$18.70

I haven't been good about posting my yard sale finds like I wanted to be. There's not a lot of yard sale season left, so I will try to be better about it for the rest of the season. We slept in this morning (much needed!), but still him a few sales here locally. Here's what we bought:

$5.00 - Eight DVD's - to be promptly re-sold on eBay (I've been doing a lot of that lately).

$6.20 - Several books for Brady - mostly books for school, but one book about dinosaurs just for fun. Also, three sets of flash cards for school as well. (We are doing pre-school at home this fall).

$1.00 - a Patricia Cornwell book for my Mom. She's one of her favorite authors, and I'm not sure if she's read this one or not, but for buck, it was worth the shot.

$6.50 - A stack of clothes for my daughter for next summer - can't beat $0.50 for kids clothes!!

What was your best find this week?

$154.25

So this weekend is the annual 127 Corridor sale!! If you've never heard of it, check it out here. It's the world's longest yard sale, running from Michigan to Alabama. We live not too far from Hwy. 127, so we go every year. This year, my husband was able to get off work today, so we went today and we'll start again tomorrow. We were up at 5:30 this morning, and left the house at 6:30! You could say I'm slightly tired this evening! Here's a breakdown of what we bought:

$2.50 - A stack of clothes for my daughter for next summer. Yay!

$1.00 - A dump truck and a front-end loader for my son. We tried to get him a few things along the way since we were on the road for 12 hours today.

$0.50 - Ten thousand bonus points to the first person who can tell me what these are!

$2.25 - More toys for my son - a dinosaur, a Donald Duck bath toy, a camera (now he can take pictures like Diego!) and a Mickey Mouse fire truck.

$10.00 - An entire set of 30 Value Tales books. Have ya'll heard of these? They tell the life stories of famous people as well as a value like honesty, patience, respect, etc. They were asking $15.00 for the set, but she ended up taking $10.00.

$3.00 - A box of Pokemon cards for my nephew (not pictured because said nephew has already torn into them). I have no idea if this was a good deal or not, but he was thrilled with them!

$100.00 - My husband bought two attachments for his lawnmower - a grader blade and a dozer/plow attachment (not pictured because it's getting dark outside and I'm too lazy to go outside and take a picture of them). We found these at an estate sale. They were priced at $75.00 each, and my husband asked her if she'd take a hundred dollar bill for both. She thought for a minute and said "Sure!".

$35.00 - My husband also bought a Craftsman push trimmer (not pictured for the same reason as above). It's kind of like a weed-eater on wheels. Again, they were asking $70.00, and my husband talked them down to $35.00.

Not bad for the first day. We'll be back at it in the morning, so I'll be back tomorrow night to let you know what we bought!

Happy Friday, ya'll!

$28.00

Today, my husband, Mom, the kiddos and I headed out early to hit some yard sales around the area. We didn't do awesome, but manged to get a few good deals!

$2.50 - Two barely-used Victoria's Secret lotions, two Christmas decorations (I decorate in blue/snowmen, so these were great) and a brand-new box of Christmas cards (again, why does anyone pay retail for these?).

$2.50 - Five large toy dinosaurs for my son. He is totally into dinosaurs right now (anybody else a fan of Dino Dan on Nick Jr?). These were a great find for him! They were asking $1.00 each, but I negotiated them down to $0.50 each.

$20.00 - Twenty-five DVD's - all different kinds. Because these were so cheap, I bought them to re-sale on eBay to make a little extra money on. They were asking $1.00 each for these - I asked them if they'd take $15.00 for all of them, they came back at $20.00...Ahh, the art of negotiation!

$3.00 - Tons of clothes for my little girl. Twenty-three pieces to be exact! At the first sale we went to, they had all their kids clothes for $3.00 for as much as you could fit into a shopping bag! I could have fit more into my bag, but I got all the clothes I knew my daughter would wear.

So that's it - our finds for this weekend! If you'd like, leave a comment and tell me what you bought (or if you blog about it, leave me a link to your blog - I'd love to check it out!).

Happy yard selling, ya'll!!

My Rite Aid Shopping Trip 7-11-11

After we left CVS this morning, we went to Rite Aid. I went to a different Rite Aid than I normally do, just because it was closer to the park we walk and play at. I won't do that again! I am so familiar with "my" Rite Aid and I couldn't find anything in this one. I managed to get almost everything I wanted, but it took some doing! I started with $14.00 in +UP Rewards from last week - here's what I bought today:

(2) Old Spice Red Zone Deodorants (reg. price $4.49 each, on sale for $3.50 each - buy 2, get $2.00 +UP)

(2) Old Spice Body Washes (reg. price $4.99 each)

1 Reece Big Cup (reg. price $0.99)

1 small apple spice candle ($0.49)

Total before sale prices applied - $20.44

Total after sale prices - $18.46

I used the following coupons:

(1) $3.00 off any $15.00 purchase (from a store survey on last week's receipt)

(1) $1.00 off any two Old Spice products (P&G insert, 6/5)

(2) Buy one Old Spice deodorant, get an Old Spice Body Wash Free (P&G insert, 6/5)

$4.00 in +UP's from last week

Total after sale prices and coupons - $.48 + tax

I also earned $2.00 +UP's for this transaction, leaving me $12.00 +UP's to use toward a future purchase.

