Category Archives: Frugal Inspiration

How I Got My David’s Bridal Bridesmaid Dress for $12.50 aka How to Get a David’s Bridal Bridesmaid Dress for Less Than Half the Price

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on June 14, 2014 4 comments

As I have previously mentioned, my sister is getting married this summer. She found a beautiful and very affordable wedding dress at David’s Bridal. I then found a floor length bridesmaid dress for almost the same price but unfortunately they couldn’t order it in time in the light purple color you see above. Bummer! But she is having a small wedding and I am the only bridesmaid so we didn’t have the problem of needing to find several matching dresses.

We decided to look at some department stores or even Ross and T.J. Maxx but we got distracted by a new little resale shop in the same shopping plaza and decided to check it out first. It turned out to be a high end resale store and what did my sister pull off the shelf but a David’s Bridal Bridesmaid dress in the exact color and length we had tried to order for $25 AND the lady informed us that it had been in the store for several months so it was half off for ONLY $12.50! I tried it on and it fit! I don’t even need to get it altered! I just saved over $100!!!!!! I can’t believe it!

But an even crazier part of the story is that my sister is a bridesmaid in her friend’s wedding later this summer and just bought the exact same dress in a different color from David’s Bridal for $150. We started thinking about this and realized that you can buy David’s Bridal Bridesmaid dresses on eBay for around $25!!!!!!!! I wish we had known this sooner but now that we know we will be saving a lot of $$$$$$$ by never having to buy Bridesmaid dresses at the store! I am passing this HUGE savings secret on to you and all of my girlfriends!

CVS Thanksgiving / Black Friday Sale! Spent- $20.12 and Saved- $114.43

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on November 24, 2013 None comments

My haul from the CVS Thanksgiving sale last night! Probably my favorite shopping trip of the year! This is my Black Friday shopping. Here is the breakdown-

Spent- $20.12

Saved- $114.43

Number of CVS cards- 2

Number of Transactions- 12

ECBs (CVS store dollars) Left Over- $5

This sounds like a lot until you know that we were the only ones in the store and they allowed my sister and I to use our boyfriend’s cards to do more deals. They had tons of stuff so we weren’t clearing any shelves. I had $8 ECBs left on one card so I used it to pick up some mostly free groceries or I would have had $13 ECBs left. There are close ups of my haul below below.

AND this required very, very few coupons. We only used about 2 newspaper coupons and 2 CVS printer coupons per transaction so most of these deals don’t require coupons!

If you want to see these deal match ups you can view the CVS Ad at CVS.com here or the coupon match ups at SouthernSavers.com here.

Here is one additional deal I didn’t see elsewhere-

CVS Multi-pack Toothbrushes $2.99
– Use $1 off CVS Toothbrushes coupon from the CVS coupon printer
– Receive $2 ECBs
Price after coupon and ECBs- FREE!

My $1.50 Coffee Pot

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on November 14, 2013 1 comments

We were very sad when our Black & Decker coffee pot died. Enough has been said about saving money on coffee by brewing it at home but we do make our own coffee every day. I do love waking up to a hot cup of coffee. After the death of our coffee pot, we made coffee every day in our french press (given to us by my aunt because she had an extra one) for about two weeks. This, in my opinion, took longer and used more electricity. I decided that I didn’t want to go to the store to buy a new one. I was determined to buy one second hand. Not because I couldn’t afford a new one, but because of the principle of knowing I have seen a million coffee pots at thrift shops in my lifetime. Lo and behold, I found one at one of our favorite thrift shops for $1.50! And it’s a Black & Decker (brands mean nothing to me unless it’s to brag about how cheaply I purchased an expensive item). And it’s actually nicer than our old coffee pot.

This only encourages me to purchase more items second hand. It saves money, helps the environment, and helps the non-profit running the thrift shop.

Free Replacement Otter Box Phone Case

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on November 14, 2013 None comments

I have a great phone, a Galaxy SIII, that was a gift for my birthday from B last year. I decided on this phone because it helps me to run this website and also my online business. Knowing that I’m a slightly clumsy person my brother added on to this gift and bought me a very expensive (but cheaper than a new phone or warranty) Otter Box case for it. I LOVE, LOVE that case because I didn’t buy the warranty that came with my phone and I am sure that the case has saved my phone over and over, aka when I dropped it in the parking lot, splashed it with water in the restaurant dish pit, etc. Unfortunately the silicone outside cover has expanded over time and no longer fits well and it has also started to wear out in a few places.

