Shopping Tips

Hey ladies,

Who doesn’t love a spa treatment or a shopping spree? These little luxuries can brighten anyone’s day, but what it shouldn’t do is break the bank. There are times when you can splurge, but there are always cost effective ways of indulging in these little luxuries.

So how can we indulge but still save? I’m glad you asked! Here are my tips on affordable little luxuries

1. Deal-a-Day Sites – sites like Groupon, Amazon Local Deals, Lifebooker, and Living Social are great for deals for restaurants, spa treatments, beauty services-manicures, pedicures, waxing, hair salons, sales at your favorite stores, health and wellness classes, and even the movies! Sign-up and receive deals for your area daily

2. Invitation-Only Discount Designer Websites– sites like Gilt Group, Ideeli, Rue Lala, and Haute Look always have great deals for your favorite brands. You can purchase items up to 80% off on some sites. For an invitation to any of the sites click here.

3. Daily Subscriptions to Newsletters– I receive a number of newsletters to my inbox throughout the entire day. The newsletter feature special deals, sales, and exclusive previews as well. Sign up for your favorite stores only. It gets pretty annoying and your inbox looks more like junk mail.

4. Sample Sales– sites like Daily Candy and The Cut are great for keeping up with the latest designer sample sales. Sample sales are awesome because you get great pieces for great prices.

5. Off Season Shopping– the best time to shop for the summer is when it is coming to an end. Off-season shopping is often overlooked. Fashion is always a season ahead and we should be also. You can shop in season for trendy pieces, but definitely shop off-season for classics, or trends that carry over.

These are my tips! What are your tips on affordable little luxuries?

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Fifth Third Bank via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Fifth Third Bank.

It is around this time (The middle of January) that our favorite boutiques, retail chains and department stores begin to roll out the Fall/Winter items to make way for the Spring collections. This is one of the best times to shop. There will be unbelievable deals and this is the best time to stock up on basics for Fall/Winter of 2011 or for the rest of this season. Here are a few tips:

Get on your favorite store(s) mailing list. My phone is constantly going off with emails from some of my favorite places to shop giving me the scoop on the latest mark downs or new arrivals. Some stores even send text messages with exclusive deals. You do not want to miss the two-day clearance event
Check out the outlet stores. Some places have already began sending their merchandise to the outlets like Woodbury Commons and Tanger Outlets
Check your local newspapers. Local newspapers are great ways to find out when department stores like Macy’s and JC Penney have markdowns. They will also have coupons for extra savings.
Visit your favorite stores frequently because the prices will continue to drop through the weeks. So if you see something on the 50% sale rack, wait a few days or a week (while praying your items are still there) and maybe the same item that you have been scouting will be on the 75% off rack.
This is also one of the best times to visit vintage shops, thrift stores, and the salvation army. They too have sales and do have cut-off points as to wear certain types of clothing will be sold. It is very rare that you will find a fur vest/coat in May so check out your favorite vintage shops as well for price cuts.