Get Pretty for LESS Before the Holiday Season!

I can't believe it's almost November, but I know from past experience that once you hit mid-November, it might as well already be Christmas Day because those weeks are SO BUSY & just fly by! So, when I saw this Hawt on Yelp promotion on Cities on the Cheap I was quite excited. For the week of Nov 2-8 you can get 50% off at select salons & spas on massages, haircuts, facials, waxing, etc. *You have to call and make an appt. in advance and mention "Hawt on Atlanta". No walk ups!

While we're talking salons, I can't pass up the opportunity to promote Cayla at Bob Steele Salon Riverside. She's amazing (and really cool. I swear I'm not just saying that because she reads my blog!) AND the salon does GREAT promotions! If you make an appt. at Bob Steele and give them my name- Kathy Powell, you save 20% (and then I also save 20% on my next visit!). My favorite promotion is the procrastinator's special- they call it H.OT, Hair Openings Tomorrow. Once you've been once to the salon, you get a login to make appointments online. If you go on between 7pm & Midnight you can get 25% off appointments for the next day (only Tuesday - Friday). LOVE IT!

In other news, it's Halloween tomorrow. There are a ton of great free offers -especially if you have kids (or can borrow some for the afternoon) or if you plan on dressing like a burrito for Halloween. Here are a few good links to check out: Free Sample Freak, Atlanta on the Cheap & Centsable Momma.

Oh Bonus: Here are two coupons for Robek's Smoothies- if you're up by Perimeter Mall, Roswell or East Cobb, they are DELICIOUS! Also, if you're up by the Mall, buy something at Bath & Body works and get a free hand sanitizer. Thanks CouponCravings.

Have a happy & safe Halloween!

Frugal with your Time: Just Give 5

It's "We-Not-Me" Wednesday! Woohoo! Ok so today's We-theme is about giving your time not money. Now, I talked last week about volunteering and iParticipate, but this week I'm talking about giving of a SMALL amount of your time. FIVE MINUTES. Just five minutes. Can you be of help in five minutes... YES! I apologize that suddenly I've gone all caps happy in this post, but it's often easier to think that someone else will take action, but if everyone made small steps, we'd all be singin' Kum Bah Yah! Ok so maybe that's a little optimistic, but let's shoot for the stars. Here are two great resources... so take 5 minutes and visit these sites & sign up for their emails... don't worry- they're both free!

• Five Minutes of Caring: In my email box everyday, I get a 5 Minutes of Caring email blast from Cool People Care. They're quick nice messages that give you tips, information to build awareness and a quick action for you to take. Some of the blasts are as as simple as ways to be nice to people or yesterday's was simple ways to green your halloween. Join the list- it's a start!
• $5 or 5 Minutes= 1 Way to Make a Difference: I just found this site, The Causemopolitan, the other day and I'm kinda obsessed with it already. I'm also totally inspired by the author of the blog, Sloane, who is the poster child of just-doing-what-I can-and-actually-having-an-impact-on-others. Anyway, she has started a series with 5 simple things that take either 5 minutes or a donation of $5 and that really make a difference. Awesome and well-researched.

Be frugal with your time and just give 5 minutes. Even if you don't make a huge difference in the world with 5 minutes, you'll make a difference in your world- in your attitude, in your local environment, in your relationships, etc. And that IS making a difference!

Finding Sales for the Lazy & Directionally Challenged

I love a good deal... but I also am kinda lazy.  So I've found this site, MapYeti.com that is incredibly handy- just enter your address or zip code and it lists sales & specials for a variety of stores, restaurants, etc. in your area. You can even easily get directions there or search by category- I have to admit I've looked mostly at all the restaurant & bar selections. I mean, a girl's gotta eat & I can't go thirsty! 

I think this is such a cool site that I've joined forces. I am happy to announce that I am officially a contributor for MapYeti.com! I'm helping them grow their sales, especially on the north side of Atlanta & expand to more areas north of the Perimeter- since we all know when you say Altanta, it now means you could live anywhere in a huge handful of counties. In full disclosure, I just think it's cool to help them, so I'm not getting paid, but all the sales I post do include a link to my blog.

How it works: Businesses can post sales & specials and keep up their own page. Contributors (like me!) work to add specials. AND you can log in and add a user-contributed special as well! So if there's a place in your area you love that has a good sale, share it with others! MapYeti is currently in Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis & New York.

I have officially declared Mondays as MapYeti Mondays where I'll feature my fav sales from MapYeti & sales I've recently added. So, go check it out & follow them on twitter @mapyeti. If you take advantage of a good sale you find on MapYeti, let me know about it!!

Bring your own bag!

