App Love! -- Retail Me Not --

Being frugal is a way of life. It isn't a hobby. Getting the occasional deal on something, or using a coupon every once in a while doesn't make you frugal. The constant search for "the most for the least" is what makes you frugal. Not going into a store unless there is a sale or you have a coupon makes you frugal, and even then, using your calculator to keep on budget. Shopping at the Save-A-Lot is being frugal. Shopping what you've already got when you want to redecorate a space and using a can of spray paint to breathe new life into it is what makes you frugal. I'm proud to say that Aaron and I work hard to be sure we get the best price on everything.

I don't set foot into a store unless I know there is either a sale or I have a coupon for it. I'm not a 'crazy coupon lady' however, I see the potential in such a lifestyle and I wouldn't put it past myself to one day cross that line. However, if I am looking to go to a specific store for something, a lot of the time I will wait until there is a sale, or a coupon becomes available.

Michael's is one store that I don't go to unless I have a coupon. That is a store that I very easily get in trouble in. But the good thing is, Michael's often, very often, has coupons available online. You can pull it up on your phone, show it to the girl (or guy, but at our store it's always a girl) at the register, and she scans it right from your phone screen. I check for Michael's coupons every weekend, cause that's usually when this country girl heads to the big city. ;)

I take my Kohls coupons pretty seriously too. Date nights are also much nicer when I have a coupon at a restaurant! Pizza night? Coupon!


But, Missy has no printer. Well... I have one, but it hates me and decided it didn't want to work anymore. So I have to have coupons on my phone, or not at all.

My Mom actually turned me onto this app a while ago. I had it on my iPhone 4s but I had never opened it, not even once. When I upgraded to my 5s, one of the first apps I downloaded from the Apple App Store was "Retail Me Not." (Free)

Just prepare yourself. You will LOVE this app.

When you set up your account it asks you what stores you like to shop at the most, and it lists a ton for you to choose from. But you can also search for stores/restaurants and add them to your favorite stores. Once you have a list of stores, you can fix it in your settings to where Retail Me Not will alert you when there are any good deals in stores nearby. It will give you a happy little alert noise letting you know that you have coupons for (ex.) 12 stores nearby! It did it to me tonight! I got all excited when I heard the happy little alert!

You can also save coupons. If there is a sale coming up in a few days and you want to be sure you get your coupon, you can tap the little star to the side and save your coupon. Don't worry if you forget about it, Retail Me Not will alert you before it expires!

So what stores are available on Retail Me Not? Ha! You name it! Wal-Mart? Yup. Macy's? Uh-huh. Old Navy? You bet! Kohl's? Why yes! Bath & Body Works, Bed Bath & Beyond, Anthropologie (I've never shopped there, but it's in my favorite stores list because one day I will buy something!), Ebay, AutoZone (for muh Aaron), Etsy...  Even Amazon.com (which makes me soooo happy)! There is an "In-Store" or "Online Sale" option for every store too, which is awesome because sometimes stores offer sales online and not in the store and vice versa! Double the chance to save some cash!!

The last time Aaron and I went to Kohls, I used 3 coupons from Retail Me Not and it brought our total from around $140something to $100even. That's a big deal! It was major success on our part and we both practically skipped out of the store, because our total savings (we did take advantage of everything being on sale, but even with that the total was still at $140) were $158!! YES!!! We celebrated with milkshakes and slushes from Sonic! :)

I check retailmenot.com all the time, because if you log into your account on your computer, on your main page it will list all the deals of the day/week/etc. It helps me determine when to buy the things I want/need. 


So, go download this app and give it a whirl. Your wallet will thank you! 

Let me know in the comments, below, if you get this app and if you love it as much as I do! It's so funny, whenever we go to town, Aaron always asks me if I have any coupons on "that app thingy." And the answer is usually, always "yes!"

I am not being perked in any way by Retail Me Not. I just love this app and am sooo happy I found it! It has helped us so much with our shopping and spending!



P.S. HI JESSICA!!! :) (old college buddy who recently revealed she's a Simple Lifer!)

OFFICE RE-DO!

I'm so excited! If you are personal friends with me on Facebook (and I know some of you are!) you probably saw where all day yesterday I was doing a major re-organize/re-decorate in my little orange chevron office.

It's about 1:30 on Tuesday morning (it's my brother's baby girl's due date... Aunt Missy is patiently- impatiently- waiting!) and I've been at it for about 15 1/2 hours... it was a major clean out in my office closet, I've been putting that off for years, and I moved a piece of furniture and am making a space for a new one, and I'm creating a full on crafting space... as well as ridding myself of the bright orange chevron. I hate the color orange. I love the fruit orange, but hate the color orange. Yuck. I have just never seen anything in orange that I really liked. Of course part of that could be the fact that I am a die-hard University of Kentucky fan. But anyway....

What does Missy do when Missy wants to redecorate but can't afford it? She pulls out the spray paint!

I've been spray painting since about 8pm... I ran out of one color around 9:30 so I had to pull out some left over regular paint that just happened to be the perfect shade for what I was doing.

I've got to go pick up my new crafting table (thanks Mama!) tomorrow and while I'm out I need to stop and pick up some contact paper to cover my table tops, all of them. I have three tops to cover: my desk, I love the desk but I'm apparently a very oily person, so I'm rubbing the finish off the top where my arms rest when I type. The table next to my desk, where I used to have my printer, which doesn't work. So I moved it and set up a bill/to file station. And then, of course, my crafting table. I want the pretty black and white floral contact paper, cause it will go with my color scheme, and it will brighten up my dark furniture. I'm also purchasing a large cork bulletin board to go over my crafting table, it will be a pretty edition to the room and my plan is to use it as my "IDEA" board, I even hand lettered a cutsey little "Idea" sign earlier in my evening. (I did go ahead and washi tape the dimensions off on my wall so that I could get the "feel" of having the board up until I can order it.)

So, does anyone have any guesses as to what my color scheme is?? It probably won't take a genius to figure it out. Aqua and Pink. Along with some black and white of course. And I'm talking, eventually, all shades of pink. It's my favorite color for me and aqua is my favorite color for decor at the present.


I got inspired on Sunday afternoon when the sight of my orange lampshades nearly made me vomit. So after about a second and a half of searching on Pinterest for ideas, I quickly, very quickly, hatched a design. I'm excited to get this project finished, entirely, and show it to you. A LOT of this project has been DIY and I'm only giving myself a $40 budget to completely redo the room, and most of that budget is going to the large cork board. The room still has to house my treadmill, so I have that to take into consideration, but I think my plan for my crafting table and desk, which I am not moving, should actually give me a lot of room to use the treadmill.

It's pretty late and I have a ton of things to get put away, the tool box, a few containers, the paint (Lord, the paint) and I'm dying of thirst and, to be honest, quite smelly. You love me for my honesty, you know you do. I'm sure my poor, poor, sweet, dear husband wishes I would shut off the music, and the lights, bathe, and get in bed. But, you all know me, I'm a clean freak, and until I can walk into this room tomorrow with my craft table in one hand and my contact paper in the other, and not have to stumble over anything (except my things for Goodwill and my things to sell online) I will not rest.

I'm a happy little lady tonight, but I'm beginning to run down, so I'd best get to hopping before I fall asleep sitting here at the desk!

I hope you all are as excited to see this super DIY office as much as I am excited to show it to you!