Vida. Risa. Amor.

We broke a record this month....our electricity bill came to $450.  Thank you August for triple heat temperatures...and Wii, computers, T.V. and curling irons.  Sigh.  Saving $$ this time of year is more challenging than ever.  Double sigh.  Preschool.Sports.Braces.  Triple sigh...

So "finding a deal" has become my middle name and now that I have 7 1/2 hours of free time/3 mornings a week, I've been able to use that time to find some amazing deals.

It's great when certain grocery stores accept all competitor coupons and quadruple coupons.  I have managed to save an average of 65% on groceries each time and don't remember the last time I actually had to pay for toothpaste.  I cringe when people in front of me buy a dozen things that they could have cut coupons for out of the Sunday paper to save $1 off each item.  Sure it takes a little time to read the ads and cut the coupons, but it's not that hard.

Target's my favorite this week.  I wasn't on the hunt for new bedding, but if I was, I could have redecorated each of my kids beds for only $7.50 each, thanks to college clearance stuff.  I had to pull myself away...there was a King size comforter only $25 on clearance from $100!  I found backpacks for next year for only $3 each.  Their end racks are famous for clearance hair products and since my girls go through conditioner like water around here I was able to stock up on a bunch for mere dollars, thanks to more coupons.  Target is also discontinuing all of their home/gardens by the end of September so everything out there is also 75% off.  I could have bought a lovely fountain for my backyard for only $75 originally $500, but decided to just go with the set of 3 huge pots for only $5.  I did buy a few shirts on the clearance racks for my girls for only $2.50...and shoes for less than $5.  Gotta love it.  And when Target is ready to clearance out toys, man, they really drop the price.  I found a Toy Story 3 Woody toy that came with a cool cowboy belt for only $3, originally $15...(You can never have too many bribes available when you need a certain 4 year old to behave during errands!)

Ross is our second favorite.  I say "our", because my husband actually likes to go here.  It's a great place to find good shoes.  He found shoes for work on sale for $25, originally $100, and I found Josie some Adidas soccer cleats for only $20, originally $80.  They also have inexpensive Barca shirts for our entire family here!  (Barca is the name of Josie's soccer team, and so it is rare to ever find "fan-wear" of any kind of this team anywhere!)  Rylan loves the toy section of course...he found some Batman Boxing gloves that he absolutely couldn't depart with.  We had to talk him out of the musical guitar.  He still calls Ross "that place with the guitar".

And last, but not least, (because it's secretly my favorite), is Kohls.  There are dozens of 80% off clearance racks:  shoes, bedding, earrings, clothes, underwear, swimsuits....it's amazing.  I've been able to stock up on next years clothes for the boys for a fraction of their original prices.  And with 15% coupons you can use on everything in the store, you just can't beat that.

Life has it's "price-tag" some seasons, and I love when I can save money on things that my family needs.  Because what Mom doesn't "need" a new $2 pair of earrings "once in a while"?

...just call me "Katie the deal finding lady." 

Or not.