Life Deals

I skipped a week in my blog posting, but not because of lack of reasons to write. It was lack of time. Last weekend was jam packed. Last weekend's laundry didn't get put away until this morning and this weekend's laundry is done but still sitting in bed.

I don't like when life suddenly gets so busy that it feels like I even breathing takes too much time out of my day.

However exciting things happened. For instance, I got my citizenship appointment and I got a publishing contract with a fairly big publisher for my Little Girl From Yesterday book.

But there's something else I have in mind for tonight.

Let's talk about money issues.

Money is never a problem. Money is always the solution. The only problem with money is that money is hard to earn and easy to spend. It's the opposite of weight – which is easy to earn and hard as heck to lose. It makes me think of that Roberto Carlos song, “Can it be that every thing I like is either illegal, immoral or makes you fat?”But let's get back to talking about money, something king Roberto Carlos has enough of. Let's talk about how to save money in little things!

Last weekend, even with all the rush, I purchased two pairs of Converse for only 21 dollars each! I got home and the first thing I did was throw away my old sneakers. I can't say they lasted well. I have older sneakers that are in better shape than those ones. But, hey, you never know when you'll get lucky with anything you buy! I had bought those from the Avon magazine for only $29 dollars. But, at least with converse I have a better chance.

The crazy thing, however, was how I got that great deal. I was trying on the women's size, which was a size 8 and it cost 35 dollars. So I looked at the Junior sizes and they looked an awful lot like the same size as the ones I had on. I grabbed a Junior 5. A tidy bit too small. So I grabbed a Junior 6. Perfect fit. Seriously! For 14 dollars less I got the same shoes! I am so glad I am tiny!

I gotta say I love my high heels, but on a daily basis and sometimes when I just want to look cute, or for outings to the park, sneakers are a must-have in any smart girl's wardrobe. Now I have 2 pairs for only 42 bucks.

Since we're talking about good buys, I should probably mention the reason I was so busy over Spring Break. I spent a good part of my spring break doing price research at Walmart and PriceRite (our two major grocery stores). I put all the prices of all the stuff we regularly buy in a spreadsheet and now it's on our phones. It makes it so much easier to price check. And, when we happen to go to a different store, all we have to do to check if we have found a deal is to check the phone.

Here's an example. I had it listed on my Walmart column that my hair color was $4,98. PriceRite doesn't sell it and I tried the dollar store once, but will never do it again. The color looked on my hair like water color. And it lasted less than a month. So I figured I would go back to my Revlon 11. In an emergency run to Big Y (can you imagine! BigY!), I found it for less than 4 dollars. I checked the phone file and grabbed it right away. Today, after making a trip to Pittsfield, we entered their Walmart and fond my Revlon 11 for less than $3!!! Heck, I am getting it right now!!! It is so much easier now that I have files to immediately compare prices!!!

By the way, this is the thing about dollar store items. They are only a dollar!!!! Buy them! Try them! The worst it can happen is that you'll realize you wasted... a dollar!!!! The best it can happen is you will have found an amazing way to sabe money! But be careful with dollar products. Sometimes they cost less but they come in smaller amounts as well, so they end up being more expensive then at your regular grocery store. For instance – popping corn at Dollar Tree costs more per pound than Walmart brand popping corn. And just a little bit less than a brand name popping corn at Walmart.