How to: Save Money

In addition to my other posts, I'm going to add a "How To" section! There are an endless amount of things we can do under "how to." But today, we're going to start off by saving money! Who doesn't love that?!

Note: this will be a lot of text. Which means less pictures, so bear with me!

Like I've said before, I'm a shopaholic on a college budget! With wonderful (and greatly appreciated) help from my parents and grandma, I'm blessed with not having to worry about paying for school or housing by myself. I may not thank them enough, but everyday I am so grateful for them! I also work at BlueTique, (as I talk about in every post) so those pay checks are always helpful. But in addition to help from my family and work, I make some money on the side. It's easy and simple and it can work for any shopaholic!

What exactly do I do? I sell my clothes! Just like ebay and sites similar, there are a growing amount of Facebook sites where you can do just this! I mentioned a while ago one site just for selling Lilly Pulitzer called Re-Lilly.

Picture from website

Quote from last post:
       One day a wonderful and very smart woman named Sue Trader (a Lilly Lover) decided to make a facebook page where people can sell and trade their new, gently used, or worn Lilly's!!! What a great idea right?! I mean you can find NEW WITH TAG dresses for more than half off! I have sold over 30 dresses through this site and probably bought even more! This community of almost 9,000 people are some of the best out there! Everyone I have met and talked to have been so sweet, nice and caring! It's a great place to for buyers and sellers! Great rules, safe, and fun! Check it out if you haven't already! You can find it under my list of "Stores I LOVE!" on the left hand side or right here!

Well in addition to running this facebook site (free of charge by the way), Sue has also created another site called The Pink Closet Re-Cycled Fashions. This site is for selling any name brand clothing that isn't Lilly. It's even just as wonderful and great as Re-Lilly! I sell a lot of old clothes, shoes, and purses on here and get money just like that. A lot of people, myself included hate wearing the same thing twice (I'm trying to get better) so what better way to make some extra money. Either that piece of clothing will sit in my closet and never be touched again, or I can sell it and use the money for new things.

Picture from website

I'd like to take a moment in this post to thank Sue for all she has done. I know I can speak for thousands of people when I say how appreciative and grateful I am for her! Not only does she manage both of these sites for free, but she does it so graciously! She is always positive, nice, welcoming, and supportive of the whole community! Even starting this blog, she has been a wonderful supporter, and I can't begin thank her enough for everything she does! 

In addition to these two wonderful sites that Sue has created, there are places in the real world where you can sell clothes as well! There are a ton of consignment shops in the area as well as Plato's Closet! Both are great places to get fast cash, so check them out.

 These are all the ways I personally make money. Now let's talk a little about saving money

As I've mentioned before, I love saving money! Because saving money means having more to use! Online shopping is the best for saving money. With all the sites you can find online, there is bound to be a coupon out there! Even the smallest bit helps! One of my favorite sites that always has the best coupons are retialmenot.com.

My mom introduced me to this site a while ago and I never shop online without using it! Whenever someone has a coupon code, or there is one online, it gets posted here! All you do it type in the store name in the search box and all the cupons show up in one page! What's also really helpful is people rate how good they are. So if one code has 100% then it's really reliable and will work. On the flip side, if it has 10% then it's probably a fake code and wont be helpful.

Of course in addition to retail me not, you can always sign up through the store for the best deals and sales. I have a spam email account where I send all of these to. It's nice to read and to get, but they send emails out everyday and it can easily overflow any mailbox! If you don't have a spam email, I suggest you get one! They're wonderfully helpful whenever you don't really want to give your email away but are required to.

Also, a little tip for those in Lexington! One of my favorite stores, Francesca's, has a 10% off deal EVERYTIME you go to the store. All you have to do is show your student id! It basically saves you tax but it's better than nothing! I tried it at home in Chicago and they didn't offer the same deal, but it's worth a shot if you have a store nearby!

Other ways to cut back:
-Reusable water bottles & coffee cups (if you bring your own cup to starbucks you'll save 10¢!)
-Stop eating out!
-Always carry snacks to class (the vending machines will RIP YOU OFF!)
-Switch off carpooling (gas is $$$$$)
-Use natural light until it gets dark
-(I personally do this) Turn off heating/cooling, use fans and open windows for hot days and lots of blankets and snuggling for cold days!
-Always turn off and unplug electronics
-Eat food that spoils easily, right away! (learned that the hard way)

Are there any other ways you try and save money or make money that I forgot? Any good tips that I should know about? I'd love to hear!

always,

kRl