Bargains

This post is sponsored by Acorn & Procter and Gamble. All opinions are honest and my own.

My sister-in-law Lauren (might as well be sister) is pregnant with her first baby, and I am almost as excited for her as I was for my own pregnancies. I can’t wait to see her be a mom (she’ll be amazing) and I’m ready to hold my niece or nephew!

Lauren’s due in November, so as that time gets closer and closer, being stocked up on baby gear is more and more on her mind. I started thinking about what all I was glad to have on hand when each of my kids were babies, and wanted to help get her and my brother-in-law all set for their new arrival. I headed over to our local Sam’s Club, because I knew it’d be a great one-stop location to find all sorts of must-haves for babies at cost-efficient prices.

First of all: diapers and wipes. Parents, you know how rapidly you use these, so it’s crucial to have a sizeable stockpile! Sam’s has huge boxes, so I grabbed some Pampers Swaddlers and Sensitive Wipes for Lauren to have ready when she comes home from the hospital.

And if you noticed, I got instant savings on the diapers, making them an even better deal than they already were. And I got 808 wipes for less than $20. Gotta love bargains like that!

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Note: This is a partnered post with Shopular. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Can you believe it? Christmas Eve is TOMORROW. That’s right, folks – there’s not much time left to get all your shopping done so you can be ready for the big day! We keep thinking we’re finished, but then we’ll think of another item we’ve forgotten. Case in point – we went to dinner tonight and remembered a gift we’d forgotten, and had to run to Walmart (which, by the way, was pure chaos).

If you’re not done with your shopping, you’ve really got no choice but to go out and get those last-minute items; it’s too late to shop online and hope it’ll arrive in time!

Be sure to go through your recipient list and make a comprehensive list of what all you need so that if you have to get out and do more shopping, at least you can consolidate it as much as possible.

And of course, keep an eye out for the best deals – don’t get so anxious to find something that you end up paying more than you need to! Check the (free!)  Shopular app to see what deals are available at stores around you before you head out, and you’ll know where to go to find the best price on what you need.

Be sure and keep up with Shopular on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, too, so you’re  in the know about any shopping deals, in the holiday season or year-round! 

When you’ve got kids, it quickly becomes apparent how many things they need. Of course you’ve got things like clothes and shoes (which they outgrow SO quickly), and then as they get older more things come into play – backpacks, school supplies, and in many cases, eyeglasses.

Brian has pretty horrible vision and I have a lazy eye (20/20 in my left eye, but horrible vision in my right) so we feel like it’s pretty inevitable that at least one of our kids will need glasses in the future. Thankfully now they have a ton of really cute kids’ styles available that make wearing glasses not bad at all!

Of course, aside from the style aspect, the biggest drawback of glasses can often be the cost. I can remember the first pair of glasses I purchased on my own, and being shocked at the cost of $300+. That’s a lot with even just one child, but it can be completely unrealistic for families with multiple children.

My favorite tip for saving money on glasses is to shop online. When you go to a physical store, they’re often counting on the fact that you haven’t done your research and will go with their prices. Shopping online gives you an easy way to compare prices without having to do all the legwork of driving around town.  Sites like Glasses.com provide you value and style with the click of a mouse. For instance, on their site you’ll get free shipping on all orders (so not only are you not spending money on gas, you’re not having an extra expense of shipping either), a price match guarantee, and a new sales page that shows which frames are currently on sale.

I thought this was worth sharing because very often I’ll think to shop online for gifts, for books, for electronics and even for baby gear lately! But with necessities like glasses sometimes I think I’m inclined to think of shopping in a brick & mortar store. It’s definitely worthwhile to spend a little time online and find the deals for things you and your family need!

Sears is having a huge online sale Monday & Tuesday (December 12 & 13) where you can save money on a wide variety of items – so if you’re like me and have shopping left to do, you’ll want to check out their site to see what the bargains are! One of the things you’ll find at a great price is this Craftsman Nextec 12.0 Volt Right Angle Impact Driver – it’s normally $99.99 but for a limited time you can get it for $79.99, and it will also come with a free cordless drill driver!

In addition to the sale prices, there are other ways to save money – and they’re stackable so you can combine them to save even more!

1. Free Shipping – $99 threshold, use code: REALJOY (some exclusions apply)
2. Coupon Book – Must be a Shop Your Way Rewards Bonus Member
3. Save More Green Deals – available on the Hot Deals Page and on Sears.com 12/11 (4 p.m. CT)- 12/13 at 11:59 CT
4. Sears Card – 5% back when you use your Sears Card (some exclusions apply)
5. Shop Your Way Rewards – Earn points that can be redeemed later as cash to buy items at Sears (must be a member). Members also gain access to additional deals and other opportunities throughout the year.

