Patience is a Virtue

In my previous posts, I mentioned some rewards cash I had earned and how I set reminders for myself to give these programs a try. I had rewards with The Children's Place and could not find a discount gift card for to stack with the rewards.

But, patience is a virtue! I noted that my reward is valid until January 31st and I've kept checking periodically for a discount gift card and today there were some posted at CardCash.com!!

Now, my reward is $10 off of a $40 purchase. That is 25% off...not good enough. The gift card I bought was 15% off of it's face value. Now, I'm up to 40% off. Still not good enough. Once my card arrives, I will access the online store via Upromise, a site for 5% cash back, on my purchase and I will only buy items that are on sale.

Once my gift card arrives, I'll make this happen and break it down for you with the real numbers.

You Don't Have to Buy

In my last post I mentioned having some rewards money from a couple of stores and how I strategized getting even more of a discount. Well, here's another thought. Just because you have a coupon or rewards dollars doesn't mean you have to use it. This is about being smart, savvy and saving money wherever you can. Buying things 'just 'cuz' you have a discount is not smart or savvy.

So I was ready to use my rewards from The Children's Place which was $10 off a $40 purchase. Now that's only 25% off. I also accessed their website via Upromise for an additional 5% cash back. I wasn't able to find a discount gift card so to get my preferred 70% off, I was going to need to find some hot sales too.

I did find some things I liked and we could use. In the end I only had $30 worth of items in my shopping cart. I was going to need to spend another $10 on something I didn't really need in order to use my $10 rewards. That doesn't make any sense. It's not savvy or smart. So I just let it go.

That reward expires on 1/31 so I can check back in a couple of weeks. But what if I can't use it then? Just leave $10??? Nope...coupon karma. There are countless couponing forums where you can sell or share codes that you're not going to use. If you're not familiar with those, use www.retailmenot.com. Give it to someone who can use it and one day when you're looking for a code you'll find someone else who is sharing one they don't need.

Make the Most of Rewards - Plan Ahead

A popular feature of many rewards programs is to offer some sort of cash or bucks. I shop online a lot so the emails I get with promos are really overwhelming, but I do watch for the special rewards. Even when you've weeded out the sales ads, it can still be overwhelming.

Here is how it typically goes... you spent a certain amount of money so you've earned a certain amount that you can redeem only during a particular time period if you spend a certain amount in that transaction. Once you have a few of these, your eyes start to cross.

I have Gymbucks at Gymboree mastered. I know how it works to earn and redeem and the rules associated with them. Easy for me and I recommend getting very comfortable with one or two rewards programs from your favorite stores.

Right now on my phone I have $30 in Super Cash from Old Navy and $10 in a birthday promo from The Children's Place. I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of these programs, but I'm going to take 5 minutes to plan and give it a shot.

First, I check the redemption dates. The Children's Place code I can use now, but it expires on 1/31. Old Navy can only be used 1/21-1/29. Ok, with Siri's help, I have a reminder on my phone for 1/21.

Now, is there anything else I can do for a deeper discount? Yes! My favorite discount gift cards where I pay less than face value for a gift card. Favorite sites are CardCash.com and MonsterGiftCard.com. With Old Navy, I'm required to spend $75 for my $30 discount. I bought a $75 gift card for 8% off which was $69, but I was foiled on The Children's Place. They are sold at 15% off face value, but the only one in stock was for $140 and I only need to spend $40 to redeem my $10. If I shopped at TCP regularly, I would go for it, but this time I'll pass.

For Old Navy, I just need to wait for my gift card and reminder from Siri (and think about what I might need). Never buy anything, just because you have a coupon. For The Children's Place, I might as well go for it and see if there is anything I want now.

Of course, the next step is to access the website via a cash back site. My favorites are Upromise and Ebates. Simply by accessing Old Navy or The Children's Place via a cash back site, I can earn another discount.

Here's the initial breakdown:

Old Navy:
$30 off a & $75 purchase is 40% off
Cash back at 5% of $45 is $2.25 a total of 43% off
Purchase of a discount gift card is another 8% off the original purchase for a total savings of 51% off!

Now consider that I will also see if I can combine another promo code with this, but regardless, I will be only buying items that are on sale to start with. What started as 40% is now at least 51%. I'll let you know how it actually plays out.

I will browse The Children's Place site and keep you posted on how I work this. Right now the $10 off a $40 purchase is 25% off and I can get an additional cash back of 5%. Typically I consider a great deal to be at least 70% off. We'll see what I can manage :)

What if you can't use your rewards? Take a few minutes to earn some coupon karma. I'll tell you about it in my next blog.

