How to save Big!

OK Christmas season is upon us so it is time for blatant consumption of food, and for women this includes shoes and clothes.

I have been living off a single shoe string since I was twelve (actually much earlier than that.) So for me this recession is well, status quo. In fact I actually get to wear clothes without defects or not pre-owned for once in my life. Hurray!!! Bring it!

Here is how you save big.

(1) Whatever you want to buy, Google it. Say I want boots.
I Google "womens tall boots" and a list comes up.

You decide you want boots on sale for half off at RalphLauren.com, Macys.com, Shoes.com, Piperlime.com, Amazon.com, etc. You get the point.

Don't chose the site called cheapUggs.com from China. Chose reliable sites, duh!
And pay via Paypal funded by your Visa that has fraud protection in all 50 states, or just pay with your Visa or Mastercard. It's very simple (don't tell me how your friend got ripped off in China or Nigeria from a fraudulent site. Use common sense here. If it is too good to be true it is!)

(2) Next you Google the site plus the discount code (type into Google search engine tab: (Store + discount code) .

For example, I type in "Ralph Lauren + discount code"
I then pick from the 1st few listings (not the ads at the top) a site. I like RetailMeNot.com (some sites will then require you to type in the store on their search tab)

I already found the boots were 50% off on RalphLauren.com but now I find a code BZR29362 10% at Ralph Lauren. I then go to the site which if I'm lucky also has free shipping and get 60% off retail.

Next I then buy stuff using the same procedure above for Ann Taylor Loft. I get say 30-40% off plus an additional 20-30% off using a code. I wait until the stuff arrives.
Then when they mail it they send you coupons good for $25 per $50 spent. If I use them in the store I can double these up. So I return a few items I don't like or weren't on sale at the store where I don't pay return shipping.

(3) I then buy new stuff using my store credit along with their current sale for 40% off. (I couldn't find my receipt so I got a bit back on my returns even with 40% off.) More important, I used the coupons I got in the mail, after the 40% off so I got another $100 off.

(4) On top of that I opened a store card which gets you 15% off plus more coupons. All in all I paid around $100 for $430 retail.

(5) Next I go to Macys.com and make a purchase on sale items using their discount code. I have to make a return and realize the item I bought that wasn't on sale is now on sale. I ask for a credit of the difference in sale price since I had just received the item in the mail that day. Done! Then using my store card on their clearance I got another 20% off so $50 slacks were $24 and I walk out the door with them for around $10.99... not sure how they did their math but that's what happened!

If you shop at Banana Republic and Old Navy you should know that they have sales every Monday, along with most appliance web sites. Find the code on their site or in tip#1.
Keep stuff you like in your basket and watch the prices change from day to day until you get it on sale at the price you want, then follow the code tip and get an additional discount (I just got over 5 items for under $40.)

(6) I also thrift shop at Goodwill and Out of the Closet and at ebay.com
Nothing is too thrifty for me. I'd rather sit at home than get crushed in the crowds on Black Friday and now you don't have to either!

(7) Note: If you are shopping for bedding, kitchen gear or jewelry Ross is still my all time favorite. The key is to return something. Hold on to the return item until you have found what you want to buy. This puts you in the return line which is about an hour shorter than the regular line!

(8) My family would do this every weekend when I was a kid. You buy a paper the night before (now just look it up online) and find every garage sale you want to hit. Mark a route hitting every one preferably between 8-9am (if you are insane you hit them at 5-7am an upset the sellers.) This is still an insane method for shopping but is how I got all of my clothes as a kid. Of course if this is how you shop for your kids it is guaranteed to piss them off. Good luck!

(9) Check your local craigslist for virtural yard sales. For photo equipment, furniture and free junk the Craigslist Los Angeles is like no other.

(10) Find a good financial advisor and invest the difference. If you don't know one I can help.

Am I missing something? Let me know in the comments section below.

Happy shopping!