Candyland

Shopping the day after a holiday ends, can get you some big savings on seasonal items

I just went to Walmart, and realized that ALL THE EASTER CANDY IS 50%!! That means you can gorge yourself on candied eggs, peeps, and peanut butter filled Easter M&Ms.

And, depending where you're shopping, you can stock up on wicker baskets for household storage, bubbles for summer fun, and plenty of chocolate squares for baking into cakes and cookies, or melting as a chocolate dip!

Most hard candies, can be stored for up to 1 year when stored at room temperature in a cool, dry, pantry. On average, candy bars can stay good for another 6 months. You can squeeze 13 months out of M&Ms and 1 year out of Reeses Pieces. Dark chocolate, when wrapped in foil, and stored properly, can last anywhere from 1-2 years! If you find a good deal on candy, stock up because it's never to early to start planning for Halloween.

Are Chocolate Covered Strawberries Worth the Expense?

Valentine's Day is one of my top 3 favorite holidays, although most tightwads have mixed feelings about this particular yearly observance. After all, why do we need to spend all that money on greeting cards, flowers, and candle-lit Italian dinners? The truth is, you don't need to.

 I love Valentine's Day because it's a day where I can reflect on the people (and animals) I care about in my life. This day is about celebrating various types of love. Enjoy today as a way to show affectionate love for friends, family, significant others; or to proclaim your passion for a social issue; or even to appreciate yourself!

I usually show some self-appreciation by splurging on fancy chocolate covered strawberries from Godvia Chocolatier boutiques.

It's happened to the best of us, you walk by that elegant display case with that luscious, fat, strawberry sitting there covered in rich chocolate, and it practically calls out to you by name! You silently justify the indulgence to yourself, (I walked 4 miles today, I took the stairs at work all week, etc) and you mosey on into the store only to find that one chocolate dipped strawberry is $7.00! 

Home-made White Chocolate/Dark Chocolate strawberries , Dark Chocolate Almond strawberries, Dark Chocolate Pecan strawberries, Dark Chocolate Walnut strawberries.

You gasp.
You are sure that this is way overpriced, but by how much? Well, The Thrifty Scholar has worked it out for you:

-I purchased approximately 30 medium sized strawberries in a wholesale store for $5.99.
-I was able to purchase 11.5 oz Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips for $2.00 at my local grocery store.
-It only takes me 4.5 oz to cover all 30 strawberries. The 4.5 oz of chocolate cost me $0.77.
-My total cost for chocolate and strawberries was $6.76 and each unit came to $0.23 to make.

If I estimate that 2 medium strawberries covered in Ghiradelli chocolate make up the weight of the large strawberry at Godiva, then I spent $0.46 by making my own chocolate covered strawberries at home. Net savings: $6.54.

In comparison to the $42 box of 6 Godiva chocolate dipped strawberries, net savings were $39.24.

Read on to see how I did it.