The holidays are nearly here! You’ve probably still got some shopping to do before the big days. Before you run out and get caught up in the panic of last minute shopping, take some time to relax, and make sure that you are still getting all the best deals. Check out these five tips to help you stay a savvy shopper during the holidays.

Pick out good sales over shopper scams. Nearly every single store you visit will have some sort of sale. Many of these aren’t actually good deals at all. Plenty of stores are just trying to get you to come in or buy something that still costs too much. Don’t go into a store just because you see something for “free.” Be sure to read up on all the fine print of big sales or free items.

Stick to your shopping list. With all these crazy sales, it can be hard to resist buying something when it has a giant 40% off sticker on it. However, it’s best to only buy items on sale that you were looking for in the first place. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of stuff that you don’t really need, and you will end up spending much more money than you anticipated.

Keep your cool while shopping. It’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement of the holidays while shopping. Make sure that you enjoy your shopping trips without going crazy with your credit card. Consider taking a friend with you while you shop to make sure that you don’t start impulse buying gifts that you don’t really need to buy.

Check for free shipping when you shop online. You don’t have to go to the mall to find a good deal. There are plenty of great deals online. However, shipping can be very expensive. Before you place an order, look around and see if you can find a store that has free shipping. Sometimes shipping can be well over $20, so taking the extra time to look around for a store with free shipping can save you a lot of money.

Shop after the holidays. There are many great sales right after the holidays. If you’re looking for some specific items that are a little more expensive, try to wait until after the holidays are over. If you want to give one of these items as a gift, make your recipient a cute little IOU card or a gift certificate and buy the item for them the next day. That way, they still get what they want and you can save some money.

About the Author: Kiley Theiring is a film student at Chapman University who also loves to write. She writes about saving money and living frugally for Coupon Mountain and also maintains her own personal blog.

Guest post by Dena Stern, Managing Editor at Exercise.com

Warm weather is upon us. Summer is the perfect time to get outside and get some fresh air – and exercise!

But before you take your workout outside it helps to have the right gear. Gift cards are a great way to stock up on essential items to help you take advantage of summer weather – use your gift cards to get active and find ways to exercise outside!

Sunscreen

We all know the dangers of sun exposure – skin cancer, premature aging and painful sunburns. It’s important to protect yourself from the sun while you exercise outside. Look for brands labeled “full spectrum” to protect yourself from both UVA and UVB rays and marked “sweat resistant” or “water resistant” to ensure that your protection will last through your workout! Then use your Target giftcard to save when you stock up on sun protection!

Hiking Boots

Hiking outdoors is a fantastic workout but having the right footwear is essential. You want something that will support your ankles to prevent twisting them while maneuvering around uneven terrain. You’ll also benefit from something that will keep out water (to prevent blisters) as well as protect from poison oak/ivy, bug bites, scrapes and scratches!

These Gore-tex hiking boots are the best waterproof hiking boots on the market, plus they are durable and comfortable – and you can get them with your LL Bean Giftcard for 11% off!

Swimsuit

When it seems too hot to exercise it’s the perfect time to take a swim! Swimming burns more calories than walking or hiking and uses almost every muscle in your body – all while staying cool in the pool!

Use your JC Penney gift card to get 14% off cute, comfortable athletic swimsuits!

The following article was originally posted on GiftCardGirlFriend.com – Your Guide to Guilt-Free Gift Carding.  We’re big fans of this site and loved this article so much we asked the author if we could share it with all of our readers as well. Thanks Shelley!

With three kids going back to school (and soccer and football and scouts, etc.), my budget is tapped. We’re reusing last year’s backpacks and lunch boxes to save money, but the kids still needed a few things. So I combined gift cards and coupons to stretch the dollars a bit further. Here’s what I did:

Work It:

1. Scoured the newspaper and mailers for high discount coupons.
2. Bought discount gift cards to go along with the best coupons.

Big Savings:

For example, I received coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase at JC Penney. Then I bought a $25 JC Penney Gift Card for $21.50 at Plastic Jungle.

