Happy New Year!!!

So with the new year upon us in 7 minutes, I have decided that my resolution will be to say NO more often when it's important to my family not to overload our schedule. AND to learn to forgive a little more. Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give, to YOURSELF! Have a fabulous New Year!

Rewards "R" Us!!!

So today I was randomly going through emails and realized that I had a Rewards "R" Us email from Toys R Us / Babies R Us. And if you don't already have a Toys R Us/ Babies R Us, you should definitely sign up for one even if you don't have children! As I highlight in my classes, TRU and BRU have many none children related items such as cleaning and household items that most people don't think to purchase there. These items also become clearance items often because they sit around and end up getting phased out. With all that being said, when I received my Rewards R Us certificates today, I realized that I had done Black Friday shopping there and my rewards are around $17!! Plus they send other additional item specific coupons along with your rewards. AND right now they are having huge clearance clothing sales, so I bet you can guess where I will be going tomorrow!?! I will be sure to post about my AMAZING deal!

Fails? of 2011 Amazon/Blogger and Ecomom

So when I discuss my blog in a public setting, I say that I only post deals that either I personally try or have tried in the past; or every so often, I list one that I would do but can't due to monetary restrictions or time frames. And yet there is still one other category of deals, the ones I do myself but don't post for others. I do this because they are a gamble. The too good to be true deal or the I've never heard of this company/product before deal. I want my reader to always have a positive experience, so if I think there's a chance something could go wrong, I risk it myself first. The epic fail of 2011 was an Amazon deal for ThinkFun Rush Hour 2. When I seen the deal posted on a different blogger's site, it was for 2 "games" that the blogger had noted would be great stocking stuffers. I viewed the game on Amazon and decided that for around $7 shipped, these seemed like to nice games to add to the present closet. When I received the games, there was a small note on the packaging that basically said they basically were refills for the larger game; so worthless in the gift closet. I have since returned them to Amazon and am waiting for a credit. But this was an extreme hassle because I had to ship them UPS (they don't usually stop by my house) and "IF" Amazon charges me return shipping, it will eat up the entire cost of the refund! So BOO this was a major fail!

The next "possible" fail of the year is a deal for Ecomom. Ecomom is an online company that sells green products and recently did an AMAZING black friday deal, combined with vouchers from LivingSocial, Plum District and at least another daily deal site. I chose not to post this because it definitely seems too good to be true. The deal is: buy a voucher from the deal site for $25 for $50 worth of merchandise. I believe I had a credit with the daily deal site I used, making my voucher's cost around $15. The voucher was then combined with the website Black Friday sale, which was free shipping and $40 off a $100 order! So if you're doing the math, that's around $25 shipped for $100 worth of products!! 75% off! So I tried this deal but did not post it. As you can imagine, the company got extremely overwhelmed! There site crashed and they informed customers via Facebook that they WOULD fix this. That people WOULD get their orders in time for Christmas. And WOULD get the Black Friday deal. First you had to email your order, then for some reason that didn't work out so they sent a form out that had to be filled out. This company is frantically working around the clock to fix this! In the wee hours of the morning last night, I received a message informing me that 4 of my items have shipped and that 4 of my items are in their warehouse awaiting shipment. They have 8 days to go....I'm not sure how this will all work out for Ecomom and although I got a FABULOUS deal if my items show up, I'd much rather forgo the frustration and not purchase a deal that is so random. God Speed Ecomom and Merry Christmas to all!

Victoria's Secret Reward Card Deal!

If you have a Victoria's Secret Reward Card valued at $10, I have a deal for you! Today online you can head on over to Victoria's Secret and add this Cami to your cart. Then proceed to checkout and enter "offer codes": VSFREE for free shipping and PERFUME to receive the perfume set shown below for free!

Then enter your Victoria's Secret Secret Reward Card and pay around $2.99 plus tax shipped for $59.00 worth of Victoria's Secret products. Look like a pretty sweet Christmas gift to me!

Christmas Lights...repair or buy new???

