Rhea Lana's 1/2 Off Haul

03/10/2016

Hey y'all,

It has been about two weeks since I've posted because I've been super busy with some new things I've got going on (more on those later but they are super exciting). Well, my baby is growing like a weed! She recently turned three months old and she wears 9 months in some things... she is cloth diapered so that adds some bulk but dang, my little girl is growing so fast!

In a very short time our little girl went through THREE clothing sizes. We had some 9 months clothes, since I am a bargain shopper and will buy ahead when I find cute things on clearance, but not a whole wardrobe for her... enter Rhea Lana's, problem solved!

I really was only planning on getting her 5 more pieces of clothing, I came home with 21.

 I'm in love with easy outfits, as is my husband. We like things that are easy to put on, take off, and do diaper changes in. These all fit the bill on that, they are super cute, and it only cost my $5 total for all three! The first was $2, and the other two were only $1.50. These all look BRAND new, so much so that I'm not really even sure that they were ever actually worn.

 So I'm in love with this swimsuit. Normally it isn't the kind of thing I'd buy used (like underwear, bras, etc)... but it is for a baby. It will be washed and I'm not having to really worry about someone nasty having worn it before, in fact it doesn't even look like it was ever worn. My baby actually does have 2 other swimsuits that were given to use by my husbands coworker, but they weren't really my style. This is like a mermaid/ballerina swimsuit and I think it is totally adorable, and best of all it was only $2.75!

One of my best finds was probably the Children's Place skirt, brand new WITH tags so there is no speculating on this one. I don't mind used clothes because it can save money, it is environmentally friendly, and you can find super cool and unique pieces that aren't in stores anymore, but I think just about everyone in the world likes new clothes.

I went with my mom and my daughter. We were hoping to find the Rhea Lana's gift certificates they had hidden throughout the store. No luck finding those, but we did get 26 items for just $61. Of the items bought they were all clothing, and and 21 of them were for my daughter and the other 5 were for my nieces. Of the 5 my mom bought for her other granddaughters (my nieces), the total on just those 5 was $19.75.

$61.25 - $19.75   = $41.50
(Total- Nieces = Daughters)

Going on half off day we saved $41.25 on our purchases. Not everything on half off day IS half off though, anything with a red dot on the tag is NOT half off. The consignors get to chose if they want to participate in half off day or not. Of everything we bought there were only 3 items that we selected and decided to purchase that weren't half off: the brand new skirt, a dress for my niece, and one of my daughters dresses.

The average price I spent on my daughters items were $2/each, given that just about everything I purchased is in PRISTINE condition and many items I think are probably new without tags (I've washed some clothes my baby never got a chance to wear so I'm sure other momma's have also) I'm really happy with my haul.

If you wanna check out a Rhea Lana's in your area just look at their webpage or facebook page. 1/2 off day is the last two days of their sale so things are more picked through but you can still find overlooked gems... I found quiet a few!

Kroger Haul 02/25/16

As you all know, I do Kroger Hauls ALL the time. This is another haul I'm super excited about FULL of managers specials.

 I didn't take pictures of my entire haul, because having a newborn I'm usually taking care of her while my husband puts the groceries away (not on the counter tops for a quick pic). The image above is actually of my BEST deals, and those that wouldn't fit in the cupboards LOL.

I got:

31 BIG cans of Pumpkin for    .39 

6 Heinz Gravy Jars                .19   

10 BIG cans of Yams              .29

2 Dole squezable fruit packs 1.39   (had an ecoupon so one of these was just .39)

2 Cans of Cranberries            .29

2 Jiff Whips PB & Choc       1.59

4 Thomas English Muffins   bogo

3 Bag of Red Potatoes          .49

Milk                                   FREE          (with purchase of cereals shown)

Organic Choc Milk              1.99

These are just the best deals we got, in total my purchases came to $115.56. I am super stocked about my purchases since the cans of pumpkin alone retail for $120! I got the pumpkin for 90% off, I was excited to find little cans for .69 before so now we have LOTS of pumpkin. 

