Birthday Offers
If you've ever shopped online or signed up for a store's membership club (and provided your correct e-mail address), you've probably received a flurry of "deals," "gifts," and offers around your birthday. But these birthday deals aren't always such a great deal after all. I figured I'd give you a run-down on all the birthday offers I've received and whether or not they're worthwhile.
The Offers
- Best Buy: earn triple rewards points on any single regular-priced item
- This offer is a dud unless you need to buy not one, but two items from Best Buy in the immediate future. Personally, I almost never buy regular price items anywhere, so the chances that I'd be buying something at regular price near my birthday are slim. Even if I did have a regular price item to buy, it's even less likely that I'd need to buy something else from Best Buy not that long after, thereby applying the triple points earned and actually benefiting from this deal. - American Eagle: enjoy 15% off your next purchase
+ This offer is significantly more useful than the Best Buy one. First of all, it provides me with a discount at the time of purchase, which means that even if that birthday trip is the only one I make to AE all year, I still benefit. Secondly, it's valid at American Eagle, Aerie, and 77Kids, both in stores and online. There are no restrictions regarding the merchandise it can be used for, meaning that I can buy only clearance items and still receive the extra 15% off. Finally, there's no restriction on the number of items, so I can get 15% off whether I buy one pair of $2.50 clearance underwear or 50 full-price T-shirts. Will I actually use it this year? Probably not, but I've definitely used it in the past. - Rita's Italian Ice: one free regular Italian ice
+ Anything free is a good deal, especially free food. The only downside is that it's only valid for 7 days from when it's sent, so it expires 3 days after my birthday. That's a small window to take advantage of an offer. I'm going to try to use this one. - Capitol City Brewing Company: $5 gift certificate
+ While you'll probably need to still spend some money, a flat $5 off my dinner tab is always welcome. It does require proof of ID when using it, and it can't be combined with any other offers, but it's valid for 30 days from when it's sent (which was a week before my birthday). I'm not too close to any locations anymore, but I might try to take advantage of this before it expires. - World Market: $10 reward
+ Again, a flat monetary discount is always a welcome reward. This one requires only a minimum purchase of $10, pre-tax, which means I could buy some bags of pasta for only the cost of the tax, or I could take an extra $10 off a piece of furniture or some dishes. The deal is good online or in the store, applies to sale and regular price items, and the only items it can't be used for are alcohol and "kitchen electrics." I'll also try to take advantage of this one before it expires; it's valid for the whole birthday month. - The Melting Pot: free chocolate fondue with purchase of any Big Night Out or the combination of two individual entrees and a cheese fondue
- I absolutely love the Melting Pot, but I think their birthday reward is kind of stingy. My husband is rather picky, so we usually only order one cheese fondue, one entree, and one chocolate fondue... in which case we wouldn't be able to use this deal. I'd rather get smaller amount deducted from my bill (like $5) than get something "free" that I can't even take advantage of. - Magazines.com: $5 gift certificate
+ The $5 can be applied to any of the magazines available through Magazines.com, which means I could get a year's subscription to Good Housekeeping or Redbook for about $3.00 (about $8.00 for the 12-issue subscription, minus the $5 gift certificate). I'm not sure if I'll use this one this year, because most of the titles I would want to get would still be $8 or more after the discount (and I don't "need" magazines enough to warrant spending more than about $5 on them).
HAUL: 27 books for $2
This weekend, one of the branches of my local public library was having a big book sale. My husband and I went to the sale on Sunday, when it was only open from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., and books were being sold by the grocery bag. (On Saturday, the books were priced according to format: hardcover, paperback, etc.)
Here's how it works: As you enter the sale, you get a brown paper grocery bag. The books are all laid out on tables and shelves according to rough categories; you fill up your bag with whatever books you want as you go around the room. Then, when your bag is full, you pay just one dollar for the whole bag. Not one dollar per book, one dollar per bag of books.
In addition to books, they also had some board games, a few movies on VHS, several audiobooks, and some magazines.
