Sorry, Imelda Marcos. I hate to say I’m following in her (dare do I say?) footsteps. I’ve become somewhat obsessed with shoes. And I have DSW to blame.

One of my latest pairs to add to my growing collection.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones, there’s not a DSW in plain sight of where you live. So, for you poor soles, let me fill you in. And no, I’m not trying to start off on the wrong foot.

DSW is the acronym for Designer Shoe Warehouse. It is a shoe store with brand name shoes at discount prices. Sure, there are a lot of similar stores around, but do they have brands like Gucci or Prada?

Yes, you read that right — Italian designers Gucci and Prada. I remember that glorious day when I walked in to my local DSW and saw racks of high-end designer shoes near the entrance. It was Sheaven. I picked up two pairs of Gucci — a pair of open-toe pumps and a pair of slides. Yes, they were pricier than I’d normally spend on shoes, but the discounts could not be beat!

Still not soled on DSW? Well, if you like to save money on things you buy, then here’s a reason to love DSW. Often times they will offer coupons/coupon codes for $10 off or some other amount based on a minimum purchase. What I love about getting the coupons is that you can use up two three coupons at a time! Can you even do that at your local grocery store?

One of the ways to get coupons and bigger discounts is to sign up for DSW Rewards. It works similarly to grocery store club card discounts. You get points for every dollar you spend. Then when you reach a certain number of points, they send you a $10 certificate. On top of that, you get a birthday certificate on your birthday annually.

So, you can potentially save at least $30 with those reward certificates alone. But here’s what I do to save even more. While in the store, I use my price scanning app or the DSW.com mobile site to see if the shoes I like are sold online. If they are, I buy online.

Why?

Well, there are several sites that offer rebates just for clicking on links to the retailers from their site. I have two discount weapons of choice — ebates.com and my credit card company through their affiliate links. I compare to see which one gives me a great discount. It changes often, so I check regularly.

Sometimes shoes will only be available in store and sometimes only available online. The nice thing about DSW.com is that shipping is usually free, and returns are free (online or to the store). So, it’s pretty convenient either way.

Well, that’s my tip for today. Now gets to steppin’!