We’ve needed a new dining room set for a while now, but were hesitant to spend the $1000 to $2000 we thought it would cost for a new one. Ideally, we also wanted a china cabinet to go with the dining room table but we thought that was out of the question due to the budget. We’ve been looking at Craigslist for a while now but have not found anything that is exactly what we wanted. We browsed some of the main furniture stores (too expensive), surfed around online, and even scanned Ebay without success. Last month the local Rooms To Go store was having an end-of-month sale so we figured we would go just to see what they had.

At the store we were excited to find two dining room sets that we agreed on. They were the size we needed (could fit up to eight chairs using the table leaf) and were made from the right wood color to match our kitchen cabinets. Even with the sale, the set was priced more than we were willing to spend. The table with six chairs was priced around $1200 after tax and delivery. The matching china cabinet with each set brought the price to around $1900 after tax and delivery fees. We wrote down all the information about the two sets including prices, model names and numbers, delivery fees, etc., thanked the sales clerk who had been helping us, and left the store.

After discussing the dining rooms sets a little bit, we got the idea to visit the local Rooms To Go Outlet in a neighboring city. This store sells the same furniture as Rooms to Go but contains only furniture that has scratches, dents and other minor issues. It is not set up as a fancy showroom but as a large open warehouse with furniture arranged by room (i.e. all bedroom sets together, all dining room sets together, etc.) and not by design or style. There are definitely no frills with the accent lighting or decorative accessories but the prices are great. We hadn’t been to the store in years so we weren’t sure what we were going to find, and we also weren’t certain how the kids were going to handle visiting another furniture showroom but we decided to give it a shot.

When we got to the outlet store we were amazed to see no less than fifteen of the exact same table and chair sets we had just seen at the main Rooms To Go store. The price of each set was half of what the same set in the main store was. Now some of the tables had a lot of damage to them (large scratches throughout or gashes on the table edges) but we had so many tables that we could go over with a fine tooth comb that it wasn’t very difficult to find a table that was acceptable to us. With the help of the kids looking over each table and pointing out any flaws, we chose a table that had one or two tiny scratches that were cosmetic only and could easily be fixed. The table looked great and the price was even better. The sales person allowed us to go throughout the showroom and choose the best six chairs to match the table we chose. We were able to find six that were in nearly perfect condition. Now comes the good part. We negotiated the salesperson down to $599 for the table, six side chairs and a matching china hutch/buffet. We had to pay sales tax and a $100 delivery fee, which brought the grand total to $749. That very same table with six chairs and matching buffet/hutch at the main Rooms To Go store would have cost us around $1900 after tax and delivery charges. We saved $1151 which wasn’t bad for a rainy Saturday afternoon.

So here is what we learned: Shop at the main store first to find out what you want, write down the make and model number and any other important details, and then bargain hunt at the outlet store to see if they have the same item for much much less.

Yesterday I was one of those brave shoppers who ventured out on Black Friday. I did not wait in line hours before though; I showed up about an hour after Target opened. There were just a couple of items I was interested in purchasing, one of which was the Kodak MD853 digital camera that Target had on sale for $89 (regular price $149.99). Our current digital camera recently died and with the upcoming holidays I wanted to make sure we had a camera to use. Target doesn’t feature door buster prices so the $89 price was good for Friday and Saturday. However, I knew that this camera would sell out quickly so my best chance at purchasing it would be Friday morning. My first strategy was to purchase it online at Target.com but the camera was not available so off to the store I went.

My next strategy involved actually getting into the store. I parked near the lawn and garden center entrance which was surprisingly not too crowded. I made my way into the store and deliberately chose not to take a shopping cart. I’ve found from past experience that it is just too difficult to navigate through the crowded store with a cart and since I was only looking for a couple of things, I knew that I could easily do without one. I went over to the electronics department and spotted a teenage girl with her mom who was holding a box containing the camera that I was interested in. I asked them where they found it at and they told me the cameras were behind the counter and that I would need to ask a salesperson for one.

The electronics sales desk was very busy with lots of customers standing around, but not in any order. I did spot the stack of camera boxes behind the desk but only a few boxes remained. A sales clerk was just shuffling things around and did not seem to be helping any customers, so I politely asked if he knew if there were any of the Kodak cameras left. He smiled and said “sure” as he reached over and handed me the box. Mission accomplished.

Then, I went over to the kid’s clothing department where I selected two of the pajama sets that were on sale for $10 each. My shopping trip now complete, I headed to the checkout lanes. Now this is a Super Target that I was at and there are many checkout lanes and each one was open! I chose one in the center lane and had no wait at all.

Total time in the store was about 10 minutes. Savings on the digital camera alone was $60. Mr. Not Made of Money has been playing with the new camera and will write a review in the coming days.

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and I’ve been busy today being creative with using up the leftovers. Since we have quite a bit of mashed potatoes left over, I’ve been researching some delicious ways to use them up and thought I would share a few of my finds:

1. Tonight for dinner I will be making Shepherd’s Pie. I am going to be using ground turkey for the meat portion but really any meat combo will do. Rachael Ray has a fairly easy and quick Shepherd’s Pie Recipe you may want to try out. Bottom line - make some type of meat and vegetable combo, and top it with mashed potatoes and cheese. Yum!

2. Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole is another way to use up those mashed potatoes and any other Thanksgiving related items. I like the fact that this recipe also uses up the green bean casserole dish that so many like to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day.

3. If you are looking for a lighter dish then mashed potato soup might be a nice recipe to try. This is a quick recipe too, taking about 25 minutes from start to finish.

4. Mashed Potato Dumplings would be a nice treat too, especially if you have leftover gravy you can use as a dipping sauce.

5. Leftover mashed potatoes can be used in several breakfast dishes as well. Here is a nifty little recipe for a mashed potato omelet.

6. Mashed Potato Patties would be great for dinner or breakfast. I watched Michael Chiarello make these today on the Food Network Channel. They didn’t look too difficult to make and looked delicious. He served them along side some turkey/cranberry/stuffing panini sandwiches which looked so good I wished I had enough leftovers to make them!

7. If you’re tired of anything turkey related, then maybe Beef Rolls Italiano might sound appealing.

8. Here is another creative mashed potato recipe using eggs. This one looks good enough for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

9. If you are in the mood for fish, then perhaps salmon croquettes might be a good way to use up those leftover mashed potatoes. This recipe looks easy and quick.

10. Finally, mashed potato rolls can be made and they only require 1 cup of leftover mashed potatoes.