've read several helpful blog posts recently that have inspired me to get into planning, including The Simple Mom's 12 Weeks to a Peaceful Christmas and Frugal in Virginia's Santa's Cutting Back. In the next few weeks, I'll also be sharing some of the ways that I'm preparing for Christmas, especially how I'm trying to do it frugally!

Planning ahead for Christmas Works for Me!

Wegmans Deals: 10/25-10/31

New Deals:



Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, or Buttercup Squash - $.79/lb.

Driscoll's Raspberries (6 oz.) - $2.50

Coca-Cola (12 pk/12 fl. oz. cans) - $3.33

Wegmans Shredded Cheese (6-8 oz.) (excludes 2%) - $1.69

Edy's Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt (56 fl. oz.) - $2.99
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert or $2.00/2 coupon from Nestle mailer
Final Price: $2.00-$2.50 each


Wegmans All Pork Italian Sausage (Club Pack - 2.5 lbs. or more) - $1.99/lb.

Wegmans Whole Pork Shoulder (Club Pack) - $.99/lb.

V05 Shampoo or Conditioner - $.69

Ongoing Deals:

U.S. #1 NY State Apple Tote (All varieties - approx. 4-1/2 lbs. per tote) - $.89/lb.

Wegmans US #1 White Idaho Potatoes (5 lb. bag) – $1.99

Cheerios Cereal (Plain, 14oz. or Multigrain, 12.8 oz.) - $2.50 (through 10/31)
Use $1.00/1 plain Cheerios printable coupon or $1.00/1 Multigrain Cheerios coupon from home mailer
Final Price: $1.50

Fiber One Cereal (all varieties) - $2.50 (through 10/31)
Use $.75/1 coupon from home mailer
Final Price: $1.75

Specially marked packages of Wegmans instant oatmeal have a mail-in offer for free Rand McNally flashcards.

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks and Fruit Rollups - $2.00 (through 10/31)
Buy 2 and use $.50/2 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $1.50 each

Nature Valley Granola Bars or Fiber One Bars - $2.50 (through 10/31)
Use $.40/1 coupons from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $1.70

Nestle & Mars Fun/Snack Size Halloween Candy (10-11.6 oz.) - $1.99
Use $1.00/3 coupon from recent insert, $1.00/1 printable coupon, or $2/1 printable coupon
Final Price: Free-$1.66

Betty Crocker Cake Mix – $.99
If you need frosting as well, you could use the .50/2 (cake and frosting) printable coupon (doubled).

Baking items - prices all good through 01/02:
Wegmans All Purpose Flour (5 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Light Brown, Dark Brown, or Confectioners' Sugar (2 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Granulated Sugar (5 lb. bag) - $1.99 (Limit 2)
Nestle Toll House Morsels (10-12 oz.) - $1.69
Pillsbury Cake Mix (18.25-18.9 oz.) - $.88
Keebler Chips Deluxe Cookies (12.5-18oz.) – $1.99
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 Keebler cookies coupon
Final Price: $1.49 each

Del Monte Canned Vegetables (14.75 oz.) - $.79 (through 11/28)

Hunt's Diced Tomatoes - $.89 (through11/21)
Buy 4 and use $1.00/4 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $.64 each

Chex Mix (8.75 oz.) - $1.99 (through 10/31)
Use $.50/1 printable coupon recently available (doubled)
Final Price: $.99

Nature Valley Nut Clusters - $2.99 (through 10/31)
Use $1.60/1 coupon that was recently available to print or $1.00/1 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.39-$1.99

Nestle Hot Cocoa (10 pk.) - $.99

Betty Crocker Boxed Potatoes - $1.29 (through 01/02)
Use $.25/1 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $.79

Swanson Broth (14 oz. Chicken, Natural Goodness Chicken, Vegetable or Low Sodium Beef) - $.60
Buy 3 and use $.40/3 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $.33 each

Wegmans Ziti, Spaghetti, or Thin Spaghetti (16 oz.) – $.69

Wegmans Tomato Puree or Crushed Tomatoes (28-29 oz. can) – $.69

Wegmans Pasta Sauce (24 oz.) – $.99 (through 01/02)

Wegmans Canned Vegetables (14.5-15.25 oz. can Cream Style Corn, Whole Kernel Corn, French Style Green Beans or Cut Green Beans) – $.39

Nestle Tollhouse Ready to Bake Cookies (16-16.5 oz.) (Excludes holiday varieties) - $1.99
Use $1.00/1 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $.99

Danimals Drinkable Yogurt or Crush Cups Yogurt (4 pk/4 oz. cups or 6 pk./3.1 fl. oz. bottles) - $1.99
Use $1.00/1 coupons from recent inserts
Final Price: $.99

Pillsbury Bread or Pizza Crust (11-13.8 oz.) – $1.99
Buy 2 and use $.40/2 Italian meal breads or $.35/1 pizza crust (doubled)
Final Price: $1.29-$1.59 each

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Cold Cuts (7-8 oz.) - $2.99

Wegmans Italian Classic Cut Pasta (9 oz. Linguine, Spaghetti, Fettuccine or Angel Hair) - $1.99
Gallon Milk - $2.15-$2.35 (through 10/31)

Turkey Hill Iced Tea or Lemonade (64 fl. oz.) - $1.49
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 half gallons of Turkey Hill beverages from recent insert
Final Price: $.99 each

Wegmans 90% Lean Fresh Ground Beef (Club Pack - 6 lbs. or more) - $1.99/lb.

Wegmans Paper Towels (8 pk./480 ct.) – $4.99 ($.62/roll)

Wegmans Bathroom Tissue (12 pk.) - $4.99 ($.42/roll)

Wegmans Facial Tissue (65-160 ct. cube or flat) – $.79

Clorox Green Works Laundry Detergent (30 load) - $2.99 (was $7.99!)
                                                                    (60 load) - $4.99 (was $12.99!) (through 10/24)

Speed Stick (3-3.25 oz.) or Lady Speed Stick (2.3 oz. Deodorant or Antiperspirant) – $1.88
Use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price – $1.33

Edge or Skintimate Shave Gel (7 oz.) – $1.88

Suave Body Wash (12 fl. oz.) - $1.50
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.00 each

Tuesday Tip

Today's Tuesday tip is thanks to Leann.  She writes,  

"I would have to say that my favorite money saver is breast feeding.  Not only is it a free and readily available food source, it helps keep babies healthy . . . .This is so important to me.  I even breast fed our two year old who was born at 23 weeks 3 days of gestation.  I had to pump for four months before she was actually able to nurse on her own and gain weight.  She only received my milk (with some calorie additives) and she has never been sick with an infection or virus."

