How to Save Money When You're Shopping

I pride myself on being a pretty awesome bargain shopper and I love a good deal.  While some things are worth a splurge, it's always nice to save money when you can!  I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to save a few extra bucks and get the best deals.

Sign up for rewards and loyalty programs.

There are so many stores that have rewards programs these days and most of those are free to sign up for.  Some programs are definitely more rewarding than others, but my theory is that if it's free, why not join?!?  Many stores that have programs that you do have to pay for do make it worth your money if you shop there often. 

Sign up for e-mails.

I know that many people are hesitant to give out their e-mail address to stores, but being in the know about current sales and promos is worth it.  I have one e-mail account that is almost exclusively for this kind of stuff.  It's an account that is totally separate from my blogging stuff and my work account.  Yes, I get a TON of messages each day, but I have made it a habit to only read the messages of stores that I am interested in purchasing something from.  For example, I get messages from Bath & Body Works almost daily, but I only open them on days when I know I will be going there or when I know I need something.  Otherwise, they go straight to the trash so that I avoid potential temptation.

ALWAYS use Ebates when shopping online.

I learned about Ebates a few years ago and was a bit skeptical, but this site is 100% legit.  You can earn a percentage of cash back from your online purchases.  To date I have received about $90 cash back!  There are so many stores that work with Ebates and I really have found very few that aren't on there.  They've also recently added a toolbar icon that notifies you when you can get cash back on a site that you are shopping on so that you don't miss out of deals.  

If you'd like to join Ebates, you can click my referral link here!  It's free to sign up and they typically send you a gift card with your first purchase through them!

Take time to compare prices.

If you have the time, take the opportunity to compare prices of items from store to store.  I do a lot of "pre shopping" online to compare items that I am interested in.  Not only does this sometimes eliminate the temptation to make an impulse buy, but it also can save you a lot of money!

Learn about special discounts.

As a teacher, there are so many discounts out there!  Most of these are limited to shopping in store, but occasionally you can use these special discounts online.  One of my favorites is J.Crew / J.Crew Factory's teacher discount because they let you stack it on top of other promos in store!  There are also a lot of discounts out there for students and military, so do your research and see if you qualify for any special savings!

Learn the sale patterns.

Get to know the sale patterns at your favorite stores.  I've learned a lot of this just from subscribing to e-mails.  Most stores have a pretty consistent schedule for when they get in new items and when they do markdowns.  Many sales also do semi-annual sales and this is a great time to stock up on items.  I love B&BW's shower gels and hand soaps, so I usually stock up during their semi-annuals to cut down on trips throughout the year.  Many times you can also get great deals on off-season items.  I am known to snag Christmas gifts during the summer semi-annuals.  

Make friends with the sales associates.

Maybe it's just my personality, but I love chatting it up with the sales associates at my favorite stores.  I think I got this from my mom...  She ended up inviting some of the girls from her favorite store to her wedding because she'd known them so long!  It's fun to talk to people and get their input on items that you're considering purchasing.  This ultimately led me to my part-time job at Aerie!  Making friends at your favorite stores is a great way to be in the know and get some of the best deals.  I've learned as both a shopper and a SA that being friendly gets you a long way!  SA's will go the extra mile to help friendly and regular customers (even when they're not on commission).  

Budgeting Bloggers ~ May

It's that time again!  In looking at my purchases this month, I really did better than expected...  It feels like I spent a TON of money this month, but I have to consider the fact that I had to buy a new car this month.  (I had a lady hit me while I was stopped in traffic totaling my 2 year old car.  Thankfully I had insurance money to cover those costs!)  When I look back at this month's buys I feel like I did pretty well getting some good deals and summer essentials.

          
Images via Gap 

Gap Tee - $9

Gap Striped Tee - $7

Gap Tee - $9 

Gap Tee - $9

Gap Striped Tee - $12

I've managed to do almost a total t-shirt collection upgrade this spring.  Gap's "Essential" tee collection is pretty awesome.  The fit is great for me, they have a ton of great colors, and they're the perfect weight for wearing alone or layering.  I picked up 2 of these on clearance at the beginning of the month and then the other 3 were new arrivals that I scored with a couple coupons later on in the month.  (Read here about how tees are part of my summer "uniform.")