At JC Penney, Ally found two pairs of skinny jeans for a total of $25.99 plus a must-have, embellished top on the clearance rack for $10. The bill came to $35.99 plus tax. With our coupon and gift card, however, we paid almost nothing at the register. By combining discounts, I paid $21.5o to Plastic Jungle for essentially $35.99 in merchandise at JC Penney. That’s 40% in savings.

Going Forward:

Yes, it takes a little work and forethought. Yes, a good coupon can make all the difference. But there are stores like JC Penney, Kohls, Macy’s, and Old Navy that routinely send out special promotions. If you buy discount gift cards in advance and match ‘em up with the coupons as they arrive, you can save a lot of money.

Plan Ahead for the Holidays:

With the holidays coming up, combining gift cards with store sales and coupons could be the relief your budget is waiting for.

Shelley loves to receive gift cards. As a mom on a fairly tight budget, she rarely has money for self-indulgences like pedicures, spa treatments, and clothes not picked from the clearance rack. But if somebody gives her a gift card for such pampering, she get to shop and enjoy these experiences guilt-free. Even buying more practical items without spending my own money is a welcome treat.

A few weeks back if you remember, The Children’s Place released their latest coupons including Save 30% when you spend $60…so quickly you could have easily turned the 30% Off Savings into 40% Off Savings if you had purchased the card above from Plastic Jungle. You could turn that into more savings thru shopping their sales and clearance and using their Rewards Program Perks Points*

The post below is a follow up post from our friend Peter Camenzind at giftcardadvocate.org. We hope you find his insights helpful. In case you missed it, read what Peter had to say about using open-loop gift cards online. Be sure to leave your comments and questions below. Thanks again Peter!

Additionally, please note, Plastic Jungle does not buy or sell open-loop gift cards since they fall under a different set of rules and business regulations.  Stay tuned for more thoughts on this topic from our President, Bruce Bower.

Open-loop (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) gift cards can be very difficult to use successfully.  In my last post, I discussed how some of their limitations and how to best use them for online purchases.  In this post, I’ll discuss how to best use them for in-person purchases at retail establishment.

If you have a particular retailer in mind to use a gift card at, whether for yourself or someone else, closed-loop gift cards (Target, Wal-Mart) might be a better choice as virtually none of the open-loop gift card issues (like fees and verification) exist for closed-loop cards, and they are often available at a discount.

In-person purchases

Using these cards in-person can be tricky in many situations.  First, be aware that purchases at restaurants and gas stations are treated differently than most other purchases.

When you want to buy gas at the pump at a gas station, the gas station will automatically put a $50 or $75 hold on your card before you pump gas.  If your card does not have enough for the hold on it, you are out of luck, and won’t be able to use the card at the pump.  You may be able to present the card to the cashier, explain the situation, and pump gas as you would with a cash purchase.  However, be prepared to  cover the purchase with cash if it doesn’t work, especially if you tried it at the pump first, because of authorization holds as we explained in part 1 of this series.

You may also run into problems using gift cards that have not been registered at gas stations, and specifically at the pump, because the majority of gas stations now require you enter your billing zip code.  If you plan to use your gift card at a gas station, and have considered the $50/$75 hold issue, register your card first and use the zip code of the address you registered.

When you want to pay for a meal at a restaurant, most restaurants point-of-sale (POS) systems will automatically place a hold on the amount of your bill, plus an additional 20% to make sure you have enough available credit (or funds in the case of debit cards) for a tip.  If you want to pay for a $50 meal with a $50 gift card, and pay the tip in cash, you are out of luck as the card will be rejected as the system will attempt to authorize it for $60.  You could always ask the server to put $35 of a larger bill on a $50 gift card and then fill in the rest as part of the tip.

Other than gas stations and restaurants, most other merchants should have few problems with open-loop gift cards as long as you are aware of your balance, are sure there are no holds on your funds (from failed purchase attempts that have not cleared) and are not trying to purchase using a split-tender transaction, a special kind of gift card problem.

When you use a closed-loop gift card (like Target), almost all retailers POS systems are capable of (a) checking the balance on the card, and (b) applying the remaining balance on the card to your purchase and then applying another type of payment to the remainder.  This is called a split-tender transaction.

However, with open-loop gift cards, merchants are not able to check your remaining balance (except in a few rare cases) and most cashiers have not been properly trained in split-tender transactions, if the POS system is even capable of doing one.  That is the main reason that open-loop gift cards are so frustrating, because getting the last few bucks off of the card is very difficult.  I have yet to find a retailer, online or brick-and-mortar that says they support split-tender transactions.

MasterCard and Discover have recently introduced new merchant requirements that will solve many of these problem, like holds, balance checking, and split-tender transactions, but it will be a year or more before those fully take effect.

About the author:

Peter Camenzind is small-business owner, tech entrepreneur, and consumer advocate.  He created the site giftcardadvocate.org to help provide consumers with information on how to get the most out of their gift cards.

The following post is from our friend Peter Camenzind at giftcardadvocate.org. We really appreciate the time Peter has taken to share his expertise with our community, and we hope you find his insights helpful!

Please note, Plastic Jungle does not buy or sell open-loop gift cards since they fall under a different set of rules and business regulations.  Stay tuned for more thoughts on this topic from our President, Bruce Bower.

Open-loop (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) gift cards, while not tied to a particular merchant, can be very difficult to use successfully.  In this post, I’ll discuss how to best use them for online purchases.  In my next post, I’ll cover simple rules for using them at a merchant in-person.

If you have a particular retailer in mind to use a gift card at, whether for yourself or someone else, closed-loop gift cards (Target, Wal-Mart) might be a better choice as virtually none of the open-loop gift card issues (like fees and verification) exist for closed-loop cards, and they are often available at a discount.

Online purchases

These cards in most ways look electronically just like credit cards, and most people want and expect them to behave just like credit cards.

When you try to use a card for an online purchases, whether it is a credit card or an open-loop gift card, you will be asked to enter the billing address for the card, which is used for the address verification system (AVS) where the numbers associated with the address you give (house number on street and zip code) are compared with what is on file for the card.

Some gift cards simply ignore AVS, which means that the issuing bank sends the merchant an AVS code that says AVS is not being used.  Here is where the trouble starts.  Most merchants will see this as an address verification pass, but some will see it as a fail, and the transaction will be declined.

Some gift cards do not ignore AVS, which means that until you go to the website listed on the card and register it to an address, the AVS check will always come back as a fail.  There is no way to tell what cards behave in which ways, and in some cases cards issued by the same bank that look exactly the same will behave differently in this respect.

So you just tried to use your card which you had not registered, and it failed because the address verification failed.  Guess what?  Now your card has a hold on it for the amount you tried to purchase.  These holds will typically last for more than a week and up to three weeks!

If you plan to use a card online, unless you know that it is the type that does not use address verification, always register your card to the address you plan to have stuff shipped to, before you use it.  It may also help to test the card out with a small purchase (so it doesn’t put your entire card value on hold) before you make a larger purchase.

MasterCard and Discover have recently introduced new merchant requirements that will at least help by significantly reducing the length of time your funds are on hold after a failed transaction, but it will be a year or more before those fully take effect.

In my next post, I’ll discuss using open-loop cards in-person.

About the author:

Peter Camenzind is a small-business owner, tech entrepreneur, and consumer advocate.  He created the site giftcardadvocate.org to help provide consumers with information on how to get the most out of their gift cards.

The following article was originally posted on ShopperStrategy.com by a fellow savvy shopper. We love it so much we wanted to share it with all of our readers as well . Thanks Denise!

