I can’t sew everything we need, though I try to sew as much as I can!
Sometimes you have to buy things, like eyeglasses–or shoes–or fabric 🙂
Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) deals have helped me with the things I need.
One of the ways I make the most of those deals is to shop through Ebates. It’s a rebate site that gives you a percentage of your purchase back as a check. You go through the Ebates link to your favorite online store, and they give you a percentage back. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, however, they give double cash back (or more). Plus, they have coupon codes for your favorite online retailers that you can use to get more off of your total–which is likely to be on sale, too, because it’s Black Friday.
There are some things that I buy that almost never go on sale. My entire family has wide feet, so I have to buy shoes online. Wide shoes aren’t cheap, and most places don’t carry what I need anywhere locally. I will go through ebates for double cash back from Shoes.com or another retailer to get a discount on my children’s shoes.
Glasses are another thing that I can’t make. Zenni Optical has eyeglasses for as low as $6.95 for a complete pair of frames and lenses. You’ll need to see an eye doctor locally for an exam (make sure to have them right down your p/d with your prescription) and then you can order your glasses. If you go through Ebates, you’ll get a percentage back as well.
Ebates sends you a check with your refunds on a quarterly basis. If you’re new to Ebates, you can get a $10 gift card to Target or Home Depot when you sign up and make a minimum $25 purchase through their links within a month.
If there’s something you really want, do some comparison shopping online today. My camera was bought on an online Black Friday deal. I knew what I wanted, and we researched it and searched online that day for the best deal. I wasn’t looking for the top-of-the-line model; I wanted something inexpensive but yet good enough to take good enough pictures of my children that I would never spend money on getting photos taken again. If you’re shopping from home, you can compare prices for the item you need/want at several places online before making a final decision, and you don’t have to spend a penny on gas. Plus, you can start shopping in your pajamas and eat Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.
If you’re leaving the house on Black Friday, consider packing a lunch (and a breakfast, if you leave really early!) Pack leftovers in a Thermos
If you’re hitting the sales at Joann Fabrics, get a number at the cutting counter when you get there. I’ve seen 3-hour lines for the cutting counter that day. You can usually get a number and get all of your fabric in the cart, ready for cutting, while others are busy getting their fabric cut and standing in line. (If for some reason you’re not ready when they call your number, offer to trade your number with someone else in line who has been waiting for a while when they’re a couple of numbers ahead of yours). If there is fabric that is going to be on sale on both Friday and Saturday, go on Friday morning for better selections. If you want patterns, search the Butterick site ahead of time (Butterick patterns are .99 each this weekend) and write down what patterns you want and what size you need, so that you can go straight to the drawers to quickly get exactly what you need. If you’re buying embroidery thread, write down the general colors you want so that you remember all of them. Above all, remember to take your coupons, especially the one for 25% off your entire purchase, including sale items (this doesn’t include doorbuster deals). There is a 25% coupon in both the mailer and the newspaper (today’s paper).
Don’t forget to look at Fabric.com’s Black Friday sales as well. You may not have to fight the crowds at all. Here are their coupon codes for this weekend:
| THX15 | 15% Off $50 or more (Excl sewing & emb. machines & Gift Cards) Can be applied to Black Friday Sale items. Exp 11:59 ET | 11/26/2012 11:59 PM |
| Corner12 | 10% off 40 (excl sewing & emb. machines & Gift Cards. One-time use only) Exp 11:59 ET | 1/26/2013 11:59 PM |
| THX20 | 20% Off $100 or more (Excl sewing & emb. machines & Gift Cards) Can be applied to Black Friday Sale items. Exp 11:59 ET | 11/26/2012 11:59 PM |
| THX25 | 25% Off $200 or more (Excl sewing & emb. machines & Gift Cards) Can be applied to Black Friday Sale items. Exp 11:59 ET | 11/26/2012 11:59 PM |
Then you can just stay home and sew. I already know what present I’m planning to sew on that day.
Wawak has a $10 off $100 code through the 23rd. The code is WBF1112. You can read my review of Wawak here. (I am not an affiliate for them but I would be if they offered it!)
