Here at Thrifty Mommy, I’m guessing that we all have a shared goal of saving money, but yet, we all go about it differently. For example, as previously noted I won’t take the time to clip coupons, but I will search the thrift store racks for 30 minutes for a pair of $4 jeans before I’d ever head to a real store and pay $30. I make homemade cleaners and won’t pay for cable but I would never shop on Black Friday just to score some deals.

We all have habits. Some of our habits include spending more on some items over others. I bring this up because sometimes I think about the thrifty books I read, or blog posts, and it seems I could be doing more to save money. Some of those authors of thrifty books come off as if they NEVER spend a dime more than they have to. This makes me wonder about the rest of us. Do we all hold back or do some of us splurge once in a while?

I do splurge, not often, but I do. I do however look for sales on the items below, but if I can’t find one, I’ll still hand over the cash for them. Here’s what I won’t compromise on…

• Coffee: I’ve tried to buy cheaper coffee, I really have. But the coffee snob in me hates me for doing it, and I may as well not drink coffee at all. NOT an option.
• Organic fruits and veggies: You see conventional for really good deals, and many I will buy conventionally, but if a fruit or veggie is on the dirty dozen list, it’s very rare that I won’t buy the organic version.
• Organic milk: Milk is already expensive. Organic milk is a lot more. But dairy rates high on the list of conventional food baddies, so I always buy the more expensive organic.
• Lip gloss: I hate cheap kid lip gloss. I splurge (sadly) on my faves instead.
• Lotion: I usually buy organic or natural lotions (when I don’t make homemade) and it costs more than say, a store brand, but I like that they work better and don’t come chock full of chemicals.
• Recycled toothbrushes: These really cost more than store brand toothbrushes, and work just the same, but the greenie in me makes me need to spend more in order to lower my footprint some.

I’ve known folks who only buy the best meat but would never dream of shelling out cash for a book they can get at the library. I know others who splurge on shoes but clip coupons and search for sales all day long for groceries. I suppose my splurges are mainly affected by my eco-issues, but all of our splurges are slanted by something.

What do you splurge on and why? OR do you think you should try to save money 100% of the time - no compromise?

[image via free pixels]

The Shoe Department is having a big clearance.  Many of their sale and clearanced shoes are marked an additional 50% off.  I was able to get great deals today on shoes for my kids.  Here’s what I got:

• boys’ Maui Island flip flops $4.99
• boys’ Sketchers rubber sandals (croc type) $6.49
• boys’ leather Hush Puppies sandals $12.49
• girls’ Sugar Foot rubber sandals $3.49
• girls’ leather Timberland sandals (brown and pink) $7.49
• boys’ Sketchers flip flops $4.99
• boys’ Croc sandals (brown and orange) $9.99

The regular price of all of these shoes (the Shoe Dept price) was $168.93.  My pretax amount was only $49.93.  This is a savings of about 70%!  Woohoo!

Some of these shoes will fit my children this year and some of these we’ll save for next year. When you get buy shoes and clothing for such incredibly low prices, it saves a lot of money to shop ahead.

Happy saving!

image (c) Karen Weideman

If you’ve been reading Thrifty Mommy for a while, then you know that I enjoy buying birthday presents for my kids when they are on clearance.  I try to shop around for things I know my children will like, except I don’t have the guilt of paying outrageous prices for their toys and I don’t feel too much of a loss if the item becomes forgotten and ends up in the yard sale.

Alligator Girl’s birthday is July 4th and here’s a look at the cool stuff she got, thanks to her Thrifty Mommy! 

• MagNext magnet set - This was a last minute request from her.  Her older brother got a set for his birthday and she wanted a set so that they could play together.  Good thing I had bought an extra set when Target had them 50% off.  Now that she has a set, Cuddlebug has asked for his own set too for his birthday later this month.  We went to Target this weekend and they still had more of them on clearance.  I think we paid $11.98 instead of $23.99.
• WoofTown dog and accessories - All of these were 50-75% off.  The dog was $1.98 instead of $8, the large box of clothing and accessories was $3.24 rather than $12.98, the t-shirt was 75% off for $1.24, but the dog carrier bag was only 50% off.  It was $3.98 rather than $8.  This is one of her most favorite birthday presents.  Even her brothers like this toy.
• Silver star fanny pack - I saw this at Target last week.  I can see this coming in handy in the next few years.  It was $2.48 rather than $9.99.
• Hannah Montana necklace and bracelet set - On sale at Dollar General for $1, regularly $5.
• Precious Places dvd - A freebie from Fisher Price.  I received this just in time.  I hope the other dvd arrives before Cuddlebug’s birthday.
• Animal Jokes dvd and book - I actually got these in a 4-pack at Food Lion.  The entire set was $6, but I opened the package and just gave her one from the set.  This made her gift $1.25.  She is really into jokes lately so she was excited to get this.  She can listen to the cd while reading along in the book.