My husband got overwhelmed by the crowd (people were waiting outside when we got there just before noon) and the chaos within a minute of entering, and left to read in the regular part of the library. I was in my element, though, and managed to cram a great selection into 2 bags. *
The Goods
27 books
» The Jolly Postman, Janet and Allan Ahlberg
» Chocolate Astrology, Joy Nagy
» Good Housekeeping Good Deals & Smart Steals, Susan Randol
» Politically Correct Holiday Stories, James Finn Garner
» The Abominable Snowman Doesn't Roast Marshmallows, Debbie Dadey & Marcia Thornton Jones
» The Floating Island, Elizabeth Haydon
» The New Tea Book, Sara Perry
» The Miracle at Speedy Motors, Alexander McCall Smith
» Spin a Wicked Web, Cricket McRae
» Wild Goose Chase, Terri Thayer
» The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Burbery
» Instant Gratification, Lauren Chattman
» Death is Semisweet, Lou Jane Temple
» A Puzzle in a Pear Tree, Parnell Hall
» As the World Churns, Tamar Myers
» Laced, Carol Higgins Clark
» The Fondue Cookbook, Gina Steer
» The Matrix and Philosophy, William Irwin
» Popular Mechanics Home Safety Handbook, Nancy J. Becker
» Style Rx, Bridgette Raes
» Charmed Thirds, Megan McCafferty
» The Pirate King, R.A. Salvatore
» A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits, Carol K. Mack & Dinah Mack
» How Things Work in Your Home, TimeLife Editors
» Perennials, TimeLife Editors
» Better Homes & Gardens Handyman's Book, Better Homes & Gardens Editors
All in all, that's an average of $0.07 per book.
Want to know all the nitty gritty on the prices and savings? Continue reading.
MISSION: Hooded Raincoat
We recently experienced a mini-monsoon season here in Virginia, which emphasized again my need for a good raincoat. I have two jackets that I intended to be for the rain, but they're both lined (one with fleece, one with faux fur), which greatly reduces their usability in 70-degree weather. I also have two peacoats, but they're wool, which doesn't smell too great when it gets wet as well as having the same overly warm problem, and they lack hoods. My hooded coats include several winter coats, but again, they're not too useful when it's 70 degrees out. Finally, my husband and I own a whole heck of a lot of umbrellas, but I never use them because they tend to be more trouble than they're worth: the wind will yank them or blow them inside out, they can only fit one of us under them, etc.
So, my mission: Find a hooded, unlined, waterproof raincoat that can be worn with sweats to walk the dog or with cute clothes to go out with friends. I'd prefer for it to be a bit longer, maybe mid-butt or so, than the typical top-of-the-hip coat length. Finally, I want it to cost $50 or less, preferably $25 or less.
I'll let you know how it goes. I have no idea how soon I'll find one, but I'm hoping I get one before the next big rain!
Some of the rain coats I'm using for inspiration:
North Face's K in White, ~$180
Marmot's Precip in Black, ~$100
LL Bean's West End in Sage, ~$140
Marmot's Sassy in Granite, ~$200
North Face's Grace in Black, ~$200
News & Links: 09/07/2011
A semi-regular round-up of fashion and shopping-related news and links.
» New York Fashion Week, showcasing the Spring 2012 collections, starts tomorrow, September 8.
» Groupon currently has a deal for a 3-credit intro to teaching course for $950 at National-Louise University's Chicago campus. (Available for 3 more days.) Read more about the idea at the Chicago Tribune.
» MSN has the run-down on what you should (and shouldn't) buy in September. (Warning: There's a video that auto-plays.)
» JCPenney's "Too Pretty To Do Homework" girls' T-shirt set off a firestorm on the Internet, leading to JCP's removal of the shirt from its site.
» Greeting card company Fomato has distilled the Target shopping experience to its three basic truths: (1) 50% of people call it "Tarjé," (2) No one will turn down a trip to Target, and (3) You always buy more than you plan.
» Get a glimpse into the future of shopping on the PSFK web site: augmented reality, iPad apps, and more.
» Do you try to purchase products that are healthy? Green? Socially responsible? Then check out GoodGuide's Transparency Toolbar, which automatically gives you product ratings while you shop online. (Or you can head to the GoodGuide site to look up specific products.)
» I'm in the process of updating the site's "Further Reading" section with magazines, blogs, and TV shows.
» On Tuesday (September 13), a new Westfield shopping center opens in Stratford City (UK), becoming Europe's largest urban shopping center. To promote Westfield Stratford City, they've created a video of 100 years of East London style:
Birthday Wish List
Over the years, my family has spread out... instead of 5 kids at home, my mom now has 5 kids living in 4 different states. Our grandparents, aunts, and uncles also live in one of those states, and my parents live in yet another state. So you can imagine it can get difficult for the family to coordinate who's buying what for birthdays and other gift-giving holidays.
