Save on Tween+ Clothing

My eleven-year-old-daughter (a.k.a. Bargain Huntress Jr.-in training) found some cute stuff at Kohl's.

The 7 For All Mankind denim shorts fit her perfectly.

She asked me not to put her face in the picture above, so I added this picture (don't tell her), because her face is beautiful. I can say so as her mother.

Let me get to the point, though. One of my favorite parenting ideas of late came to me after many frustrating episodes of buying clothing my kids begged for then having them never wear it. What a waste of money! Even if they were on sale...

So I solved this problem by figuring out what I spend on clothing for them in a year, dividing it by twelve, and including the money with their monthly allowance. Now they have a vested interest in buying items they love and will wear. In addition, it gives them an opportunity to develop money management skills.

Tips:

• Age 10 seems to be an appropriate age to implement this system.


• Be consistent. My kids always want me to make exceptions, but I don't want them to learn that someone will bail them out. For instance, my son had spent all his money on Guitar Hero, but all of a sudden "needed" track shoes for the 110 hurdles. He begged me to buy them, but I declined and instead offered to help him find some used ones. He ended up solving the problem on his own without any additional money from me, and now he seems to keep a little more in reserve.

Bargain Huntress Faves: Costco

For all-around bargain hunting, Costco is my favorite place to go. I love to wander up and down the aisles looking for treasures. It's also conveniently located right across the street from my gym, so I'm there a LOT. Here's a blog post by my niece describing Costco-induced emotion.


And here are some of my favorite finds:

I regularly visited this red vase on the shelf at Costco until the price came down to Bargain Huntress level.

The HP G60 was originally priced by Costco at $699 (around $1000 at other stores offering comparable specs). When the price dropped to $649 at the same time Costco offered $100 off, I made my move.

Pretty much the same story as the red vase. I just waited until the price was right.







That's right! $1.50. I happened to get lucky today. This container, which is enough to feed my family of 7, was priced incorrectly at $4.56. It should have been around $14. On top of that, Costco issued a coupon for $3 off this dish.

Other items I regularly buy:

• Milk, eggs, cheese are consistently cheaper than the grocery store.
• Shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste.
• Diapers and wipes.

Tips:

• Know Costco's pricing. An item ending with .97 is on sale. One ending with .00 is a closeout. I once got cartons of 24 yoplait yogurts for $1.00 each. When they want something to go, they price it to fly off the shelf.
• Don't wait too long, if you have to have it. It may never go on sale and Costco might not carry it again. It's part of Costco's marketing strategy to encourage the consumer to buy NOW.
• I have nothing against Sam's. Costco just hooked me first. I'm sure Sam's is great, too.
  

Your Bargain Huntress: Britax Marathon Car Seat

Jamie writes:

"The question is....convertible car seats. Are Britax Marathons reallyworth the big bucks? I'd like to get a convertible one as Blake willprobably be too tall for his before he hits the one year mark.

Thanks!"

Almost everyone that reviews the Britax Marathon (retails for $279), or any Britax, for that matter, seems to be hooked. They will only buy Britax ever after. Amazon reviewers rate the Britax Marathon at 4.7 out of 5 stars.

However ,the only things I can see that are better with the Britax are that the weight limit goes to 65 lbs (rather than 40), it has a versatile tether (a strap holding the top of the carseat stable that can be used for both rear-facing and forward-facing), and it has more foam padding.

No one claimed that it made babies happier in the car or smarter, or much safer, though.

WWBD: Buy a good carseat that fits a child from 5 to 40 pounds for $65 (such as the Evenflo Tribute). Then, if your state's law requires a booster seat after that (until 65 pounds, for example), you can buy a $20 one (try the Cosco Ambassador) from Wal-mart or Target. The two added together total less than 1/3 the cost of a Britax Marathon.

If you're dead set on the Britax, the cheapest one I could find was at HappyMothers.com for $231.74 (includes tax and shipping--enter 10percent when it asks for a coupon).

