Deals!

Here are a few timely deals...

• Today is Pi Day so what better way to celebrate than with deals (mostly related to pie!).
• And this deal may go quickly...Frontier's All You Can Fly Pass for only $399.
• Finally, here is a pilot program in several states where you can file your taxes for free, directly with the IRS.

So Many Deals!

It's been fairly quiet around here--figuratively speaking, as in I am just working and working--literally speaking it has sounded like a war zone beginning a week ago and culminating with the neighbors setting off commercial-grade fireworks into the wee hours of July 5th.  Now all seems to be quiet, thank goodness.  In other news...

• The photo is of the full Buck Moon as it started to rise above our city last week.  It was so BIG!
• We haven't seen the cats in several days; again, I'm not sure if someone caught them and took them to a rescue place or the several days of booming fireworks scared them off.
• We didn't do anything for the 4th, just stayed home, checked out the fireworks by simply going outside and looking up, and prayed that an errant firework wouldn't burn down our house (it did happen to a couple houses in our city...eeekkk).
• On to the deals...
• July 11 is National Free Slurpee Day
• July 11 and 12 is Amazon Prime Day (days?) so there should be lots of bargains to be had.
• Lining up with Amazon Prime Day will be several other retailers having special sales to compete with Amazon.
• Get your stamps now, prices are set to increase for postage stamps on July 9.
• Our schools start early in Las Vegas (around mid August) so all of the stores are already having 'back to school' sales which makes it a great time to stock up on cheap school supplies.
• If you or someone you know is a veteran, you should know about the new benefits available to veterans through the PACT Act.
• Every so often I look through unclaimed money sites and occasionally, I even find money due to me.  Here's where to check and see if you are due any unclaimed funds.
• Also, it's a good idea to occasionally check the Class Action rebate websites.
• Hubby needed a new computer (I never really look at it so I didn't realize it was so old and cruddy) so I gave him my newish computer and went and bought myself a new laptop.  Even though the laptop was on sale (a $350 savings!) I still save the receipt and check the Best Buy website daily to see if the price will decrease any more over the next two weeks because if it does, all I have to do is take my receipt to Best Buy and get a price adjustment to the lower price.

I think that is all for now.  I hope you and yours had a fun and safe 4th of July!

5 Deals This Week

Happy Valentine's Day!  There are several great deals this week, many in honor of the holiday, including...

• A Wendy's french fry deal
• A Panda Express deal
• A Popeye's deal
• An Olive Garden deal
• And a bunch of other yummy food deals

Totally unrelated but I thought this was important information to know, 'how to identify manipulative online tactics.'

10 Great Deals for Veterans, the Elderly, Etc

I was reading Lorraine's blog where she detailed the process of getting a great deal on a new roof (info here and here) and it made me think about other great deals people can qualify for.  Often these deals are based on where you live, your income, your age, your veteran status, etc.  Here are some of my favorite deals:

1. National Park Passes.  These can be free or highly discounted depending on which pass you qualify for.
2. State Park passes.  This is an example for my state.  Many state park systems offer free or discounted passes that people can qualify for.
3. Tax exemption programs.  We enjoy a huge tax exemption on both our cars and house through a county program for disabled veterans.  Many cities and counties around the country offer similar programs.
4. Movie discounts.  Hubby and I enjoy going to the movies at a local theater for only $4 each on senior days.  This is less than half the price of a regular movie ticket!
5. Utility rebates.  Many local utilities (water, gas, electricity) offer discounts and rebates on a range of things.  Our local water company offers landscaping rebates as well as car wash coupons, our local electric company offers a bunch of rebates and freebies, and our natural gas company also offers several rebates and freebies.  I believe all of these companies also offer payment assistance for low income folks if they need help paying their bills.  Also, energy star rebates are available all over the country.  Check the websites of your local utilities and see what you might qualify for!
   
