Fru Fru Frugality

Save $$ on outdoor items

2010-03-10T20:22:00.002-06:00

Finally, we have begun to experience the life of spring in the Midwest. Today's 65 degree temps allowed me to get in a little "garden prep" after work.

If you have a home with shutters (which we do) and/or if you have windowboxes and/or flowerboxes, you probably know by now that after so many years of sun and weather they begin to fade/get dirty spots etc...

What to do?? Well, of course if you have nothing better to do than spend $$...purchase all new. Nothing against you if you do. However, over the past few years, I have learned how to give them new life. This is not rocket science here, but some may not have thought of this or realize.

If your shutters are faded and the color is 40 shades lighter than it used to be or if they have turned from maroon to a hot pink color...take a little trip to the store. I recommend the following types of spray paint simply because I have used them and they work wonderfully: Valspar (sold in a variety of colors at Lowe's) --satin finish-- or Krylon (sold at WMT and many other places) --satin finish. This is the perfect opportunity to get a new color for your shutters as well (if you wish). Maybe you are tired of the standard 6-7 sold everywhere colors (black, green, navy, tan, white, brown, & cranberry)--get a new color that you like and be different.
I can paint 4 shutters (pretty much standard sized) with one can. Each can runs between $3-4. That is MUCH cheaper than the $25 and up price you would pay to purchase new pairs of shutters.

My latest venture has been to "help" my windowboxes. Our house has quite a few windows and therefore, quite a few windowboxes. I got them on clearance probably 7-8 years ago. They have held up wonderfully to be honest, but the main problem is the dots of dirty black that have begun to make them look very drab! I know some use a bleach solution to clean them, but this didn't work for me. I was highly tempted to just replace them all when I was shopping at Target the other day. However, after seeing that the new ones were lesser quality and the cost it would take...I decided to go a different route. You guessed it...spray paint them!

Since it was warm enough today, I began painting them in a mocha color. Six are finished and it only took one can. That's way cheaper than replacing! The same can be done for flowerpots that look drab & yucky. One tip...purchase the trigger handle that can be placed on the can and your hands will not be tired or aching after all of the painting. The upside to painting...much less trash than getting new and throwing all of them away. Only a few more to go and they will look like new in a new color.

Sign Up

2010-02-21T10:58:00.002-06:00

Some of you may not want to do this because you contest that stores track your spending patterns whi ch I'm sure is true...however...as it goes...

If you look at people's keychains these days, it doesn't take long to notice all of the little cards. Usually, these cards are for places the person shops. We have for instance: Pet Smart, Kroger, American Eagle and others. The others not mentioned are not on the keychain because we shop there too infrequently. KMart has recently joined the bandwagon, CVS is there, County Market, and on and on. Well, the bonus in it for you is the deals you get for having the cards. So far, I like American Eagle and Kroger cards the best. American Eagle gives you points for the dollars you spend in their store. Every quarter, they send you a coupon to use in their store for up to 40% off. This can be used on sale items and for up to $500. worth of stuff. That said, it makes clothing really inexpensive. They also will send a coupon for Aerie for the same percentage off. Kroger's incentive is the gas discount of .10 off per gallon for every $100 you spend in groceries.

So, signing up and getting the cards are pretty simple. It is just a matter of you wanting/not wanting stores to track spending habits.

Another more recent thing is the coupon machine showing up at registers where you shop. If you use a credit/debit card at stores with the register coupon machines such as Kroger/Target, it spits out coupons after each transaction for items in categories that it has tracked your purchasing. For instance: we purchased several clearance bags of Starbucks coffee in January at Target so it has given us coffee coupons on our recent visits. Others that we get are for cleaning products and toiletries which come in quite handy. Sometimes it gets really generous and spits out 4-5 coupons per transaction.

Superbowl ad offers

2010-02-07T18:42:00.003-06:00

So, there are two that I have seen:

register for free Dockers at Dockers dot com (they are giving away thousands of pairs of pants)

free Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's from 6a-2p on Tuesday, February 9, 2010. Maybe this year Denny's will be more prepared for the response of the "free breakfasts". They have extended the hours I see...hopefully they don't run out of eggs!

