Quarter Life Crisis Kickoff

Why Hello There,

It has been an extensive vacation from blogging.
I've spent the last couple months collecting myself, planning a wedding and turning 25.
Here it is, the entrance into a new demographic, the start of the age that will usher in domestication and the second quarter of my life- if you haven't noticed I have clearly decided I am living to 100, why not after all it is proven that vegetarians live longer.

So, how did I spend my last week as an early twentier?

I took the week off work... mostly to clean the condo castle which had begun to resemble a sty. This is when I noticed that someone had been melting my Tupperware lids in the dishwasher- being my proactive self I had a solution. - so far it's worked.

I'm 24 Years Old and Lost; Just Like Everyone Else

Go to school, get a job, save money, get married.....

By definition my life is perfect. I graduated in 2008 with a diploma in Advertising, I have worked in my industry from the moment classes ended. I have climbed the ranks at a relatively strong pace and hold a great job on a major account. I have a Fiancee who loves me more than I can tell you and live in a decent condo in the 'burbs.  Thus far I have followed the plan....

However, I am indisputably lost- and so are all my friends.

Now, I have some friends who by definition should be lost. Babies, part time employment, bad relationships, basement dwellers, multiple stabs at various educational paths. However, I have for the majority of my relationship with these folks known they would be lost- for a while. But there are a whole other friend-uverse that like me, should be happy- after all they have perfect lives too.

So what is making the mid-twentite's restless?

Perhaps for me it is being 24 years old and so ahead of the game. In fact I have spent the last 6 years ahead of the game. Just by doing what I was always told to do. Graduate, get a job, get married. At this rate I will have 4 pups by the time I am 30 and a knee replacement at 45? A little drastic, maybe....

So how do I get un-lost?

In a recent conversation with a friend I asked her what she wanted, what would make her happy?
"I don't know" she answered.

The truth is neither do I, it seems I have been plowing through life at such a speed on such a defined path that I not only don't know where I am but where I want to be. I have spent minimal time exploring, traveling, learning who I am. How am I suppose to know what I want my life to be, when I simply don't know who I am .

Now, before you go thinking I'm going to quit my job, leave my boy and go live in the Mountains. I don't suggest uprooting everything you have worked for; besides there is a lot of us mid-twenties ladies and lads and uprooting us all might blow up the economy or at least sell out all the flights to Europe, Australia and Iceland ;). Simply, we need to stop running and walk for a while, after all we're only 24.

10 Secrets to Successful Shopping.

Hey there, I have been inundated with requests lately from people picking my brain about deals. It has always been this way but it seems since I have been posting coupons all my "Blog Friends" have been asking about my secrets. So here is what I will do- I will share 10 of my best tips for deals as an early Christmas present to you all.

1. Mailing Lists-
This is an EASY one- Sign up for every mailing list for all of your favorite stores. Hate Spam? Open an email address exclusively for your newsletters. Most stores will send you a "Thank you coupon" right away and notify you of sales, exclusive deals and provide some great coupons. Some of my favorite:
I. Gap family of stores- these guys send out GREAT coupons.
II. Aeropostal
III. Aldo
IV. Browns
V. Best Buy


2. Outlets-
The Mecca of sale merch has been around far longer than me, but has significantly evolved with outlets ranging from the bottom of the bargain bin- Orfus Road to the High end Vaughan Mills. The key to success at the sometimes overwhelming outlet is to know what you are looking for and where to get it- this sometimes involves a little research. Know what is where- here is a crash course to the top 5 outlet areas in the GTA.

I. Dixie Outlet Mall- Mississauga- I call this shoe mall, with stores like Shoe warehouse, athlete’s world, sportscheck, aldo, spring, nautralizer and nine west. This is the place to go to find shoes ranging from $10 up. Also inhabiting Dixie is the regular outlet staples- Urban Behavior, Costa Blanca, and guess. Some Gems include- Garage/Dynamite (But be careful there is an as is section), Mexx, Jacob and Smartset.