6. If you are a senior, here is a huge list of senior discounts.  And vets/active duty military can enjoy a similarly long list of discounts and freebies.  Ditto if you are a student.
7. Depending on where you live, there may be grants/discounts/freebies based on local needs.  This is the program Lorraine used for her roof (which makes sense as the area is prone to hurricane-force winds and having a sturdy roof is important).  In California, earthquakes are the problem so they have programs to help retrofit homes to make them safer during an earthquake.  Here is another kind of grant in my state to help low income people make needed repairs to their homes.  Basically Google your local area plus the type of help you need to see what is available.
8. Here are a bunch of states that provide free college to students (I WISH they had such programs when I was a student!).
9. The federal government also offers a huge list of grants to individuals, non profits, government agencies, and NGOs for a wide range of programs and needs.  I used to write these grants and got everything from firefighter turn-out gear and medical supplies to shooting range mitigation products and food for distribution just by filling out a simple application (and sometimes 90-page not so simple applications).
10. Finally, here is a list of freebies and grants that many people can qualify for.  These types of programs can change frequently so it pays to Google whatever kind of discount of help you are looking for just to see what pops up!
    

10 Random Things

In no particular order...

1. It's Amazon Prime Day!
2. And there are lots of other stores running competing sales for Prime Day
   
3. It's also 7/11 Day so that means free slurpees!
4. And here's a coupon for Great Clips
5. Here are some interesting things you can learn in a minute
6. If you are having problems with medical billing, here is a good video to help
7. It's 111 degrees here today...eeekkk
8. This Friday is Black Friday in July which means lots of sales
9. Our schools start really early, like the first week of August, so many stores in our area are having great sales on school supplies already.  Also, there are many back-to-school fairs happening as well.  Check news sites in your area about a month ahead of school starting for these sorts of events and sales.
10. Finally, a reminder to check to see if you qualify for any of these class action rebates.
    

10 Favorite Deal Sites

I love a good deal, in fact, I make it a point to never pay full retail price for anything unless it is an emergency.  With a bit of patience and research, you can usually find anything and everything you need at a discounted price.  Here are my favorite deals websites (mostly tech and outdoor stuff, if you like other topics there are probably better websites to check):

1. Dealnews
2. Slickdeals
3. Techbargains
4. Kinja Deals
5. Best Buy Deal of the Day
6. Steep and Cheap
7. REI Deal of the Day
8. Lowes Daily Deal Page
9. Home Depot Special Buys Page
10. Amazon Today's Deals
    

Some Quick Tips

Here are a bunch of things I just learned about...

• Here's a Betty White Dream Job you can apply for.
• This library lets you borrow...people!
• Mint Mobile has a money-saving Black Friday deal (I use this service and it's great!)
• McDonalds is offering 63 cent egg McMuffins on Thursday only.
• Friday will be the longest lunar eclipse in several centuries.
• And finally, some uplifting news!
  

Save the Date for Museum Day!

Just a quick note to remind you that Museum Day is coming up on September 21st.  You can get free entry to some great museums on this day simply by going to this website and downloading tickets.  Note that the tickets can be downloaded starting August 15th and the sooner you order, the greater the choice of museums you will get!

Ya Win Some, You Lose Some

Yesterday I was really happy about my new cell phone.  I felt it was a great deal at $350 for a Galaxy S8 which is usually a $499 phone.  And then today when I hopped online I saw that Amazon had the Galaxy S9 phone on sale for the same price $350--for one of their Prime Day specials.  The S9 is, of course, a newer version of the S8 and it regularly sells for $599 so I had to stop and think...

Should I return the S8?  I would get my money back minus a $35 electronics restocking fee, and then I could buy the newer phone and technically "save" $65 when all the math was done.  Then there was the "cost" of restoring the S8, removing all of my data and files, packaging the phone up and driving back to Best Buy to return it then going online to buy the new phone, waiting for it to arrive, and spending even more time to set up the new phone.  But the new phone would hold its value a little longer because it was newer...needless to say these sorts of calculations kind of boggle my mind.

