Gymboree Sale!!!

For those of you who followed my post about how to save on buying your kids' clothes, I wanted to let you know that Gymboree has had another set of markdowns.

They have marked clothes down up to 60%. This is a great time to stock up on your kids' clothes for next year. Also, if you need clothes for the spring and summer, they are starting to markdown their first few spring lines.

To increase your savings, try using a Plum Magazine coupon for 20% off. If you can't find this magazine (it is a pregnancy magazine for women over 35), go to eBay where you can find these coupons for sale. I bought one for $6.25. If you pay that price for the coupon, you will need to spend at least $30 in the store to break even from the price of the coupon. If you spend anything more than that, the coupon will put you ahead. The best part is, this coupon can be used BOTH online and in the stores. If you are going to the store first, make sure to write down the code on the back. Then you can also use it for any purchases made online. (If you spend over $100 online, shipping is free!)

Best of all, now through April 11th, you can earn Gymbucks on any purchase over $50. (Gymbucks redemption is from April 16th -26th.) Happy shopping!

How I Dress My Kids for Free

Check out my guest post on how I dress my kids for free in Gymboree at Money Saving Mom.

Grocery Shopping Sunday, 3/29/09

We used to spend $480 rougly a month for groceries to feed two adults, a four year old (who eats like an adult!), and two cats. I am trying to get that total down to $360 a month, and once I master that, to get things down further. (One step at a time!)

We did a big shopping trip last week, so this week is just supplemental and will be the start of my April grocery shopping budget.


$14.11 at Aldi's


$10.14 at Tony's Finer Foods

Total for this week = $24.25. Our menu plan will be coming tomorrow.

Menu Planning Monday, 3/30/09

Here's what we will be having for dinner this week:


Monday--Provolone Chicken with Broccoli & Mashed Potatoes
Tuesday--Pork Fried Rice and Fruit
Wednesday--Slow Cooker Chili with Bread Bowls
Thursday--leftovers
Friday--Grilled Salmon, Spinach, and Cornbread


We may or may not be leaving town this weekend, so I will wait to post the Saturday and Sunday meal plans.

CVS 3/28/09

2 Bags Easter M&Ms @1.50/ea--3.00

2 Boxes Cadbury eggs @ 2.00/ea--4.00

1 Accu Chek monitor @ 9.99

2 Paas Easter egg coloring kits @ 1.99/ea-3.98

1 bag Huggies wipes @ 6.49

I then used a $5/25 CVS coupon,

3.00 Huggies coupon,

1.00 M & M coupon,

and $14.99 ECBs

Total paid = 4.85

Total saved = 37.95

This is not my best deal. I had heard that although the ad starts on Sunday, you can buy items at their sales price on Saturday, so I tried that this week because I knew the Accu Chek monitor would go quickly. I did get the sales prices and the $9.99 ECB for the monitor, but unfortunately, I could not get the $1.99 ECBs for the Paas kits. Live and learn!

I love CVS. I first discovered the CVS deals on a frugal website, and have been CVSing for about 6 months now. To learn more about CVSing, please visit http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ She has a great tutorial.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I am a mom of two who is looking to stay home full time. Before I can do that, we must save money and learn to stretch a buck as far as we can. This blog will focus on my plans--mom's plans--for our future. The main focus will be on my journey to discover a simpler, cheaper, yet fuller way of life.