Well Why the hell Not?

A while back I was asked about one of my favorite dresses and where I’d purchased it from. And of course my response was I bought it at a local yard sale. To my surprise, the person that asked me, looked at me and said, “You shouldn’t be wearing a used dress.” Well, why not? I have no shame in checking out our local yard sales and thrift stores for great bargains and I told that person that.

People think it’s embarrassing and weird because the clothes have been worn by other people, but let me tell you something. If you think about it, when you shop for new clothing, people try them on and don’t always buy them right? And where do they go? Right back on the sales rack! So, what’s the difference?

Why would you want to spend hundreds of dollars for a couple of outfits when you can spend often less than $5 for the same amount of clothes! Not only is it a fantastic way to save money in this still harsh economy, it’s also a great way to save our environment from the billions of trash piling up in our landfills. Need I say more?
Joy Smith also known as The Insane Writer, is the author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Generation. You can email her at silent_beautie@yahoo.com She can also be found on Twitter @theinsanewriter and you visit her official website at www.theinsanewriter.com.WomenFreebies.com - Enter to Win Royal Secret II Perfume

Summer Clothing

My 12 year old wants to be either a treasure hunter or an archeologist when he grows up. I think that's awesome. So, over the weekend we hit up a few yards sales so he could find a few treasures to get him started. I also needed to hit sales because all of the kiddos needed clothing.

When my 12 and 7 year old came down I thought they had a week's worth of clothing, but learned differently. So I went ahead and bought them some more summer things. My step-daughter who is almost 9 has apparently hit a growth spurt. She went from just recently wearing size 10's and 12's to wearing 14's and 16's. And then I found a few winter things my step-son who is 7, could use. Plus, I found t-shirts for the hubby, so everyone is set!

Guitar Picks, Crockpots, Ohh Myyy

My husband is just starting to learn how to play guitar. So when I found an offer for free picks and a pick case, I was estactic. I love freebies as long as they're not abused. I for one just fill out for the things I'm most interested in and I don't do it multiple times either.

Anyway I thought I would share the link for the free guitar goodies just in case anyone else may be interested, so HERE YOU GO.

P.S. I made fajitas in the crockpot last night from a recipe suggestion online. They had way too much liquid and I won't be making them again. I really love the crockpot though and it's great for when we're busy and I don't have time to really cook. Lately that's been about once a week because of sports with the kids.

The crockpot I purchased at an estate sale for a whopping $2! I was really excited about that find.

I know that there will be some bitchers about how low it is to buy things from yard sales and such because they think that it means your poor and can't afford to live by buying the most expensive stuff you can find, but you know what..... I really don't care! There's not a damn thing wrong with going to yard sales or estate sales.

Past Yard Sale Memories

I remember when I was a kid going to a yard sale in Missouri where my aunt lived. We had brought along another aunt and uncle who loved loving for antiques. We found a box and although there were a lot of treasures, there were also things that weren't worth their weight and gold. One of the items was a rubber stamper. It came with an ink pad and I remembered that it stamped dates. For a while it kept me entertained. I used it for everything, including when I played office and school.

Now that I am grown so have stampers! There is so much more you can do with them. You can create a custom rubber stamp to suit your own needs. How insane is that? Now I wonder what the future will bring as far as the office/business world. So very cool.

Squidooing

I decided to do a little of what a like to call Squidooing today. Here is my result after yesterday's insane bargain shopping. I'll be adding more lenses on this subject for those interested in the near future. Feel free to let me know what you think, whether it's here or there!!!

Money, Money, Money, Money.... Moooneyyy....

I love trying new recipes and by chance I ran across a recipe that is suppose to be helpful on the wallet as well. The author of the post broke down each ingredient and it's cost. By the time she totaled it all up to what she considers a great deal, was almost shocking to me. Her meal cost nearly $9 for 4 servings! That's pretty hefty, especially since it equals out to over $1 per a person. heck, might as well splurge at McDonalds for that price!

When I make a list for the week for dinners, I can manage $5 for 4 people, just fine. And there's no skimping either. I do understand that cost of prices is a bit higher in some areas, but trust me.. Small towns are a lot worse. They gouge prices because they know you won't drive an hour out of your way to the city and buy groceries.

I remember when I lived in an even smaller town, Sedan, Kansas. The first time I visited their grocery store, I bought what I couldn't live without and left. Back then, buying a loaf of bread through them was around $2.80 a loaf. I can't imagine how much worse it is, now that the economy has reared its ugly head.

Speaking of things rearing their ugly heads.. It's a good thing I only have a dollar on me. The neighbors are having a yard sale and I see a framed picture of coffee art that would be great on the bare walls of my kitchen. I thought they were just setting up for tomorrow at first, and when the kids mentioned wanting to go, the hubby said maybe tomorrow.

