Showing posts with label deals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deals. Show all posts

$10 Starbucks Card for $5!

Deal alert!  Living Social is offering a $10 Starbucks card for $5.  Just in time for those tasty fall beverages!  Once you purchase your gift card, don't forget to share your referral link.  If you get three friends to purchase the same deal, then you get yours for free!

My referral link: Living Social

New Printer!

Happy Saturday! Work this week was extremely exhausting, so I'm glad I have a few days off to catch up on sleep! Here's a quick post before I go to bed.

When I was in grad school, I used a bubblejet printer. While I didn't think much about it initially, I started to notice that I was spending a considerable amount of money replacing my printer cartridges every 2-3 months. Eventually, I stopped using my printer altogether because I realized that 1) the ink was really expensive, 2) the printer wasted color ink every time I turned it off and on (even though I typically only used black ink), and 3) the printer had a mechanism that prevented it from working if either the black or color cartridge was empty. Since then, I've printed documents at work, asked my boyfriend to print things for me, or showed people files on my smartphone.

Today, my boyfriend was browsing FatWallet and found a deal on a Brother Printer. Looking at prices for corresponding ink replacements on Amazon.com, I figured I could probably buy 50 ink cartridges for the price of one black and one color cartridge for my old printer. Hey, even the current price of the printer ($54.99) is cheaper than what I spend replacing ink.

I went ahead and purchased a new printer for myself! As long as it provides semi-decent quality printing I'll be happy. Can't wait to be able to print from home again!

The Body Shop Deal

This past year, I've probably purchased more products at The Body Shop than anywhere else. If you open my bathroom drawers, you'll find a small collection of body washes, hand soaps, lotions, room sprays, and reed diffusers. The Body Shop appeals to me because I like the assortment of scents they carry. It also helps that the company promotes a number of social causes I support.

While I did purchase a ton of stuff from The Body Shop this past year, not once did I pay full price for a single item. In fact, I typically paid less than 50% of full price after accounting for deal of the day vouchers, sales, and discounts from the Love Your Body Club. The great thing was that this left me with extra money to spend on food, or sale items at Bath and Body Works.

For two days, Living Social is offering a $20 voucher to The Body Shop for $10. This may be a great time to stock up if you think you'll need bathroom stuff in the coming months. The Body Shop has sales throughout the year, so make sure to use your voucher then for extra savings! I already purchased mine, so it looks like I might be going shopping sometime soon!

How to Host a Cheap Sports Party

Football playoff season is in full swing (GO NINERS!), and I plan on spending it on my couch with some drinks and my favorite finger foods. I know that many of you will probably be getting together with friends to catch the big games, so I thought I would offer a few money saving tips on hosting those football get-togethers!

Tip #1: Stay home instead of hitting the bars. Bar food, pints of beer, and mixed drinks are typically more expensive than throwing your own party. Don't forget other hidden costs like tax and tip! Avoid the crowded bars (and drunk drivers), buy a twelve-pack, and cook up some snacks at home!

Tip #2: Check the grocery store ads for deals. Each week, I check the grocery store ads and plan my meals around what's on sale. Grocery stores tend to stock up on snack type foods around football playoffs season, so there's bound to be some deals. Since I am lucky enough to live near several grocery chains, I use the ads to make a shopping list of sale items for each store.

Tip #3: Potluck or BYOB. If you're hosting a party, you're probably already doing tons of work cleaning and cooking. Reduce your stress by having your buddies bring their favorite snacks or beverages. It'll also reduce the strain on your wallet!

Tip #4: Order delivery or get take-out. If you're turned off by the idea of cooking, then pitching in money for delivery or take-out is still cheaper than going out to eat. Make sure to check your Sunday newspaper ads or discount sites like Slickdeals for coupons. If ordering delivery, call in early, as these places tend to get inundated with orders on football Sundays. Don't forget to tip the person delivering the pizza, since he/she is missing the game!

Tip #5: Use leftover snacks for meals in the coming week. One of my favorite ways to use leftover spinach dip is to stuff it in chicken breast and bake it. You can also shred leftover pieces of buffalo chicken and use them in tacos (with your leftover bean dip, salsa, and avocado dip) or pita wraps. With some creativity, you can turn these leftovers into some tasty meals!

Eating is definitely one of my favorite parts of playoff season. With these tips, you'll be able to indulge in those delicious snacks while having some extra money left over for those bets!

GO NINERS!

How to Book a Cheap Trip to Las Vegas

Since I'm fortunate enough to have flexible per diem jobs, I've managed to schedule a week of vacation at the end of this month. So far, my plan is to fly to Las Vegas with some friends and spend a few days relaxing and having fun! I didn't want to spend too much on this trip, and thanks to some shopping around and early planning I'm spending less than $150 on housing and airfare!

Here are some tips on how you can save money on a trip to Las Vegas (which can also be applied to other locations):

-Shop around and book early: I cannot stress this enough. When I decided I wanted to go to Las Vegas, I immediately started searching travel websites like Expedia, Priceline, Kayak and comparing rates. My friends and I decided to book a room at a hotel located in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip for $24.50 a night. The next day, the price went up to $27.00. Today, the same room is $33 a night. By booking early, you ensure you have a room and extra spending money to spend on money and shopping! I'm pretty pleased that I'm paying less than $7 a night to stay in a themed Las Vegas hotel after splitting the cost with my friends.

-Schedule your vacations during weekdays and non-holidays: Weekday hotel room rates tend to be significantly cheaper than weekend and holiday rates. When booking my hotel I noticed that the Friday night rate was $125, a whopping $25 more than the total cost of the four weekday nights I'm staying. Weekends and holidays also tend to be more crowded at popular tourist locations, which can be good or bad depending on your preference. Personally, I'd prefer to save some money and not wait in line when I use that said money on shows and buffets!

-Use budget airline companies: Search Slickdeals deals being offered by major airlines. Southwest, JetBlue, and Virgin America tend to offer reasonable fares, and Spirit Airlines offers low cost ticket prices for people who travel light and don't mind skimping on certain services. I'll be writing a review of Spirit Airlines at a later date.

By using these tips, I've managed to book a trip to Las Vegas that leaves me extra money in my budget to spend on other things. Knowing this definitely leaves me more relaxed, as opposed to worried about paying for the whole thing. I can't wait for my vacation!

Discounted Restaurant Food

One of my vices is going out for food. While I know I can save tons of money with a home cooked meal, I simply like going to a restaurant every now and then and enjoying the ambiance, the people watching, the food, and not having to do dishes afterwards. Unfortunately, with my plans to move out soon, I should probably curtail my eating out habits... or try to get more food for less money!

Deal of the day sites such as Groupon, Townhog, and LivingSocial have increased in popularity these past few years. While I've used these places to get discounts on shopping, I've predominantly taken advantage of the great restaurant offers. Thanks to deal of the day sites, I've been able to try food from places that otherwise would have been out of my price range. My boyfriend and I have also gone on numerous dates to nice restaurants while only paying half price.

Once I'm moved out, I anticipate I'll be more diligent in checking these sites daily for deals. Every dollar spent is an extra dollar to spend on something else!

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