I call it a “scam” but I’m sure it’s just a common practice among retailers.  I just never suspected they did it at my favorite store – Kohl’s!  I bought a few Christmas presents there this year and as I was wrapping one of them I noticed something peculiar about the price tag.  I went to tear it off (it was just a sticky) and there was another price tag under it for 10 dollars cheaper!  And the price that was imprinted on the item beneath all of the sticky prices was even cheaper!  How messed up is that?  I had bought it with a coupon and it was already on sale so I thought I was getting a spectacular deal.  But when I got home and peeled off all of the tags to reveal that the item should have been $60 and was marked up to $80 THEN put on sale, I was ticked!  I felt so duped!

I still love Kohl’s.  But I certainly don’t hold them up to as high a level as I used to.  And all along I thought I was getting great deals from them.  Upping a price and then putting it on sale?  Geesh.  Where’s the honesty in that?  Bah humbug.

He brought me roses last week for no reason at all; just ’cause.

I’ve never been into the extreme couponing craze.  I just always figured it was a lot of work, that took up a lot of time, all for stuff that I really wouldn’t use.  But after we had a terrific speaker at MOPS last month that spoke about couponing, it motivated me to give it a try.  As you know, you can gets lots of coupons from the newspaper.  So I bought a N&O subscription to the Sunday paper, and got a good deal on that at $1/paper.  My first Sunday paper arrived this past week and I spent Sunday night clipping away.  I even bought a cute notebook at Target to organize all my coupons.  It was all great timing for Super Doubles this week!

I went to Harris Teeter today with about 10 coupons (baby steps).  There were a couple I didn’t use.  So between the manufacturer coupons that doubled, the Vic specials, and eVic coupons, I only spent $8.58 on my order!  I saved $28.49 in coupons!  I know there aren’t many “grocery” items pictured here but that’s because I had already gone earlier in the week and gotten most of what I needed then (saved $16.05 and spent $24.01 on that trip).

Some of what I got today was free – the Dawn dish soap, Febreze Set and Refresh, and Febreze Air Effects.  That’s right people, FREE!  Most of the other things were less than $.99.  The Coffee-Mate creamer was $.29, Carnation Evaporated Milk was $.50 per can, Gillette Fusion shave gel was $.89, Garnier Fructis shampoo was $.99 and the Gillette deodorant was $.49.  The most expensive thing I got was the Nyquil, which was $4.49.  The original price on the Nyquil was $8.29 though, so I basically got all of it for the price of Nyquil!

I know this is probably nothing compared to what most of you save in coupons.  But since it was my first try, I’m pretty proud of myself!  It’s good motivation to keep it up and save even more next time!

I need to perfect them, but not bad for my first try!  And yes, they taste as good as they look.  Just ask Ashley

The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is a local organization that feeds hungry families in our community.  I am a big believer in supporting our own local communities before sending donations overseas.  I know people all over the world need a hand, but shouldn’t we look in our own backyard first?

Here’s a picture of Van presenting his check and a banner showing Accent Plus up there with other “Friends of the Shuttle”.  Good job honey!  Ashley and I are so proud of you!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the other wonderful Moms out there, too!

]]> http://nikimurray.com/2011/05/08/happy-mothers-day/feed/ 0 http://nikimurray.com/2011/04/18/signs-of-spring/ http://nikimurray.com/2011/04/18/signs-of-spring/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:26:12 +0000 Niki http://nikimurray.com/?p=3572 We’ve all seen the signs of spring – flowers blooming, grass greening, birds chirping, pollen lingering.  The days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer.  But my favorite sign of spring is this one…

Little birdie eggs!  I hung some ferns on the front porch a few weeks ago.  The day I put them out there, two little sparrows immediately clung to one of them.  They kept checking it out, sitting on it every day.  You’d walk out the door and they would fly away.  Not long after, I noticed they had built a nest in the fern.  Today I went out to check on it and saw three little eggs sitting in there!  How cute!  Guess I’m gonna be an aunt   I cannot wait to see them hatch and hopefully the little guys will learn to fly before our cat spots them.  I will keep you updated on the progress of our baby birds.  Anyone know how long it’ll be before they hatch?