Get 15 percent off any purchase of $75 or more at Nine West when you donate a pair of gently used shoes by Sept. 24, 2009. The coupon can be used online or in the store. All donated pairs will be passed onto the charity Soles4Souls.
Get $1 shipping at Overstock.com, which has steeply discounted prices on clothes, home goods, and a lot more. The cheap shipping offer ends today, Sept. 21, 2009. Good on standard shipping to the lower 48 states and APO/FPO destinations only. Excludes books, music, movies and games. No code needed.
Get 30 percent off notecards, photobooks, T-shirts, mugs and more at Snapfish using code POSTLABOR. Good through Sept. 25, 2009. Details here.
Get 40 percent off a regular priced item at Michael’s now through Sept. 26, 2009. Print the coupon here. Some caveats.
Thanks, Tina!
Get a free iced beverage at Peet’s Coffee when you buy one now through Tuesday, September 22, 2009. Print the coupon here.
Caveats: excludes juice, kid’s drinks and bottled beverages. Excludes airport, supermarket and BART locations.
Linda LaStella, a full-time clay artist based in New Jersey, responded to my post about art being an un-savvy investment with this comment. The second paragraph is especially telling.
First, thanks so much for beginning this conversation! As a full-time artist, this is an issue dealt with daily. American society has a very hard time appreciating visual art. In popular media… film, TV…the visual arts are very often demeaned. I believe it is because the visual arts do speak to our spiritual nature, and so call for a degree of quiet and contemplation to appreciate…certainly a perfect element for a true home.
I believe “the investment” you are making when purchasing visual art is in YOURSELF…”priceless,” as the familiar ad goes…will your spirit be renewed daily by living with that object? Does it really resonate with your own interior beauty? Spirit of playfulness? Depth? Will its positive energy enhance every gathering of family & friends you have in that space? That, I believe, is what your are paying for when your purchase a piece of art.
I am reconsidering my opinion after reading so many comments about the virtues of art. Perhaps I should create an “art” budget so buying original creations seems like less of an idol splurge. Do you budget for art? How do you afford it?
UPDATE: Had highlight this comment by reader Tessie, who agrees with me that art is not a good investment, but says I should have bought the pastel anyway.
Unless you are very knowledgeable or extremely lucky, art is not likely to be a good investment. But with this piece of art, you missed the point. It is a watercolor of a place where you have hiked with your mother and sisters and that has an emotional connection to you. Once you lose your mother and end up far away from your sisters, the landscape would bring you good memories time and again. Some day you will regret not having bought it. Some things should not be thought of as investments, but rather as memories.
This is soooooooo worth watching, even if you hate kids. It is a 3:45 minute video of what happens when you leave a kid alone with a marshmallow.
I’m not able to embed the video, but if there’s anything you do today – watch this!
PS. Did you know if you squish a marshmallow between your fingers for long enough it turns into taffy?
Thank goodness for friends. I’m a terrible clothing shopper and I depend on the kindness of my fashionable friends to help me find flattering clothes.
So when my blogger friend Stacey of San Diego Bargain Mama challenged me to a fashion contest – who could get the best outfit for $50 – I hid my self-doubt by accepting her offer immediately. I think I even chimed in a “sounds fun” so she would not detect my fear.
I suspect SD Bargain Mama went for a glamorous outfit. To outsmart her I used my bargain hunting skills to buy not one, not two, but THREE outfits. So there!
Outfit one, above – beach bound. (Blue and red polka dot dress, $12, from Crossroads Trading Co in Studio City.)
Outfit two, right – versatile and very cute around the town outfit for going to the farmer’s market, a casual party, shopping, lunch, or BBQ. (Dress from above with Citizens of Humanity jeans, $24, from Buffalo Exchange in Sherman Oaks.)
Outfit three, below – going out to the bars or a party. I never would have tried on this silk top if my fashionable friend had not pulled it from the rack for me. And it fits great! (Jeans from above with silk top, $11, from Crossroads.)
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Now that you’ve seen the outfits I bought for $50, check out what SD Bargain Mama and her three blogger friends found. Then come back to this post and vote for your favorite.
[poll id="39"]
This post is brought to you by Diamond Geezer, online diamond earrings and diamond rings retailer.
A friend made a super cool earring holder for less than $3 that is so crafty and frugal I had to share her creation with you.
She took an old picture frame that was out of use and removed the back. In its place she inserted a rectangle of wire mesh she bought at the hardware store, cut to fit. She used a few thumb tacks to secure the mesh, then hung various pairs of earrings in it.
The picture frame turned earring holder can hang on the wall or stand up on a dresser. Very useful and it makes a great gift!
The cost: a picture frame can be had for less than $10 and my friend paid $2.58 for four square feet of wire mesh. So aim for $15 or less.
Thanks, Julie!
