Starting today and running through the end of 2010, Couponizer founder Amy Bergin is offering our newsletter readers an exclusive offer. Using Couponizer coupon code shopbarginbag, our newsletter readers can receive a free carrying bag with handles ($3.95 offer pictured below on right) with the purchase of a Couponizer. Please note that for the Couponizer coupon code to apply you will need to add the carrying bag to your shopping cart before you enter the coupon code. The code will zero out the cost of the carrying bag making it free! However, if you apply the coupon code with just the Couponizer in your shopping cart it will not apply since it cannot find the carrying bag for which it is supposed to apply. Make sense?

What is The Couponizer? A product designed to take coupon organization “to the next level,” The Couponizer contains an 8″ x 5¼” booklet made up of 18 category pockets for grocery coupons, 4 pockets for other coupon categories, 3 gift card/shopper loyalty sleeves, and additional shopping pockets. Also included is a Couponizer Shopping List with 20 page tear off pages, the CoupStacker pre-sorting mat color coded to match the Couponizer system pockets, the CoupTracker 15 page spiral bound list pad, safety scissors, and a clear vinyl zippered Couponizer carrying bag.

For additional information, check out our Couponizer coupons and deals page for the latest Couponizer coupon codes and specials.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, Black Friday is, obviously, always on a Friday. But what’s so special about Black Friday, you may ask?

Black Friday is so named because it is traditionally the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Since Christmas gift-buying provides a huge bump in sales volume for many retailers, many need such buying to avoid going into the red financially. Thus, Black Friday marks the first day of the year that some retailers go into the black, or begin to turn a profit, financially.

As shoppers, Black Friday is a great time to snap up some incredible bargains since virtually all stores — online and offline — offer big sales, coupons and other incentives to encourage consumers to buy from them. So, with this great savings opportunity in mind, I offer the following ten tips for getting the best bargains on Black Friday.

1. Create a gift list or “to buy” list.

Complicated tasks can be completed with less stress when following a plan. With millions of product options available these days it is easier to know beforehand what one wants to buy. When gifting, it is very helpful to plan out “the what” and “for whom” side of the equation well in advance so everything can be completed in a timely manner. In some cases the desired product is available only from one retailer or store so note that detail so you can watch for their next storewide sale.

2. Compare prices.

Before diving into the Black Friday sales frenzy, it is wise to know the product’s normal selling price so you can recognize a really good sale or discount and not just take the retailer’s word that the price is great. Product price comparison tools can help make this task easier by providing a price baseline to go by. Once you see a product below the price baseline you can jump on it before it sells out.

3. Know store shipping and return policies.

For gifts and items that may need to be returned it is especially helpful to know the shipping and return policies for the retailers selling the products on your list. Some retailers offer free shipping and don’t charge a restocking fee while others make returns more difficult. Knowing this difference can save a lot of headache and sometimes money later. Also, for heavy, bulky and difficult to ship items, be sure to find out if there will be a shipping surcharge associated with them. These facts can help one decide whether it makes more sense to buy the products online or offline.

4. Factor in all your costs.

Online shopping is convenient but sometimes costs more when shipping charges are factored into the equation. Traditional store shopping, though, also has “hidden” costs associated with it that online shoppers can avoid. For example, one has to get to the store and that costs money (think round trip gas or transportation costs here). If one has small children and would have to get a sitter to go shopping then those costs should be factored into the overall price for buying something at the store or mall. Once all these costs are determined it is easier to accurately compare individual product prices and then decide whether it makes more sense to buy online or offline.

5. Create a shopping strategy and budget.

Since Black Friday sales are short and sometimes cover only a few hours or just one day, it is wise to prioritize the order of stores to shop and even a timeline strategy for shopping them. This is true whether shopping online or offline. Traditional stores sometimes have extensive wait times just to get into the store. Likewise, online stores sometimes have so much web traffic that the site runs very slowly and takes longer. In some extreme cases websites can crash from trying to serve too many online shoppers at once.

Similarly, it is easy to get into a buying frenzy due to all the huge discounts available and seeing other shoppers loading their carts with lots of exciting products. To avoid overspending, it is wise to follow one’s list closely and stick with the budget outlined in advance.

6. Watch for “early bird” discounts.

Many Black Friday sales actually start early, especially online. While traditional stores are usually closed during Thanksgiving day, online retailers are open for business all the time –  that means they often have some great early bird sales on Thanksgiving day. In fact, many online retailers have special Thanksgiving Sales that only run on Thanksgiving. Likewise, many stores, both online and offline, have special early bird Black Friday sales starting at midnight or very early Friday morning. Be sure to take advantage of them when possible since these items usually sell out quickly.

7. Skip the crowds by shopping online.

Black Friday can be a stressful mess for traditional shoppers. Lots of traffic, trouble finding parking places, long lines and rude consumers competing for a limited number products are common complaints. One can skip all these hassles by shopping online from home.

