Birthday

Today is my birthday.  I'm 39.  I'm "almost 40" and I thought I'd have done a lot of things by now.  I have these ideas and dreams that are still waiting to come to fruition.  I have doubts and questions about where I'm headed and some regrets about where I've been.  Today, my co-workers, my students, family and friends have all showered me with gifts, cards, messages and phone calls.  I feel overwhelmed by the love.  I feel bursting with joy - not because of the things, but because of the thoughtfulness and care. A lot of my kids don't have extra and the fact that they spent time or money to say, Happy Birthday to me just melts my heart.  My co-workers got me a card and a gift card. My family showered me with sweet messages and phone calls - esp. cute were the video messages from my niece and nephew.  My grandma never misses getting a card to me on time! My husband has big plans for tomorrow night and brought me flowers and a card that made me cry. And of course - there's all the sweet Facebook posts and texts and calls from friends. I got to dress up as Pocahontas and surprise my kids and co-workers - who all loved it!  Is it a perfect day?  No. I am sick, I had to give a test and of course, discipline students and work all day past my contracted hours in a messed up system that I frequently disagree with on many levels.  I don't get to celebrate with family today, but next week.  I'm exhausted from a long week.  That's life.  Life is messy and challenging and imperfect, but it's good.  It's so good.  I'm alive and breathing and have all my faculties (mostly) about me and so many people who love me and whom I love.  SO many people. That's what it's about at the end of every day - the human connections and relationships that are the foundation of a truly happy life.  I just wanted to write it - for myself - for you - that happy is right here and now.  In this moment I feel that yes, I want more and yes, I still have dreams and desires yet unfulfilled, but I am right where I am supposed to be. One of my favorite sayings is "My cup runneth over" because it fits this feeling perfectly. This is one of those times when you just say that special prayer, "God, thank you, thank you, thank you."  Amen.

Time

Being the Fru Gal that I am - there's one thing I know - money cannot buy you time.  I've had some challenges in carving out the time to write blog posts. I'm a teacher and until Thanksgiving...you just don't come up for air!  I love my job, but it can be very consuming even when you've got a few (ahem) years of experience like myself.

I've wanted to blog a few times - found an excellent deal last month on a super great pair of Calvin Klein grey dress pants at Marshalls for $20.00, earned a $10.00 gift card to Starbucks for taking surveys and decided that the Ibotta app just isn't worth it for me (since I signed up I've only made a couple dollars and had zero rewards).  I also haven't been practicing being thankful on the way to and from work - I hope to get better with that!  I've wanted to write about all of that and just today - bought a lot of things for the classroom and for the kids - just $15.o0 at Dollar Tree.  I've wanted to tell you all about it!!

So dear readers - time is a precious asset and I'll be doing my best to make the most of mine!  I'm still going to be pursuing my writing and this blog....so don't forget about me and please pass it along to everyone you know!






http://www.marshallsonline.com/

Super Cute New Fall Shoes!

It's Fall!  Time to update the wardrobe and purge any old stuff you didn't wear last Fall, but as I always say, let's not break the bank for fashion!  It's just so easy to find good deals and still look super cute!  I found these great shoes at Payless for $14.99 (there's a huge sale going on right now and a lot of great new Fall styles and colors) ! They are stylish, good for work and even better, very comfortable.  Way to go, Fru Gal! 

Check out the latest sales and deals at:
www.payless.com

Rejuvenate

Rejuvenate

Sherando Lake

In life, it's important to know what relaxes you, what stresses you and what's worth your time, money and energy.  I think that goes without saying...stating the obvious if you will, but I write that to remind myself and you.  I also write that because although I'm loving this blog and trying my best to maintain it while working a full-time teaching job, it has been a challenge.


This weekend was a time for me to rejuvenate and get back to my roots.  I grew up in Oregon, going camping and fishing all the time.  I grew up outside and still to this day some of my most fond childhood memories surround the outdoors (beach, lake, mountains, etc.)  Now, living in the suburbs, working in the city and spending majority of my college and my 20's in the urban settings...I have to escape.  Escape for me is getting as far away as I can into nature. 


One of the many splendors of nature is - it's free!  We went to Sherando Lake this weekend - it cost us only the gas to get there (about an hour and forty-five minute drive) and $6.00 to get into this incredible spot (cost is to maintain the roads, the lake, the trails, and all-around keep the place beautiful).  I don't know the camping cost, but I definitely want to try it out.  I got exercise (walked about 5 miles) and the chance to spend quality time with my husband unencumbered by cell phones, television and any other electronic devices.  I got to breathe in fresh air and take in some exquisite scenery.  I got to reconnect with my spirit.


