Chandler used to run a frozen custard place that has amazing custard. When I was pregnant with our oldest two daughters, he’d make my favorite treat, something that wasn’t on the menu: Chocolate fudge malts, made with the hot fudge sauce normally used on sundaes. They made my summers of pregnancy almost bearable.

When I needed a fix in the winter, I frequented the Oconomowoc Culver’s for chocolate malts. Chandler left the custard stand, and I stuck with Culver’s. It’s been open in Oconomowoc for 15 years now and is offering some great deals to celebrate its anniversary:

Monday April 6: $1 one-scoop turtle sundaes
Tuesday April 7: $1 single butterburgers
Wednesday April 8:$1 short shakes
Thursday April 9: $1 single scoop regular sundaes

Every so often, we each take one of our older daughters on one-on-one “dates” to do something special. I have a feeling this week that each girl will have a date at Culver’s. Those sundaes and shakes are calling our names

Enjoy!

Hi, my name is McKenna and I am a recovering Target addict. I’ve been in recovery for about a year now, and I’ve slipped up just a few times. It feels so good to be free!

My friend Margaret jokes that there’s a $100 entrance fee to Target because it seems you can’t walk out without spending at least that much. When I was addicted to Target, I proved that theory true many times.

Like every other suburban woman, I was there once, maybe even twice, a week. I loved stocking up on stylish items and basic necessities. I usually went in for toilet paper and walked out with a cartload of cool things I never knew I needed.

That’s why I stopped shopping at Target. Yes, the deals can be fantastic. Yes, I love the dollar section. Yes, Super Target is a great spot to buy everything you need in one fell swoop.

But just look at that adorable sheet set for my daughter — it’s even on sale! Or that cute little t-shirt for me. I think my husband needs some new boxers. Now that I think about it, I need more sponges…and maybe some bleach, too, just to be safe. Maybe I should look for my nephew’s birthday present in the toy aisle. And who doesn’t need some of those yummy Choxie treats?

Sound familiar?

A cartload of “necessities” later, I’d bought twice as much as I expected and spent at least that much more. Sure, everything is priced well. But it’s not a deal when you could have spent less and still walked away with what you truly needed.

My new friend Kmart

I started shopping at Kmart in Oconomowoc because it’s much closer to my house. I noticed that prices were comparable to Target. But I was spending significantly less at Kmart than I did at Target, and still getting what I needed. What’s up with that?

The key is that Kmart is far less appealing to me than Target. Chandler feels the same way about Kmart. He hates the lighting, the appearance of the store, the smell; everything about it turns him off and he refuses to shop there. But for me, those turn-offs are exactly why I love Kmart. I want to get in, get out and not spend any extra time (or money) in the store. That’s probably the death knell for Kmart’s business, but it’s great for my wallet.

Double coupons never had it so good

Kmart isn’t always the cheapest, but occasionally it doubles coupons up to $2. Meaning that if you have a $2 coupon, it will be doubled to $4. That can be a huge savings! They also take up to 75 coupons, which is awesome. I love this deal when it comes around. I’m hoping it comes back soon.

Breaking the Target habit

If you’re like me, you think you can’t live without Target. You wonder how we all lived before it existed in every town across America. You pity the people who don’t have one nearby.

Guess what? You can live — and live well — without it.

Here’s my challenge to you: Spend a week avoiding Target. Pay attention to how it changes (or doesn’t change) your spending habits. If you can go a week, try two weeks — or even a month. How does it change the way you shop? Let me know!

Unlike the rest of the free world, I don’t have an iPhone. Or an MP3 player. Or XM/Sirius radio. Or anything else that plays music of my choice whenever I want it to. I am woefully out of the loop with music technology.

Until now. I discovered Pandora about two years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that I started using it daily. Wow! What a great, FREE service for fantastic music that I love.

Musical genes

This free Internet radio service is based on the insanely cool Music Genome Project, a way-too-complicated-to-explain-here analysis of music that chooses music for you based on your existing musical preferences.

On the Pandora site, you enter a song or artist that you like and the service responds by playing selections that are musically similar. You can tell the service what you like and don’t like, which helps Pandora make future selections for you. It’s kind of exciting to see what new music it will play for you next.

