Saving: On Clothes

Go shopping for clothes and save money – and time!

 

Can that happen? We think so! And I’m sharing ways we’ve been able to save (a lot!) when buying clothes, especially for the kids.

 

 

I now (almost exclusively) shop at seasonal consignment sales. Our favorites are:

• Here We Grow Again!
• Trunk Treasures

I’ve also shopped at WeeCycled Wear once and was very pleased with my finds.

 

These sales are well-organized. (I’ve even gotten my dear hubby to go with me!) And we’ve found great (name-brand!) clothes for the whole family. The links above are for sales in my area, now gearing up for spring and summer clothes sales in the next month or so. If you don’t live in the Upstate, do a quick “Google” search for local consignment sales in your area.

 

If the dates for the seasonal sales don’t coordinate with our (travel) schedule, I shop at local consignment shops. My favorites are:

• Kids & More
• The Nearly New Shop

 

Again, the links are for sales in my area, but do a quick online search for similar shops in your area. Or ask other moms at church, etc. That’s how I found out about Kids & More!

 

I shop online to “fill in gaps” for items still needed but not found at consignment sales or shops. My favorite online consignment site is:

• ThredUp

 

Right now (through January 18 extended through January 21!) use coupon code SAVE10 at check-out to get $10 off your first order at ThredUp!

 

Whenever possible I shop through either Ebates or ShopAtHome to get a percentage of cash back. Every little bit really does add up! I’m currently expecting over $30 in cash back from ShopAtHome and about $7 from Ebates. (You can read about Ebates in an earlier post: Get $5 plus a $10 gift card when you place your first order!)

 

 

I click through either Ebates or ShopAtHome (whichever is offering a higher percentage of cash back) when I shop online end-of-the-season clearance sales, especially at The Children’s Place and Gymboree.* These are typically quality clothes that wear (and resell!) well. I’ve found clearance sales to be a great way to shop ahead for birthdays, too. Just this past summer I found Olympic t-shirts for the nephews for an average of $2 to $3 each! And I’m excited that online-clearance-sale-shopping-for-birthdays is something I’ll still be able to do when living out of the country!

 

*Clearance at Gymboree is especially good when you can pair sales with GymBucks, and The Children’s Place has recently developed a rewards points program.

 

You might want to check out the clearance sales going on right now at The Children’s Place and Gymboree!

 

I shop at outlet malls for items typically not found at second-hand sales (i.e. underclothes and socks).

 

I include needed clothing items on Christmas and/or birthday wish lists. Admittedly, said lists are right now authored mostly by me, and I can take advantage of the fact that our kids are still too young to object to getting undershirts from grandparents for Christmas!

 

And some practical tips I’ve picked up along the way...

 

Before going online or to a sale, make lists of needed items. Then look for items that will coordinate with other items on your lists or with items you already have. I learned this lesson late (as I was “buying ahead” for our move overseas), so I’ve been especially thankful for current online sales that included some child items needed right now!

 

Unless you’re saving clothes for younger little ones, resell clothes (as your kids outgrow them) through local consignment sales (where you’ll get a higher percentage by doing the tagging yourself) or take them to a local consignment shop (where you’ll get a lower percentage by simply dropping them off). Save and then use the profits to offset future clothing purchases.

 

Avoid going to the mall to “just look!” This probably goes without saying. And I admit that it’s easy for me to say because I just don’t like going to the mall unless I’m going for a specific purpose (like taking a specific list and going to spend GymBucks I’ve already earned). But avoiding the mall is probably the top way to avoid becoming discontent.

 

What are your ideas? How do you save when shopping for clothes?

Still bargain-shopping...

Though our life of constant travel doesn't lend itself to my posting on this blog nearly as often as I used to do, I still am very much interested in finding good bargains!

Free or almost-free deals at drugstores (especially CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid) are always exciting! And though I no longer post very many specifics on those, there's a lot you can learn if you're new to "CVS-ing" (or bargain-shopping in general) by clicking on my hyperlinks (or labels on the right-hand side of this blog).

Online sales through ebates and Shop at Home are also highlights. For example, I still can't get over how easy it can be to "dress for less" – especially when it comes to children's clothes.

If you live in the Upstate, you may want to check out the "Here We Grow Again!" consignment sale. The dates for the Spring & Summer Sale will be February 29 through March 3. (You can read details on the HWGA blog.)

