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Saving $$$ for Back to School w/ Old Navy #OldNavyBTSDeals

Aug 132012

The sound of silence sets in this morning as all of the kids are back to school, we survived the Summer! Here is the little guy on the first day, of course we were running a little late and his sister ran off to class but I had to get a picture of him on his first day!

Back to school can be expensive, between shopping for clothes to supplies to sports it can be in the thousands. Crazy, right?! My kids wear school uniforms to school so it’s a little bit trickier for us to find deals on clothes but it can be done. Last year we got some amazing deals on polos and khakis at Old Navy so when it came time for back to school shopping again, my mom and I headed back to Old Navy to pick out some new clothes for the kids.

Here are just a few items we got, polos for lil guy and the Clever tween. I despise white because it clearly shows any flaws but my son insisted on getting some white polos.

If your kids wear uniforms too, be sure to check out their sale going on for School Uniforms through the 15th of August where all Polo Shirts are only $5 and Khakis are $10! Amazing deal!

My preferred color polo, black! I really like the quality of these polo shirts from Old Navy, they are extremely durable and lasted us the entire year last year. With I am sure over 40 washes, they all held up nicely!

The kids were beat after school shopping at ON and we only bought uniforms at Old Navy but after looking on their site, I know I will be picking up a few more things. The kids are excited they get to wear their own style shoes and accessories. The little guy will love these Skull Slip On Shoes, he loves canvas and anything skulls. Yes, when I asked my son what styles he likes he said, “Mom, anything with skulls”. Got it! I tried to get them online, unfortunately they are sold out but I am willing to drive around to my Old Navy stores to find them. It wouldn’t have been the first time I have scoped Old Navy stores for a certain pair of shoes!

Are you ready for back to school time? Here are some tips for saving money at back to school time:

Sign up for emails and be sure to follow social media pages for the stores you love like Old Navy to keep up with the latest deals.
Stalk the clearance section, often stores put their current seasons into clearance early so they can make room for next season stock.
Buy the Sunday paper, it’s a great way to keep up with the latest deals and comparison shop. Sometimes there are even in store coupons!
Consider joining a clothing swap with a local mom’s group, everyone brings their gently used clothing that their kids do not fit into any more.

What do you do to save on back to school clothes?

On a side note, if you haven’t seen the new Old Navy commercials for back to school and you were a fan of 90210, you must see them. Seriously, awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/user/oldnavy?feature=watch

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

I’m On the Photoshop Learning Train!

Saving Money 2 Responses »

Aug 052012

I’m slowly but surely learning the ropes of the Photoshop thanks to Lynda.com. I recently bought a new lens for my DSLR because I wanted better photos but I discovered it will only take my photos so far. I needed to learn PS so I could do something more than “auto adjust” on Pic Monkey. Here is a recent example of a photo I took at the AZ Skyride.

Here is my before

Here is my after and I know it’s not perfect but it’s definitely an improvement! I love how bright the sky is and how vibrant the trees are compared to the OOC shot!

I want to give a congratulations to Rachel R and Cheri P who won my Lynda.com subscription giveaway. If you didn’t win, don’t fret! Remember you can actually chose the membership you want. If you don’t want to pay for the whole year and think you can devote time to learn that one (or many) things you want, you can go month to month! Definitely a lot cheaper than going back to school.

Disclosure: I was provided with a subscription to review Lynda.com, I was also provided with two to giveaway in another post. All opinions and work shown are my own.

Thrifty Thursday: $1 Heels, Vintage Maps, Target Dollar Section and Fab Fashion Finds!

Fashionista on a Budget, Saving Money 1 Response »

Jul 262012

Today I am sharing this week’s favorite frugal finds!

First up, these lovely Mustard Yellow High Heels which were an awesome steal and one of my favs of the week. $1 at the Goodwill Clearance Center!
Maps, I am not sure why I am having an obsession with older maps but I am. Found these for a great price also at the Goodwill Clearance Center.
Then the Target Dollar section strikes again with these fun yellow stationary items, organization buckets and cute wrapping paper. All for a buck!
Lastly, I went to Downeast Basics at Arrowhead mall this week and scored this shirt for only $9.99 (regular $36.99) and these jeans for $12 and $18!

That’s the best of it! What did you find this week?

Lynda.com ~ A Clever Review and Giveaway (valued at $357!)

Feeling Lucky, Saving Money 23 Responses »

Jul 242012

I’m one of those very highly ambitious people. I want to start a project and then 10 minutes later I have about 100 ideas stemmed from that one idea. One thing I wanted to do this Fall was head back to school to take some web design courses which includes learning more HTML, CSS, Photoshop, design etc. Unfortunately after I tallied everything up, it was going to cost me a pretty penny. Or several. Also the class times were hard to commit to, with the kids school year coming up that means we also have extra cirricular activities. I like a classroom setting but I set out to find maybe some training via the web. I was pleased to find Lynda.com. Lynda.com overs over 1410 online courses that include everything from photography, photoshop to learning WordPress. This is awesome because I definitely could use all of those to improve my blog!

Here is what Lynda has to offer:

– Stay current and keep skills sharp
– Learn innovative and productive techniques
– Access over 1,410 online courses, 24/7
– Video instruction by recognized industry experts
– Gain confidence and marketability
– Stop, rewind, replay movies as you need to

You may be thinking, why not just search Youtube. I’ve looked at Youtube for many things but the quality of Lynda.com is so professional, it makes it that much easier for learning. The videos are clear, precise and step by step.

I’ve watched a few videos and have gotten out of my “I’m scared of Photoshop” to hey look what I made!

This is another upcoming surprise to be launched hopefully in a few weeks!

I am really looking forward to learning more about redesigning my blog (hopefully not messing things up royally in the process) and working on my photography. I really need intense focus on my lighting!

The subscription options are flexible and as low as $25/month! So take a few courses in a couple months and save money!

Right now, you have the chance to win a year subscription!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided with a membership to Lynda.com and was offered two subscriptions to give away. Winners will be chosen by random and will be given 48 hours to respond to the notification email. If the 1st winner(s) fail to respond after allotted time, a new winner will be drawn and will repeat until 2 winners respond. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Thrifty Thursday: Dollar Finds of the Week!

Saving Money, Thrifty Decor No Responses »

Jul 052012

This week I had a really good deal finding week and since I haven’t done a Thrifty Thursday post lately, I decided to show off my recent findings today!

I found a beautiful blue glass piece for my office. I found this for only $1.00 at a thrift store near my house.

This cute rose plant came from Smart and Final if you can believe it AND it was only $1.99!

I absolutely love these preserving jars with the attached lids, as you can see from my Pottery Barn knock off post here. I was super excited to find these only for $1 at Dollar Tree!

Last and certainly not lease, I found some awesome finds in the Target’s dollar section. Lots of pink with these over sized clothes pins,dry erase board, polka dot pinwheel and polka dot cash box/pencil box. I also found Damask print bins, spools of Summer ribbon and magnetic note pads. I love this Chevron one!