Thriftacular!

A thrift store here called Ohio Thrift has a 50% off day the last Wednesday of each month for clothes and shoes and things of that nature. We hadn't been there in months, but DH & I set out to find a kitchen table set and there is a Show & Sell consignment thrift store right next door to Ohio Thrift, so we ventured out. We found a nice table with 4 chairs for a little over $200 :) It's dark wood, simple, and fairly small, and will fit our kitchen nicely. We needed a table because we're hosting Easter.

I found some spectacular bargains at the thrift store. I was in need of a few more spring and summer outfits for work. Here's what I got:
short sleeve red & navy Tommy Hilfiger turtleneck NWT
tan Sonoma sweater/cover up thing
short sleeve Merona hoodie
orange Liz Claiborne hoodie
gray Delia*s top with some designs
navy Lands' End sweater
fuschia top
fuschia & pink flowery skirt
plaid capris
brown New York & Company top
blue jean Merona skirt

& the kicker.... pink & white Nikes for $2.49!!

Total... $21.88

Awful pic...

Moral of the story... NEVER pay retail!!

Ah ha, a loophole! CVS 3/1

I love after-holiday bargains. Yesterday I discovered that the Valentine's goodies at CVS are now marked down to 90% off. While the selection is greatly picked over, I was able to find a few things...

Like... a chocolate Palmer's Double Crisp dog for .29, a heart full of M&Ms for .25, small boxes of chocolate for .09, a bigger XOXO sweethearts gift bag for .25 (will use for DH's anniversary gift- the 5th anniversary of when we started dating is this month), a small Valentine's bag for next year for .09, and some gummy bears for .09. At the last minute I noticed that the gummy bears are a Gold Emblem product, and I had been getting $1.00 off 2 GE products coupons from the ECC scanner... I was not sure if it would still work since it was under $1.00, but I tried it anyway... and it worked!

So today I forced hubby to take me back to CVS after running a few errands and going to dinner... Stupid me I can't find my $7.99 from the EARinse deal, so I had to pay OOP... But today I got:
4 bags of GE gummy bears @ .09 each
Gain detergent @ 5.99
-1.00 GE coupon

Got $2.00 back in ECB for the Gain.

I wish I had the time and energy to get my coupons better organized and hunt for more details, but that will do for now.

CVS goodies 2/21

Got a few steals at CVS today!

10 cans of Bumble Bee tuna @ .49 each -(2) mfc for 1.00 off 5 cans= 2.90 (29 cents a can!)

EARinse @ 7.99

Air Wick Freshmatic @ 5.99-5.00 mfc=.99

pack of gum for DH=1.49

and then the clearance Valentine's Day goodies!

1 heart necklace @ 75% off=.75

Harry Potter valentines @ 75% off=.75

heart shaped pillow @ 75% off=1.49

rose heart shaped wreath @ 75% off=1.25

I used 10.50 in ECB & paid 8.32 OOP. I got back 7.99 for the EARinse. I will also get reimbursed for the EARinse for our Flex Spending Account.

Tuna for .29 a can was a steal! I'll be making sandwiches for our lunches. The Air Wick will go up in the laundry room where the litter box is. Stinky! The valentines come with bookmarks which I'm excited about because I love Harry Potter. I'll save the valentines for next year's students. The wreath is a start to our house's holiday decor. I'll put it on the front door next year. The pillow & necklace will be my niece's First Communion gifts. I think she'll love the pillow- it's pink, fluffy, and lacy, and she is such a girly girl.

Sorry for the quality of the picture- I used my web cam because I couldn't find my digital camera, and I didn't want to wake hubby from his pre-work nap to ask him where it is.

Meijer Deals 2/20

Not horribly exciting... Sorry no picture as my husband graciously put the food away for me :)

Transaction #1
Ketchup= .77
Frank's Red Hot Sauce .99 -50 mfc doubled= FREE
Green Grapes 1.86 lb= 3.70
Bananas 1.41 lb= .47
Macaroni Grill Dinner Kit 2.99-1.00 Mealbox q-1.00 mfc=.99
Wanchai Ferry Dinner Kit 2.99-1.00 Mealbox q-1.00 mfc=.99
3 Betty Crocker Warm Delights @1.50 each -(3) .50 mfc-1.00 Mealbox q= 2.00
4 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes @ 1.50 each -(3) .40 mfc=3.30
4 bags of Chex Mix @ 1.00 each -various mfc=2.00

Total: $14.80 & got $1.00 catalina for buying the Warm Delights

Transaction #2
Bag of Animal Crackers=1.19
Blistex=.99
-1.00 catalina from Warm Delights

Total: $1.25



I followed some couponing websites to get the deals on the Chex Mix and Betty Crocker items, but the coupons I printed were "do not double". The websites had suggested that they double anyway, so I took a shot, but no, they didn't double. Still a good deal, but I will be looking next time to see if perhaps I can find more mfc from the newspaper instead of the Internet and see if those double... I'm just getting back into couponing again so I'm going to go slowly!

New Year, New Blog

Who I am: I am a 22 year old middle grades teacher. I live with my husband, our fat orange cat, and our newest addition, a little gray and white kitten whom we adopted a week ago. Previously, we were parents to a ginormous albino guinea pig, but we didn't give him the attention he deserved, so he now lives with our nieces and nephew, who shower him with lots of love and affection.

Why I want to blog: I often feel the need to express myself and I want a place to do so. I'm finding myself in an interesting time in my life, that transition from child to adult. These past few years have been so eventful for me... all started at the end of my senior year of high school... Met my now husband... went away to college... came back and went to community college... started having increasingly terrifying panic attacks- a time which I categorize as my all-time low... was diagnosed with panic disorder and put on medication... began to see the bright side of life again, started my teaching program, and began loving life.... got engaged... everything was going wonderfully... went to Florida, first trip on a plane... then BAM!... my mom dies unexpectedly on July 15, 2008... for the past almost 1 1/2 years I've been picking up the pieces. Got married, moved into my first place, adjusted to being a newlywed. Made it through my senior year of college, got my first real job, moved 2 hours away... Also in the past 1 1/2 years I've gained a considerable amount of weight! Trying to juggle real adult life can be hard.

Anyway. As we now approach a New Year, I need to move on. I need to get over all the hurt and pain and nonsense. I am committed to focusing on being a better wife and the best teacher ever. 2010 also brings a first for us- we will become first-time homeowners mid-January. We will incur a mortgage which is not exciting to a tightwad like me :(

Throughout this blog I hope to document my life changes... in 2010 I hope to lose weight, get debt under control, and just overall become more level-headed and productive. I'd like to accomplish a lot because in 2011 I want to start TTC.

So yeah. Here I am! Ready to share my successes and failures.