I think I blew it... Math time, coming up!

Yesterday included TWO visits to the - gasp! - mall. AKA Money dump central. I was lured there by the need to return some pants CJ never wore, the fact that I had a Macys $50.00 gift card & I needed dancing shoes, and of course, the lure of a FREE HOT DOG ON A STICK!

CJ's pantalones were paid for with a gift card and partly on my debit card. When they returned them, they didn't bother giving me another gift card, they credited put the entire credit back on my debit card! So, just by walking in the mall, I actually gained about $10. Woo hoo!

We headed over to Hot Dog on a Stick because June 15th was FREE corndog day! Silly me, I failed to read the extremely tiny, impossible to see, fine print (which was actually in bold blue writing) stating that the freebie hours were 5-8 pm. It was only 1 pm. What to do?! Turns out, Tuesdays are $1 Dog day! In addition. I had a "buy one menu item, get one free" coupon from my Entertainment book. They had no problem honoring it! 6 dogs + 1 large cherry lemonade + 1 order of french fries = $10.01! My cut = $3.34.

Shopping was a bust. Although my kids wanted to go, they also wanted to be anywhere except where I was. I gave up searching for a new outfit for the evening's swing dancing adventure (which was to be funded by Macy's giftcard) and headed home.

I discovered an outfit in my closet that I've worn once which seemed perfectly perfect for a night of dancing. How could I have forgotten about it?! Reeeeeecycle! Except now I had a new problem: No shoes. I abhor high heels but they were needed for the dress. I envisioned the perfect shoes... black, not too high, not too low, with a strap to keep the darn things on in case I decided to actually dance...

My daughter & I headed BACK to the mall, straight to Macy's. You'll never believe this: they had the EXACT shoes I envisioned, in my size, on the clearance rack! Autumn found a pair of Ed Hardy sneaks, also in her size, also on clearance. We got an extra 20% off (store promotion, and NO I didn't sign up for a Macy's charge card to get it!). Total: $58. I had a $50.00 gift card & Autumn had a $25 card... So, the shoes were FREE!

My nails looked terrible, and I had a coupon on me for a $20 mani/pedi. I had a $15 Mastercard gift card on me... I couldn't resist. I did it. Total: $5.

It was past 5:00 so, yup, we went and got our free hot dogs on a stick! PLUS, they gave both of us a coupon for a free lemonade when another menu item is purchased (we saved them for a future visit). FREE!

Later in the evening, I headed to mi amigo's birthday shin dig, a swing dancing extravaganza at Joe's American Bar and Grill. Admission: FREE! Beer: Not free... My bar tab was $19.50. Fun had: Priceless!

So, math time... $28 - $3.34 - $5 - $19.50 = 16 cents! I'm shocked! Two meals, new shoes, mani/pedi, and a night out, and I didn't exceed the limit! Woo hoo! (I didn't add in the $10 gained earlier at JCPenneys, either!)

Now, what to do with that $0.16? ;)