Would you believe that I refresh my wardrobe monthly and spend a little under $100 to do it? I have a walk-in closet that is full of clothes!
What do I do? Well first of all I work at Reitmans. As an employee of Reitmans I am entitled to a 50% discount on all products. Sweet eh? I also get a 25% discount at Penningtons, Addition Elle, Smart Set, RW&Co, Cassis, and Thyme Maternity. With that discount I can buy clothing for my family as well as gifts for others. If you work at any of those divisions you will get 50% off at them instead. However if you are not a plus sized woman working at one of the plus sized divisions you can usually get your discount applied to a division that will work for your size. Right now they are offering employees 50% off at Thyme Maternity as well! If you are a woman reading this you know how much maternity clothing is and how awesome this is!
Anyone can work with Reitmans, we have many people that work part time for 1-3 shifts a week to get the discount. If you do apply for a job, I would love the referral for it! Which is of course another clothing discount, gift certificates!!! Just shoot me an email to scrapinitblue@hotmail.com for info on the company and how to apply!
Aside from working for your discount, have you ever checked out Sears Outlet.ca? I have bought myself bras for $12.84 from there, dress pants for my husband (in Big & Tall nonetheless) for $13.84, and shoes for under $20! If you combine this with cash back from Smart Canucks or Airmiles from airmilesshops.ca you get even more savings. I always call Sears order line before placing my online order and ask them for a customer coupon code. They usually have one for $10 off any purchase over $100. Super quick 10% savings!
You can redeem your airmiles for gift cards for clothing too. 125 airmiles gets you a $20 Reitmans GC. There are others for HBC, Roots, and Gap but check your redemption rate to make sure you are getting a good deal!
Of course there is always Value Village and Goodwill and other thrift shops. Reusing clothing is good for the environment and your pocket book!
I have a large extended family and we share clothes with each other. One thing that I want to do soon is to arrange a clothing swap with some friends where we get to each bring a few pieces and swap and help each other make outfits. We'll make a night of it and maybe do a kids clothing swap at the same time!
On the topic of childrens' clothing, I have gotten a lot of clothing for my son on my local Freecycle site. It is a great community resource to share items that still have usable life with others.
My last tip is to plan ahead. If you know that you will need a winter coat for yourself or junior for next winter, shop in the Spring! Best time to find a coat on clearance! Right now at Reitmans we have gorgeous winter coats on sale that were regular $120 on sale for around $34.99. All retailers do this, they need to clear out stock to make way for new. If you buy key pieces in classic fits and styles and then buy a few pieces in season to keep you current then you will always be in style!
I hope you enjoyed saving money while looking fabulous with me today! Drop me a comment if you have any tips of your own!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
~Mystery Shopping~
Wanna earn quick cash, work from home, slave to your own schedule? Why not Mystery shop?
I've been mystery shopping for over two years now. I use it as a way to supplement my income right now while I'm looking for a good job and as a way for those little extras in life. I make anywhere from $50-$400 a month depending on how hard I want to work. Keep in mind I live in a small city and my options are limited so those of you in larger centers could have better opportunities than I.
First rule of mystery shopping is NEVER pay to shop for anyone. There is no fee for shopping with any legitimate company.
Second rule is don't plan on making millions at it. You won't. It does take a certain kind of person who has the patience and skill for mystery shopping. You can make decent money but you do make it in small increments. Alot of the shops I do on a regular basis pay only $7 or $10 to do. That being said I have been paid up to $200 to do one before too! It depends how desperate they are! I am choosy about the shops I take on because I know that some are more time and effort then they pay. You will learn as you take them on too! I take ones where I'll get something useful in exchange, ie a meal, stamps, merchandise. That way I get more of a benefit from it.
There are several message boards you can go to for more information. One of my favorite are the Volition boards. That is where I go to get reviews on companies before I apply for them. Some companies in the business are notorious for not paying.
There is a whole list of companies and the types of shops they do on this page: Mystery Shopping List
I personally shop with the following companies and they are very good ones that pay on time and offer a wide variety of shops. Here is the list of them:
Spot Check Services - they give one airmile for every shop and often offer bonus airmiles when they need something done urgently. Paid by direct deposit on the 15th of every month.