All of these gifts would have cost about $80. I never would have paid that.  I got it all for less than $30. 

Do you shop the clearance sales for birthday and Christmas presents?

image (c) Karen Weideman

I try not to toot my own horn, but I have to let you all know that it was such an honor to be on the list of the 30 Deal Hunters to Follow on Twitter.  This list was compiled by Savings.com.

You can follow me (thriftymommy) on twitter @thriftymommy, Jennifer Chait @jenniferchait, and you can also follow Savings.com @Savings.

If you’re looking to cancel your current cell phone plan, but are not looking to pay hundreds in cancellation contract fees, check out cellswapper.

How it works: If you hate your cell phone plan because you get bad service in your area or need to cancel to join up with say, your new partner’s plan, BUT you have months left on your contract, you can post your plan at cellswapper and once someone decides you have the plan for them, they take it over. There are perks on both sides because you won’t have to pay fees and the other person won’t have to pay activation.

Additionally, if you’re swapping into a plan, you could end up with a much shorter plan, say three months as opposed to a year, which is cool if you’re not sure if you’ll like a specific plan. Many of the plans available for swap in also offer free phones and or SIM cards.

Learn more about swapping into a plan.

Learn more about swapping out of a plan.

Visit cellswapper.

You know, I don’t think I’ve done thrifty link love in literally months! There are a lot of great thrifty bloggers and thrifty minded sites out there who we should take the time to visit. With that in mind, I thought we’d have a little link love to kick off the weekend.

Thrift Store Tips #1: Converting the retail mind to the Zen of thrift - The Thrifty Chicks break down thrift store shopping with a very cool slant on avoiding impulse buys.

Think you can’t afford home security? CNN Money says, “You sure can - even on a budget!”

Living with long-term unemployment - an NPR special podcast worth a listen.

Getting fit, taking up new hobbies, and other extracurricular activities don’t have to cost a lot, in fact, in some cases you can do all this for near-free or free.

How being lazy can cost you more than you might think.

Last but not least a cool pictorial about 25 ways to save more money each and every week. Yay!

What cool blogs have you been reading lately?

[image via stock.xchng]

Harris Teeter is having a super double coupon sale. They will double coupons with a face value of $1.98 or less.

I went shopping yesterday with a 3 and 5-year-old. Yay, me!  I made it out alive and with some bargains as well.  I hope to make it back in before the sale goes off, but here’s what I got today:

Starbucks 4 pk Frappuccinos (mommy’s splurge item)
7.19 reg price, 6.49 sale price
$1 coupon
$4.49 final

Hefty one zip bags
2.99 reg price, 2.50 sale price
$1 coupon
$.50 final

Kraft dressing
$2.82 regular price, $2.50 sale price
$1 coupon
$.50 final

100 calorie packs
$2.29 reg price, $2 sale price
$.55 coupon
$.90 final

Ocean Spray Cranberry Grape juice (bought 2)
$3.19 regular, buy 1 get 1 free sale
$.55 coupon (only had 1 coupon)
$2.09 final for 2

Smart Balance peanut butter
$3.29 reg
$1 coupon
$1.29 final

Pringles canister (bought 2)
$2.15 each reg
$1 coupon off 2
$2.30 for 2

French’s Mustard (specialty mustard)
$3.29 reg, $3 sale
$1 coupon
$1 final

Beechnut DHA baby cereal, 7 oz (bought 2)
$3.29 each reg
$1 coupon on each
$1.29 each final

Dr Pepper ice cream topping
$2.99 reg, $2 sale
$1 coupon
FREE

Gold Bond baby powder
$3.49 reg, $2.49 sale
$1 coupon
$.49 final

Suave lotion
$2.97 reg
$1 coupon
$.97 final

Vaseline lotion
$3.49 reg
$1.25 coupon
$.99 final

Activia 4 pk yogurt (bought 2, had 2 coupons)
$2.50 reg, $2 sale
$1 coupon
FREE x2

Bayer Caplets
$7.59 reg, bogo sale for $3.80 (bought 1)
$1 coupon
$1.80 final (for 1)

I got all of these groceries for around $20. It would have been less, but I was supposed to get the 4 oz baby cereals. I don’t need them, but was anticipating buying them for $.39 and donating them to the church food bank. They were stocked in the wrong place. This could have happened with several other items, but I noticed it myself. It seems the people that stock the shelves put things in other areas when they run out of room. It is annoying, but seems to happen at every store, so be careful.