So when it comes to Christmas lights, do you repair them or just buy new? So with everything else manufactured these days, the working life of Christmas lights is LOW. Two years ago when we purchased our home, I purchase three packs of Philips Mini Lights for Christmas. This year, they are dead! So while I like to save a buck, I don't like to add extra waste to those landfills if I don't have too. When I opened the decorations, I found that all three sets are out. They have a 3 year warranty but it most likely won't be covering my issue because all of my bulbs are blown. Also it takes 6-8 weeks to get the lights back from the company, and I don't have that kind of time. So, not wanting to buy a ton of new and toss them, I decided to purchase the Light Keeper Pro. While the Light Keeper Pro is freakin magic and works on "standard" light sets, the Philips sets I purchased have a funky plastic piece that doesn't fit into the standard tester on the Light Keeper Pro. So I have to manually check each bulb. I then realized that I was in need of bulbs and stopped at Walmart last night. I buy things like seasonal items that I need during the season at Walmart because they tend to be cheaper than other stores, also they have Pineapple juice on the super cheap. (More about that another day!) At Walmart, a 10 pack of mini-light bulbs, were .98 cents! I bought three packs and used them in a minute on our light sets and still need plenty more! I am now at around $23.00 total for the Light Keeper Pro and bulbs. Plus, I probably need $10-$15 MORE in lights! The hubby says it's time to call it a wash and go pick up LED lights. What do you do? Is this as big a problem for every one else as it is for me??

Babies R Us Santa Diapers $5 and MORE!

Today through tomorrow, you can grab a jumbo pack of Huggies Santa diapers at Babies R Us for $5.00, you can also use a coupon from the newspaper to grab these for $3.00 after the $2.00 coupon! Awesome price and super cute diapers. The Mentor store had tons in stock. Also, clearance clothing & shoes are 75% off, making for some awesome finds! Even some Christmas outfits are already on Clearance. I will post my deals later but hurry because there is tons to be found!

Groupon - The Body Shop voucher, plus my experience with Groupon!

So Groupon is listed to the left as one of my favorite sites, the reason for this is because they are money-back guaranteed! I have purchased two Groupons within the past year. One was for the Gap and it worked perfectly! I got a great deal that I spoke about in past classes. The second was from Build A Bear, I purchased a Build A Bear party for my son last year and when I arrived at BAB was met with TONS of restrictions that I wasn't previously informed of. I ended up getting a better deal using an in-store special than my Groupon. I returned home and sent them an email complaining and found out rather quickly that when Groupon says "money-back guarantee" they MEAN it with no questions asked! I was refunded almost immediately! I love Groupon, it is safe and secure. So on to today's deal, you can currently go here and purchase a gift certificate for The Body Shop with a value of $20 and pay $10! This is 50% for Christmas gifts you still need to purchase!! The Body Shop has quality products and the best Coconut Body Butter in the world, in case you need someone to buy it for, I love it! HINT HINT HA So hurry over to Groupon and get 50% off at The Body Shop!

Rue La La -$10.00 Free

Go to Rue La La and sign up for an account, you will get a $10.00 credit free. Then refer your friends and family and they will get $10 and you will get $10 for each friend who signs up! Rue La La is daily deal sight that addresses themselves as: We are the invitation-only destination for a life of style. Where Members delight in discovering private sale Boutiques that open daily – and stay open only for a short time. A community where Members shape the experience – and enhance the excitement – by inviting their friends. A place where they discover some of the most sought-after brands in fashion, accessories, footwear, home, travel, wine, gourmet food, local services, and more. We are the invitation-only destination for a life of style. Where Members delight in discovering private sale Boutiques that open daily – and stay open only for a short time. A community where Members shape the experience – and enhance the excitement – by inviting their friends. A place where they discover some of the most sought-after brands in fashion, accessories, footwear, home, travel, wine, gourmet food, local services, and more. So sign up and get your free $10.00 credit by clicking here.

My Favorite Places to SAVE...

I added a new feature to the top right of my blog. Look over here -------------------------->
Now you can search all of the sites I check in with for good deals, when I'm not around to tell you about them! Just click on the links. I will add more as I think of or learn about them. Anyone have one that should be added? Send me a message or post a comment below!