Versona Accessories Necklace - $22

 Versona Accessories Earrings - $6

 Love.  This.  Necklace.  It's a complete knockoff of the J.Crew Flower Lattice Necklace that runs $228.  Yup.  Naturally, I snatched this one up immediately and have been loving it ever since.

Versona Accessories Wedge Sandals - $16

We had a new accessory store open this month and is of course way too close to where I live.  Everything is super affordable, which is totally my kinda thing when it comes to accessories.  I grabbed these wedges on clearance since they comfortably fit my wide-ish feet and have a lower height than my other wedges.

Target Linen Skirt - $22

Image via Target

I first found this skirt in bright pink and loved it, but just couldn't justify a(nother) pink skirt.  I was thrilled to find it in navy, though, and grabbed it as it will be a great basic skirt to have in my wardrobe.

J.Crew Factory Textured Charley Sweater - $38

Image via J.Crew Factory

I have a serious weakness for these sweaters and was interested in getting the "textured" version.  I really love this sweater and the fun neon pink color!

Old Navy T-Shirt Dress - $15

Image via Old Navy

I love simple dresses for the spring and summer and was pleasantly surprised by this find at Old Navy.  It's somewhat comparable to my black t-shirt dress from BR, but at a fraction of the cost!

Sakroots Tote - $70
Sakroots ID Holder - $10

I'd been contemplating a new summer bag for a while and when I saw a friend with this tote in another pattern I had to check them out.  I'll have a whole post on what's in my summer bag later this week, but let me just say, this bag was a great buy!  I got mine at Dillard's, but you can find these online at quite a few other stores as well.

Total = $245

While I did technically go a little a lot over budget, I had quite a bit of extra income on top of teaching and my part-time job.  I allowed myself to take a portion of that to put towards a new bag and a couple accessories for the home.  If you take out the bag, I'm pretty much on track for my monthly budget.

I was proud of myself for not making any makeup purchases this month.  I think my 100 day makeup shopping ban really helped me in this area!

June Budget Plan

Since I don't yet have any summer trips planned out, I am going to attempt to reserve most of my shopping budget for when I go out of town.  I love hitting up stores that we don't have locally and hope to do so at least once before I go back to school in August.

How did you do with your budget this year?  Don't forget to link up with us over at Franish!

More School Shopping

I showed off my Target goods the other day, but promised I'd share the rest of my school shopping finds as soon as my Mardel order arrived.  I've done a pretty good job of staying within my budget and I still have my $35 Wal-Mart gift card to use for classroom supplies as well.  Other than nametags, I'm pretty much good to go (or at least I think I am)!  I know that a few little things will pop up when I get back into my classroom next week, but my school usually has a Wal-Mart list running for random supplies that teachers need.  At least for now, I think I'm done with the majority of my shopping.

I'm such a sucker for the Poppin' Patterns collection from Creative Teaching Press.  It's my non-theme theme (more on that in a later post).  I love all of the colors and that it's so mix and match.  I'm not entirely sure what all I'm going to end up doing with everything, but I figured with 20% at both stores I shopped I was okay to go on and grab things now.  I'm eager to get into my classroom and start adding these things to my already extensive collection!  Here's the whole Poppin' Patterns collection online.

Okay, left to right:

There are several things I hoard for my classroom...  Dollar Tree's word strips are one of those things.  It doesn't matter that I have an entire plastic box full of them already sitting in my classroom...  I seriously buy more almost every trip there AND ask for them for Christmas!  

Another Dollar Tree find was this parts of speech set.  I've used a poster for the parts of speech the past few years, but it's so small that it's hard to use it for teaching purposes.  I honestly couldn't remember if I already had a bigger parts of speech set (I know I have a similar one for punctuation), so I went on and grabbed this one since it'll be wayyyyy better for the kids to see and since it was only $1.  I hate that my wall space is so limited, but I'm just going to have to find a place for this!  

I also found some math cards and black dot calendar pieces.  Neither of these were real needs, but let's just face it, I was in a spending mood and I know both will get used.  I know the math cards will definitely come in handy when I'm doing after school tutoring!

And finally, my super cute t-shirt from Mardel!  It reads "Teachers Give a Hoot!"  I'm not a huge owl fan, but for some reason I thought this one was adorable and I'm always a fan of having extra t-shirts to wear on Fridays.  

Even if you missed Mardel's 20% off sale last week, they still have a bunch of items on special and is worth checking out.

