It’s about that time again.

Ya know? The time when I start hollering at everyone to save money.

To take the time to save, save, save. 

(Have you missed my other Save little stories? If so, check them out here).

I’ve become the crazy person at “The Wal-Mart” peeking into other shoppers carts and telling them the price matches for their items. Yup, you heard me. I’ve mostly been thanked, but I’ve also gotten some very, um…how you say? Unthankful peeps as well. Go figure.

Anyway, it appears that not everyone is as pumped to save money as I am. Which is CRAZY to me.

The other day someone said that couponing “just isn’t for me.”

What does that even mean? Saving money doesn’t interest you? I am dumbfounded by this. Doesn’t everyone need more flexibility in their budget?

I understand that everyone is busy. In fact, I understand the feeling of being totally overwhelmed with life in general.

And I also understand the feeling of being completely consumed with worry about money.

Is that you? Are you laying awake at night wondering how you’re going to pay for this or that? Worrying about the future for you and/or your children?

Not too long ago it was me.

Being a stay at home Mama is absolutely my dream come true and I wouldn’t trade it for a million trips to Disney World, but in all honesty, it’s hard on the wallet. Losing an entire salary is tough. But as I have found in my own life, it is entirely possible to spend less and stretch out a dollar longer than you ever thought possible.

Some of the ways that we’ve saved significant amounts of money over the past year probably seem like no-brainers to you, but to me? They were new and very challenging, but have paid off big time!

Here are some of the ways we’ve adjusted and learned to save more and live on less!

1. Always, always, always turn the lights off when you leave a room.

2. Always, always, always shut the door when you leave a room.

3. Get your HVAC system serviced twice a year to help with efficiency. In the long term this will significantly lower your heating/cooling bills over the course of the year.

4. If you have tiny babies, try as best as you can to breastfeed. Not buying formula is a major money saver. (Plus a zillion other amazing benefits).

5. Price Match. This to me, is a no-brainer. If you have a WalMart near you this will save you hundreds of dollars a month. Get you sales papers and price match. It’s easy peasy. Also, if you have an Aldi near you they have incredible prices on produce. You can price match at “The Wal-Mart” and save big.

6. Coupon. Yes, it takes time. Yes, it’s a lot of work. Yes, it’s totally worth it.

7. Stockpile. I have a stockpile of everything from frozen vegetables and meat to toothpaste and dishwashing tablets. It’s very freeing to not have to run to the store everyday because we’re out of an essential. If you watch the sales and coupons you can find incredible deals and stockpile those items to use at a later date. It’s also a wonderful resource that allows us to be generous to others. It’s amazing to walk into our basement and make a care package for someone that would retail for $100 and know that it cost us a fraction of that cost.

8. Planning. I only go to the store once a week. Period. This includes CVS, Walgreens, Target etc. I only go to one store: “The Wal-Mart,” once a week for our groceries. When I go, I make a very detailed list and stick to it. This means that I have no impulse purchases. I go in with a budget and I do not go over it. Before I began my saving money adventures I would spend nearly $100 a week on random trips to Target or Walgreens. Inevitably, I would buy items that we didn’t need. And I wondered why we always seemed to be broke!

9. Online Shopping. This is my weakness friends. I love Amazon.com with a love that will never die. So this has truly been a struggle for me. I REALLY have to limit myself to only (and I mean only) buying what we need. I spend time researching prices and never, ever impulse buy. Again, this is an ongoing struggle for me, but it’s paying off. If you use a click through service like Shop At Home you can get money back from your purchase. It’s normally anywhere between 2% and 20%. I normally get a check for around $30 per month just from clicking through their site. If you shop online a lot it’s a really great incentive. I also use retailmenot.com often for coupon codes. This is especially great for free shipping deals. I have gotten AMAZING deals online and rarely pay shipping for anything.

10. Gas. This one is hard to swallow. Since gas has jumped to $4.00 a gallon we really limit where we go. And really? It’s been great. There is no reason for me to cart 2 babies around the city 7 days a week and spending hundreds of dollars on gas. I understand that if you’re working and/or have kids to chaffour you may not have a lot of control over this, but I do (and many of you do too). I have found that simply being concious of where we’re going has made a huge difference.

