Save On Gifts

Okay, if you are like me you just finished your holiday shopping yesterday, the day after Christmas. (Last minute gifts for friends we were seeing after the holidays.) And if like me, you are totally worn out from holiday shopping and crowds, I'm sure that you don't want to even think about setting foot in another retail store until next December! But I beg you to be patient with me as I talk about preparing for next years gift giving extravaganza.

I have decided, and I know I say this every year, that I am going to get my holiday shopping and gift making done early this coming year. But, this year I am so serious, and I have even taken the first steps in making this possible. Which is, making a list!

I am making lists of all potential gift giving extravaganzas through out the year; birthdays, anniversaries, Easter, and Christmas! I am breaking done each month with important dates and what needs to be bought for each event, will just a card do or do I need to purchase a small gift. Then the plan is to sit done with my husband and put a dollar amount next to each name and date.

I know that I can purchase cards at the local dollar store for $.50 each, have I mentioned that I love the dollar store? So, for those events that only require a card i will be able to budget $1.00 and be covered, even including postage!

After the budget limit is set I will then sit down and brainstorm what that person's interest, hobbies, etc. are. Finally I will then brainstorm ideas of things that I can make and or buy for each event.

I will then carry this list with me wherever I go, shopping, library, bank, post office, homes of people I visit, everywhere! You never know when an idea will hit and I want to be prepared with my list!

Another reason to carry the list with me everywhere is so when I see something that "so and so will like" or "would be just perfect for," I can then whip out my list and decide if yes that would be perfect or no keep looking. And if I have my list with me I can purchase things on sale at great prices throughout the year. Thus spreading out the money spent on gifts throughout the year instead of being hit with big amounts at certain times.

Also, when I purchase something I can then write down the exact thing purchased and for how much, making sure to stay under budget!

The last thing that my list will do is help me keep track of where I am storing or hiding everything. How many times have I bought something months in advance and then been unable to locate it when it is needed? More times than I can count! I don't really save anything buying early if I can't locate it when needed, and then I have to turn around and buy something else! No more!

Who's ready to join me and put an end to being unorganized, last minute gift buying, and buying overpriced items! This year is the year I will succeed!

Save Money On Supplements and Vitamins At GNC

There are a lot of discount supplement sites on the net, but I'm always a little hesitant to trust my hard earned cash to a company I've never heard of from somewhere I don't know.

So I'm always glad when one of the best and most reputable health and supplement vendors offers a big online sale, and that's what GNC is doing for the next 72 hours. I'm sure you're already thinking about those New Year's resolutions as you soak in those Christmas goodies--go get the stuff you need while the getting is good!

Get 25% off everything in the GNC store. Hurry! Offer ends 12/28/07

Frugal People Don't Buy On Credit

So, how are you at Monopoly? Ever played? Any good at it?

Imagine we change the rules a little bit. Imagine if, when you played Monopoly, every time you passed go, you gave the bank the $200. Not the other players. Just you.

How long do you think you would last in the game playing like that?

Well, using credit cards and other forms of interest is like playing monopoly that way.

Not only are you paying the price for whatever you're buying, but the interest that you're paying on top of the purchase prices is like tossing money away, jacking up the prices of everything you've bought.

Just like in the crazy Monopoly game I described above, people who regularly use credit to make purchases are unnecessarily inflating the prices of everything they buy, tossing a little bit extra away every month that could have gone to other things or been saved.

Saved money earns interest instead of costing it. It's better to know about savings products like CDs, money market accounts, and other savings products than it is to learn about great credit card deals or how to float a balance between cards to keep an interest rate low.

That's like getting the bank to pay you the $200 plus some every time around the board.

Now that would be how to get ahead in Monopoly.

And it's the secret to getting ahead financially in real life.

Get Money And Save Money With Inbox Dollars

There are a ton of rewards programs out there on the internet that give you "points" for buying products or participating in offers.

Inbox Dollars cuts straight to the quick and gives you cash. Long story short, they share some of the incentive bonus they get when you buy products from one of their sponsors, so for you it works out like getting discounts or rebates of up to 15% off the products and services you would buy off the internet anyway.

