Decoding Bundled Services

I have always been a big fan of puzzles. Not the lame kind where you put together a picture of a fruit basket at your Aunt Betty's house because she doesn't have a color TV, but the kind of brain teasers that get you thinking or guessing. Except for Rubik's Cubes. I have always been bad at those, probably because I am not a super smart Rubik's Cube solving robot. But can't a man dream?

Even though many of us enjoy giving our minds a work out, I'm sure that like me, you don't appreciate it when ordering home services feels like a brain teaser. Knowing what you want and what you can afford isn't exactly easy to figure out, given the myriad of options available. What makes this even harder is that providers are often promoting bundles of high-speed Internet, TV or phone for one monthly price, but it's not always apparent if this is a good deal or not. Many providers advertise bundles as a way of saving money on your bills, but is that how it often works?

Fortunately, the answer is "yes".

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

As many of you know, there are plenty of ways for you to save money in your day-to-day spending. Whether it's through car pooling or the way you use water and electricity, you can find all kinds of opportunities to pinch a few pennies. One place where you can always use more money saving tips is the grocery store. CBS News has put together a list of tricks to turn you into a savvy food shopper.

• Check the bottom shelf — Since eye-level is where most shoppers do their spending in the grocery store, many companies pay to have their items stocked there. Check the bottom of the shelf for more cost-effective items.
• Mind the end-cap — Just because certain products are on display at the end of the aisle doesn't mean they are on sale. In addition, check the expiration date on these products. There's a chance the retailer has put less fresh items there in hopes of selling them before they go bad.
• Convenience costs money — Sure, you can buy pre-cut chicken or shredded cheese, but it's always cheaper just to buy the full product yourself and then cut it or separate it out later.

For more tips, read the CBS News article, How Supermarkets Lure You To Buy More.

Another way to cut your grocery bill in half is to use coupons. Clip them out of flyers and newspapers or print them online from the following sites:

• Coupon Cabin
• Kroger
• Coupons.com
• Randalls
• Coupon Mom
• Target
• Retail Me Not
• Safeway
• Smart Source
• Winn Dixie

Happy Cyber Monday!

The long Thanksgiving weekend is over and now you’re stuck behind your desk for another grueling day of work, with weeks separating you from your next day off. Don’t be too depressed though, as today is Cyber Monday, the day where online retailers unleash their hottest holiday deals.

If you didn’t empty your bank account last week with all of the Black Friday deals, there are lots of cool things to be had at a deep discount today. Did that huge new HDTV you had your eye on sell out before you got to the store at five in the morning? What about that sweet new laptop? If you missed out last week, you might just be surprised to find even better deals today.

If you’re ready to start wasting company time shopping online, check out Eddy’s blog from last week to find a link to all of the best deals available online today.

Happy Black Friday!

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone again and as tradition dictates, today we turn from one national pastime to another—from eating to shopping. Today is known as Black Friday, and is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, the day that retailers unveil their best holiday deals.

Whether you’re in the market for big-ticket items like laptops and HDTVs, or just looking for some cheap stuff like DVDs and videogames, there’s something for everybody out there today. So get out there and start spending!

To help guide you through the maze of great deals to be had today, check out Eddy’s blog from last week to find a catalog of all the hottest money-saving Black Friday items.

Fighting the Black Friday and Cyber Monday Monsters

As we all know, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, meaning that we get to eat absurd amounts of food while watching football or talking to relatives. Or at least, that's what it will be for me.

However, it's the weekend after Thanksgiving that many savings-savvy-shoppers look forward to. Black Friday is the day when all of the stores are dropping prices, and Cyber Monday is when the online retailers follow suit.

Both of these days are looming in the not-so-distant future, and they are ready for you to enter them with impulse and reckless abandon. To combat that, you could always eat an absurd amount of food, which apparently increases the production of an amino acid that makes you less impulsive. See? Eat more and save money. Science proves it, and you can't argue with science.

However, the best strategy for tackling the big shopping days is to go in prepared. If you're looking for the best deals for each one, there are some online resources that can help you out. For the shop-a-holics that prefer Black Friday, Black-Friday.net is an excellent catalog of all the deals you can find and where. And for those that wish to avoid the rabid swarming masses and do your shopping online, CyberMonday.net is a similar grouping of all the online deals and where you can save the most money.

So, which of these two days do you use to get most of your shopping done? Have you ever found any great deals? Tell us in the comments!

Get Smart and Go Green Sweepstakes

For those of you who have to deal with a long commute to work, you know the awful pain of going to the gas pump and re-filling every week. If you don't have a fuel efficient vehicle, constantly stopping and paying for gas can be both tedious and expensive. Well, if you've been looking to get smart and go green with your vehicle, now might be the perfect time for you.

Green Mountain Energy Company and smart center Dallas and Fort Worth are teaming up to give Texas residents a chance to win a smart fortwo Passion coupe, valued at $16,235 before tax, title and license.The smart fortwo is one of the greenest and most fuel efficient cars that money can buy, pulling in around 41 miles per gallon on the highway. It also emits up to 50 percent less polluting emissions than average 2009 model vehicles. This is certainly a fitting give away for Green Mountain Energy Company, Texas' only electricity provider dedicated to cleaner energy.

Registering to win the smart fortwo is a piece of cake. Simply enter online or visit any number of Green Mountain Energy Company events. You need to get in fast though, because the give away ends on December 14, 2009. To enter the 2009 Sweepstakes, visit Green Mountain Energy Company. If you want to know more about the guidelines, check out the contest's official rules.

AT&T; Launches New Entertainment Site

Last week, AT&T; announced the launch of AT&T; Entertainment, a new site that offers streaming TV shows and movies to watch on your PC. The online content is provided by numerous providers including ABC and NBC Universal (via an agreement with Hulu), CBS Interactive and others. The site is open to any user, not just AT&T; high speed Internet customers.

Content will include movies and TV shows (available after their initial network airing) from a variety of networks and studios, including ABC, Bravo, CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CNBC, NBC, Oxygen, Syfy, The CW, and USA Network. The site allows users to brows TV shows and movies alphabetically, by genre, or by network or studio.

AT&T; U-verse TV and Internet customers who visit AT&T; Entertainment can sign in to access U-verse Web Remote Access, a popular application that allows customers to schedule and manage DVR recordings directly from their PC.

To start watching, visit www.entertainment.att.net.

25 Great Restaurant Deals

The current state of the economy has people trying to save money left and right. Cutting costs during a recession is always a smart move, and businesses aren't immune from the effects, either. In fact, many businesses are offering extra incentives for consumers looking to save a buck.

It seems that restaurants in particular are trying to lure the hungry masses into their doors through great savings and specials. I came across a cool list over on WalletPop that showcases 25 of the Best Restaurant Deals that you can get for your money right now. Some of the specials are an absolute steal, including a few courses at Chili's for two for under $20.

If you're looking for some ways to eat out without having to search the couch cushions for spare change, I'd highly recommend visiting WalletPop to read more.

Converter Box Coupon Program comes to an End

The government funded convert box coupon program designed to help consumers with the analog-to-digital switch is coming to an end on Friday, July 31, 2009. If you're still one of the 1.5 million households without TV reception, you still have a couple days to sign up for a converter box coupon.

To read more about how to get your coupon visit dtv.gov.

Summer Freebies

Free stuff for summer! I just want to shout that from the rooftops today.

So a friend of mine sends me a link this morning to a site that tells you where you can get all kinds of free items. This is great news. You can get free chocolate from Mars, free business cards, free lunch and so much more.

In this economy when saving money is key to survival summer freebies are a welcome budget saver. Check out the article 11 Fantastic Freebies.