Glenn scored a FREE trip to Catalina Island on his birthday!
This is a guest post by longtime reader Glenn, who last year scored $199 in birthday freebies for $4 + tips. This year he redeemed 34 birthday offers worth an estimated $413.51, for just $26.54 + tips. Yowza!!!! Here are excerpts of his story:
This code expires today!
Eating out is one of my favorite things to do. But aside from fast food joints, restaurant coupons are rare. I use Restaurant.com to drop my tab by 25-40%, an incredible savings. TODAY ONLY, you can get a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant of your choosing for $2, plus earn 30% cash back through Ebates – which means you pay just $1.40!!! Coupon code below.
We’ve also suggested electronics gifts, gifts at Sears, toys for kids, mens’ shavers, gifts for teens, unique and quirky gifts, and All You mag gifts. Tomorrow’s edition covers gifts for men and women. We’ll finish the gift guide on Dec. 9 with the best overall gifts.
If you’re new to this site, here’s how Restaurant.com works. You have three gift options on Restaurant.com:
Two readers in the past week have asked how Restaurant.com works, hence this post about how to use the website to save money. It’s easy to save 25-40% off your bill with Restaurant.com, so it’s worth understanding!
Step 1. Buy a gift certificate (not a gift card, unless you plan to give it to someone else) for a particular restaurant. You can search for restaurants by zip code or name or city. Most certificates cost $10 for a $25 certificate, though some are $15 for the $25 cert. USE A COUPON CODE! I share coupon codes for Restaurant.com at least twice a week and it’s common to see discounts of 50-80% off that $10 starting price. Look out tomorrow for a HUGE discount!
Step 2.
This list now includes San Jose, as per Linda’s request and Providence, as per Meital’s request. What other cities would you like me to feature?
Here are this week’s hottest Groupon deals, which are generally available for 24-72 hours only. If you live in LA or NYC, which have multiple “social coupon” sites, sign up for Yipit.com, which aggregates all the deals in your town. Get an extra 6% back on the Groupon purchase price when you shop through eBates. And make sure to get the most out of Groupon with these Groupon tricks.
GROUPON DEALS BY CITY
Los Angeles – Pay $15 for $30 at Coachella Wine Festival. 18 deals total in LA.
San Fernando Valley – Get tickets to Madamme Tussade’s for 73% off. 18 deals total (many overlapping with LA deals).
San Diego – Pay $20 for $40 at Surf Diva. Nine deals total. (more…)
What other cities would you like me to feature?
Here are this week’s hottest Groupon deals, which are generally available for 24-72 hours only. If you live in LA or NYC, which have multiple “social coupon” sites, sign up for Yipit.com, which aggregates all the deals in your town. Get an extra 6% back on the Groupon purchase price when you shop through eBates. And make sure to get the most out of Groupon with these Groupon tricks.
NATIONAL GROUPON DEALS
Wine – Pay $25 for $75 of wine at Wine Insiders.
Tea – Pay $12 for $25 at Tea District.
Chocolate Pay $10 for $20 at Chocolate.com.
Organic meat and food – Pay $35 for $75 of organic meat and food at Nature’s Prime Organic Food. Note, member pricing does not apply when using a Groupon.
Brownies – Pay $20 for $40 at Fairytale Brownies. (more…)
Scoops are buy one get one free with a Baskin Robbins coupon below!
There are 9 freebies and coupons today!
FREE GLASSES - The free glasses promotion through CoastalContacts.com is back! Residents of 25 states are eligible. Find out what day your state’s giveaway is.
Free Tide - Get a free sample of Tide when you share a bit of info about yourself. Note, this freebie is through a third party. The website is just hosting the giveaway.
Tomorrow! Free fries - Friday, Mar. 4, 2011 is free fry day at Chick-fil-A. No purchase necessary! (more…)
As per your requests, here is my weekly round up of the best Groupon deals. If a link does not take you to the exact deal, look for it in the sidebar. New to Groupon? See below.
National Deals
Photobooks 70% off – Get $100 for $30 with this Picaboo photo discount.
Tea 50% off - Pay $12 for $25 of tea and accessories at Tea District with a tea sale through Groupon.
Shop the Look discount - Pay $15 for $35 with a Shop The Look discount through Groupon. This store helps you find looks seen in celebrity magazines. (more…)
Will Clayton/Flickr
A longtime reader named Glenn shared the birthday freebies he plans to take advantage of next week. He writes:
I know you’re a huge advocate of birthday freebies. Well, seeing as my birthday is exactly one week from now, I received 12 birthday freebie emails today.
Daphne’s – FREE plate – Expires 12/18Arby’s – FREE 12oz shake with any purchase – Expires 12/25 (more…)
There are so many great free gift card offers this Christmas! Illustration by OConnorCartoons.com
This post is brought to you by familyFinds.com, a hot new deal site in Los Angeles.