For example, if you're a regular iTunes purchaser, you can get 5% of every iTunes purchase back as cash through Inbox Dollars. If you were to get the NetNanny internet filter, you'd get 15% of your purchase price back.

They also offer specials where you can combine discounts with cash back to get even bigger discounts. For instance, at 411 Inkjets, they offer 12% cash back. Plus, they have a deal going for 5% off your order. So that works out to even bigger savings!

They also give you a few cents for every email you click on, whether you purchase the product or not, and you can get a dollar for completing surveys as well. So there are ways to make money even if you don't buy anything.

Plus, they'll put $5 in your account just for signing up.

They've also got a "Get Paid For Playing Games" feature, but I don't recommend it. It's one of those pay-to-play deals where you can win money for playing games, but they pay you based on how much money you put in, not how long you play. It's something like 5 cents for every dollar, so I don't recommend it, since losing a dollar because somebody's better than you at Bejewelled isn't any way to make 5 cents.

But the paid emails, paid surveys, and cash back for shopping programs all work fine.

Save Money With Half.com

Okay, this is a serious one. This has been one of the biggest ways we've saved money in our family over the last couple of years. We never, ever pay full price for books or DVDs. We get deep discounts on both of them. We get them from half.com.

Half.com is owned by Ebay, and it's sort of the same principle. People who have stuff log on to half.com and register it. Rather than having an auction, like on Ebay, they just list the condition of the book and the price. Then, you log on looking for whatever you want to buy. When you find a combination of price and condition that suits your fancy, you buy it.

The good news is, the more popular the book or the DVD, the more of them there are out there, so the cheaper the price is.

And it's not just DVDs, CDs, and books--they've also got video games and electronics.

This is the used book place I swear by. The other advantage they have is that you can combine shipping if you buy more than one thing from the same seller, and they make it easy to browse the seller's store for other products you want. Keep that in mind as you're looking at products--one store's products might look a little more expensive, but if you can combine shipping it can sometimes bring the total cost down.

Have fun looking for deals!

Check out eBay's Half.com for great deals on books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, computers, PDAs and more. Save Big!!

Save Money On Discount Laptops And Laptop Accessories

Not only is Laptops For Less already a great place to get great prices, but right now, they're offering a 10% off holiday special if you enter the code HS10 at checkout.

And it's not just laptops you can save on. They've also got laptop batteries, AC adapters, iPod batteries, CD Roms, battery chargers for Compaq, Toshiba, IBM, Dell, Sony, Apple, and HP laptops, PDA, iPod, & digital camera accessories.

Instant Discounts and Specials on thousands of mobile replacement batteries, ac adapters, dc adapters, and more!

Secret HD-DVD Deal On Amazon

They're not advertising it on the front page, but if you nose around a little, you can find this HD-DVD deal.

Just in time for Christmas.

Basically, Amazon's trying to push the HD-DVD market, so as an incentive, they've got a way you can get 10 free DVDs with the purchase of certain HD-DVD players, and they're also giving $100 off certain HD-DVD players.

It works like this:

1. Purchase one of the HD DVD players shown on the page in the link above.

2. Select three HD DVDs from the list on the same page. You will see a credit in your Shopping Cart (personally, I'd go with Serenity).

3. The movies 300 and The Bourne Identity will be packaged with your player.

4. Then, you can download a mail-in rebate form and print it out to get five more HD-DVD movies free. When you receive your player, fill out the form with your choice of movies--you'll need the UPC code located on the player's package--and send it in to the address indicated on the form by March 31, 2008.

Honestly, I don't know how "secret" this is, but they're calling it that in the customer forums on Amazon, so I thought I'd come here and spill the beans.

Our Philosophy

I thought I'd take a moment today to share with you a little bit about what we believe, and what we're going for with this blog.

First, we believe that frugality is better for your heart and mind than frivolity. That by living within your means, you gain peace of mind and heart. Not only that, but it's easier to sleep at night.

Second, we believe that the only way to truly save money is to not spend it. Saving is not where you spend less, but saving is where you actually put some money away for later.

Third, we believe that if you can postpone your wants, the time will always come that you can get them cheaper than if you buy them now.

To that end, we have created this blog.

It is our goal here to do two things.

First, we want to post useful articles and tips about ways to save money. This includes budgeting, shopping sales, using coupons, and finding other deals.

Second, it is our intention to notify our readers of sales that are going on around the internet and at their local stores that may give them the chance to get the deals they're looking for on things they're putting of buying until the right price comes along. We also notify them of rebate and discount programs that might save them money.

Many of these businesses and rebate programs are affiliates of our website, meaning that we make a little money when you shop there or join their program.

However, we know that we can't build trust with you if we arbitrarily post "Spammish" links to anyone who will pay us. We will try our best to make sure:

1. We post links to genuine sales and deals, not just discounts off already over-inflated prices, or "free shipping" offers on full priced items.
2. We post links to reputable programs and offers.

If something we talk about fails to meet either of those criteria, please comment on the post and leave your feedback so that other users can benefit from your experience, and we can learn from it as well.

We sincerely hope we can help you live within your means, but still afford a few of life's nicer things once in a while.

Thanks for reading!

Big 25% off sale at BareNecessities.com

Not only does BareNecessities.com have a big 25% off sale going on in various sections around the store, but one of those sections is their "warmwear" section, full of the undergarments that will keep you nice and toasty through the winter months.

Don't freeze for fashion! Stay warm in long underwear from BareNecessities.com

50% off Toys and Holiday Decor at Fingerhut.com

Starting today, December 12, Fingerhut.com is featuring 50% off Select Toys and Holiday Décor items.

If you're looking for Christmas presents (and who isn't?), the last ship date for Christmas is December 18th for standard delivery and December 20th for express delivery.

50% off select toys and holiday décor at Fingerhut.com!

Save Money On Sporting Goods Gifts

Got a few sports and outdoors fanatics on your gift list? Right now, DunhamsSports.com is offering 15% off on all orders. There are some exclusions, and it's only for online orders, but they've got everything from jerseys to fitness equipment to paintball supplies.

Just look for the products with the "15% Off Entire Order" label.

Plus, for the holidays, they've got free shipping offers in departments all across the store, from electronics to clothing to paintball.

And you know I always keep an eye out for a clearance section, and this store's got one.

Personally, I was nosing around in their Bowflex shop for deals, but whatever your game, Dunham's got it.

Save up to 75% at Destination Maternity

Yeah, it's an awkward time of year to find yourself expecting. Not only is the budget already tight, but it's that time for holiday parties, meaning that sometimes you've got to find something nice.

Destination Maternity has what you're looking for, whether it's casual clothes, business clothes, or that formal outfit you need for that special occasion. And right now, they're offering up to 75% off the whole product.

They offer flat $6 shipping on every order, so pile up the deals and save on shipping.

Savings On Teen Fashion This Week

Teen fashion site Alloy.com is giving girls something to laugh about.

From now until Friday, they're offering 20% off any order. And, they've still got their clearance section with deals up to 75% off their regular prices, so you've got a great chance at finding something you love for a song.

The promo code is "HOLAFF."

Go save some money!

4 DAYS ONLY: 20% off your entire Alloy order! Use code HOLAFF. Valid through 12.14.

Home Owner Calculators

If you are thinking of purchasing your first home or even your second or maybe you are wondeing if you should refinance, then you need to check out the FREE calculators available online at Fannie Mae. The calculators will help you figure out just how much you can spend without breaking your budget.

They have calculators dealing with:

• How much house can you afford?
• What monthly payment is needed for a house with a specificsales price?
• How much can you afford with a specific monthly payment?
• How much is your monthly payment?
• Is now a good time to refinance?

Buying a home can be a scary process unless you do you homework. So make sure to take a quick stop at Fannie Mae to help work out the money before you take the leap!

Happy house hunting!

How To Save Money On Lunch At Work

You've probably heard the old adage before--brown bag it to work, and you can save some money.

The problem is, well, I think in this day and age, the idea of brown bag anything is so blah as to turn anybody off. Somehow, even a guy who spends a good five minutes building his forearms up by trying to squeeze that last half an ounce out of the toothpaste tube can imagine that little brown bag and think, "I'm not that poor."

