Category: Uncategorized

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post I love going to the after the season/ after holiday sales. This is what I got today:

Gymboree: Spent only $23 dollars and got a pair of navy blue corduroy overalls size 18-24 mo, A long sleeve 1 piece romper size 12-18 mo, a pair of camo shorts size 12-18 mo, and since the prices were so good I picked up a pair of sparkly seashell sunglass, a cute sun bonnet with strawberries and other fruits on it and matching sock for my neice (in bigger sizes so it fits her for the summer). Yes all of that for $23. My baby is in 6-9 mo clothes now but was shopping to supply for the near future.

Bath and Body Works: Love bath and body works semi-annual sale after christmas. Got me 2 of the lotion antibac hand soaps, a new loofah, and 2 room sprays for $15. If you have never tried the bath and body works room sprays go stock up on them now. They are normally $5 a peice but they have them 50% off. The bottles look small but they last a long time. It sprays a controled spritz and the one spritz is enough to scent the whole room. It’s great to keep in the bathroom. I got a stress relieving Eucalyptus and spearmint which smells amazing and a Fireside which also has a nice winter scent to it.

On my quest for finding a way to make extra money since I cut down to part-time, I came across a listing for ChaCha in a work at home listing. I checked out the website and read up on it. I did searches to find out what the people that work for ChaCha thought. And….What the heck is ChaCha?

ChaCha is a free service to answer your questions. You can text 242242 (which spells out ChaCha) or call 1-800-2ChaCha

You can ask ChaCha anything from: Does Joey like me? How many miles are there between Ontario Canada and Miami,FL? What does the word opulent mean? Who won the Steelers game? Whats the weather supposed to be like tomorrow? Can I have a good Pick up line?

Well you get the idea. Anyway, I tried to apply but at the time they were not hiring. I checked the site several times a month until finally I saw they were hiring. For work at home positions they hire what they call “guides”. ChaCha questions are answered by real people or “guides”. They have different guide positions. I finally applied and got accepted as a ChaCha guide. You can do it on your own time as much or as little as you want.

If you do searches for ChaCha you’ll find credible information sources. ChaCha has been featured on the Ellen show. In my search I found an article that ABC had done. Yes there are some unhappy guides out there but no matter where you look for a job you’ll find a few unhappy employees.

So far I like ChaCha. Give it a try. Maybe I’ll help answer your question.

Some people may call me cheap. One of my friends call me a “frugalista”. Either way, I know how to save money. One of my favorite things to do is go to the after christmas sales. When my sibilings ask me “what do you want for christmas?” One think I tell them is a bath and body works gift card. Bath and body works has a semi-annual sale usually the last few days of december or very beginning of January. Keep your eyes opened for this sale. If I get even $20 in bath and body gift cards I get a ton of stuff. Christmas scents, gift sets, stocking stuffers etc are usually drastically reduced. Anywhere from 20% to as much as 60% off. I once got a set with a Lemon chiffon body scrub, lotion and body wash for $10 (originally $45). I stock up on the body washes too. The sales make them usually around $2 each which is cheaper than what I’d pay for a body wash even at walmart.

Another great after christmas shopping place is Victoria’s Secret. About the same time that Bath and body works does their sale, Victoria’s secret does their semi-annual sale. After christmas they also have their stocking stuffers, christmas scents etc drastically reduced. They also have the sale bins of bras starting at $9.99 and panties starting at $1.99. I wait for this sale all year to stock up on my under garments. I love their Heavenly perfume and last year got a bottle of it for $2.99 at this sale.

Walmart has a great sale on their gift sets directly after christmas. They mark their gift sets 50-60% off at this time. This is great for those christmas visits after the actual holiday or a good time to use those walmart gift cards you got for christmas. I also stock up on my christmas decorations for the next year at this sale. I buy lights, christmas serving items and whatever else I might find of interest for next year and save 50%. While everyone else may have paid $5 for a set of lights you’ll pay $2.50 or less. And gift wrap buy a few rolls and put it away for next year. That really nice gift wrap you saw that you turned down because you thought “why spend the money they’re just going to rip it off and throw it away”. Yea you can get that one at half the price and use it next year.

Craft stores like Michaels are great too. Go after christmas and get your christmas crafting wants and needs to put away for next year. You’ll get much cheaper that you would have before christmas and you’ll have it so when, say, september comes around you can get a head start on your hand made christmas decorations, handmade gifts, or craft show items and you won’t be so rushed.

http://www.robeez.com/ and www.twittermoms.com is having another great blogging contest. Robeez will donate a pair of soft sole shoes to K.I.D.S. with every soft sole purchased through December 23rd: http://www.robeez.com/EN-US/seasonofgiving.htm

K.I.D.S brings hope and self-esteem to children in need and their families by providing new clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books and juvenile products donated by leading manufacturers and retailers. The donations move through their network of community social service agencies in the U.S. and abroad to reach children who are ill, living in poverty, or are the victims of natural disasters.

