Frugal Friday

Ahhh... much better!  I went through the fridge and only found one item that was unusable, an unopened carton of yogurt that expired at the end of last month.  Throwing out food is not so frugal, but at least I didn't let it get so bad that it was a whole fridge full of items.

I know you guys are eagle eyes, so I'm sure you noticed the new title... I've really been slacking on my couponing, but I've found other ways to pick up the slack.  Until I get my coupon stack up and running again, I'll take the opportunity to share some of those frugal tips here.  We can all learn from each other, right?

So, this week's lesson?  Organizing... keep your food stash organized so you don't let things go to waste.  If you have things that you can't use before they go out-of-date, donate them to someone who can.  Wasting is one of my biggest pet peeves, so we try our best to not let it happen, but sometimes you can't avoid life just getting in the way.

With the start of school, my current money-saving obsession has been a fall/winter wardrobe for the kids.  I hit up a great yearly sale while visiting family recently.  I've gone for the past few years and picked up some great finds, most notably shoes.  Four pairs of See Kai Run shoes for 50 percent off.  We're ready for fall!

I also did a ton of shopping using Ebates.  This site is a great way for a stay-at-home mamma to earn a little extra cash while doing the shopping you already do.  There are NO fees, just a quick registration and you're good to go (and you can even get $5 cash or a $10 gift card when you sign up).  From then on, just shop at your favorite stores through the Ebates web site and you get up to 26 percent back as cash.  All the stores that I frequent are Ebates members, so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is a good deal.  The deal is even sweeter because you can still use all of your coupon codes while you shop.  It really is a win-win.

I scoured sale racks at Nordstroms, Gap, The Children's Place and Hannah Anderssen online for last-years' fall finds, but did it all through Ebates.  Saving money while making it?  I'm in!

If you haven't gotten in on the wonderfulness of Ebates yet, please check it out.  Just make sure you use this link... I get $5 for each referral (and you get the aforementioned money/gift card), which will go directly into the boys' school funds.  I scratch you're back, you scratch mine?  I LOVE it!