Meet Erin, and a Giveaway!

I'm back again this week (2 days in a row!) and I come bearing gifts. But first you have to meet Erin. 


Who is Erin? 


Erin is the brains behind LA based company Bag Beautiful. Bag Beautiful is a line of shapers and covers designed to keep your bags in perfect condition while not in use. I have to tell you, as a lover of handbags,  I think this is brilliant. Dust covers are nice and all, but they don't exactly prevent leather from creasing. The best part though, is how reasonably priced they are (only $16 for the largest one!).  


Erin was a good sport and agreed to answer some questions. 


1. Tell us about yourself-- where are you from? What did you do before starting Bag Beautiful?

I have been in Los Angeles in for 16 years and before that I have lived all over the US and Europe. Before Bag Beautiful, I worked in the fashion industry as an apparel and accessories designer.

2. What inspired you to create Bag Beautiful?

I collect handbags, and my favorite bags were always getting squished and damaged in my closet. I figured out that there has to be an easy solution to remedy this, and after some experimenting, Bag Beautiful was born!

3. How does it work?

It's so easy! Just take your favorite bag that needs a little love, then insert the shaper, and put the cover bag over your handbag. Your bag is now protected and ready to be stored in your closet until its used next.

4. You are a "self-proclaimed handbag addict", if you had to pick a favorite, which would choose.....? Why?

So hard since there are so many! I would have to say the Hermes Kelly Bag, it's so classic and you can use it for a star studded event, or simply going to the market. Either way, you're going to look good.

5. Name 5 things in your bag right now that you can't leave the house without.

I always have so many things in my bag, but the top 5 are my iPhone, earphones (need my music at all times!), cosmetic case (for touch-ups on the go), a bottle of water (got to keep hydrated!), and a protein bar.... lots of meetings means lunches get replaced with conference calls.

6. What is you best/favorite money-saving tip. 

Two words. Sample. sale. Subscribe to your favorite brand's email newsletters to find out when your favorite designers will be selling their collections at steep discounts. 

7. Go ahead and brag, what's the best deal you've ever gotten on a bag?

A few years ago, I ran into a major after holiday sale at Jimmy Choo.... this gorgeous black leather satchel was %50 off! It's been a staple of my closet ever since. 

And now, the Giveaway. 

Erin is giving away one medium Bag Beautiful shaper & cover to a lucky Money Smart Fashion reader. (US Resident Only). 


It's super easy to enter, just enter your name and e-mail below (or login with facebook). You have two options available for entries. Giveaway closes Thursday March 1st. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Creative Ways to Save and the Giveaway Winner

You guys had so many great tips on how you save money I couldn't resist sharing them:



1. Pay yourself first (even before you pay your bills!)
2. Pay with cash
3. Check out thrift stores for one-of-a-kind pieces for your home (or your closet)
4. Stash small amounts away every week. You won't notice it's gone, but after awhile it starts adding up!
5. Shop for household items through "subscribe and save" on Amaazon
6. If you find something you simply. must. have. walk away and wait a week. Only go back and buy if you are still thinking about it on day 8.
7. Make/ refashion your clothes (avoid retail mark-ups!)
8. Bring your lunch to work
9. Only shop for groceries when your pantry is bear (waste not, want not)
While were on the topic of groceries...
10. Buy things you use often in bulk
11. Never shop without a list.

What great ideas! Thank you all for entering!

Now the moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of the giveaway is....

Ashley

Congratualtions Ashley, I will be e-mailing you shortly. For all the others don't forget you can still get 10% off your purchase at Shabby Apple with the discount code "moneysmart10off"

I promise, regular posting will resume next week.

Shabby Apple Giveaway

In the spirit of giving, I've partnered with Shabby Apple to give you guys the chance to win the Mariposa Grove dress!



Shabby Apple is an online vintage inspired dress boutique that offers dresses for all kinds of occasions including bridesmaids dresses. The Mariposa Grove dress is from their Yosemite collection, which I adore btw. I hand picked this little green (go green) number from a long list of others because I knew you guys would love the petal detailing around the neck, the scoop in the back, and the fact it's actually long enough to not show off your goodies!

You can check out the full collection of women's dresses at http://www.shabbyapple.com/ and "like" them on facebook to get exclusive discounts the DL on special promotions.

Entering the giveaway is simple:  Leave a comment below with your name, contact e-mail, and your most creative tip for saving money by 11:59 EST on Wednesday May 25th. A winner will be drawn at random. While it's not mandatory for the giveaway, if you like what you see... be kind, follow:)

Please note: U.S. Residents only.

I would say good luck, but you don't need it! If you don't trust your luck you can still receive 10% off your purchase by using the offer code "moneysmart10off" at checkout from now until 6/16.

PS. There are still a few items left from my blog shop post yesterday take a look if you haven't yet, and remember 30% of proceeds go to Last Chance Animal Rescue!

Inspired by: Coach

Are you guys excited to find out who won the giveaway?! Me too. But first, lets talk about some of the goodies I found while perusing Coach's website. I was looking for something to spend my giftcard on and what I found was that I need a few more giftcards to afford what I really want! Nonetheless here are my top nine favorite items that I would buy if it was 2005 (because I would have bought anything back then).