It's often said, but it bears repeating, breast feeding saves so much money!  One article I read put the average cost of formula for the first year at $1500-$2000, not counting bottles and other supplies!  Even if you count the cost of extra food for the hungry breastfeeding mommy and any nursing supplies, the cost of breastfeeding is still much lower.  And of course, it has so many other benefits to mommy and baby, including potentially preventing health problems.

(Needless to say, I don't think there's ever a reason that any mommy should judge another for not breastfeeding.  I just think it's worth it to point the advantages of breast feeding from a purely economic standpoint. :-)

There's a good article here that also talks about the money saving benefits of "nature's magic money saver."

What We Spend Our Money On

There's been some great discussion around the frugal blogosphere lately about what frugal practices are chosen by different families.  (Read Ryan's great post, "Frugal Ain't Cheap" that started the discussion.)

In the post, Ryan writes that despite their frugality, his family thinks it is not worth it to reuse their plastic bags.  On the other hand, Crystal writes that their family wouldn't dream of not reusing their bags.  I think the real point here is not whether you reuse your Ziploc bags, but that you choose what frugal practices are worth the effort for your family.

I so strongly believe that frugality for its own sake is not enough.  It has to be frugality for a purpose, and that purpose will help determine the choices you make.  With these thoughts, I thought I would republish a post I wrote a while back, sharing some of the ways that my family chooses to save money.  Later this week, I'll write the follow-up post on some things that we do spend money on.  Stay tuned!

What We Do Without
In my series on the Five Principles of Frugality, I wrote about how the frugal life is always going to involve sacrifice. In this post, I thought I would share some of the things that my family does without in order to save money. These are just the things that my family gives up; I know that these items will be different for everyone.

Without further ado, then, what we do without:

1) Cable TV - For us, this is a no-brainer. Paying for TV? I always say, we would have to make a lot, lot more money to even think about using it for this. "No, dear, we couldn't start a college fund for you, we had to pay for TV . . . ."

That being said, we are still human. ;-) We enjoy movies and even TV shows on DVD, usually rented from Blockbuster online or Redbox. And I admit, there are nights when I'd really just like to veg out in front of whatever's on the tube. But would I really be better off if I could . . . ? 'Nuff said.

2) Eating out (very often) - Neither Michael nor I were raised in families that spent a lot of money on restaurants or takeout, so has always been natural to us to cook at home. And as our family and expenses have grown, we have reduced the little that we did eat out to very rare occasions.  It definitely takes advance planning to prevent getting takeout on those busy nights, but it is not that hard if you don't allow yourself to consider a restaurant. And on the rare occasions when we do eat out, it is a really enjoyable treat!

3) Brand loyalty - I never thought I was that particular, but when I started trying to reduce our food budget this summer, I discovered that there were a whole host of particular brands we were holding onto purely out of habit. Now? My default is almost always the store brand, unless I can get a name brand cheaper with coupons (which definitely happens) or if we have tried the store brand and it was really poor quality. You know what? We hardly miss the name brands, and occasionally an off brand is even better!

4) Professional haircuts - When Michael first asked me to cut his hair, I categorically refused! Although my dad did cut my brothers' hair when they were little, that mostly involved buzzing it off! However, after a lot of convincing and with thoughts of the potential money saved, I finally bought Michael a hair cutting kit for $11.99 at Ross. Turns out, it has been pretty easy to cut Michael's hair. I just do it with the scissors, and it looks fine. Perhaps, it's not salon-worthy, but it's neat and he's happy with it. And we made back the cost of that kit with just the first haircut!

Not to shock you ladies, but I have also actually let Michael cut my hair! He did a fine job - my only quibble was that he was being so careful that it took him forever! I have curly hair, so if it's not exactly perfectly even, you can't tell. For my last few haircuts, I have gotten some great deals at a couple of salons, but I am open to Michael doing it again in the future.

5) A second car - This is probably the most radical, and admittedly the most difficult, thing that we do without. However, we easily save hundreds, or even thousands of dollars a year, by not paying for the insurance, taxes, gas, and maintenance of a second car. Instead, in the past 3-1/2 years of marriage we have been able to put this money toward paying off school debt and buying our home.  Living on one car takes a lot of adjustment, especially in a society where it's practically unheard of, but I'm here to tell you that it is possible. A few of the unexpected benefits we have seen include increased organization and efficiency, more motivation to get out and get exercise, and more time and energy spent in and on our home life. We still hope to get a second car one day, but for now, we can live with this.

Anyway, those are some things that my family has chosen to do without. I'd love to hear in the comments section about things that other families are giving up to save money and how it's working for them.

Weekly Deal Roundup

The very best deals for your week, from the blogosphere and beyond . .

Grocery Deals:

Amazon has an amazing deal on Seventh Generation diapers.  Go here for the details.  It's always exciting to me when there's a really great deal on an expensive organic or natural product.

There are two new Rite Aid coupons out for money off your total order.  See the details here and go here for a list of Rite Aid deals for the week.

There are new Arm and Hammer coupons up here.  If you're interested in the one for laundry detergent, print it right away, as that one always seems to go fast.

Speaking of coupons, if you haven't printed your $2/1 bag Nestle and Wonka candy coupons, go to the coupons.com widget on my sidebar to print them right away.  They should make for a great deal on Halloween candy practically anywhere this week.

MoneySavingMom is now publishing the best deals on Alice.com each week.  This site looks like a really good option for people who don't have the time and/or interest to do "serious" couponing, because it has quite good deals and free shipping.

Other Deals:

There's a new coupon out for $10 off a $10 order at JC Penny or LandsEnd online.  Looks like it may only be good on regular priced merchandise, but you should be able to find a way to get free shipping from LandsEnd.  Let us know if you figure out an especially good way to use this code.

OneStepAhead, a company that has the neatest innovative baby and toddler products and toys, has some good coupon codes out now.  Use code GIFT15 to get $15 off an order of $75 or more, GIFT25 to get $25 off $100 or more, and GIFT50 to get $50 off $175 or more.  You definitely have to spend pretty much to use these, but they would be great if you need to make a big purchase (like a stroller or safety gates) or you're getting some early Christmas shopping done.

Speaking of toys, there's a good toy rebate/magazine deal on Amazon right now.  Baby Cheapskate has the details.

Be on the lookout everywhere for back to school items on serious clearance.  Any summer items should be rock-bottom at this point as well.  Also look for "early-bird" holiday deals, especially at places like online stores, portrait studios, and online photo sites.  Next week, start buying your Halloween clearance, which should get very cheap very quickly, as stores make room for Christmas merchandise.

See any other standout for this week?  Please let us know in the comments section!

