Show & Tell Tuesday: Save or Splurge

It’s the first Show and Tell Tuesday of 2017 hosted by Andrea and we are talking about what do you save on and what do splurge on.. 

How do you decide what things are worth spending a little more on and what things do you save on? Ask Kent on any day of the week and he will tell you that I can work a coupon. 

As a general rule I don’t buy anything that’s not on sale, it’s just goes against my religion…figuratively, not literally.

Groceries:

I’m a huge sale shopper and stocker upper. Take groceries for instance. I keep my pantry very well stocked and do it by checking my Safeway app and watching for other sales and then stock up when things I know I’ll eventually use go on sale. Nothing makes me more crazy than deciding at the last minute I want to make something and not having all the things I need or paying $2 for a cake mix that was on sale last week for $.99.

You will always find in my pantry these things I’ve bought ON SALE:
~ cake mixes
~ frosting
~ pasta
~ canned goods

And did you know you can freeze:
 ~ powdered sugar
~ brown sugar
~ flour
~ sugar
and even potato/tortilla/pita chips?

Yes, you can freeze chips. My friend Michele’s mom let me in on this little secret many years ago.

Store brands vs. national brands. This one can be tricky and it’s really just trial and error, but there are definitely quite a few store brand items I use without hesitation. (like powdered sugar, regular sugar and brown sugar)

I think what you are willing to save and splurge on will vary with the different stages of your life.

I find myself being willing to spend more on things now that in the past I wouldn’t have bought.

shhh…don’t tell Kent?.

Fashion:

I’ve mentioned before how I used to never shop at Nordstrom and honestly before I started this blog I could count on one hand the things I had purchased from them, but reading other blogs and learning more about their store I came to see that they actually have things on sale all the time and with such wonderful customer service it’s an added bonus. I still try to only buy things that are on sale, but occasionally I do “splurge” and buy something not on sale.

Macy’s is another retailer where you can almost always score a bargain. Every single day is a “sale” day and then you can usually add a coupon on top of it. #score

I’ll “splurge” on a nice purse. I’d rather have one nice bag instead of 3 or 4 cheaper ones. (I’m too lazy to change them anyway)

Shoes are another area I’ll spend more on, especially since I have a narrow foot and it’s really a challenge to find shoes that fit well.

Home Decor:


I love to have a beautiful home (or at least it’s beautiful in my eyes) and I love to shop for pretty things to go in it.

Would I love to go in to Pottery Barn and pick up any thing that catches my eye a buy it? YES.
 Do I? NO?

But if you shop TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods, Ross & Target you will likely find items for your home that you love at a much more reasonable price point. I still love it when I find a great deal at PB and it makes me love those items even more, but it takes a lot of time and luck to score those.

Skin care:


You had to know I was going to talk about splurging on good skin care.
Ladies, we have one face and we need to take care of it. This is a fairly new revelation to me, but as I began to see time rearing it’s ugly head around my eyes and face in general I decided it was time to STOP IT.

That’s when I started using Rodan & Fields which also led to becoming a consultant.
I love the products and what they have done and are doing to and for my face and skin. While it may seem like a lot to pay, if you look at the number of products you are purchasing here and there, individually, and add them up I bet you’d be surprised at what you are spending.

The Rodan + Fields regimens are multi-med therapy which means each step builds on the next. You get the right components in the right order to bring about the desired results. Each regimen will last a minimum of 2-3 months so when you do the math it’s very affordable.

I’d love to help you get the best skin of your life.

www.lrichardson3.myrandf.com

Now for shopping in general. If you are a Target shopper here are a couple of tips.
Get the Cartwheel App. It provides additional savings throughout the store and often on things that are already on sale, so you can basically double or even triple stack your savings if you have to have a coupon for the item.You can look through it before you go in the store to see what’s on sale and “add” it to your list. You can also scan items you are purchasing as you are putting them in your cart to see if they are on Cartwheel that day. (I typically just get all my stuff and then scan everything at once before going to the register) Since beginning to use this app in August of 2013, I have saved $472.24
#workacoupon #itoldyouicould

If you aren’t already cruising the outer aisles and end caps when you are in Target looking for bargains, then give it a try. You can find some really good deals from time to time to add to your stock pile or the perfect thing you didn’t even know you needed…LOL

Last but not least…
Have you heard of SHOPKICK?

It’s another App. I had some younger friends who introduced me to it a couple of years ago.
You “open” the app when you walk into certain stores and then receive “kicks” (aka points). Once you accumulate enough points they can be redeemed for gift cards. You can also get points by scanning items in various stores. You should really check it out. I’ve already gotten a $25 gift card to TJ Maxx and I’m currently working towards a $250 Tory Burch gift card. That will make for an awesome SPLURGE!!!

I need 62,500 kicks and I currently have 25,239. It’s going to take a while, but I’ll get there. You can get kicks for inviting friends, so if you’re interested in trying it out please feel free to use my referral link and help me get there even faster.

https://app.shopkick.com/r/bbE6l

Okey dokey friends…get out there and start saving that money.

It’s like I tell Kent, “You’ve got to spend money, to save money”???
(I’m not sure he’s buying it?)

Lisa
XOXO