Going Bargain Hunting

We are bargain hunters at our house! I started looking around our apartment and realized almost everything we have was free or on sale. I thought I would share what we've done to save a few bucks here and there. Now we can’t just buy things because they are on super sale otherwise we would be broke. So we thoughtfully purchased these items because we had the money and the desire/need to buy them. It’s a good idea to have someone in your life who can keep you in check in this area if you know it’s a struggle.

 

 

1.       Bookcases- we bought 2 matching bookcases at target for $12 each.

 

*Tip: If you notice Target has a large number of an item on clearance at 30%, there is a very good chance you can buy that item cheaper if you wait for it to go 50% or 70% off. Since Chris works at Target we get a 10% employee discount and we use our Target debit card which gets us another 5% off.

2. Bedside table/dresser- dumpster dive! Not kidding, I found this sitting out by the dumpster at my old apartment complex and swiped it. It’s a cute little touch to our bedroom.

3. Tall Bookshelf- this was another Target buy. It was clearance and a display model (they take more off for that too) and Chris bought it for $25.

4. Sony Flat Screen TV- this one is a good one! So sometimes store employees mess up. This worked well in our favor. This TV was taken out of the box to be put on display. After it was taken out, they realized they already had one just like it on display and they had to sell it at display model price even though it had never been hanging on display. Chris saw it and we had to act fast to be the first to buy it. We paid $250 and it was originally priced around $375.

 

5. Duvet Cover- We have had the same comforter our whole marriage and it was getting blah. We didn’t want to spend the money to buy a whole new set yet. So we found this duvet cover on sale at Target for $35 (which was 50% off). We decided to wait it out to see if it would go to 70% off and it did. It did and we bought it for $21 before our own 15% discount rang in.

*Not pictured: the same day we bought the duvet cover, we bought curtains for our bedroom and Ethan’s bedroom. They were originally $18/panel and we found them on clearance for $5/panel and bought 4 right then!

Tip: Not every Target has the same things on sale or the same clearance schedule, if the item you want is on sale at one it doesn’t mean it’s the same price at another Target. Get to know your area’s Targets and check them all for the item you want. One store might have the item on 50% or 70% off while another store has it full price.

6. TV stand- Another Target purchase…Chris found this one and paid $40 for it. It was a display model.

7.  Plaid oversized chair- FREE! Chris’ sister was getting rid of the chair and gave it to us! Can’t beat that!

8. 24x32 Picture and Frame- This is a family picture of ours. We had it made into an engineer print at the UPS store for $2.50. Next we were in search for a frame. We went to a couple of frame places with no luck- we didn’t want to spend $100+ on a frame when we only spent $2.50 for the print. So we went to a store that sells expensive art and frames. My husband went in and asked if she had any clearance frames. She said she only had a frame that was a little beat up and was actually going to throw it away. So she gave it to us for free and it is the perfect frame for the picture! I used a sharpie to touch up a few scratches and it works great!

9. Dresser- This was originally white with wooden knobs. We started it in Ethan’s room but decided to paint an older dresser for him and put the white one in ours. The color didn’t really fit though. So we bought some dark brown paint and silver knobs and here’s the finished product. Chris bought it clearance and we paid maybe $20 for it. (We can’t remember exactly what we paid!!)

 

2013 YTD Debt Pay-Off: $11,048.29

**NEW** Amount Left to Pay-Off: $12,138.65

Total Debt Pay-off: $49,048.29  ß Almost to $50K!!