Best CVS Deals: 10/25-10/31

3 Day Sale – Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday

Hershey, Mars, or Nestle Snack Size Candy $4/2 ($5/2 after Tuesday)
$1/2 Mar’s RP 10/11
$1/2 Nestle RP 10/18
B3G1 Hershey’s SS 10/18
$1 Nestle printable
$2 Nestle printable (from coupons.com widget in sidebar)
 = FREE – $1.50 each

Weekly Deals

Gilette Fusion, Venus Embrace or Spa Breeze Razor $9.99 (get $5 ECBs) Limit 1
$2 Venus P&G 9/27
$4 Fusion P&G 9/27
= $.99 – $2.99 after ECBs

Nova Max Blood Glucose Monitoring Sytems $9.99 (get $9.99 ECBs) Limit 1
= FREE

Campbell’s or Swanson Soup $1/2
$.40/4 Campbell’s SS 9/20
$.40/4 Campbell’s SS 10/4
$.40/2 Campbell’s SS 9/20
$.40/2 Campbell’s SS 10/0
$1/5 Swanson SS 9/27
$1/2 Campbell’s printable
 = FREE – $.40 each

B1G150% All Neutrogena Acne Products
$5 printable
= $10 off (use two coupons)

You can view the complete list of CVS deals for the week at Frugal Coupon Living.

While there aren't a lot of freebies at CVS this week, I'll definitely be making a trip by Tuesday to get my Halloween candy.  The Campbell's soup is also a good deal.  Here is my planned trip:

4 bags Nestle Halloween candy - $8
2 Campbells soup - $1
1 filler item - $.50 (I would have done the $.99 Gillete Fusion razor here, except that I don't have ECBs in the right denominations.)
Total: $9.50
Use 4 $2/1 Nestle coupons
Use 1 $1/1 Campbells coupon
Total OOP: $.50

If you did this scenario with the Gillete Fusion, it would look like this:
4 bags Nestle Halloween candy - $8

2 Campbells soup - $1
1 Gillette Fusion razor - $9.99
Total value: $18.99
Use 4 $2/1 Nestle coupons
Use 1 $1/1 Campbells coupon
Use 1 $4/1 Gillette Fusion razor
Use $4 ECBs
Total spent OOP: $.99
Get $4 ECBs back

Homemade Hummus

A few weeks ago I made some homemade hummus.  I had made it once before, but a really long time ago.  That time I had used dried chickpeas, but I hadn't cooked them enough.  Needless to say, it did not have the right texture!

This time, I "cheated" and used canned chickpeas.  That made it incredibly simple to make.  I used a recipe from my Joy of Cooking vegetarian cookbook, but I'm sure you could find a million online.  I simply filled my small food processor with the chickpeas, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and tahini sauce and pulsed. 

 I ended up having to add a number of tablespoonfuls of water to get it smooth enough. 

The taste was good, and hummus is such an easy and healthy snack.  I would like to experiment with different flavorings in the future.  I also thought my recipe might have been a little strong on the tahini.  Reducing it would reduce the cost of the hummus as well.  Here is my estimate cost breakdown (using Harris Teeter's online store prices):

2 cans chickpeas - $2.00
3 T. tahini - $1.00
garlic, lemon juice, salt - $.50
Total cost: $3.50 for about 2 cups ($1.75/cup)

Store-bought hummus:  $2.69 for 7 oz. ($3.07/cup)

The cost difference would be even better for the homemade version if you did cook your own chickpeas.  Just make sure you get them nice and soft!

Check out more Frugal Friday ideas here.

Frugal Halloween Costumes

What is the most frugal way to get your child a Halloween costume?

When I was a child, we were all about homemade costumes.  And by homemade, I mean use-whatever-you-find-around-the-house-a-few-hours-before-going-trick-or-treating!  Did you know that a pillowcase makes a great tunic for a small child?

My siblings and I had very few store bought costumes - so much so that I can distinctly remember all the ones we did have.  At some point, my mom picked up two green Peter Pan/Robin Hood costumes on a bargain, and at least one of my brothers was one of those characters every year until they were long outgrown!

However, now I live in an area with so many great resources for used children's items, that it has been simple for me to buy premade costumes for the girls the past few years at a fraction of their original cost.  My favorite, by far, is this adorable flower costume that I bought for GiGi's first Halloween, when she was just two months old.  I think I paid about $3 for it, and now both my girls and my friend's little girl have worn it.  And I will never get rid of this costume - I'm expecting my grandchildren to wear it!

However, this year, GiGi is finally old enough to choose her own costume.  She has been perusing all the catalogues and magazines we've received in the mail, and what struck her fancy . . . is a homemade tomato costume from All You magazine!!!  Not a princess, not a butterfly or animal . . . a tomato!  She doesn't even eat tomatoes!

Since she's been pretty consistent in this desire for a few weeks, I guess I'm going for it.  It's not a complicated costume, but it does require a trip or two to the craft store.  It will be an interesting experiment to see if I can make a costume for as little as I can buy a used one.

In any case, it should be a creative project and a lot of fun!   

How do you get frugal Halloween costumes for your kids?

Wegmans Deals: 10/18-10/24

Did you know that individual Wegmans stores' coupon policies vary based on the local competition?  Go here to find the coupon policy for your store. 

My Wegmans deals are based on the Nothern Virginia sales ad and deals found at my Nothern Virginia store.  As most Wegmans stores at least double coupons up to $.50, my coupon matchups reflect this.  

New Deals:

Pears (3 lb. bag) - $2.97

Specially marked packages of Wegmans instant oatmeal have a mail-in offer for free Rand McNally flashcards.

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks and Fruit Rollups - $2.00 (through 10/31)
Buy 2 and use $.50/2 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $1.50 each

Nature Valley Granola Bars or Fiber One Bars - $2.50 (through 10/31)
Use $.40/1 coupons from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $1.70

Del Monte Canned Vegetables (14.75 oz.) - $.79 (through 11/28)

Hunt's Diced Tomatoes - $.89 (through11/21)
Buy 4 and use $1.00/4 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $.64 each

Chex Mix (8.75 oz.) - $1.99 (through 10/31)
Use $.50/1 printable coupon recently available (doubled)
Final Price: $.99

Nestle Funsize Candy - $1.99 (through 10/31)
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon
Final Price: $.99

Nestle Tollhouse Ready to Bake Cookies (16-16.5 oz.) (Excludes holiday varieties) - $1.99
Use $1.00/1 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $.99

Danimals Drinkable Yogurt or Crush Cups Yogurt (4 pk/4 oz. cups or 6 pk./3.1 fl. oz. bottles) - $1.99
Use $1.00/1 coupons from recent inserts
Final Price: $.99

Wegmans 90% Lean Fresh Ground Beef (Club Pack - 6 lbs. or more) - $1.99/lb.

