School is back IN for most kids and now is the time that routines get set and the hustle bustle of the fall begins. Stores have had Halloween candy out for a couple of weeks now and I'd be willing to bet Christmas stuff is out after Labor Day.
It won't be long until the masses begin thinking about Christmas shopping. I am not the type of guy to go to the mall. Throughout the year, I will buy gifts for birthdays and Christmas when I find a good deal. I have four teens who are always on the lookout for the Best Gadgets, so when I come across a good deal, I snatch it up. Geek Alerts is a cool little site that keeps me updated on the best new gadgets and off-beat gifts all year round.
Geek Alerts also offers coupons and discounts. I can use their Vistaprint coupon codes to get deals on my business cards and other printed items for my business. My daughter used Geek Alerts' Staples coupons to load up on school supplies (it also gives her a good excuse to create a "wish list").
It is only the first day of September, and I already have a bunch of Christmas shopping done. I might even get a nifty gadget for Little Miss' birthday in October. :o)
Discount Gadget Geek Alert
Restaurant.com $100 Gift Card Giveaway
Even though I have been on a journey to lose 40 pounds, I still like to eat. In the summer time, when I am busy with summer baseball 4 nights a week, I like to eat out.
Eating out can get expensive, so I like to look for ways to save money. Restaurant.com, specifically, Restaurant.com Gift Cards
, are a great way to do it. For fifteen bucks, I can get a Restaurant.com $25 Gift Card
. I then use the gift card to purchase coupons on the Restaurant.com
website for discounts on my favorite local eateries.One local place we like to take the kids offers a $50 gift certificate for only $20. This allows us to eat there for pennies on the dollar. In this example, we get a $50 gift certificate for $12- THAT's a GREAT DEAL, and it's indicative of the deals you will find on Restaurant.com
.
To celebrate my new affiliation with Restaurant.com, I am giving away a $100 gift card to a lucky reader. To be eligible, leave a comment below. I will pick a winner on July 22 (one month from today).
What makes this different than other "social deal" sites is I can use my Restaurant.com Gift Card
Get a Restaurant.com Gift Card
Free Custom Refrigerator Magnets
Our refrigerator is loaded with artwork and photographs. Many of them are held up with magnets given to us by area business people. Everyone from the local plumber to the local Real Estate broker has their own custom magnets they hand out to people. We get a LOT of Real Estate magnets because my wife works in a Real Estate office.
The people who give out custom magnets as advertising WANT you to hang your kid's artwork up on the refrigerator so you can see their advertising message every time you go for the gallon of milk. It's like having a mini billboard in a customer's home. I have a few of my own magnets from my mortgage brokerage days on ours. I even have a friend who sends out his family Christmas cards in magnetic form.
It is so easy to make your own custom magnets online these days. At VistaPrint you can design it yourself and even upload your own photos or artwork. They're so confident their service is good, they are willing to give you 25 FREE MAGNETS to try their service.
Simply go design a small custom magnet and when you are done, you enter the following COUPON CODE into your checkout: Blog25FreeMag. Then you'll get your FREE MAGNETS in a week or so!
I'm going to get mine!
Number One Coupons
February and March are great times to shop for lots of things. It's a time of year when retailers get rid of all the old inventory to start bringing in new stuff. This is especially true for consumer electronics like TVs and stereos. You get the best deals on these items at this time of year. HDTVs have come WAY DOWN in price this year, an HDTV that cost over $3000 two years ago can be bought for around $1000 today!
August is a good time to shop for sneakers. It happens to be the time of year when they clear out last year's styles to bring in the new stuff for the pending holiday season. I have actually had the opportunity to buy shoes online at low prices from Zappos, Eastbay, Footlocker and Road Runner Sports for myself and for my kids.
Whenever I shop, I try to shop online. Whenever I am ready to buy, I look for coupons online at sites like #1 Coupons. There are lots of coupon sites out there and this is one of the better ones. They have coupons for dozens of online merchants. I am in the market for a new laptop and I have been watching the prices and coupon codes for the past few weeks. I am ready to swoop down and buy when the right deal comes along.
Regardless of the time of year, sometimes you just need to replace something that gets lost or breaks and you need to buy right away. It only makes sense to get a discount by finding a good online coupon.
Where's the Beaver?
Now that I can actually say "Super Bowl" without getting TOTALLY depressed, I thought I'd share some more lovely videos of the other good thing about the Super Bowl: the commercials. This year's crop was pretty tame compared to year's past, if you ask me. FOX TV, that bastion of morality, decided a couple of Go Daddy's commercials were too hot for their viewer's tender eyes. They wouldn't allow the following commercial to air at all.
