Bargain Hunting!

Heads-up--this post is going to bore the heck out of most of you.  Feel free to pass it right on by, and I'll let you know when I'm ready with some of my regularly scheduled programming.  But those of you who know me know that I LOVE to find a bargain.  This post is the low-down on my recent Old Navy bargain score.  Yeah, like I said, feel free to skip it.  But figuring out exactly how much money I saved on stuff is totally satisfying for me, so since this is my blog, I decided to document it here.  Nyah.

So, first of all, I got a Gap visa a while back, and I have to say I love it.  Gap is usually too expensive for me, but I shop Old Navy clearance (both in store and online) pretty frequently.  For every $1 you spend in one of their stores, you get 5 points, and 1000 points (so, $200) equals a $10 reward to spend in their stores.  You can earn points on other things too, but I pretty much only use this card for Old Navy and Gap stuff.  Works for Banana too.  Sometimes they do deals like, use your card 4 times in a month on stuff outside of their stores, and get a $20 reward.  Well, okay then.  I have never carried a balance on my card, so I'm not paying interest or fees, and it seems like a pretty good payoff.  Not sponsored, by the way, just a little background about my Old Navy bargain hunt today.

So, Old Navy has been having these cardholder bonus events where they give you a free tote bag (they are usually pretty good ones), and you get 40% EVERYTHING in the store when you use your card.  That includes an additional 40% off clearance and sale. I pretty much stick exclusively to the clearance rack whenever I shop, so I'm always careful to check for "excluding clearance" types of discounts.

Now for the part that makes me smile--the price breakdown!

I bought a total of 21 items, all womens and toddler girls (except for one big boy shirt).  The clearance selection for men and boys, particularly once you get past size 2T or so, is DISMAL, so I really mostly recommend this for women and girls.  My grand total was $78.  This would have been $68, if I had FOUR more points on my rewards--I had 996 points!  Which means that if I had spent ONE measly additional dollar at Old Navy at some point, I would have had a $10 reward to use on this purchase.  Oh well, next time I'll have some saved up.

Ok, ready to see what I got?

Red toddler mary janes, size 9, original price $16.94, my price $4.80.  Even though these are 3 sizes too big, Little Sister has been wearing them around the house all afternoon.  She loves them.

Canvas toddler espadrilles, size 8, hopefully will fit next summer!  Unfortunately the original price is a mystery, but the clearance price was $1.97, making my price $1.18!  Probably originally in the $14 range.

Two pairs of next-size-up PJ's (3T), Minnie Mouse and Supergirl. Each originally $16.94, my price $4.80 each.

Reversible jersey bubble skirt, originally $12.94, my price $2.09.  Little Sister's reaction, "I no like it."  Hopefully she will by the time it fits her (it's a 3T).

Tunics with button detail and pockets, 1 size 2T, 1 size 3T.  Originally $14.94 each, my price $2.69 each.

Hello Kitty PJ's, size 2T.  Originally $16.94, my price $5.10.  She LOVES hello kitty, and I pretty much only allow licensed characters on undies and pj's, so score.

Woven flutter sleeve tank, size 2T, but it looked huge.  She loves purple, and loves tank tops, so I figured she could wear a shirt underneath while it's cold but it will most likely still fit next summer.  Original price $12.94, my price $2.39.

Chevron is all over pinterest.  That means it's cool, right?

T-shirt dress, size 2T.  I plan to embellish this one for Valentine's Day like I did with this similar dress last year.  Original price $10.94, my price $3.59.

Crazy legs tights--striped on one leg, dots on the other.  Cute!  Originally $7.95, my price $2.99, not as good as a discount as I usually like but I couldn't resist :)

She wore these this evening, and kept telling me they had socks built right in!  So exciting!

The lone shirt for the boy--also not my usual level of deep discount, but I felt bad not bringing him anything!  Unfortunately it will be too big for a while still.  I like that the green and yellow lend itself to some sort of Oregon Ducks applique.  Original price, $14.94, my price $4.80.

And now for my selfish purchases:

I thought this dolman top would be great to wear on Halloween, since I am currently costumeless.  It works for other times of year too, right?  Original price, $17.94, my price $4.18.

It's more orangey in person.

Comfy purple top with sheer-ish stripes, originally $16.94, my price $2.98.

Mixed-stripe tab front tank, originally $12.94, my price $1.78.

Mixed stripe dolman tee, originally $14.94, my price $2.38

Black and white ruffled henley, originally $14.50, my price $1.78 (and I'd been looking for a b/w striped top!)

Because a big part of my SAHM job is refereeing two children.

This one is an "active" top with moisture wicking.  I love this for yoga, when I don't always want to wear a tank.  Original price $14.94, my price $2.39.

Another ruffled henley--I thought this one would be fun for the 4th of July.  Since long-sleeve shirts are almost always necessary around here that time of year.  Originally $14.50, my price $1.78.

This wasn't my usual type of purchase--Old Navy bottoms are typically terrible on me--but this stretch-cord pencil skirt was actually super flattering and kind of fun.  Original price $24.94, my price $5.40.

This one was my major splurge.  I am a sucker for jackets, and I'm a sucker for red, and I recently realized that I DON'T HAVE A RED JACKET!  Phew, glad that time in my life is over.  Hard to tell in the photo, but it's got a hidden waistband that you can tighten to give it more shape.  It is SO cute. Original price $39.94, my price $14.40.

So my total cost at Old Navy was $78.99, but the original prices of all this stuff?  Drum roll, please.....

$342!!!!

Pretty good, right? Over 75% off the original price.  I'm pleased.  Oh, and don't forget the free tote--it was especially cute this time!

This is purple, so Little Sister has claimed it as her own.

But it didnt' stop there--I needed some red fabric for a specific project, and so I hit the JoAnn remnant bin on my way home, and lookie what I got:

Full price of all of these suckers would have been $29.42, but I paid $8.03.  And I got the red fabric I needed.

So have I thoroughly bored you?  If there's anyone out there interested in this stuff, let me know, because I might be tempted to do another Beth's Bargain Basement post one of these days.