Frugal Shopping: President's Day Sale Finds

Awhile ago I mentioned my intention to hit the President's Day sales at Harbor Freight and JoAnn Fabric. I'm pleased to be able to say that I didn't wuss out (shopping really saps my energy, so I can easily talk myself out of going), and I got some great deals!

The first stop was Harbor Freight, where I got the multifunction tool I mentioned. It came with 4 attachments, and I bought a 5th one for detail work when I refinish furniture. I also got extra sanding pads for the multitool, and a couple moving blankets. I have several moving blankets already, as well as various quilts, but I figure better too many than too few.

The multifunction tool was on sale for $39.99, plus additional $5 off coupon, for a final price of $34.99 (listed regular price: $59.99, but I don't know how often it actually sells at that price- I think $39.99-$49.99 is it's usual selling price)

closeup of the attachments included

The additional finger sanding pad was $7.99

Each of these replacement sanding paper attachments were $3.99

I'm ready to start refinishing furniture!

The next stop was JoAnn, where I got a cutting mat, clear cutting guide, rotary cutter, and half a yard of microsuede fabric. I got all four items for less than the cutting mat's original price!

The lighting isn't great in this photo because I had to hurry and take a pic so I could get the mat outside into storage. It was giving off some nasty chemical fumes the whole way home and I couldn't leave it in the house- that would be a massive headache waiting to happen. Hopefully the fumes will dissipate during the next month so they won't bother me when I get my craft area set up in our new house.

I misplaced the receipt, but the original price of the mat was around $44. The mat, cutting guide and cutter were on sale for 50% off, and the fabric was on sale for 70% off I think. Add a 10% off total purchase coupon, and I got the cutting supplies for 60% off, and paid less than $44 for the four items.

I'll use the fabric for an envelope wallet, for carrying cash instead of credit cards. I'll post pics of that when I get it finished.

Our next stop was at Target, where I hit the after Valentine's Day sales. I bought some silicone heart ice cube trays and a silicone heart cake pan from the dollar section- 30% off.

I also bought some silicone heart baking cups, a silicone petite heart pan, and a brownie pop pan, all for 50% off. The brownie pop pan isn't even really a valentine's item, it just happens to be red.

If I had a car, I would have waited another day or two to hit the after Valentines day sales, and I could probably have gotten an even better deal. Since I'm dependent on others' kindness regarding transportation, I can't be too picky.

I didn't do much (ok, anything) for Valentines this year, but buying after the holiday means I now have some things I can use next year, and I didn't pay full price for them. Bonus for me! I'm also excited to try the brownie pops. Bakerella is always doing fun things with them, and the pan I bought will make it quick and easy to make them.

Frugal Crafting: Twine Letters

The S that is featured on this blog is a wood letter that I bought at JoAnn's and covered with twine.

I saw a similar project here, and figured it wouldn't be too difficult to replicate. In theory it wasn't, but in actuality it was. An "S" is a lot harder to wrap than a "T", let me tell you. I eventually figured out a way to do it so it still looked nice.

It wasn't till I was looking at the picture on my computer that I noticed something off. Anyone else see it? I truly didn't realize it till then, either. Not while I was working on it, not while I was taking the picture...

Anyway, the other side looks like this:
Not nearly as nice and even, and it looked a lot worse in person.

So I put it away for a week or so while I gathered up the energy to rip it apart and redo it. Then one evening I sat down, turned on a movie, pulled off the offending twine, and re-did my 'S'. And I'm glad I did. I can look at it without cringing now and my OCD feels so much better. I also really like how the pattern in the twine turned out.

The letter cost about $2 at JoAnn

The twine was another $2 or so at wally world, and there was enough on the roll for me to fix the mistakes from the first time around.

I already had the hot glue
So, about $4 all together
(This is one of the projects from my other blog)

Saving Money: Eyeglasses

About 3 years ago I bought some expensive bendy-frame glasses. I think I paid about $250 dollars, though it could have been more. They were expensive, I know that.

And the thing is, they weren't worth it: you can't actually bend them that much without the whole frame getting out of whack, there's screws that are perpetually loose, and the paint wore off the frame quicker than it should have.

They put such a dent in our budget that I haven't bought new glasses till now. Last week I ordered new glasses, and I paid a fraction of what I paid last time.

Awhile ago my sister told me that she and her husband buy their glasses at 39dollarglasses.com. I checked it out, ran some numbers, and liked what I saw.