Well, other than whatever I end up with getting with my Wal-Mart gift card, that will probably be the extent of my school shopping for now.  There are a few books I'd like to track down, but nothing too urgent right now! 

I plan to start working on my classroom next week, so I'll be sure to take plenty of pics of how things come together!  I think this is one of my favorite things about the beginning of the school year!

Happy Saturday!

Target Teaser

I hit one of the Targets today and did some pretty decent damage in their dollar section!  I'll share more detail and pics at some point when I have time to do a full post.    But, in the meantime here are some of the items I bought and saw there:

Small dry erase boards

Plastic book / magazine bins

Plastic organizers

Non-fiction books

Small rugs

Small pocket charts

Star student seat cover

LOTS of sticky notes and notepads

Decorative pen holders

Miscellaneous flashcards

Dr. Suess randomness

Other random organizational stuff

Mini trashcans

Stickers

AND a lot more that I can't think of right now...

(All of the items were either $1 or $2.50.)

Since we team up our assessment kickoff with Dr. Seuss Week, I stocked up on lots of Dr. Seuss items since I like to give them to my kids during assessments.  My other splurge were some purple plastic tubs and book bins.  Like I said, I'll be sure to show pics and do a full post, but that's going to have to wait til after the next few days of craziness!  I may also try to pop into my regular Target and see if they have anything different.

Have you found any other awesome goodies at Target yet?  Please share your findings!

Common Core Math & Some Teacher Sales!

Wow! I've survived the first two days of my ten day Common Core math workshop.  I can't say I've gotten a ton out of it so far, but I know that we're just starting the journey.  Yesterday consisted of taking some pre-assessments and looking at the new standards.  Thankfully, for third grade there really isn't a lot of difference in the standards from what we are already teaching our students.  The only major thing that will be part of the assessments that currently isn't is fractions, so we'll just have to teach that earlier than we currently do.  (They actually had pilot CC fraction questions on this year's state assessments, but they didn't count...  But, dang, they were hard for those kids!)  

Next week we'll be sharing some lesson ideas of math activities that align to the new standards.  We're encouraged to use things that we already do and just make any necessary adjustments.  I think I'm going to do a base-10 activity and hope to be able to share more about it on here next week!

Now onto the sales!

It's getting to be that time of year when the Back to School sales start popping up!  I started making lists of things to buy, to make, and to do.  This year's "to buy" list isn't too bad!  (We're getting quite a few new reading items to go along with Literacy First, so I'm not buying a lot of those types of items this year.)  My list consists mostly of items like more library pockets, nametags, and labels.  I did a school survey thing and  got a $35 Wal-Mart gift card so I'm also thinking I may use that to possibly get some new reading corner pillows and some other things to spruce up my room.  

Here are a few current and upcoming sales you might be interested in:

Lakeshore - Free shipping on $79 or more and 20% off select items. 

Mardel - Education Sale is next Thursday, July 19th with 20% off most items.  It doesn't say anything about online, but last year it was the same deal with $5 flat rate shipping.

US Toy - 20% off with their Teacher Reward Card through the 22nd.  This one is in-store only.  (Boo, since I don't live near a location.)

Creative Teaching Press - No sales yet, but usually those come mid-July for a week or so.  They just released their new catalog, though, so it's great for checking out new items!

Target - I've heard rumor that their dollar section is starting to get school stuff in.  My store didn't have anything as of Saturday, but I plan to swing by another one tomorrow afternoon and check it out.  Check out their weekly ads for promos.

I'll try to keep up on any new sales or bargains I run across and do a haul as promised!  

Goodies!

I went out of town this past weekend to do some Christmas shopping and to visit some friends and family. I've really been in the mood to get out of town since my life seems to be super lame these days. I must say, I had a GREAT weekend. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done, had a really fun time visiting my family and friends, and even found a new teacher store!

My friend I visited is also a teacher. In fact, you can see pics of her classroom here from when I was up to help her and visit back in August. Anyway, she'd mentioned the store US Toy to me before, but we'd never made it over there 'til now. Mardel is usually the teacher store we hit up when I'm in town (partially due to the fact that it is closer to her house.) Anyway, US Toy ended up being great! We didn't spent a lot of time there, which is fine since I'm still on my school spending diet, but I did pick up two goodies there. Their website doesn't really carry much as far as educational items, but they do have a lot of toys and offer free everyday shipping. I was really impressed with their selection of teacher books and picked up a great reading comprehension book. I also got a set of two comprehension spinners that I've intended to get forever, but always seem to be out of stock where ever I look! Plus, I signed up for their teacher reward program and got 10% off my purchase. I definitely plan on heading back there next summer after round 2 of our reading training and my brain is full of fresh, new ideas!

