Our "Thing"

Everyone has a "thing." This thing is what you are willing to spend an outrageous amounts of money on despite trying to be frugal every other day of the year. For some people this is Starbucks in the morning. Others, it is spending $5k on Christmas. 

For Mr. James and myself, it is Yankee candles.

Photo courtesy of Yankee Candle

I know, I know. You can get great smelling candles from Walmart for a quarter of the price of a Yankee candle. However, we light our candles nearly every day, and no candle can compete with how long it lasts like a Yankee candle. Our autumn smells are nearly out, so it is high time to get some Christmas/winter smells.

Despite our love for Yankee candles, I still cannot stomach spending full-price for them. When we lived in Lewisville, TX, there was a Yankee candle store in our local mall. We would stock up when the had BOGO free sales. However, since moving to Fort Worth, TX, there is not a Yankee candle store near-by. The closet we can get is at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. But, I was still determined to save quite a bit on winter candles!

BBB is having a 25% off sale on their winter smells this week. I bought 1 large candle and 2 medium candles (they were out of the large in the smell I wanted). Each of these were 25% off. BBB is also giving away a small Christmas Wreath smell candle with the purchase of $30 or more valued around $10.99. I also used a 20% off a single item coupon courtesy of RetailMeNot. 

My total cost: $58.75

My savings: $34.69

Whatever your "thing" is, be sure to always attempt to save money and never pay full price. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Mrs. James

Mattress Deal

Up to this point in our lives, Mr. James and I have only slept on hand-me-down mattresses. They were generally hard-ish and made my back constantly hurt due to my wide hips (I am a side-sleeper). We always spent several hundred dollars to buy mattress pads to make the mattresses more comfortable, but we have desired to have a new bed for quite some time.

We agreed, once we had the cash saved up, we wanted to buy a really nice mattress that we hand-picked. With Mr. James now having a full-time job, we were finally able to do that recently.

We went to Mattress Firm several months ago, tried out the bed we really wanted, and began to save up money. When the time came and we had saved up enough, Mr. James called Sleep Experts as eel and price checked. They were almost $300 cheaper! Whhhaat?! Hello, Sleep Experts. Nice to meet you.

The worker at Sleep Experts, Chad, was very helpful and knowledgeable. He explained that Sleep Experts will have mattresses that are put on "clearance" because they have been slightly used and returned. Sleep Experts guarantees that the mattress has passed all state inspections including and bugs or stains. 

Chad showed us a BeautyRest Black mattress that we fell in LOVE with. It was basically a step-up from the one we had picked out. The price for a clearance Black would be the same price as the mattress we originally went in for. BeautyRest also has a 25-year warranty that was too good of a deal to not pass up. If something goes wrong with the bed within the first 15 years, they replace it free of charge. They then prorate the next 10 years on the cost by taking away how much will be covered by 10% per year. Score!

Once we had peace of mind that getting a clearance bed would be worth it, there was no looking back. We paid roughly $2000 for a mattress that is around $6000 at full price. We have never slept as well as we have the last few weeks. That, in and of itself, has been worth the price we paid. I will just leave you with a beautiful picture from BeautyRest's website…