New Years Eve - Last post of 2009!

Another year has come and gone. For me, it had its ups and downs. I finally graduated university, and I got to travel around Europe. The downside is that I am  still unemployed - darn this recession! Is anyone going to make new years resolutions? I think mine will be to try to eat healthier and be more active. If you are going to party it up tonight, remember to stay safe and don't drink and drive! BC Transit will be free tonight starting at 5pm. We have the Winter Olympics to look forward to in February (I have a part time job during that time) and hopefully more great events! Here's to more shopping, deals and freebies next year!

I hope everyone had a great 2009, and here's hoping for a fun-filled year in 2010! I'll see you next year! ;)

The House of the Dead: Overkill - Game Review

I picked up House of the Dead: Overkill for the Wii during the boxing week sale at Best Buy. The game is going for only $14.99 right now until January 3, 2010. My sister and I just finished the game tonight, it only took us two nights! It's a good shooting games, great for those people who used to play House of the Dead games at the arcade, or anyone who is a fan of the series. I haven't played the other Wii games in this series, but it's probably quite similar. I found the game to be too short though. It only took about 15 minutes to finish each chapter, and there were only 7 chapters. You are able to play by yourself, or partner up with someone else. After you complete the story mode, you unlock the director's cut, which is the same story but harder. There is guts and gore and a lot of swearing, especially f-bombs, so this game is definitely not recommended for younger children. I enjoyed the game even though it was too short, but at that price ($9.99 after using my $5 Nintendo coupon!) I can't complain! Go pick yours up now!

FREE Amazon Gift Cards & Other Prizes!

This month so far I have been able to cash in for $25 in Amazon.ca gift cards on Swagbucks! Woot woot! It would have been enough to get a Rock Band 2 drum set, but unfortunately Amazon.ca raised the price by $10, and now it's sold out too! Grr.

But anyway, please sign up for Swagbucks using the link below, and you will get started off with 3 swagbucks of your own! Woot! It's easy to earn swagbucks to redeem for prizes, ranging from gift cards to game consoles (Wii, PS3, NDS)!!! I have already cashed out for $65 in Amazon.ca gift cards!

Of course, Irazoo is another great search and win site, but they only give Amazon.com gift cards to Canadian users. If you live in the states, then they also offer awesome prizes like game consoles, ipods and cameras. You only need 3000 points to redeem for a $5 gift card, and you can earn a maximum of 300 points a day. That means every 10 days, you get $5!!! I've cashed out for $50 so far.

More Shopping!

Sister and I went shopping again yesterday and today. Yesterday we got up at 8 and headed out early to go to church, then went to the mall. Sis had to pick up some aquarium stuff that was on sale. Then we went into our first mall, but didn't find anything interesting. Drove over to the next mall, where sister got two pairs of shoes at Payless Shoe Source. One was on sale for only $13, the other was regular price. I used my SPC for an additional 10% off! Then we had to head back to the aquarium shop for my sister to buy another filter. Got back at about 5:30. That's FIVE malls in two days - a record!!

Today we got to the mall at about 10 to do some returns. Dad decided that we will get a better blu-ray player later on, since we don't even have an HDTV yet. LONG lines. Sister returned some stuff at Futureshop and I went to Best Buy. While there, sister picked up the last copy of Dragon Age: Origins for PCs on sale for $29.99 and a copy of Norton 360 3.0 on sale for $29.99. I caved in and got House of the Dead: Overkill for the Wii on sale at $14.99 minus a $5 coupon. Walked around the mall for a bit, but didn't find anything else of interest so left at around 4.

Three days of intense shopping and I'm bushed. My feet and shoulders hurt and my legs are tired. But now it's time to enjoy all the purchases we made! Woot, can't wait for boxing day next year! :D

How did you make out on Boxing Day? Lots of deals?

My sister and I woke up the earlier ever to go boxing day shopping this year. Got up at 3am, and was out the door by 3:30 (already late!). Sis dropped me off at Best Buy, and I was early enough that I got to wait inside, away from the cold! My sister went off to line up at Futureshop. Doors opened at 6am, and I picked up an Insignia Blu-Ray player for $79.99. Also got two Nokia bluetooth headsets with charger for $19.99 each. Mine is the BH-105 model. Sister got Samsung Blu-Ray, James Bond Quantum of Solace blu-ray movie for $9.99.

Then off to Zellers at 6:40 to see if I could get Just Dance game for Wii at 50% off...unfortunately, they don't even stock it!! GRRR!!! So I check out Toys R Us for Super Mario 64 Nintendo DS Lite game on sale at $24.97. It's such an old game, but I've never seen it on sale until now! Regular price is $39.99. ONLY, Toys R Us wasn't even open! *grumble* I then rush over to Superstore to see if I could score some half price chocolate, but everything good seemed to have been snatched up already, plus this year they didn't even have a lot of discounted candies!

