Our $2,500 Wedding

Hubby and I have been married just over a year now… we got married on July 4, 2014.  We joked that we picked a holiday so neither of us could forget the anniversary… but seriously.  Also – how fun is it to have an extra day off work and fireworks every single anniversary?! Score!

From the day we got engaged to the day of the wedding was 2 months and 3 days {yes, we are certifiably insane, thanks}.  We dated for about 4 months before getting engaged… I would not normally suggest that dating/marriage timeline {ha!} but that’s a story for another day.  We are both frugal people.  Our life goals encompass more than expensive wedding meals and a grand ballroom.  When we were planning the wedding, I read that the average couple spends something like $27,000 on their wedding these days.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!  That’s just not us.  We knew it wasn’t us to spend that kind of dough on one day and it wasn’t us to want some grand soiree.

We didn’t set a firm dollar amount budget for the wedding… Instead, we tried to keep everything as inexpensive as possible, while still ensuring the wedding experience we dreamed of.  If there was an item or activity we really loved, we were certainly willing to splurge on it.  If it wasn’t something that made us jump for joy {hello, custom printed napkins?} we gladly struck it from the list or found a frugal alternative.

I can’t tell you what we spent exactly - I tried to track every penny we spent on the wedding, but when you plan a wedding in 3 months, sometimes every penny doesn’t get tracked.  The total cost of the wedding, though, was under $2,500!  We also sold some of the décor items after the wedding and made a few hundred dollars back.  I think our out of pocket total was probably closer to $2,000.

Having a frugal wedding means that sometimes you have to think outside the box!  It also means you will be doing a LOT of the work yourself.  If you’re not comfortable planning, building, scheduling, ordering, etc… this may not be the route for you.  I’ve broken down our major expense categories and how we saved money in each.  The numbers in each category are rounded up.

ATTIRE {Total spent: $500}
I went to a couple of local bridal shops to try on wedding gowns.  Once I found the style I liked, I ordered the gown off eBay.  Someone had purchased it new, then never worn it.  I got a brand new dress for a fraction of the price!  Side note, I also ordered a few cheap {$50 or less} dresses on ebay, but my mom wanted me to have the slightly more expensive new dress {~$200}.  A local woman altered my dress so it fit perfectly.  I bought the guys’ ties at Kohl’s and Michael’s whole outfit at JC Penney.  The groomsmen all wore the tie we bought with jeans and plain dress shirts.  The bridesmaids each bought a navy blue dress from wherever they wanted.  We had a fairly casual wedding and I’m certainly not a matching-dresses-from-David’s-Bridal kind of bride.  I could have saved a little money here by not buying the cheaper dresses at first, but we still didn’t spend $500 total {and I ended up donating the first dresses locally}.

This was the morning of our wedding I believe.  Don't leave projects until the day of the wedding.
Seriously - what was I thinking?!

DÉCOR {Total spent: $200}
My mother was a SAINT with the décor.  We {and by “we”, I mean SHE} decorated hundreds of glass and tin containers to use as centerpieces and décor around the ceremony and reception.  I literally didn’t make a single one.  It was fantastic.  We bought lots of craft supplies at Hobby Lobby and off local buy/sell/trade sites and made just about everything.  The reception tables were covered with brown paper from Menard’s.  We used the glass and tin containers, added flameless candles and sat them EVERYWHERE.  I was also fortunate enough to borrow some wedding decor from one of my bridesmaids {who got married two weeks before we did}.

INVITATIONS {$200}
My mom and I made the invitations.  We used cardstock from Hobby Lobby.  I designed the invitations and inserts.  We used twine to tie the reception details to the main invitation.  To further save on money, we hand delivered all of the invitations we could.  Stamps are expensive, yo!

CEREMONY & RECEPTION LOCATIONS {$450}
We went with local venues for both the ceremony and reception.  The ceremony was at our church.  We rented a local barn for the reception.  It was about a 10 minute drive from the church.

