Archive for October, 2011

Walking all over town for those Snickers bars sure can work up an appetite.

Take a load off your feet and satisfy your hunger at Smashburger this weekend, and your kids will eat free.

Friday through Monday, children younger than 12 dressed in a Halloween costume eat free with the purchase of an adult meal. The deal is valid for Atlanta, Johns Creek and Alpharetta locations.

Also this weekend: Friday through Sunday any child (ages 12 and younger) dressed in a Halloween costume will receive a free kid combo at Willy’s Mexicana Grill. This offer is good with the purchase of an adult entrée.

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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Hang in there, students. Your days of surviving on Ramen noodles will end soon.

For those of you standing in the light at the end of the tunnel, pass this deal along to your favorite broke matriculates.

October is college month at the High Museum of Art, and what better way to educate yourself than with some culture? Students receive a $5 ticket with a valid student I.D. through Oct. 31.

Check out Picasso to Warhol, Grainger McKoy and Kiki Smith this month. Walk-up tickets only. 1280 Peachtree St., N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4550.

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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The one-month countdown begins.

Stores are “leaking” sales prices, shopping websites are predicting discounts and Black Friday excitement (read: mania) is already setting in.

According to the National Retail Federation, holiday shoppers plan to spend an average of $704.18 on gifts and decorations, down a smidgen from last year’s $718.98.

But many of us will spend even less by keeping an eye on sales. Early shoppers might even find a few items are already at their rock-bottom price for the year.

Armed with consumer website DealNews.com’s Black Friday price predictions, I shopped for a sample list of gadgets to discover whether there are already steals to be had — or if you have to wait for prices to drop.

55-inch 1080p LCD high-definition TV ($549): The rock-bottom prediction for this TV would truly be a deal if it comes to fruition. The lowest price I could find on a similar model of the same size was an Element for $749.98 from Walmart.com. Last year, a 32-inch LG …

Continue reading Black Friday pricing begins »

By Bita Honarvar, bhonarvar@ajc.com

Update: $5 vaccinations are now available through Nov. 19

Our furry friends can rack up hundreds of dollars in maintenance, but you simply can’t skimp on their medical expenses.

Thanks to this deal you can make sure both Fido and your wallet stay healthy.

Value Vet in Lawrenceville will offer rabies vaccines for $5 through Nov. 19. This low price includes tax, tag, and certificate. Value Vet is approved by the American Animal Hospital Association. 3645 Lawrenceville Highway, Lawrenceville. 770-686-3010.

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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Certified financial planner Wes Moss provides personal finance advice and accessible investment strategies. His guest post appears here weekly.

Wes Moss hosts 'Money Matters' Sunday mornings on AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB

I have some bad news for the Occupy Wall Street crowd. Americans are angrier with the politicians in Washington D.C. than they are with Wall Street fat cats who are supposedly destroying the middle class. This was evidenced by the lively discussion on my recent post explaining Herman Cain’s ‘999′ tax plan, while my warning about excessive mutual fund fees prompted a whopping three responses.

So I dug deeper to determine what Cain’s plan would mean for you. My team of accounting and finance experts compared the likely tax burdens for various taxpayers under the current system and the “999″ proposal. We used the following assumptions:

• Retirees would pay no tax on Social Security under the plan.
• Retirees who pay their taxes as single filers were …

Continue reading Wes Moss: Cain’s ‘999′ plan — a breakdown »

Are you kidding me?

One Midtown Kitchen is offering a heck of a deal — 50 percent off every Sunday through Wednesday through Nov. 30. The offer is good for a maximum $25 discount — no coupons required (although you can print the flyer at right if it makes you feel better). Have your friends and family peruse the new fall menu if they need some persuading.

Offer excludes tax and gratuity and cannot be combined with any other offer, promotion or event. Dine-in only. One per table, per visit; cannot be used on holidays. 404-892-4111. 559 Dutch Valley Road, Atlanta.

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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Score bargains and free gift card

Household items: CVS has a new promotion that gives you a $10 gift card to various retailers when you buy $30 of specially marked items. The gift card coupon will print on your receipt, and gift card selections may vary by store. Because you can combine coupons with sale prices on participating items, you can score big bargains. The pre-coupon price is the number to count toward the $30 goal. Items include Wisk 2X laundry detergent 26-32 loads on sale for $4.99. Use the $2 coupon from the Oct. 16 circular to pay $2.99, and count $4.99 toward your $30 spending goal. Kellogg’s Raisin Bran is on sale for $2. Use the Sept. 11 RedPlum coupon circular for $1 off two boxes to pay $1.50 per box, and the $2 pre-coupon sale price counts toward your $30 spending goal. Look for the green “Free Gift Card” tags in the CVS ad and on shelf tags and keep track of your spending. The Coupon Mom website also details qualifying items and matching coupons to …

Continue reading Coupon Mom: Deals on apples, chicken, milk »

Consumer expert Clark Howard’s column appears here each Thursday in conjunction with Deal Spotter, a weekly print section in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

After some early dire predictions about the cost of holiday travel this year, it turns out we’re down to just six days that are likely to be surcharged by the airlines. I want to let you know the days you absolutely have to avoid flying this year.

Travel pundits have been predicting that airlines would be charging a zillion bucks this year for holiday travel because the nation’s full-fare airlines have parked so many planes in the desert. (Discount airlines, on the other hand, have kept their capacity pretty much level.)

But BestFares.com reports the most expensive days to fly this holiday season — and the only ones you should really be sure to plan around — will be Nov. 27 and 28; Dec. 22, 23 and 26; and Jan. 2.

Of course, it goes without saying that the more flexibility you have with your travel dates, the …

Continue reading Clark Howard: Avoid holiday travel on these 6 days »

A good deli lunch should taste like it came straight out of your picnic basket, which is why I like Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. Simple, fresh ingredients on tasty bread is enough to make you want to pull out the red and white checkered blanket.

And today you can score the first six sandwiches on the menu for only $1. (I prefer No. 6, the Vegetarian.)

Warning: You cannot send your co-worker on a sandwich run for the office. Only one $1 sandwich per person. Valid today only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Click here for participating locations and other stipulations.

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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When it comes to nutritious food, anthropologists might say this country has a cultural narrative — a story line for how we frame our lives — and it goes like this:

It costs more money to eat healthy.

But this isn’t necessarily true, and it’s pushing us into a spiral of malnutrition.

“Sometimes we use that as an excuse,” says nutrition specialist Ricia Taylor, with health plan giant Kaiser Permanente’s Georgia region. “Ounce for ounce, it’s actually cheaper to eat an apple than it is a bag of chips. Oftentimes, for what we pay for french fries, we could get two pieces of fruit.”

There are common-sense exceptions, Taylor says, such as not buying every thing on your grocery list at a high-end natural foods store when some items can be found cheaper elsewhere. Or not buying produce that’s out of season — and, thus, more expensive .

But when it comes to convenience foods, she says, most of the time those products “are always going to cost you more …

Continue reading Eat healthier on a budget »