Christmas Shopping Adventures
3:45pm
Home for a brief moment to get the kids off the bus.
Then off to pick up the title to our car.
Been shopping all day with my honey.
He's on vacation this week.
I wanted to share with you my BESTEST DEAL OF THE DAY!!!
We stopped in Kmart to get a DS game and while
there decided to go check on a skateboard/bicycle ramps
we saw there on another visit that
didn't have a price tag.
They still had that one box and I saw it finally had
a price tag. It said it was originally $100.00!
on sale for $85.00.
On clearance for $40 which I was fine with paying.
BUT
when the cashier rang it up at the cash register
it rang up for ......
$10.00!!!!!!
I repeat ten dollars!!
Hell yeah!!!
I was knuckle bumping Tony and the lady behind me, LOL!
$90 off the original price or 90% off!!!
This ain't no little thing either. It had to ride on
top of the cart and filled up the back end of the truck.
.
.
.
.
.
Later on I tell you about other deals
and savings from today.
----------------------------------------
I did have two not so very good experiences today.
And will share them with you before sharing any
more deals I got.
1. Went over to Sears in Graceland to get a tool
set on sale for $20 for Jonathan.
A salesman greets us as we enter the store
and asks if he can help us. I point the picture
of the tool set I have in my notebook.
He had us walking everywhere looking for this thing.
He finally found it in a display in the middle isle
with a large price tag on the display for $40!
He asked where I got my sales ad from and I told
him the Sunday dispatch. He then goes and looks
through their sales ads they had in the store
and said he couldn't find it in there that I should
go home and double check my sales ad that I had
cut my picture out of because this tool set was not on sale.
We left.
Come to find out the sales ad the guy looked at in the
store was from last week, my picture was from this
week's ad and the tool set was incorrectly marked
in the store to reflect this weeks price!
I will return to this store with my complete sales ad
and haggle the store or manager and try to get some
more money off that $20 tool set for the inconvenience
they put us through
and having to drive there twice, you can bet your sweet butt!
2. We stopped in the car lot today to hopefully pick up
the car title, I want to say around 2:30pm give or take.
The guy says he was just on his way out
to get a bunch of titles done. He says, I have your number
and will call you in about an hour to let you know
I got it. An hour came and went and no phone call.
So after the kids got off the bus we headed over to the car lot.
It was 4:30pm. And do you know all lights were out and
the doors were locked even though the sign on the
door says they are open from 10am-6pm.
----------------------------------------------
Today I got a statement from the health
insurance company saying what they paid for
and what we possibly owe for hospital and
doctor bills.
I won't say the amount I owe but will tell ya
how much it was before the insurance,
almost $6,000!
And that was for 2 doctors visits, 2 x-rays & emergency room.
What isn't fair is that when you have health insurance
the doctors jack up the health care costs to submit
to the insurance company.
If you didn't have insurance, and I'm not saying it
would be affordable or cheap because it's not, the self paying
person would pay much less!
------------------------------------------------------
Ok now that I've made myself depressed with
those worries it's time to think happy thoughts,
All those savings I got today.
Gamestop:
3 XBox 360 games
1 PS2 game
reg. $50
I paid $25
(I used my gift card from doing surveys)
MEIJERS
Bachmann Train set
reg. $50
sale price $40
I paid $36.00
NASCAR Jeff Gordon T-shirt
reg. $12.99
Marked down to $5.00
I paid $4.00
2 bottles Franks Red Hot
.99 x's 2 is $1.98
minus 2 $1.00 coupons
I paid FREE for both bottles
TOTAL SAVINGS: $24.97
(when compared to original prices)
Other savings
TARGET
saved $6.00
WALGREENS
saved $20.00
For those of you who have kids who are into those
Silly Band bracelets Walgreens (don't know about
all stores but I do know the store at Henderson & Kenny)
has a TON of 20-24 pack silly bands for $1.00 each!!
They usually run around $4-$6 a pack!
They have packs with different football teams
and there is also OSU silly bands.
Along with many other varieties of silly bands
from movies to cartoon characters to princess
and so on.
.
.
.
SO TOTAL SAVINGS FROM ALL STORES
(including Kmart)
$165.97
by shopping sales, using coupons,
buying clearance items, using gift card &
shopping around to get the better deal.
