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Your daily reminder, plus quick product reviews

by Mir at 12:47 pm on December 1, 2012 in Bragging on a deal, Product Talk

Are you still checking the Amazon Lightning Deals? They’re still going, with the occasional gem of a deal sandwiched inbetween a bunch of stuff that makes you go “Huh?”

I’ll confess that this time of year, I do my own fair bit of shopping. Ahem. I thought I’d give you a quickie rundown on a few recent purchases that made me happy, to do with what you will. (I am not being compensated in any way for any of this, and all products mentioned were bought with my own money. This is just stuff I like and want to tell you about.)

Electrolux Ergorapido Ultra 2 In 1 Stick Vacuum. I got this on a Lightning Deal for $59 (and as we all know, Lightning Deals have a way of repeating, so if you’re interested, keep an eye out). I bought it because both our Shark stick vac and our little Dustbuster have seen better days. It’s only been a week but so far I love this so much. The suction is excellent, having a light on the front is actually pretty nice, and I’m totally digging the 2-in-1 construction. I cut my son’s hair this morning and it sucked up a ton of hair afterward, no problems. Speaking of that…

… Wahl 79524-2501 Chrome Pro 24-Piece Haircut Kit. I have been cutting my family’s hair for… pretty much forever. This is my fourth set of clippers, and a completely un-planned-for purchase because my previous set is lost. (I don’t know. I cannot explain. They have to be somewhere here in the house, but my boys have grown shaggy as I continued insisting it would turn up. It never did.) You have no idea how annoyed I was to have to buy a new set, and I bought them at the current price ($26.97), which isn’t bad but isn’t the greatest steal ever. All of that said: These are the nicest clippers I’ve ever owned. They work great, they have every possible blade guard you might want, and they feel the best in my hand of any I’ve had (nice ergonomic design). Also, my kid tends to do interpretive dance while I’m cutting, and he didn’t end up with any bald spots. So there’s that. [Don't think you can cut hair? You totally can! There's tons of YouTube videos and such to get you started. This is a great way to save money and justify your own salon visits. Trust me.]

And finally, about a month ago at Fab.com (sorry, it’s not available there anymore, but I just got it in the mail last week), they had a bundle deal on The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe and the matching 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. These will be Christmas gifts for my science-obsessed nerdling, but I can tell you right now that the book, in particular, is a bargain at any price. It is gorgeous but it’s also incredibly interesting and, unexpectedly, really funny. I am sneaking reading it at night because it’s just that good, and I am the person who used to fall asleep in science class.

Have an product recommendations to share from your recent shopping…?

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Comments { 13 }

Just a reminder for next week

by Mir at 4:59 pm on November 16, 2012 in Bragging on a deal, Contests

My pretties, I don’t know that I’ve told you lately how ravishing you are looking. Your hair is so shiny and I love those shoes.

If you’re a regular ’round here, you know that it’s been kind of a bumpy year for my family. There have been long periods of silence here while we did crisis management, and even since things have “normalized” somewhat, my work time has been cut back quite a bit, and so things haven’t been quite the way they used to be. Throughout it all, I can say with all sincerity that you folks, my regular readers, have been unflaggingly kind and supportive and have really made me feel lucky to know you.

So I know the days of weekly contests kind of fell by the wayside in all of this, but—despite everything else going on—I knew that the week of Thanksgiving (next week!) we absolutely had to have another Big Prize Week. So consider this your heads up that 1) you are all awesome and 2) there will be a fantastic prize every single weekday next week, culminating in a little somethin’ special for Friday that I bought with my own money because I love y’all. As with the Big Prize Weeks of years past, each contest will launch in the morning and end that evening, so make sure you’re checking in every day for your chance to win.

And thank you. I wish I could send every single one of you a puppy.

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Comments { 38 }

Why I love and hate Craigslist

by Mir at 5:41 pm on May 8, 2012 in Bragging on a deal, Everyday Wisdom

Once upon a time, some people (possibly my husband and me) built a cool new screen porch and wanted some comfy furniture for it. But those people (again, not naming any names) may have finished up that project and realized that their funds for buying new furniture were… shall we say… depleted.

Enter Craigslist! No problem, thought those people—we will simply look for a used set of furniture.

They looked. And looked. And looked some more. Apparently patio furniture is in demand in the spring. (Who knew?) And one day a cheap set popped up, and those people pounced on the listing, called immediately, and made plans to drive over an hour to look at it. The drive was made, and the owners said, “Ooops, we should’ve called. We sold it already.”

On that day, I pretty much hated Craigslist.

Later, we, er, I mean, those people did find a set of furniture on Craigslist. They probably paid a little more than they should’ve (desperation!), but it was a decent deal and a relatively happy ending to the saga.

But today, I love Craigslist. We have been looking for a bike trailer to take camping, that our dog can ride in (stop laughing). I refuse to pay $100+ for a sidecar for the dog, y’know. Today, we snagged this Burley bike trailer, barely used, for—I hope you’re sitting down—$40. (In case you didn’t feel like clicking through, retail on that trailer is $529. I’ve owned cars that cost less.)

What’s your best Craigslist deal? Go ahead, brag about it.

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Comments { 33 }

We interrupt our holiday shopping…

by Mir at 9:50 am on December 19, 2011 in Bragging on a deal

… for a moment of shameless somewhat-self promotion.