So I hopped back online to think about the sale and decide if a newer version of the phone would really make much difference (of course I needed to research everything to death).  Thinking it wouldn't kill me to make a bit of effort to save $65 I got back on Amazon and...the deal was gone!  So the decision was made for me I guess.  I'm done looking at cell phones for a while.  Now on to tablets...

Some Fabulous Deals

I've come across several great deals recently...

• Kids can roller skate for free this summer through this great promotion.
• Here's a free National Parks Pass for active duty military.
• And if you have a kid in the 4th grade, you can get a free National Parks Pass which would be great to use this spring and summer!
• We just tried Blaze Pizza and it was pretty good.  On the 14th there is a great deal on their app to get a pizza for $3.14.
• Ancestry is offering their DNA tests for nearly half off.
• St Patrick's Day is coming up so, especially in my city, there are all kinds of events and specials happening to celebrate the holiday.  I found this list of national deals for St Patrick's Day but you can Google your local city for specific deals in your area.

A Bunch of Great Deals!

In no particular order...

• Vitamin Water will give someone $100,000 to go without their phone for a year.  
• Here are 300 birthday freebies you can sign up for.
• Here are 163 free things to do in America's destination cities.
• Here is a website that lists lots and lots of free places to camp (you may not use this til next spring/summer but it's something to add to your favorites list).
• Every so often I check this list of freebies to see if there is anything I would be interested in.
• Here are 24 ways to lead an anti-capitalist life in a capitalist world.
• The Internet Archive has a bajillion different resources--from books to TV shows to old time radio shows and more!

Some Great Deals

Here are some great deals I came across today...

• Saturday is National Public Lands Day which means free entry to all national park, forests, recreation areas, etc.  Find details here.
• Here's an updated list of the 130 Best Military Discounts for 2018.  
• I peruse Deal News, Kinja Deals, Slick Deals, etc. to see if there are any amazing deals to be had each day.  The vast majority of deals are for things I don't want or need but every once in a while I find a really fantastic deal.  I saw this deal for a new windbreaker jacket for $3.97 and figured that I should order a few of these to put aside for Christmas gifts.  Even though Christmas is three months away, now is a great time to start buying small gifts so you don't end up shopping like a maniac the week before Christmas!
• If you like freebies, check out this subreddit.
• Finally, you can now freeze your credit for free starting tomorrow.  I didn't know there was a charge for this but apparently there was.  This is a good way to keep your credit from being hijacked and protect yourself financially.

10 Money Saving Tips

In no particular order...

1. There is a wiki for everything!  Here are 200+ ways to save money on energy.
2. Sam's Club is offering a great membership deal!  $35 for membership plus you get a $10 gift card and a bunch of free stuff!
3. The Krazy Coupon Lady has a long list of wonderful back to school deals.
4. Entertainment Books are now $5!  This is a great way to save money in your own city or when you travel to other cities.
5. There are some excellent deals now for fall and winter airfares (I found a $695 RT fare from Vegas to Manila!).  Just put in your destination here then click on the departure date and a calendar will come up which shows you the lowest fare each day.
6. EatCheapandHealthy is a popular subreddit which is full of great ideas for, well, eating cheap and healthy.
7. I check Deal News pretty often in order to find great deals on things but they also have a page of freebies which is worth a check everyday.
8. If anyone needs back-to-school savings tips, it's college students.  Here is a huge list of ways college student can save money.
9. I've made long lists of money saving tips before but this list seems to cover just about anything from the Simple Dollar.
10. And in case I missed anything, here are 22 of the best deal websites.

10 Fabulous Discount Passes For Your Summer Vacation

Thinking about things to do this summer to keep the family active and entertained?  Here are some fabulous discount passes you should check out:

1. Annual State Park Pass (examples here and here).
2. Annual National Park Pass
3. Annual pass for your favorite museum (examples here and here).
4. Annual pass for your favorite zoo or aquarium (examples here and here).
5. Annual pass for your favorite tourist attraction (examples here and here).
6. Entertainment Book for your city or your vacation destination city (note they are on sale now for $12)
7. A City Pass for your city or vacation destination city (examples here and here).
8. A Rail Pass if you will be traveling this summer (examples here and here).
9. A season pass for your local aquatic center (example here).
10. A Movie Pass.

