Money Saving Monday

I love Clearance. I have a difficult time purchasing anything at full price, because I know that it will eventually be marked down. My favorite clearance is End of Season Clearance. I went shopping for the end of summer clearance at our local Wal-Mart because here in Texas, when the retail summer season is ending, we still have another month or so of really hot weather, which means we can still enjoy the hot weather fun for even less.

My big find this year for the end of summer clearance were these really awesome water balloons! Have you seen them? They have been around a while now, however I was skeptical the first time we used them because they claim to fill all of them at once and all you have to do is hook up your hose, then shake them off when they are full. If you have ever filled water balloons one at a time, then struggled to tie them off in knots, then you will know how time consuming that can be.  Let me tell you, these are amazing. They do what they say they do, and only take a few minutes of set up time so you can get to playing faster.

I used my Wal-Mart app as a price checker, and snapped a pic of their own price tag on the shelf to help save time- just in case it didn't ring up as advertised. I did this because the deal seemed way too good to be true. But to my amazement it was so true! At $2 each box, I was able to grab a few boxes for a fun family evening. I ran by my local thrift store that often offers up free items they don't use/need anymore and was able to grab 2 totes sans lids for free. They weren't in the best shape- but they held water, and that is all I needed them to do!

We filled our new free tubs halfway with water, then started filling our balloons, while the kids decided  that we would play a game of capture flag with water balloons. They picked teams (Parents vs. Kids), they schemed how they would overtake us (throw as many balloons at one time that they could while another child would sneak around to steal the flag) , and they creatively created flags (grabbed two of their little brothers shirts and decided that would do).

Aren't they mesmerizing to look at! They didn't last in the tubs too long. With 4 packages we had approx 400 water balloons, (a few did pop as I filled them)  and with all the children, that lasted a good thirty minutes. Don't underestimate the power of the clearance isle. We didn't pay full price, had a good thirty minutes of wholesome family fun, and possibly helped save thousands on future therapy sessions- as they kids were able to pelt each other and us with these balloons!