11. Do your own hair. I know this one is a toughie. Here’s an example to hopefully inspire you. I paid $100 every 6 weeks (ish) for a cut and highlights. That comes out to $867 a year on my hair. Insanity people. Now, I price match and coupon a good ole box of color. It’s normally $9.99 a box, price matched to $6.99 and with a coupon, it comes out to be $3.50. That means I’m spending $30.34 on dying my hair per year. Granted, I’ve only gotten one haircut this year and really need one…but you get the picture. Paying for color is absolutely crazy.

12. Never, ever pay full price for clothes. Ever. I have never been a yard sale/Goodwill shopper. I just do not seem to have much luck as some of you do. Instead, I have found that scouring the clearance racks and coupling with coupons can save a ton (and can often be as inexpensive as Goodwill)! A great example of this is my Mama. Recently at JCPenny she found snowsuits, both jackets and pants for $2!!! They were very cute, seemingly well made and only $2 per set. Now, for the next several years my babies have great snowsuits! My family is a great example that you can wear cute clothes and get them for very little money. (Sidenote: it is VERY rare to get these kind of deals online. It’s almost always better to get the lightening clearance deals in the store).

13. Accept hand-me-downs. It’s kind of a game with Bitzy. Some mornings when I put on her clothes and tell how how gorgeous she looks she’ll say, “WHO GAVE DIS TO ME MAMA?” because she knows how many of her clothes were either handed down from family members or bought for her by someone. This, to me is completely precious. She’s learning all about not only being generous but accepting the generosity of others.

14. Do not eat out. I know that’s very strong. But if money is tight, eating out is the #1 way to throw your money away. Let me give you an example. This week at the store I’m going to get 13 cans of chicken “nuggie” soup for my Bitzy. It’s one of the few foods that has meat that she’ll actually eat. I’m going to price match it at $.69 per can. Coupled with coupons I’m going to pay $5.97 for 13 cans. So basically for 2 solid weeks I can feed her lunch for $6. If we go through the drive thru at “The Nuggie House,” her happy meal will cost around $4. Do you see how insane eating out is? I’m not saying that we don’t do it, because we do. It pains me greatly, but we do occasionally. But the beauty is that when we do it’s an event. It’s not commonplace for us to go through the drive thru or eat at a restaurant, so when we do it makes it much more special. Zach and I used to spend hundreds of dollars a month on eating out. Now, we spend about $30 total per month on restaurants (and I still think that’s too much! Ha!).

15. Finally, some of the best advice I have ever been given is that not buying an item is the best way to save money. I find myself getting wrapped in sales and great deals and often overlook if we really need the item. The best way to save money is not to spend it in the first place!

So there you go friends! There’s a small list to help save money!!! These are very small and doable steps to help YOU spend less and save more!

And it wouldn’t be right for me to sign off before showing you a recent shopping trip now would it?!

Here are a few items that I got!

21 Bags of No Yolk Noodles: Retail: $1.98 per bag. After Match: $.98 per bag. After Coupon: $.58 per bag.

Dora Easter DVD (from the Easter Bunny): Retail: $9.97. After Match: $7.97. After Coupon: $4.97

Tyson Spilt Breast Chicken: Retail: $1.98lb. After Match: $.98lb.

Fugi Apples: Retail: $2.47lb. After Match: $.98lb.

Green Peppers: Retail: $.97 apiece. After Match: $.33 apiece.

Thomas English Muffins: Retail: $2.98. After Match: $1.49. After Coupon: $.99.

After all was said and done I saved 74% on this shopping trip. You can do this too!!!! If I can, so can you!

Now go save some money!!!!

I love Target.

I admit it.

The pristine red carts. The bulls-eye offering to give me all my hearts desires for a low, low price.

The red and khaki clad employees who, while may not joyously clap when I enter, at least don’t scoul at me.

Where do I get scowled at you ask?  Hmmm…that would be Wal-Mart.

As you may know, we just moved. We moved from the heart of Louisville to a small town on the outskirts of the city. While it’s only 20 minutes away, it’s still a small town, full with a train that runs through the streets, lots of little shops and only a handful of amenities.