Free Shutterfly Book

2010-01-26T14:03:00.003-06:00

**update...I could not get this to work**

I love Shutterfly books--my favorite actually. They are offering a free 7"x9" book with the code READYMADEBOOK . Pay only $5 for shipping. Head on over to Shutterfly to take advantage and maybe get some of your winter photos or Christmas photos put into an album.

Re-Using Shopping Bags & Boxes

2010-01-16T20:49:00.003-06:00

Long before the concept of "green" became a global phenomenon, I would like to think that we were already practicing our own concepts of green...mostly to $ave.

One thing we have done for years is to reuse the plastic bags we get at the grocery store for bathroom trash bags. This eliminated the need for us to purchase bags for those little trash cans we have around the house as well as special bags for diapers when our children were wearing them.

Now, what to do with those "nicer" shopping bags with fancy handles that you get at some stores?
Well, I've found a few things...
*if they have nice ribbon handles as many of them do...use them to make cards or as ribbon for a little girl's hair. They are super cute!
*use it to hold items that need filed away--I use this in my closet
*today's new use...label/mark which seasonal decoration and where it goes and store Christmas lights and greenery in them. The bags stand up nicely and look nice lined up on a shelf. This saves from buying tons and tons of totes.
*store blankets/towels that are not used often in them
*use them to put clothes in once you clean out your closet--ready for the next garage sale or Craigslist or whatever--once again saving you from buying more totes

I must confess that I am not a "box" girl. I really hate boxes. The only cardboard boxes we have are the ones that the Christmas tree is in--and I honestly don't like those.
That said, what do to do with the gazillions of boxes that can come your way??

Well, I have learned (thanks to my job) how expensive boxes really are. That alone, motivates me to keep them from the trash at our house. I don't know about you, but I hate boxes in the trash as well--why?? It fills the can up SO fast. In our area, we have to have them broken down and they don't like them outside the trash can...so there ya go--lots of extra work.
Usually, when I get a package in the mail, I put the box out on the porch and then grab them on my way to work. We reuse them and send them out again at work all of the time. It makes me happy to save us money.
If I don't take it to work (which is rare), I keep them for my own ebay sales or Christmas items. This is usually only around Christmas that I use them.
If your work doesn't ship anything, maybe set them out by the trash so people that are moving or are in need of them can pick them up. I'm not gonna lie...I saw someone with several boxes neatly stacked by the curb in the recycle bin and I picked them up for shipping.

Think of ways to re-purpose items that you get on a regular basis. It just may save you some money!

Read the package--carefully!

2010-01-14T17:21:00.003-06:00

Hopefully, you get the idea that I write this blog from personal experience because I do.
Today, while grocery shopping, I once again realized the importance of checking the package. This was also true the other day when shopping for paper towels.

I will confess that we have a couple of preferred brands of toilet paper. We have tried others only to realize that there are probably 2 out there that we really like. Anyway, I only try to buy it when on good sale. If I buy enough, it will hold me until the next time. Don't worry, it only means 1 or 2 usually.

Today, I was in Kroger buying TP as one of the preferred brands is on sale. There were 3 types of the same brand on sale. While we are preferential on brand, we don't care if it has "Aloe" or is Super soft or really strong or whatever. So, since I had 3 choices, I decided to look at the package to see if there was any difference in "amount". They all had the 12=24 rolls in them, but I'm getting down to sq ft. here. The one I looked at said 279.30 or something close to that. I picked up the other and it said 430.8 sq ft. WOW! That's quite a bit more for the same price!! The difference with the one I chose was it had more sheets per roll thus equaling more TP for the $$. In case you haven't noticed, paper goods along with everything else has gone up in recent times! I like to stretch my dollar further while still getting what we like!
Now, seriously I didn't have a coupon or anything, but that little "check" took merely seconds.

The same was true the other day when I purchased paper towels. Same price packages, but always check for the one that has more. This is also true of baby wipes. They range anywhere from 64 to 80. In case you didn't guess, I go for the pack with 80 =).

On laundry soap, I have a #1 preference of brand as well. It comes in the orange bottle. That is one thing that I try to get on sale and have a coupon for as well. They try to attract consumers with the kind that has Febreze or whatever in it. I'm not particularly interested in that so much as how much of it I'm getting. If you check, the more standard ones without all of the specialties usually have more ounces for the same price. Now, if you prefer it with special bells and whistles go for it.

