Online Coupons and Deals

For the average consumer, it’s hard to understand the different types of online coupons and deals. Tricia Meyer and Ashleigh Ball talk in this podcast about the different types of codes and how to get the best deals shopping online. Find Coupons and Discounts for hundreds of merchants at Sunshine Rewards and combine then with cash back rewards.

Show Notes

• Compare free shipping (minimums, no minimums) with flat rate shipping and figure out when they are good deals and when they are not. When are “per item” charges the best deals?
• Percent off coupons and dollar off coupons from the same merchant can be confusing. Do the math to figure out which is better for you. Spending more to save more isn’t usually worth it.
• “Stacking” coupons is the best deal when it is possible. Not all merchants allow it but it is worth trying.
• “BOGO” can be “Buy One Get One Free” or “Buy One Get One Half Off” depending on the merchant and that makes a big difference.
• Read the fine print for exclusions such as brands or previously reduced merchandise.

You can save a lot of money online when you use free shipping, flat rate shipping, percentage off, and dollar off coupons but you need to still be a smart shopper and compare prices, deals, and coupons across sites.

Father’s Day is a little over a week away, which means that there is still time to order some great gifts for dad. Even if you are listening to our podcast a couple of days before Father’s Day, we’ve got some tips for gifts that will get to dad in time while not breaking your bank.

Show Notes:

• Electronics and Gadgets are still some of the most popular gifts for Father’s Day. You can get them quickly by using Amazon Prime or shopping online somewhere like Best Buy and picking up in-store. Roku is big in addition to Kindles. If you have a little more time, Paul’s TV has some amazing deals on televisions. Vann’s is also a good choice for a wide variety of gifts and great customer service.
• If dad is into gaming, check out Gamestop for some good deals on games.
• You can’t go wrong with food and drink gifts. Omaha Steaks is a favorite for most dads and you will get the most bang for your buck if you order one of the packages and meet the minimum for free shipping. Spend the extra money on food rather than FedEx. (Get our latest Omaha Steaks free shipping deal)
• Popcorn is popular and there are a wide variety of merchants to choose from depending on what you want to spend. Some of our favorites are Popcorn Factory, Popcornopolis, Dale and Thomas, and Garrett Popcorn.
• Coffees of Hawaii is a little more exotic for the coffee-drinking dad. Choose from one-time purchase or a coffee delivery service. (Sunshine Rewards has a limited time cash back increase plus Coffees of Hawaii coupons)
• Two of Ashleigh’s favorites are Harry & David and My Wines Direct. Both are featuring specials right now for Father’s Day.
• If dad is into sports, Football Fanatics does 3-day shipping on all of their orders for $4.99. Their merchandise is not limited to football, and you can find professional as well as college teams.
• Event tickets are great if he loves live sports. Plus, you are creating an experience or a memory out of the gift. Many of the merchants are not working with cash back or coupon sites anymore so it is harder to get “deals” but if you watch eBay, StubHub, and Ticket Liquidators frequently you might get lucky.

Don’t forget that you can get cash back and coupons from Sunshine Rewards for almost all of the merchants that we talked about in the podcast.

Tricia’s on vacation most of the rest of the month so watch for the next podcast in early July. Unbelievably, we will already be looking at back to school purchases.

(Find us online: Tricia Meyer and Ashleigh Ball of Sunshine Rewards)

Mother’s Day is less than a week away but it is not too late to order terrific Mother’s Day gifts and have them arrive on time. Ashleigh and I shared our first podcast today to chat about our favorite options for last minute Mother’s Day gifts.

Show Notes:

• Flowers are obviously one of the first things that people think of for mom. Be sure that you understand the difference between flowers that are delivered via carrier and those that are same day delivery by local florists. Both are still available with plenty of time for delivery. Early delivery may be cheaper. Consider mixed bouquets or tulips rather than standard roses. (Get 1-800-FLOWERS coupons)
• Food and drinks are great for the moms who have everything. Mrs. Prindables has some great deals right now (Tricia’s favorite) including free shipping on select items. Another great choice is wine. You can get Cellars Wine Club deals plus they deliver to Indiana (and most other states). Other merchants mentioned: Harry & David, Fairytale Brownies, Cheryls, David’s Cookies.
• Jewelry is another standard choice but you can go traditional or bold with spring colors. Be sure to use Ice.com coupons or MyJewelryBox.com coupons because they can save you 20-25% off and both guarantee delivery by Mother’s Day still.
• Are gift certificates an appropriate gift for mom? They might be depending on the mom. If you do choose one, be sure that it is tailored specifically to her tastes so that she knows that you put some thought into it. Merchants mentioned: GiftCertificates.com, SpaWish, Spa Finder.

