Just call me Frugal Betty...

So I was on a mission today. This mission involved a combination of two of my latest obsessions... saving money and using cleaning products. That's right folks. The past few weeks have found me actually doing price comparisons at the grocery store, using some coupons here and there, and trying to get the best deal on things.

The past few days have also found me becoming addicted to cleaning products. But not just any cleaning products. Only those cleaning products that have a good strong scent so that people know you just cleaned. Nothing flowery though. Flowers won't fly in this house. I need fresh linen/potpourri/citrus type scents.

So when my parents took the girls back to the World's Largest General Store to feed the goats again, I ventured to our local Big Lots. I've been in there a few times, and I hear wonderful things about it. But I rarely wander in myself. Well holy crap I'm going to start! Everything is soooo cheap! I got a TON of lunch foods/snack type things for way less than I usually pay at the local Giant supermarket. Bags of chips for $.88. Croutons for $.79. Salad dressing for $1.00. And these are all brand name items. Then I walked into the cleaning aisle and had a field day. Wipes and fabric refreshers, and scented oil air fresheners, and Carpet Fresh, and all sorts of other sweet smelling items that titilated my nostrils and had me swooning in the aisle. I swear I almost went into olfactory overload. What bliss.

Finally, I hit the home/housewares area and hit paydirt again. I found a cotton jersey sheet/pillowcase set for Grace's bed (necessary for our overnight pigroast guests), and a mattress pad too since hers is literally destroyed. I walked out of there spending only $60 and literally had practically a full grocery order plus the sheets and mattress pad.

Now feeling powerful, I decided to see how much more money I could save today. We were in need of some lunch meat, but I decided to forego my usual stop at the chain grocery store, and instead head into town to hit the local meat market/deli. Holy SHIT! I got a pound of cheese for $2.45. A pound of sliced turkey breast for $5.00 (normally $8.99 at the grocery store), and a pound of chipped ham for $4.15. For those three normal weekly deli purchases at the grocery store, I spend about $20-$25. I got it today at the meat market for only $12! In celebration, I also bought half a pound of beef sticks (like Slim Jims). DOH! (And in case you're interested, there are 17 beef sticks in half a pound.)

So now as inconvenient as it may be, I have GOT to stop making multiple stops every week instead of trying to grab it all in one place. Sure, it's a little more time consuming, but my GOD, the money we'll save...

I'm off now to drink one of my $.20 fruit punches and eat some of my $1.25 Spongebob Squarepants Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies. Mmmm...