Macy's Super Saturday sale STARTS FRIDAY!

Tomorrow morning you can start shopping at Macy's online and in store - the discounts are going to be great, selection much better and the crowds not as bad compared to Saturday.  I was told that you can get additional 30% off of clearance + use your $20 off $50 (which is like 40% off) or 25% off coupons!  the best deals will be on spring and summer items (already under $10, plus the discounts I wrote about)... I can always find awesome deals during this sale! Not to mention that macys.com will have great Super Saturday deals (I remember buying Puma and Adidas 2 and 3 pcs clothing sets for my kids for $8 each, minus the coupon!) Brand name clothing doesn't get any cheaper than that! And if you don't have any coupons yet, buy them on E-Bay and ask the seller to e-mail you the code for online use... it is maybe too late to buy coupons for in-store use - but you can always ask your friends who may be getting them and aren't planning to use them this time...

Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino and other BIG NAMES for Walmart prices!

If you love Italian designers like I do, but don't want to pay $500-2000 for a pair of pants, here is a tip: go to Loehmann's!  Loehmann's is starting the END OF SEASON BLOWOUT SALE.  This clearance sale starts tomorrow - March 1st, and everything is going to be priced $1, $5, $15, $25, $50 and $125 for the most expensive item.  I love this sale because this is where I find the best deals on my Italian stuff.  Some of the great deals I found at Loehmann's were: D&G skirt for $8 (MSRP $325), Valentino skirt for $40 (MSRP $450), D&G jeans for $40 (MSRP $500), Vera Wang boots $50 (MSRP $450), Roberto Cavalli 100% silk super long skirt $100 (MSRP $1200)... Everything is priced $1-$125 on clearance, and if you get a Gold Member card - you will get an additional 10% discount on everything you buy within one calendar year.  The sale will last for a few days, but the first day when it opens up is the best... If you want even more discounts, then you can buy a discounted gift card to pay with :-), and if your birthday is in March - then you get additional birthday discount on 1 purchase that month :-) (you can always bring your friend whose birthday is in March with you).  Some other brands Loehmann's carries include: Juicy Couture, Theory, Tahari, Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Philosophy, DKNY and many others.
If you like this post - please share with others on Facebook, Blogger or any other site... thanks for reading and happy hunting :-)!

free Janie and Jack 20% off coupon

Did you ever wonder where people get these rare 20% off Janie and Jack coupons?  Most of the time there is a very low supply and high demand for Janie and Jack coupons  (I have seen 20% off Janie and Jack coupons sell as high as $65 on E-Bay before a major sale event like Friends and Family sale!).  But there are ways to get one almost for free and today is your lucky day - I will share with you how to find this rare Janie and Jack 20% off coupon.
I just got a 20% off coupon for Janie and Jack in the current issue of Parenting magazine in the mail today (the issue for March 2012).  The first time in years!  It expires March 31, so I will probably use it during the Friends and Family sale in the end of March which is additional 25% off of everything at the store... and if you combine this 20% off coupon with the 25% off promotion and clearance rack discounts (triple the deals), you can get Janie and Jack stuff at Walmart prices... If you would like to take advantage of this triple offer in the end of March - get your coupon now!  You can buy Parenting magazine for a few dollars at ToysRUs, or any other store, and it will be a lot cheaper than buying your coupon on E-Bay.  If you have kids and you are not subscribed to the Parenting magazine, I recommend doing so - they always send nice coupons.  And 12 monthly issues only cost $9 (soooo worth it if you count how many USEFUL coupons you get - almost every issue has 20% off  "Gymboree" and 20% off "Crazy 8" coupons for example).  But this is the first time in years I have seen them send out a Janie and Jack coupon.  JJ coupons are very hard to come by on any other given day and are normally handed out to you if you join a Gymboree Play and Music gym, or if you are randomly selected to receive a mailed coupon after shopping at JJ online... I know people who shop there a lot, but have never received a single coupon in their mail from Janie and Jack.  So here is your chance to save on that special outfit you always wanted for your child - buy this coupon online for only .99-1.50 (the price is super low right now because of the huge number of coupons available through Parenting magazine, I saw some 180 coupons being sold on E-bay right now compared to the usual 1-10 coupons at any given time http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=janie+and+jack+coupon)

How to Eat Out on a Budget

Sometimes having three kids is very stressful.  There are days when I feel that I do nothing but change diapers, wipe butts, clean and cook all day, just like many other moms of little kids probably do.  Thanks to my husband who gave me the idea, we eat out sometimes to lighten up my load.  I take my whole family to a nice Indian, Japanese or Chinese buffet in the area that costs only $10 per person, AND kids under 5 eat for free at the Indian place!  So when I go without my husband, I only pay $10 + tax and tip for 4 of us :-).  Our kids ALWAYS eat well at the buffets, and we are in and out fast because we don't have to wait for food to be served to us - we just go and get it ourselves as soon as we arrive.  I love buffets!  Here is the link to my favorite, one, I love it so much that I eat there at least once a week: http://favoriteindia.com/
And to make eating out even better - sometimes we get coupons on www.groupon.com or www.livingsocial.com for half off the meal price!