1. Audrie Boot $398
2. Cassy Wedge $178
3. Madison gathered leather Sophia Satchel $498
4.Kristin Leather Pleated Satchel $398
5. Madison Large Shoulder Bag $498
6. Kristin Checkbook Wallet $238
7. Aliza Bootie $188
8. Poppy Sequins Disco Bag $148
9. Sienna Jacket $698
all at coach.com

I seriously love all of these things. My "I love you" list for fall goes something like this: boots, pumpkin donuts, leather jackets, SSBF, and large satchels. The wallet and the sequins are just for good measure. Truth is, I bought one of them! Can you guess which one?

Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for....
The winner of the $100 Coach Gift Card was:

B.

Congrats B!
Thank you all so much for entering. It really means a lot to me to be able to give away this giftcard to one of my readers.
Hopefully there will be many more giveaways in our future!

Money Smart Fashion Giveaway!

I swear I'm about to unleash a beast of a giveaway on you, but first the back story. Way back in August when Coach Poppy was leaving it's mark all over the blogosphere, I was innocently working on a post for my blog. I hit the preview button at the bottom to make sure everything looked good and that's when it happened. I found Poppy, on my own blog, resulting in not one, but two gift cards. One because I found Poppy and the second because someone, aka me, found Poppy on my blog. I read the rules of the contest about 1000 times to see if that was even possible. I even e-mailed Coach Poppy with a guilt ridden conscious, and had all but convinced myself that they were not going to send me two gift cards. Then last week, sure enough, I received them in the mail. I had told SSBF after it happened that there was no way I could keep both for myself, it just wasn't right. Now that they are here, I stand by that.

So if you haven't figured it out yet, although I'm certain you have... 

 I am giving away a $100 Coach Gift card to one verry lucky reader.

To enter:

1. Be a follower of Money Smart Fashion through Google, Bloglovin' of a reader and leave a comment below with a way to contact you.

For more chances to win:

1. Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to leave an additional comment with you twitter feed.

or

2. Re-post this giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment with a link to your blog!

Thsi giveaway is open to all of my readers and will close Tuesday October 5th at 10 PM.

Good Luck!

Janeys Jewels Giveaway Winner!

According to Random.org the winner of the Janeys Jewels giveaway is Amber!

Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone that entered.

Janey's Jewels Giveaway:Last Day to Enter! *Closed*

* the large picture and bottom left are of my ring which is 12MM size, however the color of the contest ring is the same. Click the graphic above to see more detail shots of the 11MM ring.

Today is the last day to enter the Janey's Jewels giveaway for the beautiful custom cut ring pictured above.

To enter:

1. Follow Money Smart Fashion through Google, Bloglovin', or a reader and leave a comment with a way to contact you. (All comments from the original giveaway post and this post will be considered. (Please do leave duplicate comments unless it's for additional entries)

2. Include you favorite item from Janey's Shop in your comment.

For additional entries:

1. Tweet or re-post this giveaway to and leave me an separate comment below with your blog and/or Twitter feed.

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian Readers only.

Entries will be accepted until Tuesday September 21st at 10 PM.

Janeys Jewels Giveaway! *Closed*

* the large picture and bottom left are of my ring which is 12MM size, however the color of the contest ring is the same. Click the graphic above to see more detail shots of the 11MM ring.

Janey, from Janey's Jewels was sweet enough to not only send me the ring I wore in yesterday's post but  also custom cut this beautiful prasiolite ring for one lucky Money Smart Fashion Reader.

To enter:

1. Follow Money Smart Fashion through Google, Bloglovin', or a reader and leave a comment below with a way to contact you.

2. Include you favorite item from Janey's Shop in your comment.

Want more chances to win?

1. Tweet or re-post this giveaway to and leave me an additional comment below with your blog and/or Twitter feed.

This giveawy is open to U.S. and Canadian Readers only.

Entries will be accepted until Tuesday September 21st at 10 PM.

Drum Roll Please...

The winner of the CSN Stores giveaway is:

Congratulations Carolina Sunshine!

A represenative of CSN Stores will contact you regarding your gift certificate.

Thank you so much to everyone that entered.

Hopefully there will be plenty more chances for you all to win something!

My First Giveaway! *Closed*

I was so excited to do this post today I nearly shot out of bed this morning... and then preceded to torture myself until this evening to make the announcement. CSN stores is offering one of my lucky readers a $60 gift certificate that can be used at any of their 200+ online stores!

They offer such a wide variety of items it could be hard to decide where to begin. I would recommend starting with the shoes.

My personal favorite are these Diba sandals.

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian readers only.

To enter please become a follower of Money Smart Fashion through Google or Bloglovin' and leave a comment below with a way to contact you!

Entries will be accepted until Saturday July 17th at 9pm EST.

Good Luck!

*please note there may be shipping charges or in case of Canadian readers international fees, associated with your purchase. Money Smart Fashion is not responsible for these fees.