PlasticJungle.com is this really cool place where you can go to sell or exchange any unwanted gift cards that you might have, plus you can buy gift cards for your favorite stores or restaurants at less than their face value.  Check out some of the deals you can get on gift cards:

• Up to 25% off at 1-800-Flowers
• Up to 12% off at Kohl’s
• Up to 16% off at Payless
• Up to 10% off at TGI Friday’s

These are just a few of my favorites — there are tons more to choose from!  The best part about getting gift cards for cheaper from PlasticJungle.com though is that you can also stack them with other offers to save even more.  For example, JC Penney is one of my favorite department stores because they have great sales and they often put out coupons for even greater savings.  Right now I’m shopping for school uniforms for the kids (required in our county) and they have a great selection at JC Penney’s so a good savings strategy is to buy a $25 JC Penney gift card from PlasticJungle.com for only $21, then use it with one of the store’s awesome $10/$25 coupons.  That way you only pay $11 for $25 worth of uniforms!  SCORE!

If you need shoes for back to school then you can save a whopping 20% off a Foot Locker gift card for a great deal on all the hottest brands.  Buy a $50 Foot Locker gift card from PlasticJungle.com for only $40, then use it with a 15% off coupon to get a $60 pair of shoes, or two $30 pairs of shoes, for only $41 ($60 — 15% = $51 use gift card plus $1 and tax).

Check out this video to see how you can get a very nice $50 dinner for two from TGI Friday’s for only $35!  That’s a fabulous savings of 30%.  The possibilities for savings are endless and one lucky reader will win a $50 gift card of their choice from PlasticJungle.com!

Read the full post on Shopper Strategy and learn how to enter the $50 Plastic Jungle Giveaway!

About the author:

Denise is the mother of four year old quadruplets and a six year old son who loves the finer things in life, but hates to pay full price! Her ShopperStrategy.com blog is devoted to sharing deals and strategies that help you get more for less!

Written by Amanda Grossman author of Frugal Confessions

Arguably, the best way to stick to your normal budget during the holidays is to have diligently planned ahead, and to have bought most of your gifts, food items, and decorations throughout the year instead of waiting until the holiday season is here.

Don’t worry; there is no judgment here. We are not all Martha Stewarts, and sometimes planning way in advance actually takes the fun out of what is supposed to be the most emotionally satisfying time of the year. So how can you stick to your budget now that you’ve waited until the holiday season is knocking down your door?

Here are some tips to get you started.

Purchase Loss Leaders

Loss leaders, or products that stores will actually lose money on in order to attract customers into their stores, are not just found at the grocery market. During the holiday season you can cherry pick extra special promotions in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Make sure to only purchase these products (and read the fine print of ads, as a few stores say you can only purchase the product if you spend a certain amount of money with the purchase). By cherry picking from several different stores, you are bound to save a decent amount of money.

Grab a Cup of Hot Joe or Tea and Partake in Black Friday

There is a reason why millions of people come out of their turkey-comas in the wee hours after Thanksgiving, disheveled and dressed in layers: the sales just cannot be beat. If you are looking to do a large amount of holiday shopping with a very small budget, then Black Friday is for you. Purchase a newspaper on Thanksgiving Day, and check out online websites that list Black Friday Deals ahead of time. Sit down that Thursday night to print out coupons, gather up your gift cards (see below), make a list, and set your plan of attack for the next day. You might find yourself extremely tired by mid-day Friday, but you will have saved a load of money.

Layer Your Deals to Increase Discounts

An easy way to get a discount on everything you purchase this holiday season from groceries, to gifts is to purchase fee-free gift cards at a discount. Let’s say you have children and know that you will spend $75 at Sears this year. Purchase a $50 and $25 gift card to Sears from Plastic Jungle at a discount of 10%, and you’ve just saved 10% on your holiday shopping. Add in store sales, promotions, and manufacturer’s coupons on top of this, and you could be looking at over 30% savings! If you used this strategy for Black Friday, your savings could be even higher.

Between now and Christmas, I will be updating Frugal Confessions with a new great Amazon.com deal each week, so check out my blog for some great deals!