II. Orfus Road- This is entirely made up of the discount mall staples but boasts some good prices- Bluenotes, Suzy Shier, Sirens, Stitched, La Chateau, Nine West, Urban Behavior, and Roots. Prices along this outdoor strip range from $2 for T-shirts at the Stitches Family of stores and $10 upward for jeans. Most of the merch is out of season or sample pieces.

III. Weston Road Outlets- This Outdoor Woodbridge mall is small and directed towards the teenage consumer. Inhabitants include: Garage (way better than Dixie) Aldo (not as good as Dixie) Guess (WAY, WAY better than Dixie) Bluenotes, Jacob Connection, Body Shop among others.

IV. Vaughan Mills Mall- A little bit of a trek out of the city but completely worth it- this hybrid outlet mall has enough discounts to make you happy with Lactose, Nike, Addidis, Holts and UB outlets as well as regular stores XXI Forever, Disney, Old Navy. Some notable stores in this mall include GAP, Banana Republic Outlets and Style Sense (owned by winners- a huge assortment of purses and shoes).

Total List of outlet stores:
Adidas
Aldo
Anna Bella
BCBG MAX AZRIA
Bebe
BEDO
Bennetton
Browns Shoes
Buffalo
Designer Depot
Disney Store
Ecco Shoes
FCUK
Fila
Guess
Healthy's
Holt Renfrew Last Call
Nike
Nine West
Nutrition House
Reebok
rk
Roots
The Baggery
Tommy Bahama
Town Shoes
Tristan & America
Upcountry Home and Garden
Voluptuous
West 49


V- Canada One Outlets- Niagara Falls- So, this isn't exact ally in the GTA but it’s probably the best on this list. Coach! - Remember to sign up for the email notifications, the regularly send me 20% off coupons. Guess Esprit, Garage, Nike, and Addidis. This is the closest thing to the Niagara falls US outlets without crossing the bridge. Be warned on high traffic weekends there are sometimes lines to get INTO the stores.


3. Clearance Periods.-
Stores tend to clear out merch to make way for next seasons stuff clothing goes on sale in June/July and again in January. but this rule also applies for other things- now this tip isn’t mine- I have to give credit to MSN money for this one; you can read the entire article here: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/TheBestTimeToBuyAnything.aspx?page=2

Some interesting ones include:

Big appliances
Best time: September and October

Cars
Best time: September

Computers
Best time: July and August

Cookware
Best times: April and May; October and November

Furniture
Best times: January and July

Jewelry
Best time: Avoid the holidays, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day

Linens and bedding
Best time: January

Toys
Best time: October and November

TVs and home theaters
Best time: winter holiday sales and January

Wedding
Best time: winter

4. Warehouse Sales-
Now I could write an entire novel on warehouse sales- These are goldmines- tons of discounted Merch ready to be snapped up and there are warehouse sales for everything- Clothing, shoes, mattresses, packaged goods. Some noteworthy ones I have attended in the past include P&G, Uniliever, Johnson and Johnson, Lactose/Esprit, Guess. So how do you go about this warehouse adventure? First find out what is happening- Styledemocrocy.com, Redflagdeals and Smart Canucks all list these- Styledemocrocy.com is responsible for a lot of the good clothing ones that happen (you can also follow them on twitter and sign up for email updates) Some things to remember.
I. These can get crazy- especially the good ones. Arrive early, dress appropriately for the possibility of lining up outside.
II. If possible get or buy VIP passes. A lot of these have VIP days, not only do you avoid some of the crowds (not all and there will most likely still be lineups) but you get first pick of the Merch.
III. Prioritize, if you know you want shoes don't let the handbags distract you- go right for the shoes.
IV. Bring a buddy. Buddies are helpful if someone needs to leave line to use the washroom or for the frowned upon line up while your buddy shops maneuver.
V. Check payment options- If it says cash only, make sure you have cash.

5. Websites-
So we all know how to use online to compare prices? But there are some website gems out there that offer deep discounts on what you want. I suggest checking out the merch in store if possible because sometimes online is misleading. Some good sites include:

Beyondtherack.com- Gucci, Coach, Ed Hardy, Fendi. Bags, shoes, Sunglasses, clothing all at deeply discounted prices. Sales last 24-48 hours and a list of upcoming sales can be found on the site.

