I’m teaming up with a super special group of bloggers to giveaway a ton of prizes starting in November. Stay tuned!
Today is the last day to win $500! Credit: Sister72/Flickr
This is your last chance to win the $500 back to school savings spree at Sears and Kmart, which each donated a $250 gift card for this giveaway. So far more than 300 fans have entered the contest. Whoo!
To win the $500, do two things:
- Join our BargainBabe.com deals email list (if you already receive a daily or weekly email from BargainBabe.com, just see the next bullet point).
- AND leave a comment with your strongest memory of school, whether it be the day you aced a test, overcame the school bully, or fell in love for the first time.
EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a comment for each extra entry so we can count you):
- Get an extra entry for tweeting: “I want to win a $500 back to school savings spree at @MySears and @KmartDealsnNews on the @bargainbabe blog http://bit.ly/qaNBor”
- Get an extra entry for an update on Facebook about the contest with this link: http://bit.ly/qaNBor
- Get an extra entry for following @Bargainbabe on Twitter
Comment, join our email list, tweet, and Facebook by Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST to be eligible to win!
This prize for this giveaway was donated by Kmart and Sears. I received no compensation to run this contest. Interested in sponsoring a giveaway? See my blog advertising page.
Get your 2012 Entertainment Book, chock full of 50% off and BOGO FREE coupons.
There are 25 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, get a cash back rebate on every purchase through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join!
HOT! Free Cosmo - Get four digital issues of Cosmo for free through ValueMags. No purchase or credit card info needed!
Free yoga - September is National Yoga Month, which means 1,600 studios across the country are giving away free yoga classes! Register to get one free week of yoga. You must be a new student at the studio and redeem the card by Oct. 30, 2011.
LA FREEBIE! Get a free make up bag on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 at the opening of Sephora at Northridge Mall. Must be a Beauty Insider (Sephora’s free loyalty club) and make a purchase.
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.
tin foil cooking - Podnock/flickr
I love finding new uses for items I already have in my house because I hate wasting money something I didn’t have to buy. Here are some unusual uses for tea bags, lemons, your dishwasher, Epsom salts, and dental floss. Plus, check out my unusual uses for vinegar, tin foil and Vicks vapo rub.
Tea Bags
- Put a used tea bag at the bottom of a pot that you are using for a new plant to feed it and plug the hole
- Put tea bags into a tub of warm water; let it cool; soak to relieve sunburn pain
- Place a wet tea bag on a bug bite to relieve itching
- Scatter used tea leaves around your rose bushes to fertilize
My sister makes the best pie from key limes, which are not in season! Credit: little blue hen/Flickr
Here’s the list of what veggies and fruits will be cheap at your grocery store or farmers market in coming weeks through November. In season produce is almost always cheaper than out of season, which is often imported. My favorites from the list include grapes, mushrooms, pears, and sweet potatoes. If you opt not to make a cheat sheet, shop by price in the store. Clicking on the links below take you to recipes for that particular item.
Acorn Squash
Asian Pear
Barbados Cherries
These ambitious folks BBQ'd oysters! Credit: ToastyKen/Flickr
Hope you don’t have to work Monday, Labor Day! I hope to finish my painting project this weekend, take a long bike ride or swim, and BBQ with friends on Monday. I don’t plan on going shopping, even though the Labor Day 2011 sales are hot.
My BBQ menu is fairly simple: fresh lemonade, salsa using our CSA tomatoes, brownies from scratch, guacamole, plus chicken served with pesto I made using our garden basil.
What are you plans this weekend?
Julia
~ aka Bargain Babe
PS. See you Tuesday!!!
Buy 2 get 1 free at Office Max. Credit: Office Max.
If you haven’t yet taken advantage of the hot weekly back to school deals, this is your last chance! The final weeklong back to school sales cycle begins this Sunday and ends Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011. Office Depot deals end tomorrow, Saturday Sept. 3, 2011. Here are this week’s deals!
Office Max deals Sunday Sept 4-10, 2011 (some prices are regional so double check your weekly ad online or in store)
- 1 cent 12-pack Schoolio Colored Pencils
- 1 cent Pencil Sharpener
- 25 cent Sharpie Singles Markers
- 25 cent 5-pack Just Basics Pink Erasers
My gel manicure after 2 weeks still looked shiny and chip-free!
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
The latest craze in manicures – gel nails – promises nail color that doesn’t chip for weeks, but does it save you money? Below I compare the pros and cons of gel manicures compared to a regular manicure and a do-it-yourself manicure.
Gel Nails
I headed to the salon and sat in a chair for one and a half hours to get gel nails, also known as Shellac. Instead of using regular nail polish, the manicurist uses gel polish and UV light to set the color. I chose the berry color pictured above.
She started with a clear gel-based coat and then I had to stick my hands inside the UV nail lamp. She then proceed to add color, making me stick my hands inside the lamp after every coat. She added a gel-based top coat and wiped my nails down with alcohol to prevent the nails from staying sticky.