Another benefit of online shopping is that many online retailers with offline storefronts offer convenient and free “ship to store” options that you can take advantage of online. Many also coordinate their online and offline sales and promotions which means you can get up early and reserve those Black Friday product specials online and pick them up later at your convenience. In those cases it’s almost like having your cake and eating it too since you get the great Black Friday prices on the products you want without all the Black Friday negatives.

Be sure to check out our special Black Friday Deals section. It links to dozens of amazing limited-time specials.

8. Strategically shop offline.

Some great Black Friday deals are only available offline in your local store. In those cases, follow your plan and bring the store advertisement page so you can document exactly what the price should be if there are any questions. Remember that you may have to go early to reserve a place in line for the limited inventory.

9. Use a major credit card instead of a debit card.

When shopping online, I recommend using a major credit card instead of a debit card since the law tends to slightly favor consumers in the event of a dispute. Also, credit card companies are familiar with resolving disputes in a timely manner. Plus, if you have a points, miles or cash back credit card then you can take advantage of those bonuses. One word of caution about interest: I don’t recommend overspending and paying interest on products bought on credit. Credit cards only benefit the consumer when paid off in full every cycle.

10. Print and/or keep your receipts.

It is a good idea when shopping online to carefully verify your order before submitting. Make sure all charges are clearly identified and all products and options are correct. Don’t forget to verify that the shipping option and fees, if any, are right before approving the order. After you submit your order be sure to either print a copy of the online receipt or save a copy of your email confirmation. Having this information in hand is essential should an error or dispute arise with your order. If possible when buying gifts get a special gift receipt so the recipient can make an exchange later if needed. This same tip applies to offline shopping as well.

So there you have my ten tips for getting the best Black Friday bargains! Now get to work scouting out the best Black Friday specials online and offline. Develop your plan, get your shopping done early, save lots of money and enjoy the rest of the holidays!

As many of our readers know, I’m a big supporter of our military and our troops. With Veterans Day 2009 almost here, I wanted to share a special offer I just found out about for veterans and active duty military personnel.

As a special thank you, Applebee’s is giving a free meal to veterans and active duty military on Veterans Day! Just show proof of your military service  and Applebee’s will give you one of six of their menu favorites — choose from Applebee’s three-cheese chicken penne, fire pit bacon burger, fiesta lime chicken, chicken tenders platter, 7 oz. house sirloin, or oriental chicken salad.

So put on your uniform or bring your military ID card and head over to Applebee’s on Veterans Day (November 11).

Please not that this offer is available at participating Applebee’s only for dine-in orders from the special menu. Beverages and tip are not included. Specific proof of veteran status or active duty military service is required. Click here for specific details on this Applebee’s Veterans Day 2009 offer.

When eating out, families can often save a lot of money by choosing restaurants where kids eat free. Finding “kids eat free” restaurants, though, can be a chore for parents, especially when traveling. Thankfully, with MyKidsEatFree.com, there’s a new online resource to help parents out.

With MyKidsEatFree.com, you can search by city and state for local restaurants where kids eat free. I think this website can save parents lots of money and that’s why I wanted to share it with our readers.

I’m hoping one day the parents behind MyKidsEatFree.com will develop an iPhone application that will use my current location via GPS and provide directions to local options to restaurants where kids eat free. That would be especially great for traveling.

Last week I experienced firsthand the Sears.com “buy online and pick up in-store” option and wanted to share that story. I am a big fan of Craftsman tools and know that the best time to buy them is typically around holidays like Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. During these events many are on sale and some are actually at half-price for short periods of time!

I don’t have a full-size Sears store in my town and didn’t have time to drive 30 miles to the nearest one. Given that I like to shop online anyway, I knew I could order via their website and take advantage of the current half-price Craftsman tool sale before it ended in a few hours. So I ordered an $80 tool but paid only $40! That was exciting enough. But it gets better. If I had ordered $9 more I could have enjoyed free shipping on mailable products but I only purchased that tool then so I opted for the free “pick up in-store” option.

Within a few days I received an email notice that my tool was ready for pickup and all I had to do was bring a printout of that email and my credit card I used to place the order.  I like to combine trips to save time and gas and I knew I was headed in that direction later in the week so I waited until then to go.

When I arrived at the Sears store, they had some specially-marked parking places where I could sit in my vehicle and using my cell phone call in my order and they would deliver it to my car.  I thought that was an ideal option for many people with small children or with disabilities.

I opted to walk in and use their kiosk to start the delivery process.  I scanned the barcode on my email and swiped my credit card for confirmation. Their system immediately displayed on their big screen that my order was being retrieved. A few minutes later a store clerk arrived and did a visual confirmation of my email and I signed for the delivery.  He handed me my tool and I was out. The whole process took less than 5 minutes and I only had to walk about 10 feet into the store!

As I was thinking about this later, I came up with some other advantages to using this system.

• I like knowing my product is in stock. That means no wasted trips and time looking for a product that may or may not be there.
• The product is reserved for me. I have paid for it in advance so it is pulled off the shelf and ready for me.  I don’t even have to go look for it and carry it to the checkout. It is brought to me.
• I can take advantage of the sale prices even if I cannot go to the store during the limited duration of the sale. That’s probably my favorite reason.

