Welcome to Thrifty StL Mummy!

Hello!  Welcome to Thrifty StL Mummy! 

My name is Crystal, and this is my solution for all the fellow mums in St. Louis looking for thrifty solutions for everything from StL freebies, thrifty ways to save money on clothes, cleaning supplies, and food, awesome local events, and occasionally maybe a mummy rant thrown in for laughs! 

Why I wanted to share my thrifty secrets:

It started with my fellow mums teasing my coupon clipping, yard sale searching, free-stuff-finding habits.  The main reason I do all of these wonderful things is because I believe you can get what you need (and what you want) and do so without ever feeling guilty!  It saves my family money and truthfully, it was just the way I was raised!

What to expect from my post:

My thrifty ideas flow like water down the Mississippi!  There are always new ways to save a buck in the city.  My motto is three fold; coupons, yard sales, free stuff!  Free stuff is the best stuff, every time I find a new freebie deal (and I mean completely free) it will be posted asap.  Occasionally I will find great freebies that may require shipping cost, but most of the deals are 100% free!  Yard Sales are my favorite pass time and a great way to save money on clothing, toys, and household goodies.  There are lots of sales in the city and surrounding areas every week and I'll pass along the details, teach you tips on scoring great bargains, and what are sure signs of yard sale duds.  Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the benefit of clipping or printing them things you used to throw in the recycling bin; COUPONS!  I know, who has time to clip coupons, right?  Trust me, you'll want to make the time once I show you how much money you can save! 

What I hope you can learn from Thrifty StL Mummy:

Mainly, that thrifty living isn't a thing of the past,  is nothing to be ashamed of, and is a lot easier than it seems.  I can't promise to post every deal or great find, but I can promise to spark ideas on how you can start finding them on your own as well.  As I begin to post more, you'll start to see things like B1G1 (buy one get one free) or MnfC (manufacturer coupon) or SC (store coupon).  I hope to have a post up soon decoding all the lingo and terms, but for now I will explain them as they arise in post.  No worries - it'll get easier to decode in no time!

Finally, I will post in the same order everyday (tweaking as Thrifty Stl Mummy progresses) starting with an introduction full of thrifty obtainable habits and ideas, followed with any freebies, great coupon buys or B1G1 free deals, then upcoming yard sales and local events, ending with the tip of the day.

So without further ado, let's get straight to the deals of the day! 

Free 8x10 photo collage from Walgreens.com - offer valid now through June 18th, enter coupon code 1FREEBIE at checkout. 

B1G1 (buy one get one free) Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, $2.99 on sale at Walgreen's, coupon is in their weekly ad (available at the front of the store) Buy one at $2.99 and get the second free.

Following B1G1 free deals are @ CVS pharmacy, please note in order to receive sale prices at CVS, you need to have a CVS extra care card which you can obtain for free at the store, highly recommend taking the extra 5 minutes to do so, as they offer great deals on a regular basis!  All deals are valid until June 18th, this Saturday :)

B1G1 Purex Complete 3 in 1 sheets or Ultra Concentrate 24-33 loads @ CVS - limit of 6

B1G1 All Nature's Bounty or Flex-a-min @ CVS - limit of 6

B1G1 Right Guard or Dry Idea  @ CVS - limit 4

B1G1 Colgate Total, Triple action, or Kids toothpaste @ CVS - limit 4

B1G1 Stack chair (plastic lawn chairs) @ CVS

B1G1 Sundown Vitamins, Ester-C, Disney or Marvel Gummies @ CVS

*No Yard Sales to update on just yet, Tuesdays and Fridays will be the best times to prepare, and also be alert for FREE SALES!*

Family Fun in StL - St. Louis Zoo! For the first hour the Zoo is open, you can get access to the Children's Zoo, Sting Ray exhibit, and Carousel for FREE.  We visit the Zoo probably a dozen times a year, so we do have memberships now, but if you only go once or twice, why not get there a little earlier and enjoy the exhibits for free (and beat the crowds) and then the rest of your day becomes a leisurely stroll through an amazing setting :)

Tip of the day:

In following with our Family Fun in StL- the Zoo; quick tips on how to keep the kiddies focused on the animals and learning exhibits and not the gift shops and dozens of snack caddies.

1. Pack a backpack with their favorite snacks, juices, and of course the first aid kit and sunscreen.  I let the kids pick out what there snack will be for the day and sometimes we even make trail mix bags the kids call "Anteater Munchies".  I found when they help pack the goodies, they argue less when it comes time to eat them.

2. Depending on their ages, kids are often fascinated when we make them feel in charge of something.  A day at the Zoo can be a great opportunity to use this to our advantage :)  My son is the youngest, 7, I put him on camera duty.  He has a special camera (my old digital one) that he is in charge of for the entire day.  I give him the camera with a checklist of animals we need good pictures of, and he's on the job!  My daughter on the other hand, 10 going on 16, is a little harder to persuade.  I assign her Map duty, we put stickers on the map of all the places and animals we want to see that day and she leads the way.  

3. We stop as needed throughout the day to eat our special snacks, pb&j sandwiches & fruit for lunch, and at the end of our visit, they get to have a pretty animal painted on their cheek instead of stopping at the gift store.  This is an agreement we make every time we plan a Zoo day.  It amazes me at how well it works, $4 for two cheeks to get painted is a steal!

Tomorrow's Post:

All about Yard Sales! The good, the bad, the down right sad - it's all here along with more great Thrifty StL Mummy deals!