Tag Archives: Money

Shopping Goodwill = Awesome!

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So Tuesday when Kat came over we decided after lunch to hit the Goodwill store that is in the same plaza and it was an awesome idea let me tell you! That day anything with a yellow tag was 50% off and each day of the week a different color ticket gets assigned to be 50% off. So you are shopping already low bargain prices and they give you even more of a discount.

Everything at the store we went to was pretty well organized by type of clothing, then size and lastly color. I really like the by color part because if you hate a particular color you can just skip it! Kidlet has experience thrifting with me so I just let her go for the racks and hunt and she came up with a bunch of name brand stuff that she picked for herself and for her cousin as well.

Here are the “name brand” clothes that I scored for Kidlet with the Goodwill price vs. the retail price :

  • Old Navy Skinny Jeans
    Goodwill $4.99, Retail $19.50
  • Aeropostale Long Sleeved Henley Shirt
    Goodwill $6.99, Retail $29.50
  • Aeropostale V-necked Sweater
    Goodwill $6.99, Retail $44.50
  • Hollister Hoodie
    Goodwill $6.99, Retail $39.50

Total Goodwill price – $25.96
Total retail price – $133.00

Savings by shopping at Goodwill – $107.04

To do well thrifting you need to remember a few things:

  • Take your time looking through the sections in the sizes that you are looking for.
  • Don’t trust the size written on the price tag! Always look inside the garment.
  • If you like it put it in your cart even if you are unsure if you will purchase it because it might not be there if you walk away and come back later.
  • Before commiting to a purchase check all clothes for holes, rips & stains. Also, check the inner thighs on pants etc. for excessive wear.

Do you have any thrifting tips? What was your best savings / purchase at a Goodwill or thrift store?

Life Bites

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Lately everything has felt like a struggle … trying to get out of bed, trying to concentrate enough to read, getting to sleep & staying asleep all night. So I bit the bullet and made an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow morning to discuss starting anti-depressants again. Do I feel sad about the situation that I am in now? Yes. Do I feel totally hopeless & like jumping off a bridge? No. But, I do know if I don’t try to address the beginnings of depression now, later it will be harder to deal with.

I have been trying to save money while still paying rent and also, attempting to help my Mom with additional money. My Mom herself is struggling to pay her own personal bills not to mention household bills and carrying her boyfriend’s bills for 2 years. My Mother’s boyfriend just started working again after 2 years of being unemployed so he has to catch up with his bills. Me not having a job right now greatly reduces the money coming into the house … my unemployment is less than ¼ of what my salary was.

I have been slowly buying school supplies for Kidlet when they have been on deep sale. I managed to score 6 single subject notebooks at 3 for 99 cents, 6 composition notebooks at 3 for 98 cents and 2 packages of highlighters at 2 for $1.50. I will be sharing some of the supplies that I manage to get with Kat for her daughter as well.

I am working to collect coupons & find online deals when it comes to buying Kidlet’s school clothes. I sort of miss when she had a uniform because then I would only have to buy a certain number of each item and they would last all school year. That doesn’t work so well with t-shirts, tank tops & jeans because they just see too much wear.

If anyone has any hits or tips about saving money during this back to school season please comment to let me know!

Trying to budget

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So since I found out that my unemployment payment would roughly be $200 per week I have been trying to work out a do able budget but, it has been a little rough. Especially when I just found out that my first check will not be for that amount but, $56 shorter for some apparent reason.

I want to be able to continue to paying my mother the same amount of rent that I have been paying up until I lost my job since a) Kidlet & I live here b) I don’t have to pay utilities & c) because I know that she needs the money. I need to have enough money to help contribute to buying groceries and be able to buy personal items for Kidlet & I. Also, I have to set aside money each week to save up for school supplies & school clothes / shoes for Kidlet. I swear all school supplies have gone up since I went to school!

I have eliminated the following things that I used to pay for that I didn’t need but, really made me feel good:
Acrylic Nails – $35+ tip for a full set (every 2 to 3 months), $20+ tip for a fill (every 3 weeks)
Pedicures – $30+ tip (every few months as needed)
Eyebrow Waxing – $15+ tip (every month or so)

The monthly set expenses that I have are:
Rent – $400
Prescriptions – $20
Cigarettes – $60 (which will be going away after I get an anti-smoking medication)
Netflix – $8 (My one frivolous expense but, it benefits myself and Kidlet and it is cheaper than video rentals from a big box store or actually going to the movies)

I do have occasional doctor and dentist co-pays as well but, they are $5 or less per visit.

I have also discussed summer plans & outings with Kidlet and we have decided on weekly trips to the central library and to the beach which would only cost us the price of bus fare. We also discussed the possibility of one trip each to a local amusement park & to our science museum after saving up for tickets & entrance fees.

I guess I am just trying to find ways to acclimate both Kidlet & myself to living on $350 per week less than we have been …. and it’s hard.

Shopping Spree!

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So I went on a shopping spree that basically started on Thursday and ended today. I shall sum it up in a list!

Thursday – Sears, Payless, Barnes & Noble

  • Dress for Kidlet’s Dance
  • Dress shoes for Kidlet’s dance
  • An awesome pair of suede & patent leather peep toe pumps
  • A grapefruit colored back for my Nook

Friday – Walmart & Best Buy

  • Valentine’s Day stuff for Kidlet
  • 2 packs of panties (you can never have enough!)
  • Black Cami
  • Betty Boop bag
  • Elmo Bag
  • Misc personal items
  • 2 rolls of patterned duct tape (wallet here I come)
  • Netbook
  • Windows 7 home Premium upgrade (only $20!)

Saturday

  • Renewed this domain

Today – Goodwill Thrift store – Toys R Us

  • 1 Linkin Park Hoodie
  • 2 Tank Tops
  • 4 shirts
  • 1 long sleeve shirt
  • 2 pairs of sunglasses
  • Large tinkerbell bag
  • 2 books for my Mom
  • Hello Kitty netbook sleeve
  • Stainless Steel waterbottle with Kidlet’s name
  • Rubber Spider for my Mom (don’t ask lol

I still plan on ordering some stuff from Amazon like another netbook case that has small pockets for accessories like the cord which is required. I am also waiting for Torrid to put their clearance stuff at an additional 50% off so that I can buy some new pants but, really I have bought everything that I need.

Now, to wait on my state tax return so that I can buy my ticket to go to Kentucky in June!

Bah Humbug!

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Kidlet so kindly reminded me this morning that Christmas is only 24 days away!

I just don’t know how we are going to afford presents this year. Bills & food take up all off my money each month & Mom doesn’t have any extra money because she is going to be out of work & having surgery in 10 days and she doesn’t even have any credit left or anything.

I know that Kidlet wants the following things:

  • Camera
  • Nintendo DSI (Which isn’t happening because she has a DSlite already)
  • DC Sneakers (hers are too small already)
  • Skinny Jeans
  • Ipod Touch case

My fairy godmother needs to wave her magic wand because I don’t know how any of this is going to happen this year *sigh*