Reynolds Recycled Foil (35 sq. ft.) - $2.06 (discontinued item)

Ongoing Deals:

U.S. #1 NY State Apple Tote (All varieties - approx. 4-1/2 lbs. per tote) - $.89/lb.

Wegmans US #1 White Idaho Potatoes (5 lb. bag) – $1.99

Cheerios Cereal (Plain, 14oz. or Multigrain, 12.8 oz.) - $2.50 (through 10/31)
Use $1.00/1 plain Cheerios printable coupon or $1.00/1 Multigrain Cheerios coupon from home mailer
Final Price: $1.50

Fiber One Cereal (all varieties) - $2.50 (through 10/31)
Use $.75/1 coupon from home mailer
Final Price: $1.75

Betty Crocker Cake Mix – $.99
If you need frosting as well, you could use the .50/2 (cake and frosting) printable coupon (doubled).

Baking items - prices all good through 01/02:
Wegmans All Purpose Flour (5 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Light Brown, Dark Brown, or Confectioners' Sugar (2 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Granulated Sugar (5 lb. bag) - $1.99 (Limit 2)
Nestle Toll House Morsels (10-12 oz.) - $1.69
Pillsbury Cake Mix (18.25-18.9 oz.) - $.88
Keebler Chips Deluxe Cookies (12.5-18oz.) – $1.99
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 Keebler cookies coupon
Final Price: $1.49 each

Mott’s applesauce (6-pack) – $1.79 (through 10/24)
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon here.
Final Price: $.79

Nature Valley Nut Clusters - $2.99 (through 10/31)
Use $1.60/1 coupon that was recently available to print or $1.00/1 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.39-$1.99

Nestle Hot Cocoa (10 pk.) - $.99

Betty Crocker Boxed Potatoes - $1.29 (through 01/02)
Use $.25/1 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $.79

Swanson Broth (14 oz. Chicken, Natural Goodness Chicken, Vegetable or Low Sodium Beef) - $.60
Buy 3 and use $.40/3 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $.33 each

Wegmans Ziti, Spaghetti, or Thin Spaghetti (16 oz.) – $.69

Wegmans Tomato Puree or Crushed Tomatoes (28-29 oz. can) – $.69

Wegmans Pasta Sauce (24 oz.) – $.99 (through 01/02)

Wegmans Canned Vegetables (14.5-15.25 oz. can Cream Style Corn, Whole Kernel Corn, French Style Green Beans or Cut Green Beans) – $.39

Pillsbury Bread or Pizza Crust (11-13.8 oz.) – $1.99
Buy 2 and use $.40/2 Italian meal breads or $.35/1 pizza crust (doubled)
Final Price: $1.29-$1.59 each

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Cold Cuts (7-8 oz.) - $2.99

Wegmans Italian Classic Cut Pasta (9 oz. Linguine, Spaghetti, Fettuccine or Angel Hair) - $1.99
Gallon Milk - $2.15-$2.35 (through 10/31)

Turkey Hill Iced Tea or Lemonade (64 fl. oz.) - $1.49

Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 half gallons of Turkey Hill beverages from recent insert
Final Price: $.99 each

Wegmans Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Club Pack: 5 lbs. or more) - $1.79
Wegmans Paper Towels (8 pk./480 ct.) – $4.99 ($.62/roll)

Wegmans Bathroom Tissue (12 pk.) - $4.99 ($.42/roll)

Wegmans Facial Tissue (65-160 ct. cube or flat) – $.79

Clorox Green Works Laundry Detergent (30 load) - $2.99 (was $7.99!)
                                                                    (60 load) - $4.99 (was $12.99!) (through 10/24)

Speed Stick (3-3.25 oz.) or Lady Speed Stick (2.3 oz. Deodorant or Antiperspirant) – $1.50
Use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price – $1

Edge or Skintimate Shave Gel (7 oz.) – $1.88

Suave Body Wash (12 fl. oz.) - $1.50
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.00 each

Easy Halloween Craft: Paper Bag Pumpkins

My friend Ashley created these adorable paper bag pumpkins as an easy craft for our children to do one afternoon after school.  There are lots of online ideas for the pumpkins, but the basic idea is just a paper lunch sack painted orange and decorated with construction paper.

The bags were even pretty easy for my 3-year-old to paint, especially when she put her arm in it and painted with the other hand.

The older kids cut out the construction paper faces.

Here's a picture of GiGi's pumpkin next to Ashley's "sample" pumpkin.  I would recommend a thicker paint, like Ashley used, but even the thinner paint gives enough of an orange cast to make the bag look like a pumpkin.  (Can you tell that GiGi is obsessed with glue?)

You can just fill the bag with air and tie it closed, but we stuffed some with newspaper to make them sturdier.

This was a fun and easy craft that used materials we already had around the house.  Total cost: free!

See more DIY ideas at A Soft Place to Land.

Baby Food Recall & Wegmans Deals

I just wanted to post the link for this Plum Organics baby food recall, in case any of you have purchased this brand.

Also, if you're looking for the Wegmans deals, they'll be published tomorrow afternoon.  I'm going to Wegmans in the morning, so hopefully I'll find some good unadvertised deals to share with you!

Apple Picking

I can't resist sharing a few photos from our apple picking trip yesterday!  It was a wonderful day!  We've had a week of cold rain, so it was a relief to get out  in the sun for a fun outing.

We went to Marker-Miller Orchards in Winchester.  I highly recommend them.  They had pick your own apples and pumpkins, a picnic area, a fabulous playground, and a country store.  And everything is free except for what you buy, which was all very reasonably priced.

We ended up picking a half bushel of apples! This is approximately 21 pounds! But at $12 for the half bushel, it was a fabulous deal ($.57/lb)! 

I also figured that GiGi would want to pick a lot of apples (she did), and having driven an hour out to this orchard, I was going to make it worthwhile.  Apples also keep for weeks in the fridge or in a cool basement.  Apple pies, here we come!

Menu Planning Monday

Sorry I'm posting this late in the day, but we just got back from a day of apple and pumpkin picking.  It was so much fun!  (I'll post pictures later.) 

So apples are definitely on the menu for the next few weeks.  I'm also planning soups and other fall comfort foods.  Happy fall!

Mon - Leftover lasanga, green beans, bread sticks
Tues - Quick chicken and dumplings
Wed - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, vegetable
Thurs - Leftover meatloaf, cooked apples, vegetable
Fri - Quick pizza or pasta (Mommy going out to mom's group potluck)
Sat - Shepherd's pie, vegetable
Sun - Leftovers

Mon - Black bean cakes with mole salsa
Tues - Chicken soup, muffins
Wed - Salisbury steak with onion sauce, cooked apples, salad
Thurs - Leftover chicken soup
Fri - Pesto pasta, salad, bread
Sat - tba
Sun - tba

Weekly Deal Roundup

The very best deals for your week, from the blogosphere and beyond . . .