Don’t forget to check for coupons as well as cashback at all of the merchants above at Sunshine Rewards.

Halloween is only a couple of weeks away, and Halloween shopping is in full swing. Besides the obvious (costumes), people are scooping up Halloween decor and treats. Cindy and I review Halloween merchants and tell you where you can get some of the best deals and unique items (even places that are not known for their Halloween merchandise).

Show Notes:

• Cindy and I wing it this week by not planning out in advance what they are going to talk about. That itself is scary.
• You can spend some big money on spooky Halloween decorations. Look for coupons!
• The Grim Reaper from SpiritHalloween.com really scares Tricia, and you can see a video of it here. (Someone should buy Cindy the life-size Jason or the Crawling Girl to freak her out)
• Congrats to BuyCostumes.com on their Commission Junction University win! Be sure to check out their deals under $10.
• Some popular costumes this year that Tricia has been working on promoting are Sookie Stackhouse, the Smurfs, and Wizards of Waverly Place. Twilight is still hot.
• A fun place to get candy for an adult Halloween party is Old Time Candy because they have candy by decades.

Click here to see all of our Halloween coupons and deals!

Show Notes:

* Travel and Entertainment: Some great ways to save money while staying at home include Entertainment Books and Restaurant.com. If you are trying to work in some inexpensive trips, check out Go Cards from Smart Destinations and Priceline for flexible plans ($12 rental cars!).
* Outdoor Fun: Have a pool? We like In the Swim and PoolProducts.com for our chemicals. Swimsuitsforall.com is a great place for a variety of swimsuits at good prices. Stock up on suntan lotion online so you don’t get stuck paying high prices for it at the grocery store or amusement park.
* Membership Clubs: Netflix and Blockbuster are obvious, but have you heard about BookSwim? It’s a fun way to read a lot of new books for one low monthly price. Gamers should check out GameFly. If you’re into audiobooks, Audible is a good option.

Show Notes:

* First we talked about graduation party supplies and all of the cute items out right now. One of our favorites was the personalized banner. For as little as $8, you can get banners with the graduate’s name. Check out sites like Shindigz and Pinatas.com for tableware, banners, and decor. Oriental Trading Company has cute favors.
* Next we talked about the “commemorative gift category.” Some gifts serve the main purpose of remembering the particular occasion. Get a personalized item that the graduate will keep forever. One of our favorites for those is Things Remembered.
* Lastly, we talked about gifts that will help the graduate in their “next step” in life. These really have to be tailored to the age of the graduate and what they are doing after they graduate. A nice laptop bag or even luggage would be great at the high school or college age. Also think about all of the things they might use in a college dorm or apartment. Bean bag chairs would be perfect!

Check out our entire Graduation Shopping category for even more ideas.

Mother’s Day is May 9, and we are two moms who know the perfect gifts at the best prices. We shopped around to find some great gift ideas in different categories.

Show Notes:

• Traditional Gifts: candy, flowers, cookies, perfume, and jewelry. Some interesting ideas this year included (Cindy’s favorite) ThePerfumeSpot.com, the planters at 1-800-Flowers (after Tricia saw them on Undercover Boss), Corso’s Cookies, chocolate covered strawberries at CCBerries, Mother’s jewelry from Limoges.com, and treats from Hannah’s Caramel Apples.
• Cool Gifts for Cool Moms: Customized gifts from A Gift Personalized, affordable and “funky cute” (in the words of Jillian) jewelry from Emitations, Zip It bags, spring nail polish from Sephora, tea makers from Teavana, and wine collections from MyWinesDirect.
• Mom Who Has Everything: Custom print from Canvas Press, stationery from Expressionery, and food from Gourmet Station.
• We touched on a lot of the coupons and sales that you can jump on for most of the above if you shop soon. You should be able to find them all at Sunshine Rewards as well as most other coupon sites.