--------------------------------------------
Still have yet another day of shopping tomorrow
and another visit to the car lot.
Tomorrow's stores include:
Sears, Walmart, Michaels or Joanns,
Harbor Freight & maybe back over to
Jack's Aquarium & pets.
We stopped in the pet store today to price hamsters.
They have a 50% off sale.
We liked the gerbils better (more daytime active)
and they were also 50% off.
We want to get the boys 2 critters this Christmas.
So it would cost $9.99 for 2 gerbils.
Over the Summer I found a 3 story critter cage with wheel for
$4.00 at the flea market, .90 cent bag of bedding
at the thrift store & food bowl, play ball & water bottle .50 cents at thrift store ($1.50)
So it was pretty cheap for the whole set up including
gerbils, $16-$17! (plus we still need to get food)
Heading to McDonalds for breakfast tomorrow morning
and are using some buy 1 get 1 free coupons.
We usually buy 1 small pop and split
it between us to save some money also.
Then I have a doctor's appointment to check
up on my toe, chest congestion (which feels much better)
and to talk to him about quitting smoking.
---------------------------------------------
Well I'm pretty whipped.
And even more tired after the kids just told us
they don't have any school Wednesday.
If you look in the sales ads from Sunday
there are coupons for Jo-Ann's.
40% off any one regular priced item 12/5-12/11
50% off any one regular priced item 12/10-12/12
Michaels
40% off any one regular item 12/5-12/11
Another popular thing with the boys in elementary
school, or at least my neck of the woods, is
the Tech Deck Skateboards. See below.
. 
and Santa got them some more.
Now I worry they will loose the little parts that
come with them so was thinking about getting
a couple sewing floss boxes so they could store
them in. They run a couple dollars at Jo-Anns
and was hoping to use a couple 40-50% off coupons
to get them really cheap.
. I also wanted to get some foam stamps
to make my stamped cookie with.
I seemed to have lost my snowflake ones.
So are hoping to use these coupons to get
a couple items from the craft stores.
----------------------------------------------
OAKLAND PARK NURSERY
Visit Santa and have your pictures taken
or bring your own camera!
Every Saturday & Sunday 12:00 to 4:00pm.
Well I am tired and heading to bed soon.
It's 10pm.
I hate any spending that comes with Christmas
causing the bank account to go down, down, down.
Then I start to feel a little depressed.
We've actually done pretty good with the amount
we've spent on Christmas compared to other years.
But when you add in doctor visits, paying off the couple
hundred and a half dollars owed on the car (I have it but ain't paying it off til I get my title!!), all bills just paid and then the thought of what I will owe on hospital bills, isn't putting me in the best of moods right now.
Money is flying out the door left and right!!
Please pray that this prize check comes this week or
next. That's the latest I was told by Downy it would be here.
I would just feel more comfortable having it in the
bank account right about now.
Oh and did I tell you that the school's now do health screenings.
I got a call from the school today saying Christopher needs
a cavity filled and his eyes checked and possibly a
pair of glasses. Lucky for me they said they have a mobile
dentist that visits the school and can do the work for free.
And they said they could write out an order for me to go have
his eyes checked free and a free pair of glasses if needed.
I flat out told them I have insurance for vision but when our insurance expects you to pay the costs up front and then they reimburse you later on, then that gets a little difficult.
She said no problem and still said I could get glasses for free!!
It's Heaven sent that's for sure.
Tony could use some glasses also but it'll have to wait
til tax time.
I'll get past my mood swing eventually, like the
beginning of February, about 2 months away.
So you'll have to deal with me like this til then.
I am so thrifty and cheap that at Christmas time I feel like
I'm going through withdrawal of saving money. I can't stand to
spend so much money at once!
I get moody, tired, headaches and so on.
Oh and I just thought of something else.
Christopher's birthday is a week and a half
after Christmas.
And now I am hearing about a family
reunion for Tony's family this Sunday.
It's a buffet where everyone brings a dish.
More money spent on groceries & gas, ahhhhh!
I know I shouldn't think that
way but here lately all I see are dollars floating
right out of my purse for one thing or another.
