The Frugal College Graduate

BonTon’s Biannual Goodwill Sale

L. — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:00:54 +0000

March 11th-24th, earn a 20% off coupon good on regular and sale price merchandise for every piece of apparel or home textiles you donate to Goodwill. Just bring your clean, slightly used Men’s, Women’s, & Children’s apparel or home textiles in to the donation desk at your local BonTon store. For each item donated, you’ll get a 20% off coupon. Your donated items are passed along to Goodwill Industries and other local charities.

Check out www.millionactsofgoodwill.com to get tips on cleaning out your closet, hot spring fashion trends, share what you contributed and get exclusive money-saving offers.

“Give & Get” Event at Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy

L. — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:40:13 +0000

Shop at Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy from March 12-15th, and they’ll give you 30% off all eligible merchandise. It’s called “Give & Get” because for every purchase you make, they’ll give 5% of the amount you spend to Feeding America.

Get coupon your here: Printable coupon

About Feeding America:

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and thrive. As the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, their network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org.

Another Charity-Discount Opportunity

L. — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:17:44 +0000

March 5-16, donate your gently used business casual jacket or dress pants and receive a 35% discount on any item at Coldwater Creek stores! Your donation will go directly to one of your hometown organizations and you can be sure that it’s given to a woman who truly needs it.

Coupon “Hunting” at Old Navy

L. — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:31:11 +0000

Old Navy now has a website where you can “hunt” for free, printable coupons. The site features limited-quantity weekly coupons for percentages and dollars off in-store purchases. It is set up much like a treasure hunt, where you can find coupons by clicking around pictures of their slightly creepy “SuperModelquins” wearing Old Navy gear. Deals are updated on Fridays at 9am, and they do “sell out”, so check out their site as soon as you can for optimal deals. Click here to begin your Old Navy coupon hunt: www.oldnavyweekly.com.

Creepy SuperModelquins

Online Grocery Coupons

L. — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:10:22 +0000

Saving money on groceries is great. Buying the Sunday paper, going through the ads page by page, cutting out the coupons and sorting them out while trying not to get too many paper cuts…not so great. That’s why I love online grocery coupons. It’s so easy to just click and print the coupons! That’s why I have compiled a list of great free online coupon resources. Check them out below:

Fun Fact: According to consulting group CMS, consumers saved $3 billion on groceries last year…just by redeeming coupons!

1) Coupons.com

Coupons.com allows visitors to browse coupons by category, as well as sign up for a weekly SuperSaver newsletter that alerts you of the newest and most popular coupons available. This site is updated on a daily basis, so you always have access to new and current coupons.

2) RedPlum.com

You can either browse coupons by category, or enter your zip code for offers tailored to your location. You can print the coupons right away, or save them for later. You can even share your coupon finds with a friend! This site also features a section called Sweetfinds, which features “picks of the day” and other offers that can’t be passed up!

3) SmartSource.com

Much like RedPlum.com, you can either browse coupons by category, or enter your zip code for offers tailored to your location. After you enter your zip code, you can browse local deals by category or by specific stores. You can also search for deals on a specific product.

4) Shortcuts.com

This site is unique because it offers printable coupons, as well as a new breed of electronic coupons. After choosing your coupons, your online account syncs with your grocery store loyalty card and automatically redeems the coupons when swiped at checkout. Cool, huh? Unfortunately, there are few stores currently participating in this technology, but that will be sure to change over time. Participating stores currently include: City Market, Baker’s, Dillon’s, Fry’s, Gerbes, Hilander, JayC, King Soopers, Kroger, Owen’s, Pay Less, QFC, Ralph’s, and Smith’s.

* It’s also worthy to note that individual retailers may have a section on their website devoted to printable coupons for the products they carry. Shaw’s has a site especially for this, and is worth checking out before heading to the store.