And, what is required of all small towns?

Duh.

Wal-Mart.

Or as the locals say, “The Wal-Mart.”

It’s inevitable. All small towns have ‘em.

Target is a mere 15 minutes away, but this particular Target doesn’t have groceries, whereas the local Wal-Mart does…so in most cases Wal-Mart wins, which is somewhat devastating.

For example, today I went into Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for dinner and to pick up some items that I had ordered online (they do have the “site to store” shipping option which is free and kinda great). I was planning to be in and out in 10 minutes as I had to pick up my Bitzy from her Lolly’s house.

So I grab dinner and pick up my items and then immediately head to the customer service to return said items.

(That’s what I do. I order stuff online, get it and take it back because I hate it…it’s part of my charm).

When I get to customer service there are two employees behind the counter but only one person who is actually helping customers.  The non-working employee is just standing there looking out into the store…(more to come on that).

There were 2 people in front of me, one of which had three very young boys who were literally hanging on the cart and running circles throughout the customer service area. The poor mama looked tired and was basically ignoring the fact that her children were terrorizing the store. This small fact was not making the employee move any faster. She was taking her sweet time.

All the while, I may or may have broken into my previously purchased bag of double stuffed golden Oreos. Don’t judge.

When this poor mama was finished the customer in front of me needed a money order, which needless to say, took FOREVER.

Finally, after 12.7 minutes of waiting I finally get up to the counter to return the items that I had JUST picked up. I had a fresh receipt, the items and was ready for a seamless transaction.

Note: As I waited forever and forever a line behind me accumulated to 6 customers behind me. Still, there was only one person working, while the “staring” employee was still counting ceiling tiles or something equally useless.  Also, this gals only saving grace was that my Bitzy was asleep and I wasn’t missing any playtime with her. Had I been missing time, this story could have had an alternate ending.

Anywho, apparently my receipt meant nothing to this employee. She said, “I have no clue how to return this stuff. You’re just gonna have to wait ’til I can figure this out.”

Um. OK.

So she looks in some random Wal-Mart manual thingy, asks her staring friend for help, stares at the receipt, asks me lots of questions about my transaction online and still, the girl has no item how to do this return. Finally I say, “Why don’t you just call a manager?”

Take in mind that I’m really trying to be patient and to give her a break. Really, I am. The problem wasn’t so much that it was taking so long, but her apathetic attitude about wasting my time and the 24,000 people waiting in line behind me.

Also, the staring cashier is still staring off into space with no intention of helping anyone else in line.

After 23 minutes. That’s right. 23 minutes of my life and that I will never get back, a manager came to “help.”

Basically he cancelled everything she did and restarted the process. In the meantime he did ask the staring girl to actually open a register, so that was helpful.

Finally, after waiting for 27.5 minutes and eating at least 6 Oreos my transaction was complete.

Here’s the thing, I get that working at Wal-Mart probably isn’t this gal’s dream job. I get that she probably has a much harder life than I do. I get that she would rather be anywhere besides working behind a counter dealing with impatient people like me,  in a billowing navy shirt and too tight khakis no less…but, is all that enough to be totally rude and completely apathetic?

The answer is apparently a resounding yes. How do I know this? Because if you consider every Wal-Mart experience I’ve ever had they are all basically carbon copies of this one.

While they are somewhat ironic, moreso they are sad and time sucking.

But, if you’re a busy cheapskate like me you’ll keep ordering online and getting free site to store shipping and driving 5 minutes rather than 15.

Oh well.

I’m not gonna lie, I love a good sale.

Couple that good sale with a coupon and I’m in it to win it.

That said, I do not do the crazy Black Friday shopping. I’m not a lunatic couponer. Just your normal, every day love-a-good-deal kinda gal.

This all brings me to a little story that happened only yesterday.

My Bitzy and me were innocently braving the mall. The mall and me have not been on good terms for many years. I’m not sure exactly when my hatred of the mall began, although I can say that my introduction to the world wide web paralleled with the timing of my hatred. Just sayin’.

Mall Transgression #1: It all started as we were driving the dreaded mall traffic.