Save on Dish Soap and Paper Plates

Here's what I found when I walked in the kitchen last night. My 10-year-old daughter made a beautiful, delicious custard that my 3-year-old proceeded to spill on (and eat off) the floor.

At about the same time I said, "Disgusting!", I had some sense to grab the camera.

Tips:

• Make sure your floor is clean! I use ammonia and water to clean my tile floors. I love the clean smell, and it's so cheap--a $1 container will last me for months.
• Reassure yourself that a little dirt won't hurt.
  

Good Deal at Sprouts...again.

I wish all of you had a Sprouts near you, and I apologize for constantly bringing them up when not all of you have access. I'm not trying to rub it in...really.

However, I can't help sharing a great deal when I find one! The excitement just busts out of me. The only thing I can think to compare it to is when a woman finds out she's pregnant and is anxiously awaiting the announcement to her husband. (But not the kind of emotion she has when telling him she's pregnant...and has an IUD....)

Anyway, Sprouts has pineapples for $0.97 each and cluster tomatoes for $0.97 a pound starting tomorrow at our local store.

My Dad makes a divine Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Here's the recipe:

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 1/6 c. flour

2 eggs

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 c. sugardash salt

3 T. hot water

1 t. vanilla

Mix together and pour over pineapple rings arranged in 1/4 c. butter and 3/4 c. brown sugar melted in the bottom of an 8 X 8 pan. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes. Immediately loosen cake from sides and invert on a cake plate. Let sit until cake drops from the pan onto the plate.

Tips:

• Pick a good pineapple: it should smell fragrant and have fresh green leaves. Here's more info.
• Pick tasty tomatoes: ones that are fresh, firm, and free of blemishes. Click here for more.

Printer Ink

It's time to replace my black ink cartridge (HP 92).

I normally buy a combo pack from the Costco warehouse, but this time I'm not satisfied that's the cheapest way to go. Perhaps I'm tired of shelling out so much money for ink (that my kids use to print an entire page of black).

Here are the options:

• Costco.com sells one cartridge for $14.98.


• Amazon.com sells a twin pack for $24.08.


• The Amazon marketplace sells a recycled twin pack for $13.78.


• I also found an ebay seller that sells a 6-pack of recycled ink cartridges for $29.90.

WWBD: I just placed a bid on ebay for a 6-pack, starting bid: $24.95 ($4.16 per cartridge). There are no bids and the auction is over in a few hours, so I feel pretty confident I will win. I set my highest bid as 29.50, so if someone outbids me, I can go back and get the other one I just listed above.

Tips:

• Don't outbid me!


• Try a google search, ebay search, and an amazon search to find the best price for your particular print cartridge.


• Save the planet. Ordering recycled print cartridges keeps them out of the landfills. (You know me, Ms. TreeHugger...) Refilling them yourselves is even cheaper, but pretty messy. I like the idea of having someone else refill them for me.

Discount Grocers

My friend, Heather, and I stopped by Town Talk (in Fort Worth, TX), a warehouse-type grocery store that sells closeouts, products from bankrupted grocers, etc. Here are some deals we found:

Continuous spray sunscreen averages about $10 at the grocery store. Discount: 80%

Sesame dressing: about $3 regularly. Discount: 90%

Regularly $0.95. Discount: 66%

$5 at the regular grocery store. Discount: 80%

Same-sized container at the grocery store: $7.50. Discount: 60%

Freshly bakes Tuscan boule: $4 at the grocer's bakery. Discount: over 90%

$10 at the grocery store. Discount: 80%

$9 at the grocery store. Discount: 50%

Here's a map and address for Town Talk.

Tips:

• Check expiration dates. Some items might be ok past the "best if used by" date.
• Find specialty or organic items. You'll probably find more of these items heavily discounted.
• Readers who are not local to the DFW area might find similar discount groceries at Closeout Central. Or try using terms such as "discount grocer" or "thrift grocery store" with Google.