My Cheap Shopping Addiction

I am the type that starts to get a little stir crazy if I haven't left the house in a few days. Believe it or not, its actually improved dramatically since moving here to California! I think it makes a big difference that i'm not feeling stuck in a small upstairs apartment, I am happy with our house and now that we're also paying for satellite TV, it seems like there is always some kind of entertainment available.
The less i'm out shopping, the more money we save! I like that a lot! But every so often I still get that antsy feeling and "need" to get out and do some shoppin'.

If every "Escape-the-house-shopping-trip" can go as smoothly (and inexpensively) as yesterday I'll be a very happy camper!

I've had some of the kids clothes bagged up to go to a consignment store since we moved. I used to go to Once Upon a Child in Vancouver, WA pretty regularly. I loved that store. The people were always so friendly, the store was always stocked with tons of great quality items, they paid cash out and offered store credit as well. Imagine how bummed I was to find out that there isn't a OUAC location nearby... thats *nearly* as upsetting as no Goodwills or Value Villages, i'm really going through some thrift store withdrawals let me tell you....

Anyway. I found an ad for a consignment store on Craigslist. They are located in Redding, said they paid out cash and were looking for larger sizes. I took all of Ashlyn's items, grabbed my coupons for some drugstore shopping and buckled Dannon in the car and we were off. Now Dannon isn't the most enjoyable little guy to shop with, but we can manage an hour or two at a time and that was enough for me yesterday to snag 4 boxes of Special K cereal, 1 jar of green olives, 1 Kraft mac & cheese, 1 coloring book and 2 packages of stayfree liners at Rite Aid for just under $6 and received $8 back in UP rewards. Then we went and browsed the consignment store, That Baby Store, while the woman looked through our items. She offered me $20 in store credit or $15 cash. I would have liked more, but I was happy to find a brand new pair of Old Navy jeans still with tags on for Ashlyn, a pair of gap jeans, cute carter's PJs and a pair of Children's Place sweats for Dannon.

I love shopping for free!! It satisfies my shopping habit, fulfills my need to get out of the house and makes me smile knowing i'm saving my family money. Right now with trying to get caught up on my past due car payment and figure out Bob's financial situation for the divorce and pending child support we need all the funds we can save.

If only I could get a handle on this dang budgeting goal!!