JC PENNEY
Check your mail for a $10 off a $10 purchase coupon. It’s in a foldable postcard-like from with pop-out coupon cards. So look for it before you get ready to chuck it into the garbage. And there are probably some of you that are going through your garbage right now and looking for it under a days worth of garbage full of slime and smells. The cashiers at JC Penney will know who the garbage diggers are and I’m sure could tell some great stories.
RESTAURANT.COM
Get restaurant gif certificates for 80% off. Get them now before they sell out. Many people are buying them as gifts. Pay $2 for a $25 gift certificate! Good for one year. Many great restaurants all across the U.S.
Use code: SHARE
Ends 12/14
Click here:
RESTAURANT.COM 80% OFF DEAL
WALGREENS
Free after register rewards:
Touch of Gray for Men …sadly I might need this stuff in the not to near future…for my chest hair too.
Conair brushes & other hair accessories
Neutroagena Mens Facial Care – plus use recent $2 off coupon
Renu Contact Solution 2 pack
Stayfree
Stum-u-Dent Plaque Removers
When you buy $25 in merchandise you will get $5 in register rewards!
Ends 12/12.
ENTERTAINMENT BOOK
All books are $19.99! Extra books are $15. Great to use when travelling.
Click here:
ENTERTAINMENT BOOK SPECIAL
Joe
http://www.joethecouponguy.com
WALMART
I listed the wrong site for that shows some of the bizarro people that shop at Wal-Mart. The site is http://www.peopleofwalmart.com. It’s a treat. Check it out. Make me feel better about the messy get-up I wear when I go shopping.
MORTGAGE RATES
Mortgage rates have reached new record lows. If your mortgage rate is above 6%, look into refinancing. The 30-year fixed rates have gone below 5%. Or go for a lower term like 10-, 15, or 20-years to shave years off your mortgage. The rate will be lower with a shorter term allowing you to save even more. Or instead of refinancing, if you can, put an extra payment towards your principal each year and it will shave years off your mortgage. Check out the rates at: http://www.bankrate.com.
Read story about the mortgage rates here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091203/bs_nm/us_usa_mortgages_rates
INSURANCE
When was the last time you checked your insurance rates? Car, home, wedding ring, boat, gold doubloons, whatever you have insured. We recently did after Nationwide decided to value my house to insure much more than I could ever sell it for. The price they estimated to replace the house was incredible. All of our insurance was with Nationwide, so we shopped it around and compared it to others apples to apples. We found another company that will save us tons. Get this…we are saving over $800 a year by going to another insurance company. Some things were even better with the new company. We went through someone we knew to give us more comfort in switching. Do yourself a favor and shop around for your insurance.
A CHRISTMAS STORY
This weekend we went out to get our Christmas tree. We usually cut our own. I prefer the smell of a live tree and experience of getting one. I have gotten some deals by waiting until the week of Christmas to get a tree when we didn’t have time to cut our own by going to Lowes or Home Depot when they practically give it away just before Christmas. I have used some coupons for it too. We went to a tree farm in Madison and got an 11 foot white pine for $25. Great deal for a tall tree.
When I got my first tree some years ago I was worried that our cats, Dummy & Dummy, would propel themselves up the tree as soon as I propped it up. I envisioned them up on the top of the tree scouting out the sight lines as if it was a ship’s crows nest. Then I can see it falling down, ornaments and all, onto the living room floor. I would then have to scold my cats, wagging my finger and talking in my stern human to cat voice. Instead, my cats took a couple sniffs of the tree and seemed mildly interested but then squired themselves back to their normal sleeping posts.
The same thing happened with the aquarium. I worried that I would find them scuba diving for my fish while I was away in another room. All they did was tap the glass a couple times as the fish swam by and that was enough excitement for them for their lifetime with tropical fish.
Anyway, back to the tree. One morning I woke up when my wife was screaming that something was in the house. She saw the cat chasing it. The cat was in the bathroom and going ’round and ’round. I didn’t have my glasses on since I got right up out of bed when I heard her screaming. So all I could see was the blur of the cat moving around in circles. There was something the cat was chasing.
My wife finally noticed that there wasn’t “something live” it was chasing. It was then I found out that you shouldn’t hang tinsel from a Christmas tree when you have cats. Apparently it goes through their system and doesn’t always make it way out cleanly. The “thing” it was chasing was it’s own caca…attached to the end of a tinsel string. I was relieved and disgusted at the same time.
