Photo by Alan Cleaver
Every week I’ll pose a question for you to share your experiences and tips. If you have a question that you’d like me to post, I’d love to hear from you!
There have been a ton of great deals this holiday season. One of my favorites is this Radio Flyer Tailspin Trike (normally $89.99) that I got for my almost 3-year-old for $29.99. I paid for it with Swagbucks, making it an even better deal!
What’s the best deal you’ve gotten so far? Was it something you knew you wanted and watched for a sale or something unexpected? Did you splurge on any gifts even without a deal? What are you hoping to get for Christmas?
Join the discussion — add your two cents to previous Ask DSM Readers questions too!
Mel
A free Superman costume from Old Navy! Post-Halloween clearance + reward bucks = my nephew is going to dance with glee when he opens his present
Sandra
I got a personalized Miami Dolphins Key Chain and Money Clip for only $5.99 shipped!!!! This gift was for my brother in law… I know he’s gonna love it~! Merry Christmas!
Angie
I don’t have one specific deal…but I managed to get most of my kids gifts for nothing OOP by using Amazon GCs that I earned doing surveys, using Swagbucks, etc. My husband was quite impressed!
gail
step2 desk from kohls – regularly $59.99 got for 5.40 plus tax and shipping = $12 total!!!! :)
Meagan
Well, first, all the money we used for Christmas came from swagbucks, so that’s already a good deal. We used it to pay for my husband’s textbooks we were buying from there anyways, and then kept the cash we were going to use for textbooks. Then, I bought my daughter a wooden train set with 5 cars and a circular track that was all organic for $5.00. It was a combination of several deals rolled up into one, and was awesome and worth over $40
Jamie Yonash
I used some of my Disney Movie Reward points to get a Tinker Bell CD player boombox for my 4 year old! It was shipped free also. It is so cute….I saw one at ToysRus for $40!!!
Rachelle R
my best deal was getting the melissa and doug art easel on amazon for $39.99 but i used my swagbucks so i literally got it for free!
Erin
My sister-in-law has been begging the whole family for a cuisinart frozen yogurt maker. They’re usually $100, but it was on sale at amazon for 49.95 with free shipping and I used this year’s swagbucks gift cards!!
Heather B.
I am new to the deal site so I don’t even know what swag bucks are, sounds like fun, but my best deal was on Black Friday at Big Lots. I got Zhu Zhu pet playhouses (which are usually $20 or more) for $5. I also was excited to find a train table(approximate value $100) for $15 on Craigs list and it even included the train set. Even though it was not a brand new toy it was a great deal! It looks brand new. :)
Angie
I got a ton of free gifts this year. The best would be the free Plan toys dollhouse from Franklin Goose credits. Got my younger sister’s gift for free with swagbucks, very cheap organic clothes and soft shoes from the Wild Dill eversave deal a few months ago.
Melissa
Lots of free stuff from Swagbucks but the best purchase OOP I made was the $25 for $50 Groupon to Nordstrom Rack. Picked up some expensive cologne and a sweater for myself for cheap!
Melissa
Let me add the cologne was a gift for someone else, the sweater was for me ;-)
Jilana Bond
I have gotten so many toys for free but my favorite deal was an unexpected find for me :o) I got a pair of Canadine boots worth $327 for $26 shipped. They are the best boots I have ever put on my feet and they are so warm. I may go as far as saying they are worth $327 for people can afford it.
Liz
I scored lots of great deals this year. I think the best one was adorable pink canvas sneakers for my niece, completely free with my Gilt sign-up credit.
Dizzy Mommy
There were so many this year..
But I was one of the lucky ones to come away with the Kindle for $89, for my teenager who always has a book in her hand. A local electronics store had the 3rd generation new flip camera for $100 and I got one of those. Also the leapster games for $9 and $10 on Amazon with free shipping for my twins. I got Dh a Canvas on Demand from Groupon I had a $20 credit from my SIL and mom so it was $25. Its our wedding portrait and will be up when he wakes up on Christmas.
