Fall Wardrobe

This upcoming fall is the fist season in which we would be filling Jackson's closet all by ourselves. We are beyond blessed to get hand-me-downs from several friends and up until now, we've just been supplementing an article of clothing here and there. As I pulled out Jackson's spring and summer clothes a few months ago, I realized that the hand-me-down drawers were empty and I even panicked a little at the thought of spending buckoos of money on clothing.

I began shopping for this fall back when garage sales started back in March and April. I purchased items one or two at a time and stashed it away in my closet. I dug it all out today to take an inventory and I've figured we are just about set for fall and winter.

We've got five pairs of pants. Clockwise, upper left: blue pants- $1; jogging pants- $.25, Wrangler Jeans- $1, Cherokee khakis- $1, Gap Jeans- $1. 

TOTAL $4.25

Jackson already wears ths Spiderman shirt, but I'm holding onto the others for now. I will probably pull them out when he starts wearing jeans. Iron man- $.25; Superman- $.50; Spiderman- $.50.  

TOTAL $1.25

Dress shirts for church. Blue and white striped- $.25; blue and brown- $2

TOTAL $2.25

I was beyond thrilled when I found these Mizzou shirts at the thrift store. Jackson loves him some tiger clothes, but buying them new is way expensive. These shirts are marked at $3.99 each, but I made sure to buy these on the day when blue tags are 50% off, so I only ended up paying $1.98 each! 

TOTAL: $4

 These long-sleeve shirts are practically new. The big brother shirt might have been worn a time or two, but I'm thinkin the other two haven't even been washed yet. I paid $1 for each of these.

 TOTAL: $3

These shirts are still is good condition {no holes or stains} but they have definitely been worn. Jackson goes through really picky phases of what kind of shirt he wants to wear, so I tried to pick up a variety to match his interest! There's guitars, dinosaurs, motorcycles and basketball. These were all a quarter each.

TOTAL: $1.25

And lastly, these pajamas. Now these were by far the most expensive things I've purchased! It darn near KILLED me to pay $4 EACH! But... I've searched high and low for 4T footie pajamas. The very few I've even seen at garage sales have had the feet cut out. These are brand new {with tags} and along with the 4Ts we used last year, we should be good to go.

TOTAL: $8

My grand total is $24.

Wow!! That's practically the price of one pair of GAP jeans brand new!

I'm still looking for a winter coat and maybe one more pair of jeans and/or dress shirt. It's weird to be looking for these items in the midst of these horrid temps and scorching drought, but if I just need to be thinking ahead.

I'm pretty picky about what I purchase. Even if it's only a quarter, I don't want to bring home items that have holes or look dingy. And I frequently see items at garage sales that I think are way overpriced. But if you just keep looking, you'll come across some good finds.


Browsing through the racks at the thrift store and going to garage sales does take time. But it's so worth it. And, I think it's pretty fun. It's important for me for my kids to have nice clothing and it's a nice treat to find clothes with their favorite characters and hobbies! It is totally doable on a one income budget with just a little effort.
Do you enjoy garage sale and thrift store shopping? What have been your favorite buys?

Thrifty Thursday: Garage Sale Website

Garage sales. My number one thrifty pleasure. I love being able to find things on my I-would-love-to-have-but-refuse-to-pay-retail-list for mere pocket change. My mom sometimes refers to her garage sale finds as items from the "street side boutique."

I'm not here to reinvent the garage sale, but to share a website that has changed my life. Okay, well that is a bit dramatic, but I have yet to set out garage sale-ing without checking this ever since a dear friend introduced me last spring.

http://gsalr.com/

It is super easy to use. Just type in your address (or just the zip code) and it will provide a map with the area garage sales with a description of each one (it does the work of searching other sites [Craiglist]  that list the sales and compiles them all for you in one place!). Not only is that amazing in itself, but then you can select which ones to put on your list. Enter your starting address and it will give you the best route to hit all of the ones you selected. Step by step directions from each location to the next. Garage sale-ing could not be any easier. 

My garage sale loot so far this year: Perfect Brownie Pan: $.50 (been wanting one ever since I had some that Carla made- this contraption is amazing),  new to me work shoes: $1, pink framed mirror for Julie's room. 

Thrifty Thursday: Jello

Derek takes a sack lunch to work just about everyday. This is a great way to save on eating out costs alone, though I still try to find ways to cut back on some of things he likes to pack in his lunch. One way I have been able to do that is with Jello- and it is SO easy to do. To buy a 6-pack of Jello (36 oz) can run over $2.50 while I can make the same for $1 (two packages) and I can get the sugar free, 5 calorie stuff without paying extra. This takes about 10 minutes, start to finish.

Each batch makes 4-4oz servings. I have several 4 oz containers, so it works out great. I like to make two batches at a time because it really is so simple and it will last about two weeks.

The Jello- They have all sorts of the sugar free flavors. 

To make the Jello, you just need 1 cup boiling water to mix with 1 cup cold water. Pour in the mix, stir until all dissolved and then you're ready to go.  

My measuring cups have pouring spouts so it works out great to get the Jello in the container.

Two packages will make 8 four ounce servings. I used to have three complete sets of four 4-oz containers, but I could only find five containers, but I decided to add fruit to a couple and put it in a bigger container. Derek doesn't like fruit in his Jello, but the kids will love it. I added some banana and pineapple. 

While it may seem that like it's a hassle to save only a dollar or so, if you can save $1.50 a week or even just a couple times a month- it can really add up. Plus, it's a great snack to have anytime- it only has 5 calories! This is a much better sweet snack for the kiddos instead of animal crackers or pudding. 