$39 per pair of glasses + $5 shipping= $44
If I were to buy a new pair of glasses every year for 3 years:  $44 x 3=  $132
$250 - $132 = $118 in savings, and I have 3 pairs of glasses to show for it instead of one worn out, wobbly pair with the paint worn off.

Having extra glasses sitting around is always a good thing. If they're in good condition, I can alternate which I wear, depending on my mood, or put a pair in the car or the 72 hour kit. We've done this in the past with old glasses, and it turned out to be a huge blessing- Mr. S lost his glasses at the beach when a wave got him- ripped them right off his face! Luckily we had a spare pair in the car and he was able to help with the drive home (a 20 hour drive that I would not have liked to do by myself).

39dollarglasses is an online retailer, so you can't try them on, but trying glasses on never worked out real well anyway, since I can't see well enough to see what they actually look like on my face. They give you all the measurements of the frame, and you can even print out an image of the actual size and shape of the glasses to compare them with your current pair. They have a variety of frames for men, women, and children- metal and plastic. You can pay a bit more for different options, including tinted lenses.

I figure if I really hate them, I can buy another pair after a couple months, and still spend way less than I did on the expensive ones. With expensive glasses, it doesn't matter if I hate them- I'm stuck with them.

I picked out a pair and ordered them Friday afternoon, and they arrived in the mail on Wednesday afternoon. Not only are they inexpensive, but they're quick, too!

I picked some black plastic frames to try. I haven't had plastic frames since elementary school, and let's just say that the 80's were not a good time for kids to be wearing glasses. All my frames, metal and plastic, were huge and ugly. They have quite cute frames now, why couldn't they then?

These frames are quite a bit more dramatic than any I've ever had, but I like the change.

LMS took this photo of me- pretty good for a 3 year old!

A note about contacts: I don't wear contacts anymore. I used to, but the cleaning solutions have too many chemicals and they irritate my eyes so I had to stop wearing them. Stupid chemical sensitivities.

Frugal Shopping: Walgreens

One part of our budget that's hard to cut down on  is vitamins and supplements. A side effect of gluten intolerance is difficulty absorbing nutrients. I don't have full blown celiac, so I don't think I have quite as many problems with nutrient absorbtion as some do, but I still have problems. As a result, I take quite a few vitamins and supplements and feel better for doing so. Mr S and LMS also take vitamins, but not as many.

One of the more expensive ones I take is CoQ-10.  I started taking it about a year and a half ago on the advice of my med student sister. After taking it for a week or so, I noticed I was having dreams. This was a big deal, since I don't remember the last time I had regular dreams. Maybe once or twice a year I'd have a crazy dream, but the rest of the time, no dreams. I never felt especially rested either. Since taking the CoQ-10, I dream most nights and wake up much more rested. The interesting thing is that this appears to be genetic: my med student sister, mom, and two younger brothers have the same problem. Wonder why...

Recently my med student sister mentioned that she buys her CoQ-10 at Walgreens when they have buy one get one (BOGO) sales. For whatever reason, I've never shopped at Walgreens before, so I didn't realize that they had such deals. I went in a couple weeks ago, but the brand my sister mentioned wasn't on sale. I talked to one of the workers, and he said they usually had at least one brand of vitamins on BOGO sale per week. So I've been watching the ads (I went to the Walgreens website and signed up to have the ads emailed to me every week since we don't get the paper), and this week the brand I was looking for went on sale.

90 capsules for $50 at Walgreens (BOGO= 180 capsules for $50)
30 capsules for about $13 at wally world

$7.67 per month at Walgreens
$13 per month at wally world

$92 per year at Walgreens
$156 per year at wally world

Savings: $64 a year

While I was there, I noticed that they also had Flax Fish Borage Oil on sale (gotta get those omegas).

120 capsules for $16.50 at Walgreens (BOGO= 240 capsules for $16.50)

60 capsules for about $9 at Target

$2.06 per month at Walgreens
$4.50 per month at Target

$25 a year at Walgreens
$54 a year at Target

Savings: $29 a year

Between just the CoQ-10 and the Flax Fish Borage oil I'll save $93 in one year.

The moral? Don't just grab what you see off the shelf. Be willing to comparison shop (explore stores you don't usually go to), find out if there's sales, and figure out where you can get the best deals. Stock up when you find a great deal. These two vitamins were all our budget could handle right now, but I now have a 6 month supply of one and an 8 month supply of the other. I'll be watching the ads for the other vitamins we take so I can stock up on them using the BOGO sales at Walgreens. 