I’m pleased with my deals, but feel like I could have done better if I wasn’t trying to shop with two children. I hope to share some more bargains with you later in the week.

Have you been to Harris Teeter for their super double coupon sale? What kind of bargains did you find?

image (c) Karen Weideman

It has been confirmed that there will be Super Doubles at Harris Teeter starting Wednesday.  The sale will run June 24-30.  This means that they will be doubling coupons with face values up to $1.98!  ($1.75 becomes $3.50!)  So if you have some high value coupons, now is likely the time to use them!

Thanks to SavvyDollar for the tip.  You can join the Harris Teeter chit chat at SavvyDollar.org.

Image (c) Karen Weideman

Yearly surprise (or periodic) costs include things like health care and car repairs not covered by insurance, birthday gifts for all those parties your kid gets invited to, PT summer camp, and so on. When surprise costs pop up as surprise it can cause a crimp in your budget.

To ease the surprise factor of periodic costs, do a general estimate at the start of each year. For example, consider all the surprise costs of the previous year, then add them up and divide by 12. Once you’ve got a figure in mind, be sure to set that amount aside each and every month, just as if it was a real bill. Put the cash into a specific saving account, or just keep track of the amount in your normal account. When surprise costs pop up, you’ll have the money ready without having to move bills around, re-budget, or freak.

Actually, something to consider is doing the same with utilities. In some areas water, gas and electric companies will allow equal pay - basically they charge you the same price all year (monthly) based on your previous year’s bills. This means you pay more for electric in summer, when costs would normally be low, BUT in the winter you avoid crazy surprise $200 bills.

[image via stock.xchng]

I went to Harris Teeter tonight for the final night of the triple coupon sale.  I’m quite pleased with my bargains.  I got about $160 of groceries for around $60 (including tax).  Not bad, I think. 

Here’s a list of what I bought and some of the prices. Sorry, I can’t remember all of them.

• Harris Teeter coffee beans
• 2 Wisk 2x Ultra laundry detergent (bogo +$1.50 qp +$2 printable qp, 2/$5.09)
• Comet long grain rice
• Diap soap 3 pk (free)
• 2 Mahatma yellow rice ($.75 qp, free)
• 2 Kraft dressing (bogo +$1.50 qp)
• Lawry’s marinade (bogo +qp, $.09)
• Doritos (bogo, $1.99)
• Ragu spaghetti sauce
• Fruiti Loops (bogo)
• 2 Knorr Pasta Sides
• Sunmaid Raisins 6 pk (bogo)
• large French’s onions
• 2 Blue Diamond almonds
• 4 Japanese noodle dinners
• 3 Campbell’s pork & beans (3/$1 sale)
• 6 Texas Pete chili sauce (6/$1 with qps)
• 1 lb Angus stew meat
• 2.5 lbs bananas
• 1 lb fresh strawberries (bogo)
• 2 Nature’s Own bread ($1.50 ea, sale)
• Sargento swiss cheese ($.50 w/sale + qp)
• 3 lbs yellow onions (1.97 sale)
• 2 bottles vitamins, 100 pk (bogo)
• Atkins shakes, 4 pk ($4 w/sale + coupon)
• 2 Indian sauce (bogo, $2 each)
• Capri-Sun, 10 pk ($.99 w/sale +qp)
• 2 Grande tortilla chips
• Snyder’s flavored pretzels, 10 oz ($.25 w/sale + qp)
• Libby’s tropical fruit in can (bogo)
• Texas croutons ($.39 w/ .50 qp)
• 3 Smucker’s ice cream syrups (sale for $2 + qps, $.20-30 ea)
• Spray ‘n Wash (bogo + qp, $.14?)
• 2 Whitehouse applesauce ($.75 qp for 2)

As you can see, you can save a lot of money when you shop during triple coupon week, especially when you combine a coupon with a sale.

Did you shop at Harris Teeter this week?  How did you do?