Check it out next time you are at the store and make your dollars stretch further!

Off to file my taxes now!! Don't forget to be gathering or filing soon!

Keep the Cold Out

2010-01-12T23:16:00.002-06:00

It has been like Antarctica here for a few weeks now. Actually, as of today we are starting to see the more positive side of the thermometer. Either way, anytime is a good time to $ave on the energy bill as well as conserve.

What we do:

--close extra doors to un-used/rarely used rooms and close the vents to those rooms--this forces extra heat in the rooms where you really want it.
--use lined roman shades (we just got them for the last remaining room today)
--(it is working wonderfully) and we found these at Lowe's
--after cooking dinner and turning the oven off, open the oven door a bit to let some nice warm heat into the kitchen (make sure pets/children stay clear)
--make sure outside doors are tightly closed
--if it isn't necessary, don't open the curtain or blind for the day (i.e.--I don't see a need to open the roman shade in the girl's closet esp when it's cold)
--turn the thermostat down when going to bed and use a nice blanket instead (personally, I hate it being too warm when I sleep)
--light candles for nice ambiance, warmth, and turn off some of your other lights

Waiting for spring!

Tips for today

2010-01-09T20:48:00.002-06:00

There's lots to talk about today...

Everyone should begin getting there W-2's soon so be getting your tax docs together so that you can file early. I recommend taxactonline dot com. We have used it for probably 7-8 years and it's free for federal and works great! It's very easy and I do our taxes as well as some family member's each year. Why file early-- well, only if you are getting a refund--obviously...
File early and online with electronic deposit. It takes usually 7-10 days to get it in your bank--now I call that pretty fast! Who doesn't like some extra ca$h in Jan/Feb?
Also, one can never tell if a state or the gov't will run out of money and issue IOU's. I would rather have $$ than an IOU from the gov't--how about you??
I do practice what I preach. Our taxes will be filed probably within the next week or two. I have already gone to the above mentioned site and filled in everything (you can save it). My hubby's W-2 is already in hand!!
Don't forget to gather your receipts for energy tax credits on windows, doors, insualtion and such. We had some items that qualified and 40% back--I like that!

Other things...
I HIGHLY recommend lined roman shades and/or lined curtains. They make a HUGE difference. I think I can say that now based on 2 things. We have been experiencing negative temps now and they really, really block out the natural draft around windows SO WELL!! Also, we recently got our energy bill. This one is normally our highest one of the year due to all of our Christmas lights outside. I will admit, I was sweating it. Would you believe we used MORE electricity than last year, but LESS gas therms and the bill was $75 cheaper!!!!! The other large reason for the $75 decrease would probably be our closed in porch that connects the house to the garage. It makes a HUGE difference.
So, not everyone can/will build a porch, but you can try out the lined curtains/blinds (if even only in your bedroom or a really cold room). The warmth will be worth it!! Where to get them...mine were from Target, but I assume WMT has them and most other major retailers.

Craigslist is fun...it's nice to get rid of things and get some ca$h...try it out--great for buying/selling.

Can't resist talking about my great deals for the day. I went to 2 stores today (Kroger & Sears). I spent a total of $50 and had a cart full at each place! No coupons were used at all!!!!
Kroger: they had 3 boxes of Special K cereal marked at $1.29--little did I know that they also had a promo that you get free milk/$4 off your bill when you buy 3 boxes of Special K--so yep--those were free and a little bit more.
Sears: lots of great food items on clearance for $1 or less (Ritz, Minute Maid juice bottle 6 packs, bicycle seats ($1)--super deal!!
Much more...too much to list!

Well, gotta run!!

Why Clean Closets?

2010-01-07T08:40:00.002-06:00

With my spare time following Christmas, I have taken some time to clean several closets/cabinets that need my attention.

The first one was my coat closet. It is the closet that also stores wrapping paper, boxes, and bags. We save bags from certain stores. The nicer (thicker) bags serve as trash bags in our bathrooms or bags for the litter. Simply put, some cannot be saved due to holes that occur on the way home from the grocery store (usually the Kroger bags). We organized it and threw away some trash and WOW does it look nice!

