ive talked a lot lately on social media (facebook, instagram and twitter) about how much money i save while shopping at target. today, i decided to show people exactly how much money you would save by shopping at target over walmart. Since walmart talks about how great their store brand products are i decided to show how target store brand is cheaper. and honestly, its better quality (look at the difference in the lunch meat Walmart brank looks like Spam, where target brand is real ham). there are two cases where walmart is either cheaper by a few cents or the same price but in the end, it is cheaper to shop at target. 

for the most part, target always has cartwheel coupons for the products i buy. but also, by having a RED CARD you save 5% off every time. i have the debit version. which means theres no extra charge. its linked to my checking account and is taken out of my account the same day (some stores it takes 2 days). for a while i always thought the RED CARD was just a credit card, but its NOT! they have a debit version and you get the exact same perks. its awesome

below is my shopping comparison of target and walmart. check it out. 

                                Target Total                                         Walmart Total 
                                     31.54$                                                     34.33$          
             tax (8.25%)  + 2.60$                            tax (8.25%)  + 2.83$
                                     34.14$                                                     37.16$
                                              Total Savings = 3.02$
even though it is just a few dollars, if you buy groceries once a week, you save 12.08$ for the month and 144.96 for the year! for me, a recent college graduate, with students loans to pay... thats a lot of money!

i hope this is an eye opener for some of you and you make the switch! of course im lucky here in texas where we have super targets so theres a larger variety of grocery options which also means prices can be cheaper. but for the majority of the products, they are the same price at regular targets.

*target prices reflect cartwheel coupon and 5% off with red card. 

the last couple times ive made brownies ive made them a certain way, that just, words cannot describe how describe how gooey, and wonderful these are. and they are so simple to make, and not to mention, they are from a box. A BOX! the key to the perfect brownies... the amount of time you bake them for. 
oh and the total cost.. under 5$ so its a perfect price for this holiday season
box of mix -1.27$
chocolate chips - 1.98$
oil - 50¢
2 eggs - 75¢


heres my recipe for these little bites of heaven... 

Katelyn's Gooey Brownies

1 box duncan hines chew fudge brownies
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
1 bag semi-sweet morsels
8'x8" glass pan

preheat oven to 350 degrees
spay pan with cooking spray. coat evenly
in a bowl combine all ingredients
add bag of morsels after all other ingredients have been combined well
pour into greased pan
place in oven for 30-33 minutes*
whatever is left in the bowl that you couldnt get out, or thats covering the spoon, lick it clean while waiting for brownies to bake


*note- brownies are done when the center is still a bit wiggly in the middle when you move the pan. but not too liquidy. they will firm up when the cool off.

these are to be served with a tall ice cold glass of milk! 

a few months ago i apply for a target debit card. best. decision. ever. its linked to my checking account so theres no fee, or anything. the best part about it is, i automatically save 5% when i use it. could it get any better? think again, it does! target has an app called cartwheel. its all coupons. and its things i actually buy, which is what is awesome! there are clothes, food, household essentials, home decor, seasonal items, and electronic goodies available! i love the cartwheel app. i try to tell everyone about it because its a little secret that i discovered to help save money. in just a month, i have saved over 30$ by using it, plus with my red card, ive saved over 20$ in 2 months. i love shopping at target, and this makes it even more fun! plus we have super targets here in texas so it makes grocery shopping easy!

anyone out there looking to save a few bucks, do this! every little bit here and there adds up fast! trust me!

as a fan of social media, i have been using it lately to test out new products and have tried to win freebies. i follow a company on instagram, flowebeauty, which is sold at walmart, but founded by the very talented, household actress, drew berrymore. every friday they do something called 'flowerfreebiefriday' and they give away a product to someone who has either retweeted or regramed the pic they posted. and I was the lucky winner a couple weeks ago! 

last week it finially came in the mail and i get to try it out. wasnt sure how i was going to like it because ive used the same eye-liner for 8 years. and it turns out this stuff is pretty cool. its like a markers. and you just draw it on. the only issue i have with it is that it seems to smear. like when i blink, thats when it smears. it could be also that i have a droopy eye-lid and thats half the problem, but i dont know. but i do suggest to anyone to try it. it goes on really easily. and me being the artist i am, i prefer this because it is like a marker. 

so thanks flowerbeauty for this awesome product!