One of the things I miss the most from the pre-pandemic world is shopping and looking for the best deals at malls during special three-day sales. Nothing beats the rush of finding the exact thing you're looking for at half the price, then eating out after. Nowadays, I look for deals online but it just hits different.

In any case, here's a list of how to score great deals whether online or not. :)

Shop Second Hand

A lot of people own some pretty great stuff that is still in great condition, but they just don’t want it anymore. They will take their stuff and donate it to second hand stores where you can buy it at a very cheap cost. You can find not only furniture, but you can also find other antiques for decorating your home. There is also usually clothing, books, and music for sale that just about anyone can afford.  

I love Instagram thrift shops! I have my go-to shops already but I am always hit by a lot of ads of other cool stores. Here are some I got recently:

I unlocked precious childhood memories of hours spent reading The Wizard of Oz series, and so now I have made it my mission to look for copies of the the books by L Frank Baum and Ruth Plumly Thompson. I would appreciate any leads if you have more, but so far these are the ones I was able to get already.

Buy or Lease a Pre-Owned Vehicle

Many people buy cars that they barely drive and then they sell them because of the lack of use. Once a new car is purchased its worth drops and it becomes a more affordable model. Shop at dealerships that offer pre-owned vehicles. You can find some of the more luxurious cars on the market for a fraction of what they would normally cost. You can lease these vehicles for less money, or if your budget allows, you can finance these models and have the car of your dreams.

Buy Clothing at Outlets

Outlet shopping can save you tons of money. A lot of times, high end brands need to get rid of their clothing in order to make room for the newest styles, and they are willing to part with their older styles at a low price. It is also possible to shop outlets online at places like the Iconic NZ. Other brands may give you access to their outlet deals via the Internet so that you can shop all around the world without having to leave the comfort of your home. These styles can be sent right to you, and you will be dressed in the latest fashion without the hefty price tag.

Join Groupon

Groupon is an international phenomenon that allows you to get discounted services sent right to your email. Some of these discounts cover beauty and wellness and allow you to treat yourself to such services as massages, facials, manicures and pedicures, and meals at some of your favorite restaurants. This is a great way to experience the best of life at a small cost. The more you use Groupon the more you are going to be able to learn how to navigate the discount world and you will find some of the best deals around. 

Sign Up for Discounted Travel

There are several discount travel sites out there that will alert you to cheap fares to some of the places you have been dying to see. You can sign up, choose which destinations you want to be alerted about, choose the dates, and then as soon as a discount comes up, you can be alerted and you can book right away. This is a great way to get to travel and see the world without spending a lot of money. You can set deals for hotels as well that are within your budget and then you can start packing and seeing all the places you have been dreaming of seeing. The tickets may have tight restrictions, but if you can work them, then you won’t have any problems getting around.

Look for Homes in Foreclosure

My Aunt actually got her house and lot for very cheap through this method. If you’re in the market to buy a home, then looking for homes that the bank wants to get rid of may be in your favor. A lot of times, banks will lower the prices of homes in order to get them off the market and get someone in the home to pay the mortgage. Some homes may be priced at thousands of dollars less than what the normal asking price would be making it more affordable to buy. Talking to real estate agents about which houses are in desperate need of being sold is a great way to find these hidden gems as a lot of them are not known to the public. The sooner you can get in and see if this house is the house of your dreams means that you can make an offer sooner before anyone else knows that the house is available. 

Happy shopping!

If I can reach out to my younger self and tell her anything, it's that there is nothing more liberating than not caring about what other people think. The most important person that needs to approve of your life is you, not any other single person. However, that doesn’t mean that you can't stop the barrage of other people's opinions, it’s just a matter of ignoring it. Here are some things that you should think about whenever you feel as though you are worrying too much about the opinion of others. 

It’s About What You Think

The first thing that you need to remember is that it is about what you think more than anything else. Like we mentioned before, your opinion is the one that counts above all else. It doesn’t matter if it is your family giving an opinion, friends, or strangers. At the end of the day, you need to remember that their opinions don't matter and should not shape your life in any way. If you allow them to get into your head with their opinions and change the way that you are living your life because of it, then you are no longer being true to yourself, and that is a terrible shame.

What Would Make You Happy?

Whenever the other voices in your head are too loud and they sound like people from your life, ask yourself what is going to make you happy. No matter what, that is the thing that you should be doing. If you feel as though you should be doing something else but you know that the option you have chosen will make you happy, then this is the main thing. It doesn’t matter what you ‘should’ be doing, mainly because there is no should. You do what you do, and you don’t do what you don’t, it’s as simple as that.

Your happiness needs to be the priority of your life. For example, if you want to get clear braces to help you with your confidence in your smile, you do that. If you want to save money like a little squirrel for a rainy day, do that too.

It’s Your Life

Finally, you have got to remember that it is your life. Nobody else needs to live this life. They are not the ones who go to bed each night and have to live with the choices that they have made for your life in particular. Everyone goes to bed and thinks about the choices made for their own life, and that should tell you how important the opinions of others are. You only ever focus on what you have decided anyway.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you should be focusing on more than other people’s opinions. At the end of the day, everyone is going to have one, but it’s up to you whether or not it bothers you. You need to remember that their opinions don’t count, and that will help you to move forward and focus on the more important things in life. We wish you the very best of luck.  

Me not caring about other people's opinion of my graying hair :)

So much has happened since I last wrote a post here, but if we are friends in any of my social media pages, you would know that my almost nine year-stay with MullenLowe MARC (formerly ARC Public Relations, Inc.) ended last Friday, July 16.

Yesterday was my first day at my new position as the Senior Campaign Manager of the Clozette PH team ♡ 

I find it funny that I stressed myself so much in trying to look for a new job but when I stopped looking and just quit without a new job waiting for me (this is unwise, BTW, I would not recommend it unless you have emergency savings stashed away), that's when this opportunity found me. 

Words are not enough to encapsulate my full ARC PR/ MullenLowe MARC experience, but know that I am truly grateful for the time I spent there, the lessons I learned, and the people I met. My formative years in my career were with them so wherever I may find myself in the future, know that my stay there helped shape the course of my professional life.

It's really been a lot of fun.

Now let's go have more fun. ;)