Sometimes Sheldon, sometimes Percy

I get the AJC only to clip the coupons.  Hayes recently discovered that the Sunday paper has cartoons in it!  He spent a good hour reading through them last week.  He sat and flipped through them all.  He pointed out the cartoons that he knew and laughed when he thought it was appropriate.  

He tried to share with Elizabeth, but she had little interest in his new found love.  He read them over and over again.  I tried several times that afternoon to trash them in the recycle container, but he refused to let me until he was 'done' with them.  

He was totally engrossed in the colors, the pictures, the layout of the comics, and the different people.  I answered 90,000 questions in about 3 hours because of his comic discovery.  He was thrilled with them!  I cannot WAIT for Percy to see this blog because I know he will get a kick out of it.  

Just look at that face?  Can't you see how excited he was to share his new love?  I do believe he's a little bit like Percy because he has such a love for the comics.  He could possibly be a little bit like his Daddy too, since he's all into the graphic artsy side of it.  

And clearly I'm being schooled about the comics.  I dread the day he realizes that the comics come in every paper that lands at our house.  I may never be able to get rid of them!  I have the Sunday comics saved and plan to save them so he can read them whenever he wants to!  

I had to quit Target.

I had to quit Target this month. 

I used to go to Target once a week just to browse and gawk.

I love to shop there!

I wanted to try and 'quit' Target for a whole month to see if I could manage.

I survived.

I even managed to save some money for Disney World next month.

Actually, the reason I quit Target this month is because we were living on Teacher Welfare.

Y'all know what that is?

I mean, most people tend to think we live on TW every month, but we don't.

We get paid once a month.

Shock, horror, I know. 

But we survive.

I guess for some people it would be an adjustment, but I don't know much different.

Sooooooooo, once a month.

You pay the bills and then you have what's left until the end of the month.

The end.

Except in January.

We get paid the Friday we get out of school in December.

Usually the Friday before Christmas is payday every year.

Sometimes it is EARLY in December, but in 2012 it was December 21.

The paycheck on December 21 has to cover alllllllllll of January and the remainder of December.

This year I decided that since we were going to Disney World and living on TW I would tighten up.

So, no Target.

I did go on Tuesday afternoon for batteries for the garage door opener.

I can't live without mine and I knew Target had the correct size I needed.

We also stopped at the snack bar.

I got a hot dog and the kids got gummies.

Quitting Target taught me that I actually like having money to save.

It taught me that I can survive without going to browse or shop once a week.

I learned to fill my time with other things and I found it quite liberating.

I've enjoyed this month of Teacher Welfare and plan to continue my frugal experiment this year!

Right after I blow some dollars at the outlet malls next week....

Ironically, breaking up with my scale has caused all my pants to be too big!?

**insert happy dance and squeal here**

Except, now I need new pants! 

Holy snot balls!

17 more days to Disney World!

Free Stuff Friday

Let me just preface this post by letting you know that I love coupons.

I love clipping them, but only when I plan to USE them.

I love the fact that I can save money, get stuff I need & use, and save money.

Wait, I already said that?

Crap.

Well, still... I love to save money.

I love being able to get food and misc other things that we need at a discount.

Here's my story of savings today... 

Scored these today at Publix. 

They are $6.99 each.

I have to shave.

I am a hairy beast.

Though I will not complain, because I will likely never be a bald adult lady.... praise Jesus.

I was actually at the end of the good part of the current razor I have.

I was waiting for a sale with coupons.

JACKPOT!

I had a Publix coupon from their sales flyers for $3 off 2 packs of razors.

I love I heart Publix for coupon deals at Publix.

I also found 2 manufacturer's coupons for $2 off 1 pack and $1 off 1 pack.

So, basically I got a free pack of razors today. 

4 razors for $.99.... deal.

And my husband will appreciate that I shave my armpits and legs!

I also planned a trip to Target.

I used Totally Target to coordinate my store and manufacturers coupons.

I also use that site to see what deals are offered with gift cards when you purchase goods!

So, the diapers are $34.99. 

I had a Target coupon for $2 off and Pampers coupon for $2 off.

Plus there was a $25 coupon booklet inside the box of diapers!

AND, Target was giving you a $5 gift card with each diaper purchase.

Score.

I knew Dunkin Donuts coffee was on sale, so I used $.75 off coupons for those too.

Got those for $6 each.  Expensive, yes.  But SO good.

Starbucks coffee was $7.99 each. 

I had 2 Starbucks coupons for $3 off 2 packs.

AND Target was giving you a $5 gift card with a purchase of 2 packs.

So.... I got 4 packs of Starbucks coffee for $26. 

AND I got 2 $5 gift cards. 

Hello, Christmas gifts for my cousins!

M&Ms... they were $2.79 a bag.

I had 2 coupons for a total of $2.50 off. 

Basically, free chocolate.  This is a no brainer.

Dark Knight Rises is a gift for the hubs for Christmas.  FREE with all my gift cards and coupons...

Oxi Clean wasn't on sale, but I had a Target coupon and an Oxi Clean coupon.

So I got 2 stain removers for $1.99.  Basically, 1.5 for FREE.

We needed the Target brand Pedialyte.

And the Huggies wipes.... on sale for $8.99.

I had a Target coupon and a Huggies coupon. 

I got wipes for $6.99.

Yippee!

OH! 

Target also had a coupon on their website and you got a $10 gift card if you spent $50.

Shoot, I got that done!

I saved a total of $47.15 with the various Target sales & coupons.

I got $25 in gift cards to use on another purchase later.

I spent $107.89.

Between my savings and the gift cards I got back I spent a total of $35.74.

That's just a smidge more than the diapers cost at the beginning of the whole trip.

So thank you Target & Totally Target for the massive savings today.