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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Save that Money, Honey!: Free Clothes

Do you like freebies?  Of course you do!  And so do I!  As you may now know, I am always on the hunt to find how to get a lot for little.

Last summer, I found a way to get it for free!  That is, free clothes.  And more specifically, free school uniforms for my son and daughter!  Impossible?  Not even!

About two years ago, I subscribed to the Banana Republic VISA credit card.  I did this because I love their clothes and figured, why not, this is a place I shop at often, being a teacher and all, and if they'll send me more coupons on account of having their Visa card, I'll go for it.  Now let me just "disclaim" something- I always pay my credit cards off in full every month.  I never accrue interest.  So, having another credit card, for me, isn't an issue because I simply integrate it into my budget.  Notice I didn't say ADD it- I said integrate.

Let me explain, as you read in my previous post, I use one credit card every month for all of my bills (clothes, food, gas, etc).   So when I applied for the Banana Republic Visa card, I only intended it to serve for part of my already allotted clothes budget, not in addition to my clothes budget.  This is why I can pay it off in full, because I have already allotted for it and I stick to my budget.

Anyhow, during the summer months of May, June, and July, Banana Republic offered a promotion.  Three times the points per dollar.  My head starts clicking and ticking and then...I had a plan.  Instead of using my regular credit card, I would switch to my BR Visa card.  Essentially, embodying the same idea of buying what you already have to buy, and earning free money in the process.  Let's just say that at the end of the three month promotional period, I had accrued over $400 in BR rewards (example shown above).  The awesome thing about BR rewards is that you can also use them at Gap and Old Navy!  Sooo, I waited for the right moment, and as soon as those two stores started promoting their back to school sales, I went through Ebates and ShopatHome (yup, I wanted cash back on my free money), clicked on the Old Navy website, bought undies, undershirts, socks, pants, shorts, polos, used an online coupon on top of that (because yes, you can combine rewards with coupons) for...wait for it, wait for it...free!  I did the same for my daughter at the Gap.  Amaze-balls!

Now, I still had to buy shoes.  So I bought shoes with other coupons online through Ebates and ShopatHome.  But nothing, nothing can beat that deal.  I hope they have the same promotion this upcoming summer, but if they don't I still have a good deal with their current program.

I hope this inspires you to think about what your credit card company's rewards are and how you can use them to your advantage.

If you have other exciting incentives or strategies for getting free clothes, please share with us and spread the word!

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