Wouldn't it be nice to live a lifestyle of not worrying
about pinching pennies every second you're awake.
That's allot to deal with for one person!
I am the one who holds this family together
financially! If I don't have my thinking cap on
all the time looking for ways to cut back or
save money, then we wouldn't make it.
I watch all these yuppy shows on tv like
Housewives of various counties and shows like that.
I think wow it must be nice not to have
a worry about money. Spending $1,000+ on a
purse, a couple thousand on a dress to go have a drink
with the girls, drive a very expensive car, without
ever blinking an eyelash about how much stuff costs.
Then again was that a real eyelash or boob
or was a fake one put on or in. So much
plastic surgery goes on! Me I just let the extra
crap hang off or wrinkle up.
You ever watch HGTV and see people remodeling
kitchens for $50,000??? I'm thinking hell that's almost
the price of my house!! It just disgusts me! There's so
many people struggling in this world and these people
are worried about getting granite counter tops
and matching stainless steel appliances.
I see the show House Hunters where people
are turning their noses up to houses because
they haven't been updated or have older
appliances or fixtures in the homes.
Give me a break already. What, are we
too good to use those perfectly working
appliances rather than wondering if they match
or the latest style. AHhhhhh!
Tv gets depressing.
Do tv shows on the average American!
Do home improvement on homes
that are 1200 sq ft or less!
I saw one show where a couple with their 2 children
said they outgrew their 3000 square foot home
and were looking for a larger house.
I will never forget that one.
Our home is a little over 900 sq ft with
the 4 of us. I wish these people would
get over their selves!!
So for now I will put on my pretend happy face til
I get through my withdrawal of being cheap.
And to think tomorrow I'm going to ask the doctor
about quitting smoking. They better have a padded
room for me at this rate.
I gotta keep thinking about how much money
could be saved!!!
Goodnight.
Home for a brief moment to get the kids off the bus.
Then off to pick up the title to our car.
Been shopping all day with my honey.
He's on vacation this week.
I wanted to share with you my BESTEST DEAL OF THE DAY!!!
We stopped in Kmart to get a DS game and while
there decided to go check on a skateboard/bicycle ramps
we saw there on another visit that
didn't have a price tag.
They still had that one box and I saw it finally had
a price tag. It said it was originally $100.00!
on sale for $85.00.
On clearance for $40 which I was fine with paying.
BUT
when the cashier rang it up at the cash register
it rang up for ......
$10.00!!!!!!
I repeat ten dollars!!
Hell yeah!!!
I was knuckle bumping Tony and the lady behind me, LOL!
$90 off the original price or 90% off!!!
This ain't no little thing either. It had to ride on
top of the cart and filled up the back end of the truck.
.
.
.
.
.
Later on I tell you about other dealsand savings from today.
----------------------------------------
I did have two not so very good experiences today.
And will share them with you before sharing any
more deals I got.
1. Went over to Sears in Graceland to get a tool
set on sale for $20 for Jonathan.
A salesman greets us as we enter the store
and asks if he can help us. I point the picture
of the tool set I have in my notebook.
He had us walking everywhere looking for this thing.
He finally found it in a display in the middle isle
with a large price tag on the display for $40!
He asked where I got my sales ad from and I told
him the Sunday dispatch. He then goes and looks
through their sales ads they had in the store
and said he couldn't find it in there that I should
go home and double check my sales ad that I had
cut my picture out of because this tool set was not on sale.
We left.
Come to find out the sales ad the guy looked at in the
store was from last week, my picture was from this
week's ad and the tool set was incorrectly marked
in the store to reflect this weeks price!
I will return to this store with my complete sales ad
and haggle the store or manager and try to get some
more money off that $20 tool set for the inconvenience
they put us through
and having to drive there twice, you can bet your sweet butt!
2. We stopped in the car lot today to hopefully pick up
the car title, I want to say around 2:30pm give or take.
The guy says he was just on his way out
to get a bunch of titles done. He says, I have your number
and will call you in about an hour to let you know
I got it. An hour came and went and no phone call.
So after the kids got off the bus we headed over to the car lot.
It was 4:30pm. And do you know all lights were out and
the doors were locked even though the sign on the
door says they are open from 10am-6pm.