Next was our bedroom...we used the space saving hangers for J's stuff and made it less crowded. We were again low on hangers....that was taken care of as well.

The hall closet was where the "reward" began to come in...I found all kinds of things in there that I forgot we had. This is our closet where we keep towels, sheets, and other products like shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, light bulbs, etc... Yes, we have plenty of all of the above items! Everything looks so much better.

Upstairs in the vanity, I discovered a new bottle of lotion (yay--I was out) and so many other things that I am not remembering right now.

So, why organize and clean?? Simple...you find treasures that you forgot you had that you can probably use!

2010

2010-01-03T22:54:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted in quite awhile! Sorry!

So, I don't make New Year's Resolutions. I set maybe a few goals and some include financial. Since I started doing this a few years back, we have attained each financial goal. It feels great.
The goals have consisted of:
paying off J's school loans early (we did it over 3 years early) =)
paying off each of our cars early (mine in 1 1/2 yrs) J's in 1 =)
paying off cc debt several years back =)
and the list goes on.

This year's goals:
be even more wise about spending and save more
give more
pay down the mortgage so we can pay off early

Fortunately, since the garage sale glory days of summer, my mindset of buying has considerably changed. Don't get the idea that we do not indulge or get items we really want every now and then because we do, but I feel like for me I've come a long way. For instance, my purse buying habit has all but disappeared thanks to the super deals that I got this summer. We have purchased new clothes several times for both ourselves and the girls, but have gotten incredible deals on them and haven't had to purchase nearly as much due to the garage sale purchases.

Things I've had luck with:

Craigslist has become something I check more often. I have sold items with it and even purchased once. It works great for large items that you can't ship very easily.

Walgreens--Register Rewards and their clearance

You Tube--great for shows you normally would have to pay to watch on cable or dish...Usually, there's a fan or two of most of the shows that upload all of the episodes so people like me who haven't ever had cable or anything beyond regular channels can enjoy the shows. What's great --it's free!

Lowe's--nice clearance items (cheap too)

Finding cheap or free things to do as a family -- sledding, looking at lights (obviously seasonal), making cards (I've been pretty negligent), renting a movie, and playing with all of those fun Christmas toys =).

Oh yeah, sometimes people out there are really nice...
I returned several items with a receipt the other day (make that everything on the receipt including the free gift with purchase item since I wouldn't be meeting the minimum purchase requirements with the return). The lady was very nice and told me that she was going to give me the gift back and bagged it up for me to take with me. She informed me that I could give some of the items to my girlfriends if I wanted. How nice of her!

What to do this winter...I don't know. I'm not much of a winter person. I plan to pass some of the time by watching the Olympics. I am a fan of the Olympics. Other than that, hibernate and hope to stay warm!

Walgreens, a gift idea, & more

2009-12-01T17:56:00.002-06:00

Sorry for my negligence in posting. We continue to stay busy!
In my last (long time ago) post, I mentioned shopping at Walgreens to earn Register Rewards. I wouldn't want to be guilty of not practicing what I preach, so I took my own advice and went.
It turns out, Wal's had some other great RR items last weekend as well. They had men's deodorant, toothpaste, and shampoo as well. All of them were items that you receive the full amount back in RR's for your next purchase.
Now, if you are wondering what in the world we would do with so many deodorants/toothpaste etc...well here's the answer.
Our church has different times of the year where they collect items for various people in need. A couple of items always on that list are deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes. I'm sure many organizations collect items like these. Our girl's SS classes also collect items at varying times of the year for children, Operation Christmas Child, and missionaries.
Anyway, I used my coupons and racked up some sweet RR's and was able to enjoy the bounty of my RR's by getting items that we use all of the time for almost free.
I used RR's and got Tide, toilet paper (big pack), York peppermint patties, yard spotlight stake and a couple of other items that now escape me for $1.90!!!!
Yesterday, I went and got $40 in stuff for $5.00!
I'm hooked.
Our 7 y/o received her Clubhouse JR. mag today in the mail. Her grandma purchased her a subscription for her birthday. She absolutely loves it and just reads and reads. I think a 1 year subscription was $20 and it included two Adventures in Odyssey Cd's. It is wholesome reading with great character buildling stores, a few clean jokes, cute artwork, little recipes and more. On top of that it helps to support a great organization (Focus on the Family). This is a great gift idea for children. They have different versions of the magazine based on age.
More ...
I signed up for a Sunday only subscription to the newspaper. The only reason I did was for the mass of coupons that come in it. It was 21.06 for 13 Sundays plus I got a $5 gift card to Kroger and a scratch off coupon card thing to use at places around town. This will help save even more $$ at the grocery store and Walgreens.
Think about it...the way you manage/spend your money can determine your wealth more than your the number of dollars you make. For e.g. someone who makes $25,000. and spends it wisely could have nicer things than someone who makes $50-$75k who doesn't know how to spend/manage properly. When you spend wi$er, you have/make more!!!

