Bargain hunting at Kohl's {with insider secrets and discount code savings!}

So, in case you've been living under a rock or haven't visited our blog before, my husband and I are purchasing and renovating our first home. It's super fun... sometimes.  The renovation process can be tough at times though {uh, like when you have to scrape your just stained kitchen cabinets}.  I've found that shopping for decor is a fun way to break up the tough moments - and it's a great way to get design ideas!  As I'm shopping, I'm trying to only buy the things I really LOVE... we're trying to minimize the amount of stuff in the new house.

Kohl's is one of my go-to stores for home decor {and lots of other random things}.  Their prices, when matched with coupons, are unbeatable!  They are also great about letting you return things even if other stores won't {i.e. you can't find your receipt, you bought the item 10 months ago, etc}.  I worked at Kohl's for a few years in college, so I have some insider tips to share with you!

1. Don't assume things are a good price.

Okay I know I just told you that their prices are unbeatable.  The prices are unbeatable, but make sure you shop when those prices are active!  Kohl's runs some REALLY good deals, but then they also have some weeks where the prices are not good deals at all.  Don't buy something the first time you see it unless you REALLLLLLYYYY love it.  Wait it out for the bargain!

2. Apply for a Kohl's charge card!

I am a big fan of all things budget-related by Dave Ramsey... {Dave, if you're reading this please scroll to the next point.}  Let me just step out of that Dave Ramsey bubble for a minute, because he does not approve of charge cards.  The way to get the best savings at Kohl's is by using their charge card.  There are times when you can get equally good deals without one, but typically charge card users get higher percentage discounts.  {When I worked there, associates also earned a small bonus for each charge card they got a customer to open.  It'll really make your cashier's day if you help them reach their daily goal.  This alone is NOT a good reason to apply for the card, but if you're going to apply anyway you might as well help someone's goal!}

3. Use the Kohl's app.

Kohl's puts out LOTS of coupons and coupon codes, so it can be nearly impossible to keep track of them all!  When you're ready to shop, open the Kohl's app then check out all the savings under Deals & Coupons!  There are TONS of codes here that you may have missed in the huge pile of Kohl's emails.  See the graphic above to find the deals on the app.

4. Sign up for Kohl's emails.
Kohl's sends exclusive coupons and discounts to their email members!  It's free and easy to sign up.  You also get a 15% off coupon when you join {which you can do here}!  This leads me to my next tip....

5. Use a secondary email address.
Kohl's {and other retailers} send a LOT of emails, so I would use a "junk" email for this.  If you only have one email address, I suggest setting up a second email address to use for stores and mailing lists.  This keeps your primary email from getting clogged up and potentially missing important emails.

6. Join the Kohl's "Yes 2 You" Rewards program.
The rewards program works alongside the charge card and Kohl's email program.  You earn points every time you shop (in store and online) then they email you a $5 coupon every time you earn 100 points.  Again - don't spend money just to earn their rewards.  BUT if you're purchasing an item anyway, you might as well earn some extra rewards!  You also get a $5 reward coupon when you join!

7. Sign up for text messsages.
This is just like the other programs above - another way to get more discounts!  Sometimes the email and text coupons are the same, but they sometimes offer a better deal on a different platform.  Sign up for all the programs to get the best spread of deals!  Text SAVE07 to 54657 to sign up.  You also get a 15% off online coupon when you join!

8. All clearance is not created equal.
You might think clearance prices would be the same from store-to-store or online.  However, they are NOT!  Different stores in the same region price clearance at different times/rates.  When I worked at the store in college, we had just opened.  Our location always had deeper clearance markdowns than other stores in our area.  The stores also typically have much better clearance prices than the website does.

9. Use all the deals you can!
There are some deals you can stack and some you can't.
In store: You can stack as many "dollar off" coupons as you have.  This includes Kohl's Cash and deals such as $10 off $30 of kids clothes or $15 off $50 of electronics.  You can typically only use ONE percent-off code per transaction.
Online: The website changes how many coupon codes you can use at once.  Currently, you can use 4 coupon codes on any one order {including Kohl's Cash codes}.  Sometimes at the holidays this number changes.

10. Use ebates!
If you're shopping online, use ebates!  It's a completely legitimate way to earn money back on lots of online retailers.  I have earned a total lifetime amount of $450 - for real.  450 bones, cash money in my pocket!  Ebates also offers extra discount codes.  To use ebates, you click through the ebates website to go to Kohl's then shop like normal.  Every time you do this, you earn a percentage of your purchase back on ebates {the percentage varies - holidays always have higher percentages!}.  Then ebates deposits your quarterly earnings into your paypal account.  It's a pretty sweet deal!  To sign up for ebates, click here. {Disclosure: This is an affiliate link.  I earn rewards for you joining.  I wouldn't advise it if it weren't legitimate though. Promise!}  Ebates was started in 1999 and has given out almost 19 million dollars in cash back since their inception - daaaang!  I also know some people use upromise for cash back into their kids' college funds.  I've heard this is a good program, but I have not personally used it.