Grocery Deals:

It's another big week at Rite Aid with the money-making deals (see Crystal's post here).  It might be worth checking out even if you don't usually shop there, especially if you need cold medicine or other over-the-counter medicines.

There are a couple of good rebates available right now, including:
SC Johnson Rebate (cleaning & household products, like Ziploc bags)
Real Simple Rebate (includes toilet paper & Nestle chocolate chips) (Thanks, Frugal Fairhope)
While I personally don't usually do rebates, I am tempted by these, since they are for products I would be likely to buy anyway.  Then it's just some extra cash to put toward my savings!


Like I said in my CVS post, I feel that the really cheap Halloween candy deals are somewhat lacking this year.  However, Gina pointed out quite a good deal on candy at ToysRus this week.

The Home Made Simple coupon book is available again.  This always has plenty of good coupons for cleaning products.

The first 100,000 to sign up here can get a free Ziploc gift pack!

Other Deals:

I thought this was really worth mentioning: Boden (British clothing company) will give you a $5 credit for each name and address you submit to their mailing list.  See the details here.  If you have friends that might enjoy their clothes (they have children's clothes too), it can't hurt to ask if they would mind if you signed them up for a catalogue!


Two local deals:

The Leesburg Giant store on Catoctin Circle is having a "grand re-opening," which started this weekend.  They have some events and freebies going on throughout the week (check your circular).

Cascades Center for Dental Health in Cascades, VA is offering to buy back Halloween candy from kids!  According to their flier, "Kids turn in their extra candy, which is all sent to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In return, the kids get $1 for each pound of candy and a goody bag."  Sounds like a pretty good deal all around, especially if your kids get a real excess of candy. (Thanks, Ashley!)

See any other standout deals for this week?  Please share them in the comments section!

Top CVS Deals: 10/18-10/24

B1G1 50% Off Bic Disposable Shavers – 3 to 12 count $3.39 – $8.99

$2 SS 9/20
$2 SS 10/18
$3 SS 9/20
= $.39 – 6.99

Right Guard Xtreme Sport or Dry Idea Deodorant $5/2
$1/2 SS 8/16
$2 printable (no longer available) 
= $.50 – $2 each

Neosporin Lip Therapy $5.49
$2.49 clip free coupon (comes off with your CVS card being scanned)
$3 printable (IE) or printable (FF)
= FREE

Glade Fragrance Collection including Reed Diffuser or Soy Candle $6.99 (get $6.99) Limit 1
$2 printable
$3 SS 10/4
$3.50 printable
= $2 MONEYMAKER – $3.50 MONEYMAKER

Glade Sense & Spray Starter Kit $10/2 ($5 each)
$4 printable
$4 SS 10/18
$4 October Better Homes & Gardens Magazine
$4 October Ladies Home Journal Magazine
= $1

Head over to Frugal Coupon Living to see the complete list of CVS deals for the week.   

It's not an amazing week at CVS, but as I'm trying to grow my ECBs again, I'll be making a trip to take advantage of the Glade deal.  I'm also super excited about the new CVS reusable bag tag, which allows you to earn ECBs for bringing reusable bags!  See all the details here.

Here's my planned scenario for the week:

1 Glade Fragrance Collection product - $6.99
1 Neosporin Lip Care - $5.49
1 CVS bag tag - $.99
Total value: $13.47
Use $2.00 Glade Fragrance Collection product (I couldn't get the $3.50 coupon to print.)
Use $3.00 Neosporin printable
Use $2.49 clip-free coupon for Neosporin
Use $5 ECBs
Total OOP: $.98
ECBs received: $6.99

Weekly Shopping & Budget Results

I didn't really need any groceries this week, except some fresh fruit, but I did make a couple of quick evening trips to pick up some deals.  Here is a picture of my Giant trip (total: $21.22).

I was pretty pleased with what I got for about $20 each at Giant and Harris Teeter.  They weren't rock-bottom deals, but they were some good deals on items that I would buy anyway. Sometimes I find that I get so caught up in pursuing the almost-free deals that I forget to pay enough attention the "pretty good" deals on necessary items.  Then it has happened that I occasionally have to pay full price when I run out of dishwasher soap or Ziploc bags!

Here's how the grocery budget is looking this month:
This week:
Giant - $21.22
CVS - $1.84
Harris Teeter - $19.19
Wegmans (milk run!) - $5.00
Monthly total to date: $233.31

Left in budget: $116.69 (actual budget), $63.31 (goal budget)


I do have my usual two-week grocery shopping coming up on Monday, but I already picked up some of the items we needed this week.  I'm really hoping that I might make my $300 goal this month!

You can view more bloggers' weekly shopping results here. 

How was your shopping this week? 

Product Review: General Mills "Mr. Men/Little Miss" Cereal

I don't know if you've been grocery shopping at Target lately and noticed some specially marked boxes of General Mills Cereals.  From October 4-17, Target has been carrying special boxes of cereal marked with the Mr. Men./Little Miss characters, that you might remember from your childhood.  The boxes each include an iron-on transfer that you can use to decorate a t-shirt with these cute characters.

The specially marked cereals are the following: Honey Nut Cheerios (featuring Mr. Strong), Cocoa Puffs (featuring Mr. Messy), Cinnamon Toast Crunch (featuring Little Miss Sunshine), Lucky Charms (featuring Mr. Happy), and Cookie Crisp (featuring Little Miss Chatterbox).  General Mills was kind enough to send me a box of each of the cereals to review, as well as a t-shirt to use for the transfers.

First of all, this was a very popular review in my house!  Michael came home from work, and seeing some of his favorite "treat" cereals from his childhood, professed his willingness to help with the review!  He enjoyed trying Cookie Crisp, but decided that he still liked an old favorite, Cocoa Puffs, the best.  GiGi immediately decided on the box of Lucky Charms, fascinated by the pictures of colorful marshmallows.  Even LuLu got in on the act, very much enjoying her first taste of a childhood favorite of mine, Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

GiGi also was very excited by her new t-shirt.  I chose Little Miss Sunshine to iron on, because I thought it was the cutest.  It was quick and easy to iron on the picture.  As you can see, the t-shirt is too big for her, but it will make a cute nightshirt.  (Tip: When ironing on the transfer, make sure you do it for the full 2-3 minutes.  Mine wasn't quite dark enough.)

