Recent Victories in Thrifty Living

I like to encourage and entertain myself by turning necessary activities like bargain shopping into a game. When I do well at my self-imposed game, I feel quite victorious and smart.

Here are some of my recent little victories in the money saving game I enjoy playing:

KOHL'S CASH DEALS

Just a few weeks ago, I declared to my husband that I was badly in need of some new pants. Kohl's was nice enough to send me a postcard good for $10.00 savings on a purchase so off I went to paw through their clearance racks in hopes of scoring something to fill the gap in my wardrobe. Not only did I find a cute pair of petite sized Capri jeans for myself, I also found a gift for someone in my family for Christmas (I cannot reveal what exactly I found because that person sometimes reads this blog).

I ended up spending a total of $5.94 and saving $61.50! I make sure that I go to Kohl's every time I get one of those $10.00 Kohl's cards in the mail. I have gotten all kinds of amazing deals for my family, home, and myself this way. As I write this, I have another $10.00 card in my purse that has to be used by August 31 and since my grandson has a birthday coming up, I may be able to snag him a cool present using nothing more than my time and a bit of cash out of pocket.

Healthy Breakfast for Pennies a Serving

Whenever I shop, I make it a practice to check the clearance items in each department of the grocery store. I stroll through the produce section, meat department, and the miscellaneous clearance rack in the back of the store. Recently I found a dented box of oatmeal with added oat bran marked to just $1.00 from its normal price of $1.69.

My grandson loves oatmeal and we used to buy the pre-made packets of oatmeal. Each box has 10 servings at $1.69 per box. So, 17 cents per serving. Not bad, except he eats two packets each breakfast, so the cost is actually 34 cents per breakfast. I decided to just buy rolled oats and flavor it myself with various ingredients we have on hand. Some days, Liam gets apple brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal (if I have unsweetened applesauce on hand), other days he gets strawberries and cream oatmeal if I have strawberry jam on hand.

I'd say he enjoyed his oatmeal!

The oatmeal I purchased on markdown has 11 servings so it cost 9 cents per bowl of oatmeal.  The cost of the add-ins is negligible because those items were all purchased for other  purposes and the amount added to flavor his oatmeal is fairly small. Creating flavored oatmeal at  home doesn't take much time at all. It is just a moment or two to measure out a spoonful of strawberry jam or to sprinkle cinnamon on the oatmeal before popping it into the microwave.

Once the oatmeal is gone, we may switch to some other breakfast item that I purchased on a clearance or coupon deal. We stay flexible on what we eat so that we are always spending the least we have to spend. When I find a great deal, I buy as much as I can afford to lock in that deal for as long as possible.

 Going Bananas

When I go to the produce section looking for good deals, I always look for a big bag of marked down bananas. The bananas are still fresh enough to eat out of hand for a couple days and I have a lot of uses for them as they ripen. I happened upon a large paper sack of bananas recently weighing about 20 pounds that was marked down to $1.50 for the whole bag! That is 7 cents a pound folks!

 This go-round I made grain-free banana pancakes and dairy-free banana ice cream. The beauty of these recipes is how they can be customized for the consumer. I spent some time cutting up bananas for our "ice cream" and freezing them so they would be ready when the desire for a cold, creamy dessert hit.

My grandson and I are both dairy-free so regular ice cream is out of the question. We love our banana "ice cream" and so do the dairy eaters in our home. Another plus on this tasty treat is that it is friendly to those of us watching our waistlines. And, finally, it is very inexpensive!

The grain-free banana pancakes were amazing. With nothing more than mashed banana, eggs, and some seasonings, I made pancakes! They were tasty, gluten-free, dairy-free, inexpensive, and easy! I encourage you to give them a try! Everyone in the house who tried them, liked them.

Here they are just about ready to flip. 

I have found that being willing to try different foods and recipes is one of the keys to the biggest savings in a grocery budget.


Well, it has been a very busy week. School began for me and my youngest son on Tuesday. I have a bunch of homework and since I want to make A's, I will sign off now and get to studying.

If you decide to try the banana "ice cream" or banana pancakes, please let me know what you think of them.

I will be back soon with more tips, tricks, and encouragement to help you to thrive instead of just survive on a tight budget. And please, share your tips and tricks with me!

How to Build a Wardrobe on a Budget Part Two

I am continuing to work on building my wardrobe while on a very limited budget. I need to step up my efforts because the weather is getting colder. Shorts and flip-flops aren't all that comfy when the temperature dips down into the mid-40's!

Fortunately, I had purchased a pair of comfy leather slip-on's and a pair of black chunky-heeled loafers a few weeks ago at a really nice thrift store so shoe-wise I was ready for colder temperatures.

My new favorite shoes!

One of the keys to building a wardrobe on a budget is to buy ahead of the next season or two if at all possible. If I see a cute summer dress in my price range when I am out shopping for the current season, you better believe that I am going to snag it while I can! You should do the same. A lot of times, due to space being scarce at most thrift stores, clothing that is out of season is deeply discounted. Prepare yourself now to take advantage of these deals. One of my core philosophies is to buy needed items at the lowest possible price to keep as much money available as I can for those areas where it is difficult to cut costs.

Another principle I have used in building a wardrobe for the past 25 years is to wear a certain palette of colors. A very sweet friend did my color analysis for me after I had my second child and I am so thankful she did. I am an Ultrian Autumn, which is a Beauty for All Seasons designation (check out this website for more info http://colorconnection.yuku.com/topic/1154/BFAS-Beauty-for-All-Seasons-aka-Color-Alliance-Information#.UnwaqHCbMbw).

The best thing about finding out your best colors and wearing them is that EVERYTHING you buy coordinates. This makes your wardrobe seem much larger and more varied. Today I put on a pair of light tan colored Dockers, a brown cotton knit blouse, my new favorite leather shoes, and threw on a scarf that had all those colors in it. My pants were $2.00, my blouse was $2.00, the shoes cost $7.99, and the scarf was a gift. I clothed myself for $10.00 for this outfit and I often clothe myself for less!

This same scarf can be worn with many items in my wardrobe. 

Another great way I have gained clothing for my wardrobe inexpensively is to swap clothes with a friend. I have a dear friend who also has lost a lot of weight and we now wear the same size clothes. Whenever she is cleaning out her closet, she always checks to see if I am in need of clothes. I gratefully accept what is offered, take it all home to try it on for size, see if it fills a need in my wardrobe, and donate to our local thrift store whatever is left.

One other great way to add needed items to your wardrobe on a budget is to shop the end of season clearance sales at retail stores. I have purchased pants for as little as $2.00 per pair at places like Rue 21 and Old Navy. It is hit or miss at times but definitely worth checking. Accessories are also easy to find inexpensively this way. Having nice earrings, belts, scarves, and necklaces can help extend a wardrobe and make it seem much larger than it is.

I have found that I do not need a lot of clothes if I have a basic set of items to act as the backdrop for my accessories. I like to have a core set of neutral colored bottoms such as tan, khaki, or black pants that can be dressed up by wearing them with heeled shoes, dressy shirts, and nicer jewelry or made more casual by wearing sandals, flats, and nice t-shirts. Websites such as Real Simple have a nice list of what they consider wardrobe basics (http://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing/wardrobe-basics/wardrobe-staples-00100000085876/). I also like to buy items that are medium weight fabrics so that I can wear them over most of the year. Pants that can be worn all four seasons are so useful when funds are limited for clothing purchases!

I will be sharing more of my acquisitions in future posts, so stay tuned!

What do you consider staples in your wardrobe? What shopping tips can you share for building a wardrobe on a budget?