Every once in a while I stumble across an item that’s really a find. If you aren’t familar with the site, “Daily Steals,” you should be.  By a free sign up, you get their newsletter, (which is of, course, daily). Unlike traditional newsletters that come with tons of sales and weblinks, Daily Steals is a straightforward, streamlined approach down a single product a day. Open the email, chuckle with laughter over light up Valentine’s Day pins that glow in the dark like nuclear power plants on your lapel or reach for your credit card and grab a tempting deal. It’s that simple. Sometimes, in my opinion, they’ve got the stuff day old garage sales are made up of. Other days? Well, other times you gotta love Daily Steals.  A few months ago, I picked up a lazer pointer for about $3. It’s worked fine, and cost me a pittance. How they offer these finds is through bulk buying and reselling. Maybe it’s weird stuff, (like truckloads of those light up lapel pins). Frequently, though the deals are great. Lately, I’ve noticed a trend toward upscale or technology driven items worth being not only a deal, but also a steal of a price.

Today’s Daily Steal, is -

New OEM Motorola H350 Bluetooth Headset Over-the-ear Monaural Black

CONDITION: NEW

RETAIL PRICE: $49.99 YOUR PRICE: $5.99

When looking for grocery coupons, you’ll do yourself a favor if you don’t spread yourself too thin. There are literally thousands of places to find these deals, but doing so can take unbelievable amounts of time. For instance, I just typed, “Tide Coupons” in my Google search engine and came up with 11K in responses. The first three simply redirected me around to other sites, each of which required on site searching and a membership to boot.

How to choose? Where to go? Do you really wanna look in over 10 thousand places for a deal? I’d like to think Coupon Hound Dog is your first stop to sniff out bargains.  We are getting a coupon server program in the near future, but even the most extensive coupon systems out there don’t catch everything. And, often these simply re-route you to manufacturer’s sites or require a membership and a login, all of which take yet more time.

Here are some suggestions for effortless coupon seeking:

1. Examine the products you use most frequently,  and seek out those manufacturer families. These manufacturers have frequent coupons or special offers and will deliver these straight to your inbox.
2. Really savvy savings people might think about acquiring a separate email address for the purpose of sorting these deals. It saves on spam in your regular inbox, and is more concise when you need to grab a coupon or two. Google and Yahoo! both have free and easy means to create an additional email address.
3. Suggestions for great coupons lurk in big time manufacturers, such as P &G, (Proctor and Gamble) and General Mills who own Pillsbury. This month alone, if you are a member of the General Mills/Pillsbury site, you’ll save over $33 bucks on their products via coupons. You might even find coupon heaven by simply concentrating on a few manufacturers.
4. Dedicate one afternoon a week to coupon scouting and clipping. If you get on a schedule, you won’t miss out. Most manufacturers’ coupons don’t expire any quicker than two weeks (or more). You will still find deals, and stay on top of things, but you won’t be spinning your wheels every day. 

    Preview the savings from Pillsbury (below ) to see what I mean about being coupon rich and saving time by selecting a few choice manaufacturers.
   As a Pillsbury member, you can save up to $33.66 this month!  To learn more about Pillsbury baking products and to see even more (OMG) coupons offered, visit Pillsburybaking.com 

 

SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO Whole Grain Total®, Total® Raisin Bran, Total® Honey Clusters®, Total® Cranberry Crunch, Total® Blueberry Pomegranate OR Total®

 

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO General Mills cereals listed on coupon

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO any Frosted Cheerios®, Fruity Cheerios®, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios®, Banana Nut Cheerios® OR Yogurt Burst™ Cheerios® Cereal

 SAVE $1.00when you buy Cocoa Puffs® cereal

 SAVE $1.00when you buy any flavor/variety Pillsbury® Savorings® products

 SAVE $1.00when you buy ONE PACKAGE any variety Pillsbury® Simply…™ Refrigerated Cookie Dough

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO any size/variety Refrigerated Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO PACKAGES any variety Pillsbury® Refrigerated Cookie

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Sweet Rolls or Grands!® Sweet Rolls

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO Frozen Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits, Cinnamon Rolls, OR Mini Cinnamon Rolls

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Toaster Strudel® Pastries

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Italian Meal Breads (Includes any Loaves, Breadsticks, Dinner Rolls, and Pizza Crust)

 SAVE $.40when you buy any flavor Box or Pouch Betty Crocker® Potatoes (Except Potato Buds®)

SAVE $.50 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO any variety Green Giant® Frozen Boxed Vegetables

 SAVE $.50when you buy any variety 19 OZ. – 24 OZ. ONLY Green Giant® Frozen Bagged Vegetables

 SAVE $.50when you buy ONE any variety Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen vegetables

SAVE $.50when you buy any Green Giant® Create a Meal!® Stir Fry Frozen Meal Starter

SAVE $.60 ON TWOwhen you buy any TWO Old El Paso® products

 SAVE $1.00 ON THREEwhen you buy THREE any flavor Progresso® Soups

 SAVE $.50when you buy ONE any variety Progresso® Broth

SAVE $.75 ON THREEwhen you buy THREE any flavor Hamburger Helper®, Tuna Helper® OR Chicken Helper® Home Cooked Skillet Meals

