One of the best ways to maintain a social life while respecting your wallet, regardless of the area in which you live, is to know which tools and resources are available to you. These days, deal sites are everywhere on the internet – deals that include discounts on restaurants, spa services, groceries, vacation packages, and so much more.
Oftentimes, movie tickets are on sale for half price, and these are definitely worth snatching up when you see them. With as often as it rains in the Seattle area, movies are a necessity for those winter dates. Currently, AMC is offering the following deals on movie tickets: $5 for one AMC Theatres Silver Experience Ticket (valued at $12), four AMC Gold Experience Tickets for $33 ($8.25 a ticket), or four AMC Silver Experience Tickets for $24 ($6 a ticket). Silver Experience tickets have some restrictions; they are valid only for movies that are two weeks out from their original release date. Gold Experience tickets have no restrictions. With movie tickets ranging anywhere from $10 – $15 each, these are all great deals!
Want to grab a bite to eat before the movie? Visit www.restaurant.com for gift certificates to a variety of restaurants in the area. These gift certificates are always available at a discount. Most gift certificates are offered in three amounts: $10 ($5 purchase price), $25 ($10 purchase price), and $50 ($20 purchase price). Whichever amount you choose, there is generally a minimum purchase required and 18% gratuity is often added prior to the discount. Some restaurants have a few more stipulations, such as dine-in only or lunch/dinner only. Want to save even more? Restaurant.com is almost always offering further discounts - you just need to know where to find the discount codes. Often, a simple Google search will produce a legitimate code, but for an easier search, I use www.dealnews.com. In the search box in the upper right hand corner of the page, type in restaurant.com to find the most current discount offered. Coupon codes range from 50-80% off, sometimes reducing the amount of a $25 gift certificate to $2 – you definitely can’t beat that!
Deal News (www.dealnews.com) is another great resource for discounts. They highlight the best deals in the area on electronics, clothing, restaurants, travel packages, Groupon purchases, free Kindle downloads, etc. You can scroll down the page to see all deals, or use the menu features at the top of the page to search specific interests.
A site similar to deal news, but one that is more activity and services focused is Deal Surf (www.dealsurf.com). You can search Deal Surf by location and then filter by price, time left on the deal, popularity, or category. Just make sure you remove the “Show Past Deals” filter or you will see all the recently expired deals – deals that you can no longer purchase, and what’s the fun in that!
When I stumble across a deal that I can’t live without, I will often make the purchase even if I know that I won’t be using it immediately (it's always nice to have something to look forward to). Because deals generally have an expiration date, I keep a list of every purchase I make in an excel document with a link to the site and the expiration date listed. That way, I never forget a deal that I’ve purchased and I can make sure I use it before it expires – no sense in throwing money away!
For example, a few months ago I bought a great spa deal for $99. It included an hour long massage, an hour long facial, and my choice of a manicure or pedicure. I knew I wouldn’t be able to use it at the time I made the purchase, but what woman doesn’t love (and need) a spa day? I snatched it up while it was available, made a note on my deal tracking sheet, and am very much looking forward to my upcoming appointment (an appointment that is months after the actual purchase date). Keeping these deals on hand ensures that you will always have something fun to do at a reasonable price – just make sure you don’t let them go to waste!
Feeling a little more spontaneous? Groupon Now is a great resource - just type in your zip code, pick a category, and scroll through the deals that are available at that exact moment. There's no time like the present!
Other great deal sites:
http://www.groupon.com/seattle
http://livingsocial.com/seattle
http://tippr.com/seattle/
http://www.eversave.com/seattle
http://www.buywithme.com/
http://dealdigger.seattletimes.com/
http://local.amazon.com/seattle
You can subscribe to any or all of these sites if you want to receive a daily email with the newest deal available. If you’re not a fan of spam, choose the ones that you prefer and check them out occasionally. OR, Deal Surf often features all of these sites’ deals in one convenient location – talk about one stop shopping!
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