When we were younger, we'd simply hand-write wish lists that my mom would then distribute via phone tree, giving certain ideas to certain people so there wouldn't be any repeats. Then we moved on to e-mailed lists. Now, I like to use Kaboodle*, and I've talked a few family members into it, too. You can make as many or as few lists as you want (and it's not just limited to wish lists; you can make shopping lists, inspiration lists, and lists of things you have, too). My favorite aspect of it, though, is that you can add products from all different sites, unlike the proprietary wish lists on so many shopping sites. Plus there's the ability to "reserve" an item, which helps eliminate duplicates.
My 25th birthday is a week from today, so I thought I'd share with all of you my current wish list. Check out the slideshow below, and click through if you want to know cost or store of any of the items.
You can find me on Kaboodle here.
*Kaboodle started out as a list-making, shopping-oriented site, but it's evolved to become a community to discover and share cool products, get input on shopping quandaries (this purse or that purse?), and be informed on new products and special sales from your favorite brands.
HAUL: Borders Liquidation Sale
As you've hopefully heard by now, Borders is going out of business. Both my husband and I are saddened at the loss of the Borders stores, he because Borders was the only area book store that his favorite authors frequently (or ever) appeared and I because it was one of only two large bookstores in our vicinity. (The other, Books-a-Million, doesn't usually have as wide a selection, at least in my experience.)
Since the liquidation was announced, I've made three visits to my neighborhood Borders to check out the sales. I first went on the very day that the liquidation went into effect. At the time, I declared the sales to be a waste of time and a rip-off. The air conditioning had been turned off in that particular location, so the poor booksellers were slogging through a 100+ degree day in utter misery. The computer system was already off-line, providing no way to check their stock, and the shelves had already become an un-alphabetized chaos, rendering it nearly impossible to look for anything specific. On top of all that, the sales were only about 25% off the list price, meaning that many of the books had been cheaper the previous week than they were during the "Everything must go!" liquidation sale. Yet the line to checkout still snaked halfway around the store, a testament to our weakness for sales and our mistaken belief that something advertised as a "sale" must be a good deal.
My next trip was about a month later. By that point, more of the store's sections (all the sales are based on the genre/category) had reached the realm of decent deals, but still not good enough that I was willing to buy anything unless it was being discounted from a discount or was 50% off the cover price. The two bargain bin sections were 30% and 40% off their sticker prices, which are usually at least 40% off the cover prices, so I snagged several books at fractions of their list prices. I also picked up a few greeting cards (Paperchase items were 50% off list) and magazines (current issues, 50% off their cover prices). The real kicker in getting me to actually purchase items on this trip was that they were offering a 10% off discount (on top of the other discounts) if you bought 6 or more items, and a 15% discount if you bought 8 or more items.
My most recent trip was on Thursday. The stores now bear "Final Weeks! Entire store 60% - 80% off!" signs, which means that even "regular" (non-bargain) products are at least 60% off their cover prices, making everything in the store a relatively good deal. This time I picked up several more books, all at 60% or 70% off their list prices, and a DVD at 60% off. (Sadly, there were no "buying in bulk" discounts anymore.)
The Goods
Trip #1: 12 books, 2 mags, & 2 cards
Trip #2: 10 books & 1 DVD
Between the two trips, I got a total of 27 items for $102.40, saving $383.29 (79%) off the cover prices.
Click through for more details on the books I purchased.
Confession: No Shopping for a Month
Today I lost a bet. A stupid bet. And now, for the month of September, I'm banned from shopping.
Since moving to our new house, my husband and I have been planning to buy a new TV for our living room, as our 4+ year old one is not quite up to par anymore. Of course, that meant that my husband wanted to get an even bigger TV.
TV shopping is one of the few shopping experiences I let my husband handle; to me, they all pretty much look the same, and they're all pretty much way too big. He had picked out a 55" Vizio from Wal-Mart and debated for a few days with our friend Chris whether the box containing the TV would actually fit in our car.
I told them that they were being ridiculous; of course it would fit. I was so sure of the stowing capacity of my car (which has moved me in and out of college dorms, carted bookshelves and Rubbermaid bins, and can fit our dog's crate) that I promised it would fit... and if it didn't, I wouldn't go shopping for a month. So I told him to get a move on and buy the darn TV already.
Today, we went to buy the TV. Man, that box was massive. They let us wheel it out to the car on a heavy duty stock room cart (with which William ran over my toe, breaking my toenail).