Deals on Apple iPads, iPods and More

Deals on Apple products are few and far between. You have to be very savvy and spend time daily monitoring sites that seek out deals.

I have a trick to save a little extra on those high end electronics that rarely get discounted. First, I find a retailer that sells online. In this case, I've chosen Best Buy.

Then I find the best cash back website. My favorites are Upromise and Ebates. Upromise is connected with Sallie Mae and the cash back earned can be directed towards student loans or college savings. Upromise often has the higher percentage cash back, but I always check both. Today the cash back is 5%.

Next, I order discount gift cards. My favorite sites are CardCash.com and MonsterGiftCard.com. Discounts and supply vary so I always check both. Best Buy discounts average 4-6% off face value.

Let's break it down:

• 1 iPad Air is $499 full retail
• By accessing the Best Buy website via Upromise, I will get 5% cash back on $499. A savings of $24.95.
• I still need to pay the full $499 so I buy enough discount gift cards to cover the purchase.
• If I buy $500 in gift cards at 5% off the face value, I pay $475 for the cards. A savings of $25.
• That's a total savings of $49.95 or 10%. Not bad for a little extra effort.

A couple of other considerations:

• You don't need to pay or wait for shipping. I can order online and select store pickup. I get the 5% from the cash back site and can stop by my local Best Buy to pick up my item that day.
• If you pay sales tax and buy enough gift cards to cover the tax, you will get a discount on the tax as well.
• If you earn miles or other rewards with a favorite credit card, you can use it to buy your gift cards.
• I would still earn rewards at Best Buy for a $499 purchase.

Win, win, win, win, win!!!

Cash Back Sites - Upromise

Using cash back sites is one of my favorite bricks in building my tower of savings. Upromise often offers higher cash back percentages or they may have retailers that other cash back sites don't. This is because they are linked with Sallie Mae and can direct your cash back towards paying down your student loans or building a 529 savings plan.

Here is my example from a purchase yesterday. 6pm.com is a favorite online shop of mine and I found some terrific UGG boots there for a great price. Here's how I stacked the savings:

• The boots I liked retailed for $240 and were available at 6pm.com for $117
• Found a 10% off promo code which brought the price down to $105.30
• Accessed 6pm.com through Upromise for 5% cash back (6pm.com does not offer cash back through other sites) - Total price $100.03 - a total of 58% off

The majority of that savings was with 6pm already, but Upromise gave me an additional $5.27 savings. It's easy to do and it adds up!

Yes, Savings Excite Me...Here's Why Part 1

Here is a little bit about me and how I came to know what I know and why I'm interested in sharing it with you.

I am married, in my early 40s, have a DSS teenager, and DD preschooler. I work full-time, teach a college class, am a Top Rated Seller on eBay, and am diligent about never paying retail!!! I get all excited about my various ways to save and my friends and family love to know, but their eyes glaze over after the second or third step. They all want me to share how to do it, however, so it's now here in one place for anyone who is interested.

Here's how it all started. Remember the economy quickly getting flushed down the toilet?? I do! I had always loved a good sale and coupon, but this event took us all to another level with creations like Groupon, Ebates, more rewards programs, extreme couponing, and thrift shopping (now hella cool thanks to Macklemore!).

Well, I like to shop on Amazon. Their prices are typically better than other places (particularly for books) and I have a prime membership which gets me quick shipping for an annual fee (if you're a regular, the annual fee is worthwhile). My husband was encouraging me to go browse through our nearby Goodwill for books for our new DD and one day I did. I found the cutest little board book that has all these glittery, sensory pieces built into the illustrations. On the back I could see that there were three other similar books and I thought it would be cool to have the set so I went back to my trusty Amazon . What did I find??? Well, my $1 thrift store find listed for $42!!! Check it out now - Ladybug's Gift (Glitter Bugs).

Cash in on Holiday Weekend Sales

As holiday weekends approach, we get innundated with sales ads, commercials, and flyers. If you are intentional about what you're looking for and truly evaluate the deals, you can score some great finds. My big ones this week have been:

• Gymboree - $12.99 sale. Nothing in the store or online is more than $12.99. You can also stack this with a coupon, Gymbo Visa discount, and earn Gymbucks for a future visit.
• Hanna Andersson - $19 for girls dresses. Go through Ebates or Upromise for cash back too.
• PBS Store - $10 off a purchase of $49 or more or $20 off a purchase of $99 or more.
• ThredUP - 35% off + free shipping for new customers with code SAVE35 & earn Swagbucks

What are you looking to purchase right now? Check out the deals on this weekend. Don't buy the hype. Evaluate whether it is truly a great sale and jump on it if it is. Don't forget to stack the savings with coupons & cash back!