FOOD {$125}
One of the perks of the reception location was that they let us bring in our own food.  We planned our ceremony for 7:30pm so that we didn’t have to serve a meal at the reception.  Our immediate family made tons of desserts for the reception.  We also had several snacky foods to complete the salty and sweet spread.  Honestly, we weren’t missing anything by skipping the meal.  Really the only food products we bought were paper goods and beer.  Priorities.  {And you better believe those napkins were not monogrammed.}

PHOTOGRAPHY {$425}
My new{ish} sister-in-law Erin is a great photographer!  She took our engagement photos, then agreed to shoot the wedding.  We definitely saved money over a “professional” here and I loved that we were comfortable with her.  She was way more fun than a stranger!

PEOPLE
I have to take a moment here and point out how much we did NOT do for our wedding.  We didn’t order/buy a wedding cake {a friend made it}.  We didn’t pay a calligrapher {a friend calligraph-ized our place cards}.  We didn’t pay a wedding planner/coordinator {I did all the planning and a friend was the day-of coordinator}.  We didn’t buy readymade décor {my mom and I made most of the décor ourselves}.  We didn’t hire musicians or a DJ {our family friends are so talented}.  I didn’t go to a beauty shop {a friend did my hair}.  I didn’t pay a make-up artist {holla to my Mary Kay lady/bestie/MOH}.  I didn’t buy an expensive bouquet {my photographer made my bouquet… year, she’s obviously uber talented at… just about everything}.  Can you see the trend here?  We were able to keep our wedding low budget ONLY through the immense help from our friends and family members!  If we didn’t get the chance to say it enough, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for making our day so special!

If I had our wedding to do over again, I would make a few tweaks.
-I would probably start the ceremony a little earlier than 7:30pm {6:30 maybe?}.  By the time we got pictures taken and got to the reception, it was pretty late.  We had planned to have live music at the reception, but ended up with just the DJ playing.  It was a great atmosphere, but I would have enjoyed more time at the reception.
-I would have started pictures earlier in the day.  I thought we were starting with plenty of time, but it ended up that we ran out of time and had to cut the time slot for Michael and I’s pictures alone together.  We got together with our photographer a few weeks after the wedding and took more pictures of just the two of us.  Still, it would have been great to have more photos of just the two of us that day.
-I would take more time off work the week of the wedding to get things ready.  I only took off the day of the wedding {a Friday}.  I should have taken AT LEAST another full day off work to get things ready.  There were little things that didn’t get done that would have been nice.

That being said, we made such great memories at our wedding!  More importantly, it was the start of our marriage.  Throughout our engagement {and even on the wedding day}, my mantra was “as long as we end the day married, nothing else matters”.  That really kept me focused on the important thing {MARRYING THIS STUD} and helped to minimize my stress levels… I mean, as much as any bride’s stress can be minimized.

I am so glad we didn’t do things “just because that’s what people do at weddings”.  We truly made the experience our own and I wouldn’t have it any other way!  We had some traditional elements and some very non-traditional ones.  It was a perfect combination of our personalities and truly ended up being the family-like atmosphere we wanted to share with our guests.

Looking back, I am so glad we were smart about our finances with the wedding!  Our marriage is so much more than a wedding – and I have such special memories from that day {ones that would not have been improved with designer ANYTHING}.

*Photo credits for the photography here goes to Erin Miller.*

Bargain hunting at Kohl's {with insider secrets and discount code savings!}

So, in case you've been living under a rock or haven't visited our blog before, my husband and I are purchasing and renovating our first home. It's super fun... sometimes.  The renovation process can be tough at times though {uh, like when you have to scrape your just stained kitchen cabinets}.  I've found that shopping for decor is a fun way to break up the tough moments - and it's a great way to get design ideas!  As I'm shopping, I'm trying to only buy the things I really LOVE... we're trying to minimize the amount of stuff in the new house.

