Queen of the Discount

 This is probably stating the obvious:  Flying is no fun.  I could go on and on about the seat comfort, stale air, bathrooms, general feeling of being treated like cattle (at best...often, the treatment make me feel like  a criminal), and so on.  These things are all particularly (and painfully!) true when sitting in Coach. I'm starting to reach that point-especially on longer flights-where I no longer can deal with Coach, and find myself gazing longingly at Premium Economy or Business class and wondering if I should have made the outright purchase-or at the least, purchased the upgrade. It got me thinking about when it's worth the extra cost-and in particular, when is the extra cost a good deal.  Sometimes, it's a no-brainer (American Airlines used to offer on the day upgrades from London to the US for $300  the actual definition of 'no-brainer').  Other times, unless your finances are truly unlimited, there is an internal debate to be had-where ...

 If you've ever been fortunate enough to live in or near the border of a state with no sales tax-the 'NOMAD' states of New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and Delaware-then you know how good it feels to not pay the extra 6-, 7-, 8%...or more on your every day purchases.  But, if you're like most people living in one of the other 45 states, the added cost of sales tax is just a feature of daily life. I live in a city/region/state with an 8.375% sales tax-not the highest in the country (that honor belongs to Calera, Alabama with a combined city/region/state tax of 13% -13%!), but higher than the national average of 7.53% (as of October 2026).  So, whenever I travel and have a bit of a backlog of items I'm on the hunt for, if I'm in a city where there is savings I can find on the product due to the sales tax (purchase price otherwise being equal...but more on that in a different post! :)), then I'll go ahead and pull the trigger and buy the items in the low...

 If, like me, you've started your holiday shopping list by now...hopefully, you're already starting to look at prices to understand the trends of sales and be able to identify a particularly low price. ...if you haven't, fear not!  I'm here to help!  In addition to getting shoppers high from spending my own money, I also get it from helping other people spend their money.  (insert advertisement for psychological help here...) Anyhoo, if there's something you're hoping to buy this holiday season and would like help securing best possible price (or best discount or best cash back or...), drop me a comment below!  Give me all the details of what you're looking for (a link to a website would be easiest) and any additional details if there are sizes or colors to be aware of, and I'll get cracking on it.   I love a project!

 If you've been paying attention to my posts, you'll probably notice several themes.  The theme I want to talk about today is Paying Attention-and perhaps even being a bit regimented in your spending.  These two things can help you save major $$$ on your hotel bookings, and I swear, it's not as horrible as it sounds!   Here's the game:  Whenever I book a hotel, I always make a note of it in a regularly-recurring calendar entry that shows up every other week in my calendar called, 'Check Hotel Pricing' in which I make a note of the hotel, dates, price I paid, platform (Expedia, Marriott, etc...), and any other relevant information-room type, free breakfast/parking included, pre-paid, coupon used or anticipated cash back-so I can truly understand the price paid. Then, every other week-like clock work, I go to the same platform I booked on (and sometimes other platforms, if there's a particular promotion to double check on), and re-check the pricing of the boo...

 Tell me what you're looking for! All kidding aside, what's the deal you're looking for?  I'm happy to help you brainstorm stores, discount options, time of year to purchase....and other games you can play to get the best price possible!  Drop me a line in the comments with as much detail on what you're looking for and how much you're willing to pay, and I'll put my brain to it.  I love a good challenge! :)

 'tis the season.  ...the end of year FSA/HSA Spend season!   If you are fortunate enough to have an FSA or HSA, you may be rounding to the end of the year in a 'use it or loose it' situation.  ...and no one should loose it.  There are too many things you can either stock up on (hello, contact lens cleaner!) or items that-as surprising as it is-are FSA/HSA Eligible.    At this stage in the game, I probably don't need to explain the stock up game-heck, even Amazon has an FSA/HSA 'section' of their website.  But, it the past year, I have come across some not-so-obvious products that qualify for FSA/HSA purchases, and they're all worth sharing.  In every instance, the process is the same:  Add the product to your online cart, Select HSA/FSA at Checkout, answer a few questions about your health, wait for approval to then pay with your HSA/FSA card.  That's it.   Please note, I'm not suggesting you lie about your health....