With my least favorite holiday behind us and my favorite holiday around three weeks away, I think it’s time to start discussing some new and clever ways to save a few bucks on Christmas gifts. I’m all about bargain hunting, but loath shopping, so I’ve been looking for novel ways to have the deals come to me instead of vice versa.
I rarely do the shopping mall grind anymore, so if I can leverage the power of social media to find where the bargains and online coupons are hiding… I’m a happy camper.
Christmas Savings Tips
Bargain Hunting Tip #1 — Buxr.com
Buxr is a bargain hunter’s best friend since it’s allows cost conscious, like minded people to come together and share their best discoveries. Like any social media site, the best submissions make their way to the top, get a popularity ranking, etc.
Best part is — you can go hunting for deals yourself on the site, or have them delivered to your RSS Reader.
The section on Netbooks caught my eye. $200 for a Netbook seems like a pretty good value to me.
Bargain Hunting Tip #2 – Groupon.com
I really haven’t gotten around to using Groupon.com since it isn’t in my closest city just yet, but “groupons” (wordplay combination of group and coupon) really does seem like a great way to leverage group demand to get a lower price. The business model is pretty simple: you a discounted price and they get an increase in sales. If they’re lucky, you’re a satisfied customer and might decide to return without a groupon.
As the small business owners will tell you in the video, it has been a clever way to keep customers walking through the door by providing a win-win relationship for both entrepreneurs and consumers. It’s only available in most large cities, but I’m betting the idea will spread and become more prevalent as time progresses.
Bargain Hunting Tip #3 — BeatMyPrice.com
If you’re not accustomed to bargain hunting on the web, it is very easy to be misled into thinking you’re getting a bargain when you’re not. In fact, there are certain types of web based businesses that buy from one website, and sell them for another on a different website (like eBay.com) at a substantial markup.
To combat this, I like to confirm that I’m getting the lowest price possible using BeatMyPrice.com.
It takes 2 seconds to use: all you do is input the name of your item, the web address of the item you want to buy, and the price. It scours the web and will spit out a cheaper price if it’s available, and will also tell you what other sites are charging for the same item.
More Christmas Deals
Your December “Bundle of Joy” Could be Worth a Bundle
TurboTax is holding it’s 3rd annual bundle of joy contest by giving away $5,000 to the cutest baby born Dec. 1-31, 2009. How’s that for a Christmas present?!
Not only did you get a bundle of joy just before Christmas, but you got a really cute kid that just won you $5000. If only my nephew hadn’t been born in July!
Win $500 in the 2009 Credit Card Chaser Love/Hate Credit Cards Contest
The Credit Card Chaser blog is running a $500 essay/blog contest searching for the “reasons you love one credit card but hate another”. You can enter the contest by writing a blog post (if you have a blog) or by writing an essay and submitting it in the comment section on their blog. I can’t exactly say I hate my Discover Card since they lowered my spending limit last year, but I do admit to being in love with my Charles Schwab Cash Back Visa with free ETF trading.
Thought Provoking Posts from the Blogosphere
Investment bankers are probably the most hated members of the American workforce in 2009, so I’m going to bet the smug humor of a VP placing 2BG2FAIL on his Porsche’s license plate will not be applauded by Morgan Stanley’s PR department. Hey, at least it’s not as bad as Goldman Sachs’ recent PR nightmare.
Why the World Forgive Rich and Famous People for Cheating?
Good question! I don’t know the answer but it’s generating some debate at the Financial Samarai’s blog.
Personally, I couldn’t care less where Tiger Woods has been washing his (golf) balls, so was never angry enough to need to forgive him. It’s his life, let him live it or screw it up however he chooses.
How the Government Punishes You for Being Financially Responsible.
Ugh. Just ugh.
Reminds me of the Hair of the Dog analogy. The spiked Kool-Aid gave you a monster hangover, but you have to continue drinking more of it to get better? Strange how spending your way into prosperity and subsidizing the folks who caused the mess is supposed to bring us out of the financial crisis.
I’m not a huge proponent of life insurance since I have no family liabilities or dependents, but for those who do, this is one of those posts that might throw a monkey wrench into your apathy (like it did with mine).
Life insurance is one of those things you never need until you need it, so it’s a subject matter worth reviewing from time to time.
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Disclosure: None of the sites mentioned are sponsored reviews. Just clever ways for bargain hunters to save a few bucks.