$ave $ome Dough

2009-11-11T21:10:00.002-06:00

I would say that I am a deal finder who uses coupons. Usually, that means that I find wonderful things that we were going to buy anyway on wonderful clearance. Those items are not typical items that have coupons anyway.
I love using coupons, but I haven't honed my skill to the level of some--particularly at the grocery store. What I mean is, I have to learn this magical Walgreens coupon, RR, almost free experience.
A board that I visit has some regular Walgreens coupon experts and I am determined to do it!
From what I gather, I need to purchase some items (that are on sale and that have current coupons running from the paper) and earn Register Rewards. RR's cane be used on a future purchase like cash. Once I earn these, I can earn them on future purchases and get items for free or close to free.
The first big item that I'm going to try this on is the Dove deodorant that is going to be on sale on Black Friday for $3.99 with a $4.00 RR on each one. I have some $2.00 off coupons (and there are printable ones available online as well). I will pay $1.99 cash for each one, but I will get $4 per item in RR to use on a future purchase. I will come out $2 ahead on each one. I can't wait!!
We have a Walgreens very close by and another right across town. This is very convenient!
Our trip to Walgreens the other day was profitable. I was only going to get lawn bags for leaves and we found several great items on clearance.
Target is getting BIG into the coupon game as well. They now have their own coupon printers at the register. We noticed that once you swipe your debit/credit card, the coupons begin spitting out based on your buying habits. The cool thing is that Target lets you stack coupons (which I've mentioned before). The other day we used $50 in coupons there and another $5 off coupon spit out of the coupon printer which they used on that order as well =).
I will also add that Target is really competing BIG TIME in the toy price war. Not only do they have toys on sale, they have published coupons ON TOP OF the sale price!! From what we have seen thus far, they are cheaper than Toys 'R Us and Wal-Mart (at least on the items we have been looking for. Toys 'R Us does not price match and W didn't carry a few of the toys we were looking for that Target had. The problem now is they are running out so quickly.
Word is that it is better to buy toys before Thanksgiving rather than wait for Black Friday. I have already seent this to be true as our local Target was sold out of several items.
Anyway, go save some $$. You can always use the extra!

Christmas gift idea for smaller ones

2009-11-05T18:55:00.002-06:00

We already have the girl's Christmas shopping completed, but it is always nice to have an idea for whomever may ask what they want for Christmas.
Last year, Wow Wee came up with the live cubs. A was absolutely sure that she wanted the lion. They were and still are $59.99. We purchased hers for like $38.99 so I felt pretty good about that. She was delighted to get it. I never felt like I wasted one penny on it because that child played with it daily for five months... and I mean PLAYED. The playing slowed down once the weather got nicer and once a sweet kitty named Tufsey came to our home. That said, A's lion "Bouncy" still sleeps with her each night.
This year, Wow Wee has live cub mini's. Of course, the girl's are wanting them. Having learned from last year's hunt to find one when the cubs were close to sold out...we went and found them locally a few days ago. They range from $14.99 to $19.99. That's a pretty decent price if you ask me. Our girls are in love. The white tiger, leopard, and lion were their favorites. We picked them up for gma/gpa to give to them.
I must say, they are pretty adorable. I like the fact that it is a toy suitable for both boys and girls. Personally, I think there are way fewer items for boys than girls when it comes to toys and clothes. I don't know why that is, but it the girl's toy aisles far outweigh the boy aisles.
My advice: buy early and find it on sale rather than having to purchase on ebay or amazon when the price is sky high closer to Christmas.

