A Lot About Nothing

It’s a darn good thing I decided to make a stop at Fairview Mall last night. As I was on my way to Athletes World to look for some new cross-trainers, I stopped when I noticed some huge 2 for $10 sale signs in the Costa Blanca window. Of course I had to go in, since I didn’t spend any money on clothing on Boxing Day here in Canada. I’m sure glad I did!

They had a decent selection of items, especially the dress pants (nice pinstriped ones) which were about $39.95 regular price. I picked up a bunch for me and my sister for $5 each. They also had dressy tops (reg. price $24.95-$34.95), sweaters, and skirts that were all discounted to $5 each (if you buy 2 for $10).

Costa Blanca had some nice waist skirts and shoes for $10 each, and some jewelry 3 for $10. Still had some regular priced apparel as well. The cashier said that they have a lot more stock to get rid of, and the sale has been going on for just over a week now.

I got about 5 dress pants, a skirt and 4 tops (including a hot, black corset-type one) for $50! There was a decent selection of sizes available… I mainly saw sizes 4-10 in pants and a variety of S-XL for the tops. The store is located on the lower level near Sears. So if you’re in the Toronto area and need to refill your closet, hurry!

This has got to be my most “productive” shopping trip to the U.S. yet! I haven’t been shopping in Downtown Buffalo in about a year (I usually opt for tax tree Pennsylvania), but I didn’t want to drive too far this past Saturday. This time I followed my own advice and didn’t forget my shopping list at home. I planned out all my stops ahead of time (Walden Galleria area) and visited the store’s websites beforehand to check out all the sales.

JCPenny has a great After-Christmas Sale going on: 70% off all gold jewelery. I wish I had a few extra bucks with me or I would’ve bought a pair of white gold hoop earrings on sale for $150 (from $500). I picked up a nice white gold cross pendant with a cubic zirconia for $90 ( reg. price $299.99). Burlington Coat Factory (one of my favourite stores to shop at in the U.S.) had some great deals as well. Scored this amazing Kathy Van Zeeland handbag for $44 (reg. price $89). Best of all I finally found the medium-length wool winter coat I’ve been looking for all season. Guess how much? $49.99! Spending 45 minutes browsing through the wide array of coats on all those racks in Burlington Coat Factory was worth it! It fits me so well, and I copped a scarf for $2.99 to match. On the way out my eye caught this gold-coloured fitted jacket for $15.99 so I snatched that up along with an adorable baby outfit for my mommy-to-be friend of mine . My sister got this cool, reversible JLo winter jacket for $79.99.Border’s Bookstore is another favourite of mine. Got myself a large photo album and a beautiful Bible for $3.00. Payless Shoesource (the only store which carries my size) was good to me this time around. I finally found the pair of black pointy-toe pumps I’ve been looking for for ages! Only $16.99! Steve and Barry’s had everything in the store going for $8.98 (2 for $15), so I picked up two cute t-shirts. Marshall’s had some good deals on clearance clothing. I got several long sleeve T’s and sweaters for under $30.00.  Bath & Body Works had great deals.  Got a bunch of lotions, creams, body sprays and soaps, all for under $25.  They smell soooo good!

So as my brother, sister and I were driving back into Canada I urged them to organize all their receipts, total them up and keep them handy. As I reached customs the female CBSA officer asked me the usual questions: Where we were from in Canada, where we were during the day, how much we spent and what we purchased. We told the truth and were waived through (she didn’t even ask for our I.D.). We didn’t have to pay any taxes or duties on our purchases. We had left Toronto around 8am and got back home by 6pm.

So almost $300 later, I think my trip to the U.S. this time around was definitely worth it!

I think this year was the first of many that I didn’t feel my usual drive for Boxing Day shopping. Which is good, because I ended up saving a lot of money.

Usually, I gear up every December 26th and head to a mall like the Eaton Centre, Yorkdale, or Orfus Road, but this year the deals really didn’t get me. I did manage to pick up a few things. Got Super Paper Mario from Zellers for $34 (which I recently found out was actually $10 cheaper, so I may have to go back for a price match). Picked up Wii Play which comes with an extra Wii Remote for $39.99 from Superstore (reg. $59.99). Finally got myself the Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes 4-6) for $28, and picked up a couple sweaters from Winners because they had an extra 25% off all clearance items.

If I had the extra cash (and a larger place) I probably would’ve purchased one of those LCD or Plasma TV’s that were going on sale at Futureshop/Best Buy for up to $1100 off the regular price. I did participate in Future Shop’s online Boxing Week sale though (on December 24th). Got Scarface/Spy Games for $24.99 (Scarface is regularly $60) and a Sandisk 2GB USB Drive for $16 (over $50 off).  The site was so bogged down with visitors that the online check out didn’t work properly until 3 hours after the scheduled start time.

Turns out that I’m making a last minute run to the border tomorrow (actually in 5 hours, I should really get some sleep), because I wanted to see what type of post-Christmas Day deals they have down there. Stores like Macy’s, JCPenny and Burlington Coat Factory have “After Christmas” clearance sales of up to 70% off. So I’m just heading down to Buffalo for 1/2 the day, so I’ll keep you informed about what deals I score!

All you people searching for a Nintendo Will console this Christmas were in luck today. Futureshop.ca had two separate stock replenishes of the popular gaming system of 350 units and they were all gone in a matter of minutes. If you didn’t already have your customer profile set up, or were busy fumbling through your wallet looking for your credit card then you were probably out of luck.  Many of their stores sold some of their last shipments before Christmas this morning as well.

This screen grab was taken at 4:18pm (click for larger version):

And just over 10 minutes later:

I’ve never seen such a demand for item since the Tickle-Me-Elmo. I for one wasn’t about to wake up at the crack of dawn this morning in the cold to head to Future Shop and purchase one in store. All the people who managed to get one before the holidays are pretty lucky because this is one hot item (two years running). It sucks when many of these people buying up all these Wii’s are scalpers trying to make a quick buck from the high demand of this product, while there are eager children waiting on them as Christmas gifts.

Other online retailers that had the Wii in stock at various times today: Costco and Best Buy.

Next online rush: Wii Fit

I know it may seem like a bit of an oxymoron with me giving financial advice, but trust me, I’m not that bad of a shop-a-holic!

Here is a excerpt from a 9-tip article I wrote for Passion Magazine on how you can help ease the strain on your wallet this holiday season:

1. Plan it out
Budgeting is key to tracking and saving your funds. Estimate how much money you’ll spend for the holiday season, write it down and stick to it.

2. Make a list and check it twice
Do you really need to buy your mail carrier’s brother a Christmas gift? Or even your neighbours whom you’ve only said “Good morning” to on occasion? Probably not. Make a list of people you intend to exchange gifts with in order of priority. You should also brainstorm gift ideas for each as well as jot down approximate prices to keep things organized. Trim the list if necessary.

3. Don’t procrastinate
Yes, the adrenalin rush of Christmas Eve shopping is tempting, but be the early bird for once. Avoid waiting until the last minute to shop so that you’ll have more time to compare prices at different stores. You can also take advantage of year-round sales this way. Boxing Day is a must if you want to save big on holiday items and future presents that you can hide away in your closet until next year.

4. Cash it
It may seem so much easier to swipe and sign, but paying with cash will benefit you in the long run. If you see the money leaving your hands, you may feel less inclined to part with it. You’ll also avoid being struck with bills and high interest come January.

Click here to read the rest of the article on PassionMag.ca.