The honors went to my wife to “detach” the tinsel from the cat. Oh, don’t worry. I had the honors a couple days later when I noticed another piece making an appearance from the cat’s behind just before I had to leave for work. There it was, a shimmering string of silver for all to see, well, it wasn’t shimmering all that much after the trip it took through the cat’s intestines. With a squirming cat in place I had to pull it out, but it snapped. Damn cat had to clench. Now I had to get closer to “get it”. It came out that time, but I can tell you that was the last time tinsel would ever go on our tree. And as I found out it can be dangerous to cats. Ahh, memories…
Speaking of a Christmas Story, the movie was filmed here in Cleveland. You can visit the house as it is a museum now on the near west side, fishnet stocking lamp and all.
LETS MEET HALFWAY
There will be a lot of get-togethers during the holidays. To make things fair, some people meet at a half-way point. But is it really a half-way point? Is Independence half way if one person is from Brecksville and the other in Kirtland? Turns out the half-way point is more like Beachwood. Check out the site at http://www.meetways.com.
RITE AID
There is a $25 prescription transfer coupon in the ad. Get $75 worth of coupons with it too.
$5 off a $25 purchase coupon:
http://img.ionmx.com/ionmxweb2/MXOrgs/6008/Content/images/dts/20091129/DTS-11-29-Coupons2.pdf
AIRPORT PARKING
Park Place – $5 per day – plus get a free carwash
PD
Classified sales ad – 3 lines – 7 days – only 99 cents – per item valued under $500. Call 1-216-999-5555 or place your ad through http://www.cleveland.com/placead
BOOKCLOSEOUTS
Get books 50% to 90% off.
Click here:
Bookcloseouts Deals
WELW
Listen for me on Monday mornings at 7:18 AM on WELW 1330 AM radio for a little segment of mine on the Wake Up Lake County Show with Mike P and Mike G on the radio. Check out old segments or listem live at http://www.welw.com.
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS
Big Lots – Northfield Plaza – closing date 1/31/10 – up to 20% discount currently (thanks Karen P for the tip)
Get your bling for cheap this year. Apparently jewelry stores are suffering with this economy with some recent closings. I plan on stocking up on mood rings. I’ll give them out as gifts this year too. I’ll give them to people that are moody so that I will know when to avoid them.
Bailey Banks & Biddle (jewelers) – Beachwood Place – up to 70% off
Alvins Jewelers – all stores – up to 81% off
OPENINGS
Big Lots – Parma
WALGREENS
New deals good from 12/2 to 12/5:
Free after register rewards:
Natrol Acai – look for BOGO packages
Dentek Dental Care Floss Piks – plus use recent $1 coupon to make money
Goody Ouchless Hair Accessories – (I’m guessing their Ouchfull items don’t sell that well)
Soft & Beautiful Botanicals Relaxer Kit or Texturizer
Complete contact solution – look for $1 coupons on package
Also Coke 2 lites 4 for $3 after register rewards.
RESTAURANT.COM
Take 60% off Restaurant.com Gift Certicates. Get a $25 restaurant gift certificate for $4 (normally $10)! New Inventory available!
Use code: LIST
Code ends 12/3/09
Gift Certificates good for one year.
Click here:
RESTAURANT.COM 80% OFF DEAL
Also give someone a free $10 restaurant.com gift certificate for free! Click here to send one:
http://feeditforward.restaurant.com/
ENTERTAINMENT BOOK
Get $10 off the 2010 Entertainment Book and Free Shipping! Plus order additional Books for ONLY $15! Offer valid through 12/6.
Click here to order:
Entertainment Book Deal
HEALTHCARE
Someone at one of my classes needed information on affordable health care, since her COBRA insurance was going to run out. The government is meeting to see about extending COBRA coverage, but it may not get passed leaving many people at risk.
Premiums have more than doubled in the past 10 years. Health care premiums were $2,196 for singles and $5,791 for families in 1999 as compared to $4,704 and $12,680 respectively in 2008.
During this time, health care costs have increased substantially. In 2008, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, employer contributions made up $3,983 for singles and $9,325 for families. In 1999, employee contributions were $721 for singles and $3,354 for families.
Only 1 in 5 people eligible for COBRA takes the coverage. In Ohio , the average unemployment payment for a family of four in 2008 was $1,327 a month. It would cost the same family $1,030 a month to pay for COBRA. COBRA allows workers to keep their former employer’s insurance for up to 18 months at the price their employer pays.
