Higher End Living... it up! The Knock-Off.

The Art of the Knock-off


Don't put off your sense of style and fashion just because you're liberated. Find those items that you gravitate towards or would buy w/ a little more substantial income and make it happen - at half the cost!

This applies to interior design projects as well as fashion. You can knock off the look and feel of a room for half? 1/3? the cost. Again, what you don't have in cash, you make up for by spending your time.

When u have money you can easily purchase exactly what you want. But w/out the cash upfront, you're investment now comes in time - which you have - MAKE, don't buy, search, don't settle. Upgrades on nearly anything can happen w/ some elbow grease, the internet, your willingness to spend your time and your own innate creativity.

So, get your tear sheets together, interiors, clothes, shoes, art. Then set about how you're gonna knock off what you really want - because you totally can.
:-)

It's entirely possible to have those $175.00 Steve Maddens!

You don't have the $ right now but you have the time.... So you get to get your creative juices going, have a project to do during your day and score those Maddens for a steal!

This is kinda like the High/Low Project - but w/ fashion. I bought look-a-like sparkly shoes at Payless for $17. Mine sparkle a bit red gold as opposed to yellow gold like the ones on the left. But a bottle of sparkles in my closet can remedy that if need be.

Looking for the studs to go w/ my yet-to-be-used BeDazzler. Haven't found them yet, but its looking like the cost of the other metals is running around $5 per 100 count. Each show will require about 200 studs each.

So, theoretically, you can get these $125 slippers for about $40. Granted I have some of these items already - like the BeDazzler but think about investing in tools that might pay you back in the long-term.

HA!

The How-To of FREE FREE FREE!

This takes a week (or 2), frankly as many weeks as you want!


Google "truly free stuff", Free Samples, "How to get stuff for free" and you'll wind up w/ a plethora of sites that will direct you to tons of free items-- and look for this specifically - blogs or Answers.com  answers that tell you which ones are scams. 


A lot of them want more than you're willing to give - sign up for OTHER free offers in order to get your free item - ah, no. A lot of the links just keep you pressing another link and another link ad nauseum. You'll come to recognize these in short order and bail after a click or 2.


And then there's just the time involved in filling out the form one or two (or 3 or 4) times. Filling out multiple forms obviously will get you multiple samples of the items you are really interested in.




Getting Started
First & foremost:
Set up a dummy email account(s)
Set up a dummy Facebook account(s)



1. FREE Samples:
Google sites! Many, many ppl have done the work for you. Bookmark these sites for easy access. Many hv the option of sending you their alerts straight to your mailbox.

A lot of these involve "liking" a manufacturer on FaceBook - so set up your dummy Facebook account & double your savings! Triple your savings by enlisting your parents to provide their address! Quadruple your money by sending stuff to your sister's house!! And just like the Breck commercial of old... it goes on.

For most of these samples you need an email address so  in order to get multiple samples - even if sent to different addresses - you'll need to provide different email addresses. So set up your dummy email accounts. This also helps divert the flow of junk mail from your "real" email account.

Once the trill of getting ANYTHING for free wears off, you may just end up doing what I do and just Googling what you want when you need it. Most of the free samples you'll get will come with additional coupons for that product.

Low on cream? Google a specific cream and check in w/ your bookmarked 'helpers'.
Need a T-shirt for the gym? Google free T-Shirts.

I also now do this with couponing (after giving up my vow to become an extreme couponer). Most of the time the trade-off for saving money is time. You have to prep your grocery list in advance to know what coupons you need. No more fly by the seat of your pants shopping! Even average couponing is time-consuming. Save yourself money by carving out that necessary time to do your coupon searches online for the ones you need BEFORE you're ready to hit the store. You'll do a bit of surfing to find out what coupons are out there and which ones actually print! A lot of supermarkets have apps that will put these coupons right on your phone. ASK!

Some of the free stuff & samples I've ordered (most say they take 4 - 8 weeks to arrive):

ENTERTAINMENT:
Magazines: Rachel Ray Magazine
W
Seventeen
Teen Seventeen
Town & Country
Elle Decor
Elle
House Beautiful


BEAUTY:
Armani cologne
Hugo Boss cologne & perfume
YSL cologne
Calvin Klein BEAUTY perfume
small note here is that unlike my initial thought, these samples are paper thin like the ones in the magazine, not the tiny little vials you used to get in department stores.

Garnier wrinkle cream
Argan oil for your hair
Several Body creams like Eucerin

Biore Skin cleanser

Defy wrinkle cream

CLOTHES:

Cubix t-shirt

PREPSTER t-shirt

BEVERAGES:

Iced tea mixes
carnation breakfast shakes

2. FREE Movies
Sign up for free screenings. This works best if you live near or in a major city. Google free screenings and sign up for some of the sites. They'll send you notices or you can bookmark the pages and check back. Some list the screenings well in advance, other email you just one day in advance.

You can also get tickets to the free screenings walking by the larger movie theatres. You'll see guys w/ clipboards throwing them at you! NICE.

And since you're free all day most likely, you'll have the best chance of actually making the show. You'll need a printer to print the tickets for teh screenings. They don't have you on any list. Arrive 1/2 hr early as these are usually 1st come 1st served. A lot of these screenings don't allow cell phones so if you end up parking way out from the theatre, do yourself a favour and stow your cell in your car. I can't tell you how many times I've had to walk alllll the way back to my car (losing my good seating in the process!).