September 27, 2006 | Hot Hot Hot!, Retail gone wrong

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….

Hot Hot Hot!

Mmmmmm… free Coldstone? I’m so there.

[Edited to add: Even if I have no idea what day today is. It’s Thursday night, not tonight, as I originally posted. My bad. Thinking about ice cream puts me into a time warp, apparently.]

Read the details here, but here’s the upshot:

To cap off this special month, please join us for the 5th Annual World’s Largest Ice Cream Social at participating Cold Stone Creamery locations nationwide, a special night to join together and share the simple pleasures of life with a FREE ice cream, family activities and good-natured fun. Search our site for a location near you. On September 28th from 5:00 - 8:00pm, guests will be treated to a serving of Cole’s Creation*. In exchange for the free Creation, customers are encouraged to make donations to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Cole’s Creation is chocolate ice cream with yellow cake, chocolate chips and sprinkles, by the way. It’s a 3-ounce portion, which—even if you donate a buck to this very worthy cause—is still a great deal. Yum.

Hot Hot Hot!

One of my very favorite sources for DVDs is having a big sale.

Deep Discount DVD always has the lowest prices around and free shipping. Right now, they also have over 800 movies for $6.94, and over 200 movies for $5.55. Look for the links on the right sidebar.

It’s not a bad time to start thinking about stocking stuffers, y’know….

September 26, 2006 | For the kids, Big Picture

If you’re like me, you clean out your kids’ toys periodically as they outgrow things, and/or as the mess becomes impossible. I have been known to throw away Happy Meal and birthday party favor toys under cover of darkness. Don’t judge me. Judge not, lest you yourself step on a light-up Scooby Doo Mystery Van in the dead of night with a tender, bare foot.

Anyway, it’s easy enough to bag this stuff up and take it to my local thrift store donation. It will be just a few extra dollars to send it to Iraq for the disadvantaged kids there. It’s rote, now, for me to say I disagree with the war and our president, but that I support our troops regardless. The thing is, what am I doing to support them? This is something I can do. It’s something you can do, too.

Check out the story (thanks, Asha!) and then put those toys in a big box and hit the post office. There are children in Iraq who may find great comfort in a stuffed animal or some other little toy. In fact, this may even get my kids helping me to clear out a bit rather than shrieking that they cannot possibly live without whatever item I am trying to toss. I’m pretty sure there’s some good karma in the bargain for us, too.

My deepest thanks to Edmay Mayers and the rest of our troops who are working to bring comfort to those in need.

Hot Hot Hot!

I don’t know; do schools do bake sales anymore? Maybe yours does. If so, you might be interested in this. My pal Charlie sent this one along:

Reynolds is giving away sixty “Shake Up Your Bake Sale” kits each week for six weeks starting September 22, 2006. Each kit includes a variety of FunShapes samples, a CD-rom with tips, recipes and signage for hosting a successful bake sale, a FunShapes tablecloth and a FunShapes calculator for quick tallies of customers’ bills. In addition, the “Shape Up Your Bake Sale” kits will include a disposable camera and entry information for an exclusive photo contest, with a chance to win a $500 donation to their organization from Reynolds FunShapes Baking Cups.

I’ve used the FunShapes before when sending cupcakes in to class for birthdays and such, and the kids think it’s very fancy.

Go sign up for your kit and a chance to win the $500 donation!

Hot Hot Hot!

I did this deal loooong ago and can’t believe the company is still running it. But they’re smart—their stuff is really yummy, and if the sample gets you hooked, you’ll be back for more (which is the whole point, I suppose).

So here’s the deal: E.D. Foods is giving away 12 servings of soup for just $3.50 shipping and handling. There’s a huge variety from which to choose, and you can’t go wrong.

And I’m not going to presume to tell you which sample to pick, but I still remember the leek and potato. Just sayin’.

Retail gone wrong

I know, I know; it’s a joke.

But still. Don’t encourage addicts, you know?

Hot Hot Hot!, For the kids

Got a kid (or two or three) in diapers? Like to shop at Amazon? Tell Kim she’s pretty for alerting me to this one (thanks, Kim)!

Check out the current Amazon diaper deal. Buy $99 worth of Pampers, Luvs or Kandoo diapers by the end of the month, and receive a $30 Amazon gift certificate in November. (Gift certificate will arrive the second half of the month, and you only have until Christmas to spend it, which is a little unusual for this sort of promotion; but if ever there was a time of year where you’re likely to be spending, November/December is it, right?)

Remember—diapers ship for free with Super Saver Shipping. Free delivery and no lugging baby to the store!

September 25, 2006 | Hot Hot Hot!

Check out the outlet section at Boscov’s. There are some great deals to be had, and if you can get your order up to $50 or more, you get free shipping. (That applies only to stuff that goes “regular” shipping, so pay attention while you’re browsing.)

I really want a couple of these, but not badly enough to buy ten of them. Heh. It’d be a good filler item to bring your order up if you’re buying other stuff, though.

Everyday Wisdom, Questions Answered

First I got this from Scott:

First, I will say you are very pretty. Second, I love your site, it has a lot of good stuff on it. My question is about extended warranties. I know that usually, this is not a good deal and a waste of money. However, I have a 50 inch big screen projection TV that I bought 10 months ago without the extended warranty because that is usually a waste. Now I am getting offers of one last chance to extend the warranty. I spent about $2500 on it. The warranty is for the next 3 years for $500. Worth it? I don’t know. They claim a service call to replace a bulb is a few hundred. But lots of claims aren’t true! What are your thoughts? Thanks!

Then I got this from Kristine:

You’ve got such good advice, I’m wondering what your opinion is on extended warranties and service plans. EVERYTHING seems to come with an offer for these now! Even my sofa, well, actually, the stain protector on my sofa - I got a call from them a week after we got it offering an “extended” warranty from the normal 1yr to 3yrs. Is that worth it?? And is it more worth it for some items, like the new dishwasher we just got that has electronics that are more expensive to replace? What about computers? I’m partial to Dell’s plan, as we’ve put it to use several times. But I don’t know… what’s your take? Thanks for all your great advice and deals!

So, I don’t know, I could be wrong, but I’m thinking y’all might want to have a discussion about extended warranties. (more…)