Kohl's is one of my go-to stores for home decor {and lots of other random things}.  Their prices, when matched with coupons, are unbeatable!  They are also great about letting you return things even if other stores won't {i.e. you can't find your receipt, you bought the item 10 months ago, etc}.  I worked at Kohl's for a few years in college, so I have some insider tips to share with you!

1. Don't assume things are a good price.

Okay I know I just told you that their prices are unbeatable.  The prices are unbeatable, but make sure you shop when those prices are active!  Kohl's runs some REALLY good deals, but then they also have some weeks where the prices are not good deals at all.  Don't buy something the first time you see it unless you REALLLLLLYYYY love it.  Wait it out for the bargain!

2. Apply for a Kohl's charge card!

I am a big fan of all things budget-related by Dave Ramsey... {Dave, if you're reading this please scroll to the next point.}  Let me just step out of that Dave Ramsey bubble for a minute, because he does not approve of charge cards.  The way to get the best savings at Kohl's is by using their charge card.  There are times when you can get equally good deals without one, but typically charge card users get higher percentage discounts.  {When I worked there, associates also earned a small bonus for each charge card they got a customer to open.  It'll really make your cashier's day if you help them reach their daily goal.  This alone is NOT a good reason to apply for the card, but if you're going to apply anyway you might as well help someone's goal!}

3. Use the Kohl's app.

Kohl's puts out LOTS of coupons and coupon codes, so it can be nearly impossible to keep track of them all!  When you're ready to shop, open the Kohl's app then check out all the savings under Deals & Coupons!  There are TONS of codes here that you may have missed in the huge pile of Kohl's emails.  See the graphic above to find the deals on the app.

4. Sign up for Kohl's emails.
Kohl's sends exclusive coupons and discounts to their email members!  It's free and easy to sign up.  You also get a 15% off coupon when you join {which you can do here}!  This leads me to my next tip....

5. Use a secondary email address.
Kohl's {and other retailers} send a LOT of emails, so I would use a "junk" email for this.  If you only have one email address, I suggest setting up a second email address to use for stores and mailing lists.  This keeps your primary email from getting clogged up and potentially missing important emails.

6. Join the Kohl's "Yes 2 You" Rewards program.
The rewards program works alongside the charge card and Kohl's email program.  You earn points every time you shop (in store and online) then they email you a $5 coupon every time you earn 100 points.  Again - don't spend money just to earn their rewards.  BUT if you're purchasing an item anyway, you might as well earn some extra rewards!  You also get a $5 reward coupon when you join!

7. Sign up for text messsages.
This is just like the other programs above - another way to get more discounts!  Sometimes the email and text coupons are the same, but they sometimes offer a better deal on a different platform.  Sign up for all the programs to get the best spread of deals!  Text SAVE07 to 54657 to sign up.  You also get a 15% off online coupon when you join!

8. All clearance is not created equal.
You might think clearance prices would be the same from store-to-store or online.  However, they are NOT!  Different stores in the same region price clearance at different times/rates.  When I worked at the store in college, we had just opened.  Our location always had deeper clearance markdowns than other stores in our area.  The stores also typically have much better clearance prices than the website does.

9. Use all the deals you can!
There are some deals you can stack and some you can't.
In store: You can stack as many "dollar off" coupons as you have.  This includes Kohl's Cash and deals such as $10 off $30 of kids clothes or $15 off $50 of electronics.  You can typically only use ONE percent-off code per transaction.
Online: The website changes how many coupon codes you can use at once.  Currently, you can use 4 coupon codes on any one order {including Kohl's Cash codes}.  Sometimes at the holidays this number changes.

