Keep your Eyes and Ears Open
I saved money on an unusual thing yesterday, whistles. We are going camping and with 7 kids we have got to have a few safety precautions. One of them is we will give each child a whistle in case they get lost. Tawra looked in the sports section of the store and found some for $3 each. I'm thinking $21 for whistles is way unfrugal but in the dark deep recesses of my grandma's mind I remembered seeing some at the Dollar Tree, 8 for a dollar. A much much better buy.
They were in with the party favors which I scan on a regular basis because with 5 grandkids to buy for, and usually I try to get them all the same thing, party favors are a great way to go, especially at a place like the Dollar Tree.
Two things that I do to find bargains is when I go shopping I turn into someone like the "great white hunter" My mind is on my shopping watching, scanning shelves and observing the whole time in the store. I try not to think about what am I going to have for dinner, what my schedule is for the day etc. but I am looking for bargains the whole time.
I'm writing an article right now about how we really need to keep learning all the time. We usually think that means reading a book or taking a class but there so many other ways out there of learning than that. Observing what you can buy and where you can buy it is one of those ways. It's exercising your memory and powers of observation. It may seem like a silly little thing but these things really do add up. Because I did this I saved us almost $25 and that is nothing to "whistle" at! HA! HA! Sorry I know that was bad but couldn't resist.
Anyway really keep your eyes open and look around you as you shop. As with any other job that you do pay attention. For those of you with CFS or FM and other types of illnesses I know that just keeping your eyes open will be a challenge let alone to look around and put your brain in gear but do the best you can.
Another thing when looking for a bargain is to look in unusual places for things. For example I can find some of the neatest things at an automotive store. I saw on TV a really nice pad to put on the dash board of your car to hold your cell phone and other things in place. It was $15 plus shipping and handling on top of that. I thought I would just see if they maybe had something like that at an automotive place, sure enough there it was for $4. Not many other people probably bought their mom's mother's day present at a car place.
These were just a couple of things to maybe help some of you think out of the box. Below are some more July 4th recipes to try. Since Tawra is in the mountains I thought the dessert was appropriate. Have a great day! :) :) Jill
Mile High Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 sm. can mandarin oranges with juice
4 eggs
Frosting:
1 large container of whipped topping
1 (3 oz) pkg. vanilla pudding
1 lg. can(about 15 oz) crushed pineapple with juice
Beat all cake ingredients together until oranges are broken into small pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30. You can bake this in 3 round 8 in. pans, a 9x13 pan or even cupcakes. You will have to adjust the temperature just check the directions on the cake mix box.
Frosting: Combine everything but the whipped topping, stirring briskly then fold in whipped topping.
Roni Salad
2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 stalk celery chopped
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
Dressing:
3/4 cup mayo
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. mustard
Cook macaroni and drain, rinsing in cold water. Combine everything in large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Refrigerate until you serve it.
HINT: when something like this calls for thawed peas. Put the peas in the same colander that you are going to drain the macaroni in. Then as you drain the macaroni it instantly thaws the peas.
They were in with the party favors which I scan on a regular basis because with 5 grandkids to buy for, and usually I try to get them all the same thing, party favors are a great way to go, especially at a place like the Dollar Tree.
Two things that I do to find bargains is when I go shopping I turn into someone like the "great white hunter" My mind is on my shopping watching, scanning shelves and observing the whole time in the store. I try not to think about what am I going to have for dinner, what my schedule is for the day etc. but I am looking for bargains the whole time.
I'm writing an article right now about how we really need to keep learning all the time. We usually think that means reading a book or taking a class but there so many other ways out there of learning than that. Observing what you can buy and where you can buy it is one of those ways. It's exercising your memory and powers of observation. It may seem like a silly little thing but these things really do add up. Because I did this I saved us almost $25 and that is nothing to "whistle" at! HA! HA! Sorry I know that was bad but couldn't resist.
Anyway really keep your eyes open and look around you as you shop. As with any other job that you do pay attention. For those of you with CFS or FM and other types of illnesses I know that just keeping your eyes open will be a challenge let alone to look around and put your brain in gear but do the best you can.
Another thing when looking for a bargain is to look in unusual places for things. For example I can find some of the neatest things at an automotive store. I saw on TV a really nice pad to put on the dash board of your car to hold your cell phone and other things in place. It was $15 plus shipping and handling on top of that. I thought I would just see if they maybe had something like that at an automotive place, sure enough there it was for $4. Not many other people probably bought their mom's mother's day present at a car place.
