Save Money on Movies

If you're like me, then you love movies but hate the $12 per ticket at the movie theater..plus $10 for a small popcorn and $5 for a small drink. Even when the economy *was* good, I still could never justify going to the theater (although I did make 1 exception to go see "Batman: The Dark Knight w/ late actor Heath Ledger).

So what's the answer to watching the latest movies on a budget? Well, there's two options:

1) Women, you can stuff your purse with goodies such as Reese's pieces or even a Ziploc bag full of freshly popped popcorn, and maybe a can or two of Pepsi (this requires your big purse. ;-) )

or

2) You can rent from Netflix for super-duper cheap! I used to love going to blockbuster and renting movies, but ever since Netflix came on the scene, I haven't strayed. :-)

Here's how Netflix works:

1) You log on to Netflix & select a movie.

2) They ship it & you receive it 1-2 days later.

3) You watch your movie.

4) Put the DVD in the shipping envelope that came with the movie.

5) Put the DVD in your mailbox & let your postal carrier take it away. :)


Here are the different plans you can choose from:


(Personally, I use the $9/month plan.)

The best part about Netflix? No late fees! EVER!

No matter if you choose to sneak snacks in the movie theater or rent via Netflix, you're bound to save yourself some money and that's what it's all about! ;-)

~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)

Avon: 5 for $10 Shower Gels

Everyone has heard of Avon and has more than likely tried one of their products in the past. I remember the first time I tried their Skin So Soft body wash over at my Aunt's house in Cleveland, OH after a day of swimming when I was a kid and I currently use it in my shower today. :)

Right now, Avon is having an AWESOME deal:
Any 5 Shower Gels for $10 plus Free Shipping!!

Make sure you stock up for the summer & buy enough for when you travel! ;-)

Pssss ladies....
Search on Avon for "Heavenly Soft Eyeshadow Trio Eyeshadow", they have been deep discounted to only $1.99 because they have been discontinued!! ;-)

So go ahead & snag yourself a deal!




~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)

Eyes Lips Face Coupon Codes E.L.F.

Makeup lovers across the land, your answer to high price makeup is here! If you have never bought from EyesLipsFace.com before, let me tell you..they have EXCELLENT makeup for CHEAP! How cheap? Mostly everything on their website is only $1. Yes, a buck! I ordered from E.L.F. last year for the first time (a small order) to test out the quality of their products and I was happily surprised at how good their makeup truly is.

You can buy mascara for $1, duo eyeshadows for $1, lipsticks for $1, eyelash extensions for $1..you get the picture. ;-)

So what can be better than cheap & good quality makeup? How about some E.L.F. coupon codes to cut the cost of shipping down to practically nothing?! Imagine ordering 10 different makeup brushes shipped to your doorstep in less than a week for around $12 total. Sound good? Then pick & snag a deal for Eyes Lips Face below!

E.L.F. (Eyes Lips Face) Coupon Codes

(TIP: The best coupon is usually the $2 flat-rate shipping code or the 50% off entire order coupon code, unless you're buying minerals.)










25% off lips with any $20 or more order.

e.l.f. Eyes. All Eye Makeup Just $1

Get 15% off Mineral Makeup at EyesLipsFace.com when you use coupon code MINDEAL with an order of $20 or more.


E.L.F. 50% Off Entire Order with Coupon Code: Carolina


Happy makeup bargain hunting! ;-)

~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)

Best Time to Buy Everything

Ever wonder when is the best time to buy things such as carpet, a new car, and even appliances? Wonder no more as I guide you through the months that are the best times to snag a deal!

While the information I'm about to give you was originally intended for a good and well-balanced (and predictable) economy, keep in mind that because we're in a recession and damn close to a depression, it might be worth it to just keep your eyes peeled and look for awesome sales that are popping up. A ton of stores are feeling the effects of the recession and lately have been running killer sales to just get people through the doors..the kind of deals that would have people RUNNING through their doors just a couple of years ago.