In Touch Survey - They do shops for companies that offer products that you can keep in exchange for shopping it. The pay is minimal but the products are useful and make it worth your time. Their forms are easy to complete and no hassle. Paid by direct deposit every 4 weeks.
Service Intelligence - I do most of my shops with them. They have many contracts in my area. The pay is good and they will always negotiate with you if they need something done urgently. I currrently do out of town shops for them on a regular basis and they give me a gas allowance to do them. The only downfall with them is that you need to complete certification exams before you can shop for a company. Sometimes they are a pain and full of glitches. The program specialist will help you to complete the course if they really need your help though. They pay by direct deposit on the 1st of every month. They also give you a schedule of when shops are being released so that you can plan to pick up work then.
Marketforce Shopper - based out of the States, and pay by cheque in American funds. They have only had a few shops in my area but they paid promptly and well. They have the easiest forms of all.
Gapbuster - They represent only one company in my area. It is a restaurant and you are paid to shop there plus reimbursed for your meal. The company they represent is very large so often they call you at home and ask you to pick up work. I believe they call from overseas so sometimes the calls come in at odd times of the night. They pay very well and pay promptly by direct deposit on the 20th of every month.
Premier Service They email you shops that are available in your area. All their reports are completed in Microsoft Word and require a great deal of detail. I would only recommend signing up with them if you can commit to a lot of detail in your reports. They pay fairly and through Paypal every month. They are really good to their shoppers, if you need to be paid earlier they will try to accomodate you.
Performalogics I actually have a contract with them to do audits on Husky Gas Stations but I am still able to pick up an occasional mystery shop. Their pay is a bit low since you usually have to pay for a meal or an item. They pay by direct deposit on the 20th of every month.
I can give a referral if you would like for any of these companies, just email me at scrapinitblue@hotmail.com and I will send you the information you need. There is no extra pay to me for referrals, but some companies don't allow new hires without a referral.
I have done regular work for all these companies and have never had a problem getting paid. There are many companies that do not pay, remember to check the Volition boards and see what others have to say before signing up.
I hope this info helped those of you thinking of getting into this fun line of work. Feel free to put any other questions you have here and I'll answer them as best I can to help you all out!
I've been mystery shopping for over two years now. I use it as a way to supplement my income right now while I'm looking for a good job and as a way for those little extras in life. I make anywhere from $50-$400 a month depending on how hard I want to work. Keep in mind I live in a small city and my options are limited so those of you in larger centers could have better opportunities than I.
First rule of mystery shopping is NEVER pay to shop for anyone. There is no fee for shopping with any legitimate company.
Second rule is don't plan on making millions at it. You won't. It does take a certain kind of person who has the patience and skill for mystery shopping. You can make decent money but you do make it in small increments. Alot of the shops I do on a regular basis pay only $7 or $10 to do. That being said I have been paid up to $200 to do one before too! It depends how desperate they are! I am choosy about the shops I take on because I know that some are more time and effort then they pay. You will learn as you take them on too! I take ones where I'll get something useful in exchange, ie a meal, stamps, merchandise. That way I get more of a benefit from it.
There are several message boards you can go to for more information. One of my favorite are the Volition boards. That is where I go to get reviews on companies before I apply for them. Some companies in the business are notorious for not paying.
There is a whole list of companies and the types of shops they do on this page: Mystery Shopping List
I personally shop with the following companies and they are very good ones that pay on time and offer a wide variety of shops. Here is the list of them:
Spot Check Services - they give one airmile for every shop and often offer bonus airmiles when they need something done urgently. Paid by direct deposit on the 15th of every month.
In Touch Survey - They do shops for companies that offer products that you can keep in exchange for shopping it. The pay is minimal but the products are useful and make it worth your time. Their forms are easy to complete and no hassle. Paid by direct deposit every 4 weeks.