I feel like all I talk about on here is shopping on what's supposed to be my teacher blog, but it is one of the things that I'm really good at and that I do really enjoy. LOL I'd eventually like to get into posting things that I make and even venturing into TpT, but I'm not there yet. Maybe that'll be one of my (many) projects for Christmas break and summer break.!

I also had to make a trip to J.Crew to return my Cyber Monday purchase that I mentioned last week. Don't you hate it when you order something in the same size as another item you have and it fits completely different? And then they're sold out in the store? Yeah, me too!

I swapped it for this top, which I'd been eyeing online. I'm not a full price shopper, so I was happy that they let me apply the teacher discount to the price difference. Still a little splurge for me, but this is definitely an item I love and not just like!

I also picked up a "shocking pink" (we're talking neon, people, the picture makes it look tame) cardigan at the J.Crew Factory store. That color is definitely different and I liked that it was on a super sale (way cheaper than it is online right now). I wore it to school today and joked that I'm going to wear it during state assessments so that when the students look at me they will remember to highlight. Oh wait, I guess it's not joking since I'm actually serious! LOL Does anyone else get crazy thoughts like that while shopping, or is it just me?

The final "goodie" for this post was actually a pleasant surprise to me. I did a major after Christmas shopping spree last year with my gift cards and bought TONS of decorations at Target and even Wal-Mart for 50 and 75% off. As I unpacked my decorations I found a bag full of gift items that I purchased for my students! I bought goodie bags, cards, mini puzzles, and pencils, plus I always buy extra boxes of crayons during back to school time so I already have those on hand, too! What a nice surprise, huh? I'm totally stocking up again this year because buying 20 small gifts for kids can really get pricey if you're not careful. Now I just need to grab some candy and I'm ready to assemble my student gifts! I'm sure I'll have a post in the near future with more about our Christmas projects and gifts! :)

Well, that's all for now. I ramble, but just like shopping, it's something I'm good at!

How was your weekend? Get any good deals?

Cyber Monday!!!

Lakeshore is having a Cyber Monday sale where you can get 30% off any non-sale item. They've also got a lot of good items on sale that might be worth checking out as well. The checkout code is CYBER and is only good today!

My other favorite school store, Mardel, is offering free shipping on all orders today with the code CYBER MONDAY.

Unfortunately for me, I put myself on a major school spending diet after multiple shopping sprees last summer. (I've been really good sticking to it, too!) I don't think I'm going to take advantage of these deals today, but if I remember correctly they sometimes have good sales the later winter and spring and I may give in at that time.

I did make a purchase for myself online from J.Crew and bought a sweater I have been eyeing for a while. On sale, extra 25% off, and free shipping? Yes, please! I'm praying that it fits and was worth the wait! Isn't that color delightful? I love it!

I've never really done much (okay, any) shopping on Cyber Monday, but my mom has hit some good deals in the past. (She got my favorite Guess purse on an amazing sale a few years ago from Macy's.)My e-mail inbox was filled with discounts from all of my favorite stores this morning and of course I had to check them out.

Do you shop Cyber Monday sales (or any other online sales)?

What deals have you found today?

Fashion Week Day 1: Where I Shop

I love shopping. I love it way more than I should. As soon as I started earning my own money in middle school babysitting I think I loved it even more because I had the freedom to buy things that I wanted other than just the "basics" that my mom was willing to buy. Whenever my dad came to town, we'd hit the mall where I had even more freedom to get things that I may not have been able to get otherwise.

I must explain that I grew up in a "cheap" family. We weren't poor my any means, but I think "sale savvy" would be a very appropriate way to describe how I was brought up. I think I owe most of it to my aunt and grandpa. They taught me to love a good sale and that coupons are my best friend. It is a VERY VERY rare occasion for me to pay full price for anything I wear.

