Shop sale mail
Sign up for alerts sent to your in-box.
ShopItToMe.com notifies shoppers of online discounts. Subscribers tailor their accounts to include preferred brands, sizes and mail delivery days (Mondays and Thursdays are best). The site then dispatches regular customized e-mails, complete with pictures of sale items. Clicking on a photo takes the user to the retailer's Web site.
Recent sale: Men's J. Crew wool-cashmere grid-stitch cardigan for $120. Retail: $168.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
SAVINGS: $48
Recent sale: Kate Spade Wheeler Coulston leather shoulder bag for $200. Retail: $475.
SAVINGS: $275
Gilt Groupe is a shopping site that offers designer goods at up to 70% off. E-mails remind users of upcoming sales, which usually start at noon eastern time -- the juiciest deals sell out within hours.
Recent sale: DKNY men's reversible wool coat for $279. Retail: $700.
SAVINGS: $421
Recent sale: Magaschoni wool coat for $229. Retail: $698.
SAVINGS: $469
Groupon.com e-mails subscribers a daily coupon for 50% to 90% off a product or service. But there's a catch: The promotion applies only if enough members purchase the voucher. This encourages users to invite friends or family to buy the deals. If a sufficient number cash in, the deal goes through and credit cards are charged.
Recent deal: Meat, apparel and other manly products from Man Cave for $29. Retail: $61.
SAVINGS: $32
Recent deal: Gourmet coffees, teas and gifts from Joe's Coffee House online for $15. Retail: $35.
SAVINGS: $20
ANNUAL SAVINGS: $480 (assumes $40 per month saved)
Scan and save
Smart-phone apps can show you competitors' prices.
Use smart-phone applications to scan an item's bar code with your phone's camera (you can also enter product codes manually), and then compare the price with prices at other retailers. Top shopping apps: Google Shopper (available for Android phones), RedLaser (iPhone) and ShopSavvy (Android and iPhone). Using ShopSavvy, for example, we found that a Hoover WindTunnel vacuum cleaner selling for $130 at Best Buy was available for $99 (with free shipping) at Amazon.com. At Staples, ShopSavvy discovered that an HP LaserJet P4014n printer selling for $800 was $526 at DocumentIO.com (an online tech seller that offered free shipping). If you show a competitor's price to managers at some stores, they may just match it on the spot.
If you search for the store you're visiting with Coupon Sherpa (iPhone), the app will produce any available in-store coupons, which you can show on your phone's screen at the register. Need some cash to pay for your deal? Find a nearby, in-network ATM using MasterCard's ATM Hunter app (iPhone and BlackBerry) and avoid bank fees. And all the apps listed are free.
TOTAL ANNUAL SAVINGS: $360 ($30 per month saved)
Score tickets
Shop all the Web sites to guarantee the lowest price.
Use RazorGator.com, StubHub.com and TicketsNow.com to find seats for games and shows. The trick is to check each resale site and original sellers because price differences can be dramatic. Examples (prices are for two tickets):
Event: Cleveland Cavaliers versus the Atlanta Hawks, in Atlanta. Best Price: StubHub, $115. Comparable Seats: Ticketmaster, $214.
SAVINGS: $99
Event:Orchestra seats at Broadway musical West Side Story. Best Price: Ticketmaster, $258. Comparable Seats: RazorGator, $605.
SAVINGS: $347
Event: Taylor Swift concert at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles. Best Price: StubHub, $350. Comparable Seats: TicketsNow, $550.
SAVINGS: $200
TOTAL ANNUAL SAVINGS: $745 (based on two sporting events, one show and one concert)
Treat yourself
Buying gift cards at a discount is easy.
Gift cards are great when you have no idea what to give your sullen teenage nephew for his birthday. They're even better when you can buy them at a discount and use them yourself. PlasticJungle.com, GiftCardRescue.com and GiftCardCastle.com buy unwanted gift cards from consumers, sell them at less than face value and ship them free. GiftCardGranny.com compares offers from several such sites, plus eBay, to help you find the best deals. Recently, PlasticJungle listed a $100 gift card usable at Banana Republic, Gap or Old Navy for $89; GiftCardCastle offered a $100 iTunes card for $88.
ANNUAL SAVINGS: $360 (if you use three cards a month at a $10 discount each)
Party diva
Wow your friends with a high-class bash on the cheap.
Want to give a cocktail party for 50 without breaking the bank? Elizabeth Mascali, coauthor, with Dawn Sandomeno, of Plan to Party (Yorkshire, $20) and www.partybluprintsblog.com, offers alternatives to a fancy-schmancy approach.
Invitations (30): Personalized cards at $1.25 each, $37.50 (free shipping with promotion) from the Tiny Prints Web site, plus $13.20 for postage: $50.70. Electronic invitations at www.punchbowl.com: $0.
SAVINGS: $50.70
Flowers: Centerpiece ($125) plus two smaller arrangements ($40 each) from a florist. Total: $205. Do-it-yourself: Three dozen red carnations ($22.50 from a grocer); leaves to line vases ($5 from a florist); one 6-inch square vase and two 4-inch square vases ($14 plus $20 shipping from www.save-on-crafts.com). Total: $61.50.
SAVINGS: $143.50
Servers: Three pro servers, five-hour minimum, $30 an hour plus $20 tip each: $510. Three college students with experience, five hours, $20 an hour plus $20 tip each: $360.
SAVINGS: $150
Food: Filet of beef, caramelized onions on a crostini from Twofiftytwo Restaurant, $3.75 each, 50 pieces: $187.50. Do-it-yourself: roast beef on a croustade, $1.45 each, 50 pieces: $72.50.
SAVINGS: $115
Ambience: Two crystal candleholders from Neiman-Marcus ($175) and two candles, $1.50 each, for the serving table: $178. Six dozen glass votives with candles from quickcandles.com ($40 plus $10 shipping): $50.
SAVINGS: $128
TOTAL SAVINGS: $587
-
The Best FSA or HSA-Eligible Amazon Prime Day Deals You Can Shop NowDouble down on savings by taking advantage of these early Prime Day deals that are FSA or HSA eligible. Save on fitness trackers, air purifiers, baby gear and more.
-
Stock Market Today: It's 'All Sectors Go' Ahead of Independence DayThe resilience trade continues to work, even for sectors and stocks with specific uncertainties.
-
Amazon Resale: Where Amazon Prime Returns Become Your Online BargainsFeature Amazon Resale products may have some imperfections, but that often leads to wildly discounted prices.
-
Roth IRA Contribution Limits for 2025Roth IRAs Roth IRA contribution limits have gone up. Here's what you need to know.
-
Four Tips for Renting Out Your Home on Airbnbreal estate Here's what you should know before listing your home on Airbnb.
-
Five Ways to a Cheap Last-Minute VacationTravel It is possible to pull off a cheap last-minute vacation. Here are some tips to make it happen.
-
How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?insurance When assessing how much life insurance you need, take a systematic approach instead of relying on rules of thumb.
-
Five Reasons You Shouldn't Shop on Amazon Prime DaySmart Buying Is Amazon Prime Day still a good deal? We'll break it down.
-
When Is Amazon Prime Day? Everything We Know So Far, Plus Early DealsAmazon Prime Here are the key Amazon Prime Day dates and details you need to know, plus some of our favorite early deals to shop ahead of the sale.
-
How to Shop for Life Insurance in 3 Easy Stepsinsurance Shopping for life insurance? You may be able to estimate how much you need online, but that's just the start of your search.