Businesses go out of their way to entice you to buy gift cards around the holidays by offering with special perks and extras. Here are 36 gift card freebies this year. Some of them are as big as a 20% bonus! Thanks to so many readers who shared additional discounts. Am I missing any?
AMC Theaters - Buy $50 in gift cards and get a free $10 concession card.
Barnes and Noble – Buy a $100 gift card by Dec. 6, 2011 and get a free $10 e-gift card on Dec. 26, 2011.
Borders - Buy a $50 gift card and get a $10 bonus. (more…)
By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
skippyjon/flickr
Are you addicted to KFC super crunchy topping? Do you drool at the thought of Carl Jr.’s Bacon Cheeseburger? Is Applebee’s your favorite “reward yourself” restaurant? Do your kids beg to stop for IHOP shortcake pancakes?
We all know when you go to a restaurant you are paying for convenience. The quality is generally lower and the cost is generally higher than if you made those foods yourself. The food is more often than not low in nutritional value, though there is a lot to be said for no dishes. But it tastes sooo good. What’s a body to do?
Thankfully, there are several sites that specialize in revealing the deep, dark secret ingredients (or copycat versions) of well known restaurant items. (more…)
scubadive67/Flickr
Restaurant.com coupon – Get 80% off your next restaurant tab with this Restaurant.com coupon for 80% off. Expires Oct. 12, 2010.
Free DVD – Utah Sun Ovens is giving away free solar oven DVDs that normally sell for $13. Unclear how long this freebie lasts.
Free cookie – Snag this Quiznos coupon for a free cookie. Gotta be part of their free QClub and take a 10-question survey. Took me 3 minutes. Expires Oct. 18, 2010.
Check back this afternoon for more coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog, including a free sample of Tide detergent. Sign up for the BargainBabe.com email list to receive more strategies, coupons, and inspiration to save money everyday.
My latest WalletPop video has all my secrets to getting restaurant discounts. Speaking of which, the 90% off sale at Restaurant.com has been extended through today. Get the Restaurant.com coupon code here.
Want to watch more? Check out the best drugstore beauty products that professional make up artists recommend. It’s not too late to catch many of the end of summer deals on patio sets, BBQs, and more. If you want to focus on saving, check out my 15-minute budget.
Sign up for my email list to receive more strategies, coupons, and inspiration to save everyday.
dennis_hsuan/Flickr
FREE ICE CREAM TODAY – Coldstone is giving away free ice cream Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010.
Restaurant.com 90% off – Today only, Restaurant.com gift certificates are 90% off with this coupon code. That means each $25 certificate costs exactly $1.
Free gardening magazine - Get a free issue of Gardening Club magazine as part of a free trial membershipto an affiliated gardening club. Read the caveats before you sign up.
Dollar General coupon – Get $5 off $25 with this Dollar General coupon. Expires Oct. 2, 2010.
Free Aleve sample – Get a free sample of Aleve via Sam’s Club, even if you are not a member.
TGI Friday’s coupon – Get $5 off a food purchase of $15 or more with this TGI Friday’s coupon. Expires Oct. 9, 2010.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog.
James Cridland/Flickr
Today only! Free ice cream – Get a free ice cream scoop at Carvel today only during their annual customer appreciation event. The freebie is a 3 ounce scoop.
Free beer! This is not a joke. Budweiser is giving away free beer at select bars and restaurants across the country on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010 as part of a publicity campaign. For bargain hunters aged 21 and older. Stay tuned for details.
Free movie rental – Rent a movie for free with this Blockbuster Express coupon code, valid through Sept. 30, 2010.
Make up coupon – Use this E.L.F. coupon to buy one make up item and get the second for 50% off. Most of the make up at E.L.F. is $1 each. Expires Oct. 12, 2010.
Borders coupon – Get 33% off the list price of any one item with this Borders coupon. Expires today Sept. 23, 2010. Comes with the usual caveats.
Check out all the deals and coupons on my WalletPop blog.
Banjo Brown/Flickr
Teacher discounts – I compiled a huuuuge list of discounts available to teachers and educators.
JC Penney coupon - This is an awesome JC Penney coupon for $10 off a purchase of $10 or more. Valid online only. Expiration unknown.
Free performances – Make a reservation now to catch free theater through the month of October. Free shows are scheduled around the country.
Quiznos coupon – Get free chips and a fountain drink when you buy a sub sandwich or a regular salad with this Quiznos coupon.
Piperlime coupon – Here is a hot Piperlime coupon for 25% off with very few exclusions – today only! Wait till tomorrow and the discount drops to 20% off, then Thursday the coupon is for 15% off. Remember to shop through eBates for an extra 15% cash back rebate. I may well stack these discounts to get a new pair of winter boots. What about you?
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog.
