Frugal Friday!

Tuesday, April 21st: There are two people at work who really helped a sister out last Friday. In honor of Earth Day, we gave our employees the opportunity to exchange 10 plastic grocery bags for 1 reusable grocery bag. Each office was supposed to receive their bags directly from the vendor, but there was obviously a miscommunication along the way because all 1,000 bags ended up being sent to my attention. Long story short, I had to repackage all of the bags and overnight them to 21 different locations. I received the bags at 3:00 pm and needed to leave the office at 4:15. YIKES! Doug dropped what he was doing to help me and Jenna stayed late to make sure that all of the packages went out on time. I wanted to let them know that I was super grateful for their help and decided to get them their favorite drink from Sonic. I decided to take a late lunch so I could hit up Sonic during their Happy Hour, which is from 2:00-4:00pm everyday. Regular priced medium drink: $1.40. Happy Hour medium drink: $0.70. Total Savings: $1.40 (I got two drinks) or 50%.

Dave is out of town this week and Kristen wanted some company tonight. I didn't want her to have to make dinner so I opted to pick something up for both of us on my way over. The meal of choice? Pei Wei. I discovered a couple of years ago that if you walk into Pei Wei and place an order to go, you get a complimentary drink while you wait. I'm all about free stuff and people watching, so I don't mind having to wait 10 minutes for my food. I also learned that the Kids' Wei Honey Seared Chicken is significantly cheaper than the adult meal and although the portion size is not the same, it is still more than enough. You can add a kids drink to the the Kids' Wei for only $0.50, but if you are an adult, you have to get an adult drink at the regular price - no kids' drink for you! Since I was placing my order to go, the cashier had no way of knowing if the order was for Kristen and myself, or for my pretend children who were starving at home and both craving a Diet Coke. I got two Kids' Wei meals, both with a diet coke (no ice, idea compliments of my brother in-law, Evan - the coke is already cold, ice waters down the drink and it takes up space that the diet coke could be occupying) AND a complimentary adult size Diet Coke. Price for 2 adult meals with a drink:
$19.00. Price for 2 kids meals with a drink: $8.50. Total Savings: $10.50 or 55%. HOLLA!

Be sure to check out BurbMom to see how much my friend Holly is saving by playing The Grocery Game this month!

My Little Rascal

Please just marvel at the cuteness that is my niece, Katelyn - 20 months this month!

Diary of a Frugal Shopper

If you know me, even just a little bit about me, you know that I am frugal. I learned the art of being frugal from my father and I am forever grateful. My sisters and I were introduced to the world of frugality early in our lives. Growing up, my dad had us all looking out the window for coins at each red light we came to. If he saw a penny he would jump out of the car to grab it. I would shield my face from onlookers as they tried to identify the girl with the crazy father. I'll admit that sometimes, when I did see a penny and we weren't the only car waiting at the light, I wouldn't say anything because I didn't want to have to get out and grab it. In my defense, I was at that awkward stage in my life where I truly cared about what everyone thought of me. Now that I'm older, I find myself looking out the window at each red light I come to. I've also added drive-thru windows to my list of places to find coins. I rarely buy clothes at full price and I compare price per ounce on products at the grocery store to find the best deal. I've also learned which stores have the best prices on certain items. Side note, but a very important part of the saving equation, I love games. I love games mainly because I enjoy winning. I make everything into a game. I think that's why saving money is so exciting to me, because I get to win all the time! While we are on the topic of saving money and games, let me go ahead and break it to you, that if we're playing the game, "Which grocery store has the lowest prices," Tom Thumb always loses... always. The frustrating thing is that Tom Thumb is less than a mile from my apartment so when I just need one item for a meal I'm cooking, I end up going to Tom Thumb. I never walk out of Tom Thumb feeling good about my purchase. Shameless plug: Market Street and Sprout's are the grocery stores to shop at. All of this to build up to the reason for this post. I was thinking the other day of just how much money I've saved over the years from planning, being patient and being frugal. I thought it would be fun to document my savings and show the world that it is possible save money without sacrificing anything.

