Saving on Gas

We always let our Kroger gas points accumulate to the end of the month. This afternoon, following a recent drop in gas prices, we figured we'd better fill up.

Here's the recently lowered price:

We packed Ol' Blue with a lot of gas cans. (When we pulled in beside the pumps, we noticed two other people who had done the same thing.)

Here's how much we'll save on each gallon:

Naturally, we chose Y. We filled up Ol' Blue and a bunch of the gas cans. So here's how much each gallon will cost:

That's a lot better than the price had been for a long time. This particular Kroger has a $125 limit, and we reached it.  See?

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Coming Up Roses

I love miniature rose bushes, and I have several planted in my yard. But I hate to pay full price for them, so I usually wait until the store reduces the price. That's what Kroger finally did last Tuesday. When the price dropped to $1.99 each, I bought four.

I'd almost thrown away the coupon for a dollar off a $5.00 or more purchase from the floral department because I figured I wouldn't use it. However, it was still in my coupon holder, so I used it. Plus, it was Senior Citizens' Day, so that took off another 5%.

It pays to shop at the right time—and to use coupons.

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Going Blue

When I visited the Discovery Shop and the Westlake Goodwill yesterday, I must have been feeling blue.

At the Discovery Shop, I found some towels and washcloths in blue. Each pile was $2.00 They'll go in the main bathroom with all the other blue towels.

I scored a even better buy on blue placemats. The two on top were 75¢ for both; the two on the bottom were 25¢ for both. Also in the 25¢ bin was a little book about the meanings of dreams. It even had an attached bookmark. Well, it's not blue, but it was a good deal; originally it sold for $4.99.

At Goodwill, I found more blue—or at least bluish—stuff. The decorative dish, receiving a cat scan from my senior cat Foxy, had a lot of blue. It was 99¢.

You can see the blue details here:

I also bought a grapevine wreath with blue flowers for $1.99. It looks great on my yellow door.

Finally, I splurged and spent $4.99 for a Vera Bradley bag. The picture below doesn't do it justice. It's a lighter blue than what appears.

The bag has been modified, though. It originally had a zipper closure, but the zipper part has been turned under and a velcro closure has been sewn inside. I don't know if the buttons which secure the turned-down part originally came on the bag or not, but they look good with it. Here's a detail (with the correct color of blue):

Finally, I bought a blue top for $3.50. It's kind of whimsical, but I should be able to find a place to wear it. Again, the picture doesn't do it justice:

And those are my blues from yesterday. All are things that I can use. 

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Good Buys for July

I scored a few good buys in the last few days, although a few were splurges for me.

Saturday, we went to the new Tractor Supply grand opening, but it was so crowded we didn't stay long. While we were in the neighborhood, though, we stopped at Purrfect Treasures. I'd heard the cat lamp that had been $50 for months and months was reduced to $35. I splurged and bought it.

I'm not sure where it will end up, but it looks nice in the den—which has a cat and horse theme. On the way home, we stopped at Foster's Greenhouse. I figured some of their plants might be reduced. 

I was right. I bought two daisies and an ornamental oregano for $6.25

Closer to home, we noticed a yard sale. This metal flower holder was marked $5 but I got it for $3.

Here's how it looks propped up with my new plants in the holders:

I'll still have to find a good place to hang it. I'm thinking on the patio. Meanwhile, on our way to Bedford yesterday, we stopped at the Westlake Goodwill where I found a full-sized quilt for $15.99.

That price was another splurge for me, but I really liked it. Here's a close-up of the center. 

 I love the colors. It was made on a sewing machine, but was hand-quilted. It looks old, but the backing is a polyester cotton blend. It has been washed several times, appears colorfast, and is wonderfully soft. Because it's so lightweight, it's perfect for summer.

So—those are my good buys for mid-July.

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Pot, Pig, and Plants

I stopped briefly at the Rocky Mount Goodwill and found two goodies for only 50¢ each.

The pot (or maybe it's a vase) is, according to what's left of the label on the bottom, from an FTD arrangement. No markings were on the little folk art pig.

Later, at Kroger's, I noticed that the mums had been marked down from their regular $9.99 price. I bought two.

How much did I pay? Can you see the label in the picture below?

I paid $2.99 each.

