AlmaKnack: Ballin' on a budget

My friend wanted me to tell her how I find all my stuff on sale. I rarely pay full price for anything. I take that back, I may pay full price for shoes or hand bags. Even my diamonds are discounted (my engagement ring was custom made in the Philly diamond district and appraised for more than what my husband paid!). Costco.com has really nice jewelry for a fraction of the price!

Bloomingdale's is also a good place for buying nice jewelry on sale and sometimes they offer 12 months 0% financing.

The website I use all the time to shop or search for things online is Shopstyle. You can type something as simple as gold cuff and all the gold cuffs available online show up (as long as the retailer is registered with shopstyle). See exhibit A, B and C. I have the app on my phone so it's super easy. I sign up for sale alerts. I choose my favorite designers and whenever they go on sale shopstyle sends me an email.

Another way to get the best deals is to register your email online. If you register with Neiman Marcus you get access to Midday Dash or Evening Dash sales. If you register your email with Saks you have access to their FASHIONFIX.

That's basically all I do. I search shopstyle and I register my email with online websites. They send me new arrivals but they also email me when things go on sale and sometimes they email me coupon codes. Last week Juicy Couture emailed a 20% off code that I used to buy two necklaces that were already on sale.

I try not to pay full price for trendy items because I probably won't wear them much.

When shopping at the store or online I usually only go to the sale section; if I was a normal person with normal shopping habits then maybe I wouldn't have to shop sales all the time but because I am a shopaholic I have to make adjustments.

Don't forget to check RetailMeNot for coupon codes to your favorite stores. I also have an Ebates account. You have to go directly from the Ebates website to the shopping website to get credit and get your cash back. It's super easy to sign up. You don't get that much back but if you're already shopping you may as well get a little something in return.

I also like to shop on eBay and websites like Rue La La, Ideeli, Gilt, etc. etc. They offer designer pieces at discounted prices. The Outnet, the sister outlet to Net-A-Porter, is amazing! Yoox is cool too. There are so many sites out there! The ones stated above are some of my favorites.

Marshall's has a great selection of work out clothes and I love their HomeGoods section. I love The Runway at TJ Maxx. Loehmann's, Last Call Studio by NM, Last Call NM and Off 5th are some of my favorite discount stores. You'd be surprised at how current their stuff is. T.J. Maxx claims that 85% of their merchandise is from the current season.

That's it! Pretty simple stuff. Where do you get the best deals?

Thanks for reading! Here are two coupon codes I received today. Save 20% off at Old Navy online only with code ONSAVE20. Valid until May 6, 2013. Here's another for ASOS save an additional 10 % off sale items with code SALESCORE.

Enjoy!

Exhibit A. General Gold Cuff search on shopstyle