Deals on Apple iPads, iPods and More

Deals on Apple products are few and far between. You have to be very savvy and spend time daily monitoring sites that seek out deals.

I have a trick to save a little extra on those high end electronics that rarely get discounted. First, I find a retailer that sells online. In this case, I've chosen Best Buy.

Then I find the best cash back website. My favorites are Upromise and Ebates. Upromise is connected with Sallie Mae and the cash back earned can be directed towards student loans or college savings. Upromise often has the higher percentage cash back, but I always check both. Today the cash back is 5%.

Next, I order discount gift cards. My favorite sites are CardCash.com and MonsterGiftCard.com. Discounts and supply vary so I always check both. Best Buy discounts average 4-6% off face value.

Let's break it down:

• 1 iPad Air is $499 full retail
• By accessing the Best Buy website via Upromise, I will get 5% cash back on $499. A savings of $24.95.
• I still need to pay the full $499 so I buy enough discount gift cards to cover the purchase.
• If I buy $500 in gift cards at 5% off the face value, I pay $475 for the cards. A savings of $25.
• That's a total savings of $49.95 or 10%. Not bad for a little extra effort.

A couple of other considerations:

• You don't need to pay or wait for shipping. I can order online and select store pickup. I get the 5% from the cash back site and can stop by my local Best Buy to pick up my item that day.
• If you pay sales tax and buy enough gift cards to cover the tax, you will get a discount on the tax as well.
• If you earn miles or other rewards with a favorite credit card, you can use it to buy your gift cards.
• I would still earn rewards at Best Buy for a $499 purchase.

Win, win, win, win, win!!!

Save on Holiday Decorating

Regardless of the holiday or season you're decorating, if you're patient and intentional in your approach, you can get some fabulous decorations for a fraction of the retail price.

Over the years, we collect more and more pieces, until we have a lovely stash to choose from. Instead of an impulse buy where you see something you like prior to the holiday and pick it up at maybe 20% or, heaven forbid, full retail, wait until after the holiday and pick up something new for the following year.

Ya, ya...you've heard this before and probably have done it, but take it a step further now. Today I browsed through the beautiful Christmas decorations at Pier 1 Imports. The store is irrelevant and so is the holiday, this could be applicable any time. I scoped out some terrific items that I would love to add to my collection and I purchased nothing at the store today.

I will, however, visit them again on the 26th. In preparation, I did go online and bought a discount gift card at CardCash.com for 21.5% off the face value of the card. Another favorite discount gift card website is MonsterGiftCard.com. Discounts vary, but today CardCash had the better deal.

I'll use 75% off as my after-holiday discount estimate. Here's how the savings would stack up:

• Retail price $100 @ 75% off brings the price to $25
• Paid with my gift card that was discount 21.5% saves another $7.13
• Amount paid = $17.87 or a total of 82% off

Now you know I'll be checking for coupons too. Fingers crossed that I'll find one!!

Holiday Savings - Free Turkey

I haven't paid for a turkey in years! This is one of my favorite tips and tricks for holiday savings.

Watch the flyers for your usual grocery store carefully. There are often promotions for all kinds of things over the holidays. My usual store typically offers a free turkey if you spend a certain amount. Read the fine print, buy only what you need to get to the required purchase amount, make sure you're still buying things on sale, and be sure to find the correct promotion turkey (ask if they're hard to find).

Cash Back Sites - Upromise

Using cash back sites is one of my favorite bricks in building my tower of savings. Upromise often offers higher cash back percentages or they may have retailers that other cash back sites don't. This is because they are linked with Sallie Mae and can direct your cash back towards paying down your student loans or building a 529 savings plan.

Here is my example from a purchase yesterday. 6pm.com is a favorite online shop of mine and I found some terrific UGG boots there for a great price. Here's how I stacked the savings:

• The boots I liked retailed for $240 and were available at 6pm.com for $117
• Found a 10% off promo code which brought the price down to $105.30
• Accessed 6pm.com through Upromise for 5% cash back (6pm.com does not offer cash back through other sites) - Total price $100.03 - a total of 58% off

The majority of that savings was with 6pm already, but Upromise gave me an additional $5.27 savings. It's easy to do and it adds up!

My Big Savings at Michael's

I knew I had a craft project I wanted to do with my daughter soon so I ordered a discount gift card for Michael's. Big score! They're 27% off of face value. Within a week it arrived and I clipped a coupon for 40% off a full priced item. These are in newspaper, mailers, or you can print right from Michael's website.

Armed with my savings strategies, off I went. Well, happy surprise for me! All Halloween 'stuff' was on clearance for 80% off!!! And some of their Christmas craft kits for pre-school aged kids were on sale for 40% off.

Ever get side tracked from what you originally intended to buy? I certainly did! But, I'm usually prepared with extra savings tricks and have my eyes open to opportunities. I bought a couple of items for Christmas (because they were only 40% off) and several things for Halloween next year. My total came to $19.52. Full retail would have been $61.39. That's a savings of 68%!!!

It's not over yet. I paid with my discounted gift card. I paid 27% less than what it's worth so I paid Michael's $19.52 with that gift card, but I had only paid $14.25 for that amount. This added up to a total of 77% off.

Get gift cards for less at CardCash.com

Discount Gift Cards

Get gift cards for less at CardCash.com

Discount gift cards are one of my favorite bricks when stacking my tower of savings. It's simple - pay less than what it's worth. If I buy a $100 card for $80, that is a 20% savings off any purchase I make with that card. I know where I spend money regularly so I can plan ahead and get a discount. CardCash guarantees the value on the card.