Health coverage can be very expensive. Not having proper insurance can lead to bankruptcy. Health care debt is now the leading cause of individual bankruptcies.
There are options for free or reduced cost health care through various organizations. Find free government-funded health care options at http://www.coverageforall.org. Other options for healthcoverage include COBRA found at http://www.cobralearning.com. Check http://www.nahu.org for catastrophic coverage with a high deductible. Check Healthy Start for state-funded coverage for families, children, and pregnant mothers at http://www.jfs.ohio.gov/OHP/consumer.stm. The Free Medical Clinic of Great Cleveland offers free medical services. Check them out at http://www.thefreeclinic.org/. Look for fee medical care such as the free clinic that was offered in July 2009 at http://www.medworksusa.org/. The group that was part of the effort was called RAM Ohio (Remote Area Medical). Call United Way ’s First Call for Help for additional assistance by dialing 211.
MCDONALDS
There was a free pop coupon in their coupon ad this past week along with a lot of BOGO coupons. Speaking of pop, do you call it soda or Coke? Find out who says what at: http://www.popvssoda.com.
SNAPFISH
CYBER MONDAY – One Day Only – find some great personalized gifts on the site.
Offer: Free Shipping on all Snapfish Gifts for one day only
Coupon Code: NOV30
SNAPFISH CYBER MONDAY DEAL
RITE AID
Free after rebate:
Complete contact solution
Oral B toothbrush – after $1 coupon
Gillette Fusion razor – after $4 coupon
WALGREENS
Free after register rewards:
Complete contact solution
Ecotrin – plus use $2 coupon to make profit (plus Walgreens ad coupon – give manufacturers coupon first)
Oral B dental piks – after using $1 coupon
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS
Vidstar Video – Coventry
WALMART
Did you see any of these fine folks while shopping at Wal-Mart? – click here: http://www.peopleofwalmart.com
Granted when I go shopping I’m no fashion plate and I’m not dressed to impress, but these folks bring a whole new meaning to fashion. I might just have to go there and buy some stale popcorn while sitting on a bench and watch humanity walk on by.
BLACK FRIDAY FOLLOW-UP
Look for a breakdown on deals at:
http://visualizefree.com/app?op=vs&SingleMode=true&identifier=1^128^__NULL__^DqWYCygh&title=Black%20Friday%202009%20Offer%20Browser
CYBER MONDAY
Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving when on-line ordering peaks, promotes on-line shopping with special on-line deals. Find the deals on http://www.cybermonday.com, http://www.cybermonday.net, http://www.bestcybermondaysales.com, http://www.cybermondayonlinedeals.com, http:///www.dealtaker.com, and http://www.cybermondays.net.
Also check out http://www.wkyc.com for a story on the top deals.
Check out these sites for coupon codes too when you buy items online:
http://www.naughtycodes.com
http://www.couponcabin.com
http:///www.promotionalcodes.com
NEWS-HERALD
The Lake County News-Herald quoted me on a story about Black Friday this past week. Check out the story here:
http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/11/25/news/nh1743346.txt
PD
The Cleveland Plain Dealer quoted me on a story about Black Friday this past week. Check out the story here:
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/11/shopping_tips_for_a_smarter_ap.html
RESTAURANT.COM
Get 80% off on restaurant gift certificates. Get a $25 gift certificate for $2!
Use code: SAVE
Ends 11/30
Click here:
RESTAURANT.COM 80% OFF DEAL
BLACK FRIDAY
Found some freebie deals at Ace Hardware, CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. Didn’t seem like there were as many good deals this year. Lotsa half off deals that I can find any other time of the year. Ace has a half off one item coupon for Saturday. Joanns and Michaels have some good coupons in their ad for today and Saturday.
Joe
http://www.joethecouponguy.com
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Thanks to all the stores that have saved me money this past year!
Good luck with the Black Friday deals!
Joe
MCDONALDS
There is a free pop coupon in their coupon ad this week along with a lot of BOGO coupons. Speaking of pop, do you call it soda or Coke? Find out who says what at http://www.popvssoda.com.
WELW
I’ll be at Great Lakes Mall with the WELW 1330 AM crew at 8:30 AM until 9:00 AM this Friday selling my Our Town coupon books and Savvy Shopper Booklets. We’ll take questions and simulcast live there. Listen to me on Mondays on WELW starting at 7:18 AM.
