Savvy Shopper

We have a great new shopping comparison website to share with our readers. Mpire's front page says that they are "all the best shopping sites rolled into one" including eBay, Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Overstock.com, NewEgg, Circuit City, and many more. After looking around on the site for a little while, we have to agree.

The navigation at first returned too many results, and not always exactly the ones I was looking for, but after checking the site's organization, which is really pretty straightforward, I was able to return some really great results.


Checking for some of my favorite kitchen finds, I found a Nordic Ware universal see through cover. And when I clicked through on the "best price" link, which was listed at $23.95, I found that the listed merchant, Chefs Corner, actually sells the lid for only $15.00. So if you visit the site, definitely visit the products you are interested in even if you want them for less.

Even so, you may think $15 is a lot for a lid. However, I have found that our similar lid has been a great help in the kitchen, because I can easily cover pans from 8" to 12" ... just grabbing one lid is handy, so you don't have to keep a dozen of them accessible. Also, if you lose one, or have pans that didn't come with lids, this one fits the bill. I love the see-through lids so that I can keep a close watch on more delicate foods that need special care not to overcook. All things considered, this product is a money, time, and space saver that also helps me prepare better meals, and as such it's a very worthwhile purchase and a good value, even at retail.

Unfortunately, there were no current eBay auctions for this item, but a great feature of the shopping website is that you can click on a tab and view eBay listings for whatever you searched for, along with retail offers.

Another feature of this site I really like was the ability to search in so many ways. You can search for a keyword, by price range, brand, store, and other criteria, depending on what category you are searching. I really love the overall organization. I stayed to look at kitchen items, selected cookware, for types of cookware I chose casseroles, and then further narrowed the search by material and selected ceramic. I got 14 pages of results for ceramic casserole dishes, which I could sort by popularity, price, or even the store I wanted to buy them from.

Speaking of ceramic dishes, I really like stoneware/ceramic/terra cotta pans for the oven, because I don't have to worry about anything affecting the food, they distribute heat evenly, and they are easy to clean. They last forever (if you don't drop them!) and are usually attractive enough to cook and serve in the same dish, allowing for easier cleanup (and retaining the heat at table better). On this website, I found many very nice baking and roasting pans for more than 50% off. Roasting pans with lids, especially deep lids, sometimes do double duty, if the lid is designed to function as a shallow pan on its own. I have one I really love that is a deep bowl-shaped casserole, and the lid can also be used as a pie plate. It's pretty enough to be a covered serving dish as well, so it gives me 3 different uses in one, which makes it a great value.

These are some of my favorite kitchen products, and I am happy to say this this website does a great job of helping me find these as well as products in just about any category imaginable. We can definitely recommend this site to savvy shoppers!

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I love to bring unique products to my readers -- those are my favorite posts, although I like to save you money too! So when I can do both at the same time, it's really a pleasure to feature products like these on my blog.

I found site that offers really cutting-edge fashion jewelry for great prices. These would make great gifts, or can complement your own look ... at these prices you can buy a variety to accent your style.




I especially loved these thread earrings. The round ones remind me of conchos, and would be PERFECT for anyone who likes western wear, while the tear-drop shaped ones look like peacock feathers, but peacocks were never arrayed in such a rainbow of various colors! These are large enough to make a statement, but the airy open weave makes them light. Being woven of thread gives the designer opportunity to make them in any color, and it also makes them perfect to accent casual wear, such as blue jeans. At the same time, the intricacy lends them to dressy wear, so these are super-versatile, which makes them all the better a value. If you're like me (I really enjoy making things myself!) you might be tempted to try to copy the designs, but I have to be honest with you, the low cost of these earrings would definitely discourage me from trying. I'd be a lot better off to spend those hours earning more money, and just buying extra pairs and still having more $$ to show for it, along with more color choices, in the end.

The variety of headbands offered on this site was fantastic too. Some of the skinny headbands caught my eye, but my hair is too thick to wear these. I loved the designs though! The silk scarf headbands were really intriguing too. I wish the site had pictures of them being worn in the different ways they describe (with hair in a ponytail or down) but I think I can visualize how the piece goes on. It's a clever idea. And if you love retro, these retro headband designs are a MUST-have! The fashion headbands are probably some of the best choices for overall wardrobe use, with the classic plaids and solid colors, and are some of the more affordable choices.



The prices are already reasonable, and some pieces are an especially outstanding value, but there are other ways to save money on this jewelry. You can buy wholesale fashion jewelry from the site, or sign up for coupons at the bottom of their page. You can also host a jewelry party and earn money, or even a virtual jewelry party among your email friends. However you like to shop and save, this site has lots of options!