The funny thing about the pumpkin is that I actually don't like pumpkin, I used to only buy it for the dogs (it was recommended by my vet to help my little dog lose weight/maintain a healthy weight) and now I'm also buying it for my little pumpkin.... think of all the money I'll save on baby food! I can't wait to feed my little one pumpkin both by itself and mixed with other fruits/veggies/spices! 

Of the purchases the Gravy and some of the pumpkin are for the dogs. Some of the Pumpkin, the yams, and cranberries are all for my baby girl! I have been planning on making homemade baby food and pumpkin and yams are great for that! The Dole sqeezables can also be for her since they aren't expiring before she will start trying solid foods!

I should also point out these cans don't expire til next year... so apparently late February is the time to start buying Thanksgiving/Christmas foods!

Guide to Cloth Diapering on a budget

I've heard from a few people how they want to cloth diaper, but the upfront cost is just too much for them. It doesn't have to be. I wanted to share some tips and things I've learned about saving money on cloth.

Nayeli's Tips for Saving $$$ on Cloth

#1 Ebay- I got a great deal on a lot of new Kawaii diapers, which retail for $12 each, on ebay. I paid around $6 a diaper by buying them in a lot of 12 and they each come with 2 super thick inserts!!
#2 Local Facebook Groups- I found a facebook group in my area dedicated to cloth diapers and on there I bought 2 brand new bum genius diapers for $7 each (pictured right), retail is $17/each. I also found a lady selling her extra Kawaii inserts for only .50 each! I'm still trying to meet up with her!
#3 Cloth Diaper Co-ops- these groups get people to pool money to make a bulk purchase in order for each person to save money. I personally haven't used one because it is kinda a hassle but I've heard good things and it IS a way to save.
#4 Yard Sales- my mom found bum genius in good condition for $5/each at one!
#5 Dirt Cheap- I got a brand new bum genius here for $1! That is $16 off! Last time I was in they had a lot of 6 Charlie Bananas for around $70, which is $40 off the lowest price I could find for that pack.
#6 Cloth Diaper Covers- Covers are a cheap yet still easy option. They can be reused as long as the poop/pee doesn't get on the cover, which means with these you need less covers and more inserts.

Grocery Haul 02/17/2016

Hey everyone,
I know it has been a while since I did a grocery haul post, but my last grocery shopping trip I got some great deals (partially pictured) that I have been dying to share with you!

I went to a Kroger I don't shop at normally on Thursday, my new shopping day, and apparently that is this Kroger's day for meat markdowns because their clearance section was filled. I personally don't like/eat pork but there was lots of pork, a package or two of ribeye, my meats that I use for fajitas, hamburgers, neck bones, ground beef, and chicken all on markdown.


To the left you can see part of my haul. I got 3 packages of top round steak for $3.74/lb, ground beef for $2 and $2.99 (one was more lean than the other), and organic hamburger patties for $2.

When I got home and viewed my haul and decided I wanted to blog about it I started thinking and was kicking myself for not JUST buying the hamburger patties instead of the ground beef. The hamburger patties were 1 lb packages of ORGANIC ground beef, who cares that they were shaped into a patty? They weren't flavored or anything, so I could have gotten better meat for cheaper and/or the same price. Lesson learned: think outside the box, or in this case marketing/label.

Meat wasn't the only thing I managed to scoop up on clearance, out of the 26 items I bought 22 were clearance deals I found in the store.

I also got on managers special:
Skye organic protein Smoothies .99 (4)
Shredded Carrots .69
Baby Bella's        1.49
Organic Spinach 3.00
Canned Pumpkin .69  (3)
Organic Eggs       .99
Libby Pumpkin    .49
Simple Truth Organic PB $1.99 (2)
Bag of Apples     .99  (2)



The only products I paid full price for this trip was lunch meat, bananas, and yogurt. I also picked up some simple truth toilet paper but I got that on sale and had an ecoupon for it on my kroger card making it like 2/3 to 1/2 the normal price.