I encourage you - even if you're not a nature lover - take some time to get out and appreciate things that aren't man-made, turn off your phone for an hour or two and just take some deep breaths.  It costs nothing and it pays incredible dividends in ways that can't truly be measured.








http://sherandolake.com/

Never Hurts to Ask

 

 

A quick post to let you know that it never hurts to ask for a discount! Apparently, there's a run on laminating sheets in the West End of Richmond! I went to a couple of different stores, but I refused to pay 50 cents a sheet for this stuff!  So I went to Wal-Mart this morning and found it - ONE LAST PACK!  However, it was ripped open (all 20 sheets are there) and I wanted to laminate just three more things this weekend before school starts on Tuesday - so I really "needed" it today (all you teachers, parents, crafty people, etc. will get this). I went to Customer Service and asked if I could get a discount since the package was busted and this was the last one.  The lovely lady said, SURE! and I got them for $7.00.  That's 35 cents a sheet.  Way to go Fru Gal!!
 

On the shelf like this with a rip down the side!

Super Saturday Savings at Macy's

Super Saturday Savings at Macy's

Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am all about Macy's!  They have a lot of the classic looks I love and they carry the latest from a lot of my favorite designers.  I also love that you can coordinate an entire look (accessories, shoes, purses, etc.) all in one place!  I wanted to get a couple of cute dresses for back-to-school, but not break the bank!

Macy's always has coupons, sales and discounts.  Now with the Plenti card - you can earn points for shopping there!  In fact, we saved $9.00 off of gas at Exxon using the Plenti Points we had earned by shopping at Macy's.   That's another great benefit of the Plenti Card - you can use it at several different places (points accumulate quickly this way) and you can redeem it at any of the participating stores!

Today's AMAZING FIND:  2 dresses for $50.00 ($5.00 of that was for the donation to March of Dimes and I received a savings pass of 30% off).   Both dresses were marked down 65% , plus the 30% off - it was a steal!! These aren't just any dresses - they are designer dresses, great cut, beautiful fabric, high quality dresses!  I also used a gift card, so it was like getting the dresses for free!

Floral on the left - American Living
Yellow on the right - Calvin Klein


www.macys.com

www.plenti.com

www.calvinklein.com

Thrifting Haul: Shoe Finds

Ladies - who doesn't LOVE a great shoe deal!?  I'll be hitting up the thrift stores and consignment shops really soon for some excellent savings on back-to-school clothes and shoes! This is my friend April - check out her channel and subscribe!  ENJOY!

Back-to-School Savings!

Back-to-School Savings!

All your writing, drawing, and coloring needs!

 

All of you thrifty parents and savvy, saving teachers listen up!!  Staples and Office Depot/OfficeMax are practically giving away school supplies!

Check out these INCREDIBLE back-to-school savings!!

At STAPLES I saved a bunch on these great items:

Crayola Markers - 75 cents for the 8 count, 97 cents for the 10 count

Crayola Crayons - 50 cents each for a 24 count box

Crayola Colored Pencils - 97 cents for a 12 count box

Regular, #2 Staples Brand pencils (not sharpened) - 68 cents for a 12 count box


At OFFICEMAX I saved on these fantastic back-to-school essentials:

Pocket folders - 1 cent each (limit ten per household, but I had my hubby go in a different line and buy another ten - so I got 20)  1 cent each - THAT'S RIGHT - 1 CENT!! 

Pencil Boxes - 50 cents each

Composition Notebooks - 1.00 each (you might be able to find these cheaper at Wal-Mart or another store, but for the purpose of not wanting to shop around too much...I got them here)

Glue Sticks - 50 cents each for a 4 pack

Erasers (that go on the end of a pencil) - 1 cent for a 12 pack - 1 CENT!!!

White Copy Paper - after mail-in rebate - 1 ream (500 sheets) for 1 CENT!!


I spent a total of $22.08 and got :
2 packs of multi-purpose white paper
6 pencil boxes
8 glue sticks
2 packs of markers
2 packs of crayons
2 packs of pencils
3 packs of pencil-top erasers
20 pocket folders
6 composition notebooks

THREE CHEERS FOR THE FRU GAL!!  Happy back-to-school everyone!

