Hello! I hope you all have enjoyed this holiday season. I took some much-needed time off and feel ready for the New Year! So, let’s get back to blog business….
Jan. 5 is Tulle’s Day. Tulle is offering shirts for $2.99, dresses, shorts & skirts for $3.99, and pants, jackets, and coats for $4.99. Sounds like some pretty good deals!
(I previously talked about Tulle here.)
I should have mentioned this earlier, but posting will be light around here until after Christmas.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Check out this post from Get Rich Slowly: How I Cut my Comcast Cable Bill by 33% (Without Losing Any Service)
I’m not one for negotiating with customer service reps, but every 6 months I call Comcast and ask for a reduction in my bill.
I have Internet through Comcast, and because it makes my Internet bill cheaper, I have basic cable. Comcast offers 6-month deals, so whenever I get a statement with a higher amount than the previous month I know that my 6-month deal has ended. That’s when I call Comcast and tell them I want to cancel cable. Then the customer service rep tells me that they don’t want me to do that and then they come up with a better price. And if I don’t like that price, then I tell them that I don’t like that price and I still want to cancel cable.
That’s only happened once, but when it did, I got transferred to a different rep (I’m assuming the next level up), and I told him that I can get Internet cheaper elsewhere. That lead to a little argument between us but eventually he agreed to lower the price. Keep in mind that if you get transferred to someone like that and they won’t give you a lower price you’re not out of luck yet. If you tell them you want to cancel your account and they call your bluff and ask you to pick a date when you want service cancelled, tell them that you need to think about it and you’ll call back later. And then hopefully the next time you call you’ll get someone else who will negotiate with you.
The thing to remember with bills like cable, internet, and even credit cards is that it never hurts to ask. I’ve gotten credit card interest lowered just by calling and asking – it was very simple.
Check out this article about 5 Little-Known Websites That Will Save You Time and Money When Booking Airfare Online. It actually lists sites that I haven’t heard of! I wish I’d read it before booking my ridiculously expensive Christmas flight.
Even if you’re not traveling anytime soon, I’d recommend bookmarking the article for later. The more options for flight searching, the better.
Enter discount code reindeer to get free shipping at fredflare.com! There’s not even a minimum purchase amount! The code ends Dec. 21.
If you send out holiday cards, check out cardsthatgive.org. It features a gallery of holiday greeting cards from more than 100 non-profit organizations. You can look through all the cards – or just look at the list of charities that sell cards – and then you can buy cards from that organization’s website. Pretty handy!
I came across this online boutique called Elsewares that some has some cute, unique items. They have a section for $25 and under Gifts – in case you’re still looking for a special gift. Click here to find coupon codes for Elsewares.
Acrylic ring - $10
Bike chain bottle opener - $12
Salt & "Peeper" shaker - all in one! $10
Click here to print a 15% off coupon for Payless ShoeSource. If you want to get the discount online, use code 30241 when you check out. It’s valid until Jan. 2.
I recently came across this article about 7 foods that some experts say we should avoid. To be honest, I tend to take these things with a grain of salt, but it’s worth reading.
The microwave popcorn one was interesting. I never would have thought the bag could be hazardous, but it really does make me second guess if I want to continue buying it. Here are some other suggestions for how to make popcorn that don’t require possibly cancer-causing chemicals.
Attention Seattle area people: University Village is giving away a $500 gift card! Click here to enter.
Click here to download a free holiday sampler album from iTunes, featuring 20 holiday songs by Sarah McLachlan, Weezer, Glasvegas, Stephen Colbert, Aretha Franklin, and more.
Paul Frank.com is running a 50% off everything sale (excluding eyewear, unfortunately). And if you sign up to receive e-mails you will receive an additional 10% off coupon code which can be applied to this promotion.
The sale ends Dec. 31.
If you’ve struggled to keep track of events you’re invited to on Facebook, check out this post about how to export your Facebook calendar to your Gmail calendar. It’s very simple.
Here’s to being more organized!
(Thanks, Lifehacker)
Here’s a deal that extends beyond the holiday shopping season through Jan. 31. Click here to print a coupon for 20% off at The Gap, including sale items. If you want to shop online, use the code GAP20.
(Thanks, Thrifty Northwest Mom!)
Click here to download “Wicked Blood” by Sea Wolf (from the “New Moon” soundtrack). Sea Wolf is very good, by the way. If you haven’t checked him out yet, you should.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "It's Blitz!"
Every month Amazon offers 50 albums for $5 each, but Happy December – they’re offering 100 albums!
I like this month a lot. We got: Switchfoot, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lady GaGa, White Rabbits, David Gray, The Hold Steady, My Morning Jacket, and more.
They’re also doing Christmas albums, including the absolute best Christmas album ever: John Denver & The Muppets!
Jonsi is the lead singer of Sigur Ros. He has an album coming out soon, and in the meantime, you can download the song “boy lilikoi” for free. You do have to enter your email address to be put on a list, but you can unsubscribe later.
(Thanks, Yugo!)
First, I apologize again for neglecting Cute Cheap Stuff. My time has been consumed lately by a job search, and I’m happy to announce that the search is over! Hooray!
So now I’m back in blogging mode. Let’s go!
With all the holiday parties you might be attending or hosting, here’s a cheap way to clean up after a common party foul: use salt to clean up wine stains. A few months ago I was at a friend’s house and someone spilled wine, and I witnessed firsthand that salt really does absorb the wine. Forget expensive and toxic cleaners – all you need is salt (and love).
Click here to print a $5 off coupon at Hallmark stores. There’s no minimum purchase, so you can get something that costs a little over $5 (like a couple of cards?) and get it almost for free! The offer ends Dec. 24.
Nylon magazine is offering a free download of 27 songs from their favorite albums of 2009. It features Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Andrew Bird, White Rabbits (apparently they really like bands with animal names), Sufjan Stevens, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and more.
Click here to get the link (it’s an iTunes download).
Amazon is offering a free Christmas mp3 every day up through Dec. 25. Go here to check it out!
(Sorry I haven’t posted as much lately. Life has been a little ridiculous.)
This one’s for Seattle people…
This weekend, Dec. 5-6, is the Urban Craft Uprising winter show. Admission is free, and it’s at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. I’ve never been to one, but I’m intrigued:
Urban Craft Uprising was started in 2004 to showcase the work of independent crafters, artists and designers – to provide a unique, high quality, hand-crafted alternative to “big box” stores and mass produced goods.
At Urban Craft Uprising’s shows, fans can choose from a wide variety of hand-crafted goods including clothing of all types, jewelry, gifts, bags, wallets, buttons, accessories, aprons, children’s goods, toys, housewares, paper goods, candles, journals, art, food & much, much more. Each Urban Craft Uprising show is carefully curated and juried to ensure the best mix of crafts and arts along with originality and uniqueness.
It sounds like a good place to find some unique gifts. And it’s free to check out!
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