Today’s retail climate gives us plenty of ways to spend money, but many of us consider saving to be a chore. It’s a shame, because with the smallest amount of effort, saving up to 35% can be had when you purchase discounted gift cards on Plastic Jungle.

If you’re a hard-core, never-pay-retail shopper, you’ll start with the discounted gift card from Plastic Jungle, then you’ll double- or even triple-dip into easily found coupons and promo codes.

The key to turning that small-ish percentage off into significant outlet-clearance variety prices is combining the gift card (means of payment) with existing sales and promotions (entered at checkout).

We’ve got a story about a Jungler who saved more than $500 on a personal big home improvement project – window coverings (not cheap!) — already posted on the Plastic Jungle blog. The post details how Marcy, a Jungle fan, purchased discounted Home Depot gift cards, added that to a rebate and in-store sale, and came up with huge savings.

Do It Now – Two Examples of Double-Dip Savings

Save on Omaha Steaks

1)      Purchase a discounted Omaha Steaks eCODE (electronic gift card)  on Plastic Jungle >>>

2)      Go to www.Savings.com or www.RetailMeNot.com (or Google “Omaha Steaks Deals” to find other coupon sites). Click through the coupon link of your choice. This sets up the promo code which will be applied at checkout. Right now, looks like the best deal is to choose an Overstock Bargain, which could give you up to 60% off (on STEAK!).

3)      At checkout, use your already discounted Omaha Steaks eCODE (at time of writing worth up to a 17% discount).

4)      Start counting the money you’ve saved by DOUBLE-DIPPING: Steak at up to 77% off.

Save at JC Penney or JCP.com

1)      Purchase a discounted JC Penney Gift Card or JC Penney eCODE on Plastic Jungle >>>

2)      Go to www.Savings.com where you’ll find all kinds of coupon codes. Find one that suits your needs. Let’s say today it’s “10% off, sitewide” (code=SAVE10), or for in-store value, go to http://printable-coupons.blogspot.com/2005/11/jc-penney-coupons.html (I just Googled “printable JCPenney coupons”), where you’ll find a printable coupon for $10 discount on $50, $15 discount on $75 and $20 discount on purchases of $100 or more.

3)      Check out the JCP.com outlet and clearance racks for already discounted merchandise. (ie: Landing page patio sale has items up to 60% off.) This could be your triple-dip!

4)      At checkout, use your coupon or promo code (online) and pay with your discounted JC Penney Gift Card or, online, your discounted JC Penney eCODE (at time of writing worth up to 14% off). Also look for free shipping coupons or links.

5)      Your savings could be up to 33-80% of regular retail prices, depending on the deal you choose.

Plastic Jungle gives you bottom-line savings, and with minimum effort, you can compound those savings by double-dipping with a quick “–deals” or “–coupons” search in your favorite search engine.

Happy (Discount) Shopping from all of us deal mavens at Plastic Jungle!

How soon can Spring Break start? Well, if you’ve got a few weeks like I do, take a minute’s break to enter April’s giveaways and sweepstakes from around the web.

Dial for Men 30 Days of Dirt – Dial for Men has plenty of prizes to give away, including $50 Gift Cards, riding lawnmowers, and dirt bikes, when you enter their sweepstakes through April 20, 2011. Just go to their Facebook page and “Like” Dial for Men to gain access to the entry page. See the sweepstakes official rules for details. Then, use this handy $1.00 OFF coupon for Dial for Men along with a discounted Walmart Gift Card from Plastic Jungle and watch your savings pile up.

$250 Old Navy Gift Card Giveaway – My Wee View is giving away a free $250 Old Navy Gift Card. Just visit Old Navy online and make a comment back at MyWeeView.com on what you would like to get for your family. Get bonus entries by using Facebook and Google Connect. Hurry! Sweepstakes ends on April 15^th, 2011. Can’t wait to get a deal at Old Navy? Purchase discounted Old Navy Gift Cards and Old Navy eGift Cards (at time of writing up to 12% OFF) right now on Plastic Jungle.

Wilton Easter Prize Pack Giveaway – Here’s a quick one: the blog Two of a Kind Working on a Full House has regular giveaways, and this weekend take a second to check out the Wilton baking website then enter the Two of a Kind drawing to win the cute baking prize pack. While on Two of a Kind, see their many other sweepstakes, where you could win Tangled DVDs, mini-roller coasters, fishtanks, and more! The Wilton baking prize-pack contest ends on April 11, 2011.

ReadyMade and Wüstof Slice It & Dice It Sweepstakes – Do-it-yourself mag ReadyMade and the knife experts at Wustof want to put a knife in your hands. Win one of five top-quality Wustof knife sets when you enter your information for the drawing, which ends May 22, 2011. Check official rules for details.

Can’t wait to get a set of Wustof or Henkels or anything else for your kitchen? If you’ve been saving up and are that close, a discounted Williams-Sonoma Gift Card or eGift Card from Plastic Jungle might just make those perfect kitchen utensils within your budget!

Chiquita’s Make Your Way to Rio Sweepstakes – The Grand Prize in this Chiquita giveaway is a trip for four to Rio de Janeiro, and there are so many other prizes to win it’s hard to list them, including Xbox consoles, T-shirts, books, iTunes Gift Cards, Best Buy Gift Cards, and they’re even giving away bananas and avocados. Sweepstakes ends May 31, 2011; check official rules for details. Actually, Chiquita has a new snack, called Chiquita Duos and you can get a 2-for-1 Chiquita Duos coupon right here.

If you have a sweepstakes or giveaway, don’t hesitate to contact us at blog@plasticjungle.com; we’re happy to post it here.

Enjoy a lovely April weekend, and if you have stress about travel, keep an eye on the Plastic Jungle blog for tips and ideas to make your Spring Break more of a break than a working vacation!