• Crayola 8-count washable markers $2.50
• Crayola 24-count washable crayons $2
• Crayola 8-count washable watercolors $2
• Crayola 24-count twistables crayons $4.50
• Kleenex 3-pack facial tissues $3.97
• Expo 4-pack low odor dry erase markers $3.50
• Sharpie 2-pack fine markers $1.50
• Bic 10-pack mechanical pencils $1.50
• Bic 5-pack Brite Liner highlighters $1.50
• Texas Instruments TI-84 plus silver edition calculator $99
• Clorox disinfecting wipes $1.97
• Wet Ones antibacterial hand and face wipes $1.97
• Purrell hand sanitizer $1.97
• Great Value storage bags $1.97

Wal-Mart also has some supplies that are made of recycled products:

• Sasquatch 2-pocket folder $.97
• Sasquatch composition notebook $1.97
• Sasquatch 1-subject notebook $2.47
• 1-subject recycled notebook $1
• Georgia-Pacific recycled copy and print paper $3.50
• Greenroom 1″ recycled binder $3.50

Wal-Mart also has various dorm and college supplies on sale.  See their online ad for more details. 

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Image complements of A Quick Laugh

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Of course, when I brought it home, she wanted one just like it.  So I went back the next day and they had marked them up to $5 (regular price $10).  I bought her one but it was painful.  I was still happy to have mine for cheap and now Turkey Butt and I get out of the bath and sit in our wraps for a while together.  She loves it!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Huggies Diapers: Sam’s  $.2373/ diaper  Wal-Mart  $.2936

Clorox 2: Sam’s  $.1692/load  Wal-Mart  $.1970/load

Oxiclean: Sam’s  $1.162/lb  Wal-mart  $1.96/lb

Surf:  Sam’s $.087/load  Wal-Mart  $.0993/load

Downy:  Sam’s $.0726/load  Wal-mart  $.075

Gain:  Sam’s  $.1257/load  Wal-Mart  $.133/load

Dishwashing Gel:  Sam’s $.0387/oz  Wal-Mart  $.0384/oz

Wipes:  Sam’s  $.0292/wipe  Wal-Mart  $.0232/wipe

Turns out, Sam’s WAS cheaper.  Their organic milk, however, was $.30/half gallon more expensive.  So I will continue to buy my organic milk at Kroger for less than #3/half gallon.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

You need to keep this in mind at the bulk stores as well like Sam’s Club and Costco.  Take that calculator and watch your per unit cost.  It won’t take long to figure out the good deals from the same savings.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

We headed out and our first stop was Wal-Mart.  I had no circular for Wal-Mart so I had no clue what was on sale.  There were palettes of sweatshirts and pajamas.  People were digging through them like crazy.  It was tempting to get Alligator girl a set of pajamas, but seriously she does not need any and truthfully, they looked really cheap.  I did settle on a hooded fleece Lightning McQueen sweatshirt for Cuddlebug.  It was $4.  While at Wal-Mart, we also picked up some of the dvds that were $2-3.  I was pleased that I got a coat for Cuddlebug for $8.  His old coat from last year is a size 2T-3T and it isn’t oversized like most coats.

When we first arrived at Wal-Mart, it was pretty quiet.  It was about 4:50 am and many people were just standing in the aisles with their carts and waiting.  I had no clue what they were lined up for, but at 5 am it got really loud and then I saw people grabbing tvs like crazy.  Their tvs were at an awesomely low price.  Too bad I didn’t have the extra money.  Maybe next year.

Next, we headed to Target.  They didn’t open until 6 am and it was insane!  People were lined up down the sidewalk for quite a ways.  The line even stretched up to the next largest store in the plaza.  There were hundreds of people in line.  The Target associates were outside passing out maps of the key items they had on sale.  I head an associate say that there were only a few navigation systems and a limited amount of Guitar Hero games. 

We waited in line for 15 minutes, but it seemed like a lot longer.  Then people started smoking.  Ahhhh!  (Warning: rant) Do you really need a cigarette at 6 am and no matter if you’re smoking outside or not, the people around you are still affected by it.  Goodness, don’t get me started.  It just burns me up! 