10. Use ebates!
If you're shopping online, use ebates!  It's a completely legitimate way to earn money back on lots of online retailers.  I have earned a total lifetime amount of $450 - for real.  450 bones, cash money in my pocket!  Ebates also offers extra discount codes.  To use ebates, you click through the ebates website to go to Kohl's then shop like normal.  Every time you do this, you earn a percentage of your purchase back on ebates {the percentage varies - holidays always have higher percentages!}.  Then ebates deposits your quarterly earnings into your paypal account.  It's a pretty sweet deal!  To sign up for ebates, click here. {Disclosure: This is an affiliate link.  I earn rewards for you joining.  I wouldn't advise it if it weren't legitimate though. Promise!}  Ebates was started in 1999 and has given out almost 19 million dollars in cash back since their inception - daaaang!  I also know some people use upromise for cash back into their kids' college funds.  I've heard this is a good program, but I have not personally used it.

11. Online shopping, in store returns.
I love online shopping, but returns are a pain in the tookus when you have to pay to mail them back!  Kohl's lets you return anything you purchase on their website to any store.  I use this regularly when I can't decide between two items on their website - just order both then pick which one you like better in person and return the other!

*****CURRENT KOHL'S DEALS AND PROMOTIONS*****

Now that you're equipped with all the best shopping tips at Kohl's, I'd love to share some of the current deals with you!  I've gotten all of these codes through one of the avenues above {the text message program, ebates, etc}.  The deal, expiration date, and promo code for each promotion are listed below.  Keep in mind that all of these stack on top of the sale prices!

Extra 20% off select already reduced items - Expires TOMORROW, 9/23/15 - Promo Code: TICKTOCK
Check out this promo ASAP, it's a 2 day only event!  Over FOUR THOUSAND items are reduced plus they get an extra 20% off!

20% off Everything - TODAY ONLY 9/22/15 - LEAVES
15% off $100+ - Exp. 12/31/15 - CATCH15OFF
15% off Nunnbush Footwear - Exp. 10/14/15 - NUNNBUSH15
15% off select Harvest Essentials, Home Decor & Cold-Weather Bedding - Exp. 9/24/15 - HARVEST15
15% off Costumes & Hallowen Merchandise - Exp. 9/23/15 - SPOOKY15
15% off all Seventeen Bedding - Exp. 9/30/15 - SEVENTEEN15
$10 off $30 Women's Juicy Couture Apparel - Exp. 9/23/15 - JUICY10
$10 off $30 Baby & Toddler, Maternity and Baby Gear - Exp. 9/23/15 - BABYSALE10
$10 off $30 Juniors' Suit Separates - Exp. 9/23/15 - WORKWEAR10
Free gift with purchase when you buy: Dream on Me crib, Juicy Couture watch, Escada Joyful fragrance, Guess Girl fragrance, Ermenegildo Zegna UOMO fragrance.  {See app "Deals & Coupons" for details.}

Don't forget your 3% cash back on top of all these deals!  Sign up for ebates here!

If you enjoyed this information and want to learn more about saving, check out this post about Target's bargains!

How to fence in your yard {a simple, step-by-step guide}

You know you love your dogs when.... you spend a sizable amount of money purchasing fencing materials, then spend a ridiculous amount of time building said fence.

We finished the fenced in backyard last weekend!  WOOP WOOP!  {Well, practically.  We have one more gate to add to the deck, so that doesn't really even count as fence.}

When we talked about our renovation plans, we {I} KNEW we wanted to fence in the backyard, sooner rather than later.  Our two furbabies don't have a fenced in yard at our current house so they have to be on the runner to be outside... and that's just no fun!  The guys spent 3 days of work on this {1 day with 3 guys, then 2 days of Michael working off and on}.

1. Shopping.... aka the fun part.... unless your husband is super picky about lumber like mine is.
We bought most of the supplies for this project at Lowe's.  2 rolls of chain link fence, 1 box of nails that look like staples {yes, the Lowe's employee will know what you mean when you tell him that's what you need}, 4x4s for posts, 2x4s for gates and around the top of the fence, screws {if you don't have them on hand}, gate hardware, 6" galvanized carriage bolts with flat washers and nuts {ask for help finding these the first time... once you get the hang of their organizing system, it's easy to find the size you need!}, concrete mix.... I think that's it.

