A friend works in one of the grocery chains here that is featuring what they call the "can can sale"

I was all excited when first hearing about this thinking I would be able to stock up on canned goods for a reasonable price. I went so far as to compose a list of those cans we should purchase. Then I got the flier listing the offered prices. My heart sank. There wasn't a bargain to be had, in the canned goods area, there were some meats on sale. When we, hubby and I walked into the store we were amazed at how busy they were, and more amazed to see how many people were walking around with shopping carts full of cases of canned vegetables thinking they were saving themselves money. Hubby and I  had sat down and compared those supposed sale prices with the prices we pay weekly and were shocked to find that the sale price was almost double on some items to what we are accustomed to paying. True we go to grocery stores not considered main stream, stores like "savealot" and "aldi's" where a can of corn is forty nine cents not a dollar something.  Are they lesser known brands? Of course. Do they taste as good? Absolutely.

I don't feel a need to stock my pantry shelves with designer brand foods, merely nutritious good tasting filling fare that satisfies when set upon the table. It pays to know your prices so you don't fall into such traps and end up spending more than necessary. Especially in today's economy.

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I am going to share a secret here that none of my friends are fully aware of. I have no debt to speak of and I will not go into debt for the coming holidays though everyone on my list will receive a unique gift. I do not spend a lot of money on clothing although I have {many of them big name brands} outfits for every possible occassion from a pic nic in the park to dinner at the white house, to a cruise ship formal. None of which I paid retail for. My home is furnished very nicely with fine antiques in every room; none of which I paid retail for. the secret...patience and knowing what you want, where to go, and what an item is worth, then scouting the most unlikely plaaces to find them. If you want a bargain on clothing, scout the thrift stores. Every hospital has its own. The more prestigious the hospital the better their thrist shop. I once felt this was not for me, but then a friend took me to one she frequented. As we left our car in the parking lot two men began speaking; they were both doctors in the hospital whose thrift shop this was, one was telling the other how their gardner was trying to reach them. Gardner? Who are these people? I didn't know then who they were, but they went into the very shop I was headed for and purchased several items for their summer wardrobes. It was at the check out I happened to over hear the woman at the register address them each as Doctor! Well, by George if it is good enough for them it is certainly good enough for me. there are other thrift shops as well, all offering excellent clothing for affordable prices. Of course you have to check the seams, the pockets, the buttons but it is worth the effort to take home a three hundred dollar, one hundred percent silk dress, still bearing the store tag, without so much as a pulled thread for ten dollars. You will not build your wardrobe with one trip, but keep checking back, take a few minutes to browse the racks whenever you can and that wardrobe will emerge. Mine did, does, will continue to do so.

Beginning the first week of January we begin scouting the thrift shops flea markets and lawn sales for items we deem unique, undamaged and worthy of our dollar that will be given the following Christmas. Each year our friends and family marvel at what they find beneath the wrapping asking where we found it. It was nothing they could find at the usual retail outlets I assure you. Again, you do have to inspect the items for chips and nicks and missing parts, you have to be careful, but it worth every minute in the end.

And furnishings? Go to the auctions. There you will find well tested furniture not made of pressed wood or ply wood that will fall apart of its own volition; but sturdy solid wood stylish pieces that you can proudly display in your home and use without fear of damaging it and acquire it well below retail prices! Be it an entire suite of furniture you are looking for or that unique piece for the corner some auction out there has it for the right price.

In this economy crative shopping is the key, and when you are paying pennies on the dollar you avoid debt, get you what you need, and have a dollar left over at the end of the shopping spree. the best part is; this is guilt free shopping! I enjoy the hunt and the savings, and having what I want without the debt or guilt.

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For years people laughed at me for me being cheap. And I freely admit; I was, I am, that won't change. I have a horror of wasting money, on anything, I refuse to go into debt for holiday shopping or to purchase a big ticket item I know I can find cheaper elsewhere. I don't think there is anything in my home or closets that cost anywhere near what people think they did upon first entering. We love antiques, they are everywhere in our home as are collectibles; none of which I paid retail for. I am far too cheap for that and my heart simply could not take it. They tease me when I take a pound of hot dogs and feed a family of six while keeping it tastey, nutritious, and filling. Or they did, until our economy collapsed. Suddenly people are very interested in how to save a dollar. People are on the look out for money saving tips, as well as time savers on laundry, housework even yard work. So, what better place for me to share some of what I have learned; and better yet, learn more. I am always willing to learn more about how to save or stretch a buck, or how to cut my time with the drudgery of housework. I hate it, but I want a nice home so I find every short cut I can to get it done without having it be my career. So, I will be posting frugal measures I use in the hopes of helping someone else out there with a large family and tight budget or perhaps others out there  like me who have champagne tastes but a beer budget.

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