personal finance in a coupon blog

Following up on my recent interview with Annie at Savings.com about getting free items at your local drugstores, I wanted to show you how you can get over $100 in completely free items on Black Friday. Keep Reading--and look at the photo for an example of the type of free loot you can get every week!

Black Friday is no small holiday in my house. The deals--and the deal-getting--that take place are pretty extraordinary, and if you know where to look, you will be thrilled to discover that a second day of Thanksgiving.

Although you've heard about Black Friday deals at shopping malls, you probably haven't heard as much buzz about drugstores. The reality, though, is that Black Friday is probably the single-best day for drugstore freebies all year. Read More »

If you frequent coupon forums, such as The Coupon Cupboard, you may notice a bunch of acronyms being used all over the place. If you do not learn them you will basically be reading a foreign language. Here is a list of some of the most common ones being used. Hopefully it will help you understand what the crowd is talking about. Read More »

I used to be very hesitant shopping online--the deals weren't the same as the rock bottom prices you'd find in the stores and the clearance pages online often had only one size or one color left of a particular item. Not to mention the shipping costs!  However, that has changed immensely this year. Read More »

Everyone is on Twitter, and now Twitter has become one of the hottest spots to find the latest deals, coupons, and one-day sales this holiday season. Here are five ways you can use Twitter to help you save big on Black Friday and beyond.

1) Make a List, Check it Twice. Thanks to Twitter's new list-making feature, you can follow all of your favorite brands, retailers and cash-back sites. It's an easy way to stay on top of the latest deals of interest to you,many of which may last only a few hours or even just a day. Read More »

Welcome to the world premiere of our newest feature:  This Week in Deals.  Every week we'll showcase three awesome deals--as selected by our DealPros--in a videocast for your viewing (and saving!) pleasure.

So sit back, relax, open up a bag of microwave popcorn and enjoy the show: Read More »

Anyone who knows me knows that I will be sleeping in on Black Friday (well--for me, "sleeping in" means anything past 6:00 am...).  But if you are planning on getting some shopping done on Black Friday, here are some tips: Read More »

It seems that people either abhor Black Friday or they love it. I happen to be one of the people who love it, for all different kinds of reasons. All throughout the many years I have shopped Black Friday I have only once had a bad experience.

Two years ago, I was seven months pregnant with my sixth child and getting really big!  My sister-in-law and I had gotten early to a well known electronics store, stood outside in line for three hours and were some of the first people in the store. I was there specifically for a printer which was priced at an unbelievable steal. As I bent over to pick one up, I was shoved so hard out of the way that an earring I was wearing actually flew off and one of my shoes went flying down the isle.

I looked up to see who had pushed me and surprised to see a middle aged, professional well-dressed man grab the last printer that I had been about to pick up! He didn't even look at me as he marched to the register. Read More »

This week's Featured Store has bargains so big even our jaws were dropping --and we see great deals every day! Introducing: Cell Phone Shop. Read More »

If you are headed out shopping with an iPhone on Black Friday--or any other day this holiday season--you need to check out these apps to help you save even more.

1. TGiBlackFriday: Browse ads, check popular deals, and create your own list.
3. $ Checkout: Figure your final cost after all discounts, coupons and sales tax.
5. Amazon App: Compare store prices to the Amazon store quickly.

Read More »

At the Save Up in San Francisco, I had the good fortune of meeting Claire from Saving Money Plan.  She's a blogger, philanthropist and she really knows how to score a great deal at your local drugstore.  I interviewed her for some tricks and tips for scoring freebies and what to do with the products you don't need.  Read More »

We had almost 1,200 entries for the HP Laptop Giveaway and now it's time for the results.

According to our survey:

  6.4%  Usually check Twitter for Deals
22.8%  Occasionally check Twitter for Deals
70.8%  Don't check Twitter for Deals

  7.8%  Usually check Facebook for deals
31.2%  Occasionally check Facebooks for deals
60.9%  Don't check Facebook for deals

15.2%  Usually check favorite blogs for deals
36.1%  Occasionally take advantage of deals found on blogs
48.7%  Don't look for deals on blogs

Oh wait--those aren't the results you were waiting for? Read More »

Hey Readers!

Black Friday is coming up!! This is probably one of the most exciting days of my life each year. This is the time where I stock up on clothes, shoes, and accessories. Black Friday is the day where I do all my Christmas shopping!

So everyone has their own method to get deals--whether it is collecting coupons, bookmarking those online deals, "Becoming a Fan" on Black Friday deal pages on Facebook--or even just signing up for newsletter on updated Black Friday lists.  And believe me, I'm one of them. Signing up for newsletter is great because you get an email when a store listing is released. And you get to compare which place has an item for a cheaper price. 

For me personally, I already know what I need to buy. So when I go into a store, I just go in, get the item(s) and get out and move onto the next store. But before I can even go to the store, I do a little research here and there online. Read More »