Pros: There were no chips
There are 36 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, get a cash back rebate on every purchase through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join!
Free L’Occitane - Get a free sample of L’Occitane lavender hand cream and lavender hand massage when you visit any L’Occitane store Sept. 2-5, 2011. I just love the smell of lavender. Thanks, Freebie Finder!
Free museums - On the first full weekend of every month, Bank of America card holders get into dozens of museums across the country for free.
Free ice cream - Get free ice cream on Sept. 27 (mark your calenders!) at Coldstone Creamery.
Check in on Facebook to score deals! channelship / Flickr
I share five must read blog posts about saving money every Friday.
Are you a disorganized person? Checkout these five messy problems costing you money and easy solutions for an organized life. (The Digerati Life)
Facebook and Yelp retreat from daily deals. Don’t worry you’ll still be able to score deals when you check in to a business on Facebook. (CNN Money)
Got mildew? Try these nine ways to fight mildew in your home. (Wisebread)
Keep your money growing. Learn to manage these 7 obstacles to financial success. (Time Moneyland)
Before you hit the end-of-summer sales, find out what are the best and worst things to buy in September. (Deal News)
Ready for school? Credit: orangeacid/Flickr
Don’t forget to enter to win the $500 back to school savings spree with $250 gift cards donated by Sears AND Kmart, which I’m working with on this giveaway.
To recap, here is what’s on the “must have” list for back to school shopping at Sears and Kmart.
- Sears – Some of the best clothing deals are on BONGO, American Star, and US Polo Assn. I saw stylish BONGO tops and graphic tees for $10-$18, American Star vests for $23 (vests are back in style), and polos for $15-$20.
- Kmart – The back to school 2011 gear at Kmart spans everything from school supplies, to backpacks, lunchboxes, gadgets, and dorm decor. I saw notebooks, pens, and binders – school supplies that I didn’t even know Kmart sold! Dozens of backpacks and totes are $10-$30, though most fall in the $13-$20 range. There was a wide selection of laptops, netbooks, tablets and desktops, plus memory sticks and ereaders. Dorm decor included the practical (sheets, bedding) to the personal (bean bags and lava lamps). Should your kid need paper plates, baggies, and plastic utensils, Kmart’s Smart Sense line has you covered. Is it me or has Kmart thought of everything?
To win the $500, do two things:
- Join our BargainBabe.com email list (if you already receive a daily or weekly email from BargainBabe.com, just see the next bullet point)
- AND leave a comment with your strongest memory of school, whether it be the day you aced a test, overcame the school bully, or fell in love for the first time.
EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a comment for each extra entry so we can count you):
- Get an extra entry for tweeting: “I want to win a $500 back to school savings spree at @MySears and @KmartDealsnNews on the @bargainbabe blog http://bit.ly/qaNBor”
- Get an extra entry for an update on Facebook about the contest with this link: http://bit.ly/qaNBor
- Get an extra entry for following @Bargainbabe on Twitter
Comment, join our email list, tweet, and Facebook by Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011 to be eligible to win!
This prize for this giveaway was donated by Kmart and Sears. I received no compensation to run this contest. Interested in sponsoring a giveaway? See my blog marketing page.
Discount now 60-80% off at Borders with 14 days left in liqudation sale.
There are 28 coupons and freebies today. If you shop online, get a cash back rebate on every purchase through Ebates or Shortcuts. It’s free to join!
HOT! Staples deal - Pay $8 for $15 at Staples through the daily deal site Saveology. What an amazing Staples discount! I’m going to buy as many as I can.
This weekend! Free museums - On the first full weekend of every month, Bank of America card holders get into dozens of museums across the country for free. The next freebie weekend is Sept 3-4, 2011.
Free recipes - Get 23 free slow cooker recipes from Mr. Food. Expect to be added to the email and/or mailing list if you give out that info!
A literal use of an anchor. Credit: Beth Rankin/Flickr
Current or original price. What resonates with you when considering a purchase?
A blog called You Are Not So Smart argues that even the savviest bargain hunters, like you and me, are swayed by the original price, called the anchoring effect. I’d never heard of the term anchoring effect until reading this post, but the concept is very familiar. You Are Not So Smart shares this scenario:
You walk into a clothing store and see what is probably the most bad ass leather jacket you’ve ever seen.
You try it on, look in the mirror and decide you must have it. While wearing this item, you imagine onlookers will clutch their chests and gasp every time you walk into a room or cross a street. You lift the sleeve to check the price – $1,000.
Well, that’s that, you think. You start to head back to the hanger when a salesperson stops you.
“You like it?”
robleto / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
In the beginning of the year I shared three financial resolutions that I was going to tackle for the new year. Now that we are more than half way through the year, I want to share my progress along with tips that have helped me save money, pay down debt and stop using plastic.
Goal No. 1 – Save more money
I had to cut down my entertainment budget this year from $40 to
