Favorite Friday... Deals, deals, deals

(Phone pics don't always turn out as well as one would hope.)

I am all about the hunt lately. Money is tight and that makes it even more important for me to be on the lookout for a deal. I have been finding the best deals as of late. Coupons are the only way I grocery shop anymore. Its a pain in the neck sometimes and it tries my kids' patience as I go from store to store, but it is all worth it. My food storage is filling up again and I am staying within my budget. I love getting a receipt three feet long with my savings detailed at the bottom. I feel robbed when I don't have a savings of over 50% and I am usually shooting for much higher than that. In fact, I am all about the free thing. Yesterday I got 7 bottles of hot sauce and six jars of meat marinades for free. I paid .04 for 100 cal snack paks and actually made .18 back on deodorants. I am headed to Target today to get Bliss candy bars and Crystal Light on the free. Its the little things in life that bring me joy. Dark chocolate for free is definitely bliss.
Its not just about groceries either. We have been shopping thrift stores lately for summer items. I am currently on the hunt for used sports equipment. Craigslist has a lot of things for sale, but often the items are too far away to make it a great deal. When I go into a clothing store I find myself going to the clearance rack now. For summer, I love - LOVE- skirts. They are my absolute fav! I got a couple of summer skirts at a store I have never been to before (and won't frequent) but they were a great deal. Saturdays at the thrift store are the best. Everything in the store is 1/2 price. It takes a bit of hunting sometimes, but its worth the time. Books ending up being nearly free. We have added scads of Newberry's to our library this way. Books and chocolate are tops on my list for creating true joy.
Since writing the above, I made a trip to Shoppers for triple cpn weekend. (I have to do trips like this alone as they can be painfully tedious.) I spent $77 oop, but my savings were over $180. The cashier was fabulous and the fellow behind me actually called his wife to tell her about my transaction. He was awesome, cheering me on and being so patient. My receipt was hilariously long, over eight feet in length(see pic above). By the time I was finished, I had the guy behind me telling his wife they had to start using coupons and even the cashier was asking where to find the coupons I used. 
*I recognize that this post is embarrassingly mundane in nature. However, it's my life and my blog. ;-) I feel blessed to have had such great success in this aspect of my life. I'm doing all I can to stretch the small budget we have and I am so grateful it works as well as it does. 

They Teach Us

Last Sunday after church, I was talking to Sis about what she had learned in Primary. She mentioned that a boy in her class had not been coming for a long while now. (Like many kids in our area, his mother is a single mom and she has a heavy work schedule that often prevents her from coming on Sundays.) I suggested that she pray for this boy during the week that he might come next Sunday. All week long she remembered to include him in her prayers without any reminding from me. It was such a simple and sweet gesture. To be honest, I had forgotten about it this morning until we got to church and Sis recognized his mother in the chapel. She searched the room to find J and when her eyes fixed upon him, she was so happy. He had made it! He came to church. She turned to me with the brightest eyes. I whispered to her that her prayers had been answered. My heart was filled as I recognized the truth in that. God hears our prayers. We have such power within us to harness the forces of heaven for such miracles as these. 

As I entered VT reports later in the day, I felt impressed to write some things down as I saw them. There were sisters who were struggling financially, emotionally, or spiritually or who's work schedules, health or other circumstances were preventing them from attending. As I read their names, I knew that even if I could do nothing to relieve their immediate hardship, I could pray for them. That is something we all can do. 

Listening to my daughters' prayers all week reminded me of that. By exercising our faith and asking God for strength, wisdom, patience, relief or whatever we or others around us stand in need of, we all can lift each others burdens and help to make our lives and the lives of those we know better.