July 22nd, 2010 by LucyB
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Sometimes when you go on vacation, you want to spoil yourself and stay in a hotel that’s a little bit out of your price range. Or, you want to get a good deal on a rental car or flight but don’t have the time to check every car company or airline website to compare prices.
That’s where Priceline.com comes in. Priceline allows you to book flights, hotel rooms, car rental and attractions, all in the one place. Priceline is great when you can be flexible about dates, destinations and hotels, because that flexibility will help you widen your search and find the best deals. Keep in mind, however, that once you’ve made a reservation through Priceline.com, you cannot refund your booking under any circumstances.
Priceline.com is particularly handy for when you need to book a hotel. You can book hotels at the price listed by Priceline, or you can make a bid, enter in your credit card details, and wait for an answer. Bidding is great because you can find yourself scoring great deals – provided no one bids higher than you. You may find yourself staying in 5-star luxury for the price of a 3-star motel.
July 15th, 2010 by LucyB
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Want a deal, and want one now? DailySteals.com is your go-to online store when you want a deal of the day in a hurry. Rather than having lots of products for sale at any one time, at ok prices, DailySteals.com believes in providing just one product for sale at any one time, at a really amazing price.
Daily Steals is an online bargain bin where you’ll find everything from electronics to gifts to kitchen items to Swiss army knives and magazine subscriptions. Everything is BRAND NEW so they make for perfect gifts when you’re on a budget.
Need new headphones? Well, you’re in luck. Today, DailySteals.com is offering iHip Professional DJ Stereo Headphones with booming bass and noise isolation for iPhones, iPods and MP3 players for just $4.99. They retail for $49.99, so you’ll make a saving of 90%! Get them while they’re hot! And be sure to bookmark the site so you can check in daily for the giveaway of the day.
July 14th, 2010 by LucyB
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If you want a good deal on brand-name designer clothes, accessories, homewares and gifts, you can’t go past PEACHFROG in Brooklyn, New York. PEACHFROG offers significant discounts on all its products, all the time. In fact, Peach Frog guarantees you’ll save up to 90% on retail prices, every day. Right now, PEACHFROG has L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani shoes for only $99 – the retail price is usually $350, so you’ll make a saving of up to 80%. Slip on sneakers cost only $15, men’s super soft white tee shirts are only $5.75, and ladies Fresh Ink capris and shorts are only $14.99. There are ladies and men’s sunglasses in a whole range of styles – Jackie Os, Hipsters, Jack Nicholson styles, Vintage looks – for only $6, and Poivre D’Or jams and honeys, teddy bears, candles and soaps will set you back just a couple of bucks.
PEACHFROG is located at 136 North 10th Street between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Take the L train to Bedford Avenue.
July 7th, 2010 by LucyB
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If you need a car sometimes to go grocery shopping or get to a place where public transit won’t take you, want to save money, don’t want the hassle of owning a car, don’t want to make an environmental footprint by owning a car, need a second car once in a while, or need a bigger car for a camping trip or move, Zipcar may be for you.
With Zipcar, it’s quick and easy to join online and you can reserve a car online by searching by time, location, price or model just minutes or months in advance. With Zipcar, you literally pay as you go; if you only need a car for 2 hours, then that’s what you’ll pay for. Gas, insurance and miles are all included. Zipcar rates and plans vary according to where you live. If you’re a New Yorker, for example, you’ll pay $25 to join Zipcar and a $50 annual fee. Hourly rates start at $8 and daily rates start at $77. You can also score plenty of special deals.
Zipcar is perfect for the occasional driver, and makes plenty of economical sense.
July 6th, 2010 by LucyB
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If you live in New York and you love the tennis, then you’ll no doubt be hanging out for the 2010 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows from August 30 to September 12. And if you’re on a budget, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the action live on the court.
You can score yourself a bird’s eye view of world-class players in Arthur Ashe Stadium for as little as $45 a seat for day and night sessions during the first week. And it actually pays to turn out to see the tennis early in the tournament as that’s when some of the tightest, most exiting matches are generally played (don’t forget that the longest tennis match in history, at 11 hours and 70–68 in the fifth set, was a first round match at Wimbledon 2010). Grand slam finals are notorious for being short, one-sided affairs.
The court on Arthur Ashe Stadium is being ripped up and fully replaced this summer, only for the second time in the history of the stadium. So book your cheap seats online at USOpen.org now to see great tennis on the brand-new playing surface.
June 22nd, 2010 by admin
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A room at the MAve.
Finding a hotel deal in NYC is no easy task. Even staying at a Holiday Inn can run you three hundo a night. The best option is to find something in the middle. A bunch of hip new hotels have opened up recently that make sleeping in the city affordable (relatively). Here are the top 5:
1. Distrikt: This fun hotel is centrally located near the Port Authority and each floor has its own New York themed floor.