Service Intelligence - I do most of my shops with them. They have many contracts in my area. The pay is good and they will always negotiate with you if they need something done urgently. I currrently do out of town shops for them on a regular basis and they give me a gas allowance to do them. The only downfall with them is that you need to complete certification exams before you can shop for a company. Sometimes they are a pain and full of glitches. The program specialist will help you to complete the course if they really need your help though. They pay by direct deposit on the 1st of every month. They also give you a schedule of when shops are being released so that you can plan to pick up work then.
Marketforce Shopper - based out of the States, and pay by cheque in American funds. They have only had a few shops in my area but they paid promptly and well. They have the easiest forms of all.
Gapbuster - They represent only one company in my area. It is a restaurant and you are paid to shop there plus reimbursed for your meal. The company they represent is very large so often they call you at home and ask you to pick up work. I believe they call from overseas so sometimes the calls come in at odd times of the night. They pay very well and pay promptly by direct deposit on the 20th of every month.
Premier Service They email you shops that are available in your area. All their reports are completed in Microsoft Word and require a great deal of detail. I would only recommend signing up with them if you can commit to a lot of detail in your reports. They pay fairly and through Paypal every month. They are really good to their shoppers, if you need to be paid earlier they will try to accomodate you.
Performalogics I actually have a contract with them to do audits on Husky Gas Stations but I am still able to pick up an occasional mystery shop. Their pay is a bit low since you usually have to pay for a meal or an item. They pay by direct deposit on the 20th of every month.
I can give a referral if you would like for any of these companies, just email me at scrapinitblue@hotmail.com and I will send you the information you need. There is no extra pay to me for referrals, but some companies don't allow new hires without a referral.
I have done regular work for all these companies and have never had a problem getting paid. There are many companies that do not pay, remember to check the Volition boards and see what others have to say before signing up.
I hope this info helped those of you thinking of getting into this fun line of work. Feel free to put any other questions you have here and I'll answer them as best I can to help you all out!
Monday, April 13, 2009
~Gifts to Grow~
Gifts to Grow is a points program that is offered by Pampers. They are planning on running it until March 1, 2010. It has been extended already by one year so perhaps they will keep it up for awhile!!!
Anyhow you find the Gifts to Grow points on the inside on diaper packages. Its' a little green sticker and it has a code on it that is alphnumeric and the date that the program ends. On wipes packages it is typed on the side of the package.
To get credit for the codes you go to the Pampers site and set up an account. Once your account is active you go to the Gifts to Grow home page and add points. You type the alphanumeric code in and it will credit your account with the points that apply. Typically you will get from 0.5 to 4 points per product. Wipes are 0.5 each, the size 4 boxed cruisers are 4 points and it varies depending on package size and size of diaper.
Once I reach 40 points I cash mine in for $5 in Futura Rewards. To do this you go to the Pampers site and log in to your account. You search the rewards until you find Futura rewards. It will have a 'redeem' button on it. Once you click that it starts you on the path of transferring them. It is a really easy to follow procedure. It takes a couple of days and then your Futura account shows the new balance!
From time to time Pampers gives away promo codes for people. These are the most current ones that there are!
Ohamandaawgtg08 --1 point
THRIFTYMOMMYGTG --1 point
WELCOMEBONUS089 --??
WELCOME2GTG0809 --1 point
HAPPYHOLIDAY089 -- 3 points
GIVE09UNICEFGTG --3 points
These add up fast I tell you, already almost a quarter of the way to our Futura Reward! Next on Save a Loonie, mystery shopping!!!
Anyhow you find the Gifts to Grow points on the inside on diaper packages. Its' a little green sticker and it has a code on it that is alphnumeric and the date that the program ends. On wipes packages it is typed on the side of the package.
To get credit for the codes you go to the Pampers site and set up an account. Once your account is active you go to the Gifts to Grow home page and add points. You type the alphanumeric code in and it will credit your account with the points that apply. Typically you will get from 0.5 to 4 points per product. Wipes are 0.5 each, the size 4 boxed cruisers are 4 points and it varies depending on package size and size of diaper.
