Tag Archives: frugal

Shopping frugally with finesse

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I was asked recently if I was a tightwad. I tend to think a tightwad is a miserly person, holding onto their money with an iron fits. That’s not me – just ask my husband! I’ a very generous person, but also very frugal, and that’s why I LOVE Thredup. (I blogged about my first shopping experience earlier this year)

thredupThredup is an online children’s consignment site (they’ve recently added women’s clothing, as well). You can shop by size, item, brand and condition, and the selection is HUGE! On my first visit to the site, I had more than $300 worth of clothing in my cart. All the items were new with tag (new, never worn item) and so cute, but I had to do some serious editing.  There was no way I could convince my husband I needed to buy that much, even if I was saving a ton of money!

Their everyday prices are great, so when I got an email announcing their semi-annual sale, I had to see what was available. As providence would have it, my granddaughters have birthdays within a few weeks, so the hunt was on for gifts!

I found a LOT of nice things, so I had to edit my cart before checking out (that’s par for the course!), but the end result is some pretty great bargains.

For my granddaughter, who will be two in July, I ordered the following:thredup_2

Gymboree pink jumper (original price $36.95/Thredup price $11.99)
Kobe purple sweater (original price $28/Thredup price $4.99)
Gymboree denim skirt (original price $25/Thredup price $4.99)
Hartstrings cream-colored sweater (original price $64.95/Thredup price $4.99)

For my granddaughter, who will celebrate her FIRST birthday, I ordered the following:

Thredup_1

OshKosh B’gosh pink winter jacket (original price $60/Thredup price $11.49
Hello Kitty pink fleece jacket (original price $26/Thredup price $4.99)
Disney pullover hoodie (original price $32/Thredup price $4.99)
Carter’s polka-dot leggings (original price $12/Thredup price $3.49)

I purchased $284.90 worth of new kids clothing for a grand total of $51.92 for a savings of more than 80 percent! AND, the shipping was free because I spent more than $50. That beats thrift stores any day of the week! I also saved on fuel since all the shopping was done from the comfort of my couch.

If you’ve never shopped Thredup, use this link to get a $10 credit on your first purchase. In the interest of full disclosure, I receive a $10 credit on my future purchases for each referral, but I’d share the information regardless. I love shopping for the grandbabies, and even more when I can spend the same amount and get so much more! Now that’s shopping with *finesse!!

My shopping finesse level:
Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert

What’s your shopping finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)

Younger eyes

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I’m not trying to kid anyone, including myself. I look in the mirror and realize I’ve aged. Hey, I’m a grandmother – twice! However, it’s nice to have people act truly surprised to learn my age. I’ve even been asked what I do to look younger than my age, and that’s perhaps the best compliment.

I have used several different products over the years beginning in my mid-twenties. I once heard you should always choose products that are available in your grocery store, and have followed that advice for the most part. Occasionally I’d try specialty “serums”, but although they felt really good going on, I didn’t notice that they did a better job than my regular Oil of Olay moisturizer.

eyes

Image courtesy of Carlos Porto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I remember when I first began to notice pesky little lines around my eyes. I was in my early thirties and thought that was a little crazy. After all, I’d just gotten used to not fighting pimples. Shouldn’t there be a good decade between pimples and wrinkles? Apparently not.

I began to use more moisturizer around my eyes. At one point I ran out of moisturizer and panicked! The only moisturizer in the house was my Jergen’s hand lotion. I didn’t want to use that all over my face, but I did dab it around my eyes. I found it worked better than my regular face moisturizer, so I continued to use it around my eyes. I also learned that applying the moisturizer with my ring finger was best as it has the lightest touch. Who knew?

petrojellyI was quite happy with my routine until my cosmetologist friend mentioned petroleum jelly as a moisturizer. I did some online research and found some great information at JudyForeman.com.  Foreman, a nationally syndicated fitness, health, and medicine columnist interviewed several dermatologist regarding moisturizers. According to the article, no moisturizer penetrates the skin, but some do a better job of retaining moisture. “Substances like petroleum jelly and oils are quite effective. They are heavy, greasy and work precisely because they sit on top of the skin and preclude evaporation of water.”

I decided to give it a try around my eyes. To make it easier to work with, I spritzed some water on my eyes and then applied a thin layer. I like the results, but because it is heavy and greasy, I only use it at night and only around my eyes. It works AND it’s very inexpensive! Now, that’s fighting wrinkles with *finesse!

