Triad Goodwill $50 Gift Card

I won, I won!! Can you imagine my excitement when I won a $50 gift card to Triad Goodwill last month!!

My first purchase was made at my favorite Triad Goodwill location on N Elm St. You've already seen the pink maxi skirt on the blog, but I also got some earrings, another scarf (like I really need another scarf), and a wire basket (the perfect magazine holder and it works nicely with my recent bedroom makeover)

You've already seen a few of these items in previous posts from my Oak Ridge Goodwill shopping trip. I really like this location, but it's so far from my house.

I absolutely had to add some blue and gold to the wardrobe! I don't know what I like more this yellow gold blazer or royal blue suit. Check out my Facebook Page for more RHOyal blue and gold, eee-yip!

This shirt is one of those items that got tossed in the laundry immediately and worn the next day. Ya'll know I don't do Junior's clothes often but something about this cropped tee makes me feel young, sexy, and sassy.

I was determined to get most of my decorations and food platters for last week's Shop and Swap from Triad Goodwill. I found these Tupperware platters for only .49 cents! My mom did her thing with the food and was totally surprised when I told her I got all of my platters from Goodwill. It's not all about clothes!!

I finished off the remainder of my gift card at my 2nd favorite Triad Goodwill location on S Eugene St. It was my lucky day, Target New Stock!! I hadn't been to Target in a while so I had no idea The Wesbster Miami for Target even existed but this dress and jacket say "much needed vacation"! The remainder of what was spent was tallied in to my May Retail Rehab spending.

May Retail Rehab

I had mixed emotions about suspending the original Retail Rehab challenge, but I actually did better during the month of May than I had in previous months. For one, my work life is crazy during the month of May with final exams for my students, grades, academic standing, appeals, and the infamous "annual report" for my program. I barely had time to go thrifting, much less blog about it. Two, I can always count on my allergies to act a slam fool. After two doctor's visits, four prescription, and a steroid shot, I'm almost back to normal. Thank goodness I won a $50 Gift Card to Triad Goodwill (Make sure you enter for your chance to win). It really helped offset my overall spending this month.

I was caught out of town and forget my much needed white shirt. I refused to spend more than $10 on a shirt (especially since I already have more than one white shirt in my closet). I found this shirt on the clearance rack.

My receipt says three shirts but for the life of me, I don't remember buying three shirts! I'm just gonna put my disclaimer in here and say that I was shopping after work and maybe, just maybe the cashier counted three shirts when there were only two.

I actually paid $5 for this shirt after using a gift card I had from a previous return. You already know how I feel about Juniors clothes and after seeing a teenager in my neighborhood wearing the same exact shirt it will probably end up gifted. I was on the fence about these Miss Tina capri pants and ended up returning them because they only have 1% spandex and were a little tight cross the booty.

My mom is a thrift shopping fool in Moore County but she hardly ever shops at Goodwill. It really is hit or miss. Luckily it was a hit for me, love this gold clutch.

I've been shopping for new frames since last year! I have my heart set on a pair of Prada frames, but even after a year the price was still too much even with my insurance. I saw these Coach frames on Lenscrafters.com, went to House of Eyes for lunch and the next day had new glasses. Camden said they look like 3D glasses, but I've also heard I look like a MILF or sexy librarian (thank you, I think)

And just when I thought I was done spending, I went to Value Village on the last Wednesday of the month when everything in the store is 50% off. I made it a family affair and got Camden involved. All I found for me was a belt, but he did good picking out some graphic tees and balling shorts.

TOTAL SPENT $56.20

I know it seems like a major improvement, but I still spent the entire $50 Goodwill Gift Card and charged my birthday presents to myself on my New York and Company card. Posts coming soon . . .

Retail Rehab: January 2012

So another month of the Retail Rehab 2012 has come and gone and I'm not sure if was all the winter clearance sales or the overflow of end of the year donations at Goodwill, but I really struggled this month.If you follow me on Twitter, you already know I really got discouraged and was about to give up during the last week of the month.  I ended up doing the unthinkable, overspending! Overall, I didn't do so bad. And the items I overspent for were one of a kind vintage earrings (ya'll know I'm an earring junkie). Here's what I got:

Goodwill	Juniors Hooded Sweater
	Mossimo (Target) Skinny Jeans
	Ann Taylor Ruffled Shirt *
	Madison Studio Turtleneck	17.35
	Suede Cowboy Boots*
	Banana Republic Blouse	9.37
	9 West Oxfords	3.84
	Navy Longsleeve Blouse
	Vintage Earrings	6.48
	Vintage Earrings	2.70
NY & Company	Blue Scarf
	Trio Ring
	Silver Bangles	15.54
	TOTAL	$55.28
	*Not Pictured


To complete my total shopping experience for January 2012: I exchanged a Christmas gift for a cute sweater and sold some items for cash and store credit at Plato's Closet and Uptown Cheapskate. I didn't include these purchases in $50 budget but still got a great deal:

 

Red & Black Earrings - Uptown Cheapskate

4.99 (plus 10% off)

NY & Company Bright Red Shorts - Plato's Closet

4.99 (plus 50% off

Camel Belted Sweater - Steinmart

12.00

I am soo happy that it's February so that I can start over. This is a short month and I have a lot on my calendar, so hopefully it will be easy to stay within budget.

