Posted under
Recipes,
budget by The Blonde Diaries on November 8th, 2008 8:59 am
Well, our music workshop at church was cancelled last night so Mike and I were able to start moving into the new apartment as soon as he and my mom arrived around 7pm. We decided to move kitchen and clothing since those are the easiest things to pack and unpack. So far everything that we both have from our respective apartments are fitting into the new apartment with room to spare. I did notice though that it might be time to upgrade some of our kitchen ware as both of us have very old and very cheap appliances, pots, pans, and bakeware.
I found that Sears is running at Cookware and Bakeware Sale right now. Everything is on sale right now and if you shop today, you receive an extra 20% off when using your Sears card. I really liked the basic essentials 8 piece roster set that came to $4.99 after the mail in rebate ($10 rebate). Talk about a pretty darn good deal. Sears carries all of the well known kitchen brands like KitchenAid, Wilton, and Cuisinart so if there is something you have been eyeing for a while you might want to head over there and see if you can score a deal. I did notice the famous KitchenAid mixer is on sale which doesn’t happen very often. You might be able to find some items to put aside for Christmas or even future wedding gifts.
Posted under
budget by The Blonde Diaries on November 6th, 2008 7:33 pm
Did you know that in less than two months we will be celebrating the holidays? There is not a lot of time to prepare and enjoy the season. On top of that did you know that many department stores have done away with layaway programs? I had no idea! Layaway is one of the easiest ways to shop for the holidays because you can shop before the crowds start but pay for items little by little and not have to worry about the mad dash to find the “hot” toy item before it sells out.
I was shopping earlier online while I was sitting at work waiting to hear if we would be filing or not and I happened across the Kmart website. I was looking for items that might be good gift ideas for Christopher, my godson. I noticed a small box on the front of their website advertising Kmart Lay-Away! How awesome is that. I do not have a Kmart in my area but my parents do so when I go home in a few weeks I might consider putting this Little Tikes car on layaway before the mad shopping dash begins so that I can have his gift out of the way and I can make small payments on it up until Christmas.
The layaway program is like many programs of old. You put 10% down on the purchase price and then every two weeks you make a small payment (about 25% of the remaining balance) and then at the end of the period it is yours! No worries about it being out of stock because they actually pull the item from stock and put your name on it. If something comes up and you no longer need or want the item they will refund any payments you made already minus the layaway fee of $5. Not a bad deal! Visit Kmart to help fill your stress free and hassle free holiday needs!
Sounds odd to mention Disney, Deal, and Budget all in the same headline but that is correct. Today, Disney released a new special right around 4pm CST for people who are considering a trip between January and June of 2009. Based on when you travel and what you are planning on doing you can possibly get 3 free hotel nights, 3 free park admission days, and $200 in gift cards. The deal is good through December 20, 2008 and the only blackout week is the week of Easter. Not too shabby. Of course before you book make sure to calculate to see if this will be a deal for you. With the state of the economy we may be needing to cut back a little more and vacation less. Luckily, Disney should not be going anywhere anytime soon! For more details see the information below:
Free Nights Package Offer for January-June 2009
Disney is offering a fantastic “free nights” vacation package offer. It is valid for stays January 4 through June 27, 2009 (with April 5-18 blacked out).
Here are the details:
- Buy a 4-night/4 day vacation package, get a 7-night/7-day package. That’s 3 FREE hotel nights and 3 extra days on your theme park admission tickets!
- Travel between January 4 and March 29 and you will also get a $200 Disney Gift Card, redeemable for dining, souvenirs and more at Walt Disney World! (Travel after March 29 does not include the Gift Card.)
To calculate your approximate savings:
- Multiply the room rate times 3 (savings of 3 nights’ room rate).
- Add $9 per person (approx ticket savings for the 3 extra days).
- Add the $200 gift card if you will be traveling by 3/29.
- The total is your savings.
You must buy a package that includes at least 4 nights’ accommodations at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel plus minimum 4-day Magic Your Way Base Tickets to qualify for the FREE nights and the extra days on your tickets.
You can stay longer than 7 nights (up to 10 nights) with this package, but there is a maximum of 3 free nights and 3 extra days per ticket, per stay. You can stay less than 7 nights, but you still must purchase 4 nights, so you’ll end up with less than 3 free nights/extra days: stay 5 nights, get 1 free; stay 6 nights, get 3 free. Obviously a 7-night stay is the best deal!
You can add the Quick Service Dining Plan, the regular Dining Plan, or the Deluxe Dining Plan, but you will pay full price for your dining plan (no free days of dining). This offer cannot be applied to the Premium or Platinum packages or to “split stays” (for example, 4 nights at one hotel, 3 nights at another).
You must book this special package by 12/20/08.
* RWZ for package with 7 nights/7 days for price of 4 nights/4 days (+ $200 Gift Card if traveling 1/4/08-3/29/08)
* WTY for same package with Quick Service Dining Plan
* RXA for same package with regular Dining Plan
* MPL for same package with Deluxe Dining Plan
Posted under
Travel,
budget by The Blonde Diaries on November 5th, 2008 7:30 pm
Just when we thought that maybe the nickel and diming fees being charged by airlines might be coming to an end with the rapid decline of oil, we are proven wrong. Delta is the latest and last legacy carrier to assess the checked bag fee for your 1st checked bag. This is coming on the heels of the Delta-Northwest Airline merger which closed last week. Delta is assessing this fee as a way to adopt selected Northwest policies which would benefit them. They also have joined US Airways (not a party to the merger) in assessing seat upgrade fees on selected seats in coach. What this means is if you want an aisle or window seat near the front of the plane you will have to pay them more money! So far it will only affect 10% of the seats in coach but I see that percentage rising in a few months with little to no notice.
Depending on how you plan on checking into your flight (at the airport or at home) make sure you check their website for the latest on which fees will be assessed so you can plan accordingly. If you are on a tight vacation or travel budget, you might even want to check these sites before purchasing your ticket so you can see the “full” cost of that ticket but most of these changes go into affect immediately and do not grandfather many people in.
As always, if you can fly Southwest as they are fee free, fast, and on time.
Posted under
budget by The Blonde Diaries on November 5th, 2008 12:57 am
The countdown to black friday has begun. In just twenty three days the official start to the holiday season and shopping bargains will be upon us. I remember growing up how my mother and I would sit at the kitchen table after Thanksgiving dinner looking at all of the Black Friday ads in the newspaper and plotting our course for the next day.
Now, the need to spend Thanksgiving day scouring ads and then camping out to get in line at places like WalMart or BestBuy has been eliminated. How? Thanks to a site called Black Friday Online, you can sign up to get email alerts any time a Black Friday ad has been released and posted on their websites. You probably didn’t know that the stores plan months in advance their sales and develop their advertisment circulars did you? You also probably didn’t know that they are the ones that “sneak” them out to the general public in advance to drum up buzz for the sales. You can start researching today by looking at ads from last year and looking at the ones released so far this year to get your game plan going. One company that jumped out in late October is Sears with their “Sears Black Friday Deals” ad and they have some deals on electronics. Another great thing you can figure out is which stores will offer their sales online through these ads and websites. Last year, I was able to stay in from the cold and shop from home on Walmart.com and was able to get everything I wanted with the click of a mouse. No need to wake up at 5 am or camp out overnight.
