Playing Catch Up: So Many Huge Scores!

With the magic and madness that is the Christmas season, the pace unfortunately has not been conducive to blogging. So brace yourselves; here comes the mega catch up edition of Vintage Meets Modern! This fabulous post will include many of my favorite ways of saving money, including couponing, free samples, and thrifting. Be prepaired for the most magnificent descriptions and images of how to save money! Enjoy dear readers!

Couponing
The point of frugallity has come to where I don't even shop at department stores without coupons. Why pay retail for anything on products with such high markup?! This line of thinking came in especially handy for Christmas Shopping. :) In one store we purchaced 5 gifts for friends and family members. The gifts would have totaled over $80 but since we had $30 off in coupons, it was like getting two gifts for free! Here are a few of the fun gadgets that we saved serious cash on.

From left to right: Flexible LED Tripod Light/Camera Tripod, Remote Key Finder, MP3 Speaker Dock

Were you aware that coupons can also be applied to fine restaurant dining experiences? I know many people occasionally recieve coupons from burger joints, sandwich shops, and pizza places in the mail, but nicer sitdown restaurants such as Applebee's, Chili's, and Sweet River often release dining coupons online. Freebies websites (like the ones I've listed in previous blogs) are an excellent way to find out about these coupons, often the day they are released, so you can take advantage of these great opportunites before they expire or become out of stock. Another excellent source to save money and locate restaurants in your hometown is Restaurant.com. They often have sales where you can get $25 gift certificates to specified restaurants for as little as $2! Check with the website often for these sales. On Christmas Eve, my husband and I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Sweet River Grill using ourt $25 certificate. We had to spend a minimum of $40, but we still spent only $17 out of pocket; over half off on a fabulous meal including beverages, appetizer and HUGE entrees! The food and overall experience was superb! Here are pics of the scrupmptious bacon cheddar potato skins and prawns dinner that I enjoyed!


*Another fun bonus of the holiday season the giving and receiving of... GIFT CARDS! We gave a couple gift cards this year, and also received several. In a way, it is an ideal gift. It's like recieving free money to pick out your favorite things at your favorite stores. Wonderful gift cards we received this year: $50 Walmart Card, $25 Target Card, $30 Applebee's Card, $15 Starbucks Card. Wow, $120 to be spent on fun things and special experiences that doesn't have to come out of our hard earned wages! I heart giftcards!

Free Sampling
See my previous blog on free samples for the list of websites through which I've received the following AMAZING samples! A few tips when signing up for free samples:

• Do NOT ever give out your phone number! If a free sample requires you to give out your phone number (required fields are usually marked with an * or in red) pass on it because you WILL receive incessant telemarketing calls.
• If you do not wish to recevie spam email offers in your main inbox, create a seperate email account for signing up for such offers.
• Beware of scams. A sample offer from a legitemate company needs only your name and address (and will usually ask for your email) to send you a free offer. If they ask you for any other personal information, do not sign up for that offer, and beware of sites that will send you a free item only if you agree to sign up for a service with a fee. Read all fine print carefully!

With the proper precautions in mind, there are many wonderful freebies that you can get and enjoy! Look at all that I've recieved in the last two months!

Thrifting

I usually stop in at a thrift store every couple of weeks, but hadn't been having much luck recently. That's the way it usually goes; for the most part you'll buy one thing or nothing, and then you'll just have a crazy day where you find so many awesome things! Well, I had my mega score day a few days ago. For a grand total of $34.50 (the most I've ever spent in one trip to a thrift store) I got a whole new wardrobe of clothes some home decor items and two popular novels. Check out the following:







The following is a cost breakdown of my awesome finds!

• Purple Blown Glass Lamp: $5.50
• Mercury Glass Hand Sculpture: $1
• The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Book: $2
• The Girl Who Played With Fire Book: $3.50
• New Forever 21 Rose Skirt: $3
• Black Ruffled L.E.I Dress: $2
• Purple Studded Top: $2.95
• 3 Sweaters: $2.95 each

Whew, so many awesome things! I hope you've enjoyed this special holiday edition of Vintage Meets Modern, and feel free to share your awesome finds with me!

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Huge Haul: 4 Days Worth Of Outfits For $16!

