American Express 10 Flip Mino Cameras Giveaway Plus $100 Bonus
How do you like the idea of having a Flip Mino video camera as a holiday gift?
If you like it, then here’s your chance to win one of 10 Flip Mino cameras in this Savvy Holiday Money Tip contest and giveaway, sponsored by American Express.
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Yesterday, I wrote about the new ZYNC card from American Express. As I mentioned in the post, ZYNX is neither a traditional credit card, which allows you carry a balance from month to month (if that’s what you choose to do), nor a debit card, which draws money directly from your bank account. It’s a Charge Card.
An AMEX Charge Card is for those who want more control of their own finance, yet still want to enjoy the flexibility and benefits of a traditional credit card. By doing your spending on an American Express Charge Card, which comes with the Membership Rewards program, you earn points that you can turn around and use to check everyone off your gift list. Some of this season’s hottest items, such as an HP mini, cool video games or a Flip video camera (like the one being given away here) are available through the program. And the best part is with a Charge Card you’re not getting yourself into debt because as a Charge Cardholder, you are required to pay off your balance in full every month. This means you will not incur any interest charges while building your credit history by using AMEX Charge Card for your every day purchase. Using Charge Card makes more sense in this tough economic environment.
To celebrate the coming holiday, AMEX generously provided 10 Flip Mino video cameras to readers of this blog and let me to host this holiday contest and giveaway. The topic of the contest is:
What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season?
And to make the giveaway a little sweeter, I decided to make it a two-part contest. In the first part, you can participate and get a chance to win by leaving a comment with your savviest holiday money tip*. The first contest will run from now to December 24th, when 10 lucky winners will be selected to receive a Flip Mino camera each**. In the second part, one person who gives the best, or savviest, money tip from the 10 winner in the first contest will get another $100 bonus, a small token of appreciation from me for all the support I received from my readers in 2009.
Unlike previous contests and giveaways I hosted here, the 10 winners in the first contest will NOT be selected randomly. Therefore, the quality and creativity of your tip matter a lot. The winner of the $100 bonus will then be chosen by online vote among 10 winners from the first round. The video cameras will be shipped directly from American Express. The cash bonus will be in the form of a Amazon.com Gift Card.
Interested?
Share your holiday money savings tip with us and get a chance to win a Flip Mino video camera 
BTW, this isn’t the only Flip video camera giveaway going on right. In fact, there are plenty of them. If you are really, really lucky, you could win more than one 
*No purchase necessary to enter the contest and you don’t need to have an AMEX card to win.
**One entry per household please. Duplicated/multiple entries will be voided.
Photo credit: jontintinjordan
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Sun, thanks for the opportunity to win!
One of the savviest ways I’ve found to make money work harder for me is by buying presents in bulk, COSTCO style.
The idea is to figure out a present that is scaleable, much like an internet site for attracting business for example. Once the idea is set, implementation is quite easy.
My idea this year is simply getting T-shirts or long sleeve shirts to my various friends and families around the world. I went on a particular custom T-shirt site, and branded each T-shirt with a particular logo. But on each shirt, I customize the lettering to say “Dad”, “Mom”, “Uncle Joe” etc.
With several clicks of the button, I’ve been able to send out 25 custom shirts with a logo on them to relatives and friends all around the world.
It’s about efficiency (internet), branding, and scale to save money, and to make money!
Best,
Sam
I believe the savviest way to save money and still have a great holiday, showing those you care about how much you care:
Make gifts for them that involve what you know about them…such as their favorite meal, or memory books (photos, mementos, etc.), or coupons for activities you know they are going to need (babysitting, painting help, vacation house sitting, errands run), etc.
These gifts show real thought and investment into your relationship and can really make a bigger impact over some expensive gadget or sweater that falls out of fashion quickly.
The savviest thing I’ve done this year was to save for Christmas expenses throughout the year, and then pay cash for the gifts when the time comes. That way there are no credit cards to pay, and no late fees or finance charges. Instead I can take the money and invest it in a Roth IRA!
By shopping around – at banks – with the highest interest rates for savings accounts, understanding their promotions and the fine print, and following it to the letter. Evidently Christmas is a slow season for banks, and many of them have better than normal interest rates/promotions (opening account promotions, 3-6% interest rates for first $XXX dollars)
Talking about it. Family on both sides had little discussions about the combination of the economy and the fact that the “kids” are all adults, except for 2 babies (who don’t need presents yet from anyone but their immediate family, if that).
We did agree to buy gifts, but talked about a low price range, buying only for one person, etc.
So we’ve spent much less than $200 total on gifts.
Then I saved up some Swagbucks which I redeemed for Amazon gift cards & used because we bought most gifts from Amazon. Also, buying from Amazon we got free shipping because the order was over $25. But they’re shipping separately so that we’ll get some before others, even though we still don’t have to pay.
