Happy National Wine Day!!

Happy Friday! Oh wait...it's only Thursday...well after almost two months of crazy work has slowed down and I am off tomorrow. So it is my Friday! However, I'm considering putting an offer in on a house so it may be just as stressful...or maybe more than work. Either way today, February 18th, if you didn't know, 18th is National Wine day!

    I LOVE wine! Naturally I want to introduce you to two of my favorite sources for wine, good wine. Honestly almost a year ago if you gave me a bottle of Barefoot Moscato I would want to be your best friend, but after a trip to CA wine country to visit a friend last March I fell in love with red wines. Pinot Noir to be exact! Crazy because it's pretty much the opposite of Moscato, but I highly recommend a Pinot Noir to anyone looking to try red wines. As promised my two favorite sources for good wine:

    First up is the winery that introduced me to my favorite kind of wine I just mentioned (Pinot Noir), Roblar Winery. This winery is located about an hour from Santa Barbara in Santa Ynez, which is known as the wine country. Don't let the name fool you though, they are a vineyard and a gorgeous one at that! The taste room boats a gorgeous chandler that truly encompasses the essence of that wine country feel. Not only is it gorgeous, but the wine is fabulous and the most affordable that I experienced on my wine tour. 

Now my two bottles with shipping did cost me about $80, however you're in wine country! Plus, they weren't the cheapest wines on the menu either. The bartender was absolutely amazing as well letting us taste basically everything that we asked about, which truly let me experience and understand the different tastes of different types of wine. I wish I didn't live in Pittsbugh so that I could visit regularly! The next best thing would be receiving their wine in the mail! Now, I'll tell you about my favorite wine box company below, but if you're looking for seriously quality wines look no future than Roblar Winery. Now, being a 4 year post college graduate student the monthly wine boxes from Roblar are close to a car payment...HOWEVER since my visit I have received two offers of their what appears to be quarterly grab bag event in which they offer random selections of red, white, or mixed wines at a deeply discounted price in order to clear out their inventory for new wines. Not to mention they even include shipping!! Get yours here! See the specific details below in the email.

Please consult winery directly with questions*.

Personally I ordered a half of a case of red in the fall and was very surprised by the amazing bottles I received. One I searched and found it typically sold for $40! Considering I received 6 bottles for about the price of two of those I was thrilled!

    My second favorite source of wine has to be Bright Cellars!** This wine box not only boasting using an algorithm in order to match you with your ideal wines they are also EXTREMELY affordable! Using the link above (click Bright Cellars) you'll receive your first box for just $38 WITH shipping for 4 bottles of wine. Your standard month will be just $68 for four bottles with shipping! Now prior to Bright Cellars I received a special offer from an airline saying sign up for the wine box and you'll get bonus miles. Cool beans. The first month was a pretty good deal so I signed up. Now, I made sure to research what the future months would be and how long I had to leave the account active in order to receive the miles. When I saw that second month was 6 wines at a normal $12-15 price I thought okay, but THEN I saw that shipping was $30!!! THIRTY yes I said THIRTY! Who in their right mind would pay shipping the price of almost 3 bottles of wine for only 6 bottles...not I that is for sure! If you didn't notice from the previous post (How to get the Most Bang for your Buck at VS) that I'm a bargain hunter then you'll know it now! When you're looking to make your money go as far as it can, but still receive a quality product there is no reason to overpay is my opinion! Needless to say $120 a month for 6 bottles of wine was NOT going to work for me! That is when a friend mentioned to be Bright Cellars. Now as an almost 4 year post college graduate I'm not sure whether my family thinks I can't cook or just don't want to cook (or just have the best taste in wine) because it is almost guaranteed that every family event I'm asked to bring wine! Given that I wanted to have wine on hand for these occasions plus have others to be able to taste the new wine with me it really works well for me to receive a wine box. (Caveat: make sure you have a way to sign for the package of wine because wine does require a signature, 21 or older, but that should go without saying ha ... Bright Cellars uses UPS, which typically their picks up at their warehouses.) 

    I have my box set up to come every other month, however the past two months I have deferred because I received the last box and my half a case from Roblar, so I'm pretty stocked right now. Like I just mentioned you can defer your month's box if you would like to skip for whatever reason. Just shoot an email to your wine concierge and they'll take care of it for you! Of the 3 boxes I've received most of the wines I've received I've enjoyed and some that I was even hesitant about ended up being my favorite! The wines come from all over the world, so you're absolutely receiving diverse wines. The last time I went to the liquor store was around Christmas because I needed some large bottles for my family functions and we all know how that goes. You'll head toward your favorite wine, grab it and be out the door in 5 minutes flat. Or you'll peruse a little bit, pick up a few, put a few back, repeat and then leave a half hour later with maybe one new bottle and three of possibly even the same kind...guilty haha. I can't resist finding a good Pinot Noir! Anyways, if you love wine and are looking to broaden your taste buds Bright Cellars is the best in my opinion in terms of quality and budget! Not to mention whenever you refer friends you receive a bonus bottle in your order!

