Today Alexander had his first trip to the dentist.  It was a smashing success!  We took him to Kids Dental Care in Windsor.  He's 2 1/2 years old and we knew that they had lots of child friendly activities, but we didn't know how he'd handle everything.  The staff was so fun, friendly, and warm.  They made him comfortable immediately and he had a great time!  Here's what went down.

We arrived at the office.  It was real easy to find.  I91 to exit 38.  Just off the exit between Price Chopper and Buffalo Wild Wings.  The first thing that caught Alexander's attention was the aquarium and all the fishees.

Then he saw the slide and wanted to go down....over and over and over.  See the smile on his face in this video!

 Then we went upstairs and he got to brush Norman's teeth.  He learned about how important brushing is and to make sure he gets all the teeth good.

Then Alexander practiced opening his mouth like a lion.

Then the dentist counted his teeth, brushed his teeth, and gave him some "vitamins" for his teeth.  He loved it.  He even got to go home with a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and some floss!

Afterwards, Alexander went down on the 2 story slide another 5 times.  We'll be back, soon!

I'd definitely recommend Kids Dental in Windsor or Bristol.  Check out their site here -> KIDS DENTAL <-.  Your kid will love it and so will you!

Today is a great day to save some money and set yourself up for an amazing future.  Big Y has some amazing Buy 1 Get 2 FREE sales.  Check out some of this week's best sales below.

• These are based on circulars I receive in Rocky Hill.
• % savings are approximate.  I'm not a math wizard. 
• You can use store and manufacture coupons to save even more.  Info on that below.

Here are some general tips that help
with some savings  basics.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Saving $ is making $.  A great way to
save serious $ is at the  grocery  store.  I figure if I can
save $200 a month, I can invest  that money in a  college fund for
Alex.  Cautiously, over 15 years  that $200 a month will be 
worth $75,000.  That should cover half his  college.  Hopefully
he'll  be smart, or a star athlete, or go to a  state school to maybe
even make that  money last all 4 years :-)

Here are some keys to saving the most $ with
the least effort:

• Aldi
       prices are hard to beat.  For example, a   gallon of milk
       is $2.99 near us in Rocky Hill.  However, most of  their 
       products are generic store brands.  I'm easy.  THere's 
       only been 1  item there that I did not like...baked beans.  My wife
       is  more  particular.  She loves JIF peanut butter and
       KRAFT american  cheese.  I was finally able to convince her
       to try the ALDI brands  and she liked  them.  Now we buy
       those and save  significantly. 
• Wal Mart
       has low prices on name brand groceries.
• If the
       super market has a card or rewards program, get it.  Many 
       of  their sales require these cards and some come with
       secondary  benefits.  For example, when you reach a
       spending threshold you save  $ on gas or bonus  deals.
• Know your
       store.  Find out about their coupon policy.  For  
       example, Stop & Shop will DOUBLE up to 4 coupons of .99 cents or
       less.   This can come in handy when (for example) Barilla Pasta
       is on  sale for .99 cents  and you've clipped a .50 cent off
       coupon.  You'll  get the box for free...or  4 if you
       clipped 4 coupons.
• Know your
       store.  Are their BUY ONE GET ONE deals actually 
       contingent  on you buying two?  Or can you buy one for
       HALF PRICE?  Many stores  actually charge them at half
       price.  If it's  an item you use a lot, buy as  many as you
       can.  Heck, come back every  day during the sale!  If
       1  will last you a while, then don't buy  multiple just for the
       sale.  That  will just end up as waste in the  garbage!
• Don't be
       afraid to buy generic store brands.  There are certain 
       items  that I cannot tell ANY difference on, except for the
       brand.   For example,  ALDI white bread is .99 cents. 
       Wonder Bread runs about  $1.99 for the same  size.  I
       notice no difference.  I LOVE LAY'S  classic potato chips,
       but  most store brands cost exactly the same and the  price is
       usually half.  Stock up  on the right store  brands!
• Go to the
       store with a list.  If the item isn't on your list and 
       isn't  an amazing sale, don't buy it.  People often make the
       mistake  of walking in  with a list of 20 things and coming out
       with 30.  The  added 10 are usually  unnecessary and
       expensive. 
• Know your
       seasons.  Memorial Day, 4th of July,  and  Labor Day are
       usually filled with great deals on your outdoor party 
       essentials  like plastic cups, soda, beer, meats, cheeses, ice cream,
       and  condiments.   In Oct/Nov/Dec you'll see all your
       family holiday goods  on sale.  You can  get great deals on
       things like turkey, ham, baking  ingredients, etc.  Take 
       advantage of these times.  Buy the items  you'll use in bulk, if
       they're a  great deal.

*** If you have the time, clipping coupons is
a great way to accelerate  your  savings.  I'd recommend getting
a few coupon inserts per  week.  Also,  Coupon Mom is
a great  site that will do the leg work  for you.  They'll tell
you which items you  can save BIG MONEY on, in  some cases 100% off),
when you combine the weekly sale  with a coupon from  a recent
insert. They also have coupons you can  print on your  own
printer.  CHeck out their site here. ***

This article is part of the Frugal and 
Fit  series of blogs.  Follow along on Twitter  @FrugalandFit

------------------------------

Other great savings sites:

• MrsJanuary.com
• Fatwallet.com
• Thriftyjinxy.com 

Is this what you expect at the beach?

Prepared to be dissapointed.  This is what you're likely to get: