personal finance in a coupon blog

Marijuana is starting to win some battles in the war on drugs. There are now 20 states with some form of legal weed. This means a huge underground industry is now going public. Modern consumers have grown accustomed to doing everything through the internet. It makes sense that these consumers would want a place to find marijuana deals on-line. That's where Canna-Saver.com comes in. Canna-Saver.com is kind of like Savings.com except you won't find any deals on shoes or coupons for hotel rooms. Canna-Saver has coupons for marijuana and marijuana related products. It currently only has deals in the state of Colorado, but I wouldn't be surprised if it started to add more states in the very near future.

You may be wondering how legal all of this actually is. I know that's what my first question would be. I'm too pretty for jail! Pot is still technically illegal federally, but the state of Colorado has made it legal for anyone over 21 to buy up to a quarter of an ounce of marijuana without a prescription. Colorado residents can buy up to an ounce. That's a lot of pot. The only reason you'd ever need an ounce of pot was if you got invited to Willie Nelson's birthday. Read More »

In 2013 there were 80,000 people in attendance just for Coachella: Weekend One. That's right, tickets for Coachella (Indio, CA) were in such high demand that beginning in 2012 Goldenvoice made it a 2-weekend event. But who can afford it? Aren't these things just filled with dumb girls wearing flower crowns and butt-to-nuts-crowds of drunk, sweaty hippies? Whooooa! Calm down, NARC, don't harsh my mellow with your negativity! Just surrender to the flow!

Whether you're heading to Coachella Weekend 2, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Sasquatch, Telluride or just want to plan ahead for next year, I'm fresh off the Magic Bus (my silver Saturn) from Weekend 1 of Coachella and ready to share some sweet inside-tips to help you do two of my favorite things- save money, and GET TO THAT FEST! Read More »

Spring is here, and Savings.com and Home Depot want to help you start your spring projects with inspiration, tips, and extra cash!
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Remember all those DVDs you bought back in the days when watching a movie meant watching a DVD? Now they're probably collecting dust on a shelf, having been replaced by the likes of Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, and maybe even Vudu. (Ha, ha, I know: good one.)

Yep, those discs are veritable dinosaurs these days, about as practical as vinyl records and VHS cassettes. And yet it's possible to resurrect your DVDs for a very practical purpose: Watching those movies on your PC, tablet, or smartphone. All you need is the right software.

Specifically, a DVD ripper. Don't let the name scare you: the process of "ripping" merely means copying the movie files from a disc and converting them to a format that's compatible with the aforementioned devices. Read More »

Okay so I just filed my tax return and I have my heart set on what I'm going to spend it on: baby, I'm getting a drone.

Here are a few things I know about drones:

1. Drones are the colloquial term for any unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV.  
2. Besides killing suspected terrorists and unarmed innocent people who happen to live in bad neighborhoods, drones are also a popular device for spying on people  
3. Amazon said they could deliver packages with drones, and I'm very onboard with that  
4. One time, in 2002, an Iraqi drone fought an American drone in the skies above Iraq. It was the first ever drone-on-drone combat. The Iraqi drone won. 
5. "Drone" is a fun word to say. Drone, drone, drone, drone. If you wanted to drone on about drones to me, I'd say drone on, brother, drone on.
6. Although you can't buy a military-grade predator drone that could murder people or your neighbor's dog, you can buy a very affordable drone and there are some solid options.
   

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It's rare to witness a genuine apotheosis in real time, but yesterday, if you were on Twitter around noon Pacific time, you may have witnessed the Greatest Twitter Fail of All Time.

A few days ago, US Airways received this complaint from Twitter user @ElleRafter: "@USAirways Unhappy that 1787 sat for an hour on tarmac in CLT because overweight, resulting in over hour late arrival in PDX…" There was a brief, benign exchange. Then days later, in a routine follow-up US Airways tweeted the following (originally with an uncensored image):

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When you fire up your Web browser, what's the first thing you see? Unless you've modified the default home page, chances are good it's MSN, Yahoo, or some other news-oriented site. I don't know about you, but the headlines I typically see make me want to dive under the covers and stay there.

Seriously, do you really want to be slapped in the face with all that negativity, all that bad news, every time you open your browser? I certainly don't, which is why I've changed my home page to something far more positive.

Yes, you can do that. I'm always surprised at how many people never bother to choose a new home page, perhaps because they think that's the way the computer was set up, and that's how it has to stay. Nuh-uh. You can set your home page to Facebook, Twitter, Fluffy Kittens on Tumblr, or whatever you like. Read More »

Kickstarter is an amazing website. It lets people who have an idea take it directly to the people who want to see that idea happen. For established creators like the development team behind Megaman, it's a great way to new video game outside of the traditional development process. For amateur creators like myself, it's a great way to beg for money from your friends and family without the shame of asking them directly. 

The main problem with Kickstarter is that too many people treat Kickstarter like it's an on-line store. It's not. There's no guarantee that any money that you donate will result in any project being made or rewards being sent out. What you buy when you donate money to a Kickstarter is an idea that may or may not actually happen. It's also nearly impossible to get your money back once someone has run off with it. Read More »

Easter is just around the corner. Let's talk Easter traditions, recipes, and ways to save!
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Tofu has a lousy reputation. We associate it with 70's health food (read: boring) and jiggly white blocks of flavorlessness.

But what that discounts is the fact that tofu is a super-healthy, lean form of protein that happens to be incredibly inexpensive. We're talking around $2-$4 for enough tofu to feed 4 people.

It's also versatile enough to be worked into just about any dish, freezes well, and is super shelf-stable if kept in airtight container in the refrigerator.

I know, I know. You think it's gross. But bear with me, because with a few little tricks, it can be freaking delicious. In fact, it might just become your new favorite food. Or even—get this—your kids' new favorite food.



Read on for 5 family-friendly tofu recipes that will make you the winner of dinner. Read More »

Huzzah! You've finally reached the end of that oppressive two-year contract with your evil, over-charging mobile phone carrier. At long last, you're free to... free to...

Hmm.

Now that your phone's out of contract, what are your options? A year ago at this time, you didn't have many. Today, however, the mobile landscape has changed dramatically. In a good way. You've got loads of post-contract choices, and in most cases you'll end up spending less than you are now--possibly a lot less.

One phone, two phone, old phone, new phone
At this point you've got two basic options: You can keep your existing phone or replace it with a new one. Let's start with the former. Read More »

Kimye. Kamberly. Whatever you refer to them as, the fact is that they exist.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's love story is a tale as old as 2012. Now we're lucky to be alive to be witness to their wedding, or at least witness to the blogs that will be covering the wedding, an event that is shaping up to be one of the most extravagant celebrations of love and excess and love of excess.

We already know a few details of their special day. Let's review: Read More »