Major retailers, restaurants, and entertainment such as movie theaters are featured on these sites. I have gotten discounts from 2%-22%, but the typical range for me is right in the middle of that. Here is an example of what I've bought:

Safeway - 2%
Costco - 2%
Best Buy - 5%
Old Navy/Gap - 10-15%
LL Bean - 11%
Dress Barn - 22%
Gymboree - 16%
Red Lobster - 10%
Applebees - 10%

The savings can really add up!

I have also seen cards for airlines, hotels chain, fast food. Many of these are also offered as e-Cards for online purchases. The possibilities are endless. Periodically, I browse through what is available and snap up what I might need. You can also have them email you a notice if they get a card from your preferred retailer. Compare discount percentages because they can vary.

Be aware that some of the cards you receive may be merchandise or store credit. Most retailers use these the same way they would an actual gift card, but some have restrictions. Know your favorite retailers' restrictions on those types of credit. A fairly safe way to spot a true gift card is those that are even numbers (i.e. $25, $50, $100, etc.).

Don't forget to use them!!

Yes, Savings Excite Me...Here's Why Part 1

Here is a little bit about me and how I came to know what I know and why I'm interested in sharing it with you.

I am married, in my early 40s, have a DSS teenager, and DD preschooler. I work full-time, teach a college class, am a Top Rated Seller on eBay, and am diligent about never paying retail!!! I get all excited about my various ways to save and my friends and family love to know, but their eyes glaze over after the second or third step. They all want me to share how to do it, however, so it's now here in one place for anyone who is interested.

Here's how it all started. Remember the economy quickly getting flushed down the toilet?? I do! I had always loved a good sale and coupon, but this event took us all to another level with creations like Groupon, Ebates, more rewards programs, extreme couponing, and thrift shopping (now hella cool thanks to Macklemore!).

Well, I like to shop on Amazon. Their prices are typically better than other places (particularly for books) and I have a prime membership which gets me quick shipping for an annual fee (if you're a regular, the annual fee is worthwhile). My husband was encouraging me to go browse through our nearby Goodwill for books for our new DD and one day I did. I found the cutest little board book that has all these glittery, sensory pieces built into the illustrations. On the back I could see that there were three other similar books and I thought it would be cool to have the set so I went back to my trusty Amazon . What did I find??? Well, my $1 thrift store find listed for $42!!! Check it out now - Ladybug's Gift (Glitter Bugs).

Check your Flyers - Gas Rewards at Safeway

Stores offer all different kinds of promotions. Keep your eyes open for different deals and work the system to your advantage. Safeway is offering 4X gas rewards on gift card purchases right now. Hmmm...I don't need to buy any gift cards right now so should I just ignore it? No way! Think of where you shop on a regular basis and buy a gift card.

I regularly shop on Amazon for all kinds of things. So I picked up a $100 gift card at Safeway today. This will end up getting us $1/gallon off gas for a couple of tank fills. That's around a $30 savings!!!

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More Discount Gift Cards

Discount gift cards are one of my favorite bricks when stacking my tower of savings. There are several reputable, reliable websites where you can buy or sell gift cards. The first website I ever used was MonsterGiftCard.com and it's still the one I check first.

How it works is simple. They post available cards, their face value or remaining value, and the purchase price. If I buy a $100 card for $80, that is a 20% savings off any purchase I make with that card. I know where I spend money regularly so I can plan ahead and get a discount. The company selling you the card guarantees the value on the card.

Major retailers, restaurants, and entertainment such as movie theaters are featured on these sites. I have gotten discounts from 2%-22%, but the typical range for me is right in the middle of that. Here is an example of what I've bought:

Safeway - 2%
Costco - 2%
Best Buy - 5%
Old Navy/Gap - 10-15%
LL Bean - 11%
Dress Barn - 22%
Gymboree - 22%
Red Lobster - 10%
Applebees - 10%

The savings can really add up!

I have also seen cards for airlines, hotels chain, fast food. Many of these are also offered as e-Cards for online purchases. The possibilities are endless. Periodically, I browse through what is available and snap up what I might need. You can also have them email you a notice if they get a card from your preferred retailer. Compare discount percentages because they can vary. Another website I use is www.cardcash.com.

Be aware that some of the cards you receive may be merchandise or store credit. Most retailers use these the same way they would an actual gift card, but some have restrictions. Know your favorite retailers' restrictions on those types of credit. A fairly safe way to spot a true gift card is those that are even numbers (i.e. $25, $50, $100, etc.).

Don't forget to use them!!

Cash Back Sites - Get Paid to Shop through Ebates

Another favorite trick for stacking savings is a cash back site. I have a few I use regularly. Different sites offer a different percentage of cash back and different methods for payment. Today is Ebates' birthday and they are offering 14% cash back at many major retailers. Now is the perfect time to give them a try.



One of my favorite things about Ebates is that they mail you a check periodically. A transfer to my Paypal account is still cash, but a physical check in hand just feels good.

Here is how cash back works. You go to the Ebates website and register. Find the retailer where you plan to shop and click on the link. Now, you will automatically get cash back for the purchase you make. It is truly that simple. It may be 2% or 5% or, today, a whopping 14%, but it's always a little extra off your purchase to add to your stacked savings.

You can also use a coupon or promo code at the site, purchase sale items, etc. I always check to see if a retailer is on a cash back site before making a purchase.