Worth every penny

This weekend, there was a large consignment sale at a local church. Everything that didn't sale yesterday, was half price today. My mom and I toted Will Riley along for a 5 hour ride yesterday. Fortunately  he was able to eat lunch, nap and spend some fun time making new friends on the bleachers while I shopped (*no worries, Grammy was with him) . I spent the majority of my time trying on a load of maternity clothing, and walked away with a big brown bag full of staples I can use for a number of pregnancies. I had also spotted a Pottery Barn crib in great shape, but wanted Billy to see it for himself before we made such  a big decision, and he wasn't off work in time to join us last night.

So...little man decided to wake up bright and early this morning *6:15 am to be exact* Lucky for us, it was a good excuse to get up because the sale was opening at 7am...and off we went! Billy liked what he saw, so we snatched up the crib for a STEAL of a deal! I couldn't believe it was still there on a half-off  everything day! My handyman husband brought all the right tools to break it down, and lucky for us he did, because we almost couldn't fit it in our car! After we dropped the bed off, we went out for some delicious eggs benedict, and I was telling Billy it felt like Black Friday. Those of you as crazy as my mom and I know what I'm talking about. There's just something really refreshing and energizing about waking up while it's still dark, to run out and save money while the rest of the world sleeps. One year, Aaron joined my mom and I for an post-Thanksgiving run, and after several hours of shopping, we stopped for a bite at Denny's. We were amazed at the crowded place! We actually had to wait for a while, and as we looked around, everyone had shopping bags at their feet. It was like we were all in a club or something :)

Tonight, while my son caught up on all the sleep he would normally have had in the morning, I decided to sit down and look up each item I purchased. I wanted to compare the retail prices, to the ones I paid. Although it was used, everything was in great shape, and I factored in the touch-up paint we're ordering from Pottery Barn so we can make the crib as good as new. All in all, between the crib and clothing, I ended up saving OVER $500!

I don't know about you, but that kind of savings was worth every ounce of missed sleep :)

That can't hurt

I just returned from a somewhat late-night grocery run with my hubby. I realized just how
long it had been since I said hello to you folks and thought this was a good time to do it...while i've got $$$ on the brain ;) See, a few of my cousins turned me on to this addicting money-saving grocery game, and now every week, when I get home I am in awe of my savings and just wanna call someone and tell them! Today, my friend, consider this your call :)
The site is www.thegrocerygame.com and here's how you play: every week the Sunday paper is full of coupons...and every week your local grocer is cycling through some kind of sale...so the grocery game keeps up with those sales and posts a list each week of what items are at their lowest (rockbottom) prices. This is when you PLAY your coupons, and usually end up with several free (or close to it) items (depending on how many copies of the coupon you have). It's amazing!!! Last week I saved $100! Tonight, on a "short list" night, I still managed to save $50!
It can be a lot of work, but it's worth it during these hard financial times. I feel like since I'm not bringing in a salary, the least I can do is save some $$$ for the fam.
If you want to save some crazy money, check out that site. Its $10 for the first store, and $5 for each additional. The key is to have at least 1 store that doubles/triples coupons (that's
where you see big savings). Sorry I just put you through an infomercial! Lol I should be their spokeslady. ;)
Happy saving from the new and improved Coupon Queen ;)