Cloth diapering (or "CDing" to avid readers of diapering blogs!) has become another great interest of mine, and I plan to continue journaling on that topic. Using cloth may be the single greatest mode of savings for our family – even though our current life of travel isn't always conducive to CDing. (And that's why diaper deals, especially at CVS and Walgreens and Target, are still of great interest to me!)

We've been using cloth diapers for almost exactly one year now, and I'm planning to post another update soon...

Other random deals that excite our family include birthday deals – especially freebies! In fact, we're right now cashing in on some of those...

So, happy bargain-shopping!

“Metamorphosis”

This “bargain blog” has certainly morphed many times since (inspired by Andrea’s frugal feats), I first started posting in late 2008. Topics on this blog have included coupons, miscellaneous money-saving tips, great diaper deals, product reviews, recipes, education, frugal fun, inspiration & encouragement, and (most recently) cloth diapering and teaching language(s). This blog has been, more than anything, a place to journal money-saving and educational deals and adventures. Whatever the topic, the main emphasis is still the same: wise stewardship and proper perspective of resources God is entrusting to us.

Avid couponing was an exhilarating challenge – especially with weekly “$5 off $25 Purchase” coupons for CVS! And highlights at Walgreens during the days of the Easy Saver Program included getting paid $10 to take home $250 worth of stuff – including $100 worth of diapers and $1.00 overage per tube of brand-name toothpaste! Yes, those were very exciting days! And even after giving stuff away and selling other extras at yard sales, we still have a stash of toiletries and miscellaneous household products we’re using from those days...

Couponing that avidly, however, was quickly becoming another part-time job, and – in combination with drugstores changing policies, etc. – the initial adrenalin rush and euphoria gradually wore off. Don’t get me wrong! A good B1G1 sale paired with a great coupon is still very exciting (Translation: Publix is still a favorite!), but I now do a much better job of balancing shopping with other household and family obligations than I did during those early days of engaging in the couponing game...

Some major changes along with the demands of daily life have contributed to several extended periods without posts. Right now, I’m blogging from South America where coupons (for groceries, diapers, etc.) are basically non-existent. I’m actually more excited than ever to find (creative!) ways to use resources wisely – and to encourage others to do so as well. For example, I’m thankful for opportunities to try out earlier ideas for frugal yet nutritious cooking; I’ve actually used several of my own modified recipes in the last four weeks.

All that to say... Going forward, the main emphases of posts will most probably be:

• inspiration & encouragement
• teaching language
• frugal fun
• baking / recipes
• cloth diapers

Feel free to comment and share your ideas – especially if you, too, are traveling and limited in use of coupons, etc.

Laughter: The BEST Medicine!

At least laughter would work much better than these supposed "remedies" from the 1800s!

Click on the picture to view a larger version.

The hilarious collection of ads from various old newspapers was part of the decor in a fast-food restaurant we recently visited.

What do you think?!

I'm joining Sharon and friends at Good, True & Beautiful...
Just for the JOY of It!

Basic Economics!

On the way home from the grocery store one evening last week, I found myself trying to explain basic economics to my four-and-a-half-year-old, including the Scriptures' admonition to work.

I asked: "How do Mommy and Daddy buy food?"

Without even a moment's hesitation, she replied: "With coupons!"

I had to laugh right out loud!

And after the deals at CVS, Walgreens, and (especially!) Rite Aid this week, I can see where she gets that idea... (And all deals are good until Saturday!)

It's been awhile, but I'm again joining Sharon at Good, True, and Beautiful – Just for the Joy of It – sharing one of those little moments in life that brings a big smile!

Any ideas on how to maximize savings while on the road???

As missionary deputees, we've been traveling many, many miles since mid-April. The bargain-hunting has not ceased, however! If anything, we're more conscious than ever of the need to be wise stewards of the resources God is entrusting to us. But the scenario is different on the road – especially when internet and a printer are not always available to access those awesome high-value coupons!

Most of the time our housing needs are taken care of, but eating frugally – AND healthfully – can be far more challenging, and especially with a little one on the way! The "value menus" can certainly be a blessing to the "on the road" budget; our goal has been $5.00 or less per meal for our family of (almost!) four. And granola bars do make a great snack... But we would be glad to hear other (even better?) ideas for maximizing savings while traveling – and especially any ideas on how to eat more wholesomely!

I would definitely welcome helpful comments...

Inspiration & Encouragement: Celebrating God’s Grace in 2009

It’s the last day of the year, an opportunity to pause and reflect – and give thanks to God for His grace! 2009 will very soon come to a close, and a new chapter of life will open with 2010.