Cathy Kramer
My best deal was 2 DSi systems for free with our hotel points! $300 in Target giftcards made both systems free! My husband was traveling for work for about 6 months, all those points paid for Christmas!
Karrie Richert
The Tassimo single serving coffee brewer for my husband at Amazon for 49.99. YAY!
ivy
I got my husband an iPod Touch and 25 GC from Amazon for $200. I paid for over half of it with GC I earned from Swagbucks and other survey things :)
Deb
I went to WM to get a bike for my daughter and they were marked $55, and that was the last one. When I was wheeling it out, I noticed a scratch and they took off $15. I was pretty happy with that. We live in the country and she will be riding on gravel, so it is going to get scratched anyway.
Melissa
I got three free Fisher Price toys for my 8 month old daughter when I bought a total of 6 Fisher Price diapers that were on sale and I had coupons for. I was pretty happy with that!
april
Let’s see I bought my daughter’s dj player walker for $60 with swagbucks, I bought her fisher price gumball machine with the $25 I receive from campus fundraisers for doing surveys. I bought her blocks with the $14 I got from a class action suit. I found her some cute clothes for $1-2 at babies r us on black friday.
Michelle
Got a Pillow Pet for each of my three kids for free:
1. Using RRs from Walgreens Black Friday moneymakers and 15% Friends and Family Discount.
2. Using ExtraCare Bucks from CVS Black Friday moneymakers and 30% Friends and Family Discount.
3. At Walgreens Using Super Jingle Cash from last week’s transaction and $5 RR from Hallmark moneymaker.
bethann
Is anyone having problem with the tena underwear rebate, they said that they didn’t get the rebated form from me but they e-mail me a conformation saying that they got it, but they can’nt find it.
Lacey
Had a problem with Aveno rebate then a week latergot a check and a letter saying they corrected the error.
rachel b.
bought a $200 winter peacoat on sale last spring for only $40 shipped! It’s worth every bit of $200 for the quality and how it’s lined and the cut! Plus it’s red and i’ve always wanted one but it was just too expensive! L-O-V-E IT!
Ruth Ann
I got my nephew an AirJamz Guitar and amp for $12 total. Bought a really nice train set for an Angel Tree kid adopted through my church using a Borders 50% off coupon. I actually got a lot of deals at at Borders and Barnes and Noble using their coupons.
And, my favorite, was finally replacing my old computer with a new MacbookPro using the Black Friday sale in conjunction with an employee discount. It wasn’t a huge sale, but since Macs don’t go on sale except this time of year, it was the best price I was going to get.
Linda
Using my $25 credit for member referral at Gilt, I purchased 2 different designer gifts (a green art glass candleholder set, and a wooden cheese tray w/ serving pieces set) by Sagaform that retail each for over $60 a piece! (Got them for $24, together). Then, by sending 10 more emails encouraging friends to join, I got free shipping! Two awesome gifts, and not a penny spent!!!!!!
Janet T
Cologne for my husband, from fragrance.net. Regularly it’d be $45 + shipping, with the Groupon deal and my Groupon credits I got it for $19 shipped. Also, I’m loving the $5 Hallmark coupons. With all my free magazine subscriptions (thanks to this site) I was able to get my all my stocking stuffers free.Thanks for all the deals.
Elizabeth
I was able to buy the ladybug pillow pet for my daughter from my local Ace Hardware store for under $7. It was $19.99 but they mailed out a coupon for 50% off anything in the store. Plus they mailed out a $5 gift certificate that I was able to combine.
Vanessa
My best deal this year was for an Art & Poem book for oldest niece who is really into art, photography and writing poems. The book I purchased is “The Color of Love: An Artist’s Book of Poetry and Passion” (reg. $85.00 on Amazon, reg. $65 on B&N.com), I snagged it on an Amazon fluke sale offer for $2.57!!!!!
Olivia
Big Lots have 3 movies on 1 disk for $9.00. Various categories.
Olivia
Childrens Place is running a 5 for $5.00 sale on their socks, I thought this was a great deal, so I stocked up. My grandson has enough for a year.