I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who use my affiliate links when making your purchases. It’s been a great blessing for my family. I truly appreciate it!
This post contains my affiliate links.
Have you ever shopped at Payless Shoe Source? They carry wide width shoes and a lot of times have buy one get one half off. If you sign up for their mailing list you can get even more deals. Their shoe quality is pretty good.
I haven’t been happy with the quality of their shoes.
I have to agree, even buying “name brand” “high quality” shoes at Payless, it is like they are seconds, the shoes made that the name brand wouldn’t sell in their own stores. If your kids have multiple pairs of shoes and you have no desire to hand them down to the next child Payless is great. I struggle with shoes for my girls, esp since my oldest now wears almost the same size as me just much more narrow.While I have no problem with hand me down shoes from people we know I just can’t bring myself to get shoes at garage sales or goodwill.We bought black friday boots tonight at a store, I had both my kids try on the boots and ended up with totally different sizes than I would have gotten if they where not with me.
Shannon, Naturalizer makes womens’ narrow-width shoes (“A” width). Unfortunately they seem to be on a super-high heel kick right now; they are beautiful shoes, but I don’t need 3 inch heels. What I need to find is good ballet flats.Check out shoes.com and see who makes narrows. We have passed down shoes; I know it’s not the “recommended” thing, but the shoes we have bought have lasted. We get one pair of uniform shoes, which they wear for church and going anywhere, and one pair of sandals. A long time ago I bought some fancier shoes for church as well, so I still have those for the younger girls, since they are in good shape.My husband had me get a pair of inexpensive sandals for the boys this year; they started breaking within a couple of months and the boys aren’t grown out of them yet. The other sandals lasted enough to pass down.My girls realy ned the “D” width, as do I; several companies call a “C” width a wide; it helps when they label it as so, but they don’t always. Not all wides are truly wide width.So, my children may not have a lot of shoes, but they are leather and can be polished and passed down.
Hello,I have had success on ebay for new shoes. My 16 year old son has a small foot ( size 6 men’s and I actually think his feet have stopped growing). I know hard to believe.Inexpensive shoes in a size 6 do not fit.(too small) We have been been successful with some more pricy brands,brand new leather Cole Hahn, Nike, Ecco. All for pennies on the dollar to what a store or mall charges (even on the best sales I could find). These fit closer to a 6.5 which is what he needs. 7 is too large.
I agree about Payless; their shoes are not real leather and make my and my children’s feet sweat profusely!! Makes me worry about athlete’s foot. I’d rather buy higher quality shoes and pass them down. At one point my father-in-law worked at a shoe store (part-time “retirement job”) and we were able to get some great deals on name brand shoes and sandals. All of those shoes have lasted through three boys! I’d rather buy higher quality shoes and be able to pass them down.I shop for sandals at the end of summer, and have had good luck with shoes at consignment stores, especially for myself. I always give them a good cleaning or wash, but truthfully most of the pairs I’ve bought have had very little wear. All have been Dansko, Keen, Born, and Earth shoe brands. The ones I find at Goodwill I wouldn’t wear (too worn) but consignment shoes are a good option….not sure about wide shoes though, I imagine they are harder to find.
I have large narrow feet and I have to agree about cheap shoes- just don’t last. I like zappos.com Shipping back and forth is free and I love that I get to try the shoes on. Expensive, yes. However, I bought a pair of flats with arch support there, over 5 years ago and I wear them daily with little signs of wear. 6pm.com has shoes in a ton of sizes. However, if it doesn’t fit you are out of luck. I would recommend trying different brands on in store to get an idea of what your size is in that brand before making a purchase.Nordstorms Rack- great for people with weird sizes. I bought a pair of $390 dress shoes for $20 during one of their shoe sales. It usually last seasons trends but i usually just stick to basics – black never goes out of style!I rarely shop payless- they are great for one time wear shoes like blue dress shoes to match a bridesmaid dress but I’ve found the shoes just do not hold up over time.
I have wide feet and one child has narrow so all shoes are purchased online. I usually shop Zappos.com, they have great prices, ship free, and they return with ease. You get what you pay for my Nana used to tell me!