These were just a couple of things to maybe help some of you think out of the box. Below are some more July 4th recipes to try. Since Tawra is in the mountains I thought the dessert was appropriate. Have a great day! :) :) Jill
Mile High Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 sm. can mandarin oranges with juice
4 eggs
Frosting:
1 large container of whipped topping
1 (3 oz) pkg. vanilla pudding
1 lg. can(about 15 oz) crushed pineapple with juice
Beat all cake ingredients together until oranges are broken into small pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30. You can bake this in 3 round 8 in. pans, a 9x13 pan or even cupcakes. You will have to adjust the temperature just check the directions on the cake mix box.
Frosting: Combine everything but the whipped topping, stirring briskly then fold in whipped topping.
Roni Salad
2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 stalk celery chopped
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
Dressing:
3/4 cup mayo
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. mustard
Cook macaroni and drain, rinsing in cold water. Combine everything in large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Refrigerate until you serve it.
HINT: when something like this calls for thawed peas. Put the peas in the same colander that you are going to drain the macaroni in. Then as you drain the macaroni it instantly thaws the peas.
posted by Tawra Jean at 8:27 AM
8 Comments:
Hi Jill--
I walk the aisles of our local Walgreens when I go in to pick up a prescription, for the reasons you state in your post--you never know what great deal you might find.
Yesterday, I found padded envelopes (small, medium, and even the large ones) and legal pads, 3 for $1!!! This is much, much cheaper than even in bulk at an office supply store! My formerly depleted supply is now refreshed. :-)
I am very good (usually) at avoiding buying anything "extra" that I don't need, so I enjoy cruising the aisles for great deals. If my resistance to buying "extras" is low, I focus on just getting to the pharmacy (or whatever is on my list) and blocking out anything else when I shop.
shelly you are a gal after my own heart. I do the same thing, so glad you mentioned because I totally forgot about it. Thanks, Jill
When grocery shopping, I scan the aisles for "Discontinued" tags. Although these items may not be on my list, they are usually deeply discounted and may be worth stocking up on. The tags are a different color, too, than the regular tags, so they are fairly easy to spot.
Just as an aside on the super-cheap stuff, be careful of items made in China. It may no longer be in the news, but the safety quality control of many Made in China products is still unknown.
The whistles may cost only pennies but if they've got lead or some other contaminant in them that may not be such a great deal in the end. Granted, the $3 whistles may ALSO be from China, in which case, I'm not sure what one would do.
The problem with something like a whistle is that it doesn't really have a potential cheaper substitute (like say you need a doorstop, there's umpteen things you could use instead of a store-bought "real" doorstop).
Hi Jill. On the cake recipe, is the vanilla pudding a 'cook and serve' variety or instant? Or does it matter?
Thanks,
Robin in CA
Oh, I have the same question. What type of pudding? Ready made, instant powder type or power type to cook?
Looks yummy and so simple!
Sorry I forgot to write instant pudding on the recipe. Jill
It's so true that you have to keep your eyes and ears open for bargains all the time. This is a WalMart tip...check if they have a food clearance aisle. Mine has one and I have found many, many great deals there. It is food items that they are ceasing to stock due to low demand or items that are close to being past their 'best by' dates. I always seem to find cheap treats for my two sons there. Just yesterday, I found 46 oz bottles of Apple & Eve's Fruitables juice for 50 cents each. They are 100% fruit juice, no sugar added. I bought everything they had left...8bottles in strawberry mango and an orange blend flavor. The bottles were all marked good through January 09, 2009 so what a deal! Then they had the Pop Tarts 'Splitz'...the ones with chocolate flavor on one side and vanilla on the other for 50 cents a box. I took the 6 boxes they had left off their hands. Then they had 24 packs of Nestle Pure Life water .5 liter bottles marked down to $1.99 because the dates were use by August 28, 2009. In last Sunday's papers, I found two coupons for save $1.00 off a 24 pack of Nestle Pure life water. So I used both of my coupons and bought two 24 packs at 99 cents each. That's about 4 cents a bottle! I don't typically buy bottled water but we will use it for our cooler for a few day trips we have planned for this summer. I seldom buy juice and Pop Tarts for the boys either. They were SO excited when I brought that stuff home yesterday. It's well worth a few minutes of my time to look for such deals!
Angie
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