2009 has been a year of both joys and trials – like any year of life on a fallen planet. Through it all, we are experiencing the great faithfulness of our loving Savior and Lord. His grace, as promised, has been sufficient.

As I close 2009, I pause to thank God publicly for His grace to me. With this post, I’m specifically celebrating my first full year of avid bargain-hunting. It’s not that I wasn’t frugally conscious before, but I didn’t realize the value of a coupon. Why anyone would try to save a few cents on a brand name item when store brands were almost always cheaper and equally good in taste and/or quality was beyond me! But that was before I understood B1G1 deals combined with double coupons, or coupon stacking, or rebates, etc.

The greatest value of couponing, as it has come to be called in Modern English, seems to be how it can change a shopper’s general perspective. Specifically, I “never” pay full price for anything anymore; if it’s not on sale, I probably don’t need it. There are exceptions, of course. After all, I’m driving the coupon car; it’s not driving me!

Of course, bargaining isn’t just about me and what I can get. Rather, it’s about wise stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to me. As I save and stockpile, I am more able to look for specific opportunities to serve God, my family, and others. What JOY!

As we close 2009, our family gives thanks to God for allowing us, by His grace, to finish paying “The School Bill” (and related expenses) in the fall of 2009. From my perspective, couponing sped us on our way to that goal. It’s not so much that what we saved by using coupons on groceries paid the bills. Rather, couponing created an awareness of a real way to reduce costs and made me, in particular, much more sensitive to prices in general – and to the fact that, if I’m patient, the staples and regulars will be on sale again, i.e. they tend to cycle. Even if I didn’t have a coupon, I had a new idea of what I was willing (or more often unwilling) to pay for any particular item. And each baby step contributed to the giant leap of debt elimination!

I’m thankful!

I’m thankful for God’s enabling grace. I’m thankful that it’s never too late to learn. I’m thankful for my Dearest and my Little One – and their patience! And I’m thankful for friends on the bargaining blogosphere who shared their stories and lessons learned and encouraged me along the way by example...

So, I’m sharing God’s grace in a small (but significant!) chapter of my life – “Just for the Joy of It!”

2010 promises to be a year of new opportunities to trust God as we launch out on a new adventure.

May we have a Blessed New Year!

Inspiration & Encouragement: Sing Joy to the World – The LORD Is Come!

Behold, I bring you good news of great JOY which will be for all the people!
(Luke 2)

JOY to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

JOY the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding JOY,
Repeat the sounding JOY,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding JOY.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid, 1719.
Music: An­ti­och (believed to have originated with Handel) arranged by Low­ell Ma­son, 1836

Did you know that Watts based the words of "Joy to the World" on Psalm 98 and wrote it as a hymn glorifying Christ's triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than as a Christmas song celebrating his first coming as a babe born in a stable?

The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
(Psalm 98)

Meditate on those truths. Make them personal. Rejoice in your Savior!

Once again, I'm joining "Just for the JOY of It" – and sharing the Savior, the Best Reason to REJOICE on Christmas Eve!

Inspiration & Encouragement: The JOY of Giving!

In the fall of 2008, I became an avid couponing fan – and joined the bargaining blogosphere. Previously, I didn't see why anyone would try to save $0.35 on a brand name item when store brands were almost always cheaper and equally good in taste and/or quality. But that was before I understood B1G1 deals combined with double coupons, or coupon stacking, or rebates.

While concentrating anew on frugality, I've often been reminded that we frugalistas must not forget to focus on generosity and biblical good works as well. My favorite bargain bloggers often emphasize the expanded opportunity to give to others – because a frugality focused on God enables us to do so!

This week I was again made aware of an opportunity to give. A dear family friend, recently laid off because her customer service job was sent overseas, shared with me how God has been meeting her needs. It was a real JOY to hear the details! Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she has been focusing on others less fortunate. In the middle of her need, she found a single mom with three very young children in need of all the basics – including toiletries.

I'm so excited! Thanks to bargain shopping, there are four big boxes of basic toiletries stored under a bed in our house. (Printing coupons sometimes feels like printing money!) So, today I'll be putting together three packages of basic toiletries: one for my friend, one for her mom in a nursing home, and one for the family she's adopted.

Although it's only a small gift for each of these in need, it's an opportunity to help, saving significantly on otherwise paying full price for (or trying to go without) the basics. And it's a blessed reminder that bargain shopping isn't only about me and what I can get. Rather, it's about wise stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to me as I simultaneously look for opportunities to serve God, my family, and others.

