How to get 90% off of the original price (on almost anything!)

I want to share my favorite 10 ways to find things for 90% off of the original price on just about anything!   It is how we saved enough that I could be a stay at home mom.   I love to know that I am saving money, but still getting great things! I owe it to my mom- she is the best shopper that I know! She will find our daugther a dress that was origionally $50, marked down to $9.00, with extra 30% off and another 20% off… I love to see what she finds! (Our kids love it, too!)   I am excited to partner with PatPat to share these with you!

Here are a few of our favorite tips for shopping well…

1). Find an app that gives you great deals. I recently discovered an app that gives you up to 90% off online. I found Pat Pat because this app is currently featured as a best new app on the Apple App store. Through it, I found the cutest todder dresses for Allie and even adorable baby costumes for my cousin’s new baby. Then, I found this amazing deal- this wet bag as it can actually be purchased for $0.64 using your promo code YMOD35:

2). That brings me to point #2. Find coupon codes for everything! I never shop online without some sort of code or deal. I have been in contact with PatPat and they are going to offer us 35% off + $5 off of your first order with the code YMOD35.

3). Shop at Clearance Sales. We love to go to the Lowes Sidewalk Sales (90% off of their items!) – On the first OR last Saturday of the month, Lowes will occasionally have a sidewalk sale. I call on the Friday night before the first & last Saturday of the month (call very late- around 9:30pm) and ask them if they are having a sidewalk sale. If the answer is yes, be there bright and early! The sale starts at 7:00am and they are outside, with customers waiting!
At the last sale, I bought a ton of things! The price marked is the clearance price and they re-mark it for you until it is down to about 90% off.
An example of this is the great set of brand new wicker baskets that I bought (originally over $65) – I paid $1. YES, you saw that correctly… $1.
That is just the beginning! I bought a full-size brand new wicker hamper for $1. I bought a ton of kids things, too, for 10 cents up to $3 each.
My total was $33 and I saved over $300! We buy tools, household items, light-bulbs, tile… everything and anything for your home at 90% off! (Oh- and rugs!)
They mark them down after they have been on the shelves & aren’t selling or if something is wrong. I bought a box of 8 light bulbs for 10 cents because one bulb was missing! (They are the energy-saving ones, too!)

Tip 4). Shop the clearance racks first. I also shop the clearance first. As you saw in my other post on this is a great way to save. Once you find the throw pillows that you want on clearance, use the store coupon (most stores have one- ask at the register) to get an extra 15% or more off of your total.

5). Use your friends things. A friend of mine was literally going to throw away a beautiful $600 Pottery Barn Sleigh crib when she was done with it. I decided to use it in our daughter’s room (and passed along our oak crib to another friend).

6). Exchange! My friend and I did a swap. She needed a crib mattress (which I had) and I wanted a mini fridge (which she had). Neither of us were using what we had, so we just exchanged items. We both had what we wanted and paid nothing.  I love doing toy swaps & clothing swaps.

7). Shop the mis-tints at the paint store. When I want to redecorate a room in our house, I decide on which color I want to do in the room. I normally stick to “seaside” types of colors, so they are easy to come by. I go into my favorite paint supply stores and I ask to see their mistinted paints (AKA: “Oops paints”). They are marked down to $5 a gallon. This includes the very expensive paint that runs around $50 normally, marked down to $5.

8). Use your coupons at the competitor’s store. Just like using a coupon with your PatPat app, if you are at a store, you can use coupons (and you shoudl!) Many stores will take the competitors coupons. When we made a window seat/storage bench for our son’s room, I took my 40% off Michael’s coupon to Jo-Ann fabrics & they honored it.

9). Shop craigslist – I always check craigslist before I go to the store for big-ticket items. Now many things are better off buying new, but there are some items that I will buy used. I bought our kitchen table new at World Market. It is just what I wanted: it expands to fit over twelve and it is just the look I was going for. It was on sale, but was still expensive. To balance this out, I bought our six chairs on craigslist for $30 and painted them a seafoam green color. My husband then built a bench for our kids. It sits along the window-wall and it opens to hold all of my “not used very often” kitchen appliances.

10). My biggest one – do your research first! Start shopping online at place like PatPat, where you can find the lowest prices at up to 90% off. Always look onilne first, because many times, those prices are unbeatable!

Ps- this book might be helpful to you: