Archive for November, 2011

All you can eat doesn’t get much cheaper than this.

On Thursday, CiCi’s Pizza will hold a customer appreciation day at multiple locations in the Atlanta area. The following CiCi’s locations will offer an all-day buffet special for $1.99 per person (regularly about $5):

• 655 Atlanta Road, Cumming
• 2920 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Cumming
• 10516 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell
• 3912 N. Druid Hills Road, Decatur
• 6050 Peachtree Parkway, Norcross
• 3160 Cobb Parkway NW, Kennesaw
• 250 John W. Morrow Jr. Parkway, Gainesville
• 1424 N. Expressway St. 114, Griffin
• 1503 Highway 138 SE, Conyers
• 240 Cherokee Place, Cartersville
• 3255 Lawrenceville Suwanee Road, Suwanee
• 1876 Jonesboro Road, McDonough
• 1825 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain
• 12186 Highway 92, Woodstock

Also, carryout guests can purchase a large, one-topping pizza for $3.99 from Dec. 2-31 at each of the above restaurants.

CiCi’s Pizza offers more than 20 pizzas on its custom pizza buffet, in addition to soup, salad, pasta and dessert. Every …

Continue reading CiCi’s Pizza deal »

Light up dinner

MetroFresh: The best gift of all is quality time with loved ones, and thanks to a little perk from MetroFresh Midtown, you can turn an outing into a whole evening for less. When you check out Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Garden Lights, Holiday Nights, your ticket stub will save you 10 percent off dinner. The lights create a winter wonderland of 1 million energy-saving lights in the shapes of stars, mystical creatures and show-stopping topiary forms choreographed to holiday music, complete with carolers and s’mores (tickets are $18.95 for adults, $12.95 for children ages 3-12 and available at AtlantaBotanicalGarden.org). The dinner discount is available after 5:30 p.m. or for Sunday brunch; it expires Jan. 6. MetroFresh, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta.

Picture the savings

Walgreens: Here’s a gift idea worth a thousand words but won’t cost a fortune. For that hard-to-buy-for person on your holiday list (we all have one!), Give them a customized photo gift. …

Continue reading Jessica Shops: Save on family holiday fun »

It’s the perfect stocking stuffer for college students — and a free lunch for you.

This holiday season, Willy’s Mexicana Grill is giving shoppers who purchase a $25 gift card from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24 a free burrito. (Hey, it’s nothing to stampede over, but if you were going to purchase a gift card anyway… )

– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter

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Continue reading Free Willy’s burrito with gift card purchase »

It’s the cornerstone of your holiday decorations, symbol of gifts to come and a source of joy for all who enter your home: the Christmas tree.

A live tree can cost more than $200 or as little as $20. And artificial trees fall in the same range, starting from the “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree (right, $12.97 at Home Depot) to well beyond $300.

But what tree will provide the best value for your home? Industry experts give their advice on how to choose a tree that not only fits your budget, but also your family’s holiday traditions:

A live tree

Pick a smaller fir: “You really don’t need that big of a tree,” says Tommy Thompson of Thompson’s tree farm. “When you look at it in the field with all the other trees, it doesn’t look that big, but when you get it in your living room, it grows.”

Consider position: If you’re going to place the tree against a wall or in a corner, you’ll save money by buying one that doesn’t have a perfect 360-degree view. …

Continue reading Price only part of Christmas tree value »

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

The holiday season has just begun, but Congress might have already settled on your gift: a return to higher payroll taxes, starting Jan. 1, 2012.

The payroll tax funds Social Security and Medicare. You may recognize it from your pay stub as FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act). The payroll tax is normally 12.4 percent of your gross pay. You pay half (6.2 percent) and your employer pays the other half. The tax is charged on every dollar of salary or wages up to a maximum of $106,800 per year.

But at the end of 2010, Congress enacted a 2 percent payroll tax reduction for employees as part of a larger compromise to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. That reduction expires on Dec. 31, and unless Congress reconvenes and changes something, your …

Continue reading Wes Moss: What will it cost you when payroll tax cuts expire? »

In some cases, Cyber Monday is actually, er, Cyber Week.

But you’ve got to purchase quickly if you have your eye on something — many items will run out in a few hours or less. Longer sales are indicated.

Aeropostale.com: (Sunday) 50 to 70 percent off entire store.