What better way to share my documentation of savings than to post it on my blog? This will be my first of many entries entitled "Frugal Friday." Each Friday, I will tell you how much money I saved during the previous week, Saturday through Friday. Let the documentation begin:

Saturday, April 11th: I have about two more showers until I run out of my favorite shampoo and conditioner, Biolage. Biolage is expensive, so I definitely have to wait until it goes on sale. Typically this sale is buy one get one free - sweet! My second favorite shampoo and conditioner is "Dangerously Straight" by Herbal Essences. Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner was on sale at Market Street. Original price: $3.49/each. My price: $2.99/each. I've also been needing some more mascara. Market Street also had the mascara I use on sale. Original price: $7.69. My price: $4.99. Total savings: $3.70 or 25%.

I've been needing new work pants for a while now, but haven't found any that I've loved. It's hard for me to see the price of dress pants and not throw them down in frustration, but my mom has convinced me that if I find a great pair of dress pants, I'll have them for a while and I need to see it as an investment. That being said, I went to Banana Republic today with Kristen and Dave to find a shirt for Dave. While in the store, I found myself two pairs of pants that I really liked. I tried them on and loved them. Score. Dave did not purchase a shirt, but he did find a nice one at Sam's later that day for way cheaper than any shirt at Banana Republic. It's time to tally my savings. Pair 1: Original price - $89.00. My price - $24.99. Pair 2: Original price - $110.00. My price - $44.99. Total savings: $129.11 or 65%.

Monday, April 13th: I went to Bed Bath and Beyond today to get my friend, Jamie, a wedding present. Happy wedding Jamie and Charles! My salad spinner is one of my favorite items in the kitchen, so I couldn't help but to get them the salad spinner they registered for. It was $29.99, but I had a $5 off coupon. Original price - $29.99. My price - $24.99. Total savings: $5.00 or 17%.

Today is also my dad's birthday! Happy 60th birthday, dad! Last year, I made him a book titled, 59 reasons I love you. This year, I made him a book titled, In the Words of My Father: A collection of My Father's Sixty Most Commonly Used Phrases. I used the Office Depot print on demand function online. Before I checked out, I googled "Office Depot Coupons" and found a coupon for 15% off my purchase. Apply coupon code, please. Original price - $10.14. My price - $8.62. Total savings: $1.52 or 15%.


Thursday, April 16th: The weekly grocery ads come out every Wednesday. The two main things I look for in the ads are Blue Bell ice cream and produce. I have been waiting for Blue Bell to go on sale for quite some time. I'm not sure how the grocery stores do it, but they all manage to have it on sale at the same time. Why they can't take turns and each have their own week to have Blue Bell on sale, I have no idea. Does anyone know the answer to this question? Moving on, I was looking over the ads and saw that Kroger had the best price on Blue Bell. I could get a half gallon at Wal-Mart for $3.67 or get 3 pints of ice cream at Kroger, which means 3 different flavors, for $3.97. Well, I decided to go to Kroger to get 2 pints of ice cream, Southern Blackberry Cobbler and The Great Divide - party on my pallet! Original price - $1.99/ea. My price - $0.99/ea. I also went to Market Street tonight to get some lunch meat, House Smoked Turkey. It's a Market Street original and not to mention, my favorite! Guess what? It was on sale! Original price - $6.29/lb. My price - $4.99/lb. I got 1/2 lb. Total savings: $2.55 or 36%.

Total Weekly Savings: $141.88.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today, my dad celebrated the big 6-0. That's right, sixty years old! I know it's hard to believe because he just looks so young. Last night we looked on the internet for all of the places you can go to get free stuff on your birthday. A lot of places require you to sign up for their club online in order to get a free gift on your birthday, so that's what we did. We printed out all of the coupons that were e-mailed to him last night and went around town to pick them up. Lucky for you, we documented the whole day.

First stop? Krispy Kreme. We did sign up for the Krispy Kreme club, but we were warned that you had to sign up ahead of time in order to get your free gift. Rumor had it that the free gift was a travel mug and a half-dozen of glazed donuts. SWEET! We walked in and told the man at the front that it was our dad's 60th birthday and we signed him up for the club, but didn't receive anything via e-mail. The man said it's for children 12 and under. To this, I responded, "Are you kidding me?!" He quickly responded with, "Unless you're 60. What kind of donut would you like, sir?" As much as I wanted to say, I heard you're supposed to get a free half-dozen and a travel mug, I didn't want to push my luck. A free donut is a free donut.

