My summer favorite

One of my favorite things to do during the summer is going to yard sales. My husband cannot for the life of him understand the appeal of driving around, looking at other people's junk. But I love it! I get clothes for super cheap, and some good books to boot. Would anyone really know that the American Eagle capris I am wearing, I bought at a yard sale for $2? (Well, you know now, but I've got more than one pair of AE capris, hahahaha). Or that some of my kids' clothes I bought at yard sales? I'd much rather pay .50 for a book, as opposed to $12-$15 for that same book brand-new (unless it's a book I really want, and will read over and over again, like the Twilight series!). I've gotten some killer deals at flea markets and yard sales. It's just another reason for me to go shopping :D

Shopping frenzy!

I'm a lover of coupons. I love me some coupons. I have a 3-ring binder chock full of coupons, clipped and sorted. I use them alllll the time. My kids make fun of me because I say, "We can't buy that, I don't have a coupon for it." They can make fun of me all they want, but I've brought my grocery bill down to about $70 a week for a family of 5. I usually save about $40-$50 a week. Impressive, no?

I went over my totals for the month of June. I've spent $358.72 on groceries this month. For FIVE people. That includes toiletries and household items. I've saved $252.66! To think that I would have spent over $600 on groceries if I paid full price makes my skin crawl!

Movie Bummer

My kids and I love going to the movie theater. Being basically a single income family (I mean, come on, I work 15 hours a week, and have summers off...UNPAID), we don't get to go to the movies very often. Regal Cinema (formerly Carmike Cinema), which owns Valley View Grande theater, does FREE movies all summer. My kids LOVE going to the movies, even if it's a movie they've already seen (which are 90% of the movies). But, most of all, they LOVE their own box of popcorn and their OWN little drink.

What a bummer it was to find out that they aren't doing the drinks and popcorn this year! Instead, the cheapest (CHEAPEST) thing they have is a kid pack for $5.75. They get one scoop of popcorn, one tiny drink and a fun-sized Skittles. This is basically what they got last year, except for the jacked up price. $5.75x3 kids? No thanks. I'll just go find a bigger purse ;)