Everyone loves to save moolah, even the staff at Plastic Jungle!

Just like you, we scour the site for the latest deals, sign up for notifications with our favorite merchants and get creative with promo codes and coupons.

Want the inside track from company insiders? I chatted with a few Plastic Jungle employees from different departments (Marketing, Product Management and Customer Support) who shared their personal savings stories and red hot deals.

Name and Department: Irene, Customer Support

How long have you been working at Plastic Jungle? 5 months

What was your most recent Plastic Jungle gift card purchase and why did you buy that card? I purchased a $300 Target gift card at a 3% discount because I moved home after college and sold all my old furniture. I always relied on Target for their wide variety of bedroom accessories.

Did you stack up any extra in-store or online discounts? Target did not have discounts on the items I was purchasing, but the Plastic Jungle discount is better than no discount!

What’s your favorite PJ personal savings story? I can easily spend more than I really should every time I step foot into Target, but Plastic Jungle’s discounted gift cards justify my shopping habits with their discounted savings.

Target – 3% off

Name and Department: Kathryn, Marketing

How long have you been working at Plastic Jungle? 4 months

What was your most recent Plastic Jungle gift card purchase and why did you buy that card? I purchased a $250 Pottery Barn gift card at a 10% discount because I wanted to replace the sofa cushions on my 9-year-old Pottery Barn couch.

Did you stack up any extra in-store or online discounts? Pottery Barn seldom offers any coupons (mostly just seasonal promotions) which is why I was thrilled to save the 10% off at Plastic Jungle.

What’s your favorite PJ personal savings story? The replacement sofa cushions were $200 vs. spending over $1000 on a brand new sofa. By saving 10% I was able to cover the cost of shipping and some of the tax!

Pottery Barn Kids – 10% off

PB Teen – 8% off!

Pottery Barn – 10% off!

Name and Department: Raina, Marketing

How long have you been working at Plastic Jungle? 11 months

What was the last card you sold to Plastic Jungle and which payment option did you select? I cashed in Pier 1 Import cards that I had been carrying around in my wallet for the last 5 years. I redeemed them for Amazon credit to avail of the extra 5% cash back that PJ offers with Amazon payouts.

What’s your favorite PJ personal savings story? I used the Amazon credit from redeeming my 5-year-old housewarming gifts to buy myself a new Canon DSLR which I used on my recent trip to Alaska. Thanks to Plastic Jungle, my $200 add-on lens was free!

Name and Department: Arturo, Product Management

How long have you been working at Plastic Jungle? 1 year, 3 months

What was your most recent Plastic Jungle gift card purchase and why did you buy that card? I purchased $9000 worth of Lowe’s gift cards at a 9% discount to do some remodeling on the house I recently purchased.

Did you stack up any extra in-store or online discounts? Yes, I used a Lowe’s 10% discount that I received after I registered my ‘change of address’ online with the Postal Service.

What’s your favorite PJ personal savings story? I was extremely thrilled to save almost 20% off some of the remodeling costs of my new house. Here’s how I did it:  Plastic Jungle had Lowe’s cards at a 9% discount and with the additional 10% from the Lowe’s discount coupon, I ended up saving close to $2000 with this transaction alone. (Note: I had to negotiate that the 10% coupon applied to the  entire purchase. It was for up to $5000 only, but given the large purchase, they agreed.)

Lowe’s – 7% off

Do YOU have a favorite deal to share? Share your story and we’ll feature it in an upcoming blog post!

Rain and snow are behind us (we hope) and it’s time to open up the house, get up to the cabin, and get going on home improvement projects.

What’s on sale at the home improvement stores? If you want to be the first to know about any home improvement promotion, get on the store’s email sale alerts list to receive notifications regularly. Lowe’s has an everyday low price guarantee. Go ahead and “Like” Home Depot on Facebook, and get privy to Friday sales from 50-70% off. Follow @SearsDeals on Twitter, and big-discount flash sales at Sears (think Kenmore appliances and paint and Craftsman tools) are at your fingertips.

On Plastic Jungle, you can set a discounted gift card email notification alert to be emailed as soon as any discount gift card becomes available at the discount you’re looking for.

Click through now to see the percentage off you’ll save on:

Discount Lowe’s Gift Cards |  Discount Home Depot Gift Cards |  Discount Ace Hardware Gift Cards |  Discount Bed, Bath & Beyond Gift Cards |  Discount Restoration Hardware Gift Cards |  Discount Pottery Barn Gift Cards |  Discount Target Gift Cards |  Discount Sears Gift Cards

Angling for Home Improvement Sales

Have you ever thought of Amazon.com for Appliances or Equipment? If not, the Amazon.com Home Improvement and Tools page, flush with thousands of searchable listings, will be an eye-opener. Dishwashers to pressure washers, kitchen fixtures to light fixtures, hardware, storage, even lawn mowers are called up at a great price in a flash. You could actually turn a gift card you’re not using — could even be a chain restaurant gift card — into an Amazon.com Gift Card by exchanging it on Plastic Jungle.

Think about “double-dipping” – that is, buying a gift card at a discount at Plastic Jungle, then purchasing at a sale price or using a rebate. (And maybe even add free shipping for a deal-lover’s trifecta!) You get the deal with the sale price, AND you’ve got an additional deal in your hand with the discounted gift card. For the deal-lover’s trifecta, add a free shipping coupon or promo code to keep costs down.

Do-It-Yourself, Whatever It Is!

Homeowners regularly attempt their own landscaping, painting, and decorating. But installing a toilet? Making your home more secure? Patching drywall? These and hundreds of other projects are detailed, some with video, on Lowe’s Video & Project Center, and at the Home Depot Home Improvement Clubs.

Another source for how-to do it is TV, of course. You can search the archives of HGTV, or the DIY network for ideas, tips, and video to get the job done.

What’s on your home improvement slate? A new entertainment center? Painting the house, inside and out? Creating an outdoor living space to enjoy your new landscape? Let us know in your comments!

Savvy shoppers know planning ahead is a key component to achieve huge savings. To keep more money in your pocket (where it belongs) combine your gift cards savings with in-store promotions, coupons, and sales for an even more impressive discount. These cards move fast, so be sure to set up your gift card notifications to receive an alert when the gift card you want becomes available.

Most purchased gift cards in June 2010 include:

1. Walmart Gift Cards
2. Home Depot Gift Cards
3. Lowe’s Gift Cards
4. Target Gift Cards
5. Best Buy Gift Cards
6. Barnes & Noble Gift Cards
7. Starbucks Gift Cards
8. Pottery Barn Gift Cards
9. Sears Gift Cards
10. Macy’s Gift Cards

View gift cards you loved in January, February, March, April, and May.

Are you meeting your summer budget goals? Share your best savings tip to stay in the green the rest of the summer.

With the promise of spring, the release of the iPad, and home improvement projects in the works… it is no surprise to see clothing, electronics, and department store gift cards topping the charts.

Most purchased gift cards in March 2010 include:

1. Walmart Gift Cards

2. Best Buy Gift Cards

3. Home Depot Gift Cards

4. Target Gift Cards

5. Lands’ End, Sears, Kmart Gift Cards

6. Lowe’s Gift Cards

7. Macy’s Gift Cards

8. Restaurant.com Gift Cards

9. Barnes & Noble Gift Cards

10. Pottery Barn Gift Cards

How did you save money in March?  Tell us where you shopped and how you saved, and I will share where it fell on our list…