Adventures of a Frugalista
24Aug/117

HAUL: $40 at Salvation Army

Despite promising myself after Saturday's haul that I wouldn't go back to Salvation Army for a few weeks, I wound up taking my sisters today, since they're in town. We all snagged some great deals, so they'll be posting their hauls, too.

The Goods

Dress

Flowered dress

Dress

Shift dress

Dress

Green knit dress

Jeans

Skinny jeans

Jeans

Straight jeans

Jeans

Bootcut jeans



Tank Top

Tank top

Wine Rack

Wine rack

Fence

Folding garden fence


The total: 9 items for $38.91 before taxes.

Read through for the details on brands and prices.

22Aug/110

HAUL: Juliana’s New Wardrobe

Juliana is back from China now, so she was able to "shop" for her new wardrobe from the options I had picked for her. (For more background, you can read the original mission, see all the pieces I bought for her, and view the sample outfits from the options.) In addition to purchasing many items from among her options, Juliana also received some of the pieces as birthday gifts from me and my parents and snagged some hand-me-downs from me and my mom that match her new wardrobe color scheme.

The Goods

Tank top

Black tank top

Tank

White tank top

Tank

Black tank top

Tank top

White tank top

Tank

Blue layered tank

Tank top

Purple tank top

Tank

White tank top

Tank

Purple tank top

Tank top

Purple tank top

T-shirt

Teal T-shirt

T-shirt

Purple T-shirt

T-shirt

Black T-shirt

Shirt

White half-sleeves

Shirt

Black long-sleeves

Shirt

Long-sleeve shirt

Flip-flops

Flip-flops

Sandals

Rose sandals

Dress

Black & gray dress

Dress

Purple dress

Dress

Black lace dress

Shorts

Khaki shorts

Shorts

Black shorts

Sweater

White sweater

Sweater

Black sweater

Sweater

White sweater


Juliana's going back to school with a total of 25 items for $75.00 out of her pocket.

If you want to read the nitty-gritty on brands and prices, continue reading.

21Aug/112

HAUL: $100 at Salvation Army

Yesterday I had some time to kill for about 4 hours while my car underwent some work. I had the auto shop's courtesy shuttle drop me off at my favorite Salvation Army Family Store, where I proceeded to nab some really great deals before the shuttle came back to pick me up.

The Goods

Dress

Blue & gray flowered dress

Dress

Flowered dress

Dress

Black lace dress

Dress

Blue & white dress



Tank top

Fuschia tank top

Tank top

Black & white tank top

Tank top

White V-neck tank top

Shirt

Button-down shirt



Jeans

Comfy jeans

Jeans

Dark jeans

Slacks

Black slacks



Bolero

Bolero-style sweater

Cardigan

Silver cardigan sweater

Pitcher

Striped pitcher

Plates

Disposable plates



Books

6 books

Glazed Murder, Jessica Beck

Simple French Desserts, Jill O'Connor

Murder Melts in Your Mouth, Nancy Martin

The Essential Pasta Cookbook, Whitecap Books

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Dog Care & Behavior, Bruce Fogle

Ultimate Cake, Barbara Maher

Altogether, I bought 21 items for $100.56 after taxes. Now that's a good shopping spree!

Continue reading for all the nitty-gritty details.

17Aug/114

HAUL: IKEA “As Is” Department

Today I made what was supposed to be a quick IKEA run to pick up 3 lamps, 3 wall shelves, a planter, and a set of curtains... and I walked away with way more than just that.

As I usually try to do, I stopped by the "As Is" section before checking out. I was disappointed to realize that the lamps I had wanted were actually candle holders, but my disappointment quickly dissipated when I noticed some of the other deals. (Don't worry, I still got lamps -- and for cheaper than the candle holders anyway!)

The Goods

Textiles

2 cloth napkins & 1 dish towel

Apron & Towels

1 apron & 4 dish towels

Washcloths

2 washcloths

IKEA kitchen utensils

8 plastic containers, 1 whisk, & a cork trivet

Bedding

1 body pillow case, 1 twin size fitted sheet, & 1 pillow case


My excursion in the "As Is" section came to a total of 23 items for $17.87 before taxes.