Feeling Blue

Faded Glory (Walmart) Cardigan - Madison T-Shirt - NY&CO Skinny Jeans - Xhiliration Booties

NY&CO Floral Scarf

Silver Bangles

Gold Stacked Ring

Total $15.54

Retail Rehab: #50DollarChallenge Lesson: USE COUPONS!!

My shopping this month has been slow and sporadic. My #50DollarChallenge has started off great but I am learning so much about my shopping and spending habits. I have been the "See, Like, Buy" shopper for so long that it's been really hard saying no and walking away. New York and Company is one of my weaknesses so I have avoided all temptation by not even going into the store since before the Christmas holiday (I still go online 2-3 times a week). I found a $10 Rewards coupon while cleaning that expired soon so I decided to stop in for a quick lunch trip. With $20 left in my January shopping budget and only 30 minutes to spare I didn't have time to try anything on, so I already knew I would be looking at accessories only. The scarf was regular price $19.95, but blue is my favorite color and I had so many ideas for it I decided to go for it. While waiting in line, I spotted an entire rack of accessories marked down to $1.99 and $2.99, so I grabbed a couple of must-haves. The only catch with the Rewards coupon is that I had to use my NY&CO Card. But I immediately paid the $15.54 I charged with cash to avoid overspending for the rest of the month. Now next month is going to be tough with spring items hitting the stores and so many bright colors to choose from, but I think I'm up for the challenge!

Totally Thrifted

Hooded Sweater

Madison Turtleneck

Mossimo Skinny Jeans

$3.75 each

I have officially started Retail Rehab $50 a month challenge with my first purchases of the new year!! My first stop was Triad Goodwill and it was one of those rare occasions where I put together an entire outfit in the same shopping trip.

If you haven't stopped by your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other thrift store that accepts donations make sure that you find some time to do so in the next few weeks. Stores are usually overflowing this time of year with end of the year donations.

The weather has been so up and down in NC lately that I ended up switching out the turtleneck for a brown short-sleeved short, but looks were great for the weekend.

Retail Rehab: December 2011

Forever 21 Blouse - Apostrophe (Sears) Cardigan - Sag Harbor Pants - Nine West Pumps

Juniors Sweater - Banana Republic T-Shirt - Bandolino Sweater - Red Tunic

Mossimo Tulip Skirt - Maurice's Skirt

Grace Elements Pencil Skirt - Famous Maker Trousers

Xhiliration (Target) Booties

RETAIL REHAB: $50 a month on clothes, shoes, and accessories! I went back and forth ever since I posted about a potential challenge for 2012 after my trip to Chicago in early November. My first idea was $500 a year, which was around $42 a month. Then I stumbled across Living Fly on a Dime’s Thrifty Threads Challenge, Part II. I absolutely love thrifting, but I already knew that I couldn’t commit to only shopping thrift for an entire year. I can find some really good deals on clearance and I have got to have my New York and Company fix every once in a while. I had to give this challenge a test run before I fully committed for an entire year. I really surprised myself! I couldn’t believe that I got so many items for just $50, but I learned a few lessons very early:

1.       Cash Only. The first thing I did to prevent overspending and also to help track my purchases was to start with $50 cash in an envelope. Under no circumstances could I swipe my debit or credit cards. I even took my store credit cards out of my purse to curb temptation. There were a few times that I didn’t write down exactly what I purchased and had to go rummaging through my closet to figure out what “Ladies Short Sleeve” or “Skirt Short”  that was listed on my receipt.

2.       Pace Yourself.  After spending over half my budget by 12/9, I had to slow down and pace myself to make through the end of the month. One of the best times to thrift is the last few weeks of the year and the first week of January after end of year donations. I made it up until a few days before Christmas.

3.       Shop Strategically. I already somewhat shopped strategically for specific wardrobe essentials, but I would still purchase items out of season and without having a specific outfit in mind. Not anymore, I had to leave a few great items behind on a few shopping trips, but it’s going to be worth it (I really hope so).

So what did I get for $50?? Where did I shop?? Here you go:

Goodwill	Bandolino Short-Sleeved Sweater
	Banana Republic 3/4 Sleeve T-Shirt	8.01
	Mossimo Black and White Tulip Skirt
	Polyester Bright Red Tunic	8.01
	Grace Elements Pencil Skirt (Brown)
	Forever 21 Leopard Shirt	8.01
Target	Xhilaration Sadella Boots	9.59
Plato's Closet	Juniors Brown Sweater
	Maurice’s Black and White Skirt	9.61
Unique Boutique	Famous Maker Trousers	6.94
	TOTAL	50.17