The bottom line, Sears did a great job convincing me that their buy online and pick up in store system works well and is worth using. It is a very smooth system and one I will probably repeat again and again for products I know I want to order.

I’m not sure what it is about this time of year that makes us all go a little crazy when it comes to holiday shopping. Maybe it’s the list of people to buy for, the hundreds of email offers and store sales that we sort through trying to find the best deal, or if its plain old holiday spirit that encourages a lot of us to blow the budget on our holiday spending.

For me, the holiday season is really two holidays, my husband’s family is Jewish and my family is Christian, so with 8 wonderful nights of Hanukkah and one lovely Christmas day, we are talking a lot of gifts to buy!

I don’t know about you, but the thought of hitting the mall with all those thousands of people — especially with my two kids in tow — doesn’t exactly sound like a dream. So like many others, I’ve started doing my holiday shopping online.

Of course online shopping can take some finesse, emails from stores fill you inbox, with “click here for this discount” and “click there for free this or that”, not to mention all the bargains we miss out on because we simple didn’t know that a coupon code exists. That fact alone is enough to drive a bargain hunting girl like me crazy!

Then you make your decision on what to buy and who to buy from, but wait, “what was that coupon code?” and “oh no, did that store have a better deal?” and my favorite “Now where did that email go, I know it was in my inbox some where!” So while avoiding long checkout lines, crowded parking lots, annoying traffic and bad weather, online shopping does add a few of its own twists.

Yes, welcome to my online shopping experience — well, I should say past experience. All that changed this year as I have come to appreciate the wonders of a coupon site! But first let me tell you about how I came across this coupon site.

After my husband returned from a conference earlier this year he told me about meeting Mike Allen, the founder of Shopping-Bargains.com which is a coupon site with more than 1,000 online stores in their directory. I was amazed since they had, in one place, all the coupon codes that I had been looking for from all the stores that I shopped online. I was hooked!

Wait there’s more to this story. My husband also told me that Shopping-Bargains.com was planning to hire soon. OK so I would get to talk about shopping, write about shopping, and tell other people about saving money while shopping… Was this my dream job or what!

To make a long story short, in October I began doing some marketing and consulting work for Shopping-Bargains.com. I have to admit, I do love a good bargain and sharing those bargains is even more fun.

With that in mind, there are many benefits to using a coupon site like Shopping-Bargains.com. For example, have you ever wondered if a store that you want to shop even offers a discount? Go to www.shopping-bargains.com and type in the store name in their search box and wha-la, all the coupons and deals for that store are displayed.

Using Shopping-Bargains.com I am able to bounce around from store to store, checking out bargains and making purchases quickly and easily from the stores’ own web sites but being able to grab a coupon code before I go to them. Although it’s a “virtual shopping experience,” it’s really a lot like shopping at a real shopping mall but this time armed with a whole stack of coupons!

I also like being able to see all the stores and their offers in one place. It makes the whole shopping experience go so much quicker and more efficient. I don’t even have to type in a single store web address. I just go to www.shopping-bargains.com and start shopping. The home page has more than 30 of the latest deals from their most popular stores. Or if you prefer, the handy search box allows you to go to the stores that you are most interested in to find their latest offers.

You can even sign up for a daily or weekly newsletter that is tailored to you and your shopping habits. The really nice thing is you can then opt out of all the store-sent emails that junk up your inbox and get all the discount and sale information you want in one nice and neat newsletter from Shopping-Bargains.com.

Does using Shopping-Bargains.com guarantee that you won’t blow your holiday budget? Not at all. But the deals that you get on your favorite products from your favorite stores will make this years’ holiday shopping season a little easier to bear. And the time savings alone just might make your holiday season even more memorable.

For some time now we have had what I felt was at best an awkward system for delivering printable grocery store coupons. I’m pleased to announce some major changes were implemented today to make printing grocery store coupons much easier for our shoppers.

First, we created a Printable Grocery Store Coupons section to introduce the concept of printing legitimate local coupons on the Internet. Second, we activated links (here and here) to two grocery coupon partners who work with us in providing these printable coupons. Third, we provided some “how to” advice and savings tips for maximizing this offline resource.

To give a little more detail, we partnered with two printable coupon providers, Coupons, Inc. and SmartSource, to provide our shoppers access to the printable grocery store coupons we now feature. These companies work with top national brands and have developed a robust system for delivering grocery store coupons on a national scale via the Internet. They also employ technology to protect consumers and retailers alike from fraudulent printed coupons.

To print your coupons, click our link to visit the coupon partner of your choice and select the coupons you want using an easy check box system. After you have selected all the coupons you want, you simply click the “print” button and wait for your coupons to be printed. First-time printers will likely be prompted to install a small, free software application used to print the coupons with the appropriate bar codes and legal language.

One advantage to using two partners for this project is to give you more choice and more printable coupon options. Coupons for some brands are available one week from one partner but not the other. By working with both coupon providers, we are able to maximize your opportunity to save locally since you now have access to more national brand coupons.

[Disclosure statement: Shopping-Bargains.com receives compensation based on the number of coupon prints through these partners.]