Overall, we all enjoyed these specially marked boxes of cereal.  As the cereals are mostly the more sugary ones, they are not varieties that I would purchase on a regular basis, but I don't mind us having them once in a while for a treat.  If you're interested in the Mr. Men./Little Miss boxes of cereal, you can get them at Target until October 17.

Product Reviews

I'm starting a series where I'll occasionally post product reviews that I think my readers might enjoy.  I thought this would be fun way to change up my usual blog posts.  These products might or might not be specifically "frugal" products, but they will be a way to focus on the "living the good life" part of my blog motto "Living the Good Life on Less."

I will always try to be honest in my reviews, but they of course are my subjective opinions.  In every case, I'll be sure to let you know if the company provided me with the product or if I it's just something I enjoyed and shared with you on my own.

I hope you enjoy the reviews!

Cloth Diaper Update

Well, we've now been using cloth diapers about half the time for a little over a week.  Here are some of the ups and downs that we've dealt with so far:

Ups:
 - They are a breeze to put on and take off, at least with the "pocket" diapers than I'm using.  Once you figure out which settings of the snaps work best, putting on the diapers is no harder than disposables.
- They are not overly bulky.  This was a worry of mine, since I've heard that sometimes cloth diaper users buy a size up in pants to accomodate the diaper.  However, I expect LuLu to be able to wear all of GiGi's old clothes (they were born at the same time of year), so I didn't want to have to change sizes.  So far, no problem!

- They are completely not scary to wash.  This was one of my biggest reasons to avoid cloth in the past, but it's turned out to be no big deal.  What is working so far is running a cold "soak" cycle, then a hot wash with an extra rinse.  That's it.  I've been hanging the diapers to dry overnight, and they're dry by morning.

- They are super cute!  See below!

Downs:

- There's really no other way to say this: dealing with "#2" is not so fun.  You do have to dispose of the waste in the toilet, so this definitely is a chore that you don't really have to deal with when using disposables.

- We're still having some leakage problems, so that I am definitely not ready to use cloth out of the house.  I'm still working on figuring out the problem by tightening the diapers, adding extra inserts, etc.  From what I've read, there is definitely some trial and error involved until you figure out what works best for your child.

I think overall what I've realized in the past week is that cloth diapering definitely has a lifestyle changing element to it.  For instance, you do have to change cloth diapers a little more often, and you can't use regular diaper cream with them.  You also have to make sure that you wash them regularly, whether you feel like it or not!  In some ways, you do have to make somewhat of a commitment to them.

However, I'm not saying this is a commitment I'm unwilling to make.  Once you have all the supplies you need (which I was able to obtain for a lot less than I'd heard) and once you master the learning curve, cloth diapering does not seem to be too much more difficult or time-consuming than many other parenting chores.

I'll continue to post updates as our cloth diapering journey continues!

Financial Goals Update: September

I didn't post "official" financial goals at the beginning of the year, but I've been thinking about our goals a lot lately.  I guess it's because I love autumn and think of it as such a season of new energy and beginning.  I'm more likely to make resolutions in September than in January!

I have mentioned a few times that our main goal this year was saving an emergency fund.  After we bought our house last April our savings were significantly reduced, and for the first year it was very difficult to build them back up at all.  However, this year we've been able to start saving something every week, which has been a real blessing.

We thought it might take us a good while to build up the emergency fund, but I'm excited to say that by the end of October we will have our three months of living expenses in the bank!  Through getting some unexpected tax refunds, we were able to save it much more quickly than we expected.

It's a great feeling to have that emergency cushion in place, but quite honestly I'm even more excited about the fact that this means that we are now officially putting our weekly savings toward buying a second car.  As I mentioned in this post, we've lived on one car for the entire 4-1/2 years of our marriage (3 years of which I've been at home) and there has never yet been a time when we knew when we might get a car.  Now there is an end in sight!

I know it still might take us a while to save for a car, but we're pretty committed to paying for it in cash.  That is the motivation behind my recent resolution to further reduce our grocery budget.  If I can put a little extra money each month toward our savings, we'll get the car that much faster.  It may not be much, but it's a start!

Money Saving Mom has a roundup of financial goals posts here.  Anyone else have any goals they'd like to share?  Please comment.

Wegmans Deals: 10/11-10/17

New Deals:

Swanson Broth (14 oz. Chicken, Natural Goodness Chicken, Vegetable or Low Sodium Beef) - $.60

Halloween Snack & Fun Size Bag (10.72-11.6 oz., assorted varieties) - $2.29
Use $1.00/1 Nestle printable coupon (if included), $.55 on any Reece's from recent insert, $1.00/3 Hershey's, Reese's, or Kit Kat from recent insert, $1.00/2 various candy from recent insert

Final Price: As low as $1.19 for Reece's

Turkey Hill Iced Tea or Lemonade (64 fl. oz.) - $1.49
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 half gallons of Turkey Hill beverages from recent insert
Final Price: $.99 each

Wegmans Italian Classic Cut Pasta (9 oz. Linguine, Spaghetti, Fettuccine or Angel Hair) - $1.99

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Cold Cuts (7-8 oz.) - $2.99

Wegmans Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Club Pack: 5 lbs. or more) - $1.79
Ongoing Deals:

U.S. #1 NY State Apple Tote (All varieties - approx. 4-1/2 lbs. per tote) - $.89/lb.

Wegmans US #1 White Idaho Potatoes (5 lb. bag) – $1.99

Wegmans Cereals (12-20oz., select varieties) – $1.99

Cheerios Cereal (Plain, 14oz. or Multigrain, 12.8 oz.) - $2.50 (through 10/31)

Use $1.00/1 plain Cheerios printable coupon or $1.00/1 Multigrain Cheerios coupon from home mailer
Final Price: $1.50

Fiber One Cereal (all varieties) - $2.50 (through 10/31)
Use $.75/1 coupon from home mailer
Final Price: $1.75

Betty Crocker Cake Mix – $.99
If you need frosting as well, you could use the .50/2 (cake and frosting) printable coupon (doubled).

