Treat Yo Self to Birthday Goods!

What's the best way to get free stuff and discounts? Sign up for free stuff and discounts and get rewarded on your Birthday!

In the month of November, only 2 weeks in, I have redeemed $5 off at DSW, $10 off at Victoria's Secret, $10 off at the Body Shop, ate a free pretzel from Auntie Anne's, and drank a free Starbucks chai latte.

If you're a woman, or even a man shopping for your woman, you NEED to be part of the the Pink Nation at Victoria's Secret. FREE PANTIES! I repeat... FREE PANTIES. Free to sign up, check in store by providing your home phone number or simply on their website. Almost every month I get a free panty card in the mail good for a free panty, usually a cotton one worth up to $8.50 but sometimes they have a special one worth up to $12.50! I never have to buy underwear again! #TMI :)
They also will send you a $10 rewards card for your birthday! I used it to buy yoga pants that I absolutely love but I'm never willing to pay $34 for them. They were on clearance at $22 and after the -$10 I paid $12, plus since I purchased more than $10 I got a Victoria's Secret Rewards card to redeem (secret reward ranging between $10-$500; most likely it will be worth $10 when revealed-- however, one time I received $100!).

I signed up for the free DSW Rewards about 2 years ago and already twice now I have received a discount savings from DSW. I know $5.00 doesn't sound like a lot but if you use it correctly you could get a good deal! I bought these heels that were on clearance for 80% off and used my $5 off on top of the total cost for a final total of $9.78, a $110 savings! If you can't find a god bargain there then use the $5 for a pair of socks, laces, or insoles for your shoes! Hey, they're free or barely a $1 or $2 after the reward.

I bought a Groupon for the Body Shop for $20 worth of product for $10. They usually have this deal 2-3 times a year and it's a great deal when used correctly in combination of current deals. I usually only buy one Groupon because I buy enough items only using one Groupon I don't think it's necessary for me to buy two and stock up on something I won't have room in my makeup bag or bathroom cabinets for. See, I have some...control... =P.

I signed up for the Body Shop rewards program which costs a one time fee of $10. I have turned down this program numerous of times whenever I was offered but decided to go for it this time! Why? It took a lot of convincing from the sales person but as a person who works in sales I needed to know the details and benefits as I'm not one to easily just say yes to a deal. If anything... I say no to a lot of sale pitches. I'm not ever easily convinced. 

By purchasing the Body Shop rewards program at a one time fee of $10 I actually received my $10 back right away because as a part of the program you receive $10 for the Body Shop during your Birthday month! Plus I received a point for my first purchase. After 4 purchases (4 points) you receive a free item worth up to $15, nice!

The Body Shop also always has promotional deals going on. During the Holidays they like to have a "wheel" that is spun for a reward deal-- 30% off your purchase, 40% off your purchase, 50% off your purchase, buy one get one free, etc. I was able to spin the wheel and land on 40% off my total purchase (except on gift sets). Last year I was fortunate to land on 50% off my total purchase.

I purchased 2 lipsticks ($12.50 each), a concealer ($14.50), hemp chap stick ($8), travel size moisturizer ($6), and a facial scrub brush ($3) [40% off everything + rewards discount] for a total of $12.43-- less than the cost of one lipstick at full price. Apply the Groupon I purchased -$10 which equals my cost today of $2.43-- less than the cost of the facial scrub I purchased!

SIGN UP FOR FREE BIRTHDAY GOODIES AND TREAT YO SELF!
There are many other Birthday freebies especially at restaurants where you can get a free dessert. That's easy and a no brainer on your birthday!
There's definitely way more birthday freebies if you're a kid but there's some still left for adults!
When I was a kid I was a part of every kids birthday club you could think of. My Mom would have to take me to multiple places to claim all my free ice cream sundaes and children's meals :). Of course back then you would sign up with a self stamped post card but if there was free food involved, you would have me at "free".

Years of training. TinaDeal in the works since I was a kid.