10 Fabulous Things Today

There have been so many fabulous things today!

1. This is the first time I had an Amazon order delivered to an Amazon locker instead of my house.  I always wait at home all day for deliveries so porch pirates won't grab them but a week ago I ordered a couple of things from Amazon and decided to try having the delivery made to a locker which is near my house.  This is a wonderful way to get my packages--free, easy to get to, secure, and easy to claim (just punch the code they email you into the screen and a little door pops open so you can get your package)!
2. I put my spending money for the month in my wallet (in cash, in $100 bills) and I haven't spent anything yet this year.  First of all there is nothing I really need and second of all I don't want to break a hundred dollar bill just to buy something.  Cash only living rocks!
3. I just found this new subreddit (and yes, I am so far keeping my resolution to spend less than an hour a day on social media) and it lists all kinds of free ebooks you can download!
4. Another subreddit I check out occasionally is BuyItForLife.  This is a great place to crowd source information on what items seem to last forever.  Many household items (cast iron pans, good knives, etc) are well worth a higher price if they will last forever.
5. And from the "I never would have thought of that" file, this person planted cheap birdseed and ended up with a beautiful garden.  Cool!
6. I've been killing two birds with one stone since the first of the year by doing my daily five mile walks around new places the hubby and I want to check out for our activity of the day.  I am tracking these places in my other blog which can be found here.
7. While I love the snow, we are so glad we didn't end up moving to Connecticut--I think I like the snow better in photos than in person.  Meanwhile the family in New England are all snowed in for the day.  The photos are very pretty though!
8. So far all of the activities we have been doing, and plan to do this month, have been free.  There are several places I check see what kind of free community events are being offered including our local library, state parks, and other community calendars.  Your area may have similar places that offer free community events and activities which are fun for the whole family.
9. I was checking on Zillow to see how much a neighbor's house was listed for sale for.  Holy crap was I surprised to see that the houses in our neighborhood have more than doubled in price since we bought our house.  Not that we plan to move but wow!  Apparently our local economy is on the brink of a boom according to this article.
10. Finally, I came across this article and it was rather inspiring and had some really good resources at the end of the article.  I can code (marginally) but it would have been really nice to have all of these resources available back when I was creating websites and learning this stuff on the fly.

On Thursday--The $100 Olive Garden Never Ending Pasta Pass

I just saw this notice come through my news feed and thought I would share it as a frugal tip (it certainly isn't a health tip but anyway...).  I've never bought one of these passes but apparently 22,000 lucky (?) people each year do as they usually sell out in minutes.  For $100 you can eat at Olive Garden ALL YOU WANT for eight weeks.  Pretty frugal huh?  I just can't even fathom eating out that much or consuming that many calories but hey, $100 for food for eight whole weeks?  That's quite a deal.  More info here.

Great Deals

Here's some great deals I recently came across...

• This weekend, entrance fees to our National Parks will be waived. What better way to enjoy a late summer weekend than at a national park? Check here for future fee free days thanks to the NPS.
• Tomorrow, August 15th, the new overdraft legislation goes into affect. If you want to have your bank cover your bounced checks, you will need to officially "opt in" in order to be covered. This may be a great deal, depending on if you tend to bounce checks.
• I'm filling out my form today to get a $75 "cash for appliance clunkers" program. You need to Google 'cash for appliances' and then your state as each state is administering this program separately. I checked out the Washington state site and found that while the refrigerator rebate wasn't so great (only $75, however we had already sold our old fridge for $400 on CraigsList), we haven't yet been able to sell the old dishwasher so getting a $75 rebate for it will be great!
• One of my favorite outdoor stores, REI, is having a 20% off one item at their online outlet store sale. I am looking at getting a bike (to complete my goal of biking from Canada to Mexico in the spring) and with the already discounted outlet price along with an extra 20% off, the $500 bike will cost around $300! Check it out here.