ConnieFoggles / Flickr

A couple of you have been asking how we did in Go Banking Rates’ contest for The Top Money-Saving Site for 2012. Drum roll, please! BargainBabe.com came in second place. Not bad. Eleven other blogs were in the running.

We had some tough competition, but thanks to our loyal readers we climbed to the top. Thanks to everyone who voted once, twice, or more for BargainBabe.com. We appreciate your continued support!

More than ever, we are committed to helping you save money on everyday expenses. Have a post idea you’d like us to write? Let us know!

This post is copyrighted by BargainBabe.com. Other sites posting this content are violating the DMCA.

There are two more days to vote BargainBabe.com! LWVC / Flickr

Time is running out to vote BargainBabe.com for Top Money-Saving Site for 2012. Go Banking Rates is hosting the contest, but readers get the last word.

You can cast your vote for BargainBabe.com through Feb. 29. The winner will be announced March 1. Make sure to vote and let them know how Bargain Babe has helped you save money. It only takes about a minute and you can vote more than once!

While you’re on the site, read what Go Banking Rates has to say about Bargain Babe.com.

Although we’ve received more votes, we are still in second place behind Coupon Cabin. Did I mention 12 sites were nominated? Woohoo!!! Thanks to all our readers who have voted for us! We truly appreciate your support.

This post is copyrighted by BargainBabe.com. Other sites posting this content are violating the DMCA.

Make us number one! John Bollwitt / Flickr

If you haven’t heard, BargainBabe.com has been nominated for Go Banking Rates’ Top Money-Saving Site for 2012. Yay! We’ve got some tough competition. We are up against other top-notch sites and blogger friends.

Thanks to everyone who has voted for us, we are currently number two behind Coupon Cabin. Woohoo! Help make us number one – vote BargainBabe.com! It only takes about a minute.

Readers can cast their votes through Feb. 29. Psst… You can vote more than once! The winner will be announced March 1.

Go Banking Rates recently wrote about BargainBabe.com. See what they have to say about BB in their post Bargain Babe: Because the little things really add up. Don’t forget to comment letting them know why you love BB so much!

This post is copyrighted by BargainBabe.com. Other sites posting this content are violating the DMCA.

Have you voted for Bargain Babe? Vaguely Artistic / Flickr

I’m so excited to announce that BargainBabe.com is up for Go Banking Rates‘ Top Money-Saving Site for 2012!

We are among top-notch money-saving sites (and blogger friends) including Bargain Briana, 5 Dollar Dinners, Frugal Dad, and many more.

Readers will get to decide who gets the honor by casting their vote for their favorite site through Feb. 29.

We’d appreciate it if you shared your love for BargainBabe.com! All you have to do is head over to Go Banking Rates and vote for Bargain Babe – it will only take a minute.

The winner will be announced March 1.

ahans / Flickr

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

I have never been one of those persons who wakes up at the crack of dawn to hit the malls on Black Friday. Every year, my aversion to large crowds trumps my need to save money. I can’t bear standing in line for hours just to save a few bucks. So what’s a frugal hermit like me do to – score on Cyber Monday.

No elbow-jabbing, or push-and-shove drama like on Black Friday. On Cyber Monday, I shop in my jammies from the comfort of my home. Here are my best four tips to help you score big and have a pleasant experience.

1. Holiday shoppers beware – Before you start buying, make sure your computer is up to date with an anti-virus and anti-spyware. You don’t want to fall victim to identity theft and have this turn in to a headache later on. When shopping and entering credit card information, make sure your online purchase is secure. There should be a little lock icon on the site when you enter personal information. After the transaction, be wary of any e-mail asking for more personal information. Sites usually won’t ask for personal information through e-mail. Read Bargain Babe’s Cyber Monday guide to safe online shopping guide for more.

2. Browse the web more efficiently – Instead of going to retailers’ websites, use sites that aggregate and compare prices. Make sure to use sites you trust only. Fatwallet.com and CyberMonday.com are some of those sites that make finding Cyber Deals easier. The sites are easy to use. Just type in the product name you are after and the details are at your fingertips.

3. Score free shipping – I hate paying for shipping. Who doesn’t? But there are ways around it. If the retailer allows it, chose to pick up the item at your local store to get free shipping. Many sites are offering free shipping this year to compete with other retailers. Check FreeShipping.org for free shipping coupon codes.

4. Relax – Don’t be in such a rush to buy if you don’t find exactly what you want. Panicky retailers may cut prices even further as Christmas approaches or you can also wait for the after Christmas sales. To stay up to date on sales, make sure to use your social media to hunt for bargains.

The success of their site has spawned a fair share of imitators and, as far as Groupon is concerned, blatant rip offs.

The most recent example of this is SocialBuy. Like Groupon, SocialBuy partners primarily with hospitality businesses to offer deals on a ticking clock and is founded on the notion of collective buying. This might not seem so egregious if the layout of the site itself did not also appear to be an exact replica of Groupon (judge for yourself.) When we brought this site to the attention of Groupon’s CEO and founder, Andrew Mason, he did not seem pleased.

“We have a patent on all of this so everything they are doing is illegal,” he said.

What’s the upside for you and me? Keep reading the story.

Right now there are 35 bloggers listed in 19 states, including AR, AZ, CA, FL, GA, KS, KY,  IL, IN, MD, MI, MO, OH, PA, RI, TN, TX, VA, WI. Gasp! BargainBabe.com is not listed! Just a minute folks…I’m adding myself right now.

Beyond finding a blogger that writes about stores in your neighborhood, you can look at an RSS feed of blog posts from everyone in the network, connect with individal bloggers on Twitter and Facebook, and embed the map on your site.

The Frugal Map is a great idea. I wish I had done it myself!

Simple is good. And that’s part of the reason why I like PriceYeti, a new site that tracks prices for anything sold on the Internet. (The other part is the site’s adorable mascot, above!)

Registering is not required to use PriceYeti, though you have to share your email address so the site can alert you to price drops. Just plug in the url (website address) for the item so PriceYeti can find the item’s price.

You can return to the site to add items to your “watch list.” I entered three cashmere sweaters for a price comparison, one from J.Crew (full-price, $145), one from Nordstrom (on sale for $58), and one from Macy’s (on sale for $90).

PriceYeti aims to be your shopping cart for the entire Internet so it can track prices for plane tickets, event tickets, houses, and services – as long as the item has a barcode and a url (website address). If you want to make your wish list private, set up a password. The site makes money when users click through from the site and purchases an item.

The site’s design as a Twitterish feel to it, though it has no connection to the popular social networking site as far as I know. PriceYeti is a privately funded start up from Seattle. Read a little about the four guys behind PriceYeti.