Next stop was Old Navy, where the sweaters my sister and I were eying were discounted to $14. There was a 25% off any item coupon in the flyer, but I didn't have one, so I asked my cashier if I could still get the discount, and she asked the manager who said okay, so woot woot!! Sister wasn't so lucky though :S But she did use her $5 gift card she won last week from the Ferrero Rocher mall tour!

Afterwards, we headed to Lush to check out their sales. It was buy 1 get 1 free boxed set or buy 1 soap/holiday item get 2 free. We picked up 3 bath bombs. Then we went to Mcd's to refuel and get breakfast! Mmm, big breakfast. Before we left, we went to Black's Photography to get our free camera phone lens cleaner, a $19.99 value! Woot!

We jumped into the car and headed towards Walmart. Sister got a few dvds for $5 each, one for $2.97. Got The Love Guru, Premonition, and Lady in the Water. She also got a DS game, Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon at $14.83 minus a $5 Nintendo coupon. A 4 litre jug of chocolate milk was also discounted for $2 since it expires end of the year, so sis and I got a jug.

Then we went next door to Pet Smart to use my 3 free Purina Pro Plan dry cat food coupons. (They have a BOGO sale atm, so it will be cheaper for those without any coupons). Sis had to buy a snail to get the computer system to let the tax be taken off. Starbucks was next to warm up with a mocha, bought using my points from my Starbucks Duetto Visa. Yum, free coffee!

Popped over to our 2nd Superstore next, where we picked up Live by Jennifer Lopez perfume. Apparently designer perfumes were going for 75% off, and there was a huge crowd, but they didn't seem to be that discounted to me.  Also got a triangular box of mini Toblerone chocolates at half price! We gave that to our grandpa. We then went to another mall to check out the Walmart there. Sister wanted to see if there were any DVDs. Didn't really find any good deals, but did get a few boxes of seashell chocolates that mum can use for gifts. After that, we went to yet another mall to check out the Zellers there for Just Dance - no luck. I had the cashier call 2 other Zellers near me, but nothing. I don't think any of the Zellers in BC had this game in stock! False advertising to lure people in the store! Humph. Ended up getting a Glysomed 3 piece gift set on for 50% off, for $9.99 - 10% SPC discount. Sister also found a 3 movie in 1 DVD with cartoon movies she liked.

We headed home after that. There wasn't as many good deals as there we last year, but I hope everyone was able to at least find something the liked! Remember, there are still pretty good sales going on for the rest of the week, so if you missed out today, go tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

I just want to wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas and happy holidays! I hope everyone gets to spend time with their family and friends and just relax and eat good food!

Are you ready for BOXING DAY???

Yes it's that time of year again...no, not Christmas. The day after Christmas - Boxing Day!! Boxing day is every frugal shopper's dream, with the mad sales on everything. My sister and I look forward to this day every year! Most people look at big ticket items at electronic stores, such as cameras, laptops, and tvs. There are also large appliances on sale as well. If you've been meaning to buy that new fridge or dishwasher, boxing day/week is the day to do it! You can save a TON of money just by shopping on boxing day. Many retailers extend boxing day sales to week-long sales, though there will only be a limited quantity of door-crashers, and you'll have to be quick. That means starting to line up at your chosen store early in the morning. And I mean early. Some people sleepover night, while others start lining up in the wee hours in the morning. I believe the last couple of years, I went to Best Buy before 5am, and still the line was pretty long.

Start thinking about other events and people you have to buy gifts for throughout the year. Is someone's birthday coming up? Mother's day? Housewarming gifts? Boxing day sales are a cheap way to stock up on gifts for other occasions. There will be many sales that are 50% off or even more. Buy those games, movies, music, clothes, electronics or books NOW. Why wait until later in the year when you have to pay full price on the same item? You can be saving hundreds on dollars just by planning ahead and picking up gifts for others on boxing day.  

Be prepared though. Do your research - start looking through boxing day flyers now to decide what you want to buy (mostly for big ticket items). You can find your flyers delivered to your door with your local newspaper, or online if you know the specific store you want to go to. Some popular stores are Best Buy, Futureshop, Walmart, Zellers and even Superstore! Superstore usually offers 50% on all of their chocolate and holiday items. Stock up on chocolate if you're going to eat them. Or save them for gifts! Chocolate usually doesn't go bad for a few years.

So dust off those gloves and set that alarm, because those sales aren't going to wait! The savings that can be found on boxing day/week are unbeatable and for anyone trying to save money in these hard economic times without sacrificing the quality of their gifts. Hope everyone has fun and manage to snag a few good deals. I would love to hear what you were able to pick up! I'll be seeing you in the lines and crowded mall! ;)