Super Moms Face Challenges TOGETHER

On The Money
By Rilian Ball

Even if you’re trying to cut back on spending, let’s face it, it’s the Holidays; you still have to shop-and maybe even treat yourself to the occasional splurge.  Given the current economic climate, this holiday season there’s no better place to troll for discounts than the Web.

Of course, shopping is always more fun when you know the best places to go.  The web is infinite and keeping up with the latest trends is difficult.  As my gift to you, here are some of my favorite sites this year:

Visalia.SuddenValues

Best for: local discounts
This is a franchised marketing site that allows small business to reach out to local buyers.  Receive weekly specials from local merchants by entering your email address on their website.  The coupons are diverse as the many small businesses that comprise our community.  Find $75 off a month’s rent to $500 off a hearing aid.

CouponWinner

Best for: loads of coupons
This newly redesigned site has coupons and promotional codes from about 7,000 retailers, including some exclusives, such as $40 off a year of eHarmony.  It’s well organized, with categories including most-used coupons, exclusive deals, free shipping, about-to-expire offers, and more.  Also check out its new sister site, PromotionalCodes.com

Alice

Best for: buying basics
Keep your home fully stocked with all the important household staples, like detergent and toilet paper, without having to haul them home from the supermarket.  At Alice, this shares its name with the beloved housekeeper on “The Brady Bunch”.  Discounts can be particularly steep if you use clickable coupons.  The site makes it fun to update your shopping list and reminds you when it’s time to reorder.  Shipping is free when you buy at least six items.

Covet

Best for: creating a look
Covet acts like a virtual personal shopper, helping you find your style based on your responses to a series of fashion photos.  Choose the outfit that’s closest to your style, and the virtual stylist will help you find clothes that are in that style, in your size, and on sale.

IMshopping

Best for: locating obscure stuff
Ask a shopping question and get an answer from a real, live human.  Recent example, “Where can I find vintage eyeglass frames?”.  Just be aware that its’ not a live chat; the site forwards your question to an expert in that particular shopping category, who does some digging, then gets back to you, usually within a few hours.

Like

Best for: finding exactly what you want
Looking for a specific present to give this Christmas? This site can help you track it down.  Shop by color, style, material, or detail, such as pattern or shape.  You can even use your mouse to draw a box around a detail u like- a square buckle on a belt, for example and the search engine will bring you more items with that matching detail!

Net Haggler

Best for: bargain shopping
Download a Web tool called a hagglet and you can save in one of three ways: “tag” an item and wait of a price drop, “Nag” a merchant for a better price, or “Haggle” as a group for bargain deals.  The tool will also automatically pop up when you visit national retailers that participate, including Macy’s!  It takes some time to set up, but once you do, it’s easy to use

UWantSavings

Best for: closeouts
It’s like a giant flea market online with new stuff that sells for up to 80 percent off.  Recent example, a 12 qt copper bottom restaurant quality stockpot that retails for $80 was marked down to $45.  You can shop by category or search their current specials.

Even if you don’t buy anything, I promise that you’ll have fun checking these sites out.  Happy shopping!