Posts filed under 'discounts deals & freebies'
Since we moved to the East coast I’ve been shocked by how much it can cost to fly home for a visit, and lucky for you that means I’ve been figuring out how to work the system. Here’s what I do–and please feel free to share if you have tips or helpful input, I’d LOVE to hear it!
Watch Prices Like a Hawk. I scan several sites like Expedia, Travelocity, and Priceline to find out which days are cheapest to fly–always search a few days before and after your ideal date, because a little flexibility can save you hundreds of dollars. I also usually try to fly during the week, when flights tend to be cheaper, and if I have time I start watching prices months in advance to so I know when a good drop comes along.
Check the Student Sites. They’re not always the best bet, but websites like Student Universe and STA Travel sometimes have students-only discounts that can get you to your dream destination without breaking the bank.
Know Your Airline. Travel sites are great, but some airlines offer even lower prices if you buy directly from their website (and you get to skip the convenience fee that some of the all-inclusive sites charge you). I usually end up searching for the cheapest days on travel sites, and then booking through the airline’s website to get the lowest price.
While you’re there, sign up for frequent flyer miles! It will take a while to accrue enough for a flight, but the programs are free so you may as well get more for what you’ve paid for!
One, Two, Three, Four? If you’ve got several airports within a reasonable driving distance of either your departure or destination points (we have three within a 30 to 90 minute drive of our house and two close to where both sets of parents live), be sure to check on the difference! I always search all our airport options on both ends of the flight before I make a choice–sometimes 20 minutes of extra driving to a different airport saves us a few hundred bucks per ticket.
Pack Light. The tough economy has really made airlines get choosy with their freebies, and checking a bag now typically costs you $25 a pop–and that’s just one way! Instead, take advantage of the carry-on rules: pack a roll-on bag (be sure to check on the max size so they don’t force you to check) and use a backpack as your “personal item” to give you a little extra space. If you’re going on a long trip, it costs much less to do one or two loads of laundry half way through than it does to check a big fat bag full of all the clothes you could possibly need.
One last note: flexibility is KEY. Flights are more expensive during high travel seasons (summer, winter holidays, etc.) so a little wiggle room, like being willing to fly within a span of time or on a red-eye, can make a big difference when you’re trying to save!
Happy flying,
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August 23rd, 2010
Maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but nonetheless, here are the 5 freebies that make my little geeky heart go pitter-pat. 
Photo Editing and Beyond
Photoshop’s Younger (Freeware) Brother. I heard about the Gimp way back when I was in high school, and to be quite frank with you, I wasn’t impressed. Yes, it had most of the features that Photoshop had, but the usability was terrible. Several versions later, its almost unrecognizable. I downloaded it last week (my PS Elements didn’t have the features I needed) and I absolutely love it. You might have a little learning curve if you are switching from Photoshop, but remember–Photoshop is hundreds of dollars, and the Gimp is free, so a little extra tutorial skimming isn’t so bad.
Yay Browsers
Browsing, Google Style. If you’re still browsing on IE (which keeps having security issues–yikes!), its time to take a look at what else is out there. My two primary browsers are Firefox and Google Chrome–both great browsers–and I have to say Chrome is my fav. It is more streamlined (you can run a google search right in the address bar) and has all the features you need in a good browser. Word of warning, though: Chrome is still new on the scene, so every now and again it won’t be able to load all the features of a site. Which is why I have my handy dandy Firefox standing by. AND both of them focus on keeping your browsing secure.
Internet Radio
Out of the Box. When I moved last summer from the jam-packed airwaves of San Diego to a quiet little spot on the east coast, I was a little disappointed at the slim pickings on the radio. Thank goodness for Pandora, which creates “stations” based on songs I like (and remembers what I dislike). Not only do I get to hear my old favorites, but it introduces me to new favs in the genres I’m interested in. Downsides? The occasional ad will play (and they have ads on their sidebar while you’re listening) and you can only play 40 hours of music per month for free.
Blogging Software
Send it to Press. I’ve used lots of different blogging platforms, but Wordpress is by far my choice for free blogging software for anyone who will be blogging from their own domain. With tons of themes and plugins (and more every day), constant updates to make it better, and a user-friendly interface behind the scenes, it is the real deal, and it doesn’t cost you anything. One note, though–if you won’t be running your blog from your own website, I’d recommend using Blogger, which is easy to customize (there are whole blogs about customizing blogger!) and gets better with each update.
Video Chat & More
Share and Share Alike. I’ve mentioned Skype several times before, because I love it, but when they introduced free screen sharing, too, I really felt bitten by the love bug. Now I can video chat with friends (free!!!) anywhere AND use screen sharing to teach my dad how to work his iMovie without having to make a trip home. Oh Skype, you are just dreamy.
