I have been working super hard the last couple of months gathering our school books for the new year. As many of you know, we homeschool in our family, so I do my best to find good books that my kids can really learn from.

This year, my children wanted to study World History in depth, so we decided to go with Sonlight. When I checked out the package that I was going to have to purchase, the price was a total of $653! WOW! I almost fell off my chair at the sticker price.

Many people that use Sonlight say that they don’t like the hassle of trying to piece together and track down all the books, but for me, I love a good frugal challenge–and that is what I looked at this as. So I posed myself a question–Could I really find all the books in this curriculum package and still be within my budget for school curriculum for the year?

Do you see how full that bookshelf is? Let’s see how I did! My budget for our school books this year was not to exceed $400.

Sonlight Alt7 Program (new $653)                                             Total Paid–$305!

Math U See Pre Algebra (new $85)                                              Total Paid–$27!

Math U See Epsilon (new $65)                                                       Total Paid–$35!

Ace Science Biology for my older child  and Earth Science for my younger child (new $85)                     Total Paid–$30!

Biology Dissection Kit (new $39)                                                  Total Paid–$20!

Biology Labs DVD (new $44.95)                                                    Total Paid $13!

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So the total is just a bit over my budget of $27. However, how I paid for these purchases, I only spent about $150 out of pocket. How did I pay for the rest? And how did I find such great deals? Here’s how!

~I signed up for Swagbucks last year and do all of my searching on this website. By searching from their site I earn bucks which I was able to spend on Amazon gift cards. So much of my shopping I did online at Amazon–and I purchased from sellers rather than the Amazon store.

~I bought many of the Sonlight titles from places like Vegsource, Sonlight used book forum, E Bay, and used curriculum swap groups on Yahoo (there are TONS).

~I sold our older curriculum from last year and used that money to apply towards our new curriculum.

The really neat thing is that all this money did not come out at one time. I simply spent a little here and a little there when I had a few dollars to spare.

So, as you see, there are many ways that you can save money on buying your curriculum. Don’t get frustrated by the price of something. Search and find a way to get it at a frugal price!

What about you? What are you doing to gear up for school??

Every now and then, after scrimping and saving for a few months, my family and I will make one big splurge. We accomplish this by saving change all year, taking scrap aluminum to the junk yard, having yard sales, mowing our neighbor’s yards–whatever we can do. We call this money our “entertainment money”. It is used for movies, nights out on the town, or special purchases.

We had made a pact a while back that we were just gonna keep saving it until we raised enough to purchase a Wii. We have been wanting one for some time. We hit the Craigslist posts this weekend since we had about $300 saved up and look at what we found for this price!

But not only this pile of stuff, but it also came with this:

This is around $450 worth of stuff that we got for $300! Now I know some of you may think this is a crazy purchase and would not think this is the best way to spend $300, but for my teens and for my husband and I, this is perfect. We love competing against each other and use it often for family game night.

So what did you find this weekend?

This past week, my washing machine decided to up and die on us! UGH! If you have ever had this happen, you know what a hassle it is to try and wash clothes (especially when you have a TON of the them) at the laundromat.

My husband got on Craigslist and found us a washing machine that was well within our budget–$10.00! It came with a working dryer for free. A man and his wife were moving and just wanted them out of the way. They work wonderfully! The dryer is tucked away in the garage just in case we need it one day. The washer, though, has made its home as our new baby, nestled in the laundry room!

I love when I find deals like this one!

What did you find this weekend??

linked to super saving saturdays

These tips come from an article that was written in the April 2009 Digest. To read the full article, you can purchase your copy of the Digest HERE.

Yard sales are a quick and easy way to get some extra money from items that are cluttering your home or that you just aren’t using anymore. The best time to have a yard sale is the first or third Saturday of the month. Most people have just gotten paid the Friday before and have money to spend. Be willing to open early in the morning, around 7 – 8
a.m. Do not negotiate on prices early in the morning; save that until later in the day. If someone is at your yard sale looking for something specific and they are there early, chances are they’ll pay your reasonable asking price to
be sure they get it.

My husband and I have been pretty successful with our yard sales, and I believe the key to success is organization. Spend the money to place an ad in the paper—you will recoup it later. Put up LOTS of signs directing people from main roads to your home because if they can’t find you, you won’t sell anything. Here are some more tips that will help you earn more money and make it worth your time to hold a yard sale.

~~ Go through your home room by room and take a good, honest look at the items in each room. Are you using them often? Does the clothing still fit? Have the toys sat in the same spot for months without use? Are you really going to read all of those books (or watch that video/DVD again or listen to that CD, etc.)? How many storage containers do you
really need? You get the idea—if you aren’t using an item often, then sell it! Don’t forget to look through the tools and other items in the garage or tool shed. These items sell very well at yard sales. Designate a spot in your home (a room, garage, basement) to place all of the items that you are going to sell. A good rule-of-thumb is that if you haven’t used an item or worn a piece of clothing in a year, get rid of it.

~~Once you have gathered all of your items in one spot, organize them by category . . . toys, books, linens, appliances, clothing, tools, etc. If you have furniture pieces that are just taking up space, consider selling them. They usually sell well and you can get a decent price for them. Don’t think that an item won’t sell because it’s odd or unique. Remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

~~Price appropriately. Use the pre-printed stickers from the store or put your prices on blank stickers. Larger items, like furniture, or more expensive items will often need more description than just a price. Let the buyer know how old something is and how much you paid for it originally in addition to listing your sale price. A general guideline is to price something at 25% of its original cost. That can be high for some items, so just use your best judgment. We always price things a little higher, but not too high, knowing that many people will want to negotiate the price. Some
buyers never pay the asking price!