How to double and triple coupons / promotions

If you are lucky to have several coupons for 1 product and the store lets you use all of them on 1 item -great!  But not all stores let you use multiple coupons on the same item.  But there is a way around it:

1. Buy during promotion period when the price is lower
2. use a coupon during that promotion time
3. pay with a gift card you purchased online earlier (you can get gift cards anywhere from 5% to 30% off the face value depending on the card)

Example:

I buy Janie and Jack clothes for my kids sometimes that can be pricey if you don't do it smart.  So I always triple the promotion.  Here is what I did this year:

1. Came to Janie and Jack store on Black Friday as soon as they opened their doors (everything was additional 30% off including clearance items).
2. Used a coupon I purchased on E-Bay for additional 20% off
3. Used a gift card I purchased online for additional 20% off
4. Shopped only the clearance racks and found many fantastic items at Walmart prices.

So not only was I picking clothes that were already 60-80% off MSRP, but also tripled my savings by combining promotion with the coupon with my discounted gift card.  One of the outfits I got with MSRP of $159 (a $99 coat was $26.99 before savings and a $59 dress was $18.99 before savings) ended up being only $20.60 before taxes (formula: (26.99+18.99)*.7*.8*.8=20.60) Se the picture attached :-)

SO THE FORMULA FOR THE BEST DEALS AT ANY STORE IS : COUPON+PROMOTION+GIFT CARD PAYMENT

How to buy cheap discounted gift cards

One of my favorite sites to buy discounted gift cards or "store merchandise credit" is Gift Card Granny.  You can find ANY store gift cards on there and see which sites sell better deals by sorting by DISCOUNT %%% For example, here is a link to Nordstrom's gift cards that are currently picked up by the Gift Card Granny: http://www.giftcardgranny.com/store/nordstrom-gift-cards/
You should keep in mind that you can only use the "store merchandise credit" cards IN STORE (NOT ONLINE), while the gift cards can be used both ways - in store AND online.

2.5% Car Loan Financing

My hubby got me a dream car a week or so ago – a minivan to comfortably fit all of our 3 kids in.  We debated whether we should pay cash or take a loan out to buy the car. To our surprise, because we have a pretty good credit history, we found a loan at only 2.5% financing.  My husband found this deal ONLINE – with a military credit union based in Washington (we live in California).  Credit unions are known for giving better car, home, or other purchases loan rates than banks do, but don’t limit yourself to the credit unions around your area – check out your options online! We would have never found such deal in our area, and this credit union that provided the loan doesn’t have any branches in our state.  We only had one hiccup with this financing – the first place we found didn’t give us the best rate because my husband has been using only 1 credit card for years (forget the fact that he has been paying it on time all the time, just like he pays all his other bills on time).  Spend some time and look around – if you don’t qualify for the best rate at the first place you looked at because you only carry 1 credit card or some other stupid reason they may give you that doesn’t effectively evaluate your credit worthiness – call another financial institution that offers a great rate online and explain your situation.  Different financial institutions evaluate your creditworthiness differently, and if some of them have flawed models – others don’t and will give you the best rate you qualify for. 

Cheap Valentine's Day Roses / Flowers

There is no such thing! I told my husband a long time ago to not buy me flowers the week leading to the Valentine's Day because they are a lot more expensive this time of the year.  I like to save money, so I prefer receiving my Valentine's day flowers a few days after the 14th - when the prices are normal again.  For example, I love roses from Costco: they stay fresh, firm and alive for up to two (2) weeks!  The buds even open up unlike the roses we used to get elsewhere.  Two dozen roses bouquet normally costs about $16 at Costco.  Right before the Valentine's day Costco only offers you one dozen for that same price.  See what they are doing? The price hasn't changed, but they only give you half of the roses they normally sell for this price, so effectively these Valentine's roses are double the price!

FREE gift for promoting this blog!

I am determined to share the secrets of saving money and finding great deals with others and offer a drawing for those who help me to promote this blog.  Each time you post a comment online about this blog will give you 1 point entry into a drawing.  Please let me know in the comments to this post how many times you wrote about this blog online (for example, if you shared a link once on your facebook wall, blogged about it,  and made a twit - you will get 3 points).  The winner can choose one of the following: 20% off Macy's coupon (good for 1 online purchase AND an entire day at the store exp. April 20) OR a GORGEOUS CURLY OSTRICH FEATHER hair bow - black and white zebra or pink with chocolate and polka dots colored bow (retails for $20 on Etsy.com) SHIPPED TO YOU FOR FREE! You can make as many posts in your blogs, Facebook page or Twiter as you like, as long as they are all made by the deadline of March 31st, each post = 1 point.  Please let me know how many points you have in your comments below this post. The drawing will take place on the 1st of April and the winner will pick a free gift from the options above. Thank you all in advance!