Be Intentional

2009-11-03T21:16:00.002-06:00

Our self-imposed "cook at home" challenge is going well. Here is what we have done to be successful.
Two posts ago, I mentioned that I added up what we spent on eating out and my jaw hit the floor. Since then, I resolved to eat many more meals at home. What kept playing over in my head was that I have to "be intentional" to do this.
I sat down, made a list of meals that we like (we tend to be picky). I made a second list of items that we needed to make things on the list. There were only probably five or less items needed to make the list. Since the day I made the list, I have added new dishes to the list--yay! Variety is the spice of life!
The next thing I did was to set a goal to meet on the eating out front. It is to eat out twice per week--once fast food and once sit-down. This may seem like a lot of eating out to some, but truly it does cut back a lot for us. It wasn't uncommon for us to eat out all meals on Sunday (or at least two). Since we have a good 7 or 8 roasts in the freezer, it is time to use them for those Sunday meals.
Josh laughed at me tonight when I told him to google "dinner ideas". He was no longer laughing and glad once we clicked the first link. It was chicken/potato bake. We did modify it a tiny bit. If I remember correctly, it was on kraft dot com. The dish was super easy and a huge hit!!! The modifications we made...we used chicken breast which I cut into cutlets and I used more italian dressing (in packet) and spice than called for. In order to make sure everything cooked in the time recommended, I kept it covered until the last 10 minutes as well as cut the chicken and the potatoes into small pieces.
Thus far, we are successful this week.
A few other tips:
I have always hated dishes and that keeps me from cooking with busy schedules. We use foam plates for many meals to cut down on dishes.
I try to think of things that we can make where we like the leftovers so that we can eat those for lunch/dinner on the fly. For us, lasagna is great for that purpose.
I know these are not new tips by any means, but this is something that is working for us right now.

Closet Cleaning = Ca$h

2009-11-01T07:55:00.003-06:00

This h as been on my list for a bit. Unfortunately, other projects take precedence. Finally, when I couldn't squeeze anymore clothes into Josh's and my closet, it had to be done. I took out the things we don't really like or are "tired". "Tired" means I'm sick of seeing Josh wear them =).
I took several things over to Plato's Closet and they bought some items for $26.50. I have done this before and it is much easier and better moneywise than garage saling them. I haven't tried it yet with the girl's clothes because you have to have an appointment at some of the various children's shops. I may try it in the near future, though. It is far easier than putting them in a garage sale or ebaying them.
The three advantages:
my closet has room
I have more hangers =)
I got some cash!
Try it--there are Plato's Closets all over the place across the US. They are more geared toward trendy teen clothing. Don't be discouraged if that isn't what you have, there are many other used clothing shops that specialize in other age groups that will buy clothes.

Preachin' to the choir

2009-10-30T22:05:00.002-05:00

This post is more for me rather than at anyone else. I'm just here to remind me. Whoever reads it, well you are reading about me needing to do this.

I'm pretty sure every household in America probably has something to trim out of the budget. Let's face it, we are spoiled and so many other things. Yep, we are.
Today, the lovely bank statement came in the mail. As I was checking things off, I got this idea to add up what we spent over the last month on eating out. YIKES--you didn't think I was going to share that number did you?? Cuz, I'm not. The grocery bill is very low and the utilities are very low. We get things on sale everywhere we go, we shop at garage sales, but we CLEARLY should cut back on the eating out.
By the same token, I'm glad to have taken notice and hopefully next month will be different!! Believe me, I'm not perfect when it comes to money (far from it), but I do know that I like to save and be frugal (while still being fru-fru) LOL!
Yes, that's my challenge to me, myself, and I this month and going forward--CUT out the extravagance on that aspect. It's not what is spent each time, it's the amount of times we eat out!!! Yep, too much!
It will also be neat to re-direct that money somewhere else. My first thought is to Amazima ministries. They feed hungry children hot meals almost daily for mere pennies. The horrid amount of $$ that we spent last month on eating out would do so much there.
If you are interested in reading about Amazima go visit www dot kisses from katie dot blogspot dot com Beware: your heart will be moved and you will feel compassion! That's okay, it's a great thing!