There is JOY in showing Christ's love to others – especially at this time of year when they may be more inclined to listen because carols played publicly are telling of the Savior!

I'm once again joining "Just for the Joy of It" and sharing another reason to rejoice – finding JOY in giving!

All because God first gave us the Savior!

Inspiration & Encouragement: Messiah!

I absolutely love Christmas music! I could listen to it all year – and sometimes try to do so!

We've had a ("kind of") family tradition of adding to our collection of Christmas CDs every year. Several years ago at a Christmas sale, we picked up a 2-CD copy of George Frideric Handel's Messiah. To my joy (I like history!), the CD jacket states that this recording was done in 1996 by the Trinity Church Choir and Orchestra at Trinity Church, the church where the oratorio was premiered in the New World in 1770, twenty-eight years after it was written. (What a great tid-bit of history!)

Messiah has been a long-time favorite because it is based on exact words of Scripture. Listening to the oratorio helps me memorize (or review) specific Bible passages that tell about the Savior – prophecies in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. It's a great educational tool and memory aid!

And here's another history tid-bit: Messiah was not originally a Christmas piece; it was performed at Easter. Therefore, this is one "Christmas" CD that can be (and probably should be) listened to all year!

My extended family is right now feeling very keenly our need to renew our minds with God's truth as our dear fifteen-year-old nephew fights a rare bone cancer. We are also experiencing God's abundant grace. We have so much to be thankful for and rejoice in!

So, I'm joining "Just for the JOY of It" and sharing reasons to rejoice – and focus on Christ, the real reason for celebrating Christmas (and Easter)!

Inspiration & Encouragement: Yes, it's still Thanksgiving Season!

Thanksgiving Day was one week ago today. Last week was a blur for my extended family – with days (and, for some, nights) spent at the hospital...

But we have so much to be thankful for.

On a lighter note, our almost four-year-old came up with her own list of blessings.

Whether we're old enough to recognize the burdens of life or too young to see much farther than the end of our noses, we have been blessed!

Because of God's grace, giving salvation, we are bountifully blessed indeed!

It's still Thanksgiving Season!

Inspiration and Encouragment

Well, I haven't kept up very well with my new ideas for this blog in the past two weeks; I've been battling a pretty bad cold, which turned into bronchitis – but thankfully is neither Type A (H1N1) or Type B (influenza) flu. (Is the latter redundant?!)

That said, I would like to link to three posts on my family blog that can be encouraging to moms – especially moms of very young children.

The Girl I Used to Be

A Mother's Prayer

Hand-Made Decorations

God is good to send us little reminders to be thankful for the high calling of motherhood!

New thoughts on the blog...

Going forward, I'm hoping to have more organized (and hopefully helpful and inspiring) posts – on a regular basis!

Beginning this week, I'm considering the following schedule – giving myself freedom to adjust as the high callings of wife and mommy preclude that of frugal blogger...

Mondays & Tuesdays:
Money Saving Tips and/or Super Savers
(See this week's post here.)

Wednesdays:
What's Cookin'? (including recipes and menu plans)

Thursdays:
Book Reviews (or something educational)

Fridays & Saturdays:
Frugalista Fun (including deals around town) and/or Inspiration & Encouragement

And I'll still post about random freebies, current deals at CVS, etc. throughout the week.

Why the change (i.e. improvement)?! Well... I've been wanting to look more organized for a while now. More importantly, I also have a long-term goal of ministering especially to women by organizing and sharing money saving tips, specifically along the lines of grocery shopping and cooking.

God is calling my family to Uruguay, South America as full-time missionaries; we're in the preparatory stages and are very excited! One of the big changes, however, when leaving the good ol' USA, the land of abundant savings, will be learning to live frugally – without coupons as we now know them! We'll have to be far more creative in order to accomplish similar savings. And I'm excited about the challenge – not only for myself but also for the ladies God would have me serve there!

You can read more thoughts here and here – thoughts on serving God and others and working to keep a God-honoring perspective as a frugalista.

And please feel free to comment and share your ideas, too!

Walgreens Deals – 07/05 thru 07/11

Once again, I have Register Rewards (expiring today and Saturday), so here are some deals I’m planning to get. (See more deals, including coupon match-ups, at Money Saving Mom.)

Starbucks Ice Cream (1 pint) – B1G1 for $4.79
Use two $1.00/1 coupons (www.starbucksicecream.com)
$1.39 each after coupons
And remember that I plan to “pay” with RR!