Read through for the nitty gritty details, including the break-down of prices.

16Aug/114

HAUL: Juliana’s Wardrobe Possibilities

My sister Juliana recently asked me to help her get pretty much a whole new, coordinated wardrobe. (Read the details of the mission here.) She set me a budget of $100, but I know she likes to be able to pick from choices, plus it's hard to know exactly what will work for another person, so I went over budget, knowing that many items would be returned.

All in all, I spent just around $300 for 36 items, providing a plethora of wardrobe options.

The Goods

Tank

White tank top

Tank

White tank top

Tank

Black tank top

Tank

Blue layered tank

Tank

Teal tank top



Tank

Purple tank top

T-shirt

Purple T-shirt

T-shirt

Lilac T-shirt

T-shirt

Lavender T-shirt

T-shirt

Gray T-shirt



T-shirt

Black T-shirt

T-shirt

Black T-shirt

T-shirt

Black T-shirt

T-shirt

Black T-shirt



T-shirt

Turquoise T-shirt

T-shirt

Teal T-shirt

Shirt

White half-sleeves

Shirt

Teal long-sleeves (rear)



Shirt

Gray long-sleeves

Shirt

Black long-sleeves

Dress

Black & gray dress

Dress

Striped dress

Dress

Purple dress



Sweater

White sweater

Sweater

White sweater

Sweater

Gray sweater

Sweater

Gray sweater

Vest

Gray vest



Sweater

Black sweater

Sweater

Black sweater

Sweater

Black sweater

Sandals

Rose sandals



Shorts

Khaki shorts

Shorts

Gray shorts

Shorts

Black shorts

Flip-flops

Flip-flops



Read on for all the details on prices and stores.

15Aug/110

Free eBooks: 8/15/2011

At the start of every month, you can usually snag some pretty good books as free e-books from Amazon.com (for Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (for nook). The University of Chicago offers a free e-book each month as well. Read on to see the 23 freebies I've snagged so far this month, with book descriptions from the sites and links to purchase them.

Please Note: While all of these books were free at the time of my purchase, that does not guarantee that they are still free or that they will remain free. Make sure you check the price listed before purchasing any books.

29Jul/110

HAUL: Library Book Sale

My local library recently held a book sale. Like at most libraries, the books sold were mostly donations, with the occasional "removed from circulation" book. I was thrilled because the book prices were even cheaper than usual: just $0.25 for a paperback and $0.50 for a hardback.

The Goods

Book Stack
Whole Lotta Trouble, Stephanie Bond

Iced, Carol Higgins Clark

Hitched, Carol Higgins Clark

One for the Money, Janet Evanovich

Four to Score, Janet Evanovich

High Five, Janet Evanovich
Wife for Hire, Janet Evanovich
Inked Up, Terri Thayer

Larceny and Lace, Annette Blair
The Ghost in the Gallery, Carolyn Keene
A Century of New Words, John Ayto

Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination, Helen Fielding
The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook, Southern Heritage


In total, I was able to get 13 books for $4.00. (14 books for $4.25, if you count the second copy of Whole Lotta Trouble that I got for my sister.)

Read through for all the nitty-gritty details.

27Jul/116

HAUL: Salvation Army

Salvation Army Family Stores are awesome places to shop any day of the week (except Sundays, when they're closed), but they're especially great to go to on Wednesdays, when they run specials. The location that used to be by my parents had 50% off all clothes, media, and knick-knacks on Wednesdays; the one I currently shop at has 25% off pretty much everything except mattresses on Wednesdays. Needless to say, I like to go as many Wednesdays as possible, since you never know what you'll find. Today was one of my milder expeditions, but I still picked up several good deals.

The Goods

Plaid Shirt

Plaid drawstring-waist shirt

Sundress

Sundress

Sweater

Cardigan sweater

Skirt

Skirt (rear)

Books & Movie

2 books & a movie

Gourmet's America, Gourmet Magazine

The Flaming Luau of Death, Jerrilyn Farmer

Drop Dead Gorgeous (DVD)


I came home with 7 items for $17.93 before taxes. Read through for the full price break-down.