Well, the good news is that in this day of microwaves and toaster ovens, brown bag lunches don't have to be, well, brown bag lunches. Anything you can whip up at home can usually be re-heated or even made at work.

At one office I worked in, somebody brought in a little George Foreman grill. On my way in to the office in the morning, I'd swing by the Grocery Store across the street and look for a piece of meat that was coming up on sale time and had a discount sticker on it. I'd cook it up on the grill during my lunch break, and throw it on some bread or with something else I'd brought from home to make a tastier, cheaper, and healthier lunch than some fast-food place would have whipped up to clog my arteries and drain my pocketbook with.

Even if that's not an option, microwaves are generally as common as restrooms in the modern workplace. Just cook up a little extra of whatever fine meal you're having for dinner, and the next day, you'll have a tasty, real meal at work that will leave your co-workers wondering what smells so good.

Save On DVDs By The Bundle

Save on those DVD purchases by buying these big packs of DVDs.

They've got classics, sci-fi, western, horror, family films--even classic TV shows. That breaks down to two months worth of movies for less than you'd pay to rent them.

Good Websites for Discount Travel

Save Money And Earn Money At The Same Time!!

You're looking for a way to save money on things that you buy every day, right? Well, how would you like to get your own FREE shopping mall online, and earn reabates on everything that you purchase? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it's not! You can save money and earn money at the same time on things that you are already going to buy!

Are you looking for a business opportunity? I’m so glad because it means you want to change your life. I’m sure you already know how important it is to find that right opportunity. When I started looking for a business I knew that 97% of people who try to find financial freedom through a home-based business fail so I knew whatever I chose had to be different!

There were certain "Givens."
It had to be FREE so every person who wanted to change their lives would have a chance.
It had to be simple.
It had to take away all the “business games” that kept most people from succeeding in a home-based business.

The "Givens" were answered when I found MY POWER MALL!

I’m not going to take time to explain it because MY POWER MALL has created some powerful movies and a great website that will do just that. I will tell you it is totally new, totally FREE, very simple, and can be done in conjunction with anything else you are doing to generate financial freedom. You could easily be making $4 - 6000 a month, but your income potential is unlimited. Interested? Click the button below! It will only take a few minutes to determine if our FREE program is what you have been looking for. I believe it is!

Visit MY POWER MALL to start saving and earning money today!

Happy Shopping!

20% Discount at Alloy.com

One of the web's biggest sites for teen fashions is offering a 20% discount over the weekend, and it's good for 20% off your entire order.

When you consider that their clearance section has stuff at up to 75% off, you're talking some serious savings here.

Take 20% off your entire Alloy.com order! Use code ALYGIFT. Offer expires 12.3.07.

Discount Airfaire - Cheaptickets.com 48 Hour Sale

If you were planning on flying this holiday season, and hadn't acted yet, you have 48 hours to jump on this one:

Cheaptickets.com is offering an additional $50 off their already low fares if you buy tickets, or a ticket & hotel combo. They're already one of the big boys in discount travel and cheap airline tickets, so this should be what you're looking for.

You just have to use the promo code 48HOURSALE and do it before November 29th. All travel must take place by January 31, 2008.

Cheaptickets 48-hour Sale: Save $50! (PROMO CODE: 48HOURSALE) Expires Nov. 29

Get Great Deals On Used Books, Used Music, And Used Videos With SecondSpin.com

The used product sites are perhaps one of the Internets greatest resources for those of us looking to either make a few extra bucks by selling some of our clutter, or those of us looking to score a deal on something we can't bare to pay full price for.

SecondSpin.com was one of the first, and some still swear by it.

And we've got a code to get you free shipping--do the other used book, used CD, and used DVD stores offer that?

Free Shipping at SecondSpin.com! Use code freeholiday at checkout.

My Number One Secret For Saving Money

I have a favorite secret for saving money, and it's this:

Patience.

I'm serious.

There's an old adage that says, "You can have it fast, cheap, or good. Pick any two."

It really is true.