(Want more tips on great deals and freebies? Find out the 10 software freebies every student should know about, or learn how to get free food in college or how to trade books, DVDs, and video games online and get something new-to-you for just the price of postage!)
Are any of these freebies on your love/hate list? I’d love to hear your take–or find out which freebies YOU can’t live without–so fess up!
April 12th, 2010
I love to poke around College Fashion now and then. Authoress Zephyr has a great mix of coupons & deals, fashion tips, and style debates, and without her I still would not know that Anna Sui is debuting a line at Target!
With a move to a new climate coming up, I’m thinking a lot about new clothes and the back-to-school shopping trips my mom used to take me on (I miss those days, Mama!). And since we’ve all got to pinch some pennies these days, I thought I’d make a list of my top places to find great clothes on the cheap.
Thrift Stores. Are you guys sick of hearing about thrift shops yet? I’d stop talking about them, but some of them are SO amazing. If you can find one in an upscale neighborhood (click here for reviews and locations) you might be surprised how nice the cast-offs can be. Yes, it is more of a treasure hunt than a quick stop at Macy’s, but you end up feeling really accomplished when you find something great. Also, Goodwill bookstores have SUPER cheap books in really good condition.
Your best bet for: Vintage, quirky, and high-end at low-price
Off the Rack Stores. Yes, you have to take some time to search the racks for what you want, but rack stores like Marshalls (Coach bags for $50!), Ross, and Nordstrom Rack mean nearly-broke college kids can still wear Lucky jeans.
Your best bet for: Brand names
Kohls. My 12-year-old brother-in-law has been singing the praises of Kohls at least a year now–and I have to admit, that kid is pretty well dressed. So my sweetie and I finally stopped by the other day, and I was stunned that their clearance racks are so AMAZING. The hubs scored some non-dorky solid tees for $2 a piece, and I found some great Candies jeans for $15. Not bad. I also like Aeropostale for similar beachy-cash looks that don’t break the bank.
Your best bet for: Beachy, Casual, & Fun
H&M. I first met H&M in San Francisco, and fell in love with its hip clothes and reachable prices. Its trendy and fun, but I can still buy a pair of pants without feeling uber guilty. I also like Forever 21 (their products tend to last better than Old Navy’s) and occasionally Charlotte Russe.
Your best bet for: Trendy
And one more tip: A tailor can usually work wonders for a pretty good price, so if you have different proportions than the mannequins at the store, get something that fits in the most difficult spots and have a tailor fix the rest.
photo by lamprinh
July 8th, 2009
Now that it’s summer and you finally have time to read (I mean non-textbooks) and clear out your Netflix queue, it’s probably a lot more tempting to spend down your summer savings on paperbacks and DVDs.
I used to buy used books & movies off of Half.com, but with shipping even that can get pricey. In the past few months I’ve relied on our local Goodwill bookstore for cheap books (they’ve been in really good shape, too!), but I’m thinking of trying out the online book-swap (or DVD-swap) scene.
How it Works
There are quite a few sites that offer swap services, and they’re all (basically) free. Most of them work like this:
- You sign up for their website (for no charge).
- You list 10 books/movies/CDs/video games that you have and are willing to trade.
- You list 10 books/movies/etc.that you want to get.
- You mail a book/movie/etc. you have to someone who requests it. They give you feedback when they receive it.
- You earn points (ways to earn vary, but usually sending a trade out to someone else means you earn a given number of points).
- You trade in points for books/movies/etc. that you want. Someone mails it to you, and you give them feedback.
You should check out each individual site for specific details on how trades work-some function a little differently than this.
Where to Trade
I haven’t used one of these sites yet, but after some research (via Google and some of my other daily blog reads) I came up with several options:
* found via The Simple Dollar
So far I’m leaning toward SwapTree, because it has a good rep (as far as I could tell) and it lets you trade all kinds of things. If you’ve used any of these, please share your feedback!
photo: silence by benedeki
July 10th, 2008
Oh, I just love free things, don’t you? So why waste time jabbering… on to the list of fantastic free software!
Free Operating System: Ubuntu (ubuntu.com)
Tired of messing around trying to get your copy of Vista to work right? If you’re ready for a change, you might want to try the free operating system, Ubuntu-it has several editions, frequent updates, and free tech support. It also has its own web browser, word processor, instant messenger, and other free software.
