Steals and Deals for Janary

Remember, I allotted $30/month for random spending as well. Hopefully I'll gradually get better and better at this. So, first month of thrift shopping and searching out deals.. I also included freebies I got in this. :)


*6 baskets for my pantry - $6 (I looked these up online... from Walmart these 6 would have cost me $20.68.)

*2 pair of jeans for the kids - $5

*a new e-book $9 (I know!! I cheated! This one wasn't at a thrift store.)

So, since we got rid of our dining room table and built the bar, I realized there is just not enough room for us to do school projects. So, I decided I needed a coffee table for the kids to sit on the floor with. It's short enough that I won't feel claustrophobic and take up little space. I thought I could also paint the top with chalkboard paint so they can color on it with chalk as well. Fun!! So, I was checking out the local thrift shops and everything looked cheap. They were just poorly made and I couldn't convince myself to spend the money they were asking on it. Then, when I was speaking to someone about this they happened to have a coffee table in their storage shed they weren't using so they gave it to me with permission to sand and paint it.

So... I did.... I spent no extra money on the paint because I used paint I already had at home for other projects and my hubby owns an electric sander so... yay!! I have a can of chalkboard paint as well, I just need to tape it and spray the middle part of it and it'll be complete! YAY! But, art is today so I thought we'd use the table and then I'll pain it :)

Here is something else I got into... freebies! Did you know that companies are constantly giving away stuff as a marketing scheme. Genius! So, I've been signing up for freebies everywhere. Since I am hypoglycemic, I try to keep a protein bar or something in my purse. Guess what was a freebie this month? Yeapers!

I was at a thrift shop with a friend and I saw a wok. My hubby has been wanting a wok for years. She told me not to buy it because she had one she and her husband had been debating getting rid of so.... I have a new wok now that was free as well. It even has a lid which the one from the thrift shop did not have. Woot!

BEST DEAL AT THE GROCERY STORE THIS MONTH:

These normally sell for $3.99. They were on sale for $1 each and then I had a coupon so I bought 4 of them for $2. And, yes, I normally make my own but Paul doesn't so these are for him. That's a savings of $13.96. YAY!! :)

At the end of the month, I still have $8 left from my thrift store fun... savings! :) YAY!!

My goal for January was to keep groceries under $500(This includes toiletries, all dog/cat foods, cleaning supplies, everything that comes out of a grocery store). That is $4 per person per day of the month to eat off of. I know others who do better but $4/day sounded pretty good. Especially after seeing that on The Biggest Loser they called "frugal living" being $10/day/person. That even included fresh fruits and veggies from the local coop. Yay. So.... our total grocery spending for the month of January was....$431. Yay!! This ended up being an average of $3.40 per person per day. :) So... yay!! I'll get better. I will. Just be patient with me. =o)