With Christmas season in full swing I feel like we are waiting on packages at least twice a week lately. I don’t know about you, but one thing I hate (and I do mean hate) is waiting for a package just to leave for a few minutes and come home to the dreaded hang tag on the door.
UPS has come up with an awesome solution!
UPS is committed to making the shipping experience better – not just for shippers, but for the consumers who receive packages at their home as well. They recently launched a first-of-its kind, service for residential receivers called UPS My Choice. Users can get alerts a day in advance when packages are coming by email or text. You can even reschedule or sign for a package online!
Their goal is to avoid the disappointment and hassle of missing a home delivery and increase the likelihood of a successful delivery on the first attempt. You can make changes, see time frames, and even request specific time frames for delivery online or with a mobile phone.
There are two levels of membership:
UPS My Choice members (FREE) receive phone, e-mail or text alerts notifying you a day in advance of when packages will arrive and providing a four-hour approximate delivery time frame. You can also opt to electronically authorize the release of packages that require a signature and, for a $5 transaction fee, to reroute a package to another delivery address or have it delivered to the nearest The UPS Store location.
UPS My Choice Premium Membership, is a $40 annual subscription, but it provides all the benefits of a regular UPS My Choice membership at no additional cost and in addition, members gain access to an online delivery calendar that shows the status of UPS home deliveries. Premium members also are offered a two-hour delivery window. A $5 transaction fee is charged only upon successful delivery of the package within the two-hour commitment.
As a Premium member, you can even provide their UPS driver with detailed instructions on where to leave a package. They just select from a drop-down list of location options like — leave it at the Side Door…the Garage…on the Porch…in the Management Office of my apartment complex or the Shed out back! This would be a great feature to have if you go out of town and you don’t want your UPS package to just sit at the front door.
I signed up earlier this week for UPS Choice and have found it very fun to get a text message a day before delivery. If anything don’t try to surprise me with a package, cause I’m gonna know who it’s from before it even gets here!! If only they could tell me what’s in the box too…
You have no reason to not start using the free version, just be warned it going to make you feel like a little kid waiting for the mail to come again!
Bath and Body Works has released some really fun printable coupons. Get a FREE Be Enchanted Body Lotion, 2 oz, when you go to their Facebook page, “like” them, and print your coupon.
While you’re there, don’t forget to print your Bath & Body Works coupon for a FREE item with any $10 purchase!
Put these deals together to score great Christmas presents and stocking stuffers!
Check out my page for more in store coupons.
Amazon has a great lightning deal for anyone who has a Keurig (or is getting one for Christmas)! You can get an Ekobrew Reusable K Cup Set for $15.99.
It has excellent reviews and basically allows you to make your own K-Cup with any ground coffee you choose (normally a lot cheaper per cup, especially with coupons!). The set includes two coffee packs, a reusable plastic cup, and the Ekobrew. It’s eligible for Super Saver Shipping with a $25 purchase, or use Amazon Prime if you have it.
The deal will only last for about an hour longer so go ahead and order it now if you want it!
The only bummer is that it’s not compatible with a few models of the Keurig Brewer (B30, B130, B150 and B155).
Udi’s has a super fun Facebook “Joy Mission” going on right now.
When you like them, they are donating food to local food banks, but it gets even better:
You can send a free gift coupon to 3 of your friends! This is only available to the first 10,000 who claim it so send your gift coupons now!
A lot of you ask how to get coupons for Gluten Free products so here is a great opportunity.
If you have someone on your shopping list who likes Oprah this would make a great gift! Mamasource by Mamapedia has a one-year subscription to “O” Magazine for $10.
The one year subscription includes 12 issues. On Amazon, this subscription is $18 – so this deal gives you a little wiggle room on your budget for Christmas gifts.
Heads up, the deal is limited to (1) per household and the first issue will be received in 8-10 weeks.
Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic is about to start a fun new project. Starting this Saturday, December 3rd, participants will get to build their very own train. You will build a part of the train each week, starting with the caboose.
***This deal is no longer available, but you can see more toy deals here.***
This is a great way to get your children active on the weekends and at the end of it all, they will have built an entire train!
The clinic starts at 10 AM and you must register beforehand.
Plum District has a great daily deal on Klutz books! You can get a $30 voucher to Klutz.com for $14.
Klutz books are fun how-to books for kids that come with the tools of their trade. They are designed for doing, not just reading.
You can either apply your voucher to shipping or get FREE shipping on orders over $40.
There is a limit of 1 voucher per customer and 1 additional voucher as a gift.
Amazon has a great price on the Oral-B Professional Care 1000 Electric Rechargeable Power Toothbrush, $39.99 (regularly $74.99).
There is also a nice $20 mail-in rebate so you’ll get it for only $19.99! These toothbrushes are awesome and with a savings of $55 it’s a really fun deal!
Note: Be sure you are purchasing the item directly through Amazon and not a third party seller to ensure that you get FREE shipping and are eligible for the rebate.
Have you ever thought that having internet might actually be saving you money? You might feel a squeeze when you pay the hefty bill to the broadband company every month, but can you really afford to live without it?!
We don’t have cable service, but I can’t imagine how much life would cost if we didn’t have the internet to inform us about all the deals out there.
There is a new study by the Internet Innovation Alliance that shows that the average household saves more than $7,200 per year over 10 main categories (see below). They estimate an annual household food budget of $3,624 with a savings of $942 just from having internet access!!
Looking at my Friday Finals for 2010, we spent $2,272.47 and saved a whopping $5,621.31 (71%) last year. This was for a family of 5 and the best part is, it’s not just food, but also includes household & personal care items too!
I’d say for the average coupon-minded family, we all save a lot more than this study shows.
Have you ever tallied your yearly savings from online sales, coupons and deals? What would these numbers look like for your family?