NOTE: I purchased the candy and the candle as filler items because the smallest +UP I had was $4.00 and my sub-total without those items would have only been $3.00 - Rite Aid will not reduce the value of the coupon like CVS will.

Also, for those of you who have made it this far and are curious, I did go yard selling on Saturday morning! I spent $15.00 on tons of kids clothes for my son, my daughter and my nephew. My best score was a brand new pair of New Balance tennis shoes for my nephew for only $2.00! These were brand new in the box with a price tag of $39.99 on them! Score!! We spent the rest of the day cleaning out my Dad's garage (his Father's Day present) and I forgot to take a picture of my loot - thus the reason I didn't do a whole blog post about it!

$97.65

What a fantastic day we had for yard selling! We scored some REALLY good deals, so let's get to it, shall we? First, I'll tell you what I bought that I didn't get pictures of:

$35.00 - A crib and mattress for my daughter to keep at my Mom's house. A is one of those babies who will not sleep anywhere but a bed. We've tried to put her in a Pack 'n Play at Mom's and she won't have it. So finding this was a great score - now Nana can keep Miss A during her nap time if need be! I figure for this price, we can use it until she outgrows it, then sell it and still get our money back.

$5.00 - Four huge boxes of school/home school curriculum. My husband and I are very seriously praying about home schooling our kiddos, and we happened upon the yard sale of a school teacher today! It was toward the end of the day and she was selling everything dirt cheap - so I scored a ton of great resources for only $5.00! Super happy! I can pick out what I want and sell the rest.

$0.25 - From said yard sale above, a non-working push mower. For twenty-five cents, who could pass that up? I can take it and scrap it for a lot more than that!

$25.00 - A king-size comforter set for my bed. Because I like variety and to change things out occasionally! This will (of course) need to be dry cleaned before use, but nice bedding is hard to come by at yard sales. I'll need to add a couple of more pillows, but that shouldn't be too hard given the neutral colors.

$2.75 - Three pairs of shorts and a pretty sweater (for me) and a 3T sweater dress for my daughter. I love, love, love plaid shorts, so finding these in my size was awesome!

$10.00 - A brand-new (still had the tag on it), fake Prada bag. The price tag on it said $110.00! I know it's fake, but still - it will make a great bag for my coupon binder! If you're gonna use coupons, do it in style!

$7.00 - Four pairs of jeans (one brand-new) and a shirt for my nephew. He's at that age where good clothes are hard to find at yard sales because they wear them out pretty fast, so I was very happy to find these for him.

$3.15 - A set of sand buckets for my son, two brand-new boxes of Christmas cards (why does anyone pay retail for these?), a plush Mickey Mouse toy, a brand-new tube of concealer and a sound machine/alarm clock - this will go up to my Mom's as well. Not only will Miss A only sleep in her bed, she must have a sound machine going at full blast as well.

$3.50 - Three brand-new candles (for me) and two wall hangings (for my Mom). Her entire back porch is done in a patriotic theme, so these will look great out there.

$5.00 - A Leap-Frog stand and play toy for my daughter. She's at the age where she loves to stand up and play, so this will be great for her because she can walk around and play with the different things.

$1.00 - Two metal outdoor Tonka-like trucks for my son. He loves to play outside, so I'm sure these will get a lot of use!

Told you we got a ton of really great deals! I spent a LOT more than we usually do, but given that more than half of what I spent was on the crib and the bedding, I am very pleased with my purchases!

What did you find today?

$7.00

After our late night last night (we didn't get home from the Drive-In 'til almost midnight - we haven't done that in YEARS! BTW, Cars 2 was a cute movie, but not as good as the first one), we slept in this morning and got a late start on the yard sales. We finally left the house at about 10:00 this morning, so I'm sure we missed some of the deals. We still managed to snag a few good bargains, though!

$5.00 - A toolbox for my husband. Because a man can never have too many toolboxes. They were asking $10.00 for it, and the woman told my husband, "That has your name written all over it". He said, "For $5.00, it does!" And it did!

$2.00 - Two Disney "learn to draw" books and a Kidz Bop CD (all for my nephew) and a free hand pen for my son (he thought this was a Handy Helper from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!). Note to self: Must disable the pen part of it!

Free - Two cute dresses for my daughter for this winter! The people we bought the toolbox from were packing up for the day, so she threw these in for free! Yay!!

We were such big spenders today! I'm hoping for some good sales next weekend since it's the 4th of July weekend and a lot of people will be off work! Did ya'll find anything good today?

$7.60

It's Friday again, which means the kiddos and I headed out this morning to hit a few yard sales! We didn't go to many, but still managed to score some deals!

