IT'S YARD SALE SEASON!!

I love May for many reasons. Aside from the blooming flowers and the fact that summer is just around the corner, it's spring cleaning time and Yard Sales are in full bloom! One man's trash is another man's treasure. I can't drive by a garage sale without stopping if it looks interesting....no matter what kind of a hurry I'm in. This drives my husband absolutely crazy, but he puts up with it because I'm frugal! I love a good deal. Bargain is my FAVORITE word! I clip coupons, ad match all the weekly grocery ads at Walmart, I even get restaurant meals, entertainment, skincare, you name it at 30-50% off (citydeals, groupon, groupdealz). I try and hit the classifieds on a daily basis. I keep a list of items I'm interested in getting (furniture, toys, housewares, baby items) taped on my computer screen and I'm always excited to see if in a 5 minute search, today will be my lucky day and maybe I'll hit the jackpot! Most people brag about how MUCH they spent on something, I brag about how CHEAP I got it. Craiglist, Freecyle, Ebay, Woot, Nickleads, D.I., crash and dent and discount warehouses, Antique stores....you name it, I like it! It doesn't matter what type of store I'm in I always ask where the discount and seasonal aisles are and start my shopping there (grocery stores too). I'm not bothered one bit by owning something that is gently used, (except mattresses and underwear...just not ready to go down that road yet) I figure I can stretch $1 to $3/$5/$10 by purchasing this way . Most of my favorite pieces of furniture, art, clothing, and hand bags are second hand. This week alone I scored a $400 rug from RC Willey for $30 (craigslist.com), a $350 artificial ficus tree from Tai Pan trading for $33 (KSL.com), a gorgeous 7 ft. palm for $35 (D.I.) and a $500 lot of Bakugans (100 plus battle arena, carrying cases, wrist launcher, lot's of extras) on Ebay for $65. I hope my children learn the value of money, frugality, saving, and the privilege to earn something through hard work and sacrifice. None of this buy it now, pay for it later mentality. Work hard for it and you'll appreciate it. Never buy anything on credit (have to build credit score somehow) that you don't already have in the bank to pay it off. Thanks to my mother who taught me everything, she's my hero shopper!