I know there are a lot of pictures here, but I just wanted to show two more of my favorites from the site!

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We wanted to share a great discovery of this year's discounts with our readers. Fewer and fewer stores have good clearance discounts at the end of the year, but Kohl's is one that still does, and we LOVE the prices!

Kohl's has good quality brands to begin with, and can be a little pricey to start. But their end-of-year discounts are mostly in the 70% to 90% off range, making many of the clothes ridiculously inexpensive. You can buy very nice quality t-shirts, sweaters, skirts, slacks, and much more for less than you would expect for low-end merchandise at a discount store.

Right now is the time to take stock of your wardrobe, go in with an open mind, and especially consider things you will need throughout the year. It's a good time to stock up on t-shirts or other things you may wear often.

We purchased a number of very nice quality men's t-shirts for about $2 each, and a pair of Docker's slacks for $3.50. I also bought some blouses I absolutely loved for $2 to $6 each. My favorite was a long, thick, thirsty terry robe that is SOOOOO soft and warm for $9.

Other departments have similar sales as well. I now have that set of flannel sheets I've always wanted and I can now say that a high-quality set of flannel sheets are very welcoming, soft, and warm. I don't know when I've ever slept so comfortably. I also purchased new washcloths for my home, again very high quality with well-sewn edges and trimmed in alternating colors for less than I paid for the lowest-priced quantity package of "cheapie" ones at Wal-Mart. The Wal-mart cloths and all my old washcloths are now in the "cleaning rag" stack in the linen closet while the Kohl's cloths are pampering us in style.

And Kohl's also has a variety of incentives for extra savings. We don't do this often, because it's not a good idea from a personal finance standpoint to have too many credit cards, but this time we took advantage of the 10% savings as a reward for applying. By the way, Kohl's gives the 10% discount even if you fail to qualify for a card. I purchased almost $350 worth of clothing and home linens on that trip and spent about $40 total to pay for them. There were about a dozen shirts, a robe, two dozen washcloths, slacks, shorts, and more.

Speaking of a Kohl's credit card, if you apply for one, they also send you coupons to use in-store or online periodically. You can expect 10% or 15% off your total purchase and similar discounts. Kohl's also has an online site where the clearance sale is also going on. They offer various shipping discounts from time to time, which if you register online you will receive email notifications of these. So far I have seen windows of free shipping and 99 cent shipping. The great thing about ordering online (when you can take advantage of these shipping discounts) are the discount codes. The main disadvantage of shopping online is that their clearance section is almost cleared out, while the retail store near me still has many racks upon racks.

I ordered from the clearance section online, searched for coupon codes, and discovered one listed at a site for 15% off. (I found it at RetailMeNot.com) What surprised me is that Kohl's allowed it to be combined with the discount offered for using my credit card, which was ANOTHER 15%. Amazingly, you can purchase online (whether regular, sale price, or clearance merchandise) and get reduced shipping AND 30% off your total if you pay with a Kohl's credit card. Discounts like these are few and far between, so we wanted to share them as part of Savvy Shopper ... that's about as savvy as you can get!

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We have an interesting site with all kinds of information, insights, and even humor relating to credit cards for our readers. Besides information on particular credit cards that you can apply for, along with all of the relevant information for each card and a ratings system for various credit card offers, there is a blog attached to the site with a lot of useful information.

Using your credit cards wisely and understanding the various types of credit cards are important focuses of the site, but every aspect associated with credit cards is also discussed. Some of the best information is available on blog entries with general credit card information.

For example, how does your spouse's credit card behavior affect your credit score? Can you just keep getting 0% cards and transferring the balances to avoid paying any interest? Is it a bad idea to keep backup credit cards that you never use? What about that little magnetic strip on the back of your credit card? How long should you wait to reapply if your application is turned down? Can you get credit if you just turned 18? How can you best use rewards features? What kinds of safety are built into your credit card? These and many other questions are answered on this informative and entertaining blog.

We're not going to spoil the answers for you, just click on the link above and visit for the answers to these questions as well as more mundane, but equally important ones, such as
how to increase your credit score, how to choose the best credit card for your personal situation, how to manage your debt wisely, how your credit score affects various financial aspects of your life, and more.

We hope this information proves helpful to our readers!