    So you have to be wondering now well where do I keep all of the new wine...well I have this gorgeous wine cabinet below that I found at wayfair!! Watch for their sales! It was about 15% off when I snagged it up. You do need to put it together, but I did that by myself. The only part I had to be creative to do was screw the door in, which a bunch of magazines stacked up worked perfectly. The best part is the shelf that hold all different sorts of glasses! Wayfair does have a rewards program as well when you buy from them you receive cash back in reward money, which expire, but I can't seem to find the terms on that program.

I'll leave you with the last picture, which was taken at Narcisi Winery just north of Pittsburgh! They have a phenomenal dinner menu by the way!! Their garlic roasted red pepper dipping oil is TO DIE FOR!! I went in the early winter so the outside was closed, but I've heard great things as well!

* Note I do not have any connections with Roblar Winery and do not receive any kick-back or reward on your purchase. Only the pleasure of sharing quality wines at a great price with others! Additionally, note the fine print of the email "*Complimentary shipping is available for the lower 48 continental states only, excludes HI and AK. For all orders of wine to NY, NJ, MD, ME, DC, PA, MA, IN, AZ, KS, MT, DE, RI, FL, and MI an additional surcharge of 8.5% assessed by these states will be added to the order. For residential deliveries, a $2.50 surcharge will be applied. Because wine shipping regulations require an adult signature, having your wine shipments delivered to a business address is often the best choice. The $2.50 surcharge will be waived for shipments to business addresses. It most often results in a better experience with the delivery of the wine."  I do believe ordering to an apartment office or to an office building will avoid the $2.50 surcharge.

** Note I do receive the aforementioned "bonus bottle" upon your signing up for Bright Cellars, which I very much appreciate! This is not unique to me and is a part of the referral program that Bright Cellars offers to all subscribers!
*** Once again, I am a CPA, however none of the above advice may be considered financial advise as I am a corporate accountant and would not be comfortable providing personal financial advise.

Getting the Most Bang for your Buck at Victoria's Secret

Happy Friday!!! I've had an extremely productive day! Prior to three loads of laundry I'd just come home from the mall for a quick trip to Victoria's Secret where I spent $2! Yup you heard me TWO DOLLARS! No I didn't just buy a lip gloss, which I don't even think is $2, but that's besides the point. Well actually I left with $8, but I'll tell you how you can too!

Man am I glad it is the weekend! It's been a long week and I have a lot to catch up on! Between house hunting, cleaning, working, spending time with my boyfriend and working out I haven't been able to keep up with everything!  

Yes, I mentioned house hunting. Some people love it and some people hate it. For me, it's well, a little bit of both. My least favorite part is not being able to know what is out there and when it will be available. When you're apartment hunting most of the time any properties managed by a management company you'll be able to see most apartments and know WHEN they will be available. Houses however you NEVER know when something will come on the market or how fast it will sell. Also, most of the time you might have a general area you're looking at, but might not know what all exists. I'm really looking for a town house, so most of the time I can figure out where communities are at the least, but not always! I've found a handful of serious contenders, but one I got to the open house to find a sign on the door saying "SOLD OPEN HOUSE CANCELLED." Well I got a little heated after I wasted my time! Another agent had called my agent to let them know they'd cancelled their open house for snow, well this agent could care less apparently. This was a Sunday and when Tuesday came and the house wasn't listed as contingent upon contract I took it upon myself to email the realtor, though realtor.com, and let her know I was disappointed with the communication, but to let me know if anything happened with the deal. Well her response was only that the house was under contract and asked if she could help me find another place...well if you read my email I already told you that and communicated I had an agent...anyways I'd love to hear your house hunting advice! So far zillow, realtor, coldwell banker and the MLS matrix all have been my sources of searches. 

Although, I'm here to trying to share my knowledge with you, which is exactly what I plan to do today! After looking at the most recent house I headed over to Victoria's Secret with a handful of coupons. I have a serious LOVE for Victoria's Secret, although I wish they'd bring back more of their clothing. Their jeans were the best!! You will almost NEVER have to pay full price at Victoria's Secret, but occasionally there are those items that are either excluded or you just need right then! Below is a list of my top tips for VS.

