Buying Everything At Once Only Four Times A Year — Are You Crazy?

If buying three months of personal care items sounds daunting, I promise it’s not!  It’s actually easier and more cost effective in the long run because you won’t be running out of shampoo the morning you are late for your big meeting! The first time you order is the hardest because you’ll have to take inventory of exactly what you use and how much you’ll need of it to last three months.  Once you’ve made your first order, just print out your list for next time, and you’re good to go! Mark a reminder in your calendar for two and a half months from your first order, so you’ll know it’s time to order again.  It’s really that simple.

Don’t Cut The Government In On Your Fish Oil

Unless you live in Florida where Vitacost is located or Pennsylvania where Lucky Vitamin is located, you will also Save On Sales Tax.  Since I live in Los Angeles, that’s an additional savings of 8.25%!

But Wait, There Are More Savings To Be Had

So we’re Fabulous & Frugal, right?  We just love to get savings on top of all the savings!  Vitacost usually has a promotion going on where you can get something for free, such as a savings of either 5% or 8% on your total order.  To find the promotions, first check Retailmenot.com.  Just type in Vitacost.com in their search engine and a bunch of different coupon codes and their expiration dates will come up.  Then do a google search for “Vitacost coupon codes” and see what others you can find.  But if that’s too much trouble for you, you can simply sign up for Ebates.com and go through their site to make your Vitacost purchases — you’ll get 5% cash back from Ebates.

There are other ways to get additional discounts as well.  When I ordered from Lucky Vitamin, I couldn’t find a coupon code anywhere on the web.  So I called the company to see if they had any promotions for free shipping since I hadn’t met the $100 minimum.  It turns out, they had a promotion for free shipping with the purchase of any Metagenics product!  I dutifully went to the Metagenicssection, but initially all that came up were pricey supplements that I had no need for.  Then, all of a sudden, I hit pay dirt: a Metagenics protein bar for $2.69!  Since standard shipping was $5.95, I tossed that puppy in my cart and I received shipping and a protein bar all for the bargain basement price of $2.69!

Buying Online Ain’t Perfect

There are going to be times when buying online doesn’t make sense.  Obviously if you need aloe vera gel for a sunburn ASAP, waiting for it to be shipped won’t be feasible. Also, when deciding between the lavender and citrus lotion, not being able to let your nose in on the decision is a big drawback.  Furthermore, if the sunscreen that was specifically formulated not to clog pores makes you break out, shipping it back for a refund is a hassle, not to mention costly.  You should try out testers at a local store when possible to help cut down on ordering errors.

Road To Happiness and Serenity Here I Come

I hope these Fab & Fru tips will help you start out 2009 looking great, feeling great and with a few extra bucks in your pocket. What more could a girl ask for? Ok, I guess there is always that hot Starbucks barista to consider…

**Kim Karp Lappen is an L.A. based writer, mom, and fabulous shopper.  She’s passionate about the health of her family and desperately wants to believe that vegetables in the powder form are just as good as the real thing!

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