Goody Ouchless Flex Hair Accessories – $3.99
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon
Full-price mail-in rebate prints (as Catalina coupon) at check out
FREE plus overage after coupon and rebate

Buy four packages of Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies – $2.50 each
Get $5.00 Register Rewards
Use two $1.00/2 printable coupons
$0.75 each after coupons and RR


By the way, this trip will probably be a learning experience; I’m hoping I can combine coupons and RR on this trip. (Stacking didn’t work for the Dry Idea deodorant deal last week. I was told it was because I used the $2.00/1 coupon, and I’ve read that others had the same experience.) The buzz on the frugal blogosphere is that Walgreens plans to phase out the Register Rewards program by October of this year. (Oh well, it never worked as easily as the CVS Extra Care Bucks program anyway!)

Here’s the gist of what I read:

Walgreens is slowly revamping the registers to make it so you have to pay full price to qualify for RR. The registers are all being re-programmed not to print RR when coupons are used; this applies to both manufacturer and RR. (Remember that RR are really manufacturer coupons and not “store money” – unlike Extra Care Bucks at CVS).

The silver lining is that I’ll save the time I would otherwise use trying to figure out how to best spend Register Rewards before they expire!

Opportunities...

I'm talking about opportunities to remember that my reason for existence is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!

Application to daily living:
So long as bargain hunting and couponing fit that mindset (assisting me in efforts to glorify God by being a wise steward of resources He has entrusted to my care, looking for opportunities to minister to others by sharing what He has given, etc.), bargain hunting and couponing are good things. But when they tempt me to forget those truths, bargain hunting and couponing are not virtues.

I had two opportunities to remember these things this past week...

Walgreens:
I remembered too late on Monday evening that my $2.00 Register Rewards expired that day – the same RR that refused to scan – not just once, but twice! Argh! And the remembrance became an opportunity to choose contentment.

Publix:
While checking out on Monday evening, I inquired about the penny item. The cashier informed me that I did not qualify because I did not have at least $10 in purchases. I told her that I'd recently learned that the one-cent item itself could be included in that $10 total. She asked the girl bagging groceries, and they both agreed that my understanding was erroneous. Would I like to get something else and reach the $10 total? They kindly kept my groceries there while I grabbed a gallon of milk and a pack of gum on clearance in order to reach the $3.00 balance needed. "Are Publix stores independently owned?" I asked while checking out the second time. (Owner-managers certainly have the prerogative to decide their own store policies.) They answered in the negative and wondered which local stores interpreted the penny item coupon as I'd just learned to do.

We made small talk and parted on good terms. The experience wasn't negative, only surprising, and I was thankful for God's working in my heart. My dear husband puts it practically:
"During these incredible bargaining transactions, do you conduct yourself in such a way as to be able to give cashiers a Gospel tract or invite them to our church?" (I'm so thankful for him and his practical theology!)

Besides all this, my loving Heavenly Father promises:
"My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
~ Philippians 4:19

For better or for worse... (CVS vs Walgreens)

Rumor has it that Walgreens plans to discontinue the EasySaver Catalog program this spring, replacing it with something similar to CVS's Extra Care Bucks program. Interesting...

"Imitation is the highest form of flattery!"

I'd been thinking of writing a post, giving tips on shopping at CVS and spelling out what I see as pros and cons of bargain shopping at the two pharmacies, even before I read the rumors. But consider yourself warned – I've become a CVS fan! Experiences earlier this week help to explain...

On Tuesday afternoon, I did a CVS run – primarily for the great diapers deal...

Spend $20 on Pampers products – Get $5 ECBs
(Limit 1 deal)
Buy two Pampers (or Easy-Ups) Jumbo packs at $10 each
Use two $1.50/1 coupons or two $1.00/1 coupons
Pay $17 to $18 out of pocket
Diapers cost $6.00 or $7.00 per pack after coupons and ECBs

I picked up two other free after ECBs items, used a $5 off $25 purchase CVS coupon (more on that later), paid the balance with $20 in ECBs and only $1.68 out of pocket – and earned $12.98 ECBs! (Two packs of 30 diapers for less than $2.00 out of pocket! Not bad at all!)

In contrast, I stopped by Walgreens that same evening hoping for the following scenario (after my positive experiences yesterday).

Buy two FiberOne bars at $1.99 each
Use two $0.50/1 coupons (from recent newspaper inserts)
Use $2.00 in Register Rewards (from yesterday)
Pay $0.98 with Walgreens gift card

Alas! The RR coupon wouldn't scan! And the cashier couldn't even force the computer to accept it. She couldn't figure out why... Then I remembered a common Walgreens glitch – number of coupons per transaction cannot exceed number of items being purchased!

