The Frugal Musician’s Thrifty Mothers Day Idea

My mom loves to send cards, but she lives on a fixed income, and as anyone knows, cards are pricey and stamps – well, they just keep going up and up.

For Mothers Day I went to my thrift mart and picked up an assortment of 20 cards for my mom. The cards are usually 10 cents each and include top of the line Hallmark, Shoebox and American Greetings.  The only sticking point is cards are in one basket and envelopes are in another, so one must go through and match up the cards to a fitting envelope. But even that is really not a hassle for a 10 cent card and envelope.

Last weekend, thrift mart had half off day and I bought 20 cards for Mom for $1.00.  I’ll add a book of stamps and I will have a wonderful, thoughtful and thrifty gift for the Best Mom in the World.

People on fixed incomes appreciate gifts that help them give to others.  My Mom always enjoys showing kindness and this is a perfect way to do it!

The Frugal Musician LOVES half off at the thrift mart

I am only a shopoholic when The Clothes Rack has a half price sale.  This thrift store is managed by The Junior League and it is well run, clean and insanely prone to astounding sales! 

At least once or twice a month there is a half off the whole store sale.  Any item is half price.  The paperback books were new and were priced at a quarter. I pick up books for my brother-in-law for Christmas. He is on the road and paperbacks are perfect for the bus, backstage and hotel room.

The package of towels were in shades of white and were NEW- no stains, no spots. The package also contained a lovely white patterned Mikasa wash cloth. The hem was out of it so I stitched it back up and it’s good as new.

I bought three shirts and a pair of shoes for myself. The box will make an outstanding container for a gift.

Grand total : $9.00

Going on a shopping spree for under $10: Priceless

The Frugal Musician has a question for Compactors

I like my neighborhood Family Dollar store. I regard it as a smaller, compact version of megastores like Walmart and Target. Mine has great deals on markdowns and reasonable prices on nearly everything.

Last week, Family Dollar had all their winter clothing marked 90% off.

I bought Bugle Boy flannel shirts for my nephew, brother and brother-in-law as Christmas gifts. I bought a flannel lined denim jacket for my dad and a pair of pajamas to use as a baby gift.

All of the above was $5.80 without tax.

This was much cheaper than I could have bought used items at my thrift marts. One reason I shop thrift, is that I feel like my money goes back into community projects.  My Family Dollar is a couple miles away, so I feel like I support the local economy when I spend there.

I’ve thought of joining The Compact, but routinely run across deals like the above.

This raised a question in my mind. What would a Compactor do when confronted with new clothing for 90% off?

The Frugal Musician likes 90% off

On a recent outing, I stopped by CVS in my old neighborhood. The particular store always had great markdowns and I surely miss going there on my regular shopping rounds.

The store still had a great selection of Valentines merchandise for 90% off.  Normally, I don’t buy foreign made items, but this little lion just stole my heart.  When his paw is pressed, he sings “Try a Little Tenderness”.  For a buck, it was a great deal and it made me happy. Next year for Valentines, my niece will love it.

The little lion was  powered by three Duracell batteries, which I removed before I stored the toy away. The gift bag was also 90% off.  Over the course of this year, I’ll find other seasonal items for pennies on the dollar.

When next year rolls around, I’ll have a nice collection of seasonal things to make gift bags or baskets.  It’s wonderful to be able to create a nice gift and not spend a fortune.

The Frugal Musician likes a no hoop jumping freebie…

Many websites offer freebies, but the hoop jumping campaign one has to go through to attain the item leaves me exhausted.  Completing survey after survey to get a sample bag of chips is, to me, a waste of time and energy. 

Walmart.com offers a great exception to the usual irritating process of acquiring a sample item.  The website button is clearly marked Walmart Free Samples and the forms are simple and easy to fill out.  Very little information other than your name and address are required.

The above Quakes sample was a walmart.com freebie. It was expecially nice because it came with a coupon and of course, I’ll recycle the cardboard mailer.

On top of that, the cheddar Quakes were delicious – so I’ll definately be doubling that coupon at my local Kroger.

The Frugal Musician gets Thrifty With It

Last summer,  Son One called when I was out thrift shopping. Somehow, in the murkiness of a bad cell phone connection, he thought I said I was “treasure hopping”.  Since then, I’ve fondly call my once a month outing to the local thrift marts “treasure hopping.”

My favorite store here in Richmond is run by the Junior League. Proceeds are donated to various organizations that help women and children. I like to treasure hop where my dollars go back to the community.

This outing produced a  pair of Old Navy jeans- $1.50, a cool brown knit top -$1.50, a Robert Stock silk necktie for Son Two for a buck, a neat new votive candle for gift giving for seventy cents and a couple more candles for ten cents each. The books were $1.00 for hardbacks and .50 for paperbacks.  I spent $8.00 but was able to sell the text book for $4.00 and the finance book for $2.00.

Where’s your favorite place to “treasure hop”?

The Frugal Musician vs The Call of the Mall

 

After a snowy week inside working, I was a little stir crazy and when a Victoria’s Secret free panty coupon landed happily in my mail box Friday, the call of the mall finally won.  I had offers for free lunch from Chick Fil A, a $30 rewards card from Express  (Son Two had purchased dress shirts and ties for work at deep discounts after Christmas resulting in an A List Rewards voucher) and the aforementioned free panty ($9.50 value) at Victoria’s Secret.  Honestly, the mall holds no magic for me and I am not tempted by “stuff” at all. I’m not an emotional shopper and am still a little confused by that phrase, though I understand lots of people have that programming.

I ate my free-with-the-purchase-of-a-beverage ($1.73) chicken strips lunch  and checked the mall directory for Express and Victoria’s Secret (like I said,  it’s been a while). I was amazed that on a Friday afternoon, the mall was nearly empty. Many stores had paper over the windows and were closed.

I went to Express and picked up a new top for me, the first new thing I’ve purchased for myself in a LONG time and a cool belt buckle for Son One who, mercifully, starts a new job this week. The top and belt buckle were $40 (shirt was on sale for $19.00) and I had a $30 reward card, making the purchase $10.00.  Victoria’s Secret  was totally free and the clerk wrapped my purchase in perky pink paper and a VS bag.

Total spent : $11.73

Feeling good about frugal shopping : Priceless