Once I reach 40 points I cash mine in for $5 in Futura Rewards. To do this you go to the Pampers site and log in to your account. You search the rewards until you find Futura rewards. It will have a 'redeem' button on it. Once you click that it starts you on the path of transferring them. It is a really easy to follow procedure. It takes a couple of days and then your Futura account shows the new balance!
From time to time Pampers gives away promo codes for people. These are the most current ones that there are!
Ohamandaawgtg08 --1 point
THRIFTYMOMMYGTG --1 point
WELCOMEBONUS089 --??
WELCOME2GTG0809 --1 point
HAPPYHOLIDAY089 -- 3 points
GIVE09UNICEFGTG --3 points
These add up fast I tell you, already almost a quarter of the way to our Futura Reward! Next on Save a Loonie, mystery shopping!!!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
~Futura Rewards~
Futura Rewards is a program that allows you to accrue money in an account towards either cash savings, retirement savings, education savings, group fundraising, charitable giving, student loan payment, member to member transfer...It pays you in Futura Rewards for collecting UPCs of certain products, shopping at certain retailers, shopping through their online affiliates system, using a Futura Mastercard etc... 1 Futura Reward = $1 Canadian. So no messing around with points conversion or otherwise, it just equals the same.
Futura Loyalty Group is the company that manages Futura Rewards. They also manage the Aeroplan program and other reward based programs. They have been around for awhile so there is every reason to believe that it is trustworthy.
I personally collect Futura Rewards through mostly collecting UPCs from participating products. To see a full list go here: Companies. For this I cut the actual physical UPC off the product and tape it to a page. At the end of each quarter you mail them all in with a Tally Sheet that you download from their site (I use the PDF version from the website) and they credit your account with the value at the end of the next quarter.
I also collect the Gifts to Grow points that are found inside of Pampers products. You find the little stickers with codes inside all packages of diapers and it is printed on the sides of the packages of wipes. When you register a profile at Pampers.ca you are able to input the codes and collect these points for rewards. There are other things you can use the codes for and they change frequently but I redeem mine solely for $5 Futura Rewards. 40 GTG Points = $5. I will do another post on Gifts to Grow in the upcoming days!
I do surveys with Hotspex surveys and redeem my Hotbux for Futura dollars at a rate of 120 Hotbux = $1. I use Points.com to do this and they take care of everything for me!
Lastly I take advantage of offers that Futura sends me. I've gotten insurance quotes and made $5 off them. I used a sign up code FRUGAL10 to get a free $10 at sign up. It should still work so make sure you use that when you sign up!
The biggest key to maximizing your Futura account is family power! You can get your family members to sign up and collect for you and transfer to one account. In my case I opened an account for my husband and son. They each got the $10 sign up bonus, each got $5 for an insurance quote, they each earn Hotbux by doing surveys and I submit UPCs through these accounts. Some UPCs are limited to the number that you can send per quarter so it helps to have extra accounts that you can put them through. For example, you can only submit 3 UPCs for Stayfree...I was able to send in 9. I trade on Smart Canucks and get Futura UPCs in trades and that is how I get so many.
So by doing all these things I have managed to pull $256.16 out of thin air since I started collecting them in November 2008. That is like putting $50 away a month. If I continue to collect at this rate and do this for 18 years for E's education account at a meagre 3.5% I would have over $15,000!!! at 6% it would be over $20,000!!! Not bad if you ask me for FREE MONEY!!!
The finer details of Futura are that you can only transfer between members once your account reaches $25. You can only cash out your account when the balance is over $100. It is paid out by cheque and is subject to a $9.95 administration fee each time you cash it out. Pay outs only occur at the end of a quarter so if you request it in the beginning of a quarter you will not receive it until the end.
There are other ways to earn Futura Rewards. In some areas you can use your card and show it at cerain stores to gain credit. You can get a Futura Mastercard and earn Futura Rewards on your purchases using it. You can shop online through affiliated companies and earn up to 10% back in Futura Credit. You can get certain Financial services and earn rewards on them such as TD Insurance, Sutton Group and more! You can go here for more details!!!
I think that pretty much covers Futura Rewards. Let me know if you have any questions about it and I will do my best to answer them!
