RSS Feed

Posts Tagged ‘holiday deals’

  1. Ho Ho Holiday Tunes!

    December 1, 2012 by admin

    It’s time to track down all the new holiday music!

    Last year, we opened up our own “Holidaze” Playlist in November, and noticed that it held over 750 songs.  So we challenged ourselves—could we find the 250 songs we’d need to bring it up over 1000?

    Challenge Answered!  At the end of last season, our song list topped 1200 holiday tunes.  We could run our own little Christmas radio station right out of our house.

    Where did we pick up over 300 new and free holiday songs in less than 6 weeks?  It was easier than you might think.

    Our secrets to getting a ton of Holiday songs for Free:

    • Amazon: It’s not up yet, but Amazon hosts “25 Days of Free” each December.  Every day features a new song, usually by a top artist.
    • iTunes: Each week, between now and the New Year, the iTunes store offers one or two holiday songs by well-known music stars- this week it’s Rod Stewart!
    • NME: Britains New Music Express offers a free Mp3 a day, and features many holiday tunes this month.
    • Music blog I am Fuel/ You Are Friends offers numerous free mp3s all year long, but in December they trend towards Holiday songs.  Great covers and original ditties abound.
    • Noisetrade:  Already Noisetrade has offered free holiday albums by Sufjan Stevens, Over The Rhine, and Fiction Family.  What else will they offer?  Check them out and find out.
    • BBC: This music blog on the BBC is offering holiday tunes each day in December.  Some of the tunes are direct downloads, some of them you have to go to the band website or somesuch for a download, but they are all free.  Many of these are from European bands you may not have heard before.

     

    As we find new sources for holiday tunes, we’ll update or list.

    Category Thrifty Tips | Tags: ,,, | Comments Off on Ho Ho Holiday Tunes!

  2. Karma Karma Coupon

    June 3, 2012 by admin

    It happens sometimes.  We go shopping with a killer coupon, like $10 off a grocery purchase of $75 or more, and we’re unable to use it.  Typically, we find the grocery bill for our family of 4 ringing up right around $75.  We head to the store fully intending to hit the limit for the coupon.  But then it doesn’t quite work out—something was out of stock, for example.  On one such occasion, standing in line behind us was a woman with an overflowing cart of groceries.  A quick scan of her items easily tallied well over $75.  We offered this woman our coupon and she couldn’t have been more thrilled!

    And then there are times that we end up with two killer coupons and an opportunity to use only one.  If the coupon is about to expire,  we hand it off to someone nearby.  Or we tuck it onto the shelf by the item on special-  a pleasant surprise for the next person who also wanted the product!

    During the holiday season, many department stores run great coupons- $10 off a purchase of $30 or more- but good for one day only.  If we’re heading out to shop, we always bring as many copies of the holiday coupon that we have on hand.  Whatever we don’t use simply becomes another chance to spread holiday cheer!

    There is nothing better in life than paying it forward!

    Category Rambler Ramblings | Tags: ,, | Comments Off on Karma Karma Coupon

  3. Yes, Target does have store coupons!

    May 18, 2012 by admin

    At Target?  Yep.  A little known secret is that Target has printable store coupons available.  They are a great saver, especially if you take the time to pick and choose the coupons for products you would be buying anyway.  Why pay full price?

    The first step is to go directly to their website’s coupon source at http://coupons.target.com/. You will find at least 10 pages of Target specific coupons.  Find the ones you want, and print them out!  Get out your scissors and you are ready to shop.  The selection rolls over on Sunday and most coupons only allow 2 prints.  The majority of Target coupons expire about 3 weeks from the date of the original posting.

    Critical point:  don’t forget the double-tap! Target allows you to combine their store coupons with manufacturer coupons.  This policy can lead to incredible savings!  For instance, if you have a Target coupon for $1 off Red Barron frozen pizza, and a Red Barron manufacturer’s coupon for $1 off, you’ve just purchased a family size Red Barron pizza for $.99cents at Target.  We use the double-tap frequently, and you can really save this way.

    Other Target Tips:

    Target tends to put the items they’ve discounted at the end side of the store rows.  It is always worth checking out these spots.  But remember that just because something is marked down 70% doesn’t always mean it is a good deal.  If you don’t need a pack of 100 envelopes with pink poodles, don’t buy them just because they are .50cents.  Ultimately, that is a waste of your money.  But if your child collects Transformers and Target has marked a certain character 50% off, you may want to get it and save it for a special occasion.  We’ve picked up some great items this way.  Last year we scored a Webkinz reindeer marked down after Christmas to $2 that became a great birthday gift after a few months of hiding in the back of our closet.

    The truly monumental savings at Target typically occur two or more days after a national holiday.  Target marks holiday specific items at 50% off generally the day following the holiday.  A few days later, the discount deepens to 70% or more!  And we have found that Target has very bizarre criteria for what qualifies as a holiday specific item.  After Valentine’s Day, you can find a plethora of products slashed in price just because the M&M’s are pink, or the cloth napkins are red, or there is a heart stamped into the candle glass.  Personally, this makes no difference to us!  We’ll use red cloth napkins any day of the year and we welcome the chance to stock up on them at 70% off retail price.

     

    Category Thrifty Tips | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment