Archive for December, 2009

Photo credit: Feld Entertainment

Save 50 percent on Circus tickets

I already told you about a couple of ways to save on the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus coming to Philips Arena Feb. 12-21. I just found another deal as well. The Family 2 Family discount sponsored by WSB-TV is worth checking out. Tickets for opening night, Feb. 12, are half price. The discount excludes VIP tickets, and are valid for seating areas priced from $14 to $35. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com, at Ticketmaster retail locations and at the Philips Arena box office, where you’re likely save by avoiding additional fees. Right now, I do not see a promo code listed here, but generally, the code is WSBTV. If it is different, I will update this post, as I’ve already contacted WSB-TV to inquire.

You can also use the promo code GASSOUTH to save 20 percent on tickets priced $14 to $28, for any performance.

Discount on Shen Yun Performing Arts

The celebration of traditional Chinese …

Continue reading Save 50 percent on Ringling Bros. Circus tickets | $10 off Shen Yun »

Few things are sweeter than bringing in the New Year with that special someone. Giving your spouse a smooch on the lips at the stroke of midnight or grabbing the hand of the date you’ve chosen to ring in the New Year with is something you won’t soon forget.

Ahhh, how romantic. But really, does it have to cost $100 at a nightclub or involve overwhelming crowds? I say not, and with that, I offer you these cheap New Year’s Eve — and New Year’s Day — date ideas. As always, the cheap date ideas are $40 or less:

The Ultimate House Party

It shouldn’t cost you more than a bottle of wine to crash the neighbors’ house party, or make good on an invitation from a friend or colleague. House parties are a lot of fun, with the music and merriment on full-blast all night. You don’t have to worry about the party closing, standing in line outside waiting to get in or paying to park. Don’t have an invite yet? It’s not too late to pull together a house party of your own, although it will cost you …

Continue reading Cheap date ideas: Celebrate New Year’s on the cheap »

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day

This is a reminder that beginning Jan. 1, you can get a free ticket to Walt Disney World or Disneyland by signing up and volunteering one day of service. The Parks will give away one million tickets between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15, 2010 in exchange for service donated to a participating volunteer organization. You must be at least 18 years old to sign up, and you can register up to eight individual family members. Children must 6 or older to volunteer.

You must register through the Disney site, rather than directly through the volunteer organization. You will also see details on the rules and restrictions there.The program’s eligible volunteer opportunities are made available solely by or through HandsOn Network, Points of Light Institute and their affiliates.

Santaland Diaries

No, Santa hasn’t boarded his sleigh and left town just yet. The Santaland Diaries is still running at the Horizon Theatre. Tickets are $15 on Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, using promo …

Continue reading Free Disney tickets | Discount on ‘Santaland Diaries’ | Save up to 70% on Thrashers tix | Discount at Improv »

Vinegar can kick up the taste of a dish — or clean hard-water deposits on coffeemakers and the like.

There are countless home remedies for all manner of malfunctions. From shining your own shoes to using baking soda and vinegar as substitutes for harsh chemicals, you can save lots of money with a little ingenuity and elbow grease.

Send in your own Do It Yourself tips — from fixing a zipper to building a bird house — and get a free book packed with tons of helpful tips.

It’s called, “How To Sew a Button..And Other Nifty Things Grandmother Knew.” The new release is by author Erin Bried and even comes with an endorsement from Food Network Iron Chef, Cat Cora: “A must-have book for anyone who wants to reap the wisdom of our grandmothers.”

I’ve personally found it chock full of great advice. Here’s one example on how to unclog a drain.

1. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of baking soda down your slow-running or clogged drain.

2. Wash it down with 1/2 cup of white vinegar. It’ll bubble like your …

Continue reading Home remedies that work — and how you can win with your own tips »

Congratulations to Chris Gwinner, whose D.I.Y. project topped the list of contest entries. Gwinner is a 29-year-old self-professed project lover who’ll receive the new book, “One Year To An Organized Financial Life” by Regina Leeds.

It was no surprise that Gwinner was drawn to the challenge of making a shadow box for a beautiful sword he received as a gift from his host in Japan.

“I wanted a good way to display it, but was not finding answers around town,” Gwinner said.

For about $10 and and two hours of labor, Gwinner constructed the piece with material he picked up from Home Depot.

His material: four pieces of 1-foot by 4-foot wood, two more that were about eight inches long and two more approximately 36 inches long.

He used two pieces of thin plywood, four generic coat hooks, four small triangles to fit in the corners cut from the scrap of 1 x 4, and small wood nails.