Futura Loyalty Group is the company that manages Futura Rewards. They also manage the Aeroplan program and other reward based programs. They have been around for awhile so there is every reason to believe that it is trustworthy.
I personally collect Futura Rewards through mostly collecting UPCs from participating products. To see a full list go here: Companies. For this I cut the actual physical UPC off the product and tape it to a page. At the end of each quarter you mail them all in with a Tally Sheet that you download from their site (I use the PDF version from the website) and they credit your account with the value at the end of the next quarter.
I also collect the Gifts to Grow points that are found inside of Pampers products. You find the little stickers with codes inside all packages of diapers and it is printed on the sides of the packages of wipes. When you register a profile at Pampers.ca you are able to input the codes and collect these points for rewards. There are other things you can use the codes for and they change frequently but I redeem mine solely for $5 Futura Rewards. 40 GTG Points = $5. I will do another post on Gifts to Grow in the upcoming days!
I do surveys with Hotspex surveys and redeem my Hotbux for Futura dollars at a rate of 120 Hotbux = $1. I use Points.com to do this and they take care of everything for me!
Lastly I take advantage of offers that Futura sends me. I've gotten insurance quotes and made $5 off them. I used a sign up code FRUGAL10 to get a free $10 at sign up. It should still work so make sure you use that when you sign up!
The biggest key to maximizing your Futura account is family power! You can get your family members to sign up and collect for you and transfer to one account. In my case I opened an account for my husband and son. They each got the $10 sign up bonus, each got $5 for an insurance quote, they each earn Hotbux by doing surveys and I submit UPCs through these accounts. Some UPCs are limited to the number that you can send per quarter so it helps to have extra accounts that you can put them through. For example, you can only submit 3 UPCs for Stayfree...I was able to send in 9. I trade on Smart Canucks and get Futura UPCs in trades and that is how I get so many.
So by doing all these things I have managed to pull $256.16 out of thin air since I started collecting them in November 2008. That is like putting $50 away a month. If I continue to collect at this rate and do this for 18 years for E's education account at a meagre 3.5% I would have over $15,000!!! at 6% it would be over $20,000!!! Not bad if you ask me for FREE MONEY!!!
The finer details of Futura are that you can only transfer between members once your account reaches $25. You can only cash out your account when the balance is over $100. It is paid out by cheque and is subject to a $9.95 administration fee each time you cash it out. Pay outs only occur at the end of a quarter so if you request it in the beginning of a quarter you will not receive it until the end.
There are other ways to earn Futura Rewards. In some areas you can use your card and show it at cerain stores to gain credit. You can get a Futura Mastercard and earn Futura Rewards on your purchases using it. You can shop online through affiliated companies and earn up to 10% back in Futura Credit. You can get certain Financial services and earn rewards on them such as TD Insurance, Sutton Group and more! You can go here for more details!!!
I think that pretty much covers Futura Rewards. Let me know if you have any questions about it and I will do my best to answer them!
Friday, April 10, 2009
~Points Programs 101~
So if you are like me you have a whole lot of cards in your wallet for points! You collect them and then wonder what you are going to do with them...sooo annoying!
So I will be going over how I have maximized my points so far! I look forward to hearing from others on their tricks and tips too! In todays' post I'll just cover the basics and delve into it further in later posts.
I'm sure you've all heard of some of the most popular points programs:
Airmiles, Aeroplan, Priority Points, Save-On, Shoppers Optimum Points, HBC, and many, many more. My favorite by far is Airmiles. I live in an area where I can get Airmiles from many retailers so it makes the most sense for me. You, of course, will need to evaluate your spending habits and what is available to make the best deal for yourself! In my area I can get Airmiles mostly from Shell and Safeway but I also use a Low Rate BMO Mastercard on which I earn Airmiles for my purchases.