MARCS & ALDIS
Sweet potatoes 3 lb bag for .99 cents.
WOMANS DAY MAGAZINE
There is a $5 off a $5 purchase or more coupon in the magazine for Hallmark Gold Crown items.
RITE AID
Free after rebate:
Day/Night Colon Cleanse Kit
Benevia – plus us recent $5 coupon
Click here for a $3 off a $15 purchase coupon:
http://img.ionmx.com/ionmxweb2/MXOrgs/6008/Content/images/dts/20091117/DTS11-15Coupons2.pdf
For a $5 off a $25 coupong go to:
http://www.smartsource.com
BEER REBATES
Buy a turkey, ham, or deli platter and a 12 pack of Budweiser, get $10 beer rebates out there. Beck’s and Stella Artois also have similar ones too.
PF CHANGS
Ends Today, 11/23. Get a free lettuce wrap appetizer coupon sent to you when you answer this poll question:
http://twtpoll.com/pfchangs/
RESTAURANT.COM
Now 70% off plus get a $15 gift code for ProFlowers – Get $25 Gift Certificates for $3!
Use the code: THANKS
Valid until 11/26/09.
Click here:
RESTAURANT.COM 70% OFF DEAL
SAVE-A-LOT
Get a $5 off a $20 purchase coupon at http://www.save-a-lot.com. The store is similar to Aldi’s.
Banana’s 3 for $1
Apples – Red Delicious – 5lb bag $2 (40 cents/lb)
GIANT EAGLE
Get 20 cents off on every $50 spent on gift cards at Giant Eagle until 12/2.
Some great money maker deals there on your next shopping trip coupons. You can find them at http://www.ccherrypicker.blogspot.com or http://www.northeastohiocouponers.com.
NEWS-HERALD
For new subscribers or those that haven’t subscribed in 60 days, you can get a year of the Lake County News-Herald for $118.32 for a year. It’s like getting the Sunday paper for $1 and the other days of the week for 22 cents. Quite the deal when the news-stand price on the daily paper is 75 cents. Can’t beat that deal for home delivery. The coupons alone that you’d get in the paper will pay for the subscription.
Plus you get to see what inane things and puns little Billy and the crew from Family Circus come up with every day in the Comics section. For instance, the comic I read today was little Billy crabbing about how Dolly was humming Christmas songs before Thanksgiving. It was more about social commentary and less about being funny with Billy’s inability to deal with the nuances in life because they don’t fit his highly-structured rigid lifestyle. When he gets older my guess is Billy is going to be a thrice-divorced accountant that throws rocks at wayward children when they happen to accidentally walk on his lush-green highly-manicured lawn.
A LITTLE STORY
The many experiences of ones life, good and bad, mold us to who we are now today. Some we’d like to do over. Some we’d like to forget. Some we’d like to remember again. Some build our character. Some, well, are full of character. My life experiences are varied like a snowflake. Enjoy some tidbits from my past…
Back in the day my clothes mainly came from Uncle Bills, Zayres, and Gold Circle. Throw in a outfit or two from Woolworths and Sears and I was styling. I think polyester back then was bullet-proof and water-proof. It also repelled friends and dating. I remember some of the shirts I wore for school pics. One had a zipper ring in the front. I’m sure I was thinking it was for the throng of girls that would want to pull it down and see my bare chest. I believe that was my third grade picture shirt.
In fourth grade I had a busted lip. I tried to suck it in so that it wouldn’t be noticeable in the school picture. Didn’t work. Now the reason I got a busted lip is not what you are thinking. No fights or baseball bats to the noggin. The reason I got a busted lip was because I tried jumping rope with my corduroys. I was using the corduroys as the jump rope while in the classroom.
Yes, yes. Go ahead and laugh. But it sucked. Ok, you can stop laughing now. I landed face first, teeth into lip. I think I could roll up a newspaper and pass it through the cut. Nowadays people would just put some type of earring in it. I’m just happy I wasn’t trying to double-dutch my much more durable and not-so-easy-to-jump-rope with Sears Toughskins. That would’ve been disastrous.
Now that I think about it some of you are wondering what I was doing jumping rope using my corduroys. My pants were off because we were dressed for gym and I was holding my regular school clothes. I did have shorts on. Why I was jumping rope with my corduroys was probably out of boredom. Maybe I had watched a show where some kids were double-dutching and I wanted to try it. I think back in those days people double-dutched frequently. So maybe I was trying to fit in. Boy, did that go sour. I don’t think my self-esteem recovered until the sixth grade.
