Thursday's picture perfect deal...

The picture...

We had a skunk momma move in this spring and she had a litter of 5 babies, they were all very well behaved and no one got sprayed by the momma all summer long.  She just recently decided they were grown up enough to send on their way so they have moved on, but while they were here I got some great pictures of the youngsters playing in the yard.  They are unable to spray until they are a little older so I was able to go out with them as long as mom was OK with it, which she was.  I kind of miss them, but now I can let the dog out with a little less worry.

The deal...

Younkers, Herberger's and Bon-Ton are all having their Summer clearance sale with 50% off or more through Monday July 18th.  If you are going to be shopping in the store be sure to print off your coupons for extra savings up to 20%, the link is in the orange box of the web page for your store.  If you prefer to shop on line just use coupon code HUGESUMRL11, its good at all three stores.

Happy Bastile day everyone!

C.Q.

Frugal fashon...

Want to update your wardrobe a bit for the new year without blowing your whole budget at once? There are a lot of sales going on now on winter clothes because now is the time that stores start making room for the Spring fashions.

Old Navy has a 60% off sale going on right now. I found a cute hoodie for $9.99, puffy coat for 29.99, and a cable-knit sweater for $9.99. If you are an Old Navy card holder you get an extra 10% off on Tuesdays, remember to use coupon code TUESDAYS when you shop on line with your card. Old Navy also does a deal on an item of the week, this week its button up shirts for $12.00, be sure to check it out, sometimes they have really great bargains.

J Crew is having a sale and offering an additional 20% off your total with coupon code EXTRA20, they are also offering free shipping for orders over $150.00. I was able to find a very nice pair of their Downtown trouser cords that would be great for work or going out; on sale for $49.99, with the extra 20% off they would be $39.99. The original price for these trousers was $79.99 so that a savings of 50%!

J.C. Penny currently has a ton of jeans on clearance, everything from casual to dressy. There is a pair of a.n.a. stacked pocket jeans for $17.99-$19.99, regularly $40.00-$48.00.

Newport News is running their New Years sales event with items up to 70% off. If you are a club member you get an additional 10% off your order and if you are a first time buyer at the site and sign up for the email updates you will get another 15% off your first order, that a HUGE savings! The red sweater that is on the splash page comes with the free ruffle scarf and is on sale for $29.00, it was originally $49.00, add in the additional savings for being a first time buyer of 15% and your cost would be $24.65. There is a one time additional fee of $25 to join the Newport News club, but if you order from them even a few times this will cover the cost to join. I was able to find quite a few additional different coupon codes for this site at dealslip.com.

Woman Within is having their winter sale with items up to a whopping 80% off. Plus, use coupon code WW40108 for an additional $21.00 off of a $60.00 purchase and if you sign up for their email news letter they will send you a coupon right away for free shipping. That's a lot of clothes for very little cash. I found a really nice fleece cape jacket by All American Comfort for $19.88 that was regularly $79.99, that 75% off.

For the guys JoS. A. Banks is having their men's sale right now with 60%-70% off sale items. They have a beautiful full length wool top coat for $158.00 that was regularly $395.00 and there is free shipping for all orders over $175.00.

Eddie Bauer has their 50% off sweater sale going on, I found a men's half zip sweater for $19.99, regularly $39.50-$44.50. I also found a coupon for 50% off a stainless steal water bottle with any purchase, regularly $18.50.

Hope everyone is settling into the new year nicely, have a wonderful week!

C.Q.

Its in the cards…..

I was going to post about Black Friday, but because Black Friday is as exciting to me as the Black Plague was in the middle ages I will post something that can maybe make those sales and the rest of the season a little bit sweeter.

I can’t begin to count the number of times I have been waiting in a check out line with my loyalty card in hand waiting my turn when I have heard the cashier say to the person in front of me “Are you a member of our rewards program? Its free to join if you would like.” and the customer says “no thank you“. Now I think to myself; why the heck wouldn’t you sign up? If you got a free candy bar of your choice with purchase, no strings attached you would take it, even if you didn’t want it for yourself you know someone you could give it to, so why would you not join a loyalty program that offers cash back or free merchandise? I have seen folks at Best Buy checking out with a large screen HD TV and DVR, spending thousands of dollars turn down the card and I just cringe, they assume its nothing big, but in fact they just told Best Buy “Thanks, but we are happy spending tons in your store and really don’t want $200 back in store cash.” Look at it this way folks, even if you never set foot in the store again its only a minute or two to give your name and address, so why not sign up, your spending the money in their store anyway, let them reward you for doing it. Here is a list of the companies I know of that have loyalty programs that are not attached to a credit card in the stores name, most of them are free to join unless I have stated otherwise. You may be surprised at just how many companies have loyalty programs, everything from your local coffee house punch card to your investment company, if you know of something that’s not on the list please post it in the comment section for everyone.

Here is a list of the Stores that offer programs, tomorrow I will list entertainment, dining, grocery and travel.

Nordstrom

JC Penny; This one is a little different and follows what you purchase on credit cards registered under the program, still very easy but you will need to use the cards you register to receive points.

Big Lots

Kmart

Shopko

Hallmark Gold Crown Card

Borders Books

DSW Shoes

Famous Footwear

Nine West

Finish Line

Best Buy

Sephora

Ultra (Program Varies by State)

Gymboree

American Eagle

Eddie Bauer

Tired of carrying around all the rewards cards? Guess what...there's an app for that! If you have an iTouch, iPhone, Blackberry or other smart phone you can download Card Star and it will store all your card info and it can be scanned at which ever store your in.

Hope this list get you thinking before you head out on Friday, I will get the rest of the list and more pointers out tomorrow for you.

Have a wonderful day!

C.Q.