11. Online shopping, in store returns.
I love online shopping, but returns are a pain in the tookus when you have to pay to mail them back!  Kohl's lets you return anything you purchase on their website to any store.  I use this regularly when I can't decide between two items on their website - just order both then pick which one you like better in person and return the other!

*****CURRENT KOHL'S DEALS AND PROMOTIONS*****

Now that you're equipped with all the best shopping tips at Kohl's, I'd love to share some of the current deals with you!  I've gotten all of these codes through one of the avenues above {the text message program, ebates, etc}.  The deal, expiration date, and promo code for each promotion are listed below.  Keep in mind that all of these stack on top of the sale prices!

Extra 20% off select already reduced items - Expires TOMORROW, 9/23/15 - Promo Code: TICKTOCK
Check out this promo ASAP, it's a 2 day only event!  Over FOUR THOUSAND items are reduced plus they get an extra 20% off!

20% off Everything - TODAY ONLY 9/22/15 - LEAVES
15% off $100+ - Exp. 12/31/15 - CATCH15OFF
15% off Nunnbush Footwear - Exp. 10/14/15 - NUNNBUSH15
15% off select Harvest Essentials, Home Decor & Cold-Weather Bedding - Exp. 9/24/15 - HARVEST15
15% off Costumes & Hallowen Merchandise - Exp. 9/23/15 - SPOOKY15
15% off all Seventeen Bedding - Exp. 9/30/15 - SEVENTEEN15
$10 off $30 Women's Juicy Couture Apparel - Exp. 9/23/15 - JUICY10
$10 off $30 Baby & Toddler, Maternity and Baby Gear - Exp. 9/23/15 - BABYSALE10
$10 off $30 Juniors' Suit Separates - Exp. 9/23/15 - WORKWEAR10
Free gift with purchase when you buy: Dream on Me crib, Juicy Couture watch, Escada Joyful fragrance, Guess Girl fragrance, Ermenegildo Zegna UOMO fragrance.  {See app "Deals & Coupons" for details.}

Don't forget your 3% cash back on top of all these deals!  Sign up for ebates here!

If you enjoyed this information and want to learn more about saving, check out this post about Target's bargains!

Finding God's peace in the midst of life's pain

I know they say not to cry over spilled milk, but what about crying over scraped cabinets?  I haven't shared anything faith-based with you guys lately, but God smacked me in the face with a lesson this weekend and I have really felt it on my heart to share!

I have been refinishing the kitchen cabinets for our new house.  This process has not been a quick one - I started with hours upon hours upon hours of research {ahem, thank you Pinterest}.  I cleaned the cabinets {with a few different methods - I really want them to be durable!}, as well as sanded them lightly.  Gel stain is all the rage these days, but I couldn't find just the shade I wanted in the gel stain {more on that in another post}.  I have ended up using Polyshades, which is stain with polyurethane {a protective coating} already in it.  The Polyshades is the color I wanted, but is somewhat finicky to work with - I learned early on that it will leave drips on the backside of the cabinet if you're not suuuuper careful when applying the stain.  The first round of staining I did, I didn't know this key fact, so a few {LOTS} of the cabinets had atleast a few drips.

You may not see the drips, but they are there.  Our messes aren't always visible!

These drips are so much like the sins, guilt and baggage in our lives... I didn't realize when I was working that I was creating such a mess because I couldn't see it at the time.  Likewise, there have been times when I made a mess of a situation because I didn't have the forward thinking to see the impact my actions would have.

I have spent HOURS {and hours and hours} working on these cabinets.  I used steel wool and sandpaper to try and remove the small bumps from drips and even tried putting another coat of stain over the top to just cover them up.  My mistake was not being cognizant of the fact that the stain was running over the edge.  The result was that little bitty pools of stain were forming on the back side, like little stain bubbles.  I had learned not to make the mistake, but the result of my mistake was still there.  I couldn't make it go away.

Finally, this weekend - I asked Michael to take a look at the cabinets.  He said they looked great but noticed the small mistakes I had made on the first coat of stain.  I could tell from his face that he didn't want to hurt my feelings, but that they were noticeable.  I had already tried to get rid of this mess and I couldn't do it on my own.

To really get rid of the mess my mistake created, Michael had to use a scraper.  He had to remove the mess as well as some good stuff around it.  He had to cut deep to make sure he got all the YUCK out.  After he finished scraping, I had to go along and sand that portion of the cabinet before re-staining it with several layers of stain.  Finally, the cabinets got fixed... they were healed.  The mess wasn't just covered up, but it was revealed and addressed... the cabinets look great now, but it took lots of time and painstaking effort to get there!