As all shoppers know, sometimes we strike out on a given trip, but occasionally we have a serendipitous moment like I did on my most recent jaunt to my local thrift store. A strange but miraculous anomaly occurred as I have never in my life previously worn any type of colored jeans, skinny jeans, or acid wash jeans. However, on this fateful day my eye was magnetically and inexplicably drawn to a pair of purple acid wash skinnies. Actually finding jeans in my size (a rather rare occurrence at thrift shops) made me pause and pick them, thinking I would try them on and they wouldn't work. I then proceeded to find several adorable tops in coordinating colors to the jeans. Well, I tried those jeans on, fully expecting to hate them, and darned if they didn't fit perfectly! To my great surprise and delight, I left that day with a pair of purple skinnies and four tops for a grand total of 16 dollars! It was like finding a unicorn. :)

Have you every had that perfect shopping moment where the fit, style, and low price all alighn? I woul love to hear about it! Feel free to comment or email me. Black Friday is coming up; share your shopping victories!

Free Is Free And Cheap Is Cheap: A Little Of Both

When it comes to shopping satisfaction, there's nothing more satiating than getting great items for pennies on the dollar of their original cost. Unless, of course, you are a bargain ninja and know how to weild your mad bargainista skills to get things for absolutely free. If you want to posess these awesome super powers, continue reading!

Completely Free:
I cannot stress this enough: COUPONS ARE YOUR FRIEND! Now I'm not talking about abusing coupon policies, like the shenanigans of TLC's Extreme Couponing. That show put a damper on couponing for all legitimate coupons. But that's neither here nor there. Anyway, many major clothing retailers such as Kohl's, JC Penney, Target, andVictoria's Secret mail out coupons from time to time that that have a cash value with no minimum purchase, such as $10 off $10 or more, so it's perfectly legitmate to get a $10 for free! I can't tell you how many times I have done this with delightful results! If you are not recieving any fabulous coupons in the mail, inquire in store as to how you can get on their mailing list. You never benefit if you don't ask! Here's a $5 coupon you can score right now! Sign up for Kohls.com sale alerts and you will recieve an email containing a $5 in store coupon and a 10% off online perchace coupon! Sweet. http://www.kohls.com/upgrade/registration/sale_alert_signup.jsp
I recenly used a $15 JCP coupon to get this gorgeous cardigan FOR FREE. The savings keep me warm. :)

Next tip, paper good etailers have LOTS OF FREEBIES! I mentioned in a previous post how I scored 20 free cards from Fujfilm's See Here Publisher and paid only the $1.49 for shipping. Well I may have just topped that! I scored 10 free beautiful personalized photo cards with lined envelopes (with my address already printed on them!) and I didn't even have to pay shipping! Their cards are absolutely gorgeous and you can choose from thousands of designs. Unfortunately this promotion has now ended, but they have another spectacular deal for new members: a free 20 page hardcover photo book! You can select any of your photos and have them bound into a lovely photo book, such a great gift idea!
http://www.mypublisher.com/affiliate/affreepocket?si=DVYAoYpLFfc-Qr.fn5q4mgaGn0aapMoa7g

Goodwill Grabs:
I have long held an overwhelming desire for home decorating, but also had an underwhelming budget (and a recalcitrant husband). But slowly I have been accumulating some great home goods at low prices, with much help from the local Goodwill. Here are my latest finds.
The aforementioned husband once deemed throw pillows "useless," but I beg to differ, and 3 years later I finally got my way, lol. Here are two lovely pillows for only $2 each.

I also purchaced several lovely Liberty of London for Target floral scarves at the incredible price of 5 for $1! Since they have sat in my closet for a few months and never quite made it into my scarf rotation, I decided they should be reincarnated as pillow covers for the hideously dingy pillow on that were on my love seat. Ta da! For 20 cents, brand new pillows! :)





I usually love Target's selection of home goods, but even good ol' Tar-Jay can be a bit much on my budget. So imagine my delight a few years ago when I descovered the Goodwill sells brand new Target goods at a fraction of the price! I got these gorgeous baroque picture frames from Target's RE Style line for only $1 each!

Rarely can I go into thrift shops without getting at least one top, and my most recent trip was no exception. I got this fab Xhilirations tee for $2.95. It makes me happy. :D

Swap Scores:

In the world of swapping, the term "multiswap" is music to the ears! I recently completed a great multiswap for three Physician's Formula cosmetic products that I'd been dying to try for years! I saved over $25 off the in store price! They are: organic wear jumbo lash mascara in ultra black, 100% natural origin foundation in "classic ivory," and shimmer strips in POP for blue eyes. Aren't they gorgeous?!