Think about dinner. You've got your choices. Let's say you want to have a good dinner. That leaves with two choices. You can get it fast, by going to a restaurant, but it isn't going to be cheap. You can get a good meal more cheaply, by cooking it yourself, but it isn't going to be very fast.

So obviously, on this blog, we're dialed in on cheap. We want to save some money, right?

This means we've got to give up one of the other two. And who wants to give up good?

That leaves fast as the thing we have to sacrifice to get good stuff cheap.

If we're willing to put some time into it, we can get good quality stuff at a cheaper price.

How do we do that?

Well, it might mean waiting for it to go on sale, or waiting for it to go on clearance. Buying things out of season or waiting for the new version to come out is a good way to get something at a deeply discounted price.

It also might mean spending more time shopping around. Obviously, taking the time to hunt all over the county (or the Internet) for a used car takes more time than heading down to the closest Used Car lot and picking out the best deal there, but your time pays off with deep discounts.

So next time you're looking to save a few dollars, ask yourself if there's a way that you can put some time into getting a discount, and turn those minutes into some dollars off your purchase.

Get Discount Car Rentals At Thrifty.com

You can always get 5% off by ordering online with Thrifty.com, but for the holidays, they've got an extra deal going on for a limited time.

Nationwide holiday rates staring at just $33.00 per day and at $169.00 per week. Rates valid at all U.S. locations except the New York Metro area and Hawaii. Enter in PC Code 722M2 at booking. A 24 hour advanced reservation is required. Rates effective from 11.25.07 thru 12.12.07.

Save Money On Your Grocery Bill

With grocery prices on the rise everyone seems to be looking for ways to save money on groceries. The most obvious way is to use coupons. A word of caution about coupons; only use a coupon if it something that you were originally planning on buying! Using a coupon to get a few cents off something that is just going to sit on your shelf and never be used is not really saving you money. And believe it or not sometimes even with your coupon the store brand just might be cheaper.

Does this mean that you shouldn't use coupons? No! Just do your homework. Know what it is you need to buy and pour through the sale ads. I have used many a coupon on an item on sale at a store that offers double coupons and ended up saving a lot.

Now a word about store brands--there really is nothing wrong with buying store brand. Most times you can't tell the difference between the store brand and the name brand. I urge you the next time you are at the store compare the ingredients in the name brand to the store brand, you will be surprised that most times the ingredients are the same! Why is the name brand then more expensive than the store brand? Advertising. Yes, when you purchase a name brand you are paying for the advertisement of that product.

Always plan your shopping trip. This is so important, especially with the rise in gas prices. Know which stores have the items you need on sale, or if not on sale, which store is cheaper. Also, don't travel all the way across town just to buy one item to save 10 cents. The time and money spent on gas is not worth it.

Always go with a grocery list in hand!!! This one step either breaks or makes our food budget. If I run to the store to just pick up a few things with out a list I come home with a lot more stuff and a lot less money!

What goes on your grocery list? First off, things that you need or have run out of. I keep one of those cheap magnetic pads on my refrigerator and as I run out of things or notice something getting low I write it on the pad. Voila, instant start to your grocery list.

Second, it's easier to make a grocery list if you have a menu plan. Know what you meals you are going to make that week and write down what ingredients you will need. I tried to plan out what meal we would eat on which day and found that didn't work for us. What I found works for us is to just write down the meal on a piece of paper and hang it on the refrigerator, when I fix a meal I cross it off. This gives me more choices and I don't feel so locked into a rigid schedule. So, find out what works for you and do it!

Only buy the amount that your family can use before it goes bad. If you buy something in bulk because you couldn't beat the price and half of it ends up going bad you really haven't saved anything. You've actually ended up throwing away money.

There are many more ideas out there, as these are just a few tips to get you started.

Happy deal hunting!

Online Book Rentals - Give BookSwim A Whirl

So, you think Netflix is great, but feel bad about all the books you're missing out on?

Well, now you can save all the money Netflix is saving you on videos to use BookSwim for books. It's an online rental program for books!

You can rent the books for as long as you like--there are no late fees. Return the book when you're done, and get the next one.