----------------------------------------------
Today I got a statement from the health
insurance company saying what they paid for
and what we possibly owe for hospital and
doctor bills.
I won't say the amount I owe but will tell ya
how much it was before the insurance,
almost $6,000!
And that was for 2 doctors visits, 2 x-rays & emergency room.
What isn't fair is that when you have health insurance
the doctors jack up the health care costs to submit
to the insurance company.
If you didn't have insurance, and I'm not saying it
would be affordable or cheap because it's not, the self paying
person would pay much less!
------------------------------------------------------
Ok now that I've made myself depressed with
those worries it's time to think happy thoughts,
All those savings I got today.
Gamestop:
3 XBox 360 games
1 PS2 game
reg. $50
I paid $25
(I used my gift card from doing surveys)
MEIJERS
Bachmann Train set
reg. $50
sale price $40
I paid $36.00
NASCAR Jeff Gordon T-shirt
reg. $12.99
Marked down to $5.00
I paid $4.00
2 bottles Franks Red Hot
.99 x's 2 is $1.98
minus 2 $1.00 coupons
I paid FREE for both bottles
TOTAL SAVINGS: $24.97
(when compared to original prices)
Other savings
TARGET
saved $6.00
WALGREENS
saved $20.00
For those of you who have kids who are into those
Silly Band bracelets Walgreens (don't know about
all stores but I do know the store at Henderson & Kenny)
has a TON of 20-24 pack silly bands for $1.00 each!!
They usually run around $4-$6 a pack!
They have packs with different football teams
and there is also OSU silly bands.
Along with many other varieties of silly bands
from movies to cartoon characters to princess
and so on.
..
.SO TOTAL SAVINGS FROM ALL STORES
(including Kmart)
$165.97
by shopping sales, using coupons,
buying clearance items, using gift card &
shopping around to get the better deal.
--------------------------------------------
Still have yet another day of shopping tomorrow
and another visit to the car lot.
Tomorrow's stores include:
Sears, Walmart, Michaels or Joanns,
Harbor Freight & maybe back over to
Jack's Aquarium & pets.
We stopped in the pet store today to price hamsters.
They have a 50% off sale.
We liked the gerbils better (more daytime active)
and they were also 50% off.
We want to get the boys 2 critters this Christmas.
So it would cost $9.99 for 2 gerbils.
Over the Summer I found a 3 story critter cage with wheel for
$4.00 at the flea market, .90 cent bag of bedding
at the thrift store & food bowl, play ball & water bottle .50 cents at thrift store ($1.50)
So it was pretty cheap for the whole set up including
gerbils, $16-$17! (plus we still need to get food)
Heading to McDonalds for breakfast tomorrow morning
and are using some buy 1 get 1 free coupons.
We usually buy 1 small pop and split
it between us to save some money also.
Then I have a doctor's appointment to check
up on my toe, chest congestion (which feels much better)
and to talk to him about quitting smoking.
---------------------------------------------
Well I'm pretty whipped.
And even more tired after the kids just told us
they don't have any school Wednesday.
If you look in the sales ads from Sunday
there are coupons for Jo-Ann's.
40% off any one regular priced item 12/5-12/11
50% off any one regular priced item 12/10-12/12
Michaels
40% off any one regular item 12/5-12/11
Another popular thing with the boys in elementary
school, or at least my neck of the woods, is
the Tech Deck Skateboards. See below.
.
.
.
and Santa got them some more.
Now I worry they will loose the little parts that
come with them so was thinking about getting
a couple sewing floss boxes so they could store
them in. They run a couple dollars at Jo-Anns
and was hoping to use a couple 40-50% off coupons
to get them really cheap.
. I also wanted to get some foam stamps
to make my stamped cookie with.
I seemed to have lost my snowflake ones.
So are hoping to use these coupons to get
a couple items from the craft stores.
----------------------------------------------
OAKLAND PARK NURSERY
Visit Santa and have your pictures taken
or bring your own camera!
Every Saturday & Sunday 12:00 to 4:00pm.