My total for this shopping trip was $62.73 and I have enough meat to last me 3 weeks to a month!

Kroger Valentines Mailers

02/13/2016

I just got my first Kroger mailer for the first time in over two years, since we moved to our house. When I moved I updated my address online with Kroger, but their mailer system is different then their rewards system apparently so I called. It's been months since I called to ask, since I did internet research and confirmed they were still sending out mailers to their "gold" status customers aka frequent shoppers.

If you're signed up with Kroger, have been at the same address since you got your Kroger card, and have never received a mailer you're probably just not shopping there enough to qualify for this perk. When I called I was told it was based on checkouts not amount spent. I'm making a purchase in Kroger at least once a week just about EVERY week.

One thing I love about Kroger is their rewards program is personalized for each customer. If you go online to the savings center they have a section where it shows sale items for you, it is based on things you have bought in the past and includes both advertised and unadvertised sales. Their mailers are also personalized, and include coupons for FREE stuff!

This mailer was not as good as some that I've gotten in the past, like ones including a coupon for $5 off $15 in the produce section... that one is ALWAYS a winner with me, but free stuff so I can't complain.

The coupons in this mailer included free salad dressing, Cheerios, Thomas english muffins, and Kroger frozen vegetables (non steamable). I also got two coupons for $ off cheese, and $1 off bakery goods both things I frequently buy.

There were also coupons in the mailer for things I don't buy, probably due to my mom also using my card when she shops at Kroger. My mom uses my card rather than her own to rack up more points for a gas discount, she usually uses the discount before us.

Did you get a Kroger Mailer this month?

If your signed up to get emails from Kroger I've heard some people get personalized coupons like these ones as an email that they can add to their card (they aren't listed under loadable coupons, you have to click the email).

Happy Shopping!

How to save money on Groceries (at Kroger) with little effort

01/12/2016

If you read my blog regularly there are two things you should already know; I shop at Kroger and I like getting good deals! I have been asked a few times how I manage to get all my groceries for x amount or to get specific items so cheap so I thought I'd do an entry with some tips on how to save money at Kroger (although many tips apply to other stores as well).


How to save money on Groceries

#1 Sales Ad- I ALWAYS plan my purchases around what is on sale that week.

#2 Stock Up- When I see an item that is cheap and has a long shelf life I buy enough that I can hopefully not have to purchase anymore until that item is on sale again.

#3 Know your Price Points- Price points just let you know what a good price for that item is. Anything you regularly buy you should get to know a good sale price for that item and what price you personally don't want to pay above for it e.g. I don't like paying more than $2.50 for raspberries, and prefer finding them on sale for $2.

#4 Shop At the Right Time I always try to shop Tuesdays or Wednesdays around 12-2, many articles say those are the best days of the week to save money grocery shopping. For the best time for your store/area you can always call/ask departments when they do markdowns.

#5 Savings Center- If you shop at Kroger you absolutely SHOULD have a Kroger card, you should also enroll online. Kroger.com has a feature savings center which has a section called "deals for you" and will show you sales (advertised and unadvertised) based on things you have purchased in the past.

#6 Online Coupons- Couponing can take time and some find it embarrassing. Online coupons are easy to use. With Kroger.com you just sign in and load them on your card then when you scan your Kroger card the sales and coupon savings come off. Kroger also does an online coupon every Friday for a free item!

#7 Markdowns this ties in with number 4, but this is the BEST way to save. Don't be afraid to buy markdowns, many of the items are still good for a while after the "sell by" or "best by" dates... in fact I expect my purchases to be good for several days after the "sell by" day, because if the store can sell it until that day then they shouldn't expect the consumer to go home and eat it THAT day, that is ridiculous.

Some of my shopping trips I have saved over 50% with these techniques, and the prep (#2, #5, #6) takes less than 10 minutes.