Birthday Freebies

Today is my birthday so this month, I've already been racking up freebies! 

Here's the list of companies who treat you well on your birthday!

-Sephora: this year is a philosophy Birthday Girl bubble bath
-The Body Shop $10 with Love your Body Membership
-Victoria's Secret: $10 gift card 
-Cost Plus World Market: $10 coupon with membership
-Torrid: $10 with divastyle premium membership
-Coldwater Creek: $10 gift card
-Rue 21: $10 off $20 purchase
-Container Store: free reusable shopping bag 
-Charlotte Russe: 10% off and free shipping
-Black Angus: Free dinner
-Cold Stone Creamery: Buy 1 signature creations, get one free


I'll continue to update this so check back again! I'll link it to my Budget shopping page. 

Maximizing your clothes shopping budget: Un-extreme couponing

My guide to deal-finding and un-extreme couponing:  saving you money to free up your clothes shopping budget!

1) Coupon Blogs: Check out coupon blogs before you go anywhere. Most coupon blogs will have weekly posts for grocery, drugstore, retail storefront and online stores. You can get a lot of personal care items for free or almost free, but you'll need to cut or print coupons and sign up for store loyalty cards. Coupon blogs will tell you exactly how to do it, so it's easy!

2) Swagbucks: instead of using google or yahoo to search the internet, use Swagbucks and earn points for searching. Last year, I earned $60 in Amazon gift certificates to use for gifts and for my People Stylewatch and InStyle magazine subscriptions. Can't beat free money for doing something you are already doing! They just recently have $5 Target and Land's End gift certificates so I can buy clothing too!

3) Ebates: get cash back for online purchases. It all adds up and you could turn your Ebate check into a new outfit! I haven't gotten into ShopatHome or other rebate companies. Ebates has been easy and I've already received a couple of checks in the mail.

4) Sign up for daily deal sites. They frequently provide free credits for new members so you can usually get some free or inexpensive accessories and if you are lucky: free clothing! Here are a couple to check into:

Deal Pulp: lots of cute, inexpensive and unique accessories in their Daily Picks area. 
SaveMore: $10 credit for new members
Plum District: $5 credit for your first purchase!
Eversave: $3 off your first "save"
Jasmere:  a charitable donation will be made with each purchase
Sharing Spree: a portion of the deal supports local non-profit organizations.
BuyWithMe: Local and national offers
Dealster: Local and travel deals
The Clymb: Athletic gear

P.S. A bunch of the links are to my referral sites, so thanks for signing up through me!

Finding the Deal!

Here are my tips for finding deals and getting the most out of your shopping budget:

• Only buy on sale! Everything eventually goes on sale so I really try to start with the clearance racks first. If I find something I like that's not on sale, I'll add a note to my phone so I can watch for sales and buy later or...
• Set a price alert on Shopstyle: When I find something I like and want to wait for a sale, I search for it on Shopstyle and create a sale alert. They'll email me when the item goes on sale! 
• Go shopping often! You find the best deals when you are out and about so go out there often. Plus, walking is good exercise! Die hard shoppers will also know when stores will markdown their prices, but I'm just not that obsessed, yet!
• Use coupons and check retailmenot for online coupons before buying. If you shop at Target, they have coupons on their website that when paired with clearance finds, ends up with free or really inexpensive clothes!
• Sign up for email and facebook updates to get coupons via mail, email and FB. Create a free email account just for these emails so it won't clog up your inbox.
• Buy only what you love: I learned this one over time. It's only a good deal if you love it and will wear it. Don't fall into the "it's only $5!" trap!
• Set a budget and keep track! I have a monthly budget that helps keep us out of debt. I keep track of my spending on Yahoo notepad and it helps me see what I've bought for the month and if I've spent too much, I can decide what I really want to keep.
• Buy the size that fits your body. Don't get caught up on the size of the item. Also don't buy the size that doesn't fit you as well because that's all that was left on clearance. 
• Take pictures wearing your new finds. When you can see it actually on your body, you can make sure that it fits you well.  I just learned this from starting this blog.

A couple of these tips will be reminders for me as well, to be more decisive and careful with my money. I get caught up in the excitement of a good deal and sometimes buy things that I'm either lukewarm about or doesn't fit as well as it should.