Here are some Birthday freebies for you to sign up for (no purchase required):
Free burrito from Baja Fresh
https://secure.murgent.com/emopt/index.php?id=8339

Free ice cream scoop from Baskin Robbins

https://www.baskinrobbins.com/content/baskinrobbins/en/signin.html

Free pretzel from Auntie Anne's (personal favorite)

http://auntieannes.fbmta.com/members/UpdateProfile.aspx?Action=Subscribe&inputsource=w

Free large order of fries from Wing Stop

http://www.wingstop.com/email_club.aspx

$10 to Cost Plus World Market

https://www.worldmarketexplorer.com/rewards/register/

Free Starbucks drink

https://www.starbucks.com/card/rewards/program-information

Free tater tots, cream slush, or medium drink at Sonic's

https://www.sonicdrivein.com/Account/Register

Free mini makeup kit at Sephora

https://www.sephora.com/profile/MyAccount/beautyInsider/beautyInsider.jsp

Free burger from Red Robin

https://redroyalty.redrobin.com/

Plus many more out there!!! It's all free and during your Birthday month!!
Please allow however amount of time it says to receive your rewards. I signed up for Auntie Anne's pretzel club in September of 2011 and didn't receive my free pretzel for my Birthday by November of 2011.

Side Note!

Instagram has taken over on Tina Deals! I've neglected updating the blog since uploading a photo using a collage application is just so much easier than this. I'm never on my laptop any way so It's difficult to update my blog via iPhone or iPad.

Follow me on Instagram @yaytina or search for #TinaDeal

The my favorite Tina Deal posts on Instagram:

 Bar III Blazer, Fitted Skirt, and Crop Top from Macy's at under $30 compared to $125

 Sad Edelman heels from Ross at $20 compared to $120

 Material Girl jumper from Macy's at $9 compared to $58

 Geometric necklace from Ross at $10 compared to $38

 Saks 5th Avenue dress from Off 5th Outlet at $33 compared to $130

 Red work dress with belt from Ross at $16 compared to $58

All 4 items from Urban Outfitters at $15 compared to $154

White one shoulder cocktail dress from Ross at $17 compared to $68

Fashionably cheap,

Tina

NYC: Blazer by Gap at $17 compared to $88

Prim and Proper in Paris

Prim and Proper in Paris by tinadeal featuring a feather print dress

Alice Olivia flower print dress
$190 - oxygenboutique.com

American Vintage scoop neck dress
stylebop.com

Altuzarra feather print dress
$615 - brownsfashion.com

Short heels
amazon.com

Actually... I wore this dress in Geneva but I did buy it in Paris :). My version of a pink/white summer dress during a summer day in Paris (I mean... Geneva).

I bought the brown oxfords but it was just too hot for me to be wearing shoes, I need my feet to breathe! I wore my brown strappy sandals (featured in my last post) almost every day in Europe-- super comfortable!

I am showcasing one main dress I thought was so Paris appropriate in the summer. As well as my other fab finds during my trip in Europe. I just got back and already packing for my mini vacay after a vacation! (See you soon Vegas!)


Item 1-- Pink/White patterned high-low/mullet dress with brown braided belt
From: Promod (lovely store in France and there's a chain of them throughout Europe as well)
Type of sale: Sale (aka Soldes in french)
Original price: 39,95 euro (ah, I don't know where the euro symbol is!)
Purchased price: 15,50 euro (A little under $20 US)

Item 2-- Brown suede oxfords
From: Sorry, never got the name of this store :(
Type of sale: Sale (Soldes)
Original price: 19,95 euro
Purchased price: 5,95 euro (A little under $7.50 US)

My other fab finds in Europe:

Only maybe 1/3 of what I bought in Europe is posted on this entry... I went a little nuts in Europe and bought too many items to be posted on here.

Awesome heels that will most likely hurt my feet but I don't care because they're so pretty!

Ok so maybe I will care that they will hurt my feet but I'll make sure I'm going somewhere with more sitting and less standing! As posted on my Instagram.

Item 3-- Pompennette heels

From: Andre (Chain of shoe stores out in France)

Type of sale: Soldes!!!

Original price: 89 euros

Purchased price: 10 euros (About $12.25 US)

Since it's originally from Europe, H&M's were everywhere! Each H&M definitely had a different sale as the Paris store had my dress for 7 euros but in Rome it was 10 euros, definitely got the better bargain!

Item 4-- Blue floral patterned knee length dress
From: H&M
Type of sale: Soldes!!!
Original price: 49,90 euro
Purchased price: 7,00 euro (About $8.50 US)

Believe it or not but the random vendors on the streets of Rome had beautiful dresses. This lovely dress was just hanging on a hanger under a tent and I had to have it! As posted on my Instagram. The random boutiques also had great dresses and I even purchased a dress at 5 euros!!! (not pictured but I'll make sure to post it soon)

Item 5-- Navy blue sheer double layered dress with gold accents
From: Random vendor in Rome!
Type of sale: Bargaining at it's best!
Original price: 15 euros
Purchased price: 12,50 euros (About $15.35 US) and although 15 euros is a great price it's a vendor so why not bargain a couple of dollars off :D

Ah yes, Tory Burch my love! I went all the way to Rome and brought this baby home. So many items in this Tory Burch store were half off but I contained myself and only bought one purse. Oh and of course, tax free for purchases over 155 euros for US citizens-- oh yes! I sure did get almost $30 back at customs :). What's amazing is that if you search for the bag online it's still being sold at about $329 on sale.