Next stop, Bed Bath and Beyond. We really only had to go here to get a friend's wedding gift. Although Bed Bath and Beyond does not offer any giveaways for your birthday, my dad did get to relax in this fun chair with a canopy to rest up for our next stop.

Next stop, Schlotzsky's. Schlotsky's will send you a coupon just for signing up with the Bun & Fun eclub, and they'll also send you a coupon for a free small Original sandwich on your birthday. We love Schlotzsky's! This was one of the best deals for your birthday!

Next stop, Trudy's! Trudy's offers you a free Mexican Martini, beer, or shot on your birthday. Dad chose the Mexican Martini. He didn't just get one Martini, they gave him the whole tumbler which ended up being 4 glasses! Don't try to pull a fast one on the people at Trudy's, they check your ID to make sure it really is your birthday.

Dad also received coupons from Baskin Robbins and Red Robin. Baskin Robbins offers you a free scoop of ice cream on your birthday (expires 5 days after your birthday) and Red Robin offers you a free burger on your birthday (expires 14 days after your birthday). Dad really wanted to use these coupons today, but we had to convince him to save room for his SURPRISE PARTY tonight at Threadgill's, an Austin local favorite.

My mom started planning a suprise party for my dad a couple of weeks ago. We told my dad that we had to pick mom up from her meeting which was off of Lamar. Threadgill's is on Lamar so it was perfect. Dave drove and none of us saw Threadgill's so we drove down Lamar, past Threadgill's. I guess Dave looked a little confused and my dad said, "Dave, if you're looking for Threadgill's, we already passed it." Shoot. We turned around and arrived at our destination within minutes. We walked in to our own private room and my dad was really excited to see 20 of his closest friends there to welcome him!

Thanks to everyone for coming out, you really made it a birthday to remember! Happy birthday, Dad!

Spring Cleaning = Free Clothes

Oh, Spring cleaning, so refreshing! It's that time of the year again; time to weed out my closet. Each Spring, I take my Fall/Winter clothes off the hangers and say goodbye to them until October or November (you never know with Texas weather). During this transition process, I like to get rid of clothes that I didn't wear all season. I'll admit, I keep some clothes in my closet just because they look cute in there, not because I wear them. Once the Winter clothes are sorted and the keepers are stored under my bed, it's time for my Spring/Summer wardrobe to make it's appearance. Before I hang these clothes up, I have to make sure that they are worthy of a hanger again this year. Some clothes don't fit and some just don't fit my taste anymore. Each Christmas, one of Jessica's presents is a box of hand-me-downs. I decided to make Christmas come early this year and surprise my sisters with a bag full of clothes for them to choose from. Because I love games, I made the giveaway into a game. Here is how the game works: We had 5 rounds and Jessica got to call the coin toss to see who would go first. I lay some clothes out on the couch and whoever won the coin toss gets to choose first. The girls choose back and forth until there are no more clothes left or until they don't want anymore clothes from that round. I clear the couch after each round. My clothes are pretty cute though, so there weren't any clothes to clear after most of the rounds. After the couch is cleared, I lay out another batch of clothes for the next round. After the game is over, they go try on their new clothes. It's a fun way for me to get rid of my clothes and it's the best shopping spree they'll ever participate in. It's a win-win.

What the Hail?

Ali and I went to our friends' softball game on Monday night and it was a good time had by all. Although they did not end up winning, they still played really well. Towards the end of the game, the weather got crazy - it was really windy and started lightning. It wasn't that cold, just windy. So typically when there is lightning, it's followed by rain, right? Sure. We would all assume that. But hail? Really? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it started hailing right after we got home. What the heck is happening? It sounds like someone is throwing rocks at our window. Nope, hail. Me, being the selfless person that I am, let Ali park her car in the covered parking spot while poor Claire (my car) got pounded by skittle-sized hail! Here is a video...