Don’t forget that you can find all of these merchants on Sunshine Rewards and earn cash back when you shop!

Now that we have done the “spring forward” thing with the clocks, it is time to start thinking forward to spring shopping. For most of us, that means changing out our beauty products, skin care products, and wardrobes. In this episode of She Shops Around, Cindy and I talked about various merchants where you can pick up some great spring products at good prices. Don’t forget that you can get cash back (and maybe even coupons!) on all of these merchants through Sunshine Rewards.

Show Notes:

* Tricia loves lip venom and tinted moisturizer for spring and has been buying them at glow.com and Sephora.
* Cindy and Tricia talked about the importance of cleansers and exfoliators (check out Mario Badescu and Dermstore and the products that Cindy and Tricia use).
* New nail polish colors are out and you can get good deals on OPI (including the Alice in Wonderland colors) at HairCareDiscounters.com.
* Sunscreen and self tanning is big in the spring.
* Cindy loves her Crocs and they have a number of different styles and colors that do not look like traditional Crocs.
* New clothes are a must for the warmer weather!

For the first time ever, we invited a guest to our She Shops Around Podcast. Roger Snow from Snow Consulting joined us to talk about three affiliate programs he manages that all have sports merchandise. It’s a good thing that we did because Cindy and I have a lot to learn about sports. A big thanks to Roger for answering so many of our questions!

Show Notes:

* What sports merchandise and memorabilia are hot right now? The Olympics are in full swing, hockey is mid-season, March Madness is upon us, and baseball spring training will be starting soon.
* OnlineSports.com has over 130,000 products from jerseys to collectibles to actual sports gear. They carry major league sports collectibles in addition to college merchandise (including smaller schools like Ball State!). Online Sports also has a great selection of NASCAR merchandise. (Earn 5% back at OnlineSports.com.)
* A great gift for a dad, husband, or son would be a sports watch from DiscountWatchStore.com. They have dive watches and other waterproof watches great for anyone who swims, dives, skis, or participates in water sports. They now have free shipping on every product and some amazing deals of the day. (Earn 4% back when you shop at DiscountWatchStore.com)
* Lastly we talked about InTheHoleGolf.com. The site is impressive in that it has the inventory and functionality of a big national company with the feel of a neighborhood pro shop. They test and review all of the products that they sell and specialize in equipment for the seasoned golfer. (Earn 4% cash back when you shop at InTheHoleGolf.com)

Remember to check Sunshine Rewards for cash back and coupons for all of the merchants we talked about in the podcast.

January went by so quickly that this was our first podcast of the year. Just in time for February, we decided to review Valentine’s Day merchants. Cindy led most of the podcast because she has been knee-deep in planning the upcoming Sunshine Rewards Valentine’s Day promotion.

Show notes:

* Quick recap of Affiliate Summit and some of the benefits of attending this year.
* Flowers always work for Valentine’s Day and 1-800-Flowers has a lot of different options. Be sure to understand the difference between having your flowers delivered by FedEx and those delivered by local florists.
* Bath & Body Works and The Perfume Spot have good options for both men and women. I got my favorite new perfume (Pink Sugar) from The Perfume Spot. Bath & Body Works has a terrific new Godiva candle available only online.
* Crazy for Bargains is great for fun pajamas for women, men, and kids. Personally, I like the boxers for holidays. Romantic Gowns (new SR merchant!) actually has some great lingerie, including some cute pink and red sets that would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. (Here the mother/daughter podcast got a little bit awkward).
* Jewelry is traditional for Valentine’s Day and May Leigh has some nice options. Women seem to be wearing more jewelry these days, including multiple bracelets and necklaces at a time and mixing silver and gold. Things Remembered has both jewelry and other items available for personalization.
* You usually can’t go wrong with food (especially if the gift is for me). David’s Cookies makes homemade tasting cookies that can be ordered through the 10th. Ghirardelli is an impressive brand name with high quality chocolates.
* From the customer standpoint, these were all merchants that we personally like to shop through.

Lots of great Valentine’s Day gift ideas today. Hopefully a little something for everyone. And you can get cash back from Sunshine Rewards for shopping at all of them!