So I know it has been a while but it has been a bit hectic. I am 8 weeks and some change away from delivering my daughter and I also have the pleasure of dealing with gestational diabetes (makes me want to find that rude midwife I saw for my 24 week appointment that said I wasn't "high risk enough," to merit my husband coming home- throw it in her face and then punch her in said face). BUT as I was couponing away in Target today (gotta get my stockpile up before my c-section...because I will barely be able to walk, let alone go all over the store hunting deals), I realized I had totally space on this- so here are some routine non coupon (ok some of them may have coupons), money saving tips from me to you.
www.inboxdollars.com
This is one of those sites where you get paid for reading a bunch of junk emails, doing surveys, etc....But seriously- they no shit send you a check once you hit $30. I'm about to request my fourth check from them. And what is super awesome- they have coupons. And when you redeem coupons you print from their site- you get .10 for each coupons. With me- those dimes really add up. Most of us spend a ridiculous amount of time doing nothing on the internet anyway, might as well find a way to make some quick cash.
www.mypoints.com
This is another one of those "read our junk email and get paid," but that isn't where I get the bulk of my points from. I use it for the online shopping rewards. I spend a lot of money at Sephora. And with mypoints.com, I make 6 points per dollar spent at Sephora if I click through their website. Mother's Day flowers delivered? Yup I got points for that. Fruit baskets or gift baskets ordered online? Damn straight I got some points for that, too. I'm going to spend money there if I get the points or not, so I might as well get some points and use it for gift card out to dinner with my family.
www.groupon.com
I freaking love this site! I will go over it a bit more when I dive into the whole Christmas shopping year round thing in the next part. But I really do use this site all the time. We use it to try new restaurants with the $30 for $15 worth of food specials, I used it for our annual smog check, I used it to get my Burberry perfume and my philosophy miracle in a jar moisturizer for a fraction of what I normally pay. You want to save money on every day stuff? You want groupon.Livingsocial is ok, but not even close to the same league as groupon. You get lucky with Livingsocial sometimes but with groupon, you are rarely disappointed.
Victoria's Secret
Bet you weren't expecting to see Vickie's on here, were you? Their stuff is expensive, but my boobs and butt deserve it. Especially when I haven't personally paid for a pair of panties in YEARS. Why would I when Vickie's is constantly sending me coupons for free undies in the mail? Every couple of months, I get a free pair of panties and for the most part get my bras when their semi annual sale rolls around.
Panera
I just so happened to sign up for their rewards thing and now I get free stuff from them practically any time I go in the place. Pastry for my son, an iced coffee.....it's free and the food is good. Yes please!
Sephora
Now Sephora is known for "luxury cosmetics." Well I look at this way, I can either shell out what I need to keep skin healthy and pretty now...or I can shell out a helluva lot more in 15 years when I can't help but look like a leather shoe. Now I'm not saying that because something is expensive, it's better. I believe in using what works for you. When a new drugstore product comes out and there are coupons that allow me to get it for free- do I? Fuck yes! Do you know how helpful those little cleansing wipes are when you are exhausted and just want to go to sleep? There are quite a few drugstore skincare products I will use, which frees up my wallet to get the more expensive products that I need (like Philosophy's Hope In a Jar Moisturizer, or Boscia eye cream). With Sephora, you get free shipping if you spend at least $50, and if you are part of their rewards program- you get a deluxe sample when your beauty bank or points hits 100 and a super awesome gift if you wait and cash them in at 500. Plus with every order you get 3 free samples and there is usually a promo code floating around so you can get another sweet sample (I recently got a lip treatment from Fresh with my last order). The best way to try those more expensive products is to get a sample, see if you like and if you don't it was only a free sample. Plus I use their sales to get great stocking stuffers while building up my beauty bank and pocketing the samples (we will get to that later).
Free Credit Reports
This isn't so much a deal or steal, but it is a way to keep money in your pocket. With a good credit report, doors are just opened up for you. We (meaning me with my husband's blessing and power of attorney) just bought a car today, and the car dealerships were fighting over us trying to earn out business. Why? Because we both have great FICO scores, and we monitor that stuff.
Now everyone knows that legally, you are entitled to a free credit report every year. But there is a way that you can work it so you can basically keep tabs on your credit all throughout the year. When you fill out the information- you are asked to select your credit report from one of the credit bureaus. Sure you could look at all three at once. Or you could space it out- check out a report from each credit bureau every 4 months. This way you are able to keep tabs on your identity and your credit more often and safeguard something that can save you THOUSANDS.
There's probably more stuff I could list, but I have wacky pregnant brain. If something pops us again, I'll be sure to write about it. The next blog is saving money at Christmas!!!
