Saturday Night Baked Goods

Baking is a great thing, but sometimes I don't make the time and end up in the grocery aisles over-paying for pre-fab muffins.

BUT

If I'm going to buy muffins, cupcakes and pies, the time to do it is Saturday night. (in my town anyway..) Here, the stores close on Sunday, so they offload their baked goods on Saturday night.

Behold! The beautiful pink 50% off stickers I treasure so!

Ain't that pretty?

I love discount. Yes I do.

50% Off Deals!

Today, July 5th 2010, Extra Foods (Steinbach, Manitoba) has a whole lot of 50% off stuff I thought you should know about! They've got shelves and shopping carts brimming with great deals!

What I took:

Soft Soap Refill              $ 1.60 (reg 3.19)

Exact Shave Gel             $1.44 ea. (reg 2.13-2.99)

Benylin                           $4.00 (reg 7.99)

Dimetapp (kids)             $3.20 (reg 6.39)

Colgate Whitening Gel    $0.85 ea. (reg 1.79)

I'm reminded of something I heard once - basically, that a person can go broke shopping for deals. Just because it's on sale doesn't mean I'm saving money. Actually, if the item I buy is only $10 (reg $20), but I wouldn't have bought it otherwise, I didn't 'save' $10 - I overspent $10. 

With that in mind, I stock up on things I know we'll use within the year. I figure a year because in that time I should be able to find similar sale prices and stock up again at those prices. Hopefully in the long run I won't be paying retail for most of our groceries. Wow. I can hardly imagine! 

But so far, I'm building up a 'stock-up price list' that helps me remember the lowest price I've paid for items we commonly use. Then I wait for those prices and stock up when it comes. 

I'm also building up a stockpile (I hate that word - sounds like hoarding) of groceries and toiletries that we'll use over the next year.  

My stock pile so far includes

Oil (3-6 month supply?)

Toothpaste (year supply)

Bar Soap (year supply)

Shaving Gel (6 month supply)

Body Wash (6 month supply)

Liquid Soap refill (4-6 month supply)

Deodorant for me (year supply)

Cheerios (demand varies around here ... at least 1 month supply, as much as 3 month supply)

Huh. It's kind of weird to list what I have and how long I expect it to last - looks like I'm ready to head to the bomb shelter or something...  Oh well. You know me better than that, right? I'm just trying to stretch my dollars as faaaaar as they'll go. Buying what I'll need ahead of time at a deep discount is good - even if I store it for awhile. 

Anyway - if you're around Steinbach tonight or tomorrow, check out their bins and shelves. They also had 50% off ...

Pampers baby wipes

Baby Mum-Mums

Toddler star cereal

Allergy blocker

Exact Allergy syrup

Fructus Garnier Shampoos

Colgate - various kinds

... I think I even saw meal replacement beverages.

Enjoy!

Soap for a Year

Can you believe it?? Soap at 50% off! I picked up 6 - each at $3.50. That's $21 of soap that would normally have cost $42. It's even cheaper than the Exact brand I usually buy! Yay!

... now I can take bar soap off of my shopping list for the next year .. :)

By the way - if you're in the Steinbach area, there were a whole bunch more at Superstore .... get 'em while you can :) I think the Steinbach Superstore (and Extra Foods) know their Mennonite audience, and are getting us in the door with all these pink stickers.  ... it's sure working for me!!

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Shopping 50% Off Bins

These are the beautiful pink 50% off stickers that seem to be more prevalent in Superstore these days. Aren't they gorgeous?

Their 50% off bins on last week's shopping trip included....

NN Iced Tea
Nestle Chocolate Chips
NN Glace Fruit Mix (for fruit cake)
Coffee filters (not pictured) - found them a week ago.  ... why they'd mark down coffee filters I don't know. It's not as though they'll expire ...

The Yogurt didn't have a pretty pink sticker, but it was only $1 each. One dollar?!? yes please ... I'll take 3!

Is this a new thing Superstore and Extra Foods are doing across Canada? Here in Steinbach, they sure are putting out alot of stickers lately ...

But, I'm a bit cautious with Extra Foods - they're tricky with discount produce. I bought a bag of apples at "50% off". Yes, it was half the cost of a regular bag of apples, but it was half of an inflated cost, and I only got half a bag anyway! ... even with the sticker, I totally over paid for those sad, bruised apples.  ... just saying. I'm a bit more careful now :)

All that to say there are some excellent deals in those discount bins. Don't be ashamed to shop in them :)
Happy Shopping!

Garage Sale Finds - Not TOO Bad I Guess ...

I think I let my impulses get the best of me this time ... I walked into a garage sale in search of a backpack. Instead, I came out with this.

The large, textured painting was $10. I'd seen it months earlier in the store for $40-$55 and wanted it ... just in a different color. And the smaller painting ... I just love that kind of stuff. It was $5.  I paid $2.50 for the Fisher Price barn. It didn't come with toys, but  ... it's a classic that I got nostalgic about and bought anyway. Besides ... I did intend to make a barn for my boy, so this just worked.

Yeah ... none of that is a back pack, and none of this was on my list. Oops. Oh well. I guess I get to start decorating. It's something I enjoy and want to do, but ... $$$ you know ...

... now I have an excuse to decorate the bedroom :)

Twice Owned - $7.75 for THAT?

Found some more great stuff. I actually paid them a little more than they asked because I felt like I was stealing. Plus, it went to a good cause so that always helps :)

I got all this for $7.75.  ... well, that's what they charged me. I rounded up and paid$10. Thank you Lord, for providing me with so much - way more than I need. May I manage it well and give generously to others as you give generously to me.

The dump truck we'll give to our church toy box - a great deal at $0.50! And "Green Eggs and Ham" will hide in the Christmas gift box for my kiddos. Merry Christmas!

And these are for me. Yay. I think they were also $0.50 for the set. One lid is a pain to fit on, but ... even so - 3 bowls with lids for $0.50 is great! 

And this Thomas movie will also go on the Christmas pile for my son. How appropriate- it's even a winter one. He'll be thrilled. 

The straightening iron is a treat for me. We'll see how well it works. For $1, one can't go terribly wrong... And the $0.25 puzzle will be a great activity we can do together while learning about Canada. (well ... in theory. I have yet to sit down and do it with them ...) 

There's also a brand new gift basket - you can see it in the first pic. My picture for some reason shows up sideways ... anyway, that's in the Christmas bin too - for that special grab box gift one often pays $15 for, I have it for $1. Sweet.  ... who knows? I  might use it as a blog giveaway. But shhh! Don't tell anyone I didn't pay full price! It's just between us, okay? 

How about you? What sweet deals did you find lately?

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