Tag Archives: budgets

Shopping

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Discount ShoppingOkay, we’re playing the Name-That-Discount-Store again today. And because you all are too good and had no trouble with yesterday’s clues, today is going to be much harder. Both of these photos are from the same store. I took them this past December but you still can get a feeling of the diverse inventory at this national chain that specializes in closeouts. Every time I wander in one of these, I wonder why I don’t shop there more often. With a little digging, you can find fantastic buys on everything from wrapping paper to furniture to weird exotic packaged food that you’ve never heard of. Discount ShoppingWhat do you think? Any guesses?

Shopping

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Discount shoppingOkay, here’s a shopping quiz to see how well you know your discount stores. Those who feel as if they have to get dressed up to go shopping shouldn’t even try this. Here are two photos each taken inside two different nationally known discount chain-stores. Both are known for their variety of inventory, designer finds and discounted prices. Can anybody name the stores? I don’t have any prizes for the winning guesses — you’ll just have to be content with the satisfaction of knowing where to find the good deals. And really, isn’t that prize enough?????Discount shopping

Giving

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French pressMy younger daughter, a college senior, recently realized she had a bunch of money on her dining card — minimum meal-plan fees she’s had to pay the school although she never ate on campus. And since she’s going from full-time status to part-time status this summer and moving off campus, she had to use the money or lose it. Fast. Before, when she’s wanted to get the balance down, she would load up on fruit and non-perishables in the campus cafe and then try to distribute the bounty to friends, random strangers and anybody she came across who was hungry. However, the balance this time was rather more substantial and would take a ton of bananas and little boxes of cereal to erase. But in an unbelievable stroke of luck, a Starbucks recently opened in the main campus library. And — students could use their meal cards there! Jackpot!!! Can you imagine going in to a Starbucks with practically an unlimited budget? Of course, if it were me, I’d zero in on one of those huge and expensive espresso machines and buy out all those adorably cute mugs. And I could see where someone with an entrepreneurial bent would try to parlay the windfall into bigger profits. But my daughter had a better idea: She said she’s had so much fun buying drinks for everybody in line (“A round of lattes for everybody!”) and French presses and other goodies for the baristas who work there. “It made me wish I were really rich so I could go around buying stuff for people all the time and making them feel good,” she said. “The definite highlight of my week.” If she’s learning the value of giving rather than receiving, then I think her college education is going to pay off.

Healthy Eating

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Better nutritionAs much as we try to eat healthfully and buy organic and nutritious Better Nutritionfood, it can get expensive. That’s why I was happy to see an article titled “Eat Well, Eat Cheap” in the March issue of Better Nutrition magazine — a freebie publication that’s probably in your local health-food store. I’m usually cynically suspicious about this magazine — Will the SuperEnergy Natural Organic Green X48  multi-vitamins really help me lose weight, sleep all night and beat every disease that comes my way? — but this article actually was objectively helpful. It’s not on the Web site, http://www.betternutrition.com/ yet (the site’s getting a makeover and will be updated early this spring, so the cover image here is March 2008 instead of the newest magazine that’s out right now), so grab a copy of the March issue if you find it. And what are some healthy and nutritious foods you can include in an even stretched-to-the-limit food budget? Author Lisa Turner details 15, such as eggs, cabbage, sweet potatoes, sardines, canned tomatoes and oats. This issue also has a great recipe for a St. Patrick’s Day potato appetizer that even people who turn up their noses at “health food” will gobble up: Top roasted red-potato slices with a feta-olive oil-fresh basil mixture and garnish with a parsley leaf. Yummy and green!

Thrift Store Shopping

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carolyns-dress-003My younger daughter loves fashion and putting outfits together. She’s the best carolyns-dress-002thrift-store shopper I know. We go into a Salvation Army dig store and I’m done in  three minutes because there’s nothing there — I think — and she emerges with an armload of cute and stylish pieces. Of course, she’s young and cute and stylish herself, so that helps immensely! Most thrift-store finds would just look sort of sad on me but she wears them with flair. It’s all in the attitude, and she’s got it. The other secret to thrift-store shopping, I think, is combining high and low and new and found. When she was home for the holidays, she brought some of her latest discoveries and had fun putting looks carolyns-dress-0061together. In these pictures she was going to a Christmas party with her dad’s family and was trying to winterize a festive carolyns-dress-0052black sundress with pink embroidery she’d bought in a thrift store for about $4, I think. First she tried a black short-sleeved pullover top over the whole thing. Nice, but no pizazz, although it fit her well. So next she tried a black cardigan with black velvet trim and little black velvet bows on the pockets for an elegant yet casual touch. Adorable! I voted for this look, but I got outvoted — she ended up ditching the dress idea and instead headed to the party in her usual but very chic college-student look of jeans, boots, scarf and sweater. And here’s the thing: These two black tops are mine, and she looks great in them. However, if I wore this sundress, I would only look ridiculous. Why is that? My daughters borrow from me and look fantastic (better than I do in the same clothes, that’s for sure) but the reverse does not hold true at all. If somebody can figure this out and fix it, I’d be so grateful! In the meantime, I continue to be in awe of both my daughters’ creativity and style. I’m in constant hope that some of that gets passed up to me.

Pumpkin Mania Part 2

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Fresh Market grocery stores just make me happy. It’s destination shopping for me — even if I don’t need anything, I never pass up a chance to walk in one and breathe it in: The gorgeous fresh produce, the tempting bakery, the beautifully arranged meat, the cheeses, the oils … I can’t stop! My long-range goal is to actually live someplace where I can visit one every day — I envy anyone who can do that. I especially love Fresh Market in the fall, because apparently the folks there share my love of pumpkins. And why not? Pumpkins are cheerful, colorful, tasty and good for you. On a recent visit to Fresh Market in Huntsville, Alabama, I found pumpkin-spice coffee, a pumpkin-spice scone mix from Sticky Fingers Bakeries, Doctor Kracker pumpkin-seed cheddar flatbread (crunchy and hearty and perfect for spreadable cheese) and my favorite cereals: organic FlaxPlus pumpkin-raisin crunch and organic FlaxPlus pumpkin granola from Nature’s Path.

But even though I love Fresh Market, sometimes (well, really, almost all of the time) I cringe at spending $5 for a box of cereal. The secret is that you can find most of these products much cheaper at other non-Fresh Market places. Nature’s Path cereal, for instance, is at Wal-Mart for practically half of the Fresh Market price. And I found some Doctor Kracker crackers in my other favorite food-browsing place: T.J. Maxx, where you can pick up oils, syrups, jams, jellies and other goodies for a fraction of what you’d pay normally. Just make sure to check expiration dates. And then, with the money you save, you can go back to Fresh Market!