Wednesday, May 20, 2009

FREE ICE CREAM & HOT DOGS + great organic valley & slim fast coupons

HOT DOGS thanks to MIDGET MOMMA for this link!

BLUE BUNNY ICE CREAM thanks to my very own yahoo email for that! lol! ;)

ORGANIC VALLEY COUPONS thanks to SHOPLIFTING WITH PERMISSION for those great coupons!!


Surving the stores has great instructions to get
SLIM FAST COUPONS!!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

fyi on my last post re: vacation deals

Okay.. something came to mind after Katie posted a comment about the tricks to getting great vacation/airfare deals.

To answer Katie's question, We stayed at the Grand Oasis Punta Cana. Come check it out HERE.

OKAYYYYYY BUTTTTTTTT this is one of my biggest pet peeves in life.. seriously.. not sure why this rubs me the wrong way, grates on me, gets under my skin... *sigh* and I've heard it on SEVERAL occasions from several separate couples.

Couples go to resorts and come back and immediately book at that exact resort again for the next year... AND WORSE try to push that THIS EXACT RESORT IS THE BEST EVER! There will never be another resort that beats this one they've been to.. yeah well I've got NEWS PEOPLE.... they are all DEAD wrong!

My husband and I have found that between ourselves, relatives, and friends each resort as long as it has a good rating (Apple vacations this would be a 4 red apple or above) are pretty much the same. The one thing we do look for is a resort that has a buffet, a grill on the beach, an Italian restaurant, on other specific restaurant, and room service. Other than that we do look for resorts that offer a few bars plus a swim up bar. Those are just our specs.

We do "google" the resort before booking just to make sure the place didn't get super bad reviews, or that it's under construction, or there is just something that would make our stay terribly horrible. From the reviews on line we've gotten ideas on where to book our rooms, what to upgrade to, what not to upgrade to, what extras to bring for example beach towels {the ones there smelled like mildew} OTC meds/sunblock {the ones there were super expensive} etc.

So really, maybe we aren't that picky of people and me being as frugal as I've been my entire life may make this easier on us... but really.. if you want a vacation, if you just want to get away, lay on a beach, read a book, get drunk, dance, have a hot guy serve you drinks at the beach all day.. a majority of these resorts are fine and dandy!

Whew I feel better! lol! Hope this little rant helps in your next vacation search!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

great airline/vacation deals!!

Okay.. for some reason people are constantly asking me for my tricks to getting great airfares and cheap vacation deals.. so here they are typed out for everyone!!

This is fresh on my mind because I just got my dad a $108 round trip ticket from Chicago to Phoenix (or Rockford to Mesa but both towns closer to said bigger cities to our homes). Long story short, my family owns a retirement home in Mesa AZ and there is an issue with our watering system for our fruit trees there. My dad just left at the end of March and has to go back to fix the system.

allegiant air Pictures, Images and PhotosJust a few months ago while attending a baby shower luncheon, a woman I met there told me that she's been getting great deals with Alligant Air.check airfares here for $29 EACH WAY to Mesa. I guess her best friend lives there. She said the trick is to go on each day and just check and even move forward through a few months to get the great deals.

I went on yesterday and was able to get my dad $29 one way and $79 coming back. Total $108 round trip. With taxes/fees the total just $140! My second airfare trick, which I'll show you next, cheapest rate was $240!! I saved $100!! :)
yahoo Pictures, Images and Photos
yes shocker but my second trick is YAHOO. This used to be my first trick until a few months ago. Okay.. this is how it works. go to YAHOOO then click on the left hand side TRAVEL. or go here directly. Type in the cities you wish to fly from/to. The box opens a bit more to include the number of flyer's and you should see a "use flexible dates" box. check that baby!! You may not be able to find the exact dates you want, but if you can be flexible enough, you'll save a ton on airfare!

Okay. My sister does a ton of travel back and forth to Europe because that is where her fiancee lives. Her fiance taught us this trick. KAYAK.COM again this website lets you use flexible dates to see the best fair.

Okay.. my vacation deals are limited HOWEVER if you (again) flexible you can get a great deal.



APPLE VACATIONS Go to the site, click on "SPECIALS" "last minute deals" "seasonal deals" If you poke around enough on the site eventually you'll find some great deals on that site. Just a few weeks ago I found 8 days 7 nights all inclusive flight included for $419 to Mexico. YES $419. a year ago my husband and I went to Punta Cana (again 8 days 7 nights all inclusive including air fare) for $520. We upgraded to a bigger room with a jacuzzi tub in the room for $75. Very well worth it. So for UNDER $1200 we had a full vacation for a week.