I like to pretend I'm a bargain shopper

I'm totally spoiled. When I worked full-time and we got through the first married year of being totally house poor, I got used to some creature comforts. I like clothes shopping as much as the next girl. I don't think anything will pick up a bad or sad mood quite like a new shirt or new shoes (this is a more recent thing for me, however). When I agreed to cut back my hours at work, I knew it was a sacrifice I was making for the good of my child. And who doesn't enjoy the opportunity to play in the dirt with dump trucks more often (I wish I were being sarcastic here, but I'm not. I love playing with my kid, even though sometimes my sorta-girly brain can't keep up with the tunnels and race track slides involved in being a little boy)?

One thing I gave up was my salon-grade shampoo and conditioner. Once upon a time, I would've told you this made no difference and it was paying more for the same exact thing. With my particular hair (heat-styled on a good, rare day without a toddler begging me to do anything else), I have decided I like my fancy salon products. The catch is that now I'm more hesitant to go spend $40 on shampoo and conditioner, even if the big bottles last me six months. Luckily, I found this . I can get my favorite (Back To Basics) for $26, which is just over half-price. If you are a hair product princess like me, check it out!

I've also been introduced recently to Ebates. They have always-changing special offers plus regular cash-back incentives for purchasing online from many, many stores. If you shop online frequently (who wants to take their 2 year old boy to the mall with him yelling "Go back out!" from the stroller every time you enter a store with anything other than toys?), this is highly worth the thirty seconds it takes to fork over your email address. As far as I've seen, they don't send out hundreds of annoying emails, either.