My kids have grown overnight and need new shoes for spring. My daughter doesn’t tell me that her shoes are getting tight until she practically has peep-toe sneakers.  So we are off to get new shoes today, no time to order online.   I don’t like to order sneakers online anyway, unless we’ve tried them on at the store.

I found a couple of printable coupons that I hope will help you out, too!
Shoe Carnival: Save $5 or $15, depending on how much you spend.
Rack Room Shoes: Save 10% or $10, depending on how much you spend

Happy shoe shopping!

This post is brought to you by My Tot Clock.

SLEEP.
Remember what that was?
If you have young kids, sleep may be something that you vaguely remember while in a caffeine-induced fog. My son is nearly three years old and although he “sleeps through the night,” most of that time passes in my bed.  Sometime around midnight he sneaks into my room and squirms into the covers next to me.  Of course, he has to share my pillow.  And my bed space.  And likes to entwine his legs around me like I’m his personal body pillow.  Sleeping with my bony three year old is like cuddling with a bag of clothes hangers.   Then he’s ready to wake up around 5:00.  Yes, AM.  The second his eyes open, he pounces on me to announce that his “tummy is gwowin” which means it’s time to insert calories into the baby bird’s mouth.  Sigh…..another night of sleep that has evaded me. [Read more…]

Today you are treated to a guest post from Kate at Coupon Cravings!  Kate is a couponing kindred spirit.   When she offered to write a guest post for me, I knew that she would have fab tips to share about having a yard sale.  This can be a great way to clear the clutter out of your house and make some extra cash.  Kate’s suggestions will help you save both time and money when preparing for your sale.

Be sure to visit and follow Kate at the following sites:

Yard sales can be a great way to put a little extra cash in your pocket by simply getting rid of some things that you don’t need or will no longer use. However, making the right decisions early on are going to be imperative in making sure that you aren’t paying to have a yard sale. Here are some tips to assure that your yard sale is a success this summer!

Pick a Great Time. Establish that you are hitting all hours of the day for your sale hours so you can make sure to attract the largest, most diverse crowd. It might be wise to not choose a holiday weekend, unless your town attracts a lot of people at that time.

Choose Partners. Ask around in the neighborhood to see if anyone else is interested in either putting items in your sale or having their own sale. Both are great as the first adds a volunteer to your sale and the second option gives you more marketing avenues (signage, people to tell, etc.)

Market Your Sale. Make sure to have plenty of signs made. If you know any realtors, mortgage professionals or anyone else that may have some yard signs laying around, ask if you can borrow those and wrap poster board around them that you’ve written on with a thick, dark colored bold marker. The more the better, and make sure to draw directional arrows pointing towards your sale. Essentially you want to show people the roads to take to get to your sale. It’s worth mentioning that you should check with your city clerk to assure you are not putting the signs in illegal spots, or you may have worked for nothing.

Go After Your Target Market. If your target market is Mom’s of toddlers, consider where they hang out or go, and put signs there. Consider churches, grocery stores and school bulletins. If it’s a professional wardrobe you have in your sale, a lot of companies have bulletin boards or internal electronic systems that they are willing to post helpful information on. Check with the larger companies around you. Make sure, though that your sale hours are going to compliment normal daytime working hours if you take this route.

Gather Your Equipment. You’ll need the essentials, for example, a money bag, price stickers, tables and a garage to have your sale in just in case the weather turns on you. Make sure that you have it at least two days in advance so you can have the sale set up ahead of time. The set up sometimes takes the longest.

Decide on a Pricing Scheme. Are you going to have tables where everything on the table is a certain price, color coded stickers or will you tag each and everything separately? Each way has its individual perks. Once you’ve gathered everything that you intend to have in the sale, this might help you make this decision.

Safety First. Always strive to have two people man the stand. That way you are never alone with cash or advertising that you are home alone. Maybe you have a neighbor that is willing to hang out with you or a co-worker or friend.

Evacuation Plan. Sound scary? No, it’s not. Just make sure that you know ahead of time where everything will go once the sale is over. Will you pack it up and take it to a thrift store to donate? Are there certain items that you’d like to keep if they don’t sell? Establish this ahead of time so you don’t end up with everything back in your house. And, evacuate quick so it is done.

Have Fun. Most importantly, have fun with your yard sale. Make a goal and give yourself a reward if you make it.

This has been a guest post by Kate at Coupon Cravings. As a Wife, and Mom to two young kiddos, Kate prides herself on making the most out of a dollar and being frugal by saving time and making sure that it’s time well spent.

(Image Credit)

Check your email to see if you got the $10 credit from Nomorerack!!  I got mine this morning.
There are some good deals today, too.  When I added some things to my cart, it said I needed a minimum purchase of $20 to use my credit, but I had no problem getting up to that purchase amount with the deals they had today. The Easter set pictured above is only $12.  Wow! Plus shipping is a flat $2 per item.

If you haven’t signed up for nomorerack, you can click here for your free $10 credit!

(Note: the link above is my referral link.  I can earn credit for your sign up, but it costs you nothing.)

If you’re out and about in the Tricities this week, you’ll probably see some Boy Scouts selling a long coupon sheet.   This is one of my favorite times of year because this coupon sheet is full of great discounts that my family uses all summer long!!    So you get to help a Boy Scout out, but also save a ton of money at the same time.   I usually get mine from a scout selling the coupons at Food City, but this year a co-worker offered them to me and I bought a whole pack of 10.  They pay for themselves, plus some, so I don’t hesitate to buy a bunch!!

Here is a list (in order of printing) of the discounts available on the sheet:

• McDonald’s: Free Large Sandwich with purchase of a medium soft drink and fry
  • Pretty good deal for an inexpensive lunch! [Read more…]