I then lost some self-esteem in 7th grade when I leaned over to the side of my desk to pick up a book and out flared a fart that woke up Bunky, who was sleeping a row over from me. After he laughed about it I found that farting was a sure-fire way to get people to laugh. And to this day I make sure I make people laugh frequently using my vocal digestive system. So when I let it out I thought it was bad, but it was comic genius. And to anyone who has to put up with my farting, you can thank Bunky.
Not like I tried to be obnoxious and gross. But there was another time when it accidentally came out. I was taking a test and was deep into thought about the questions. Out of the blue I let out this long high-pitched fart that sounded as if it came from someone a couple rows back. The teacher, seeing that this was a learning opportunity, stated that gas was made up of methane and some other gases that I forget what he said. Mr Ely was a science teacher so I applaud him for running with it.
The rest of the class was then pointing fingers at everyone but me as to who did it. I ventriloquized that fart like a pro. Beth Dunbar who sat next to me didn’t even think I did it. I believe it was a non-smelling fart too, so all the more mysterious as to who dealt it. Yes, these are some of my finer moments in life that made me who I am. I wonder if I still have that zipper shirt. It was hot.
LINKS
Check out my favorite sites at:
http://www.joethecouponguy.com/links/index.htm
OUR TOWN COUPON BOOK
Get a practical gift for a present, especially one that will save money. Buy the Our Town coupon book. Loads of coupons for Cleveland area restaurants, golf courses, movie theaters, fast food restaurants, West Side Market, dry cleaners, Wineries, pizza coupons, and tons more. Over 800 pages of coupons. If you use just a few coupons, it pretty much pays for the book. Cost is $28 – includes free shipping!
Click here to order one:
http://www.joethecouponguy.com/merchandise/index.htm
SAVVY SHOPPER BOOKLET
Another practical gift is a booklet that I put together with tons of information on how to save money. Over 1,000 web-sites that you will find can help you save money. Dozens of topics. Learn how to save money on gas, utility bills, car and home maintance, clothes, food, technology, and school. Cost is $13.
Click here to order:
http://www.joethecouponguy.com/merchandise/index.htm
RITE AID
Free after rebate:
Day/Night Colon Cleanse Kit
Benevia – plus us recent $5 coupon
WALGREENS
Buy $25, get $5 off coupon good Sunday 11/22 and Monday 11/23
Click here for the coupon:
http://www.walgreens.com/topic/promotion/5off25.jsp?stop_mobi=yes&ec=hn7110s_mainimage&ep_mid=63272888&ep_rid=2967384306
Buy Ritz crackers, Triscuits, Wheat Thins at 5 for $10 get $5 in register rewards – plus use recent $1 coupon for each.
CVS
Free after extra bucks:
Complete Saline Solution (limit 2)
BLACK FRIDAY
Stand in line day again is coming! Yes, it’s Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when retailers go from being in the red to being in the black financially because us shoppers scoop up all the great deals out there.
Now remember, a deal really isn’t a deal unless it is at least 50% off and that depends on the list price. When stores go out of business people ravage it when the prices are just 20% to 30% off. Don’t get caught up in the hoopla. Make sure it’s truly a good deal.
Here’s some tips to move up in line, especially the ones where you have to camp out overnight. First, don’t bathe your nether regions for a good week or so. Ripening the body aroma will get people moving out of your way. You’ll be first in no time.
Next, if that doesn’t work, try talking real loud about some inane topic like the bursting strength of cardboard. Being very animated about it will help and try to lock eyes with people when you do it. That will make them uncomfortable, like those size tags on the back of shirts.
If neither of these work, then bring a tape of a square dance and play it out loud on a phonograph or boombox. When you turn your partner in line next to you ’round n ’round, make sure you work it so that you move up in line with each swing. Before you know it you will have do-si-do’s all the way to the front of the line.
Here are some sites that post the Black Friday ads and deals before Black Friday:
http://bfads.net/
http://www.blackfridayads.com/
http://www.blackfriday.info/
http://www.blackfriday.info/sales/
http://www.theblackfriday.com
http://www.dealtaker.com/blackfriday.html
http://www.bargainist.com
http://www.ultimatecoupons.com/coupons/black_friday_coupons.htm
http://www.retailmenot.com/blackfriday/
http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/
