Broke = Thrifty?

Since I can't talk about the new mLw merchandise yet--it will ruin a few Christmas presents...and I can't talk about inexpensive yet classy Christmas gifts...it will also ruin a few Christmas presents...I will discuss being broke around the holidays and how I am personally taking the struggle under my wing.

First of all, before heading out to fight the crowds (no I didn't do ALL of my shopping on Amazon.com) I visited: This amazing blog and printed off coupons for any and every store I was going to walk or drive by, because you just never know where your wandering self may end up--or maybe I just have that problem.

I ended up saving great amounts of money--15% off at Kohls (even on sale merchandise), Target coupons galore, Bath and Body Works--free bottle of lotion?! Who wouldn't take a store up on that offer.

This blog opened my eyes to all the great discounts out there, it's a shame to let them go to waste and robbery on the stores behalf for so secretly releasing these coupons. There's ones for GAP, Old Navy etc. etc.--seriously, check it out--or don't save a dime, the choice is yours.

And onto food, everyone needs to eat...and if you know me, I have a stomache that is always "starving." Tonight, I whipped up this:

Pesto pasta...only 2 ingredients, whole wheat elbow macaroni and Pesto--straight from a gigantic jar purchased at Sam's club. I lied, I also added Pine Nuts for a little crunch. All in all, delicious and oh-so-cheap. Needless to say I have been scrounging my cabinets to make use of all the food I've been neglecting this year.

Speaking of Pesto--I would like to give a shout out to it's amazingness--olive oil, basil, roman cheese and garlic all rolled into one, ya, amazing. I haven't found one thing it isn't great on...maybe lettuce, but you get my point, it's on the top of my food charts.

And on a financial note--which noone likes to talk about... I bank with Chase, whom I'm not going to brag about being amazing, they aren't, but their "Chase Blueprint" is! It tells you exactly how much money each month you have spent on Gas, Clothing, Food and other Misc. items. An easy solution to see where you're  money is going and how you can cut back. It also allows you to pay off one section--for example I always pay off the "Gas" category right away so I am not paying interest on something that is already a complete rip-off and check book guzzler.

I could talk about money saving tips for hours, but I know it gets boring. If you're wondering about Hula-because I know you are...she ranks in the AMAZING category-psych. She has knocked every single stocking, garland etc. etc. off the mantle--several times a night, trying to get her super cool (if I do say so myself) stuffed Heineken Light bottle that is poking its head out of her stocking. I know it's a tease, but she can behave-well obviously not. My "spankings" don't seem to phase her...so I shall continue to taunt her.

Oh and on an end note, I received my electric bill--pls read previous post so you know what I am talking about. For 1280 square feet, it was only 79 dollars! Not bad! I think the heater is being Thrifty, I'll let you know when I receive next month's bill and can compare.

Ciao for now.