Finally, at 6 am they opened the doors.  The line moved into the store rather quickly.  Before I got into the store, some people from the parking lot starting walking up to the entrance, as if there wer going to cut in front of people that had been standing out there waiting.  Not smart, people.  Whew!  There could have been a serious  fight out there.  Thankfully, we made it in safely.  By the time I got into the store, some people were already in line paying for their purchases. 

The first thing we grabbed was hubby’s House dvds.  We got all 3 seasons.  Hooray!  Then we walked around and got some other dvd deals.  This is the time of year when I buy dvds for myself.  I just can’t stomach paying full price for them.  I got P.S. I Love You and a few others.  I also got a pair of Black & Decker rechargeable scissors for my dad.  I got a pair of them as a gift a few years ago and they are wonderful!  I thought my dad could use a pair too.  They were on sale for $15.  I got dad a few dvds too.  Oh, I got Happy Feet for the kids.  I think it was $3.98, or something like that.

We got in line at Target and some lady in front of us said that the people in the parking lot tried to come in while the others from the line were walking in.  She said that some man shoved a lady for trying to cut in and then she shoved him back.  My goodness.  People get crazy acting about this stuff.

Our third stop was Shoe Carnival.  They had their Clarks clogs on sale for $30.  I’ve had mine for about 5 years and they have been the best shoes.  It was certainly time for another pair.  I got an additional $5 off with the coupon from the flyer.  I also got my grandma’s flyer and used the other $5 coupon to get my mom a pair of the Clarks for Christmas.  Such a great deal!

Last, we headed to Sam’s Club.  I didn’t really care to go because they didn’t have anything I wanted, but I went with hubby.  Then as we were walking in, I remembered that they were serving free breakfast.  Hooray!  They had Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits, danish, cinnamon rolls, bagels and cream cheese, fruit, yogurt, coffee, juice, and water.  It was a pretty nice treat, especially for the price.

And that’s how my Black Friday shopping went.  I haven’t figured up how much I saved, but I did spend less than $200 and I got some great deals.

How’d you do?

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1. There are 5 less days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So start your shopping early.
2. Wal-Mart is already putting some of their best toys on sale for $10.

So just watch out for good sales coming your way.  The bad part of this is that you would have to routinely go to Wal-Mart to check on the new sales.  Sorry

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

 Visit Walmart.com and you can get lots of free samples.  I stopped by their site today and ordered samples for Pampers, Frizz-Ease, Chocolate Chex, Listerine Whitening Strips, Hallmark Cards, and more.  I’m guessing that the featured samples will be changed from time to time, so don’t forget to stop by again later for more free stuff.

Thanks for my aunt Rosemary for the tip.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

I heard on the news last week that Wal-mart was recalling their Baby Connection bibs due to the amount of lead found in the canal backings. The recall is specific to the state of Illinois. This simply means that the state of Illinois says that the bibs contain more than the acceptable limit of lead in the bibs.

HELLO!!!!!!! If on estate says that there is too much lead in the bibs, then no matter where I live, I am not keeping any of them. You can’t buy lead based paint any more so why would I want to hang a lead bib around my infant’s neck?

The recall involves:

• Baby Connection 2-Pack Easy Wipe Bibs (UPC No. 01468152705)
• Baby Connection 7-Pack Feeder Bibs (UPC No. 01468151077)
• Baby Connection 2-Pack Feeder Bibs (UPC No. 01468102732)

If you have any questions, my suggestion is to throw them out. I can’t see a single reason why you should take the chance with the single most precious thing in your life under the age of 5 (Can’t exclude the other kids and the DH).

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

According to Consumer Reports, prerinsing your dishes can waste 20 gallons of heated water a day.  They suggest switching to an enzyme-based detergent so that you can simply scrape off the big chunks and throw the dishes in the machine.  The enzymes get off the stuck on food, so that you don’t have to scrub your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

You know what product Consumer Reports recommends? They recommend the Great Value Wal-Mart brand or Kirkland Signature from Costco!!!!  Can you believe it?  The generic, store brands are the ones they recommend?!?!

So, I decided to put it to the test.  Last month I bought the Great Value Wal-Mart brand dishwashing detergent.  I quit prerinsing and prewashing my dishes and it the product has worked!  I’m so excited.

This tip has saved me time, money on detergent, and money on energy and water.  It has also kept my eczema from flaring up.  What a thrifty tip!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy