Frugal Mania

Somehow I randomly found this program called Groupon. It’s a gift certificate coupon service that sends you one deal a day for something in your city that is HEAVILY discounted - like a restaurant, clothing store, personal training, comedy shows, etc.

This is available for the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

Inside Tip: The opportunity to buy is only available for 24 hours. So if you see something of interest, you have to buy it that day!

Want to know what today’s deal is? (more…)

A coworker told me to join Arby’s extras - I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into.. But since then, I’ve received some email coupons for pretty much free meals.

I recently got one (and actually used it) for a free roastburger with the purchase of a drink. So my lunch that day cost me like $2. Also, I think around the holiday season, I got a coupon for a free shake (forgot to use that one). And now I have one in my email box for a chicken sandwich with the purchase of a drink or fries.. cant recall.. but I know again my lunch will cost less than $5.

That’s a frugal find!

Here’s a direct link to join - click here.

For even more info on Arby’s extras - keep reading.. (more…)

This idea will not work for everyone but it’s such a good, cool idea.. and here it is:

Go to trivia night at restaurants.

I have some die hard trivia friends that go every week. Most of these restaurants give a gift certificate to the winners of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and you can use it towards your bill that night or next time you guys go.

So you’ll learn some random new trivia and get to hang out with your friends. It’s such a win/win idea.

Worried about not winning? (more…)

If you think cutting coupons and remembering them just doesn’t work for you, then join the club and join Cellfire. I would also caution.. if you don’t have a cell phone plan with unlimited text messages DON’T sign up.

Sign up online and tell Cellfire where you live, what stores, and places you like.. And coupons come straight to you on your cell phone. Go to the store, flash your phone with the coupon to the cashier and Bam! savings right there in your hand.

Want to know what companies are giving out coupons on Cellfire?? There are some major deals including FREE things!! (more…)

A Note from Michael: This information comes to Frugal Mania courtesy of fellow 451 Press writer Brick ONeil on his great blog Microsoft Office.  I thought it was definitely worth a mention because of the tremendous discount the offer gives.

If you are a student who uses or needs Microsoft Office on your computer, you can’t afford to pass up this deal.  Microsoft is offering their popular Microsoft Office Ultimate at an amazingly low price for registered students.  The program suite normally retails for $679.00 but as part of this offer, students can qualify to receive the complete Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 Suite for $59.95!  In case you just woke up and can’t do the math yourself, that is a savings of 91 percent off retail, and it doesn’t get much more frugal than that!

This powerful suite of the popular Microsoft products allows for seamless integration between programs, a feature that was not available at this level until now.

In order to qualify for the student rate on this product, you must meet the following two requirements, as taken from the web site:

1. You must have a valid e-mail address at an educational institution ending with the domain suffix .EDU (ie, leina@contoso.edu) OR have a valid email address at one of the educational institutions listed here.
2. You must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.

To take advantage of this generous offer from Microsoft and get your own legal copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for less than sixty bucks, visit the Microsoft website here.

If there is one thing I absolutely hate during the summer months – especially here in the south – it has to be mosquitoes. To put it bluntly, mosquitoes suck!

If there’s two things I absolutely hate during the summer months, the first would be mosquitoes and the second would be allergies. Both suck.

In that spirit, I want to bring you two coupons that may help. The first is for OFF Power Pad Lamps which may not be frugal on the surface, but A) they really work, and B) they have more repelling power than 15 citronella candles or buckets combined, so I don’t waste money on citronella anymore.

To get your Buy One, Get One Free coupon for OFF Power Pad Lamps , visit http://www.offprotects.com/mosquito-repeller/. Once there, look at the upper right hand side of the page where you will find a link to get your coupon.

As for my fellow allergy sufferers, the first thing I suggest is getting your hands on some raw, unfiltered honey from a local beekeeper. Two tablespoons a day has helped me to kick my Sudafed habit (especially now that it takes an act of Congress and a Driver’s License to get the stuff) in about a month.

This home remedy only works with natural unfiltered raw honey from your local area, because it is made from the pollen that is in your local area. It may sound odd, but I am a true believer after being a skeptic.

If that doesn’t work for you, Claritin is incredible, and on their website they are offering several coupons as well as a free children’s booklet called “Caseys Allergies” at http://claritin.com/claritin/global/savings.

From time to time I go that extra mile (on foot of course, since I am too cheap to buy gas these days) to bring you the latest and greatest deals and now it is time for yet another Hot Deal at Frugal Mania, I just hope you can handle it!

According to a television commercial I saw while enduring Adventures in Babysitting recently (please, just don’t ask), True Value Hardware is offering a coupon on their website for $5 off a purchase of $25 or more.

if your house is anything at all like mine, there is always something breaking down or needing to be replaced. What better time to do it than when you can save a little cash at the same time?

To get your coupon, all you have to do is visit truevalue.com and click on the coupon (it is in the right hand column). When you do, you’ll be prompted to enter your email address and zip code.

The really cool thing about this particular site is that when you enter your zip code, the coupon page also shows you the nearest True Value stores to you. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

If by some chance you can’t think of anything to buy, leave me a comment and I would be more than happy to send you my shopping list. What can it hurt? My birthday’s only two months away and let’s face it peeps - you owe me!

Have a great day everyone!

IMPORTANT NOTE: It isn’t too late to jump on the Coupon Train - click here to find out more!

Fridays are usually reserved for my week in review feature, but I couldn’t resist sharing this with all you frugal maniacs as soon as possible!

Today’s Hot Deal is brought to us by the folks at Lowe’s and Visa. Now usually I am not a fan of anything that has a credit card name attached to it, but this time Visa has done a great thing in my book. The deal is that you get a free printable coupon valid for $10 off any purchase of $25 or more when you shop at your nearest Lowe’s Home Improvement store before June 30, 2008.

I don’t know about you, but I can spend $25 at Lowe’s without even thinking about it. Not exactly frugal, but at least I am buying things that are useful and save me money in the long run!

To get the deal all you need to do is visit this website.

Once there, you will be prompted to enter some information (the usual stuff - email address, name, address, etc.) and when you have done so, you will receive an email with a link to the page for your coupon. All you need to do is print it and take the entire page with you the next time you go to Lowe’s! I love it when such a good deal pops up that really doesn’t require much effort on my part. It isn’t that I’m lazy, I just like things to be simple!

Now since this is an offer from Visa, it is contingent on the fact that you use your Visa card when making your purchase. If you are worried about adding to your credit card debt, bear in mind that most debit cards these days carry a Visa logo. Get my drift? I thougth so. In all honesty, I don’t even have a credit card anymore. I have my credit union’s debit card (which gives me rewards on every purchase) and my Paypal debit card (which pays me back 1% cash on every signature purchase). I’ve used them for almost every purchase I have made for years and have reaped quite a few great rewards as as result.

NOTE: There is a bit of fine print on the coupon that you should read when you print it out, as it does state a few brands that the coupon cannot be used for. Unless you’re shopping for something major, it shouldn’t make much of a difference to you, but you need to read it just in case.

Here’s an extra for you all, because it isn’t often that restaurants give anything away!

May 15th (today) only, participating McDonald’s restaurants are giving away their Southern Style Chicken with the purchase of a medium or large drink. In the morning, grab a Southern Style Chicken Biscuit, in the afternoon and evening, a Southern Style Chicken Sandwich.

What are you waiting for???