 SAVE $1.50when you buy any flavor Wanchai Ferry™ Frozen Entrée

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO BOXES any flavor Chex Mix® Bars

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO 4.5 oz. or larger Chex Mix®

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO BOXES any flavor Fiber One® Chewy Bars

SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO BOXES any flavor Betty Crocker® Fruit by the Foot®, Fruit Gushers®, Fruit Roll-Ups® OR Fruit Roll-Ups® Fruit Stickerz ® Fruit Flavored Snacks

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO BOXES any flavor/variety Nature Valley® Granola Bars

 SAVE $.50 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO packages of Pillsbury® Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts

 SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO any flavor 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Chex Mix® OR Chex® 100 Calorie Snack

SAVE $1.00 ON TWOwhen you buy TWO BOXES any variety Betty Crocker® Fruit Flavored Shapes

 SAVE $1.00when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley® Granola Nut Clusters

  

 

 

 

 

Every get tired of price shopping on site after site? It takes a ton of time. And time, as they say, is money. I am the consummate queen of price comparison. Hence, to lighten the load I try a few comparison search engines that do the work for you. These are ultimately a find in the way of bargain shopping. I’ve discovered sites I never knew existed through their search engines and some great deals, too.

 Using these is quite easy, though some comparison search engine sites are better than others. If there’s a particular item you’re looking for at a great price, these are a good starting point. Remember though, these are not perfect. Nothing beats a good nose for a bargain and ample time.

 Here’s the rundown on four popular  comparison search engine sites:

Shopzilla- Big and colorful and simple. Sort by most popular, price, and alphabetically by store. Find off beat stores, and refine searches by indepth categories. User friendly, though not much variety, even though it looks overwhelming. Has tool to calculate shipping if you plug in your zip code. However, this doesn’t allow for promo codes or free shipping sales some of the time. Check sites for actual shipping costs. Make lists of products to keep on efile.

Price Grabber-Has extras you won’t find other places. Finds deals on free shipping from sites. Features blogs that offer reviews on various products and tips. Sort by price, highest rated, most popular, etc. Lot’s of information on this site. Ton’s of products and retailers.

Nextag- Basic site, but cheap prices from retailers makes up for this. Sort by above categories, plus “date added” which is nice for looking for new items unlikely to be sold out yet. Easy to navigate, no frills site. Ability to make wish lists also.

Shop.com- Sorting is rather nill. You get what you are willing to troll though. Partner sites are chief (and often expensive) deals available. However reading buying guides does make up for lack of variety. Category seaches are limited to product and retailer. Not my favorite, but sometimes provides a deal or two. Usually I use this one for information and off the beaten track sites.

These are but a few of the deal comparison sites out there. Of them, my favorite has to be Price Grabber, with a close second Shopzilla. Use these to assist your bargain hunting and to expand a search. Bookmark them for early Christmas shopping. Check back often as these sites up date frequently.

I hate video games. There, I’ve said it publically. I’ve never been one of those humans obsessed with hour upon hour of gaming. I’m a reader and a writer. Give me a computer and I’ll become engrossed in some obscure blog or bit of eclectic news. Plunk me in front of the T.V., and I’ll suck up crime shows, the history channel or America’s Got Talent. At forty-four, I thought I was leading a video game free life forever. And I’ve enforced this as much as possible with my kids.

And then, Nintendo Wii came along. This is an exception I make to the “video game free” lifestyle. Unlike traditional video games, where the only sounds are the clicking of controllers and heavy breathing of players, (coupled with a fixed stare), Nintendo’s Wii, involves the whole family. There are cheers, whoops and groans of defeat. You can move around the room while bowling or playing tennis. Practice realist swings on a virtual golf course or water ski a few laps around the lake, right in your living room.

Admittedly, Wii is not the same as doing these things in real time. But Wii is light years from the singular, non-verbal, glazed eye encounters with other video games.

Another decent video game system choice is the Nintendo Ds, which has tons of fun, but mind expanding games. Today, Toys R Us released a “buy one, get one half off” Wii and Nintendo game sale which should send savvy parents hustling off to nab these deals for video systems worth owning. Many of these games are over $20.00. Saving ten bucks or more on a second item seems like a welcome gift to our parental pocketbooks.

Stock up on Christmas gifts with a vengeance, while keeping your budget intact. Try Wii Sports Resort or Star Wars Clone Wars with Light Saber Duels for a wild time of family room frolicking.

If you want to keep the kiddos brain sharp while providing a few hours of learning time, pick up a few great Nintendo Ds Games that make education enticing. Two to try are, “Brain Age 2, More Training” (which offers brain boosters and puzzles to stimulate learning) or the language teaching, “My Spanish Coach.”

Enjoy the savings and stock up. While you’re there, peruse the site for brand name specials offering free shipping. Spend 30 bucks on any of the featured brands, and receive free ground shipping! (See link for details).

Link to Toys R Us August 23, 2009 Sale:

http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=2255956