Sunday, January 19, 2014

Deal Shopping 1/19/14

Well, another weekend has come to an end.  My weekend was really awesome and busy.  One of the most exciting things about my weekend would have to be the great deals I got today while shopping.  I had a "me" day where I spent most of the day by myself.  I went shopping because I had so many gift cards for various places so I thought today was as good as any to see what I could find.

I started off my trip at Macy's as I received a coupon in the mail this morning for $10 off a $25 purchase, or 15% off any purchase.  I somehow ended up in the shoe department and found the most beautiful pair of Sperry's ever made.  Look how pretty they are.  I should put them in a case and look at them from time to time but never wear them. Haha, right, like that would happen.

The photo isn't even doing them justice.  They are metallic silver with glittery details on the sides.  So.In.Love.  I heard birds chirping and angels singing when I saw them.  They called to me from afar.  Something pulled me to the clearance shoe rack today, and I just know it was "them".   That sounds weird because when you think about it, is there really a clearance rack in Durham that I don't check out a least once a week?  But really, I never look for shoes at Macy's because I'm so cheap.  There I said it.

Anyway, since they were calling to me so loudly, I went ahead and tried them on.  Oh man.  It was like butter.  They felt like home.  They were shiny and glittery and on clearance, so obviously I was smitten.  What made it even better was I realized they were marked down to $47 which for Sperry's isn't too bad.  Then I remembered I had a $30 giftcard and a $10 off $25 purchase coupon so after paying tax essentially I became the proud new owner of these Sperry's for only $10.

All of this was going on in my head while I was standing by the rack and I can't lie, I did get a little too excited about it and had to share the news with the lady beside me.  She was not amused.  She was also not in to saving money or coupons either apparently.  Not sure why she was even at the clearance shoe rack in the first place.  She should have taken her snotty rear end to Nordstrom with the rest of them.  She was dead inside I tell you!  Wait, where was I with this ridiculous story?  Oh yeah, so I'm spreading the news about these Sperry's being such a good deal and I was so excited.  Then entered the random lady, but I didn't let her snotty attitude get me down.  I marched my big butt up to the register and proudly paid for my new glittery yet affordable Sperry's like a boss.  Here they are....


They are so pretty I might name them.

I've got it, I shall call them, Roxy and Foxy.  Great names for diva-licious glittery Sperry's if you ask me.

Moving on....

So, just when I thought my day couldn't get any better I managed to find my way in to Victoria's Secret to stumble upon one very lonely $1.99 table in which EVERYTHING was $1.99.  It wasn't like that mind trick where the sign says $1.99 really big and then in hieroglyphics underneath it actually reads "and up" only you can't read "hieroglyphics" so when you get to the register you're so frustrated you pay the actual sales price anyway.  No this little table was for real $1.99 - everything on it.  At first I thought only I could see the table and it was a figment of my imagination because no one was standing around the table, only the one sales associate who was stocking it with product.  I got closer and closer thinking I needed to get my eyes checked, as I was sure the sign probably said $11.99 instead but no.  It was real.

Lotions, body scrubs, perfumes, body sprays, shower gels!.  Oh my!.  It was like entering the gates of heaven.  Well, if heaven were filled with half naked skinny women that always smelled good and that wore angel wings with their underwear like that was a normal outfit.  I'm pretty sure that's not the case.  But only time will tell ha ha.

I guess after I saw it every other woman in their magially saw the table at the exact same time and they all began sworming right after I got to the table.  The women in their today were not very angelic for the record.  That $1.99 sign makes the freaks come out, and it got pretty brutal, but I managed to come away with quite a few goodies...some for myself and some for gifts of course, no cops were called and I didn't have to take my earrings out.  So all in all pretty successful.

Then I left there and headed down to Belks to see what I could find there.  It was a pretty good trip because I found a pair of gray pants for work (thank sweet baby Jesus because every pair of work pants in my closest are black).  They were only $19 on clearance so that was a win for the day.  I also found these two wall art picture frames for $7 each so naturally had to get those too.