Ok, so what are your feelings about bringing your own bags to the groccery store? I'm a little ashamed to say that I haven't jumped on the bandwagon. As someone who is always looking for simple ways to make an impact on others & my wallet, why the heck am I not bringing my own bags?? If you're one of those people who collects your plastic bags to use around your house, you know how quickly they pile up. Seriously, stores are personally wasting a lot of plastic on me & I don't want to be wasteful. SO, for people like me who have been a little slow on the uptake, stores are trying to offer some incentives to bring your own bags... including some cash back!

Target- Get a $.05 discount for every reusable bag you bring. It says you have to use their target reusable bags, which is kinda annoying, but if you shop there a lot, it's definitely worth it! This is starting Nov 1, so check with your store. Hopefully they'll let you use any reusable bag eventually.

CVS- Their system takes an extra step. You buy a $1 green tag to attach to your bag and then when you bring your own reusable bag, they'll scan your green tag and your Extra Care Card, and you'll get $.25 in extra care bucks on each visit. This is also pretty new, so check with your store.

Trader Joes- If you use reusable bags, you get entered to win a $25 gift bag. That's cool. And I always see people in that store with reusable bags.

Whole Foods- I really don't shop there often because it's expensive, but my nearby store gives you $.10 rebate for each reusable bag you use, plus this month you can donate your dime to help Georgia' flooded farms. Plus they sell sturdy reusable bags for $.99.

Kroger- I called my local Kroger after reading that some Krogers across the country give incentives, but my Kroger man was beyond clueless, so even if they did, good luck getting them to actually give you the deal at that store. Boo.

Now, I'm on the look out for good & cheap reusable bags! Let me know what you use & what you think!

We Day: Volunteering is FREE!

Ok so today is my second installment of "We Not Me" Wednesdays, my newly created weekly post to talk about things we can do for others that uses your frugalness for good. 

Do you remember last year when all the major networks got together and did that big Stand up 2 Cancer telethon? Well, the forces behind that have gotten together to promote volunteerism. I was super excited when I heard this because volunteering is super fab AND super frugal. So I'm all about iParticipate, a week of all the major networks (and some others) weaving the theme of volunteering & service into their shows. Philanthropy.com's live blog on the week is following the week of shows, but it doesn't seem like they're convinced that the shows have been doing a really good job integrating the topic. But there are a lot of PSA's about volunteering, so that's a start. And there's a lot of the week left. Have you guys noticed volunteering in your fav shows this week?

Volunteering is extremely frugal for a ton of reasons- you get out of the house without spending money & you often get free food or snacks. Obviously, you don't volunteer just because it doesn't cost money, but if your current priority is saving as much money as possible, you should budget in time to volunteer to help balance your perspective.  

Ooh Also, if you pick the right activity, you can skip a trip to the gym! For example,  TreesAtlanta has great volunteer ops every Saturday that get you actively outside, helping plant and care for trees. Plus you're done by Noon so it barely counts as taking up your Saturday. 

Here's a BONUS We-Wednesday FREE gift: Spread the love and get a pack of 5 free "You're Great" Stickers. These simple stickers are to pass on to others. They'd make a great insert in a thank you card- so write a card to let someone know they're appreciated!

Strike A Pose: FREE Photos!

So, I'm really not good at taking pictures. It's not that I'm a bad photographer, it's just that I never think to have a camera with me. And if I do happen to have a camera, I forget to actually take pictures. Or if I do actually take pictures, they stay in my camera FOREVER. Literally, I'm not sure I've ever gotten digital photos actually printed so they look like real, frame-worthy photos. So, I'm excited about this FREE $15 Gift Card to Kodak Gallery. It's pretty harmless- all you need to do is sign up for their emails on the right hand of the page. And it has to be a valid email because they email you the online code for $15 to use at www.kodakgallery.com. Ooh I suddenly want a photo mousepad. I have no idea what picture I would put on a mousepad, but I could use a new mousepad. OOH or I could get some multiples of a Christmas-card-worthy-pic and then I have an excuse to shop www.linvites.com and get these cute Argyle adhere your own photo cards.  Love it!

Good for a Laugh & a FREE hot drink!

If you're in the ATL this weekend, you're quite aware that it seems like fall has been skipped over and it's suddenly winter. To keep warm, I found a cool coupon for a FREE coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate or tea at 7-Eleven good through the end of the month. You have to play a totally HILARIOUS game in order to get the coupon.  Apparently, 7-Eleven now has Brazilian coffee, so they decided it would be a good idea to do a promotional game where you pretend you're picking up people at a bar by asking them cheesy pick up lines and seeing if they respond well or not. If you get them to leave the bar with you, you get the coupon- the game is called "Wake up with a Hot Brazilian". When you play the game, make sure you choose to go dance with the person. You play a guitar hero style dance game and the whole thing is more fun than it should be and it ends with a free drink, which is awesome! There aren't a ton of 7-Eleven locations in Georgia, but if it's not too far out of the way, seek it out. Plus the game is worth playing even if you don't use the coupon! Enjoy!