Here are some things you many not know about, that can save you a bit of money as you shop, dine out, or make gift purchases right now. Consider this entry to be “Cheap Eats, and Then Some!”
I apologize, in advance, because I realize many, if not all of these tips are going to be available only to people in the United States right now. Also, I know that at least a few of these things are somewhat “California-centric”.
*Barnes & Noble wants to give you the Membership discount for things you purchase from BN.com.
I've never heard of this before. Go look up a book you are interested in buying. Next to it, you will see the "list" price, followed by the "online" price. Under that, you see something like the following:
BUY IT NEW
$28.99 List price
$18.84 Online price
$17.39 Member price
(Save 40%)
Limited Time Offer!
Everyone receives the Member Price on books.
If you click on the link to see more details, it says :
"Special Holiday Offer Details:
For a limited time, starting on Nov. 2, 2009, customers who are not Barnes & Noble Members will receive the advertised "Member Price" on bn.com only on eligible books and only at bn.com and its mirror sites. This offer is subject to change or discontinuation without notice; we will, however, honor properly placed orders with valid methods of payment with sufficient funds placed prior to such change or discontinuation, while supplies last.
Only books that display a Member Price on bn.com are eligible for this offer. The Member Price will be applied during checkout." This is, of course, followed by more fine print.
Barnes & Noble is, primarily, a bookstore, but it also sells CDs, journals, cards, calendars, and an endless array of knick-knacks. If you go into the actual "brick and mortar" stores, and buy anything at all (even from the cafe), you will get asked if you want to pay $25 dollars extra to become a "Member", and to get the slightly lower Membership price on all the stuff you buy. Most of the time, things cost one price in the stores, and a somewhat lower price if you buy it on the Barnes & Noble website instead.
Now, for a limited time, Barnes & Noble is shooting its stores in the foot with bigger bullets, as it allows customers to go online, and buy stuff for the Membership price, WITHOUT having to sheck out the extra 25 bucks to buy the Membership card! Kind of insane, but, something unemployed consumers can take advantage of. This offer is for "a limited time", and I can't find anything about when, exactly, it will end.
Shipping is free, if your order is over $25.00, which is helpful. This allowed me to ship gifts to my family in Illinois, all the way from where I live in California, at zero cost to me.
* Evos is my favorite place to eat. It air cooks the food, so you can eat fries, and burgers, and not have either one be dripping in grease.
On Sundays, the Evos I go to puts out an easel with a whiteboard in front of the store. This will tell you what deal they are doing that particular Sunday. Sometimes it has been something like “buy a Veggie Wrap and get fries and a drink free”. Last time we went, it was “Buy fries and a drink, and get Chicken Strips for free.”
Here is an example of what I mean:
Hang on to your receipts! At the bottom, you will find an offer that will say something like “Come join us from 2pm/close nightly!! FREE BURGER w/purchase of any lge value meal.”
These offers change, so take a close look at your receipt before you recycle it.
Also, my Evos gives discounts to students. You need to bring in your school ID, I think, as proof. One day is for students of the local high school, another is for students of one local college, and a third day is for students of the other local college. How nice!
* Panda Express is another place I love to eat at.
This is another wonderful fast food place that gives you a discount attached to a receipt. The front of the receipts say “FREE ENTREE ITEM”, and tells you to flip it over and read the back for full details.
It’s easy. Call a phone number, take a quick survey about your Panda experience, and they give you a code. Write down the validation code in the little box provided for you on the back of the receipt, and bring it with you next time you go to Panda Express! You have to do the survey within two days of your visit, and you have to have the actual receipt with you when you try to use it for the free entree item. This works well if you happened to be hungry enough to eat a three entree plate, and only had enough money to buy a two entree plate. Nice!
* Starbucks wants to give you something for free.
Spend $15 dollars at Starbucks, and, for a limited time, you get the Starbucks and (RED) exclusive CD called “All You Need Is Love”. “Enjoy exclusive songs from Playing for Change, U2, Dave Matthews and John Legend.” Somewhere on the Starbucks website is a place where you can listen to some of these songs. For every one of these CDs that Starbucks distributes, they will “contribute $1 U.S. to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa.”
So, you get a free CD, and you get to help fight AIDS in Africa. Pretty great deal! If this CD isn’t exactly your favorite style of music, perhaps it is something one of your loved ones would be excited about having as a gift this holiday season.