It’s been a very low-stress low-expense Christmas.
The savviest my wife and I made our money work this Christmas was to use our Credit Card reward points saved up through the year to get gift cards to my wife’s place of employment (a large retail store) where she gets a hefty discount on merchandise. Then use those GC’s and her discount to purchase gifts.
The savviest way to save money here is to use one (and only that particular one) of our credit cards at a particular fuel station to refuel our car so that we accumulate plenty of reward points on that particular card.
Besides I keep a keen lookout for the best deals online and with free shipping, even if it means not having something until later. This way I save a whole load of cash. Another thing is we do our shopping beforehand so that we can get the best deals as and when they come on gift items in stores. This is because most of the best deals during Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sell out pretty quick.
We also got a new car of late and this time around we did something smart to save the money. We had made an outright purchase on our previous car and the insurance on that one had never been claimed. So we transferred (in a way) the insurance from that one to our new vehicle at the time of purchase before selling the old one. This meant that our no-claim bonus was discounted from the insurance premium for the new one. Saved us a great deal of cash. So people if you’re getting a new vehicle, look around for insurance options rather than just go with the arrangement the dealer proposes.
We opened up an Electric Orange checking account on Black Friday this year. ING offered $121 to open and use the card three times. That was a no-brainer $121 in our pockets!
The savviest thing I did was to sign up for paypal’s new pay-it-later program, which rewarded me with $100 free money. I then paid off the remaining balance of $6 for the item that I bought for $106. That’s a nice present for only $6!
The savviest way that I’ve made my money work harder for me this holiday season is with my Credit Card, I’ve received rewards with Capital One. So, that was great to save up and be rewarded! I feel great about getting something from them for using their card. Using my Barnes & Noble’s credit card will give you a $25 gc when you make a purchase. I also do searches online via Swagbucks and MyPoints to earn gift cards so I definitely save money and have this opportunity to use these gift cards from my seaching to give these gift cards as presents to others. It works really well and the only thing that MyPoints & Swagbucks cost me is my time. If I do shop online, I look for free shipping and any promo codes out there to help me out. Thanks so much for the chance to win a FLIP!! I’ve been wanting one for a while now!! Hopeful…:)
The savviest thing I did this year was to open up a Suze Orman Save Yourself Plan at TD Ameritrade. I heard about it at the beginning of the year and decided to enroll. Essentially you deposit $100 every month for 1 year (via automatic deductions) and earn $100 at the end of the year in addition to what tou have saved. Mathematically, that’s a sure-fire 8.3% increase which I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else this year.
The plan is to use the money for an engagement ring.
The savviest thing I did this year was to open my first investment account not associated with retirement. This is going to allow me to make my money work harder for me so I don’t have to.
I traded my first option. This is yet another way that I’m looking to expand my income. So far, so good.
I only shop whereever has some special big sale especially shop online which is a lot cheaper than retails. Even better if I shop thru website which offer me a cash back for example ebate.com or retailmenot which give me a coupon code for more discount. Also make sure that I use my credit card which give me the most benefit such as cash back, reward or collect points.
The best thing that I did was to save money all year round in an ING sub account – so that I was earning some interest on it. I did almost all shopping online and used coupons from places like retailmenot and so on. Also I used sites like mypoints and ebates to get to the retail sites, so that I earn rewards for all the shopping I would have done anyway. And to top it off, I use credit cards to make the purchases so that I earn some rewards on them. Of course I pay it off right away since I have the money sitting in my savings account.
So by doing the shopping I would do anyway, I earn:
1) Interest from ING for the savings
2) Points from myPoints
3) Rewards from my credit card company
And I save on gas, by not driving to the mall and circling it to find a parking spot.
There are a lot of ways to save money during the holidays
* Use credit cards to pay for purchases and earn rewards for buying something you already would (but only if you have money to pay it off the same month)
* If shopping online, use rewards sites like mypoints to hit up some points. Also most sites have free shipping coupons floating around
* If you have to travel during Christmas, try flying out on the day of Christmas to save money. This way you can spend Christmas morning at your home and yet meet family and fares will definitely be cheaper
* Another tip would be not to get too caught up with Black Friday deals and such. Find out the cost of the item a week before and see if you are truly getting a discount. Sometimes even when the store tells you it’s 50% off, it might be at 40% off otherwise
* Use swagbucks, Coinstar, mypoints and redeem for gift cards that can be given out as gifts or can be used to purchase gifts
* Homemade cookies, fudge etc can be a great Christmas gift, especially for bachelors and other kitchen challenged people. Double points if you can give something that can be frozen and used for a long time
I don’t wait for the holiday season to shop. Everytime when I go to the store I always check out the sale and clearance and buy stuff and save it in my closet. I also check out website such as ebates to see if the store I shop at is on the list for extra percent of saving. So far I got almost $200 back from ebates.