Give BookSwim a try!

Good-Bye Black Friday, Hello Cyber Monday!

Some of you may have witnessed some of the interesting things that happened around the web on Black Friday. Probably most notable was Amazon's servers crashing in the middle of their day full of "lightening deals," forcing the hour-by-hour specials that were supposed to end at 6pm to go on until 9pm. I guess that's the online equivalent of having to call the riot police to break up a madhouse.

But Amazon is trudging forward, and has even announced that the Lightening Deals on their Gold Box page will now be a feature every day of the week. We'll keep them posted here on Let's Save Some Money! in the banner on the right for you to check out.

In the meantime, we're ready to move forward with Cyber Monday! Okay, it's not quite the big deal that Black Friday is yet, but some would argue that the deals are better because the online folks are trying harder. Since Cyber Monday is the day they want to claim as their own piece of retail heaven, the online shops are digging deep to make it the national institution black Friday has become.

Look out for those deals, and we'll post 'em as we find 'em.

Cyber Monday and Beyond Online Specials at Walmart.com

Save Big On Usborne Books and Activity Kits

If your house is anything like ours, our girls already have PLENTY of toys, and I am not looking forward to the editions that Christmas will bring! LOL!!! And I'm sure that most parents are thinking the same thing. But, who can say no to fun and educational books?

Now through Monday, November 26 you can purchase great Usborne books for family and friends with a deep discount of 20-50%.

And as always with Usborne Books, the more you buy the more FREE books you can get! If you order $85.00 worth of books you get $15 in FREE books and the amount of FREE books just keeps going up the more you buy!

There is even a place where you can set up a wishlist for your kids and then you can email everyone who asks what "Johnny" or "Jane" want for Christmas the wishlist.

While you are there sign up to be entered into a drawing for $50 in free books!

So hurry over now and see what they have! I guarantee you won't regret it!

www.UBAH.com/J2416

Add Overstock to your Black Friday Online Visits

Overstock.com has gotten into the mix of companies trying to draw in those Black Friday dollars by drawing in those visitors.

Overstock's always got deep discounts on everything from books to furniture to electronics to jewelry. They haven't announced the deals yet, but they're coming--head on over and check 'em out.

Black Friday Product Deals from Overstock.com! Valid 11.22.07 to 11.25.07

Save Money at Wal-Mart, of Course

Wal-mart's also going to be in on the Black Friday deal, so check out their deals this Friday, too.

Looks like we can get all the Black Friday deals without having to venture out in the cold on Friday morning!

Save Big this Friday at Walmart.com

Fingerhut Doing Black Friday Deals

On Friday, November 23rd only, get great deals every 4 hours at Fingerhut.com!

Yes, Fingerhut's getting into the Black Friday act. Every 4 hours, a different deal will pop up on their site for your temptation and enjoyment. Pop on over and give them a look-see throughout the day.

Save on Things For Baby

BabyAge.com has a great selection of baby things, like baby furniture and baby toys. And we've got the BabyAge coupon codes! Check out these deals:

BEDDING0605: Free Shipping on Any Bedding Order $50 or more: EXP 12/31/07

BEDDING06: Free Shipping on Any Bedding Order $50 or more: EXP 2/01/09

BEDDING07: Free Shipping on Any Bedding Order $50 or more: EXP 12/31/08

FS125: Free Shipping on orders over $125: EXP 11/22/07

FS100: Free Shipping on orders over $100: EXP 11/30/07

Free Shipping on Britax Orders: EXP 12/31/07

$7.95 Flat Rate Shipping: NO EXPIRATION

Get a 10% Savings Bond from Stokke: EXP 11/30/07

Save $30 on Transportation 10-piece Bedding Set: EXP 12/31/07

And don't forget, they've got a clearance section you can check out anytime.

Vitacost Doing Deals

Vitacost, which is always a good place to get vitamins cheap, is offering an even bigger deal.

For the next 10 days, you can save an additional 5% on select popular brands at the Vitacost.com Fall Sale. You just have to enter coupon code WE71WEMU at checkout. This code will end at Midnight next Thursday, November 29th.