My Best Kept Secret- eShakti

Mes belles-

It is only because I love you that I am sharing this secret with you. I love this next retailer so much that I have actually LIED about shopping there, because the deals and dresses are SO FANTASTIC that I want to keep them all to myself. 

But that's selfish and wrong, so now I will share.

eShakti is amazing. They make clothes in sizes 0 - 36. Which, on its own, is commendable. However, they also CUSTOM MAKE clothes to your measurements, for only $7.50 added onto the garment's price. BUT WAIT. They also let you customize garment features, like changing hem length, adding or removing sleeves, different necklines, and removal of pockets and embellishments. 

Voila:

Just when you think it can't get any better....... they have sales. And coupons. OH THE DEALS!!! They have a special overstock section with discounted items, as well as contstant- and I mean CONSTANT- sales. I must get 3 emails a week with amazing discounts. To the point where (don't tell them!) I have even gotten things for free once I have a discount on top of a coupon code on top of a sale. Amazing.

Also, if you use the code ABBOND65QD at checkout on your first purchase (before 11/30/2013), you get $30 off!!!! 

Cheries, this is my best kept secret. I urge you to use it well.

NEVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR THESE THREE THINGS

I don't mean to yell, but I think it's very important for me to relay this message to you. There are some things that you should never pay full price for. Probably most things, to be honest. But here are some of the ones I have noticed... more suggestions are always appreciated!

1. Smelly Candles. The Good Kind of Smelly

I love Yankee Candle. Their scents are magical and delicious, to the point where once I licked a Vanilla Cupcake one because I was that convinced it would be tasty. (Spoiler alert- it wasn't. Tasted like wax. Also the sales associate thought I was completely insanse, and my friends will never let me live it down.)

 Anyway, I'm not saying not to shop there. I'm just saying that when you DO shop there, ALWAYS USE A COUPON. If you need another smelly de-light, always Google "yankee candle coupon." There is ALWAYS a coupon. I usually save at least $15 and/or get a free candle. If you need help finding one, let me know. It's that important.


2. Smelly Other Things, or Anything from Bath & Body Works

One time, I was really depressed and having low self esteem and hating my body. Probably one of my high school frenemies got engaged.  I was wine-drunk and crying, and as I calmed down, I sniffled, "At least I smell fabulous."

That, sadly, is a true story. Also true is that Bath & Body Works has a migraine-inducing array of fantastically-scented products that can pull you out of even the darkest depression. But they also have a lot of sales. So never ever pay full price. They frequently have sales where you can "Buy 3, Get 3 Free," which means getting six things that made you smell like apples for the price of 3. Genius.

There are also always coupons available via my life partner, Google. Just check, and you will see that hundreds of thrifty folks across the country are blogging and sharing coupon codes and printable coupons.


3. Crafty Supplies
I crochet. Well, sort of. I've made like 5 things. I like to think I'm crafty, even though most of my undertakings end in failure and regret. (I've tried it all, and failed at most things. Candle-making, jewelry-making, sewing, knitting, paper-making, etc). It's usually about as succesful as this...

The good news about my failed ventures is that
a) I saved money by giving my friends poorly-made things for holidays, and they were all too polite to tell me they looked like a 4th grader made them.
b) I always used coupons, so the supplies were cheap.

Near where I live are A.C. Moore and Michaels. I am on both of their email lists, and am a member of A.C. Moore's loyalty program, wherein I earn rewards dollars.

Michael's posts their weekly ad with coupons here. Of course, I also recommend searching around the internet to find any others.

Same deal for A.C. Moore

I welcome some suggestions of any other retailers that always have coupons and deals. Let me know if you've got any!!!!

Clicking for Cash

I can't tell you how many internet searches I have done on "how to make money on the internet." Probably a thousand. So far, 99% of everything seems to be some kind of a scam.

The one thing I have found that actually works is Inbox Dollars. I will preface this entire post by saying that I have probably made about $50 in the past two or three years. So we are not talking about big money here. The way to make millions on the internet still eludes me.

However, $50 bucks is $50 bucks.

Anyway. Inbox Dollars gives you a pittance of cash for opening emails from their advertisers. Basically, it will be an email that advertises magazine subscriptions or credit monitoring services or something. You open the email, and then scroll to the bottom where it says, "Confirm this Paid Email." And BAM, $0.02 is added to your total.

Plus, if you buy something from the advertisers, you get extra money in your account. For example, if you want to try Wen Haircare, you can earn an extra $15 by doing it through Inbox Dollars.

You can also complete surveys, do internet searches, play games, watch commercials, etc., and get little bits of money for that as well.

Then, once you get $50, they will either send you a check, or deposit the cash into your PayPal account.

I have tried other programs like this, but they were always more convoluted and much harder to actually get a payout. At one point, I was a member of like 15 of these sites, and Inbox Dollars is the only one that consistently works.

Give it a shot. I use my extra money to buy useless things on at Target.

Power Saving through Ebates

Mes amis-

Run, don't walk, and sign up at ebates.com.

If you EVER shop online, which I clearly do, this little tool can help you get bargains.

It's basically a portal site which lists a ton of online retailers. When you go to ebates.com, you see a list of all the places you can shop. When you click through to those sites, you get a certain percentage of cash back from ebates! Plus, they list any available coupon codes, sales, or deals.

They make money by referring people to retailers, and then they share their payoff with you. It's simple, quick, and easy.

I got 8.5% of my total purchase of shoes from Shoebuy.com. Plus, ebates provided me with a coupon code to save 10%. That means I ended up paying $67 for a purchase which should have been like $89 on shoes I was GOING to buy anyway. With just a few extra clicks, I have saved $$$, which I have clearly then just used to shop more :)

I get my cash back from them via a PayPal deposit, and since I always forget when it happens, it's always a fun surprise!

I find that the way I usually use ebates is that I find something I want. Then I check if the retailer is on ebates. If they are NOT, I search ebates to see if there is a retailer with them that has the merchandise I want.

For example, every year, I consider being a Ghostbuster for Halloween:

Plus Size Ghostbuster Costume from HalloweenCostumes.com, $54.99

Get it here.

However, the above retailer, HalloweenCostumes.com, is not a retailer affiliated with ebates. So, I search ebates' list of retailers with "costume" in their name... 

Voila- right on top is CostumeSuperCenter.com. 

Through them, the SAME Ghostbusters costume is $49.99. But when I click through ebates, I automatically get 10% back. So then it's technically $45.

Plus Size Ghostbuster Costume from CostumeSuperCenter.com, $49.99

Get it here.

(Except, don't actually buy it through that link. Sign up for ebates.com first, and then click through to get your savings!!)

 Plus, ebates gave me a coupon code to enter at checkout, which gives me another 10% off. So that's $40.01. Did I just save $10? Yes, I did. Just for clicking.