I also got some GREATTTTT deals at Macy's on work clothes as well.  I still can't believe it.

I got a royal blue Calvin Klein skirt for $20, a black/white Calvin Klein sleeveless top for $9 and a brown sweater for $24, all at Macy's.  I was able to use my coupons so I spent a total of $50 but saved $167.  



At Belks I got this tan/cream leopard print sleeveless top as well as a black/white damask top that you can't really see in the picture.  Might be a good thing because it's for a special occasion so I don't want anyone to see how smokin' hot it is.  So, long story short I spent about $40 at Belks but saved $120.  That was even without a coupon if you can believe it.  Belk has great clearance sales if you didn't know.  

So then after all that excitement at the mall I decided it was time for my weekly HT grocery store trip to coupon shop on my way home.  Today's trip was very successful.  I didn't take a photo of everything I got, just the items that were the "best deals" but basically I spent $40, and saved $67.  So I got $107 worth of groceries for $40.  This week I didn't need to spend much because we have a lot of meat stocked up so there wasn't much to get this week regarding perishable food.  I can menu plan for the next 2.5 weeks with everything we have stocked up so today really was just meant to be a trip for me to get produce for my meal prep my breakfasts and snacks for work.  

See details below pic for regular v sale v coupon v final price paid if you're interested.  If not continue to the next section.


Best Deals This Week:

Apple Cheerios: $4.26, on sale 2/$4, on eVic for $1.77 - .75 cents off 1 x 2 = .27 cents
Total Cereal: $3.69, on sale 2/$4, - .75 cents off 1 x 2 = .50 cents
Quaker Oats Medleys Bars: $3.99, on sale 2/$6, - $1.00 off 1 coupon = $2.00 (great deal because these are NEVER on sale)
Gain Detergent-50oz: $7.49, on sale $5.99, on eVic for $3.77 - .50 cents off 1 x 2 = $2.77 
Ortega Reduced Sodium Taco Seasoning: $1.19 each, on sale 4/$3 - .50 cents off 2 x 2 = .30 cents each
Marzettis Simply Dressed Salad Dressing: $3.79, on sale $2.99 - .75 cents off 1 x 2 = $1.49 each
John Freida Shampoo & Conditioner: $6.99, on clearance for $2.38 - $3.00 off two coupon = .88 cents each
Loreal EverCurl Shampoos: $6.99, on clearance for $2.38 - $2.00 off 1 coupons = .28 cents each
Campbell's Slow Cooker Sauce: $3.49, on sale 2/$4 - $1.00 off 1 = $1.00 

While I was shopping at HT today I even shared some coupons some other shoppers.  There was one couple in particular that I could tell money was an issue for them based on the conversations I couldn't help but overhear as we made our way from aisle to aisle so I offered them some coupons on items they were getting that I didn't need.  You could tell it made their day so I felt good to be able to help.  Maybe it will inspire them to start couponing themselves.  Every penny saved counts.

So all in all it was a pretty successful shopping day for me.  I managed to get great deals and completed almost everything on my to-do list.  I never made it to Target, but maybe tomorrow during my lunch hour I can fit that in after I make my way to Dollar Tree to pick up some wedding related items.

So, that's all for today.  I will leave you with some humor to lighten your evening.  I apologize in advance for the naughty language on one of them but it's rather hilarious.  Honestly.  If you don't laugh at that one then we can't be friends anymore.





Saturday, January 4, 2014

2014 - The Year of Being Awesome

So, it is three days in to the beginning of 2014 so everyone and their cousin's neighbor's grandma's stepson's daughter is making resolutions that they intend to give up on in two weeks.  Not to be a "Negative Nancy" but you get what I'm saying.  It's the same thing each year.  I get it.  However not I!