Shopping tip: We picked 12' 2x4s, then had Lowe's cut them in half so they fit in the back of the truck.  It was less expensive than two 6' boards - and every little bit counts when you're buying this amount of items!  All of your lumber should be treated since it's going outdoors.  Also, this is a pretty substantial list.  Prepare yourself for a long trip to the hardware store.  We spent about 3 hours at Lowe's. {We were getting other supplies as well, but still. It was ridiculous.}  And bring the trailer.  We debated it, but didn't think we'd end up buying nearly as much as we did.  Just bring the trailer.

2. Mark out posts
Measure twice, dig once.  Make sure you clear any tree brances that may be in the way, string off your area and make sure your corners are square{ish}.

3. Dig the holes.
My biggest tip on this project?  RENT THE STINKIN' AUGER.  {An auger is a machine that digs the hole so you don't have to.  The one we rented was gas powered and handheld, so you didn't have to connect it to a tractor.}  Our local hardware store rents all kinds of goodies, so I started the workday by calling to see if they rented an auger.  Thankfully they did!  This saved us SO MUCH time and backache for the guys.  I think they had fun with the big power tool, too.  Most of the holes only took one man to use the auger.  They hit rock on one hole and had to use all their muscles together {which makes for a lot of laughter from the wives watching!}.

4. Add gravel/concrete mix to the holes
Once they dug the holes, they added a little gravel to each hole then the posts were placed {the end/corner posts were reinforced with concrete while the other posts were filled in with dirt}.

5. Put the posts in the holes
We went with 4"x4" wood posts.  We prefer the look of the wood posts to blend better with our deck.  The posts were spaced every 6 feet and buried roughly 2' in the ground.

6. Attach 2x4s to the posts
We had these cut to 6' at Lowe's.  Michael trimmed them just a little at the house.  They really help make the fence solid.

7. Attach the fence to the posts
After the posts were placed, it was really just a matter of nailing the chain link fence to the posts.  This is a 2 man {or woman} job - someone has to stretch/hold the fence while the other one nails it in place.  We also attached the fence to the side of the deck at two spots.

8. Build the gate
We built very simple gates - just 2x4s in a rectangle plus chain link material, just like on the other parts of the fence.  We used the latches shown for all of the gates.  I would NOT recommend them.  They're fairly easy to bump and accidentally open {I was sweeping the deck with a broom... the broom bumped the gate at the bottom and the gate opened. Not kidding.}.  Michael added a block to ours to secure one of the latches, but we're going to replace the other latches with a more secure option.  We'll probably go with a sliding bolt latch... those surely won't bump open!

9. Add lattice {optional}
We had to add lattice along the bottom of the deck... otherwise our little houdinis would go under the deck, out the other side {and probably poop in the neighbor's yard}.

Total money spent on this project: About $400. {Supplies at Lowe's were about $300 plus $55 to rent the auger and another $20 on last minute items at the local hardware store, then went back and spent a little more again for better gate latches.  We opened a Lowe's credit card to save an extra 10% off everything we got that day!  We had a truck FULL.} And seriously, with furbabies like this... fencing in the backyard for them is worth every penny!

Total time spent: Guesstimated 25 man hours {definitely doable in one weekend!}
Day 1: 2 guys all day + 1 guy half day = approx. 20 man hours
Day 2: 1 guy = maybe 5 man hours?  {We were working on the deck at the same time so it's a guesstimate}

This is such an exciting project for us to have finished!  One of our dogs is a superstar houdini, so we'll see how long it is before she finds a way to escape.  We are all so excited for their new found backyard freedom!

Finding God's peace in the midst of life's pain

I know they say not to cry over spilled milk, but what about crying over scraped cabinets?  I haven't shared anything faith-based with you guys lately, but God smacked me in the face with a lesson this weekend and I have really felt it on my heart to share!