Overstock.com- This site now ships to Canada and hosts almost EVERYTHING.

Amazon.com- Good one for movies, music and some merchandise but beware not everything can be shipped north of the border.

EBay- This one is tricky, you can get fabulous deals but you have to make sure to READ the auction descriptions carefully. I personally would avoid high ticket items, I love eBay for phone cases though $0.99 and free shipping!

Clearlycontacts.com- Health insurance doesn’t cover eyes. This site has designer glasses from $39 including frames, and on certain days they will offer a limited # of free! Frames/lenses to your city.

6. Social Networking-
So, you can't have your eyes out for great deals 100% of the time. Here is where you can rely on other people to fill you in. Add your favorite stores to Facebook or Twitter.

7. Price Matching. -
So you found the iPod you want at Wal-Mart for $189, score but it would be better to save a little more, like 19$, Take that flyer or online page to best buy and voila! Price matched and beaten by %10! Many stores will price match, although not all give further discounts, it may be a preference because of location or return policy, maybe spite. The best bet is to check their website for policy.

8. COUPONS! Coupons, Coupons, Coupons.-
What? You're not your grandmother? Well I guess you don’t want to save 15% at old navy almost EVERYTIME you shop. A LOT of stores are offering regular discounts to costumers. Online coupons can be easily googled or found on websites like http://www.retailmenot.com/. Printable coupons can also be found at redflagdeals.com, signing up for mailing lists like I mentioned above will ensure you get regular coupons for your favorite stores. 2 noteworthy sites are


Save.ca allows you to order coupons for packaged goods- you cannot print these they will mail you a sheet, it takes about 10 days.

9. Friends and Family sales.-
Back in the day one of your friends who was unfortunate enough to work retail would slip you a coupon to share in their discount. In the electronic age this is mass mailed to consumers everywhere. Invites can be googled, I have also been sent these via, email, Facebook and Twitter. Discounts range from 10-50% off!



10. My Bible.-
Redflagdeals.com. Okay I didn’t want to share but I did. This place is the Mecca for all things on sale. If it’s happening it’s on Redflagdeals.com

Cyber monday anyone?

Being an affluent shopper is fantastic- I know where the deals are, when to shop and of course how to price match. I am fluent in store policies and promotional patterns- It really is a gift.
One thing that I have noticed among my shop-aholic sisters and brothers is the apprehension towards online retail- although completely techno-competent most of them still can’t seem to get over their trust issues. Perhaps they need the tactile experience to assure them that what they are buying is indeed worth the money?

Online shopping for me started with Ebay, I was intrigued by the - "you can't find it anywhere, but we have it" premise of this wonderful electronic marketplace.
Over the years my interest in the online shopohere expanded with PayPal’s offering. Something about that little green and blue logo sooths me while it withdraws money from my Visa one IPhone case at a time. But still I cannot move beyond $40 items, especially when it comes to no name retailers.

Is it because it has been drilled into our heads that the internet is lurking with shady characters just waiting for me to type in our credit card number so they can steal my $7 balance or my identity- I promise you cyber thieves all you will get from my ID is one heck of a shopping debt and this blog.

So before I post my Top Ten rules for Online Spending tell me- why are you not making the transition to Online?

Blog-remorse

Today I did something I have been talking about forever, since the beginning of the blog-osphere.
Because really what early-adopter, tech nerd with an affinity for strange food and a habit for deals doesn't already write a blog.
Me- that's who.
So here we are.

Before I get into the cake pops, spelt bread and Black Friday shopping I have to share.
I am in fact the most indecisive individual, seriously I cannot commit to a nail colour.

It all began when I signed in, excited to post- that's when I realized I named the blog - Spelt Princess?
Oh well it is what it is...Even though I stand here today with 37 alternate titles that I love- although in 3 weeks I will most likely hate them too.

Regardless of the name, welcome to my blog! I hereby promise to suck you into my Mel-isms, random obsessions and the newest and coolest things on this planet.

Enjoy!