Brands & Confessions

2009-10-29T08:54:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, I developed a penchant for a certain brand or two of purses. Okay, okay at the time it was Coach and Dooney & Bourke. Buying the first Coach purse was a bit difficult for me, but I did find it on sale and carried it for quite a long time which justified the money we forked over for it. After that, it wasn't difficult. Every single time I have ever purchased a Coach, it has been with some type of discount. A local department store that sells them, has a sale twice a year that allows you to take 20-25% off anything in the store PLUS one time we opened a credit card and saved an additional 20%.

Last year, the Coach store began sending me 25% off coupons at intervals starting around Christmas. I had fun with those, yes I did. I still love Coach, however I am cured of my "little addiction" of buying them at the Coach store. Why??

Early this Spring, my parents who were going to garage sales found me several C items that were almost new for really cheap at this one sale. Yes, they are the real deal! I carried my $5 purse all summer long! This fall, I went to a garage sale of a local contractor's wife who is also a fan of Coach. She had a bag for sale that I really liked. In fact, I almost had purchased one very similar a few months back. This purse was barely used for $45. The bag retailed for $398. In Chicago, where it was purchased, the tax alone would have been almost $40!!! So yeah, there isn't any need to buy them at the Coach store anymore for me.
Coach wouldn't like that, but to be honest I think their quality has dropped and the price has increased even within the last year. Actually, I did tell them that in a survey they sent me.
The bags have lost some of their appeal since they are pretty mainstream now. Maybe that is why they increased the price--to make them less mainstream--IDK. Sadly, the quality didn't increase along with that large price increase. They claimed to have dropped them, but for the ones that did drop...ugh!
For me, I'm still like the bags, however there are many cool brands/bags out there now and you can purchase them at good prices especially if you shop around!

Go Visit the LIST

2009-10-25T21:08:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm talking about Craigslist. It has been around for awhile, and finally people in our area are beginning to catch on and use it.
I have used it personally to advertise a garage sale and now I use it to look for garage sales. This is a great place to advertise (for free) or find sales that others may not know about if they are not also advertised in the paper.
The other thing that I think it is going to be great for is selling larger items that are a pain to ship if sold on ebay. It is cool because the other night, I noticed a section for items that people are looking for. The wheels in my head began turning. I noticed that many people advertise clothes, toys, and collectibles that they have for sale. The best thing about these ads--free!!
So, I am hoping to start selling a few bulky items using the LIST!!

Punishment for those who pay on time

2009-10-21T21:53:00.002-05:00

Bank of America has announced that it will begin charging fees to certain customers who carry their cards. I'm sure you are wondering who the lucky winners of the fees are???? Yes, that's right the ones who never carried a balance and/or always paid on time. So, why are they the ones that get slapped with a $29-$99 fee?? Well, they have to get money from somewhere.
With all of the new cc regulations going into effect VERY SOON, banks are scrambling to find ways to pull in some extra dough. The thought process must be...go after the ones who pay since they must have the money.
I am not sure how they determine where in the $29-99 range you fall in the fee to be charged. If you decline the fee, they will simply close your account. Maybe not such a bad thing, but maybe...it affects your credit score.
I'm curious since we have 2 BOA cards if we will get hit with a fee on either one?? It's a possibility since we don't even use them. They didn't start out as BOA cards, they were originally MBNA who was bought out a few years ago by BOA. I have heard less than stellar reports about BOA which is probably why we have not chosen to use them.
Our card of choice these days---Discover. From personal experience and even what I have heard, it is one of the best.
If we get the fee notice in the mail soon, we may choose to simply close the accounts.

More Ways to $ave

2009-10-19T20:08:00.002-05:00

How many Target shoppers out there??

Did you know that at Target you can use BOTH a manufacturer's coupon AS WELL AS a store coupon on the same item. That's some $erious $avings folks!!

Target often sends coupon books in the mail in addition to the Target coupons that print out after you checkout.

Here is their coupon policy:
Target Stores Coupon PolicyCoupons are a great way to save even more when shopping with us, and it's easy to use them at our stores
.• Target accepts one manufacturer coupon and one Target coupon for the same item (unless prohibited)
• Super Target coupons can be used in any Target store if the store carries the item
• We gladly accept valid internet couponsBecause of the variety of coupons available to our guests, we do have some guidelines for how coupons can be redeemed at Target.
When accepting coupons, we use the following guidelines:
• We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued coupons and manufacturer-issued.
• We'll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it
.• Coupon amount may be reduced if it exceeds the value of the item after other discounts or coupons are applied.
• We can't give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item.
• We can't accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.
• All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier while you're checking out.