$4.00 - A Ride Along with Thomas activity book and a 'Mater shake and roll truck for my son! He's super excited because we are taking him to see Cars 2 tonight with some friends of ours, so this was a great find!

$2.00 - Two Christmas topiaries and a set of three mirrors. All of these will go thru drastic changes before they are used!

$1.60 - Three kids CD's, a brand-new candle, a brand-new Mary Kay facial mask and two large plastic cups (these are perfect for playing with at our local splash pad - especially since, when we were there yesterday, we broke one and gave another one away).

So there you have it - my finds for today! We are planning on heading out again tomorrow - but not too early! Like I said, we are taking our son to see Cars 2 tonight, but it's at our local Drive-In, so the movie won't start until dark. We'll likely sleep in a little bit tomorrow!

Have a great weekend, ya'll!

$1.75

It was a sad, sad day for yard sales today. I don't know if it's because it's Father's Day weekend or what, but there weren't many deals to be had. I picked up a couple of things, but not much at all. Here's my sad little list:

$1.75 - A Leap Frog My First Leap Pad game for my son, a brand-new Elmo swim ring for him and a 3-disc set of 30 Minute Meals DVD's for me.

Yep, that's it. Oh, yeah - I got a toy school bus for my son out of a free box at one sale. That's it. Sad, huh? My husband did better than I did. He bought a Craftsman air compressor and a large, outdoor trash can.

Oh, well - maybe we'll have better luck next week! My husband and I are celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary tomorrow, and we are having a (very) rare by-ourselves-no-kids-allowed date night tonight! Chop House, here we come! Have a great weekend, ya'll!

$26.00

So it's Friday again, and that means yard sales!! I woke up and checked Doppler Radar this morning and it showed rain all around us. I have never been so glad for them to be wrong! It turned out to be an overcast day - perfect for yard selling! I packed the kiddos up this morning and we hit the road. My best friend's neighborhood was having a sale, so we hit that first, then we hit another friend's sale. We scored some good deals! Check it out!

$2.00 - A brand new Elmo book and a brand new Tug & Giggle Bunny for my daughter, and a almost new bottle of Bath & Body Works lotion for me.

$8.00 - A brand new Moby Wrap! Score!! These retail for $39.95 on their website, and I had been wanting to try this wrap but haven't wanted to pay that price, so I have been sticking with my tried and true Baby Bjorn with my daughter. I am super excited about this find!

$3.00 - A brand new Children's Place dress (still had the tags on it), two shirt/skirt outfits and a long-sleeved shirt for my daughter. The dress will fit her now, but the others will be put up for next summer/winter.

$1.50 - Two learn-to-read/write Sesame Street workbooks for my son, a giraffe rattle toy for my daughter and a Thomas the Train umbrella for my son (not pictured because a not-to-be-named preschooler won't put it down long enough for me to take a picture of it!).

$11.50 - A TON of clothes for the kids! I scored four shirts and three pairs of jeans for my son and a ton of shirts for my daughter. All of the stuff for her will be put away for a couple of years, but when I find a good deal on name-brand clothes (Gap, Children's Place, Old Navy, etc.), I have no problem buying years in advance. Clothes are expensive, and I love being able to dress my kids well for not a lot of money. I even scored a super-cute dress for me!

So there you have it, friends - my finds today. I spent a total of $26.00 on my loot - not bad considering the Moby Wrap retails for much more than that alone! My husband and I are planning on heading out again in the morning (it didn't work out for us last week, thus the reason there was no Saturday post detailing my finds). Hope ya'll have a great Friday night and find some great deals tomorrow!

$8.75

For those of you who aren't IRL (in real life) friends of mine, there's something you should know about me. I love to save my family money. (You probably already gathered that, huh?) But couponing isn't the only way I save my family money. You see, I am addicted to yard sales. Love them! So I've decided to start sharing my weekly yard sale finds with you, in hopes that I can convert you as well. So here goes! The title of my post each week will be the total amount I spent that day.

Today, my Mom and I loaded up three kids (my two and my nephew) and headed out. We didn't do grand, but not too bad. Here's what I got:

$1.25 - Four super-cute summer shirts for me! Love finding clothes on the cheap at yard sales!

$3.00 - A golf training thing for my husband. They were asking $5.00, but they took $3.00 (always negotiate!). I have no idea if he needs or wants this, but for $3.00 - I was willing to chance it.

$2.00 - A Mickey Mouse DVD for my son, a slightly used spiced apple candle, a bundle of Christmas cards and a brand new pack of ice trays - the kind that fit into bottle of water. Score!

$2.50 - a darling shirt for my daughter for next summer, a pair of Crocs-like shoes for her (for next summer as well), and a pair of brand-new tights from Children's Place. She'll take a while to grow into these, but they are worth keeping.

I try to buy my kids clothes at least a year or two in advance, and longer if I find the right deals.

I'm heading out again in the morning to several area neighborhood sales, so I'll let you know tomorrow what I find! Happy yard selling, ya'll!