How low can you go?

I am referring to my online order total. One of the reasons that I’m happy to be home from our summer vacations is that I can dabble in my love for shopping online. Another secret revealed. I love to find a good deal, and then I love to make it even sweeter. Here is an amazing frugal tip that I was surprised to learn is unknown by many savvy shoppers. There is a website called www.retailmenot.com that allows you to often find additional discounts that can be applied to your order total in the form of a promo code, or coupon code. There are many other sites as well, but I always start with that site. Not every online store has discount codes, but it is worth looking into. I h-a-t-e paying for shipping, and these discounts will often save you that cost.

I am a stay at home mom, and I make no income, z-e-r-o, since I have made the choice to be home. I find that shopping wisely is my way of contributing to the family. I’ll share more of these tips in the future. When I do place an order, it is usually for merchandise that is about 50-75% off retail prices. Additionally, I often have a coupon that has a set dollar amount off when you spend a certain amount. For example, $25 off a $50 purchase. If not, I use a coupon code as described above. I rarely pay shipping. It is a rush for me to get things for such a great price.

Sometimes it doesn’t go so well, and I am robbed of the warm rush of retail therapy. Here is a specific instance that happened several months ago. The day started like any other day. I was checking email with my morning coffee at hand. I opened a “70% off” email from one of my favorite stores. I went to the site, very happy to see lovely things at such a great discount. I filled my cart with some pleasing choices. Unfortunately, I had no coupon to use, so I scoured the internet for additional discounts that could be applied. Hmmmm. No luck there. I tried a few expired coupon codes, okay many, and I kept striking out. This particular store always has a great coupon that accompanies great sales, but nothing could be found. I couldn’t pull the trigger on this order. The deal was not sweet enough. All of a sudden, a pop-up type box appears that reads, “Upon leaving please fill out this survey.” What????? I was just electronically escorted from the store. Hey, I’m taking this personal. How did I get this frugal? I’m blaming it on my parents.