This e-mail will be about wedding, dating, travelling, and the like with Valentine’s Day this week. Remember that a lot of restaurants don’t allow coupons to be used on Valentines day. Call and ask before finding out after you get the check. Just remember, women think it’s hot when a guy uses a coupon on a date or with the wife. I therefore am very hot.
THE KNOT
Get wedding supplies and favors for up to 75% off. Use code HEARTKS15 to get 15% off orders of $100 or more.
Click here to order:
THE KNOT DEALS
MYWEDDINGFAVORS
Find wedding favors and accessory deals on this site. Get 10% off on orders of $150 or more.
Click here to order:
MYWEDDINGFAVORS DEALS
SUITS
I found suits at 80% off and more at JC Penneys on clearance this past weekend. Plus I used a coupon for $15 off. I got 3 suits for $200 that normally would’ve cost $1,200.
WEDDINGS
Now’s the time to dig around for wedding deals. There are some wedding shows coming up (find them at http://www.weddingsincleveland.com/events.asp) and it’s best to get the deals now rather than the month of your wedding. You’ll have enough to worry about then. And aside from the wedding it’s best to plan ahead for your honeymoon. If you book your honeymoon just before you wedding, you may find that the cost to fly is very high. If you plan months ahead, you can get a good deal and avoid the hassle of last-minute planning. Many of the wedding shows have great giveaways and drawings.
I think planning weddings is lesson #1 on each person in the marriage will get along in stressful situations. And it also brings to the surface how each other deals with money – after all money is the #1 reason people get divorced. If you both don’t know how much debt each has or what your spending money on – you will later – most likely in divorce court.
Honeymoons can sometimes be a last-minute preparation with changes going on until just before the wedding. Plan way ahead. Don’t overspend…same goes for the wedding itself. Don’t start off on the wrong foot and be in debt right from the very start. Save and sacrifice. Don’t spend lots of money on things that aren’t important.
Our honeymoon was very unique. Not so much where we went, but what happened. We got married on September 8th. We left for our honeymoon on September 9th. I had thought about leaving on the 10th to give us a day to recoup from the wedding, but we decided to go on the 9th. Our first destination was San Francisco. The first full day there we did a long hike through Muir Woods and then did Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghiradelli Square.
The next morning we had tickets to Alcatraz. I got up and turned on the TV. There seemed to be some event going on. It became clear that it was something major. Yes, it was 9/11. So here we were in a hotel in San Francisco and the word was that the Transamerica building nearby or the Golden Gate bridge were targets for the terrorists. Hearing that the bridges out of town may be shut down, we decided to see if we could get to our next destination a day early. Our next stop was in Napa. Luckily they had a room available at the hotel we were going to stay at. A quick trip through Chinatown for lunch and ride back on the trolley we were on our way.
We still had stops in Napa, Reno, and Lake Tahoe for our honeymoon with a return visit to San Francisco for our flight back. We wanted to make the best of the honeymoon. It was great to see the patriotism across the U.S. We were riveted to the radio and TV. The mood was aptly somber. Sad to see such divisiveness in the U.S. now when it comes to politics. Everyone loses with an us versus them attitude.
We had a choice to make after we left Lake Tahoe. Either we drive back to San Francisco to catch our flight or we drive back home. Many flights were still being cancelled yet, so there was no guarantee that the flight was a go. They could fly us to the first stop and then we could get stranded at an airport. So as I got to the end of the driveway I asked my wife, “left or right.” Left meant we would drive home from Lake Tahoe. Right meant we go back to San Fran and attempt to fly home. We went left. Car rental companies were waiving one-way fees. Ours gouged us on the rate, but I complained that we already had a car booked, so they refunded us the money.
We stayed a night in Park City, Utah and another in Omaha, Nebraska. We saw a lot of flags and USA written on everything. I enjoyed the drive, although the Plain states that were nothing but corn and cows made me sleepy. I got to see some states I’ve never seen. It helped me in my quest to see all 50 states of which I finished the other year when we went to North and South Dakota.