But, the current Walgreens program has offered two major points in its favor:

• Users get a 10% bonus when EasySaver rebates are put on a Walgreens gift card.
• Money on said gift card does not expire.

Drawbacks of the current Walgreens program include:

• You have to remember to "mail in" your EasySaver receipts (electronically or otherwise).
• Rebate money is not immediately available (to be used on next month's deals).
• Register Rewards are the exception; they are immediately available. However, besides the RR frustration recounted above, RR coupons cannot be used on items from the same manufacturer. (For example, if I get RR for purchasing Proctor & Gamble products, I cannot use those RR to pay for other P&G products, etc.)

So, how is the CVS Extra Care Bucks program better? First of all, you have to look at ECBs the way you look at any coupon. ECBs do expire (usually one month from the date of printing).

Advantages of the ECBs program include:

• ECBs print on your receipt, so that "money" is immediately available!
• You can use ECBs like money – they'll pay for anything you're buying (except prescriptions, gift cards, pre-paid cards, money orders, postage stamps, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and lottery). A good list of exclusions, actually!
• $$ off $$ purchase coupons tend to print in accordance with your typical spending. I typically "spend" $25 at CVS (mostly to keep rolling over my ECBs), so CVS keeps printing $5 off $25 purchase coupons for me. (A manager verified that's how the program works!) And that consistent 20% savings at CVS beats the Walgreens 10% bonus for getting rebates on a gift card.
• Opportunities to "build" ECBs abound – especially when you can combine coupons with free after ECBs deals and consistently pay for purchases with ECBs.

CVS isn't paying me anything to advertise – I just love the place! I started seriously "playing the coupon game" (including CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and Publix) in August of last year. I wish I could remember when I first built up to $20 ECBs – it's been months. But just last week, I reached my all-time high of over $60 ECBs – and that's in spite of "never" paying more than $2.00 out of pocket at CVS! How can you do that?! Well, if you're new to CVSing, read these (very helpful) tutorials and tips.

Happy Bargain Hunting!

And do keep your eyes and ears open for a great Huggies diapers deal next week at Walgreens! (You did print $16 worth of Huggies coupons in anticipation of a great deal, I hope!)

On frugality, etc.

A recent conversation with a friend motivated me to think about blog posts – specifically those with the theme of (economic) frugality – and I’ve decided to pen some of those thoughts here… To get right to the point – I’ve noticed that pride can be a common thread among frugal bloggers; there can be the attitude: “If you don’t major in savings like I do, you aren’t doing things right.”

A few examples might include:

• If you bought [fill in the blank] (a new car seat, new furniture, etc.) for your baby, then you weren’t frugal! After all, I didn’t spend a cent on that item – my parents gave me a blank check for that need! (But maybe my parents aren’t in a financial position to do the same…)

But this same attitude can be noted in any person passionate about her convictions:

• If you don’t [fill in the blank] (let your baby cry herself to sleep – like I do with mine!), then you’re doing something wrong! (But maybe my child is in pain due to a digestive issue that I don’t advertise…)

You get the picture – these are scenarios where we think of ourselves, our opinions, our ways of doing things, etc. more highly than we ought to think…

In reality, the terms savings and frugality encompass more than finances. What about time? What about simplicity of life? What about personal relationships? What about serving God and others? Shouldn’t we fans of frugality take care to communicate that (economic) frugality is not the only virtue in the world – and, perhaps more specifically, that frugality is beautiful when combined with generosity? (What ideas do you have for sharing all that extra Colgate Total toothpaste you’ve been stockpiling, courtesy of CVS?) Otherwise, we risk coming across as grabbing all we can for ourselves. Is frugality merely part of a life that seeks to glorify God first and foremost in every area? Or is it a consuming passion that drives life and enslaves?

Couponing can become addictive (especially if you already tend to be competitive – like I do... Ahem!) How much time do you spend combing through blogs, trying to find free and almost-free deals? You may be proud of your status as a “SAHM” – but do your children become an interruption when you’re playing the savings game? Do they know that they’ll always be able to find you squinting at the computer screen?

My single friends who work all day every day outside their homes may not have the same liberties to read blogs, clip and match coupons, and run to drugstores to get all this “free stuff” – many of them, in their free time, are focusing on being more involved in church ministries than I’m able to be because I’m a wife and mom. What am I communicating to them?

Humility would become us, my sisters!

For related thoughts on these topics, see posts here, here, here, and here.