Item 6-- Tory Burch Robinson Satchel in Oceanic
From: Tory Burch
Type of sale: 50% off selected items
Original price: 360,00 euro
Purchased price: 180,00 euro with 30,00 euro back at customs = 150,00 euro (About $185.00 US)

Side Note!

Express is currently having a deal where you can buy Men's 1MX shirt and get the second one at $19.90!

If worked out correctly with a coupon you can get an amazing deal. I've done it before and it's totally worth it to get those men's dress shirts at this sale + with a coupon.

For example:

Hopefully you receive Express coupons in the mail and if you don't I suggest you ask someone for theirs.

Buy a basic Men's 1MX shirt at $59.90. Patterns will usually cost $69.90.

When you buy a basic one at $59.90 and purchase a second basic 1MX at $19.90 you will be spending a little under $80.00 for 2 shirts. However, if you use your Express coupon that includes ($15 off of $30, $20 off of $60, and $30 off of $90) you will be receiving $30 off of your $80 purchase making your total about $50 which equals to $25.00 a shirt! More than half off the original for $59.90-- bam!

Now you can get your man a nice 1MX fitted shirt to show off that body of his. Or not? Classic button ups are just nice on a man too, no need to show off a body...unless you desire to :D 

This is such a funny photo of my mom shopping in Europe I have to end the entry with this!

Fashionably cheap,

Tina

Hawaiian Luau

An annual vacation to Hawaii with the family and a few outfits to post.  I would say about 3 outfits to post but I'm not posting all 3 at a time since a few outfits for one post is a bit much when I'm doing an overview of each outfit.  First post of the Hawaiian vacation is the luau attire!  I went to two luaus this time time in Hawaii.  The first luau was one that I won in a raffle, yay! 

Outfit 1:

I didn't plan on going to two luaus so I only packed one dress for the luau and one dress just in case I was going out to dinner.  I chose to wear the "just in case I was going out to dinner" dress for the first luau.  It looks like I should be in Jamaica because of the vibrant colors of the dress but I think it's bold and cute.  A simple styled tube dress with a sweetheart cut at neckline, geometric pattern, pleated bottom, and button details at the chest.  I paired it with coral colored multi-strapped sandals, hoop designed earrings, and topped it off with a flower in my hair for an island feel.  Tip: Try places you think you would least find your outfit from but know they sell clothing/accessories there.  Places you may least expect tend to have an over stock of things and they go on sale!

Item 1-- Colorful tube dress
From: Sport Chalet (yes, they have cute dresses at a sporting goods store!)
Brand: BB Dakota
Type of sale: Take an additional 50% off already reduced prices
Original price: $46.99
Purchased price: $24.96 with final price $12.48
See this item

Item 2-- Multi-strapped coral sandals
From: Ross
Brand: Madden Girl
Type of sale: Ross everyday
Original price: Compared at $49.00
Purchased price: $10.99

Item 3-- Hooped earrings with design
From: Cost Plus World Market (Cute earrings here believe it or not!)
Type of sale: All clearance earrings are 2 for $4.00
Original price: $4.99
Purchased price: $2.00 (when I purchased another pair of clearance earrings)

Outfit 2:

Luau #2!  The actual luau dress I was planning on wearing.  I absolutely love the back of this dress.  The beaded detail and low back makes this dress really stand out, well at least from the back!  The print of the dress is island-like.  The front has a low v-neck and comes with a built in bra (how convenient).  Again, to top it off a flower in the hair and a free shell necklace from the luau!  Amazing find of a dress and sandals with total purchase price $12.00!

Item 1-- Purple island print dress with low back
Brand: Windsor
From: Windsor
Type of sale: "Everything on this rack is $7.00" yes, it was a yellow sign that read that on the rack.
Original price: $34.90
Purchased price: $26.87 with final price $7.00

Item 2-- White strappy with loop hole design sandals
From: Sidecca
Brand: Soda
Type of sale: "All clearance sandals are $5.00"
Original price: $16.99
Purchased price: $10.00 with final price $5.00

Side Note!
Sorry, no side note this entry that isn't clothing/accessories related.  Unless one of you found a great deal, let me know and I will post it!  However, side note! McDonald's has new sauces for the McNuggets.  Sweet Chili and Buffalo!  They are quite yummy.  Irrelevant to anything but I say the 20 piece McNuggets is an awesome deal any way.