I planned out exactly what my budget was for each person, stuck to it, and bought everything through websites that participate in Ebates or Upromise and offer free shipping. I spent my $200 budget and have gotten $8 back from Upromise and $12 from Ebates. It doesn’t seem like too much, but I effectively got 10% off, never paid for shipping, and only paid sales tax on one transaction. If you count my rebates, I came in 18% under budget!
The best thing I did was to decide on an asset allocation strategy and automate investments into Index funds.
1) The money I save by investing in low cost Vanguard Index funds will help by compounding.
2) Since the investing is automated, dollar cost averaging will help me and I will avoid emotions during investing.
3) With the Asset allocation in place, I will rebalance annualy and thus buy low, sell high while keeping my investment tailored to my risk profile.
4) The benefit of automated investing also meant that I will “pay myself first” and stick to a budget every month instead of investing with what was left at the end of the month.
First I list down all the things/gifts that I plan to buy. Search those gifts online and see if I can find some great deals. Discount coupons and the like are love. I also compare the prizes of an item in every store that I can think of. And buy the cheapest one with a good deal.
And there are also times that it’s hard to pick a gift for someone so I just decide to make a personalized card for them. It’s really cheap since I only use materials available in our house like cutouts from a magazine, glue, paper puncher, stamps, etc. and recycling the used papers I have. I only need to spend an extra amount of my time and a little bit of money to finish the card. I guess the message inside would do all the talking. Anyway, it’s better that you remembered that special someone, right.
I opened a Perk Street checking account with $1,000 from my credit card and will receive a 1% reward bonus from my credit card and a $50 bonus from Perk Street in 3 months. I opened a Lending Club account and received $64.62 as a promotion–I used my Perk Street checking account to transfer $935.38 over. Now I’ve invested $1000 and hopefully will receive 10% back (if the people I’ve loaned don’t default!). So if everything works out I will have made just shy of $150 in the next 3 months ($50 bonus from Perk Street, $10 from my credit card, $64.62 from Lending club and around $25 in interest).
I’ve been getting Christmas gift cards at the grocery store since I get 5% cashback with my credit card at grocery stores.
I start shopping early! I’ll probably start picking up gifts for NEXT Christmas this summer. It requires putting extra thought into shopping, but it allows us to split up those purchases throughout several months so the holiday season doesn’t affect our budget as much.
It also helps us avoid the holiday craze that can sometimes lead people to spend more. By thinking things through during the summer months and shopping for sales, we can be more purposeful in our spending. We’re not tempted to rush out and spend a ton of money because of holiday marketing.
Since we’re mostly done shopping by November, we also don’t rush out at the last minute and spend more on an item than we should out of desperation. We can just wrap our gifts, sit back, and enjoy the season!
Being a senior on a fixed income, I really took advantage of the Amazon/Walmart price war this year. With Amazon’s lightning specials, and free shipping, several of us in the family co-gifted our loved ones with way nicer gifts than we each could have afforded individually!
What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season?
I went on an adventure this year! I searched and discovered deal forums and cashback programs like ebates and bing cash back. I started shopping for Christmas in October (which is WAY early for me) and just finished about a week ago. I’m usually a last minute shopper. I’ve pounced on deals and double cash back days. I also began using coupons faithfully. I feel like my dollar has stretched a lot this year, more than any other year. It’s been amazing! I am very proud
. Another thing I started doing was making more baskets for people mixed with items purchased and handmade items. It’s work but a labor of love! That’s what the season is about! 
<3
Thanks for the opportunity!
Jae
passiontealemonade*at*yahoo*.*com
I entered a lot of giveaways online to get presents for family members. It was a very cheap (free) way to get them all something nice! Just required alot of work but was totally worth it. Searching out blog giveaways and sweepstakes, takes effort but saves a ton of money!! I also signed up for alot of store newsletters because usually when you first sign up for their emails, they give you some kind of promo deal and every percentage off helps! I signed up for a Macy’s card too to get an extra 20% my purchases that day so I made sure to get more than a few gifts there! It was awesome. And I also attended Walmart’s PRE BLACK FRIDAY Saturday sales and saved a bundle on electronics, which like the giveaways, took extra time (outside brrrr) and effort on my behalf but saved me alot of money! And if I win, I am giving this flip to my friend Jaime, she’s been dying for one for her upcoming honeymoon! Thank you!!!!
Research product prices and features online, so you can be prepared to bargain when you enter the stores.
For example my wife wanted a new camera. We found the one we wanted on Amazon for $299, but we were not ready to purchase without being able to use/hold first. We went to our local photography store with price we would pay in mind. We told them how much we could get it online for and they were happy to make the same deal and throw in a free memory card. Plus, we didn’t pay shipping and handling cost, so we really came out $30-40 cheaper than online.