They let this commercial air. Check it out and then watch the next one to see what they cut out.
Here's the same commercial without FOX TV's moral filter.
I am so glad FOX TV is protecting me from offensive advertising. If you ask me, the commercials for Viagra and Cialis featuring a bunch of middle aged limp dicks popping pills so they can go shag their obviously over acting partners while warning about "erections lasting more than four hours" are far more offensive. Besides, beavers are kinda cute.
By the way, if you are planning on ordering a domain name or two from Go Daddy, us this coupon code: cjcdeal22 and you'll save THREE BUCKS per domain name!
Go Daddy Deal
I bought the domain name thehotdogtruck.com from GoDaddy. They're the domain name registrar with the racy Super Bowl Ads. I hear their ad for this Sunday's game has already been censored due to a reference to a "beaver." Apparently a juxtiposition of this
With this
gets the NFL in a tizzy. Go Daddy will have babes in their Superbowl Commercial, but no beavers.
Anyway, I bought a few domain names tonight. Usually it's $9.95 a year to register a domain name with GoDaddy. If you use this special coupon code cjcdeal12 you can get three bucks off each domain name.
DON'T FORGET
If you are buying a domain name from GoDaddy, use THIS COUPON CODE: cjcdeal12 when you are checking out and SAVE THREE BUCKS.
Office Deals
Our house is chock full of office products. My wife works in an office and whenever she goes to the office supply store, she "grabs a few things for the house." I can't begin to tell you how many pads of paper, notebooks, three ring binders, file folders and other assorted office products we have lying around the house. Just wait until I try to find a pen though!
We don't need all these office products in our house. We are not an office. That's not to say we don't need things from office supply stores; we do. I just don't want to set the world record for our collection of file folders! Things I buy at the various office supply stores out there include blank cd/dvds, printer ink, printer paper, maybe even a computer.
Now when I need something, I'm checking OfficeDeals.Info BEFORE I buy. They're the website with coupons for all the major online office supply stores. Whether I want some blank discs from Staples or a new computer from Dell, I know OfficeDeals.Info will save me some money on my order with their extensive inventory of online coupons for just about every office product under the sun.
Just don't expect me to buy any file folders.
Saving Money with Online Coupons
I am writing this post from my Dell Computer. I HAD three Dells, but I'm down to two. My laptop's screen burnt out, so I'm in the market for a new computer. I managed to save the hard drive from the laptop, so I didn't lose any data. I also have a 20 Gig external hard drive now!
I decided to beef up our desktop with more memory, so I went to the Dell website and ordered it up just after Christmas. Whenever I order from Dell, I scout around for Dell Coupons online. When you checkout, you simply add a coupon code and receive an additional discount. It's a great way to save a few bucks for something you'll buy anyway.
There are lots of places to get Dell Coupons online, but CouponJelly.com is one of the better ones. They almost always have Dell Coupons when other sites don't.
CouponJelly.com has coupons for lots of other online vendors too including Best Buy, Staples, the Gap, and many more.
I have made it a habit to look for online coupons BEFORE I shop online. If I need a new cell phone, I'll look for cell phone coupons and shop the store with the best deal.
Being a savvy consumer has become a lot easier in the internet age. Coupon clipping used to mean scouring newspapers and magazines, clipping the coupons and filing them. Then you had to remember to use them. Now you get an instant coupon for something you need with a few clicks.
I'll be sure to check CouponJelly.com for Dell Coupons in the coming weeks. When I see a good deal, I'll pounce!
Chief Santa
Christmas is coming and the lists are piling up!
My wife wants a new digital camera, the kids want cell phones, iPod accesories, video games and, of course, new clothes. The dog gets a bunch of bones from the butcher at the supermarket-she's also fond of (ulp) pig's ears. Since I'll be doing much of my Christmas shopping soon, I'll be checking out Coupon Chief to get coupons to my favorite stores so I can save some dough.
I can get great deals on the electronic gifts at Best Buy. They have lots of digital cameras and MP3 players. I can even buy video games there.
Of course the Gap will be a stop, I can get everyone the same sweater so we can all match on Christmas Day!
Coupon Chief is great because I can get coupons to lots of major retailers and use them to save money on stuff I'd be buying anyway.