I first of all, don't make resolutions ANY time, let alone at New Years. I do however set goals for myself. Sometimes these goals are daily, weekly, monthly, for the entire year etc.  Usually I manage my goals like a "to-do" list and mark things off as I accomplish them.  Sometimes when I have time I might blog about them but this year has been hella busy so my blog was kind of left behind.

With that being said....

My to-do list for 2013:

  • Coupon Seriously - meaning save money and never buy anything full price if I can help it.  (The fuel to this fire might have been prompted even more by my five seconds of local fame on the WRAL SmartShopper blog which was written right when I first go in to couponing)
    Coupons Coupons Coupons
    One of many good deal "hauls" from HT
  • Organize my closets and stick to the organizational plan - done, although still have more improvements I want to make.  So that one is still on the list for 2014.  Thus no picture.  Sorry!
  • Redo the desk in the living room to make it prettier - done, like a boss might I add.  I rock!
    Desk - BEFORE
    Desk - AFTER
  • Get my eye surgery - Booooooom.  Done.  Damn I look good too.  Worth every penny I had to pay out of pocket.
    First pic I took after eye surgery
  • Meal plan each week - yep, did that too, even got a dry erase board for the refrigerator to write it down on.
    My cute weekly menu board
  • Eat healthier - somewhat successful at that.  I attempted this year to recreate recipes I like to make them a little healthier, made sure I ate breakfast every day, became more mindful of the ingredients in some of the items I was buying, etc.  I also quit drinking cows milk and stick to only Almond or Coconut Milk which helped my digestion issues some.
  • Create a budget and stick to it - I need a freakin' gold star ya'll.  I not only stuck to our weekly grocery budget by week but I also saved us a lot of money on groceries by sale shopping and couponing.  We were also able to pay off some credit cards last year as well.  (Patting myself on the back right now.).  I'm such a dork I kept track of what I spent at each store I typically go to (Harris Teeter, Kroger, Target) and the amount I saved per trip to make sure my yearly spend is what I had budgeted.  So for this year I was at my budget per week of $50.00.....oh yeah!
  • Be Awesome - that comes so naturally that I had NO problem marking that one off the list for the year.
So basically I'm stating for the record that I accomplished ALL of those goals aka my "to do's" last year 100% or darn near close. The only thing that could still use improvement would be the healthy eating because I did have quite a few cheat days, but doesn't everyone?  Meaning that I'm still leaving that one on the list for 2014 because I'm currently researching the Paleo diet now and honestly there is always room for improvement in healthy eating anyway.



So my to-do list for 2014 looks a little something like this:

  • Plan a budget friendly but beautiful wedding - already successfully working on that one - blog post in the making on that note
  • Continue Couponing only this year with a $40.00 per week budget - might be hard but I'm up for the challenge
  • Continue being awesome - hellooooo I do that EVERY year.
  • Try to continue to eat better but not beat myself up if I have one cheat day 
  • Organize the cabinets in the kitchen more efficiently
  • Install shelves in the hallway closet
  • Create a plan for the laundry closet and draw up plans for the "pantry" I want built in the kitchen.
  • Repaint the foyer and hallway and decorate the wall at the end of the hallway accordingly
  • Fancy up my "getting ready" station in our bedroom to make it cuter and more girly (I'm sure Love Muffin will be THRILLED about that! :-)
  • Have a yard sale and get rid of some stuff, while making $ in the process
  • More dilligently track our spending in areas we didn't track last year to better manage our funds in those areas
  • Buy a new laptop.  For real.  This one has seen better days and is circa 2008 which is ancient in computer years.

So....basically we have established that I am amazeballs and rocked 2013 and made it my you know what. So I'm sure 2014 will be equally as amazeballs. (I think I'm too old to say amazeballs.  It's almost as bad as me saying "totes" or another one of those shortened words all the "kids" are saying nowdays.)

Anyway, do you make resolutions?  Do you ever find that you actually stick to them?  Or do you find that you are more of a goal setter and are pretty successful at marking the goals off your list?

Until next time...