Back in the Day, Beverages and Birthdays

When I was married, I used to have to work very hard to save money.  We were newly married and I had only been out of college for a few years.  Also, my husband was a fool, and a fool and his money are soon departed.  So, the Frugal Diva had to depart as well.  But, I digress.  Anyway I cut coupons and did a lot of traveling back then to save money.  I went to Farmer Jacks for double coupons, F&M for discount health and beauty items and Save a Lot for pop and produce.  Now, I collect the various sale papers that I get in the mail and I sit down and compare prices and determine who has the best discounts.  So, I only go to one store.  When I went shopping on Friday, the winner was Safeway.  I wish I could say that I learned to shop smarter on my own, but I didn't.  When I first graduated from college, I had trouble finding employment and my grandmother asked me to shop for one of her friends who had become home bound.  Ms. Russell did all of her shopping from home.  She would read all of the sale papers, and then she would make a grocery list based on what was on sale.  I still went to more than one store, but I had a grocery list for each store.  She was able to save money and I learned how to be more frugal. 

Remember back in the day, when saving money meant buying Kool-Aid.  Well, for some those days are back.  Frugal Divas do participate in nostalgia.  Was it, 10 Kool-Aid packages for a dollar?  However, we do look at more frugal beverage alternatives besides soda (pop).  Ice tea can be economical and healthy.  Also, if you purchase herbal and flavored teas at places like Burlington, TJ Maxx, Ross, Tuesday Morning or other discount stores, you can get good flavored teas at a discounted price.  And, you can enjoy cold healthy beverages with different flavors, antioxidants, and, you can control the amount of sugar or sweetener that you put in beverage. 

While I was internet surfing I came across an article stating all the freebies that you can get on your birthday.  Well, some may not be freebies but discounts.  But, a diva is all about saving money especially on their special day.  You can find a lot of sites by googling birthday freebies.  These are the sites that I went to and liked...     

   http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/665/fabulous-freebies/ 
     
   http://thefrugalgirls.com/birthday-freebies
   http://www.frugalliving.tv/free-stuff/birthday-freebies.html