We stopped at a store in Carson City, Nevada to get some shoe polish and wrote “USA” and “Just Married” and the like on the car windows. I think it saved me a speeding ticket in Iowa. After Omaha we were heading straight home and we were ready to get home. I was buzzing along and as you get out of Nebraska you drive over a hill into Iowa. At the bottom of the hill was a policeman doing radar. I knew I was nailed. I could see him creeping up ready to gun it to get behind me. As I passed by I looked over at him and he looked and I’m sure saw what we wrote on the windows. No ticket. Little did I think that our messages would save us from a speeding ticket.
We missed out on a lot of things we scheduled. I had 50 cent tickets for an Oakland A’s game. It was a businessman’s noon game deal and I was thinking that I would buy a whole section. It was one way I could get my first foul ball. We also had tics for a game in San Francisco too. But the games were cancelled – no refunds which I thought was cheap on MLB’s part. Even a balloon ride in Napa got shut down.
Years later we went back to San Fran and Napa and did some of the things we missed out on. Just like anything, go with the flow. We made the best of it in a time that was crazy. And after all what we went through was nothing with what some others had to deal with at that time.
FLOWER DELIVERY
Don’t forget to send flowers for Valentines Day! Especially those gents that are in the doghouse or forgot birthdays or other special days in the past. We found some good deals on this site. Plan ahead so that you don’t have to waste money sending flowers using next day service. Expect to find some deals at local stores or click here to order flowers:
FLOWER DELIVERY DEALS
CRIMINAL SEARCHES
Ever wondered about the person you’re dating? Not sure about leaving the door open for the contractor? Your neighbor a little creepy? Check out http://www.criminalsearches.com and you will find out some of the background of a person. Best of all, it’s free.
DON’T DATE HIM/HER
Is the guy you’re dating a player and not suitable to be dating anyone from the human race. A site called Don’t Date Him Girl might be for you. Gals list their loser exes on the site for all to see. Save yourself from wasting time and money dating the wrong guys by checking the list. If you seem to be always dating these type of guys, then maybe it’s time for a heart-to-heart talk with yourself to find out why ya pick the loser types.
The site can be found at http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com. There are other sites that list gals not to date, but they are a bit more risque.
Time to book you vacation or honeymoon! Plan ahead to save more. Travel sites and tips:
BEST WESTERN
When we drove back home from our honeymoon we stayed at Best Westerns. They publish a great booklet on their hotels in each state, so I was able to figure out where to stay using it. Their hotels are very reasonably priced and are of consistent quality. Free breakfasts. One thing about low cost hotels – they are more likely to have free wifi than a more expensive hotel!
Click here to book a room:
BEST WESTERN DEALS
PRICELINE
Find flight, hotel, and car rental deals on Priceline. Bid for your deals. Find $44 one -way flights on Air Tran via Priceline – ends 2/9. For bidding help and advice go to http://www.betterbidding.com. Click here for the site:
PRICELINE.COM DEALS
EXPEDIA
Expedia was started by Microsoft. You can find travel deals using Expedia at:
EXPEDIA.COM DEALS
TRAVELOCITY
The second largest online travel agency.
TRAVELOCITY DEALS
HOTELS.COM
They offer discounts on hotels. They get special discounts for rooms that they sell to the public. They also usually offer rebates for your stays. I recommend checking TripAdvisor.com for ratings on hotels by people that stayed at the hotel.
Click here to book a room:
HOTELS.COM DEALS
CHOICE HOTELS
Just like Best Western they offer value. The chain includes Mainstay, Cambria, Comfort Inn, and Extended Stay amongst others. Largest franchise hotel chain in the world. As with any rewards program at hotels, airlines, etc., be sure to sign up for their points card. Click here to book a room:
CHOICE HOTEL DEALS
KAYAK.COM
They are a travel site aggregator – they check for the best airline, hotel, and car rental deals instead of you having to go to each individual site itself. We use them all the time to find the best deals without having to check all the different sites out there. They don’t check Choice Hotels, Southwest, and JetBlue though. We used them to find a $66 flight from London to Paris last year. Look for the best flight deals on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Find them at http://www.kayak.com
MEGABUS
Want to go from Cleveland to Chicago for $2 round-trip? Other routes are just as cheap. Check out http://www.megabus.com. They offer $1 seats that once they sell out go up to $8, then $15 when they sell out, etc. Book the seats once the schedule opens up to get the $1 seats before they sell out.