Columbus Store Festivities:
Sat., Nov. 27: “Making Bows” (Fee: Cost of Ribbon)
Sat., Nov. 27, 1:00 pm: “Advent Wreath” (Fee: $20)
Sat., Dec. 4: “Wreath” (Fee: $20)
Sat., Dec. 11: “Seasonal Luminary” (Fee: $20)
Sat., Dec. 18: “Centerpiece” (Fee: $20)
Dublin Store Events:
1 - 4 pm.
noon - 4 pm.
Well I am tired and heading to bed soon.
It's 10pm.
I hate any spending that comes with Christmas
causing the bank account to go down, down, down.
Then I start to feel a little depressed.
We've actually done pretty good with the amount
we've spent on Christmas compared to other years.
But when you add in doctor visits, paying off the couple
hundred and a half dollars owed on the car (I have it but ain't paying it off til I get my title!!), all bills just paid and then the thought of what I will owe on hospital bills, isn't putting me in the best of moods right now.
Money is flying out the door left and right!!
Please pray that this prize check comes this week or
next. That's the latest I was told by Downy it would be here.
I would just feel more comfortable having it in the
bank account right about now.
Oh and did I tell you that the school's now do health screenings.
I got a call from the school today saying Christopher needs
a cavity filled and his eyes checked and possibly a
pair of glasses. Lucky for me they said they have a mobile
dentist that visits the school and can do the work for free.
And they said they could write out an order for me to go have
his eyes checked free and a free pair of glasses if needed.
I flat out told them I have insurance for vision but when our insurance expects you to pay the costs up front and then they reimburse you later on, then that gets a little difficult.
She said no problem and still said I could get glasses for free!!
It's Heaven sent that's for sure.
Tony could use some glasses also but it'll have to wait
til tax time.
I'll get past my mood swing eventually, like the
beginning of February, about 2 months away.
So you'll have to deal with me like this til then.
I am so thrifty and cheap that at Christmas time I feel like
I'm going through withdrawal of saving money. I can't stand to
spend so much money at once!
I get moody, tired, headaches and so on.
Oh and I just thought of something else.
Christopher's birthday is a week and a half
after Christmas.
And now I am hearing about a family
reunion for Tony's family this Sunday.
It's a buffet where everyone brings a dish.
More money spent on groceries & gas, ahhhhh!
I know I shouldn't think that
way but here lately all I see are dollars floating
right out of my purse for one thing or another.
Wouldn't it be nice to live a lifestyle of not worrying
about pinching pennies every second you're awake.
That's allot to deal with for one person!
I am the one who holds this family together
financially! If I don't have my thinking cap on
all the time looking for ways to cut back or
save money, then we wouldn't make it.
I watch all these yuppy shows on tv like
Housewives of various counties and shows like that.
I think wow it must be nice not to have
a worry about money. Spending $1,000+ on a
purse, a couple thousand on a dress to go have a drink
with the girls, drive a very expensive car, without
ever blinking an eyelash about how much stuff costs.
Then again was that a real eyelash or boob
or was a fake one put on or in. So much
plastic surgery goes on! Me I just let the extra
crap hang off or wrinkle up.
You ever watch HGTV and see people remodeling
kitchens for $50,000??? I'm thinking hell that's almost
the price of my house!! It just disgusts me! There's so
many people struggling in this world and these people
are worried about getting granite counter tops
and matching stainless steel appliances.
I see the show House Hunters where people
are turning their noses up to houses because
they haven't been updated or have older
appliances or fixtures in the homes.
Give me a break already. What, are we
too good to use those perfectly working
appliances rather than wondering if they match
or the latest style. AHhhhhh!
Tv gets depressing.
Do tv shows on the average American!
Do home improvement on homes
that are 1200 sq ft or less!
I saw one show where a couple with their 2 children
said they outgrew their 3000 square foot home
and were looking for a larger house.
I will never forget that one.
Our home is a little over 900 sq ft with
the 4 of us. I wish these people would
get over their selves!!
So for now I will put on my pretend happy face til
I get through my withdrawal of being cheap.
And to think tomorrow I'm going to ask the doctor
about quitting smoking. They better have a padded
room for me at this rate.
I gotta keep thinking about how much money
could be saved!!!
Goodnight.
, press dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. [Alternatively, you could use a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (or play around with other tips) to make freehand shapes].
