How to quit shopping at Target

After doing my pre-holiday/bday season budget, I realized I spend too much of my money at Target. Nothing crazy and NOTHING like that woman on Hoarders (Dear God, that show is scary!) But with a college student's budget and a kid to support, $25-30 a month at Target is more than I want to spend on life's extras.

Sooo...

Step 1. No more Starbucks at Target. That's half the battle right there. It's so nice to head to Target w/ The Girl and grab an apple juice & a latte. We walk around the store, enjoying our drinks and each other's company. My solution? Pack a sippy cup of juice and a thermos of a fake, office kitchen made, latte when going. I'll save about $10 a month!

Step 2. Make a list, and actually stick to it this time! I'm always making lists (Shopping lists, To-Do lists, Weekly Menus.) Sometimes items on my shopping lists can be found at Target! We get there and I pick up the items on my list: new pink Sharpie, extra socks, and new lip gloss. Then I decide I need mittens, Autumnal tights, an aqua Sharpie (for contrast, duh), etc. Next thing I know, my $9 list turns into a $22 purchase! Now I'm going to make a list; and ONLY buy the things on the list. If I see something else I want, I'll write it down. If I still want/need that item in a week or two, I'll put it on my official Target list. This sounds more complicated than it actually is....I promise.

OMG. I could have pink sunglesses, RIGHT NOW.
But seriously, we were just trying stuff on for laughs.

Step 3. Just stay the hell outta Target! I'm not saying go to WalMart instead (Seriously, this is a Bad Idea .) Instead, I'm suggesting I think really hard to see if I actually need whatever I wanted to buy. If it can at all wait, I'll put it on the list & wait until I actually need it. No more "recreational" Target shopping for me!

I don't think I'm at the point where I need 12 steps to quit Target; three will do. So, anyone else been caught is Target's sneaky tentacles of shopping joy?

Look at the puppy! Doesn't he make you want to buy crap from Target?

Although I must note I'm still a little pissed at Target for giving money to a very anti-gay rights candidate. But that's another story....

5 going on 25

Yep, it's good oll holiday cup again



"Mommy, look! There's a Starbucks (she know both how to spell it and it's symbol. le sigh) Maybe we can stop and I can get an apple juice and you can get a latte! Skim, no whip!"

"Mommy, Can I have OxyClean for my birthday? It's tough on stains and brightens whites."

Kissing the Girl goodnight:
"Mommy, are you going to bed now too?"
"No, Honey, I'm going to do my homework now"
"Are you going to watch Dr House while you do your homework?"
"Maybe......"
"And is the person going to be really sick, but they don't know what's wrong, and then they have surgery, and then they get better, and Dr House walks around with his cane?"



The sign proves it. Target sells babies

Another girl at a play date:
"Do you know where babies come from? My mom has a baby in her tummy"
"My mommy says babies come from the girly part of the body, which is near the tummy. But I think babies come from Target"

Car makes a funny sound: "Mom, what was that? "The car made a sound, honey" "Did you check the battery? Or the rotors? Could it be the timing belt? Or the engine? Why don't you just take it to Grandaddy so he can take a look?"

Girl points at almost any furnishing: "We got that from Ikea!"


"I want you to read me more than four stories tonight! How about 8?"
"Four is quite enough for tonight, dear"
"But Olivia's mom read her 8 stories because she did well in art class!"
"Olivia is on TV, not in real life"
"And?......"

"My mommy made chicken soup last night! A fox got into the chicken house at the farm and ate some chickens and their friends we so sad that they died and we had to cook the sad dead chickens or they would go bad"

"Mommy, I don't want you to make sushi tonight. Can't we just give the fish a break?"

"My mommy drinks coffee so she doesn't turn into a dinosaur"

"you know, mom, since we're at the library, it's really close to Starbucks, and Five Guys with the french fries, and the sandwich restaurant (Panera), and the art place (there's a little art gallery close), and Chick-Fil-A, and they're building a Chipotle soon! And they let you bring books into ALL those places! It's perfect, let's go!"

At one of the constant requests to go to a restaurant:
"No, we have food at home; we're not going to a restaurant"
"But moooooom, I want Chick-Fil-Aaaaaaaaaaaa"
"No, we're not spending money at a restaurant when we have yummy food at home."
"But mooooom, if you just go to the bank, they'll give you money for free"

Adventures buying clothes off Craigslist. "Mommy, I really like my new sweater. Is this the one you bought from the guy at the parking lot and he had a lot of clothes in the trunk and you picked out the best ones and gave the guy sixteen dollars?"



In awe at the mighty Wegman's



"Mommy, can we go to Wegmans? It's better than Giant and they have a train, and sushi, and a bread guy who tells me about the bread, and they have lots of fruit, and flowers, and the place where we sit and there's lots of windows and we can see outside and all the shoppers at the same time"....this run on sentance continues until she's described, in detail, every department in Wegmans.

"Mommy, are you friends with (Nova mommy) because her kids has the same name as me or because she makes yummy cheese bread?"

All images belong to whom ever owns them.



Cheap (But Good!) Meals! Pantry Staples.

As a single mom on a budget, I have to be careful where I spend my money. I would love to live off Chipotle & Panera; but that would be bad for both my waistline & wallet. Only about 5% (1 in 20) of the meals my daughter and I eat are from restaurants. To make the most of my food budget, I had to cut some favorite items, make some tough decisions, and get creative.
This week I'll cover the pantry/freezer basics.


I wish I had the motivation to put everything in beautiful containers;
but Ziploc bags will have to do.