Amazon.com: (Sunday through Saturday) Look for a Sony Cybershot 10.2 MP Digital Camera for $199, a Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB holiday bundle (includes Fable III and Halo Reach) for $199, 50 percent off select Hasbro games, a set of three freshwater cultured pearl button stud earrings for $16.99, 25 percent off orders of $75 or more on select brands in “shoes & accessories,”  up to 60 percent off sweaters and fleece for women, men, kids and baby, a Bissell PowerEdge Hard Floor vacuum for $29.99, and “Twilight” series DVDs for $6.99 each.

Best Buy: Get a NOOK Simple Touch Reader for $79.99, $10 off a $50 iTunes gift card and a 15.6-inch Gateway laptop with Intel Pentium processor and 4GB Memory for $309.99.

Continue reading Cyber Monday deals »

Maybe you purposely avoided Black Friday’s mayhem. Or you still have holiday shopping to do. Either way, here are ways to prepare for Monday’s online version of Black Friday:

– Join the club: Sign up for email alerts from stores to get the scoop on sales. Or follow them on Facebook or Twitter for up-to-date info.

– Try out electronics: Test-drive electronics this weekend in stores. Decide which phone is the most user-friendly, or which TV has the best picture, so when it comes time to get the online deal, you’ll purchase with confidence.

– Rise and shine: Plan to shop early if you’re gunning for a particular item. Some sales start as soon as midnight Sunday night, if not earlier, so check websites in advance.

– Save on shipping: Most retailers will offer a form of free shipping. Best Buy, L.L. Bean and Nordstrom are among retailers offering free shipping without a minimum purchase.

– Use promo codes: Search for them on sites like RetailMeNot.com, CouponCabin.com and

Continue reading Cyber Monday: Tips to get the best online deals »

Nothing like the thrill of the hunt, the need for greed and plain old stupidity, rudeness and/or evil to mar Black Friday sales across the nation.

The pepper spray heard ’round the world

It’s probably the most talked-about incident of Black Friday: A woman trying to improve her chance to buy cheap electronics at a Walmart in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb spewed pepper spray on a crowd of shoppers and 20 people suffered minor injuries.

The store had brought out a crate of discounted Xbox video game players, and a crowd had formed to wait for the unwrapping, when the woman began spraying people “in order to get an advantage,” police Sgt. Jose Valle said.

“People could have gotten trampled,” he said. “Good thing there were no small kids.” The woman got away in the confusion, but it was not immediately clear whether she got an Xbox, Valle said.

Tired store employee drives into canal

A tired Target employee on her way home from working an early morning Black Friday shift lost …

Continue reading National Black Friday: The weird, the bad and the ugly »

More Black Friday coverage: Mall parking lot capacities and traffic | Online deals | WINNING: Deals still available, short lines, etc. | LOSING: Deals gone, long lines, etc.
Store hours | Mall hours | Gift ideas from JessicaShops

Good morning to all you bargain shoppers!

Late last night/early this morning, reports from most stores were of long lines and slow checkouts. Here’s hoping it’s better after 4a.m.

Here are a few doorbusters you might see while out shopping this morning.

Best Buy: If you’re looking for an inexpensive, midsize TV, go for the Sharp 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $199.99. Or find an assortment of Blu-ray movies for $4.99 (including “Inception,” “Love Happens” and “The Dark Knight”).

Discover Mills: 50 percent off all sneakers, boots, and slippers for kids and adults at Stride Rite; 40 percent off at Tommy Hilfiger; 40 percent off at Last Call by Neiman Marcus from midnight to noon; 50 percent off Carter’s Outlet this weekend with an additional …

Continue reading Atlanta Black Friday deals »

More Black Friday coverage: Deals | Mall parking lot capacities and traffic |
WINNING: Deals still available, short lines, etc. | LOSING: Deals gone, long lines, etc. |
Store hours | Mall hours | Gift ideas from JessicaShops

Avoiding the crowds? You’re not the only one.

Here’s a sampling of deals available online today.

Amazon.com: The lightning deals are back this year and have already included a Kodak EasyShare camera for $49.98, Maroon 5’s Hands All Over for $4.99 and various seasons of “Mad Men” for about $8.99 each. You might have to join a wait list for popular items. You can also jump on any smartphone (besides iPhone) for only one cent with a new contract.

Atlanta Silverbacks: Through 11:59 p.m. Monday, season ticket plans in the black section of the stadium will be 50 percent off. Each black season ticket package includes the following: One black section ticket to all Silverbacks home regular season, cup, playoff, and exhibition games, seven VIP tent passes, guest …

Continue reading Black Friday deals online »