How to save big $$$ and combine coupons / promotions at Macy’s

1. Buy coupons on E-Bay if you don’t receive any in the mail (only Macy’s cardholders get them in the mail)
2. Shop clearance racks for additional 40-50% off the clearance price during the One Day Sale
3. Use a $10 off of purchase of $30 coupon (additional 30% off); or $20 off a purchase of $50 coupon (additional 40% off), and spread out your transactions into $30 or $50 amounts to use those coupons in the most advantageous ways
4. If you cannot find enough $10 and $20 coupons, use the 20% off coupon during the One Day Sale - have the coupons ready in advance – sometimes it takes a long time for them to arrive if you purchase the coupons on E-Bay.
5. Use a Macy’s gift card to pay – you can usually buy it on E-Bay or another online gift card seller, normally for at least 10%-20% off the value on the card.
THE OUTCOME
Best case scenario example (assume 50% additional off clearance items, $20 off $50 coupon, and a gift card purchased at 20% off):
Polo Ralph Lauren shirt from clearance rack with MSRP price of $39.95 and a clearance tag of 9.97 can be purchased for the total of: 9.97*.5*.6*.8= $2.39 before tax
Worst case secenario (only 40% off additional discount on clearance items, only 20% off coupon, and paying with anything but the discounted gift card):
9.97*.6*.8 =$4.79 before tax

The worst case scenario gives you exactly double the price of the best case scenario, but still, paying $4.79 for a Polo shirt is an awesome deal and it is better than I have ever seen at any other store. Please note: you will get these prices only if you follow the outline above, and ONLY if you shop at the store (not online).

When to shop at Macy's for the best deals - ONE DAY SALE

I mostly shop during the One Day Sale at Macy’s. This is when the store clears out the old inventory and you can get the best deals that month. For example, I mostly shop clearance racks for name brand stuff that have additional 40% or 50% off on all clearance merchandize ending with .97 or sometimes .99 that day (example: clearance red tag price of $9.97 or $14.99). Last month I got 5 Polo Ralph Lauren polos for my kids for only $23 after tax. (Retail value of those polos combined was $200 + tax). There is no regular set date – the “One Day Sale” changes every month, but if you call the store or ask an associate – they will be able to tell you when the next One Day Sale is. The “One Day Sale” is actually a two-day sale because there is always a preview day and the same discounts apply. So if you want to find the best and the cheapest stuff – always go during the “preview” day and try to beat the crowd (I normally go in the morning as soon as the store opens up and have a list of what I need ready to avoid wasting time on wondering around). During these two days the store opens earlier, maybe 9 am rather than the usual 10 am. And there is ALWAYS a line before the store even opens that day. By lunch time of the first day of sale (the preview day) everything is already pretty picked over and the best stuff are gone. So try to be the first one at the door if you can, know where the stuff you want are located (better yet, set them aside from a day earlier before the sale started if you know you cannot be the first one at the door when the sale begins), and know what you want, otherwise the best deals will be gone while you are deciding.

Why Macy’s???

After reading my previous post you were probably wondering if I am really a frugal, deal-finding shopper I claim to be since I spent $5000 at Macy’s before Christmas… I do love shopping and finding great deals, but 90% of the time I am shopping for my friends and relatives from Russia with their money. And because they always need different stuff, I get to go to different kinds of stores and find new tricks every time I go to a new store. Macy’s just happens to be one of my favorite stores because it has a huge selection of everything you can think of: women’s clothes, men clothes, Children’s clothes, cosmetics, fragrances, jewelry, home decor stuff and even furniture! I can combine promotion and coupons on name brand stuff (Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, etc.) and do all of my shopping at one place rather than driving to many different stores.

Just got a free gift card from Macy’s for $500 in the mail today! Woo-Hoo!

You probably wonder how I did it? Well, Macy’s is one of my favorite stores to shop at and one of the cheapest stores around if you know how to double and triple promotions AND shop on specific days (cheaper than Walmart, Ross, Marshall's, you name it!)… so here is where my $500 gift card comes from:
Like many other stores, Macy’s offered 10% return on all qualified purchases made starting some time in September till December 31st (Christmas shopping season). So this gift card is actually like a rebate, except I didn't have to fill out any lengthy paperwork to get my money back (if you know what I mean) - Macy's kept track of all my purchases and then automatically issued the gift card. Not only was I buying stuff for 80-90% off there the whole time, but I am also getting the extra 10% of my purchases back. So with Macy’s, I get stuff almost for free. There is a catch though – because I love Macy’s so much, I have their store credit card, which only works at Macy’s and nowhere else, and as their card holder, I constantly get coupons and special promotions before anybody else (before the people who don’t have the card). I make sure I pay off the full balance on my card each month and never had to pay a penny in interest. I love this promotion around Christmas time because it's a lot better than similar promotions from other retailers.

Welcome to my blog! I can't wait to share some great ideas about shopping smart and getting the best deals. I gained most of my experience by shopping for my big family and by shopping for others. I live in California, and I am sort of a shopping agent for my family and friends who live in Russia. I buy about $2,000-$3,000 worth of stuff every month for my friends and family from Russia (some of it for resale purposes and some for personal use), most of the time I get stuff at 85-95% off retail price, and even after my family / friends pay $5 per pound to ship the goods to Russia - they still resell everything with a great profit. I will post many great finds, printable coupons, coupon codes, deal news and updates here. Please message me or leave your comments if you also have great ideas to share with others or have found the information in this blog useful. Thank you for stopping by!