1. GET THE CREDIT CARD!!!

    If you intend to constantly (once a month or more) shop at a store I would recommend getting the credit card. Do keep in mind how many cards you've already signed up for and ALWAYS pay your bill every month (those interest rates are ABSURD). Victoria's Secret has one of the BEST benefits for all of their card holders and I actually don't even take advantage of them. Typically you receive a $10 rewards card for every 250 points you accumulate, unless you become a Forever Angel card holder (spend too much money there...oppsy) you'll receive $15 for ever 250 points. However, you receive triple Points for all bra purchases on your Account, including clearance and discounted bras. Additionally, you can choose a triple points day per program year, which must be chosen within 90 days of the purchase (two for Angel VIP holders, three for Forever Angel card holders). This means you would earn triple points on your ENTIRE purchase. This should go without saying that you should choose these wisely! If you don't already have the card when you sign up you get $15 off your purchase! Also, when you activate your card and this goes for most retail cards (especially Comenity cards) do it in the off hours because you won't have to deal with the speals about signing up for the insurance on your balance, the automated system will just activate your card.

    You'll receive 50 points for activating your online account, then you can receive 50 points for connecting your account to each social media handle: facebook, instagram, and twitter. These are one time points you can earn.

2. Look for the Coupons!

     If you signed up for the credit card like I previously suggested you will receive monthly coupons. These typically include one free panty (no purchase necessary), $10 off a bra, and a spend $XX to receive a free gift. I believe the one on my most recent coupon was spend $75 to get a free bracelet set. Jewelry or a tote are really common. Note these items typically have a decent re-sale value, but don't except $75 for the tote you received with $75 worth of merchandise unless it for some reason is extremely desirable. Sometimes the summer totes or black Friday totes sell out and people will buy them off eBay or Poshmark at a high re-sale value.

    The monthly mail coupons aren't the only coupons that are available either. I think I get about 4 catalogs a WEEK from Victoria's Secret...clearly they know I had have had have...yeah I still have...a serious addiction. I did resist buying a new bra today...I have probably 25 and wear like 4, so yeah. Of my three most recent catalogs two had a free panty coupon (with purchase), $10 off a bra, and I believe one was a $15 reward card with a $75 purchase. I also had a flyer for early access to the secret rewards with a purchase with my angel card. If you didn't know, Secret Rewards are earned during various times of the year on purchases to be redeemed down the road (typically about a month from the start of the time period) and typically worth $10, however they claim there are more $20 rewards than ever now...we'll see. 

    You should also see in the catalogs the standard $15 off $100, $25 off $150 and $50 off $250. These are typically on Retail Me Not as well if you toss your catalogs after you pull out the flyer coupons. Recently VS changed their terms on these coupon codes and you cannot use them on clearance items (end in .99) anymore! Bummer because you used to be able to get an even killer deal on those items! That is how I bought their clothing because the full price clothes were absurdly priced! Must be why they seem to have discontinued 90% of the clothing. 

    Additionally you'll receive birthday coupons in the mail as well (assuming you have the card)! These are typically $10 off with a couple other coupons like a tote with a $75 purchase. The past two years I've also had a birthday coupon in the catalog, but this year I also received another $10 off in my email!! So I had $30 off to use, but typically you can't combine these (see #6 break up your transactions below).

3. Don't Ever Pay for Underwear!

    Okay maybe ever is a strong word here...if you have literally no underwear for whatever reason please buy them! Try not to pay full price though because most are 5 for $27.50 or 3 for $33 depending on the style. However, you should be taking your monthly free panty coupon in to the store each month in order to rack up a solid stock! The lacy ones are my favorite, but they ripe so easily and I have stocked up with my monthly coupons that I don't hesitate to throw a pair away every once in a while. These underwear are typically free for two reasons a) it gets you in the door so you're likely to purchase more items (DON'T FALL FOR IT!) and b) they don't really hold up. I don't know about you, but I don't put my underwear in a garment bag, heck I don't even fold them! When they're pretty close to free you don't really worry about it. You can also wait for the 7 for $27.50 sales or 50% off all underwear (this is more rare than the 7). Keep in mind the 7 for $27.50 is always the big square table of pretty basic cotton underwear where as the 50% off all underwear I don't believe typically has exclusions. That matching bra and panty set you've been eyeing up...perfect time to buy! Don't forget you $10 off a bra coupon! The next 7 for $27.50 sale is from Feb 23, 2016 to Mar 15, 2016. This offer is limited to one per customer per day. (I received this flyer today at the store, but I'm sure it'll be in an email at least too! They also gave me an offer for $15 off a sports bra and free shipping).

