Sales Shopping

Everybody loves a good sale, there's some kind of chemical reaction that gives you pleasure when you find a bargain.    Sales are starting earlier nowadays, you no longer have to wait with bated breath for 26 December to dawn and go rushing out at silly o'clock in the morning to be first in line to grab your deals.  Believe me having worked a couple of Boxing Day sales and having seen people queue from 2am on Boxing Day until stores would open at 5am, I am never surprised by peoples interest in grabbing a bargain.

However, this year I would say I have been a selective sale shopper.  I haven't purchased any clothes mainly because I did buy a few bits in pre Christmas sales and so didn't need anything.  I also made a promise to myself to be more careful with my pennies in 2017.  

That being said I have purchased a couple of items; 

Jewellery 

My style when it comes to Jewellery is more classic and sparkly.  I can be a bit of a jewellery magpie I'm attracted to the sparkles!  

I made a sales purchase before Christmas as a lot of stores started their sales in mid December.  While looking for gifts and bargains, this little set caught my eye: 

The set is made up of earrings, pendent and bracelet and is from John Richard.  It's a feather shape and has echoes of art deco, 1920's style which I do love.  I tend to wear a lot of clear stones as it goes with everything and really catches the light.    The pendent is around 18inches in length but has a large enough clasp so the chain can be changed  to lengthen it as necessary. 

The earrings are drop style and the bracelet has a security clasp which I like as sometimes the locking mechanisms on bangles can loosen over time.  

I chose this set for to go with my New Years Day outfit and have worn it several times since.  

My second Jewellery purchase was another art deco style piece, this is on a longer chain around 24 inches so it's ideal to wear with crew or high neck tops.  It's silver with a green crystal gem stone drop.  It also has a large enough clasp so the chain can be changed to a shorter one.  I have in fact swapped this one and the necklace above on their chains to suit different outfits which gives me a multipurpose look for both pendants.  

Perfume 

My only beauty sales purchase this year has been a Ralph Lauren Big Pony Mini Collection.  The retail price for this set is  around £34, it is currently on sale for £23.  The set comprises of four handbag size fragrances (10ml) from the collection.  They are perfectly feminine and the scents are perfect to carry you through winter in to spring/summer.    

Having made an earlier purchase at Debenhams I was given and in store gift card for £5 for a future purchase. I put this and some other vouchers I had received towards this purchase reducing the price further.   I would always say keep an eye out for any vouchers or rewards that you can use to make savings on your purchases. 

Home Decor 

I only made one home decor sales purchase this year.  I had been looking for a new set of book ends for the last eighteen months but I haven't come across one I liked.  IN the weeks leading up to Christmas I saw a lovely wood effect Stag set in Sainsbury's home, however their full price wasn't in my budget not with Christmas presents to buy.  Anyway, around two weeks before Christmas I found they had been reduced to half price and luckily they were purchased as a gift for me for Christmas.  

The day before Christmas even while doing that last Christmas shop they bookends had been reduced again so I dared a cheeky purchase so now I have two lovely sets to organise my books.  

Book Bargins 

This is not really a sales purchase more of a vicarious freebie.  If your like me or as old as me, you will remember one of the most longed for moments of the Christmas build up was the release of the Christmas Radio or TV Times.  You would sit with you pen and circle everything you planned to watch throughout the season.  Now you can use your planner or guide depending on what TV service you have but I still get that Christmas feeling sitting with the physical magazine and circling my Christmas viewing.  The past few years I have taken advantage of the Radio Times offer, for £1 you can get 12 issues through the Buy Subscription website.  I generally keep an eye out from September onwards as thats when the offers start appearing.  

The subscription is easy to set up on line and you receive you magazine in the post.   I tend to sign up and plan my dates so the Christmas issue is included saving me the cover price of the Christmas edition.  

As part of this years subscription I covered Christmas and New Year, the new years issue having a special article on the return of Sherlock.  As part of this coverage there was a book giveaway of three Sherlock Novels.  All you had to do was fill in the slip and take to your local newsagent (a list of participating stores is on their website), alternatively you could send away and pay the postage to receive the books by post.  

I went for the newsagent option and have collected three free books.  

Also the £1 for 12 issues offer has been refreshed so you can sign up in the new year and save if you fancy having the magazine to read.  

Sale time is also a great time to keep an eye out for gifts throughout the year.  I tend to look out for anything I think maybe ideal for Easter, Birthdays and even Christmas the following year.  It saves me money in the long run and enables me to give a little more to those I love.