There's something special, magical even, about putting on a really good nail polish. And, of course, everyone needs a good pink shade. I'm really liking this shade I swapped for: A French Affair by Essie. The swapper I traded with was also kind enough to include a freebie large sample of MAC Brash and Bold Eyeshadow. Yay! 

One of my most luxurious swaps, a BN Avon Almond Blossom Bubble Bath! In fact, as blogging has taken a lot out of me, I think I'll go relax in a hot bath of it right now! Hope you've enjoyed this post; feel free to comment and share your own ideas.



Sample Site Roundup!

Love to recieve free samples and products thought the mail? Here's a list of sites that makes the deal hunting oh so easy! You'll never have to click through countless pages of spam adds again!

I highly recommend you try http://www.startsampling.com/ ! It lists dozens of free samples, it's free to join, and you can choose whether or not you want to receive email offers from other companies. My favorite current sample listed there is: http://www.boss-fragrances.co.uk/free-sample/?lc=gb get a free sample of a Hugo Boss Perfume.

Completely free and anonymous, you don't even have to register with this next site: www.mysavings.com A great promotion going on right now: get a free sample box of Nature's Path Granola Bars! http://www.mysavings.com/free-samples/Natures-Path/24515/#




Also registration free, try http://shop4freebies.com/ Look for this great deal right now, a free sample of Calvin Klein's new fragrance Beauty! http://shop4freebies.com/cat/freebies/newest-freebies/3




You simply must visit this fabulous freebie blog also powered by Blogger! http://www.mommysavesbig.com/ Anna has an EXTENSIVE list of free samples which she updates daily! Top notch. Check out this fab current offer: http://free-product-samples.blogspot.com/2011/11/target-garnier-ultra-lift-cream-sample.html




Laurie the Tip Junkie, found at http://tipjunkie.com/ has so many amazing tips and ideas on crafts, decorating, recipes and more, but she also has an amazing section called the Giveaway Directory where you can enter to win loads of free stuff! I'm currently liking the $25 Ihop Gift Card Giveaway! http://freestuff.tipjunkie.com/go/?id=859659

Register with the website www.rewardsgold.com , complete the given steps, and you will recieve your choice of prizes from their list. I received a free 2 year subscription to Shape Magazine!

Browse http://www.bargainist.com/ for loads of great discounts and freebies! (Plus we appreciate the clever name and logo!)

That about does it for this round of Sample Site Roundup! Tune in next time; I will share more as I discover them. Until nextime Bargainistas: stay thrifty! :)

Free Book By Text!

Would you like a free copy of Katherine Schwartenegger's new book, Rock What You've Got? Simply follow the steps below on your cell phone, and you will recieve your book in 6-8 weeks! Happy reading! :)

 

Seventeen - Rock What You Got Book

Free Book ( Submitted October-20-2011 )
Text ROCKIT to 467467

1. Enter your age between 13-24
2. Enter the UPC of the Secret product purchased 037000124337
3. Enter the UPC of the Venus product purchased 047400505339
4. Confirm your address.

Book will arrive in 6-8 weeks.

Note: standard text messaging rates will apply.

Labels: Free Books

Free Entertainment!

Want to learn how to get music, movies, TV, and books that you'll love for free? You've come to the right blog! Read on to explore the wonderful world of free entertainment.

Music:
As iTunes has pretty much become master of the music downloading universe, my free deals pertain to iTunes. But for those of you who do not yet own an iPod, iPhone, or iAnything, I feel your pain. I have only entered into the iUniverse within the last year myself, and I distinctly remember feeling poor and jealous every time someone would flaunt their apple products. Don't worry though, many of my freebies throughout my post don't require any kind of apple device to get and enjoy. Please bear with me when I do include Apple freebies. Anyway, here's how to get some free songs from iTunes! Every Tuesday the Apple store updates their dowloads section with several new free songs from many different genres, including music videos! There are usually 6-8 free songs available every week. On the iTunes home page, look for the icon that says "Single of the week + more". It will be marked with a yellow tab that says FREE. I've recently got great new songs from Radiohead and Pearl Jam!
Did you also know that you can score a free song and app download every week, just by stopping by your local Starbucks?! I swear, it's true! Starbucks displays free download cards on the counter near their condiments. Follow the instructions on the back of the card to redeem the download from the iTunes store. Simple as that! I've gotten songs from great artists like Lady Antebellum and useful apps like Momento (a journal) and Shazam (a song identifyer).