Gwinner said he painted all of the pieces first, using black interior paint. He laid out the rectangle …

Continue reading Check out this week’s D.I.Y. winner »

There aren’t many Americans who can’t afford to shed at least a few pounds. Signing up for a gym membership isn’t always the best answer, though. While I do frequent the gym nowadays, there was a time when I — gulp — went a whole year without setting foot inside one, and was footing the bill anyway.

Cynthia Phillips exercises. Photo: Chris Hunt, AJC

I cringe when I think about the hundreds of dollars I’ve thrown away on un-used gym memberships. It’s no time for a pity-party, though. Rather, I’m here to give you a few tips on working out without putting out big bucks.

1. Go for a walk. Yes, the weather is getting colder, but if you bundle up and cover your hands and head, you’ll be fine taking a brisk walk in the park or around your neighborhood.

2. Play a sport. I love basketball, but it doesn’t always love me back. My knees can hardly take the quick cuts and stop-and-go action. However, if you can hold up, playing a sport you enjoy, like tennis or basketball, on a regular …

Continue reading Scrap the gym payments: 5 cheap workouts that will shed pounds »

Deal at Agave

So, you’re thinking you’ll just stay in on New Year’s Day and watch a boatload of college football bowl games? Well, yes, you could do that. Or, you could find a great restaurant running a great special, like Agave. For Friday only, any appetizer, any entree and your choice of two desserts is only $20. That’s a terrific deal. For reservations, call 404-588-0006.

Pizza Hut deal

It’s always refreshing to come across a deal with seemingly no strings attached — not even a coupon! Pizza Hut has just such a deal. For $10, you can buy any size pizza with any toppings for $10. Now, if you’re a personal pan pizza person, this won’t help you much. However, if you typically buy large or even medium pizzas, you can easily see the value in this deal. It starts this week, but there was no expiration date given to me. The stuffed crust pizza is an extra dollar.

Party on a budget

Looking for a New Year’s Eve bash that won’t break your budget? Check out this list of the hottest …

Continue reading New Year’s Eve on a budget | Great deal at Agave | Any pizza for $10 »

New Year’s resolution for 2010: Lose 50 pounds, build a six-month emergency fund and run a marathon.

Ready, set…lots of people will go. But they won’t keep the pace, with only about 46 percent of people fulfilling their resolutions beyond six months after Jan. 1, studies show.

This year caused so much financial upheaval, though, that prognosticators are expecting more people to make — and keep — their resolutions about money this time around.

“It is hard, and I think people have tendencies, so it will be easier for some than others,” said Joe Ruhland, assistant professor of finance at Georgia Southern University. “But, with the right amount of discipline and the right attitude going into it, you can get where you want to be.”

That’s what Jack and Katherine Reynolds of Smoke Rise did. The couple married in 2007 and brought different financial portfolios to the table. Jack, retired from the military and now a high school teacher, was divorced with one child in college and two …

Continue reading How to make your New Year’s money resolutions stick »

Save on Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks have one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. You don’t have to go broke to see them play, either. There are a few deals out there, including the one I just came across: four upper level tickets and four Chick-fil-A combos for $89 (regularly priced at $120). The deal is for Friday night tilts in January, including the New York Knicks on Jan. 1, the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 15 and the Charlotte Bobcats on Jan. 22. To get closer to the action, you can get the Terrace Sideline ticket package for $109 (regularly $172), or the Mezzanine Baseline package for $129 (regularly $208). Click here to purchase the tickets.

Restaurant gift certificates…for $2

There’s still time to save big on Restaurant.com gift certificates. Through Dec. 31, purchases from the site are 80 percent off. That means $25 gift certificates are just $2. These are meant to be gifts, so the recipient would redeem the gift certificate on the site for usable restaurant discounts. For …

Continue reading Save up to $79 on Hawks tix | $2 Restaurant certificates | Circus discount | Save on bowling »

A 79.9 Percent APR on a credit card?

Are you kidding me? No, I’m not.

The Associated Press report says:

The bloated APR is how First Premier Bank, a subprime credit card issuer, is skirting new regulations intended to curb abusive practices in the industry. It’s a strategy other subprime card issuers could start adopting to get around the new rules.

Typically, the First Premier card comes with a minimum of $256 in fees in the first year for a credit line of $250. Starting in February, however, a new law will cap such fees at 25 percent of a card’s credit line.

Now that you’ve caught your breath, read the whole story here.

Follow me on Twitter @atlbargains

Continue reading 79.9% APR on a credit card? No, it’s not a joke »