~~Set up the night before. Organize as many tables and displays as possible the night before. Then it is super easy to get started in the morning. If you have a garage and can hold the sale inside, that is even better. If it happens to rain the next day or the sun is blazing, you will still get visitors to your sale. Be sure to point out in your newspaper ad that your sale is an INSIDE sale and will be held “rain or shine.”

I have to show you what my husband found on the side of the road the other day. I have been needing a desk for a while now to work from. He was on his way home and this was just waiting for him:

The desk is a SOLID OAK desk! Someone had thrown it out because rain or water had gotten to the side of it and had warped the wood. My husband’s solution? Remove all the pieces that were sodden with water and he placed a scrap piece of paneling over it.

You see that chair? Office Max had it marked down to 85% off because it has a small rip in the leather. My solution? I had some left over car repair upholstery paint that covered the rip and now you cannot even tell it was ever ripped!

Are you ready for the grand total for this purchase?? $20! I am so thrilled with my new office space! Now I have a place to get away to get some much needed work done without being disturbed! Plus, this comes in handy for my kids as well when they need a place for extra concentration when doing schoolwork.

What about you? What did you find this weekend?

I found one really great bargain this weekend. Wanna see what it is?

Doesn’t look like much does it? Wait until you see it!

This Tupperware bowl is not just a bowl. It is a grater, a slicer, a cutting board, and it has a little place to put your items when you are done cutting it. This piece of  Tupperware is not even available anymore. I got it for only $1.00!

I love finds like this one!

So what did you find this weekend?

Many years ago we purchased a set of high quality (and very expensive) Cutco Knives. Though it was a big stretch to our budget, I have never regretted that purchase. These are excellent knives and now, over ten years later, have yet to be sent in for sharpening!

However, over the years the tips have been broken off the paring  and chef knife. And then, recently, the whole end was broken off my carving knife! I’m not naming names, but let’s just say I didn’t do any of the breaking (nor did I handle the breaking particularly well).

The company does guarantee it’s knives for life and will refurbish and sharpen them for free. However, in cases of  “abuse” (our case) they will replace a knife at half price. To give you an idea of prices, the chef’s knife retails for $117. The paring knife is $45.

Several times I’ve scoured eBay for deals and nearly ordered. I’ve also printed out the paperwork to send in for replacement knives. But even getting my three replaced would be over $100, so I’ve held off. I’m SO glad I did!

Would you believe that, while casually scouring our community yard sales this weekend I came across a set of SIX Cutco knives!!?? And would you believe they were marked at $3.00!?

That’s right! Every knife I needed replaced was in the set as well as some I already have. I’m going to send them all in for “refurbishing” and they should look like new. This was probably $300-$400 worth of knives. Amazing!

I also got some goodies for our new popup camper as seen in Molly Goes Camping. We prefer the older cloth sleeping bags to the nylon ones because they make less noise, don’t slip all over and just feel better. I found two, in great shape, for $1 each. I also got a nice two-cup coffee maker, a thin cutting board, a small spatula and two adjustable measuring spoons. Lots of goodies for a total of $6. I can’t wait to go camping again to put them to use!

Look at what I scored this weekend!

I have always wanted one of these purses! They are really sturdy and hold up well to the abuse it would receive on my end (I overstuff my purses with everything but the kitchen sink)!

Anyway, if you notice in the picture, there is a slight stain that was on the outside where something had leaked all over it. I brought it home, sprayed some carpet cleaner on it, and voila! The stain is gone, and now I have an almost new Coach purse. Can you guess how much I paid for it? Did you guess $10.00? $5.00? $2.00? I got this purse for .50! Yes, you read that right. . ..50!

This purse retails for almost $100 if purchased new from the Coach store. This was definitely a great find. Even if I decide not to keep it, I can post it on Ebay and make money on it in the long run.

How about you? What did you find this weekend?

I have been wanting one of those Swiffer Wet Jet mops for some time now, but just not ready to spend a whopping $20 PLUS cleaner solution and all that right from the get go.

My husband came home Friday wagging in this stash!

(Excuse the cleaning rag laying on the floor)

He had passed a pile of things laying beside the road from one of the houses in our neighborhood. The family was moving and had thrown away tons of things that were still in excellent shape!

So now, not only do I have my Swiffer Wet Jet, but I also got the Swiffer vacuum and another type of wet jet as well–all for free!

From this same stash, my son found a red suitcase that was someone’s makeup case. It was brand new with the tags still on it! So my daughter turned it into her art case (I will share pictures later in the week with that and some of her beautiful drawings).

As I have said before. . . one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

What did you find this weekend?

In my May Digest I wrote about putting together personalized gift baskets using treasures that I pick up at rock bottom prices. Well I was thrilled with these two finds this weekend!

This Pampered Chef cookie press sells for $29.50. My version, new in the box, with the original recipe pamphlet included, was priced at $4.00! With a pair of oven mitts and a jar or two of sprinkles or colored sugar this will make a super gift basket for someone!

And how about this brand new Longaberger pottery travel mug? It’s priced at $16.00 in their catalog. I paid $2.00! How cool would this be in a basket with some teas or coffee and a little package of cookies?

But I’m thinking this mug will never see a gift basket. I love it and I’m keeping it for myself!

What did you find this weekend?