Can you tell I'm going for a purple theme this year? :)
 

http://www.officedepot.com/

http://www.staples.com/

Fun at the Park

Fun at the Park

Three Lakes Park Nature Center

I love parks!  I grew up camping and spending a lot of time outside. Walking in the park helps rejuvenate me and calms my soul. One of the best things about our local parks here in Richmond is they are FREE!

Today I went to Three Lakes Park (for the second time this week) in Henrico County for a good three mile walk.  This park is great because it has a free nature center, two different play areas for kids, walking trails, fishing piers and a few covered picnic areas. Earlier this week I went there with my niece, my friend and her son.  We explored the nature center and my niece played for a while on the playground.  It's a great place! I hadn't heard of it before and now I love it. I wanted to share it with you! 

A couple other favorites of ours are Maymont Park and Byrd Park in Richmond - also FREE with a ton of great things to see and do!

Check out your local parks - they are a FREE place to get your exercise, play with the kids, and enjoy the outdoors!

http://henrico.us/rec/parks/

https://maymont.org/

http://www.richmondgov.com/parks/parkByrd.aspx

Great Grocery Savings

Great Grocery Savings

We all have to grocery shop - single, married, kids, no kids - everyone has to eat!  No matter the size of your grocery cart or your grocery list - here are some helpful hints that I use to save money at the grocery store!

1) Re-usable bags - this is a double benefit, you help the environment by not creating more waste and you also can get money off at most grocery stores by using your own bag! At our Kroger we get 5 cents off per bag and our last trip we saved 50 cents.  That's like a coupon! Other stores give discounts for re-usable bags, too, like Target!!

2) Coupons! Coupons! Coupons! - these days you have a couple of different options for coupons.  There are electronic coupons - either on your phone through various apps or web sites or my favorite - going to the store site and loading the coupons directly to your store savings card!  Of course you can also clip the coupons from the newspaper ads or many stores send paper coupons in the mail.  Our last trip to the grocery store, we saved $29.00 using both electronic and paper coupons! 

3) Rewards - our Kroger has fuel points (and most stores do) so not only do you save on groceries, but you save on gas!  Yesterday, we saved 20 cents a gallon using our fuel points!  Make sure you go to the gas station required and make sure you use the points before they expire! Keep an eye out for additional rewards promotions throughout the year. Currently, Kroger is running a promotion where you can earn 4X the fuel points when purchasing gift cards.

4) Apps - so this is my new venture and I'm going to keep you posted on the progress of how it's going.  My sister is a HUGE grocery savings gal (she has two kids and my nephew is already at age 2, showing how much he's capable of eating!) and she uses several different apps.  The one she's got me using now is called ibotta - you choose from the available offers what you're going to buy, scan the bar codes, and the store receipt and you get savings!  On just one trip,  I earned $3.00 - once you get up to $10.00 you can redeem your money towards various items like gift cards and even a pay pal account. I'll  keep you posted on the savings and if it's worth it! My sister is pushing me to try a few other apps that she likes, but I'll keep you posted on those, too.

5) Shops Store Brands and Clearance Items-  read the labels and  you will often find the store brand has the exact same ingredients as the name brands, for a lot less money! You can also check the clearance section for items that might be slightly damaged or about to expire and find big savings there.

This is a picture of our last grocery receipt showing the coupon savings and fuel points!

www.kroger.com

Bargain Books

Bargain Books

 

Teachers, parents and/or book enthusiasts everywhere love a great book sale!  Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE the library.  We took my niece and nephew to the library to get some books and videos to keep them occupied and learning over these last few weeks of summer.  Turns out they were having a book sale! 

At this library sale and many others like it, there were a wide variety of books and genres for super cheap!  You can always use more books and brand new books are beautiful and wonderful as gifts, but if you're looking to build a children's library or for good books to read on the beach - you don't want to spend a lot! 

This is not my first book sale at a library and I'm always on the look out for great books for the classroom!  I am currently a teacher and many of my students don't have books of their own, so I have a library in my classroom that my students can check out books from.  I also give books to kids if I see they have a real passion and interest.  I have a library full of donated books, books I've bought at various sales and places on clearance or in bulk.  This time I got 26 books for $20.50!!

So here's the new additions to my collection (these are great books and in excellent condition):

All of these great books for just $20!!

Date Night

Date Night

 

Who doesn't love an inexpensive and fun date night?  We all know that going out on the town can get pricey, but if you follow some great tips from The Fru Gal - you can have an enjoyable night and not break the bank!