A list of the Best Times to Buy Things

January:
Yankee Candles-75% Off around Jan. 10th via their website
50%-75% off Xmas Decorations (Walmart/Target/etc.)
Linens
Electronics
Small appliances
Air conditioners
Carpeting and flooring
Winter clothes
Toys (on clearance after the holidays)
Exercise equipment (New Year resolutions ;-) )
Motorcycles
Houses
Boats

February:
Valentines Day Stuff-50% Feb. 15th
Furniture-Presidents Day Weekend
Big screen TVs (before the Super Bowl)


March:
Mattresses

April:
Appliances
Electronics
Vacuums
Cookware
Tires & other car care supplies


May:
Bedding-Late May
TV's
Vacuums
Cookware

June:
Bedding-Early June
Tools (around Father’s Day)


July:
Another great time to Buy Appliances -July 3rd/4th
Bathing Suits-mid to late July


August:
Computers/Laptops (Back To School sales)
Bathing Suits
Patio Furniture
Pools & Accessories
Outdoor Furniture
Grills

September:
Summer Clothes
Bathing Suites
House Wares & Fine China
Computers/Laptops (Back To School sales)
School supplies
Appliances
Cars
Lawn mowers
Grills

October:
Carpets/Flooring
Wine
Appliances
Lawn Mowers
Grills
Tires

November:
Houses
"Black Friday" Sales (day after Thanksgiving)
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Disposable baking pans
Cookware
Electronics
Tools
Carpeting/Flooring

December:
Cars (go on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday & haggle a deal!)
Electronics
Computers/Laptops (Xmas sales)
Carpeting and flooring
Tools
Toys
Winter clothes

Since there is no predictable month that you can buy gas cheap, here's a tip on how to buy gas at the cheapest rate every day/week:

Many gas stations make price changes between 10am-11am, so buy before 10am and save if gas prices have been going up lately. If prices are falling, then buy later in the day. Weekend gas prices are usually among the highest of the week, so buy during the week.

Want to save more??

I recently found a website (Memo To Me.com) that is seriously 100% free..yes, seriously, and it's basically a calendar that you can plug in info into and it will email you reminders. What I LOVE about MemoToMe.com is that when I find a big sale, I'll rush home and plug in the date/location/item into my Yearly Reminder so that I know when it the best time to buy things that I like/need every year...such as Xmas decorations or Yankee Candles (which are normally $25/each for the big candles. Yikes!!)

I also go through the Sunday newspaper every week and see what the BIG sales are for and I'll plug those into my MemoToMe.com calendar. If for nothing else, you'll be able to "remember" birthday's from now on! ;-)

~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)

my favorite product of the month is...

A friend of mine has a boyfriend that works for a hardware store (kind of like Home Depot) and she told me about a dryer vent that you hookup INSIDE so you're hot air gets recycled back into your house and I believe she said it was around $5.

But BUYER BEWARE:
as far as I know, it's ONLY for ELECTRIC DRYERS!!

The product pictured is for electric dryers and it is available at LTD:
Electric Dryer Inside Vent - $7.95 (plus shipping)

Check out your local hardware or home improvement store for an inside dryer vent and start saving money by returning the heat from dryer back into your home!

~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)

Sell Your Old Stuff to Buy New Stuff

This is just a quick tip for everyone that I wanted to share and that I have gone over a few times on this blog.

The basic rule that I personally live by is: Sell Old to Get New!

I went to Petco the other day with my husband and we took our 6 month old golden retriever with us. Well, the leash we brought her on was not the strongest and with all of her puppy excitement and jumping for joy at dogs and people for a little lovin', I quickly headed over to the leash department and found the strongest (and cutest! ;-) ) leash I could find! I made sure it was top quality and a leash that I could use for the life of my golden. It was indeed top quality, and so was the price! The leash was $18 and I felt sick to my stomach that I was going to be paying full price for it. I tried to justify the cost by saying that it would last her whole life (and it probably will) so I'll save money by not buying a few cheap leashes over the next coming years. But $18 for a leash? Sheesh.

So this morning I was thinking about the $18 and how I still needed to/wanted to get that cost down somehow. It was time to sell some old stuff so I could easily afford the new stuff!

I went on ebay.com and I listed 4 things for sale (a few of them being my dogs old collars and such that she doesn't wear anymore). I call it "Trading Up". I'll sell 4 old things to get 1 new quality thing.

If you do this all the time, you should be essentially getting new stuff for free or almost free. And the best part? You won't have unused stuff cluttering up your home! :)

Remember to "Sell Old to Buy New" and you'll always be the one with a money-saving grin on your face!!

~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)

ELF Cosmetics Makeup Coupon Codes

Ladies on a budget, rejoice!!