Quiznos free sub giveaway

L. — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:29:43 +0000

Starting today, Quiznos announced that it will give away one million subs as part of its effort to offer better prices for a better world. Quiznos plans to give away one million free subs through its new, customized Web site, MillionSubs.com. Unlike some free food promotions that restrict people to certain times and places, Quiznos’ goal is to make it as simple as possible to receive a free sub. First, you go to the Million Subs website and enter your email address. Within 24 hours, they will email you a coupon for a free sub. After you print the coupon, it is good for 5 days and you can also enter the email addresses of 2 friends so that they can receive a free sub coupon as well. Hurry and sign up, because the promotion ends once a million sub coupons have been claimed!

In addition, each day this March, Quiznos will award free subs for a year to one person as part of its “Making the World Better” campaign. You can nominate a personal hero by submitting a brief description of your hero’s contributions to making the world better. Quiznos plans to share stories received on the website and will reward outstanding nominees with free subs for a year to help inspire further great deeds.

Tax Breaks for Current and Former Students

L. — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:07:53 +0000

It’s that time of year again…tax season! If you are a current student or a recent college grad such as myself, you may be eligible for special tax credits and deductions. A few that might be of interest:

Lifetime Learning Tax Credit

This tax credit is available to students who take at least one undergraduate or graduate class from an accredited school. Qualifying students can get a credit for 20% of the first $10,000 they spend on educational expenses. The maximum credit is $2,000. To be eligible, single filers must have an adjusted gross income of less than $52,000 and joint filers must make less than $105,000.

Student Loan Interest Deduction

If you have student loans, your lender will send you Form 1098-E. This form will show the amount of interest you paid on your student loans for that year. The maximum amount of student loan interest you can claim is $2,500 per year. Report your student loan interest paid on Form 1040 Line 33 or on Form 1040A Line 18.

Hope Scholarship Tax Credit

This tax credit is offered to students who are enrolled in college at least half-time and are working on their first two years of undergraduate study. The income requirements are the same as the Lifetime Learning tax credit. You may be eligible to receive 100% of your first $1,000 of educational expenses and 50% of your next $1,000, with a maximum credit of $1,500. Filers must be free of any felony convictions involving the possession or distribution of controlled substances.

Valentine’s Day Deals

L. — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:06:57 +0000

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and many online stores are offering discounts for the holiday. Check them out below:

Diamond.com: Save an extra 20% and get free shipping. Coupon code: CVDAYS
Ghirardelli Chocolate: Get $10 off a $50 purchase. Coupon code: Valentines
Gordon’s Jewelers: Get $50 off a $200 purchase. Coupon code: 50VDAY29AFF
Hickory Farms: 10% off your total purchase. Coupon code: VDAYGIFT
Ice.com: Save an extra 20% + free shipping. Coupon code: SVDAY
KODAK Gallery: Save 20% on photo cards. Coupon code: LOVE20
Macy’s: Sale on select jewelry. Coupon code: VALENTINE
National Geographic Store: Free shipping on all jewelry. Coupon code: MR10058
Restaurant.com: Save 50% plus get a $15 FTD.com reward with every order of $25 gift certificates. Coupon code: CUPID
Things Remembered: 10% off any order. Coupon code: LOVE10
Vera Bradley: Save an extra 10% on select sale items. Coupon code: SALE10

Jean Discounts + Charity = Awesome

L. — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:40:34 +0000

Drop off any pair of your gently worn jeans to any Aeropostale store between January 26th and February 22nd and they’ll make sure they get donated to a local homeless shelter or charity. To say thanks, Aeropostale will give you an additional 25% off your next pair of jeans!

Last year they collected over 125,000 pairs! For more information, visit the Teens for Jeans campaign at : DoSomething.org

MLK Holiday Sales

L. — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:32:44 +0000

It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and stores across the nation are hoping that people will use their extra day off to do a little shopping. There are a few online stores listed below which are having such sales:

American Eagle: Free shipping with the purchase of 2 or more clearance items. Coupon code: 7896
Ann Taylor: 25% off any full price item. Coupon code: 104023207
The Children’s Place: 15% off all purchases. Coupon code: SA19
dELIA*s: 15% off your entire order. Coupon code: WINTER
Shoes.com: 20% off athletic shoes. Coupon code: GETFIT