Remember that Craftsman Right Angle Impact Driver I mentioned up above? Well, one lucky reader will win it and the cordless drill driver! This contest is open to all U.S. residents ages 18+. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight Central) Monday, December 26. By entering this giveaway you agree to the Official Rules.

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Sears Hot Deals site and comment below telling me which deal you’d like to buy for yourself or someone else on your list!

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 2 entries, for example, comment 2 times.

• “Like” Sears on Facebook {2 extra entries}
• Follow Sears on Twitter {2 extra entries}
• Sign up to receive my newsletter {1 extra entry}
• Sign up to get my updates in your e-mail {2 extra entries}
• Subscribe to my RSS feed {2 extra entries}
• Follow me on Twitter {1 extra entry}
• “Like” Frugal Novice on Facebook {1 extra entry}
• Share this post on your Facebook wall {1 extra entry per day}
• Tweet about this giveaway on your Twitter feed –  can do up to two times per day {1 extra entry per tweet}
• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here; comment with the URL to your post {2 extra entries}
• Unlimited Extra Entry Option: Leave a NEW comment on as many other posts as you like and get one entry for each comment (entering another giveaway counts too). Be sure to let me know which posts you commented on below.

Note: Sears is providing the items for the giveaway. I did not receive a product or compensation for this post.

If you’ve still got holiday shopping left to do (I know I do!) then you’ll definitely want to take note of this – Kmart is hosting Save More Green Monday tomorrow, December 12. The deals are going to be huge and they’re top secret, not even released yet… but if you follow @Kmart or @KmartDeals on Twitter you’ll be able to get more information. It’s all happening online, so that means it’s convenient no matter where you are.

Two lucky readers will each win a $50 Kmart gift card! This giveaway is open to all U.S. residents ages 18+. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight Central) Monday, December 26. By entering this giveaway you agree to the Official Rules.

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Kmart “Save More Green Monday” site and comment below telling me which bargain you’re most excited about!

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 2 entries, for example, comment 2 times.

• “Like” Kmart on Facebook {2 extra entries}
• Follow Kmart on Twitter {2 extra entries}
• Sign up to receive my newsletter {1 extra entry}
• Sign up to get my updates in your e-mail {2 extra entries}
• Subscribe to my RSS feed {2 extra entries}
• Follow me on Twitter {1 extra entry}
• “Like” Frugal Novice on Facebook {1 extra entry}
• Follow me through Google Friend Connect (over in the sidebar) {1 extra entry}
• Share this post on your Facebook wall {1 extra entry per day}
• Tweet about this giveaway on your Twitter feed –  can do up to two times per day {1 extra entry per tweet}
• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here; comment with the URL to your post {2 extra entries}
• Unlimited Extra Entry Option: Leave a NEW comment on as many other posts as you like and get one entry for each comment (entering another giveaway counts too). Be sure to let me know which posts you commented on below.

Note: I received a promotional item to thank me for my post.

As I’m sure you’re aware if you’ve read my blog for any length of time, I’m a huge fan of coupons. Now that I do so much shopping online, I very rarely make a purchase without seeking out a coupon code. Recently I bought a gift for someone (I can’t tell you what it is, because that person reads this blog!) and I found a code that saved me $36.00. That kind of savings adds up quickly, and is something everyone should make a standard part of their online shopping, in my opinion.

CouponCodes4U is my new go-to place for coupons. It’s amazing to me the vast variety of stores and sites they have codes available for! And, for instance – I’m a huge fan of shopping on Black Friday. It’s the thrill of the hunt that I love… there’s just something about finding a bargain! CouponCodes4U has a whole section of codes that can be used for online Black Friday shopping, and you can do it in your PJ’s! They even have gift ideas (and coupons for them, of course). You can get deals on anything from jewelry to spa days for women, and from video games to Eurosport soccer gear.

Above is an example of one of their coupon entries. I really like the way the site is set up because you can easily scroll through to see what retailers have codes available, and then click ones that interest you to find out more information. The text in red makes it very clear when the deal expires, so you don’t inadvertently try a code that isn’t good anymore. I’ve had that happen to me with codes from other sites… it’s really frustrating when you think you’ve found a bargain and then it doesn’t work! With this site, though, it’s very obvious if a code is still good or not.

CouponCodes4U.com is a really useful site that I’d certainly keep bookmarked throughout the peak shopping season. You can even follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook to get updates on discount availability!

Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/3