And remember, it truly is the thought that counts. If your thoughts are going to be filled with buyer’s remorse three months into the New Year, then you need to reevaluate your priorities and enjoy the season for what it is, whether that is celebrating your religion, or showing the ones you cherish the most how important they are to you.

Written by Elina Furman, co-founder of Mamaista.com

Sample Site Madness
Like most moms, our days of running off to the latest sample sales are a thing of the past. What with the kid’s demanding schedules, there’s simply no time to rummage through all those racks and take advantage of the savings. Luckily, there are a whole slew of online sample sites that you can visit from the comfort of your couch.

For moms looking to find fashionable new holiday wear, look no further than sites like Gilt.com, HauteLook.com and BillionDollarBabes.com. Many of these sites also offer lux home wear and gift items that you can stock up throughout the year and then hand out as gifts during the holiday season or on birthdays.

If you’re looking for gifts for the smallest members of your household, there are also sample sales sites that cater to the little ones. Toys, clothes and baby gear can be found at rock-bottom prices at sites like TheMiniSocial.com and Totsy.com.

Trade It In
If you’re in dire need of raising some extra funds, don’t despair. You need only rummage your drawers and closet for what could be an avalanche of riches. Whether you’ve been sitting on a pile of unwanted gift cards or looking to score some discounted cards at your favorite shops, head straight to PlasticJungle.com. The site features a genius concept, since they let you buy, sell and exchange your old gift cards. Not only that, if you don’t want the cash, you can start the season off right by donating unwanted even partially used gift cards to a charity of your choice.

Speaking of swapping your old cards, how about trading in some of your unwanted items for something you actually need. And we’re not just talking about eBay, but at a whole new crop of sites who let you exchange your unwanted CDs, book, apparel, and baby stuff. Websites such as Handmedowns.com, Swaptree.com, and BookMooch.com are just a few of the many out there that will have you smiling this holiday season.

One Deal, One Day!
Moms looking to score the best on everything from toys to museum admission to massages need to sign up at these new websites taking the internet by storm. Here’s how it works. You sign up for their daily deal alert, get an email with one amazing offer, and then speed on over to the website to claim your deal before it’s all gone.

And there’s something for everyone — even hubby. Woot.com offers daily deals on high-end electronics and Kids.woot.com for babies and kids. Groupon.com offers amazing savings at local restaurants, spas and attractions that are sure to guarantee a festive holiday season and beyond. Also, look for deal-a-day sites offering savings on kids clothes and gear. Two top sites are greenbabybargains.com and babysteals.com (who also recently launched kidsteals.com for older kids).

So there you have it! With all the amazing deals online and new ways to save money on luxury, quality finds, there’s absolutely no stopping your family from having one of the most festive holidays seasons yet.

Click here to sign up for Mamaista.com‘s daily newsletter.

Written by John Haydon

It’s no secret that fundraising for a nonprofit in today’s economy is hard work. Donations from corporations, major gifts and private grants have all shrunk. Fundraising with social media is uncharted territory where best practices are in their infancy.

However, a recent partnership between givezooks and Plastic Jungle allows non-profits access to a $40 Billion in unused gift cards. And with Christmas around the corner, the timing couldn’t be more perfect!

Recycled fruit cake and giftcards

According to Plastic Jungle, the average household has about $400 worth of unused gift cards in their top dresser drawers. You know, the Home Depot gift card from Uncle Ralph who always forgets that you live across the street from Lowe’s. The Barnes & Noble gift card you wish you could redeem on Amazon. And my favorite, the Exxon Mobil gift card given to the vegan bike messenger who only last week protested at a rally on clean energy.

Turning donors into fundraisers

givezooks! is a social fundraising platform for non-profits that empower individual donors to become fundraisers. The platform embeds sharing on Facebook and Twitter directly into the donation process. This makes fundraising much more effective simply because folks are more likely to donate to a cause if it’s recommended from a friend.

And now, the partnership between Plastic Jungle and givezooks means that friends can convert convert that gift cards into cash for their favorite cause.

To learn more about the givezooks social fundraising, please visit givezooks.com.