Macy's $10 off $25 purchase

Tomorrow is Macy's last One Day Sale before Christmas (with preview day today) and this coupon will add even more savings! Note that this coupon is only valid until 1PM today and tomorrow and good on all clearance merchandise and select home items. See exclusions for details.

Get coupon here. Click on "get savings pass" on the left side of the page. Then it should be under "featured catalog" - just click and print.

Bath and Body Works: Free Travel-Sized Island Escape Lotion

This weekend only get Bath and Body Works new Island Escape Lotion for free! No purchase neccessary. Valid in stores or online until December 19th. 

Get your coupon here

$1 Performance Fleece Scarves

This Saturday, Old Navy is running a sale on performance fleece scarves - only $1 each! These would make a great gift for co-workers or for a white elephant gift.

Limit 5 per customer.

New Bath and Body Works Coupon!

Bath and Body Works has another great coupon out this week. Get a Signature Collection travel sized item worth up to $5 free! Idea: Loofas are on sale for $3 so you could get shower gel and a loofa for 3 bucks!

Click here for coupon.

Plus don't forget about the other great coupon they have out right now. Read about it here

Going Green Saves You Money

Many stores now offer you cash back or rewards for bringing your reusable bags to their store instead of using plastic bags. Target gives you $0.05 off for each reusable you use for your purchase. At CVS, you can pick up a green tag at the registers (0.50-0.99) and you'll receive $1 in Extra Care Bucks (prints at the end of your receipt and can be used on your next purchase - works just like a gift card) every 4th visit. At Kroger supermarkets (Ralphs in SoCal), you get rewards points on your membership card. At the end of the month, you'll get special coupons mailed to your house.

Now, these rewards aren't significant but the important thing to remember is that you'll be reducing the amount of plastc bags you use. Plus, Los Angeles is very close to banning plastic bags at retail locations. If this new legislation passes, you'll be charged $0.15 per plastic bag - and who wants that? So go out and get yourself some snazzy reusable bags and keep them in the trunk of your car - just in case you stumble upon a good deal :)

P.S. - I almost forgot to mention Starbucks! Take your reusable mug and order a tall size of your drink of choice. They'll fill it up no matter how big it is. So you could get a grande or venti for the price of a tall drink! Plus, they'll give you $0.10 off the price!

Hallmark: $5 off $5!

This is a great coupon especially with the holidays coming up! Get $5 off your purchase of $5 or more at Hallmark Gold Crown Stores. This means free wrapping paper, gift tags, or holiday cards! Valid 12/3 through 12/5.

Get yours here!

30% off at Old Navy

Click here to get 30% off any one item (excluding performance fleece) from Old Navy. Valid only in stores through December 4th.

Save Even More on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday is tomorrow but a few retailers' sales have already started. Amazon.com already has their Cyber Monday page up and some deals are AMAZING. Keep an eye out in their Lightning Box to see if anything on your Christmas List is on sale.

If you're a Borders Rewards Member (it's free to join if you're not), there are also some great deals. The perks don't just include Borders merchandise - you can get discounts on other great retailers such as $100 off $200 or more at The Microsoft Store, $50 off $100 or more at Bloomingdale's, etc. Look out for free shipping offers tomorrow to maximize your savings.

Another great website and tool that will come in handy tomorrow is Ebates. If you do a lot of online shopping, this is definitely a site you'll want to look into. They partner with hundreds of retailers to offer "ebates" on a percentage of your total purchase for each store. For example, if you spend $50 at Kohl's and they're offering 2% cashback, you'll get $1 back on your purchase. It may not seem like a lot, but the percentages vary per store and some days, Ebates will double the cashback. They send out a check to you quarterly and the best part is that you get $5 just for signing up! So remember, if you're going to shop online anyway, might as well get some extra cash back through Ebates!

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

Sleep in. Or be surrounded by these lovely people...

I love a good deal, but I do draw the line somewhere. Honestly, I would rather pay $5 more and not have to wake up at 3am on Black Friday only to try and outrun others who have been prepping for this day the entire year (think the lady from those Target commercials). Now, for some, I get that this is your Everest - a challenge to train for and your blood, sweat and tears go into the gifts you buy (no, really, literally).

I'm not totally knocking Black Friday. Last year my cousins and I, once we realized we were still up at 1AM, decided it would be cool to go to Best Buy at 3AM to get the new Rock Band. Well, 3AM rolled aound and once we realized that there was not a sober driver among us (hey, it was Thanksgiving) we put our lofty Black Friday dreams to rest. But really, unless you're looking to buy some big ticket electronic items, I'd say skip the madness of the early morning rush.

For those of you who like to sleep, Cyber Monday is a growng trend among retailers and consumers. Cyber Monday is the Monday immediately following Black Friday, when hundreds of online stores slash their prices to kick off the holiday season. In most cases, some of these discounts are just as good, or even better than the stores. Most also offer free shipping so you're looking to spend the same amount had you gone to the store. Remember, if you're making a big purchase this time of year (i.e. a laptop, blu-ray player, TV) it's crucial to do some price comparisons. Spending 30 min to an hour doing a little bit of research could save you as much as $100.

Go to CyberMonday to compare the best deals at your favorite stores. And online deals aren't just for Monday the 29th! Lots of retailers will be matching many of their Black Friday store deals online, too. So keep an eye open! What's at the top of your shopping list this year?

A Guide to Stockpiling

One of the ways to maximize your use of coupons, and therefore your savings, is to stockpile. This means waiting for an item to hit a rock bottom price (when combining the store sale with coupons) and then stocking up on that particular item to last you until the next time it goes on sale. Obviously this only works on items that are non-perishable and will always be of necessity to you (i.e. toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper, canned goods, etc.) The trick to stockpiling is to know when to stop. Remember, it's not a good deal unless you use these items regularly and know you will always have a need for them.

Another great thing about stockpiling is that you always have these items handy, so you'll never have to run out to the store in a hurry because you're out of toilet paper or toothpaste. I usually have no more than 2 or 3 of a certain item in my stockpile. After all, you don't want your pantry or bathroom cupboards looking like an aisle at Costco.

Stockpiling? Good. Hoarding? No.

Smart Shopping

If you're looking to start your Christmas shopping (or want to buy yourself some gifts), there are some great deals today. Bath and Body Works is offering a coupon for a free item of your choice (up to $13 in value) with any purchase of $10 or more. Coupon is valid until 12/24. Get it here.

Groupon is also selling vouchers for Nordstrom Rack worth $50 for only $25. They will be selling these for the next two days so hurry up and grab these because they will be great to use with Black Friday sales (if you're brave enough to handle the stampedes). Get the groupon here (even though the deal is for Los Angeles, you can buy it and redeem it even if you are in another city since it is a national chain).

Happy Shopping!