It didn't fit.
We had to put the box in an empty parking spot next to us, unpack it, and then load the TV, styrofoam, and flattened box into the car separately... and it still didn't fit. The flattened box was still slightly too long for the car, so I had to go back into Wal-Mart, purchase a package of bungee cords, and then figure out how to hook them onto my car such that they would hold the trunk shut. All while receiving tips, "That happened to us, too!" comments, and weird looks from the other customers in the parking lot. (I hope we don't wind up on People of Wal-Mart.)
Suffice it to say William was quickly claiming bet victory, and now I won't be shopping again for the month.
Luckily for all of you, I managed to squeeze in a trip to Borders, which has entered the final days of its liquidation, before the ban went into effect. I'll be posting that haul soon. For the rest of the month, I'll be posting pre-blog hauls that haven't been documented yet, freebies, deals, tips, confessions, and peeks into my wardrobe, as well as updating the site with recommended TV shows, additions to the book shelf, background on my 3 fellow Fernandes family frugalistas, and other goodies. So don't stop visiting just because I've stopped shopping!
P.S. - Don't tell my husband I said this, but it never hurts to take a break from the spending, anyway. After all, we are trying to be frugal!
HAUL: Village Thrift
Having recently moved to a new house (and the first one that we own), I've been making almost weekly trips to the home improvement stores. I noticed a thrift store, Village Thrift, in the same plaza as my local Lowe's and have been wondering what the store is like. (Unfortunately, while their cash registers are quite up-to-date, they appear to have no web site and apparently have only the one location.)
I had heard their best deals are on Mondays, so Juliana and I headed over on Monday to check it out. Overall, I was impressed with the store: it's large, well-organized, and offers just about everything, without offering a lot of items that feel like trash. However, I had some major problems with the prices. Many items I saw still had their original tags, or tags from other thrift/yard sales, but often the Village Thrift price was equal to or more than the other tags. For example, I found one shirt with its original tags, which showed many prices, ending with a final clearance price of $7.20; Village Thrift was offering the shirt for $8.90. One of the shirts I bought had another tag on it for $3.00, but Village Thrift was charging $4.90. I also noticed that many items, particularly popular brands, had prices that were close to what they would sell for new, like an H&M knit dress for $19.90.
So, while I'll certainly be going back because it's so close and large, I'll have to be very vigilant regarding brands and prices to ensure I'm actually getting good deals. I also plan to only ever shop there on Mondays, when certain colored tags are 50% off, and Sundays, when certain colored tags are other percentages off — the regular prices were not good enough for me, especially since I'm usually buying items that simply hit my fancy, and not items that I actually need.
Anyway, enough with the review, and on to the haul!
The Goods
Gray knit dress
Sparkly tunic shirt
Empire-waist shirt
Flowered shirt
Straight jeans
Word Spot coffee table game
I brought home 6 items for $23; not bad!
Read through for specific details on prices and brands.
Coordinated Kitchen
I have a little dog who loves to spend the day watching the street from the windows, tracking everyone's comings and goings (especially those of the neighborhood cat). Unfortunately, the windows in our new house are a bit too high for him to reach them without some assistance. So, I set out to find some sort of bench or window seat solution for our kitchen bay window, so Toby could sit in the window as much as he wants.
At IKEA, I found a TV unit that's low enough for Toby to jump onto but high enough that he can then see out the window. Since it's built to support a TV, it's more than capable of handling his weight, and the shelves underneath are perfect for storing my cookbooks. It was an added bonus that the TV unit is the exact same color as our kitchen table and chairs, also from IKEA. At only $39.99, the MOSJO TV unit is a lot more affordable than most benches and window seat solutions.
Next, I needed to find some sort of cushion to put on top of the unit, so Toby wouldn't slide right off the bench when he jumps up. Plus, a cushion would make the bench a more comfortable extra seat for people, too. At Marshalls, I found a great indoor/outdoor bench cushion for $29.99 that's the perfect size for the top of the TV unit. The blue and green pattern coordinates well with the rest of the accessories in our kitchen.
I secured the cushion to the TV unit with some heavy duty black Velcro (6 strips for a total of roughly $5.00), and we put the TV unit atop a carpet remnant to prevent it from scratching our tile floor. Total cost for the window seat: $75.00
A week or two after I found the cushion for the unit, I spotted a matching tablecloth at TJMaxx for $3.00. What a steal! So now we have a fully coordinated kitchen table and window seat:
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