For months we have been going back and forth between purchasing a Costco membership.  The frugal side of me didn’t want to spend $50 on something I wouldn’t physically see.  I felt like that was money I was throwing away or being frivolous with.  One of our family friends has a membership there and we had been going with her.  When she left the country for 6 weeks, we were running low on dog food and decided that with as much fresh veggies and fruit we eat that it would be worth it just for those three things to buy our own membership.

We did it Sunday night.  I’ve been two times since.  The first time Mr. Money and I went grocery shopping and the next I had to return peaches that someone (not me) didn’t check to make sure they weren’t moldy.  They were pretty gross.  I’ll have to say Costco was amazing about taking them back.

We bought a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables, and even some things we hadn’t planned on because they were a really good price.   One of my fears is that I’ll go over board with the membership and buy things just because they are a good price in bulk.  I tend to do that sometimes.  I think as long as I make a list before hand and go in prepared to buy just those items I’ll be fine.  If I don’t have that list, I think it will be a million times harder to stay on track.

All in all, I am really glad we bought a membership.  I think it will definitely pay for itself over a year.  The only thing I am worried about is that we should have bought a Sam’s Club membership over Costco, but then again, it is MUCH closer for me to go to Costco, and with gas going up again, I think we made the right decision.

Do you have a membership to a bulk wholesaler?  Do you think they are worth the money?

Posted under Budget, Food, Save Your Money

Here at the Money Household, when you open our refrigerator, you’ll see a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit.  We love our fresh foods!  Unfortunately, the only drawback to having so many fruits and veggies on hand (besides the cost) is that sometimes we’ve got too much that we don’t know what to do with.  I try to get creative when that happens.  With extra greens, I throw them in our green smoothies.  If we have extra fruit, we eat it or throw it in the freezer.  I realized today that we have too many lemons and oranges.  What was I going to do with them?

I juiced them!  I was so proud of myself for thinking of that.  Juicing may have been your first thought, but it wasn’t mine.  I decided to make homemade lemonade and fresh squeezed orange juice.  I don’t have a fancy juicer, but I used the one I do have, and it worked fine.

When you’ve got excess vegetables and fruits, think about juicing.  I know there are many people that don’t have a juicer, but you can juice without a juicer.  I juice things in my blender.  I throw them in, turn it on high, let it get to mush, and then strain it.  My mom picked us up a juicer at a yard sale the other day for $5, so I won’t have to be doing this much longer. I was so proud of myself for coming up with the idea to juice the oranges and lemons.  I normally just eat the oranges, but this was a great way to not let them go bad.

What are some frugal tips you’ve discovered yourself that you are really proud of?

Posted under Food

Today was a good bargain day for me! Next week we are going to be on vacation, and I decided that I needed some new clothes for my trip because I don’t have many clothes to wear while not at work.  I decided to hit up my local Goodwill to see what kinds of bargains they had.  I was hoping to find a few pairs of jeans or pants, and a few tops.  I did pretty well, scoring 6 pairs of pants and one top for $21! It amazes me how much money I save by going to the thrift store to shop.  It makes me so happy!

I also found 1/2 ounce of seeds for spinach and kale for around a dollar.  I was going to buy them online because Home Depot and Meijer were both out of seeds for planting.  I was really bummed yesterday when I couldn’t find the seeds, but I figured that I could always order them online.  Mr. Money had the genius idea of going to the Seed Depot just up the road from us, and lo and behold, there they had a bunch of seeds for great prices!  I am totally stoked.

I am really happy about the good deals I got today.  I figure as long as I wash the clothes I bought they’ll be fine.  I’m really anal about getting clothes that have no stains, or at least stains I think I can get out pretty easily.  That’s my goal tonight: wash and pack.  Wish me luck!

Do you like buying clothes at thrift stores?

Posted under Food, Save Your Money