AVIS
First car rental business to be located at an airport. Rent primarily GM cars. Click here to rent a car with them:
AVIS CAR RENTAL DEALS
BUDGET
The husband of Ann Landers of Dear Abby fame was one of the founders of the company. I actually got a response back from Dear Abby on a letter I sent to her. I’ll reveal what it was about in one of my future e-mails. Anyway, rent a car from in essence, Dear Abby at:
BUDGET CAR RENTAL DEALS
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
They have an easy to use travel site. Southwest tends to have great deals on their flights and the best service. And no baggage fees like the other airlines. Find luggage fees at: http://www.farecompare.com/resources/airline_fee_table/index.htm
Find their Southwest last minute and other deals here:
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES VACATION DEALS
JETBLUE
They have great deals on flights. To book a flight and check pricing go to:
JET BLUE AIRLINES DEALS
VACATIONSTOGO
Find cruises up to 75% off and more. We used them to go on a cruise to Hawaii – Norwegian Cruise Lines – 7 nights – balcony for 80% off – normally $5,000. We got it for $1,000. My wife chatted with a lady that was there with her family that paid the $5,000 per person. They could’ve gone on 5 of the same cruises instead of just the one for the price! Bogus for them, but she told them about the site, so now they know. Click here for the site: http://www.vacationstogo.com
NEWS-HERALD
1/2 off subscriptions. Deal only available on 2/15 – call 440-951-6397 – Use code PRZ-3.
DENNYS
Get a free breakfast at Denny’s from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Anyone who shows up at a participating location gets a free Original Grand Slam, which is two eggs, two slices of bacon, two pieces of sausage and two pancakes. They also give out free Grand Slams for your birthday. If your b-day is Feb 9th – get ready to fill ‘er up. Click here for details: http://www.dennys.com/superbowl/splash1.html
Thanks to Frank S for the tip.
BEST DEAL MAGAZINES
Daily deals:
DATE TITLE TERM PRICE
2/8 Family Circle 1 Year $4.29
2/9 Automobile 1 Year $4.29
2/10 Harper’s Bazaar 1 Year $4.29
2/11 Motorcyclist 1 Year $4.29
2/12 Road & Track 1 Year $5.29
2/13 Running Times 1 Year $4.29
2/14 Fitness 1 Year $4.29
Take An Extra 15% Off Most Titles – Code: PXCJ214 Offer Expires February 14, 2010
TAKE AN EXTRA $5 OFF $30 ORDER COUPON – Code: MNDCJ214 Offer Expires February 14, 2010
TAKE AN EXTRA $7.50 OFF $40 ORDER COUPON – Code: MQQCJ214 Offer Expires February 14, 2010
TAKE AN EXTRA $10 OFF $50 ORDER COUPON – Code: MQPCJ214 Offer Expires February 14, 2010
Click here to order:
BEST DEAL MAGAZINES
ALDIS
Apples – $1.29 – 3lb bag
Pears – 99 cents – 4 pack
Oranges – $1.39 – 4 lb bag
CVS
Free after extrabucks:
Dove
Power Bar Gel Blast – plus use recent $1 coupon to make money
Valentine Photo card
Nivea lip care – get $5 when you spend $10 – get nearly free after BOGO coupon
Nabisco Triscuit, Wheat Thins, or Ritz – 5 for $7 – then use recent $1 coupon to get them for $2.
WALGREENS
Free after register rewards:
Dove’s Mens Wash – make money after recent $1.25 coupon
Super Poligrip
RITE AID
Free after rebate:
Dove Mens Wash – make money after recent $1.25 coupon
Find $5 off $25 coupon at: http://www.redplum.com
Gillete Razor – 99 cents after recent $4 coupon
Joe
http://www.joethecouponguy.com