As I was working on the cabinets Michael scraped {tears escaping at the utter frustration in the situation}, God really showed His love to me... Have you ever made a mistake and inadvertently messed up, causing yourself or others pain?  How often do we carelessly approach situations, knowing the end result may be bad, but continuing on anyway?  Whether we knew we were creating a mess with our actions or not, we all carry scars from the sins and heartaches of our pasts.  We can try to sand away these scars ourselves... we can try to cover them up {just like I did with the stain}, but the only way for true healing to happen is when God steps in with the scraper.  You have the choice to let God in enough to scrape away the pains, the sins, the mistakes of the past - but it is your choice.  Pursuing true healing often brings those pains back up to the surface... after all, God has to scrape and scrape and scrape to get rid of all the mess we create.  The beauty of the story, though, is that after all that scraping, healing comes!  Once God scrapes away our messes, he gets down to the heart of the issue and heals those deep hurts, then re-seals our lives with grace upon grace upon grace.

It took several coats of stain to re-finish the areas we sanded down, just like God's grace is poured on layer after layer after layer.  I've heard the saying "grace upon grace" before but my thought was really - if God is giving you his grace do you need grace upon grace?

Stain upon stain upon stain.

When you stain a cabinet, it takes several layers of stain to build up the color and the durability of the end product.  Putting one layer of stain changes the color of the wood, but it does not produce a finished cabinet.  Likewise, one helping of God's grace changes us, but his daily grace upon grace upon grace truly transforms us into beings in HIS likeness.

If you find yourself frustrated with your progress or your pain, take a moment to put it into perspective.  When you step into God's workshop, do so with a prayerful heart, aware of the fact that His healing takes time.  This process can be slow; it can be painful; it can seem counterproductive.  We may not know just how much scraping it will take to rid our souls of the residue from our actions.  True healing and transformation takes grace upon grace upon grace.  How incredible that He is willing to invest so much time and love into each of us, scraping and sanding and pouring his grace!

Welcome back {and some big news}!

Hey y'all!  

I have written a blog in for-ev-er.... and obviously, you've missed reading along... both of you {hi mom!}.  Just kidding... I checkout out my blog statistics.  Most of my old posts have 25-40 reads each.  So, I'm pretty sure that's a solid following...ish.

If you're not familiar, I've been married just over a year to my better half.  We have two fur babies and hope to add some two-legged babies to our family in the near-ish future.  We are also in the process of buying our first home! {That's the big news for those of you that were lured here by my tagline.}

If you read back through my blog, you'll see that I shared my life {honestly and openly} during a previous relationship.  Now that I've gotten into blogging again, I've taken some time to think about removing the old posts.  However, I've decided to leave them {for now, at least}.  While I am not in the same stage of life I was then, it's a sweet walk down memory lane to see where I've been... and it makes me marvel at the goodness of God even more.

So as for life now? ---Life is crazy {as always} and my blessings are abundant {also as always}.  Blogging, for me, is an acknowledgement of the grace of God in my life and an opportunity to share that grace with you.  The path isn't always pretty {in fact, I often make it much rougher than necessary}, but it's always an adventure! 

I'll share my life with you.... my highs and lows, home renovation projects and family adventures.  Through it all, I pray that you will find joy, purpose and passion and that this blog would be an encouragement to you along your journey.  

I can't wait for patience!

Last night as we were vegging at home, Munchkin asked if he could have ice cream {I may have bribed him into helped him realize he should be eating all his dinner with a conditional offer of dessert}.  Ten seconds after he finished eating dinner, he wanted to cash in on the dessert offer.  I told him he could have ice cream, but he had to wait a few minutes.  As he was watching the book-turned-movie he had picked at the movie store, I was cleaning up from dinner and trying to accomplish a few things.  As I was doing this, he was asking for ice cream... every.two.seconds.  

I told him he could have ice cream but COME ON can I please get one thing done... justtttt one???  I kindly informed him that he needed to be patient and could have ice cream once he stopped asking for it.  He did really well... for a few minutes... long enough for me to get half of dinner cleared off the table.  A few short minutes later, though, he exclaimed "I CAN'T WAIT FOR PATIENCE!".  I couldn't help but to laugh.  

After explaining that patience means waiting, I got to thinking.  How often do we ask for something from God... but don't let 2 minutes pass without nagging?  "Umm God I don't see anything happening.  Are you doing anything?  Why hasn't my prayer been answered yet?  God? Helllllooooo?"  Just imagine the frustration you would feel when receiving this from all of your followers rather than just the one I hear it from!  I don't think I'd survive.  Seriously, though, I am super guilty of praying and then expecting big things to happen on my schedule the way I think they should happen.  Maybe if we quit nagging God to hurry up and get us some ice cream, he'd actually have the time to accomplish something!  Maybe if we were patient, God would have the time to remind us that his plans are SO much bigger and SO much greater than ours.  I, for one, can definitely relate to this sweet child's exclamation of not being able to wait for patience.  Today, I'm going to try and just relish in what God can do when I sit down and shut up for a few minutes. 

Blessings!