A Mini-Shopping Spree to Celebrate My Birthday

With my closet cleaned out and my clothes all packed for donation I decided to head out to the mall for a little birthday shopping. I started with a trip to JCPenney. I’m not a huge fan of the store, but I found a coupon for $10 off a $10 purchase that I just couldn’t … Read more

Lessons from My Closet Purge

A few times a year I sort through the clothes in my closet and weed out items I haven’t worn in awhile. As usual a few of the items I came across didn’t fit any longer. I guess I can attribute that both to the dryer and to my favorite bowl of late night ice … Read more

I Earned $1000 in Cash Back Savings!

According to my Ebates account summary I signed up for membership back in 2001. Honestly, I don’t remember signing up that long ago, but I do remember using the site heavily starting in the spring of 2003. In the beginning I often forgot to shop through the Ebates and kicked myself on more than one … Read more

Too Many Unexpected Purchases

Going into and out of the mall a number of times this week did a wonder on my wallet. It started out innocently enough with a trip to the Apple store to fix the fan in my MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, it took the Apple folks a few hours to run diagnostics on my computer, which … Read more

Lured by the Thrill of the 50% Off Coupon

After purchasing a picture frame for my grandmother the cash register at Michael’s printed out a coupon for 50% off a regular priced item. I walked away from the register and immediately walked back through the isles to find a new sketch pad. (I’m trying to teach myself to draw.) I’m a sucker for those … Read more

Did I Really Get Paid to Buy All of This?

Sometimes I am amazed by just how much I am able to attain for free or nearly free through the use of coupons and weekly grocery store sales. I recently cashed in a wad of Post Points for three $10 gift cards to Shoppers Food Warehouse. (I highly recommend the Post Points program if you … Read more

Is Karma on My Side Again?

I returned a couple of Christmas gifts last night, most notably a large Calphalon pan my husband purchased at Macy’s for $127.99. I had every intention of keeping the pan, despite the hefty price. Cookware is one item that I will not skimp on. After all, if you have good pots and pans in the … Read more

In This Economy, Who Spends $35 for a Cheese Grater?

As I was walking out of Williams-Sonoma this afternoon I stopped to look a display full of cheese graters. An employee, who was stationed by the door, informed me that there were other graters in the back of the store and suggested that I take a look there. I thanked the woman and asked her … Read more

Using Discounted Gift Cards on Cyber Monday

In an effort to cut back on Christmas expenses this year I’ve purchased a handful of discounted gift cards from eBay and other online auction sites. I started sniffing the web a few months back and so far I’ve managed to snag a bunch of cards for 60-70% of their cash value. I plan to … Read more

Save Money with Ebates

I’ve posted about Ebates many, many times before, so I’m sure most of you have already signed and used this amazing cash back website. If you haven’t signed up for Ebates yet, sign up now and get an extra $10 in cash back savings when you use this link and make a purchase by December … Read more