[EXPIRED] $2.00 Free MP3 Credit [Amazon.com]

Click here to get $2.00 credit towards mp3 purchases from Amazon—for free!  Code expires on Thursday, June 30.

You can get a couple $0.69 or $0.99 songs or use the $2.00 towards purchase of a digital album.  There are several albums available for $5.00 this month, including the latest from Death Cab for Cutie and Maroon 5.

Yay for free music of your choice!

Good Day at Goodwill [Goodwill: San Francisco, Clement St.]

Even though I've had one good experience at the Clement St. Goodwill store, I was totally blown away by the number of good-quality and -condition items to be found there this past Sunday.  I literally made 3 trips to the dressing room to try on stuff.

Among the finds:

Michael Kors leather tassel mules
(similar here; for sale on eBay here)

$8.49

I can only assume that someone didn't know their designer brands when they priced these below the plethora of (new) Target shoes.

Zara leather ankle booties

$18.99

Can't find how much these retailed, but these Zara ankle booties are $59.99 (actually not as expensive as I was expecting).

Gap wool coat with funnel collar 

$128.00 $14.99

I really wanted to like this coat but the sizing was comparable to my Old Navy ruffle wool coat, i.e., not fitted enough in the torso.  Plus the collar was a little weird to me.  Too bad.  I was happy to hand it to another customer who was eyeing it though.

Ralph Lauren Polo cable knit short-sleeve sweater 

$5.49

I also wanted to like this sweater but wish it were a v-neck instead.  It was also a little short in length and pretty shapeless.  I couldn't imagine wearing it alone, but below you'll see my attempt at a preppy look with this sweater.

Here's what I ended up purchasing:

Mossimo button-up shirt – purple check
(similar here; inspired by this)

$19.99 $5.49

This shirt didn't have the original tag but it definitely looked and felt like it had never been worn.  Since Target donates a lot of unsold merch to Goodwill, I am going to assume it was brand new.  Interestingly I found this in the section of men's collared button-up shirts (new tip!).

Timberland Mazie Tall Suede Boots
(product description here; sold out in the US but available from Sears Canada here)

$180.00 $14.99

Again, no original tag, but they definitely looked new based on the lack of marks or scuffs on the soles.  The only bad thing is they fit a little too tight around my muscular calves when I'm wearing skinny jeans, but hopefully by fall/winter my calves will be slimmer or the boots will stretch out. :) (And please ignore my lone shoe strewn on the dressing room floor :P) 

Not pictured:

After some internal debate, I was ready to buy a pair of barely used bowling shoes for $4.25. A sign on the door said all shoes were 50% off but at the register I was told the sale is for this coming weekend instead (boo).  I wasn't willing to pay $8.50 for shoes I might only wear once a year at most.  So maybe I'll check back on Friday or Saturday when the sale is going.


Has anyone noticed a pattern for when Goodwill (or other thrift stores) put the "nice stuff" out, or did I just go on a good day?

[EXPIRED] Free Song: "Deer in the Headlights" by Owl City [iTunes]

iTunes is offering a free song from Owl City's latest album All Things Bright and Beautiful, which just released on Tuesday.  Click here to get "Deer in the Headlights" gratis (you will need to have iTunes installed and an iTunes account).

Adam Young explains the meaning behind the song in an interview with Christianity Today:

What's the story behind the new song "Deer in the Headlights"?

I enjoy writing largely from the imagination, and usually that produces rather abstract imagery. But with "Deer in the Headlights," I wrote a personal song that plays close to the chest in a way that no other song I've written ever has. I was ending a serious relationship at the time, and I was harrowed by the fact that so many people (specifically me) have a funny tendency to desire romance merely for the sake of avoiding loneliness, which ultimately means it's not about LOVE at all! Sometimes it's easy to be "blinded by the light" and forget all about what true romance is designed by God to be. When all you focus on are the warm fuzzies, a relationship can become dangerous and disastrous very quickly. So the song plays closely to the fact that I needed to pull myself out of the lights and remember what's more important than the romantic butterflies.

Regrets of the Dying

Have not been posting much lately—not because I haven't been buying anything (though it's true that none of my purchases were good enough deals to share), but because I really don't want to encourage any addictions to accumulating STUFF and thinking it will make anyone happier.

I fall into the trap myself.  My weakness is clothing, if you couldn't tell.  I always want new clothes and think that if I have the perfect wardrobe, and thus if I look a certain way, I'll be happy with myself.  But it's just a hamster on a wheel, a never-ending cycle.

I read this list of "Regrets of the Dying" via Challies's A La Carte for today:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

How does this relate to saving money in the city?

Don't bother spending money to impress other people.  Trent at The Simple Dollar espouses this all the time, and the fact that this ties into the #1 regret people have when they die, it seems safe to say impressing other people doesn't matter in the end.

Blogs provide interesting, useful, and sometimes life-changing advice and information—for free.  I am the kind of person who learns best through reading, so I can't even begin to recount all the valuable things I have learned from ordinary people who decided to put their thoughts on paper (so to speak) and share what they know with the world without wanting a dime in return. 

[EXPIRED] Free Song: "Little Shocks" by Kaiser Chiefs

Click here to stream and download "Little Shocks," the latest single from Brit rockers Kaiser Chiefs, for free.

From the review on the Guardian's music blog:

[T]he Kaisers are back with the first single from their as yet untitled fourth album. Good things you should know about Little Shocks: it doesn't feature any "la, la, la", "na, na, na" or "ruby, ruby, ruby" singalong bits, and though it has a chorus it's not as "festival friendly" as their previous singles. What it does have, however, is a fantastically creepy keyboard riff, some brilliantly off-kilter drumming from songwriter Nick Hodgson and the word "ruffian" in the first verse.

[EXPIRED] $10 for $20 at Old Navy [Groupon]

Awesome deal today from Groupon! (If you don't have a Groupon account, you can sign up through my referral link.)

$10 for a $20 voucher at Old Navy stores

The deal lasts until midnight tonight, so get it while you can!

Unfortunately this deal can't be combined with the $40 Old Navy rewards card I got recently, but I've got a pretty long wish list so I'm sure I'll find a way to spend $60 there :)

Some of the fine print (visit Groupon to see the full details):

• Limit 1 per person
• Voucher expires 7/30/11
• Must use entire $20 in one visit
• Only valid in US and Canada
• Cannot be combined with other offers