I have always prided myself on being a bit of a tightwad. Having managed my money very well growing up and in my early 20s, I am able to do so much more than many people my age -- without the debt. Thankfully, Chris also bought into my financial philosophies. I have also gone through Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" and listen to his broadcast when tooling around in the mornings. His teachings reinforced my practices.
I hate paying full price for things. My neighbor gets the Sunday paper, but never uses the ads. Each week, I jack her ads for weekly plundering. This week, Walgreens was having coupon days, so I decided to stock up and refurbish our household office supplies. In addition to the ad coupons, they have a 15% military discount on Tuesdays! Score!
| Item | Original Price | My Price | Savings |
| Bubble mailers (3) | 1.59 x 3 = 4.77 | 0.39 x 3 = 1.17 | -3.60 |
| Scotch tape | 1.29 | 0.39 | -0.90 |
| 10 Ballpoint pens | 1.99 | 0.39 | -1.60 |
| Wooden ruler | 0.99 | 0.39 | -0.60 |
| 70 Index cards | 1.99 | 0.39 | -1.60 |
| Composition book | 2.29 | 0.17 | -2.12 |
| 50 sheet protectors | 4.99 | 1.99 | -3.00 |
| Scissors | 2.99 | 1.49 | -1.50 |
| Posterboard (3) | 0.89 x 3 = 2.67 | 0.39 x 3 = 1.17 | -1.50 |
| 60 Ziplock bags | 1.89 | 0.99 | -0.90 |
| 200 Kleenex | 1.99 | 1.29 | -0.70 |
| Salt | 0.99 | 0.50 | -0.49 |
| Plastic wrap | 2.79 | 1.99 | -0.80 |
| Candy corn | 1.39 | 0.99 | -0.40 |
| 2 Pink erasers | 0.99 | 0.39 | -0.60 |
| Bleach | 1.99 | 0.99 | -1.00 |
| Rubber gloves | 2.29 | 0.99 | -1.30 |
| TOTAL | 38.29 | 15.68 | -22.61 |
| In-store savings | | -1.34 | |
| Tax | | +1.02 | |
| | | 15.36 | |
While many people may begrudge the "annoyance" of waiting for deals, using coupons, and delaying gratification, but I find it to be a sign of maturity and discipline. In addition, Chris and I are able to do things like paying cash for our basement finish. Another example: Instead of buying wall art for the nursery, I researched DIY projects. Not only did I save a TON of money, but I satisfied nesting urges.
I have several thrifty blogs on my Google Reader and enjoy finding new ways to repurpose, save, and DIY.
Where do you go for your deals?
you might like Money Saving Mom and The Thrifty Mama. I have their links on my site. They are pretty insane with the deals but I have heard about some good deals through them. Once I got like 250 address labels for $1 shipped that was pretty awesome.
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