 

My wrinkle fighting *finesse level:  Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert

What’s your wrinkle fighting finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)

How I saved nearly $250

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I’ve wanted to purchase new bedding for our master bedroom for several years, but wasn’t quite sure what I wanted. Needing inspiration, I began purchasing accessories I loved and finally hit upon a direction about a year ago (see my pinterest board).

I envisioned a light blue comforter with pintucks. I thought I’d just plug “blue comforter pintucks” into Google and voila, a page would pop up showing exactly what I wanted. Not exactly…

beddingSome items came close, but no winners, until I saw a special advertised on BradsDeals.com. The bedding set at Kohl’s was almost exactly what I’d imagined, and it was on sale. Additionally, I could save 20 percent on top of that with the code offered.

I wanted to save even more, so I went to giftcardgranny.com to see if I could score a discounted Kohl’s gift card. Giftcardgranny shows all discounted gift cards (physical and electronic) available through various gift card resellers. I like using them because there’s a level of credibility if a reseller is listed on their site (I always check the web to see if there’s anything negative with a reseller before I purchase from them for the first time). I can also compare the discounts between multiple resellers.

I found an electronic Kohl’s gift card discounted by 10 percent. Its value was $143.21, which was about $25 shy of purchase price. I choose to get as close to the amount I need without going over so I use the entire amount of the card. I paid $128.88 for the card. It took 24 hours for the electronic gift card to land in my e-mail box, so I had to wait to place my order, but this was certainly faster than waiting for a physical card to be mailed.

Here’s the breakdown of my savings. The 16-piece comforter set, which includes comforter, bedskirt, 2 shams, 2 Euro shams, 2 fitted sheets, 2 flat sheets, 4 pillowcases, oblong decorative pillow & square decorative pillow, was listed at $399.99. It was on sale for $209.99 for a savings of $190. I had a code from Bradsdeals for 20 percent off, for a savings of $42, lowering the price to $167.99. I used the electronic gift card valued at $143.21, purchased at a 10 percent discount of $128.88. The balance between $167.99 and the gift card was $24.78, which went on my VISA card. The sale saved me $190, the 20 percent saved me $42 and the discounted gift card saved me $14.33 for a total savings of $246.33 or slightly more than 60 percent. Yep, that’s *finesse!

I can’t wait for the bedding to arrive and continue remaking our master bedroom into the soothing retreat I’ve always imagined.

Have you saved 60 percent or more? How did you do it?

My shopping *finesse level:  Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert

What’s your shopping finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)

ThredUP worth a look up

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I really enjoy shopping for my granddaughters. Kids’ clothes and toys are just so darn cute! However, since my funds are finite, I need to be wise and stretch my dollars as far as possible. I’ve written about my love of thrift store shopping, but kids are hard on their clothes and toys, so finding items in great shape can be difficult.

moneysavingmomI was reading through a post on moneysavingmom.com and learned of a children’s clothing consignment site called ThredUp. I was encouraged to check it out because first time buyers were offered $10 off their purchase. They don’t offer clothing smaller than 12 month size, so that left out my youngest granddaughter (she’s so petite – she probably won’t be in 12 month size until she’s 18 months old!). However, they offered a great selection of clothes in my older granddaughter’s size, which was great because nice clothes in her size are very difficult to find in thrift stores.

They had SO many really cute items at great savings, so before I knew it, my total was $300! Needless to say, I had to do some serious cart editing, but I settled on two very cute name brand dresses that were new with tags still attached. My total with shipping was just a little more than $7. Now that’s shopping with finesse!thredup

I had the dresses shipped directly to my granddaughter since she lives out of state. My daughter called when the box arrived and she was so pleased. She was already making plans for pictures of my granddaughter in one of the dresses. I’m definitely going to shop ThredUp again!

If you’ve found ways to purchase nice clothes for kids inexpensively, I’d love your feedback!

My inexpensive shopping *finesse level:  Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert

What’s your inexpensive shopping finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)

Patience rewarded

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corelle

From a practical point of view, Corelle ware is great – nearly unbreakable. It will outlast the popularity of its pattern by decades! The majority of the Woodland pattern set we purchased 34 years ago served through every meal and holiday dinner, endured two children and a million trips through the dishwasher. It was still in great shape, but over time, I came to hate the sight of the brown leaves that circled every plate, bowl and cup.