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May Savings

On the last day of May, we wanted to up our Kroger gas points to 1,000. We'd let our points accumulate so we could get a dollar off a gallon. Gas prices have been so high, that we had cut back on our driving. But now that prices have dropped, we decided to fill up again. We only needed to spend another $200 at Kroger today to make our 1,000 points, so we knew we'd do it.

I had a lot of coupons to use. First I downloaded some onto my card from www.kroger.com and printed out the list:

I'd already clipped some coupons from the newspaper and filed them. Plus I had a bunch of coupons that Kroger had mailed me, including two "checks" for $15 each.

At the Rocky Mount Kroger, I couponed another $25.39 off my total. Plus, I'd used my card to get some discounts ("Kroger Plus Savings") of $74.90.  Then there was the senior citizen discount of $12.83. 

My total grocery bill came to 222.88. We ran out of our resusable bags and had to get two paper bags. It took two large and one small shopping card to get the groceries to the parking lot, where they filled the back of the old PT (which holds more with the back seats removed):

After we'd  unloaded the groceries and had lunch, we took my old truck and a bunch of gas cans and headed for the Westlake Kroger, where gas was a few cents cheaper than the one in Rocky Mount. We were able to get 51.889 gallons (at $2.409 a gallon) before the pump stopped. Total $125. That'll keep the lawn mowers and the truck going for a while.

On the way home, we stopped at Goodwill, where I found some three Pfaltzgraff dinner plates in my pattern (either Blue Sky or Denim—they're similar), four salad plates, and three saucers for 49¢ a piece, a picture frame that looks like it's made of money, a interesting-looking tote bag, and a flower pot. 

I spent a total of $9.54 at Goodwill. 

I'm proud to be a cheapskate.

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Goodwill Hunting

Today, I went hunting for bargains at the Westlake Goodwill. Did I find any? 

I found this heavy ceramic mixing bowl for $2.99. The color goes nicely in my kitchen. The bowl is 9 inches across and 4 and 1/2 inches high.

Here's a side view. I like the wide rim that makes it easier to carry. I suppose it could be used as a serving bowl, but it's very heavy to pass around.

One of the workers had just brought out this handmade fabric shoulder bag when I grabbed it. It's very well-made, has one outside and two inside pockets and—despite the decorative button—has a velcro closure. It's worth way more than the $2.00 I paid.

This ceramic cat used to hold something. A bowl, maybe? But I could think of a lot of things it could hold, so I splurged at $2.69

I thought this picture frame—probably designed for a teacher—was well worth it 99¢ price tag. It could be a reader's frame—or even a writer's frame, too.

Here it is beside a cat folk art lamp. (My husband asked for a light bulb to make sure it worked. It did.) It's missing a shade but I think I can find a suitable one. I love the cat and birdhouse theme. 

The bottom says "Figi Graphics" & "Country Primitive" & "1994" & "San Diego, CA." It's made of resin, is 11 inches high (base is 5 inches by 5 and 1/2 inches and is fairly heavy. 

Anybody have any idea what's my lamp is worth? I splurged at $3.99.

I also bought a pair of tan slacks for $3.50 and two pins for $1 each. All in all, it was a pretty good hunting trip.

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Book Bargains

The Franklin County Library in Rocky Mount has a used book sale every month. Here's what I bought today:

How much did I pay? 

$3.75 for everything. Not bad for 10 books!

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Purrfect Stuff

Saturday, on my way home from Roanoke, I stopped at Purrfect Treasures to see if I could find a good bargain. The place was really crowded. Word must be getting out.

Eddie-puss gives what I bought a cat scan.

A cat tote (I'll use it as a grocery bag) and two handmade pins:

I spent a whopping $3 for my treasures.

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Purrfect Treasures

Today I stopped at the Purrfect Treasures shop.

This doghouse out front looked so inviting. 

 Purrfect Treasures, located on Route 220 just north of Rocky Mount, is operated by Planned Pethood, one of my favorite charities. Their Facebook page is here.

Look at all the neat stuff Purrfect Treasures has:

The cat lamp was $50. I was tempted, but I have no place to put it.

So—what did I buy? These:

The calico cat draft stopper was $2.50. The metal pig hook and the Maxine potholder were $1 each, and the ceramic black cat was $4.

Here's a close-up of the oversize pot-holder:

And the pig hook:

While there, I also bought a raffle ticket for a chance on an iPad. You can't have too many iPads! 

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