Free Office Software: OpenOffice (openoffice.org)
Need a word processor, spreadsheet software, or a way to build databases–without handing over the hard-earned cash from your last paycheck? OpenOffice is your new (FREE!) best friend. With familiar formatting to other (pricier!) office productivity software, it can usually read any files you may have created/saved in that other office suite. Did I mention it’s free?
Free Sound/Music Editor: Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net)
Audacity lets you record and edit music or other sound, and supports Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV, and AIFF sound files. You can cut, copy, splice, mix, change speed, add effects, and much more, and… yep, it’s free.
Free Multi-Platform Chat Software: Trillian (download here)
Need any easy way to be able to talk to friends using AIM, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, MSN and IRC all in one place? Trillian–a free, skinnable software that supports all of the above–may be the perfect solution to your problem.
Free YouTube Downloader: YouTube Downloader (download here)
A basic interface that lets you download YouTube files and convert them to other files that you can play on your computer, iPod, phone, etc., so you can take them anywhere. (Just keep it legal.)
Free Spyware/Adware Remover: Ad-Aware (lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php)
One of download.com’s top downloads, Ad-Aware is a great addition to your computer-safety campaign. The free home edition (here) helps keep your computer free of ads and spyware.
Free Photo-Editing/Organizing Software: Picasa (picasa.google.com)
Google’s done it again–for free of course–with this handy photo editor & organizer. Even the most disorganized student should be able to find photos now: Picasa combs your computer for image files & helps you decide where they belong, plus offers the capability to edit and add effects to photos or share them online.
Free PDF-Maker: PrimoPDF (promopdf.com)
Super-easy free software that creates PDFs out of hundreds of file types from images to web pages to office software documents.
Free HTML Editor: HTML-Kit (htmlkit.com)
Whether you dabble in web design or are learning HTML for a course, HTML-Kit is a great free tool–bunches of helpful features, hundreds of free plugins, and even tech support if you need it. I’ve been using it for years and am a big fan (plus it sure beats Notepad!).
Free Budgeting Software: Mint.com (mint.com)
Still trying to figure out how to budget? Mint has been a big hit with financial bloggers and magazines alike: it helps track your spending, shows detailed graphs of where the money goes, and helps you learn how you can save. It can even remind you when bills are due!
What are your favorite software freebies?!?
photo: Free Running by nookiez
June 19th, 2008
I was out sick last week, which meant a whole day on the couch resting & drinking OJ. Since we don’t have cable, I tried to get creative with keeping myself entertained and ended up finding a bunch of places to watch good TV online, for free:
Network Sites
The first place I always look is the network websites of shows I like to watch. The following all have full episodes, but if I’ve missed a channel you watch a lot, make sure you check their site!
- ABC (abc.go.com) Features episodes of shows like Dancing With the Stars, Pushing Daisies, Grey’s Anatomy, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Lost. Some are in HD!
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- NBC (nbc.com) Shows like The Biggest Loser, Law & Order, Heroes, and The Office.
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- Fox (fox.com/FOD) Episodes of Bones, Cops, House, The Simpsons, and many more.
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- ABC Family (abcfamily.go.com/abcfamily/path/section_Videos/page_Video) Lots of free episodes here, including shows like Kyle XY, Grounded for Life, and one of my dad’s favorites, Eek the Cat.
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- Discover (video.discovery.com) Features shows from three different channels (Discovery, Animal Planet, & TLC). Currently they have shows like What Not to Wear and The Alaska Experiment. They usually offer episodes of only 4 shows at a time, and rotate which shows are offered every couple of months.
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- Bravo (video.bravotv.com/player/?id=0 ) Bravo only occasionally offers a free full episode of shows like Top Chef or Project Runway, but if you’re a true fan its worth a look.
Other Sites
For a more eclectic mix of shows-especially older ones-check out other video sites like these:
- AOL’s In2TV (television.aol.com/in2tv) AOL’s free full episode player has a plethora of shows: from classic cartoons like The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Bugs Bunny to old-school faves like Gilligan’s Island and Growing Pains. No new shows here, but lots of fun nostalgia to catch up on.
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- Hulu (hulu.com) Hulu offers a long list of free TV shows AND movies with minimal commercial breaks (seriously, only about 30 seconds!). Shows range from old-school favorites like The Addams Family, Mary Tyler Moore, and Doogie Howser, M.D. to more current shows like Scrubs, Hell’s Kitchen, and Prison Break. They also have lots of movies like Dude, Where’s My Car, Sideways, Weekend at Bernie’s, and Meet Joe Black.
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- TV.com (tv.com) Here you can find bunches of full episodes of shows like Bionic Woman and 30 Rock, plus other TV show clips.
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photo: Green Retro TV Isolated with Clipping Paths by CraigPJ
June 12th, 2008
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