So, take advantage of the coupons that you get. One of my favorite items lately to use coupons on at Target has been the Tide Stain Release in wash booster. They are WONDERFUL!! They have it in liquid as well as packet form. I highly recommend--they are amazing. There are $1.50 coupons circulating for this item as well as Target coupons for $1.00. The 10 pack is $3.79 which translates to a great after-coupon price of $1.29. They are WELL WORTH IT!!!

Save it for something better

2009-10-16T21:06:00.000-05:00

I'm not here to tell anyone how to spend their money, however I'm going to give my opinion and what I would do or would NOT do.

**Don't spend money on something that you can easily do yourself.

Case in point:I know someone who has 3 children. One boards the bus daily around 7:40 am. Why do I know this? He stands on the corner (my house is on that corner). The younger two children (aged 7) go to school (by bus) at 8:30 am. How do I know this? I see the bus come to their house.Their school is 2 short blocks up and 2 blocks over. This would be a 5 minute walk and a 1.5 minute car ride. The girls and I walk by this school on our walks all of the time. They PAY MONEY for the 2 younger children to ride the bus to school. WHY?? I don't know. The mom is a SAHM. She told me she pays so that they can ride the bus to school.

Okay, once again...how you spend your money is totally your business, but WOW I would save that money for something fun =).

Grocery shopping and other stuff

2009-10-13T16:28:00.002-05:00

So, I do not use a shopping list at the grocery store. Why? Because I'm pretty sure that I can remember milk or bread. This has been the case for quite awhile now.
How?
What I have done is to kind of amass a supply of things that I use. Do not get visions of pantries, extra freezers, or refrigerators in the garage or even shelving. We do not have any of the things I just listed. Don't imagine floor to ceiling extras either. Everything is put in my normal kitchen cabinets with the exception of paper towels and laundry soap which go into the basement.
I do not buy at full price either.
What we do is when Kroger or Target (in our case) has a particular item on sale, I buy several. Take for instance spaghetti sauce. I know that they run a pretty good sale on it a few times a year. If I buy enough, it lasts until the next time it goes on that sale (usually $1 per jar). Sometimes, I'm lucky enough to have a coupon.
I did the same thing with my very favorite laundry soap, Tide Total Care. Target had it on clearance last year for like $6.46 per bottle AND I had coupons for $1 off. Anyone who buys Tide knows that $5.46 is a SUPER deal on Tide. It was the 40 load bottle and it had a little sample of Downy with it. I bought several bottles and still haven't run out.
I kind of have mental notes of what we are starting to run low on so that I know what to buy when the sales come around.
A typical trip at the grocery store for us runs $30-$40 and includes toiletries. This is because we have items stocked up and have gotten them at great prices all along the way.
Oh yeah, did I mention that we have a still have a supply of baby wipes from almost a year ago? They were such a great deal over 1/2 off and my favorite kind--Huggies, so we stocked up. You can always use wipes. They are great for stain removal on clothes as well.
I went and tried out the grocery game dot com and found that what I have been doing in stocking items when on sale is one of her big things that she suggests. Since I already do on my own what she suggests, grocery game didn't help me. However, it may help many others.

Welcome!

2009-10-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

My husband tells me that people do not think like me when it comes to deal finding. I don't know really. I figure that most people do the same things that I do, but maybe not.
Hang around long enough and you will become part of the deal finding craze as well.

I don't think it can be categorized into one main thing such as coupons or garage sales. My deals range from garage sales, clearance, coupons, saving money, tips, free samples, and the list goes on.

Why "Fru Fru Frugality"? Sometimes being frugal or thrifty can get a bad rap. Not so much right now because it is COOL to be frugal in the economic times in which we live.
Fru Fru came because I like a lot of people like my particular brands. Here's a secret, I rarely shop at Wal-Mart. Honestly, only a few times a year. So, in my desire for certain brands and labels I set out to get deals on that as well!

This is in no way to be considered to be financial advice in any way shape or form.

I will be back to post here at "Fru Fru" soon!