personal finance in a coupon blog

Part of summer time fun is all the trips to the park, pool, beach, zoo, outdoor movies, and more. What is not so fun and definitely not frugal is the packing and the trips for fast food because the family is hungry and tired or trips to the drugstore to pick up sunscreen and more at full price.

My solution - pack a "Go To Summer Fun" bag and keep it in your car. What should you pack in your bag? Here is a great list to get you started. Read More »

1. BURN CALORIES JUST GETTING THERE

The surprising fact is that you start racking up calories burned even before you arrive to your destination. Yes, the hour it takes to pack (or unpack) your bags burns up about 118 calories. Then just the act of traveling (lugging your bags through a busy airport, negotiating the signs in a foreign train station) can burn an average of 117 calories per hour. You can even burn calories while waiting around at the airport! Here's how:

• Carry-On Bag Curls. Do curls with your carry-on or purse to tone your biceps, shoulders, back, even your core. It can be a total upper-body toning session. Don't worry if you tire yourself out, you're about to be sedentary on an airplane seat for the next several hours. May as well make the most of your freedom of movement now!
• Terminal Lunges. You may look a bit nutty lunging around the terminal, but honestly, who cares? It's not like you are ever going to see these people again. With generally an hour to kill, why sit around and twiddle your thumbs when you could be getting a good leg and butt workout?
• Calf Raises. Feel the need to be a little more discrete? I get it. Calf raises are a great way to tone your legs without being too obvious. It's perfect for those long boarding lines. You don't have anything else to do, so why not work out? 
• Wall Sit. No available seats? Great! Instead of sitting on the disgustingly dirty floor, pretend to take a seat with a wall sit. Push your back up against the wall, step your feet about 2-feet from the wall (the length of your quad muscles), then bend your knees so that your hamstrings are parallel to the ground (as if you're sitting on a chair). Hold this position for as long as you can- which will likely be only about 60 seconds.

2. HOTEL ROOM WORKOUT

There is always some extra time spent doing nothing in your hotel room. Instead of nothing, do some exercises! No, you don't need to go to the gym or even put on appropriate attire. There are exercises you can do in your hotel room… even while watching TV! Read More »

Recently, our DealPro Shellie Deringer planned a four-day trip to Corpus Christi for Austin mom Traci Shannon as part of the savings makeover.

For $585, she was able to get a hotel room for $275 using Savings.com coupon on Hotels.com, $130 for dinners using Valpak Mobile, $80 for attractions using the Valpak website (ahead of time) and $100 for gas using the Gasbuddy app.

She was also given an additional $150 contingency money ($38 per day) just in case she went over. If her kids were hungrier than usual or the price of gas suddenly jumped, having that extra padding would be a stress-saver. Read More »

I love cheap entertainment. Wait, let me rephrase that: I love entertainment that's cheap. Read More »

The thought of using your vacation days this summer to travel to the exotic destination of your dreams doesn't have to send you into shock. Believe it or not, there are some easy ways to head to your international destination of choice, and keep some of your hard-earned money in your savings account at the same time. We spoke with Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com, for some of her best international travel tips and tricks.

Stick with her recommendations and you'll be jet setting in no time. Read More »

1. Give Yourself a Pull-up Goal
Make this be the "Summer of the Pull-up." You can get there. Pull-ups are a great exercise to shape your back into that sexy machine you want it to be. Set a goal to be able to do one, and by the time you get there, it may also be time to buy more backless dresses. Remember in eighth grade when they made the girls do a bar hang instead of a pull-up? Do that! See how long you can hang there with a reverse grip on the bar. Next, see if you can pull yourself up an inch or two. Once that is easy, try doing little pulses for sets of 10 or 20. After a couple months, those little pulses will start to get bigger until you're cranking out pull-ups. Read More »

We're thrilled to announce Save Up '13 in Orlando, Florida! This year's event will take place at the Orlando World Center Marriott on August 1st - 3rd. This is our sixth Save Up event, and we're stoked to get together with the DealPros once again for a couple days of learning, networking and fun!  Read More »

As I sit here in my lounge chair watching my kids roam around the backyard exploring (probably looking for bugs and frogs!), I'm thinking that this won't last for long. Next thing I know they'll be asking to ride bikes, play baseball, go somewhere, etc...

These days my kids' attention spans make for some interesting adventures. How do I keep them entertained, but not wear myself out or spend all my money this Summer? Let's face it, backyard baseball, riding bikes, and hanging in the 2 inch kiddie pool will only be entertaining for so long..... 

The Savings.com DealPros have some awesome tips to help you save and have fun at the same time this Summer! Here are 10 unique ways to have some frugal fun this year. 

1. Plan a Staycation! What's a Staycation you ask? It's a great way to have a vacation for less, by staying in your local area. You'll get to do more, and have a lot more fun while spending a lot less money. 

2. Grill it up on a budget! Everyone loves some Summer grilling, and it can actually be a frugal way to eat! Grilling can even save you time! Read up on these 7 tips for saving on Summer Grilling.  Read More »

We're only a few days away from our Memorial Day weekend! As we honor all our Veterans who have fought so hard to defend our freedom, we also celebrate and kick off the summer.

With Memorial Day being one of the best times to buy certain items such as appliances, office furniture, apparel, new cars and more, if you need it, this is the time to buy it. You will not only see items on sale, you will also get coupons to save on top of already slashed prices. Memorial Day sales are definitely memorable!

Having said that, here are this week's top 5 deals that will kick your summer off on a positive note: Read More »

Did you get a chance to read my post on 5 things to do for free during your Los Angeles staycation? You don't have to go far to enjoy some time off. With more and more people living on a tight budget, staycations have become a popular way to spend time with the family while staying close to home.

If you don't live in Los Angeles, there are so many great staycations in other cities across the country. Please take a look at the long list of cities where you can enjoy a staycation near you: Read More »

If you're anything like me, you like free shipping the way you like ice cream and shoulder rubs. Nothing wrecks an online shopping experience more than getting to the checkout page and discovering you're on the hook for $10, $20, or even more for shipping. Read More »

Happy National Waiters and Waitresses Day!

One of the reasons I go out to eat at a sit-down restaurant is to get good service. At home, I am the chef, waitress, busser, dishwasher and more. So going out means getting the service I deserve.

While the food aspect is important, if I don't get good service, it's probably safe to say I will never return even if the food is extraordinary. If the food is so-so but the service is excellent, I will probably return.

With good service, you should always reward your waiter or waitress accordingly. They make less than minimum wage and tips are really what they live off of. If you don't know if you're tipping correctly, here are some tips that will come in handy when you go out to eat next time: Read More »