Cash Back Sites - Get Paid to Shop through Ebates

Another favorite trick for stacking savings is a cash back site. I have a few I use regularly. Different sites offer a different percentage of cash back and different methods for payment. Today is Ebates' birthday and they are offering 14% cash back at many major retailers. Now is the perfect time to give them a try.



One of my favorite things about Ebates is that they mail you a check periodically. A transfer to my Paypal account is still cash, but a physical check in hand just feels good.

Here is how cash back works. You go to the Ebates website and register. Find the retailer where you plan to shop and click on the link. Now, you will automatically get cash back for the purchase you make. It is truly that simple. It may be 2% or 5% or, today, a whopping 14%, but it's always a little extra off your purchase to add to your stacked savings.

You can also use a coupon or promo code at the site, purchase sale items, etc. I always check to see if a retailer is on a cash back site before making a purchase.

The Body Shop - Hot $10 for $20 Groupon

Groupon has the The Body Shop deal on again!! Pay $10 for $20 to spend at The Body Shop in store or online.

Want to save more??? Go through Big Crumbs for cash back. If you haven't already joined Big Crumbs, check it out. If you simply access your online retailer through Big Crumbs, you earn cash back. Different retailers offer different cash back incentives and Groupon is 5.6%!!

But wait...there's more!! If you also access The Body Shop through Big Crumbs, right now they are offering 10% cash back!!! If you use Big Crumbs for your Groupon and The Body Shop purchases, you earn $1.50 cash back total.

So, if you were headed out the door to The Body Shop and I said, "Here's a $1.50 off coupon," would you use it? Of course you would! This is how you stack up the savings.


Groupon: $10 for $20 Body Shop - On Location

Make Your Own 50% Off Sale

Here is another example of how I stack savings everyday. This example is with Dress Barn, but the store is irrelevant. It's the steps that are important.

I often buy business attire essentials at Dress Barn. Knowing this, I bought a discounted gift card for Dress Barn for 22% off the face value so I could have it handy when I needed to shop. For a $100 gift card, I paid $78. There are many reputable websites where you can do this. Plastic Jungle is one I often use.

Yesterday, I was ready to shop!

1. I looked for a coupon code. I use a coupon blog called www.ThriftyNWMom.com. www.Retailmenot.com and www.CouponCabin.com are also favorite places to look. I found a 30% off + free shipping code!!

2. I went to a cashback site. A couple of sites I use are BigCrumbs and Ebates.

3. I used my discount gift card.

Assuming I selected $100 worth of merchandise, here is how my savings stacked:

• $100 less 30% = $70 - this is what my receipt would look like
• Amount saved with the discount gift card 22% - $15.40
• Amount saved with 7% cash back - $4.90

Total savings - $50.30 - over 50%!!!

Now, if what I bought was on sale to start with, my total savings would have been higher. Regardless, I created my very own 50% off sale!!

The keys to this were some preplanning because I had a gift card ready (this is feasible with merchants you use regularly) and I looked for a discount code. Another key to savings is control. If I had been unable to find a coupon code, it would be better to wait and watch for one. Replace that instant gratification with the excitement of scoring huge deals! YOU are in control.

'Like' Facebook Deals? One for Old Navy Now!

More and more organizations are using Facebook to get their deals to you. Usually you just need to 'Like' them on Facebook and the deal becomes available to you. This is one source I check before a shopping trip when I'm looking for a coupon.

Here is one example: Old Navy is offering a coupon in their Reveal a Deal section for $15 off a $75 purchase. This one is in store only so you can't stack it with a cash back site, but if you're already buying on sale or clearance, the savings start to add up!

How to get cash back on what you buy

Cash back tip. A cash-back site is where you access an online retailer via another website and that website gives you a percentage of your purchase as cash-back. There are several I use and Big Crumbs is one of my preferred cash-back sites.... Here's how it works. If you want to buy something online, go to Big Crumbs and see if the retailer is listed with them. Then click the link to go to the retailer's website. Periodically Big Crumbs will deposit what you've collected in your Paypal account. Too easy. Here is the link:
http://www.bigcrumbs.com/crumbs/landing.do?r=telljosie&s=93891