Today at work, I ran into a lady who sells phones for a living and I happened to mention that I wanted to use the warranty to replace my case but had lost my receipt. She informed me that the phone store I bought it at would be able to print a copy, so I stopped on my way home and they did. When I got home I called Otter Box and gave them some serial numbers off of the case and they sent me an e-mail with a link to upload some photos (including the one above but with my name on it) and apparently they are sending me a new case. Yay! I didn’t even need the receipt!

I will post an update when the phone case arrives but that was great customer service, it has saved my phone and now I get a replacement for free? Definitely worth the price my brother paid for it!

*I am not an affiliate of Otter Box nor have I received any compensation for writing this article

Free Notebook Paper

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on November 11, 2013 None comments

I started my Master’s degree and teaching earlier this year and I haven’t had to buy almost any school supplies. I had saved my old binders and folders from my undergraduate years and B’s mom gave me the ultimate faculty accessory- a rolling bag! We did end up buying a few notebooks and blank printer paper.

I realized that with finals week approaching, I needed some college ruled line paper to my mother and she happily gave us 4 packs that had been sitting in a cabinet for years. She also scooped up some graph paper and an old clip board. Little did she know that I had been wanting a clip board for teaching.

It never hurts to tell people when you are looking for things because you never know who might want to get rid of them!

Pür Minerals B1G1 Free This Week Only at ULTA

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on August 7, 2013 1 comments

I was almost entirely out of face makeup and not going to be near my closest Ulta store this week. I really didn’t want to go out of my way but B was nice enough to volunteer to drive me. When I got there I was excited to find that Pür Minerals was B1G1 Free this week only at ULTA. That was very lucky! Last year I bought 4 but this year I bought six which hopefully will be enough for the whole year. Keep in mind there are no coupons for this makeup and it only goes on this one sale the entire year. When not on sale the makeup is $27 for one compact. If you have read anything on this blog you know that I am very careful with my money but I LOVE, LOVE this makeup. It’s 4 in 1: foundation, powder, SPF 15 and concealer. It also saves me a lot of time because I only have to apply one product instead of 4. So today I bought enough for the rest of the year saving myself $84 and several trips to the store.

8-6-13 Thrift Shop Finds

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on August 6, 2013 None comments

I fell in love with this little decorated drawer set. It looks like a cabinet which I like but I do think that the drawers are more practical. And it was only $2.99! The pattern on the front is very in style right now so I think with a coat of paint (green maybe?) it would look like a really cool, expensive piece. (See this cabinet’s awesome makeover by clicking HERE)

I also bought this framed print for $1.99. Not sure where I’m going to put it yet.

These shadow boxes with inlaid clips were only $1.50 and $1.99 each and they will be great to display pictures and souvenirs from our travels.

Overall, a really fun trip! I also bought tons of clothes for .50 cents each but I will write about that later.

Victoria’s Secret Free Lace Trim Panty In The Mail

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on July 28, 2013 None comments

Victoria’s Secret did it again! They just sent out coupons for a Free Lace Trim Panty. So check your mail box for this flyer with the coupon in it.

To learn how you can receive free coupons for items from Victoria’s Secret click HERE.

Have Fun With Your Pets

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on July 26, 2013 None comments

(Benny)

Am I the only one who loves to dress my unwilling pets up in outfits? For the most part they were good little models. So this is a reminder today to have fun with your pets. It’s why you have them, right? And they love it too (most of the time).

(Olive)

(Ash)

The Best Way to Use ‘Free Item’ Coupons

Posted by Ney@ShopahoicSavers.com on July 19, 2013 None comments

I love getting coupons for free items because I love getting stuff for FREE! However these coupons present a unique opportunity to get even more stuff for free.

The Best way to use free item coupons is to combine them with other sales or deals!

I especially love if there is a Buy One Get One Free deal with an item I have a free coupon for. Then you can get two items for free. Even when that isn’t the case, you can still often find other great deals to use because Free Item coupons are a companies way of getting you to try a product that they are usually also promoting in other ways.

In the picture below are two examples-

-I had a coupon for free Playtex Sport Tampons and I was able to combine it with a Publix coupon that said if you buy Playtex Sport Tampons you will get a Skintimate Shave Gel for Free so I got both items for FREE!

– I also had a coupon for a free Pepsi Next 2 Liter that I combined with a Buy 2 Pepsi Products Get One Free Sale and I only had to buy one 2 Liter and got two FREE!