TV & Movies:
Now I know Netflix has a free one month subscription, but once that subscription is over, you have two choices, either pay or cancel, neither of which leaves you with stuff to watch. If you want a similar (and in my opinion, better!) experience, Hulu! If you have not entered the magical world of Hulu, I insist you join now! http://www.hulu.com/ Hulu is a free internet service for watching TV shows and select movies. It also has a paid subscription for special privledges you don't get with free Hulu, but unlike Netflix it offers a huge variety of shows and movies for free! I have not yet seen the need to join their paid program, but they do have a free one week trial of that as well. I watch many current episodes of shows on my computer, many available the day after they debut on TV, perfect for if you missed your favorite show the night before! If you have an Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii gaming system, you can also use hulu through them and watch your faves on demand on TV. Beats the heck out of paying for cable!

Books:
Now one of the world's favorite pastimes, reading books, can be done through technology! Books can now be enjoyed on devices such as the Kindle, Nook, iPad, PC, and many smartphones. As amazing as the look and feel (and even smell) of traditional books are, you can't carry your whole library in your purse or pocket! Unless you have ebooks that is. Here is a list of free ebook downloads from BargainBriana, many from well known authors! I have recently savored Maid To Match By Deeanne Gist. Hope you enjoy! http://bargainbriana.com/tag/free-kindle-downloads

If you were bored before you began reading this blog, you now have much to do! :) Including checking back to my blog regularly to learn about the latest freebies. Enjoy life!

Mall Freebies, Swap Scores, & So Many Other Mind Blowing Deals!

When you head to your local mall, it's always easy to tell the hardcore shoppers apart from those that are just there for a casual stroll. I tend to be a stroller more than I would like, simply because I'm usually broke, but make no mistake, I am really a hardcore shopper at heart. Nothing makes me happier than perusing the isles while clutching a handfull of new shiny bags. So today, even though I had only loose change in my wallet, I hit the mall on a mission and did not leave empty handed! Here are a few tricks for getting great stuff absolutely free!

Mall Freebies:
As I've said before, magazines are a great way to find out about freebies! Nearly every major fashion magazine offers some free products and giveaways every month, but the best kind are the in store promos, because as long as supplies last, you are guaranteed to get one! This month (October 2011) Seventeen Magazine has partnered with the super trendy retailer Aeropostale to give away 15,000 of their brand new perfume called "Aero New York"! Pick up a copy of Seventeen today and bring the issue into Aeropostale to claim your free perfume! Hurry, it's only until November 1st, while supplies last. I got mine already and it is an amazing floral citrus sent!

The next amazing freebie I scored was a lovely 2oz. body lotion called Be Enchanted from Bath & Body Works! They released a free coupon for it, only good until October 16th, but don't worry if you missed out. They have reduced the price on that particular hand lotion to just one dollar! Not quite as good as free, but still wonderfully affordable for this popular brand.

One location you can always find a wonderful sweet surprise for free is See's Chocolates! They give a free chocolate everytime you visit. I know it's tempting, but just try not to abuse this sweet treat by visiting too often. :) Today the lovely clerk recommended I sample their Pumkin Pie Truffles, and she was right, they were decadent!





Swap Scores:
I am absolutely loving my newest swap site makeupalley! I have arranged 7 more swaps for a total of 10 in just a week. There are products I have always wanted to try and people are willing to trade them for things that I no longer need! It's just so neat, eeek! Here are the fabulous products I will be recieving, so you can get an idea of what the site has to offer.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturiser

Pangea Organics Egyptian Fennel, Grapefruit & Sweet Orange Lip Balm

Rimmel Metallic Stars Roller Shadow in Gold Star & Star • Eye Shadow



Victoria's Secret PINK Fresh & Clean - Body Mist

Physicians Formula Concealer Twins in Yellow / Light

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain + Balm - Lust

 Pop Beauty Glitter Stix in Sage

Kate Spade Twirl Rollerball

I am soooo looking forward to recieving all my new products! To keep me occupied in the meantime, please share your freebie and cheapie success stories with me!