Repurposing: Giving Pants a Second Life

I've been seeing more and more peple talking about repurposing clothing. When I first saw it, I thought, 'eh, I'll never do that- I don't have any extra clothes sitting around to cut up, and we're not close to any thrift stores, so I wouldn't be saving any money by buying thrift store clothes and cutting them up'.

Then I decided it was time to retire the stretched-out, shapeless yoga pants I've had for about 9 years. I realized I could make a pair of play pants for LMS out of my pants. They're not pants to wear out and about, but they're great for playing outside in the dirt.

I used this tutorial to get started.

I used a pair of pink stretchy pants to make a pattern and cut out the pieces for a pair of black pants for LMS. I used the original hem for the hem of the new pants, meaning I only needed to put a waistband in after sewing the legs.

I wasn't too worried about how they turned out: the original pants are well past their expiration date in their current form, so being able to use them for something else is just a bonus.

Overall, I think they turned out well, and I feel confident in trying more projects as the materials present themselves. (this is one of the projects I posted on my other blog)

A note about the lack of projects posted so far

I'd really like to be posting a lot more projects, but with the upcoming move that's just not going to happen.

1. I'm trying really hard to spend as little money as possible. And I do mean as little as possible. It helps that I have to make arrangements with my FIL in order to run errands. I don't want to take advantage of him, so I'm only borrowing his car once a week. Limited funds also makes it easier to keep the expenditures low. So no new materials to work with.

2. I want to start getting things packed up. 96% of our stuff is in storage already, so I know I have stuff I could be using for projects, but I don't know where that stuff is. I also need to start packing the stuff that's in the house, and that includes my craft paraphenelia.

3. I'm so trunky. On my mission that term was applied to missionaries who were (hopefully, but unfortunately not always) close to the end of their time and were thinking more and more about home, school, etc. That's me. I'm thinking more and more about the house we're going to rent, the preschool I need to find, the stores I need to locate, the parks to explore, the house I get to furnish (Have I mentioned we have very little actual furniture? That'll be another post all together), the list could go on and on. It's hard to focus on the here and now when there's so many other things to think about. And there's only so much room in my brain :)

Once we move and I get everything unpacked, I'll have lots of projects and pictures to share, but in the meantime we're stuck with a couple old projects from my other blog, a couple quick projects that I have the stuff for and want to finish before the move, and me blathering on a bit. Stick with me and it'll get more exciting!

Saving Money & Budgeting: Taxes

I just finished filing our taxes. (Yay!) I've used Turbo Tax the last few years, and have paid about $40 to e-file. This year I used H&R Block Tax Cut through Military OneSource, and it didn't cost me anything. If you're military, and you do have to be military to access Military OneSource, take advantage of the opportunity to e-file for free!

That's great, but there's also the refund to consider. I know everyone says to reduce your withholdings so you aren't paying Uncle Sam to hold onto your money for you. I would like to do this, but you need a steady income for that to work out.

This year we're getting a sizeable return, but it's mostly because of EIC and such. Making very little money this year made us eligible for a lot more credits. Our goal for this coming year will be to have a much smaller refund, but we'll be in a different tax bracket, so it will probably take some trial and error to get just the right amount withheld so we get a small refund or owe just a tiny bit. Our money is better put to use paying off debt and sitting in our savings account earning interest for us.

When I filed, I requested a direct deposit that will take about 10 days (though I think it took less last year) to appear in our bank account. You could also opt to have a check sent via snail mail and that'll take 4-6 weeks, I think. Another option, one that I don't recommend, is to get a refund anticipation loan from the company that prepares your income tax return for you. Basically they give you the money that day or the next, and in return you sign paperwork that gives your refund directly to that company. It sounds like a great deal- you get your money right away- but it is a loan and the interest rates are quite high. As a result, you lose a chunk of money. These days, with e-filing and direct deposits, returns are received so quickly. Why pay someone else for the privilege of getting your money a week and a half quicker?

Our refund is already earmarked: we'll be using it to pay for the move, the deposit and first month's rent on a house, and our train trip to join Mr S.

If we didn't have all these moving-related expenses, and already had a steady income (so the money didn't need to be set aside to pay bills), we would be using our refund to fund our $1000 emergency fund (Dave Ramsey's Step 1) and to quickly get a chunk of debt payed down (Step 2).

If we had our debts completely paid off, we'd be putting the money into savings (Steps 3-7). Though I hope that by the time we have our debts paid off we'll have our withholdings figured out so we're not getting a huge refund.

Something not to do: using a loan to get your refund as quickly as possible, then using the money to buy a wii instead of setting it aside for bills because you don't have a job and a regular income. Yeah, I know some people who did that....