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You know how employee discounts work ... working in a particular store gives you a discount, often on anything you want to buy there. Some employers are even generous enough to offer things at cost (I'm fortunate that mine is!). Even better than saving money as an employee are the savings you can often get within your field. I've used this in the past as well. So ... one thing you might want to consider is how your interests might be able to do two things for you. The first is let you earn money doing what you love to do, and the second is to let you enjoy products and materials at cost, as well as do the professional work yourself and save those fees as well. For an example of what I mean, visit http://www.iadtchicago.edu/.

Courses offered include interior design. As an interior design graduate (if your interests lie here), you can do what a good friend of mine did. She bought an older home in the historical district and started working to restore it. She was able to support herself by freelance design jobs around town, stay home with her children, and restore and decorate a lovely historical home for a fraction of the cost someone else would have had to invest, and ended up with a very valuable home which she could sell, but instead she choses to live there because she loves having a comfortable, tastefully decorated home.

Fashion is another area that might be of shopping benefit to those who love clothing. Imagine having access to all the newest trends, at cost, as well as materials to design your own clothing and the know-how to do so. In the right market, your skills can produce a hefty income as well.

Advertising is another area listed, and one where I myself have had some advantages. If you are skilled at promoting products, the manufacturers are more than happy to provide you with samples so that you can evaluate their product and find the features or benefits of it in order to be able to share them more effectively with consumers.

Basically, wherever your passion lies, consider whether you might be interested in turning it into an income, and garner some rock-bottom prices for yourself at the same time.

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It's just about time in most places for a new semi-annual fundraiser coupon book to come out. We used to sigh resignedly when the children would knock on our door, asking us to buy one. We'd purchase it, place it in a drawer, tell ourselves we WOULD make use of it this time, and then promptly forget about it until next year, when we cleaned out the drawer and found the book of purchased, expired coupons lying there.

I want to tell you that, rather than being a charitable donation on your part, these books actually CAN be great to have. The real trick is in making sure you use the coupons. For us, that meant having them with us and accessible when we were out and needing to stop for a bite, so a couple of years ago I put the book in the glove compartment of the car instead of the desk drawer. Whenever we needed to stop for a quick bite, I'd pull out the book and say, "Let's see what we have a coupon for!"

The coupon book became a blessing instead of a waste of money. Most of the offers inside are buy-one-get-one-free, so you can instantly save almost 1/2 on your dining out. Another great aspect of the coupon book was in the variety of restaurants it introduced us to. Places I never would have thought to visit, some of which are now our favorites. Because we had a coupon, we tried the restaurant, and discovered new specialties we'd never heard of before.

Our version includes a lot of non-restaurant offers as well. This can be a lot of fun in planning family time together, or a fun and unusual date. Our book usually includes coupons to an IMAX film, a local museum, miniature golf, an arcade, go-karts, a dinosaur activity place, bowling, movies, and several other fun things to do. Most of these are half-price level savings.

Practical coupons are usually included as well ... oil change (and we all need one if we drive a car!), haircuts, car washes, carpet shampooing, new tires, film processing, and so on. These are usually a fair discount offer.

I just want to encourage everyone to rethink those coupon books. They've been so great for us that we've started selling them for our homeschool group, and now we always buy TWO books ourselves instead of just one, and buy extras for friends as well. Now that we've discovered the best way to use them, we are enjoying them AND saving a lot of money at the same time, and that's one of our main focuses here at Savvy Shopper!

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We'd like to feature another product that deserves a place on Savvy Shopper for its level of quality and craftsmanship along with its unique and stylish design ... Enclume pot racks. I've always loved the look of a polished overhead pot rack with shiny copper pots suspended below, on display and within easy reach, lending an aura of "gourmet chef" to the home kitchen. The Enclume potrack fills that need in high style and, more importantly, with high-quality, durable materials made to last a lifetime.



Rather than the typical style we normally see, which usually includes a hanging chain threaded through a relatively thin rim, Enclume pot racks are made by attaching supporting arms to the thick hammered forged steel rim, making this an heirloom quality piece to be treasured and passed down rather than one that will need replacing after some years. Our absolute favorite is the stylish Decor Lighted Oval Rack, although the "S" Grid Circle Rack also caught our attention as being THE pot rack for a more contemporary setting. There are also a number of designs that would be at home in a more rustic or traditional setting.



Eclume has other great products besides their pot racks. The one that really caught our attention was the Eclume Gourmet Center. This very unique design would stand out in any home but offers a lot of practical use beside the preparation area with the shelf for a cookbook, basket for produce, and another shelf handy for oils, spices, vinegars, or whatever suits your cooking style.

We really enjoyed browsing this website and were delighted to find the unique designs that would so perfectly suit so many different styles of kitchens.

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