Prizes:
· The first 50 bloggers to post on this topic will get a free pair of Robeez Soft Soles (sized for 0-2 years old).

· 10 randomly selected bloggers will receive a $50 stride rite gift card to use at any Stride Rite store and a pair of Robeez Soft Soles

· The grand prize, to the winner with the best post, gets the entire Robeez Soft Sole spring collection in their gender of choice. The styles (about 15-20 of them) range in age between 0-2 years.

What a great way to get your kids a nice stocking stuffer or shoes to go with their holiday outfit. There are so many cute styles. Check out my favorite pair for my son: http://www.robeez.com/Robeez-Soft-Soles-Chubby-Car-espresso-Robeez-baby-shoes/product.aspx?ProductID=953&deptid=342&PriceCat=2&Lang=EN-US

How am i giving back this holiday season? Anyway I can. I don’t have much money this year and my budget is uncomfortably tight but that doesn’t mean i can’t help. My kids’ school is doing a “food drive war”. I sent in shelf stable items with both of them. I try to donate to the salvation army collectors when I see them. I donated gift wrap and tape to our school so they had it for the kids shopping workshop. I usually do toys for tots every year as well.

Do you want to participate in the blogging contest too? I’d love to hear about what you’re doing this year. Go to this page: http://www.twittermoms.com/forum/topics/tell-us-how-you-plan-to-give?commentId=2291408%3AComment%3A1254726

I have shopped at Gamestop for many years. Don’t have many problems and anything that i did have was minor and they fixed it immediately. I just wanted to share this story because…well…tis the season.

My christmas budget is very tight this year. My 2 oldest boys each wanted a nintendo ds. I was bound and determined to get those for them. I looked for the best prices both online and in store for a little over a month. I was hoping for black friday deals but no such luck. As I was skimming the gamestop website i noticed the pre-owned ds lites that were $40 less than the price of a new one. On the website it stated “guaranteed to work” but it also said colors may vary.

I decided to go up to my local gamestop and check them out. This way i could choose the color. Let’s face it, my boys wouldn’t not be as excited if they ended up with a pink ds. I really debated, should I get a pre-owned or sacrifice and get the new one. I mulled it over and decided to give the pre-owned a shot. (my checking account would thank me and my boys are young so i didn’t think it would be a big deal). I got a black one and a white one since that was the only “boy” colors they had. I also paid $10 on each of them for a warranty that lasted for a year. They would fix or replace it if anything went wrong.

I got them home and my husband and I checked them out. When I opened the box I thought I would cry. The black one had sticker residue and scotch tape on it. We took it out and turned it on. It turned on just fine. While I was annoyed that they wouldn’t even clean their pre-owned merchandise I tried to brush it off and said “that’s ok i can clean it up no big deal”. Then I get to the white one. This one is filthier than the black one. There was dirty finger print smudges all over the outside, When i opened it up there was this nasty orange gritty residue all around the monitor. It made me think of someone playing it with cheeto fingers.

Then we went to turn it on and the screen just flashed. I was furious by now. Not just because of the physical appearance but now it didn’t work. My husband said “maybe it just needs charged” I said “oh yea you’re right, that’s what it is” So we plugged it in for about 20 minutes while we wrapped some other presents. We came back to it…the screen still only flashed and it would not turn on.

I packed them back in the box and told my husband “That’s it I”m taking these peices of junk back to Gamestop tomorrow and tell them exactly what i think of their pre-owned ds’s.” The next day I took the ds’s back,as I said, reciept and warranties in hand. I fully expected a fight to take them back since they were pre-owned. I intended to get my money back for everything and go buy them new somewhere else. I got to the register and as calmly as possible said to the cashier. “I just bought these pre-owned ds’s here yesterday. The white one won’t turn on at all and i am not happy with the condition of either one of them. By this point I was so mad I was actually hoping for a fight.

The girl was very nice and professional. Gave me no trouble about taking back the ds’s and even credited the warranties. She asked what I would like to do. I had to think for a minute. I didn’t expect the calm and friendly demeanor of the sales clerk. I looked at her for a minute and said 2 new nintendo ds lites and then I’ll pay the differnce. AND they had the blue ones which is the ones my boys wanted in the first place.

While I hope that Gamestop will take better care in their pre-owned merchandise that they are selling to customers I am happy with the service and will continue to be a repeat customer.