Well, when I stepped out my front door I saw the sign for the sale and balloons, flags, etc, so I'm pretty sure they're starting it this evening. Sigh Ohh well.

Saving Money My Way

Lately with prices rising in both food and gas, many families are beginning to struggle. Most households are only earning at a minimum wage and that is not nearly enough for today's rising prices.

Yet, it's not just low income families who are suffering. Middle class families are being effected by the price rises as well.

I know here we are paying $3.55 a gallon for gas! Since my husband drives an old pickup truck, we tend to spend around $60 a week or more for gas. One way we help to make our dollar stretch is by limiting our driving. We drive to and from work (he drops me off and I walk home or have a friend pick me up) and plan a once a week trip to our local supermarket.We also try to plan any other trips on that same day.

Even though food prices are rising, cutting back on food is not something we will be doing. However, we're not opposed to trying off brands in both gorcheries and household goods, to save some money.

One of my favorite areas to shop is the day old bread rack. It's usually the first place I hit when we got to the store. Day old breads can be frozen and will last at least a week, sometimes a bit longer.

To save money on milk, we will stop by braums ice cream store, since their milk is a dollar cheaper than our local supermarket. Plus Braum's milk is much better in taste and free of hormones.

Another way we are able to save money is by browsing the local yard sales for clothing, household goods, books, toys, etc. Despite what some people think, you can find very good gently used clothing at fantasitc rates.

A few weekends ago, we stopped at one yard sale where I was able to find some great clothes at a dime each! Many of the clothes were brand new! The lady who was holding the sale just wanted to get rid of the clothing. I was able to buy a brand new daskin jacket for a dime! My best bargain yet!!

Last weekend my husband was able to find peices to one of his favorite games (Heroscape) for fifty cents! We also found a gently used leap pad that came with educational games that all of our kids can enjoy.

The above are just a few ways we are able to make a dollars stretch during these insane times.

What are some ways you save money? I would love to hear some ideas and I am sure others would love to hear them as well!

For the Weekend Fans

This past weekend was quite interesting. We decided to camp with friends of ours, but before then I needed to get the kids some clothing, since they didn't really have any when they came to visit. I'm on a budget and as much as I'd love to run out and buy everything new for my kids, I didn't. Simply put. Instead I went yard sale shopping with a friend of mine, early Saturday morning. The first sale we stopped at I was able to get a lot of nice clothing for my five year old. Then we stopped at several other sales and found clothing for my 10 year old as well as clothing for my soon-to-be step-daughter. My oldest son and my soon-to-be step-son were a little more difficult to find. I did manage some books while I was out and about for the kids and then it was off to wal-mart for shopping with two other friends of mine for a camping trip.

While we were there, I spotted my cousin and his wife. I ran (yes ran) over to him to say hi and let them know I moved the wedding to July. Then from the distance my friend P called me over, so we could get a move on with the grocery shopping for the camping trip. With her of course was my friend O. My cousin looks over at them and says who's that and I tell him. Yeah M, I know you were checking them out! It was funny, but I doubt his wife saw it that way!

So after the shopping trip, we were headed to the camp grounds. Meanwhile, my fiance needed to pick up his kids for the trip at their mom's house. She lives about 20 minutes from us. Then 20 minutes back to town and another 20 to the lake where we camped at. In between he would stop at wal-mart and then his dad's house to pick up a tent. Well, the rest of us decided to head out to the camp since we didn't think it would take very long for my fiance to meet us. It took my fiance 4 HOURS before he finally made it to the camp! Apparently, he had to listen to his dad warn him about a family member, then he had to talk to his ex about the kids and he picked up more supplies than we anticipated at wal-mart, plus made a stop at the bait shop. I wonder if he stopped in electronics at wal-mart to browse as well....LOL So by the time he got there, it was getting dark. I think the best part about the camping trip was when O's son was found the next morning, sleeping in his that he'd managed to turn upside down in his sleep in the middle of the night. For the most part the trip was great! It was nice to be able to get out and spend time with family and friends.

While we were there however, we learned that our cell phones didn't have a signal. Not a big deal to us, but apparently it was to my father because when I returned I had several voicemail hang ups and when I finally did call him back, he nearly chewed me out for no signal! I mean WTF? That is a bit ridiculous. Maybe I could understand if it were an emergency, but it wasn't. So much for a finale of a nice and relaxing weekend.

Now that I am back to work, it's been enjoyable. Today I was surfing a few other blogs when I ran across this one: http://adventuresincyberia.blogspot.com/
It pokes a little fun at Paris Hilton using The Sims characters. Very Cute!

Now, it's time for me to slip out into the real world now and get some dinner for the kids.