Last night I hit up the Regent Ave. Value Village with a friend. For about $25 I obtained a genuine leather wallet and two nice shirts. Not bad, I thought to myself, but at about $6-$8 a shirt, Value Village is actually more expensive than today's BootLegger sale at the St. Vital mall. THREE shirts, at a total cost of $6! Guys, they've got plenty of on-sale men's clothing too. Don't forget to ask if there's a discount for students! Yours truly was way too surprised by the crazy deals to ask if any additional discounts were available.
irewards @ Chapters/Indigo -
I finally signed myself up for an irewards card - something I should have done ages ago since I purchase many more books than I'm willing to admit to myself. The start-up cost is $25 for a year, and entitles a member to 40% off all bestsellers, 10% off all books, and 5% off at chapters.indigo.ca (excluding gift cards). I've already saved $6 on my first purchase. Let's see if it's able to pay for itself! (Answer: considering the purchaser, DEFINITELY) If you buy a lot of books, this might be a good idea, as the membership also applies to their online store and they don't offer any special student discounts.
Shaving cream, the efficient way -
Stacia Franz (click the link to experience her truly wonderful and unique view of her experiences in the restaurant industry) lets us in on how to bypass all those costly and sometimes disappointing shaving creams. I've paraphrased her helpful tip below:
You can get the inexpensive President's Choice body lotion from Superstore, or the cheapest lotion in bulk from Costco. The bottle lasts me a year. I use it as shaving cream, mixed with just a little soap. It foams nicely and the foam lasts. Plus it moisturizes your skin, so you can skip a step by not having to moisturize afterwards - a lot faster!
Thanks Stacia!
And finally, one more way to avoid those chemical-heavy solutions -
If you've bought something new and are concerned about it fading, or you've noticed lately that your fuchsia shirt is turning everything else a faint pink, here's an easy fix: soak the offending item for about 1/2 an hour, in cold water mixed with 3/4 cup pickling salt or vinegar. (I find pickling salt to be more effective but I suspect fewer people will have it on hand) This should help the (remaining) dye bond to the fabric. This is also effective if you've hand-dyed fabric and you want to make sure the colour won't run.
Happy Saturday! As always, comment with tips, questions, concerns.
Wow: aren't you full of useful tips!
ReplyDeleteThose are some great tips for cash-strapped students! If I could make a recommendation for your blog, I'd suggest you take a trip down to North Dakota (preferably Fargo) and check out the savings down there. Burlington Coat Factory has had some great sales to try to draw consumers in during the current economic recession.
ReplyDeletethanks for the shout out and plug for my blog haha. just wanted to clarify, i meant the cheapest lotion would work just fine, either PC brand from superstore or no name stuff from costco haha, just in case ppl are looking for Presidents Choice at costco lol
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the comments! Stacia, I've edited my post so hopefully it's accurate now. Let me know if any further changes are needed!
ReplyDeleteZach, I'd be interested to know if the deals available in Fargo would offset the time and fuel costs inherent in such a trip. Let me know what you think!
Another card that's my life saver for a while now is the Student Price Card, always "SPC". It practically pays for itself and is good for a year at so many stores and food places!
ReplyDeleteI swear by shaving with conditioner, especially the little samples left over in my room mates hair dye kits. Softest skin I've EVER had, for next to nothing.
ReplyDelete