Nordstrom Rack - Best Deal Ever

I found something today I did not know existed.  An item on clearance for 100% off!  Don't believe me?  Check it out:

Still don't believe me?  Ok, I understand.  If it hadn't happened to me I might not believe it either!  Ha!

But it did in fact happen today (ummmm Happy Valentine's Day to me?!?) at Nordstrom Rack!

I have found some awesome deals there before, I'm talking 90% off and up.  But this?  Literally didn't even know that they HAD such a thing as 100% off!  The cashier said that very occasionally they do have this though.

No idea why...

Anyways I actually LOVE the sweater!  That's why I picked it up in the first place.  Then I looked at the tag and was like "whaaaaat?"  But sure enough it rang up for $0.01 at the register!  My lucky day!

What is your best deal ever?  Comment below!

Buy More, Spend Less

Today I went to Ulta, armed with multiple coupons and knowing they had a sale going on.

I may or may not have another post about Ulta to come... don't judge me, that store is awesome.

Anyways back to today! What I had:

-$5 off any two Almay cosmetics.  This AMAZING coupon is available through Swagbucks (learn more back here).

-$1 any one Cover Girl cosmetic item (from the newspaper).

-$5 off a $10 purchase, get yours here.

Ulta has been having buy one get one 50% off all their drugstore brand cosmetics for a while now, I feel like they do this sale a lot since their prices tend to be about $0.50 more than say, Target.

At first I was just going to get the 2 Almay products and use the Almay coupon.  If I would have done that I would have spent: ((6.99*50% off) + 7.99) - 5 = 6.49

So then I thought, well that doesn't really make sense because if I spend 3.51 more I can use my $5 off $10.

So THEN I remembered about my Cover Girl coupon.  I found an eyeshadow trio so my total came to: 6.49 + (4.99 - 1.00) = 10.48 - 5 = 5.48
Full price total: 19.97 (I got 73% off!)

By buying the eyeshadow I actually SAVED a dollar... crazy right?  I knew I'd done well when even the cashier was impressed! 

The prices in the picture are determined based on what my receipt said, I'm not exactly sure how they decide how much of each coupon gets applied to each item but thats what I looked at.

I got: Almay intense i-color eyeliner in black pearl, Almay intense i-color shadow stick for hazel eyes, and Cover Girl eyeshadow trio in golden sunset.

Now use the links above to get your coupons and GO get some deals!  Don't forget to tell me about them in the comments too!

Happy Shopping!

What is Deals Actually?

Welcome to Deals Actually!  Thanks for stopping by!  I hope this blog helps everyone to become a real bargain shopper.  If you're wondering where the name 'Deals Actually' came from, there are two reasons:

First, I always see store advertisements that say "Sale of the Year ... 20% off" or specials on tv that tell you about saving "up to 50% off".  I get a very confused look on my face when I see these signs and advertisements.  I personally do not consider these "deals" anything special.  Yes, technically they are sales, but considering retail usually has 100% markup I need a bigger discount!  So I am setting out to share my ACTUAL deals, and hopefully show shoppers 'the light' on getting real steals!

Second, ever heard of Love Actually?  Yep, that's it!

I have a couple rules of thumb when I am shopping (I hold to these for clothing and shoes, a little more lenient on other items):

NEED OR WANT?
If it is something I need, I obviously have to get it, BUT I try to use some sort of coupon, or at least price compare between stores.  I am always looking for last minute coupons, usually using Google.

50% OFF? NEVER!
If I am just shopping for fun (Retail Therapy anyone?) I like to get 75% or more.  Depending on the store and brand of the item this can vary but I definitely never get something if it is only 50% off!

COMBINE
Macy's is my go to store when it comes to 'combo deals'.  They have great clearance prices and then I always combine with a coupon!  Big savings even bigger!

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT
Maybe your mom has always told you this too, and it really is TRUE!  More often then not, I see a new top I love or find a cute skirt for half off, and of course I don't buy it (see above).  But since I shop often (see below), I am usually successful in getting said item... eventually.  Patience people!

SHOP OFTEN
When you only go out and shop for things that are necessities, you tend to impulse buy.  Not good!  This leads to overspending.  Shopping more often can actually SAVE you money!  I rarely even look at the full price items, straight to the sale areas for me!

BE WILLING TO SPEND NOW, TO SAVE LATER
This goes along with shopping often.  Lets say you see some nice black pants, in your size, for 75% off.  But you don't need black pants right now.  Buy them anyways!  I guess this is kind of what extreme couponers do with a 'stockpile', but way less 'extreme'.  You'll probably need new black pants eventually so why not buy now so you DON'T have to spend later?!

FREE MONEY
Yeah you read that right, free money!  I love any and all apps, websites, etc where I can earn real money for doing things I would do anyways!  Here are my favorites (click on each to sign up!):
Swagbucks (I get Amazon gift cards!)
Bing Search (I get more Amazon gift cards!)
Shopkick (I get Target gift cards! This is a mobile app)

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