Going to the movies is expensive these days, but there's a way to still go out to see a movie inexpensively here in Richmond. "The Byrd Theater" is located in an eclectic, funky part of town called Carytown.  It's a historic theater that now shows current movies at a big discount.  The price of a ticket is only $1.99 per person and the refreshments are very reasonable.  Tonight we had a large popcorn, large drink and two adult tickets for a total of $13.00.  If you go on Saturday night you can hear "The Mighty Wurlitzer" played just before the show! 

The Byrd (as it's affectionately known to locals) is a hometown gem!  If you live in Richmond and you've never been, you MUST GO!  It's worth it. It's in need of some TLC these days - so feel free to donate to http://byrdtheatrefoundation.org/ to keep a great place alive and running.

Check out what's playing:
http://byrdtheatre.com/

If you don't live in Richmond, there might be a place similar to this in your hometown, look into it!

Abundance

Abundance

I had lunch with a very dear friend recently.  She is an inspiration and one of the most kind, giving and generous people I know!  She graciously paid for my lunch (ate at Panera and she only got a pastry which I used my rewards card and got her for only 99 cents!).   We talked about everything under the sun and then some!  During our conversation we, of course, discussed finances and the blog, etc.  She has been working very hard for a few years now to pay down her school debt and she's almost there!  I was so impressed.  She also has one of the BEST attitudes.  I asked her, What's the secret?  Of course, there are practical things, goal setting and budgeting and a lot of tips, etc., but the key she said is living in abundance.   This is NOT living above or beyond your means or in excess, but finding the abundance in your life and recognizing it and relishing in it! Living in abundance, believing you have everything you need, believing you are doing well, and most of all, practicing gratitude. 

She told me that every day driving to work, she would literally say out loud every thing she was grateful for...right down to the coffee she was drinking.  On her way back the things she would be grateful for were related to her work day - no matter how difficult the day had been or how many things might have not gone exactly the way she had hoped, etc.  She would do this every single day and she believed she was living in abundance.  Despite whatever difficulties she has faced - she had faith that she would be fine and she believed good things were happening. Again, an inspiration, so I'm going to try it!  I will keep you posted, dear readers, on how it goes!

Getting Real About Your Finances

One key element to being, "The Fru Gal" is having a basic understanding of my finances. I've been wanting to set up a real budget for years and finally did it recently.  Being a newlywed, I decided it was the perfect time to really look at our finances and set up a budget.  We recently met with an amazing financial counselor from the credit union and she helped us tremendously!  Starting to look at your finances can be scary, so it helped having a professional with over ten years of experience walk us through the process.  She was amazing and the service was FREE!

During the meeting we talked about our financial goals, where we are now and where we want to go and most importantly - how to get there.  She helped us get started on setting up a realistic budget. We were very honest about where we can cut, where we can't and KEY - what we WILL cut?  When going through this process you've got to be honest with yourself and your mate. Ask yourself questions like: Am I willing to sacrifice cable TV or Starbucks?  Will I sacrifice eating out or my shoe habit?  Also, if you can't sacrifice certain things, can you make them cheaper (example - eat out for $50.00, instead of $100.00)? Also, remember you can put a time-frame on these sacrifices or cuts, if necessary.  I was very pleased to see that we were doing pretty well and that with even a few minor changes, we can reach our goals. 

I encourage you to set up a budget - know your income, your debt, your expenses and BE HONEST!  Set a realistic goal in a realistic time frame and stick to it!  Write it down, keep it visible and maybe even share it with someone whom you know you can trust not to nag you or judge you, but who will help and motivate you.  Talk with your financial institution and see if they can offer free help on setting up a budget, reviewing your credit report and credit rating. Everyone wins when we are empowered to spend more wisely. It's not as difficult as you might think!



Here's a link to getting your free credit report:
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

Here's a place to get free worksheets to help you do some at-home financial planning:

http://balancepro.net/forms.html

Flip Flops

I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time now and here I am! My husband jokes around and calls me "The Fru Gal" because I like to find good deals and get super excited when I save money.  The other night we went to DSW and I needed new flip flops (I also had $10.00 in rewards and they were having a clearance sale!) - I got two pairs for $29.00.  I know you're thinking - that's not exactly frugal - you can buy them at Wal-Mart or some other general store for less, but must we sacrifice cuteness also??  I think not!  These are name-brand shoes and I got them for a steal! Three cheers for The Fru Gal!

Tommy Hilfiger (brand)

Splendid (brand)

 

http://www.dsw.com/