Monday, November 23, 2009

Thrifty Tips 101

I'm all about being thrifty... I'm all about saving money where I can, and using my extra money towards our home improvment adventure... With Christmas time coming up, we try to save anywhere we can. So far this how we've saved money this holiday season.

1. I take my lunch every day to work... and instead of buying nasty/processed/over priced frozen meals, I just fix an extra serving at dinner the night before. So today for lunch I'm eating delicious pot roast, potatoes, and carrots & corn on the cob -- beats the crap out of frozen anything (taste & price.)

2. We started our Christmas shopping this weekend. My kids are 1 & 4, so I can still get away with all or most of the shopping at discount stores like Freds & Big Lots. (This year my 4 year old does specifically want an Optimus Prime transformer, so that's one thing I'll have to go to Target for...) But what I'm going to pay for Mr. Optimus, I managed to buy a toy kitchen set (the actual kitchen, not just some dishes) for at Big Lots -- $35 for a toy kitchenette that would have cost $80-$100 at Walmart or Target (don't get me wrong, I LOVE Target, but I love my savings more...) As for Walmart, I only go there if I can't get what I'm looking for anywhere else for less... strongly dislike Walmart...

3. Craigslist is your friend. So is ebay, amazon, and overstock.com.

4. Decorations: I've seen so many good tips for "DIY" Thanksgiving & Christmas decor... One thing I saw was spray painting pine cones silver or gold & using other "dead" tree limbs/floral arrangements for "fall" decor...

5. DIY storage ideas. The most recent idea was the DIY Magazine Holders... Loved this idea - saves money, but also allows me to decorate my holders anyway I like!!! (And for those following the blog, while I had a very productive weekend, due to the rain I did not get to my magazine holder/spray painting projects.)

6. Google! I always google an item I want to make sure I'm getting the best price... I can't stand to buy something, then turn around a week later and find the same thing cheaper.

7. And lastly, I never down 2nd hand anything... I'll take gently used items any day! I have a 1 year old- they outgrow clothes faster than I can buy them... Ebay is a good find for gently used kid's clothes - the last lot I got my son was all brand new w/ tags, name brand clothes that I couldn't have gotten that cheap if I'd have been willing to drag myself into Walmart... and same for my daughter - a good bit of  the last lot I got her were new, and what was gently used you could barely tell - nothing a good wash won't fix! We have an email shop here at work, and I got JC Penney drapes & throw pillows that go perfectly in my new family room (the drapes were new, and the pillows were used for decor only) and I couldn't have gotten them cheaper anywhere else!

Some may call me frugal or cheap, but I call it "thrifty." :-)

1 comment:

  1. Amen! Sounds like life around here, too, except we make the lunches on Sunday instead of each night. Big pot of food... yummy healthy lunches!

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