Last week I highlighted a local thrift store, New 2 You in North Mankato. This week I thought I'd share with you another common way to stretch you dollar that anyone, in any town, can take advantage of - Garage and Yard Sales.
Sister K's mom came down for part of the day last Saturday. She arrived around 9 am and we spent a leisurely morning scouting out garage sales. I'm not sure how many we stopped at because we didn't really have a plan and we weren't looking for anything special. Only 1 of the kids opted to join us and it was definitely worth his while. I took $20 and put in in my pocket and decided to see how far I could stretch it. Here's what we found in about 2 1/2 hours:
The first photo on the left is of clothes I picked up for Jordan: 1 pair of Old Navy "church pants," 1 Old Navy gray zip front hoodie, 1 pair of blue athletic pants, 2 pair of mesh shorts. All together, I spent $6.50.
The next photo, in the middle, was also for Jordan. I gave him $2.00 to spend when we started and told him when it was gone, it was gone and that was all he was getting. He bought 2 books for $0.50 at the first garage sale. I bought the other 4 and the lunch bag for $1.50.
The photo on the left in this row is what I found for myself. Summer is almost over, but I figured the tanks would be nice for the hot days we have left and for layering this fall. The capris just looked comfortable. :o). I've been trying to pick up some cheap items while I transition to new sizes. I also picked up a new hard cover Vince Flynn book for Scott and a cheap novel for myself. All together I spent $5.00.
The photo on the right in this row is my favorite. I like purses and "bags" a lot, but I'm just too cheap to pay for new ones. Even $20 is too much for this penny pincher. Today was my lucky day. I found these two purses for just $5.00. I can't wait to use them!
All together, I spent $18.00 and got what I think are great deals. However, the absolute best deal we got was Jordan's. We hit one garage sale as it was closing up and offering everything for 1/2 price. He's been wanting golf clubs and saw 2 sets in the driveway. We talked to the woman at the sale and asked how much the clubs were. I can't remember what she said each set was, but I remember she said each club was $0.50. I looked at Jordan and asked him how much of his money he was willing to spend. He looked at his dollar and his 2 quarters and thought about it for a moment. He looked at the clubs again and said he would spend his quarters. As it turned out, this wonderful woman ended up talking to him about golf for a few minutes and then let him chose from one of two golf bags. She then proceeded to fill his golf bag because she told him he needed "one of every number" of clubs. When they were done, he had a full set of golf clubs and a bag and she would only take his quarters. Her generosity made my 7 year old's day.
Overall, it was a very thrifty and enjoyable way to spend a Saturday. Do you garage sale? What's the best deal you've found? We'd love to hear your story......
I wonder - Where do I find coupons?
It's a busy week at our house with school and sports activities. The only night we have nothing planned yet is Saturday. These are the weeks that are most challenging for me, even with a menu plan. The drive thru is just so much easier, but so much more expensive and not at all good for us. How do you handle those busy weeks were you feel like you are running every night? I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments below. Thanks for sharing!
Do you have a Cub Foods? One of the nice things about Cub for those of us who love coupons is that they allow stacking of store and manufacturer coupons. They also accept expired coupons for up to 90 days after the printed date on the coupon. This week's ad match-up is from Definitely Deals, another Minnesota based blog. It looks like there are some good deals this week, including cheap GM cereal and snacks, and granola bars.
Since I started extreme couponing, I've decided that I just can't pay school lunch prices anymore. We've decided to limit our kids to one hot lunch per week. That means we need to pack at least 12 cold lunches each week - and reminds me why I've always let them eat hot lunch. However, this time I am determined not to let packing cold lunches stress me out. 
Do you have a Cub Foods? One of the nice things about Cub for those of us who love coupons is that they allow stacking of store and manufacturer coupons. They also accept expired coupons for up to 90 days after the printed date on the coupon. This week's ad match-up is from Definitely Deals, another Minnesota based blog. It looks like my favorite cracker - Cheez its - is on sale this week. Yeah!
All together, I spent $18.00 and got what I think are great deals. However, the absolute best deal we got was Jordan's. We hit one garage sale as it was closing up and offering everything for 1/2 price. He's been wanting golf clubs and saw 2 sets in the driveway. We talked to the woman at the sale and asked how much the clubs were. I can't remember what she said each set was, but I remember she said each club was $0.50. I looked at Jordan and asked him how much of his money he was willing to spend. He looked at his dollar and his 2 quarters and thought about it for a moment. He looked at the clubs again and said he would spend his quarters. As it turned out, this wonderful woman ended up talking to him about golf for a few minutes and then let him chose from one of two golf bags. She then proceeded to fill his golf bag because she told him he needed "one of every number" of clubs. When they were done, he had a full set of golf clubs and a bag and she would only take his quarters. Her generosity made my 7 year old's day.