Baking items - prices all good through 01/02:

Wegmans All Purpose Flour (5 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Light Brown, Dark Brown, or Confectioners' Sugar (2 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Granulated Sugar (5 lb. bag) - $1.99 (Limit 2)
Nestle Toll House Morsels (10-12 oz.) - $1.69
Pillsbury Cake Mix (18.25-18.9 oz.) - $.88

Keebler Chips Deluxe Cookies (12.5-18oz.) – $1.99
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 Keebler cookies coupon
Final Price: $1.49 each

Mott’s applesauce (6-pack) – $1.79 (through 10/24)
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon here.
Final Price: $.79

Nature Valley Nut Clusters - $2.99 (through 10/31)

Use $1.60/1 coupon that was recently available to print or $1.00/1 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.39-$1.99

Nestle Hot Cocoa (10 pk.) - $.99


Betty Crocker Boxed Potatoes - $1.29 (through 01/02)

Use $.25/1 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $.79

Wegmans Ziti, Spaghetti, or Thin Spaghetti (16 oz.) – $.69

Wegmans Tomato Puree or Crushed Tomatoes (28-29 oz. can) – $.69

Wegmans Pasta Sauce (24 oz.) – $.99 (through 01/02)

Wegmans Canned Vegetables (14.5-15.25 oz. can Cream Style Corn, Whole Kernel Corn, French Style Green Beans or Cut Green Beans) – $.39

Pillsbury Bread or Pizza Crust (11-13.8 oz.) – $1.99
Buy 2 and use $.40/2 Italian meal breads or $.35/1 pizza crust (doubled)
Final Price: $1.29-$1.59 each

Wegmans American Cheese Food Singles (12oz.) – $1.50

Gallon Milk - $2.15-$2.35 (through 10/31)

Wegmans Paper Towels (8 pk./480 ct.) – $4.99 ($.62/roll)
Wegmans Bathroom Tissue (12 pk.) - $4.99 ($.42/roll)

Wegmans Facial Tissue, 65-160 ct. cube or flat – $.79

Clorox Green Works Laundry Detergent (30 load) - $2.99 (was $7.99!)

                                                               (60 load) - $4.99 (was $12.99!) (through 10/24)


Speed Stick (3-3.25 oz.) or Lady Speed Stick (2.3 oz. Deodorant or Antiperspirant) – $1.50
Use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price – $1

Edge or Skintimate Shave Gel (7 oz.) – $1.88

Suave Body Wash (12 fl. oz.) - $1.50
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.00 each

Crest Toothpaste (3.5 oz.) - $.97

Tuesday Tip

A quick & painless money saving tip every Tuesday . . .

Cook once and eat twice (or three or four times)!  Whether I'm making a pot of soup for dinner or baking muffins, I automatically make at least double what we need for a meal.  With dinners, I often serve the same entree twice during the week, often with different side dishes.  With baked goods, I just put what we won't eat within a few days in the freezer.

This is of course a huge time saver, and it is a surprisingly huge money saver as well.  First of all, it generally costs less to make two of the same meal rather than two different meals, because you don't have to buy additional ingredients, and you can buy the ingredients in bulk.  Also, having an extra meal in the fridge or freezer for busy nights really reduces the chance of our getting takeout or even running to the grocery store for convenience foods.

Have a fast and easy money saving tip to share?  Email me, and I'll credit you if I use your tip.

Weekly Deal Roundup

The very best deals for your week, from the blogosphere and beyond . . .

Grocery Deals:

Rite Aid has a lot of free and money-making deals this week.  Check out Crystal's list here.

The first 10,00 to register here will get a free home freshening gift pack from Oust.  I got a Ziploc gift pack from Right at Home a while back, and it was pretty nice.

Stonyfield Farms now has a rewards program; see details here.  This would be great if you buy a lot of YoBaby yogurt, as I try to do for at least my babies' first year.  Also, find out here how to get a free Leapfrog book from Stonyfield Farms.

Other Deals:

From 11:00-4:00PM (Eastern), today only, you can get extra savings at Kohls.com.  Use promo code OCT20EDT to receive an extra 20% off an order of $100 or more, plus free shipping or use promo code OCT15EDT to receive an extra 15% off any order.

Erin has a good list here of printable coupons for baby and children's clothes.

And speaking of more clothes, read this post if you're in the market for a new winter coat, to find out how you might be able to get one from Metrostyle for as low as $17.99.

Read an interesting post here on how you can borrow tools from your local AutoZone for free (with a refundable deposit).  That is really good to know.

Parents magazine has a pretty sweet deal going on right now - 3 years for $12.  Thanks, Niki!

I might post more deal later, but I want to go ahead and get this up!

See any other standout deals this week?  Please share them in the comments section!

Living on One Car in a Two-Car World

When I tell new acquaintances that my husband and I share one car, I am usually met with a mix of shock and pity. In our affluent society, it is practically unheard of for each adult driver in a household not to have his or her own car. However, my family has managed well with one car for four years, and we plan to continue to live this way as long as it seems necessary. While our lifestyle might not work for everyone, I hope that it demonstrates that living without a second car can be both possible and practical.

When my husband and I were first married and both working, it was easy to live on one car with the help of public transportation. However, a year after our wedding we moved to an outer suburb/small town bereft of a subway or bus system that we could use, and shortly after I quit my job to stay home with our newborn daughter. There was no other way for my husband to get to his job 30 minutes from home except by driving, which meant that I was left without transportation during the day. Now, three years later, we have added a second daughter to our family, but not a second car!

The girls and I stay at home most days without a car. Once a week (occasionally twice), we get up early in the morning, drive my husband to work, and spend the entire day on errands and appointments. Then we drive 30 minutes to pick him up in the evening, and we all drive 30-45 minutes home in rush-hour traffic.

Why do we have only one car? The simple answer is that we do not feel that we can responsibly afford another one. At certain times during the past four years, we might have been able to squeeze a car payment into our budget, but it would have been at the expense of our financial security and our other priorities.  Further, although we would not rule out a car payment, we would much prefer to pay for a car in cash.

Clearly, living with one car can be challenging and a sacrifice. However, after four years in this situation, we have discovered a host of unexpected blessings and benefits that have come with our unconventional lifestyle.

First of all, we easily save hundreds of dollars a year by not paying for the expenses of a second car. It also helps us save money in other ways. Out of necessity, I have become extremely organized about my shopping trips. I combine trips and map out the route that is most efficient. I try to do most of my grocery shopping for a two-week period in one trip, and I can often go at least a week without going to the supermarket. Limiting my shopping trips to once a week also prevents me from being tempted by impulse purchases.

On a more personal level, I feel that our situation has also blessed me with the opportunity to truly blossom in our home and to focus on my life there. At first, as a new mom, I chafed at being unable to get out of the house, and I admit that some days it is still hard. But now with two little ones, I have so much to do that I can’t get it all done even with being home all day! And my girls and I have developed a rhythm to our days, so much so that I feel very discombobulated if I take the car more than one day a week.

I believe that the day will come when our lifestyle and/or our growing family will require us to purchase a second car. God willing, at that point we will have the money to do so. And quite honestly, I am looking forward to that day. I know that I will never take having my own transportation for granted, but rather see it as a wonderful privilege and gift. Until then, I tell my friends, I may not get out much, but they're welcome to come over!

 

Photo by cibek.

