Donate $5 to a school for free!?

This may or may not be a great deal for you...I personally am a Starbucks addict! Now until 12/21/11, if you purchase a specially-marked package of Starbucks Gold Coast Blend (Morning Joe edition), Starbucks in conjunction with MSNBC will donate $5 to the DonorsChoose.org project of your choice. To be honest, Starbucks isn't any more expensive than many of the other brand options out there, so wouldn't you prefer to do some good while you get your caffeine fix? Visit donorschoose.org/starbucks for more information!

Gift card deals!

Ever diligent, your Penny Pincher is looking for great resources for you to save money (well, ok, I'm not a total philanthropist - I want the deals for me too! USA Weekend, the insert in many of our Sunday newspapers (yeah, the paper version of the news; some of us still like that - if only for the coupons!), offers loads of savings ideas. One that I was particularly intrigued by was savings on gift cards. You can buy them at a discount OR (and this is really cool if your family and friends really don't understand your unique tastes!) you can sell them on these websites too!

Check out:

Giftcardgranny.com and plasticjungle.com

What a great idea! I'm off to check them out myself!

Happy Haunting Penny Pinchers!

The perfectly ghoulish Halloween treat!

Looking for something unique to take to a Halloween party (for adults or teens)? Check out Cost Plus World Market's "body parts" candy sushi! Each tray is only $2.99 and comes complete with chopsticks. Creepy yet oh so chic!

Easy holiday travel planning

Planning a trip for the holidays? Here are some great websites to check-out:

Kayak.com (one-stop shopping pulling results from hundreds of other search engines)

RoadTripAmerica.com (its Road Trip Map Wizard even lets you add roadside attractions, historic sites, restaurants, etc. to your customized, printable map)

Yelp.com (provides user reviews for restaurants, bars, hotels, etc. anywhere in the US)

TripAdvisor.com (unbiased reviews of all things travel related)

Every little bit of advance info helps!

Costume hunting on a budget

If you have a Halloween party coming up or you just need costumes for your kids, don't forget to check out Goodwill! I was in our local store the other day and they had rack after rack of really amazing costumes, masks and accessories! And the cost if you hit on a 50% off Saturday will be so low it will scare you! (Get it?!). Happy Haunting!

Home again, home again!

Admittedly, I have slacked off on providing you with fresh ideas! My apologies...work, life, etc...all sort of interfered but I am back! And yes, please pass the link along, invite your friends & family because the holidays are upon us and we can all use some inexpensive gift, meal and decorating ideas! Honey, I'm home...! (And yes, this photo seemed fitting with Halloween just around the corner!) Boo!