The salespeople/stores are hungry to make sales this Christmas Season. To get the best price/save the most money you have to know what you want and the cheapest price you can get it elsewhere (online). Also, you have to be willing to walk-away if they can’t lower the price.
Bonus tip: Department stores (Dillards, Belk, Macy’s) are much better places to get amazing deals than at the Mall.
First, we made a list of the things we wanted to buy for people. Knowing what we wanted up front was really important. Second, we watched the ads from our favorite retailers both online and local. We looked for offers like big discounts, free shipping and rebates. Third, we bought when we found the best deal and paid cash for all our purchases. This strategy helped us keep our total expenditure within the budget we set in the beginning and it kept us from getting scammed or having to pay a lot of interest down the road.
I created a faux “hedge fund” for my dating budget. I allow myself $75 per week, and any money that doesn’t get spent during that week is automatically transferred into a “surplus” savings account, which I can transfer back into the date fund within the month if needed. If there is still a balance in the “surplus” savings account by the end of the month it automatically transfers into my Roth IRA.
Automation for the win!
Not only do I try to save money, but I try to save money by saving in ways that help others or help me be healthier. I normally shop at Whole Foods (which everyone knows is expensive), I try to cut back on how often I go there and try to plan the trips there only when I know I need something that is only offered at Whole Foods or hard to find otherwise. I reuse my bags and save 5% to help the environment while giving myself a discount. Believe it or not, this is pretty close to how much the mark up is at WF compared to regular grocery stores. While I am there, I purchase items that are on sale and make food for the week. I use leftovers for lunch and have completely stopped buying my lunch each day from take out places.
I currently live with my parents and am not charged rent. I started putting “rent” in an account that I am using to save for a house. I put my savings into a CD with no fees and I use my check card as much as possible rather than cash to benefit my “keep the change” program. I even upgraded my card to get 10% back on my keep the change rather than 5%. I also switched my visa card to an interest free, cash back program. It should be known that my American Express is still my card of choice though!
I traded in my leased car early and negotiated the trade in to be $1000.00 more than the buy out. I used the savings for a down payment on a car that uses cheaper gas and has a lower monthly payment. Also, I took advantage of the tax rebate for buying a new car.
I stopped shopping at designer stores and purchase my clothes from TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I find they have the same styles at an upwards of 70% off the normal price. The first place I check is the clearance rack. I am still wearing Lucky Jeans, but not many people know that I got them for 6 dollars rather than 75.
I am doing a lot of group presents this year. My Girlfriend and I are treating my parents to a dinner and a night out, rather than both buying them each separate presents. I am using rewards points from my corporate American Express card to purchase the dinner and the show we are going to, and using Marriott points from my travels to pay for the hotel we are putting them up in. Normally that would have been a 600 dollar night. The only thing we will pay for are tips and taxi’s instead! (I only use the hybrid taxis!)
There are many ways to save, but try to keep the environment and others in the loop as saving can be contagious! Show people how you save, and they will want to do it and so on!
Happy Holidays everyone!
The saviest thing I have done this year was ignore the market noise and contribute to my 401(k) week in, week out all year up to the max for my matching program
This is the first year that we used a credit card to make all our purchases. We pay off all our complete balance at the end of the month and then collect our points. Easiest money we’ve ever made.
Two things we’ve been doing:
1) Instead of buying friends gifts, we’re inviting everyone over for a fancy dinner that we’ll be making ourselves (healthy, cheaper, and fun). We’re also thinking about doing a $5 limit white-elephant party along with the dinner.
2) For those who are getting gifts from us, we’ve been buying things that have either longer warranty periods or lifetime warranties/guarantees. The items may cost a little more upfront, but they’ll be able to replace the products when they break or wear out further down the road. I’ve personally done this quite a few times and feel that the added cost makes my money work better for me in the end.
One of the savviest things you can do this holiday season is to compare prices online and make sure you get free shipping. In some cases there is a price qualification for free shipping so I just buy things that I know I will need – say I’m buying a gadget on Amazon as a gift but the total doesn’t qualify for free shipping. Did you know Amazon sells toilet paper? I know I’ll need to buy that anyways, so buy it at the same time as the gadget to bump the total sale amount up and vuala shipping is free!
My savviest move for saving money this Christmas season was developing a plan for our extended family gift exchanges. As everyone continues to get married and/or have children, the Christmas gift-buying lest was getting very long & out of control.
I suggested that instead of buying a gift for everyone, we should draw names and each buy only one, nicer gift for one individual. Everyone loved the idea! Now we have less stress and will spend less cash on our gifts this year.
“What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season?”
A 3%APR CD matured and the current rates are very low at less than 2%APR, so I placed the money in a municipal bond mutual fund that is paying about 3%APR and has appreciated in value too. Also, I reinvest those dividends, which are paid monthly in more shares of the fund. And the dividends are tax free. Also, I am not locked into a one-year time frame, as I can cash-out the funds at any time. No more bank CDs for me!