4. EMAIL OFFERS

    Lately VS has seriously increased their special offers. This past fall I received a sports bra and legging pair for $75 from an email offer! I recall seeing a special offer on nighties sometime around Christmas and I received a legging and tunic offer for I think like $40. Upon checking my email I found the below for the early secret reward access! If you hadn't noticed the theme in VS offers you have to use your Angel card in order to claim an offer. There is another perk on that though!

I also found this offer in my email too!!!

Add qualifying Sport bra and qualifying sport tight from the "Limited Time: Knockout Tight Offer" collection to your shopping bag. Enter offer code KNOCKOUT10 at checkout. The price of your Sport pant will be adjusted after offer code is applied (1 discounted pant per customer). Valid through 11:59pm PT February 14, 2016; while supplies last. OFFER EXCLUDES THE FOLLOWING: Not valid on previous purchases, store purchases, other Sport/bra offers, or with any other promotional gift with purchase. ADDITIONAL OFFER DETAILS: Clearance Sport (items with prices ending in $.99) does not qualify toward offer eligibility. No substitutions. Offer subject to adjustment due to returns, cancellations and exchanges.

5. Make a Payment When You Make a Purchase!

    Not only is it a good idea to make a payment when you use your card your payment can even just be a dollar and you will earn DOUBLE points. I believe the payment needs to just be on the same day as the purchase, however the official terms say "if an in-store payment is made at the time of transaction." Now this does exclude bra purchases, your triple points days, and other point promos, but you earn triple points on bras. This benefit can only be earned once per month up to a maximum of 1,000 Points, which I believe is for the promo year. Since today I only put $2 on my card I paid the $2 in cash right after more so that I didn't get a bill to pay $2 and have to process that online.

6. Break Up Your Transactions

    When it make sense break up your transactions. Have two $10 off a bra coupons and two bras in your hand. With the secret reward card promo beginning you would earn $20 back versus only $10. Have $150 in product and there is a free tote offer for a $75 purchase? Make two $75 purchases and you'll receive two totes! Keep one and sell the other or even sell them both! Occasionally I've had associates just make my transactions all one transaction even when the coupons say they can't be combined, but be mindful whether you're really benefiting from this. I believe the last time this happened I actually didn't need to purchase all of the items since she combined them, however with a $150 purchase I received a Misfit Shine in a Limited Edition VS Pink. I had no use for a Misfit Shine, but they were going for $80-100 on eBay, so spending another $30 made sense still.

6. Use All Offers Wisely and You Will Be Able to Spend $2 too!

    You've made it!!! I'll finally tell you how I only spent $2! In December right before Christmas I received a $50 VS gift card, which I used to make a $75 purchase. I received a $20 reward card from VS for this purchase, which began in February. I also received a $30 Angel Reward offer from my points. I'm not actually sure how I keep getting $30 rewards as I've been cutting back very much on my spending with house hunting, however I'm not complaining!! Rewards don't ship for 3-6 weeks after you accumulate the points, so you'll have to wait a bit for the reward. So, with my coupons in hand today I walked into the mall on a mission to spend as close to $50 as possible. I had two free panty coupons, one with a purchase and one without a purchase. I also picked up an item for $52 that I thought was super cute! I walked out the door with two panties, and a $52 item for $2!! PLUS I have my secret reward that is worth at least $10! You could even say I made $8 today! 

    Now the associate approached me today and informed me that with a $75 purchase I'd also receive a $15 reward gift card or with a $150 purchase I'd receive a $30 gift card! On top of that she mentioned the Mall at Robinson was running a promotion for spending I think $100 or $150 you received a gift card for $15 for anywhere in the mall! So if I was looking for anything additional I would've been able to receive $150 of product spending $100 and receive additional promotions back for $45. Not bad! These recurring purchases are really how they keep you coming back into the store, but you just have the limit yourself to when you save and splurge! Considering I've stocked up lately it wasn't worth the splurge to me!

Notes: If you read my about me your know that I am a CPA (Certified Public Accountant), however this post is not financial advise nor may this be construed as professional accounting advise. Being a Corporate Accountant I wouldn't want the blind leading the blind!

Victoria's Secret Promotions may change at anytime. See the full conditions of the Angel Rewards cards for official rules and regulations.

First post to come! In the mean time check out my About Me!