While there are plenty of options for doing taxes, I have to say that my preference has always been Turbo Tax.

OK, I guess I better get back to my taxes (and watching the Olympics, go USA!)…

Some people who will read this post are Black Friday veterans who already know a thing or two about the day. We’d love to hear from you about your best tips, lessons you’ve learned and what confused you the most when you were staring out.

Others may be brand new to Black Friday. Some many not even know what Black Friday is. To those, let us know what most confuses you or what you’d like to know more about.

Leave your questions (and answers) in the comments!

FIRST BLACK FRIDAY AD OF THE YEAR NOW ON DEALTAKER.COM

Premier Coupon & Deal Site Features Most-Anticipated Sales of the Year Well Ahead of Schedule

PLANO, Texas—October 7, 2009—DealTaker.com today announced the official start of the holiday bargain shopping season with the first Black Friday ad now at www.DealTaker.com/blackfriday.html.

“It’s a great day for bargain hunters everywhere,” said Kevin Strawbridge, President of DealTaker.com.  “With pent up demand at an all-time high and retailers eager for consumer dollars, sales will abound and organization will be the key to sorting through myriad opportunities.  Perusing the ads well ahead of Thanksgiving makes it easier for deal takers to optimize their time and money, and for retailers to ensure traffic to their stores,” Strawbridge said.

There are 50 days before November 27 which could be the biggest shopping day of the year.  To prepare, consumers can quickly and easily find the most up-to-date Black Friday deals, coupons and sales at DealTaker.com.  The popular site also features a countdown calendar, a handy downloadable Black Friday Organizer ® exclusively available at DealTaker and a searchable list of free shipping codes for consumers who also take advantage of the online deals every day and on Cyber Monday.

Besides sales from nearly 2,000 merchant partners, more than 225,000 DealTaker.com members actively post deals, ads, coupons and offers on DealTaker.com every day, saving consumers millions of dollars over the past 5 years.  Historically, members have posted Black Friday ads directly to the Black Friday forums.  But some retailers have balked at members trying to help each other.  Already, one major retailer has made a pre-emptive strike with a cease-and-desist letter, insisting DealTaker.com police the forums and remove ads that members post.

About DealTaker.com

DealTaker.com is the premier destination for consumers looking to spend less and get more.  A free coupon site for members to share and take deals, DealTaker.com makes it easy to save on merchandise and services including food, travel, electronics, home furnishings, jewelry and pet supplies, among others.  Founded in Plano, Texas in 2004, DealTaker.com works with more than 1,900 stores, nearly 19,000 followers on Twitter and more than 225,000 deal-sharing members to provide over 8,000 active coupons and deals every day.

# # #

Contact:  Jeanine Connolly

DealTakerPR@gmail.com

214 – 636 – 3900

Don’t forget to check for Coupons for even more savings from your favorite stores!!! Click here to check!

Here are a couple sales that I found Outstanding over the past couple weeks -

Vegas – Last Minute Vegas Hotel Deals – Wow! Free nights, 48 hour 40% off sale, 3 star hotel starting at $12.50 night! $12.50 a night?  You can imagine what my initial thoughts were about the room:  Dirty, Run Down, Mis-used in too many ways.  But that just wasn’t the case!  A lot of these deals are for hotels that have very good reviews in fact.   For example the $12.50 hotel, Boulder Station Hotel and Casino, had a
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating of  3.5 out of 5 stars – Based on 63 traveler reviews! A lot of the Name Brand Hotels are unable to get this high of a rating!

Bahamas – Sail with Carnival to the Bahamas – 4-NT Cruises from $239 The pricing is really good for an interior room and Ocean-view is only $60 more.  Usually this big of a discount is given on cruises that are only a few weeks away to sell the last unsold spaces, but this cruise isn’t until October.  You actually have time to plan and still save big!   Granted, it is during Hurricane season, but with that season running May to November it seems like a chance worth taking.

Some of the Brand names that have really been providing deals & discounts of late are:

Flights:

Jet Blue – Current “But Wait! There’s More” Sale!

Cheap O Air – $ off Coupons and Search for lowest price airfare in one spot

Vayama – Compare 100’s of international airfares in one place.  Seattle to Rome RT $525 (includes taxes & fees)

Hotels:

Marriott Family of Hotels – Almost ALL of their hotels have MULTIPLE specials.  Don’t Forget to Check!

Hotels.com - Always running Specials & Discounts plus rebates and free nights

Wyndham Hotels – Multiple Specials – Great Example @ select hotels:  BUY 2 NIGHTS, GET 2 FREE Plus, a $100 resort food & beverage credit!

Vacation Packages:

Cheap Caribbean – Best Bet for an *All Inclusive* Island Vacation!

Funjet -  Great Deals like:  Receive 4 nights for the price of 2 at select locations in Puerto Rico

Cruises:

Cruise Direct – the Carnival Cruise shown above is theirs

Destinations:

Six Flags Amusement Parks – Check out the thread I keep on Six Flags – It’ll keep you from paying Full Price!  Oh and now you can find lodging deals near your favorite park!

1.  Tired of the paying the high water bill every month?  I was.  Why should I have to pay for water when the same stuff falls from the sky and it’s free.  I’m all about free stuff.  I asked neighbors, family and friends to donate any unused buckets, jugs, old trash barrels and whatever else could hold water.  I placed them on every available space in my front and back yard.  After a good rainfall I collect the water and use it to do various things…laundry, washing dishes, bathing, pail flushing the toilet etc.  My water bill this month was $0.01.

2.  Who needs paper towels and toilet tissue when you have good ol’ leaves?  We have an abundance of trees around here and a few leaves off the old Oak tree is a heck of a lot cheaper than a roll of Bounty or Quilted Charmin.  Sheryl Crow would be proud.  Before you start adhering to this tip, make sure you know what poison ivy leaves look like.

