How we saved over 3,000 pennies this month.

Did you know that Wal-Mart is empty at 7:00 a.m.? My wise cousin Kari has been shopping at Wal-Mart at 7 a.m. for as long as I've known her and I don't know why it took me so long to catch on!

As I was picking up my bountiful basket (BB) at 6:45 a.m. Kari and I were discussing her disappointment in the BB haul for the week because it was lacking in berries and tomatoes. She then said she was going to Wal-Mart for some cilantro. DUH. Why haven't I just gone to Wal-Mart after my BB pick-up??? It's only one more stoplight away from the BB location!

In no particular order, my favorite things about Wal-Mart at 7 a.m.

Front Row Parking

NO Crowds

Easy access to all the aisles

Huge day-old goodie rack full of delicious baked goods for my sweet husband

NO lines

Unfortunately you've probably missed your window of opportunity for Saturday 7 a.m. shopping, but there's always next week.

In other exciting news, Dan got a 100% on his first microbiology test and a 97% on his first physiology test and has aced all his quizzes. That boy is killing it!

We are still waiting to hear back from Wisconsin to see if he got into their nursing program, but we won't hear back until May, so really we'll still be waiting next month, and the next month, and the next month.

We're in a pretty good groove right now. We're trying to save every penny we possibly can so we are the couple that won't join you on a couples date out to dinner. We're not really meeting friends for lunch dates. We're I'm not going on shopping trips with friends. We've cut back as much as possible and it's actually kind of amazing how much we have saved the past 2 months because of it.

I really have to hold myself back on buying little things here and there. Dan is the king at not spending money. He is so content with so little and that's one thing I love about him. I'm the lady you see on hoarders that gets a sick high when roaming stores like Big Lots, Ross Dress for Less, and any thrift store. I just get such a high when I don't pay full retail price for things!

One way we are SAVING money is actually by spending money. We increased our grocery budget a little bit so we could eliminate almost all eating out. Nothing brings more joy than packing our lunches knowing that they are full of delicious food and neither one of us has to pay $5 for lunch that day. We even cut our date fund in half this month because it was just getting so hard to give Winger's a $20 bill for one meal each week! We are enjoying our time together cooking at home and eating like kings and queens.

You won't see me on Extreme Couponing or anything, but let's just say I also have a subscription to the newspaper :) But, just like some ladies on hoarders, I will be seen rummaging through the "Reduced for Quick Sale" meat section. Just this week I got 5lbs of extra lean ground sirloin for only $2/ pound! I'm down with fighting the crowds for reduced price pork and beef at Fresh Market.

I've always been a good deal hunter, but cutting out unnecessary expenses has really helped us save more money than we thought it would.

That's what the Anderson's are up to- hanging out in Bluffdale, eating snack pack puddings and possibly expired meat, and counting our thousands and thousands of pennies saved each month. If you come visit us, I'll hook you up with a pack of fruit snacks,  cuz we buy those now.