Buy Her Bag, Not Her Body
Last year, I kicked off 2012 with a shopping fast. This year, not so much. I can’t help it, I love shopping. Yet, I don’t need to be a mindless credit card-swiping zombie to satisfy my cravings. ‘Tis true! The Nomi Network is a nonprofit organization that provides consumers with an opportunity to shop for good: their mission is to provide training and jobs for women who were victims or are at risk for sex trafficking. The women are taught to sew and create beautiful and functional bags, which are sold through their online store. 100% of the proceeds are used to pay fair wages and provide further training for the women.
I picked up the Double Zip Sorn Bon Wallet in light blue.
Kim managed to nab this cute Quilted Cosmetic Case in light blue before it sold out.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of hearing Alissa Moore, vice-president and co-founder of the Nomi Network, speak about her passion for this cause. I got a chance to speak to her afterwards and she was so sweet and inspiring. I can’t imagine the amount of faith and strength it requires to face something as pervasive and prevalent as sex trafficking head-on. This is an issue that I’ve avoided. Who wants to think about women who are bought and sold as commodities? Certainly not complacent, comfortable me.
Life has been good in the Capitol.
But there was no way I could continue to be an ignorant consumer after hearing Alissa’s moving story.
Check out their blog here. Happy shopping! 
SO cute. I love the make-up case. *starts window shopping* O_O;;
Treat yo self!
very inspiring. a lot of times we get so caught up w/our first world problems so it’s nice to read about others moving out of their comfort zones and doing something to help others who truly need help. i’ve been good and spent $5 on a jc penney short-sleeve sweater on clearance only because it would go well with some other cardigans i already had. a good layering piece for $5. i also used giftcards to buy the little guy 4 pairs of pants since he outgrew a lot of his pants that looked like floods on him. how’s leela doing? & i missed ur blog but i know the puppy takes a lot of ur time n’ energy.
I’m trying to focus more on NOT whining about my first world problems. I’m so impressed by your ability to get the most bang for your buck -- its inspiring, really. You NEED to start a blog!
Leela is doing well. She’s gained quite a few pounds and is happy and chubby. She had some gross dandruff when we first adopted her but I bathe her twice a week with prescription dandruff shampoo now so her coat is all glossy and shiny. I never thought I’d love an animal this much. Tomorrow she will have been with us for four weeks!
i’m a wiz on landsend. i showed the psych dept’s secretary and she was quite amazed and she bought a coat off of them using my use of coupons. she was so cute and wrote down on a tiny sheet of paper how much she saved the next time i was in the office. my motto is everything will go on sale so why pay full price? this year i am going to work harder on taking control of our finances. i’m not buying any clothes unless i can use it for a few outfits i already have. i’ve also gotten really good at cvs. here r some tips that may come in handy:
1. sign up for 2 extra value cards
2. each time u go to cvs, find the price checker/coupon thing and let it read your cvs card. do it twice because most peeps will only consider it doing it once. if u try for a 3rd time, it will tell u to come back tomorrow. see if any of those coupons can be used. usually they can and they are generic coupons like $2 off cosmetics instead of being specific like $2 off loreal lipstick.
3. u can use those coupons with any coupons they send you in the mail. a lot of times they will send you a 20% or 25% off coupon but be wary that they are usually only valid on the weekends. because you signed up for 2 cvs cards, they will send you two of these coupons.
4. check the circular to see if anything you need is on sale. my fav is the nature made chewable vitamin c vitamins. we go through a lot of them and the kids eat them, too. a lot of times, it is buy one get one free. that alone can save you upwards of $20 if u buy the biggest size bottle.
5. so today i used the coupon checker thing and got 2 coupons i needed. one was a $3 off of vitamins and their nature made vitamins were buy one get one free. each bottle of chewable vit c was about $11/each. so for $22 worth of vitamins, i paid $9 and saved $13. not bad. one time i needed lipstick. i only use revlon’s colorstay (i never have to reapply & that saves u $). one is $11. i had a 20% off coupon in the mail, if you buy one, you got a $3 extra care coupon on your receipt (i try to use those before leaving the store because the expiration date is close and i tend to forget to use it). so i bought one and paid about $6 for it, used that $3 extra care bucks to buy another one so i bought $22 worth of lipstick for about $14. w/that 2nd $3 extra care bucks i bought that tapping snowman that was 75% off for $2 which was originally $19.99.
6. my friend sherli is amazed and i tell her that come up with a price in your mind that you’re willing to pay for it and don’t based it on the original or sale price which is baloney. look at it and decide what it is worth to you. if u can’t make it work, u don’t buy it. i really liked those hallmark tappers (my tap dancing snowman) but it was not going to pay $20 for it. i was willing to pay $2 or $5 for it and it happened. it’s like putting your intention out into the universe and a lot of times, you’d be surprised at what comes back to you but u need to put that intention out there or the universe won’t know what u want.
so happy for u and leela. you learn to live with your heart outside of you and it’s the same when u have kids. it’s hard at times because you never want anything bad to happen to them but you also learn about having faith that everything will work out in the end. enjoy her with all your heart!
I love your tips -- they are amazing. I haven’t even begun couponing yet, but I can share that Parthmark allows you to stack 5% off coupons that you earn with your rewards card. I got $20 back in cash that way.
Thanks for the recommendation on lipstick. I’m still using a lipstick my sisters bought me for my wedding day, but I think I need to be a big girl and get one more color. I will try Colorstay next time I’m at CVS.