Thrifty Thursday

I got a lot of positive comments on my Money Saving Website post from last week. So, I've decided to make continue to share a few of the tips and tricks that I use to help save money here and there! Having the privilege to be a Stay-At-Home-Mom is important to me, so I try to make it part of my job to make sure our dollar stretches as far as possible.

In honor of the Easter pictures that I posted yesterday, This Thrifty Thursday will focus on my system to getting Jackson's professional pictures taken. I have gotten Jackson's picture taken seven times now (every other month in his first year and this year's Easter pic), and have spent less than several people spend on one portrait setting alone- less than $85.

My first step of getting Jackson's pictures taken is deciding whether I want several prints to give to friends and family, or do I want to order only a few prints but with a couple different poses. For lots of prints, Portrait Innovations is the place to go; for a few poses, it's Target Portraits.

At Portrait Innovations you can get their special package and get over 40 prints with six greeting cards for $9.95. Additional prints are $15 a sheet. It takes will power to walk out with only one pose, but it is possible! Be prepared for chaos when you walk into Portrait Innovations (avoid Saturdays!) and expect to be there for at least an hour even if you have an appointment. It is super cool that they print your portraits immediately and can take them home with you.

Target always has printable coupons from their website for a free 8x10 with additional sheets being $3.99. Also, once you get your pictures taken there once, upon picking up the picture you will be given a code to take a survey to print a $3 off coupon for your next purchase. You can do this each time and it is stackable with the first coupon I mentioned. Target has a much calmer atmosphere with no distractions. They will be done with taking pictures in 15-20 minutes and then it just takes a few minutes to pick the ones you want. The pictures do take about 10-14 days to come in, so you do have to make a trip back to pick them up.

Neither places have a sitting fee and both have great props, though you can bring your own if you want. I love the pictures I've gotten and they line our hallway wall so you can see how grew in the first year. And for just over $10 (with tax) for each time, it's even better!

Money Saving Webites

Just few months after we got married, Derek and I went to lunch with some friends. I walked into Quizno's with a coupon in hand and my friend said to her husband, "See, I knew she'd have one with her!" Obviously, it was no secret that I, am in fact, am cheap. We had previously decided where to eat lunch, so I thought I'd check online to see if I could find a coupon. By taking just a few minutes before we left the house, we were able to enjoy a free sandwich that afternoon.

There are people out there that are amazing with the coupons and spend $45 for an entire week of groceries, like my friend Callie. That is not me. I don't get the Sunday paper to clip coupons and I am doing good if I get to the grocery store one or two times a month. Instead, I do a lot of shopping at Aldi's and stock up on really good deals when they come up.

However, I thought I'd share some of the sites that have saved me tons of money and that I check pretty regularly. Normally, this takes about 30 seconds just to check unless something tweaks my interest and I'll spend a couple of minutes reading how to get the amazing deal.

http://slickdeals.net

This is a forum site. Everyday people like you and me post deals that they have found. Other people rate the deals and moderators determine the 'slickness' of the deals posting the hottest deals on the front page. I check this site daily, though I only find something that is a deal for me maybe once a month-ish. If, you are looking for something specific, you can use the search bar or browse through the specific forums (hot deals, freebies, coupons, etc...). I've ended up with several freebies (samples, coupons for toys, hotdogs, Chipotle, etc.), magazine subscriptions for $3 (ESPN, Seventeen), photo prints for pennies. We got a package of 80 batteries for $8 once. I even got in a research study for AOL that paid $200 a few years ago. It's nice because other people do the work and I just check and get the deal myself! Beware of buying things you don't need just because you can get it for a few dollars- not that it has ever happened in this house.

http://pennypinchingparent.com

I use the Penny Pinching Parent website for three things. Mainly these days, I just check out the Savings Sunday post that gets put up each week that lists the deals on all things baby (diaper, wipes, food, clothes) for the week. When something like Huggies goes on sale, they'll also include what coupons are available to maximize your savings. Unless you are a professional diaper shopper it's hard to know the best deal when comparing the price to and the number of diapers in a Mega, Ultra, Jumbo-packs of diapers in each brand! The posts How Many Diapers in a Pack and How Much to Pay Per Diaper are easy references in navigating the world of diaper shopping.

http://kansascityonthecheap.com

I am new to this site, but I LOVE it. For those of you who aren't from KC, no worries- this is part of a network that has a site for most major cities. With a few posts a day, this site keeps you up to date with freebies, deals, and activities in the KC area. There are pages for the cheapest gas in the area, where kids eat free, and items that are always free. It's super easy to find your way around.

http://craigslist.org

Craigslist is amazing. It is simple, easy to navigate, and so handy. Not only did I find my house through a listing on Craigslist, but a majority of the items in it- front door, laminate flooring, cabinet doors, bathroom mirror, light fixtures, living room tables, dishes... and I could go on. I have gotten books, DVDs, toys, Derek's car... just about everything. It is as simple as emailing someone. Most everyone can be talked down on price and it's super easy to do since haggling can be done on email and not face to face. And for those of you with a "green" conscious- it's a great way to pass along items that you don't use. I actually got all of the supplies for Jackson's birthday party from a lady who had extras and didn't want to throw them away- and I got them for free!!! At one point I had a kazillion baby food jars lying around and I found someone who was looking for some for crafts for VBS- such a better way to get rid of stuff. A few tips- I always make sure to see a picture of the item, keep in mind that "vintage" normally means "crap", and always meet somewhere public and out in the open (Gas stations, store parking lots, etc...).

Of course, there is always Google. If you know you are heading to a certain restaurant, do a simple search to see if coupons are other there. Same with department store coupons. Most restaurants will send you a free something if you register and give them your birthday.

All these sites are hit and miss. Sometimes there's a deal, sometimes there's not. And sometimes it's just easier to go out and buy what you need without hassle. However, for those of you trying to cut back on spending these are some great resources! Happy Shopping!