Every time you enter an artist or song, it creates and saves a “station” based on that music. You can’t choose the songs that are played, but it’s a great way to discover new music similar to stuff you already know you like.

There is a certain level of control involved: You can skip a few songs or replay something you liked. Plus, it keeps logs of what it plays so you never get stuck with an ear worm.

How we use it

We have our desktop computer in our dining room (don’t ask), which is actually great for using this service. We put on Pandora and we can hear it throughout the downstairs of the house — kind of like our own home stereo system. It’s perfect for listening to a little Miles Davis while I cook or The Weepies or Gillian Welch while we eat dinner. So far we have avoided adding a single kids’ station, which I am very happy about.

We listen to about 10 stations on a regular basis:

• Mile Davis Quintet
• The Weepies
• Gillian Welch
• Bob Marley
• Coldplay
• Martin Sexton
• Hollaback Girl
• Gwen Stefani
• Cassie
• Glamorous

The last four stations are Chandler’s. I swear.

Mobile music

Now you can get Pandora on your phone, too! I am really excited about this, since it would finally give me iPhone-ish status. My phone is supported through AT&T, but I have to add data service to my account. Gotta see how much that is. My goal is to load up some upbeat music that will inspire me to work out at the YMCA. (Seriously.)

I had a great discussion with my friend Becka the other night about grocery shopping and frugality. After showing off my stockpile shelves crammed with dried/canned goods and my freezer full of meat, she asked me a loaded question: “Do you buy organic meat?”

I hesitated to answer because I wasn’t happy with what I had to say: No, I don’t buy organic meat anymore. I buy as much organic produce as we can afford, and I’ve started to buy organic milk more regularly. (FYI: I bought two gallons of cheap organic milk yesterday instead of free standard milk.) To help me decide what to buy organic, this shoppers’ guide to pesticides from Environmental Working Group is pretty cool. But meat? I’ve fallen off the free-range, organic bandwagon.

In the past, I focused my grocery money on just a few high-quality cuts of pork and chicken (we don’t eat beef very often) from Shoe and Sal’s, a wonderful local family who raises free-range, organic meat.  (They also make fantastic pizzas!) I loved buying fresh whole chickens and pork loins from them, and I enjoyed seeing Sal and her daughter at the Oconomowoc Farmer’s Market every Saturday. We didn’t eat much meat, so I kept the costs manageable by buying small amounts that I could freeze.

But in the last year, my family’s meat intake has increased, and I’ve stopped buying organic meat. I’m almost ashamed to admit that we almost never eat organic meat anymore because I can’t swallow the high prices.

I’d like to think that I’ll buy more this summer, when I see the familiar Shoe and Sal’s truck in the Shorehaven parking lot at the farmer’s market. But I’m not sure that $10/pound for organic chicken breasts will thrill me like the $1.99/pound I’ve been paying lately.

However, as yesterday’s post about milk proved, buying organic isn’t just about price. It’s about quality, environmental impact and food safety. Plus, buying locally helps stimulate our regional economy in a time when it’s badly needed.

These are all things I deeply believe in, and I know I need to make room in my budget to accommodate the higher prices that go with them.

Call it my summer’s resolution: I’m going to buy more organic, free-range meat this year. Maybe I’ll even take advantage of Show and Sal’s excellent delivery service!

Let me know: How/when do you decide when to buy organic items? Do you think it’s worth it? What could convince you to buy standard food again? What would it take for you to buy more organic?

I seem to have a problem with milk. I can’t decide if it’s better to get free regular milk or cheap organic milk.

I often get milk coupons, usually after buying cereal. They are good for a certain amount towards a gallon of milk. I have four coupons this week, each worth $4.69 for a gallon of any milk. Normally, I use these to buy organic milk because it brings the cost from over $6/gallon to about $2/gallon.

But lately I’ve wondered if this is truly worth it. Is it better to get a premium proudct — like organic milk — at a low price? Or is it better to get a standard product — like non-organic milk — totally free?

It’s important to me to feed my family as much organic food as possible. But I’m also trying to maximize every penny at the store. So what do you think? Should I put those coupons toward the organic milk? Or should I buy the standard stuff?