I have been refinishing the kitchen cabinets for our new house.  This process has not been a quick one - I started with hours upon hours upon hours of research {ahem, thank you Pinterest}.  I cleaned the cabinets {with a few different methods - I really want them to be durable!}, as well as sanded them lightly.  Gel stain is all the rage these days, but I couldn't find just the shade I wanted in the gel stain {more on that in another post}.  I have ended up using Polyshades, which is stain with polyurethane {a protective coating} already in it.  The Polyshades is the color I wanted, but is somewhat finicky to work with - I learned early on that it will leave drips on the backside of the cabinet if you're not suuuuper careful when applying the stain.  The first round of staining I did, I didn't know this key fact, so a few {LOTS} of the cabinets had atleast a few drips.

You may not see the drips, but they are there.  Our messes aren't always visible!

These drips are so much like the sins, guilt and baggage in our lives... I didn't realize when I was working that I was creating such a mess because I couldn't see it at the time.  Likewise, there have been times when I made a mess of a situation because I didn't have the forward thinking to see the impact my actions would have.

I have spent HOURS {and hours and hours} working on these cabinets.  I used steel wool and sandpaper to try and remove the small bumps from drips and even tried putting another coat of stain over the top to just cover them up.  My mistake was not being cognizant of the fact that the stain was running over the edge.  The result was that little bitty pools of stain were forming on the back side, like little stain bubbles.  I had learned not to make the mistake, but the result of my mistake was still there.  I couldn't make it go away.

Finally, this weekend - I asked Michael to take a look at the cabinets.  He said they looked great but noticed the small mistakes I had made on the first coat of stain.  I could tell from his face that he didn't want to hurt my feelings, but that they were noticeable.  I had already tried to get rid of this mess and I couldn't do it on my own.

To really get rid of the mess my mistake created, Michael had to use a scraper.  He had to remove the mess as well as some good stuff around it.  He had to cut deep to make sure he got all the YUCK out.  After he finished scraping, I had to go along and sand that portion of the cabinet before re-staining it with several layers of stain.  Finally, the cabinets got fixed... they were healed.  The mess wasn't just covered up, but it was revealed and addressed... the cabinets look great now, but it took lots of time and painstaking effort to get there!

As I was working on the cabinets Michael scraped {tears escaping at the utter frustration in the situation}, God really showed His love to me... Have you ever made a mistake and inadvertently messed up, causing yourself or others pain?  How often do we carelessly approach situations, knowing the end result may be bad, but continuing on anyway?  Whether we knew we were creating a mess with our actions or not, we all carry scars from the sins and heartaches of our pasts.  We can try to sand away these scars ourselves... we can try to cover them up {just like I did with the stain}, but the only way for true healing to happen is when God steps in with the scraper.  You have the choice to let God in enough to scrape away the pains, the sins, the mistakes of the past - but it is your choice.  Pursuing true healing often brings those pains back up to the surface... after all, God has to scrape and scrape and scrape to get rid of all the mess we create.  The beauty of the story, though, is that after all that scraping, healing comes!  Once God scrapes away our messes, he gets down to the heart of the issue and heals those deep hurts, then re-seals our lives with grace upon grace upon grace.

It took several coats of stain to re-finish the areas we sanded down, just like God's grace is poured on layer after layer after layer.  I've heard the saying "grace upon grace" before but my thought was really - if God is giving you his grace do you need grace upon grace?

Stain upon stain upon stain.

When you stain a cabinet, it takes several layers of stain to build up the color and the durability of the end product.  Putting one layer of stain changes the color of the wood, but it does not produce a finished cabinet.  Likewise, one helping of God's grace changes us, but his daily grace upon grace upon grace truly transforms us into beings in HIS likeness.