I saved money all year and paid cash for Christmas! No interest. Interesting… =P
We booked plane tickets for longer duration so they were much cheaper (still not cheap though), and are working remotely for a few days!
My tip: Instead of Christmas gifts to teachers, coaches, etc. our family gives Thanksgiving gifts. It takes a bit of preplanning, but it’s a great was to save money, reduce stress at Christmas and stand out from the crowd. While Christmas shopping, there’s usually Thanksgiving-themed merchandise (kitchen towels, hand towels, throw blankets, tablecloths and runners, picture frames, other Thanksgiving decorations) at substantial discounts – sometimes 90%. I will tuck these away to use next year. My son, husband and I sign a Thanksgiving card, being sure to include a reason why we are thankful for this person. The Thanksgiving gift stands out because no one else does this, and the gift is actually used, since not many people buy specific Thanksgiving decorations. The comments we have received over the years have been overwhelmingly positive. Thanks for asking for ideas!
I found $5 in a pocket from a pair of pants that i haven’t worn in a while.
I started shopping really early when I went on summer vacation – that way if I found a good deal on a unique gift for a person, I could scoop it up. I also make my “to buy for” list at the end of the previous season, so I can cross someone’s name off the list as soon as I buy for them. It makes Christmas less stressful. For my friends and family that are less skilled in the kitchen, I always make a tin/box of treats. It’s inexpensive, and they appreciate it a lot, since they don’t necessarily have the skills/patience/time to make it for themselves.
I made my money work harder by not spending money on wrapping, ribbon and boxes. Instead, the limited holiday spending budget I had was allocated entirely for gifts. To do this, I went green to spend less green! I wrapped smaller gifts using pieces of aluminum foil (it reflects the lights under the Christmas tree and looks beautiful) and even pieces of construction paper that my kids had colored on. I tucked small gifts like earrings, socks and lotions inside empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls instead of boxes, and wrapped them into what looked like nostalgic candy. I skipped ribbon and bows and opted instead for yarn I already had, braiding different colors together for a neat effect, and even making yarn pom-poms to use as package toppers (they can be used later for great cat toys also). The process of finding boxes to use around the house actually became great gag-gifts as well. Empty cereal boxes got personalized with family members’ names and faces with the actual gift tucked inside, for example. But probably the best idea I came up with was when I was emptying the trash, specifically the contents of my paper shredder. What a beautiful array of colors! So, in lieu of tissue paper, I used the bounty of colorful paper shreds staring back at me.
I was able to save quite a lot this Christmas by planning ahead and using the internet. I made my shopping list and then watched for and searched for sales, free offers, discounts, and coupons. I was able to get great deals on all the gifts I wanted and free shipping on most it! Even some of the gifts (like photo calendars) were free! There have been lots of printable coupons, too, that I was able to use at local stores for things like toys, clothing, and toiletries. I subscribe to many blogs that post these deals and also to newsletters of the shopping sites. It really takes only a few minutes a day to skim through what’s available and it’s been well worth the time! An added bonus…I did a lot of my Christmas shopping in my pajamas with a cup of hot cocoa at hand!
The savviest thing I’ve done, I think, is to buy work clothes for myself using gift cards earned through a frequent flyer program & mypoints combined with the great holiday discounts retailers are offering.
No, it’s not for presents, but by combining these two I’ve been able to get a long sleeved shirt, pair of grey trousers and a very nice blazer for less than $9 out-of-pocket cost. Seeing as how I’m only 21, this was a great way to get a start on the professional attire I’ll be bound to need in the next year or so.
Even better is having one of the gift cards left yet, and the retailer is offering a 10% discount when it is used to make a purchase in January. Stretching those free dollars even further!
I’ve stopped counting how many times I’ve needed to go out and buy a new string of Christmas lights to replace the ones that no longer work because they have a mystery bulb (that I can’t ever seem to find) burned-out. So, this year I’m making a savvy investment in L.E.D (light-emitting diode) Christmas lights!
My research told me that they:
Use 90% less energy. They have a 50,000 hour bulb life. And, if you shop around you can get them with a guarantee.
So far, they work great. They use less energy, so I’ll be saving on my electric bill. They’re Energy Star approved, so they’re better for the environment. But, the savings that I’m most excited about are the savings in my time spent not trying to find and replace those burnt-out little bulbs that keep breaking the circuit, and consequently breaking my wallet.
I steer clear of the over-priced mall and did much of my shopping online, always checking for discount or free shipping promotions before giving my business to any one merchant.
I use reward sites like Swagbucks to earn Amazon gift cards to purchase holiday presents. I’m able to purchase gifts at little or no cost out of pocket to me!
My tip is to buy majority of the gifts right after X’mas or New Year as everything is going to be on sales, with more than half off. Save these gifts for next year. For example, toys can be purchase in advance for next year as it never goes out of season. Also, those gifts will be purchased for a particular person on your list so that you don’t just buy things because they are cheap.