(Let me be the first to admit that I am far from a perfect driver. FAR. But, now that I’m a mother of 2 I really try to be careful). As we were getting ready to turn into the mall, the car in the left lane right beside us decides it would be a great occasion to turn right and almost hit my car. Awesome. Luckily I slammed on my brakes and they screeched as well as my horn blaring so loud it was in her temples, the kooky lady got the memo and didn’t hit my car.

Mall Transgression #2: As I am pushing a jogging stroller into the tiny door of Sears since there wasn’t another parking space in Greater Louisville, there was a woman (I’m gonna say she was around 60ish), who was only a few steps in front of me. She was alone carrying nothing (just FYI). So as I’m practically running into the tiny little doors this woman slips into the doors and they basically slam in my face.

Granted, I realize that just because it’s freezing outside and I have a 13 month old baby in a stroller and I’m almost 20 weeks pregnant I don’t deserve to have doors opened for me. I get that. But most likely she had had small children at one point and she must know that hauling babyfest 2010 into a busy mall isn’t exactly Disney World. Right? Can I get a witness?

Mall Transgression #3: This what put the nails in the malls coffin.  Bitzy and me were in store #2 (Old Navy), which was our last stop before heading home and out of the dreaded mall. When we were in line to check out when my darling child decided that she wanted to throw her toy under the little “buy me now” trinkets wall next to the check out. At this point there is a gal in front of me checking out so I went digging under the pile of junk in the aisle to find my sweethearts toy. When I came up for air the lady in front of me was gone so I began inching toward the register. Before I could blink, a lady flew around me and got in front of me without even speaking. It was so bizarre that I could barely blink. Then when she completed her transaction she looked at me and said, “Thanks”.

I mean, really? Need I say more about how much I hate the mall.

I think I’ll stick with Target.

Got any great mall stories for me? Tell on!

I had 9 Weight Watcher points for lunch.  9 beautiful sugary points of dessert.  No real food.  No fruit, veggies, bread or meat.  Just sugar. And it was glorious. Who needs real food?  I could totally live on desserts and ice cream forever. Couldn’t you?

Is it just me, or is 98% of this blog about food?

I confess, I love food.

For the first time ever today I became very annoyed with Target. But don’t worry, I’m over it now.  Target said it was sorry and I forgave him.  (Why is Target a boy?)

Every other person I know in the world is pregnant or just had a yummy bit of goodness baby.  What does this mean? Recession?  Peer Pressure? Jobless? Boredom?  Why in the world does it make me want to be pregnant?  Peer pressure for sure. That answers that question.  Well, and that babies are the number one most awesome thing in the whole.wide.world (other than Jesus and husbands of course).

Bitzy seriously gets cuter from one moment to the next.  Is this possible you ask?  Yes. A resounding yes. I’ve experienced this.  She’ll kiss me with a big wet slobbery kiss, crawl away like she’s in a mad rush to get somewhere extremely important, spin around on her tush, then flash me the cutest little toothy smile and confirm, yet again, that she gets cuter by the millisecond.  Seriously.

All I can think about are cucumbers (lie).

All I can think about are Milk Duds (truth).

I confess that I not only write about food constantly, but I think about it constantly. Is that healthy?  Probably not.  But neither is eating 78 boxes of Milk Duds per year and Lord knows that I could care less about how healthy that is.  So, whatever.

I wish that I had super kinky curly hair that looked amazing without me ever touching it.

This morning in a meeting for work I burst out laughing thinking about something hilarious that Zach said this weekend.  It was completely and totally off the topic of discussion and it just popped in my head like lightening.  Being married to him is like going to the Carnival everyday…always funny, never boring and full of rat tails and airbrushed t-shirts.

Actually Zach doesn’t have a rat tail or an airbrushed t-shirt.  Oh well, you get my point. Or do you? What is my point?

I’m feeling particular random today, can’t you tell?

Anyway, happy Monday!

Today I was innocently driving my Bitzy and I to our favorite haunt, Target.

We’re addicts, Bitzy and me.

I figure that we’re just contributing to all the bazillions of dollars that they give away every other minute (that’s my justification anyway).

It’s a win-win for all the charities and for our family. Right?

Right-o.