If you find yourself frustrated with your progress or your pain, take a moment to put it into perspective.  When you step into God's workshop, do so with a prayerful heart, aware of the fact that His healing takes time.  This process can be slow; it can be painful; it can seem counterproductive.  We may not know just how much scraping it will take to rid our souls of the residue from our actions.  True healing and transformation takes grace upon grace upon grace.  How incredible that He is willing to invest so much time and love into each of us, scraping and sanding and pouring his grace!

Our fridge deal!

When we talked about shopping at Lowe's and Menards last week, I mentioned the incredible deal we got on a brand new fridge!  I can't wait any longer to share this with you.

My goal for appliances {fridge, microwave, stove & dishwasher} was to spend under $1000.  We're on a fairly tight budget for renovations and didn't want to blow a bunch on fancy appliances.  I knew thought we would be buying used appliances at that price point.  I was ELATED to find a new fridge and microwave in our budget!  {Just for reference, I quoted out appliances at a local store.  They were going to cost $2500 before tax. Woh, woh, wohhh. Not happening.}

Every time we go to Lowe's, I check out their scratch and dent appliances.  I don't think I've ever bought one {before now}... in case you didn't know this magical section exists, it does!  It's usually at a back or end aisle.  In our store, it's right by the doors to go outside to the fencing material and trees {past the appliances and cabinets inside}.  There are usually 10 or less appliances.  Some have issues that have been repaired by the store, some have damage and some have been used as loaners {while customers had their appliances repaired under warranty}.

I hate confrontation and don't really like to barter.  That being said, for a good deal... I'll do a little talking.  There was a Frigidaire black refrigerator in the scratch and dent section that had a small dent on the back rear corner.  I had looked at it a few weeks before, so I knew it had been there a while.  The original price on the clearance tag was almost $900.  The clearance price was $718.  {The listing below is the model we were looking at.}

This fridge had everything I wanted... it was a black side-by-side with water in the door and the textured finish.  I showed it to Michael just as a reference point of what I liked, but he said we should ask about it.  {I tell you, that man of mine is a gem!}

A store employee happened to walk by and ask if we needed help.  We asked if there was any leeway in the price {since I knew the fridge had been there a while}.  He directed us to the appliance department manager.  She stood and talked with us for a few minutes.  She initially said she could do $600 for the fridge {keep in mind, it's brand new and has a small dent that won't show at all once it's installed}.  We looked at the other scratch and dent appliances.  I wasn't sure we could fit the fridge in the truck that night, but she wanted it gone.  She decided if we would take it the same night she would mark the fridge down to $550.  

She also offered us a Frigidaire over-the-range microwave like the one above for $100 {retail $249}.  {The microwave door was broken in shipping and had been replaced by Lowe's, so it was as good as new.} We decided we would take the fridge for $550 and the microwave for $100.  As we started to leave to look at lumber, the manager asked if we wanted the 5 year warranty.  She said it cost about $100 but had tons of benefits - including reimbursement up to $250 if you lose food from a power outage.  {We've had this happen before, so this was a big selling point to us.}  We told her we would have to think about it and she said she would mark the fridge down to $500 if we bought the warranty... to which I said "ring it up darlin!". {Okay, I didn't really say that.  I totally thought it though.  I was BEYOND excited.} 

Lowe's has a credit card that usually gets you 5% off every purchase.  They were running a special for 10% off the first purchase.  We applied for the card which took another $50 off the fridge, bringing it down to $450!  We spent another $100 on the 5 year warranty for the fridge and $90 {with the 10% off} for the microwave.  All in all, we got the fridge with warranty and microwave for about $680 {the retail would have been about $1320 - CHA CHING!}.  That is a major score in my book!  Now I just have to find a stove and dishwasher... as long as I can do that for $320 total, I'll hit my goal of all the appliances under $1000!

Lesson learned: ASK and ye shall receive!  For real though.  I figured they'd be willing to take a little more off since it had been there a while, but I didn't think it would be low enough to fit in our budget.  You never know until you ask!