To make our money work harder this holiday season, my wife and I made it a point to plan our Christmas shopping & expenses ahead of time this year, and by doing most of our shopping in advance, prior to Thanksgiving even, it allowed us to avoid getting caught up in the mad rush of holiday consumerism and spending and stick to our planned budget. It has also made the week before Christmas a lot more relaxed!
to make my money work harder this holiday, I bought delicious holiday foods for my family to enjoy instead of gifts. we shall feast on shrimp,clams,mussels and leg of lamb. food memories last a lifetime when your with family.
Like most people, this year has been a rough one financially for me, so I have been finding all sorts of ways to save a little money with my holiday shopping.
Most stores have some sort of clearance section or bargain bin(it seems like more than usual). For example, for those harder to shop for, I went to Kmart where they have a large bin of DVDs from $3-$10. These were not just old movies or “bad” ones, there were quite a few recent and popular movies. I was able to get 14 DVDs for around $60, so keep an eye out for the bargain bins and don’t discount them by assuming there is only junk.
Another way I have found to save some money is by searching for coupon codes when shopping online. Most online stores, both the popular and the not-so-popular ones, have coupon codes out there to save 10%, maybe 20%, sometimes even higher, off your total purchase from their store and you can find these through a simple internet search. Let’s use Barnes and Noble as an example. If you are making a purchase at Barnes and Noble and want to try to save a bit of money, go to google and type in “Barnes and Noble coupon code.” There are a number of websites that give you these codes and keep up to date with what is current and what is expired. When you get the code you would like to use, just enter it in the checkout of the store (in this example Barnes and Noble) where it asks for the coupon code. Some will save you more than others, but it is a great way to find some good deals.
When attending holiday parties, most of us like to bring something for the host or hostess but there is no reason to spend a fortune. Rather than buying a $40 or $50 bottle of wine, why not find one for under $10? It is a common misconception that the more you spend on wine the better the quality. On my way to a dinner I was attending last week, I picked up a bottle of red wine for around $8. Everyone enjoyed it and I did not hear any complaints about the quality, on the contrary there were a couple of people who asked the name of the wine because they really enjoyed it and would like to pick some up themselves. They couldn’t believe when I told them how affordable it was.
The same is true for platters of food or desserts. Instead of spending upwards of $30 or $40 on a platter of cookies, you can just make them yourself. You can even just get some cake mix and icing for just a few dollars and make a cake to bring with you while saving yourself a lot of money.
Finally, another way I am trying to save money this year is on wrapping paper and holiday cards. I decided against sending holidays cards out this year. Most people throw them away at the end of the season anyway so why not just make a phone call or send an e-mail to say Happy Holidays and save yourself the price of a card and a stamp. I’m sure people would appreciate a call more than a card anyway and will understand if you say you will not be sending out cards this year.
In my opinion, the most important way to save yourself money this holiday season is to pay attention. Many of us think a dollar here and five dollars there don’t really make much of a difference but remember this adds up. If you are shopping for 20 people and save $5 on each of them, that’s $100 you’ve saved on the gifts alone!
With regard to wrapping paper, I purchased a few large rolls of generic wrapping paper that were on sale. It is just gold wrapping paper with no holiday designs on it. This way I can wrap everyone’s presents with the same paper whether they celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, or something else. Not only this, but since there are no holiday decorations on the wrapping paper, it can then be used for other holidays as well such as birthdays, Valentine’s Day, etc.
I’ve been really aggressive about watching sales and price matching. I’ve also written a budget and am sticking to it. I turned in airline miles for a gift card, too. I will not be flying in the foreseeable future and the miles would just expire at some point.
I have made my money work harder for me this holiday season by using peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sites to squeeze out a few more percentage points on a small portion of my portfolio. I have lent money to others on both Lending Club and Prosper.
The savviest way I have made my money work for me this year was to receive 2% cash back rebate with my American Express card. I use my AmEx card to buy gas, groceries, shopping, and so many other items and at the end of the year, the cash that I receive back is enough to cover for the holiday presents!
Take advantage of CC with cashback (or better yet promotion offers e.g. Discover’s double cashback for online purchases).
We saved up by putting a certain percentage plus any extra into savings – rainy day fund. The rainy day came…and we are glad we have the fund to get us through it.
We also cut out holiday gifts to a much lower budget. We skipped any unnessary purchases.
Went with VOIP phone service instead of our old land line.
Got prepaid cell phones since we don’t use that many minutes. We are saving at least $500 a year compared to contract phones on this.
Signed up for ING Electric orange to take advantage of the Black Friday bonus! Can’t beat free cash. We always pay off credit cards in full, if we can’t afford it, we don’t buy it until we can. The credit card’s rewards points turn into extra cash for expenses.