The easiest way to rack up miles is to double dip whenever you can. For instance my Safeway has bonus airmiles specials weekly. They email them into my inbox after I signed up for it and received 100 bonus airmiles. Nice eh? Anyhow as I was saying, they email me deals. So I look them over to see if any are for items I need. If there are then I look for coupons for them to save money. I make my grocery list and estimate what it will cost me. I then go to Safeway and use my Mastercard to purhcase a Gift Card. I give my Safeway card and my Airmiles card and earn both rewards on the purchase of the gift card. Double airmiles though because I paid with my mastercard which earns me airmiles. I then do my shopping and then pay with the gift card and again give my airmiles card and Safeway card getting airmiles again. So on a $100 transaction you would normally receive 5 airmiles from Safeway. On my shopping trip I would easily earn 15 plus any of the bonus specials that I pick out.
One thing to think of course is redemption on the points. Airmiles has a relatively high redemption rate of $0.14 per airmile on average for items. I usually redeem my airmiles for various gift cards. I often redeem them for gift cards that I can trade for free product coupons for on Smart Canucks. There is no cost to me for them and I get the type of benefit that I'm looking for.
Of course you can also earn airmiles by shopping through airmilesshops.ca at many major retailers. It is all online shopping but if you implement some of my tips for online shopping you just might find a whopping deal.
I hope this whetted your appetite for more info on points programs. I want to spend some time putting out all the details that I know on the various programs that are offered. Look forward to more posts coming on this topic. Coming next on Save a Loonie: What is Futura Rewards?
So I will be going over how I have maximized my points so far! I look forward to hearing from others on their tricks and tips too! In todays' post I'll just cover the basics and delve into it further in later posts.
I'm sure you've all heard of some of the most popular points programs:
Airmiles, Aeroplan, Priority Points, Save-On, Shoppers Optimum Points, HBC, and many, many more. My favorite by far is Airmiles. I live in an area where I can get Airmiles from many retailers so it makes the most sense for me. You, of course, will need to evaluate your spending habits and what is available to make the best deal for yourself! In my area I can get Airmiles mostly from Shell and Safeway but I also use a Low Rate BMO Mastercard on which I earn Airmiles for my purchases.
The easiest way to rack up miles is to double dip whenever you can. For instance my Safeway has bonus airmiles specials weekly. They email them into my inbox after I signed up for it and received 100 bonus airmiles. Nice eh? Anyhow as I was saying, they email me deals. So I look them over to see if any are for items I need. If there are then I look for coupons for them to save money. I make my grocery list and estimate what it will cost me. I then go to Safeway and use my Mastercard to purhcase a Gift Card. I give my Safeway card and my Airmiles card and earn both rewards on the purchase of the gift card. Double airmiles though because I paid with my mastercard which earns me airmiles. I then do my shopping and then pay with the gift card and again give my airmiles card and Safeway card getting airmiles again. So on a $100 transaction you would normally receive 5 airmiles from Safeway. On my shopping trip I would easily earn 15 plus any of the bonus specials that I pick out.
One thing to think of course is redemption on the points. Airmiles has a relatively high redemption rate of $0.14 per airmile on average for items. I usually redeem my airmiles for various gift cards. I often redeem them for gift cards that I can trade for free product coupons for on Smart Canucks. There is no cost to me for them and I get the type of benefit that I'm looking for.
Of course you can also earn airmiles by shopping through airmilesshops.ca at many major retailers. It is all online shopping but if you implement some of my tips for online shopping you just might find a whopping deal.
I hope this whetted your appetite for more info on points programs. I want to spend some time putting out all the details that I know on the various programs that are offered. Look forward to more posts coming on this topic. Coming next on Save a Loonie: What is Futura Rewards?
Update
I had some technical difficulties with my post last night and it didn't publish! I will have it up this evening!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wow, Time Flies!
I just wanted to drop a quick post to apologize for absence this week! I'm just returning to work after being on maternity leave for the last year and it was a huge change in my schedule! Anyhow, I'm into my second week and things are getting smoother so I will be back to posting.
Tonight I will be posting on Points programs...a bit of an intro to a more in depth discussion in the future. I hope you will check back to read more about it!
Later!
Tonight I will be posting on Points programs...a bit of an intro to a more in depth discussion in the future. I hope you will check back to read more about it!
Later!
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