UPDATE: Reader Julie shared an important update about tarnishing that I needed to share:
The pictured earring holder actually uses a different kind of mesh that I found at the hardware store, which is made of fiberglass instead of metal. So, it�s flexible, easy to work with, doesn�t poke/cut you, and won�t tarnish your earrings. And it was actually cheaper than wire mesh. Looks exactly the same.
Is there a store you would like to see coupons for? Let me know and I will track them down!
The fabric and crafts store Jo-Anns just issued a whole slew of coupons for 40-50 percent off nearly everything in their stores. Most are valid Sunday, Sept 20 to Saturday Sept. 26, 2009. Print the coupons here.
Coldwater Creek put 500 items on sale at 40-80 percent off, though normal shipping fees still apply.
Doing a little more back to school shopping now that the kids have seen what everyone else is wearing? Get 20 percent of a purchase of $100 or more at Dickies, plus free ground shipping. Unclear when the deal ends. No promo code needed.
Did you miss the 90 percent off sale at Restaurant.com? Don’t feel too bad, they are now 60 percent off using code ENJOY, good through Sept. 21, 2009. That puts a $25 gift cert at $4 (full price is $10).
Related:
Coupons: Rite Aid, Walgreens, Sears, Southwest
This is a guest post by Bargain Hubby in response to a comment left on BargainBabe.com.
How do I put a picture of me on my profile? — Meital
The photos that show up next to your comment are called “avatars” and are handled through a third party site called Gravatar (Globally Recognized Avatar). Once you have created an account there, your profile photo will show next to your comments on all of the (Gravatar enabled) blogs you comment on.
Quick How-To:
- Enter your email address into the Gravatar Sign Up Form
- Watch for a confirmation email sent to that address, follow the link in the email to set up your Gravatar account.
- Upload a photo to Gravatar.
- Make a new comment or check your old comments and see your avatar!
Good luck!
One of the best ways to save on Halloween costumes, aside from making them yourself, is to buy one early so you can get the slowest, cheapest, possible shipping.
CostumeDiscounters.com offers free expedited ground shipping on orders of $70 or more and they claim to have the lowest costume prices on the Internet. If you find a lower price for the same exact costume, they will match the price and give you a 20 discount.
Or, get 5 percent off a purchase of $30 or more using code JUNE5 at checkout. Expires June 30, 2009.
A little red riding hood costume was $15 (orig $20), a high school music Sharpay costume for teens was $20 (orig $50), and a snake eyes GI Joe costume was $20 (orig $30).
Shopping at this merchant supports BargainBabe.com!
I went to the opening of a small art collection by Jean Sanchirico and I liked the pieces so much I considered buying one. But is buying art is financially savvy?
I chewed on this question (and the free snacks) while inspecting a pastel landscape of a local hillside that I have hiked hundreds of times with my mother and sisters. Looking at it made me homesick for my childhood. Bushy green trees floated like lollipops above a sloping, grassy meadow.
Idyllic? Yes. Ticks? No.
Then my eyes zeroed in on the price. A la carte it was $1,200. Framed, $1,400.
I poured myself another glass of free wine. I can’t afford it, I said to myself. And besides, isn’t buying art a waste of money?
I could be saving for my retirement or feeding starving children. The return on investment of art is, in this particular case, re-living positive childhood memories and familial relationships. The payoff is emotional, not financial.
The only tangible, i.e. financial, benefit is if I sell the piece. Not a scenario I can count on.
Is a few minutes of emotional pleasure a day worth more than a thousand dollars?
I suppose I should measure the cost over time. Say I enjoy the piece for 10 years, which brings the $1,400 cost to $140 per year, or $.38 cents a day. I spend 4 times that on Internet access every day, 18 times that on car insurance, and 30 times that on food.
The homesick pastel is looking a lot more affordable.
I could also measure the cost – $.38 a day – by looking at what else I could buy with that money. An extra $.38 would get me about 4 miles worth of gas, a homemade cup of coffee, or a small piece of candy. Everyday for 10 years.
And if I saved the money?
If I invested $1,400 off the bat and let it grow for 10 years, a conservative 6 percent rate of return would put $2,507 in my pocket, according to this compound savings calculator. So the price of the art is really $2,507.
The painting moves father out of reach.
There is also the effect that buying art has on the community. Buying art increases the quality of life two people. The artist, who gets paid, and the buyer, who enjoys the art. You can throw in the families of those two people and the benefits are still spread very thin.
By contrast, donating the art money to a charity increases my quality of life, via emotional satisfaction, and that of many others, via the care or nourishment they receive.
Which makes buying art not only more expensive than it appears, but selfish.
And yet…
I hesitate to write off art entirely. I considered a career as a musician, after all. So I turned to my mom.
“Even for all the poverty and hunger in the world, there has to be art and music,” she said, her opinion instant and sound. “You have to reach for something. You can’t always be practical.”
I am very practical. Perhaps too much so because she is right. Enjoying art is valuable and necessary.
But enjoying art – seeing a play, going to a museum – is different than shelling out major cash to hang a pretty picture in my living room.
I cannot justify the latter. Right now in my life there are too many tangible things I need and want to buy and save for to make buying original art a financially savvy decision.
If the artist had a $50 print for sale, on the other hand, I would snap it up immediately.
Is buying art financially savvy for you?
UPDATE: A reader named Maggie had a fantastic answer to this question – so much so that I wanted to share it with you all!
I can’t agree with you on this one; I really can’t put art into a category of bargain hunter. Art is something that makes a house a home…something you look at everyday. I make it a point, anywhere I travel, to buy some sort of art. My home is filled with Mexican & Italian watercolors, Caribbean bowls and picture frames, and of course, my own travel photography, framed. I love looking at the pieces daily and remembering the trips I’ve taken. Don’t they say a picture is worth 1,000 words? You didn’t do the breakdown calculation for that stipulation…
SECOND UPDATE: Reader Keera says some art is so powerful it is more valuable than even shelter.
What is art and what is an investment? As an artist I come to appreciate what I like to make. I also like to go around to fellow artist and see what they love too.
Sure, I too like to think of a piece of artist work as a investment, but I am not like those billionaires that could throw money into the air and don’t care how much it cost.
I have to look at the big picture (no pun there). Do I love this painting or artist so much that I willing to go hungry, not to put gas in my car, or maybe pay my rent late or not at all? Is that painting of a landscape from my distant past worth seeing again? Even if I had a wonderful time at that place and time? Or could I do something better than that piece and still have a roof over my head and food on the table?
What do you think?
Through Sept 19, 2009, get 50 percent off all single and collage photo prints at Walgreens. Go here for the coupon code.
Get $5 off at Rite Aid when you spend $25. A limited number of these coupons are available.
Get $5 off a purchase of $50 or more at Sears with code SEARS5OFF50, valid through Jan. 10, 2010. Get an EXTRA 2 percent cash back when you shop through eBates.
Southwest’s latest fare sale has one way flights from $49 to $149 across the country. Book by Sept. 17 for travel Sept. 29 through Dec. 17. Blackout dates are Nov. 24 – Dec. 1, 2009.
The Container Store is having their annual 25 percent off shelving sale. Get an extra 4 percent cash back when you shop through eBates.
This Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 kids can make free American Girl gifts and crafts at Michael’s stores from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. around the country.
And don’t forget Jamba Juice is selling 16-ounce smoothies for $1 when you buy any size smoothie. Expires Sept. 27, 2009. One per customer. Print the coupon here.
Hotels.com just launched a major sale with rates up to 50 percent off through Oct. 19. Here are a handful of the best deals found in this sale:
- Las Vegas Hilton…$50 (reg. $83)
- Forest Suites Resort, Lake Tahoe…$50 (reg. $150)
- Ambiance Villas Cancun…$53 (reg. $106)
- Scottsdale Villa Mirage…$76 (reg. $169)
- Mediterranean Inn, Seattle…$79 (reg. $124)
- Sheraton Denver…$86 (reg. $130)
- Washington Court Hotel, D.C….$99 (reg. $124)
- Hotel Adagio, San Francisco…$123 (reg. $176)
- Fairmont Orchid, Big Island, Hawaii…$199 (reg. $400)
- On the Ave Hotel, New York…$219 (reg. $274)
My top choices are Cancun, Hawaii, and New York! There are over 2,000 hotels featured in this sale in over 100 destinations, including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. To get these prices make reservations as soon as possible but no later than Oct. 12. Book directly through Hotels.com
Caveats: the lowest rates may not be available on certain days so be flexible to find the best deal.
Here’s one advantage of taking nine years to get through college – you become an expert at student discounts.
That’s what happened to Cyrus Shepard, who spent almost a decade studying at three different universities. After paying so much tuition, he became a master of the student discount and founded Globe Student Discount. (Once he graduated, of course.)
The Globe gives students, teachers, and parents of students access to discounts in three main categories: travel, software and computers. They have coupons and promo codes for Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Adobe, airline tickets, bus passes, textbooks and much more.
I saw an 11 percent discount for JetBlue, 8 percent off on HP laptops, and 70-80 percent off Adobe software like Acrobat and Photoshop. The site is free to use and has a special section just for teacher discounts.
Related:
Two great websites for student discounts
Tips to save on college textbooks
This 2:20 minute video from SpendLessTV is pretty darn helpful if you are trying to get out of a cell phone contract. It suggests a few ways to do the deed that I’d never heard of. And it has practical advice that is easy to follow.
The Digerati Life experiments with a cash only budget. That’s a lot of envelopes! But what about the credit card perks she is missing?
The Simple Dollar shares 12 simple household substitutions that save money. I use a lot of these and am hoping to make my own laundry detergent soon.
Tightwad Tod praises food that gives you gas. If you shop at Price Chopper’s, Shaw’s, Kroger, Giant Eagle, or Vons you need to read this.
Wise Bread rounds up some hot deals today, including 70percent off at Banana Republic, 50 percent off Keen shoes, and a 10-piece household tool set at Sears.