Using coupons, both online codes and paper based has saved us hundreds over the year.
Hopefully win this Flip camera with these tips! I can definitely use a gift for myself this year
I have been working on being a better parent – and learning to say “NO” to my grown children when they ask for financial help. I know that bailing them out hurts them, and takes away learning opportunities. They need to go without to learn to truly control their finances. It is very difficult to say no – buy I think this is the best way I can actually help them gain the financial freedom they deserve. This gives me the opportunity to better control my own finances too!
For big ticket items, we’ve been using the internet to determine exactly what we want. Then, we use the internet and a bit of time to comparison shop and get the stores competing on price.
We have saved over $200 plus our time-which is worth a lot- by using our iPhones to pice compare while we were shopping. I found many items that were significantly cheaper on Amazon.
For instance we wanted a particular videogame for our son. A local Target had it for $25. I looked on my iPhone while in the store and saw Amazon had the same game for $19.99.
Later while in a different store we found it for $14.99 and knew that was the lowest price, so we scooped it up.
We are also using a list (and checking it twice) to make sure we stay on budget and have something for everyone.
I paid myself the difference between the sale price and regular price of Christmas gifts, and put in the interest bearing account.
Almost everything is on sale this season. For example, when I “saved” $20 on a purchase, I paid myself $20 and deposited into my IRA. That money will earn interest and I am sure I’ll appreciate having it later in life, whereas Christmas gifts provide short term appreciation.
I also used my CC for all purchases because it earns cash-back, which is like having an additional discount. I paid the card off every week which makes it feel like using a debit card.
There’s no better feeling than cleaning out your purse or your pockets and finding $20 that you completely forgot about. You can get that feeling every month by opening a second savings account at a bank that you don’t normally frequent.
Just open up a savings account in person or online (I’m a big fan of ING’s online banking options, which include high-yield savings accounts), make your initial deposit, and forget about it. Better still, arrange to make a small direct deposit from every paycheck into this new savings account. Because the savings account is at a separate bank, there will be a delay of at least two days to transfer funds to your “home bank”. This makes it less tempting to dip into your savings for impulse purchases.
If you are easily tempted (like me), try opening the savings account at a bank that is not in your hometown, and has no ATMS in your area.
Oh wow, I’d love a chance to win!
The savviest way I made my money work harder this season was by earmarking a certain amount of money exactly LAST season!
On Dec 21st, I decided to invest $2000 in the SPYDERS etf (SPY). I figured if I could invest some money then, and keep it in the market for 1 full year, any profits I make would be taxed at only 15% (long term capital gains tax)! Otherwise, I’d have to pay 28% in federal income tax on short term capital gains.
And so I bought 24 shares of SPY at around $84, and watched the stock dive to $70 in March to my dismay. I stayed strong though, and patiently waited for SPY to finish this year around $112! With the $550 in after tax proceeds, I’ve bought 12 gifts for family and friends.
Now, if I only had more money to invest last December!
Thanks,
Reb
I learned who to use my money by using coupons, buying in store deals, not eating out as much, entering giveaways, and looking for new ways to earn income with my blog.
I found coupons online before I head to stores like Target. The other day, I bought 3 pack of 12 can Pepsi (36 cans!) for $3 after using $4 worth of manufacture and Target coupons.
I am a pastry chef so my family and friends really appreciate baked gifts. This year everybody is getting something edible. I maximized my holiday spending budget by buying ingredients and creating fantastic desserts. I splurged on decadent ribbons and glassine packaging to complete the look of my gifts.
My Xmas strategy goes as follows:
1) Make a list in Excel of what I want to get everyone and list the MSRP price next to it. (A month or so ahead of time)
2) Set up price alerts with Price Grabber to alert me when anything drops below 50% off. You’d be amazed how often this happens.
3) Frequent Slickdeals.net to see if anything I want to get has a crazy sale going on. The forums are full of deals where people will stack coupons and special promotions to get the product very cheap and even free sometimes!
4) Sign up for an Amazon Prime trial. This entitles me to FREE 2 day shipping on all Amazon purchases. A lot of deals I find are through Amazon, so no shipping is a great deal.
5) If I have family / friends I won’t be seeing until after Xmas anyways, I don’t stress. Hopefully some after holiday sales will pop up
Last year I beat my Xmas budget by about 70% (I budget @ MSRP of all the gifts I want). I’ll usually donate half my savings, still falling well within my budget.
I opened bank accounts using promotional offers to get free bonuses.
My strategy for shopping this year was simple. Shop locally. I work in microfinance so I love to support local business. How does this translate as a money tip?
Strong local businesses create vibrant communities that are great places to live– this generates a fulfillment that cannot always be translated in dollars but is often shown as a smile.