Today is the official release of the Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism book, meant to be “the resource we wish we’d had when autism first became part of our lives: a one-stop source for carefully curated, evidence-based information from autism parents, autistics, and autism professionals.”

I am a contributor to this collection, but I can tell you that even if I wasn’t, I would have mad love for the awesome men and women who collaborated and shared to make this book possible. If you’re an autism parent, if someone you love has autism, and most particularly if someone you love just found out their child has autism, please pick up a copy or two of this book to read and share. It’s really a wonderful look at the trials and triumphs of autism from all possible angles.

[Full disclosure: As always, if you buy the book through my affiliate link, I make a commission. However, I was not compensated for my contribution to this book; all proceeds from sales are actually being donated to the Autism Science Foundation, which is just another level of awesomeness on the part of the editors.]

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Comments { 7 }

Hi! Still not dead!

by Mir at 8:46 am on October 15, 2011 in Bragging on a deal

Good morning, darlings! I am still in NYC, and still slacking in terms of bringing you anything useful, deal-wise. To make it up to you, I can offer this: Last night we saw How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette.

I can confirm both that 1) the show was incredible and 2) Harry Potter would, indeed, fit in your pocket.

(Your regular programming will resume tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!)

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A quick Savings Pledge update

by Mir at 10:55 am on August 2, 2011 in Big Picture, Bragging on a deal

I just wanted to give y’all an update since first asking you last month to take the Savings Pledge with me. If you recall, I invited you to check out the Savings Pledge app on Facebook and consider committing to saving a certain amount of money each week as part of an overall drive by Savings.com to save America 5 billion dollars. This is about setting a personal goal—both in how much you want to save and whether that’s truly money in the bank or earmarked for a specific purchase—but I tried to sweeten the deal a little by offering to use your commitments to influence how much money I would donate to my locate food bank at the end of the year, above and beyond the money I’ve already committed to save.

At the end of July, I counted 68 Want Not readers who let me know they had pledged. I had committed to set aside one cent for every confirmed pledge per online purchase through the end of the year (so, I placed an order with Amazon on July 30th and put $.68 cents aside when I did it). As of today, I’ve only set aside $3.86 in that fund (that’s donations per online purchase, and it changed as the number of pledges changed). I’ve decided to round it up to a full $1 per online purchase I make from now through the end of the year. This is because I am bad at math I’m generous. Or something. Ahem.

How are you doing on your savings pledge? Have you committed? Will you?

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Come take the Savings Pledge with me!

by Mir at 10:48 am on July 14, 2011 in Big Picture, Bragging on a deal

Those of you who’ve been around a while may remember that last year I was named one of the Savings.com 2010 DealPros, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy and pretty. It also means that through the magic of partnering with a larger organization, I’m now able to bring you even more deals and sometimes extra-super-awesome giveaways and such.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been selected for 2011 as well, which means now I feel extra pretty, and all kinds of additional awesomeness will be coming your way here at Want Not, too. But most immediately, I want to invite you to join us in the Savings Pledge.

Over on the Want Not Facebook page (you are a fan of Want Not on Facebook, right?), you may have noticed there’s a new application tab for the Savings Pledge. The theory behind it is simple: Those of us who work to bring you deals and tips want to help you really commit to making a difference in your savings, and we want it to be fun and doable at the same time. Also, we’re doing it, too. In fact, let me tell you some more about that. (more…)

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Comments { 53 }

Want Not loves the Athens Christian Women’s Connection!

by Mir at 12:22 pm on March 24, 2011 in Bragging on a deal

Many thanks going out to the Athens-CWC for having me out to their brunch this morning to talk about savvy online shopping. I had a blast and I hope everyone had a great time.

If you’re visiting Want Not for the first time, after hearing me speak, I would love to tell you that my hollering at random people, “Come back! You can buy tampons from Amazon!” was an anomaly, but sadly I cannot. (Um, if you weren’t there, then that totally did not happen. Never mind. Stop looking at me like that.) I do suffer from chronic foot-in-mouth syndrome, but if you’ll forgive me, I promise to help with your shopping.

I feel like I should get new business cards made up. Mir Kamin: Awkward and inappropriate, but really good at shopping. That’d actually be kind of awesome, no?

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Comments { 11 }

Want Not loves WSAZ-TV NBC!

by Mir at 8:57 pm on November 23, 2010 in Bragging on a deal

Many thanks going out to WSAZ’s Brad Myers for speaking with me this afternoon and using our conversation in tonight’s featured story about Black Friday shopping. I’m not sure I know anyone in Huntington, West Virginia, but now that everyone there has been directed to come shop over here, I’m feeling very kindly towards West Virginians.

Sadly, the part where I told him that the best way to get Black Friday deals was to stay at home in your pajamas, eating leftovers and reading Want Not, was cut. I forgive you, Brad.

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Join us at Save Up for Black Friday tips (and more)

by Mir at 8:26 am on November 13, 2010 in Bragging on a deal, Questions Answered

Remember how I told you that my coming to Save Up would have some benefits for all of you? The conference will be livestreaming later today, starting with a Q&A session at 11:00 am Eastern and moving on to a series of short Black Friday presentations at noon, Eastern. (I’ll be presenting on how to get your best online deals on Black Friday on things like clothing, shoes and toys.)

Did you miss it live? Here’s the recording (I’m the last of five presentations, but you should watch the whole thing):



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