E.L.F. Cosmetics (Eyes Lips Face) has some awesome deals for all kinds of makeup and accessories, including (but certainly not limited to):

*Mascara
*Lipstick
*Mineral Makeup (aka Minerals)
*Eye Shadows
*Blush
*Makeup Kits
*Nail Polish
*Makeup Brushes

And the best part? Almost EVERYTHING IS $1!!!

Yep, just a buck! Want lipstick? That's $1. Need some new blush? That's $1. Want to try out a new shade of foundation? That's $1.

I love buying makeup from ELF because they also offer $2 shipping. You can't get any cheaper than this, girls!

$2 Shipping on any purchase of $25 or more:
Coupon code: 2SHIP

Mineral Makeup 25% Off w/ Any $25 Order:
Coupon Code: EGMINERALC

Buy Any 1 Gift Set Item & Get 50% Off Another Gift Set (On Orders Of $20 Or More):
Coupon Code: GIFTDEAL

Happy Shopping! ;)

~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)

How to Redecorate Any Room CHEAP!

So you're tired of the way your bedroom looks, or maybe you need to re-do your guest room because it's a little bit outdated, or perhaps you're just wanting to spruce up your home a little bit. Whatever the reason, I'm going to teach you how to revamp any room in your house on a dime..literally!

The first thing you must do is be patient. If you can handle waiting about a month to redecorate a room, then you could redo it for free or nearly free. So if you have time and patience, then keep my reading.

Step 1:
Figure out what you want to do with the room. Let's say for example, you want to redo your guest room. Make a list of what you want, such as new bedding, new ceiling fan, and a new paint color on the walls. Knowing what you want will really save you money because now you can look through ads in the Sunday paper for bedding ideas and any ceiling fans on sale. For paint, you could easily get just about any color for free by posting a "Wanted: Paint" ad on your local Freecycle.org community board (I have a ton of paint in the my basement that I've collected over the past 6 months from Freecycle, this way I have options for different rooms). If nobody responds with paint to offer (which is rare!), then look on Craigslist.org for paint that could be anywhere from 50%-90% off the retail price!

Okay, so here's our (pretend) list of things we need:
*Brown/Warm Colored Ceiling Fan from Hunter
*Elegant New Bedding that includes everything
*Soft Cream Color Paint-2 gallons

Step 2:
Sell your old stuff! This is where you will get most (or all!) of your money for your redecorating project. Take the old bedding and sell it on Craiglist.org (totally free & people will come to you to pick it up!). If you can't sell it on Craigslist in a months time, try ebay. I always sell stuff on Craigslist first, then ebay second. With ebay, you lose money because you have to charge for shipping while keeping the price low enough so that somebody else will buy it and with heavy things such as a complete bed set, might not be worth it.

Try to sell your old bedding, your old light fixture/ceiling fan that is currently in the room, and maybe even a couple of knickknacks so that you can buy 1 or 2 brand new decor items that will match your new stuff!

**On Black Friday (my personal favorite day to shop!), I picked up a brand new Hunter Ceiling Fan that was on sale for $50 from $100. After I installed it, I sold my old ceiling on Craiglist for $15 that same day, which means I essentially bought a $100 quality ceiling fan for $35.

Step 3:
Now that you have an extra $100 or so in your pocket, it's time to look for sales! This is part of the patience part. Look in your Sunday newspaper ads for sales on the light fixture/ceiling fan you want, the kind of bedding your desire, and maybe even some decor items of the same color-family that will go great with the look of the room! Try to wait until the stuff you want is on sale for around 60% off. You could easily get a very nice bedding set for around $50 on sale and a good quality ceiling fan for around $60. Just look for the sales, they're out there!!

Step 4:
You should now have the paint you want, a light fixture/ceiling fan, brand new bedding and maybe even a few brand new knickknacks you snagged up as well. The first thing you do is paint, then after the paint is dry, put up the new light fixture, then the bedding comes next, and then finish off the look of a new room with the few pieces of new decor accents that you bought!

Finish The Room/Spice It Up: If you have some money left over, buy some matching curtains to really finish off the room! You can find cheap & good looking curtains at stores like Kmart and Walmart.

And there you have it! Design on a Dime! :)

Happy Decorating!
~Jamie~
(aka Bargain Hunter)