I was able to give some phenomenal gifts this season by starting early and keeping my eyes peeled for internet freebies and discounts. Just because a gift didn’t cost the giver much, doesn’t mean the value is less. On the contrary, I am often able to find something much more personal and meaningful by starting early and finding discounts which give me more product for the cost. There were several photo websites which give away some incredible offers. These gifts took some time to prepare but they were free or no cost and every single person I gave one of these gifts to said it was an exceptional gift.
I did lots of things.
* I cashed in all credit card points for whatever money I could.
* I opened a PenFed account to get their Visa card, now I get 5% discount on all my gas purchases.
* I opened a Schwab account to get their Visa card, I get 2% cash for all my non-gas purchases.
* I’m selling lots of used and some new items on both Craigslist and Amazon. Amazon is very easy and well worth it.
* Every time a fellow employee was laid off, I helped them (heck, these people were my friends) and I took every thing they left behind (books, mostly, things they didn’t seem to want) and sold them on Amazon. I called up my friend and treated them to lunch, then gave them the money from the sale.
* When anyone moved from my apt complex, I offered to take some of their stuff if they needed to get rid of it, I sold it on Craigslist (yes, I told them I would sell it).
* I purchased several geek gadgets on Newegg.com, highly discounted and on sale. Later, I re-sold them as new to a few friends, they got a good deal and I made a few bucks.
* I sold every stock in my self-directed IRA in Feb 2009, reinvested in Mar 2009 and have some great gains.
* I joined my company’s stock purchase plan and have made some great gains.
* I do an ACH transfer of $25 or $50 almost every day to my PenFed account, it’s slowly been building up. I only do this when I can really afford it.
* I joined car pool.
* I rented my couch to a friend of a friend for a couple of weeks.
* I do computer work for my barber for free (she buys all hardware though) and in return I get free haircuts.
My first stop for the holiday season is always the dollar store – wrapping paper, ribbons, boxes, Xmas decorations and even stocking stuffers are all SO cheap – and I often see the same exact products for 2, 3, 4 times the money in other stores like Hallmark! I’m a huge fan of the dollar store… you’d be surprised what you can find there!
If you’re looking for ways to save time (because time=money)and on shipping – e-cards are the way to go! They take seconds to buy, and seconds to deliver! I’m trying to give more socially-conscious gifts lately, so a few of my favorite places to buy gift cards are globalgiving.org (the recipient chooses from tons of causes to support), kiva.org (lend to micro-loans in third world countries), and tomsshoes.com (buy a pair of shoes, and a child in Africa gets a pair of shoes also!). It’s what the holiday season is about after all!
While the charitable organizations don’t often give discounts on gift cards, many other retailers do! I just bought a $60 gift card for Old Navy at %20 off, so I only paid $48! Combine that with future “percent-off” coupons and the savings will really add up! Sites like slickdeals.net and dealsea.com are chock-full of coupons for these types of deals!
I actually peruse slickdeals.net and dealsea.com throughout the year to catch the best deals. I’m also a fan of Groupon.com which e-mails you every morning with a 50% off coupon for a store or event in your city. My parents’ presents this year? Tickets to the city orchestra at 50% off!
Being aware of the available deals, comparing prices on different websites, and using the internet to its potential for shopping have really saved me a ton. After the dollar store, online is where i prefer to shop
My fiance and I do much of our shopping online with the help of camelcamelcamel to track prices of things we want to buy (but aren’t in a hurry to buy).
One of the other unique things which we do as a couple is we visit the library often. It seems that young people in their 20′s (our age) are all too reluctant to use the library, instead opting to buy books from bookstores and going out to the movie theater. That money quickly adds up and could be saved for other things.
I love saving money if at all possible! My family knows that and I do what I can to save anywhere. I clip lots of coupons and match their sales with the coupons. Of course checking all ads before I go anywhere FIRST.
I love using my gift cards in conjunction with sales and my coupons. If shopping online, you can get online codes for certain stores. You just do a simple search for like ‘coupon codes for Target’ or ‘free shipping codes’. You can use rebates places like Mr. Rebates for Cash back. Pretty nice ways to help save money!!
I would LOVE a FLIP Camera and would totally do FLIPS for it!!
Thanks for the opportunity to win!
I usually have to buy throwaway gifts for some lame white elephant party or Secret Santa. The $20 here and there really adds up, so this year, my friends and I did a junkiest white elephant gift ever party. We dug up stuff from our closets and drawers to give away. We still had lots of fun opening “presents” and exchanging “gifts”, and the best part is that we didn’t have to spent a single penny- some of the gifts were “wrapped” in grocery bags! Ultimately, while some gifts were pretty junky (B&W analog portable TV, a used pumpkin scented candle!), some gifts really echoed the “one’s trash is another’s treasure” sentiment.
Q: What is the savviest way you have made your money work harder for you this holiday season?
A: I went to yard sales and found gentally used or unused toys and gifts for the kids.
Katie
eklaramore@gmail.com