3.  You can forget using your stove again and save on gas and electric by cooking your meals outside over an open fire.  Fire is free and with a little bit of training you can master the fine art of starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together.  Gather some sticks, tree limbs and rocks, make a nice sized open fire and you’ve got instant heat to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The pioneers did it way back when and they did quite well without fancy stoves.

4.  Grow your own food.  Digging up ground and planting seeds is a strenuous task, but all that free excersise will save you on monthy gym fees.  Dig up your entire yard.  Just think, you won’t have to mow it again.  There is nothing like the taste of home grown vegetables and the possibilities are endless.  If you must have eggs for breakfast and meat with your dinner, no problem.  Buy a couple chickens and scope out the local highways for some fresh roadkill.

5.  We have saved a great deal on our entertainment expenses by simply watching our neighbors.  Why spend $6.00 to rent a drama when I can view the real life version free of charge simply by looking out any of my windows periodically throughout the day and night?  What makes it extra special is most times it’s accomodated by loud rap music!  A musical drama that puts Shakespeare to shame.   I pull up the chairs while Lori is popping the popcorn over the open fire out back.  Life is good.

6.  Car broke down and it’s too costly to fix or there isn’t money to buy a new one?  Simple solution…buy a horse.  They are a lot cheaper than cars and don’t require insurance or the pricey gas fillup.  What do you think they did before they invented cars?  Granted the days of sleeping until 8:30 am and making it to work by 9:00 am are over, but you have to be willing to compromise at some point.  Go to bed earlier.

And with that, I will leave you with one last bit of advice..laugh and lighten up.  Laugh often.  Laughter is the best medicine, the best form of therapy, one of the best stress relievers and it’s free!

Years ago I did fall into the “last minute shopper” category.  I convinced myself, as well as others, that I enjoyed shopping last minute during the rush.  Truth was, I hated it.  Nothing irritates me more than crowded stores filled with grumpy shoppers, out of stock shelves and paying full price for something I knew was on sale a few weeks earlier or would be 50% the day after Christmas.

With time came wisdom and I evolved into a savvy and smart Christmas shopper.  I started my shopping the week after Christmas and continued to add to my stash of gifts throughout the year.  The first year I did this I ended up buying too many gifts and I had missed a couple people on my list.  Learning from that, I tweaked a couple of things and the following year was more successful.  Not only have I saved a ton of money doing this, I have saved time and the Holiday season has become a lot less stressful.

This year, more than ever, people are trying to stretch the dollar and trim the fat off of unnecessary spending.  I’ve heard a lot of people express that they aren’t sure how they are going to squeeze the Holiday shopping into their budget.  Times are tough financially for a lot of people, but where there is a will, there is a way.  Holiday gift giving doesn’t have to burn a hole in your pocket nor do you need to max out the plastic.  Here are some things I’ve learned over the past years:

1.  Make a list and check it twice…three times…four times!  Write down all the people you purchase gifts for and as you pick up gifts, check them off your list as being DONE.  From experience I know it’s easy to buy a gift for your favorite Aunt during the summer, and a month down the road come across something else that she would really, really like.  Don’t do it.  Forget about it.  Walk away.

2.  Shop the Summer Sales and Clearance Blowouts for some really cheap gifts.  Just because Christmas falls during the Winter months doesn’t mean you have to give boots, coats and hoodies.  Personally, I love getting funky flip flops or lace trim camisoles for Christmas.  Last year, in September,  I purchased a pair of $60.00 sandals from Lands End for only $5.99 shipped and gave them as a gift.  Those sandals were a huge hit.

3.  Clear away the old way of thinking in terms of “I usually spend $50 on this person, $25 on that person, $100 on this person…etc.”  Thinking that you have to spend a certain amount on any particular person will NOT save you money.  Instead, adopt the “a great gift is a great gift” method.  Those sandals I mentioned were an absolute hit and the recipient said, “These must have been expensive coming from Lands End.”  No one had to know that I only spend $5.99 on them.  Last year I got my Mom a $129.99 down vest that she really wanted for only $29.99 shipped.  She was speechless.  The first words out of her mouth were, “You didn’t have to spend that much on me.”  Well, I didn’t, but she doesn’t have to know that.

4.  Buy in bulk.  Take advantage of the “buy some get some free” sales.  A perfect example of this is Bath & Body Works.  They are always having ‘buy 3 get 3 free’ or ‘buy 2 get 1 free’ sales and they normally have an additional coupon to go along with it.   Recently I purchased $120.00 worth of items for only $36.00 shipped from their online store.  Buying in bulk can take care of several people on your list.  Also, take advantage of the ‘free gift with purchase’ offers.  Most of these gifts are of value and can be given to someone on your list.

5.  One HUGE way I saved money was purchasing gifts online and having them sent directly to my family that live out of state.  Most people I know (including myself in the past), purchase gifts at a store, wrap them, put them in boxes, make a trip to the post office and have them sent out.  Last year I decided to to do all of my shopping online for my family and have the gifts sent directly to their houses.  Not only did I find the stuff cheaper online (gotta love coupons), I saved a large amount of money by skipping post office costs.  Most of the gifts I sent I used a coupon for discounted or free shipping.  The only downfall are the gifts weren’t wrapped (you do have the option for gift wrap online, but it does cost money), but no one cared.  They were more impressed by what I sent them.

There are so many other ways to save money with Holiday shopping.  The key is starting early…as in NOW!  Check out the Christmas In July thread or the End Of Summer Clearance Sales &  Blowouts going on now for some great deals or sign up for frequent DealTaker e-mailers for the latest and greatest deals and coupons.