2.Eventi: Chelsea livin’ ain’t cheap, but this spot makes up for it, with a big gym, a spa, and dog and cat massages. This is an upscale hotel in introductory guise, which it takes off in October, when the $249 a night room becomes $399. Get it while you can!
3. Fashion 26: A rooftop bar is opening this month, and right next to F.I.T., the location isn’t bad. Best Dressed Guest contest winners get free room upgrades.
4. Hotel Indigo: A small gym, rooftop bar, and floral theme are sprightly, and a business center makes this cute hotel nice, but not great, at $269.
5. The MAve: The real deal buster at $179, this hotel is on the east side, and close to Madison Park. Coffee and danish are served gratis, but the room is a little cramped.
June 15th, 2010 by admin
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The Brooklyn Museum of Art is often compared with its Manhattan counterparts as a lesser more populist museum. In truth, the museum has a superb permanent collection, and in order to lure more visitors is offering deals.
Every First Saturday, the museum offers free admission, along with a wine and beer cash bar, sandwiches, salads and live entertainment. The party lasts until 11 p.m. but every other Saturday, the museum closes at 6. You may want to get there early – sometimes the event fills up and tickets are necessary.
Currently the museum has a Kiki Smith exhibition, along with an exhibit on American high fashion. Starting Friday, they will feature an Andy Warhol: The Last Decade, a vastly productive period for the artist where he experimented with the screened image, and pieces of a grander scale than normal.
Although the Brooklyn Museum has taken heat in the past for trying to appeal to a crowd through more mainstream exhibitions, like the popular rock photography show that ended in January, the permanent collection – with rarities from Egypt and the Incan Andes, along with masterworks from the Hudson Valley school are always on display and shouldn’t be missed.
For the true deal hunter, with a suggested $10 admission, this museum is often overlooked and underrated.
June 4th, 2010 by admin
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Finding travel deals can be difficult. Here are some things to remember when you’re planning a summer getaway.
1. Fast action: When a deal goes up on Twitter or the site of an airline or hotel, they usually only last for a certain amount of time OR until the deal on those items is snatched up. For example, Jet Blue sometimes offers deals until 6 pm or until the 25 seats it’s offering have been bought. In order get the deal, you have to be on top of your deal game.
2. Dates: Often companies will allow a deal only for specific dates, which means that when you enter the dates you want to travel, you’re met with the normal price. Check for small print at the bottom of the page to see what the deal is. Be flexible with your dates to receive the best prices (hint: leave and return during mid-week).
3. Travel Agencies: Be wary of composite travel agencies and their offerings. Hotwire, for example, frequently has pop up style deals that present a much cheaper price than in actuality. Even when you sign up for email notifications, there’s often a chance that deceit is around the corner.
May 25th, 2010 by admin
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If you live in New York City and like to get away to Boston, Baltimore or Washington, D.C. every so often, but don’t have a whole lot of money, you’re probably familiar with the phenomenon of the Chinatown bus. You wait on a designated corner and make a mad dash onto the bus when it pulls up to the curb. It’s cheap, it’s…well, it’s cheap. That counts for a lot. And it’s kind of exciting. It reminds me a little bit of bus travel in Central America, except with fewer live chickens on board.
Once the Chinatown bus I was riding home from Boston broke down just north of The Bronx. The driver didn’t speak English, but we could see the smoke rising from under the carriage, and we gathered from his gestures that we were on our own now, so we collected our bags and followed signs to the city.
I splurged for the train for awhile after that.
Then one sunny day, along came BOLT. Once again, for less than the cost of a cab ride from the East Village to Brooklyn, a bus will take me to Boston, Baltimore or D.C., but this time it’s clean. It’s reliable. And it has free WIFI. A one-way ticket costs $16-$20, depending on peak hours. If you become a member, every eight trips buys you a free one-way ticket. And if you book far enough in advance, a ticket’s just a dollar.
With all the work I get done on board thanks to the free WIFI, sometimes I think it would be worth the commute.
April 20th, 2010 by Sarah
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The government is giving out more than $300 million in rebates for those who buy energy efficient appliances. Unfortunately, the program was so successful that in many cases, states ran out of deals to dole within a day or two. The Fed created the program as part of the stimulus package, and the results seem to be boosting the sales of retailers.
Part of the success was inspired by turn in programs involving cars and other old appliances. Last year, the Cash for Clunkers program rewarded those who swapped gas guzzling trucks and SUV’s for cash, and similarly, these appliance seekers have seen the boon.
Partly fueled by Earth Day, California’s incentive program has $35 million in rebates, while American Samoa has $100,000. Some states, like Texas, had such a positive response to the rebates that many customers had difficulty securing reservations, due to long phone wait times, and crashing websites. Frustration and dissatisfaction was rampant.
Other states, like Missouri, have learned from these problems and begun a phasing process instead. Illinois made the retailers seek the rebates from the state, which was a lot easier on the customers. A Colorado appliance company, Appliance Factory Outlet, anticipates to make more than $300,000. It seems that most people are benefitting from the government’s deal.
A room at the MAve.