So anyway, we were cruising along our normal route when I may as well have seen a unicorn.

I saw the oldest woman alive mowing her yard.

Seriously.

I’m not talking 75 or 80. She was at least 90, if not 95-100.

I almost wrecked the car I was so shocked. And disturbed. And impressed.

I mean, no sons?  No neighbors?  No service?

I wanted to run up and give her a $20 to pay some kid to mow it.

But then, I realized the coolness of the unicorn.

This chick wanted her yard mowed, so she did it.  She didn’t wait on said son or cousin or uncle (which is good because I’m pretty darn sure that her uncle isn’t with us anymore), or anyone else, she just did it.

I would like to point out for the record, that I am not like that woman. I don’t mow my yard now, nor will I when I’m 95.  I’m sorry.

Granted, I’m totally assuming that the oldest lady alive- aka: unicorn, has some gumption and took it upon her self to mow, but then again, maybe she was delirious and thought she was surfing, or shopping or doing jumping jacks.

Who knows?

The moral of this little story is that unexpected awesomeness can happen at any time of day at any time…ya just gotta look for it.

Happy Thursday!

I would rather eat yellow cake batter than almost anything.  Yes, I am aware that raw eggs could make me very sick. It’s totally worth the risk.

Gracie is the single most fantastic thing that I’ve ever done and I want about 30 more children.  I figure if I get pregnant every year for the next ten years and have triplets every time then it’s possible!  Then, I’ll have all of my 31 babies before my eggs dry up and just in time for a TLC prime time show.

I hate going to the mall.  I’ll take Target any day.

I have amazing girlfriends.  They truly are a blessing straight from the hand of God (wait, that’s not a confession. Sorry).

When I’m at home I hardly ever cover my mouth to sneeze.  I’m gross that way.

I loved my husband long before he loved me.  It’s true.  I was totally bananas over him in college and he broke my heart.  But don’t worry, I won him over eventually.  The lesson here is, girls never give up.  Stalk ‘em long enough and they’ll come around.

I love breastfeeding so much that I wonder if I’ll be the mom who is breastfeeding the kid ’til she’s 7.

I am kind of a hypochondriac.  The weird thing about this isn’t the “fear” of dying, it’s more that I want to know what’s happening with my body at all times.  This also correlates with my obsession with all medical shows.  I’m sort of a doctor.  Who need Medical school when Grey’s Anatomy is on?

Speaking of, every single time I have my blood pressure taken I get really nervous and I’m afraid that it will skyrocket and then the doctor will make me take medicine unnecessarily.  I know that this probably will never happen, but it still makes me nervous.

I used to love to clean and now I just can’t be bothered with it.  My house is dusty and dirty but I just can’t find the motivation or the time/energy to clean it.  So, I suppose I’ll continue to waste money paying someone to.  (Don’t judge me.).

I find it funny/odd that so many people take pride in being “sarcastic.”  I think that having the “gift of sarcasm” is just an excuse to be rude.

I used to love Duke basketball, but these days, I have no interest in it. Sorry Duke, it was a fun ride.

When I see things that remind me of something I often have to really think about whether I remember it from my own life, a dream or a movie.  It all gets muddled in my mind…. how old am I anyway?  Am I losing it already?

My favorite color is yellow (wait, is that a confession?  I don’t think so.  There I go again).

I accidentally borrowed (not stole) my parent’s car when I was at the ripe old age of 13.  And…I wrecked it.  And…then lied about it.  Not my finest moment, but a learning experience to be sure.

I think Snuggies are weird and scratchy…and they are made out of felt. I hate felt (unless it’s on a board and you’re putting up little Bible characters like Miss Jean did when I was in Sunday School).  Shouldn’t something called a “snuggie” be soft and cuddly and not feel like cardboard?

My mama and my husband are my two best friends.  They have to love me, they have no choice.

I have been told that I’m “so photogenic.”  I confess that I have spent an embarrassingly absurb amount of time practicing in the mirror. Sure, most of this happened when I was 13, but let’s face it, I have an occasional practice session. BTW:   If it’s true that I am, in fact, photogenic, does this mean that in real life I’m not nearly as attractive as I am in pictures?

There are many more confessions…stay tuned.