This weekend we were suppose to be in Gatlinburg Tennessee for a cheerleading competition.  Due to the wildfires, it was cancelled on Tuesday. I decided to use the time to catch up on things.  On Thursday, I shopped at Harris Teeter for the sale on can goods, followed by a trip to Hanes Mall to return some items and then grab a couple  of gifts to finish up my list. I also did a solo trip to Costco for groceries for the month.

Friday night- Amanda took the kids to see the lights at Tanglewood. Matt and I had a nice dinner that included wine and desert. We finished up by wrapping up all the gifts. I am so glad to be finished with this part of Christmas.

Saturday was the celebration of Lily’s birthday. I have to work a longer than normal day on Tuesday in addition to her cheerleading practice so we decided to spend the day doing the things she loves most, eating and shopping. We ended up shopping in Lexington and then returning to Hanes Mall.  We finished up the night by eating at Outback.  I promise to post pictures on Wednesday.

Today(Sunday)- We attended church and I spent the rest of the afternoon make a calendar for my Dad’s birthday.  I know the next couple of weeks will be just as busy but hopefully with my to-do list caught up, I will be a little bit better at blogging.

Now on to some ways I have been saving first is shopping sales. This is a no brainer. However the thing to remember is consistency.

I also have been enjoying shopping at Sears recently. They offer a program similar to CVS-Extra Care bucks. Over the past several weeks they have had items such as boots on sale with bonus bucks on these purchases. I have been using to purchase gifts, the great thing about this promotion is that it can be used to cover both taxes and shipping.

Another good tip is to keep your coupons and other rewards  items together. On Saturday, we used the kids reward coupons for reading to purchase lunch at Pizza Hut for $20 for the five of us. I also had $5 in rewards dollars for The Children’s Place. I used this to help with a purchase of tights. I also had coupons for JCPennys and Bath and Body Works.