Want Not

Not to be left out of the Memorial Day sale craze, Folica is running a mystery sale—just press the “Get Lucky” button to receive a code for 15%-25% off your order. (Hint, although you didn’t hear this from me… you can press the button more than once. Ahem.)

If you’re in the market for a flat iron, their deal of the week is amazing: it’s a 1 3/4″ Solia flat iron (I like the wider plates for thicker or very long hair) for just $59 (down from $165), plus you get a free 2-year extended warranty, free heat-proof storage mat/pouch, and a free product sample along with it. And you can use your coupon on this special!

Shipping is free on $50+ (after coupon). So you may end up saving so much on that iron, you need to throw in something else to get your free shipping. (I recommend a heat protectant to use with the iron. I like the Redken Smooth Down, and it’s on sale!)

… if you—like us—use those expensive allergen-filtering air filters in your home heating/cooling system and wonder why they are never on sale (so that you have more money to buy shoes…), today is a great day to check out the Special Buy of the Day at Home Depot. They’ve got select Filtrete filters at 60% off, so you can stock up with a case or two and pat yourself on the back for all the money you’ve saved. You’ll get free shipping, too.

And then with the money you saved, well, you probably deserve a little something pretty.

Let me fully admit right up front that I do not understand this whole gel nail polish craze, other than that people swear it lasts longer, looks better, and possibly cures cancer (maybe not that last part). I almost never wear nail polish on my hands, on account of I am klutzy enough, thanks, and don’t need further visual evidence of whatever I’ve just tripped over or fallen into.

That said, if you’re intrigued by the gel thing, I can show you a cheaper way to do it.

Right now Drugstore.com is offering an extra 30% off everything in the makeup & accessories department. Search for sensationails kit to find the SensatioNail Gel Polish Starter Kit marked down to $49.99. (For reference: This kit is currently $70 at Amazon.) Add the kit to your cart and apply coupon code 5DB56E1A to drop the price to $34.99. At that point it’ll ship for free, too, so you’re getting the kit for about half price and free shipping.

I still don’t know if it’s the miracle everyone claims it is, but for less than the cost of two cheap manicures, it seems like an affordable way to check it out.

Are you a delicate flower like me who often really wants a mouse to use with your laptop, but can’t quite justify the expense just because of said delicate flower-ish-ness?

I can solve your problem for about the cost of a (fancy) cup of coffee. You’re welcome, in advance.

Today one of the Bonus Deals of the Day at Best Buy is a Dynex wireless mouse for just $4.99 with free shipping. Easy-peasy, just stick it in your briefcase and voila, spare mouse to whip out on business trips or in the waiting room or wherever.

I first bought a Hoover SteamVac because I have a dog, and sometimes the dog… does things… to the carpet. Ahem. But then when I actually use said SteamVac, it’s loud, and that scares her, which can lead to other atrocities against said carpet.

It’s a vicious cycle. And yet, here I am. (Note to self: Win lottery, finish putting hardwoods in the rest of the house.)

Anyway! I bought my SteamVac on an Amazon Lightning Deal in December for $76, which was a steal. I haven’t seen a price even close, since then. The one I bought is currently $140 at Amazon with an available 20% off coupon, making it $112, which isn’t bad. Alternatively, today at Best Buy it’s just $100 shipped.

Not the absolute-cheapest-ever, but a decent price on a highly-rated machine.

If you’re like me, right about the middle of April is the time when you conclude that really, maybe you don’t have Seasonal Affective Disorder, after all! You feel fine! The fact that the days have been getting longer is just a coincidence.

I feel you. But now is actually a great time to lay in preparations for next year.

So! Go, right now, to the Amazon Gold Box and look at the current lightning deal—it’s the Philips Hf3321 Golite for just $60, the lowest it’s ever been. This is a great, portable little sunlamp to get you through those long winter months.

I have an earlier iteration of this lamp and it’s fantastic… plus, I paid a lot more for it. Go get it before it’s gone, if you’re in the market.

One of my kiddos has been searching for an affordable backup charger for her iPod… something about the tragedy of running out of music on the bus home, I think. I’m not sure. Anyway, all we could find at Target and the like were super-expensive USB units that cost $50+ and had mixed reviews online.

Well, here’s an easy (and cheap) solution: Right now Amazon has this Innovative Digital USB Cell Phone Emergency Charger for just $12.50 (its lowest price ever), and it runs on a couple of AA batteries and works with pretty much anything you can plug into a USB cord.

The reviews are good, and the price is certainly right. Whether you’re keeping a teenager in tunes or just wanting an addition to your emergency kit, this is probably worth grabbing.

Love the iPad, hate the iPad full retail price? Hop on over to Cowboom today and score their Deal of the day—it’s a 16GB iPad 2 for just $249!

It doesn’t come with the USB cord or power adapter, but those are easy enough to acquire separately. Note, too, that these units are graded as having “significant scratches or scuffs.” My solution to those items from Cowboom is a new case (voila!), but if that’s going to bother you, buyer beware.

Still, for the price, it’s hard to complain. We’ve bought multiple refurbished items from Cowboom and have always been pleased with our purchases.

I know it’s not 1985, but as my hair has been getting longer, I’ve been thinking about… well… getting a good hairdryer with a diffuser on it. (I know. Generally I am in the no-drying-curly-hair camp. But sometimes I can’t just hang around the house for three hours while it dries on its own.)

Anyway, whether you want a diffuser or not, I found a pretty awesome hairdryer deal for you. The thing is, sometimes Amazon (perhaps accidentally?) offers multiple coupons on the same item. So some research revealed that the Remington AC2015 Pearl Ceramic Hairdryer got pretty great reviews, and the cheapest I see it at a big-box store is $30. (If you must, here are the reviews at Walmart. I think you know how I feel about Walmart, though.) Right now the same dryer is just $20 at Amazon—their lowest price ever—but it gets better:

Click here for the first coupon (make sure to “clip” it if it doesn’t come up as already clipped) and to add the dryer to your cart. Then click here for the second coupon (again, make sure to “clip” it if it doesn’t show as already clipped). I had some trouble with the second one, so I also went here and clipped that coupon for the curling wand, because I am superstitious and somehow it worked towards the hairdyer. Do note that you must be signed in to your Amazon account to use coupons.

Do all of that, and when you get to checkout, your highly-rated hairdryer which is a bargain at $20 should actually come out to just $12.99. Not bad.

Every now and then, my husband gets into a “You young whippersnappers sit down and listen to stories about how much money I spent on memory for that first computer I built myself” sort of mood. (The children just love this, as I’m sure you might imagine.) Look, there’s no denying that computer memory and storage is just getting bigger and cheaper, but maybe someone could tell my darling spouse that the rest of us are kind of over it.

Anyway! Right now you can snag this Western Digital My Passport 2TB Portable External Hard Drive for just $110 shipped. [Note: That link takes you to Rakuten Shopping, which is the new name of the old Buy.com, and then that particular product and price is from Beach Camera, but through them. Clear as mud, yes? Okay.] For comparison/reviews, you can check out the same item on Amazon, where it still costs almost $150 (boo), but has over 2,000 reviews with a cumulative score of 4.4 stars (yay).

Seriously, two terabytes of storage for $110. Don’t tell my husband, he’ll talk your ear off.