A popular questions that has come up:

Finding sales at TJ Maxx/Ross sounds time consuming and difficult to go through a store you don't know where to start at, how do you find deals there?

Consistency.  Go to either store at least once a week.  I know it does sound time consuming but when you go for about a half an hour in one week, it's not that much.  Sale racks are designated by bright clearance signs.  You will see week after week that items on the clearance rack change.  Try going mid-week.  Saturday and Sundays are disaster zones for both stores.  Expect to wait long lines just to purchase an item.  It can be exhausting and customer service isn't the greatest at these retail stores; I say it's a trade off for the great deals.

Fashionably cheap,

Tina

One month later to showcase 2 outfits!

I will officially publish this blog and start posting the link!  Hopefully I will get back into HTML and create an actual layout.  I have one pair of jeans, two places I wore them to with different environments.  The jeans I am showcasing are from Crossroads Trading Co.  All the clothes are second hand clothes and there are some amazing things here for a fraction of the retail price.  The jeans are by William Rast and usually go for $180+.  When I tried them on, they felt like a perfect fit.  I could never afford paying $180 for a pair of jeans but I can see why they are worth that much!  I absolutely love the feel and fit of the jeans.  Crossroads Trading retailed them at their price of $34.99 but they were on sale for "half off."  I bought these jeans in what I found as perfect condition for a final price of $17.50!

Outfit 1:

Photo credits: Alex
I first wore these jeans on my weekend vacation in Seattle with my best friend, Alex!  Seattle had some light rain and a cool temperature of about 57.  The jeans are a simple dark blue skinny jean style.  The top is a long 100% cotton brown tank with a black boyfriend cardigan.  I topped it off with a cream beret.  A very simple and comfortable outfit to make my away around Downtown Seattle.  The city's style felt very casual and almost very hipster for my taste but the outfit blended easily and worked well with the misty weather!  The beret is made of very soft material and the black cardigan displays Victoria's Secret "LOVE PINK" in studs on the back of the cardigan.  The tank is made of ultra soft cotton and feels so light-weight when wearing it.

Item 1-- Jeans (as described above with pricing)

Item 2-- Long brown tank
From: Nordstrom Rack
Brand: Alternative Apparel
Type of sale: Nordstrom rack price + additional 40% off
Original price: $42.00
Purchased price: $7.99 with final price $4.80


Item 3-- Black boyfriend cardigan with 2 pockets
From: Victoria's Secret
Brand: Victoria's Secret PINK
Type of sale: Take an additional 50% off already reduced prices
Original price: $49.50
Purchased price: $14.99 with final price $7.49

Item 4-- Cream beret
From: Target
Brand: Sonoma
Type of sale: Target everyday
Original/Purchased price: $4.99

Outfit 2:

Photo credits: Dan
The second time I wore these jeans was on a beach date with my boyfriend, Dan!  It was a nice warm day in Manhattan beach.  We just did the whole "long walks on the beach" sort of thing and I rolled up the jeans in 2 cuffs so my jeans wouldn't get wet; failed on that part!  I wore the jeans with a white tunic top with a beaded and gold round stud design.  I also wore a black cardigan with this outfit but not a bulky boyfriend cardigan but a shorter 3/4 sleeve light cardigan with gold buttons.  I decided to also show off my every day purse!  I love my Junior Drake purse and take it with me almost everywhere.

Item 1-- Jeans (as described above with pricing)


Item 2-- White tunic with bead/round stud design
From: Nordstrom Rack
Brand: Soprano
Type of sale: Everyday Nordstrom Rack
Original price: $39.00
Purchased price: $12.99

 


Item 3-- Black 3/4 sleeve cardigan with gold buttons
From: Love Culture
brand: Love Culture
Type of sale: Love Culture everyday
Original/Purchased price: $12.99 

Item 4-- Junior Drake leather green purse with cross body attachment; has a black/white print inside
From: Karmaloop.com
Brand: Junior Drake 
Type of sale: Karmaloop sale; mark downs
Original price: $450.00
Purchased price: $104.00

 

 Two fun and comfortable outfits with one pair of comfy jeans!

More postings to come!

Fashionably cheap,

Tina