Ink the Deal
It's happened to everyone. You click "print" on your computer screen and the paper comes out nearly blank; YOU'RE OUT OF INK! This always happens at the worst possible time-like the night before a paper is due-and you need to rush out to the office supply store for a new ink cartridge for your printer. Unfortunately, ink cartridges are expensive and you end up dropping $40 for a new cartridge.
I always feel violated when I'm expected to pay big dollars for an ink cartridge for my printer. Finding a good source for Discount Ink Cartridges became a mission for me!
One way to save on ink cartridges is to buy Generic and Re-manufactured Cartridges. The printer manufacturers will lead you to believe going this route will destroy your printer, make a mess of your work and make you a poorer writer. I think they work just fine. I've never had a problem with generic or re-manufactured cartridges.
Another way to save is to try to save ink. Follow these Seven Tips for Saving Ink and you're sure to extend your cartridge life. You should also try Troubleshooting Inkjet Printers to make sure it's working properly.
No matter what you do, you'll still need to actually BUY an inkjet cartridge at some point, unless you have a cartridge tree in your backyard! When that time comes, you should visit Inkjet Deals to see how you can save. They have Discount Ink Cartridge Coupons for lots of different online Discount Inkjet Cartridge sellers. You can save up to 80% on brand name cartridges and even more on Generic and Re-manufactured Cartridges.
You know you need the ink. You probably need to save some money too. Why fight it, get your Discount Ink Cartridges NOW!
Coupon Kathy Kuts Kash
My youngest's birthday is TODAY-Halloween. Less than an hour ago, we had the family over for cake and ice cream. My wife, as usual, went nuts with the party decorations. She gets all that stuff from the Oriental Trading Company. That's a site that has all kinds of party supplies, novelties and other assorted goofy stuff. She buys a lot of stuff from that site for the folks in her office, kids on her team and for the house. She always makes sure she uses her oriental trading coupons so she can save money when she shops.
She gets coupon codes (that's the online version of a coupon) from Coupon Kathy, a website with tons of coupon codes for online merchants.
They always have coupons for GoDaddy.com, I like that. I've been getting a few new domain names and I can get a coupon that gets me a domain name registered for only $1.99, that's a lot cheaper than the 9 bucks they usually charge.
Since I am a cheap bastard of monumental proportions, I love coupons. Why not spend an extra five minutes looking for a code that will save me 10, 15, 30 or even 50 percent off my purchase price? IT'S A NO-BRAINER!
Coupon Kathy even has coupons for FTD, the flower delivery people. Why not save 10% when buying those flowers? You're going to buy them anyway (at least you better).
My wife's favorite store is Target (pronounced TAR JAY) and she gobbles up the Target coupons like they're going out of style. Why we need another towel rack is another story, but at least she got some money off the price!
I know most men cringe when their wife says "guess how much I saved?" It's a natural reaction. At least with coupon codes from Coupon Kathy, you'll be guessing right.
Coupon Mall
I live about a mile and a half from one of the "premier malls in the USA." Lucky me. That still doesn't keep me from doing as much online shopping as possible. I avoid the mall like the plague.
I'll usually make a stop at the mall near Christmas time to pick up a few items. I like to go on a snowy night because the place is deserted-I have it all to myself. If it were like that all the time, I'd shop there more.
Before I hit the mall, I'll go to GoGoShopper.com for some coupons to use at the mall stores. They have coupons for all the biggies.
The real savings are found at the online stores. Whether I use GoDaddy coupons for my next domain name purchase or homedecorators coupons for some new mini blinds, I save real money for something I want/need to buy anyway.
Since I'm a world class cheap bastard, I look to save at every turn online or at the mall.
Christmas Coupons
We're starting to think about Christmas shopping as we watch the sales and start seeking out online coupons for items we might purchase. I also start pumping the kids for what they might want at Christmas, that way if I see a good deal on something, I can snatch it up.
My wife really wants her own digital camera, my 10 year olds are yearning for cell phones and my 14 year old has her heart set on a lap top. I'll be looking to get some Best Buy coupons and good Dell deals.
My son has been "hinting" about new catcher's equipment since last season. (Hinting to a thirteen year old is having him ask "hey dad, can you buy me some new catcher's gear for Christmas?"). I'm searching for a good Sports Authority coupon or maybe a Dick's Sporting Goods coupon.
The dog will get something from the butcher shop, they don't "do" coupons.
I've found online coupons a great way to save a few bucks on stuff I'd be buying anyway. After all, who doesn't like getting a good deal?