I wanted to kick off Fashion Week by telling you about my favorite places to get clothing. I really haven't changed the primary stores I shop at since starting my career as a teacher. The things that I purchase at my favorite stores are different now that I look mostly for work wear and less for casual wear. A lot of my favorites I've been shopping at since middle school!

Here's a rundown of my favorite spots, why I like them, and what I like to get there.

American Eagle - This has been my top store since about 7th grade and is a prime example of how I can use trendy casual clothes as school appropriate work wear. I used to live in their graphic tees and hoodies and I still love those items, but I buy them a lot less often. One of my favorite reasons to love AE is their sales. Their AE Rewards card is just a scan card where you rack up points for your purchases and then get a coupon every three months. I typically get 30 or 40% off every three months and do a big trip there with that coupon. I also get smaller coupons and discounts AE is my current favorite for jeans, but I've also had decent success with some of their dress pants (khakis, trousers, etc.). They've also been carrying some nice blazers and button-downs this season. AE is a great place for layering clothes. What may look slightly inappropriate for a teacher by itself can be layered very easily to make a nice work outfit. I also LOVE their jewelry... It's cheap (sometimes as cheap as 3 for $10!) and the quality is usually pretty decent. Finally, I have come to enjoy their shoes quite a bit. I've got several pairs of clogs that are comfy, stylish, and warm for winter as well as some super cute ballet flats.

Gap - Gap and I go through phases together, but I'd say overall a very large quantity of my work wardrobe comes from there. Gap is another amazing place for sales and coupons if you know how to get them. Their store card gives $10 back for every $100 you spend, but they frequently run promos for double and triple points, so you can get the $10 without actually spending $100 many times. Now, I will admit that this season Gap has greatly disappointed me. I've always loved their sweaters for fall and winter, but this year's collection is blah and very boxy fitting. Gap also used to be a great place for work pants for me and then they redesigned their collections and they don't fit me as well as they did before. That's the way it goes, though. I'm holding out for more color and better fits in the spring. I will share my great find from last weekend, though. I got a black and white print maxi dress, originally $98, marked down several times with an additional 40% off sale items... I paid $7.48. Can't beat that!

Banana Republic / Banana Republic Factory - BR is one of those store I could never afford to shop at until I had a "grown up job." Plus, most of their clothing was dressier than I went for anyway. Now that I am a seasoned Banana shopper, though, I know how to totally work their sales and coupons and get some amazing steals on some really nice clothing. The quality of the clothing is really good and I love getting not only basics, but also trendy clothing there as well. BR is one of my favorite places for dresses and I love that they carry most in petite online since I am very borderline on petite and regular sizes. My absolute favorite work pants right now are some stretchy black pants from the Banana Factory Store (outlet). They have some amazing deals as well, but unfortunately the closest one is about 2 1/2 hours away. BR is one place I am will to spend a little more (but always with a coupon or discount) for the quality and nice looking clothing that fits well. BR also has a 10 or 15% off discount for teachers, but it can't be combined with other discounts so I usually don't take advantage of it because the other discounts save me more money.

Express - Express is wonderful for the fact that I am never without a coupon to there and that they are filled with great work clothes. What always makes me laugh is that I am pretty much the exact opposite shape and height of the models in their ads, but yet the majority of their clothing fits me really well. I have a great collection of their tanks and cardigans that I mix and match for layering. Express is where my interview suit came from and is also another wonderful place for work pants. I'm also willing to pay a little extra for some of their dress clothes (mostly pants) because of the quality and the fact that their pants last for years! I still have some that I bought there in college that still look nice!

Target - I love Target! If I had to shop at only one store, I'd choose Target. I've worn Target clothes pretty much from birth and I think for the price their quality is quite good. I'm most fond of their Mossimo brand clothes and shoes, but I do have quite a few Xhilaration (juniors) and Merona items as well. A few of my favorite pairs of jeans have actually been from Target and have fit and lasted just as well as more expensive brands. I love that Target carries a mix of trendy items and basics. The majority of my shoe collection is from there, too. I have a small addiction with buying their ballet flats when they go on $12 sales.

Limited - We used to have several Limited stores in town, then they closed right when I got to the age of wanting to shop there so I only go to go there when I was out of town. They just put one back in one of our malls over the summer though and I'm so glad to have it back! I've already purchased a few great cardigans and sweaters for the cooler months and got a few summer items on amazing clearances at the end of the season. Limited is always running some good promo which is wonderful since I said I really don't pay full price for anything. They've got some great basics as well as seasonal items that you can mix and match.