It was time (way past time according to my kids) to replace the dishes. I looked at purchasing china and fell in love with the White Palace pattern by Noritake. However, I was blown away by the price and couldn’t justify the expense. China’s not really practical for every day, anyway, right?

corelle_whtInstead I chose to replace the old Corelle with new Corelle (guess I’m not very adventurous). Knowing this stuff will probably survive any natural disaster, I opted for the Enhancements pattern, which is basic white with a little swirl detail. I figured basic white wouldn’t become dated over time.

I found a loving home for the old Corelle and happily began using the new Corelle. I was just fine using the new dishes day in and day out, but when special occasions rolled around, I still secretly wished for the Noritake White Palace china to grace my table.

allthetrimmingsI found contentment in my growing collection of Christmas china I found at thrift stores. I was hoping to find Noritake White Palace china, but in all my exploration, I didn’t find a single piece. Even on eBay the price for the china was more than I was willing to spend. It’s important to note that the husband would have no problem with me purchasing china, even at retail prices. I was the one who was unwilling to pay that amount for something we’d only use a few times a year. So, I sort of gave up on the idea except for the occasional eBay search.

A week after Christmas I was doing a little eBay shopping and decided to do another search for Noritake White Palace china. What the heck, right? To my surprise, a 53-piece set including nine five-piece place settings was available for about one third the price of retail! Some pieces were described as gently used, however some pieces were new with price tags attached.  Oh, happy day!

noritakeI watched the item for a few days. No one bid. I waited until the auction had about 12 hours left then placed my bid at the starting price. I wanted the china, but I already decided that I wouldn’t increase my bid if someone bid higher. I held my breath (figuratively) and when the auction was over, the china was mine!

It arrived within a week and it is beautiful! I’m glad I exercised a little patience and waited for a price that allows me to enjoy using it even more.  And that my friends, is *finesse!

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)

Sane savings

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I posted previously that we had cancelled our cable, so it’s kind of fun to click through the various cable channels while on vacation. While the husband was watching a football game that had become rather one-sided, I went into the bedroom to see what else was on television. I came across a show on TLC called Extreme Cheapskates.

I consider myself to be frugal so I watched – for a while. The subject of this episode was riding around on his bicycle stopping to pick up dropped coins. His grand total at the end of the day was a little more than $7 in change. He exchanged his “score” at the grocery store for two goat heads, which he fixed for dinner that evening.

As kids, we occasionally walked down to the parking lot of our very small town’s tavern on Saturday mornings and picked up the money that must have fallen out of the patron’s pockets as they fished for their car keys. My friend’s brother once found $20! As an adult, I believe my time has value so I was NOT on board with the idea of scrounging around all day for such a minimal amount of money. Furthermore, if I had found $7 I would be exchanging it for something better than two goat heads!

I was hoping this show would provide some innovative ideas for saving money; after all, it was on The Learning Channel. Unfortunately, it was just like every other reality show. It appears the more bizarre the person, the greater their chance of getting screen time.

Cable may provide more channels than the free channels provided through our HD converter box, but it doesn’t provide more interesting options. I am more convinced than ever that cutting cable was the right move.

Extending that manicure!

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For me, living with *finesse is enjoying the little extras as inexpensively as possible. One of the little pleasures I gift to myself is the occasional manicure and pedicure, and if I can enjoy them through the use of Groupon or Sharing Spree all the better. However, I deserve to splurge even if I don’t have a coupon.

What I don’t enjoy is when the manicure starts looking ragged, the color chipping, etc. Thankfully that’s a thing of the past with Shellac manicures, which have been on the market for about two years. I love that the color dries so quickly (no more messing up the manicure the minute you walk out the door) and lasts about two weeks. However, being the frugal gal that I am, I take action to extend that period out to three weeks or more.

First of all, I go with a French manicure so that grow out is less noticeable. Secondly, I apply Solar Oil to the nails daily. I purchased the very small bottle from my manicurist for about $3, which seemed insanely expensive, but it LASTS a long time and is well worth the money. Finally, when I can see the edge of the shellac above my cuticle or notice any “lift,” I gently file the edges or lift down and begin “sealing” the nail with a shiny top coat daily. If you can’t file down the lift, go to your manicurist and have the Shellac removed. You don’t want water getting between your nail and the Shellac and growing icky stuff!

You are advised to have the Shellac removed professionally. I have never had to do that as it peels off my nails easily, sometimes without me even noticing. My nails are very thin and pliable, so that may be the reason.

Let me know if these tips work for you, or how you’ve extended your manicure!

My thrifty finesse level: 
Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert    

What’s your thrifty finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)