The Secret to Getting Free Brand-name Shoes

Do you love free stuff? WE DO! You probably already know that from reading our post on How to Get Free Food on Your Birthday. However, we are happy to get free stuff anytime! Whether it’s a free Red Robin burger on our birthday, a free shelf through ALDI’s double guarantee, free higher interest bank accounts, or free power generating on our roof.

Want to see where I got my most recent free stuff?

No, that’s not just a reused bag. If you aren’t familiar with DSW, it’s a shoe store that also sells various accessories, including socks, scarves, and purses. They also have a membership program called DSW Rewards which I signed up for a few years ago (and signed Al up for too, hehe!). It’s not a credit card so you don’t have to worry about fees, or credit scores, or having to carry around another card in your wallet. Just sign up and be prepared to bring home bags like this:

Every few months they send us a coupon, and a little bit ago both Al and I got one of these in our email (I added that “expired” notation so you wouldn’t get too excited that this coupon was still valid):

Like the good crumb savers we are, we headed over to the nearest DSW, which fortunately is only about 10 minutes away, to see what great deal we could land.

Our DSW has a huge clearance section in the back of the store where items are marked down anywhere from 30-70% off. Each item is color coded with a sticker that tells you what percentage you can take off the printed price.

After a little browsing (I always try to find something whose final price is almost exactly the coupon price, but not over), I saw a pair of Teva’s. Now, I LOVE Teva’s. In fact, I already have a pair that I got almost brand new at a thrift store and I wear them almost every day in the summer. However, my current pair is blue, doesn’t always match what I’m planning to wear, and is starting to get a little worn on the bottom.

Here’s a peek at the price:

Of course, for something that’s a “want” and not a “need” I’m not going to spend $30 (or $10, for that matter!). But that red sticker makes a big difference.  Hmmm…..checked the clearance color coding above the rack. Red = 40% off. So, that would still leave the price to be $17.97, almost $8 more than our $10 coupon. BUT! Al and I had once been allowed to use both of our coupons together on one purchase, so I marched up to the register with my precious Teva’s under my arm.

Sure enough! The kind woman at the register allowed us to use both $10 off coupons and here is what we paid:

Not too bad! I probably could have added another $2 item and still come out awash, but that would have started to be greedy. I’m super excited and THANKFUL to have my awesome new shoes for $0.01!

Here they are:

Over the last few years that we’ve been signed up for the DSW Rewards program, we’ve received coupons like this throughout the year and also a $5 off coupon on our birthdays. We’ve stocked up on tons of free stuff (or extremely cheap) for ourselves or to use as gifts: sandals, house slippers, fuzzy socks, scarves, even a Tommy Hilfiger bowtie!

We don’t get any commission or affiliates to sign people up but do want others to share in the benefits of good deals. So if you want to sign up for their program, you can right here. Here’s to hoping you score lots of great deals and free stuff too!