Honorable Mentions

I don't feel like I can give these stores the complete thumbs up because I don't shop them frequently because I don't have one locally. I do some online shopping, but I try to only do that through stores where I really know the sizing quite well. Otherwise the nearest of most of these is 2 1/2 hours away so I only make it to them when I'm on vacation or a weekend getaway to visit friends a few times a year.

Loft / Loft Outlet - Oh how I love Loft! I discovered Loft a few years ago after I fell in love with an outfit in a magazine ad. I went to Colorado shortly after and found a Loft store and pretty much bought the whole outfit from the ad! Loft is the perfect mix of trend and class. They're also great at having good sales and promos. Their Loft Loves Teachers discount and promos are also an added bonus. I've got some great knit dresses, work pants, and tons of cute tops from Loft. I hit up the Times Square location last spring when I was in NYC and hit the mother of all sales! The only thing I don't love about Loft is that there isn't one in the city I live in. One day, hopefully, they'll realize I could keep them in business.

J. Crew - I previously hadn't paid much attention to J. Crew (since we don't have one in town), but I went there with a friend when we were on vacation last January. I don't know why I'd ignored that store up to that point! I don't have a lot from there (no pants, just tops and a dress), but I love their style and they can have some amazing sales! I get so excited when I get my new catalog in the mail each month. My favorite buys this fall were some sweaters and cardigans in rich fall colors. I'm hoping to make another visit there within the next month or so and get some more great sweaters and some cute scarves. Last but not least, J. Crew offers a 15% discount to teachers!

H & M - Okay, I will admit I've technically only been to H & M twice when I was in NY (White Plains and then down in the city), but I picked up some great finds when I was there. H & M is great for anyone that wants to get trends on a budget. They also have tons of great basics and some really cute accessories. I picked up 2 sweaters, a cardigan, dress, long sleeve tee, 6 pairs of earrings, and a necklace there for a grand total just under $80. Unfortunately they don't sell online yet (that's coming in 2012), but they're opening a new store a few hours away so I can hit it up on my next weekend getaway!

New York & Company - This is another store I go through phases with... I only make it there a few times a year and it's very hit or miss for me. Sometimes I want everything in the store and sometimes I could pass on everything I see. Overall, I think it's a good place for work clothes at a reasonable price. I've picked some some nice sweaters and pants there before. They typically have a good selection of different lengths in their work pants which is really nice for those of us that aren't quite average.

Well, there you have it! What are your favorite stores for teacher clothes? How do you mix you everyday clothes with your professional wardrobe?

Next Week: Third Grade Rock Star Fashion Week

I've been inspired by a variety of fashion and shopping related blogs and have decided to declare next week, October 30th to November 5th, the first Third Grade Rock Star Fashion Week! I'm planning on sharing some of my own favorite teacher outfits, discounts, items from my closet, and links to other awesome resources on the web. I'm super excited to share these things with everyone and I hope you enjoy and get some new ideas.

You won't find any schoolhouse applique cardigans or light up sweaters here!

Attention Shopaholics!

Okay, while this isn't totally school related, it's still a resource for teachers and I have to share it.
http://f.mail.loft.com/i/36/1566646063/LOFTLovesTeachers.html

Loft (Ann Taylor's slightly cheaper and trendier child) has become one of my favorite stores in the past year or so since I first discovered it out in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately (or fortunately for my bank account) we don't have a Loft store within less then 2 1/2 hours from where I live, so I do a lot of my shopping online or when I'm on vacation. My super cute Easter dress and jacket were Loft purchases. (The jacket was purchased at their Times Square store! :) )

Enough rambling... Anyway, the link above is to register for the new and improved Loft Loves Teachers program. It offers a 15% off discount in stores anytime and for registering they'll send you a $10 off reward right now as well. The only thing that stinks is that the 15% off is only in store, so those of us who don't live near a store are kinda outta luck on that one. The program is free and it looks like they're offering some other perks as well. If you haven't shopped at Loft before, you should at least check out their website. They have a great selection of good "teacher clothes" and if you're a bargain shopper like me you'll also enjoy the fact that they usually offer some pretty good sales and specials. (That helps the whole 15% off in store thing not suck quite so much.)

Happy shopping!