Top CVS Deals: 10/11-10/17

3 Day Sale (Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday ONLY):

4-in-1 Pumpkin Carving Tool *Limit 2
Price $1.99/1 (Get $1.99 ECB)
Final Price FREE

Halloween Nylon Treat Bag *Limit 1
Price $.99/1 (Get $.99 ECB)
Final Price FREE

Weekly Deals:

Purex Ultra Concentrate Liquid Laundry Detergent, 24-32 loads
Price BOGO $5.99-$7.69
Use $1/1 Printable HERE Natural Elements, if included (Pay $3.99/2)
Use $.35/1 from 10/4 SS or 8/16 SS (Pay $5.29/2)

Revlon Cosmetics, ALL
Price BOGO $1.99-$21.99
Use $1/1 from 9/13 SS Color Cosmetic (Price varies by selection)

Sally Hansen Nail Color
Price BOGO 50% off starting at $.99/1
Use $.50/1 from 9/13 RP (Pay $.49/2)

Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living is working on her blog this week, but you can find the complete list of deals here.

Besides some fall candy, I only plan to get the freebies this week.  Here's my planned CVS shopping trip:

4 bags candy corn - $1.76
2 pumpkin carving tools - $3.98
1 Halloween treat bag - $.99
Total: $6.73
Use $5 in ECBs
Total OOP: $1.73

If you're planning a bigger shopping trip this week, don't forget about the $5/$25 coupon! (See link to full list of deals for the coupon link).

Consignment Sale Finds & Grocery Budget Totals

Well, I had another very successful (early!) morning of shopping at my favorite consignment sale yesterday morning.  My girls already had a lot of wonderful hand-me-downs for the fall, but I got each of them a few things they needed as well as a couple of fun extras.  I also scored some incredible deals on equipment I had been looking for.  Here are some of my best finds:

This Little Tikes Roller Coaster for $7!!!  The girls love it!

This gorgeous Janie and Jack skirt and sweater set for GiGi for $11.  This was actually a splurge for me, but I thought it was so lovely.  Plus, you could hardly buy a pair of socks in Janie and Jack for $11. ;-)

A lot of 12 Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers for $16!  I was thrilled with this find, because this brand was highly recommended to me, and the diapers cost about $16.95 each regular price.  Now, if the cloth diapering works out, I should have plenty of diapers.

This adorable butterfly costume for $5.  It's really interesting because the wings are stuffed fleece, instead of flimsy wire, so they are much more sturdy.  Good thing, because it's for my one year old!

These Pipsqueak shoes for $3 (retail for $30.95).  So cute!

After I checked out at the sale, though, I was happiest because I stayed right about on budget!  Frugal as I may be, I can really get tempted by all the amazing bargains at the sale to buy things that we don't need.  I've learned to set myself a budget, allowing a little money for treats and extras, and to stick to that amount.

I haven't updated on my grocery budget in a while either!  Back at the beginning of September, I mentioned that I'm working on lowering our monthly budget from $350 to $300 (that includes food, toiletries, and cleaning and paper products).  Well, I didn't quite make it in September, but I made progress.  In September, our grocery total was $317.61.  Not quite to the goal, but still an extra $32.39 to sock away.

So far in October I've spent $137.64.  We're well stocked with food, and I shouldn't need anything except fresh fruit at least through next week.  I'm hoping to make my goal in October!

Anybody else go consignment shopping this weekend or recently?  Any great finds?

Consignment Sale Shopping for the Serious Bargain Hunter

The annual children's consignment sale where I shop is tomorrow morning, and I am very excited!  I'm volunteering tonight during the consignor drop-off, and then I'll be shopping at 6:30 tomorrow morning (a ungodly hour reserved for those who volunteer for two shifts).

In the spring, I wrote a post about shopping consignment sales with some tips for new shoppers.  I have now shopped/volunteered at six children's consignment sale, and I thought it would be fun to share some additional strategies that I have learned for maximizing the experience and the bargains.

- Try to volunteer at the sale - It is really worth it to me to volunteer 2-1/2-3 hours of my time to be able to shop early for the best selection.  Plus, it's really fun to volunteer.  You meet other moms and often see the same folks year after year.  Although this shift is in high demand, when I can I like to volunteer on Friday night, as I'm doing this sale.  That way, not only do I get my volunteer commitment out of the way and can just enjoy shopping on Saturday, but I can preview the items for sale!

- Get yourself ready - Since I shop really early, I have my sale morning routine down to a science.  I get up, skip the shower, and dress in comfortable layers and tennis shoes.  My sale has over 300 volunteers, so even when I'm shopping the pre-sale, I like to be one of the first volunteers to arrive.  I stop for a quick "treat" fast food breakfast and coffee to eat while I'm waiting in line - I don't want to faint in the middle of bargain shopping!  Although my sale hands out trash bags to carry your purchases, it's much easier to carry around my huge resuable shopping bag with handles from Ikea.  I've also seen shoppers with rolling carts to save their backs or with laundry baskets.

- Make a list - Before the sale, make a list of what you need and want.  These sale can be overwhelming, and it's easy to get distracted and forget to find what you really need.  Search for the items on your list first and then feel free to browse.  It's also smart to set a budget.  I have definitely gotten carried away with the bargains at these sales, but now I remind myself - just because it's a great deal doesn't mean that we need it or have the money for it.  But do try to leave a little "fun money" in your budget for unexpected finds.

- Make a plan of attack - Unless I'm looking for a specific item of equipment, I usually head to clothes first.  I love having the best selection of name-brand items to choose from.  However, last summer, when I was looking for some new baby equipment before LuLu was born, I definitely went to large equipment first.  If you're looking for an expensive or high-demand item, run straight to that area right away.  In my experience, these would be anything new or trendy, as well as high-quality name brands and anything that is really expensive at full price (electric breast pumps, for instance).  As my daughter has gotten older, I've noticed that the nice toys also go very quickly, so I think I'll take a quick look at those first this year.

-Grab and sort - Don't stand in front of the clothing rack debating between two sundresses while everyone else grabs the best coats!  Instead, go ahead and grab anything that you think you might purchase.  Then, after you've finished looking through an area, sit down and sort your items and narrow them down.  In my area, this is so much the approved strategy that my sale has a designated sorting area and volunteers who will return your excess items to the racks.

- Have fun - In the end, don't go too crazy with strategy and tracking down bargains.  As I tell myself with pretty much every kind of bargain shopping, there will always be another deal.  Part of the fun of the sale is chatting with other budget-minded moms, so be courteous and fair.  And even if you miss out on something that you're looking for, there are often fun items that you wouldn't expect.  I love coming home and surprising my girls with a little treat, especially if it was a great deal!

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays.  Check it out to find bunches of frugal tips from around the blogosphere!